Seeing Ning Yuexi start to loosen her clothes, Lin Tang's brow furrowed. "Are you out of your mind? On what grounds are you calling a lecher? Even if I were one, what makes you think I'd be interested in you? Who do you think you are?!"
"You—"
"You what? Get lost!" he snapped, shoving her away.
But she clung to him like sticky taffy, wrapping her arms around him from behind and refusing to let go. Her hands road over his body as she kissed his ear and the side of his face.
"Wow, how shaless! Taking liberties with !" Lin Tang exclaid dramatically. "HISS... Are you part dog? How dare you bite !"
He casually tossed Situ Peiyuan aside, yanked Ning Yuexi in front of him, and—SMACK! SMACK!—gave her a few sharp slaps on her buttocks.
"Huh? Feels pretty good. Only a tiny bit less bouncy than Zhu Yingning's." Lin Tang wore a peculiar expression before speaking again. "So if I spare them, you'll really let do anything to you?"
"That's right, I swear it!" Ning Yuexi declared resolutely.
She simply could not accept her senior brothers and sisters being killed by Long Tianji. Although they had traveled thousands of miles to this place to slay demons and vanquish evil, it was purely for the benefit of the academy. Yet, she insisted on shouldering all the responsibility herself.
Her mind... really is ssed up.
"Then swear your oath," Lin Tang said mockingly.
Ning Yuexi was silent for a mont. She lowered her head and clenched her fists, her voice trembling as she began. "I, Ning Yuexi, swear to the heavens that as long as Long Tianji spares my senior brothers and sisters, I will not oppose or resist anything he does to . If I break this oath, may I be struck down by divine retribution!"
"No!"
Wei Mingyan and the others felt a deep sense of humiliation, their eyes turning red. Ever since entering the academy and becoming core disciples, they had always been admired and had their commands followed without question. They had never suffered such humiliation. They were so proud. Now, their lives were being saved by a woman at the cost of her own self-sacrifice. They had lost all face. Their dignity was utterly shattered.
Situ Peiyuan suffered the most. As the academy's head senior brother, its public face and heir apparent, any insult or injury to him was an insult and injury to the academy itself.
I, Situ Peiyuan, also swear an oath! I will take your life, Long Tianji! Just you wait! Our academy will pursue you with endless vengeance! I won't just kill you; I will nail you to the pillar of eternal sha! Situ Peiyuan gritted his teeth, but he didn't dare speak the words aloud. As much as he was in agony, he was ultimately afraid of death.
Lin Tang stared at Ning Yuexi and said flatly, "Struck down by divine retribution? That price is too vague to be convincing. You need to add a few more lines. For instance, if you break your vow, you'll beco a demon, forever fallen. And the academy you hold so dear will turn into a pile of dog shit!"
"Don't you dare insult the academy!" Wei Mingyan bellowed.
CRACK!
Lin Tang stomped down, crushing the man's kneecap until it was as thin as tissue paper.
"Ahhhh—"
He let out a bloodcurdling scream and fainted from the sheer pain. The sight terrified the others, making them tremble and nearly wet themselves again.
Ning Yuexi shuddered, her gaze toward Lin Tang filled with imnse resentnt. "Long Tianji, I hate you! I really, truly hate you!"
"Are you going to keep dawdling?" Lin Tang threatened, moving as if to stomp on Zhu Changzai next.
"No! I don't want to be a cripple for the rest of my life! Junior Sister Ning, just do what he says! We're only in this ss because of you, so what are you being so dramatic about?" Zhu Changzai shrieked, his eyes practically bulging from their sockets as he spat out the words without thinking.
Ning Yuexi had no other choice. She continued with the oath. After she finished, her entire spirit seed to have been sucked out of her, leaving her looking lost and utterly haggard.
"Very good. Now, it's your turn," Lin Tang said, his cold gaze sweeping over the crowd.
"Oh, my God!"
"He's terrifying!"
"We're done for!"
"We've been wronged! We were forced by Boss Guo and the others to recite a few lines of that ancient text!"
"That's right! We were forced into it!"
"Dragon King, please spare us!"
They all dropped to their knees, pleading for their lives with hoarse voices. They even began forcing their own daughters and granddaughters forward, urging them to imitate Ning Yuexi's seductive display in a clumsy parody.
"Dragon King, please calm your anger! We are also willing to let you do anything you wish to us..."
Being surrounded and sward by so many won was starting to overwhelm even Lin Tang.
"Xiao Zhanchong! Guo the Turtle! Get over here!"
"...Yes!"
"Dragon King, what are your orders?"
Humiliated, Xiao Xuanye and the other man stepped forward. Lin Tang slapped them both across the face several tis, leaving indelible scars on their psyches. Despite this, they had no choice but to force smiles. They quickly ordered the release of the mbers of the True Martial Association and the Star Evil Group.
Lin Tang casually slung an arm around Wei Zichu and addressed Wei Shanhe and Zhao Xinghe. "From now on, you're a single faction. Any objections?"
