Chapter 1282: Old Zhou

In conversation and laughter, the cruise ship cut through the azure sea, arriving near a vacation island.

This island is not large, about one square kilometer, and on it stands an elegant two-story manor, where some figures are now moving about.

Several ships are docked near the island, and further out it seems there are warships deploying on the sea.

Obviously, this Xian Xia gathering has mobilized considerable energy.

The boats docked at the small pier, and people disembarked onto the island one after another.

The island is a vacation spot, with excellent scenery, no pollution, like a paradise.

The surrounding water is exceptionally clear blue, even better than the retouched pictures online. The beach has palm trees and shells, giving a strong oceanic feel.

"The air is really nice—is this how the vacation island naturally is, or did it become like this after Blue Star's environment improved recently?" Su Lingyu walked among the crowd, speaking with a light step.

Yang Yixiao replied: "It was already pretty good before, but now the environment's even better after these recent improvements. Up ahead is sandy ground—watch your step so you don't twist your ankle."

After walking along the wooden walkway, the beach is just ahead.

Su Lingyu directly took off her high-heeled sandals, holding them in her hand, and stepped barefoot.

Then she exclaimed, "Yikes, it's hot!", and jumped back.

It's now nine a. m., the summer sun is blazing, and the sand temperature is quite high. Although the Marrow Cleansing Fruit has improved their physiques, girls' delicate skin still makes them instinctively wary of the heat.

She jumped back and bumped straight into Xiao Feng's arms behind her.

Xiao Feng steadied her, waited until she was stable, then immediately let go and said, "Is it really that exaggerated?"

Xiao Feng kicked off his flip-flops and stepped onto the sand.

He felt it was indeed a bit hot, but not yet scorching.

"It's fine, come down."

Su Lingyu hesitated a moment, then extended her flawless white jade-like foot and lightly stepped onto the sand.

After a short while she adapted to the temperature and sighed, "After my physique improved, my foot skin's gotten thicker too—this heat is manageable."

Everyone followed suit, heading toward the manor.

At the manor gate waited an ordinary-looking sixty- or seventy-year-old elder, with several straight-postured young men beside him.

Xiao Feng glanced and knew those two youths were active-duty soldiers, and the elder's identity could be guessed at.

Yang Yixiao stepped forward and shouted, "Old Zhou, Xiao Feng and the others have arrived; some more will come later."

"Hmm." The elder called Old Zhou nodded slightly, instantly recognized Xiao Feng in the crowd, and came forward to greet him.

"Young Xiao Feng, I'm Zhou Zhenwei—welcome to this banquet." He extended a hand toward Xiao Feng.

"Uh..."

Xiao Feng's heart tightened.

When he'd met Chu Long and the others before, they'd never bothered with the formal handshake, but this elder launched straight into such formality, catching him off guard.

Moreover, the name Zhou Zhenwei sounded familiar.

Couldn't he be… a high-ranking military official?

His status is so high that he's among the top figures in the entire Southeast region!

"Marshal Zhou, good." He reached out and shook hands.

Zhou Zhenwei looked at Jiang Peng beside him, smiling slightly: "Little Jiang, why isn't your wife here?" Obviously they knew each other.

Jiang Peng respected this middle-aged man greatly, replying: "Old Zhou, my wife's still handling some things; she'll come tonight."

"Hmm, good. I haven't seen anyone from the Heavenly Dragon Hall in a while—tonight let her sit at my table so we can chat properly."

Zhou Zhenwei said that, then immediately put his arm on Xiao Feng's shoulder and headed straight into the manor.

As they walked, he said: "Young man, I'm decades your senior—if you don't mind, can I call you Little Xiao?"

"Of course. May I ask, Marshal Zhou, what guidance do you have?" Xiao Feng said.

Zhou Zhenwei's status is so high that his coming out personally to greet them shows how much he values Xiao Feng.

The reason for this esteem is naturally his strength in the Myriad Heavens World!

