Chen Zhou struck with extreme ruthlessness, showing not the slightest mercy.
When it came to someone who had bullied him, he either did nothing—or, if he took revenge, he went straight for the kill, giving the other person no chance to fight back.
So even though the old man reacted quickly, a giant black pangolin had already appeared behind him, and all four Soul Rings descended at once.
But before he could react, his throat had already been slashed.
The strike came suddenly and swiftly.
Chen Zhou had closed in on him in an instant, cut him, and fled the very next moment.
By the time the old man's fist came down, it struck nothing but empty air.
The raindrops that hit him, meanwhile, exploded with a sharp bang.
After releasing his Martial Soul, he could barely withstand the Water of Destruction, but it still took all his strength.
That was because, although the water itself was weak, the destructive force within it was not.
It was a weakened version of the Water of Destruction, stripped away from the Primordial Sea—a derivative of the Primordial Sea itself.
Even after being stripped away several times over, its destructive power still ranked among the strongest in the Douluo World.
So even though there was very little of it, the explosion still tore open wounds on the old man's body.
And the sight of his throat being slashed had come suddenly and with brutal ruthlessness.
Several maids who had been attending to them nearby screamed and fled to the side.
In the middle of the corridor, a boy stood frozen, shock in his eyes.
But by the time he came to his senses and tried to shout, the steward was already dead.
Looking at the corpse at his feet, Chen Zhou knew he had been too ruthless.
If this scene got out, many people would think poorly of him. Some might even curse him, calling him heartless and worse.
But only he knew what he had suffered.
It was just like in his previous life. After being bullied at school, if his first instinct had been to go to a teacher, the bullies would never have cared.
They might apologize, but once they had, they would keep picking on him—and get even worse.
They knew he didn't dare fight back and would only run to a teacher, and most teachers held no real sway over them.
But if, after being bullied, your first thought wasn't to do anything else, but to grab the ringleader and fight.
Pin them down and throw everything you had into beating them bloody—or, at the very least, get beaten up right alongside them.
After a fight like that, no one would dare bully you the next day.
That was exactly what Chen Zhou had done back then.
Only, after he beat up the servant who had bullied him, it hadn't made much of a difference.
The reason was this steward—or rather, the person who should have played the role of a teacher at school. Instead of solving the problem, he had started bullying Chen Zhou himself.
So now Chen Zhou had come back for revenge.
Looking at the steward lying dead on the ground, Chen Zhou watched as several figures dressed in black appeared in a flash. Their eyes fixed on him.
Meeting their gazes and seeing that they were either fourth- or fifth-ring Soul Masters, Chen Zhou remained calm.
"My name is Qiangu Qingzhou. I'm now the disciple of the silent master of the Spirit Pagoda in Eastsea City. I killed an old beast who disrespected me. What does that have to do with you?"
Chen Zhou spoke calmly, meeting the black-robed men's eyes.
At his words, the black-robed men, who had been ready to seize him, stopped.
They exchanged glances, and for a moment, no one moved.
Nearly five minutes passed before they silently bowed to him and slowly dispersed.
The black-robed men made no move against him. They quickly scattered and dealt with the old steward's corpse, while Chen Zhou stood there calmly.
His expression was calm, but the cowardice that had once been in his eyes was gone.
He swept his gaze around and spotted the boy who had been in the courtyard earlier.
The boy was around ten, only a few years older than him, and he had bullied Chen Zhou too.
After thinking it over, Chen Zhou calmly walked up to him and beat him up as well.
And that was that.
Every servant who had bullied him had one leg crippled.
As for the young masters and young ladies, he beat them black and blue, making sure they wouldn't be able to get out of bed for at least two months.
What Chen Zhou had done was utterly shocking, and word soon spread through the branch families.
But Chen Zhou didn't care in the slightest.
Only after he had spent the whole day getting back at everyone who had bullied him did he sit on his bed. Then Neuvillette's voice sounded.
"You went too far this time. He might have been the one leading the others in bullying you, but you shouldn't have killed him."
"Teacher, you don't understand. This isn't Teyvat. No one here talks about kindness. This is the Douluo World, where the strong prey on the weak and the fittest survive."
"If I didn't have the talent I have now, I would have been bullied to death in the end."
"That old steward withheld my things and sent people to beat me because I had no father or mother. But my parents died for the Qiangu Clan."
"Only now that they're dead, no one gives a damn. I know what you're thinking, Teacher. If they don't offend me, I won't offend them. This is the last time."
Chen Zhou's voice was hoarse.
After hearing him, Neuvillette said no more.
He was an upright man, and in Fontaine he represented the power of judgment, but that didn't mean he was blind to the darkness in the world.
He understood that Chen Zhou had forced his way through to the Second Soul Ring to prove his worth, so he could take revenge on the people who had bullied him without feeling guilty.
What was done was done. He wouldn't say anything more.
After killing someone for the first time, Chen Zhou showed no adverse reaction. His expression was even perfectly calm.
One could only say that he had been suited to the Douluo Continent all along.
And because he had avenged himself on those who had bullied him, the last trace of turmoil in his heart slowly faded, leaving him with a feeling of perfect clarity.
It was as if the obstacles that had blocked him were gradually vanishing. His gaze grew steadier and calmer, and his eyes clearer.
The sensation was strange, as if the shackles that had bound him had suddenly been smashed open.
As he felt this, Chen Zhou slowly sat cross-legged.
His body entered the Dream World, while a watery shield gathered around him, protecting him.
In the Dream World, Chen Zhou looked at the ever-flowing Primordial Sea before him, slowly opened his eyes, then closed them again and sat there in silence.
The twenty-four acupoints in his body began to move faster than ever before, and his Soul Power surged rapidly.