The two forr arch-enemies exchanged bitter smiles and agreed to comply. Zhao Xinghe inwardly cursed that he didn't have a beautiful daughter, forcing him to take a backseat and let Wei Shanhe lead their new, consolidated force. Huangfu Zhan, anwhile, was pushed even further to the sidelines.
Next, they began to register everyone present. One by one, they were processed, and half of their family assets were confiscated as punishnt for being accomplices. The people felt as if they had been granted a great amnesty and didn't dare to refuse. Paying with money to save their lives was far better than having their entire families exterminated.
Lee Encai was also about to be registered, but Wei Zichu went over with a grin and pulled her away, sparing the Li Family from the disaster.
Shen Youling and Shatana were also quickly brought back.
"Where's that handso fellow, Lin Tang?" Lin Tang asked deliberately.
Shen Youling replied shyly, "He saw things were going south and ran off. He's just a coward. Please, Dragon King, don't be angry!"
A coward? The hell I'm a coward! he thought, secretly annoyed and already planning to tease Shen Youling for that.
"Respected Dragon King, I am Shatana, princess of the Sunset Country. May I marry you?" Shatana finally had her chance to express her fervent "love"!
"Oh?" Lin Tang raised an eyebrow. He was quite curious about what she was really up to.
True love? Impossible! She must have so other motive.
But he was fearless. He brazenly sized her up, then pinched her nose and cheeks as if he were inspecting a pet for purchase. "Not bad, not bad. No plastic surgery."
Shatana was speechless.
"I've already chosen Ning Yuexi as the winner of this little pageant. If you don't mind, you can be the runner-up."
"Huh? What does that an?"
"Silly, it ans Uncle Long plans on having his cake and eating it too. He'll take Ning Yuexi, and he'll take you as well," Wei Zichu said sourly.
"I see," Shatana replied, seemingly unbothered. "As the Dragon King, it would be perfectly normal to have a hundred consorts. Of course, I'm willing!"
After everyone else had been dismissed, Situ Peiyuan's fellow disciples were also carried away.
"Wait, our Holy Corpse!"
"Hm? If you hadn't reminded , I would have forgotten. Guo the Turtle, prepare a room for . Bring this 'Holy Corpse' in too; I want to take a look at it."
"Long! Tian! Ji!"
"The Holy Corpse belongs to our academy's forebears! You cannot desecrate it—"
"You're asking to die!"
"Don't!"
Ning Yuexi once again used all her wits to placate Lin Tang. Situ Peiyuan and his group had no choice but to accept reality and allow Long Tianji to take the Holy Corpse.
"Yan Qinghe, you old coot. You kept saying you wanted to recruit , even offering to put Xiao Zhanchong and Guo the Turtle under my command. Then you turn around and try to kill . Tell , how should I deal with you?" Lin Tang said mockingly.
Yan Qinghe sighed inwardly but maintained a smile. "This old man has lived a long life and has no regrets. As long as you can quell your anger, Dragon King, I am willing to die!"
"Alright, cut the act. Let's talk about so real compensation instead," Lin Tang said, a grin spreading across his face as he rubbed his hands together.
Although the dical Immortal Sect had a thousand-year history and many potent dicines, Yan Qinghe and his associates controlled a far greater quantity. With such a perfect opportunity, how could he not extort a fortune from them? It was the least he deserved for all that sunbathing. Besides dicinal herbs, there were other treasures. He figured there must be so spiritual materials suitable for refining flying swords, just waiting for him to find them.
"Yu Huaji, where do you think you're hiding? You were part of this too, weren't you? In fact, your voice was the loudest!" Lin Tang said with a smirk that didn't reach his eyes, grabbing hold of Yu Huaji, who was trying to make himself smaller by sucking in his gut.
Yu Huaji's face turned ashen. He frantically begged for rcy and also promised to hand over many precious dicines.
「Midnight. The Post Station.」
After a late-night al, Lee Encai ran to Shen Youling's room to have a sleepover, even though there were plenty of spare rooms.
Shen Youling finally voiced a question that had been bothering her. "I rember you weren't in the audience at the start. When did you get here?"
"Ah, well..."
In another room, Ning Yuexi and Shatana stared at each other blankly.
Lin Tang, still wearing Long Tianji's face, was crouched by a large chest, studying the Holy Corpse within. Shatana was there voluntarily to warm his bed. Ning Yuexi desperately wanted to leave but was forced to stay. First, Long Tianji hadn't told her to get lost. Second, she was genuinely worried he might take the Holy Corpse apart.
"Dragon King, the Holy Corpse is only beneficial to scholars. Could you please let it be? I'm begging you!"
"Hm?" Lin Tang's head snapped up, his voice filled with anger. "Are you implying I'm an uncultured simpleton?"
"I didn't an that..."
"Insolence! Get over here and bend over. I'm going to punish you severely!"
"You!!"
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