Heavenly Jewel Change Chapter 41-50

Chapter 41 Fei Li Military Academy

After Ma Qun had paid the fine for destroying school property, the teachers left them.

Zhou Weiqing patted Ma Qun’s shoulders, smiling as he said: “Very wise of you, looks like you know your place. Earlier, I only used 40 percent of my power in kicking out those two legs. Big fool, I’ll see you in three days!”  As he said that, he turned around, holding Shangguan Bing’er by the hand as they walked out of the academy.

Looking at Zhou Weiqing’s disappearing figure, only then did Ma Qun bend down clutching his stomach, retching, as he muttered to himself: “!”, that fellow is too savage, just like a smiling tiger. Sigh, such bad luck on my part. Alas, what a waste of a beautiful girl, why are all the good ones always taken. However, that smiling tiger is truly strong, even without using his Heavenly Jewels, his blows hurt so much, what a terror.”


As Zhou Weiqing pulled Shangguan Bing’er out of the Fei Li Military Academy, he hastened his steps. “Little Fatty, what’s the rush? Where are we headed?” Zhou Weiqing grinned and said: “My dear beloved Bing’er, I’ve missed you so much! Of course, we’re headed back to the hotel, to do what we love to do.”

Shangguan Bing’er was almost a 19 year old young lady, and how could she not understand what Zhou Weiqing was talking about. Immediately, her face turned red, and she said softly: “No.”

“Why not? Didn’t you say it’s okay when no one is around?” Zhou Weiqing said aggrievedly.

Shangguan Bing’er said abashedly: “When did I say that, that was you. When I left home, my mother told me not to do it with you.”
“Do what?” Zhou Weiqing said, with a look of ‘innocence’. Shangguan Bing’er’s blushing face turned even redder.
“That, you know! My mother said, before I actually marry you,
I am not allowed to do it with you. She said, if you get it too easily, you will not know to cherish it. Besides, what if… I get pregnant?” Hearing her say that, Zhou Weiqing was dumbfounded. After all, he was still technically a ‘virgin’, although he had previously had relations with Shangguan Bing’er, he had not been conscious. To suddenly talk about pregnancy and avoid it, he was also momentarily stunned.

Shangguan Bing’er’s lucious red lips pouted and she said: “Little Fatty, are you with me just to do that? You…”  As she said that, her beautiful eyes turned red.

Zhou Weiqing was most afraid of her crying, and was instantly flustered. He quickly said: “No, no, of course not. I love you, your entire person. Although doing that is great, but my dear Bing’er is more important. We’ll listen to your mother okay, I will not force you.”

“Really?” Shangguan Bing’er asked again, tears brimming in her eyes. Zhou Weiqing quickly nodded and struck his chest in promise.

Shangguan Bing’er’s tears quickly turned into laughter. “That’s my good Little Fatty, come, big sis will reward you.” As she said that, she stood on tiptoe and kissed his cheeks. “Ah?” Only then did Zhou Weiqing realise that she had tricked him. “Bing’er! You’ve learned to be bad!”

“Hmph, I have learned from all of you in the Heavenly Bow Unit!  Ahh!  Don’t  come  here!”   Looking  at  Zhou  Weiqing advancing upon her with an evil glint in his eye, she quickly ran off. The two of them ran across the streets one after the other, laughing and joking.

Since they were about to enter the Fei Li Imperial Family Military Academy to learn, so they decided to take a break for the next three days and relax themselves. Fei Li City was so large, and there were many enjoyable places to have fun at. Zhou Weiqing and Shangguan Bing’er spent the next three days exploring it and touring the entire city. Of course, at the same time, Zhou Weiqing did not forget to visit the Skill Storing Palace twice a day, completing all his Skill Storing. In the end, besides his Evil and Time Attribute which he was unable to find any suitable Skill to Store, he had completed Skill Storing for all the other attributes for all three Jewels. Zhou Weiqing finally had the true power of the three Alexandrite Cat’s Eye at hand.

Since they had met, this was the most relaxing time they had spent together. Alas, our dear Zhou Little Fatty ended up failing his attempt to enjoy our beautiful Bing’er. In order to prevent him from crossing the line, Shangguan Bing’er kept her guard up and refused over intimate contact.

Happy times always seemed to pass so quickly, and it seemed like barely a blink of an eye when the three days had passed. The bustling crowd at the academy area was also slowly dissipating; those who had managed to enter all jumping with joy, while those who hadn’t gloomily planning for their future, to try again next year or turn to something else.

Zhou Weiqing and Shangguan Bing’er reported to the academy early in the morning, hand in hand. With Shangguan Bing’er around, she naturally did not allow Zhou Weiqing to stay in his sorry ungroomed state. Although he was still dressed in a simple cloth attire, he was at least clean and well groomed now. He was not considered very handsome or suave, but his tall, large frame and decent features did give him an imposing valiant look. Furthermore, a beautiful woman was a man’s best ornament – with such a beauty like Shangguan Bing’er beside him, he naturally attracted many gazes as they walked along the street.

The Fei Li Imperial Family Military Academy entrance was much more peaceful and quiet than the previous time they were there. There were about twenty or so senior students standing around, in charge of guiding the new students in reporting.

Under their guidance, Zhou Weiqing and Shangguan Bing’er crossed the main square, entering the large school building, and they quickly found the reporting ground for the freshmen.

They had reached rather early, and the reporting ground was still rather empty and quiet. There were currently only three teachers who were in charge of admitting the freshmen.

“Hello  Teacher,  we  are  freshmen  reporting.”   Shangguan Bing’er said with a faint smile. Her unrivaled beauty naturally drew the attentions of all three teachers. Luckily, all of them were female teachers, otherwise Zhou Weiqing would have to be looming at the side glaring once again.

“You both are commoner students right?” One of the older female teachers with a head of white hair asked.

Zhou Weiqing asked uncertainly: “During the examinations, nobles and commoners had different treatment in terms of acceptance grades. After being accepted, is there still a difference?” The female teacher explained: “Naturally, there is a difference. For example, commoner’s school fees are only 20 gold coins per year, while the school fees for nobles are 2000 per year. The teachings are the same, but the dormitories and living quarters will be different. Another difference is, commoners need to be at least Jewel Masters, but there is no such requirement for nobles.”

When Zhou Weiqing heard about the difference in fees, his heart felt better and more balanced. After all, an academy needed to earn money as well, and those who paid more naturally deserved better quarters. Although he did not like such separation; everyone was human after all, with a brain, mouth, and limbs, and there shouldn’t be any differentiation. However, it seemed that there wasn’t any serious differentiations, and he did not continue on the topic further. “Then can we please trouble teacher to help us complete our registration.”    Shangguan   Bing’er   nudged   Zhou   Weiqing, hinting him to stop with his line of questioning, as she passed their acceptance letters over.

“This semester, there are 29 new commoner students. Every year, there will only be one commoner class, and four noble classes. As such, your class is called the Common One Class. Each of you need to pay 20 gold coins, which includes staying in the dormitory, but if you wish to include food and beverage expenses, it will be an additional 50 gold per person. The living quarters are all at the dormitory building behind this main school building; the commoner quarters are on the first level, with the boy’s quarters on the left side, and the girl’s quarters on the right. You will be staying with 7 other roommates.”

“After the school semester starts and you stay in the dorm, you are not to leave school grounds without permission, nor should you go up to the other levels of the dorm without invitation as that is for the noble students. Here are your uniforms, two sets each. Tomorrow morning, the school’s opening ceremony will be held in the auditorium, which is at the first level of this main school building, and all students will be required to attend. Alright, you two can leave now.

Zhou Weiqing received the uniforms and their dorm keys, as well as their student badges, while Shangguan Bing’er paid up the money, then the two left the reporting grounds.

As soon as they exited the room, Zhou Weiqing’s mouth curled in scorn as he said: “Bing’er, look at the grey and white uniforms, the material is no better than what I am wearing. As compared to what I have seen those noble students wearing, it is definitely a huge difference, even in terms of looks. This Fei Li Military Academy is apparently very obviously attending to a difference in status!” Shangguan  Bing’er  said  quietly:  “Softer!  Little  Fatty,  you must remember that we are here to learn. Since we are under their roof, what else can we do but follow their rules? I know that you are indignant, but you cannot kick up a fuss. Come on, let’s head to the dormitory and arrange our things, let me help you clean up as well.”

“En.” Perhaps it was because his character was gradually and subtly being influenced by the black pearl, but currently Zhou Weiqing’s emotions were rather riled up and unruly.

The dormitory was right behind the main school building, and was only slightly smaller. Even still, it was of quite an impressive size. Following the numbers of their keys, they quickly made their way to Zhou Weiqing’s dorm.

The instant when the door opened, he was greeted by a blast of terrifying odour – years of athlete’s feet! That smell almost made Zhou Weiqing fall over, as he quickly blocked Shangguan Bing’er from entering, as he held his breath and rushed into the room to slam open the window, and let the ventilation flow. Only then did the air clear a little.

The dorm room was not small, almost 40 square metres in size, with 4 bunk beds at the corners. There was also an open area which had been split into eight regions, with 2 large metal cabinets, 2 large tables and 4 chairs. Besides that, the room was empty, except for the fact that rubbish was strewn everywhere, and the entire room was both dirty and messy. The bunk beds were still bare and showing the wooden planks below, with the mattresses, bedding and sheets nowhere to be seen. Zhou Weiqing’s mouth twitched a little, this was not even
comparable to his bunk in the army.

In contrast, it seemed that Shangguan Bing’er was a lot more composed. “Little Fatty, why don’t you rest a bit, I will clear it up for you. Your room doesn’t even have a space for us to sit currently.”

“Let me do it myself.” Zhou Weiqing quickly stopped her.

Shangguan Bing’er giggled and said: “Cleaning a room is a girl’s job, why are you snatching it from me. A man should take charge of external matters while women should take care of domestic matters, if you try and snatch it from me, I will get angry. Let me learn how to take care of you first. I’ll go and buy a basin to hold water for cleaning.” As she said that, she turned in a whirl and left.

As Zhou Weiqing watched her leave, he felt a warmth in his heart. Looking at the four bunk beds which could hold 8 men, he said angrily: “Hmph, those other fellows really got the advantage.”  As  he  said  that,  he  did  not  stay  idle.  Although Shangguan Bing’er wanted to help him clean up, he could not bare for her to pick up those dirty trash. As such, he seized the opportunity that she was buying a basin, and quickly gathered all the trash lying around and threw them all out. By the time Shangguan Bing’er had returned with a basin of water, the room was clear and ready to be wiped down. “Bing’er, later I’ll follow you to the girl’s dorm and help you clear the rubbish, and also get to know where you stay. Heh heh.” Zhou Weiqing grinned and said.

outwardly kind but inwardly cruel person Shangguan Bing’er said exasperatedly: “Don’t give me that. You want to go look at beauties or to help me clear the rubbish? Do you think us girls are so dirty like you boys? I popped in to have a look just now and my dorm is much cleaner!”

Just as the two were sharing a moment of warm tender feelings, there was a loud commotion from outside. All of a sudden, there was a loud bang as the dorm room was knocked open, and seven youths entered the room. The dorm was meant for eight, and with that, all of them were present. To his surprise, Zhou Weiqing found that he knew one of them, it was that huge fellow Ma Qun who he had knocked down the other day.

As soon as the seven entered the room, they saw Zhou Weiqing and Shangguan Bing’er within, especially the sight of Shangguan Bing’er cleaning the cabinets, the seven of them halted, dumbfounded.

A skinny, short student asked, his jaw agape: “Heavens! I have heard rumours about the terrifying state of the boy’s dorm being messy and dirty, but this looks pretty good! This brother over here, is that your girlfriend?” Currently, Shangguan Bing’er was standing with her back facing them, as such none of the others saw her unparalleled beauty, and their eyes naturally fell to Zhou Weiqing who was sitting in a chair. Zhou Weiqing nodded his head smugly and said: “Yes! Are you guys also staying in this dorm room?”

The skinny little student nodded and said: “Yes, we all are. Earlier when we reported, we were assigned to the same room. Bro, you sure have good luck, and we have all benefited along with you. Come, let’s introduce ourselves, my name is Kou Rui.”

Since all 7 of them had entered at once, the large room suddenly felt tiny and squeezy. Zhou Weiqing looked to Shangguan Bing’er and said: “Bing’er, why don’t you head back first, we can finish up ourselves.”

This time, Shangguan Bing’er did not insist, nodding lightly to him before turning around. She gave the rest a smile before leaving with the basin.

With that smile, the entire room was instantly silenced. Besides Ma Qun, who had seen her previously and had some measure of preparation, the other six were dazed by her sheer beauty. They had never seen such dazzling beauty in their lives, and instantly they all fell silent. It was only when Zhou Weiqing gave a few coughs when they finally broke out of their reverie. By the time they looked at him once more, their gazes were filled with envy and jealousy.

Zhou Weiqing had chosen one of the lower bunks, and Ma Qun quickly walked over to take the one above him. Just as he was about to place his luggage in the bed above, Zhou Weiqing gave  him  a  light  kick  and  said  exasperatedly:  “Cheh,  go  to another bunk. Look at your size and weight, if you stay above me, what if the whole thing collapses on me.”

The other six were once again stunned. Although they had come in with Ma Qun, they had kept their distance, after all his size was just too intimidating, and they had also heard he was a Heavenly Jewel Master. As such, they were a little afraid of Ma Qun. Who knew that as soon as they had entered the room, the fellow within would give him a kick.

Just as the six of them thought a fight would break out, something even more surprising happened.

Ma Qun said with an ingratiating tone. “Boss, I just wanted to be closer to you. I shall just take the lower bed on the bunk beside yours then.” “En, alright.” Zhou Weiqing stood up and stretched lazily before  saying:  “Guys,  my  name  is  Zhou  Weiqing.  You  all unpack your stuff, I’m heading out for a stroll.”

To be honest, he was not used to having so many people in his room, especially now that they were unpacking and keeping their things, causing the whole place to be in a mess once more.

After Zhou Weiqing left, Kou Rui and the rest looked at Ma Qun with a changed expression, thinking to themselves. So this fellow just looks good but is just a weak fella! Such a coward.

Ma Qun felt their gazes on him, and he glared at them. “What are you all looking at? Looking for a fight? Let me remind you guys, in this dorm, Big Bro Zhou is the boss, and I am the Lao Er. Understand?”

There was a moment of silence, and all six of them burst out laughing. “Indeed, you are the Lao Er. Hahaha.”

Only then did Ma Qun realise the mistakes in his words, and he stood up with a gloomy look on his face. The dorm room was a boisterous and noisy scene indeed. …

As Zhou Weiqing strolled around the main school grounds, he saw an endless stream of freshmen entering the academy to report. His eyes wandered around, looking for beauties to admire. At the same time, he was evaluating them, size, cup etc etc, all the while having a nonchalant look on his face. If not for his rapidly moving eyes, no one would be able to notice anything.

After watching for a while, Zhou Weiqing was rather disappointed. The number of females students admitted to this academy was considerably less, and even fewer were beauties. The best few he saw were above average, but in comparison to his Bing’er, it was tantamount to the difference between heaven and earth.

“What are you looking at?” A voice sounded right beside him, giving him a huge scare. Although he wasn’t particularly paying attention to his surroundings, having someone approach him so closely without him finding out was still a huge surprise to him, and his pupils shrank.

As he turned his head around, he realised it was someone familiar – the Fei Li God General, Ming Yu! Zhou Weiqing glanced at him, but did not reply.

Ming  Yu  continued  speaking:  “This  year’s  freshmen  are indeed lacking in girls, that girlfriend of yours is indeed the cream of the crop.” His observation skills were extremely astute, and he naturally could tell what Zhou Weiqing had been looking out for.

“Your name is Zhou Weiqing right? Do you know why I was surprised when I saw your answer the other day?” Ming Yu did not seem to care about Zhou Weiqing’s attitude towards him, and continued speaking as if talking to himself.

“Why?” Zhou Weiqing couldn’t help but ask, as he was extremely curious about it as well.

A faint light sparked in Ming Yu’s eyes, and an imposing aura surged  forth  from  him  as  he  said:  “That’s  because  it  was something that happened to me not long ago. I was in one of the smaller cities at the border on a patrol, and somehow our enemies got wind of my location. A hundred thousand strong army from the Wan Shou Empire somehow snuck past and attacked us there, with about a hundred thousand of our Fei Li Empire citizens forced to the front as the vanguard. At that time, I only had five thousand of my personal troops with me.” Zhou Weiqing’s interest was sparked and he asked: “So what did you do?”

Ming Yu said: “Pretty much similar to how you answered the question. I immediately gave the order to shoot and kill. Countless of our own civilians died under our own hands… but at that time I had no choice. Just like you said, if I had been softhearted and hesitated a few seconds, it wouldn’t have just been those civilians who died that day. Alas, many of the teachers in the academy are armchair strategists, how would they possibly know the bloodlust and ferocity of the Wan Shou Empire army. Not only did I order them to shoot to kill indiscriminately, I also ordered all the civilians within the city and drafted them to dig large holes within the city near the walls, and line them with sharp spikes. When nightfall came, I led a suicide squad of a thousand men and snuck out of the city, striking the enemy from the side. At that time, I wanted to fight to the death then, but I could not do so or panic would have risen. By the time I managed to fight my way back, only
47 injured men survived together with me. However, we
successfully burned most of their rations.”

“Angered by my sneak attack, the Wan Shou Empire Army launched a rather suicidal counterattack on the city walls once again. In the night, it was much more favourable to us, but even then, we only managed to kill over ten thousand of them before they broke through the walls. Luckily, what awaited them was countless of traps and archers sniping them in a fierce city battle. Finally, I gave the order to ignite all the houses and granaries, cutting off our own path of retreat, bringing the remaining troops and civilians to fight together in the city. We fought in the streets for 2 days and nights, delaying them them best we could. Finally, our reinforcements arrived, and the Wan Shou Empire Army, which had been starved for 3 days, were easily destroyed by the reinforcements, with only less than thirty thousand escaping. With just five thousand troops and a city full of civilians, we managed to hold and kill seventy thousand enemies. I felt that I had accomplished a miracle. What do you think?”

While Ming Yu was describing what had happened to him, his voice was passive and dispassionate, but Zhou Weiqing’s heart was set afire, feeling his blood boil as if he were there facing the impossible odds as well. Although Ming Yu did not describe the details, his commands had been very similar on the whole to what Zhou Weiqing’s answer had been, and in that instant, Zhou Weiqing felt as if he was in the midst of the bloody fighting.

“Of course, that’s a miracle. With less than a twentieth of the enemies’ armies in a small city without proper fortifications, being able to hold it for four days and even burning their rations! If that isn’t a miracle, then what is?” Ming Yu gave a bitter smile: “Alas, one hundred and eighty thousand of our loyal Fei Li Empire Citizens gave up their lives in that four days. Even the remaining 200 soldiers who survived that day called me an executioner. Amongst them, more than a third have gone crazy, and the civilians who
actually survived that day hate me to their very bones. My career has also been affected, why do you think I am here instead of the frontlines?”

Zhou Weiqing’s keen eyes stared piercingly at Ming Yu. In that instant, the bad blood he had for Ming Yu disappeared. He knew that Ming Yu had forged his reputation in blood and sweat, through his own hard work and countless death defying battles.

Ming Yu sighed and continued saying: “Many of the upper echelons of the military command wanted to punish me, even those who spoke on my behalf only did so because of my previous merits and contributions. How many actually know me? That day, when I saw your answer, and heard your reply… I knew you were the same type of person as I am. Alas, you are not of the Fei Li Empire, if not I would find some way for you to join my command, for us to fight together.”

Zhou Weiqing smiled and said: “Even if I’m not a citizen of the Fei Li Empire, does that mean we can’t fight together? Do not forget that my Heavenly Bow Empire is an ally of your Fei Li Empire. It’s just that I haven’t forged the qualifications to fight together with you yet.”

Ming Yu laughed and said: “Let’s hope that one day you do.
The battlefield is the stage for real men in this day and age.”

Zhou Weiqing nodded silently, turning his head back towards the entrance of the Academy.

All of a sudden, his eyes lit up, and he said in surprise: “Ehh?
That girl is not bad!”

Ming Yu followed his gaze, only to see a young lady dressed in white walk in… The young lady looked to be about 20 years of age, with a spotless white dress accentuating her beauty. A pair of large, ocean blue eyes sparkled with intelligence, and many of the male freshmen’s gaze were attracted to her, though none of them seemed to dare to approach her.

Zhou Weiqing nodded repeatedly. “En… not bad indeed. Sleek waist, and that pert ass. Hmm… and her chest… how perky, 35D I’ll estimate. She can be said to have the right curves in all the right places. Amazing, after such a long time, we’ve finally found another top quality girl!”

Just as he said that, he suddenly felt a chill run through his entire body as if the surrounding temperature dropped. Instinctively, he turned to see Ming Yu’s blazing eyes glaring at him.“What  are  you  doing?”   Zhou  Weiqing  asked  warily, gathering up his Heavenly Energy in preparation.

“That’s my younger sister.”  Ming Yu’s strained voice came forth from gritted teeth.

“Errr… It’s a mistake, a mistake. I was just admiring, using an admiring gaze. No wonder you were so sensitive to my words the other day, your sister is so beautiful! Sigh… Both of you have the same parents, why is the difference in looks so great? By the way, Bro Ming Yu, why don’t you introduce your little sister to me? Heh…” Zhou Weiqing grinned as he said.

“You little brat! Which older brother would introduce their little sister to you! I really want to beat you up now!” Ming Yu said with a glare.

Zhou Weiqing said with a serious face: “The school rules forbid fighting, don’t you know? Bye, gotta run!”  As he said that, he spun around and ran for the dormitory. He had barely gotten a few steps away when he halted abruptly, turning around to call out to Ming Yu: “Oh, you still haven’t told me, what is your sister’s name?”

“Get lost!!” Ming Yu roared in anger, and Zhou Weiqing beat a hasty retreat, laughing heartily.

Ming Yi’s loud cries drew a lot of attention, naturally including his sister. Seeing her older brother there, Ming Hua walked over to join him.

“Bro, what’s wrong?” She had seldom seen him so angry, as he was usually with a gentle and suave countenance. Even in battle, he was always known to be cold, calm and collected. Ming Yu shook his head helplessly, saying: “and interesting little rascal, he has already angered me twice already. His name is Zhou Weiqing. Little sis, when you enter the academy, you better keep your distance from him, he is not a good person!”

Ming Hua said in surprise: “Bro, for you to find someone interesting, that is rare!”

Ming Yu’s face grew solemn: “Hua hua, do not ignore my words!”

Ming Hua had a dissatisfied look on her face as she said: “I’ve said it so many times, stop calling me Hua Hua, it sounds like a pet’s name!”

Ming  Yu  laughed  heartily  as  he  said:  “Flower  of  Hades’ Underworld, with Killer thorns. Little sis, you are notorious in the entire Fei Li City, who would dare treat you as a pet? Anyway, I warn you once more, keep away from that little rascal, he is not what he seems.”

“Oh, I know. I’ll head to the dormitories first, then head out to rent a house. I am not used to living with other teachers.” Ming Hua said as she acted innocent. However, the curiosity in her heart was stronger than ever. Her character was such that she wasn’t afraid of anything – in the Fei Li City, her reputation was no smaller than her brother, if not she wouldn’t have such a nickname like ‘Flower of Hades’ Underworld, with Killer thorns’.

Zhou Weiqing did not know that he had been insulted by Ming Yu for the sake of his sister’s safety; by now he was already back in the dormitory. At this moment, many of the freshmen had already registered and entered their dorm rooms, and most were cleaning up. This was especially so in the boy’s dorm where a lot of complaints were heard about the state of cleanliness. However, most commoners often had to do their own chores at home, and mostly everyone was chipping in.

It wasn’t just the freshmen staying in this first level, as the seniors were staying there too, deeper within. Previously, when Zhou Weiqing was at the registration area, he had heard that the Fei Li Military Academy was a 4 year program. The freshmen were in their first year, and they would only be able to graduate after their fourth year where they would have to take a final examination.

As he leisurely returned to his dorm room and entered it, he found it was a lot neater and at least habitable now. His room mates had also arranged their own bunks, and his was also laid nicely with a fresh set of sheets and blankets.

Seeing that Zhou Weiqing had returned, the large Ma Qun quickly jumped up. “Boss, you’re back. Just now, sister in law came over to help you place your bedding.”

Zhou Weiqing looked at him rather amusedly, before saying: “Big fool, why did you call me boss?”

Ma Qun said in a matter-of-fact tone: “Strength is reason in this world. Boss, you are able to beat me up even without using your Heavenly Jewels, naturally you have the ability to be my boss. By the way boss, let me tell you, this year’s crop of freshmen has 4 Heavenly Jewel Masters, besides you, sister in law, and myself, there is another who registered earlier than us. I’ve heard he was 2 Jeweled. Boss, how many sets do you have?”

Zhou Weiqing was about to tease this large fellow who seemed honest, but was just as sneaky inside as he was. However, all of a sudden, the dorm room door was slammed open with a loud bang. Zhou Weiqing was enraged. Earlier, when Ma Qun and the rest had slammed open the door, he was already a little irritated. However, they were all roommates, and they didn’t mean any ill will, so he let it go. Now that they were all in here, yet someone still dared to slam open the door. This was the dorm room he was going to stay in for 4 years! “F**k you, whatever you are here for, get the hell out right now!!!” Zhou Weiqing yelled out, feeling an uncontrollable rage well up within him.

As the door was kicked open, five young men walked in from the outside. They were all dressed in the commoner student attire, each of them well built with bulging muscles, and also with a bald head and a fierce look on their faces. As soon as they entered the room, they heard Zhou Weiqing’s angry yell, and instantly a ferocious light entered their eyes, as they focused their gazes on him.

Ma Qun stuck his chest out, standing beside Zhou Weiqing as he displayed his impressive muscles, saying towards the five: “Didn’t you hear my Boss? F**k you guys, get the hell out of here right now! Right, boss?” Although he said that, the rascal subtly moved half a step behind, letting Zhou Weiqing be right in front, a wicked smile on his face. “You little brat, are you asking for death?”  One of the bald seniors  glared  at  him  and  shouted  out:  “Enough  of  that rubbish, we are here to let you know the rules of the commoner’s dormitory.”

“Rules?” Zhou Weiqing laughed heartily. Hearing that, he did not rush to chase them away. “Previously, I did not know it was our seniors, how rude of me, please seniors, do let us know the rules.” As he said that, the beatific smile on his face was even more honest and innocent than Ma Qun’s. Seeing how quickly he changed his faces, the other roommates face changed as well, a weird expression filling their faces as they felt a sense of disdain.

The bald senior gave a cold humph and said: “At least you are sensible, little brat. Well, since you are our dear juniors, we will not trouble you all too much. Just remember, in the future, every month, every dorm room will have to pay 100 gold coins as a protection fee. This is the rule of our commoner dormitory. As freshmen who are new here, I’m sure some of you have more than enough; all of you should pool your money quickly and pay this month’s due.”

Ma Qun, who was still beside Zhou Weiqing, said: “What happens if we do not want to pay up? Oh, that’s not what I said, I was helping my boss say it.” The reason why the few bald seniors had not taken action against Zhou Weiqing and the rest yet was actually because of Ma Qun. After all, that fellow was so huge and muscular, and standing there, he seemed like an imposing metal tower. “Not paying up? Heh heh, then don’t us for not being polite, and you guys can forget about having a good time at the academy.”

The five bald seniors revealed a ferocious aura, as if about to take action, and each of them released their Power Jewels.

All the commoners were Jewel Masters, and the five in front were all Physical Jewel Masters, the mixed coloured jades around their right wrists sparkling with various colours. The leader of them had 3 Physical Jewels, while two of them had 2 Jewels, and two with a single Jewel.

Kou Rui jumped up from his bed, saying angrily: “You are also commoner students, why must be bully us?!”

The leader gave a cold humph, saying in disdain: “So what if I bully you little brat? Remember this lesson, in this world, only strength matters.”

Zhou Weiqing lifted his hand, holding back Kou Rui and looked to Ma Qun beside him: “Big fool, didn’t you call me boss? Very well, go and throw these baldies out, and I will accept you as my subordinate.”

Ma Qun’s mouth twitched a little as he said aggrievedly: “Boss, I can’t do that! You know my powers, I’m good at taking blows, not dishing them out.”

Zhou Weiqing gave him a deep look, and Ma Qun felt a cold streak run down his spine, though he kept his aggrieved look on his face.

Zhou Weiqing gave a faint smile, patting him on his muscled chest, saying: “You just lost your chance to be my subordinate.”

Ma Qun started, his brow furrowing, thinking to himself. This fellow, he really thought I want to be his subordinate?! As he was thinking that, Zhou Weiqing had already turned around to face the five bald seniors.

“My dear seniors, do you want to get lost yourselves, or do you want me to throw you out?” Zhou Weiqing said calmly.

The five bald seniors stared at him dumbfounded. Zhou Weiqing’s innocent looking smile was just too confusing; saying such savage words with that expression, they just weren’t able to wrap their heads around it. “What did you say?!”

“I said, you guys can get lost now.” Zhou Weiqing did not say anything else, taking an abrupt step forward, giving a straight right fist towards the leader with the three Physical Jewels.

The bald leader instinctively raised both his arms to block Zhou Weiqing’s fist, but in the next instant, a loud *Bang* sounded out. Even under the boost of his Physical Jewels, the leader was knocked right back into the senior standing behind him, and both of them flew out of the door from the sheer power of the fist alone. Right at the same time, Zhou Weiqing’s left leg flickered out like lightning, three kicks, three men – and the other three seniors were all sent flying out as well. He did not even use any combat tricks in his attack, just using pure strength in doing so. These Physical Jewel Master’s Heavenly Energy cultivation level was even lower than his own, not to mention their physique and the boosts from their Physical Jewels. None of them were even able to take a single blow from him.

As the five seniors were all knocked out of the room into the hallway outside, all of Zhou Weiqing’s roommates jaw dropped in surprise. The only thing that was in their mind was this – No wonder Ma Qun, that big fellow, would call him boss. What monstrous strength?!

Their name Ming ( 冥 ) is generally used with 冥 界 (the underworld), and her name Ming Hua ( 花 ), where Hua is flower. Hence her nickname.

Chapter 42 The Power of Spatial Rend 

Zhou Weiqing did not pause after knocking back the five bald seniors, taking a few steps forward. The rest of the roommates, including Ma Qun, followed him out. No matter what they felt earlier, be it righteous anger or fear, they wanted to know what happened next.

The five bald seniors had taken a huge knock, especially the leader who had been struck by Zhou Weiqing’s fist. Currently, their faces were filled with shock and disbelief. After all, as Physical Jewel Masters, most of them had some form of strength boost mixed about this, and they were confident in their physical ability. Alas, when Zhou Weiqing launched his simple attack, they were not even able to put up a smidgen of resistance.

Zhou Weiqing shouted loudly: “Commoner freshmen, come on out everyone, come and see, these are our seniors, they came here to collect protection fees from us. If any of you paid them earlier, you can come here and collect back your money.”

The 3 Jeweled bald senior jumped up, still numb in the area where Zhou Weiqing had hit him just now. With a mix of anger and fear, he stared at Zhou Weiqing and cried out: “You little brat, are you asking for death? We won’t let you go so easily.”

Zhou Weiqing smiled faintly, saying: “I never planned to let you go easily either! You are all Physical Jewel Masters, go ahead, use your Consolidated Equipment. I want to see the power of your Consolidated Equipment! Ehh, why aren’t you using it? Could it be, you don’t have any Consolidated Equipment? Or are you just scared of me?”

In just a short instant, almost the entire commoner dormitory level, from freshmen to seniors, had heard the commotion and many had popped out to have a look. Looking at the five bald seniors, many of the students had discontented looks on their faces; not just the freshmen, but even some of the seniors as well.

Seeing that there was a crowd, Zhou Weiqing cried out loudly: “I’m sure most of you know who these five people are. Earlier, they told me that the commoner dormitory has a rule, a rule that all rooms have to pay them 100 gold per month. I don’t know whether the rest of you are willing to pay or not, but I for sure am not going to pay that. Baldies, remember who I, Your Father, am. My name is Zhou Weiqing, and from today, your so-called rule is abolished. Get lost!” Hearing Zhou Weiqing’s words, many of the freshmen erupted in a loud cheer, but the strange thing was that all the seniors remained silent, most of them looking at Zhou Weiqing with a pitying look.

The three Jeweled bald senior glared coldly at Zhou Weiqing. “Little brat, you are indeed strong. Every year, there are always a few people like you among the freshmen. However, you will regret it.”

Zhou Weiqing laughed heartily: “I may not know whether or not I will regret this, but what I do know for sure is that if you do not get lost now, you will definitely regret it.”

“Little brat, do not be so arrogant.” At that same moment, a deep, serious voice spoke from the direction of the seniors’ rooms. As soon as they heard the voice, joy appeared on the bald seniors’ faces. The onlooking seniors instantly parted to reveal a path, most of their faces showing a look of respect or fear.

A male senior wearing the commoner uniform walked slowly through the path. He was also bald, and stood about 1.8 metres tall with broad muscular shoulders. Although he was walking slowly, he seemed to give a very oppressive aura. The most eye- catching thing about his appearance was a long knife scar on the right side of his face.

Zhou Weiqing could obviously feel a sense of danger emitting from this man, but the smile on his face did not change at all. “Brother Lang”  The five bald seniors called out respectfully, quickly moving behind him as if he was their savior.

The scar-faced man looked at Zhou Weiqing, his gaze as piercing as a sharp blade, and when he spoke, it was as if his voice a metallic, deadly tone. “My name is Zang Lang. Were you the one who said you were abolishing my rule of the protection fee?”

