Chapter 50: Subjugation

"That's right! It's me!"
Zhang Pu immediately sprang to his feet with a nimble flip.
But Liu Yingde was not idle; as he attacked with his peachwood sword, he suddenly shook out a bagua and began chanting incantations.
At the same time, Liu Yingde, much like his apprentice Chen Wenfa had done to Zhang Pu earlier, conjured a poisonous mist intended to confuse and incapacitate him.
This time, however, Zhang Pu was clearly prepared. With a simple reversal spell from the Nether Star Realm of the Immortal World, he sent the toxic mist flooding back toward Liu Yingde.
Though Liu Yingde seemed to have taken an antidote beforehand, rendering the mist harmless to himself, he was nonetheless caught off guard.
Zhang Pu’s Shadowless Hand moved even faster, knocking the peachwood sword—an instrument of ritual, wielded in desperation as a weapon—right out of Liu Yingde’s grasp.
Yet Liu Yingde’s bagua and incantations possessed a certain uncanny power, leaving Zhang Pu slightly dizzy.
"Hmph!" Zhang Pu suddenly laughed. "This tortoise-shell bagua of yours does have some tricks, but you lack the skill to truly master it. What a pity. Let me show you how it's done!"
With a shout, Zhang Pu swiftly formed a clarity spell from the Wood Star Realm of the Immortal World, instantly dispelling the dizziness caused by Liu Yingde’s incantations.
He then invoked a mantra from the realm of lightning and thunder, his primary cultivation path.
Suddenly, within the sealed chamber devoid of sky, a clap of thunder resounded.
Though the thunder was faint—since Zhang Pu’s current abilities didn’t allow him to cast any high-level spells from the lightning realm—even this small shock was enough to leave Liu Yingde utterly astonished.
"Thunder and lightning, break—"
An invisible bolt of lightning struck Liu Yingde’s bagua, knocking it to the floor where it shattered into five or six pieces. Moreover, the hand with which Liu Yingde had held the bagua was injured by the blow.
"You... you..."
Liu Yingde was so stunned he could barely speak. In an instant, all his attacks had been neutralized.
Such awe-inspiring power; whether in combat or spellcasting, Zhang Pu was clearly a master. Could his apprentice Chen Wenfa truly have managed to defeat such a figure? But… what was really going on here?
Liu Yingde was utterly perplexed.

No matter how confused he was, Zhang Pu again called out, “Thunder and lightning…”
At that moment, Liu Yingde was so terrified he collapsed to his knees with a thud.
He was utterly without strength, and having experienced firsthand the terror of Zhang Pu’s thunder spell, he knew another strike would surely end his life.
All men fear death, and for someone like Liu Yingde—whose outward appearance was dignified but whose heart was base—the fear was even greater.
In that moment of life and death, dignity meant nothing.
He understood: if he tried to resist again, this man would not hesitate to kill him.
"Please… don’t kill me…"
Seeing such a once-arrogant Taoist suddenly kneel and beg for mercy, Zhang Pu was momentarily surprised, but quickly regained composure. During his rise through the various realms of the Immortal World, hadn’t countless people knelt before him, pleading for their lives?
For Zhang Pu, this was nothing unusual.
He calmed himself, focusing his mind.
A surge of joy crept into his heart.
Hadn’t he come here expecting this Taoist to be a big catch? Hadn’t he thought he might earn some money by coming here?
"Very well, I won’t kill you!" Zhang Pu continued, "But you must answer a few questions honestly!"
"Yes, yes, Master—ask me anything!"
After their brief exchange, Liu Yingde—usually so conceited—was utterly defeated. Zhang Pu’s skills, both martial and magical, had opened his eyes to a whole new world.
Liu Yingde was convinced that Zhang Pu’s teacher must be a martial arts grandmaster, perhaps Zhang Pu himself was one, despite his youthful appearance.
But the younger Zhang Pu was, the more Liu Yingde felt a deep, unsettling awe—imagining the power that must lie behind him.
If a mere student was so formidable, what about those backing him…
Liu Yingde dared not even speculate. Even as a student, Zhang Pu’s strength was astonishing!
Liu Yingde, a veteran of decades in the world of deception and trickery, knew better than anyone how to assess the situation. He was never truly a noble Taoist!
Thus, he wisely chose submission, knowing that mere words would not save him from Zhang Pu’s wrath.
Zhang Pu then questioned Liu Yingde about his affairs, and Liu Yingde answered everything truthfully, not daring to lie or conceal a thing.
In this way, Zhang Pu gained a preliminary understanding of all that went on here.
He had intended to extort Liu Yingde immediately, for through Liu Yingde’s candid confession—driven by his desire to survive—Zhang Pu learned that over the years, the Witch Ghost Sect Liu Yingde led had profited handsomely from shady dealings.
But to his surprise, Liu Yingde himself offered tribute first, stating that his Witch Ghost Sect would willingly become subordinate to Zhang Pu. If Zhang Pu ever needed anything in the Qingwu region or its surroundings, the Witch Ghost Sect would obey without hesitation, since they held considerable influence there.
Such wholehearted submission was truly remarkable; Zhang Pu had to admire the wisdom of age! He realized that from now on, it would be even harder to take Liu Yingde’s life—neither sentiment nor reason would allow it.
Moreover, with Liu Yingde’s pledge, Zhang Pu felt almost obliged to protect the sect in future.
Zhang Pu’s power was so overwhelming that Liu Yingde clung to him like a tree in a storm.
And Zhang Pu, for his part, had his own motives: the cost of herbs needed for cultivation could now be provided continuously by the Witch Ghost Sect, especially while his rank remained low. He no longer needed to worry about earning money, and could devote himself entirely to his immortal training.
Zhang Pu accepted Liu Yingde’s request and tribute.
Liu Yingde rose from the ground, overjoyed.
But in the end, Zhang Pu warned Liu Yingde not to probe too deeply into his identity in the Qingwu region, instructing him to maintain the aura of mystery. As for his name and his current enrollment in a modern secondary school, Zhang Pu revealed the details, for Liu Yingde was now officially his subordinate.
Liu Yingde treated every word from Zhang Pu as holy writ. A seasoned trickster, he understood that Zhang Pu’s desire to keep a low profile must have a grand, mysterious purpose. To cling to this towering figure, he would spare no effort in supporting Zhang Pu’s every “operation” in the Qingwu region.