The onlooking crowd was all shocked, not expecting that after Zhao Letian had disabled Zhao Kang's arm, he still wasn't planning to let Zhao Kang off the hook, even threatening to cripple Zhao Kang's martial cultivation. How ruthless.
"You... you dare! Zhao Letian, I am of the direct lineage of Zhao Mansion, what gives you the right to cripple my cultivation? Let me go at once!" Trampled on the ground by Zhao Letian, Zhao Kang, enduring the intense pain of his broken arm, shouted furiously with shock and anger.
"Direct lineage? So what? I'll only count to three. Will you slap your own face, or do you want your cultivation gone? Choose for yourself, one..." Zhao Letian laughed dismissively and said coldly.
Zhao Kang was right; he truly was of the direct lineage of Zhao Mansion, and by all accounts, held a status unmatchable by Zhao Letian, but in this world, the strong are revered, and strength matters more than anything. As long as Zhao Letian had enough power, even if he killed Zhao Kang, no one would dare speak a word against it.
"You..." Seeing Zhao Letian completely disregard his threat, fear inevitably flashed in Zhao Kang's eyes. From Zhao Letian's current reaction, he didn't doubt that Zhao Letian truly dared to cripple his cultivation in front of everyone. However, if he were to slap his own face in public, he couldn't stomach the loss of face and found himself in an excruciating dilemma, anxious like an ant on a hot pan.
"Two..." Zhao Letian didn't care how troubled Zhao Kang was and continued the cold countdown. Today, he had to make Zhao Kang, as well as everyone in Zhao Mansion, understand one thing: even if his cultivation had not recovered to its former glory, Zhao Letian was not someone who could be bullied by just anyone, especially when it came to tolerating anyone daring to insult his parents and loved ones.
Hearing this, the tension immediately tightened among the onlookers. They watched the foot that Zhao Letian had on Zhao Kang with nervous anticipation, secretly wondering whether Zhao Kang, the son of the third master of Zhao Family, was really going to be crippled today and turned into nothing. If that were to happen, would the third master of the Zhao Family let it go easily? If it came to that, the matter would certainly not end well.
"Three..." Just then, as the final word was spoken, a flash of fierceness appeared in Zhao Letian's eyes, and the foot he had raised finally stomped down firmly and powerfully. If nothing unexpected happened, it would inevitably crush Zhao Kang's Qi Sea, crippling his cultivation.
"Zhao Letian, spare him where you can, let him go. After all, regardless of everything else, we are ultimately still siblings connected by blood," Zhao Lingshan, who had been silently watching everything, suddenly spoke up at the critical moment, with a natural commanding tone in her voice. In her view, even if Zhao Letian's cultivation hadn't been completely lost, the little cultivation he had left was certainly no match for her. He no longer had the qualification to speak to her on equal terms, and more importantly, she was the daughter of the Family Head, holding an incomparably esteemed status among her generation in the clan. If Zhao Letian of the past, the pride of the Zhao Family, would have made her show some concern, but now, in front of her, Zhao Letian had to obediently listen.
"Let him go? Just because you say so? What a joke!" Zhao Letian's gaze sharpened as he looked at Zhao Lingshan and responded indifferently, "Talking about siblings now? Where were you when he was insulting me just now?"
The crowd was visibly shocked at his words. Even when Zhao Letian was the pride of the Zhao Family, he would have given Miss Zhao Lingshan some respect. But now, his cultivation had fallen from its peak, and he had lost his genius halo. How did his courage grow even further, daring to talk back to Miss Zhao Lingshan so blatantly? This was truly unexpected.
However, no one knew that Zhao Letian, who had merged with another soul, was no longer the docile and kind-hearted youth he once was. The current him understood very well the principle that if you are too kind, people will walk all over you, and if you are too understanding, you will be ridden like a horse. When it was time to reveal his edge, he had to do so with all the force of a thunderclap to intimidate everyone. This was the only way to preemptively strike and avoid endless troubles.
"Zhao Letian, are you blaming me for being wrong?" Zhao Lingshan's face darkened upon hearing his words.