Zhou Weiqing smiled faintly: “I do not care what Lang you are, as long as you don’t provoke me.”

Zang  Lang’s  eyes  narrowed  and  he  nodded,  saying:  “Very good. You have to pay a toll for destroying public property, come with me.” As he said that, he walked past Zhou Weiqing and headed out.

The other seniors looked at Zhou Weiqing like he was a dead person, while the other freshmen looked at him with hope in their faces. Zhou Weiqing laughed and patted himself on the chest, saying: “Don’t worry, don’t worry, everyone go back to your own business. Relax, even if I have to beat him up into a dead Lang, I won’t let him take the so-called protection fee.”

As he said that, Zhou Weiqing headed out as well. Amongst his roommates, the first one to follow him out was Kou Rui. Ma Qun hesitated for a while before following as well, while the others exchanged looks and snuck back into the room.

Zhou Weiqing had his hands in his pockets, casually walking out of the dormitory behind Zang Lang and his five bald subordinates. They walked past the main school building right into the main square, where there was much open space, before they all finally stopped.

As Zang Lang stopped, he turned to look at Zhou Weiqing, who had a nonchalant look on his face, and said coldly: “If you can defeat me, you can set the rules of the commoner dormitory. If you lose, you have to listen to me.”

Zhou Weiqing laughed out loud. “Are you having a fever? I’m not here to bet with you, if you defeat me you think you can control me?”

Zang Lang said passively: “What do you want then?” Zhou Weiqing’s smile suddenly disappeared, as a red light flashed in his eyes. “I just want to beat you up until even your mother doesn’t recognize you.” As he said that, his left leg struck the ground and his body charged forward towards Zang Lang like a bolt of lightning, his right foot striking forth.

Zang Lang’s eyes narrowed, and he raised his foot as well to meet Zhou Weiqing’s right foot. A huge explosion ensued, and as Zhou Weiqing landed gently on the ground, Zang Lang’s entire body was blown back several metres, but as he was flying in mid air, his body twisted in a strange movement, somehow defusing the inertia and he managed to somersault and land on the ground gently, although in doing so he staggered back 3 steps before regaining his balance.

There were at least 50-60 of the commoner students who had followed them to watch the fight, and loud gasps of surprise came from the onlooking crowd upon the scene. Zang Lang’s face was no longer as calm and passive as before, and there was shock in his eyes as he looked at Zhou Weiqing.

Ma Qun, who was standing at the side, couldn’t help but feel a spasm in his stomach, as if remembering the pain that Zhou Weiqing’s kick had caused him the other day. Zhou Weiqing did not launch a follow up attack, looking at Zang Lang disdainfully as he gave a cold humph. “An upper Shi Level Heavenly Jewel Master with the Coordination Physical Jewel. You better use your Elemental Jewels as well, or else you will not have a chance.”

Indeed, there were three pure red Jade physical Jewels circulating Zang Lang’s right wrist, glowing brilliantly. His Heavenly Energy cultivation level seemed to be slightly higher than Zhou Weiqing’s, but it had been a terrible mistake to exchange a direct blow with the Strength based Zhou Weiqing, furthermore with his right leg! At that moment, Zang Lang’s leg was totally numb from the blow, and that was already with his Coordination boost managing to deflect much of the power from the blow. After all, Zhou Weiqing’s strength had almost matched the Mid Level Zun Stage Ming Yu who was also of the Strength Attribute – how could Zang Lang who was only of three sets of Heavenly Jewels, and with the Coordination Attribute match him in pure strength.

Just as Zhou Weiqing finished speaking, Zang Lang took a deep breath and lifted his left hand, and a brilliant red light flashed out followed by a burst of hot air, and as he pointed toward Zhou Weiqing, five large fireballs flew towards him. This was a skill that Zhou Weiqing was familiar with. Previously, it was this very skill which Difuya had almost finished him off with. Of course, Zang Lang was not only a Heavenly Jewel Master, but also currently with three sets, and the strength of this skill was definitely much greater than what she had used. At the same time, Zang Lang launched himself towards Zhou Weiqing, one of his Physical Jewels morphing into a long dagger in his right hand, as his figure seemed to flicker and fade in the onlookers’ vision as he flew forward right behind the fireballs.

In a fight between Jewel Masters, strength was not the only deciding factor. Having felt Zhou Weiqing’s strength to be way above his, Zang Lang finally burst forth with his full power.

The fireball skill was only of a two Star Rating, and was one of the most common skills for a first Jewel amongst Fire Attribute Elemental and Heavenly Jewel Masters. However, one could ever underestimate any skill, especially when used by a Heavenly Jewel Master. Such a fireball, when used by Zang Lang, was like heaven and earth when compared to the one that Difuya had used on Zhou Weiqing in the Stars Forest, with a much greater power indeed.

To everyone’s shock, Zhou Weiqing stood there without moving an inch, his mouth set in scornful look. As the five fireballs were about to strike him, his left hand swept forward.

A strange, profound arc appeared from Zhou Weiqing’s left hand, and a loud, ear-piercing tearing sound sounded out as a 3 chi long black scar appeared in the air before Zhou Weiqing, following his hand’s movement. It was as if in that very instance, the air had been torn apart, warping the atmosphere around the area in a several yard radius.

A strong suction force seemed to be suddenly released by the strange black tear in the air, and the five fireballs which had been rushing towards Zhou Weiqing suddenly turned around, vanishing deep into the black crack.

That… what was that skill?! To the commoner students all around, none of them had even heard of such a skill, let alone seen it before. Everyone stared at it in shock, their jaws dropping to the ground.

The one with the strongest feeling was Zang Lang himself; at that moment, he had been charging forward, and was right behind the five fireballs. However, when the air had twisted, the black line that had formed and the sudden suction force had caused him to stop, having to circulate all his Heavenly Energy just to stop himself from being sucked into it. Indeed, what Zhou Weiqing had used was the Spatial Skill which he had Stored from the Silver Emperor – the Spatial Rend! The effect of the Spatial Rend was highly dependant on the cultivation level of the user. If Zhou Weiqing only had a single set of Jewels, it would have been a 1 chi long tear in the
air, lasting for only a second; now that he had three sets of Jewels, it was a 3 chi long tear lasting 3 seconds! This was not just simply being three times stronger, as its effect and usage was multiplied several-fold. The Spatial Rend skill could be at the very least be considered a 10 Star Rating. It could be said that, for anybody with an equal, or similar, cultivation level to Zhou Weiqing, any 10 Star Rating Skill and below would never be able to break through this Skill, which was both Attack and Defence in one. For such a skill, it was likely that even most Heavenly Jewel Masters with 8-9 sets of Jewels would not even have a skill this strong. Currently, Zang Lang had three sets of Heavenly Jewels, same as Zhou Weiqing, and no matter what skill he used, he would never be able to break through that Spatial Rend.

Facing the Spatial Rend, Zang Lang’s body was almost dragged to the side. His original plan of using his close combat abilities combined with the distracting fireball attack had been totally ruined by the single Spatial Rend skill.

Zhou Weiqing gave a cold laugh, and just at the split second before the Spatial Rend disappeared, his right leg lashed out once more.

Zang Lang was at such a close distance, and he was totally off balance from keeping himself falling prey to the suction force of the Spatial Rend. As such, he was totally unable to dodge the kick once more, and had no choice but to use the dagger in his left hand to strike forth towards Zhou Weiqing’s right leg.

A light *Ting* sounded out as Zang Lang’s Consolidated Dagger was deflected, and his entire body was once again blown back by Zhou Weiqing’s kick. Despite having circulated all his Heavenly Energy and making use of all of his Coordination to diffuse much of the power of the blow, the sheer impact caused blood to well up in his throat, and he threw up a mouthful of blood in midair. This was even under the condition that Zhou Weiqing did not use the full strength of his Demonic Right Leg. After all, he did not want to accidently kill someone in school. As his right leg landed back down onto the ground, he exerted pressure on it as a pivot, and launched himself once again in a blur towards Zang Lang.

At this moment, Zang Lang displayed his abundant combat experience, as a ferocious ring of fire erupted around his body in a blazing light. This was another of his Stored Skills, called Fire Protective Armor. Not only did it have a certain degree of protective capabilities, it was also able to burn any enemies who were in close proximity to him. At the same time, his body twisted in mid air, and the dagger in his right hand slashed savagely towards Zhou Weiqing’s shoulder. Zhou Weiqing did not dare let Zang Lang’s 3-Jeweled Fire Protective Armor burn him, as even if he did not take much damage, his clothes would be totally ruined. Glancing at Zang Lang who was swiftly striking at him, Zhou Weiqing suddenly vanished. Immediately after, Zang Lang felt a strong force
smashing into his back, with a strange cold sensation, and he flew in the opposite direction. In midair, he once again threw up a mouthful of blood, before slowly losing consciousness as he crashed into the ground.

Zhou Weiqing landed evenly on the ground, a large bow in his hands – the Overlord Bow. However, this time, he had used it directly like a whip, lashing it out and striking Zang Lang after the quick Blink behind him.

“That was easy.” Zhou Weiqing said with a disdainful look at Zang Lang. At this point, all the onlookers were staring at him, the silence deafening. From the start of the fight to this point, it had barely been a few moments, and all through the fight, Zhou Weiqing had been suppressing Zang Lang easily, and it seemed like he had not even had a chance.

All the seniors onlooking were staring at Zhou Weiqing as if he was a monster. They had never expected that the person who had dominated them for three years, Zang Lang, had actually lost just like that, and lost so badly at that! Right at that moment, the five bald seniors from before rushed up quickly, standing in a row between Zhou Weiqing and Zang Lang. They were all glaring at Zhou Weiqing, who kept his Overlord Bow and said: “Do you guys want another beating again? Or is there someone stronger? Bring it on.”

The three-Jeweled senior said indignantly: “Even if we have to die, we will not let you hurt Brother Lang.” As he said that, he turned towards the seniors surrounding them, shouting out:  “Brothers,  all  these  years,  although  we  have  collected protection fees from all of you, but we have also indeed done as promised and protected all of you. At least, we have managed to keep the nobles from bullying and injuring all of us. If not for Brother Lang, how many of us would have been bullied and even enslaved by those damn nobles! All the protection money goes to Brother Lang’s Skill Storing and Consolidated Equipment, enabling him to grow stronger and keep protecting us. Now that he is in trouble, are you all just going to stand there and stare? If not for him, us commoner students would have been bullied to death by the noble students.”

Hearing the senior’s words, Zhou Weiqing started. Soon, he saw a few of the senior students walking from the crowd slowly, heading to stand together with the five bald seniors, blocking him from the unconscious Zang Lang. The other freshmen did not move at all; there were barely seven or eight of them who had come to watch, and most of them did not know what was going on at all.

Zhou  Weiqing’s  brow  furrowed.  “Protecting  the  common students is your reason for this protection fee? If your Brother Lang had the ability, why doesn’t he go out and earn money on his own? As a Heavenly Jewel Master, how could he not be earning much?”

The 3-Jeweled bald senior said angrily: “You are on a full stomach, how can you know the feeling of hunger. Although us Jewel Masters are a lot stronger than normal humans, but the cost of Skill Storing and Consolidated Equipment is just too expensive. The only way to easily grow stronger is to either submit to the Skill Storing Palace or become a slave of the nobles. It isn’t that easy to earn enough with just your own abilities. Ask the rest, those who actually manage to Skill Store or Consolidate Equipment, how many of them have sold themselves to the Skill Storing Palace or a noble family? As for the rest of us, we do not want to give up our freedom and dignity, and have fought to the end up to now. All of us have worked hard to earn money, and it has only been sufficient to boost Brother Lang up. Only then can we continue to protect our own dignity and freedom.” Listening to his words, Zhou Weiqing couldn’t help but remember the first time Shangguan Bing’er brought him to Skill Store and Consolidate Equipment, and the cold look in his eyes vanished. Looking at the twenty or so seniors along with the bald seniors, he said: “So, you are saying that the usual protection fee are collected from those who are enslaved by nobles or join the Skill Storing Palace?”

The 3-Jeweled bald senior said: “That’s right.”

Zhou   Weiqing   continued   coldly:   “Then   why   are   you collecting from us freshmen?”

The reply came: “Brother Lang said, we need to let you young freshmen learn about the real world, to see how it is like where the strong rule over the weak. After the opening ceremony, we would naturally tell you all about the situation in our commoner dormitory, letting you decide on your own which path you choose – freedom and dignity or the quick route to power.”

At this moment, Ma Qun stealthily walked next to Zhou Weiqing, saying in a low voice: “Boss, did we make a mistake?” Zhou Weiqing turned and glared at him. “Mistake your head. Get lost, I’m not your boss.”  He then turned back to the 3- Jeweled Senior, saying coldly: “I do not care what your reason is, but next time, just stay out of my way, or I will take care of you all again.” After he said that, he turned back and walked
off, heading back to his room rather gloomily.

Unknown to everyone, at a distance from the fight, a pair of eyes had been watching the entire process. At this moment, the Flower of Hades’ Underworld had her eyes filled with shock, muttering to herself: “3 Jeweled Heavenly Jewel Master, with a strength Physical Jewel and one of the Consolidated Equipment being a bow, so he should be an archer then. His Elemental Jewel is actually the Spatial Attribute! One of his Skills Stored is even the Blink Skill, and the other one I actually don’t recognize… such a strange skill that could deal with the Fireball so easily. Interesting… no wonder Brother said this fellow is dangerous.”

another somewhat literal translation, basically meaning someone being well-to-do, and not knowing how it is like for those who aren’t

Chapter 43 Flower of Hades’ Underworld

“Little Fatty, did you cause trouble?”  When Zhou Weiqing returned to the dormitory building, he ran into Shangguan Bing’er who had been rushing out.

As soon as he saw her, Zhou Weiqing’s gloomy feeling was dissipated, and a smile returned to his face as he said: “It was just a bunch of people who were trying to collect a protection fee, and I beat them up.”

Shangguan Bing’er furrowed her brow in disapproval as she said: “Little Fatty, we are here to study, not to cause trouble.”

Zhou Weiqing laughed heartily, holding her around her waist as he said: “When others cause trouble, we can’t be afraid of it as well right? Do not worry, I know how to control myself. However, it seems that this academy is a lot more messy than I expected. I’m really worried that it will affect our studies or cultivation. Should we just rent a house outside?”

Shangguan Bing’er slapped his hand away. “Don’t dream about it, I’m going back to my dorm room, I want to get to know my roommates more. Oh, right, how about Da Huang and Er Huang? What can we do with them? After all, if we are staying in the dormitory, they will not have a place to stay. We can’t leave them in the spatial ring forever, they will be bored to death.”

Zhou Weiqing grinned and said: “Heh heh, that’s why I said, we should rent a house outside!”

Shangguan Bing’er hesitated a little, saying: “But, didn’t the academy say that we shouldn’t leave school grounds?”

Zhou Weiqing said: “Leave it to me, there will always be a way. Let me ask around, I’m sure that these so-called rules are there just for them to make money, otherwise they wouldn’t have such a separation between noble and commoner students. Money makes the world go around indeed. To be honest, the atmosphere in the school is really not conducive for cultivation, it is just too messy in the dormitory. Let me check around and we can leave to find a place outside once I find out how… at most… we can always sleep in separate rooms.” As he said the bit about separate rooms, his tone and face showed an obvious disappointment.

Shangguan Bing’er flushed deeply and was about to retort, but thinking about the cute Da Huang and Er Huang, for their sakes, she could only shake her head helplessly. Just as Zhou Weiqing had expected, when he went to the freshmen reporting area to ask about living outside the academy area, he was given a direct answer. It was not unheard off for students to live outside, and there was no direct rule against it. However, the dormitory fee still had to be paid, and the student also had to apply and pay for an exit permit from the school – it would last for a year and would cost ten thousand gold coins. In his heart, Zhou Weiqing cursed the
school for such daylight robbery prices, but he gritted his teeth and bought two exit permits.

Of course, he would not mention the price to Shangguan Bing’er, lest her heart ached about the price. He had no choice but to buy the exit permits, not only was it for Da Huang and Er Huang, it was also for his own future possible ‘happiness’. Furthermore, in the future, when he created Consolidating Equipment Scrolls for sale, he definitely needed to go out to sell them. Of course, in the future, he would not be creating the basic Consolidating Equipment Scrolls, after all, for Consolidating Equipment Scrolls, the higher the quality, the greater the profit.

The reason why basic Consolidating Equipment Scrolls were a lot cheaper, with only several tens of thousand gold coins being able to buy a set of 1000 sheets, was that the success rate of Consolidating is very low. Even with a set of 1000 sheets, there was no guarantee that they would be able to succeed in Consolidating Equipment. More importantly, to actually go through trying Consolidating all of those 1000 Scrolls, it would take almost 3 years! Unless they had no choice, who wouldn’t prefer to use a higher level Consolidating Equipment Scroll which was not only more powerful, but with a higher success rate?!

However, Mid Level Consolidating Equipment Scrolls were different, and much better indeed. First of all, there was only
100 pieces to each Mid Level Consolidated Equipment, with each having a three in a thousand chance of success. With a hundred of them, that meant about a thirty percent chance of success in total, and more importantly, it would take a much shorter time to complete Consolidating all hundred of them, with a much higher success rate than the one in ten thousand rate of the Basic Consolidating Equipment Scrolls. As such, the price and profit margin on Mid Level Consolidating was
already much larger, ad with Zhou Weiqing’s success rate, it
was even more so.

In the recent two years, Consolidating Equipment Scrolls had been getting rarer, thus causing the price to shoot up higher than what it used to be. Taking Zhou Weiqing’s original Overlord Bow with a single socket as an example, such a Grandmaster Consolidating Equipment Scroll like that would probably fetch at least five hundred thousand gold coins in an auction house, far beyond the two to three hundred thousand that Huyan Aobo had quoted him several years ago. At the same time, this had caused the lives of Physical Jewel Masters to be a lot more miserable than Elemental Jewel Masters, with many four or five Jeweled Physical Jewel Masters having only two to three Consolidated Equipment, and that was already considered pretty decent.

In the world of Jewel Masters, Heavenly Jewel Masters were indeed at the tip of the pyramid. As for whether Physical Jewel Masters or Elemental Jewel Masters were better than the other, it was a hotly debated topic, with each having their own various pros and cons. All along, Elemental Jewel Masters had a slight edge, one of the reasons being their numbers being rarer, and also with a greater destructive capabilities. Another reason was that it was much more difficult to Consolidate Equipment than to Store Skills.

After all, with the presence of the various Skill Storing Palaces, it was the best training area for Elemental Jewel Masters. As long as they had sufficient cultivation level and money, it was not difficult to train up an outstanding Elemental Jewel Master. However, it was much harder for Physical Jewel Masters due to the rarity of Consolidating Equipment Scrolls, and even more so to find one which was suitable for them. Without all their Physical Jewels with Consolidated Equipments, how could Physical Jewel Masters possibly compare to Elemental Jewel Masters? In truth, if a Physical Jewel Master had all their Physical Jewels Consolidated Equipment, especially if they were good or suitable ones, or even better, an entire set, their power was no weaker than Elemental Jewel Masters!

With exit permit in hand, Zhou Weiqing left the academy to hunt for a nearby house to rent. Indeed, his luck was pretty good, and before long he had found a suitable house nearby. It was about 300 square metres, with 8 rooms all well furnished and relatively new. The rent was also pretty cheap, around 50 gold coins a month, which was considered a steal in this area of the city. In fact, it was even cheaper than the dormitory room fees, which told the tale of how expensive these high ranking academies were.

The reason why commoner students were treated so badly was because they lacked the financial backing. If not for the fact that the Fei Li Empire had passed the law to force them to accept commoner students in order to keep talents within, perhaps the top academies would not even accept commoner students.

Without hesitation, Zhou Weiqing paid a deposit to the landlord before running back to the academy. Since he had found a place, he couldn’t wait to bring Bing’er to the place to have a look, and they could also move over with Da Huang and Er Huang.

However, he did not know that his battle with Zang Lang had already spread like wildfire amongst the entire population of commoner students, causing quite a stir. Including the freshmen, there were more than 160 commoner students currently studying in the academy. Although they numbered much less than noble students, they were all Jewel Masters! As a contrasting example, the entire Heavenly Bow Empire did not even have that many Jewel Masters! Of course, most of the commoner students were of rather low cultivation level, most only having a single Jewel. Being able to defeat Zang Lang, who had been their ‘boss’ and protective figure for several years, it had caused Zhou Weiqing’s name to be known throughout their circle. Before school had even started, he was already famous.

“Stop! You cannot enter the girl’s dormitory!” Zhou Weiqing headed into the dormitory and was about to look for Bing’er when he was stopped by an aunty of around 50 years or so. Previously, when Bing’er and he had entered the dormitory, she had not been around.

“Err…  I’m here to look for someone.”  Zhou Weiqing gave a honest, pleasing smile. The  aunty  glared  at  him,  saying:  “Looking  for  someone? Every boy who comes over says that. No excuses are accepted. You can call out, but you definitely can’t enter.”

Zhou Weiqing once again felt that his idea of renting an apartment outside was just too genius. Without any choice, he yelled out loud: “Bing’er! Your husband is here to look for you!!”

He shouted out so loudly that not just the entire girl’s dormitory heard it, even the entire boy’s dormitory heard it. As some of them looked out to see it was him, the entire boy’s dormitory fell into silence.

Before long, Bing’er rushed out with a red face, quickly running to him and glaring at him. Rolling her eyes, she said: “Stupid Little Fatty, why did you shout out like that?”

Zhou Weiqing grinned and said: “I didn’t yell anything wrongly. Aunty, this is my wife, please take care of her!”

The aunty did not give him face, and just gave a cold humph, and Bing’er quickly grabbed his arm and dragged him away at a run. She was just too afraid that this little rascal would say something else more to throw both their faces. As they reached the entrance, Zhou Weiqing heard the aunty mutter to herself: “A fresh beautiful flower stuck on bullshit, what a waste of such a good girl.”

Zhou Weiqing stumbled and almost fell down, while Bing’er couldn’t help but giggle upon hearing the aunty’s words. “Little Fatty, why did you call me out?”

Zhou Weiqing grinned and said: “I found our love nest! This is the exit permit, Bing’er, with it we can leave the academy at any time without restrictions.” As he said that, he passed her one of the exit permits he had bought earlier.

“You already found some place to rent and stay?” Shangguan Bing’er asked in surprise.

Zhou Weiqing said with a smug face: “Of course, when your husband puts his mind to it, how can there be something he can’t accomplish? Come, let me bring you to see our new home. I’ve already paid the deposit, but I must of course let my beautiful wife look and see first before confirming it.”

Seeing Zhou Weiqing’s hot gaze on her, Shangguan Bing’er rapped   him   on   the   head   and   said   softly:   “We   stated beforehand, we are sleeping in separate rooms ok! If not, you can stay there alone with Da Huang and Er Huang.”

Zhou Weiqing nodded without hesitation. “No problem, I am a respectable gentleman, my nickname is called Honest, Dependable Little Gentleman, the Spotlessly Clean Handsome Youth. I would never do something like peek at a beauty bathing, or sneak into your room at night *ahem*, anything like that.”

Shangguan Bing’er gave a cold humph and said: “You better not! If you get caught by me, I will immediately move back into my dorm room. Wait for me, I’ll go take my things, I bought some daily sundries earlier.”

Zhou Weiqing slapped himself on the forehead and said: “Yes right, how could I forget! I also need to bring the sweet cotton quilt that my beloved wife Bing’er bought for me!”

Bing’er flushed red again, but felt sweet in her heart. “You are always such a sweet talker!”

As the pair of them returned back to the dormitory, the aunty was still sitting at the entrance to the girl’s dormitory. Seeing that they had returned, she immediately looked at Zhou Weiqing vigilantly. “Little brat, why? Are you trying to take revenge on me? Let me tell you, if you dare touch I, Your Mother, I will immediately yell out Molest!”

Zhou Weiqing didn’t know whether to laugh or cry as he stared at this unbelievable aunty. “Aunty, you are my like my real mother okay? How could I dare touch you? I’ll definitely keep my distance from you.” As he said that, he quickly ran back to his room.”

As soon as he pushed open his room door, he immediately sensed a strange atmosphere in his room. As he entered, all the other seven roommate’s gazes swiveled to and landed upon him.

He made a pun here. 幸福 (xingfu) means happiness, but he used 性福 (also xingfu), where 性 means sex.

Literal translation of ⼀朵鲜花插在⽜粪上 – an idiom saying wasting of a beauty/talented lady on a ugly/untalented man. The large fellow Ma Qun was staring at Zhou Weiqing with a strange look on his face, though he was no longer giving his usual honest naive act. As for Kou Rui, he was looking at Zhou Weiqing with a fiery, passionate, adoring gaze. With a
*swoosh*, he had jumped off from his bunk.

“Boss! I want to be your subordinate, let me follow you from now on!” Kou Rui said directly.

Zhou Weiqing started. “Why? Wasn’t it a mistake earlier? That Zang Lang fellow is actually protecting the other commoner students? Why do you want to follow me? Is that fellow okay?”

Kou Rui said: “That day, he awoke not long after you left, he did not sustain any heavy injuries. When he left, he did not say anything. Perhaps what the rest of the seniors said is true, and that he has always been protecting the commoner students. However, to me, all I saw was that when we were being bullied, you were the only one in our dormitory who stood up to defend us. You are a Spatial Attribute Heavenly Jewel Master, I can still recognize the Blink skill… Furthermore with three sets of Jewels and Consolidated Equipment to boot. We commoner students are already being suppressed, so I am more than willing to follow you during our study period. I believe that if we meet something similar again, you can do a lot better than Zang Lang.

Zhou Weiqing laughed heartily and said: “Good. I’ll take care of you in future, I like intelligent fellows like you.” As he said that, he grabbed the quilt from his bed. “However, I will not be staying in the dormitory in future, I’ll see you all in class tomorrow.”

Kou Rui started. “Boss, you are moving out to stay?”

Zhou Weiqing nodded his head, saying: “I already rented a house, Kou Rui. Oh yes, are you a Physical Jewel Master or a Elemental Jewel Master?”

Kou Rui said rather gloomily: “I’m a Physical Jewel Master, 2-Jeweled, without any Consolidated Equipment. My attributes are half agility and half coordination, one of the most useless combinations of Physical Jewel Masters, without any form of attacking capabilities. If not for that, I would have rushed to fight with them as well. Zhou Weiqing shook his head, saying: “There are no such thing as useless powers or abilities, it is just a matter of finding your path of training. We can speak more about that in the future, I have to go now to confirm my new lodgings. I’ll talk to you when we meet back up in class.” As he said that, he headed out towards the exit. From start to end, none of the other roommates spoke a single word to him. Besides Ma Qun, the other five were looking at him with obvious fear and hesitation.

When Zhou Weiqing reached the entrance of the dormitory building, Shangguan Bing’er was already waiting for him. With exit permits in hand, they managed to leave the school. After walking for several minutes, crossing a small path, they finally reached the room that Zhou Weiqing had found.

As they neared the entrance, they heard the sound of an argument.

“No, I’m sorry young lady, that is not possible. I have already accepted another person’s deposit. Even if you pay more, I cannot break my word, I’m sorry.”

Another voice sounded out: “Uncle landlord, look at me, a lone girl, could you bear to kick me out all alone into the streets? At most…  I’ll pay double of your asking price.”  The voice was extremely soft and seductive, yet with a strand of coldness within, extremely unique and intriguing.

“Uhhmm….”

“No, double the price will not do! Don’t you understand the meaning of first come first serve?” Zhou Weiqing pushed open the door and said as he entered the house.

The landlord was a middle aged man of almost fifty years of age, with an awkward look on his face showing the dilemma he was facing. In front of him stood a young lady dressed in white.

Looking at the young lady, Zhou Weiqing started, thinking to himself: Isn’t that Ming Yu’s little sister? Why isn’t she staying at home instead of trying to rent this room here?

Indeed, the person who was bargaining with the landlord was Ming Hua.

When Ming Hua spotted Zhou Weiqing, she was obviously startled as well. Looking at Shangguan Bing’er beside him, her mouth curled in an amused smirk. Zhou Weiqing took a peek at Ming Hua’s voluptuous, sexy body, ripe as a peach, and couldn’t help swallow a gulp of saliva. Damn, she is hot!

Ming Hua looked to be about 20 years old or so. Compared to Shangguan Bing’er, her beauty was the sort that was displayed out and more mature looking, a contrast with Shangguan Bing’er’s sweet, quiet and graceful beauty.

“You are the ones who want to rent this place?” Ming Hua’s eyes shone with a seductive gleam as she smiled faintly and said in a soft tone. “How about letting me have the place instead please?”

Zhou Weiqing was almost dazed by her look, and almost agreed to it when he felt a sharp pain on his waist as Shangguan Bing’er pinched him. “No, we were the ones who rented this first. Little Fatty, pay the rent.” It was indeed a rare sight to see Shangguan Bing’er so resolute and firm, clearly Ming Hua’s beauty gave her a sense of danger.

Ming Hua gave a faint smile, looking at Zhou Weiqing who was standing at the side swallowing saliva in several large gulps, and she said once again in a softer, more gentle tone. “Won’t you let me have it please?” As she said that, she thought to herself. Brother said this little fellow is dangerous, but it seems that despite his abilities, looking at his character, he doesn’t seem to be much.

“No way. If my wife says no then of course the answer is no.” Just as Ming Hua was full of disdain towards Zhou Weiqing in her heart, the lustful looking rascal suddenly seemed to morph instantly into a gentleman, speaking suavely. The speed of him changing face was indeed impressive.

Ming Hua started faintly, though the expression on her face did not change. She was not called the Flower of Hades’ Underworld for nothing. “What if I do not want to leave?”

“Errr…” Zhou Weiqing turned his head to look at Shangguan Bing’er with a troubled look on his face. Although he liked beauties, without question Shangguan Bing’er’s place in his heart was unshakable, which was why he was able to change faces so quickly. However, looking at Ming Hua’s expression of ‘not giving a damn’, he was at a loss on what to do.

Shangguan Bing’er couldn’t stand Ming Hua’s seductive look and  said  solemnly:  “This  lady,  please  control  yourself  and think of your own reputation. If you aren’t willing to leave yourself, then we will have to ask you to do so personally.” As she said that, she lifted her right hand, and in a flash of green light, her three Dragonstone Jade Physical Jewels appeared around her wrist.

Ming Hua’s eyes revealed a hint of surprise. Another 3- Jeweled Heavenly Jewel Master? How surprising! This year’s crop of commoner freshmen students are indeed impressive! Even the Fei Li Heavenly Jewel Master Academy might not even have 3-Jeweled Heavenly Jewel Master freshmen.

Upon seeing Shangguan Bing’er release her Physical Jewels, the landlord’s face turned pale. Such a pure white colour surely meant she was a Heavenly Jewel Master! He did not dare to offend any Heavenly Jewel Master. His last shred of hesitation disappeared, and just as he was about to open his mouth to ask Ming Hua to leave, she also lifted up her right hand. With another flash of light, four milky white waxy Jade Jewels appeared around her wrist – denoting the Flexibility Physical Jewel.

This time, it was Zhou Weiqing and Shangguan Bing’er’s turn to be shocked. Shangguan Bing’er couldn’t help but cry out in surprise: “Lower Level Zun Stage Heavenly Jewel Master?!”

Ming Hua’s beautiful face blushed with a tinge of embarrassment, making anyone who looked at her feel an urge to protect her. “I have to protect myself right?” “Masturbate…” Zhou Weiqing felt a rush of blood to his head and nearly bled out from the nose as he stared at Ming Hua with a strange expression on his face.

Ming Hua blushed fully red, this time it was for real. How could she not hear what Zhou Weiqing meant. “Hmph, you’re only sixteen years old, so young, yet what is in that head of yours! What a pity this beautiful young lady is with you. Fine, I won’t act with you anymore, I am definitely renting this house. If you have the capability, you can defeat me and I will let you have it instead, if not, it is mine!”

The landlord had by now retreated far away. Both sides were Heavenly Jewel Masters, and he certainly did not want any part in this argument, and letting both sides resolve the matter between themselves was the wiser choice on his part.

Hearing Ming Hua’s words, Zhou Weiqing asked puzzledly: “How did you know I am sixteen years old?”

Ming Hua gave a cold humph and said: “If I know means I know, stop talking rubbish. If you want to rent this house, you’ll have to defeat me first. Aren’t you so good at fighting eh?” Zhou Weiqing stared at her speechless for a while, before finally saying: “Beautiful lady, aren’t you being unreasonable?”

Ming Hua laughed enchantingly: “Are you asking a lady to be reasonable? You must be dreaming.”

As she said that, she sashayed towards Zhou Weiqing, her slim waist moving like a slim tree in the wind, as if about to break at any time.

Zhou Weiqing looked at her voluptuous figure with another gulp, before thrusting out his chest, acting in a bold manner. “Fine, fight it shall be! As if I will be scared of you!? Bing’er, move aside a little.”

Shangguan Bing’er made a slight sound of agreement, moving to the side. Although she had warned Zhou Weiqing earlier not to cause trouble, she knew that if someone was looking for trouble and being unreasonable, they had no choice but to act as well. After all, she was kindhearted, not stupid. Furthermore, from the look of Ming Hua’s Heavenly Jewels, it was likely that she was no match for Ming Hua. However, it might be different for Zhou Weiqing, as Shangguan Bing’er was very clear how much power her Little Fatty had now, especially after breaking through to his third set of Heavenly Jewels, she herself was no match for him already. It could be said that, with his six attributes and that Demonic Right Leg, Zhou Weiqing was unbeatable amongst anyone of equal level. Even with four sets of Jewels, Ming Hua might not be able to defeat him. Basically, for the Heavenly Bow Unit to let the two of them out half a year early, they indeed felt that there was nothing more they could teach the two of them, most especially Zhou Weiqing.

pun / wordplay ⾃卫 & ⾃慰 both read as (zi wei),the former meaning self protection and the latter is self pleasure As Ming Hua sashayed sexily towards Zhou Weiqing, reaching to about a five yards distance from him, Zhou Weiqing muttered: “35… no… 36… 35.5! That’s gotta be it! And between D and E cup! Impressive perkiness!”

