"Did you not lay a hand?"
"I didn't."
"You're lying!"
Hearing these three words, Viper slammed his head hard onto the ground. Even in the pitch - black cave, one could probably feel the unyielding determination in his gaze.
"Thud! Thud! Thud!"
Three loud thuds echoed from the entrance of the cave.
"Senior, Viper knows he's committed many heinous crimes and is by no means a good person. But I have my own bottom line. I will never admit to something I didn't do."
"You didn't do it?"
"No!" came the resolute answer.
"But you were also involved in hunting spiritual beasts, which is not allowed in the Eastern Ze Wilds."
There were always spiritual herb masters who hunted spiritual beasts every year, but Zhao Shuning had never paid attention to teenagers of their age before.
Viper fell silent. He knew it was the truth and he had no excuse.
"I saved your life. How will you repay me?"
Zhao Shuning wasn't like those saints who would leave gracefully after saving someone.
She felt a bit guilty towards these people, which was why she had saved their lives. However, she couldn't accept that these teenagers had ruined their otherwise brilliant years with their own hands. She didn't want them to look back on their youth and only remember killing and disgrace.
"Senior—"
"Don't call me senior. I'm not that noble. Viper, everyone, you're all second - level students. Although your abilities are only at the bottom among second - level students, at least you've passed the freshman trial. I'll ask you this: Do you really want to safely reach the fifth level in the second - level trial?"
Hope ignited in the hearts of those teenagers like a sudden flame.
They looked towards the depths of the cave. The girl's voice was like celestial music, making them unconsciously follow. It was as if she was born a king, destined to have many followers.
"Senior, what should we do? Are you willing to help us?"
Zhao Shuning let out a soft laugh.
"Naturally, it's not so much help as mutual assistance."
"Thank you, senior. With your help, we will surely reach the fifth level successfully."
"Wait. Don't you want to hear my conditions?"
"Conditions? What conditions? Senior can just put them forward. Our lives were all saved by you. If you need us to do something, we will go through fire and water and never hesitate."
The righteousness of these young men was truly passionate.
If she hadn't saved them in the cave, Zhao Shuning wouldn't have discovered that Viper wasn't completely beyond redemption.
"You all know that I'm an alchemist."
"Yes."
"From now on, I want you to swear a solemn oath with your bloodlines. You must protect the spiritual beasts you encounter. If you see other spiritual herb masters hunting spiritual beasts, you must do your best to stop them. So, can you do it?"
Everyone fell silent in the darkness.
If they didn't participate in hunting spiritual beasts, it would be equivalent to going against the three gangs in the second - level class.
In that case, their days in the Misty Rain Tower would be even more difficult.
The three gangs in the second - level class wouldn't easily let go of students with different ideas. The leaders of these gangs would take the initiative to force those students who disagreed with them to drop out.
This was the crushing power of strength and the terrifying aspect of it.
"You only have a moment to think."
Zhao Shuning understood their concerns.
It was understandable. They all carried the hopes of their small families. If they were expelled from school, they might never be able to hold their heads up in their families.
The Misty Rain Tower was a small branch of the Wang family, but even so, it was full of vicious competition.
Zhao Shuning knew that the old man Wang Cheng had impure motives. The hunting of spiritual beasts in the Misty Rain Tower must have been approved by him. Only after getting his tacit consent did these students become so cruel.
Wang Cheng, a helper of the Wang family, was in charge of intelligence all over the world. He was cunning and regarded money as extremely important.
The inner cores of spiritual beasts could greatly boost his spiritual power, and the furs of spiritual beasts could earn him a lot of spiritual stones and jewels.
"Senior, do you know that we were actually given tacit consent to do these things?"
Viper's voice came again. Everyone except Zhao Shuning was extremely shocked.
Zhao Shuning smiled charmingly. In the darkness, they couldn't see the specific figure and appearance of the person in front of them. They only heard the girl's calm voice: "I've thought of it since just now. The Wang family really has long arms. They've put so much effort into a small branch."
"Senior, if we try to stop the three gangs from doing such evil deeds head - on, it will be equivalent to going against the Wang family."
"What? So, is the hunting of spiritual beasts approved by the Wang family?"
Everyone fell silent.
Zhao Shuning added, "These are just unfounded rumors. You don't need to believe them. Just do as I say. You're doing the right thing. How could the people of the Wang family come out to punish you? Moreover, we don't have to do this head - on."
—
Silence—
Dead silence—
All the previous things were guessed by Viper. Although they were all true, there were very few people who knew the truth.
If Viper hadn't signed a contract with Wu Long, he wouldn't have known about this either.
"Senior, we agree."
"We hope that senior will help us when we're in a desperate situation in the future."
"From now on, we'll follow senior's lead."
Zhao Shuning in the darkness smiled enchantingly. She rummaged through her Qiankun bag and took out more than twenty wooden tokens with the same pattern carved on them, probably a small river with a few white clouds floating above it.
"This is the token I'm giving you. From now on, I'll only recognize the wooden token, not the person."
"Thank you, senior."
Then, Zhao Shuning used her spiritual power to let everyone see the jade token in her hand.
"From now on, seeing this jade token is like seeing me. You can trust it completely."
"Yes, we understand, sir."
In fact, many people had been afraid of this mysterious girl at first. But later, when they saw that the girl had no intention of harming them and even wanted to help them reach the fifth level, they began to worship and trust her.
"An alliance based on interests is the most vulnerable. I don't promise what I'll give you in the future, but I assure you that you just do the right thing. If the sky falls one day, I'll hold it up for you."
With a single word, Zhao Shuning's words were like a huge stone thrown into the calm sea, immediately setting off a huge wave.
The first one to kneel was the always - arrogant Viper.
The previous bow was out of gratitude.
Now, the three kowtows were to recognize her as the master, a sign of whole - hearted submission.