Chapter 126: Ambushed Upon Stepping Out

The ancient book was indeed very old; the paper was coarse, and tree bark fibers were visible to the naked eye.

Zhou You scanned the cover, recognizing only two of the five characters: "Heaven-Reaching."

Since the Xu Family used this item as a reward, no one else could find fault with it.

Great clans prioritize heritage above all else; their daily necessities are all antiques with a documented history—the teacups they drink from and the bowls they eat from are all at least a century old.

Books carry knowledge, and given the fragility of paper, anything that has been passed down from ancient times is worth a fortune.

The key is that this thing is difficult to convert into cash.

"The book is not bad; I'll take it."

Aside from gold and silver, the remaining bounty items were not very large in volume.

Zhou You packed them up, slung them over his back, and cupped his hands to thank the two Clan Heads in the hall.

"Not waiting until dawn to leave?"

This question was asked by Qi Fengzhang.

Zhou You waved his hand, "Dawn won't come just by waiting; one still has to walk on their own. As you walk, dawn will come."

He tightened his pack, and before stepping over the threshold of the silver shop, he looked back into the room.

"Does anyone else have anything to say?"

No one answered.

Zhou You smiled, turned, and walked out of the Heaven Silver Shop.

After he left, Qi Fengzhang asked in confusion, "Clan Head, are we just letting him go like this?"

"What else? Killing to seize wealth—that is too base."

"100,000 taels is an astronomical price to others, but it is nothing to my Qi Family."

"Fengzhang, as a great clan, the wealth in our eyes is a stable and orderly order. As long as order exists, wealth can be obtained continuously from top to bottom; it will not be severed for a hundred or a thousand years."

"Killing the Flower-Plucking Thief is to stabilize order, and honoring the bounty is to prove the fair operation of order."

"Relying on destroying order to seek profit is the path of base people."

Clan Head Xu did not speak; he knew that these words from Clan Head Qi were mostly meant for him to hear.

He sneered and remained silent.

A long while later, a faint voice drifted from the courtyard.

"If Lu Zhigang can live until tomorrow, his name will be known throughout all of Gongliang City."

Killing the Flower-Plucking Thief brings both fame and fortune, but the prerequisite is that you must be alive to enjoy this honor.

The street was pitch black and deathly quiet.

Zhou You narrowed his eyes, hearing breathing sounds rising and falling; some were strong, some weak, some chaotic, some steady.

"Trial Project (2-Star): Protect your wealth, fight your way out of the encirclement."

"Hostile targets exceed 3; conditions met, activating Battlefield Perspective."

In an instant, the terrain from all directions compressed into a three-dimensional model, displayed before him in every detail.

Dense red dots gathered around the silver shop; the light points varied in strength, reflecting their different levels of power.

"Zhou You, the Wild Fox Gang has come to collect a blood debt from you. Return the life of my brother, Tu Laoer."

Swish! Swish!

Seven or eight blade-wielders lunged from the darkness, their blade light weaving into a net that instantly engulfed Zhou You.

A goose cry sounded on the flat ground, and dozens of layers of Feather Qi manifested on his surface.

Sparks flew from Zhou You's body; his hands turned into claws and struck like lightning, snatching two men from the blade net and snapping their necks with a crisp crack.

"Haha, insects, you are all insects."

He struck a blade-wielder away with one palm; the man died in mid-air, his face covered in spreading poison gas.

The Wild Fox Gang Leader's pupils shrank, and he turned to dodge the corpse of his subordinate.

A fresh breeze blew toward his face—it was the palm wind struck by Zhou You.

"Clang!"

The Wild Fox Gang Leader held his breath, raised his hand, and threw a punch, landing squarely in the center of Zhou You's palm.

The palm was cold and hard; it turned out he was wearing gauntlets.

The Wild Fox Gang Leader was an expert at Qi and Blood 3rd Stage and had long since made ample preparations, using the gauntlets to isolate the Palm Poison. His confidence surged, and he threw his fist like a stone cannon, aiming for Zhou You's chest.

Swish! Zhou You's silhouette instantly turned translucent; he executed his Lightness Skill, and his speed soared abruptly.

Not only did he dodge the Wild Fox Gang Leader's killing blow, but he also landed a second, solid Poison Palm strike on his shoulder.