The seductive smile on Ming Hua’s face froze as she quickly realised what Zhou Weiqing was saying. A cold light flashed in her eyes. In an instant, the beautiful and seductive young lady became an ice cold lady filled with killer intent, a wintry aura locking onto Zhou Weiqing’s body.

Without warning, her right hand flashed out towards Zhou Weiqing’s throat.

Zhou Weiqing’s reaction was not only quick, but straightforward and extremely effective. Both hands shot forth ahead in a claw shape, savagely moving forward.

It had to be known that Zhou Weiqing was after all at a height of 1.9 metres, while Ming Hua was barely 1.7 metres or so, such a height advantage as well as advantage in terms of reach was without question. As such, before Ming Hua’s hands could reach him, his hands would reach her first, and would reach the… 35.5…

As soon as both sides started the fight, Zhou Weiqing used the Ultimate Master Skill he had learnt from Mu En – the ‘Breast Grabbing Dragon Claw’.

“Shameless!” Ming Hua’s face was totally red. Although she looked coquettish and seemed to be seductive, she was actually a virgin. When her so-called seduction arts met with Zhou Weiqing’s scoundrel ways, she naturally lost out.

However, Ming Hua’s reactions were quick and effective as well. Her body twisted in mid charge, moving to the side like a slippery eel, almost brushing past Zhou Weiqing’s arms and slipping through in the middle. Like a bolt of lightning, she shot past him and her hands were almost at Zhou Weiqing’s throat.

Just as that moment, the expression on Ming Hua’s face suddenly changed, and her hands, which were just at Zhou Weiqing’s throat, suddenly struck downwards. With a soft muted *Bang*, Ming Hua’s body flew up into the air. What happened was that when Ming Hua had slipped past his arms, Zhou Weiqing’s right leg had already lifted up to strike without any sound, and at the same time his body leaned backwards. If Ming Hua had continued with her strike, her abdomen would have impacted right into Zhou Weiqing’s knee. With the abdomen being one of the weaker spots in the human body, being struck there with a knee, it was definitely not a worthwhile exchange for her. However, Ming Hua’s reactions and flexibility was unbelievably quick, and in such a short span of time, she had managed to once again change her style of attack. As she leapt up into the air, her knee also struck forward towards Zhou Weiqing’s head.

This was one of the strongest points about a Flexibility Attribute Heavenly Jewel Master, any part of their bodies could be a weapon. Without a doubt, the pure strength type Zhou Weiqing could not compare in terms of body agility and flexibility with Ming Hua. However, the toughness of his body was also not something that any normal strength type Heavenly Jewel Master could compare to. Caught off guard and seeing that he was not likely to be able to dodge Ming Hua’s knee, Zhou Weiqing grinned and did not even attempt to do so, instead whipping his head to the front like a hammer, smashing his forehead against Ming Hua’s knee.

Another muted *Bang* sounded out as they struck each other, and Ming Hua’s body somersaulted in the air, her right leg landing on Zhou Weiqing’s back and she used it to shove herself forward, instantly widening the gap between them by over a dozen yards.

Being struck on the back, Zhou Weiqing also stumbled a few steps before recovering. Grinning widely, he moved his head about, stretching his neck muscles. “Beautiful lady, are you giving this brother a massage?”

Earlier, Ming Hua’s leg had struck his Life Gate Acupuncture Point, it could be said to be an unbelievably accurate sniping strike. She was after all a Lower Level Zun Stage Heavenly Jewel Master, with four sets of Jewels. Even though her Physical Jewel was the Flexibility boost, her strength was still far beyond ordinary. According to her expectations, that kick of hers should numb Zhou Weiqing’s entire body, or perhaps even paralyse him momentarily.

However, when her kick landed, she instantly felt something was wrong, as if she was kicking a metal board, with her Heavenly Energy released in that kick seemed to be dissipated instead. Furthermore, her other knee was actually hurting so much from the impact with Zhou Weiqing’s forehead, the burning pain actually affecting her later performance. This time, although it seemed as if she held the upper hand in their quick clash, she had definitely suffered a little. At this moment, the knee which had struck Zhou Weiqing was still hurting badly, obstructing her ability to fight well. Yet, Zhou Weiqing seemed like he was totally fine, still able to tease her.

“Not bad, not bad indeed. No wonder my big brother admired you so much.” Ming Hua said coldly.

Zhou Weiqing immediately gave a look of fear. “Admire me? Oh no, that will not do! I do not like men, I only love my dear Bing’er.”

“You…” Ming Hua was so angered by him that her face almost turned green. Lifting her left hair, a green light shot out and shone upon her knee. Instantly, her right leg was restored to its uninjured state.

Upon seeing that, both Zhou Weiqing and Shangguan Bing’er were shocked, their pupils contracting in surprise as they shouted out almost at the same time. “Life Attribute Elemental Jewel.”

Originally Zhou Weiqing had thought that Ming Hua’s Elemental Attributes would be the same as her brother – Light. However, it was clear now that he had guessed wrongly. What Ming Hua had was actually one of the four greater attributes, in fact the rarest one amongst the four – Life Attribute. It had to be known that all Life Attribute Jewel Masters were like precious treasures which all various powers tried to get. In a battlefield, having a Life Attribute Jewel Master would greatly increase the survivability of all companions.

Just as Zhou Weiqing cried out in surprise, Ming Hua moved once more. This time, she was even faster than her previous attack. With a lift of her right hand, a sharp spike appeared in her palm. Not only that, the four Waxy Jade Jewels around her right wrist actually all lit up! In a swirl of light, her entire right arm glowed with a pale green light as it was entirely covered by a layer of armour which was glowing and covered with plant like tattoos, seeming to merge and fuse together with the 3 chi long spike in her hand. At the same time, a breastplate, shoulder pauldrons, waist guard, and right legplates. Including the right armguard, it actually covered five parts of her body!

This time Zhou Weiqing was even more shocked as he cried out: “Consolidated Equipment Set!” Indeed, without question, Ming Hua was using a Consolidated Equipment Set, and furthermore it was likely to be about at least a 6 piece set. It already covered much of her body with only four Jewels, and it was likely to be complete just after 2 more pieces, and was even better than Feng Yu’s set. On close examination, one would be able to notice that her four Jewel’s respectively Consolidated the spike weapon, breastplate and waistguard as one, right armguard and shoulder pauldrons as one, and legguard as one. The only things missing were the left armguard and left legguard. If
there was a helmet piece, then it would be a 7 piece set!

For Consolidated Equipment Sets like that, it required at least a Zong Stage Consolidating Equipment Master to be able to create the scrolls. Furthermore, to create such a set of scrolls, it would need at least five to ten years of effort. Such a Consolidated Equipment was truly priceless, especially since it could be seen from the breastplate alone that this was designed and made specially for Ming Hua, with the many small ‘scales’ of the armor causing it to be flexible, and it would definitely not obstruct her Flexible fighting style. At the same time, on the breastplate, pauldrons and arms, sockets could be seen on these individual pieces of Equipment.

Seeing such a high end piece of Consolidated Equipment almost did give Zhou Weiqing a big scare. Although Ming Hua had not completed it fully yet, with four pieces she was already able to make use of some of the set equipment’s effects.

With her Consolidated Equipment set, Ming Hua’s speed, strength and overall physique was improved manifold. Like a bolt of green lightning, she instantly appeared in front of Zhou Weiqing, and with a quick twist and spin of her soft body, the spike in her hand struck towards Zhou Weiqing’s right. At the same time, her body spun and her armored right leg struck out towards Zhou Weiqing’s lower body. Such savage and precise blows were indeed impressive.

Originally, Ming Hua’s cultivation level was already higher than Zhou Weiqing’s. Now that she was wearing her entire Consolidated Equipment Set, how could Zhou Weiqing begin to even deal with her attacks which seemed to come from every possible direction.

In a flash of silver light, Zhou Weiqing was forced to use the Blink skill in order to evade her attacks. At the same time, his right leg lashed out towards her.

Ming Hua gave a cold humph as she said: “I know there is something strange about your right leg.”  She did not try to exchange direct blows with Zhou Weiqing, instead making use of her flexibility to spin and weave around him. It was as if she was a sticky rice cake, steadily glued to him and he could not shake her off no matter what he tried, indeed an unbearable feeling. In the distance, Shangguan Bing’er was watching nervously. In her hands, she grasped the bow that Hua Feng had given her, ready to give assistance at any time if things looked really bad.

With the increase in speed, power and physical attributes of Ming Hua, the spike in her hands was of great threat to Zhou Weiqing. Even with the Immortal Deity Shield protecting him, Zhou Weiqing did not dare allow the sharp spike to touch his body.

Forced into a corner, Zhou Weiqing resolutely lifted up his left hand. As he waved it downwards, there was a ripping sound as the air itself was torn apart and a strong suction force appeared alongside the terrifying black tear that signified the Spatial Rend. At the same time, Zhou Weiqing quickly used the opportunity to instantly move back, holding some distance between Ming Hua.

Her eyes narrowed and contracted as she saw the strange sight before her again. Although her attack was blocked, she swiftly reacted in a much swifter and more ingenious method as compared to Zang Lang. Her body quickly dipped in a downward motion, her entire set of Consolidated Equipment glowing in a thick green light, managing to swiftly dodge it and also dissipate most of the suction force from the Spatial Rend. Just like that, she kept low and close to the ground as she bounded towards Zhou Weiqing. With a swift uppercut, the sharp spike once again struck forward towards Zhou Weiqing’s leg.

This woman is really just too hard to deal with! The feeling of having power but being unable to use it properly as if his limbs were bound caused Zhou Weiqing’s anger to rise as well. He wasn’t able to continuously release the Spatial Rend; although the skill was extremely powerful, it was also a huge drain on his Heavenly Energy and his own spirit. Furthermore, it had more than a ten second cooldown timing, as compared to the 3 second of Blink. Seeing that he was once again unable to dodge Ming Hua’s attack, Zhou Weiqing had no choice but to use his Blink skill once more, as it had just come off cooldown. In a bright flash, he once again appeared at the other side, only then managing to barely escape her attack.

“Hmph. I want to see if you can keep using the Blink to escape forever!” Ming Hua seemed like a green faery; although Zhou Weiqing was quick to escape, her attacks seemed to be just as fast and relentless. It was as if she were a poisonous snake which had locked upon its target and would not give up until its prey had been bitten to death.

Chapter 44 Legendary Dual God Strength Hammers

“Shackles!”   Zhou  Weiqing  cried  out  loud,  his  left  hand pointing forth. Instantly, a mass of silver light in the shape of a ball burst forth from his hand, forming a silver cover of light, which enveloped Ming Hua. Instantly, Ming Hua’s incessant attacks were brought to a screeching halt, and Zhou Weiqing managed to seize the opportunity and retreat.

Spatial Shackles – Zhou Weiqing’s third Spatial Skill. As Tang Xian had adviced him previously, he specifically looked for another control type skill to Skill Store for his third Jewel, and the Spatial Shackles was at least of an 8 Star Rating or more.

The time which the Spatial Shackles lasted was even longer than his Fetters of Wind and Touch of Darkness! At the 3- Jeweled level of power, the Spatial Shackles lasted almost eight seconds; of course this was on a target of similar power as him, and provided the target did not struggle and attack it.

In this eight seconds, the target would be trapped in a light wrapping which contained a spatial dimension. The target would not be able to effect the outside world, but neither could Zhou Weiqing attack the target; until the Spatial Shackles were broken. As such, although this Skill had an extremely powerful control factor, it lacked the ability to complement attacks. Of course, it couldn’t be said to be useless or weak either, its greatest usage was to interrupt enemies. Furthermore, there were other uses for it as well, and not just on enemies. In certain critical times, this could even be used to save a friend or
companion. As such, this was considered one of the better Spatial Skills as well.

“Dammit, if I don’t show you my power, you’ll look down on me huh.” Zhou Weiqing panted as he snarled out in anger. Within the small, confined area of the house, he was not able to use his bow or his archery. Alas, his strongest power was currently his archery, and he had confidence that if they were a hundred yards apart, let alone Ming Hua – even her brother Ming Yu would be no match for him. However, in this confined space, it would not be so easy to deal with someone like her.

A strong dark gold light erupted from his second Icy Jade Physical Jewel, causing it to shine brilliantly. As Zhou Weiqing lifted his arms up, the gold light instantly formed a huge barrier of light around him, causing his entire body to be hidden from sight.

At this moment, Ming Hua, who was stuck in the Spatial Shackles, witnessed the scene, her eyes filled with shock. She had previously been surprised once again when Zhou Weiqing used the Spatial Shackles on her, as it was yet another top level, high rating Skill. However, she was rather familiar with most of the skills, and naturally knew the various characteristics of the skills and how to deal with them. As such, she did not attempt to break free from the Spatial Shackles, instead gathering up her strength and waiting for an opportunity to strike. When the Spatial Shackles ended, she would launch a second furious salvo of attacks.

Alas, she did not expect to see that Zhou Weiqing would release something that caused her so much surprise – his own Consolidated Equipment Set!

Seeing a piece of Consolidated Equipment glowing dark gold was definitely the first time for Ming Hua. Normally, the colour and aura of Consolidated Equipment was the same as the Physical Jewel which it was formed from, and there was only one exception… that was Consolidated Equipment Sets. For example, her current Consolidated Equipment Set was green in colour, and not the waxy Jade colour of her Physical Jewels.

Furthermore, Ming Hua also knew that, the bigger the contrast in colour from the original colour of the Physical Jewel, the stronger the set would be! Zhou Weiqing’s Icy Jade Physical Jewel was bordering between a transparent colourless-ness and pure white, swirling with a misty white. Yet, this Consolidated Equipment was such a dark gold that was almost closing in on black. Such a stark contrast was indeed one of the reasons why it was such a huge
surprise to her. The other reason was that when he Consolidated this piece of Equipment, his body actually shone with that black gold aura.

In terms of non military knowledge, especially in terms of Heavenly Jewel Masters, Ming Hua’s knowledge probably surpassed even her elder brother Ming Yu. Towards Consolidating Equipment Scrolls, she had a large interest. Although she was not a Spatial Attribute Consolidating Equipment Master, but with the Life Attribute, she was able to assist other Consolidating Equipment Masters in creating scrolls. As such, she knew many outstanding Consolidating Equipment Grandmasters or even higher level ones. Thus, she easily recognized the black gold aura that shone around Zhou Weiqing… it was perhaps something she had only heard about and never witnessed before – Consolidating Equipment God Protective Aura.

Such an aura… would only appear for the very top, highest quality of Consolidated Equipment… either Sets or single pieces. However, the only condition for it appearing was that the Consolidating Equipment Scroll had to be created by a God Tier Consolidating Equipment Master! The Consolidating Equipment God Protective Aura only lasted a mere second, but during this second, it would provide a protection which was more than 10 times the greatest defensive power of the user –
which meant, it was nearly impossible to interrupt the
Consolidating of this Equipment!

Zhou Weiqing had already given Ming Hua a lot of surprises today. After all, she was famous for being nearly undefeated by anyone of the same level! Yet… today, facing Zhou Weiqing, who was only 3-Jeweled as compared to her 4, she had actually been forced to use her Consolidated Equipment Sets in order to suppress him. Now, looking at the piece of Equipment that Zhou Weiqing unleashed, it seemed like it was something that was even much higher quality than her own set!

Ming Hua was indeed learned, and her judgement was very accurate. What Zhou Weiqing was unleashing was the single Legendary Consolidating Equipment Scroll that Huyan Aobo had given him. It was only the single scroll, and was the first piece of his Legendary Set, but Zhou Weiqing made use of the unique qualities of his body and managed to successfully Consolidate it. That black-gold aura was indeed its Consolidating Equipment God Protective Aura. This Legendary Set was just too powerful, even though the creator of this particular scroll was not a God Tier Consolidating Equipment Master, but the person who designed the entire set was one of the top God Tier Consolidating Equipment Masters. As such, it still had the Consolidating Equipment God Protective Aura.

The thick black-gold aura glowed and gathered around Zhou Weiqing’s hands, thickening and coalescing. Previously, Zhou Weiqing had tried releasing this piece of Consolidated Equipment before to examine it, but had never used it in actual combat before.

In the next instant, the black gold aura vanished, and a pair of heavy hammers appeared in Zhou Weiqing’s hands. The shaft of the hammers were about 2 chi long, almost as thick as a baby’s arm, while the tip of the hammer ended in a spike. On the shaft, there were fine dark gold lines forming strange tattoos, glowing brightly. Both hammer heads were rather large, spanning almost two chi as well from tip to tip, almost over-exaggeratedly large. They were not in a perfect round ends, but with several protrusions, almost like the markings of a watermelon, fully black-gold. The strangest thing was that there was a weird image on each hammer head – the face of a man. And even stranger still, one was with a laughing face and the other with a crying face. Due to the bright glow, if one did not examine the images clearly, the differences in them might be missed.

With such a huge pair of hammers, it would take someone of Zhou Weiqing’s size for them to not look absurd wielding them, but even so they did seem a little overdone. The huge hammer heads looked terrifying. Without a doubt, only strength boost Heavenly Jewel Masters would be able to wield such Physical Jewel Consolidated Equipment.

Originally, Zhou Weiqing was rather gloomy when he completed Consolidating this piece of Equipment. His biggest hope had been this would be something like a shield instead… After all, safety first was something that was always in his mind. However, after a moment of consideration, he was quickly delighted once more. The reason was simple – with such huge hammer heads, they could easily be used as a small shield as well! Furthermore, the overbearing look that he had while holding the pair of hammers, he truly liked it. The thing that delighted him the most though, was its power and usage.

On that Legendary Set Equipment Scroll, there had been transcribed a single sentence… “Good and evil, illusion and reality – Legendary Dual God Strength Hammers…” Looking at the shocking pair of hammers in Zhou Weiqing’s hands, Ming Hua did not dare to allow her surprise to slow her down. Not daring to wait any further, she struck the barrier with the spike in her hand. With a flash of light, the Spatial Shackles started to waver as her blows caused it to hasten the speed of running out.

However, her worry was unfounded. Zhou Weiqing did not launch an attack, instead lifting the dual hammers with a grin, a very obnoxious, rascally grin.

This was also the first time Shangguan Bing’er had seen the pair of Legendary Dual God Strength Hammers. Her knowledge and insight were not as wide as Ming Hua, and she did not know power of the hammers, but she was still impressed by its looks.

Ming Hua’s eyes narrowed, and a cold light flashed in her eyes.   “It’s   a   weapon   Consolidated   from   a   God   Tier Consolidating Equipment Scroll? Can you tell me how many pieces there are?”

Zhou Weiqing shrugged helplessly. “No harm in telling you. I just have the single one. Are you afraid now?” Ming Hua drew a deep breath, relaxing just a little… God Tier Consolidating Equipment Scrolls, every single one could be said to be a power that defied the heavens. Luckily, it wasn’t a set, if not who knows how powerful this fellow would be in the future. At this moment, she couldn’t help but feel a deep sense of admiration for her brother. She had always thought that her talent was no lower than his, but it seems like in terms of vision and foresight, she could hardly compare to Ming Yu. This rascal in front of her was no ordinary person indeed.

“I do not have the word ‘fear’ in my dictionary. Even a God Tier Consolidating Equipment’s power depends on the person using it. You? Humph humph! …” Ming Hua took a deep breath as she said that. Holding the spike in her hand to her chest, a brilliant green light shone forth, the glow gathering around her left hand as a bright red flower appeared in her hand.

The bright red flower seemed fresh and stunning, with water droplets still swirling on its petals. It seemed alive in her hands.

“What is that?” Zhou Weiqing stared at it in surprise and confusion, not understanding what that was about. However, with his powerful senses, he seemed to feel a sense of danger, as if the red flower in Ming Hua’s hands was even more dangerous than she was. Ming Hua said passively: “Life Attribute Elemental Jewels aren’t able to Store any offensive Skills. In a way, our Elemental Jewels’ Skills are absolutely useless in direct combat. However, the world is fair after all. Each of us Life Attribute Heavenly Jewel Masters, when our Heavenly Jewels are Awakened, we are each granted a Personal Plant which would protect us. This is my Personal Plant, its name is the same as mine… Ming Hua… Flower of the Underworld. This was truly unexpected… You’re only 3-Jeweled, yet you have impressively managed to force me to use my hidden aces. I have never lost to an opponent of equal power level…let alone someone who is of lower cultivation level than I! Today, I shall not lose either!” She had always been competitive since she was young, even towards her brother who was nine years older than her – who was known as the God General. She had never admitted defeat! In truth, in terms of cultivation level and combat prowess, Ming Yu was not comparable to his little sister when he was her age, nor did he have the notoriety she had in the Fei Li City at that age. A notoriety which she had forged through sheer fighting prowess alone. Previously, when she had seen Zhou Weiqing’s fight with Zang Lang, he had piqued her interest, and although it had been sheer coincidence they had met in this house, she had been delighted to start a fight to test Zhou Weiqing’s strength. However, when the fight started, she was surprised to find that this youth who was seven years younger than her was, as her brother said, a lot more surprising than she had expected. However, she did not want to lose, she would not allow herself to lose to someone of lower cultivation level than herself.

The bright red flower flew into the sky, dancing in the air. The Hades’ Flower, dancing in brilliant red, flying towards Zhou Weiqing.

Zhou Weiqing’s eyes narrowed. He knew in his heart that he would no longer be able to hide his other Attributes if he wanted to win.

The first to launch the attack was bright red flower in the sky, as it spun around in midair. Just as it was about to reach Zhou Weiqing, it suddenly enlarged to tenfold its previous size, almost reaching two chi in diameter. It then struck downwards towards Zhou Weiqing’s head. Indistinctly, Zhou Weiqing felt the Evil aura within his body jump about in resonance. He could clearly sense that the Hades’ Flower contained a faint Evil aura, but much weaker than the aura within his own body.

The hammer in Zhou Weiqing’s left hand struck upwards, and a resounding clash ensued. Zhou Weiqing had unleashed yet another Spatial Rend, blocking the descent of the Hades’ Flower, and a strange sight appeared before them. When the flower struck the Spatial Rend, it unexpectedly was not drawn in by the strong suction force, instead flying back upwards again, the red light from it shining even brighter.

A green light shot forth from Ming Hua’s hand onto the Hades’ Flower, and instantly, it released a bright burst of light, twirling about with a wuu wuu sound. However, it still did not dare strike directly onto the Spatial Rend.

At the same time, Zhou Weiqing burst into motion. Both his hands spinning the hammers in their respective grasps, and the two huge black-gold hammers struck forth towards Ming Hua.

Ming Hua’s flexibility was without question, and with her supple and pliable body, she swiftly sidestepped the blows with ingenious steps, perhaps even surpassing Luo Ke Di, who was the master of such movements in the Heavenly Bow Unit.

Alas, even with her capabilities, she was after all facing a pair of huge, heavy hammers. No matter how strong her evasive manoeuvres were, she was not able to continue moving forward while dodging, and could only keep on a constant retreat.

Using her weakest point, strength, to directly fight against a God Tier Consolidated Equipment meant for Strength type users, she would only do something like that if she were insane!

Right at this moment, the Hades’ Flower in mid air blew up, splitting up into nine smaller flowers, each flying at Zhou Weiqing from different directions, spinning at top speed while issuing a *wuu wuu* sound. In that instant, the entire house was filled with that strange, eerie sound, as if in a ghost house. Any other person might have been affected by the eerie, evil aura flooding the area and not be able to use their full strength to combat this sudden change. However, who was Zhou Weiqing? The Evil aura within his body was even much stronger than the Hades’ Flower, and he was not even affected in the slightest bit.

Just as Zhou Weiqing was about to meet the nine smaller Hades’ Flower with his hammers, Ming Hua’s hands burst forth with another sudden burst of green light. Nine rays shot out, striking each Hades’ Flower once more, and they all split into nine more flowers respectively! This time, there were a total of eighty one flowers, and though they were much smaller than before, their speed had reached a dizzying level! Once more, they sped towards him from all corners.

Instantly, Zhou Weiqing judged that he would not be able to dodge all of them. Furthermore, to prevent him from using Blink, the 81 flowers did not all strike at him at once, some being spread out in a relatively wide area, and there was no space for him to Blink to.

Under such a circumstance, Zhou Weiqing’s fighting spirit was ignited. All of a sudden, the hammer in his left hand flashed with a strange green light, and Ming Hua felt her body freeze in position, unable to move. At the same time, the hammer on the right shuddered, layers of dark gold light bursting forth incessantly. With a *Weng* sound, the air in the room seemed to ripple in a strange distortion, and the eighty one Hades’ Flowers all froze for a split second.

Stunning Reverberation – This was one of the skills that the Legendary Dual God Strength Hammers contained within them. In that split second they were frozen, Zhou Weiqing seized the opportunity, his Demonic Right Leg bursting forth with a sudden power. Striking forth with the dual hammers ahead of him to clear the path, he charged at a breakneck speed towards Ming Hua, right through all the Hades’ Flowers.

Just as Ming Hua felt that she was able to move, another bolt of black light shot forth from the hammer in Zhou Weiqing’s left hand. As if several hands were grabbing onto her, she felt her body freeze in place once more, and right at that instant, Zhou Weiqing’s hammer was already striking down savagely at her head.

With such a sudden turn in events, Ming Hua stayed calm and collected, a dark green light instantly bursting forth from her breastplate. At the same time, a thick green light welled out from her left hand, melding together with the light from the breastplate and forming a green light shield around her. Not only did it break the control from the Touch of Darkness, it also covered her with a protective layer of green light.

This was Ming Hua’s fourth Elemental Jewel Skill, called Shield of Life. Her Consolidated Equipment set also had the same skill, and when they stacked together, it actually brought the shield to a whole At the same time, the stunned Hades’ Flower recovered and flew towards Zhou Weiqing’s back, like a swarm of bees.

Ming Hua’s reaction was indeed impressive, and done to the maximum of her ability. After all, she had been surprised by Zhou Weiqing’s sudden two control skills. Even though her cultivation level was around 4-5 levels higher than Zhou Weiqing’s, she was still caught by surprise and losing control of the situation and being on the back foot all of a sudden. However, despite successfully breaking the control skill, Zhou Weiqing’s burst of speed from his Demonic Right Leg was just too shocking. At the exact same time that her Shield of Life sprang into place, the two hammers slammed right into her.

Under normal circumstances, Ming Hua would never meet these heavy hammers head on. Alas, at this point, she had no choice. *Bang* The first hammer slammed savagely into the Shield of Life. A terrifying sight occurred as the piercing dark gold light seemed to swallow the entire Shield of Life. Without even having time to crack and break down slowly, the Shield of Life just disappeared instantaneously. Ming Hua was also brought
down to her knees like a nail being hammered into the ground, and she blood welled out of her mouth involuntarily.

Ming Hua’s mind blanked out totally. Although she guessed that her Shield of Life might not be able to fully block the pair of heavy hammers that were a God Tier Consolidated Equipment, she had never expected its power to be that terrifying. There wasn’t even any Elemental Attribute Heavenly Energy released on the hammers, and it was just pure brute strength! For Zhou Weiqing, at the 3-Jeweled level, to be able to break her 5th level Shield of Life so easily, the sheer shock of it coupled with the damage from the blow caused her to vomit a mouthful of blood.

The second hammer followed right after, and that moment, Ming Hua was filled with regret. Regret that she did not listen to her brother, causing her to be under the threat of death.

Shangguan Bing’er who was standing far to the side let out a cry of shock. Seeing the huge hammer savagely slam down onto Ming Hua’s head, she quickly closed her eyes. To be struck on the head by such a hammer… it would likely be fatal.

Ming Hua was thinking the same thing, and she did not think she could survive that. At the last moment, she channeled all the rest of her energy into her Hades’ Flower, hoping to at least cause some damage to Zhou Weiqing before her death.

Spinning around calmly, Zhou Weiqing’s hammer which had smashed apart the Shield of Life swept backwards, and with a earsplitting tearing sound, a Spatial Rend ripped the air behind him, unleashed from the hammer. The Spatial Rift was 4 chi long, even larger than his normal one. The Hades’ Flowers flying towards him were almost all blocked by the large Spatial Rend, with only a few managing to pass through and striking Zhou Weiqing. This was after all a Low Level Zun Stage Heavenly Jewel Master’s final blow, furthermore one as powerful as Ming Hua. Zhou Weiqing was unable to dodge the ones which had gone through.

The Legendary Dual God Strength Hammers did not have sockets, as they were not necessary at all. When Zhou Weiqing wielded them, he could use any of his Elemental Jewel Stored Skills, and did not need to socket them. Furthermore, any skill which was unleashed using the hammers were a full level stronger, without costing more Heavenly Energy. This was the true strength of a God Tier Consolidated Equipment.

Being hit by seven or eight of the Hades’ Flowers, Zhou Weiqing felt his body go numb, but did not feel much pain. At the same time, he withdrew the hammer on his left hand which had struck Ming Hua.

Did Ming Hua die? No, she didn’t. She was still standing right there, eyes closed, her entire body trembling in shock and fear. In the distance, the landlord, who had also been watching, was entirely stunned.

This was his first time watching such a fight between Heavenly Jewel Masters. However, besides Zhou Weiqing, no one else had seen clearly what actually happened in the last instant.

At that time, Zhou Weiqing’s right hand hammer had broken through the Shield of Life before striking backwards to release a Spatial Rend, while the hammer in his left hand had struck Ming Hua’s head, right down past her body. From the power that the hammer in his right hand had shown, such a hammer should have smashed her head into pulp. However, the truth was rather different. The huge hammer seemed to just pass through Ming Hua’s body, as if made from light. This all happened so quickly that no one else knew what had happened, but the end result was that Ming Hua was indeed struck by his hammer, but was totally uninjured.

After all, Zhou Weiqing had no intention of killing Ming Hua. He had no deep grudge against her, and it was just a fight for the rental of a house. How could be possibly kill someone for that? Furthermore, this was the Fei Li City, where he was not even a citizen and had no backing. On the other hand, Ming Hua and her brother were obviously of some status in the Fei Li City, and Zhou Weiqing did not want to bring trouble to himself. He had already paid his school fees, and intended to learn all he could!

“Oei…  wake  up.  Get  rid  of  these  flowers.”  Zhou  Weiqing lifted up his right hammer, prodding Ming Hua on her head, causing a soft *peng* sound. Although he did not use any strength, it still caused her to shake around. With a pained cry, she opened up her eyes, look up at Zhou Weiqing in confusion. “I…  I’m not dead?”  Her first action was to quickly touch her head, her head which she thought would have been smashed into smithereens. Besides her forehead, which had just been nudged by the hammer and was hurting a little, her head was still totally fine, with nary a sign of damage.

Ming Hua blinked her eyes, the narrow escape from death causing her emotions to go out of control. “You bastard! You almost killed me!”

Zhou Weiqing was shocked by her outcry, yelling back in anger. “I, Your Father, did not kill you. Shouldn’t you be happy and excited? What are you yelling about?!”

A flash of green light appeared, and most of Ming Hua’s more serious wounds vanished. She vaulted back, keeping her distance from Zhou Weiqing. At the same time, a red light flashed in her eyes, and Zhou Weiqing felt as if the areas he had been struck with by the Hades’ Flower change suddenly.

A large suction force was suddenly applied by the seven Hades’ Flower, and Zhou Weiqing felt his blood and Heavenly Energy being drawn into them.

The Hades’ Flower were Ming Hua’s strongest skill, how could they be just as simple as a normal hit. Indeed, even Zhou Weiqing’s Immortal Deity Shield was not sufficient to block them from piercing him earlier.

Blood sucking combined with the power to absorb Heavenly Energy! Zhou Weiqing was taken aback, trying to use the hammers in his hands to strike away the Hades’ Flowers on him. However, to his shock, he found that the hammers both passed right through the Hades’ Flowers, as if they were illusory and without an actual body! No wonder they hadn’t been shattered into pieces when they had been struck by his hammers earlier!

Ming Hua said coldly: “Don’t waste your effort. To be struck by my Hades’ Flower, even if it is just one, it will cause your sustained combat ability to drop, let alone you being hit by so many. Under my control, they will draw out all your blood and Heavenly Energy, your life and energy replenishing mine. This is the true power of the Flower of Hades’ Underworld. Amongst all the possible Personal Plants of Life Attribute Heavenly Jewel Masters, the Hades’ Flower ranks in the top three!

Just as she said that, Ming Hua suddenly noticed that the expression on Zhou Weiqing’s face was extremely weird. At the same time, a small, white little head squirmed out from his bosom, a blue ‘King’ word on its cute little head. Wasn’t that our dear little white tiger, Fat Cat?

It seemed like Fat Cat understood what Ming Hua had said, and its deep purple eyes revealed a look of disdain and scorn. Opening its little mouth, it seemed to give a little cheh sound, before it squirmed back into Zhou Weiqing’s bosom and went back to sleep.

By now, Shangguan Bing’er had opened her eyes once more. Seeing that Ming Hua was alright, she was both relieved and shocked. However, her guard rose once more. From her perspective, she wasn’t thinking about Zhou Weiqing pulling his punches, but that Ming Hua having some unique skill that allowed her to dodge the blow in the last second. After all, the power that Ming Hua had displayed was indeed not something to be trifled with.

