Chapter 3

The news of what happened outside the city gates did not spread like a storm as expected, but instead remained unusually calm, as if it were a trivial matter, with no one even discussing it.

Night!

Quiet as water!

In the Demon Suppression Prince's mansion, Baizhu looked at the tightly closed door, feeling very surprised. Two months ago, the second young master, who had been missing for three years, returned. The second young master, who used to love revelry, now stayed in his room on time, staring blankly at a black stone, lost in thought for the entire night.

If not for the fact that Zhou Ze still indulged in pleasure during the day, Baizhu would have thought he had turned into a fool. Could a fool stare at a broken stone all night?

Zhou Ze stood in the room, his eyes fixed on the black stone, which was as tall as a child. He stared at it with a calm expression, like deep, still water.

Baizhu cautiously entered, refilled the oil lamp, and prepared the tea. She tiptoed out, and at the moment of closing the door, she secretly glanced at Zhou Ze. His back was outstanding, tall and straight, silent in the darkness, a figure that could make women swoon, making Baizhu's cheeks flush. But she couldn't resist the greedy urge to look again and noticed that Zhou Ze had a different aura now. Previously, he was silently mysterious, but now he seemed to radiate a fiery brilliance, making even the candlelight pale in comparison.

"Huh?"

Baizhu was puzzled. Zhou Ze had never practiced cultivation, so how could he have this aura of leaking primordial energy? Could he have secretly practiced? But she had never heard of anyone practicing by staring at a stone!

Quietly closing the door and leaving the room, Baizhu couldn't help but think about the three years Zhou Ze had been missing. Three years ago, he disappeared mysteriously, and no one knew what he had done during those three years.

Sure enough, Zhou Ze stared blankly at the black stone all night again.

"Big Sister Baizhu, is Young Master acting foolish again? Did he stay up all night looking at the stone again?" Baiqin whispered to Baizhu, who was on night duty.

Seeing Baizhu nod, Baiqin muttered, "A good person, how did he become so obsessed with a stone!"

This comment made Baizhu, who was drinking water, spit it out. She thought that if Young Master heard this evaluation, his buttocks would be swollen for sure. But it was also his fault for always indulging in pleasure and talking about life ideals, which had influenced these innocent and beautiful girls.

"Oh, I almost forgot. Lady asked us to invite Young Master to the main hall. Big Sister Baizhu, go tell Young Master quickly. It seems Lady just found out about yesterday's incident and is furious!" Baiqin reminded her softly.

"Mother is angry?" Zhou Ze walked out of the room with a smile, "Well, it looks like there's no breakfast for me today. Let's go, you girls, come with me to face the scolding!"

Baizhu looked at the lazy and dissolute Zhou Ze, who seemed to take yesterday's incident lightly. Thinking about what Zhou Ze had done yesterday, how could he be so calm? Insulting Zhou Mie and killing a quasi-prince, these were enough to shock the imperial court.

Accompanied by Baizhu and Baiqin, Zhou Ze arrived at the main hall. The main seat was occupied by a middle-aged beauty, dressed in fine clothes, exuding elegance and grandeur. This was the Demon Suppression Prince's consort, Lady Lanyang. Behind her, the other two women, Qin and Sheng, stood gracefully, tall and beautiful.

However, what caught Zhou Ze's attention was a woman standing next to Lady Lanyang. She was an extremely beautiful woman, with a face like jade, flawless skin, a straight nose, and a bright red lip. Her figure was tall and slender, with a slim waist. Her tight, long pants accentuated her long, perfect legs, which seemed to exude a seductive elasticity just by looking at them.

Her clothes accentuated her curvaceous figure, making her extremely alluring. Her beauty was captivating, with a tranquil and refined aura, very ethereal and serene. Her eyes were bright and clear, without a trace of impurity. Standing there, she seemed to be a part of the natural beauty of the world, and just one glance made the world seem to quiet down. She was a woman of exceptional tranquility!

Zhou Ze naturally recognized her; she was his mother's adopted daughter, Lin Xi, whose name matched her serene and beautiful nature. Zhou Ze was surprised that she had returned to the imperial city; wasn't she supposed to be practicing at the academy?

He greedily looked at Lin Xi for a while, and she felt his intense gaze on her chest and legs. However, she remained calm, her expression serene and untroubled, as if it could cleanse one's soul.

