Tycoon War God

「Suzhou.」

A desolate and uninhabited suburb.

A tattered figure walked slowly, her steps frail and her form staggering as if from utter exhaustion. Her hair was unkempt, her face smeared with dirt, and a foul odor emanated from her. She was even barefoot. All in all, she looked like a savage who had just run out of the deep mountains. Many passersby who saw her quickly ran away.

She seemed oblivious to their gazes as she lifted her head slightly, revealing a face etched with fatigue and hardship.

It was Alice!

But now, Alice had lost the haughty demeanor of a noblewoman. Instead, her expression was resolute, her eyes filled with determination. For three months, she had walked from Jiangling to Suzhou. She had traveled a thousand li on foot, without any means of transportation and not a single penny to her name. No one knew how she had arrived here, nor what she had encountered along the way.

But with sheer willpower, Alice had made it to Suzhou. Looking at the city walls in the distance, she managed a difficult smile. The simple act split her lips, and blood began to trickle out. Unseen wounds on her hands and body started bleeding in tandem. Yet Alice didn’t utter a single moan of pain, as if she had grown numb to it.

Indeed she had. Along the way, her feet had been covered in countless blisters that burst only to reform, making every step on the ground agony. But that wasn’t all. She had been deceived, bullied, and chased by dogs. She had spent nights sleeping under bridges and struggled through treacherous mountain paths.

Alice had cried countless times and had thought about giving up more than once. But when she remembered that person’s contempt and Uncle Jack’s tragic death, she gritted her teeth and endured. The blisters on her feet turned into thick calluses. She swallowed her tears, which turned into tenacity. The wild dogs that had chased her became her food, and the people who deceived her and tried to sell her became corpses buried in the earth.

The Alice of today, though devoid of any cultivation level, possessed a heart for cultivation that was more resolute than ever. A once-soft heart had been forged like steel, tempered a thousand times until it was exceptionally hard. Her gaze, too, had grown much deeper and more tranquil.

Licking her somewhat dry lips, Alice quickened her pace toward Suzhou. If she could just enter the city and shake off the two people behind her, she could be reborn. Though she wore no shoes, Alice had grown accustomed to the feeling of her bare feet on the ground.

This feeling… it was called being grounded.

”You’ve done quite well.”

Suddenly, a magnetic voice reached her ears. She turned her head slightly to see an old man holding a horsetail whisk. He had the air of a transcendent immortal and was looking at her with admiration.

Looking into his eyes, however, Alice felt a deep sense of unease.

It was the same kind of look she had once given a wild dog. The gaze of a predator upon its prey!

”I am Master Qinlong,” the Daoist said, his expression kind and benevolent, though his eyes burned with eagerness as he gazed at Alice. ”It would be no dishonor for you to become my disciple.”

A person with such a resolute heart for cultivation was a rare sight. If he took her back to the mountains and guided her properly, she was bound to bring him many pleasant surprises.

However, Alice subconsciously took a step back and shook her head. ”I’m sorry, I cannot accept you as my master.”

”Hmm?” Master Qinlong frowned slightly, then sneered. ”It seems you are unaware of my capabilities. In that case, allow me to give you a demonstration. Then you can reconsider.”

Master Qinlong abruptly opened his hand and snatched at the air. Two cries of alarm sounded as two men with sharp, monkey-like faces tumbled to the ground in front of Alice, staring at Master Qinlong in disbelief. Alice’s expression changed as well. These two had been following her for a long time. They were members of a human trafficking ring.

”Actually, I have been watching you for a long time,” Master Qinlong said, ignoring the two men and gazing at Alice as if she were a precious treasure. ”You walked a thousand li barefoot. The bitterness and peril of your journey… even I am deeply moved by it.

”But there is one thing,” he continued, pointing at the men on the ground. ”They followed you all this way, yet you did not kill them. That shows you have a kind heart.

”However, for a cultivator, kindness is the most useless of traits.”

With a casual wave of his palm, just as the two men were about to beg for mercy, they exploded into a mist of blood and vanished completely.

”Now that I have helped you kill them, it is only right that you follow me into the mountains to cultivate,” Master Qinlong said with a smile. ”This is a fateful encounter ordained by the heavens!”

Alice was startled by Master Qinlong’s methods, but she still replied, ”Thank you for your kindness, Master, but I still cannot agree.”

”And why is that?” Master Qinlong’s gaze turned slightly sinister. ”Am I not worthy to be your master?”

Knowing the Daoist was not to be trifled with, Alice said quickly, ”It’s just that I already have a master. I cannot take another.”

”You already have a master?” Master Qinlong frowned. ”Did you perform the rite of apprenticeship? The three kneelings and nine prostrations?”

Alice shook her head. ”I did not.”

”Haha, then it’s of no concern!” Master Qinlong was delighted. ”Without the proper rite, there is no official master-disciple bond. Besides, for a fine seedling such as yourself, who in this world besides this old Daoist would dare to be your master!”

Master Qinlong looked proud, his gaze on Alice growing more satisfied by the moment. Of course, the greed in his eyes could not be concealed.

”Master, my teacher has already agreed to accept me as his disciple. It is impossible for me to take you as my master,” Alice said, her tone resolute.

She was no longer the Alice of the past. This trial of a thousand li had broadened her horizons and deepened her understanding of the world. She felt a profound sense of unease from this Master Qinlong.

”He agreed to take you as his disciple?” Master Qinlong sneered. ”It seems that person you speak of is nothing but a worthless fool, blind to your potential. He has yet to even formally accept you, which shows his strength must be mediocre at best.

”Instead of following such a worthless fool, come with this old Daoist to the mountains for cultivation. I guarantee that, in time, your cultivation level will surpass my own,” Master Qinlong said. ”You saw my capturing technique just now. That is merely one-thousandth of my knowledge. If you become my disciple, I will teach you everything I know!”

Alice shook her head. ”I absolutely refuse.”

”Heh, that is no longer up to you,” Master Qinlong laughed, his expression turning somewhat savage.

”If you force me, my master will not let you go!” Alice cried in alarm, turning to run.

”Hahaha!” A powerful force surged from Master Qinlong’s hand. ”If that fool dares to show his face, this Daoist will obliterate him in an instant!”

He clenched his hand, and a binding force instantly constricted around Alice, ready to yank her back.

”Is that so?”

Just then, an indifferent voice rang out.

The next moment, Master Qinlong felt his power abruptly shatter, and he staggered backward.

”Who’s there?!” Master Qinlong’s expression changed drastically as he looked up sharply.

Just then, a figure appeared, stepping between Alice and Master Qinlong to face the old Daoist.

”Say that again.”