“What’s going on?” Chu Youzhao’s eyes widened. King Qi’s heir had just been about to use his ultimate move, with her brother-in-law seemingly on the brink of defeat. At the last second, though, it was the young heir who had been struck down by lightning instead. How was that possible?

Murong Qinghe was also stupefied. Everything that happened left her utterly dazed. She subconsciously looked around her. “Did someone secretly help him?”

She’d seen the ball of water shoot out from the side. Was there a water-element expert hiding nearby?

The driver with the missing tooth also looked around, shock evident in his eyes, a slightly befuddled expression on his face.

Zu An walked up to the young heir and looked down at his twitching body. He sighed. It seems the physics lessons have paid off.

When he saw his opponent wreathed in electricity earlier on, he’d gathered a pool of water from the nearby family ponds, water vats and other such vessels. He had been waiting for the right time to use this giant ball of water.

He hadn’t awakened the water element, so he couldn’t conjure water out of thin air. He did not possess the ability to wield it proficiently either. All he could do was use Blue Mallard to move the water.

Zu An completely shut down his opponent when he was in his most confident moment. He was going to make this young and arrogant heir understand that even the world of cultivation had to follow the laws of physics.

Zu An directed his mocking voice towards the steaming body on the ground, which had been scorched black. “Weren’t you about to punish me with your heavenly lightning? Why aren’t you coming at me anymore?” 

King Qi’s heir wiggled his fingers, as though trying to summon lightning, but all he could conjure was a small blue spark of electricity before his body twitched again, in the throes of paralysis.

Zu An laughed when he saw this. “Oh? Were you trying to shock me?” He put one foot on the young heir’s chest and said, “Earlier on, who was the one who said that everything was meaningless before absolute strength?”

No one had ever stepped on the young heir’s chest before. He struggled frantically, but his entire body was paralyzed by the electricity. His attempts to struggle intensely only manifested in some errant twitching.

You have successfully trolled Zhao Zhi for 999… 999… 999…

If he hadn’t been a lightning-element cultivator, the amount of electricity that had passed through him would have cooked him right through.

The fact that he was still alive was already a miracle in itself. Unfortunately, it would take months of rest and recovery before he would regain any semblance of his old strength.

Zu An swept his gaze across his foe, and couldn’t hold back a chuckle. This young heir’s hair, which had been straight and elegant, was now frazzled and standing on end, and all of his extravagant clothes had been burnt to ashes. It had been barely holding together a moment ago, but the small bit of movement caused them to disintegrate, revealing his naked, lightning-charred body.

“Ah!”

Both Murong Qinghe and Chu Youzhao jumped in fright, and quickly turned around, their hearts pounding.

Murong Qinghe gave the love of her life a look of surprise. I’m embarrassed because I’m a girl. But why are you so startled?

Chu Youzhao’s face was completely red. She was actually feeling slightly confused. One question filled her mind: why did Zhao Zhi’s look so different from her brother-in-law’s?

It’s so small…

Who is the weird one?

Zu An let his gaze fall on the young heir’s groin and a look of disdain flashed across his face. “That’s it?”

With so many young ladies nearby, though, he couldn’t just whip out his own right now. Instead, he traced a circle around Zhao Zhi’s manhood with the tip of his sword. “It’s already so burnt. Should I help you get rid of it?”

King Qi’s heir was so frightened that he felt his soul leave his body. He could slowly recover from his current injuries, but if his precious organ was cut off, it would take a miracle to reconnect it!

There would truly be no going back at that point.

He was usually an arrogant man, but his tone immediately softened considerably. “It’s a little burnt right now, but please, save yourself the trouble. It can still be used.”

Zu An laughed. “Even in this state, you still want to use it? It’ll be a miracle if you could still pee out of it.”

King Qi’s heir forced out an apologetic smile, but rage was surging endlessly within him. I will surely chop your corpse into ten thousand pieces in the future!

You have successfully trolled Zhao Zhi for 1024… 1024… 1024…

Zu An’s expression grew cold when he saw the incoming Rage points. “Could you somehow be secretly cursing me right now?”

“No… I’m not…” The young heir’s expression flickered. He wanted to say some flattering words to ease the tension, but he couldn’t find the right words. Given his status, he was always the one being flattered, ever since he was a little boy. He found that he couldn’t fawn over others properly.