This ethereal beauty made even Zhou Ze, with his thick skin, feel embarrassed. He moved his gaze and was about to sit down when Lady Lanyang shouted, "No sitting! Stand!"

Seeing her almost enraged mother, Zhou Ze shrugged and stood in the center of the hall, "Mother, who made you angry? Tell me, and I'll beat him up in a minute. A beauty like you, who would dare to make you angry!"

"Do you think you can get away with flattering me?" Although Lady Lanyang scolded, her anger subsided a bit, making Baizhu and the other girls secretly smile, thinking that Lady couldn't resist Young Master's sweet talk.

"Are you going to beat me up? Go ahead!" Lady Lanyang huffed, glaring at Zhou Ze.

"Could it be that I made you angry?" Zhou Ze was surprised, but seeing Lady Lanyang's raised eyebrows, he quickly said, "Alright! I was wrong, but don't make me hit myself, okay? Hehe, such a handsome son, getting his face swollen would be embarrassing for you, and besides, you didn't give birth to a fool, so how could I be so stupid to hit myself? Right?"

Lady Lanyang looked at Zhou Ze and sighed, "Zhou Ze, I have two children, you and your elder brother Zhou Fan! But neither of you makes me proud or gives me peace of mind."

Seeing Lady Lanyang's sorrowful expression, Zhou Ze sighed, "Elder Brother just loves martial arts, but he should be your pride!"

"Is Zhou Fan just passionate about martial arts? He's a fool! As the heir of the Demon Suppression Prince, he only knows cultivation, abandoning his father, mother, and the entire Zhou family. He practices day and night, even self-mutilating to cultivate. Is that normal?" Lady Lanyang couldn't help but get angry.

Zhou Ze was silent. Elder Brother Zhou Fan was indeed too obsessed, with only cultivation in his eyes, ignoring everything else. For cultivation, he had become almost insane, like self-mutilation. He once threw himself into a horde of beasts to be torn apart, and if his father hadn't discovered it in time, he would have died. He had already become obsessed with cultivation.

"I don't expect anything from Zhou Fan, so I put my hopes on you. Yes, you were smart from a young age. But what have you done? You've only been a wastrel and indulged in pleasure from childhood to adulthood." Lady Lanyang was angry, "Some people say you are a scourge of the imperial city, and I've had to argue with many people over it. But have you ever made me proud?"

Zhou Ze smiled awkwardly, "You and Father have accumulated a large fortune. If I don't waste it, how can I show my gratitude? Don't take this small matter seriously!"

"Shut up!" Lady Lanyang was furious, "What do you mean by not wasting it is a disservice to us? Fine! Fine! I can tolerate your wastefulness and indulgence, but as the son of a martial family, you have no cultivation. How can others look at you?"

Seeing Lady Lanyang's face turn pale with anger, Zhou Ze quickly had Baizhu bring a cup of tea.

Lady Lanyang drank the tea and calmed down, "Zhou Ze, three years ago, your father suddenly sent someone to take you away. I thought you had changed, but after three years, your change is just hugging a big stone tighter than a woman. You're even worse than your nightly revelry."

"Nightly revelry isn't good, right?" Zhou Ze looked at Lady Lanyang, surprised by his mother's modern thinking.

"Not good? Hmph! Tell me, what did you do for these three years? Did you indulge in pleasure in the east where your father is stationed?" Lady Lanyang was particularly angry today.

Including Lin Xi, everyone now knew that the three missing years were when the Demon Suppression Prince took him away.

Zhou Ze's thoughts drifted back to three years ago. Three years ago, his father dug up a corpse in the Ten Thousand Mountains. Yes, a corpse. His father sent someone to bring him to his side and pointed to the corpse, saying, "From now on, follow him!"

Thinking about it, Zhou Ze wanted to curse. Was this his real father, leaving him with a corpse? What kind of joke was this?

However, strangely, after a few days with the corpse, it actually woke up. Zhou Ze didn't know what the corpse said to his father, but he knew that his usually domineering father almost agreed to everything the corpse said. Then Zhou Ze was taken away.

Thus, Zhou Ze became the first disciple of a corpse. Thinking about it, Zhou Ze still couldn't fully react. Damn, he became a disciple of a dead person for no reason.

