Cut Out the Tongue

Creak!

The door opened.

"It's you!" Xu Yang recognized Zhang Yu.

Back at the entrance to Hidden Spirit Academy, Zhang Yu had revealed every secret about Xu Yang's cultivation. The impression had stayed with him.

He had originally wanted to try his luck by going to Boundless City to find Zhang Yu, but in the end, he had not gone. At the time, he had felt that Zhang Yu's realm was not much higher than his own.

"Crying?" Zhang Yu saw Xu Yang's reddened eyes and blinked as he asked.

"No. You're the one who was crying," Xu Yang immediately denied it.

Zhang Yu smiled. "Aren't you going to invite me in for a seat?"

When Xu Yang had been crying earlier, Zhang Yu's image had indeed crossed his mind. After all, Zhang Yu had been completely right about his condition while cultivating the Crimson Sun Art.

Entering Xu Yang's room, Zhang Yu sat boldly in a chair and glanced at Xu Yang. "Do you want to solve your problem?"

"Yes!" Xu Yang immediately nodded.

He had been driven to despair. Otherwise, he never would have cried. This was the first time he had cried since he could remember.

"Kneel down and take me as your master!" Zhang Yu did not waste words and went straight to the point.

"Uh..." Xu Yang froze.

He was the legitimate son of the Xu Family, a martial lineage, and had been the family's prodigy since childhood. To suddenly kneel and acknowledge a youth around his own age as his master was truly too embarrassing.

"I'll give you only one chance. You have three breaths. If you don't take me as your master, I'll get up and leave. Even if you want to become my disciple afterward, I won't accept you," Zhang Yu said calmly.

Xu Yang's face showed an inner battle between heaven and man.

One breath!

Two breaths!

Three breaths!

Thud!

Just as Zhang Yu called out the third breath, Xu Yang hesitated no longer and dropped to his knees with a thud.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

He kowtowed three times. "This disciple, Xu Yang, pays respects to Master!"

A faint smile appeared at the corner of Zhang Yu's mouth. He said nothing and paid no attention to Xu Yang kneeling on the ground. Instead, he opened the system panel.

[Disciple: Xu Yang]

"Haha, sure enough, he shows up on the system panel. Let me copy his Frostbound..." Zhang Yu had only said the words "Frostbound" when he forcibly swallowed the rest.

He still did not know exactly how effective the Frostbound Myriad-Sword Physique was. In any case, Xu Yang was already his disciple. Once Xu Yang awakened his physique, Zhang Yu could observe the results of his cultivation before deciding whether to copy it.

"Master!" Xu Yang, still kneeling on the ground, could not help calling out when he saw Zhang Yu spacing out.

Cough, cough!

Only then did Zhang Yu come back to his senses. He gave a dry cough. "Get up!"

Xu Yang stood, looking at Zhang Yu with eager anticipation.

"Want to know how to break your shackles?"

"Mhm, mhm!" Xu Yang immediately nodded.

"You cultivate your Xu Family's inherited technique, the Crimson Sun Art, don't you?" Zhang Yu wore an unfathomable expression.

"Mhm!"

"Disperse your cultivation," Zhang Yu said.

"Ah! Master, why?" Xu Yang's face was filled with shock and confusion.

"Don't ask. If you want to become an unparalleled master, listen to all of your master's arrangements. Of course, you can choose not to listen. Then your martial path will end here," Zhang Yu said.

"This... Master, can you let me think it over?" Xu Yang frowned tightly.

He was not familiar with Zhang Yu yet. He had acted too impulsively just now, and at this moment, he already felt a trace of regret.

"As you wish!" Zhang Yu rose and left.

The Dharma was not lightly imparted.

He had already lowered himself by chasing after Xu Yang to accept him as a disciple, all for the Frostbound Myriad-Sword Physique. Since the other party would not listen, then his master could not be blamed.

After leaving Xu Yang's residence, Zhang Yu first went to Bedrock Inner Court to obtain his inner court disciple token. Then he returned to the small courtyard, preparing to pack his things and move into the inner court.