The Hades’ Flowers which were currently sucking Zhou Weiqing’s blood and Heavenly Energy was turning a brighter, fresher red. However, in the next instant, Ming Hua started in shock.

By now, Ming Hua had just recovered from the terror of death. She knew that the reason why she was alive was because Zhou Weiqing had shown mercy and not dealt the final blow. However, with her pride, she could not accept such an ending. Since her Hades’ Flower had already launched the attack, she wanted to teach him a lesson and get back some face. Just as she was thinking if she should stop the attack, she suddenly felt a sense of terror that even overshadowed the fear of death
earlier.

Zhou Weiqing’s eyes turned bloodshot. From his perspective, the attribute wheel had uncontrollably spun to the grey area which he was unable to master. The next moment, the sensation of his life energy flowing out stopped, instead a strong suction force welling up from within his body. The Hades’ Flowers, which had just a second ago been draining him of his life blood and Heavenly Energy, were now being drained of their energies! The tables had turned somehow, and at a crazy rate that was several times that of the Hades’ Flowers’ absorption earlier. The Hades’ Flowers were still red in colour, but they were now stained with a strange, demonically evil looking red.

“Aaahhhh!!”  Ming Hua cried out in fear and shock as her body crumpled onto the ground weakly. The Hades’ Flowers were her Personal Plant, and were intricately linked to her life force. Zhou Weiqing Devouring their life energies was naturally also doing so to her life energy and Heavenly Energy. She had originally already been injured, and much of her Heavenly Energy was used up. Now that she was being Devoured, she felt a sense of weakness overcome her and fell to the ground.

In truth, Zhou Weiqing had been given a big shock by the sudden change as well, almost scaring himself. However, in the next moment, he recovered and laughed out gleefully: “Heh heh. Tsk, trying to drain me? Looks like I’m your nemesis! Haha!”

Ming Hua’s face grew paler every second, while Zhou Weiqing felt his energy and spirit improving, as his Heavenly Energy recovered rapidly.

Ming Hua bit her lip hard, forcing her mouth shut. Although her heart was filled with shock and fear, she refused to let herself beg for her life. She had never in her wildest imagination dreamed that her Hades’ Flowers’ greatest power could be turned against her so easily. She couldn’t imagine what would happen if all her Hades’ Flower had actually struck Zhou Weiqing… Would she be drained dry in an instant?

“Little  Fatty,  stop!  She  is  going  to  die  if  you  continue!” Shangguan Bing’er suddenly appeared beside Zhou Weiqing and said gently. “Oh, of course I must listen to my Lady wife!” Upon hearing her words, Zhou Weiqing agreed. Focusing all his might onto the attribute wheel, he forcefully moved it back to the silver region, ending the Devouring. The Hades’ Flowers which had been on his body fell to the ground, vanishing into nothingness.

Ming Hua lay on the ground, panting hard as she heaved a sigh of relief. She struggled to get up, but found she had no strength left in her body, and could only manage to struggle into a seated position, gasping for breath.

In another flash of dark gold light, the twin hammers in Zhou Weiqing’s hands disappeared.

In truth, the secret of the twin hammers was in the line – ‘Good and evil, illusion and truth.’ Although they seemed to be a pair of hammers, it was actually one real and one fake hammer! The fake one was able to draw attention and trick enemies, while the real one held unbelievable power. Without question, the fake one signified ‘good’, while the real one signified ‘evil’. The mix of truth and illusion made it easy to trick and fool enemies, which could hold destructive end results for them. Take for example, if you were striking with all your might to block a seemingly powerful blow, and it turned out to be fake, it would cause a loss of balance and an overextension of strength – which could easily lead to defeat. More importantly, Zhou Weiqing could switch the false and real hammers at will! Adding that to the fact that he could make use of them to unleash any of his skills without socketing them, and at a higher level, this was indeed an impressive
weapon. Indeed, it was because of this God Tier weapon that Zhou Weiqing had been able to defeat Ming Hua, who was of a higher cultivation level than he was.

Zhou Weiqing extended his arm to hug Shangguan Bing’er, turning towards Ming Hua with a lecherous look on his face as he said: “Beauty, you are lucky that my wife is so kind hearted. If it was just me, I’d have finished you off! Hmph. There’s no need for me to send you off right, please leave now.”

By now, Ming Hua had already recovered a little. Zhou Weiqing had Devoured quite a bit of her Heavenly Energy and life force, and had recovered to nearly the state he had been before the battle. She, on the other hand, was still feeling weak, with less than ten percent of her energy remaining. If not for the fact that she was of the Life Attribute which managed to heal her injuries, she might have sustained some critical wounds.

“No.” Ming Hua gave a humph and sat down on the floor, saying to Shangguan Bing’er: “If you all try to throw me out forcefully, I’ll yell molest! Furthermore, I will latch onto your man from now on! No matter what tactics, I will snatch him away from you! If you don’t believe me, you can give it a try.”

Zhou Weiqing stared at Ming Hua, his jaw dropping. “Oei, this beauty over there, you are really a piece of work. You should honour your bets, earlier you said whoever wins the fight gets the house, you have lost so you should leave.”

Ming Hua suddenly burst out laughing. “Who can prove that we placed a bet? Do we have it in writing? Do we have witnesses? Any documentations? Nothing right? Furthermore, how can you, a man, bully a weak woman like me? Aren’t you ashamed of yourself?”

“You…  weak…  woman??!”  Zhou  Weiqing  was  speechless, looking into the heavens. Earlier, he had fought with all his might, forced to bring out everything he had in order to beat her, even his Legendary Consolidated Equipment Set hammers, or he would have lost a long time ago! As for some of the newer Stored Skills, it wasn’t that he was trying to hide them, but he just wasn’t practiced in using them yet, and thus their effect would definitely not be comparable to the skills he had been using all along! Under such a circumstance, he had still almost lost to Ming Hua, and he was still feeling rather nervous from the tough fight. This woman was indeed too dangerous! Unexpectedly… she had just said… she was a weak woman?! He was rendered speechless.

Ming Hua recovered some of her vigor, and managed to stand back up. Looking around the house, she smiled faintly and pointed to one of the smaller rooms. “I’ll be kind and not chase you both out. I’ll just stay in that room, and we can share the rent of the house. Let’s each take a step back. Who asked me to be older than you both, I will let you both have the advantage.”

Zhou Weiqing had the urge to rush forward and throw her out physically. It was a rare sight to see someone even more shameless than he was! However, Shangguan Bing’er grabbed his arm and said: “Just let her stay in the room.”

Although Shangguan Bing’er did not want to let Ming Hua have the room, she did not dare bet on it. Ming Hua’s threat to her resounded in her mind, and she dared not test it. After all, she knew our dear Little Fatty’s weakness to beautiful women… how could he resist such a seductive woman’s advances!

Chapter 45 Gaining Status in the Academy

“My dear wife, you really want to let her stay in the room? Won’t Da Huang and Er Huang be seen by her then?”  Zhou Weiqing couldn’t help but ask Shangguan Bing’er.

Shangguan Bing’er said: “Let her see them then. Did you think that noble families do not rear Heavenly Beasts? It’s a common sight!”

Zhou Weiqing’s eyeballs swirled around, and he suddenly grinned and said: “Heh heh, are you afraid of her threat? Have you so little faith in your dearest husband?”

Shangguan Bing’er gave a cold humph and took out a handkerchief  from  her  bosom.  “Wipe  your  drool  off  then. Humph! I’m going to choose my own room.”

“Errr…” Zhou Weiqing took the handkerchief and said. “Bing’er, listen to my explanation! It wasn’t intentional!”

Ming Hua who was just about to enter her room laughed and said: “Explain? Explaining means you have something to cover up… covering up the truth? Haha… Do you want to come to my room to sit a while? Just now… you hurt me a lot!”

“I’ll deal with you later! If you want to stay here, fine… Landlord uncle, collect the money from her!”

After he said that, Zhou Weiqing ran off to look for Shangguan Bing’er.

Shangguan Bing’er had chosen her bedroom. Indeed, this house was tons better than their dormitory rooms, with all furniture, amenities and facilities provided for, most of them relatively new too.

“Bing’er, are you angry with me? That… Everyone has an eye to admire beauty, I was just looking. I have no other thoughts about her.” Zhou Weiqing followed by her side. Seeing her busy choosing her room and ignoring him, he couldn’t help but say nervously.

Shangguan Bing’er stopped suddenly and spun around to look at the pitiful looking Zhou Weiqing. “Little Fatty, let me discuss something with you.” “Ah?” Zhou Weiqing saw Shangguan Bing’er with a faint smile on her face and felt a little uneasy in his heart, but he said honestly: “Yes, what is it?”

Shangguan Bing’er gave a soft sigh and said: “My mother said, if I choose an outstanding man to be my husband, I must have the preparation in my heart. Outstanding men never have a lack of female admirers. There is no point trying to fully stop you at all, or I will follow in her footsteps and make the same mistakes she did. I just want you to promise me. No matter if you like another girl, you must never forget me. More importantly, she must meet with my approval as well. Otherwise, you better find a way to hide it from me forever. Is that clear?”

Zhou Weiqing blinked as he stared at her, a sudden stabbing pain in his heart. Looking at Shangguan Bing’er before him, he was filled with love and tenderness for her. Opening his arms, he enveloped her in an embrace, holding her tightly. Without knowing why, he suddenly felt a sense of terror, as if afraid she would leave him at any time.

Shangguan Bing’er embraced him back, leaning into him as she said gently: “Little Fatty, it’s not that I don’t trust you. It’s just that in matters of the heart, we can never be clear of the future. I just ask that you never ever lie to me about that.” Zhou Weiqing said stutteringly: “Bing’er, I won’t like to you, definitely won’t lie to you. I do not know what will happen in the future, I really do not know. But when I thought of the fact that you might leave me, if there was any chance that you would leave me, my heart just felt so terrified, even more afraid than I am of death. Bing’er, if I make any mistake in the future, you can scold me, hit me, anything… But please don’t leave me ever, okay?”

Although Zhou Weiqing was usually cunning and sneaky, this time Shangguan Bing’er could feel his sincerity, touching her deep inside. If at that time he promised that he would never like another woman or something like that, perhaps she would have laughed it off with a little disappointment. At this point, listening to his words, she could feel his sincerity, the words coming straight from his heart.

“En…” Shangguan Bing’er said softly. At this time, she felt a sense of relaxation. Before she had left home, her mother had talked to her, and it had caused her much stress in her heart. Earlier, when she had just met up with Zhou Weiqing, she was so delighted at meeting up with him after such a long time that she didn’t think much about it. After that, it was followed by the few days of them playing around which allowed her to continue putting it away. However, when Ming Hua appeared, it sparked a huge sense of danger in his heart, releasing that pent up stress that had been hidden in her since that time. Now, Zhou Weiqing’s words had eased her mind and relieved her fears, and somehow their hearts seemed to grow closer.

Zhou Weiqing hugged Shangguan Bing’er intimately for a while, until their feelings calmed down before they finally let go of each other reluctantly. However, he couldn’t resist kissing her lightly on her lips.

Shangguan Bing’er flushed deep red but did not resist, only stopping him when he tried to go further.

“Bing’er, how about we both stay here, okay? At most, I’ll lay out some bedding and sleep on the floor. As long as I can see you, that’ll be great.”  Zhou Weiqing’s repressed feelings grew lively once more. Thinking of Shangguan Bing’er’s beauty and soft warm body, he felt an itch in his heart.

“No way.” Shangguan Bing’er rapped him on the head with her hand. “You stay in another room Da Huang and Er Huang will guard my room. Hmph, don’t think I don’t know you, this rascal? If you get an inch, you’ll want one feet, in a few days you’ll be trying to find some way to climb onto the bed. Go quick, find your own room, I want to clean up and unpack.” The entire house was fairly large, and Zhou Weiqing had no choice but to choose another room which was just beside Shangguan Bing’er’s room. The following day was spent by the two of them cleaning up and unpacking their things. This was even under the condition that they were both Heavenly Jewel
Masters with the Wind Attribute speeding up their actions, otherwise they wouldn’t have been able to complete everything so quickly.

Ming Hua had not left her room for the whole day since she entered it, her door remaining shut tightly. To this, neither Zhou Weiqing nor Shangguan Bing’er questioned it. After all, she had sustained quite some injuries in the fight, and had even had some of her life energy drained by Zhou Weiqing.

Da Huang and Er Huang were finally freed from the confines of the ring, and were now staying in Shangguan Bing’er’s room. Her room was one of the largest in the entire house, a suite room with an outer and inner room, and the two large fellows were naturally sleeping in the outer room, acting as guards.

The two little Icy Soul Heavenly Bears were now at the critical period of their growth stage. When they were adult, they would be Zong Stage Heavenly Beasts, but for now they were still young. Heavenly Beasts had their own methods of cultivation; as for Icy Soul Heavenly Bears, Zhou Weiqing did not know what their methods were. However, all he saw was those two large fellows didn’t do anything but sleep and eat, yet their power grew steadily day by day. He couldn’t help but compare to his own Immortal Deity Technique… Jealousy and envy!!!

After they started staying in the house, the strangest thing for Zhou Weiqing was actually another separate matter altogether. When he started cultivation at night, the little white tiger Fat Cat who was usually stuck to his side actually went to the side instead, jumping onto a chair instead of snuggling up to him.

Zhou Weiqing was rather unused to this, after all, cuddling such a soft furry little creature every night to warm his bed, he had grown used to it. However, he did not know what had happened to Fat Cat, but even when he tried to hug it to sleep, it refused, struggling out and back onto the chair. Zhou Weiqing could only stare at it helplessly and go to sleep alone.

Dawn.

“Fat  Cat,  aren’t  you  go  to  the  academy  with  me?”  Zhou Weiqing looked questioningly at the little white tiger who was sprawled lazily on the chair. Fat Cat immediately shook its head. Zhou Weiqing was not at all surprised that it could understand his words, after all even Da Huang and Er Huang those two large fellows could understand about sixty to seventy percent of what he said.

Zhou Weiqing walked over to feel Fat Cat’s forehead. “Are you having a fever? After snuggling with your big brother for two years, are you abandoning me? Are you trying to run away now? No way, even if you’re not going to school with me… hmm I should look for a chain to lock you up, so you don’t run away.”

Being together for so long, he had grown used to Fat Cat’s presence around him all the time. If it were to leave suddenly, he wouldn’t be able to bear it.

Fat Cat stared at him, black lines around its head. It sprang to its feet in a quick motion, jumping onto the table, and dipped a little furry paw into Zhou Weiqing’s drinking cup. The next thing that happened surprised Zhou Weiqing – it actually used the water to write on the table. “No, I am just cultivating quietly here.”

Zhou Weiqing stared at it with his mouth wide open. “What!? The skies are falling down, the earth is cracking open, even a tiger can write now?! Did I see wrongly? Fat Cat! Let’s go display your prowess, I’m sure we can earn a lot of money doing so.”

Fat Cat glared at him, its little paws dancing around the table again before it jumped back to its chair to sleep. As Zhou Weiqing looked at the table, he saw another word written on it. “Idiot.”

Finally, Zhou Weiqing and Shangguan Bing’er went to the academy by themselves. By the time they left, they realised that Ming Hua had already left. Leaving Fat Cat alone in the house, they were not worried. After all, not only were Da Huang and Er Huang there, both of them already Zun Stage Heavenly Beasts, even Fat Cat alone had shown its strange powers before.

Today was the Fei Li Imperial Family Military Academy’s official first day, and the entire Academy seemed rather lifely. No matter freshmen or seniors, all of them were dressed in the school uniform, walking around the academy compound.

The opening ceremony in the morning was for all four levels of students, and everyone headed for the main assembly hall on the first level of the school building. Zhou Weiqing and Shangguan Bing’er naturally joined the others. The Fei Li Military Academy was indeed worthy of being one of the top three academies in the entire Fei Li Empire. The assembly hall was more than enough to hold three thousand people, though the number of students numbered much less than that.

As Zhou Weiqing and Shangguan Bing’er entered the assembly hall together, they drew much attention. It wasn’t that Zhou Weiqing’s fight with Zang Lang had already spread through the entire school, even if they knew about it, most of them probably wouldn’t recognize him anyway. The main reason they drew so much attention was because Shangguan Bing’er was just too beautiful, especially since she was still wearing a commoner student’s uniform. In that instant, many gazes focused on them, many of them being lustful or lascivious gazes focused on Shangguan Bing’er. The majority of the academy was after all attended by noble students, of whom some were of large powerful families. Looking at Shangguan Bing’er, of such beauty and poise, who was a commoner student to boot, how could they not be attracted and be interested. After all, to them, they had nothing to worry about commoners. Even if they forcefully snatched her away, she would not have any background nor would anyone dare to defend her. Of course, all of them totally ignored Zhou Weiqing who was beside her.

Zhou Weiqing could naturally feel the gazes on Shangguan Bing’er, and couldn’t help feel a sense of pride rise in his heart, as he thought scornfully to himself. Hmph, you all can look, but not touch!

Zhou Weiqing was very clear that since the moment he and Shangguan Bing’er stepped into the academy, it was destined that he wouldn’t to keep himself away from trouble. With Shangguan Bing’er around, even if he didn’t go around looking for trouble, trouble would definitely look for him. He had never mentioned this to Shangguan Bing’er, instead just preparing himself for it in his heart. That had also been the reason why he had rushed to Store all his various attribute Skills, as he had sorely felt a need to power up. With the conflicts between noble and commoner students, added to Shangguan Bing’er’s beauty likely attracting trouble, it was without a doubt that their lives would not be peaceful ones. However, Zhou Weiqing’s thinking was simple. If anyone dares touch my wife, I will beat him up. As soon as all of them are beaten up badly, they will learn and soon we will have peace.

Of course, he wasn’t just being careless or reckless. First of all, he had much confidence in his personal combat prowess. To find someone who could match him amongst the other students would be rather unlikely. The fight with Ming Hua yesterday had only increased his confidence. After all, with her cultivation level, her rare attribute, battle experience and Consolidated Equipment Set, Zhou Weiqing could not believe that there were many who could be more powerful than her in the entire academy. Furthermore, he had not shown his true strength in the battle yesterday… His real profession was after all still an archer, not a close combat warrior!

The next consideration was that this was after all still an academy, a school! As long as he was still a student in the academy, an academy with the name of the Imperial Family, no noble would dare to stir up a huge commotion with mass amounts of people to cause trouble in school. This was after all the capital city of Fei Li Empire, right under the noses of the Imperial Family, and the Emperor himself. As a result, he would likely only be facing mostly students, or perhaps at most few bodyguards.

Zhou Weiqing found the first year commoner students’ seats, which was situated near the front, and they headed there to take their seats. In their batch of students, there weren’t many female students. During their talk yesterday, Zhou Weiqing had learnt from Shangguan Bing’er that their entire commoner student freshmen cohort only had 6 female students in total! On the male side, there were 23 of them, a rather large contrast. That totalled to 29 freshmen students, which would make up their entire class. This opening ceremony was also a way for them to complete the division of classes and for the students to meet their classmates.

“Zhou  Weiqing.”  They  had  just  seated  down  when  Zhou Weiqing heard someone call out his name. As he turned towards the voice, he saw several bald heads, the one in front being Zang Lang. He looked very normal, with no sign of the injury he had sustained during their fight.

“Yes?” Zhou Weiqing replied passively, not moving from his seat and just lifting a brow questioningly. Zang Lang said in a solemn tone: “Today is the first day of school, and there are no classes after the opening ceremony. I need to speak to you after that, okay?”

Seeing Zang Lang approach Zhou Weiqing immediately attracted the attention of many of the surrounding commoner students. After all, the commoner students were barely a tenth of the entire academy population, numbering less than two hundred in total. Zang Lang was definitely one of the most well known amongst all the commoner students. With the word spreading about the previous day’s fight, coupled with Zang Lang now approaching Zhou Weiqing, attention was immediately drawn to Zhou Weiqing who had previously been rather nondescript.

Zhou Weiqing agreed, then turned back without another look to Zang Lang, who did not say anything further and returned back to his own seat with his lackeys.
“Damn, who is that freshmen? He dares to diss Zang Lang?” “Shhh… What do you know?! I heard that Zang Lang fought
and lost to a commoner freshman student the other day, and
was even injured! My guess is it’s that fellow. Don’t judge a book by its cover, he might look unassuming, but he is definitely a dangerous one. Rumour has it that he is a 3- Jeweled Heavenly Jewel Master who is even more powerful than Zang Lang!”

“Yeah, we better keep quiet about it, anyway it has nothing to do with us.”

Zhou Weiqing’s hearing was pretty good, and he could hear the soft voices of the nearby commoner students gossiping about them. Right at that moment, he felt a soft, warm little hand slip into his own, and he turned to see Shangguan Bing’er smiling at him.

This was the girl that he had sworn to protect all his life! Zhou Weiqing patted her hands softly, motioning to her not to worry, but then refused to let go of her hands. Shangguan Bing’er struggled a little before giving up, her face tinged red.

“You are Zhou Weiqing?”  Right at that moment, another voice rang out. This time, even Zhou Weiqing was rather surprised. He had been expecting trouble, but his guess that it would be someone looking to approach Shangguan Bing’er. He did not expect that the person to be approached first would be himself. Could it be that I’m even more attractive than Bing’er? Hmm, it’s true that I have grown more suave lately! As he thought to himself, he felt in a good mood as he turned his head around. This time, the person who had called out to him was standing in the passageway beside their seats. There were three of them in total, all dressed in the noble student outfits. The one who had spoken was standing in front, looking to be about 20 years of age, with a rather average look. However, it seemed his eyes were a little greenish, and his face rather pale, his figure skinny as a pole. If Zhou Weiqing had to describe him, it would be that of a fellow who had lost himself in drink and women, even more so than the Drunk Rogue Luo Ke Di! The two behind him were obviously more well built, but they obviously treated the one in front as a leader.

“Yes, I am Zhou Weiqing.”  He replied with a faint smile. A graceful, polished smile and such poise that made the surrounding onlookers think – Who is really the noble here?

“Zhou Weiqing, come quickly. You, little brat, are indeed lucky. I hear that you managed to defeat Zang Lang the other day, not bad, not bad. Our big bro likes you. Come with us.”

Although this fellow was talking to Zhou Weiqing, his gaze was affixed upon Shangguan Bing’er, his adam’s apple bobbing up and down as he gulped obviously several times. He did not even attempt to hide his searing gaze. “Oh? May I know, who is your big bro, your boss?”  Zhou Weiqing did not lose his suave gentleman smile, and he said calmly without any change in his expression.

The man said impatiently: “Stop asking so many questions. You’ll know when you meet him. And let go of your dirty hands, such a beauty like that, how can someone like you hold her hands?! Now hurry up and go, I will lower myself to sit at your commoner area today.”

This time, even Shangguan Bing’er’s face changed to an ugly expression. Although she was really unwilling to cause trouble, especially with her innate kindhearted nature, she had after all been on the battlefield and killed before. To be looked at with such an obvious leer by a pervert, moreover, a pervert who wasn’t Zhou Weiqing, how could her mood be good?

Zhou Weiqing’s face changed suddenly, a look as if comprehension had suddenly dawned upon him. He said: “Ohh, I got it. Your boss’ surname is ‘Wang’ right?”

The senior started, confused. “No, that’s not right. My boss’ surname is Ye.” Zhou Weiqing shook his head resolutely and said: “No, no, I’m very sure your boss’ name is Wang, and he is the eighth son right? And you are something ball-shaped that rolled out from below him.”

The senior was totally confused by Zhou Weiqing’s strange words, but for those commoner students sitting around them, the first one to react was the tall, large Ma Qun, who burst out laughing. The senior said warily: “Little brat, are you crazy? What the hell are you talking about?”

Zhou Weiqing said with a straight face: “This senior here, haven’t  you  heard  of  an  animal  called  Wang  Ba?”  At  that, everyone around finally understood that he was insulting the, and sounds of laughter rang out around.

Alas, this senior seemed rather slow, and did not comprehend… saying: “Yes, I have heard of it!”

Zhou Weiqing continued with a straight face: “Indeed, and what I said just now was the story of a tortoise and his egg laying story.”

At that point, the two lackeys behind the senior could not contain themselves any longer. The one of the left quickly said: “He called the boss Wang Ba!” The one of the right also chimed in: “Wang Ba…  something ball-shaped that rolled out from below him…. isn’t that Wang Ba Dan (Tortoise egg)? He is scolding you!”

“What!? How dare you insult me?” The senior turned angrily to the other two and shouted: “What are you two waiting for? Drag him out! How dare he insult our boss as Wang Ba?! And to insult me as well, hmph, our boss will not let him go so easily.”

However, the two large seniors behind him did not move, the one on the left muttering to him: “Brother Lou, that little brat is an upper level Shi Stage Heavenly Jewel Master, with 3 Sets of Heavenly Jewels! We can’t beat him! Big Boss only asked you to come here to invite him over to have a talk.”

“Talk your head! He has already insulted our boss, what else is there to talk about. Little brat, just you wait. You’re dead meat! Those of you under the Ye Family, stand out now!” The last sentence was yelled out towards the rest of the commoner student seniors.

The over hundred commoner students stayed quiet, many showing angry looks on their face, but no one made a sound. Zang Lang sat there, his face muscles twitching obviously, but he did not look at them. “I, Your Father, asked you to come out, are you all looking to die? Do you think our Ye Family is supporting you all for nothing? To pay for your Consolidated Equipment and Storing Skills for nothing? Get out here right now… or you know the consequences.” The senior yelled out arrogantly.

At that time, it was mostly students in the assembly hall. Although there were a few teachers around, as soon as they saw it was Ye Lou causing the commotion, they pretended not to see anything. After a while, about a dozen or so of the commoner seniors got up from their seats and walked towards them.

All of a sudden, Zhou Weiqing heard Kou Rui’s voice in his ear. He was sitting at the row behind Zhou Weiqing. “Boss, yesterday I was inquiring about the nobles, and found out that they are ranked to 3, 6 and 9 ranking. In this entire academy, the Ye Family has the greatest influence, and the head of the Ye Family is the prime minister of the Fei Li Empire, and he also has the noble title of duke! Their entire family has a massive influence in the entire Empire, let alone the academy. They have many family members currently in the Academy.”

Basically, from the previous sentence, he was making a pun and scolding them at the same time. Surname of ‘王/Wang’ and eighth son (⼋) spell 王⼋ which also means tortoise. 王⼋ or 王 ⼋蛋 (literally tortoise egg) is also commonly used as an insult
which has nothing to do with tortoises. In english it would be something like ‘son of a b*tch!’ “The noble family students usually choose some of the more outstanding members of the commoner students to join their Families. To do so, they lure them with the funds to Consolidate Equipment or Store Skills.”

“Once they sign their lives away their lives to these nobles, it is pretty much no different as doing so with the Skill Storing Palace. Those seniors have pretty much sold their freedom to the Ye Family.”

Amongst the commoner students, at least eighty percent have chosen to work under noble families or the Skill Storing Palace. Because the Ye Family has one of the largest influence in the Academy, they have managed to get many of the more outstanding seniors amongst the commoners.”

“Thanks, brother.” Zhou Weiqing turned back with a smile, feeling a good impression about Kou Rui. He obviously had been worried about Zhou Weiqing, and had gone through the trouble about investigating the powers and influences in the entire academy. By this moment, the dozen or so commoner seniors had walked up to Ye Lou, who looked at them scornfully and said: “I, Your Father, called you all for so long, and you dared keep quiet? Did you all not eat rice?! This little brat insulted my big brother, you all better take care of him.”

Amongst the dozen or so commoner students, some showed a sense of shame, hanging their heads low. Others looked at Zhou Weiqing, while some others glared angrily at Ye Lou.

The senior standing at the front, looking to be the same age as Zang Lang, gave a soft sigh as she said to Zhou Weiqing: “Sorry Junior, having taken payment from them, we have no choice but to follow their orders. Could you please come with us?”

Zhou Weiqing stood up, nodding and said: “Okay.” As he said that, he let go of Shangguan Bing’er ‘s hands and started to walk out alone.

“I’ll go with you.” Shangguan Bing’er stood up as well, her beautiful face as still and passive as a lake. This was the first time she felt that studying here easily without any trouble might not be as easy as she had thought. Since there were more than a dozen of them, how could she let Zhou Weiqing go by himself! Zhou Weiqing gave a faint smile and didn’t reply as he continued walking.

“Boss, count me in as well! Hmph, what so great about them, becoming dogs of the nobles just for the sake of Consolidated Equipment or Skill Storing.” Kou Rui was filled with righteous indignation as he walked out from his seat as well.

To everyone’s massive surprise, Besides Kou Rui, two others walked out from the commoner freshmen students to stand with Zhou Weiqing. One was Ma Qun, who was wearing a face full of smiles, and the other one was a young man of average stature, looking rather cold and distant.

Ye  Lou  laughed  coldly  and  said:  “Looks  like  this  year’s freshmen are really bold! Very good, it’s also a good chance to teach all you freshmen about the rules of the Fei Li Imperial Family Military Academy. Ding Chen, beat them up, make sure they are beaten up badly to the verge of death, but don’t kill them. Hmph, I’ll see who else dares to resist and be so arrogant.”

The senior who had invited Zhou Weiqing out earlier was Ding Chen who Ye Lou had called out. Seeing Zhou Weiqing walk out without resistance, he sighed softly and said: “Junior, just apologise to Young Master Lou. I’ve heard of your fight with Zang Lang the other day; with your talent, the Young Master Boss of the Ye Family will not want to cause too much trouble to you without provocation.”

Zhou Weiqing smiled at him, elegantly patting away the creases on his uniform as he said passively: “You do not need to say anything else. Didn’t you say just now, having taken payment from them, you have no choice but to follow their orders? Go ahead then. To be honest, in my eyes, you’re even lower than him. As a man, if you can’t even stand up straight and tall in the world, what do you amount to?”

Ding Chen’s face changed and he said angrily: “Junior, do not go too far. Everyone has their own issues and difficulties to face. You are also a Jewel Master, and you should know the problems we face.”

Zhou Weiqing said: “All I know is, I have my own hands and feet. If I need money, I will work hard and earn it to spend, and not be a dog. Since you’ve chosen to be a dog, there is no need to pretend in front of me and act nice.”

His words instantly caused the dozen or so commoner seniors to reveal an angry look on their faces. Originally, they had been rather worried to show that they were under the Ye Family in front of the entire school population. However, now, they had been angered by Zhou Weiqing’s words, and united against a common enemy. Each of them quickly released their Power Jewels.

“Well said. Since you’ve already become a dog, there’s no need to act anymore!”  Ma Qun said at the side. Looking at Zhou Weiqing, he continued: “Don’t misunderstand me, I’m not helping you. I just can’t stand how these nobles do things. What is their basis of enslaving us commoners. Hmph. I, Your Father, will never submit to such things.”

Zhou Weiqing smiled and said: “Not bad, you are a real man, at least you do not let down your size and growth.”

Ye Lou said angrily with much impatience: “Ding Chen, what are you still waiting for?!”

Ding Chen took a deep breath, a cold light flashing in his eyes as he took a step forward and punched towards Zhou Weiqing. His actions were simple but refined and well polished, as if he was a well tempered piece of steel who had been polished over and over. The fist flew towards Zhou Weiqing at a high speed, with a clear strength within. On his right wrist, three Icy Jade Physical Jewels revolved. He was a pure Strength Heavenly Jewel Master, just like Zhou Weiqing, and was also 3-Jeweled! To be considered by the Ye Family, and to be the leader of the Ye Family Commoner Students, he naturally was the strongest amongst them.

Zhou Weiqing followed suit, punching forward, the twelve energy whirlpools at his Death Acupuncture Points revolving at max speeds as his Heavenly Energy surged forth. There was a reason why he had moved away from his seat.

With a loud *BANG*, the two fists clashed. Zhou Weiqing stood there not moving, while Ding Chen actually stumbled back three steps before barely catching his balance. His face instantly changed.

It had to be known that Ding Chen’s Heavenly Energy was already cultivated to the second level of the Heavenly Shen Energy, and was actually two levels higher than Zhou Weiqing! However, his physical strength and power was just totally incomparable to Zhou Weiqing’s. At this moment, he felt as his right fist was totally numb. Facing a similar 3-Jeweled Strength Heavenly Jewel Master, and with both sides not using any Consolidated Equipment or Stored Skills, how could such a result not shock him. However, that was not the end of it, and what followed next shocked him even more. After exchanging the single punch and knocking him back, Zhou Weiqing suddenly vanished. When he appeared once more, he was already right in front of Ding Chen, his right leg already smashing downwards like a massive, terrifying axe. Without question, Zhou Weiqing had just used his Blink skill and used it to get into position to use his Demonic Right Leg. After all, the opening ceremony was about to begin, and he wanted to show his might and scare off some of those who had designs on him or Shangguan Bing’er. To do so, he naturally had to win
quickly and beautifully in order to have the maximum effect.

The Blink Skill could not be measured simply by just speed – it was as if the very instant Ding Chen had stumbled backwards, Zhou Weiqing’s leg was already in front of him. Not even considering the fact that speed was not his strongest point, even if it was, he would likely not be able to dodge it. Without any choice, he could only attempt to lift both arms up in an attempt to block Zhou Weiqing’s right leg.

“Ding Chen is ruined.” Zang Lang, who was seated amongst the other commoner students, gave a sigh as he shook his head. He had experienced the power of Zhou Weiqing’s right leg for himself, and knew very well how unbelievably strong and destructive it was. In his mind, it was some sort of Consolidated Equipment or Stored Skill, and such a terrifying power was definitely not something that Ding Chen could just take easily.

