Chapter 152: The Curtain Falls, The Mystery of Zhou Tong’s Background
In the Soaring Empire, within the palace.
“Little Bad Egg… I can’t bear to leave you,” the Little Demoness said with affectionate eyes as she looked at Zhou Tong, reluctant to part.
The two Sages were set to return to the Central Continent; You Jingfeng was to take the Little Demoness away, and the Sword Saint was to take Long Lingyun with him.
After all, Long Lingyun had inherited the Sword Saint’s legacy, and this journey was essential to complete that inheritance, not to be taken lightly.
“Senior Brother… I also can’t bear to leave you!” Long Lingyun pretended to cry, but inwardly she was overjoyed, finally relieved from the daily torment of studying those damned characters.
“I’ll have the Sword Saint supervise your studies; you must exceed the assigned daily tasks, otherwise, when we meet next time… I’ll show you what true terror is!” Zhou Tong scoffed, causing Long Lingyun to make a bitter face.
“Alright, you two smelly girls,” Mu Ran Ya said with a smile. “In just over a month, the Hundred Sects Convention will be held in the Central Continent; we will meet again soon!”
Upon hearing this, the Little Demoness’s eyes lit up as she stared intently at Zhou Tong.
“I promised you I’d win the championship at the Hundred Sects Convention, and I will not go back on my word,” Zhou Tong said firmly.
Before the Little Demoness could react, You Jingfeng suddenly jumped up as if struck by lightning.
“You… you want to participate in the Hundred Sects Convention?” His finger quivered as he pointed at Zhou Tong, unable to believe his ears.
“Of course! Not just me, even Shi Jie and Sheng Xin will participate. Is there a problem?” Zhou Tong shrugged and asked.
“Of course there is a problem!” The Old Man nearly roared.
“I remember the age limit to participate in the Hundred Sects Convention is twenty-five; may I ask how old the three of you are?”
“Just turned eighteen, what’s wrong with that?” Zhou Tong replied nonchalantly, adding in his heart, “Including my past life, that’s one thousand eight hundred years.”
“And you?” The Old Man’s bloodshot eyes turned towards Zhang Chuqiao.
“Twenty… plus three hundred sixty months, but my bone age is only twenty, because I was frozen for thirty years!”
You Jingfeng took a deep breath, forcibly holding back the urge to spit blood.
Before he could ask again, Sheng Xin jumped in.
“You might not believe it, but I’m only one year old!”
“Pfft!” Zhou Tong couldn’t help but laugh; if Sheng Xin were to consider her past life, she probably couldn’t even reach two thousand years.
Seeing the three monsters before him, You Jingfeng completely went mad.
One ultimate saint slaughterer, one Yin-Yang Body, and another unfathomable little girl—such a lineup going to the Hundred Sects Convention…
Isn’t that bullying the honest people?!
Originally, their Celestial Master Clan had a significant advantage with that heaven-defying Seal Art and were quite likely to win the championship.
Now it was all over!
Competing against these three monsters was akin to an egg hitting a rock.
Upon this thought, he couldn’t help but feel pity for the other disciples of the sects.
“How can one see a rainbow without going through the storm? It’s nothing for young people to face some setbacks!”
Left with no choice, the Old Man could only console himself.
Zhou Tong ignored his strange words and looked gently at the Little Demoness.
“As I won’t be by your side, you must protect yourself. Take this.”
As he spoke, he pulled out over thirty talismans and shoved them into the Little Demoness’s hands.
You Jingfeng’s breath caught in his throat as he stared wide-eyed at those talismans, feeling his hands and feet tingle.
All were level nine talismans, with a few that even made him tremble, very likely level ninety-four talismans, second only to mysterious talismans.
But that wasn’t all; Mu Ran Ya and Zhang Chuqiao also approached with gifts, colorful beads.
These were products of Mu Ran Ya’s combination of Great Mana with Breath of Annihilation, formed by condensing the two together.
Any one of them, when fully unleashed, would probably match the power of a level nine talisman.
Long Lingyun also received a similar gift.
Both Sages felt a bit dizzy; with these items, the two girls were practically walking arsenals, and even semi-Sages would think twice before approaching them.
If they unleashed their full power, even Sages would have headaches.
It was already commendable that they didn’t bully others.
“This time, we really have to leave,” the Little Demoness said, her face flushing as she suddenly bent down and removed a red string tied around her ankle, with a bell hanging from one end.
“This is a gift for you; you need to keep it safe.”
Her face turned even redder.
“What is this?”
“Thousand-Mile Heart-Linking Bug!”
The Little Demoness lifted her other foot, which also had a bell.
These bugs work in pairs; no matter how far apart they are, if one jumps, the other will jump too.
“If you miss me, just shake the bell, and I’ll feel your thoughts!”
Taking the bell, Zhou Tong’s lips curved into a smile as he looked at her pair of fair, jade-like feet.
“Little Bad Egg, what are you looking at?!” The Demoness, flustered and angry, punched Zhou Tong twice. “I soak my feet in heavenly fragrance petals every day, there’s nothing but pleasant scent!”
“Alright, alright, if we don’t leave now, we really will be reluctant to go.”
The Sword Saint interrupted, seriously looking at Zhou Tong. “I’ll accompany them all the way; after making a detour to rescue my wife, we will head to the Celestial Master Clan together!”
“With me as a protector for these two girls, you can rest assured!”
“Then I must thank Big Brother!” Zhou Tong cupped his hands in gratitude; the Sword Saint was the protector he had specially arranged for the two girls.
“We’ll meet again; see you in the Central Continent!”
Two streams of light streaked across the sky, leaving only a hint of melancholy behind.
In mid-air, Zhou Tong stood against the wind, beside him were Mu Ran Ya, Zhang Chuqiao, Sheng Xin, and Lian Hanxing.
“We should return to the Three Pure Realms; the Hundred Sects Convention is imminent, and we need to make some preparations,” Mu Ran Ya broke the silence, gently stroking Zhou Tong’s hair.
“Yes, it feels like a long time since we left Red Dust Mountain. After saying goodbye to the Empress, we will…”
Before she finished speaking, a howling wind sounded in the distance, and a wave of saintly energy returned.
“Old Man, did you forget something?”
Curious about You Jingfeng’s solemn expression, Zhou Tong asked.
“Indeed, there’s something very important. I ask you, do you have parents?”
He got straight to the point.
“Since I can remember, I’ve been all alone; I have no way of knowing if they are still alive.”
“Are you really only eighteen years old? No mistake?”
The Old Man’s expression grew even more serious.
“Bone age does not lie; if you don’t believe it, you can measure it yourself.”
“No need; I came back only to tell you one thing…”
He adjusted his breath and continued, “This is not a secret in the Central Continent. Fourteen years ago, the Li Family was renowned in the Central Continent as a distinguished weapon forging family.”
“But an accident occurred at that time; the family head and his wife were attacked in the Eastern Continent, forced to leave behind a four-year-old child. When they returned to search afterwards, they could no longer find any trace of the child…”
“What do you mean by that?” Zhou Tong’s brow furrowed, his heart racing.
“I mean to say, you bear a seven-point resemblance to that family head of the Li Family!”