The inner court disciples lived in a quieter, more comfortable environment, with one small courtyard per person.

After receiving his token and the white robe of an inner court disciple, he put on the robe at once. That way, he would not have to bow whenever he encountered an inner court disciple on the road. It was far too troublesome.

Creak!

Zhang Yu pushed open the courtyard gate and found Li Feifei seated beside the stone table, brows furrowed, wearing an expression of deep thought.

Hearing the courtyard gate, she looked up. When she saw Zhang Yu, she immediately rose.

When Zhang Yu saw Li Feifei, his eyes narrowed. For the past two months, Li Feifei had constantly mocked and sneered at him. Today was the day to settle the score.

"Senior Brother Zhang, I was wrong!"

Slap! Slap! Slap...

Before Zhang Yu could speak, Li Feifei stepped forward, dropped to her knees before him with a thud, then swung her arm and viciously slapped herself across the face.

She was not faking it. She hit herself hard. With one slap, half her face swelled up. After three slaps, she spat out a tooth.

Hiss...

Zhang Yu felt somewhat stifled as he watched. He had originally planned to become an inner court disciple and then ruthlessly humiliate that bitch Li Feifei.

Yet at this moment, looking at Li Feifei kneeling before him, it was not that he could not bring himself to strike. If this were not Hidden Spirit Academy, Li Feifei would already have become a corpse.

Rather, as a man, he was wrestling with his own morals.

A woman had already knelt, slapped her own face until it swelled, admitted her mistake, and apologized. If, as a man, he still viciously beat her... it conflicted with the morality in his heart.

But if he let her off so easily, Zhang Yu would feel uncomfortable as well.

"How about I disfigure your face now, then apologize to you afterward?" Zhang Yu glared at Li Feifei kneeling on the ground and asked.

Li Feifei raised her swollen face to look at Zhang Yu. Then she took out a dagger and held it out to him. "Senior Brother Zhang, my mouth is too foul. If you still aren't satisfied, you may cut out my tongue. I will have no complaints."

Zhang Yu's eyes narrowed, a glint of cold light flashing within them. He took the dagger, turned his head, and glanced at Su Wan, who had just emerged from her room. "You bear witness: Li Feifei willingly let me cut out her tongue."

"Yes, Senior Brother!" Joy rose in Su Wan's heart. This way, my relationship with Zhang Yu will go a step further.

Li Feifei was tough as well. She closed her eyes and opened her mouth, wearing an expression of righteous resolve.

Holding the dagger, Zhang Yu sliced the sharp blade across her tongue, drawing blood.

Li Feifei's entire body trembled. Her whole face twisted, and beads of sweat the size of soybeans rolled down, yet she did not cry out.

"Fuck! Lunatic!"

Zhang Yu could not cut any further. He cursed inwardly, tossed away the dagger, and said, "We're even now."

Clang!

The dagger hit the ground.

Li Feifei's tongue had only received a shallow cut. It was not serious, and it had not been severed.

This woman's madness made Zhang Yu deeply uncomfortable. At the same time, he unexpectedly felt a faint trace of admiration.

It was strange!

If Li Feifei had cried out or begged for mercy just now, Zhang Yu would definitely have continued cutting. Yet she had not screamed in agony, much less begged for mercy.

Zhang Yu glanced at Li Feifei, activated the Eye of Truth-Piercing, and became very curious about what kind of fate this sharp-tongued, mean-looking woman possessed.

[Name: Li Feifei]

[Age: 21]

[Realm: Late Dark Force]

[Cultivation Talent: Good]

[Comprehension: Mediocre]

[Fate: Cunning and Harsh, Protects the Family and Preserves Its Legacy]

Sure enough, she had a fate, Zhang Yu thought to himself.

He had expected "Cunning and Harsh," but why was there also "Protects the Family and Preserves Its Legacy"? Could these two fates coexist? Could they appear in the same person?

Zhang Yu thought about it, and they truly did not conflict.