*BAANGG*…. *Kaachaa* “AHHHH —” an intense, shrill cry of pain resounded across the entire assembly hall. Ding Chen’s entire body was smashed into the floor. Just as Zang Lang had expected, he was ruined. Both his arms which had been attempting to block Zhou Weiqing’s right leg had been broken. At the same time, the leg
had broken through his guard and smashed into his shoulder, breaking it along with 5 ribs! If not for the fact that Zhou Weiqing had not used his full strength and also struck to the side at the last moment, his head would have been smashed apart. In the next instant, with Zhou Weiqing as the central point, with a radius of fifty metres, everyone fell silent. Even
Ye Lou who had been arrogantly calling out just a moment ago,
fell silent, as if he had swallowed something and choked on it. His face was totally pale as he looked at the scene in front of him.

No one had expected that in a clash of pure strength, Ding Chen would lose so quickly and so absolutely, nor had they expected Zhou Weiqing to be so vicious in striking. That leg alone had almost caused Ding Chen to be ruined for life. Blood poured out of Ding Chen’s mouth as he writhed on the ground, spasming.

The other commoner seniors who had been behind Ding Chen stood there dumbfounded. None of them dared be the next to launch an attack towards Zhou Weiqing. Earlier, the cold and grave looking freshman youth who had stood out together with Ma Qun also narrowed his eyes in shock.

Shangguan Bing’er had closed her eyes before Zhou Weiqing’s Demonic Right Leg had struck Ding Chen’s arms. She was the one who knew Zhou Weiqing’s powers the best, and she knew that directly fighting power to power with his leg would never result in a good end. When they were still in the Heavenly Bow Unit, even the 7-Jeweled Physical Jewel Master Hua Feng dared not collide directly with Zhou Weiqing’s Demonic Right Leg. Its sheer strength was already not something any normal Jewel Master could compare to. Yesterday, Ming Hua’s method of fighting with him, not allowing his right leg to touch her, was the best fighting style to deal with it.

Looking at Ding Chen who had fallen on the floor, Zhou Weiqing did not feel any sense of sympathy. “You still call yourself a Heavenly Jewel Master. That ‘Wang Ba Dan’’s Family, they really treated you well huh. Selling yourself to them, it must be really good. If I haven’t seen wrongly, you have a darkness seal within you, you’ve become just a slave. In the future, you better not appear in front of me again. Otherwise, even if you somehow manage to fix your bones, I will break them again. I do not mind if you want to become a dog, but if a dog comes barking crazily in front of me, then do not blame me for being nasty.”

After he finished speaking, he turned to look at the other Ye Family commoner seniors who were still behind Ding Chen. “You bunch of weak willed fools are willing to become dogs, beating you up is just dirtying my foot.”

The next moment, his body disappeared once more in a flash as he activated the Blink Skill. This time, he appeared right in front of Ye Lou, who was so surprised that he stumbled back with an ashen face, falling down onto the ground on his ass. His voice trembling, he said: “You… what are you doing?” In his eyes, Zhou Weiqing had a tyrannical, overbearing aura about him, as if he were a demon personifying plague and pestilence.

Zhou Weiqing smiled faintly, squatting down and patting him softly on his pale face. “Relax, I’m not doing anything to you. Go back and tell your boss… next time, find a better egg to look for me. Don’t use someone useless like you. Get lost!” Ye Lou was originally thinking of dropping a final threat before leaving, but seeing Zhou Weiqing’s smiling face, his heart froze and he just didn’t dare say a word. Bringing the other two noble students along, he slunk away into the distance. Zhou Weiqing stood up once more, looking towards the other twenty odd freshmen of his class, saying coldly: “I do not care, nor can I do anything about the seniors who have already made their choices. However, we will be together in the same class for the next four year. If any of you dare to bow down and
submit to any noble families, you better just get lost and not let me see you in class. Otherwise, Ding Chen will be your example.”

“How dare you say that? What’s your basis of doing so?!” The cold, distant youth standing next to Ma Qun said solemnly. “What right do you have to decide others’ fate? How we choose is our own business. Do you think your words are law in the academy? Even if we want to be dogs to nobles, that is our own choice.”

Chapter 46 Do not submit, I’ll upkeep you all

“Right? Basis?”  Zhou Weiqing looked at the youth and said passively: “My basis is my fist. Since my fist is stronger than yours… Might is right! In the future, my word is the rule for the class. At least in the next four years, no matter who it is, no one is allowed to surrender and depend on either noble families or the Skill Storing Palace. After four years, when we have all graduated, everyone will go on their own path, and you can do whatever you want then. I can’t control anyone.”

As he said that, he walked slowly towards the youth, who continued staring at him with a burning gaze without backing down. Even Ma Qun who was standing beside the youth knitted his brows. Zhou Weiqing was being unbelievably arrogant. Even Kou Rui had a rather ugly look on his face, while the other seniors who were around them looked towards Zhou Weiqing as if he were crazy.

Shangguan Bing’er grabbed Zhou Weiqing’s arm, saying softly: “Little Fatty, what’s wrong? We’re all classmates, don’t do that.”

“It’s exactly because we are classmates that’s why I am doing this.” Zhou Weiqing said coldly as his gaze swept across all the freshmen commoner students. He saw fear, anger, discontent, apprehension, all sorts of emotions and looks expressed on their faces and eyes. “As a person, one needs to be able to stand up tall and straight. If one has no backbone, how does one become a strong person? Have you ever heard in the Jewel
Master world of any strong person who was a slave? Let me teach you all a lesson. As a human being, one has to stand up tall, straighten your backbone. As such, I will not allow my classmates to be slaves to others, I do not want to see you all dwarfed or looked down on by others.”

Even though he was still being held onto by Shangguan Bing’er, he walked on to the front of the youth. That youth was indeed stubborn and strong willed, facing Zhou Weiqing’s imposing aura, he did not back down.

Zhou Weiqing walked to only one chi from the youth before stopping. “Earlier, you asked me, what is my basis? Alright, let me tell you!”

As he said that, he lifted up his hand and wiped it across the spatial necklace around his neck. Instantly, a gold coin storage card appeared in his hands, and he pushed it in front of the youth. “In this card, there is at least 400,000 gold coins of value. From today onwards, all of our classmates’ requirements for Skill Storing will be paid for by that. If it runs out, I will top it up. I do not need you all to submit to me or enslave yourselves to me, but in this four years I will pay for your requirements, and all I require is that you all stand up tall and be a real person, and not a dog.”

With those words, everyone around erupted into words. The first impression of the seniors around was that this fellow had gone crazy, paying for his classmates’ Skill Storing without requiring anything in return?! Isn’t that insanity?

On the other hand, the freshmen were all dumbfounded, staring at Zhou Weiqing with a strange expression on their faces. This fellow in front of them might be crazy, but he was a really cute and adorable crazy! After all, if given a choice, who would want to become a dog, become a slave and be bound by Darkness Seals?

The cold, grave youth subconsciously took the card from Zhou Weiqing’s hands. His eyes, originally full of anger and stubborness, were now dazed. “You should know that Skill Storing isn’t really the issue, and Physical Jewel Consolidating Equipment is actually the real problem. Even a normal set of low level Consolidating Equipment Scrolls will cost at least 50,000 gold coins, and this 400,000 gold coins will not last long. Furthermore, even if you are rich, it doesn’t mean that you will be able to purchase Consolidating Equipment Scrolls, since they are still very rare!”

Zhou Weiqing smiled and said: “I said that I would handle it… Kou Rui!”

“En?” Kou Rui heard his name being called and ran over. “Boss? You called me?”

Zhou Weiqing patted him on his shoulder and said: “Do you trust me?”

Looking at Zhou Weiqing, Kou Rui said: “I trust you. Since I have already made my decision to follow you, I will not regret it. My father said, in our lives, we always have some opportunities or chances which appear before us, and we will need to seize the opportunity and not let go of it. I believe that this is my opportunity.”

Zhou Weiqing laughed heartily. “Very good, I also believe in that. Help me hold this.”  As he said that, he once swiped his hand across his Spatial Necklace, and a sheet of paper appeared in his hands. He asked Kou Rui to hold two edges of it, while Shangguan Bing’er held the other two edges, keeping the paper horizontally flat in midair. Turning to the grave youth, he said: “Do you know what this is?”

“This?  Could  this  be…   Consolidating  Paper?”   Came  the surprised reply.

Zhou Weiqing nodded and said: “Watch.” As he said that, he flicked his wrists, and before anyone could see clearly, a brush and a small bottle appeared in his hands. As he opened the bottle cap, he dipped the brush into the bottle, which was filled with Consolidating Ink. Taking a deep breath, Zhou Weiqing’s gaze seemed to turn sharp as he focused, his eyes narrowing as his entire concentration was on the Consolidating Paper before him.

By now, that Ye Lou fellow returned with seven to eight academy teachers in tow. Ding Chen’s injuries weren’t light, and he could make use of that against Zhou Weiqing. His big bro was not attending this opening ceremony, and if he found out about what happened, he would be extremely angry, and Ye Lou would be in trouble. Since he wasn’t able to deal with Zhou Weiqing personally, then he would let the teachers deal with him! First would be to get him expelled using Ding Chen’s injuries as an excuse, and once he was expelled they could deal with him slowly. Seeing Ding Chen’s injured body on the floor, two of the teachers rushed over immediately to start healing him, while the others walked towards Zhou Weiqing. Just as Ye Lou was about to speak, the leader of the teachers, looking about 50 years of age, stopped him. He stared at the paper that
Shangguan Bing’er and Kou Rui was holding, surprise in his eyes. “Wait. Let’s see what he is up to. That’s a Consolidating Paper… And it’s an empty one too… Could it be…”

At the same time, Zhou Weiqing started moving. His movements were not quick, on the contrary, they were extremely slow and measured. It was as if nothing in the background mattered, that nothing was affecting him, and nothing had happened earlier. As the brush moved up and down steadily, it brought along a shimmering silver glow as the Consolidating Ink swirled around on the paper, etching deep into it.

Everyone in the hall was staring at Zhou Weiqing, most of the students even standing to look. Many of the students who were originally far away did not know exactly what was going on, but steadily more and more attention was drawn here.

Zhou Weiqing seemed to have lapsed into a strange, unique rhythm. With his stroke of the brush, a mark was left on the Consolidating Paper. As he continued drawing, the image of small round shield slowly appeared on the paper, strange symbols and tattoos seemingly making everything fall into place. The entire process was very slow, but natural and smooth, like the endless flow of water in a stream. His actions did not stop a second, and every brushstroke seemed to be
linked to the world.

Zhou Weiqing was focused fully on the Consolidated Paper, while Shangguan Bing’er was focused on his face. As the saying goes, a man who is focused at work is at his finest, and at that moment she finally understood what all that he was doing, the deeper meaning in it all. Of course! My Little Fatty was never a careless person, how could he do anything for nothing?

Finally, Zhou Weiqing completed the last brushstroke with a flourish, and a brilliant gold light shone forth, and the unique aura of a Consolidating Equipment Scroll was released. Although it was just a split second, it was something that the surrounding onlookers would never forget.

Although Consolidating Equipment Scrolls were rare, there were many Jewel Masters around, and quite a few had used Consolidating Equipment Scrolls before.

However, witnessing the actual process of creation of a scroll was something that almost none of them had been through! However, though they hadn’t seen it before, they had at least heard of the process. When the gold light flashed out, even a fool would know that Zhou Weiqing had completed the Consolidating Equipment Scroll.

Zhou Weiqing kept the scroll from Shangguan Bing’er and Kou Rui’s hands, and turned once more to the cold youth. What he saw was a look of surprise and respect, the cold look in his face gone.

“Elemental Jewel Skill Storing, Physical Jewel Consolidating Equipment. My dear classmates, what else do you all lack? I am a mid level Consolidating Equipment Master. As I said, I can upkeep all of you, without any need for repayment, and I can do so even for the Consolidating Equipment you need. I am a commoner, but I believe that with my ability at creating Consolidating Equipment Scrolls, I have the right to say all that. Are you all willing to spend the next four years with me? To not allow anyone to bully us?”

After creating that Consolidating Equipment Scroll, Zhou Weiqing did not show any signs of fatigue, instead looking energetic. His eyes were filled with confidence and an incomparable resolution. “I am willing.” Kou Rui was the first to support Zhou Weiqing once more. As for Shangguan Bing’er, it was not necessary for her to even speak. She would always follow him.

“My name is Yan Zhexi. I, too, am willing.” The second person to speak up was that cold youth.” With such an offer, with free Skill Storing and free Consolidated Equipment, he would be a fool not to agree!

“Heh heh…”  Without even taking a look and just hearing that voice, Zhou Weiqing naturally knew it was Ma Qun who had just opened his mouth as well.

The freshmen students stood up one by one. No matter what their nature or character was, with Zhou Weiqing holding that freshly created Consolidating Equipment Scroll in front of them, and asking them if they would stand tall together with him for four years, their blood was ignited.

No one would be willing to be enslaved without reason. Especially so now they had a strong support in front of them. A Consolidating Equipment Master, who knew how many strong and powerful people would be willing to follow him. Furthermore, he was their classmate, a classmate who was willing to help them without recompense. At this time, who would make another choice? “I’m willing! We’re willing!”  Voices sounded out one after the other. In this very instant, all the freshmen students’ hearts were bound together, and the central nucleus of that binding was Zhou Weiqing, scroll in hand, as he stood tall. At this point, Ye Lou was completely dumbfounded. Consolidating Equipment Master? That little brat was actually a Consolidating Equipment Master? No matter how proud and arrogant he was, he knew how important a Consolidating Equipment Master was, how rare they were, and what they meant to any large power or influence! Among the entire student population of the three top academies of the Fei Li Empire, it would be hard pressed to find another Consolidating Equipment Master! Furthermore, Zhou Weiqing was a mid level Consolidating Equipment Master!

Although Ye Lou didn’t have much abilities, he still had some ability to judge the situation, and he knew that Zhou Weiqing was not exaggerating things.

After all, earlier, the Consolidating Paper was not even placed on a table, and he had actually drawn it directly without the aid of a design pre-drawn! This was not something that even an ordinary mid level Consolidating Equipment Master could do!

As he finally caught a breath, he seized the opportunity between all the various cries “I do” to slink off away. Ye Lou knew that he had made a huge mess of things today… and he would be in deep trouble went he went back. Even still, he knew that he had no choice but to report what happened to his big bro as soon as possible… if not, things would be even worse for him!

“Pa Pa pa…” The sounds of clapping rang out, and Zhou Weiqing turned around to see the group of black clothed teachers that Ye Lou had led over. The one who was clapping was the fifty year old teacher that had been leading the group. There was an undisguised admiration in his eyes.

“Boy, what’s your name?”  The teacher smiled as he asked. Although he was smiling, Zhou Weiqing could sense an uncanny pressure and stress. With his keen senses, he could immediately tell that this man in front of him was way beyond his abilities.

“Hello teacher, my name is Zhou Weiqing.”  Zhou Weiqing said politely, the impassioned and vehement look he had a moment ago disappearing, and that innocent, honest looking boy that was in front of them just seemed so different from that arrogant fellow who took out Ding Chen with a kick earlier. This fellow indeed changed faced faster than people could flip a page in a book. Zhou Weiqing was extremely intelligent, and he knew what to do and what to say in front of different people. If he tried to resist an academy teacher without reason, that would be foolish of him. First of all, not to mention he didn’t have the power and strength to do so… even if he did, he still needed to continue learning in this academy. For Shangguan Bing’er and his own sake, he couldn’t easily offend teachers. Beating another student, that was still a matter between students. However, if he displayed arrogance towards a teacher… then that would be another matter altogether… no matter how high his abilities were, that was something the academy would not be able to stand.

The fifty year old teacher smiled and said: “I never expected that this year’s batch of freshmen has so many talents… and even more… a mid level Consolidating Equipment Mater… Good… Very good… However….”

Just as he said the words ‘however’, he suddenly saw Zhou Weiqing’s face change… change into a look of grief and indignation, lamenting with a sobbing voice: “Teacher… you’ve arrived at just the right time! I was just about to look for a teacher to report the injustice… You must uphold justice for us weak little freshmen ah! As freshmen, we have just entered the school… and we’ve already started being bullied by these seniors. Just now, so many of them surrounded me and attacked me. Furthermore, there are those noble senior… saying that if I do not submit to them… I will not be able to stay in the academy… that they will make me beg to die. The best case scenario would be just me getting chased out of school. In attempting to defend myself, I accidentally hit one of the many seniors who were surrounding me… sigh… that is indeed my fault. However… if… if I didn’t take action… perhaps I would be the one lying half dead on the floor right now. Teacher, I just want to study in school, to be hardworking and learn what I can… to contribute my meagre talents to the school’s honour… Our Imperial Family Academy is still being run by the teachers right…? You have to protect us weak commoners! If not, in the future, which commoners would ever want to join our Imperial Family Military Academy?”

As Zhou Weiqing said that, he was sobbing away with his tears flowing… Of course, whether or not he was really crying, nobody could really tell since he kept wiping his eyes with his sleeves……

What was the meaning of two-faced? To pin everything on the other side? Zhou Weiqing showed off an amazing, well practiced piece of acting in front of all the other students.

At least over a hundred students had seen the entire events that had transgressed, but even they could not marry the two images… Of that arrogant fellow and this sobbing weak little lamb that was a ‘mere frail commoner’. In front of so many witnesses, to change faces like that, to speak like that, it wasn’t something that any normal person could do, it required a skin so unbelievably thick!

Shangguan Bing’er flushed deeply, looking down and not looking at Zhou Weiqing. If not for the fact that she was so kind hearted, she might have jumped up and proclaimed she didn’t know this fellow.

The surrounding students were all dumbfounded, their hearts resounding with a single sentence: What? That works?!

Alas, what these students knew… Wasn’t necessarily known to the teachers. All they saw was that Zhou Weiqing created a Consolidating Equipment Scroll, and kindly telling the other commoner students that he would upkeep them without need for repayment, not allowing others to bully us. To be honest, many of the ordinary teachers were of common birth, with only the upper echelons being of noble birth. Furthermore, with Zhou Weiqing’s display of his amazing talent in creating Consolidating Equipment Scrolls, as well as Ye Lou’s previous bad reputation… in that moment, most of the teachers had believed most of Zhou Weiqing’s words. Zhou Weiqing’s sobbing denouncement wasn’t thoughtless and without consideration. His words were extremely skilled, not only did he denounce the various seniors for their surrounding him and ‘brutality’, he even admitted his own mistakes with such an honest, sincere apologetic appearance. When teachers usually taught their students, they would usually say… Committing an error is not the scary thing, the most important thing is to know your mistake and learn from it. Admitting your mistake is the first step. Now, Zhou Weiqing’s appearance… wasn’t it just that? In the teachers’ eyes, he was perfectly justified in his self defence, and was now begging for their protection as the weaker side.

The most important thing was that what Zhou Weiqing said was all truths of some sort. Indeed, it was Ye Lou who had started the fight, who had asked the seniors to beat him. If not for the fact that his power was so great, the one who would be beaten up would indeed have been Zhou Weiqing As such… the beauty of his words was that nobody could refute his statements. After all, having studied under Mu En for so many years, it was not for nothing! As compared to two years ago, our dear Zhou Little Fatty was now a lot more mature… In Mu En’s words… this little brat had grown from an ordinary mere scoundrel into a high level rogue.

Hearing Zhou Weiqing’s words, the fifty year old teacher’s face darkened… his eyes sweeping across the surrounding students… especially the seniors who were standing with Ding Chen.

“It seems the problem is indeed very serious! Is this what the noble students are doing now? Bullying the commoner students to such an extent? Even such young freshmen, you still won’t let them go? Do you all still have any shame as a senior? The bunch of you, go back to your rooms to reflect on your actions, each of you will have to submit a report to me on your self reflections. After that, go stand in the main square as punishment… without my permission… none of you can leave.”

The other commoner seniors were so aggrieved and wronged in their hearts! Alas, they did not dare to rebut the teacher, and slunk away.

The teacher continued in a grave tone: “This situation cannot continue for long… it looks like our academy needs to go through some shaking up. Otherwise, in the future, no true talents will dare come to our academy to study. All of you, return to your seats. The academy will handle the situation after the opening ceremony.”

The teacher’s stern look struck fear into all the surrounding students, especially the seniors who were familiar with him, and they all quickly went back to their seats without making a sound.

Zhou Weiqing was also prepared to return to his seat, but he was called back by that teacher. In contrast to the stern and serious appearance he had earlier, this teacher with an imposing aura now had a faint smile on his face. Taking a few steps forward, he patted Zhou Weiqing on his shoulder, saying: “Young men need to have guts! You should not be depressed after any setbacks, and should come back fighting, and stronger. Do not worry, I will take care of what happened… This is the Fei Li Imperial Family Military Academy, not some people’s backyards. The academy will protect every student’s safety. However, fighting in school is not allowed amongst students, so you will still have to pay for the medical bill of the student you accidentally injured.”

Hearing the teacher’s words… the surrounding students almost choked. What? Depressed? Setbacks? Come back fighting stronger?? This brutal fellow who almost kicked a upper level Shi Stage Heavenly Jewel Master to death with a single blow… if he came back fighting stronger, how could the rest of them live?? Furthermore… how did this become an accidental injury? That was a brutal savage blow! To think that just paying medical fees would be his only punishment? And it was made out as if that shameless Zhou Weiqing fellow was the one who was suffering the injustice. Instantly, all the surrounding students had a strange expression on their faces.

Zhou Weiqing ignored them. At this moment, his face was that of being overwhelmed with gratitude to the point of tears… “Thank you teacher, you are just so just and fair. I will definitely shoulder my responsibilities. Senior Ding Chen was also not at fault, after all he was just listening to instructions. I will definitely pay for his medical fees and re-nourishment fees. Teacher, can I know your name… having to come to this academy and met you today… I truly feel like I am really part of this academy… part of a home.”

When the teacher heard Zhou Weiqing’s words, the smile on his face widened… and he nodded to Zhou Weiqing and said: “My name is Xiao Shi, and I am the Dean of Students. In the future, if you met any such injustice, you can come to look for me. My office is in the 3rd floor of the main school building, the western wing.”

“Thank you Teacher Xiao, it is great to have such a fair and just teacher like you, and with your protection at least I can concentrate on my studies in school. In the future, I will definitely endeavour to bring honour to the academy, and be an outstanding student.” Xiao Shi laughed heartily and said: “Alright, you should return to your seat as well, the opening ceremony is about to begin.” Zhou Weiqing did not flatter him outright, but each of his words were hidden praises… Such an outstanding yet good and hardworking student… which teacher wouldn’t like him?! As Zhou Weiqing returned to his seat, Xiao Shi also led the other teachers away. The surrounding students stared at him with a mix of scorn, respect, fear and admiration. On the other hand, Zhou Weiqing ignored their varied expressions, saying: “I want to be the class rep . Does anyone have any objections? I meant what I said, in the next four years, before we all graduate, everyone in our class will get all their requirements for Consolidating Equipment and Skill Storing. Mmmnn… to get more help from me, you should all work hard at cultivating, and cultivate more sets of Jewels before you graduate. As I said, I have no requirements from you all… after four years, we will part ways.”

Within the commoner freshmen, some of them were still confused by the entire morning’s events. Severely injuring senior Ding Chen… did this just end so easily? Was there no further punishment from the academy? Amongst these students, some of the more intelligent ones could already see how extraordinary Zhou Weiqing was. This fellow might be crazy, but he had his own logic, and was no fool. No matter what his reasons were for doing this, at least it was of no detriment to them. Under such a circumstance, who would object to him being class rep?

Alas, right at that moment, against all expectations, a disharmonious voice rang out. “To become the class rep… did you ask my permission?”

The voice was soft and alluring, full of a seductive undertone, and everyone’s gaze was subconsciously drawn to its owner immediately.

Since Zhou Weiqing had entered the assembly hall, the events that transpired let him feel that everything was under his control. However, when he looked at the owner of the voice, his expression changed instantly into an ugly expression.

Ming Hua stood there, no sign of yesterday’s injuries on her pretty face and beautiful body. She was looking extremely good, slightly flushed, her pretty eyes rolling a little as she stared at the freshmen students. However, that was not the reason got Zhou Weiqing’s expression. The main reason for it was actually her attire – she was in the black robes that was meant for teachers. Currently, her eyes were mocking and seemingly laughing at Zhou Weiqing. “Ohhh? Cat got your tongue, my dear Consolidating Equipment Master? Didn’t you want to be the class rep?”

Zhou Weiqing gave a bitter smile: “… Could it be that… You are our class teacher in charge?”

Ming Hua smiled and said: “I’m sorry, it is just that coincidental. I indeed just happen to be your class teacher in charge. Hello all of you students, my name is Ming Hua, and I will be your teacher from now on. I hope that everyone can learn well from today onwards, learn all the military knowledge and become an outstanding military leader or general.”

When Zhou Weiqing saw Ming Hua dressed in the teacher’s black robes, he sensed a feeling of foreboding as his heart sank. No matter how smart and cunning he was, he had never expected that someone as young as Ming Hua was a teacher and not a student! Furthermore, she was his class teacher! How would be spend the days ahead? He had just beaten her up yesterday, and almost to death…

Zhou Weiqing had no choice but to shut up and sit down quietly, as his mind spun rapidly, looking for any possible solution. To his great surprise, Ming Hua changed her tune. After attracting the attention of all the freshmen, she smiled and said: “Earlier, I saw our student Zhou Weiqing’s performance. I think what he said was right. As a person, the most important thing is to have a backbone, to stand upright. No matter
whether or not his actions are right or wrong, at least they have given our class a sense of unity and brought you all closer together. As such, I think that it isn’t too bad to give him the temporary position of class rep. Of course, after the opening ceremony, we can go through a proper round of voting for the
actual position.”

Listening to her words, Zhou Weiqing was taken aback. He found it strange that Ming Hua hadn’t seized the opportunity to suppress him.

Ming Hua walked to the front and found herself a seat. At the other side, the senior classes of the commoner students all stared at her as if they had seen a ghost.

Zang Lang’s face twitched once more, muttering to himself: “It looks like this year the nobles will not be able to enslave any of the freshmen. With the Flower of Hades’ Underground, plus that fellow, it’s going to be an interesting and noisy school year.” After such an eventful morning, the opening ceremony was finally about to begin. Zhou Weiqing saw the Dean of Students Xiao Shi had already walked to the VIP corner from the side door of the nobles’ gallery. Besides Xiao Shi, 3 others walked in with him.

The one who drew Zhou Weiqing’s attention the most was the one in the main seat. The person was tall and slim, also dressed in a set of teacher’s black robes. The difference was, her robe was lined with lines of gold. Her long hair was a lustrous black, held neatly behind her head with a golden circlet. Her beautiful pale face had a faint smile on it, and there was a symbol of the cross sword icon of the Fei Li Empire on the upper side of the robes at her chest. The main difference was at the center of the symbol, lay a stunningly brilliant red gem.

Although the distance wasn’t exactly close to the VIP stand, Zhou Weiqing could still feel her high class beauty, noble grace and elegance. This was not something he had seen from anyone else before. Not even in the Heavenly Bow Empire’s Imperial Family had he seen anyone with an aura like this young lady, who barely looked 17 years of age.

Besides this young lady, among the other three, Xiao Shi was actually the youngest. The other two were white haired old men. Although their robes were also lined with gold stripes, they did not have the gold cross sword symbol on their chests, and their aura seemed to be merely an accompaniment to the young lady.

As the four entered, the entire assembly hall fell into silence. Xiao Shi sat at the front seat, calling out in a solemn voice: “The opening ceremony will now begin. Let us put our hands together to welcome our Principal Cai Cai to get the show started, as well as Vice Principals Xing Tian Yi and Zeng Xun.

Instantly, the sound of clapping arose like thunder, and the three Principals stood up, inclining their heads in greeting.

Principal? That young lady was actually the principal? Although Zhou Weiqing had vaguely sensed her importance, he was still struck by surprise and disbelief when the true nature of her position was revealed.

The great Fei Li Imperial Family Military Academy actually had such a beautiful young lady as the Principal? Although Zhou Weiqing approved heartily, it did seem rather odd! Could there be some hidden secret behind this? Just as Zhou Weiqing was musing over the possibilities, Kou Rui’s voice rang out in his ear once more. “Boss, our Principal is truly a great person. I have been inquiring about her and the reason why she was able to become the Principal was because of her own abilities. Do not judge her by her looks; she might
look young, gentle and frail, but she is well known in the Fei Li Empire to be a Iron Lady, and is a general and Vice Commander in the army. Furthermore, that rank was reduced due to the fact she is a lady, otherwise with her contributions she might be of an even higher rank now. Also, Principal Cai Cai is the Fei Li Emperor’s younger sister, and although she is
already 35 years old this year, she is still unmarried.

It is rumoured that she and the God General Ming Yu are lovers, although nobody knows why they are still unmarried or without children after all these years.

Listening to Kou Rui’s words, Zhou Weiqing couldn’t help but laugh. “I didn’t expect that you are such a gossip.”

Kou Rui grinned and said: “Originally when I was in my previous military high school, my main focus of study was military intelligence and spycraft. After all, in war, military intelligence and scouting is one of the most important things – only when we have grasp of accurate intelligence are we able to make the right decisions, and it is often the key to victory.” Zhou Weiqing smiled and said: “In the future, if I can become a general, I want you as my Intelligence Officer.”

As they exchanged whispers quietly, the opening ceremony officially began. In truth, this so called official ceremony was just an opportunity for the few leaders of the academy to speak to all the students, to summarise the accomplishments of the academy, the highlights of the past years. After listening to a few sentences, Zhou Weiqing was feeling really drowsy. Of the entire ceremony, the only thing he remembered was the beautiful sound of Principal Cai Cai’s voice, but not any of the contents. As for Shangguan Bing’er who was sitting beside him, she paid full attention to all the speeches. Being able to enter the Fei Li Military Academy was something important to her, and she truly treasured the opportunity. After all, that feeling of helplessness when she was the Battalion Commander was still fresh in her mind, and it made her feel extremely lacking in terms of military knowledge.


Just as the opening ceremony was being held in the Fei Li Military Academy, not far from it, a unique visitor entered the Fei Li Empire’s Skill Storing Palace Headquarters. A young lady stood before the Skill Storing Palace, silently observing the tall, large building before her. Although she was just standing there, she seemed to have a unique aura that drew the attention of everyone around. It was a strange, noble aura that seemed to destroy any improper thoughts anyone might have, as if they were looking upon a glowing ray of sunshine.

The young lady had covered her face with cloth, and although she seemed very young, she had a head of white hair. However, it was clear that the colour wasn’t due to old age, as it shone with a lustre and gleam of life, almost glittering with an inner glow as if it were made of strands of white jade. At the sides of her forehead, there were two stripes of blue hair, contrasting with the rest of the white and somehow accentuating her beauty further.

Her eyes were a deep purple, and her soft gaze seemed to reach deep into one’s soul. Standing there, it was as if she drew in all the sun and light of the world around her, and soon, her slender long legs moved, as she slowly headed up the steps to the Skill Storing Palace.

She had just stepped up, and already immediately drew the attention of the guards. After some hesitation, four of them went up to her. At that time, despite their duties, they had a strange feeling in their hearts, as if to ask her to show her Power Jewels was an absurd thing to do. This person was definitely a Heavenly Jewel Master.

Before they could speak, the white haired lady lifted up her right hand, the slender fingers glowing with a faint white light, and along her wrist, six Icy Jade Physical Jewels appeared, white mist swirling around them.

The guards’ pupils contracted in shock, and they bowed as they said respectfully: “Most respected Upper Level Zun Stage Heavenly Jewel Master, please enter.”

The white haired lady nodded faintly, but did not speak. She took a step forward, and passed by the guards into the Skill Storing Palace.

originally called it class monitor which was the direct translation… changed to class rep as per some suggestions 🙂 Thanks!

Chapter 47 Mysterious White Haired Young Lady

It was only after she had vanished into the building, when the guards seemed to awaken.

“Can you guys guess her age?”

“No, I can’t. Upper level Zun Stage Heavenly Jewel Master! It’s been awhile since I’ve seen such a powerful Heavenly Jewel Master entering our Skill Storing Palace. I wonder why she didn’t go directly to the Wan Shou Empire to look for a suitable Heavenly Beast for Skill Storing?”

“Who knows? My guess is, this Upper level Zun Stage Heavenly Jewel Master should be the Light Attribute… It felt as if she was as bright as the sun itself.”

After entering the Skill Storing Palace, the white haired young lady did not stop at all, directly entering the path leading to the Spatial Attribute Skill Storing area. Every step she took seemed to bring her naturally almost a dozen metres to the front, floating along as if she had no real physical body. Before long she had reached the hall to choose the Heavenly Beast’s stage. The two Skill Storing Palace Jewel Masters who were guarding the hall were just about to ask her what stage of Heavenly Beast she was looking for, when… the white haired lady waved her left hands, a dim white light flashed out and the two of them crumpled back down into their seats. In another flash of white light, her body stealthily entered the recently opened passage – leading to the one and only King Stage Heavenly Beast, Silver Emperor.

In the next instant, she appeared in front of the Silver Emperor.

As if sensing her presence, the Silver Emperor which had been confined to the ground by the powerful Darkness Seals suddenly raised its head. When it saw the white haired lady, it started chittering excitedly, the silver feathers on its body standing up and its eyes revealing its excitement.

Once again, the white haired lady raised her left hand, and a thick milky white light swirled out and enveloped the Silver Emperor quietly. As soon as the white light met with the Darkness seal on its forehead and wings, the Silver Emperor’s body started quivering involuntarily.

All of a sudden, the milky white brilliant light turned gold. The three black Darkness Seals suddenly started melting away like snow in the summer’s sun.

