Chapter 97: Chapter 9: First, to Save the World (Part 2)
"Hmm, and the Rebel Army can forge Divine Soldiers. If that’s the case, I can have them reforge my heavy spear, and maybe even craft a set of Extraordinary Armor! With that, I’ll be much more confident when I go back to wipe out that family group that curses people wantonly!"
"Your thinking is quite clear. Looks like the Wisdom Fruit really is useful," Yara said appreciatively, but then it asked in confusion, "But why would you so easily believe what these people say? You haven’t seen the forces of the Anx Dynasty for yourself. You’re just listening to one side of the story. What if the truth is the opposite..."
"Isn’t that simple?" As a seasoned contrarian, the moment Su Zhou sensed Yara’s own contrarian spirit, he decided to double down. "If the truth really is the opposite, I’ll turn on them on the spot. Don’t think I’m some kind of good person who can be bound by that sort of thing."
"Yara, do you think I’m the kind of person who would stand by and do nothing, or even aid the wicked?"
With that, he let out a hearty laugh in his mind, feeling utterly content.
’This world is the perfect stage for me to cut loose and serve justice!’
"You just want to kill evil people... Never mind. Eliminating evil is also a form of doing good. As they say, ’evil is the absence of good.’ Perhaps this world needs someone like you—a guy ’overflowing with justice’—to use the critique of arms and inject a little ’justice’ into them."
Seeing Su Zhou so set in his ways, Yara was happy to let him do as he pleased. Honestly, a guy like this required no guidance whatsoever. The moment he encountered a problem, his first thoughts were, ’Here’s a dungeon, I have to clear it!’ and ’A quest? Where? Who do I kill? How many?’ Raising someone like that was truly effortless.
Such is the path of Cultivation. Only those who enjoy it for its own sake, without asking why, can maintain Full Concentration and grow quickly.
As for this world’s ’Evil God,’ the so-called Immortal Banyan Tree...
’Heh, back when that little fellow Nidhogg gnawed on the roots of the Nine Realms Tree, and Zhuanxu broke Jianmu to separate mortals from gods, you laughed at how the "World Tree’s" incarnation got chopped down yet again.’ The Snake Spirit’s chuckle in the depths of its mind was audible only to itself. ’This time, "Tree of the Great Dao," it’s finally your turn.’
’To protect the world’s peace! To prevent the world’s destruction! As a cute and charming villain, I’ll do you the honor of personally leading the charge to chop down your incarnation!’
Meanwhile, after discussing the matter, Zhou Buyi and the others realized they had neither the right nor any reason to refuse.
"If Master Su were really an Undying Demon General trying to play dumb and infiltrate the Taibai Mountain stronghold to sabotage it, then he wouldn’t just be evil, he’d be genuinely stupid,"
The Fang Hui Martial Monk, despite having half his teeth shattered and now speaking with a lisp, had a carefree tone thanks to being treated with enhanced Holy Water. He held no grudge against Su Zhou for it. "I reckon if he were really that stupid, he couldn’t have taken all of us down with just a few techniques—besides, we have three Grandmasters, over a dozen Hundred Schools experts, and dozens of skilled fighters from the Rebel Army stationed at the stronghold! Even if the Demon Emperor himself showed up, if he came alone, he’d probably meet a bitter end!"
"If he insists on coming with us, could we even stop him?" This was the reply from the Swordman, Liuu Xizhao. The clear-faced woman, the faint palm seal from where Su Zhou had slapped her to stop her suicide still visible on her cheek, hugged her blade and spoke flatly. "Did you see how he brandished his spear earlier? That was at least eight thousand jin of upward force, enough to flip a carriage. Even if he doesn’t know any Martial Arts and just swings that spear like a club, only Fang Hui and Brother Zhou here could block a single blow."
"You overestimate me." Zhou Buyi, whose sword had been shattered, shook his head. "An expert in strength-focused External Skills can develop that kind of brute force. A Grandmaster of that lineage, at full power, could even surpass Young Hero Su’s strength. But don’t forget, when he fought us, he was standing on a black wooden post the entire time. Can any of you use your full strength while standing on a post?"
As he spoke, Zhou Buyi couldn’t help but turn to look at Su Zhou. Only then did he realize the young man was actually a bit shorter than him. The youthful vigor and brimming confidence practically written on his face were impossible to fake. He was just a youth whose body hadn’t even fully developed yet, a kid not even twenty years old!
’Is he really younger and stronger than me?’
’What a monster!’
At that moment, Su Zhou began walking toward Zhou Buyi and the others, who were still discussing in low voices.
During his earlier exchange with Yara, he had already decided how to explain his origins.
’I learned my lesson last time. This time I get it—being direct and communicating openly is the only way to avoid misunderstandings.’
Su Zhou wasn’t an idiot. Of course he could see everyone’s suspicion, and he knew that having eaten a Wisdom Tree Fruit, he might very well carry an aura similar to that of the Immortal Banyan Tree.
If he just casually ran off to their stronghold, he’d surely be suspected as a spy and ganged up on by the Hundred Schools’ Righteous Army. After all, they were fighting a war of life and death against the Anx Dynasty’s Demon Army—a war for their traditions, their nation, and their very people. A suspicious person like him would never be trusted, no matter how sincere his desire to kill evildoers and help the populace.
So, rather than timidly trying to mislead them about his identity, he might as well go for something big—
Just as everyone tensed up and looked toward him as he approached, Su Zhou decisively removed his contact lenses (a certified sponsorship from Shao Qiming), channeled Spiritual Power into his eyes, and revealed his violet Dragon Pupils, which pulsed with Spiritual Light.
A ’Spiritual Pressure’ originating from a powerful spiritual lifeform—one strong enough to scatter an entire city’s worth of Hidden Dragon Species—began to radiate outward. Instantly, for miles around, all the wild beasts awoke with a start, trembling in their lairs.
This included the weaker Martial Artists among them.
"Th-those eyes—Young Hero Su, you’re not human!?"
"By the Buddha! Master Su, that aura of yours... it’s like those Demon Soldiers..."
"So you’re finally dropping the act?!"
Amidst the crowd’s cries of alarm, some gasped in awe at his Dragon Eyes. Others, more perceptive, detected the trace of Divine Wood Qi—related to the Wisdom Tree—that Su Zhou had intentionally released. And those who were already on guard were so startled they immediately drew their blades, preparing to fight to the death.
"You’re the one who’s not human! Your whole family is not human!"
But what greeted them was Su Zhou’s grumpy, kindergarten-level comeback: "Alright, I know you’ve all been suspicious of my origins, and it’s only now that I’ve figured out the current situation in the Divine Land. So, it’s time I told you my true identity."
’If this world really is even slightly related to those games made by Gong Qiyin II, then this story of mine should be flawless!’
’[Kunlun Divine Mountain] DLC, the Bronze Divine Wood, ’Jianmu’... I hope I’m remembering this right!’
Reciting the lines he had already prepared in his mind, the black-haired young man cleared his throat and said solemnly, "I wonder if any of you have heard the saying: [Jianmu towers over the Spiritual Hill, the Peach of Immortality grows beside the Giant Sea]? The Divine Wood is not unique in this world. The Immortal Banyan Tree is a wonder from the South Sea Islands, and there are other Divine Woods in this world that stand in opposition to it."
"And I, humble as I may be, am the Divine Wood Inheritor from the Western Holy Mountain!"
