The scene fell utterly silent, as if time itself had frozen.
Only the vivid red stain upon the contract stood out, glaring and raw.
The contract was sealed!
In the next moment, the writ blazed with light, split in two, and each half descended into the hands of Zhou Tong and Mo Liusu.
“How dare you!”
Mo Liusu was the first to break the silence.
A merciless aura radiated from her—so cold it pierced to the bone, freezing the very air.
At the same time, her face went utterly blank, like a block of ancient ice that a thousand ages could not thaw.
Her pupils were dark pools, deep and fathomless.
Everyone’s heart gave a lurch.
They knew, then, that the matter could no longer be undone.
Zhou Tong’s unyielding defiance had thoroughly enraged Mo Liusu!
Ge Hongqiu, Jiang Yuyao, and Tang Qi exchanged glances, each seeing the delight gleaming in the others’ eyes.
Once their master entered this state, she would never again show mercy.
“Zhou Tong, as of today, you are cast out of the sect.
You may no longer claim the identity of a Yuqing Sect disciple, and you may never again use the sect’s secret arts.
If you dare to violate this, I will not spare you!”
“This is exactly what I sought.”
Zhou Tong drew a jade pendant from his bosom.
It was an antique piece of exquisite workmanship, giving off a warm, peaceful aura.
It was plain to see the pendant had been cared for with great devotion—a testament to how dearly its owner treasured it.
“What are you doing with that?”
Mo Liusu’s pupils contracted.
That pendant was the token she had given Zhou Tong when he formally became her disciple—it had been an ordinary piece of jade, and she had never imagined Zhou Tong would carry it on his person.
“Returning what belongs to you!”
Zhou Tong held the pendant out—but a casual flick of Mo Liusu’s qi shattered it into dust.
“What would I want with something filthy that you’ve touched?”
“Then please return my token to me as well!”
Zhou Tong held out his hand, utterly serious.
At these words, Mo Liusu’s expression faltered.
She vaguely remembered: back then, Zhou Tong had carved an exquisite wooden bead by hand and given it to her as his token—and she had long since discarded it somewhere unknown.
“That piece of rubbish?
You think I’d carry it on me?
What, are you trying to swindle me now?!”
She sneered, vicious and cutting, showing Zhou Tong not the slightest shred of courtesy.
“No matter.”
Zhou Tong shrugged.
That wooden bead had once held the secret longings of his boyhood; since it had been thrown away, there was no point in pursuing it further.
“Until we meet again!”
He turned to leave—and the coldness in Mo Liusu’s eyes burned hotter still.
“Wait.
This cultivation of yours was all granted by the sect.
Since you’re leaving, shouldn’t you leave it all behind?”
Even the elders turned to stare at Mo Liusu in disbelief.
She actually wanted Zhou Tong to cripple his own cultivation.
What ruthlessness!
Zhou Tong stopped as well and turned to look at the stunning woman, coldness creeping across his face.
“What nerve!
In all these years, when did you ever teach me anything?
Even the spirit stones I used for cultivation—I earned them myself through hardship.
What do you have to do with any of it?!”
A collective gasp ran through the crowd.
Had Zhou Tong’s life really been so hard all these years?
No master’s guidance, no cultivation resources—worse off than a common servant.
And if that were all true, then to reach such heights through pure self-study, Zhou Tong’s talent was terrifying beyond measure!
“Spare me your useless talk.
Right now, you look exactly like a stray dog.”
Mo Liusu looked down at him from on high, her coldness enough to make one tremble.
“Say what you will—the sect has sheltered you all these years, and without it you might not even be alive today.
Walking away scot-free is out of the question.
If you truly can’t bear to cripple your cultivation, then you’ll serve in the sect as the lowliest servant for ten years.
After ten years, all debts will be settled!”
Even as she spoke, she produced a token—and stamped upon it, in three bold golden characters, were the words: SECT LEADER’S ORDERS.
With this token, Mo Liusu could exercise the Sect Leader’s authority.
In the Yuqing Sect, her word was law.
If Zhou Tong wished to leave today, there was no path for him but to cripple his own cultivation.
Mo Liusu was immensely pleased with herself.
She believed she had Zhou Tong in the palm of her hand—because she was certain no one could bring themselves to discard their hard-won cultivation.
No one.
“That trick won’t work on me.
If this is all it takes to sever my ties with you, I’d say I got the better end of the deal.”
Zhou Tong’s tone was flat, as though he had truly let go of everything—and the words struck Mo Liusu’s ears like a bolt from the blue.