His father brought him to a place called the Nine Abyss Cliffs and left him there. Thinking about the Nine Abyss Cliffs, Zhou Ze still felt a chill. It was a place where the law of the jungle was taken to the extreme, and killing was the most common thing. Countless young men were sent there, but only a few thousand managed to come out, with a survival rate of less than one in a hundred!

Thinking about the scenes from the Nine Abyss Cliffs, Zhou Ze felt a bit nostalgic: They should all be alive, right? Without me, many would be happy.

"Zhou Ze!" Lady Lanyang saw Zhou Ze daydreaming and couldn't help but shout.

"Ah!" Zhou Ze snapped back, "Mother, I'm listening!"

Lady Lanyang grabbed a letter from the table and threw it at Zhou Ze, shouting, "Your father wrote to me two days ago, saying he is extremely disappointed in you. Tell me, what did you do for these three years?"

Hearing Lady Lanyang's words, Zhou Ze smiled bitterly. The Nine Abyss Cliffs was a hell on earth but also a holy place that many young people aspired to. Despite knowing the brutal survival rate, many still rushed in because if they could survive, they would soar to great heights.

During these three years, Zhou Ze did countless things that caused a stir in the Nine Abyss Cliffs, always being his father's pride. But in the end, he was eliminated because he did something that had never happened before in the Nine Abyss Cliffs. To others, it was both extremely ridiculous and a grave sin, almost turning the Nine Abyss Cliffs upside down.

When his father found out, how could he not be furious?

Seeing Zhou Ze silent again, Lady Lanyang took a deep breath, "I don't want to scold you anymore. Zhou Ze, think about it. When others call you a wastrel and a good-for-nothing, do you get angry?"

"A noble son of the Demon Suppression Prince, proposing to Princess Yunmeng, being rejected with the words 'My husband can only be a young genius,' do you feel ashamed?"

"As a son of a martial family, you have no cultivation. Does the Zhou family have any face left?"

"..."

Lady Lanyang kept scolding Zhou Ze, and despite his thick skin, Zhou Ze's face eventually turned red. Especially the incident with Princess Yunmeng, which still made him blush. A few years ago, he met Princess Yunmeng and fell in love at first sight, pestering his mother to propose. Lady Lanyang, who always indulged him, went to propose, but the proposal was thrown back with the words, "My husband can only be a young genius, not a wastrel." This made Zhou Ze a laughingstock in the entire imperial city.

"Mother, don't bring up old matters? If Princess Yunmeng doesn't like me, there are still many who do." Zhou Ze said awkwardly.

"Who would like you?" Lady Lanyang huffed, "If many like you, why did you have to trick Lin Xi? Do you think I don't know what you did back then? Only Lin Xi, being innocent, believed your sweet talk and was tricked into kissing you!"

Zhou Ze secretly glanced at Lin Xi, who was standing quietly, her beauty making his heart race. At that moment, she lost her calm, her flawless, tender face blushing, making her even more beautiful.

"That was when we were kids, right?"

When Zhou Ze was young, he tricked Lin Xi into his room and kissed her, after which she never came within three meters of him. But her lips were indeed sweet. Thinking about it, Zhou Ze couldn't help but glance at Lin Xi again, who had returned to her previous calm, standing there like water. This made Zhou Ze wonder what Lin Xi thought of their childhood mischief.

"Fine! You were a kid then, but are you still a kid now? Do you know the consequences of what you did yesterday?" Lady Lanyang was angry, "Your elder brother is a fool, and you are a wastrel. Luckily, Lin Xi is still with me, or I would have died of anger long ago. When will you start practicing and show me? I don't expect you to be strong, but at least be able to stand without being blown over!"

"Do you just want me to not be blown over?" Zhou Ze looked at Lady Lanyang, surprised. Was this really what a mother expected?

"Or do you think you have any skills?" Lady Lanyang was angry, "If you have skills, show me!"

Zhou Ze smiled and was about to say something when a family guard rushed in, shouting in fear, "Lady, Prince Anhe is leading people to attack the mansion!"

This made everyone's faces change. Lady Lanyang glared at Zhou Ze, and the consequences of his actions yesterday finally caught up with him!

The cultivation levels in this book: Qi Gathering Realm, Innate Realm, Divine Treasury Realm, Heaven Yuan Realm, Half-Deity Realm...

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