Chapter 111: Organizing a Hunting Team to Pursue the Flower-Picking Thief

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Inside the Diba Lianwuchang, Zhou You and Li Hao, that pair of sparring partners, went back and forth, kicking up dust and making the ground tremble.

They had not sparred in a long time; taking this opportunity to exchange pointers, they discovered that both had improved.

Li Hao's Tiger-Subduing Fist and Thousand-Army-Breaking Fist had both made rapid progress.

He practiced both styles and had broken through to Intermediate Force, his power far exceeding that of his fellow Apprentices.

Especially his Hard Qigong body protection; his defensive power was frighteningly high.

Yet, in front of Zhou You, he still fell behind.

"Can't do it, can't hit you, can't hit you."

Li Hao was drenched in sweat, staggering backward as he raised his hands to concede.

The gap was too large; Zhou You only had to reveal his mastery of force for him to be unable to win, even after exhausting all his strength.

Zhou You's Tiger-Subduing Fist, executed over and over, was fierce and powerful, its might terrifying.

"Zhou You, you went to find a Meat Target too, didn't you?"

The two sparring partners stopped to wipe their sweat and drink tea, during which Li Hao could not help but ask.

Zhou You's strength had improved too quickly, leaving him no choice but to make such a guess.

"That's right, the Meat Target is indeed useful."

There was nothing to hide here; on the contrary, it could explain the reason for his rapid progress.

"I knew it. I was the one who gave you that information, so shouldn't you treat me to a meal?"

Li Hao was open-minded and did not feel jealous of Zhou You because of this; there were so many Apprentices in the martial arts hall, and there were plenty stronger than him.

"I will, I definitely will!"

Zhou You was in a good mood; he had recently been preparing to adjust his state to sprint toward the Qi and Blood threshold of the Tiger-Subduing Fist.

But he was also worried that he would miss the matter of the flower-picking thief because of it.

As the two were chatting, someone suddenly spoke from outside the wall, "Everyone, gather at the front courtyard clearing."

Another major event was summoning the Outer Courtyard Apprentices.

After arriving at the clearing, they realized it was indeed a major event.

The Qi Family, one of the two great noble families of Gongliang City, had come to the martial arts hall to notify them that they needed to send a Qi and Blood martial artist to join the encirclement and killing of the flower-picking thief.

The person who came was a Senior Brother whom many Apprentices had heard of but never seen... Qi Fengzhang.

Inner Courtyard Disciples, although they did not often appear before the Apprentices, still entered and exited the martial arts hall frequently.

Big Senior Brother Lu Qiang was responsible for internal and external affairs and also provided Instruction in fist techniques; he was someone everyone saw often.

Shen Sijing worried about the family business but still set aside half his time for the martial arts hall; as for Zhong Shaoying, he helped manage the affairs of the manor and fields outside the city and was also often nowhere to be found.

However, none of them compared to this mysterious Senior Brother, Qi Fengzhang.

He came from the noble Qi Family and had a high status; some even doubted why he would condescend to join the martial arts hall.

With the power of the Qi Family, if he wanted to learn fist techniques and practice martial arts, he could have invited all the famous martial arts masters in the city to his home to be private tutors.

Yet, he insisted on taking Wang Jianxiong as his master and becoming a Disciple of the Jian Xiong Martial Arts Hall.

Also because of the existence of Qi Fengzhang, the Jian Xiong Martial Arts Hall stood out, far exceeding other martial arts halls.

After all, no matter how great the momentum of other martial arts halls was, they had no precedent for recruiting children of noble families.

"Senior Brother Qi wants people; they are Inner Courtyard Disciples at the Qi and Blood level. Why are we here?"

Someone muttered in a low voice, immediately drawing disdainful looks from those around.

Getting familiar with a noble family child was an opportunity many could not beg for; if one happened to be noticed by Senior Brother Qi, they would leap over the dragon gate from then on and embark on a path to success.

The Outer Courtyard Apprentices mostly came from Commoner backgrounds, and there were truly not many channels for advancement.

"It seems the flower-picking thief really stepped on a tiger's tail!"

This time, the two great noble families were joining forces to draw Qi and Blood experts from various martial arts halls to form a mobile force to encircle and kill the flower-picking thief.

