Kill Them Until They Behave

Zhan Liu wronged Tony. He had recently been getting hot and heavy with certain Hollywood actresses and had not returned home at all, much less known that anything had happened at the martial arts school.

The only time he went to the martial arts school was after being jolted awake by a nightmare and going to ask his master for an explanation. By then, S.H.I.E.L.D. had already settled the matter, and the ordinary disciples who feared getting involved had all left the school and never returned.

When he arrived at the martial arts school, he saw nothing.

But no secret could stay hidden forever. After Tony had finally grown tired of playing around and returned home, he received the intelligence Jarvis had gathered.

"He killed more than a dozen police officers? In front of everyone? And he hasn’t received any punishment?"

Tony clicked his tongue when he heard the information.

"Yes, sir."

Tony sat on the sofa in silence.

"Sir, based on the model I’ve established, it can be determined that his worldview differs greatly from that of ordinary people. He has no awe or respect whatsoever for the existing legal system or moral values. According to the model’s analysis, the probability of him clashing with government agencies again exceeds eighty-seven percent, while the probability of a battle destroying New York City exceeds sixty-four percent."

Tony’s brows furrowed tightly as he hesitated.

"Sir, you’ve seen that previous video as well. The reason that Sea King attacked New York was entirely to take revenge. New York City has already fallen into crisis once because of his reckless actions. No one knows when the next crisis will arrive."

"Last time was to give Peter and me a ‘make-up lesson.’ There won’t be a next time." Tony waved his hand irritably.

"Then how can you be sure he won’t conduct another ‘practical lesson’ next time?"

Tony was no longer the superhero he had once been. He did not particularly care about the deaths of a dozen irrelevant police officers, but he had to admit that the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people in the New York flood had affected him deeply.

"Perhaps Pepper and Obadiah will also be in danger during the next crisis." Jarvis added the final straw to the camel’s burden.

"All right, you win. I’ll go have a serious talk with my master. I can’t let him continue acting so recklessly."

After most of the disciples with weak resolve had withdrawn on their own, the ones who remained were basically people with clear goals. They trained even harder than the first batch of disciples had.

Of course, the ones who trained the hardest were the elites sent by various organizations. They were also the people who cared least about whether those police officers lived or died.

In fact, they would have been delighted if everyone else had withdrawn, leaving them as the only ones training here.

When Tony arrived at the martial arts school, he saw a group of disciples even more focused than before. They had not been affected by the disturbance that day in the slightest. Instead, they practiced with even greater dedication.

"Oh, Master, the quality of this batch of disciples isn’t great. They’re all men."

Zhan Liu glanced at him. "Hmph. Compared to the disciples from before, half of whom were supermodels or actresses, this batch actually looks more like a real martial arts school. Those ‘drunkards’ didn’t pass the three-month assessment. I drove them all away."

Tony shrugged. "What a pity. There were still a few junior sisters I hadn’t successfully instructed."

"Why don’t you just call them directly?"

Tony raised an eyebrow. "That’s the problem. I didn’t save their phone numbers."

"As expected of a scumbag!" Zhan Liu jabbed at him, but Tony’s thick skin defended him perfectly.

"Go on, what brings you here this time? Another nightmare?"

"Not exactly. It was just that one time. The dream disappeared afterward, as if a movie had ended and the theater had emptied."

Tony shook his head before continuing:

"I heard things got lively here a few days ago. Do you need my help?"

"It’s already been resolved, though I don’t know who did it. Still, the mastermind behind it probably withdrew on his own. People stepping on their own rakes happens all the time in this world."

Zhan Liu gave Tony a strange look. "Did you come this time just to fulfill your filial duty?"

"No, of course not." Tony instinctively shook his head in denial. After hesitating for a moment, he continued, "Actually, I wanted to ask you something. Have you never considered what would happen if the other side hadn’t withdrawn?"

"What would happen? Whatever happens, happens. Why think about it?"

"More police would come. Maybe even the military."

Zhan Liu burst out laughing at Tony’s words. "Hahaha, Tony, you don’t actually think those things can hurt me, do you? You could sweep aside the so-called Federation right now."

"You—you aren’t planning to kill them all, are you?"

"Why not?" Zhan Liu countered.

"If you do that, the entire world will reject you. Everyone will condemn you."

"I’m the War God. The outside world’s opinion is as insubstantial to me as floating clouds. As long as they don’t bark in front of me, I have no need to pay them any attention. If anyone dares jump out and show off, I’ll kill them with a flick of my finger."

Tony sucked in a breath and began seriously reassessing his master. Looking at Zhan Liu’s unconcerned expression, he realized that he was not joking. He genuinely believed what he was saying.

"Killing can’t solve everything, and force can’t rule everyone."

Zhan Liu shook his head and began teaching his disciples a lesson.

"There’s a saying in the East: ‘Kill one man, and you’re a criminal. Slaughter ten thousand, and you’re a hero. Slaughter nine hundred million, and you’re the greatest hero of them all.’"

"Long ago, there was a foreigner in the East who killed tens of millions of innocents. The people of the East hated him to the bone, but that didn’t stop him from enjoying wealth and glory and dying peacefully in his old age. Nor did it stop many descendants of his victims, a thousand years later, from worshiping him as an idol and even respectfully addressing him as ‘Genghis Khan.’"

"Several centuries later, a successor learned the lesson and seized the throne of the Central Plains using the same method, allowing his family to rule as royalty for two hundred years."

"Stories like this aren’t found only in the East. Let me give you one you’re familiar with."

"The Corsican Monster has landed at Golfe-Juan, the cannibal is advancing on Grasse, the usurper has entered Grenoble, Bonaparte has occupied Lyon, Napoleon is approaching Fontainebleau, and His Majesty will arrive in his loyal Paris today."

"How about that? Doesn’t putting it this way immediately make you feel immersed in the story?"

"There are only a little over seven billion people in the entire world. If you kill half of them—no, you only need to kill a tenth. The rest will naturally become very obedient."

Tony looked at his master, who had spoken those words as casually as if he were telling a story, and felt ice run through his entire body. He swallowed and asked in a hoarse voice, "What if they still don’t behave?"

Zhan Liu smiled faintly, his teeth white as snow and gleaming coldly in the air.

"Then kill them until they behave."