The Silver Emperor shuddered, its wings spreading wide violently, and a terrifying aura exploded outwards. In a ear piercing shattering sound, the chains on its body split apart, and a long suppressed cry shrieked out from its mouth.

The white haired lady looked on impassively as that all happened, with nary a change in expression. With another flick of her right hand, a brilliant gold light fell upon the Silver Emperor’s forehead. Instantly, its entire body was enveloped by a dim gold light, and the terrifying aura of surrounding it seemed to strengthen several fold. Its rather weak eyes turned strong and powerful, and a golden symbol appeared on its forehead.

The white haired lady finally opened her mouth… Her voice was soft and pleasing to the ear… extremely enchanting, yet seemingly without any emotions.

“Saving you now from your torture… In future, you belong to the Snow God. Come with me…”

The Silver Emperor nodded repeatedly, its cries slowly stopping, and its terrifying and violent aura that showed its powerful rank of a King Stage Heavenly Beast settled down and vanished as it calmed down. Spreading its wings, the Silver Emperor landed on her shoulders. A dim white light enveloped the two of them, and they levitated up, warping into a ball of thick white light and shooting forth out of the Skill Storing Palace like a bolt of lightning.

Earlier when the Silver Emperor had cried shrilly, the entire Skill Storing Palace shook in the massive reverberation. Instantly, ten powerful auras erupted from the distance, all speeding towards the Skill Storing Palace.

Alas, when they reached, all they saw was a mass of white life flying out of the Skill Storing Palace. Instantly, the ten terrifying auras surrounded it in anger.

A loud angry howl filled with rage sounded forth as a silver bolt of lightning seemed to tear through and swallow the entire Skill Storing Palace. Despite them being in midst of the bright light, it seems the outside was all surrounded by a pitch black darkness. In the next instance, the silver light and the white light seemed to both burst forth at the same time. The darkness surrounding them and blocking them dissolved and the two disappeared into the distance. When the ten powerful members of the Skill Storing Palace’s settled down in anger and went to investigate the Silver Emperor’s stone chamber, they saw a line of gold words left there.

“How dare you all enslave a King Stage Heavenly Beast? It has now returned to the arms of the Snow God Mountain, if you continue… Wait to be destroyed.”

When they saw the words, they couldn’t help but feel a chill run down their spines. As one, they exclaimed: “Snow God Mountain… Damned!”


Back at Fei Li Imperial Family Military Academy.

“Little Fatty… Wake up. The opening ceremony has ended.” Shangguan Bing’er nudged Zhou Weiqing who was beside her dozing away.

“Uh? Ended? En… Impressive, our teachers’ words are so inspiring.”  Zhou Weiqing had not even opened his eyes, and the words already streamed out of his mouth. Listening to this fellow’s words, the students around who had all seen him drooling as he dozed away were all struck speechless.

As Zhou Weiqing opened his eyes, the school leaders had all left, and many of the other students had stood up and were in the midst of leaving.

“Inspiring?”  Ming  Hua’s  mocking  sound  entered  his  ears, causing him to wake up fully. “Students of Commoner Class One, follow me back to the class.”

Following Ming Hua’s instructions, all the students headed with her towards the exit of the assembly hall.

Ming Hua eyed Zhou Weiqing, and as their gazes met, he wriggled his brow at her, while she smiled at him enchantingly. It was as if that life threatening battle between them did not happen yesterday.

The commoner class one’s classroom was also at the first level of the main building, and they reached it not long after exiting the assembly hall. There were forty seats in the classroom; more than enough for all twenty nine of them. Amongst all the students, Ma Qun and Zhou Weiqing were the tallest and largest, so they naturally were seated at the back. Originally, Zhou Weiqing wanted Shangguan Bing’er to sit next to him, but she refused.
Her reason was simple – if she sat next to him, he would just
try to get intimate all the time and how could they pay attention in class.

Ming Hua stood at the podium in the front. At this moment, there was no longer any smile on her face, and she looked the picture of a very serious teacher. However, she looked just so sexy and appealing… Most of the male students were just staring at her. This was the first time that they felt that perhaps it was so much luckier to be in the commoner class! At least, the noble class shouldn’t have such a great teacher like Ming Hua right?

Ming Hua said: “Hello everyone, as mentioned previously, my name is Ming Hua. For the next four years, I will be your class teacher. I shall not speak further about miscellaneous things… Comparing talents, our commoner class is definitely higher than any of the noble classes. In the future, for any tests or examinations that are held, our target it always the number one position. Actual classes will start tomorrow. Here is the class schedule… Everyone pass it around.” With that, she flicked her hand, and a piece of paper appeared in her palm. Clearly, she also had a spatial ring or necklace of some sort.

She passed the class schedule to a student in the front row.

Seated at the back, Zhou Weiqing was one of the last to get the schedule. Looking at it, he felt a headache coming on… the main classes were the entire continent’s history, geography, intelligence and spycraft, battle analysis, battle tactics, individual military capabilities, sand table simulations and other battle simulation classes… These were some of the nearly dozen different classes they had. Everyday, there were two big classes, one in the morning, and one in the afternoon, and the day ended near evening time. Their entire week was packed, with only one off day. To those people like Zhou Weiqing, who had not attended an earlier, intermediate military high school, this was quite a shock.

Having given out the class schedule and seen that everyone had looked through it, Ming Hua continued: “No one is allowed to miss classes, be late, or leave early. There will be a test every month, and an examination every end of the year. Those who do not pass the annual examination will be forced to leave the academy. In the afternoon, all of you can go to the student affairs department to get your class materials and books. In the future, if you all have any other questions, you can ask me. The courses I will mainly be teaching will be the following three – intelligence and spycraft, battle analysis and individual military capabilities.”

Ma Qun, who was seated next to Zhou Weiqing, immediately called  out  excitedly:  “Teacher…   In  the  individual  military capabilities class… Does that mean we can spar with you? If there is any physical contact… Heh heh… Teacher won’t blame us right?”

Ming Hua gave a faint smile, with a faintly sly, evil tinge in it. “Of course not. However… To spar with me… You will have to be careful… As I won’t hold back. Your name is Ma Qun right? I’ve heard that you are a pure defensive Heavenly Jewel Master…”

Ma  Qun  immediately  puffed  up  his  chest  and  said:  “Yes teacher! My Heavenly Energy is already at the Seventh Level of the Heavenly Jing Energy stage… Almost reaching my second set of Jewels.”

Ming Hua nodded and said: “Very good. Tomorrow we have an individual military capabilities class. I do not mind sparring with you personally.” Ma Qun was overjoyed. Although Ming Hua was a teacher, but this was after all a military academy school… He did not think that such a frail looking beauty like Ming Hua would be much stronger than him. Even if she were slightly stronger, he was confident in his defence… To be hit by a beauty like that… It was another kind of enjoyment! If he could manage to touch her… Heh heh… That would be awesome.

Zhou Weiqing gave Ma Qun a pitiful look, knowing full well Ming Hua’s power. Of course, he did not give him any warning. Heh… To spar with Ming Hua, that fellow would be in deep trouble.

Ming Hua’s gaze moved from Ma Qun to rest on Zhou Weiqing  as  she  continued  speaking:  “Earlier,  before  the opening ceremony, Student Zhou Weiqing said that he wants to be our class rep, and will upkeep all of your requirements for Consolidating Equipment Scrolls and Skill Storing. I am very happy to have such a kind student. Does anyone have any issues with him being the class rep?”

Without question… Everyone voted for Zhou Weiqing, who couldn’t help but give Ming Hua a smug look.

Ming Hua did not display any of her character when she had fought Zhou Weiqing yesterday, looking much like a normal teacher instead. “In that case, Zhou Weiqing will now be our class rep. Kou Rui, I’ve seen your entrance examination answers… in terms of battlefield analysis, you have displayed much talent in terms of intelligence and spycraft, with much innovation in the guerilla combat style. I believe that you have very high talent in this area, and I will put you in charge of collecting all the information on all your classmates’ information for Skill Storing and Consolidating Equipment. After doing so, you can pass the information to your class rep.” Kou Rui nodded in agreement. Having seen Zhou Weiqing create the Consolidated Equipment Scroll in front of everyone, he now had a rather blind fanaticism towards Zhou Weiqing.

Ming Hua said: “Now, I want all of you to take turns standing up and doing a self-introduction, so that all of you can get to know each other.”

The introduction started from the front row, and this time Zhou Weiqing paid full attention. The first to stand up and do the introduction was Kou Rui… after all, he was of rather short stature, and was sitting right in front.

“Hello  everyone,  my  name  is  Kou  Rui…  17  years  old…  I graduated from the Oden City’s Military High School. My main focus is on intelligence gathering and spycraft. I am a mid level Physical Shi Master, and my Physical Jewel is a mix of Agility and Coordination.”

Following his introduction, all the other students also did so in a similar manner. When it was Yan Zhexi’s turn to introduce himself, it especially drew Zhou Weiqing’s attention. “Yan Zhexi… 17 years old. Mid Level Heavenly Shi Master. My Physical Jewel is the Stamina attribute.”  As with the normal rules with Heavenly Jewel Masters, he did not reveal his Elemental Jewel attributes.

Stamina Attribute? Zhou Weiqing had some idea of this attribute… but this was the first time he had seen a pure Stamina Attribute Heavenly Jewel Master. Any Jewel Masters with such an attribute usually had great sustaining capabilities in combat, and were also normally with great resilience of character. Mu En had once told him that those opponents with Stamina Attributes were one of the toughest to tangle up with, and if he did so, he should quickly destroy them totally and never drag out the fight.

Zhou Weiqing was the last to do his self introduction. When it was his turn, he slowly stood up, basking in the attention, and  said  with  a  graceful  smile:  “Hello,  my  name  is  Zhou Weiqing. I’m an upper level Heavenly Shi Master. My Physical Jewel is of the Strength Attribute, and as you all already know, my Elemental Jewel is of the Spatial Attribute. To be honest, I have never had any prior training with regards to military knowledge, but what I do know is that unity is of utmost importance in any group. Since I am now the class rep and leader… My hope is that we will be able to work together well, and in four years, for us to become the best class in the history of this academy!” Ming Hua smiled and clapped. “That is also my hope. Alright, that is all for today, all of you can go back to rest. Class rep, please come with me to my office.”  As she said that, she walked out of the class.

Ma Qun looked at Zhou Weiqing with a face full of jealousy, saying: “Class rep, could it be that…  Teacher Ming Hua has fallen for you? No… I look just as suave as you do…”

Zhou Weiqing grinned and said: “Heh, you big fool. Good luck in your spar with her tomorrow. You can go hear for yourself what name does the Flower of Hades’ Underworld have…” After saying that, he stood up and stretched lazily. As he passed by Shangguan Bing’er, he saw her worried look and smiled faintly, saying: “Don’t worry, I know how to handle myself. You head home first okay.”

Shangguan Bing’er agreed softly, blushing a little. She felt as if Zhou Weiqing was talking to her like a husband to his wife, and that embarrassed her, but also gave her a sweet feeling in the heart.

Ming Hua was standing outside the classroom waiting for him, and when he came out, she led the way. Following in her footsteps, Zhou Weiqing couldn’t help but stare at her alluring buttocks as she walked, swaying enticingly like a ripe peach. He was a young teenager after all, and boys at that age all had strong needs, and with Shangguan Bing’er at his side where he could see but not touch… made his desires only stronger. Furthermore, Ming Hua was indeed extremely beautiful and sexy, and his gaze grew rather dazed.

As they walked to the stairs, Ming Hua suddenly stopped and turned around. Seeing Zhou Weiqing’s awkward look on his face, she couldn’t help but let loose a giggle. In a low voice that only the two of them could hear, she said: “What are you looking at? Do you want to touch..?”

Her voice was soft and alluring, as if it were softly tickling at Zhou Weiqing’s heart. Almost subconsciously, he nodded and said “Yes…”

Ming Hua smiled faintly and said: “Let me see the true form of your Elemental Jewel, and I’ll consider it…”

Hearing that, Zhou Weiqing awakened suddenly, a cold feeling in his heart. He said in great confusion: “True form? What are you talking about?”

Ming Hua rolled her eyes at him, muttering softly to herself: “Keep  acting  then…   Hmph!”   Saying  that,  she  continued walking up the stairs.

Under Ming Hua’s leadership, the two of them reached the fourth level, where all the teachers’ offices were. Ming Hua moved to one which was deeper and opened the door, before motioning Zhou Weiqing to enter.

The office wasn’t big, only about twenty square metres large, and there were many pots of green vegetation around the room, making it full of life. There was only a single desk, clearly it was Ming Hua’s personal office. The Fei Li Military Empire was one of the top academies in the entire Empire, and their treatment of their teachers were one of the best.

Ming Hua motioned for Zhou Weiqing to sit at the couch in front of her desk. She leaned on the desk, saying a little flirtatiously: “My dear selfless and altruistic young class rep, so how you planning to pay your debt to me from yesterday?”

Zhou Weiqing acted dumb, saying innocently: “Debt? What debt? I have never owed money to anyone…”

Ming Hua gave a cold humph and said: “Yesterday… you hit me until it hurt so much… how could I let it go like that? Furthermore…  the entire rent was paid by me…”  Her voice was soft and velvety, sounding pleasantly captivating. However, although Zhou Weiqing was lustful, he had already been forewarned by her previous comments… and managed to resist.

“Teacher Ming Hua…  that was you picking the fight…  how can you blame me! Furthermore, I already pulled my punches… if not, we might have to change a class teacher in charge by now…”

Ming Hua smiled faintly and said: “Let’s cut to the chase, Zhou Weiqing. I know you have an Alexandrite Cat’s Eye Elemental Jewel… let me see its true form and I promise that you will have a great four years ahead in the academy. Otherwise… hmph… with my status at the academy, it will be easy for me to cause trouble for you. Do not think that you can have it easy now that you have gotten the approval of Dean Xiao Shi… as long as I tell others about your Evil Attribute, the Skill Storing Palace will come after you… and no one will be willing to protect you!”

Hearing the words ‘Evil Attribute’, a massive shock reverberated through Zhou Weiqing’s heart. Although he tried to keep his emotions in check, his face changed and he said coldly:  “Teacher  Ming  Hua…  I  have  no  idea  what  you  are saying.” Ming Hua seemed to be confident that she held all the cards in her hands, and she smiled beatifically as she poured a cup of water and drank from it. After taking a sip, she said: “Do you really not understand? Don’t try to hide the fact that you have the Evil Attribute. If you do not have that attribute, how could
you possibly reverse the drain on my Hades’ Flower and Devour it instead? Not only do you have the Evil Attribute, it is also the strongest I have ever seen in my life… If I’m not wrong, you are able to control your Demonic Change… right? My dear student, Zhou Weiqing…”

With a loud scraping sound, the couch was pushed back as Zhou Weiqing leapt to his feet suddenly. In that instant, an unbelievable killing intent erupted from him, and a thick bloodlust flashed in his eyes… Such an intense grim and ominous aura was so thick that Ming Hua almost lost grip of the cup, her face growing a few shades paler.

“I warn you… Zhou Weiqing. This is the academy grounds, and there are teachers all around this level, near my office. Many of them are stronger than you. If you try anything… then you are dead.”  Ming Hua’s heart was beating rapidly. In that instant, the sheer violent killing intent that Zhou Weiqing had unleashed was just too shocking. All of a sudden, the killing aura vanished as Zhou Weiqing resumed his normal look, smiling and saying to Ming Hua. “Teacher, I think you are mistaken. It’s time for me to go. You mentioned that I can’t take action here… is that a hint to me that I should wait til you go home?”

Ming Hua gave a cold laugh and said: “If you dare step out one step, I’ll immediately tell everyone about your Evil Attribute. Do you think you still have the chance to reach home?”

Zhou Weiqing sighed lightly, saying gracefully: “Sometimes…  do not be too full of yourself. There are many things that… aren’t as they seem on the surface. Sigh… since teacher has forced me, I will show you my Elemental Jewel. As you wish, here it is, take a good look!”

As he said that, he slowly raised his left hand, pulling back the long sleeve hiding his wrist and revealing it. As he circulated his Heavenly Energy slowly, his Heavenly Jewels appeared in a flash of white light.

This time, it was Ming Hua’s turn for her expression to change. All she saw in front of her were three gold-green Cat’s Eye Elemental Jewels, shining brilliantly as they spun around Zhou Weiqing’s left wrist, the unique aura of the Spatial Attribute clear and distinct.

“That’s not possible!” Ming Hua exclaimed involuntarily. She was extremely confident of her judgement… but had never expected to see that Zhou Weiqing’s Elemental Jewels were actually really the Spatial Attribute’s God-Green Cat’s Eye Jewels!

Zhou Weiqing smiled and said: “As I said, teacher, you are overconfident. Alright… if there is nothing else, I’ll take my leave now. Of course, if teacher wants to visit my room late at night, I won’t reject that… If I haven’t judged wrongly, you are still a virgin… no matter how hard you try acting seductive… it just isn’t as realistic! Bye!”

After saying that, Zhou Weiqing spun around and left the room. However, after leaving the room, his facial expression changed once more, into a serious look. Ming Hua had actually guessed that he had the Evil Attribute, and even guessed that he had a controllable Demonic Change! This was just too great a threat to him… Should I kill her off somehow?

After Zhou Weiqing had left, Ming Hua’s face was pale in anger. After a while, she suddenly flung her hand out, dashing the cup into the ground and smashing it into smithereens. Gritting her teeth, she said: “Zhou Weiqing… you bastard… I won’t forgive you!”

After a while more, her heavy breathing finally calmed down… and as reason returned to her eyes, she revealed a look of deep thought.

“That’s  definitely  impossible…   he  definitely  has  the  Evil Attribute. Furthermore, when he launched his final attack yesterday, he definitely used more than one other attribute’s Control Skills… Those were definitely not of the Spatial Attribute. I’m a Low Level Zun Stage Heavenly Master, how could I be mistaken about that? There must be something I am overlooking… or perhaps… he has some unique object that can hide his true Elemental Jewel?! That must be it!”

“Zhou Weiqing… just you wait… I will definitely find out what is your true attributes… Just you wait…!” Finally, she stopped soliloquizing, and an Evil light flashed in her eyes, catching herself by surprise. In fright, she quickly controlled her emotions, pushing down the Evil aura and it slowly dissipated.

“What method do I have to make this fellow admit it?” Ming Hua pondered to herself, lost in thought.

At the other side, Zhou Weiqing was also struggling in his heart as he walked down the stairs. Shangguan Bing’er had told him before that those Heavenly Jewel Masters who had the Evil Attribute, especially those who had the Demonic Change, were hunted by all the Skill Storing Palaces of all the large Empires of the entire Continent! If he were found out, then even if he were lucky enough to survive, he would have no place left to go, not even being able to return to the Heavenly Bow Empire, and would have to spend the rest of his life hiding.

No, definitely not! Although he did not have much ambitions, his greatest wish was still to strengthen the Heavenly Bow Empire… to let every citizen of the Heavenly Bow Empire be proud to be its citizen! Taking a deep breath, Zhou Weiqing reinforced the belief in his heart. Towards such a serious danger to himself, he could not afford to be soft hearted. Even if it were Ming Yu’s sister… he could not let her live. He would have to seize the opportunity before she determined for certain that he truly
had the Evil Attribute and told someone else… and remove the threat… permanently.

The thick killing intent appeared once more in Zhou Weiqing’s heart. Although he was rather unwilling to kill women, especially one so beautiful like Ming Hua, this would concern not just his own future, but also Shangguan Bing’er’s, and possibly even his own Empire’s fate! He pledged to himself resolutely… Tonight… If Ming Hua dared come home, he would take care of her, otherwise he would not be able to sleep peacefully.

“Zhou Weiqing.”  Just as that moment, a rather low voice jolted him out of his thoughts.

As Zhou Weiqing lifted his head to look around him, he found that he had somehow walked himself to the first level of the school building, and Zang Lang was right in front of him at the entrance of the stairs.

“Let’s talk.” Zang Lang’s gaze was low and rather downcast. “Speak then.” Zhou Weiqing was not in a good mood due to Ming Hua’s issues, and did not want to tangle himself in more further issues.

Zang Lang said: “You are so similar to how I was when I first entered the academy… But at that time, I was far weaker than you are now… not to even mention your abilities as a Consolidating Equipment Master. You know… If anyone had the choice, who would want to become a dog… Become a slave? Who wouldn’t want to stand up tall as a human?”

“However, as a Jewel Master, if we aren’t able to Consolidate Equipment or Store Skills, then we will forever be useless. As such, there are many who have suffered since a young age and aren’t as resolute about keeping their freedom, who will choose to submit to noble families or the Skill Storing Palace, to grow strong and prove themselves. Of course, at the same time, they give up their freedom… And any future accomplishments they have are for their masters to enjoy. However, even though I do not like their choice, nor would I ever do it myself, I would never stop them from making that choice… Because I have no way of helping them…”

Zhou Weiqing said passively: “What is your point in telling me all of that?” Zang Lang said: “I do not have that ability, but you do! Zhou Weiqing, when you showed your ability as a Consolidating Equipment Master, perhaps you might not have noticed it, but all the other commoner students looked to you with fiery hot gazes. I’m here this time to represent those commoner student seniors who have not submitted to either noble families or the Skill Storing Palace. There are a total of forty four of us… If you are willing to help us like your classmates… we will all swear fealty to you.”

Zhou Weiqing laughed, looking at Zang Lang rather mockingly. “Swear fealty? Senior Zang Lang… are you joking? What is the basis that I should trust that you all will really swear fealty to me? Your choice of me… is merely because I am unable to restrict you… without the restriction of a Darkness Seal… won’t you all be able to leave whenever you want? Do you know how much I have to expend to upkeep more than 40 Jewel Masters? It’s at least 500,000 gold coins right… even my homeland, Heavenly Bow Empire, will not be able to sustain such an expenditure… and such a massive expenditure in exchange for only a simple ‘promise’ of fealty? Do you really think I am crazy?”

Zang Lang started a little, then said angrily: “Zhou Weiqing, you are insulting my honour.” Zhou Weiqing gave a disdainful humph. “Honour? What is that worth? If I am willing to do something… no matter how difficult it is, no matter the cost to myself, I will still do my best to do it. However, if it is something I am not willing to do… no one can force me to do it. For me, supporting and upkeeping
my classmates for free is something I want to do, because I don’t want to see the people by my side be forced into submission to noble families or the Skill Storing Palace. However, I am not running a charity, and do not have any obligation to do so for anyone else. Your simple sentence, just a
possibly empty promise, what is the point of it for me? If you want my help, that is also possible… but I need you all to submit to my Sealing. Do you all dare? In that case… what would be the difference from submitting to a noble family?”

Zang Lang took a deep breath… veins bulging out obviously on his bald head as he clenched his fists tightly… glaring at Zhou Weiqing.

Zhou Weiqing walked down the steps to him and said: “I know what you want to say… that us commoner students are in the same boat, and we need to bind ourselves together to be able to deal with the noble students. However, I really do not have any reason to believe you all, to spend millions of gold just for a simple worded promise… This is just not possible, don’t you think so, Senior? You are too arrogant.” Zang Lang’s tightly clenched fists slowly relaxed… his angry gaze slowly turning confused. Taking deep breaths, he tried to calm himself down.

“What are your conditions then?” He said solemnly.

Zhou Weiqing said in a relaxed tone: “Everyone’s thinking changes as they age… promises are never as reliable as bindings. There are forty four of you, and what I want is… forty four followers who are bound by Seals. Senior Zang Lang, I am not a good person, but I am definitely a person who protects his own well. I’m also not afraid to tell you this… I am not even seventeen years old, and I am already a Mid Level Consolidating Equipment Master. Before I graduate, I will definitely be at least a high level Consolidating Equipment Master. And within ten years, I will definitely be a Consolidating Equipment Grandmaster… or even a Zong Stage Consolidating Equipment Master. In the future, I do not know if I can be a God Tier Consolidating Equipment Master, but I have at least a seventy percent confidence in doing so. Being Darkness Sealed may be the same, but following a future God Tier Consolidating Equipment Master… I do not need to tell you the benefits right?”

“Wait… You do not need to rush into any decisions… I’m still going to be a student for the next few years. If by the time of my graduation I have yet to reach the level of High Stage Consolidating Equipment Master, you can just treat all that I said as bullshit.”

Zang Lang hesitated. The reason was simple… The words… ‘God Tier’.

In the history of the entire main continent, every God Tier Consolidating Equipment Master have been commanding presences, overrunning the world as legendary figures. And those who followed by their sides were all well known, powerful Heavenly Jewel Masters as well. Although Zhou Weiqing did not state things clearly, he knew that if in the future Zhou Weiqing really became a God Tier Consolidating Equipment Master, even Zong Stage Heavenly Jewel Masters might not have the qualification to be his followers. It was only because Zhou Weiqing was currently still relatively far from his goal, but with his talent, it was still quite a high probability. At this moment, Jewel Masters like him… even ordinary Physical and Elemental Jewel Masters, still had the qualification to follow him. It would be a bet, but if in the future Zhou Weiqing truly became a God Tier Consolidating Equipment MAster, these followers who had chose to bet on him early would also become powerful in their own right. “Zhou Weiqing, if it is just following you in a personal context… then you will have to personally Seal us yourself. Although the Spatial Attribute has some Sealing capabilities, but they are few and far between, and also not comparable to the Darkness Attributes. Even if we choose to follow you, how will you accomplish the Sealing?”

Zhou Weiqing lifted up his hand and patted Zang Lang on his shoulders, saying: “Since I’ve said that, then I can naturally do it. You just think about it for now…” After saying that, he walked out of the door. At the same time, Zang Lang was shocked in his heart.

The reason was simple. He was currently unable to move, a strong sense of being constrained filling his entire body. That dark, cold feeling gave him the chills, causing goosebumps to raise up on his skin, as he felt as if his body was tied up by more than a dozen invisible ropes.

As a Heavenly Jewel Master, Zang Lang naturally knew what that was… it… it was clearly one of the Darkness Control Skills! Wasn’t Zhou Weiqing a Spatial Attribute Heavenly Jewel Master? What about this Darkness Attribute?! Could it be… his Elemental Jewel was of multiple attributes? In that instant, Zang Lang’s mind was totally blank. Zhou Weiqing’s mocking grin as he left just now was seared into his brain.

Zhou Weiqing returned to his class to meet back up with Shangguan Bing’er and return home. After all, the opening ceremony was now over, and they had nothing left to do in the academy for today. At the same time, he needed to consider his options on how to deal with Ming Hua.

To be honest, what just happened with Zang Lang had been totally spur of the moment. According to his original plan, it was to slowly and steadily influence the commoner students and bring them to his side, and gradually reach his goal. However, after being provoked by Ming Hua today, he felt like he could no longer move at a slow pace.

In the opening ceremony, what he had done might seem crazy, but it was actually something he had thought through and planned. Heavily injuring Ding Chen was a display of his power, a sort of threat and awe-inspiring tool… not just to the other commoner students, but also to those noble students who were thinking of getting him and Shangguan Bing’er to submit to them. It was also a sign to them about his character, that not only was he powerful, he was also willing to go further and not show mercy to those who were against him. This would not only leave a deep impression on them, and also decrease the chances that they would dare approach Shangguan Bing’er.

After that, he had used an arrogant attitude to ask the commoner freshmen students to not submit to the noble families. At that time, everyone had thought he had gone crazy, but dared not open their mouths due to his power. This allowed Zhou Weiqing to show off his power as a Consolidating Equipment Master… which was the key part of his plan.

Chapter 48 I beg you, please let go of me 

All Jewel Masters knew the importance of Consolidating Equipment Masters. In addition to that, Zhou Weiqing had taken out 450,000 gold coins for his classmates to Store Skills, which further ‘bought’ more popularity. Including his inspiring speech about being human and having backbones, he had in that instant gotten the acceptance of all his classmates. The next step of his plan would be to continually influence them throughout the next few years, causing them to feel a sense of reliance on him. Four years was a long time, and he was confident of letting these classmates around him to see him as a leader.

The Heavenly Bow Empire was just too weak now. After witnessing the true power of the Fei Li Empire, only then did Zhou Weiqing see the huge difference, to see how weak his own country really was. In order to strengthen it slowly, the first thing was to recruit more talents. How many Jewel Masters were there in the entire Heavenly Bow Empire? Furthermore, those commoners who could enter the Fei Li Imperial Family Military Academy were all extremely great talents with various individual skills… not just in terms of individual power as Jewel Masters, but also military capabilities! If he could recruit just some of them for his use, it would be the first stepping stone in his ambition of building up the Heavenly Bow Empire.

Zhou Weiqing believed that his father had originally thought like that as well. However, although his father was extremely powerful, he did not have the conditions necessary to draw in other Jewel Masters to follow him. However, Zhou Weiqing was different, with his status as a Consolidating Equipment Master, especially since his teacher Huyan Aobo had recognized his talents as a Consolidating Equipment Master as sheer genius. With such a status, he believed that he could totally draw in talents follow him. In such a school like the Fei Li Imperial Family Military Academy, where there were tons of talents and different genius in various fields around, if he just simply only studied for four years, that would be an immense waste of opportunity. After all, no matter how powerful, there was ultimately a limit to what a single person. Just like Admiral Zhou, as a powerful Mid Level Zong Stage Heavenly Jewel Master, and a talented military genius to boot, he was still unable to change the fact that the Heavenly Bow Empire was in trouble, barely able to hold their enemies at bay.

It was just because of this grand plan and ambition he had in his heart that Zhou Weiqing had sparked such a strong killing instinct in his heart after getting threatened by Ming Hua. Plans were just that – plans, and they were always subjected to the countless myriad of changes from the world around. What he had to do was to… deal with all these outside influences.

The sense of danger that Ming Hua had brought to him had also caused him to lose his patience in slowly bringing the commoner students to his side, instead throwing out his conditions directly to the seniors. He could not afford to wait til he became a God Tier Consolidating Equipment Master before starting to attract followers, as that would be way too late. To strengthen his country, it had to be done so step by step, over time. The path to him becoming a God Tier Consolidating Equipment Master was still long and winding, and it would take him a long time to do so, time which the Heavenly Bow Empire did not have, with the pressure from the Kalise Empire who was now supported by the Bai Da Empire.

As for whether or not Zang Lang and the other seniors would follow him, Zhou Weiqing had no idea. As such, he needed to display not just his strength, but also his personality and attitude, and most especially his power as a Consolidating Equipment Master. To draw these talents in following him, he had to attract them with everything he could.

Returning to the classroom, Zhou Weiqing was surprised to see that all the classmates had not left, and they were chit chatting with each other. Shangguan Bing’er was surrounded by a few of the other female students.

Seeing that Zhou Weiqing had returned, the entire classroom instantly quietened down. Zhou Weiqing realised what was up, and went up to the podium.

Placing both his hands on the podium, he said: “Let me just say a few words, and everyone should go back to rest.”

Everyone’s gaze fell onto Zhou Weiqing, and those who were standing also returned to their seats. Today, Zhou Weiqing had displayed his sheer combat power and his status as a Consolidating Equipment Master, in addition to the promise of helping upkeep them, all of them were looking up to him with much admiration.

Zhou Weiqing had a faint smile on his face. At this moment, he looked just like a innocent, harmless boy. “Later, when all of you are registering with Kou Rui, you should clearly state your Heavenly Energy cultivation level. For Elemental Jewel Masters, if you want to Skill Store, just register with Yan Zhexi, he will be the guardian of the storage card. Every weekend, during our day’s break from the Academy, those who have registered can go together with him, and he will pay. In the future, I will be selling some extra Consolidating Equipment Scrolls to replenish the funds as well, so no worries about it running out too quickly. As for Physical Jewel Masters, when you register, do note what your Physical Jewel Attribute is, as well as what sort of route you are looking to develop to, and what sort of weapon you wish to Consolidate. In that way, I can design your Consolidating Equipment Scrolls according to your personal needs.”

As he said that, he paused a moment. He could obviously see the effect of his words on the rest of the students, especially when he talked about the personalized Consolidating Equipment Scrolls, many of their eyes lit up. There were more Physical Jewel Masters than Elemental Jewel Masters, and their need for Consolidating Equipment Scrolls were extremely high, not to mention having them designed specially for their needs! This was something that not even those Heavenly Jewel Masters who submit to noble families or the Skill Storing Palace may not enjoy!

Zhou Weiqing smiled in satisfaction and continued: “I also have another suggestion. If it is a Physical Jewel Master who does not have a single piece of Consolidated Equipment, you should register for one quickly, to ensure you have one for self protection. However, if you already have a piece of Consolidated Equipment, you might want to wait a little while and concentrate on cultivating your Heavenly Energy. Within two years, I believe I will be able to become a high level Consolidating Equipment Master.”

“At that time, I should be able to start trying to create Consolidating Equipment Scrolls with sockets, or even start on Consolidating Equipment Sets. Of course, those with sockets are only useful for Heavenly Jewel Masters, but Consolidating Equipment Sets will be great even for ordinary Physical Jewel Masters.”

If we were to describe the eyes of the students earlier to be fanatical, they were now dazed and dumbfounded. Consolidated Equipment with sockets? Consolidated Equipment Sets? Those things were almost myths to them, not only had they not seen them before, they had barely even dreamed about them before!

Seeing that his speech had done his intended effect, Zhou Weiqing smiled and said: “Alright, that’s all I have to say. Of course, that is just my suggestion, if anyone is unable to wait, you can still go ahead and register for Consolidating Equipment Scrolls. I can at least guarantee you will succeed in Consolidating Equipment… if a single set isn’t able to do it, we’ll just do a second set. Bing’er, please stand up.” Shangguan Bing’er started upon hearing Zhou Weiqing call upon her, but of course she wouldn’t not give him face now, and stood up.