"Hmph! Zhao Letian, you truly do not know whether you are alive or dead. Even if you have some cultivation left, you will never return to your peak state in this lifetime. You are still destined to become the scum of the Zhao Family, and yet you dare to contradict Lingshan sister? You're simply asking for death!" Seeing Zhao Lingshan getting angry, Zhao Kang quickly fanned the flames, hoping that if he could get Zhao Lingshan and Zhao Letian to fight, not only could he take the chance to escape, but also have Zhao Lingshan vent for him.
"Dare not. You are the esteemed eldest daughter of the Zhao Mansion, your status is indeed noble, while I, Zhao Letian, am merely a lodger. How could I possibly blame you, Miss? However, what happens between Zhao Kang and me is none of your business. Since you had no intention of interfering in the first place, you might as well stay aside and continue to enjoy the show." Zhao Letian spoke to Zhao Lingshan neither humbly nor arrogantly, then glanced contemptuously at Zhao Kang under his feet and said with a mocking smile at the corner of his mouth, "As for you, you keep calling me a piece of trash, so what does that make you, the one now being stepped on by me? The trash within trash, the jest of trash?"
"You..." Zhao Kang's words were choked off, his face showing an expression of ashamed indignation.
"Zhao Letian, what if I insist on making you let him go?" Zhao Lingshan seemed not ready to back down, staring forcefully at Zhao Letian, her tone aggressive. As the eldest daughter, she was not accustomed to people defying her wishes, especially not someone like Zhao Letian, who had become trash, yet dared to speak back to her.
Hearing this, the hearts of the audience present tightened again, and all eyes converged on Zhao Letian. It seemed quite possible that today they might witness a fight between the once proud son of the heavens of the Zhao Family and the eldest daughter of the Zhao Family, which would be even more exciting.
"Then it depends on whether you have the ability to do so." Zhao Letian looked at Zhao Lingshan with an unwavering gaze, his voice calm and confident. If he hadn't guessed wrong, Zhao Lingshan's current martial cultivation level was at most only recently having advanced to the ninth level of Primordial Martial. With his current strength, even though winning was not guaranteed, Zhao Lingshan would not be able to defeat him easily either.
"Are you forcing me to take action?" Zhao Lingshan's beautiful eyes narrowed, fixing her stare on Zhao Letian. Her body faintly released strong fluctuations of Primordial Energy, startling a few people nearby, causing them to hastily step back.
"The hands are yours. Whether or not to take action has nothing to do with me," Zhao Letian said indifferently. "If you wish to make a move, I'm ready at any time. However, before that, I intend to first cripple this fool's martial cultivation."
As soon as these words fell, Zhao Letian suddenly lifted his foot and then violently stomped towards Zhao Kang's abdominal Qi Sea.
"Stop! I... I'll slap myself!"
At the critical moment, the Zhao Kang lying on the ground finally caved in, hurriedly begging for mercy with a terrified face. Compared to his face and dignity, he considered his martial cultivation to be more important. After all, in this world, without martial cultivation, one becomes a real piece of trash, and all that he currently possessed would cease to exist, not to mention any dignity or face.
"Slap!"
It seemed, for fear that Zhao Letian wouldn't stop, Zhao Kang spoke and simultaneously raised his only uninjured arm and harshly slapped his own face, emitting a crisp sound, which made the hearts of the onlookers tremble. Judging by the sound, that slap must have been painful.
Seeing this scene, Zhao Lingshan, who was in a tense stand-off with Zhao Letian, suddenly frowned with disdain and glanced at Zhao Kang on the ground. Then, with a cold snort, she turned around and left with everyone else. Since that useless Zhao Kang caved in himself, she had no reason to stand up for him any longer.
"You should leave as well. Remember, I do not wish for today's incident to repeat itself. Otherwise, next time it won't end so easily," Zhao Letian looked at Zhao Kang beneath his feet and said dispassionately, then turned around and left straight away.
After Zhao Letian had gone far away, Zhao Kang on the ground, his face filled with an indignant shame, immediately showed a malicious gaze, staring intently at the departing back of Zhao Letian and thought viciously in his heart: "Hmph! Zhao Letian, I, Zhao Kang, will remember today's humiliation. During the mid-year assessment tomorrow, I will definitely have my elder brother take revenge for me and make you a complete trash!"