C3 You Cheated!

"You haven't paid the Tao points yet," the plump disciple called out to Zhao Yu in a hurry.

"I nearly forgot," Zhao Yu said, as if the reminder jogged his memory, and then he inquired, "You're acquainted with Tian Feng, right?"

"I certainly know Senior Brother Tian," the disciple confirmed with a nod.

"These Tao points should be charged to Tian Feng's account," Zhao Yu declared.

The disciple paused, taken aback, but quickly regained his composure and snapped, "Are you playing games with me? You're not going to settle up?"

He burst from behind the counter and positioned himself in front of Zhao Yu, his face clouded with hostility.

It was common knowledge that Tian Feng and Zhao Yu were on bad terms. The idea of Tian Feng footing Zhao Yu's bill was ludicrous.

"Why wouldn't I settle my debts?" Zhao Yu replied with a casual shrug. "Tian Feng and I had a match, and he lost, leaving him in debt to me with Tao points. It's only right that he covers my expenses."

"You must be joking!" the disciple exploded in anger. "Do you take me for a fool? How could Senior Brother Tian possibly lose to someone as frail as you?"

Zhao Yu produced the Nether Dream Dagger from within his robes and stated, "I possess a Spirit Weapon. Just half an hour ago, I bested Tian Feng in the front courtyard square. A host of our fellow sect members witnessed it. If you doubt me, go and ask them yourself."

"That knife is a Spirit Weapon?" The disciple was incredulous. "Leave the medicinal herbs and get out, or I won't be so courteous next time."

With a soft chuckle, Zhao Yu brandished the dagger, and a faint black saber aura shot forth, narrowly missing the disciple's neck and etching a deep mark into the wall.

The disciple instinctively felt for his neck and noticed blood on his fingertips where the saber aura had grazed him.

"Consider that a small lesson. Are you convinced now?" Zhao Yu said, running his fingers along the Nether Dream Dagger's sharp edge.

The disciple was visibly shaken, at a loss for words.

"Do you know why I'm taking these poisons?" Zhao Yu continued, gazing down at the dagger in his hand. "I'm tired of living like this. Rather than waiting to die in agony, I prefer to live joyfully. And if anyone tries to stop me now, I wouldn't hesitate to take a life before my own ends."

The fat disciple shivered as Zhao Yu's piercing gaze settled on him, his complexion draining of color. "Senior Brother Zhao, we've never had any bad blood. Please, don't do anything rash..." he stammered, quickly stepping aside to give Zhao Yu room, putting as much distance between them as possible.

He wasn't ready to die; there were still so many good years ahead for him to savor.

Zhao Yu's smile was disarming as he inquired, "These Tao points will be charged to Tian Feng's account. You're okay with that, right?"

"Sure," the fat disciple agreed, nodding vigorously.

He'd willingly foot the bill himself if needed, let alone charge it to Tian Feng's account.

With another smile, Zhao Yu nodded and walked away. The fat disciple let out a breath he didn't realize he'd been holding and shuffled behind the counter, collapsing into a chair with relief.

Unbeknownst to him, Zhao Yu also exhaled a sigh of relief once he was outside the pharmacy. He had mustered all his strength to unleash a faint saber aura, which had further deteriorated his condition. But it was worth it; he had secured the items he needed.

"I'm the one who really doesn't want to die," Zhao Yu mused, glancing back at the pharmacy with a light chuckle before striding away.

Back at his quarters, Zhao Yu secured the door and windows before setting a paper bag on the table. "Light, how should I take these poisons?" he asked.

"Grind the centipede legs into powder, and steep the scarlet bee stinger in water," instructed Light.

Zhao Yu followed Light's directions and soon had a bowl of dark green venom before him. The venom reeked, resembling pus and was utterly revolting.

"Light, are you certain this will work?" Zhao Yu asked, his scalp tingling with apprehension.

"After 15,600 calculations, I've determined the success rate to be as high as 70% and no lower than 45%," Light replied.

Taking a deep breath, Zhao Yu steeled himself and lifted the bowl. The odds were in his favor, according to Light's calculations—over a fifty percent chance of survival. And at this point, he was out of options.

With his eyes shut, Zhao Yu downed the venom in one gulp, immediately feeling a searing pain in his mouth and throat. Hastily, he took another swig of water to chase down any lingering traces of the venom.

Light spoke, "You'll experience some discomfort during the poison counteracting treatment. Please endure it."

"Just a bit of pain. I can handle it," Zhao Yu responded nonchalantly.

Being a martial artist, he was no stranger to enduring pain.

Roughly ten seconds later, Zhao Yu began to feel a sharp pain in his stomach.

"This minor pain is hardly worth mentioning," he scoffed.

But the pain quickly escalated, feeling as if his stomach was being torn apart.

And it wasn't just his stomach; the pain rapidly spread through his entire body.

Zhao Yu clenched his teeth and collapsed onto the bed, his vision blurring as he muttered, "This is the 'little pain' you mentioned?"

Light replied, "As a martial artist, your tolerance should be well above average. This amount of pain is insignificant. Also, try not to pass out. Doing so could lower the detoxification success rate by 5% to 10%."

"Just kill me," Zhao Yu said through gritted teeth.

"Master, perhaps some music would help alleviate the pain?" Light suggested. "Based on your listening habits, I'll play your most frequently played song."

The music began to play the next second.

"Shut up!" Zhao Yu barked.

The pain inside him seemed to grow relentlessly, at times feeling like a knife twisting, a needle stabbing, or fire burning.

Starting from his stomach, the pain spread to every part of his body, eventually reaching his bones and blood vessels.

Sweat streamed down Zhao Yu's forehead. Gathering all his strength, he grabbed a towel from beside the bed and stuffed it into his mouth.

He feared that without the gag, he might involuntarily scream and draw unwanted attention.

Each minute and second dragged on, an agony that made time stretch out endlessly, pushing him towards despair.

Zhao Yu wished he could just lose consciousness.

But he couldn't afford to. He needed to remain conscious; otherwise, the chances of a successful detox would drop.

Clamping the towel between his teeth, Zhao Yu's mind was resolute: "I must survive!"

Time became a blur as he drifted in and out of consciousness, unaware of how long had passed. Sweat soaked through his entire body. Yet, the pain that had wracked him began to ebb away like a receding tide.

Completely drained of energy, Zhao Yu could do nothing but lie on the bed, panting for air.