Zhou Weiqing’s smile sudden disappeared and he said seriously: “All classmates, now, let me reintroduce this person to you all seriously. This beautiful young lady is Shangguan Bing’er, my wife. In the future, none of you other guys are allowed to have any designs on her… if not… heh heh.”

“Little  Fatty,  what  are  you  saying!”   Shangguan  Bing’er started in surprise, before blushing deep red and running out of the classroom.

Kou Rui grinned and shouted out: “Sister in law!” And all the rest of the class burst out laughing.

Zhou Weiqing had an extraordinarily thick skin, and he did not care about the teasing, instead waving towards the rest of the class in farewell before chasing after Shangguan Bing’er. As soon as he left, Kou Rui was immediately surrounded by the rest of the classmates, everyone just so eager to register themselves. Even Yan Zhexi and Ma Qun, the two Heavenly Jewel Masters, were no different. Zhou Weiqing ran all the way to the entrance of the academy before  he  finally  caught  up  to  Shangguan  Bing’er.  “Bing’er, slower! Wait for me!”

Shangguan Bing’er turned her head around, flushed totally red as she scolded him: “What were you saying just now! How can I face our classmates next time!”

Zhou Weiqing grinned and said: “Who asked you to be so beautiful, so enchanting! I had to declare my ownership…”

Shangguan Bing’er said exasperatedly: “What ownership?
Am I an object? Hmph!”

Zhou Weiqing immediately shook his head. “No, no, of course not. What I meant is, to proclaim that you own me, I am your Little Fatty after all! Look at me, I’m so handsome and suave, gentle and kind, honest yet cute, and I also know how to make Consolidating Equipment Scrolls. Now, if other beauties try to chase me, what could I possibly do? This way, I can proclaim that you already own me, and know that I belong to you, who dares to try to chase me… even if they do, they’ll have to compare themselves to you right? If they try comparing themselves to you… they’ll be ashamed and run off. See, this is all for your sake!” Looking at his shameless proclamation, Shangguan Bing’er couldn’t  help  but  giggle.  “Gentle  and  kind…  hahaha.  I  am pretty sure that many people think of you of some fierce monster.”

Seeing that she was no longer angry, Zhou Weiqing immediately went closer to her, holding her by her slim waist as he grinned and said: “As long as my dear Bing’er doesn’t treat me as a monster, that is fine…”

Shangguan Bing’er said in a serious tone: “Little Fatty, what you did today, was it to recruit all our classmates in the future to help our Heavenly Bow Empire?”

Zhou Weiqing smiled faintly and said: “It’s still too early to tell, but all you need to know is that I, your husband, has a long term goal in mind. Don’t worry, I will handle it well, you just need to concentrate on studying, and I will deal with the other things To be honest, just looking at the class schedule today gave me a headache… I do not have any foundation in military matters, and I doubt I can learn much from there. In the future, I’ll have to depend on you, especially for examinations… remember to let me copy!”

Shangguan Bing’er furrowed her brow: “Little Fatty, that will not do… How about, I help tutor you in some of the foundations of military knowledge?”

Zhou Weiqing shook his head and said: “No, I do not have the time for that. To upkeep that whole class of students, it isn’t that easy. Just creating Consolidating Equipment Scrolls for them and for sale, and cultivating my own Heavenly Energy, that will take up all of my spare time. As for studying, whatever I can pick up from classes, so be it.”

Shangguan Bing’er said rather worriedly: “But… you need to succeed Admiral Zhou in the future, to lead our Heavenly Bow Empire armies!”

Zhou  Weiqing  smiled  and  said:  “Bing’er,  you  haven’t understood what I meant. As a commander in chief, I feel that it isn’t totally necessary to be great in every aspect of military matters. As long as I have the ability to command a group of outstanding military talents, that would be sufficient…”

Shangguan Bing’er started in surprise as she mulled through his words. Although she felt that Zhou Weiqing’s words were rather warped logic, but it did make sense in a way. Having spent the past two years in the Heavenly Bow Unit, Zhou Weiqing had changed a lot, not just in his stature, but his original scoundrel ways had also been well hidden from the world now. On the surface, he sometimes seemed arrogant, but she knew that he had just kept all his true feelings and emotions hidden. Although he wasn’t even seventeen years old yet, he was already much more mature and reserved than most adults. After they returned to their house, Shangguan Bing’er left again to buy provisions. She had lived with her mother from a young age, and naturally had no problems cooking meals. Now that they were staying together outside of the dormitory, she naturally took on the role of chef unhesitatingly. As for Zhou Weiqing, he dove into his room right away. He had already given all 450,000 gold coins to Yan Zhexi to take care of, and he naturally needed to earn more. He still had some Consolidating Paper and Consolidating Ink left over from Huyan Aobo, as well as some Mid Level Consolidating Ink. He decided to create and sell a few Mid Level Consolidating Equipment Scrolls first before continuing on his other plans. After all, in the future, he needed to buy all the various materials to create the various Consolidated Inks for the many different scrolls he had to make for his plans.

From Mid Level Consolidating Scrolls onwards, it no longer required a thousand sheets per set, and only a hundred. Of course, for Mid Level Consolidating Scrolls, the hundred sheets did not necessarily guarantee success, but once it did, the quality was a lot better than Low Level Consolidating Scrolls, and the success rate was also much higher. To become a High Level Consolidating Equipment Master in four years, Zhou Weiqing had not exaggerated at all. After all, with his cultivation level now, it was already sufficient for him to create High Level Consolidating Equipment Scrolls.

However, what he needed to do most now was to keep practicing the creating of Consolidating Inks as well as the actual scrolls. As long as he could design a high level Consolidating Equipment Scroll, he would be able to create it. After all, he had the aid of the Time Attribute. As long as he had the time to practice and gain experience, he would easily be able to become a ‘real’ High Level Consolidating Equipment Master.

As gold, green and colourless power glowed around Zhou Weiqing’s hands, swirling around and mixing with each other, sheet after sheet of Consolidating Equipment Scrolls were completed at a speed that was totally unbelievable to any ordinary Consolidating Equipment Master. Even Huyan Aobo would not be able to compare in terms of speed to Zhou Weiqing when creating Mid Level Consolidating Equipment Scrolls. After all, he had the Wind Attribute to ensure speed and Time Attribute to ensure the success rate.

After lunch, Zhou Weiqing spent the rest of the afternoon immersed in creating Consolidating Equipment Scrolls. As for cultivating Heavenly Energy, he was not very worried about it due to his Immortal Deity Technique. When creating Consolidating Equipment Scrolls, he was continually draining his Heavenly Energy, and his twelve energy whirlpools at the broken through Death Acupuncture Points constantly drawing energy from the atmosphere, not just replenishing his spent Heavenly Energy, but also improving his cultivation at the same time! Ever since his Qi Hai Acupuncture Point was broken through, although the requirement to reach the first
level of Heavenly Shen Energy Stage was much higher than all
previous stages, Zhou Weiqing could clearly feel a constant improvement in his cultivation level.

As for Fat Cat, it was still sprawled on the same chair in the room, sleeping as usual as it bathed in the sun streaming in from the window. As Zhou Weiqing glanced at it occasionally, he felt a sense of jealousy at it being able to sleep so much.

Working busily til the sun set, Zhou Weiqing sat back in satisfaction looking at the six sets of Mid Level Consolidating Equipment Scrolls in front of him. By now, the Consolidating Paper and Ink he had brought was almost totally used up. If he wanted to continue creating more scrolls, he would have to buy more materials. Stretching lazily in satisfaction, Zhou Weiqing laughed out as he beat on his chest happily, muttering to himself: “I am such a genius. Hmm.. From these six sets, I’ll leave one to the class to keep them satisfied, and I’ll sell the other five to earn money to buy more materials. Heh, it’s just the twenty odd of them, how
can their cultivation speed be compared to my speed of creating Consolidating Equipment Scrolls. Haha.”

Keeping the six set of scrolls into his Spatial Necklace, Zhou Weiqing sat down to cultivate a while, not just to recover and cultivate his Heavenly Energy, but also to rest his drained spirit after working all afternoon.

By now, it was already dinner time, and Ming Hua had not returned home yet. Zhou Weiqing’s plan was to look for her tonight to have a proper talk. He was clear that for both his and Shangguan Bing’er’s safety, as well as his Empire, there was only two possibilities between him and Ming Hua. One was for Ming Hua to accept his personal Darkness Seal, to become his follower; and the other was for him to finish her off.

He had steeled his resolve and no longer had any hesitation. After all, he could not take the risk, or they might all face death and destruction. After having dinner with Shangguan Bing’er, Zhou Weiqing made the excuse of recovering after his bout of creating Consolidating Equipment Scrolls to return to his room early. Shangguan Bing’er did not suspect a thing and also returned to her room to cultivate. She had always been assiduous and hardworking in her training, and although her speed was no match for Zhou Weiqing’s due to his Immortal Deity Technique, but with her solid foundations, she was no slouch either.

After returning to his room, Zhou Weiqing continued recovering his spirit, ensuring his Heavenly Energy was at its maximum. He only hoped that Ming Hua would return home tonight, or all his preparations would be for nothing.

As the sky darkened further, their area was rather quiet as compared to the rest of the bustling Fei Li City.

As the time passed, Zhou Weiqing, who had already recovered to his best form, slowly furrowed his brow. It was not that he lacked patience, after all in the two years with the Heavenly Bow Unit, he had forged his patience. However, he knew that every day that he did not deal with Ming Hua, would likely mean more changes in the situation, which may work out unfavourably to him. He hesitated once more, thinking if he should get Shangguan Bing’er to move back into the academy dormitory to live by herself. That way, she would not be affected if news of his Demonic Change was released, and could handle it from another side.

Right at that moment, he heard a noise from outside. Zhou Weiqing’s ears twitched and the expression on his face turned calm as a faint smile appeared on his face. Ming Hua had finally returned.

Indeed, Ming Hua had returned, and as she entered house, she glanced up at Zhou Weiqing’s room before entering her own. However, what Zhou Weiqing did not see was that currently Ming Hua had a cold light in her eyes, as if she were confident and held the pearl of wisdom in her hands.

As Ming Hua’s door closed behind her, the entire house quietened down again, and the skies outside totally darkened.

Now that she was back, Zhou Weiqing was no longer in any rush. Although he needed to fully finish things with her, he did not wish for Shangguan Bing’er to know. Anyway, it was still bustling outside, and he could wait til it was quiet at night to take action. Focusing his will, Zhou Weiqing began to concentrate on cultivation for now, and the energy whirlpools at his twelve Death Acupuncture Points began to spin at a more rapid pace, drawing in energy from the atmosphere, and spreading it to every part of his body. As the Heavenly Energy circulated around his body, every time the mercury-like Heavenly Energy current moved through one of his energy whirlpools at a Death Acupuncture Point, it would speed up a little, thus causing the entire circulation to speed up slowly. With constant additional drawing in of energy to balance the increased speed, his entire cultivation level slowly grew stably.

Zhou Weiqing’s every breath was long, drawn and measured, seeming to take a long time between breaths in a strange rhythm… a strange, profound meaning. With every breath he took, the Heavenly Energy circulated around his body in a single round. The Immortal Deity Technique was indeed impressive – although it brought about immense pain and danger, at the same time it also brought about many benefits. By now, his Immortal Deity Technique was already at the last part of the second portion, and he grew closer to completing it as soon as he could comprehend and master it fully.

The time passed swiftly in his cultivation, and it seemed as if the surface of Zhou Weiqing’s skin was covered with a layer of dim white light swirling around him. This was the sign of his Heavenly Energy finally entering the Heavenly Shen Energy stage. Once he reached the peak of the Heavenly Shen Energy stage, as soon as he entered cultivation, the Heavenly Shen Energy would automatically form a shield of white light encircling him. Of course, Zhou Weiqing was still rather far from such a peak.

As it grew deeper into the night, the city quietened down as the lights outside dimmed as well.

Zhou Weiqing’s eyes flickered open as he shot awake in alarm, as his senses had sharpened further as his cultivation had reached a certain level. A bright light seemed to flash from his eyes, like a small bolt of lightning which brightened up the room for a split second. His sharp gaze focused on a window on the opposite end of the room, which was slowly being opened.

*Swoosh*. A figure entered from the window, bringing along a faint, elegant scent.

“It’s  so  late  already,  and  you  are  still  cultivating.  Indeed, every success is not just from genius or talent, but also an immeasurable amount of hard work.” The one who entered was no other than Ming Hua. Ming Hua was currently wearing a tight fitting black clothes, accentuating her perfect figure. Not just her impressive bosom, but also her other graceful curves, all came together in a shocking charm.

However, Ming Hua was surprised to see that Zhou Weiqing, who was looking at her lustfully in the day, was sitting there looking at her with a clear, clean look in his eyes, even with a hint of coldness in them. At this moment, his temperament and aura seemed to be totally different from the day time, no longer seeming arrogant and lecherous, but with a sagely feel. Although he was dressed in simple clothing, sitting there he seemed to be the central focus of the entire room.

Ming Hua did not know that this was actually one of the amazing properties of the Immortal Deity Technique. Zhou Weiqing had been cultivating, and was still somewhat immersed in that still. Of course, Ming Hua was extremely attractive to him, but do not forget that our dear Little Fatty was a person who was very afraid of death. With Ming Hua as such a threat to his life, even if she were ten times more beautiful, she was just like a death skeleton in front of him! Of course, he had not expected that Ming Hua would actually look for him, and was caught off guard and extremely vigilant now, and he would not easily be influenced. “It’s already so late, what are you here for, teacher?” Not just Ming Hua, but Zhou Weiqing also lowered his voice. Along with their Heavenly Energy suppressing their sounds, even if someone was trying to eavesdrop outside, they would not be able to hear anything.

Ming Hua rolled her eyes at him with a little bitterness. “I’m here to look for you so late at night, and that’s how you treat me?” Zhou   Weiqing   said   passively:   “Teacher,   if   you   have something to say, please go ahead… although I do not think we have much to talk about. After all, I still haven’t settled with you about you maligning me today.”

Ming Hua revealed a rather amused smirk. “Is that really maligning? Let’s not argue further. Are you interested in hearing a story? After listening to my story, you will understand why I am so sensitive to the Evil aura from you.”

Zhou Weiqing raised his brow. “Right here?”

Ming Hua shrugged and said: “If you do not want your little girlfriend to know we are together in your bedchamber, why don’t we go somewhere else. The only thing is… Do you dare to follow me?”

Zhou Weiqing smiled, his old lascivious look reappearing on his face as he looked over her body meaningfully. “Alright then, what are we waiting for? To be invited by a beautiful lady, that is my honour… How could I possibly reject.” Ming Hua crooked her finger and beckoned to him, laughing lightly as she said: “Come then.” As she said that, she vaulted back to the window, and instantly leapt out.

Zhou Weiqing also moved swiftly and silently to the window, leaping out and following Ming Hua. As he left through the window, he released his Heavenly Jewels, invoking his senses to their maximum, warily.

Naturally, Zhou Weiqing knew that for Ming Hua to call him out of her own accord, she definitely had something up her sleeve that gave her confidence. However, at this point, he had no choice but to follow her and react accordingly… There was no running or hiding from this, as the stakes were just too high.

Just as the two of them vanished into the distance, the sleeping Fat Cat, who was still in the room, suddenly snapped its eyes open, a dim glow shining forth from within.

As soon as they left the vicinity of their house, Ming Hua sped up. Although she wasn’t an agility or speed type Heavenly Jewel Master, her coordination boost was extremely powerful, and in combination with her extraordinary physique, her speed was still rather impressive. With her four-Jeweled level, her speed was able to reach rather shocking levels. Zhou Weiqing followed behind her steadily, keeping a constant distance between them. Although his cultivation level was no match for hers, he did have the Wind Attribute in his Elemental Jewels, which greatly improved his speed. As such, even without the use of his Demonic Right Leg, he was still able to keep up with her.

Just like that, the two of them ran towards the east, and before long that the east gate came into sight.

Seeing that they were at the east gate, Ming Hua suddenly stopped, waiting for Zhou Weiqing to catch up.

“We  still  need  to  exit  the  city?”   Zhou  Weiqing  asked meaningfully. “Are you trying to kill me to hide something?”

Ming Hua laughed lightly, saying: “It’s not like you know any secret of mine, why would I do that?” Even if there was some killing off going around, it should be the other way around, with you being the one doing it. I’m not even afraid, are you, a big man, afraid?”

Zhou Weiqing looked at the hundred metre tall wall and shrugged, saying: “I do not have the ability to get past that without being discovered.” Ming Hua smiled and said: “Since I brought you here, how could I possibly let you climb the wall? Come, follow me.” As she said that, she said that, she darted into a small alleyway, leading Zhou Weiqing into an unassuming common dwelling.

The dwelling was quiet, and Ming Hua navigated through it familiarly as she finally entered a room. The room was void of any other people, and she walked to the bed and pulled on the bed board, revealing a dark hole. Beckoning to Zhou Weiqing, she entered the hole and disappeared from sight.

Zhou Weiqing did not hesitate as he moved quickly behind her. He did not know if there was any danger in the tunnel, and decided that it would be safer to follow closely behind her, and in her steps. That would reduce his chance of being in danger, and if anything happened he could also react quickly; if she had any companions, he could grab hold of her as a hostage.

As such, Zhou Weiqing also entered the tunnel, instantly releasing his Heavenly Energy and locking onto Ming Hua, and his left hand was poised towards the front, prepared to make a move if she did anything funny, ready to release any skills at a moment’s notice. Ming Hua seemed to be oblivious to Zhou Weiqing’s actions behind her, continuing along on the dark tunnel path. The air was clear in the tunnel, but it was pitch black, but Ming Hua seemed to easily know her way around, almost as if she could see, and moved at a good speed.

After walking a while, Ming Hua finally stopped suddenly. Zhou Weiqing did not expect her to stop so suddenly, and he was following so closely and in the darkness, he ended up bumping into her.

Ming Hua felt his body press against hers, and she subconsciously turned around, lifting up her hand towards his chest to hold him off. Just like Zhou Weiqing had thought, although she seemed to act like a seductress, she was actually still a virgin.

Alas, in turning and lifting her hand, Ming Hua caused Zhou Weiqing to misunderstand her actions. At this time, his senses were on full alert and in vigilance. Her sudden motion caused him much alarm, and in such an environment, how could he possibly allow her to touch him.

In the darkness, black was naturally the colour that was easily hidden. He instinctively used the Touch of Darkness unhesitatingly on Ming Hua, and at the same time, he also used his hands to block hers. At the same time, he had still been moving, his inertia propelling him forward. The result of all the actions being him pressing directly against Ming Hua’s frozen body.

Zhou Weiqing only felt two soft, springy lumps pressed against his chest, followed by an enchanting body. Subconsciously, he held onto her… Nobody would know if he did this on purpose or accidentally, but in doing so, his hands ended up on her pert buttocks as they pressed together in intimate contact.

Circulating his Heavenly Energy with all his might, Zhou Weiqing unhesitatingly moved his energy into Ming Hua. After all, her cultivation level was higher than his, and the Touch of Darkness would not be able to control her for long. As such, Zhou Weiqing wanted to continue restricting her.

However, he had not considered all factors when he did so, as his Heavenly Energy circulated into her from his hands. Ming Hua felt her buttocks being grabbed by a large hand, and a thick gust of Heavenly Energy entering her body through such an embarrassing position, instantly numbing her there. She felt her entire body going weak and soft, as the Heavenly Energy she had gathered to resist was dissipated. With a moan, Ming Hua fell down right into Zhou Weiqing’s arms. After a moment of shock, she felt a sense of shame and anger rising up within her as she called out: “What are you doing?”

However, that line was not just called out by her, but surprisingly, Zhou Weiqing and her had both called out at the same time!

Zhou Weiqing’s other hand also encircled her. Luckily, this other hand was still placed normally, moving around her neck. However, in doing so, he knocked into an object behind her, realising that there was a wall right behind her, and he was pressing her right into it. In order to hold her in place, this fellow even lifted up his Demonic Right Leg, pressing it into her abdomen. This way, even if Ming Hua tried anything, he could instantly kill or injure her instantly with it.

In this pitch black tunnel, the two were in a really strange, compromising position. Ming Hua’s body was still stiffened and held in place with the Touch of Darkness, while Zhou Weiqing was pressed tightly to her. One hand holding her neck, the other holding her buttocks, and his knee against her abdomen. In terms of restricting an enemy’s movement, that was not wrong, but Ming Hua was feeling extremely shamed and angry. At this time, Mu En’s teachings rang out in Zhou Weiqing’s mind. “When your enemy is a woman, you should never be polite. Use her shame against her, and in that way, no matter how powerful she is, she will at most be able to be at fifty percent effectiveness. Furthermore, if you have an advantage to take, why not!”

Thinking of that line, Zhou Weiqing instantly followed suit. Flexing his hand, he pinched her buttocks twice, angering Ming Hua so much that she almost teared.

“Let go of me!” Ming Hua almost roared it out in a low tone, as Zhou Weiqing sensed that her shame was definitely not an act.

That feeling in the hand, amazing! Zhou Weiqing just realised that perhaps Ming Hua’s actions had not been an attack against him. Such a realisation did not change much except that he suddenly realised their positions as well, and the feeling in his hand and body caused his blood to boil. After all, he had never even touched Shangguan Bing’er, and Ming Hua was even more voluptuous than her, like a ripe peach. This was something he had never felt before, and it sure felt good. A faint sweet scent wafted into his nose, and his knee was still pressed against her, making him have to resist the urge to force himself on her there. “I’m not letting you go, what are you up to? I’m warning you, you better not have any funny ideas, I already have a wife.” Although his mind was thinking about something else, his mouth would definitely not take a loss in any argument.

Hearing his words, Ming Hua was almost angered into a faint. She almost forgot why she had called him out today, just feeling like killing this rascal there and then.

“You bastard, let go of me! It’s you who has the funny ideas!
Hmph!” Ming Hua said through clenched teeth.

“Rally?  You’re  not  lying  to  me?”   Zhou  Weiqing  said hesitatingly, his hands taking a last few squeezes. He was not in a rush anyway, so he decided to waste some time and take some advantage first.

“It’s true, I’m not lying, the exit is just right above here.” Ming Hua was almost on the verge of tears, feeling like her entire body was melting.

She had never been in such close proximity to a man, let alone such intimate contact. “What if you’re lying to me?”  Zhou Weiqing asked with a face full of suspicion.

“You…  I beg you…  Please let go of me.”  Ming Hua pleaded. Under such intimate contact, she felt as if there were a fire in her body, burning her, and she couldn’t help but give up and beg for mercy. She knew that Zhou Weiqing was no gentleman, and if this rascal had some evil thoughts, she was in no position to stop him!

Chapter 49 Let Ming Hua be your concubine

Seeing Ming Hua begging him, Zhou Weiqing couldn’t help but feel his heart soften. He first lowered his knee, then lowering his hands with a last longing squeeze, before quickly leaping away. He did not want to get beaten by Ming Hua in a moment of surprise, especially with a ‘low kick’.

As soon as Zhou Weiqing leapt away, Ming Hua fell to the wall, taking deep breaths.

Although it was in the darkness, Zhou Weiqing could still vaguely feel the air around growing cold as the atmosphere changed. Quickly, a killing aura burst forth from his body.

“Didn’t you say there was an exit, why aren’t you leaving?” He said suspiciously… Indeed… When it came to acting and pretending to not know what was going on, Zhou Weiqing was a master.

Taking a few more deep breaths, Ming Hua used the wall as a support to stand up. The sound was clear as she gritted her teeth, but she finally resisted it. With a smack of her right hand, she struck the wall with a loud sound, and to the upper right of the wall, a hole appeared, and moon and starlight streamed in from outside, lighting up the tunnel.

Zhou Weiqing could clearly see that Ming Hua was now flushed deep red, like a ripe apple… Although her gaze at him was very angry.

After a short period of recovery, Ming Hua felt better. Pushing her hand on the wall, her legs struck the ground and she leapt up through the exit.

Zhou Weiqing did not dare hesitate, and quickly followed her out.

As soon as they left the tunnel, a gust of fresh air laced with the scent of water hit them, and they were met by the sight of a beautiful blue lake.

A seemingly boundless lake that shimmered under the moonlight, the gentle ripples causing the scintillating light rays to dance beautifully, all in all, a moving sight.

Such a huge lake could only be the Fei Li Lake situated outside the Fei Li City. Without question, they had already exited the East side of the Fei Li City.

The Fei Li Lake was a few hundred metres away from the Fei Li City, and was also drawn into the city moat. Once out of the city, one could reach the lake by passing by a small forest lining the lakeside. At this moment, in the dead of the night, it was extremely quiet, the night breeze blowing the humid air into their faces, causing Zhou Weiqing to feel refreshed.

As compared to his refreshed, energetic look, Ming Hua now felt like she wanted to kill him. The same cooling breeze, to her, somehow gave her an icy chill instead.

“I know I am handsome and suave, but you don’t have to keep staring at me… What do you have to say… go ahead now.” Zhou Weiqing walked to the lakeside and sat on a large rock.

“I really feel like smashing you into bits…”  Ming Hua said angrily. Even when she had been almost drained to death during their fight yesterday, she had not felt so angry.

Zhou Weiqing said helplessly: “It was a justified reaction, and I did it for my own safety. You suddenly turned around and shoved your hand at me, what was I supposed to think. Who asked you not to give any warning, and you’re still blaming me? Furthermore, it’s just a little contact, what’s with the huge reaction?”

A little contact? That was a little contact? At this point, Ming Hua could still feel as if his hand was on her buttocks, that was a few gropes at least, hmph. He still dared call it a little contact? Not to mention the close contact of their bodies.

“Zhou Weiqing, you are the most shameless person I’ve ever seen in my life!” Ming Hua somehow squeezed the words out through gritted teeth.

Zhou Weiqing laughed heartily and said: “Thanks for the praise, you’re not the first person to say that, and you certainly won’t be the last. Hurry up and get on with business… I still want to go back to sleep.” He seemed easygoing and relaxed on the outside, but in truth, his senses were out on the maximum, trying to feel if there was anything amiss around, wary for any changes. For Ming Hua to dare to lure him out here alone, she had to have something prepared. Perhaps she had truly no bad intentions, or perhaps she had some plot, or maybe even an ambush.

Luckily, despite all his attempts, he did not sense anything around, and he felt a little better. With just Ming Hua alone around, she wouldn’t be too much of a threat. Ming Hua finally calmed herself down, saying coldly: “Let’s show our cards. Although I do not know what method you used to hide your Elemental Jewel’s Attributes, I am very certain that you have more than just the Spatial Attribute. Wait, do not rush into refuting me, let me finish speaking…”

“In the world of Heavenly Jewel Master, there are several unique existences… When their Heavenly Jewel Awakens or perhaps evolves, their Heavenly Jewels will have some strange mutations, forming some unbelievable attributes that are extremely rare. Because they are so afraid of this attribute, ordinary Jewel Masters call this rather icy cold attribute as the Evil Attribute. However, although this attribute may indeed be strange, weird or perhaps a little Demonic, but it isn’t truly evil. This is especially so since its appearance seems to be very random, and isn’t determined by the person’s character or will. As such, using Evil to describe it is extremely unfair to those Heavenly Jewel Masters who have that attribute… Thus I prefer to call them Demonic.

Zhou Weiqing said: “You are talking about the Evil Attribute Heavenly Jewel Masters which are on the wanted list by all the Skill Storing Palace in the world. Isn’t it rumoured that all these Evil Heavenly Jewel Masters need a Sacrifice when they Awaken, and many of them Sacrifice their families or loved ones, causing their characters to change drastically, causing trouble in the entire continent… Why is it that when you mention them, it seems they are being maligned?”

Ming Hua’s eyes turned cold as she said: “Of course that is maligning them. What you just mentioned is just hearsay, and you do not know the truth behind the Skill Storing Palaces putting them on a wanted list. Indeed, what you mentioned is all truth, but a truth that existed only a few thousand years ago! Only a first generation Demonic Jewel Master will have that happening when they first Awaken the attribute, but this attribute can be passed down to his or her future generations. As such, they are very careful about when their younger generations Awaken their Heavenly Jewels or Rank up, and they do specially prepare their future husbands or wives. When they require the Sacrifice, the person prepared will be brought in front of them, and their lives will be saved at the last moment. There isn’t any change of character, or any sort of evil as in the rumours.”

“Oh? Hearing you say that, does that mean that such Demonic Jewel Masters’ Awakening isn’t just during the First Awakening of their Heavenly Jewels?! That isn’t the same version that I heard…” Zhou Weiqing said rather uncertainly.

Ming Hua gave a disdainful hmph as she said: “What do you know, that’s just you being ignorant. It is only a first generation Demonic Jewel Master who will definitely Awaken his Demonic Attribute during his first Awakening. As for his future generations, it is not necessarily true. In fact, as the bloodlines gradually dilute, it requires more Heavenly Energy, power and physique for the Awakening to be possible. The earlier the Awakening, the more powerful the person’s Demonic Bloodline is.”

A little strange here – as she is explaining it by breaking down words. 邪恶 means evil, but individually, 邪 has a more milder undertone like being ‘weird’, while 恶 is more to evil.

There really isn’t a good translation for 邪 here. “If by the time they reach the 6-Jewel Stage and they haven’t Awakened the Demonic Attribute, then even if it Awakens in the future, it is unlikely they have the strongest Skill of Demonic Jewel Masters – the Demonic Change. In truth, the real reason why the various Skill Storing Palaces in the world have put the Demonic Jewel Masters on a wanted list is because of the Demonic Change… it is just too powerful. The Demonic Change alone can allow a Heavenly Jewel Master’s power to at least double during that period of time… this is a power that is not matched by most other Heavenly Jewel Masters. They were all afraid of the Demonic Jewel Masters, afraid that they would be replaced by them. As such, they made use of a pretentious reasons to kill off the Demonic Jewel Masters. Every time a Demonic Jewel Master is discovered, they will surround and hunt them down. As such, in the past few thousand years, there are very few Demonic Jewel Masters who have truly inherited the true legacy.

As for many of the new first generation Awakened Demonic Jewel Masters, many of them are slain before they can grow. As such, in order to survive, many of these legacy Demonic Jewel Masters united together to form an organisation… called the Heavenly Demon Sect.” Zhou Weiqing listened to her words with full concentration. Ming Hua definitely seemed to know a lot more about these Demonic Jewel Masters than Shangguan Bing’er, and it did seem a lot more realistic. Of course, he did not fully believe her words that these Demonic Jewel Masters were on the good side.

“So, that means that you are a younger generation of a Demonic Jewel Master… a part of the Heavenly Demon Sect?” Zhou Weiqing still had a faint smile on his face. Although Ming Hua was trying her best to read him, she was unable to do so.

Ming Hua nodded and said solemnly: “Since I said this much to you, I naturally will not hide anything. I am indeed the younger generation of a Demonic Jewel Master, just that my Demonic Attribute has not Awakened yet. Yours has already Awakened, and you should have been able to sense it within my Hades’ Flower right.”

Zhou Weiqing looked at her with a confused look on his face: “What do you mean, do you think Demonic Attribute is found just so easily? Who said I have it anyway? I don’t!”

Ming Hua laughed coldly: “You still aren’t admitting it? If you didn’t have the Demonic Attribute, you wouldn’t have been able to resist my Hades’ Flower, to not only resolve its draining powers and reverse it and Devour me? Your Demonic Attribute did not just Awaken, but you were also given the strongest of the Demonic Attribute’s innate abilities – Devour. Furthermore, if I haven’t guessed wrongly, you still do not know how to properly use the Devour Skill right? After all, you are just at the 3-Jeweled cultivation level.”

Zhou Weiqing said passively: “What is the point of telling me all this. Whether or not I have the Demonic Attribute, how is it even related to you?”

Ming Hua saw that he was no longer trying to refute, and continued  saying:  “It’s  for  survival.  As  I  said  earlier,  us Demonic Jewel Masters can only survive by banding together against the Skill Storing Palaces. You are a first generation Demonic Jewel Master, and in the future your Demonic Attribute will grow to equal standing as the other three Saint Attributes. Only the Demonic Attribute of a first generation can be of such strength… Our Heavenly Demon Sect needs you to join us.”

“Oh? And what benefits can the Heavenly Demon Sect bring me?” Zhou Weiqing narrowed his eyes and said smilingly.

Ming Hua thought he was interested, and relaxed a little as she said: “There are benefits of course, for example, the proper way to cultivate the Demonic Attribute, Skill Storing, how to use and handle it properly. We can let you peruse the sacred tome of our Sect, the Heavenly Demon Saint Tome. With it, you can learn how to control your Demonic Change, and make use of your power perfectly.”

“Is  that  it…?”   Zhou  Weiqing  shook  his  head  lightly, seemingly very dissatisfied.

Ming Hua said rather angrily: “What else do you want? When you are in danger, we will also do our best to aid you, to protect you. In fact, as long as you are willing to join us… I… I can also marry you.” She bit her lip as she said it through gritted teeth.

Zhou Weiqing blinked and said: “But… I already have a wife!
Could it be… You’re okay with being the second wife?”

“You…” Ming Hua felt like tearing that rascal’s mouth into two. If not for the fact that he was a first generation Demonic Jewel Master with such a pure attribute, how could she possibly be willing to marry him! After all, his looks were pretty ordinary, and that character of his had irritated her so much. However, she would do anything for the Heavenly Demon Sect. Seeing Ming Hua angered to the point of explosion, Zhou Weiqing quickly stood up and said: “In that case, what do I have to offer? How can you all possibly trust me?”

Ming Hua gritted her teeth and said: “Of course there will have to be some restrictions. As long as you accept our Sect Leader’s baptism, you will be one of us.”