This banquet isn't merely a victory celebration; celebrating the game's various wins is one thing, but there surely are other purposes as well.

Now that everyone's here, those purposes will naturally come to light gradually.

Xiao Feng's mood is calm, because he fears nothing now.

If it's a good thing, just accept it happily.

If it's not a good thing… there's nothing to worry about either.

Zhou Zhenwei led him away from the crowd straight to the second floor of the manor villa.

They chatted about some seemingly unimportant topics as they walked.

"Little Xiao, I've played around with the Myriad Heavens for a while too, but I feel I don't quite get it."

"Oh? What aspect is unclear? You could actually ask Yang Yixiao—he's pretty good at it."

"In the game, ten days pass while only one day goes by in the real world, which is hard to get used to. Moreover, fighting in there requires skills, equipment, and checking stats—at my age I find it a bit confusing."

Xiao Feng laughed: "Actually that's fine—just experience it a few more days and you'll get used to it."

"Hmm, practice makes perfect—that's true. Little Xiao, you're so strong in the game; do you also have some special ability in real life?"

"Uh… no. I guess many people have looked up my info—I'm just an ordinary student; it's just that I had good luck and drew an eighth‑stage talent, which gave me my present achievements."

"You're being modest, young man. I know your talent is impressive. But even without it, you're no ordinary person—you're absolutely a top‑tier expert among experts!"

"Uh… actually it's about gear and professional skills. I relied on my talent to obtain lots of good equipment and skills, so even if I don't rely on talent anymore, my starting point is still higher than others'—it's not that I'm exceptionally strong." Xiao Feng explained humbly.

This old man definitely has something on his mind he wants to say, but doesn't want to be too abrupt, so he's laying groundwork first.

The two went up to the second floor and entered a reception room.

Along the way, young soldiers in casual dress stood guard; the reception room also had two people on duty.

Xiao Feng sensed with his mind that the two men's physiques were excellent—though not as superb as those who'd taken the Marrow Cleansing Fruit, they were still far stronger than ordinary people, their qi and blood vigorous; undoubtedly they were experts.

Moreover, with his mental sense, he sensed that in the small storage room adjacent to the reception room, there was another person present, whose aura was stronger than those two warriors, even not inferior to Killing God Guo Han!

Obviously, there is a true expert secretly protecting this Old Zhou.

"Sit down, Xiao Xiao." Zhou Zhenwei sat down and personally boiled water to brew tea.

There were only two cups of tea; he and Xiao Feng each had one cup.

"Try this old fir narcissus, a rare good tea." Zhou Zhenwei said.

"Thank you, Old Zhou."

Xiao Feng received the hot tea with both hands and took a sip.

The tea is surely good, but that's not the point.

He exchanged a few pleasantries, then asked: "Old Zhou, did you look for me today to have something to order this junior?"

Zhou Zhenwei said with a smile: "You can't hide it from me. Actually, it's not a big deal; I just feel that the influence of Myriad Heavens is too great now, and you are a top-tier star in Myriad Heavens, so I want to win you over a bit, lest you be lured by foreign forces to do something detrimental to you and our Dragon Country."

Xiao Feng smiled upon hearing that and said: "On this point, Boss Zhou can rest assured; I can't guarantee anything else about myself, but I will definitely not take the wrong stance."

Zhou Zhenwei nodded satisfactorily: "That's best. Nowadays many young people lack resolve, are easily misled, like that guy called... uh, never mind those. You little rascal have a clear mind, I appreciate it; come, have some tea!"

Xiao Feng originally thought Zhou Zhenwei would represent the government to issue him some demands or orders, but he didn't expect it to be merely to let him avoid being roped in.

This demand isn't really a demand; there's nothing to hesitate about.

However, he felt things weren't that simple; after taking a couple sips of tea, he asked again: "Old Zhou, you personally came out—do you have nothing to ask me to do?"

Zhou Zhenwei chuckled: "Well... there actually is."