Chapter 158: Beating Them Until They Submit

"Child, child, why are you so wicked!"

As the zither melody began to play, Ye Qiu gently performed. The ethereal sound felt like the true doctrines of the Great Dao, lingering and profound.

Judging from the lyrics, there seemed to be no particularly deep meaning, but overall, it inexplicably radiated a benevolent power.

"What a bizarre tune! What on earth is he singing? It sounds so terrible..."

The World-Destroying Elder got goosebumps all over his body. What kind of fairy-tale plot was this? They were in the middle of a fierce boss battle, so why on earth had it suddenly turned into a concert?

"Child, child, why are you so wicked? Bullying and deceiving, why do you do it? Learn to be a good little child, love one another. Care is right in your heart, full of color. Be a good boy, come back quickly, my arms are always open for you. Be a good boy, sincerely repent."

As Ye Qiu played, he gradually got into the groove. Without a shred of shame, he managed to belt out such a horrendous song.

The World-Destroying Elder listening nearby wore a blank expression. "What is this guy doing? Could it be that he seriously plans to tame my corpse slave with this Three Hundred Nursery Rhymes?"

Impossible, that was utterly impossible.

How could there be something so absurd! That corpse slave possessed no consciousness whatsoever; he was merely a walking corpse that only knew how to obey orders.

Did he seriously expect to awaken the corpse slave's conscience?

That was nothing short of a pipe dream.

The World-Destroying Elder refused to believe Ye Qiu could pull it off, except... he suddenly noticed that halfway through Ye Qiu's song, Xingtian, who had been lying on the ground like a pile of mud, suddenly had his wounds heal completely!

Moreover, Xingtian actually sat up. Instead of continuing his attack on Ye Qiu, he opened his lantern-sized eyes and stared blankly at Ye Qiu with a bewildered expression.

Seeing Xingtian sitting there so quietly, listening to the music, Ye Qiu instantly grew interested.

"Haha, no way, seriously? Could this book of Three Hundred Nursery Rhymes actually be a divine scripture for subduing demons and devils?"

Ye Qiu was astonished. He had only wanted to give it a random try, primarily because he had been too deeply influenced by watching Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons back in the day, prompting him to memorize the score of the Three Hundred Nursery Rhymes and learn how to play the tunes.

Never had he expected that with a casual try today, Xingtian would actually react!

Good grief, was this a blind cat running into a dead mouse?

If this actually succeeded, then this Xingtian would undoubtedly become his number one enforcer. Taking someone like this out with him would definitely command an overwhelming aura of prestige.

People a hundred miles away would probably feel the killing intent and not even dare to approach him.

No, this couldn't be missed. He absolutely had to keep this guy around. Taking him out for a stroll when he had nothing to do would be more than enough to flex in style...

The more he thought about it, the more excited he became. Ye Qiu played with increasing fluidity, reaching a stage of complete mastery. The dark Qi enveloping Xingtian's body gradually dissipated by a large margin.

His gaze also slowly regained a spark of intelligence, no longer as dead and lifeless as before.

"Holy crap, even this works?"

Ye Qiu's series of actions completely blinded the World-Destroying Elder.

Report! Someone is hacking, is anyone going to do something about this?

My corpse slave is being snatched! Someone is robbing me, is nobody going to intervene?

The World-Destroying Elder was growing frantic. This was simply unacceptable. Previously, his rotating disk had been destroyed by Ye Qiu, and now his sole trump card, Xingtian, was about to be conquered by Ye Qiu as well. What face would he have left to face his master when he returned?

Yet, he lacked any ability to stop it. Around Ye Qiu, as the music played, a massive halo of light had formed invisibly. Anyone who tried to approach would instantly be repelled by the halo.

He could only stand on the sidelines with wide eyes, helplessly watching Ye Qiu smilingly rob his precious treasure right in front of him while being completely powerless to do anything.

This was the most infuriating part.

What the heck...

He had never seen anyone so unreasonable! Playing like this would make you lose all your friends, you know that?

"Child, child, why are you so wicked..."

Ye Qiu cared not a whit about what the World-Destroying Elder was thinking. He only knew one thing: whatever he had his eyes on, no one could take away.

Seeing the baleful aura on Xingtian gradually dissipate, Ye Qiu knew his opportunity had arrived. He immediately stepped up his efforts, continuously plucking the zither strings as a pure burst of righteous energy from heaven and earth suddenly erupted.

"Ah..."

In an instant, the dark Qi on Xingtian was completely and utterly swept away, and his sanity was restored...

Awakening from the chaotic void, Xingtian reopened his eyes, looked at the world before him, and then looked at Ye Qiu playing the zither beside him, a look of utter confusion on his face.

"Finally awake?"

The moment he saw Xingtian wake up, Ye Qiu stood up immediately, maintained the rhythm of his zither playing, and stepped closer to close the distance between them.

Suddenly, Xingtian lashed out with a ferocious punch.

"Holy crap, what the..."

Caught off guard, Ye Qiu took the punch squarely, nearly getting a black eye. Fortunately, his defense stat was high.

Then came Xingtian's spoken words, laced with sarcasm: "What kind of garbage was that? It sounded horrific..."

"What? You dare to question my angelic singing voice!"

Ye Qiu was furious. He had actually been questioned, and by a dead guy at that? This could not be tolerated—absolutely not...

"Good grief! Not only did you hit me, but you dare question me? I'll give you two choices: first... submit to me, and I'll give you what you want and resurrect you. Second, get beaten until you submit! Which one do you choose?"

Infuriated, Ye Qiu put away the zither and slowly stood up. Xingtian had already revived and recovered his sanity. Although he was fundamentally a deceased person, his consciousness remained intact.

As long as his consciousness remained, everything was negotiable! Ye Qiu had ways to bring him back to life, provided that... he first beat him into absolute submission, otherwise things might get out of hand.

"Get beaten until I submit!"

Xingtian didn't even hesitate. His core consciousness had remained frozen in the distant past, and before his death, he had been an unyielding God of War—a God of War who would never bow down to anyone.

Hearing Xingtian's reply, Ye Qiu stretched lazily.

"Very well, I like your fiery temper! Since that's the case, I won't stand on ceremony..."

Just as the words left his mouth, right when Xingtian was wondering what this young punk was trying to pull, his expression suddenly froze.

"Oof..."

With a sudden shriek of agony, Xingtian was sent flying by a single punch from Ye Qiu. Before he even hit the ground, he discovered that Ye Qiu had already materialized behind him.

"Oh no!"

Xingtian was dumbfounded. He hadn't expected this seemingly frail youth to be so terrifyingly ferocious—far more ferocious than he himself had ever been.

As expected, appearances could be deceptive. Could anyone imagine that a bookish, refined, and gentle-looking young man could suddenly turn so violently brutal?

A thorough beating commenced. Ye Qiu held nothing back, and within mere moments, he had beaten Xingtian to the point of existential doubt. Xingtian didn't even have a chance to mount a counterattack.

"I submit, I submit, stop hitting me! I surrender..."

Xingtian cried out in surrender. What the hell was this? How could someone be so ruthless? Was this supposed to be a scholarly gentleman? What a liar...

Though he would rather break than bend, he wasn't a fool either. Engaging in combat with an entity of this caliber left him with no choice whatsoever other than surrender.

Besides, he had also realized one crucial detail: his ability to awaken from that state of chaotic oblivion seemed to be thanks to Ye Qiu.

Although he didn't know why Ye Qiu had awakened him, that wasn't what mattered. What mattered was that this kid's punches really hurt.