Zhou Weiqing said in sudden realisation: “Baptism? I get it… probably something like those Darkness Seals right? Perhaps a Seal even stronger than that… Am I right?”

Ming Hua did not make another sound, she did not even want to speak to this rascal anymore. If not for the fact this was her duty, she did not want to have anything to do with him.

“Teacher, I’m glad for the offer, but alas… I am not your so- called first generation Demonic Jewel Master, nor do I have the Demonic Attribute. You have already seen for yourself, that I have an ordinary Spatial Elemental Jewel, the gold-green Cat’s Eye. Furthermore, I am a Consolidating Equipment Master. Well, enough… I’m tired already, time to go back to sleep.”

Zhou Weiqing stretched lazily, turning around to leave. “You…” Ming Hua finally lost control, a thick Heavenly Energy bursting forth from her, her entire Consolidated Equipment Set instantly coalescing around her body.

Zhou Weiqing spun around abruptly, an ice cold look in his eyes. Being glared at such a frosty look, Ming Hua halted her original pounce.

“Do not try my patience. I can forget I heard anything today, and I can also act like I do not know anything at all. That way, we can keep peace with each other. Ming Hua, you Demonic Jewel Masters have it difficult, I can understand that, but do not force me to kill you.”

After hearing Ming Hua’s words, along with the intimate contact with her earlier, Zhou Weiqing had already lost the urge to kill her off. He was after all a Demonic Jewel Master as well, and he really did want to learn how to use the skills of this powerful attribute. However, he would never ever let himself be set with any of those Seals. If that happened, he would lose all his freedom, and could only be a puppet and slave of the Heavenly Demon Sect. That was definitely something he did not want. As such, he rejected Ming Hua without even any hesitation. Ming Hua said coldly: “Now that you know so many of our secrets, do you really think you can leave? If I am revealed, then I will not the only one to be in trouble, and we cannot take such a risk. Now that I have said so much today… There is no other choice for you.”
“Are you threatening me?” Zhou Weiqing said passively. Ming  Hua  said  coldly:  “Yes  I  am  threatening  you.  Zhou
Weiqing, there are only two paths for you now. One is to join
us, to stand together with us, and be baptized by our Sect Leader. In that case, we will be comrades from today onwards. If not, your only other way out of here is as a corpse.”

“You  think  you  can  threaten  me?”   Zhou  Weiqing’s  eyes turned cold, his killing intent once again erupting forth. With such unreasonable terms, even if he had originally felt sympathy to the Heavenly Demon Sect, he would no longer show mercy.

“With just her alone, of course not. However, what if you add me?” A low, confident voice suddenly sounded out, very close to him. A dark shadow flashed and someone appeared right next to Ming Hua. Zhou Weiqing’s blood froze as a chill ran down his spine, his face changing instantly. After all, he had constantly had his senses tuned to the max the entire night with Ming Hua. With the Darkness and Demonic Attributes, his senses were much stronger than any Jewel Masters of the same level. Even so, he
had not sensed anything from this person till he appeared of his own accord. This could only mean one thing – this person’s cultivation level was a lot higher than his own.

The person standing right beside Ming Hua was about the same height as Zhou Weiqing, with broad muscled shoulders, a head of black hair gently resting on them.

His black robes were rather simple, but Zhou Weiqing still recognized his identity with a single look. That was because he looked so similar to Ming Yu, with at least a seventy percent similarity, and also with a few similarities to Ming Hua.

“You’re Ming Yu’s father?” Zhou Weiqing said solemnly.

The black robed man smiled faintly and nodded, saying: “Not bad… Indeed I am. My name is Ming Wu. I’m also the previous Vice Commander in Chief of the Fei Li Empire Army. It was only after Ming Yu reached the rank of Battalion Commander that I resigned my commission to become a reservist officer. In the Fei Li Empire, we are not allowed to have more than one member of the same family in the army with a rank of Battalion Commander and above. Zhou Weiqing little friend… I think it is time that we talked.”

Although Ming Wu did not release his Power Jewels, and did not seem to give off any sense of danger, but Zhou Weiqing could feel his entire body turn cold in fear. He had never expected that although it was barely the second day he had met Ming Hua, she had already been so resolute and gone so far as to look for such a powerful person to take care of him. Such an error in judgement had now caused him to be in exceeding danger.

Seeing that Zhou Weiqing still did not open his mouth, Ming Wu smiled and continued saying: “Yesterday, Hua Hua told me about you, and I was extremely surprised. After all, it has been many years since the last first generation Demonic Jewel Master had appeared. Furthermore, when she came back today and told me that you were also a Consolidating Equipment Master, that sparked my interest even further. Besides my status and rank on the surface, I am also the person in charge of the Heavenly Demon Sect in the entire Fei Li Empire. If you are willing to join the Heavenly Demon Sect, then I can guarantee that you will definitely break through at least the 9- Jeweled cultivation level, or perhaps even higher, and may even become the next Sect Leader. I know you do not want to be Sealed, but you must understand, there is no give without take, you will have to give up something in order to gain the world. In fact, I can also agree to let Ming Hua be your concubine…”

As he said up to this point, he paused a moment. “I have laid out all our conditions. If you still reject us, then you leave us with no choice. For the sake of our Sect’s safety in the Fei Li Empire, I will have to leave you here forever. I believe that you are an intelligent person who should know how to choose…”

As he said that, Ming Wu slowly lifted up his left hand, and in a flash of white, nine shimmering Icy Jade Physical Jewels appeared around his wrist. He was a Upper Level Zong Stage Heavenly Jewel Master, even stronger than Admiral Zhou!

The literal translation here would actually be ‘smaller’ one. Basically the main wife would have much higher status than second wife

Chapter 50 Challenge! Upper Level Heavenly Zong Jewel Master!

When the nine Icy Jade Physical Jewels appeared before Zhou Weiqing’s eyes, he felt his mind go blank totally.

Having nine Icy Jade Jewels appearing at once around a person’s hand, he knew what it meant. An upper level Zong Stage Heavenly Jewel Master. In the entire Heavenly Jewel Master world, it was not just him, but a majority of the people would look up to such a person.

Zhou Weiqing was only 3-Jeweled, and even Ming Hua had one more set of Jewels than him. However, even if they added up both their Jewels together, they still had less than this person in front of him – Ming Wu. Furthermore, it wasn’t just a matter of numbers of Heavenly Jewels… For Ming Hua who was only at a 4-Jeweled cultivation level to have a Consolidated Equipment Set, how could this upper level Zong Stage Heavenly Jewel Master not have something better.

Ming Wu was also quietly observing Zhou Weiqing. When he had released his nine Icy Jade Physical Jewels, his gaze had locked onto this young man in front of him, and he had discovered that although Zhou Weiqing had revealed a surprised expression, it had only lasted a short while before disappearing. What a calm young man…

Ming Wu was rather surprised in his heart as well. Only then did he realise that Zhou Weiqing was far from what he appeared on the surface, his steady calm profoundness was something that perhaps not even a thirty year old adult could possess, and yet it was well hidden behind the immature and rascally front that he displayed. Earlier, when Ming Hua had told him that she had lost to the 3-Jeweled Zhou Weiqing, Ming Wu had already been very surprised. After all, he knew how powerful his daughter was, even most Heavenly Jewel Masters of the same rank as her would usually not be of a match to her. As such, he did not send any of his subordinates now, and came personally this night.

The facts had proven him correct as well, and indeed Ming Wu felt that he had made the right decision to come personally. Although this young man in front of him had not taken action yet, he could already see many things from Zhou Weiqing’s words, confidence and actions. He knew that if he had sent his subordinates, this fellow would likely have escaped. Once that happened, he did not doubt that Zhou Weiqing would escape thousands of miles away before they could react, and not give them any chance to look for him. “How are my conditions? As a father, to actually promise my daughter to you as a concubine, you should know my resolve.” Ming Wu’s voice was deep and serious, and the sheer pressure from it gave Zhou Weiqing chills in his heart.

Taking a deep breath, Zhou Weiqing could feel the energy whirlpools on his twelve Death Acupuncture Points starting to whirl at maximum speed as they drew in energy from the atmosphere. Keeping himself in top form, he prepared himself.

With a bitter smile, Zhou Weiqing shook his head and said: “Senior, since you’ve already laid everything out, I also have no reason to hide anymore. Indeed, you all have guessed correctly, I do have the Demonic Attribute, and also the Demonic Change Skill.” Hearing Zhou Weiqing finally admit it, both Ming Hua and Ming Wu’s eyes lit up, and the pressure from Ming Wu seemed to lessen.

Ming Hua said: “Hmph, you’re finally willing to admit it? I thought you would try to hide it til your death.”

“Hua Hua… Quiet… From now on, without my permission, you aren’t allowed to speak…” Ming Wu said passively, with no emotion in his voice, but Ming Hua’s face changed instantly. If there was anyone she was afraid of, it would be this father in front of her. Indeed, Ming Hua was rather angry and feeling rather wronged. Why must I be this fellow’s concubine! Thinking about how she was irritated by Zhou Weiqing, she couldn’t help but grow angry again. However, as her father was here, she dared not continue speaking, or else she might have already flared out at Zhou Weiqing.

Seeing Ming Hua shut her mouth unwillingly, Zhou Weiqing gave her a mocking, challenging look, but instead said to Ming Wu. “Senior Ming Wu, looks like Miss Ming Hua doesn’t really like me! To be honest, she is a little too old to be my concubine, after all, I’m not even seventeen years old yet.”

“You…” Ming Hua almost went berserk. She was being forced to become his concubine, and he even dared say she was too old?! What a bastard!

Seeing the killing look in Ming Hua’s eyes, Zhou Weiqing still maintained the faint smile on his face. However, in truth, his heart sank and was rather disappointed. That was because he noticed that Ming Wu was still calm and impassive, and did not seem affected by his words. Under such a circumstance, facing such a 9-Jeweled Heavenly Jewel Master who could stay so calm, he did not even have any possible chance.

Ming Wu smiled and said: “If you do not like Hua Hua, that is no problem. Our sect is full of beautiful young girls, and you can have your pick of them. However, you need to give me your answer now… No more tricks… That is not good for you, I really do not want to see such a promising young man like you die early, without a chance to grow into your potential.”

Zhou Weiqing’s heart sank. In fact, when he admitted about his Demonic Attribute, he was already angling for the best possible conditions for himself to get out of the situation.

Admitting that he was a first generation Demonic Jewel Master was in hopes that it would discourage Ming Wu from killing him. After that, he had mocked Ming Hua in hopes to get a reaction from her father, and hopefully find a weakness or opportunity to exploit. Alas, his plans had come to naught.

Zhou Weiqing sighed and said: “It looks like I am in a corner now… with no other choice…”

Ming Wu continued smiling but did not reply.

Zhou Weiqing said: “Senior Ming Wu, I am a person who is really afraid of death. However, at the same time, I also love freedom almost just as much. I believe that Teacher Ming Hua has already told you about that. Because of that, I fought so hard in the Fei Li Military Academy…” Ming  Wu  nodded  and  said:  “Indeed,  freedom  is  very important. However, what is the use of freedom when you do not have your life? Also, I can give you my promise… As long as you join our Sec, we will not have too many restrictions on you. Only the few upper echelons of the sect will know of your existence and can give you instructions. If you require any help or aid, we can also provide it to you.”

Zhou Weiqing nodded quietly and said: “Thank you for that, Senior. However, I still want to take a risk. How about a bet with me, Senior?”

Ming Wu laughed heartily and said: “What do you want to bet on?” He found that he was starting to like Zhou Weiqing more, even under such a huge difference in power, he had not given up and was still trying everything he could to attempt to escape.

Zhou Weiqing said seriously: “You are the strongest Heavenly Jewel Master I have ever seen thus far. I would like to experience your strength and power for myself. My bet is this, I will run with all my might, and you chase me down. If I manage to escape to the Fei Li City, then I have won, and I will swear upon my Personal Jewels that I will never reveal anything about the Heavenly Demon Sect, but you all shall not force me to join the sect. If you catch me, I will have lost and will join you all on my own accord.”

Ming Wu looked at him in surprise, saying: “Young man, looks like you certainly do not lack confidence. Alright, since you want to bet, I shall go along with it. It will also let you learn that when the power difference is too huge, no amount of tricks or strategies can be of use. You can start running now, I will give you to a count of three before I start chasing. Remember your own words, after this, I do not want to see you try any more tricks.”

Zhou Weiqing did not reply him, nor did he even wait for the counting to start, and just turned and bolted instantly at top speed. Facing possible death, our dear Little Fatty ran with all his might and heart, squeezing every last possible speed from his body. His Elemental Jewels were locked onto the Wind Attribute, all his Heavenly Energy circulating at max speed, while his Demonic Right Leg constantly boosting himself forward as he charged forth in a straight line towards the Fei Li City. His current speed was even faster than Shangguan Bing’er in terms of a straight line running. That was how incredible his Demonic Right Leg was.

“One…”  Ming Wu’s voice seemed to follow Zhou Weiqing’s ears, not softening a whit despite his speed. At the same time, Ming Wu was also rather shocked. With his vision, how could he not see that Zhou Weiqing was using the Wind Attribute. However, what truly shocked him was the burst of power from the Demonic Right Leg. It seems like his daughter had not lost in vain! A first generation Demonic Jewel
Master was definitely not something that an ordinary Heavenly
Jewel Master can compare to.

The distance from the lake to the city was not great, and with Zhou Weiqing’s speed, he almost had the confidence to reach the city before Ming Wu could finish counting to three. By that time, he would only need to somehow vault across the city walls and he would win, no matter who saw him.

“Two…” Ming Wu’s calm voice continued, seemingly void of emotion. However, the more calm Ming Wu was, the heavier Zhou Weiqing’s heart was. However, even if there was just a slim thread of success, Zhou Weiqing would still do his best to keep his freedom. The reason he came up with such a bet was because he needed to just try, to give an attempt to escape his fate here. After all, he still had some skills that Ming Wu did not know about. Even if he lost, due to the bet, Ming Wu would not kill him off right away.

Soon, the Fei Li city appeared in front of his eyes, and Zhou Weiqing sent all his energy into his Demonic Right Leg as he struck the road hard with it, sending his entire body whirling towards it like a bolt of lightning.

“Three.”  Ming Wu counted the last number. Almost at the same instant as he counted it out, he leapt out into the air. Zhou Weiqing was barely seventy metres from the wall, needing barely two to three leaps to reach it. Alas, he suddenly felt a strong suction force from behind him, a force he couldn’t resist.

His body which had been hurtling towards the city walls suddenly changed directions in mid air involuntarily, flying backwards further from the wall. How was that possible? He was still a few hundred metres away! Zhou Weiqing was now shocked to the core, his body in mid air, but he managed to twist himself around to look. All he saw was Ming Wu speeding forth towards him, and the suction force was from a huge red flower.

It was a similar Hades’ Flower like Ming Hua’s, but Ming Wu’s one was larger and much more powerful than hers, more than ten, or even a hundred times! Zhou Weiqing was just unable to resist that suction force as he was dragged back unwillingly. In this way, in the next moment, Ming Wu would soon catch up with him and catch him.

It was at this point that Zhou Weiqing finally used all his power. In mid air, his left hand slashed towards the back, a ear- splitting tearing sound accompanying a silver flash – the Spatial Rend.

The Spatial Rend’s effect was without doubt extremely powerful, and with it blocking, although it did not fully deal with the strong suction power of the Hades’ Flower, it at least managed to block a large percentage of it, allowing Zhou Weiqing to regain control. At the same time, he used another Spatial Skill, Blink, which sent him ten metres away. Since he had reached the 3-Jeweled cultivation level, his Blink skill had improved from 3 metres range to 10 metres, and the cooldown had also reduced.

Not only did he unleash those two Skills, while in the midst of Blinking, Zhou Weiqing’s first Icy Jade Physical Jewel also glowed brilliantly in a swirl of white icy mist as the Overlord Bow coalesced into his hands.

The reason why he released the Overlord Bow was because Zhou Weiqing knew that attempting to run was of no use. His only hope was to attempt to stall Ming Wu with his attacks, in hopes to get an opportunity to escape. As such, he released both Stored Elemental Skills and Consolidated Physical Jewel Equipment.

As his right leg lashed out in the air, causing a sharp explosive sound as he once again charged forth towards the city walls. At the same time, he drew the Overlord Bow to its maximum, body twisting in midair as he twirled the Overlord Bow in his hands, the bowstring formed of pure Heavenly Energy twisting around the titanium alloy arrow he had nocked upon it. With a quick release, the arrow flew out with a loud swoosh. The archery skill that Zhou Weiqing had used was Mu En’s specialty skill, making use of a massive corkscrew spin on the bowstring to greatly increase the power, and his own unique style of control to release one of the most powerful archery attacks.

Mu En was after all only a 6-Jeweled Physical Jewel Master, yet he had managed to use this archery skill to heavily injure a Zong Stage Heavenly Beast. From that, one could tell how powerful it truly was. Furthermore, although Zhou Weiqing’s Heavenly Energy was currently not comparable to his teacher’s, his pure physical strength had long since way surpassed Mu En’s. He was also using the great Overlord Bow, a powerful Consolidated Equipment that only Strength Heavenly Jewel Masters could use.

An arrow released by such a skill already had a huge destructive power, and adding the explosive effect of the Overlord Bow to the mix would only cause an effect of the whole being greater than the sum of its parts, more than several times the destructive capabilities!

One should never forget that Zhou Weiqing was not a close combat type Heavenly Jewel Master, but an archer! Although his close combat skills were decent, especially with his Legendary Consolidated Equipment Set Hammers in hand, he was definitely not as well versed and practiced in using them as when he had bow in hand, and naturally he was at his best when using archery.

For Ming Wu to dare to allow Zhou Weiqing to start running first, he naturally had the confidence to easily catch him. With his cultivation level, if Zhou Weiqing could reach the city without him doing anything, that would be a joke.

If the current situation carried on, with the Hades’ Flower strong suction powers, it would barely be another blink of an eye before Zhou Weiqing would reach within 30 metres of Ming Wu. Once that happened, Ming Wu was confident that he could totally subdue Zhou Weiqing without any issues and complete crush all his hopes of resisting.

However, just when he thought that everything was secured, Zhou Weiqing’s sudden Spatial Rend gave Ming Wu a surprise. Although he had heard his daughter’s description of it, it was a totally different matter experiencing it on his own! Ming Wu was after all a lot more experienced and knowledgeable than Ming Hua, and he definitely recognized the skill although she did not.

The  Silver  Emperor’s  Spatial  Rend!  How  could  this  be possible…  with that little brat’s mere cultivation level, how could he possibly Store such a Skill from the Silver Emperor?! In that instant, Ming Wu was truly shocked to his core. What was the Silver Emperor? It was a King Stage Heavenly Beast! To put things in perspective, even with Ming Wu’s power and cultivation level, should he be a Spatial Heavenly Jewel Master,
he would still likely not be able to Store and Skills from the Silver Emperor!

Heavenly Beasts were similar to Heavenly Jewel Masters when ranking up, and the gap from Zong Stage to King Stage was immense, not just a huge increase in quantity of power, but quality as well, and the stage was considered quite an important breakthrough. From what Ming Wu knew, he had never even heard of any Heavenly Jewel Master below King Stage being able to Store Skills from a King Stage Heavenly Beast! That just wasn’t realistic at all!

Yet, at the same time, Ming Wu was extremely certain that he had not made a mistake or have his eyes deceived him. The skill that Zhou Weiqing used was indeed the Spatial Rend of the Silver Emperor! At the same time, he knew that the Skill Storing Palace had recently captured a Silver Emperor, and it had paid quite a heavy price in doing so.

Despite the shock and bewilderment in his heart causing his mind to race wildly, Ming Wu’s actions did not slow at all. Even with the Hades’ Flower being blocked by the Spatial Rend, with his 9-Jeweled cultivation level, he was still very confident in taking down Zhou Weiqing before he could escape.

Just at that moment, Zhou Weiqing’s Overlord Bow fired out the arrow, and once again Ming Wu was given a nasty shock at the power of the arrow speeding towards him. Judging by its power, he dared not let it strike him, as it would definitely deal some damage to him.

With his body in mid air, Ming Wu made a guarding motion with his right hand, using his fingers to strike out at the arrow at the precise time. At the same time, a white light erupted out from his hands on the point of impact, forcefully covering the massive explosion and shielding it from him.

Without a doubt, even with Zhou Weiqing’s amazing archery and his Consolidated Equipment Overlord Bow, Zhou Weiqing was still unable to threaten Ming Wu. However, a something strange occurred – Ming Wu’s body froze in mid air. Although his body was still carried forward by inertia, but his speed was like a snail’s pace as compared to his previous motion.

How could this be?! Ming Wu’s face changed for the first time, shock, disbelief and even a hint of fear displaying out. Although he had been surprised several times by Zhou Weiqing earlier, nothing had such an effect on him as this. After all, when Ming Wu had dealt with the blow earlier, he had made use of his Heavenly Xu Energy to dissolve the power held within the arrow. Yet, when it exploded, his speed had shockingly still been affected, causing him to slow drastically. Furthermore, he was now circulating all his Heavenly Energy, even manipulating the Life Attribute of his Elemental Jewels, and yet he was still unable to resolve this slowing effect…
which lasted a whole three seconds.

Three seconds might seem a short period of time, but sometimes it might just seem an extremely long time. Now, in the heat of combat, it was such a time indeed.

However, after shooting the arrow, Zhou Weiqing did not even look at Ming Wu, not hesitating a bit to see the effect. Instead, he had already spun around, right foot slamming hard on the city walls. Once again, his body flew up into the air, and in the short span of the three seconds, he had already swiftly leapt up onto the top of the world like a gust of wind. As he did so, he even waved towards Ming Wu before jumping down into the city. At the same time, he also cried out loudly in a weird sound, drawing attention and causing a commotion amongst the city guards. Without question, he was trying to create a large commotion in order to aid his escape. As the three seconds ended, a moment later, Ming Wu was already in the Fei Li City. Currently, the expression on his face was very ugly. Up until now, he still had not figured out what skill Zhou Weiqing had used to be able to slow him down for three seconds. With the huge disparity between the two of
their cultivation levels, this was originally not something that was possible.

As soon as Zhou Weiqing entered the Fei Li City, he immediately ran for his life. His heart was still pounding away in fear, and his only thought now was to take Shangguan Bing’er and get out of Fei Li City immediately. Even though his studies were important, and so were the students he had planned to recruit from the Fei Li Military Academy, nothing was more important to him than his own freedom. Furthermore, it might be even death he faced.

All of a sudden, Zhou Weiqing stopped in his tracks. In front of him, a shadowy figure stood illuminated by the moonlight – it was Ming Wu.

Currently, Ming Wu was standing there, his arms crossed and brow furrowed. His gaze seemed to flicker around, as if struggling with something. Zhou Weiqing stood in surprise for a moment, before he finally forced a smile on his face… “Senior, I never expected to meet you again so quickly. Do not worry Senior, although I am young and my cultivation level is way below yours, but I definitely am a man of my word. I will never reveal anything about the Heavenly Demon Sect to anyone else. To keep my promise is what a man has to do…”

Ming Wu sighed and said: “Enough. You do not need to try and wrangle anything out of me. I admit that you have really given me many big surprises today, and I have lost the previous bet. I had truly never expected you to not just have the Silver Emperor’s Spatial Rend, but also that unknown powerful control skill! If I’m not wrong, your attributes are Wind, Spatial and Demonic… at least three attributes!”

Zhou Weiqing said: “It’s getting late, senior. Since our bet has ended, then this junior will return home to sleep.” As he said that, he turned and quickly walked away.

Alas, in a quick flash, Ming Wu stood in front of him once more, the expression on his face extremely ugly. With a sigh, he said: “I’m very sorry, young man. I’m afraid that I have to break my word for once. For the sake of the Sect’s future, my own personal honour is nothing, and I am willing to bear the name of being perfidy. Alas, no matter what, I need you to join our Heavenly Demon Sect today. You are just too talented, and your talent alone gives me the chills. I believe that if you join our Heavenly Demon Sect, in the future, you will bring our Sect to rise up in glory.”

Zhou Weiqing’s eyes widened as he stared at Ming Wu, dumfounded… the situation before his eyes was definitely not what he expected.

For a Upper Level Zong Stage Heavenly Jewel Master like Ming Wu, with his status in the Heavenly Jewel Master World, he had actually gone back on his word!

Bearing the name of perfidy might sound easy, but for a Upper Level Zong Stage Heavenly Jewel Master to say that, how difficult could it be? At this point, Zhou Weiqing’s heart sank like a rock. Now that Ming Wu had thrown his honour away for the sake of his Sect, Zhou Weiqing was at a loss of what to do. Currently, Zhou Weiqing could no longer remain calm. From Ming Wu’s words, the only thing he could know for sure was that Ming Wu would definitely not kill him.

Do I have no other choice? Zhou Weiqing’s heart was stubborn as his mind raced. He did not want to die, and definitely could not die. Too many people’s’ hopes and dreams weighed down upon him. At the same time, he did not want to lose his freedom! After a moment of struggle, he firmed his resolve. No matter what the result was, he would not submit to Ming Wu. Though their power levels were drastically apart, he would still fight, a battle for his freedom.

Facing such an immense pressure, the bloodlust and tyrannical violence hidden in his blood was unleashed, and Zhou Weiqing’s gaze turned forceful as his eyes grew bloodshot. If Zhou Weiqing was scolding him angrily, Ming Wu might feel better about it, but with him staring at him silently, it was quite a torment for such a person like Ming Wu. However, he did not have any choice. The innate talent and power that Zhou Weiqing displayed was just too outstanding, and with his mature character and strength of will. Without question, given time to grow, he would be a major player and power in the world. After all, a first generation Demonic Jewel Master was just too important to the Heavenly Demon Sect, and they needed this fresh infusion to continue their bloodline. This was also one of the reasons why Ming Wu had promised him any number of girls from the Sect, as they sorely needed his children as well. No matter how you looked at it, the Heavenly Demon Sect truly could not let him go so easily.

With a flash of light, the Overlord Bow once again appeared in Zhou Weiqing’s hands. Currently, he was barely twenty metres from Ming Wu, and in a rush of thick Heavenly Energy, a titanium alloy arrow was nocked onto the bowstring and pointing towards Ming Wu. With Zhou Weiqing’s archery skills, at such a distance, even Ming Wu would be hard pressed to dodge.

“If you want me to submit, then you’ll have to force me with your power.” Zhou Weiqing’s voice had a hint of demonic aura, and with his Heavenly Energy circulating around his body, his Demonic Right Leg was covered with the tiger tattoos, and his blood was boiling with a violent tyrannical aura.

Where Zhou Weiqing’s left hand was holding the Overlord Bow, two of his Elemental Jewels silently slipped into the sockets, and with a flash and a shrill, ear-piercing sound, the nocked arrow was released and flew towards Ming Wu like a bolt of lightning. Currently, Ming Wu was feeling guilty towards Zhou Weiqing, and did not have any killing intent. All he wanted to do now was to catch Zhou Weiqing back to the Sect. As for how to convince him to submit and join them, he would worry about that later.

The instant Zhou Weiqing took out his Overlord Bow, Ming Wu focused on him. With his cultivation level, within a kilometre range, Zhou Weiqing would be unable to escape his senses. Even with that strange slowing skill, he would still be able to catch Zhou Weiqing no matter how far he ran during the three seconds. Without the restriction of the bet, there was no way that his three jewel cultivation level could deal with Ming Wu’s nine jewels.

Ming Wu took half a step forward, his right fist punching out. His speed, reflexes and reaction time was just too quick, even if his attributes and expertise wasn’t off speed or agility, but with his cultivation level at such a stage, it wasn’t something an ordinary Jewel Master could compare with.

As the blinding white light struck the titanium alloy arrow, it disintegrated. Even the double explosive power of his archery was insufficient to break through the seemingly solid yet illusory Heavenly Xu Energy which blanketed the area. Even the sound of the explosion was easily muted by the ever- present Heavenly Xu Energy.

However, the next moment, Ming Wu’s face froze. The reason for that was that when his fist struck the arrow, he had been jolted by bolts of lightning spreading through his entire body. Even with Ming Wu’s cultivation level, being caught by surprise, he was still numbed momentarily by the Lightning Attribute. It was then quickly followed by a flash of silver light which enveloped his entire body – it was the Spatial Shackles.

Indeed, this arrow of Zhou Weiqing’s could be said to be the maximum of his capabilities. In shooting this arrow, he had not only used the unique archery skill of Mu En’s, the Overlord Bow, and also socketed two Elemental Jewels to use two control skills in succession. After having used the Socketing Scroll, this was the first time he had used two skills on the Overlord Bow at the same time in actual combat, and the effect was indeed extremely promising.

The Lightning Explosive Palm had caught ming Wu by surprise and numbed him for a split second, which gave the Spatial Shackles the opening to take effect and envelop him.

Almost immediately after he had fired the first arrow, Zhou Weiqing did not wait and instantly shot the second one, which shot forth like a bolt of lightning, and the third one followed suit barely half a beat later. He did not even try to run, as he knew that there was no possibility of escaping. Even if he did manage to escape, he would not do so. After all, if he left, what would happen to Shangguan Bing’er? As such, he could only go
all out and do his best with all his might. Even though he knew
that his efforts would likely amount to naught, he would still try… No matter if it were only a one in ten thousand chance, he would still die trying!

The record of the members of Paradise Strange had been killing a Ten-Jeweled Heavenly Jewel Master… Even though his cultivation level was still lower than theirs, his total power level was no weaker than any of the members of Paradise Strength. Only if he managed to kill Ming Wu would he able to bring Shangguan Bing’er away safely.

*Bang!* The Spatial Shackles barely lasted a second before it shattered, yet Zhou Weiqing’s calculations were almost extraordinary – just as Ming Wu broke apart the Spatial Shackles, his second arrow reached.

The speeding arrow was extremely destructive, and Ming Wu was left with no choice but to meet it with another fist, destroying it. However, once again, shock appeared on his face. Delay… That same Absolute Delay skill which had caused him to lose the previous bet once again fell upon him. The 3- Jeweled Level Absolute Delay had brought it to last three seconds long, and as Tang Xian had mentioned in the past, this Skill was indeed extremely powerful. No matter how great the
power difference was between foes, it would still take effect.

Furthermore, what came along with the arrow was not just the Absolute Delay, a Fetters of Wind also landed on Ming Wu. Another arrow with double control skills, and more importantly, skills that were totally different from the first arrow. This caused Ming Wu to be taken aback once more. How many skills did this little brat have?! And how many attributes?! By now even he was unclear.

Under the effect of Absolute Delay, Ming Wu was unable to resist the effects of the Fetters of Wind, and its full power was unleashed upon him, even to the point of strengthening it. This caused him to be totally unable to move, and he could only circulate more Heavenly Energy unleashing it out of his body to surround himself as he stared at Zhou Weiqing. In his mind, Zhou Weiqing would seize this opportunity to run.

However, as he circulated his Heavenly Energy, unexpectedly Zhou Weiqing’s third arrow arrived. By now, Zhou Weiqing’s face was pale and ashen. Although he had many skills due to his multiple attributes, this was indeed the first time he had chain-used so many attributes in such a short period of time, and it had taken quite a toll upon him. However, he could not care about that right now, as he knew that he could only get the one chance.

As the third arrow flew towards Ming Wu, Zhou Weiqing also dashed forward in a violent charge, making use of the Demonic Right Leg. Instead of fleeing, he had charged towards Ming Wu.

As the third arrow landed upon Ming Wu’s Heavenly Xu Energy shield, a loud explosion occurred, but it only caused Ming Wu’s brow to furrow. Even with all of Zhou Weiqing’s archery skill and power of the Overlord Bow, the arrow was still unable to break through his Heavenly Xu Energy shield when it was unleashed to its maximum.

This third arrow did not have any other skills, and was simply fired out using his archery skills. Ming Wu couldn’t help but smile, thinking to himself. Little brat, in the end, your cultivation level is just not high enough! After chain-using so many skills, you’re finally unable to continue. Well, even if you can continue, so what? You just do not have the power to injure me. By now, the Absolute Delay and Fetters of Wind had already passed their first second of duration. At the same time, Zhou Weiqing charged forth, and during that period, another second had passed.

Ming Wu could clearly see that Zhou Weiqing’s body lit up with a piercing green light, and he had chosen to attack him not with the more powerful Spatial Rend, but instead with a Wind Attribute Skill. Looks like his Heavenly Energy is just insufficient now. This kind is really too outstanding… when I catch hold of him later, I must treat him well… I really hope he will listen to me and join our Sect.

By now, Ming Wu, who felt he had the situation under control, was already thinking about how he could start convincing Zhou Weiqing. However, in the next instant, his face changed.

As the green light surrounded Zhou Weiqing, his charging speed more than doubled, clearly another unleashed skill. At the same time, his body did not go straight for Ming Wu, instead leaping up into their air. Simultaneously, a dark gold colour erupted from his body as the Overlord Bow vanished, and as a protective layer of light surrounded him, the unbelievably huge pair of hammers appeared in Zhou Weiqing’s hands. However, this was not the reason why Ming Wu’s expression changed. The reason for that was because the current Zhou Weiqing was totally covered with a black tiger tattoo stripes, his forehead clearly showing the black ‘King’ word as well as his bloodshot eyes… All of that told Ming Wu one thing – The Demonic Change!

Indeed, Zhou Weiqing had made use of the second Wind Attribute skill he had Stored from the Icy Soul Heavenly Bears, the Tornado Strike. At the same time that he used it, his body had entered the Demonic Change state, his strength, power, rate of drawing power from the atmosphere and sensitivity more than tripling his usual amount. Most importantly, he was still conscious and in control of himself!
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