âWell, do you admit defeat, or shall we go for another round? Iâm not quite satisfied yet.â
Not quiteâ¦satisfied?
Hearing Yang Zhenâs words, Death Shadow shivered nervously, and hastened to reply, âI submit, I utterly submit.â
Gong Sanhe looked dumbfounded at Death Shadow, unexpectedly yielding so quickly, utter submission no less. Dammit, verbal submission was believable, but utter submission?
Was he taking him for a fool?
Pondering this, Gong Sanhe looked to Yang Zhen. Did he actually believe this?
Clearly, this was just capitulation forced by violence. How could this be considered utter submission?
However, to Gong Sanheâs surprise, Yang Zhen looked quite content, like he⦠actually believed it?
Were these two idiots or what?
Gong Sanhe could hardly comprehend it.
If he couldnât comprehend it, how could Ding Chun and Wen Yuning? Both of them stared blankly at the bizarre spectacle unfolding before them, a bit dazed and a bit incredulous.
Those Death Servants, posed in weird shapes by Yang Zhen, were now slowly able to move. Hearing Death Shadowâs words, they all froze and wore peculiar expressions, then bewilderment.
Did Lord Death Shadow reallyâ¦utterly submit?
In fact, Yang Zhen did just as heâd said. He hadnât gone all out. Against twenty-four Death Servants, Yang Zhen heard eerie howls and wails from inside, which was quite horrific. However, simply dislodging their limbs was enough to break their resistance.
Only those who stubbornly resisted even in despair were beaten by Yang Zhen into doubting their existence, their fists hitting fleshâa particularly satisfying experience.
Hearing Lord Death Shadowâs proclamation, the twenty-four Death Servantsâ newly re-set dislocated arms nearly popped out of the sockets again.
Yang Zhen observed Death Shadow with great satisfaction. This guy wasnât too stubborn, which relieved Yang Zhen who feared that he might just die rather than surrender, suddenly bursting into a flat piece of human skin.
Facts proved that those of higher status were usually the more valuable ones, and more concerned about their lives.
Yang Zhen squatted down in front of Death Shadow and, looking at the latter, who was wheezing heavily by now, said, âUtter submission is still not enough. If youâre to be convinced by virtue, you have to be thorough about it. Otherwise, it might leave you with resentments, which would be rather unfortunate.â
Death Shadowâs face changed at these words, as did the expressions of the twenty-four Death Servants and Gong Sanhe.
âWhat else are you planning to do?â
Seeing Yang Zhenâs expression, Death Shadow seemed a bit unnerved.
Yang Zhen, as if oblivious to their shifts in expressions, didnât answer Death Shadowâs question but asked, âRelax, man, this Sao Saint didnât do anything to you. Look how nervous you are. I just wanted to ask, you said you submit with your heart and mouth, what about your body? If it hasnât, we could contin-â¦â
âI submit, I completely submitâ¦rightâ¦â Getting to this point, Death Shadow seemed to remember something and turned to Gong Sanhe, saying, âMaster Gong, you said earlier that there must have been some misunderstanding. I thought it over, and indeed, there are many oddities.â
Upon hearing this, Gong Sanhe looked puzzled and stared at Death Shadow for a while before saying, baffled, âDid Iâ¦really say that?â
Wen Yuningâs lips twitched as she tried hard not to burst out laughing on the spot.
Ding Chun felt quite satisfied. Dammit, Master Gong had mentioned the possibility of misunderstanding twice, albeit indirectly. You seemed to have heard it, but it was as if the words went in one ear and out the other. Now you realize thereâs a misunderstanding?
Listening to Master Gongâs response and then looking at the baffled expression on Death Shadowâs face, Ding Chun felt a sense of catharsis. Every cell in his body was trembling with satisfaction.
Staring blankly at Gong Sanhe, Death Shadow knew exactly how much heâd offended him. With a cold face, he said, âGong Sanhe, others will soon enter the Ancient Ruins, we havenât got much time leftâ¦â
âAre you threatening me?â Gong Sanheâs expression darkened. Kicking a man when heâs down was strangely irresistibleâthe allure was just too strong.
