Joe Di ignored Franklin Young entirely, his gaze cold as he stared at Samuel Heng. "Was it you who imprisoned Serena Yu?"
Samuel Heng was utterly stunned—what was going on? For a moment, he even forgot to respond to Joe Di's question.
Joe Di snorted, "Are you deaf? I'm speaking to you."
Just as before, Joe Di paid Franklin Young no attention. Franklin, having just stepped out, looked somewhat embarrassed upon hearing Joe Di's words. Still, his anger faded quickly, and he resumed his smiling demeanor, quietly waiting to the side for Joe Di.
"You are a Human Clan cultivator, and I am the Alliance Master of the Sacred Dao Alliance. All Human Clan cultivators in the Void Market must—"
Samuel Heng's words were abruptly cut off—Joe Di had already seized him by the throat. He could barely breathe; not only was his breath stifled, but even his cultivation technique had come to a complete halt. If this continued for long, Samuel Heng would surely become the first Prime Realm cultivator to be suffocated to death.
Samuel Heng felt a chill run through his body, terror surging in his heart. He finally understood why Franklin Young treated this cultivator with such respect—this was undoubtedly a Prime Realm expert, and not just any expert, but a top-tier one. When had the Human Clan ever had such a supreme Prime Realm Saint Emperor come to the Void Market?
"If you won't speak, then don't bother," Joe Di said, exerting more force with his hand.
"Wait, I'll talk..." Samuel Heng struggled to utter the words, finally feeling his throat loosen a bit. He no longer dared to mention anything about the Sacred Dao Alliance. "Senior, Serena Yu killed a Sea Clan cultivator. Putting aside the shame she brought upon the Human Clan, her actions have already brought disaster upon us..."
"Oh? Then I also killed a Sea Clan Prime Realm cultivator in the Void Market. Does that mean I've brought shame to the Human Clan as well?" Joe Di looked at Samuel Heng with mockery.
Samuel Heng felt his heart sink. He had just returned to the Void Market, his sole purpose being to attend the Dao Fruit Tower Summit. How could he have known that Joe Di had killed a Sea Clan Prime Realm cultivator here? If he had known, he would never have spoken so recklessly.
"Brother Di... Senior, you..." Lance Wen looked at Joe Di in utter surprise. He truly hadn't expected that the Joe Di he met by chance would be so powerful.
"Brother Wen, we've always been friends. There's no need for honorifics between us." Joe Di smiled gently, his tone softening.
Lance Wen quickly responded, "Then I'll call you Brother Di. Brother Di, I know this matter better than anyone. I'm quite familiar with Serena Yu, and she would never cause trouble. She came to the Void Market solely for the Dao Fruit Tower. Because of Samuel Heng, Human Clan cultivators no longer have any slots for the Dao Fruit Tower here. Even if they do, they must trade vast amounts of treasures for them."
Joe Di frowned. "What do you mean?"
Lance Wen explained, "The Human Clan has thirty slots for the Dao Fruit Tower, all forcibly reclaimed back then by Lord Ye. These slots were originally distributed based on a cultivator's talent, aptitude, and contributions to the Sacred Dao Domain. Later, after a teleportation array was established between the Sacred Dao Domain and the Outer Heavens, many geniuses went straight to the Outer Heavens. So the Human Clan's slots in the Sacred Dao Domain were handed over to the Heng Family.
Once the Heng Family received these slots, they never considered the true Human Clan cultivators from the Sacred Dao Domain. Instead, they turned the slots into top-tier cultivation resources, keeping them all for themselves—selfish to the extreme. A few Human Clan geniuses tried to oppose them, but the Heng Family simply wiped them out. The Heng Family even established the Sacred Dao Alliance in the Void Market, requiring every Human Clan cultivator to register. Violate their rules, and the consequences are either death or crippling.
"Your Heng Family is truly bold." Joe Di said coldly, tossing Samuel Heng to the ground.
Samuel Heng's face turned pale, gripped by overwhelming fear. He had a strong intuition that he was finished—and perhaps the Heng Family was too.
