Published: February 6, 2025
Xia Bai leaned against a tree, breathing heavily. With each breath, blood foam flowed from her mouth and nose, making her half-demon, half-angel face look even more eerie and terrifying.
"I'll give you one more chance: you will either pledge loyalty to me or die."
Young Master, with one hand still tucked in his hoodie pocket, extended his left hand. This hand was very delicate, resembling a woman's jade hand at first glance, but the broad knuckles still revealed its male owner’s identity.
He touched the left side of his chest, where a part had already sunk in. He didn’t know if he had injured any internal organs, but every movement sent waves of pain that nearly made him faint.
Xia Bai bit her lip, unable to distinguish whether the blood on her lips was from her biting or from her injuries.
In the next moment, she responded to Young Master, who had caught up to her a minute ago and had knocked her away with just two strikes.
"Traitor!"
"Looks like you chose the latter." Young Master remained calm and composed, taking measured steps as if he had measured every meter precisely.
"You don’t need to feel unconvinced, thinking that being a two-star evolver makes you very powerful?" Young Master shook his head, the hoodie following the motion of his head, creating clean folds between his shoulders. "You are a frog at the bottom of a well, and everyone else in this world is a frog at the bottom of the well. Only the zero commerce association has truly reached the forefront of humanity. We represent advancement."
Xia Bai stood up while leaning against the tree, but her legs trembled; it wasn’t fear but the result of exerting herself after feeling weak.
"You cannot discover our strength without entering our fold. I gave you the chance, and you should cherish it. Woman, I admire your tenacity, you know? There aren't many people I like."
When he was only five meters away from Xia Bai, Young Master suddenly accelerated. His body moved without any visible motion, appearing eerily in front of Xia Bai, throwing a punch at her battered body.
It looked playful, like a child playing, straightforward with little movement.
But only Xia Bai knew how heavy that punch was; it was just like the punch that had broken several of her bones earlier.
Xia Bai struggled to raise her left hand to block the punch.
Then the fist hit her hand and crashed into her body.
Today, it was the fifth time Xia Bai was sent flying.
"See, I didn’t even use any professional skills, not even throwing a full-force punch, yet you couldn’t stop it. Do you still not realize the gap between us? Do you still not understand how vast the difference is between the zero commerce association and your faction?"
Young Master looked at Xia Bai, who had been thrown over ten meters away and was now struggling to get up. He resumed his habitual precise steps.
"By the way, I forgot to tell you, I’m a three-star evolver." Young Master walked as he spoke, chuckling lightly. "Your faction has probably never even seen a three-star evolver. Since you are a two-star evolver, you should know how immense the gap is between each evolution level. Even so, do you still wish to resist?"
Footsteps echoed on the ground, the sound of his almost spotless sneakers was the only thing Xia Bai could see.
"You don’t know how lucky you have to be to get your hands on a bottle of two-star evolution elixir. Even if you aren't the strongest fighter in your faction, you must be among the top two or three."
"But look at you, in front of me, you have no power to resist."
"And in our zero commerce association, there are at least ten people with abilities like mine!"
"My leader is even more powerful beyond compare."
"Are you regretting it now? Does your body burn with pain? Can you still speak? Or do you still have the strength to kneel before me?"
Young Master squatted next to Xia Bai, who was bent over and trying to stand but fell heavily again due to weakness. His outstretched hand rested on her half-intact face, gently stroking it.