"Hmm, wrapped in cowhide!"

Zhou You frowned slightly; this guy had racked his brains to guard against his Poison Palm.

It was a pity he hadn't yet mastered the ultimate technique of 'Transmit Poison Through Objects,' otherwise, even if he had worn a layer of iron shell, he wouldn't have been able to defend against it.

The sound of wind was constant all around; one expert after another arrived, and listening closely, they were all at the Qi and Blood level.

Zhou You knew that if he didn't leave now, he would be trapped in a heavy encirclement.

Just as he started to move, the Wild Fox Gang Leader caught up, "Lu Zhigang, don't even think about running!"

Zhou You didn't even look at him, leaping directly into mid-air like a large bird spreading its wings.

The Wild Fox Gang Leader reached out, attempting to grab his ankle, but felt a wave of dizziness.

Poisoned? He had clearly made ample preparations; how could he still be invaded by the Palm Poison? Zhou You sneered, "You vermin, wherever the palm wind passes, poison covers the ground. You can guard against fist and palm contact, but can you guard against breathing?"

"Guard against the contact between pores and the air."

If the Seven Step Poison Sand palm could be blocked by mere gauntlets and cowhide, wouldn't it be a joke? Just as Zhou You leaped onto a roof, two Qi and Blood martial artists rushed out from the left and right.

"Lu Zhigang, a favor in the pugilistic world—lend us a few of your treasures to use."

Another one here to loot a burning house.

Two Blood-Qi martial artists flanked him from left and right, blocking his only path, having long since calculated that Zhou You had nowhere left to retreat.

The next moment, Zhou You's speed surged instantly, and he slipped through the gap between the two men.

It was simply inconceivable.

The two Blood-Qi martial artists looked back; that gap was too narrow for even a rabbit to squeeze through, let alone a grown man.

Was the Lightness Skill of Du Yan Lu Zhigang actually this formidable? While they were still marveling, they suddenly felt an itch on their backs, and a terrifying numbness spread from their skin deep into their flesh.

It turned out that as he brushed past them, Zhou You had casually gifted each of them a palm strike.

Swish! Swish!

A rain of blood fell in mid-air, and amidst the sound of tearing air, the remains, split in two, plummeted down.

There were actually Force-stage martial artists who didn't know whether to live or die, lying in ambush on both sides of the roof, attempting a sneak attack.

Zhou You unleashed a killing move of the Yanxing Quan, directly snatching one hand and one foot from his opponents, lifting them into mid-air, and tearing them apart.

Too fierce, too venomous.

Du Yan Lu Zhigang turned this street into a bloodbath; some martial artists hiding in the shadows, hoping to pick up a bargain, were caught in the wake of his palm wind if they weren't careful, becoming poisoned and collapsing to the ground.

It was chaotic, completely plunged into chaos.

This bunch of desperadoes had no connections and no ability, and though they couldn't find the Flower-Plucking Thief, they had the guts to provoke Zhou You.

Zhou You did not indulge them either, wantonly slaughtering the martial artists blocking his path.

"Whoosh! Whoosh!"

The surrounding Blood-Qi martial artists had already reached double digits, most of them watching and waiting for his blood-Qi to be exhausted before making a move.

For those who practice martial arts, the greatest taboo is to be caught in a siege; there has always been the saying that two fists are no match for four hands.

Zhou You knew this well, and from the start, he had been using the mobility of his Lightness Skill to bypass the Blood-Qi martial artists, focusing on attacking the weaker Force-stage ones in an attempt to break open a path out.

However, more and more Blood-Qi martial artists arrived, and there was no hope of escape.

"Lu Zhigang, you value money over your life, why bother?"

"Bullshit." Zhou You spat, "Money and my life, I want both; none of you can take them away."

The Blood-Qi martial artists surrounding him numbered as many as six or seven; seeing this, they attacked in unison, their various ultimate moves pouring out one after another.

The air seemed to solidify.

The space around Zhou You turned into a meat grinder; anyone caught within it would not escape the fate of being smashed to pieces.

Even if his Lightness Skill were even more formidable, trapped deep in a death trap, he could not fly away even with wings now.

(End of chapter)