Death Shadow forced a bitter smile. âIâ¦dammit, dare I threaten you? Iâm about to die, this kidâ¦this kid is a devil.â
Yang Zhen, who was squatting in front of Death Shadow, retorted, âScrew you, youâre the devil, your whole family is the devil. Not only were we cursed as soon we came in, but we were also attacked by you all. Doesnât Sao Saint deserve some respect?â
âOf course, of course, there was aâ¦misunderstanding!â
âDamn, now you know thereâs a misunderstanding? Whereâve you been? What about my mental distress? Whoâs gonna compensate me?â
âMentalâ¦mental distress compensation?â Death Shadow looked at Yang Zhen perplexed. Who would have thought there was such a thing as mental distress compensation?
When Gong Sanhe and his two companions heard this term, they couldnât hold back and even Ding Chun, this big-eyed fellow, burst out laughing.
âMental distress compensation, this guy really is a devil, shameless to the core. How can there be someone so shameless in this world?ân/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
Gong Sanhe nodded and, forcing a straight face, said, âHeâs not like Li Cangxu or that old-fashioned Duan Sihai. How could they teach such an unruly disciple? I really canât figure out what this boyâs background is.â
Wen Yuningâs eyes shimmered with curiosity but he didnât speak, apparently he also hadnât expected Yang Zhenâs origins.
At this moment, the 24 Death Servants and Death Shadow had both already recovered from the shock of the mental distress compensation proposal, but Death Shadow especially was secretly healing while vigilantly staring at Yang Zhen, asking, âWhat do you want to do?â
Yang Zhen shot a glance at himself and said, âI really donât know how you became the Hokage, did you rush forward blindly the whole way?â
ââ¦Itâs Death Shadow!â
âSame thing, donât get hung up on details. Just look at your men, this is what it means to know how to live.â Yang Zhen curled his lips, stood up, walked over to the 24 Death Servants, picked up all the storage rings they had thrown out, blew off the dust delicately and collected them.
Death Shadow watched the scene before him bewildered, frozen as he saw Yang Zhen skillfully pick up the storage rings.
âYou⦠you still have a storage ring, right?â Yang Zhen pointed at one of the Death Servants, his face dark and frightening, and the man hurriedly threw out his remaining storage ring.
Clink clink clink!
A collection of storage rings was once again thrown out.
Only then was Yang Zhen satisfied, he picked them all up, squatted down in front of Death Shadow and said, âI did actually want to kill you at first, after all, you really wanted to kill meâ¦â
Snap!
A storage ring dropped on the ground.
âAs a leader, you act rashly, disregarding the lives of your subordinates, not distinguishing between right and wrong. A person like you wouldnât survive two episodes in our villageâ¦â
Snap!
Another storage ring landed on the ground.
âI actually did want to let you go, but fuck, youâre even worse than a bunch of minions when it comes to knowing how to liveâ¦â
Snap! Snap! Snap!
Five storage rings were placed on the ground.
âThatâs all, really, thatâs all.â
Upon hearing this, Yang Zhen slowly made the Companion Heavenly Fire and the Yin-Yang Pattern disappear.
âIâve given you everything, let me go, you⦠you devil, demon, youâ¦â
Yang Zhen ignored Death Shadowâs wailing, sat on the ground and said, âNow, letâs start with discussing how to remove the talisman. Then we can discuss whether we had a misunderstanding. I, Sao Saint, have been contemplating lately, maybe thereâs been some miscommunication.â
Death Shadow, having just gotten up, plopped back down on the ground, and sat next to Yang Zhen in a daze.
âYou also think there was a misunderstanding, so why did we fight?â
Yang Zhen was frustrated enough almost to slap him. This terrified Death Shadow into holding up his hands defensively.
âYou think this olâ Sao Saint wants to fight? No experience at all, wasnât it you who forced me?â
Everyone: ââ¦â
âTell me, how can I remove the Soul Chain Skill from my body?â
âCanâtâ¦canât remove it!â
âWhat?â