“Hmph…
Stop putting on airs.
Do you think that will win my pity?
You’re dreaming!”
Mo Liusu sneered, taking Zhou Tong’s words for nothing more than a feint, not worth a moment’s concern.
“Boom!”
A powerful aura erupted from Zhou Tong’s body, reaching its peak in an instant—and still climbing.
“Young man…
stop!”
The White Crane elder cried out in alarm.
Forcing one’s own spiritual energy to run at full capacity without cease—that was the most common method of self-crippling one’s cultivation.
“Bang!”
With a detonation, Zhou Tong’s aura plummeted to the bottom—he had become, in an instant, an ordinary man.
Through the projection of the Way of Heaven, the scene reached the eyes of everyone far and wide, and no matter the distance, their faces were all thunderstruck.
The peerless genius who had dominated the Hundred-Sect Tournament had just crippled himself—what madness was this?!
“So resolute…
it seems he had truly lost all hope.”
Some old-timers lamented with regret.
“What remarkable spirit.
Not everyone has the courage to start over from nothing.
I suppose that’s what a true genius looks like.”
Others were unstinting in their praise of Zhou Tong.
“What spirit?
How laughable.
To me, he’s just a brat who doesn’t know when to bend.
What is hard will break—he’s destined to amount to nothing!”
Inside the Hall of Punishment…
“You—!”
Mo Liusu stood frozen, her face blank.
Zhou Tong’s actions had once again surpassed everything she had foreseen.
Without her noticing, her eyes misted over for the briefest instant—a thin veil of moisture—but it was burned away by her spiritual energy in a flash, and her coldness returned once more.
“That bastard is finally crippled.
From now on, I am the strongest genius in the sect!”
Tang Qi’s face betrayed nothing, but inside he was nearly mad with excitement.
He was himself a top-tier genius—one touch and he mastered any field—meant to stand as the center of all attention, yet he had always been overshadowed by Zhou Tong.
And so he had nursed a burning hatred.
Now, at last, he had rid himself of this thorn in his side—and it had been far easier than he had ever imagined.
“You can crawl out of here now.
Once you leave the sect today, don’t ever come back.”
“I’m out of here!”
Zhou Tong tossed back four words without a trace of lingering attachment, and walked away with his back straight.
“Isn’t this too cruel to him?”
The White Crane Fairy looked at Mo Liusu with some hesitation.
“In recent years, he has rendered the sect far too many meritorious deeds.
And with the next Hundred-Sect Tournament looming, there is almost no one besides him who can carry the sect’s banner!”
“Nonsense!”
Mo Liusu scoffed.
“Every achievement he ever made was the result of the sect’s nurturing.
And besides, my young disciple Tang Qi bears the bearing of a Divine King.
Compared to those two, it’s a phoenix against a sparrow—there is simply no comparison!”
Her voice was loud, almost as if she feared Zhou Tong might not hear clearly.
And all the while, her eyes never left Zhou Tong’s retreating back, not daring to relax for an instant.
In ordinary times, hearing such an assessment, Zhou Tong would have been terrified, shrinking further into humility for fear of being cast aside.
Now she said it deliberately, hoping to catch even a trace of wavering or pain on his part—but the outcome was destined to disappoint her.
Zhou Tong’s footsteps rang out firm and steady as he walked further and further away, until he passed beyond her sight.
And yet she stared in that direction for a long, long time, her gaze stretching after him to the horizon.
“Bring me the All-Revealing Mirror.
I want to reflect and monitor everything he does—and then make it public.”
The elders were startled once more, and someone immediately jumped up to protest.
“This is against the rules!
In a public trial, only the judge is subject to the scrutiny and surveillance of the Way of Heaven.
The one being judged is not!”
“Special situations call for special measures.
Since he has left the sect, he can no longer use its secret arts—I must keep watch over him!”
“This is not right!”
The White Crane Fairy frowned.
“Zhou Tong once defeated every peer who crossed him and made no small number of enemies along the way.
Now that his cultivation is completely crippled and he is at his most vulnerable, exposing his whereabouts will surely invite harm upon him!”
“So what?
What do I care whether he lives or dies?”
At Mo Liusu’s icy words, a chill ran down the spines of everyone present.
Mo Liusu was plainly doing this on purpose—she would drive Zhou Tong into a corner, threaten him with death itself, force him to submit and bow his head.
She meant to snap the last of his pride.
To break him utterly.