Zhao Yao slowly opens her eyes and pulls herself upright, surprising Li Zhu, who'd falsely believed that she had managed to knock Zhao Yao unconscious.
"Did I not use enough force?" Li Zhu questions as her eyes sharpen, allowing her to see things far more clearly. More than what everything appears to be. "No. That is not your body. You're not Zhao Yao!"
Zhao Yao smiles gently and then turns away from Li Zhu to pay attention to me. "She's your summoned spirit?"
I leer at Li Zhu before shrugging lightly. "You are partly right. She is mine."
"What? I'm not your summoned spirit! We have never formed a contract!" Li Zhu calls out, being quite noisy as usual. "But why can't I harm you unless…? No. I cannot be your summoned spirit. I cannot! It cannot be true! No!"
"She might be lacking in the head department, but I am sure that she gives good head," I tell Zhao Yao while ignoring Li Zhu for now.
Since Li Zhu has my attention, she is mine, and there is nothing she could do to persuade me otherwise.
The same with Zhao Yao. The real Zhao Yao, not this pretender in front of me. Although, I do not mind adding the pretender to my harem as well. She is also a 10 from just her spirit alone.
Is this world full of 10s? Probably.
And it is a good thing. My harem is going to be huge! How many is it now? 7? Just 99,993 to go. I have my work cut out for me, and it is a very enjoyable work.
I do wonder where the real Zhao Yao is at the moment, however. I surely hope that she isn't dead. Or someone will pay dearly for that. Hopefully not –
"Good head?" Zhao Yao questions. "I do not quite understand."
"It means that she is very good with her mouth," I explain, and Li Zhu seems to take pride in that from the side, not quite understanding the actual meaning of the words. "And I'm sure that you do too, but I don't want to experience it as you are right now. Why are you possessing that body?"
Zhao Yao maintains her smile. It is a beautiful smile, but that smile does not belong to her. "Is there a reason that I cannot possess this body?"
"Yes," I said and point at myself. "Me."
I then flip my hand around to point at her. "If you know what's good for you then vacate that body. It is not yours to take."
For no one takes my stuff without my say so, and I am certainly will not allow anyone to take away my girl.
Zhao Yao laughs. "I'm afraid that I cannot acquiesce your request."
In an instant, she drawls her sword and Li Zhu is cut in half. She immediately follows up, thrusting the sword directly at me, only for her attack to fail to reach me.
"W-what…?" Zhao Yao and Li Zhu are shocked. Each one for a different reason, and I take a second to take in their expression.
"Like you have a choice in the matter," I state and point my finger towards the ground. "Kneel."
Zhao Yao collapses onto her knees with her eyes widen in fear. She does not understand how I can do something that like, and she probably never will – unless I explain it in full detail to her.
But I am not going to explain anything. There is no reason to.
Zhao Yao leaps upwards and then tries to strike me again. Once more, her attack never reaches me as if she is stopping herself.
"Kneel."
Zhao Yao collapses onto her knees once more. Heavier than before.
"How are you doing this!?" Zhao Yao demands and pulls herself upright again. This time, however, she refrains from attacking me since it will result in the same thing.
Li Zhu looks at Zhao Yao questioningly before eyeing me without utterly a single sound. She too wants to know how I am able to do that to Zhao Yao. It had happened to her previously.
Strangely enough, Li Zhu is not furious at Zhao Yao for cutting her in half, and for Zhao Yao to be able to do that, she must be on the same level as Li Zhu or her swordplay has reached an unexpected level.
Oh. Her sword is not a normal sword either, and from a quick glance, I understand that if used against spirit, it is highly effective. Specialized weapons are exceedingly powerful if used correctly and against the correct opponents.
"It's a trade secret," I response and bridge my lips with my finger. "Now, are you going to vacate that body or not? I can be very persuasive."
Zhao Yao no longer has her smile. "How about a trade?"
"How about no?" I response immediately. I already know Zhao Yao wants, and I am not going to allow her that. It is a matter of principle.
Zhao Yao is puzzled. "But you have not heard what I have to offer."
"You want to continue possessing Zhao Yao, and I will not allow you to do that," I point out. "You are wondering the reason. It is very simple. Would you give away your wife for something in return?"
"W-w-w-wife?" Li Zhu utters. "She is your wife? No way. She cannot be. She is too beautiful to be your wife. And aren't you like her great, great, great, great –
"Please be quiet, little bird. The adults are talking," I tell Li Zhu grimly, and it actually shuts her up. For now. "As I was saying. There is nothing you can offer me in return for Zhao Yao. She is mine by right."
Zhao Yao frowns and her eyes take a glance at the opening in the wall. She finally notices the AAA, but she does not give it any mind. This is because she cannot sense any aura or energy from the machine.
"If you think you can escape, you are free to try," I taunt her. Li Zhu shivers in fear since she has a taste of the AAA's prowess just moment ago. It literally rips her apart.
And speaking of being apart, Li Zhu has regenerated her lower half completely. She still has more than enough spiritual energy to regenerate. Quite impressive since she has been blown up dozens of times over by the AAA.
Zhao Yao frowns deeper. "I do not think that I can escape unscathed, but I really do wish to leave this body. It takes me millions of years to find a suitable body."
"Another few million years should not be a problem for your kind," I response thoughtfully. "Is Zhao Yao's spirit still in there?"
It is just a guess, and it is a fairly good guess. I surely hope that is the case because if the real Zhao Yao is stuck somewhere in the Spiritual World, she is probably no longer herself anymore.
"Yes. She is not harm, and she will remain that way if –
"Shut up," I shout. "You dare threaten me? Me? Be glad that I have not rip your spirit out and torture you until you cease to exist. You think that just because you managed to best this birdbrain over here, you have the right to stand up to me?"
The AAA activates and fires a single shell. The shell hits Zhao Yao squarely and rips out the alien spirit, sending it crashing into the wall. Since the shell is made of purely spiritual particles, it does not inflict any physical damage to the body.
And like a puppet, Zhao Yao collapses onto the ground.
Zhao Yao is actually unconscious now.