Lance Wen spat at Samuel Heng, "Senior Sister Serena Yu even knew Lord Ye back in the day. She clearly came from the Sacred Dao Domain, yet couldn't get a single slot for the Dao Fruit Tower. She went through countless hardships to obtain a slot elsewhere, only to be framed by Samuel Heng and eventually imprisoned. This man is scum—he sells those slots cheaply to other clans, leaving the Human Clan with nothing."
Joe Di fixed his gaze on Samuel Heng. "Where did your Dao Fruit Tower slots go?"
"I am a member of the Heng Clan's Firehorn Ridge—you can't do anything to me." Samuel Heng's tone was as weak as his pale face.
With a flick of Joe Di's hand, one of Samuel Heng's arms fell to the ground. Joe Di then took Samuel Heng's ring from the severed limb and broke its seal with his spiritual sense.
Joe Di immediately pulled out nearly twenty Dao Fruit Tower tokens and said calmly, "Where did the other ten Dao Fruit Tower tokens go?"
Samuel Heng replied in terror, "I sold them all—the remaining Dao Fruit Tower tokens have already been reserved by others. You can't take them..."
Even knowing he shouldn't say it, Samuel Heng couldn't help but blurt it out. He was well aware of what would happen to him—and to the Heng Family—once Joe Di took those Dao Fruit Tower tokens.
Joe Di ignored Samuel Heng and instead asked Lance Wen, "Brother Wen, do you know anything about Serena Yu's whereabouts?"
"I do. Senior Sister Serena is imprisoned within the Sacred Dao Alliance in the Void Market." The speaker was Jade Lin, who had just walked over.
At this moment, Jade Lin was just as excited—she hadn't expected Joe Di to be such a terrifying force. Her first thought was of the Origin Fruit she had lost. Perhaps, with Brother Joe Di's help, she could get it back.
Without any hesitation, Joe Di sent his spiritual sense straight through the Void Market's restrictive barrier, quickly locating the Sacred Dao Alliance.
He said to Lance Wen and Jade Lin, "Brother Wen, Sister Jade, I'll need to trouble you both to go to the Sacred Dao Alliance and bring Senior Sister Serena Yu here."
Lance Wen hesitated for a moment before replying, "The Sacred Dao Alliance has a protective formation—ordinary cultivators can't get in at all."
There was one thing Lance Wen didn't say: cultivators of other clans might still have a chance of entering the Sacred Dao Alliance, but for Human Clan cultivators, it's the hardest. Ever since the Heng Family took control, they've gone out of their way to curry favor with other clans, while completely disregarding the Human Clan.
"Just go ahead—the formation's already broken." Joe Di waved his hand, not caring about the Sacred Dao Alliance's protective array at all.
"Alright, Brother Joe, don't worry. I'll bring Senior Sister Serena Yu here as fast as I can." Lance Wen was overjoyed at Joe Di's words. He was certain Joe Di had just broken the protective array—if Joe Di could do that through so many restrictive barriers, how powerful was he? After all, the Void Market's barriers were anything but ordinary.
Dean Carter quickly added, "I'll go too."
Franklin Young's wariness of Joe Di only deepened. For Joe Di to break through the Sacred Dao Alliance's protective array from the Dao Fruit Tower Plaza—just how powerful was he?
Such a feat required not only extraordinary spiritual sense and array mastery, but also advanced spiritual sense attack techniques. Even with those, it still took specialized skills to break through array barriers.
Franklin Young's earlier annoyance at being ignored by Joe Di had now completely vanished.
After Lance Wen and the others left, Joe Di patted Samuel Heng on the shoulder. "You can get lost now. If I ever go to the Sacred Dao Domain, your Heng Family will be the first I destroy. Go back and deliver the message."
Delivering a message was just a pretense—Joe Di knew Samuel Heng wouldn't survive the day.
Samuel Heng's cultivation had been crippled by ninety percent, and Joe Di would never allow him to leave the Dao Fruit Tower Plaza.
Samuel Heng had sold all the Dao Fruit Tower slots. If he couldn't produce any in the end, what awaited him was wrath and slaughter. Even if Samuel Heng died, the Heng Clan's Firehorn Ridge would still have to pay for this.
After kicking Samuel Heng aside, Joe Di turned to Franklin Young with a cheerful smile and cupped his fists. "Friend Franklin, I came here today because I need a small favor from you."
(That's all for today's update. Good night, friends!)