Conservatively estimated, the number of people gathered could reach double digits.

Plus, with patrols in various parts of the city continuing day and night, the flower-picking thief would surely die if he dared to show his face. "I'm just curious, which Senior Brother from our martial arts hall will go?"

The number of Inner Courtyard Disciples was fixed, and each shouldered a portion of the essential tasks; it could be said that every radish had its own hole.

Qi Fengzhang came to borrow people; who would he choose?

"Hmm, it's eighty percent likely to be Senior Brother Shi Gaofei."

Li Hao pondered for a moment and said this name.

The ranking of Inner Courtyard Disciples, excluding those with more controversy, was mostly recognized.

For example, Wu Yanyi, who was killed by Mao Lang, had broken through via a side path and was the weakest Qi and Blood, ranking last.

And this Senior Brother Shi Gaofei was the undisputed second-to-last.

His nickname, Lazy Tiger, explained the problem well.

Ever since Wu Yanyi died, Shi Gaofei filled the last-place position.

He had broken through to Qi and Blood properly, but his talent was insufficient; he had exhausted his foundation and potential, remaining completely stuck at the first stage of Qi and Blood, and had not broken through to the second stage of Qi and Blood even after more than ten years of effort.

The noble families apportioned personnel, only requiring Qi and Blood, and made no other constraints.

Senior Brother Qi was one of their own and would surely show leniency, definitely not choosing elite soldiers and strong generals to weaken the martial arts hall's power.

Therefore, the weakest, Shi Gaofei, was almost a certainty.

Sure enough...

"Big Senior Brother, it's settled then. Tomorrow, tell Shi Gaofei to report."

The crowd stirred; Big Senior Brother Lu Qiang and a noble young master with a face like jade walked out from the Inner Courtyard.

The noble young master was none other than Qi Fengzhang, who came from a noble family.

The two had already finalized the candidate, and it was indeed Shi Gaofei, just as Li Hao had guessed.

Zhou You breathed a sigh of relief; it was finally over, and he could return to the training grounds to practice his punches, which was better than standing here like a piece of background scenery.

Suddenly, he heard a gentle voice, "You must be Zhou You, right!"

Swish, swish, swish—the gazes of the crowd followed where Qi Fengzhang was pointing and instantly converged on Zhou You.

Under the watchful eyes of everyone, Qi Fengzhang nodded at Zhou You, "I heard your footwork is exceptional and that you developed a Lightness Skill using the Tiger-Leaping Ravine as your foundation. It is a pity you haven't reached the Blood-Qi realm, otherwise, you would certainly be of great use on this trip."

The surrounding Apprentices were so envious their eyes turned red; to have such good luck, being spotted by Senior Brother Qi at a single glance among the crowd.

Also, what was this about footwork and Lightness Skill?

For a moment, the Apprentices whispered to one another, sharing information about Zhou You.

"Master also mentioned this matter. Although Zhou You's force is proficient, it is still not enough to deal with the flower-plucking thief, so he has to stay by the Junior Sister's side as a guard; we must prioritize our own first!"

Big Senior Brother Lu Qiang explained.

What, force is proficient?

How long had Zhou You been in the Outer Courtyard? He had reached this stage without making a sound.

Among the Outer Court Apprentices, there were some who had arrived even earlier than Zhou You and were still struggling to break through to Intermediate Force, with proficient force being even further out of reach.

What kind of concept was it to reach proficient force at Zhou You's age?

Hmm, previously, Mao Laoliu of the Jiba Martial Arts Hall brought Mao Lang over to show off, and it was the exact same situation.

Li Hao shrugged at Zhou You; sorry, it was Big Senior Brother who leaked the secret.

After today, Zhou You would become one of the few top-tier Apprentices in the Outer Courtyard.

However, in the eyes of the big shots, he was just a slightly outstanding junior.

Qi Fengzhang swept a glance at Zhou You, did not linger for long, and nodded at Lu Qiang, "No need to see me off further."

He turned around and left the martial arts hall.

Zhou You stood straight with his eyes on his nose, ignoring the gazes around him.

Out of the corner of his eye, he suddenly saw a familiar hem of a skirt flash by in a certain corner.

It was Wang Yan; she had been hiding in the shadows just now, secretly watching Qi Fengzhang the whole time.

(End of chapter)