Zu An’s expression suddenly lit up. “Oh, I’ve suddenly remembered something. Didn’t you ask me earlier to break my own arms and legs, and to bow down to you as a form of apology?”

“You misheard me. That’s not what I meant,” King Qi’s heir frantically explained. Right now, all he cared about was to make it through this trial, no matter what. Once news of this affair reached King Qi’s Estate, and his men were dispatched to rescue him, he would make sure to repay this bastard a hundred times over!

“Are you saying that I’m deaf?” demanded Zu An coldly.

King Qi’s heir was left speechless.

He really couldn’t get used to how this guy’s mind worked. By now, though, he had already realized that he was doing this on purpose. He was going to be ridiculed no matter what he chose to reply with.

With that in mind, he took a deep breath, and let the momentary panic pass him by. “There’s no point being pretentious. Do you really dare to hurt me? I am King Qi’s oldest son, as well as the Captain of the Reserve Army, an official of the imperial court. If I am injured in the slightest, then you will suffer ten times—no, a hundred times more in return.”

Zu An frowned. “You do hold a rather special identity. In particular, your father is a problem.”

A mixture of mockery and disdain appeared on the young heir’s face. “Correct. It seems you still have a clear understanding of the situation. I’m willing to turn a blind eye to what’s happened today, and let it all slide.”

Inside his heart, though, he sneered. Turn a blind eye? No way!

Once he returned to King Qi’s estate, he would make sure this fellow understood what it meant to be alive but wishing for death.

Zu An sighed. “That father of yours is indeed a problem, but I’ve never been someone to pay heed to threats. I don’t have that great of a temper, you know? Why did you just have to provoke me?”

As soon as he finished speaking, he stomped down on the young heir’s knee. A sharp crack filled the air.

Both Chu Youzhao and Murong Qinghe were stupefied. How could this fellow dare to do such a thing to King Qi’s heir? Do you even know what the consequences are?

Chu Youzhao lost all of the happiness she felt regarding her brother-in-law’s comeback. Her heart was instantly filled with worry.

The driver with the missing tooth frowned. “This kid is too reckless,” he couldn’t help but say. “Now, he has truly offended King Qi. I’m afraid no one can save him now.”

The interior of the carriage remained silent. It was impossible to fathom the thoughts of the woman within.

“Ahh!!” Zhao Zhi’s bitter screams filled the entire street, his mind and body racked with intense pain and anger. “You actually dared to hurt me! How dare you?!”

You have successfully trolled Zhao Zhi for 1024… 1024… 1024…

Aside from when the other party had circled his sword around his crotch, he hadn’t actually felt much panic. After all, he’d been certain that his opponent wouldn’t have dared to do anything to him. However, the intense pain coming from his knee made him begin to question life. Is this guy truly unafraid of my father? Is he fucking stupid?!

Zu An’s lips twitched. “Did your brain get fried from the lightning as well? Haven’t I already hurt you? Yet here you are, still asking if I dare to. Since you seem rather confused, let me help clear things up for you.”

He stomped his foot down on the other knee.

“Stop!” Alarmed by what was going on, Murong Qinghe quickly ran over to stop Zu An.

Zu An shot her a cold look. “Weren’t you beaten soundly the last time? Was it not enough?”

Guiltily, Murong Qinghe took a few steps back. She remembered the mysterious warmth that had filled her when this man grabbed her spear, and stiffened. She did not want to experience something so embarrassing again.

However, she held firmly onto King Qi’s relationship with the Murong clan, and still mustered the courage to say, “You cannot hurt him.”

“Why not?” Zu An said indifferently.

Murong Qinghe bit her soft lips and said, “Because he is King Qi’s heir. He is a man of distinguished status. If something happens to him, the entire capital will be thrown into chaos. Isn’t that reason enough?”

“That’s not enough!” Zu An was expressionless. He was about to stomp his foot down again, but an ominous feeling rose within him. He turned towards the street.

An elder appeared at the end of the street. He had a full head of silver hair, yet no wrinkles were visible on his face. As he ambled over, he seemed somehow at one with the world. He clearly hadn’t taken many steps, but was now only a couple of feet away from the two of them. “I advise you to move that filthy foot of yours.”