Furious Ye Qing

The torment continued endlessly, as if it would never cease.

Every time Ye Qing felt he couldn't hold on any longer, the words "your master" would appear on the screen in front of him.

At first, he had his doubts—was someone playing a prank on him?

But he quickly dismissed that thought because the small screen actually displayed the names of all 18 of his masters!

That was no small feat!

【You foolish disciple, I am your first master, Li Xuankong! Have you forgotten my teachings? You must temper yourself into a peerless, razor-sharp sword!】

Ye Qing furrowed his brows and scratched his head. "Did Master ever say something like that?"

"Probably? I’ve always treated that old man’s words as background noise anyway..."

Jiang Che had put a lot of effort into setting this trap for Ye Qing, even going so far as to use the Book of Numerology to uncover the names of all 18 of Ye Qing’s masters.

Of course, since it was just a fragment of the book, digging deeper into more crucial secrets was impossible.

But this was enough—more than enough to fool Ye Qing!

It was like a scam where the con artist reveals some incredibly private details about the victim—no matter how sharp-witted someone is, they’d still fall for it.

And Ye Qing? He was utterly fooled!

He could no longer tell day from night, enduring endless torment, bizarre challenges, and even one particularly absurd task—finishing ten rounds in under an hour?

On top of that, he hadn’t eaten in weeks and was on the verge of starvation.

If not for the superhuman endurance of a Grandmaster-level martial artist, any ordinary person would’ve kicked the bucket after days of labor without food or water in an underground tunnel.

"Ninety-nine layers... and there’s still more inside?"

Ye Qing suddenly coughed up a mouthful of blood—literally pissed to the point of vomiting blood.

Then, at that very moment, a cheerful melody began playing from the tablet screen.

"If you’re willing to peel back my heart, layer by layer...

You’ll find, you’ll be surprised...

That I’m your most repressed, deepest secret...

If you’re willing to peel back my heart, layer by layer...

You’ll feel sorrow, you’ll shed tears..."

"......"

The song "Onion" completely shattered Ye Qing’s last shred of composure.

He actually cried. No one knew how he had endured it all.

"You old bastards... you better have left me something good."

Ye Qing clenched his fists, his heart pounding as he stared at the small wooden box in front of him—no bigger than a basketball.

He had dismantled 99 layers and overcome 99 trials. Logically... this should be the final one.

What had once been a box the size of a basketball court had been reduced, layer by layer, like peeling an onion—each layer bringing him closer to tears.

"Since the box is this small now, it must contain a storage pouch... or maybe a spatial ring?"

A smug grin twisted Ye Qing’s lips. "So this was my masters’ true intention... I understand now, masters."

But just then, a line of text appeared on the screen of the final box:

【Foolish disciple, you actually fell for it? These boxes are as fragile as paper—you could’ve torn through all 100 layers from the start and taken the treasure!】

【Yet you willingly submitted to the mere mention of your masters’ names? If you can be so easily shackled, how can your future ever be free?】

【Remember this—Ye Qing bows to no one! A true man stands tall between heaven and earth—how can he linger beneath others forever?】

Ye Qing froze.

For a moment, he was stunned—but then it hit him.

All those trials... had been pointless???

He could’ve just destroyed the boxes from the beginning with his inner energy?

So... did that mean the so-called "100 challenges" were nothing but his masters toying with him?

In an instant, his temper flared!

"Damn you, you old farts! You tortured me enough in the Immortal Prison—now you’re still digging pits for me after I’ve escaped?"

Furious, Ye Qing raised his palm and smashed the last box into splinters, the wooden shards scattering like mocking laughter.

All that effort... had been completely wasted!!!

"Damn old men, you tricked me again!"

But when Ye Qing looked closely, there was no storage pouch or spatial ring inside.

"...A book???"

Indeed, the final box contained nothing but a book.

His rage subsided slightly.

This had to be some incredibly powerful martial arts manual!

Eagerly, he flipped it open.

"To master this technique... one must first castrate oneself?"

"???"

Ye Qing’s face went blank. He was completely dumbfounded!

"Damn it, you’re messing with me again! SCREW YOU—"

He angrily flipped to the last page, where a single line was written:

"Just kidding. You don’t actually have to."

"Of course! You shameless old men... Good thing I’m sharp, or I’d have actually done it—and in the middle of nowhere, where would I even find someone to...?"

Mentally, Ye Qing cursed all 18 of his masters.

He finally realized—this so-called "treasure vault" was nothing but a prank orchestrated by them.

"But after all this trouble, the manual must still be something valuable."

"Treading Snow Without a Trace?" That sounded like a top-tier movement technique..."

Yet as Ye Qing read further, his expression darkened.

The Treading Snow Without a Trace manual had been prepared by Lin Yu’s master—and Lin Yu’s master was, at best, a mere Grandmaster. What kind of treasure could he possibly offer?

Ye Qing was an upgraded version of Lin Yu—his 18 masters were all supreme experts. This manual was beneath his notice.

"What the hell... it’s just a mediocre movement technique? Unless... there’s some hidden secret?"

But after hours of scrutinizing it, he found nothing unusual. It really was just an ordinary manual.

"Damn it! Where’s my real treasure?!"

Only now did Ye Qing realize—he’d been scammed!

"SCREW YOU, OLD MEN! SCREW YOUR ‘PRICELESS TREASURE’—YOU JUST LOVE SCREWING WITH ME!"

In his extreme fury... Ye Qing became even more furious.

But little did he know, in a hidden corner of the chamber, a tiny pinhole camera emitted a faint red glow.

......

"He’d rather believe his masters are pranking him... than doubt his own judgment. Truly moving."

Jiang Che grinned with delight.

Everything had gone exactly as planned. For an arrogant, unrestrained protagonist like Ye Qing... toying with him was far too easy. And as a bonus, he’d driven a wedge between Ye Qing and his masters.

"Jiang Che, why are you smiling so much?"

Bai Qiangwei sat in the passenger seat, resting her chin in her hands as she admired Jiang Che’s profile.

Meanwhile, Bai Jie sat in the back, stealing glances at him through the rearview mirror’s reflection.

Clearly, Jiang Che was taking the two girls to meet some old man.

"Why so happy?" He smirked. "I just remembered something amusing!"

Jiang Che drove with one hand while resting the other on Bai Qiangwei's thigh—mastering the art of multitasking.

What? You’re telling me driving requires focus? Sorry... but this young master is a grandmaster!

Since when do grandmasters get into car crashes?