"Slap!!"
The slap was crisp and pleasant, instantly swelling the delicate and flawless cheek of Yao Bilian, making it appear comical and ridiculous.
"Pfft!"
She spat out a mouthful of fresh blood, mingled with several broken teeth!
This showed just how merciless Mu Jinyu's slap had been.
Yao Bilian fell to the ground, lying prostrate, and looked up at Mu Jinyu with a dazed expression, her mind reeling in disbelief.
She couldn't fathom how Mu Jinyu could reject her offer to surrender herself and instead retaliate against her; he didn't act like a man at all, knocking out her teeth!
"Ah!! You actually hit me?!"
"Are you even a man?!"
Yao Bilian screamed hysterically, struggling to get up from the ground to fight Mu Jinyu to the death!
At this moment, she had completely forgotten her initial purpose, which was to beg Mu Jinyu for mercy to spare her grandfather's life!
She was pampered since childhood, treated like a precious jewel by her family, coddled in every possible way. She had never experienced such humiliation and grievance before.
As she grew up, she ascended to become the Saintess of the Medicine Alliance.
With her beauty that could topple states and charm that could enchant birds from the sky, coupled with her status as the Saintess of the Medicine Alliance, countless heroes and mighty figures in Jiangnan Province coveted her favor. Yet she paid no attention to these men!
She felt that the only ones worthy of her were not just the renowned powers from the Divine Rankings, like Ye Wushuang, but also their disciples!
And just now, upon discovering that Mu Jinyu was a youth of the God Realm, she thought to give him a chance. But he treated her this way, sending her flying with his slap, and she lost several teeth!
Now, Yao Bilian had lost all reason, her only thought to fight Mu Jinyu to the death!
Even if she could just bite off a piece of his flesh, that would suffice!
"Little Lian, come back!!"
Yao Liangbi, realizing Yao Bilian's action, was heartbroken to see her mercilessly slapped by Mu Jinyu, but he feared more for her life in Mu Jinyu's hands and hurriedly shouted in panic!
"Ridiculous!"
Mu Jinyu's eyes showed not a shred of pity. As Yao Bilian charged at him once more, he swung his hand again, slapping her other, previously unmarred cheek.
"Slap!!"
Yao Bilian was once again sent flying by Mu Jinyu.
"Pfft!!"
Midair, she spat out several mouthfuls of fresh blood, her teeth flying out!
The other side of her previously fair cheek swelled up high and turned red, becoming symmetrical, very much resembling a pig's head.
Yao Bilian no longer retained her original beauty and allure, looking repulsively ugly!
"Bang!"
Yao Bilian fell heavily to the ground, emitting a crisp sound of breaking bones.
"Ugh… ha… ah!!"
In the end, Mu Jinyu still held back, not slapping her to death, allowing her to lie there helplessly, gasping faint breaths.
"Little Lian..."
Yao Liangbi cried out mournfully, crawled on his knees, and quickly made his way to Yao Bilian's side, scooping her into his arms...
At this moment, his heart was filled with regret for coming to Yinlong Mountain out of greed.
He had allowed his granddaughter to suffer such an ordeal and almost lose her life!
"Huff Huff!!"
Just then!
Wen Rou and Mu Hongchen, who had been trailing behind because of unfamiliar terrain and had taken a wrong turn, finally found the right direction and caught up!
"Jinyu!"
"Young Master Mu!"
"Little Mu..."
"Are you alright?"
All the women landed safely and, upon seeing Mu Jinyu and the crowd kneeling for mercy, showed concern for him after a brief moment of surprise.
Except for Jian Ruyan.
Because she knew that Mu Jinyu would never be in any trouble.
Yao Bilian, supported in her grandfather's arms, saw the arrival of nine beauties whose charms far exceeded her own, each with their own unique allure, but all showing care and love for Mu Jinyu. She suddenly understood why from the very beginning, Mu Jinyu could completely disregard her beauty...
Compared to Gu Xiyan and the others, she had no advantage, whether in looks, figure, or temperament, and Mu Jinyu, having spent his days and nights with these women, had naturally raised his standards by quite a bit.
How could he have given her a second glance?
It was laughable that she had just thought Mu Jinyu was pretending to ignore her to act cool and attract her attention!
How utterly ridiculous!
In her grandfather's arms, Yao Bilian forced a smile, feeling that the spiritual blow she had received was far heavier than any physical one.
With a bitter laugh, she fainted away.
Yao Liangbi was startled and quickly checked her breathing; seeing she hadn't stopped breathing, he barely relaxed.
Mu Jinyu turned to Gu Xiyan and the others, nodded lightly, and said, "It's okay, just a bunch of clowns."
After speaking, he turned back to Yao Liangbi and the others, his gaze cold, and said in a deep voice, "Kowtowing and admitting your mistakes now is meaningless. I am now giving you two choices. One, become my servants, and from this day on, your families will swear fealty to me—this is the path to life..."
The continuously kowtowing members of Jiangnan's Seven Great Martial Families heard Mu Jinyu's words and were invigorated, understanding that Mu Jinyu's decision not to kill them outright after sending them flying meant he truly didn't want to end their lives.
Now, the main event was beginning.
As for becoming his servants, they were naturally unwilling to do so.
They looked eagerly at Mu Jinyu, waiting for him to present the second option and what compensation they would have to offer!
After all, if they could keep their lives and avoid being servants, even if it meant emptying half of their families' coffers, they were still willing to do it.
Seeing their eager faces, Mu Jinyu knew what they were thinking. With a cold laugh, he said, "The second, then, is the path to death. Commit suicide, and I won't hold your families accountable—I won't exterminate your nine tribes!"
"Boom!!"
The revelation of this second option from Mu Jinyu resounded in the minds of those present like a thunderclap on a clear day, turning their complexions ghastly pale and void of any trace of color.
Your deaths would prevent me from unleashing my anger on your families—the idea was far from an acceptable baseline for them!
And so...
Compared with having the entire family become the servants of Mu Jinyu, they felt this was an acceptable outcome.
To allow themselves to live but make their families bond themselves to Mu Jinyu as servants—that required a choice, didn't it?
"Bang, bang, bang!!"
Without any hesitation, they immediately continued bowing their heads to Mu Jinyu and, with a tone filled with endless gratitude, they shouted, "Thank you, Immortal Master, for sparing our lives! We are willing to serve the Immortal Master loyally!"
"We are willing to become domestic servants of the Immortal Master..."
"..."
Mu Jinyu, observing the scene, was not surprised and revealed a cruel smile on his lips. In a stern voice, he said, "Very well, then lift your heads one by one and accept my gift!"
"Uh..."
Hearing Mu Jinyu's command, everyone stopped their kowtowing and raised their heads.
They looked at Mu Jinyu with uneasy eyes, wondering what he was about to do.
Then, Mu Jinyu walked up to the bearded man who was the first to strike at him, lifted a finger, and, under the puzzled and frightened gaze of the man, lightly touched his forehead.
"Sizzle!"
A strange sound was heard as a trickle of fresh blood seeped from the bearded man's forehead and was then taken by Mu Jinyu!
Mu Jinyu drew in the air with his hand, soon using his True Qi to condense a series of talismans that emitted mysterious gleams, and then he pressed them into the blood on the bearded man's forehead!
"Go!"
In an instant, the drop of blood vanished.
The bearded man shuddered all over, feeling as though his life no longer belonged to him.
Mu Jinyu also said, "From now on, you are my servant. Your life is entirely mine. Should you dare betray me, with this drop of your blood, I can extinguish your nine tribes!"
Hearing Mu Jinyu's words, those who still harbored hope suddenly turned ashen-faced!