Chapter 129: Signs of a Breakthrough

Diba Lianwuchang...

"Zhou You, the City Gate Guard is filled with experts. The outside world only knows they master the Thousand Army Breaking Evil Fist and the Scale-Beard Pill, but in reality, they have many more secrets that only a few core members know."

Li Hao inhaled like a sphere, his throat making a gurgling sound, his entire body's skin tightening and bulging, his defensive power rising abruptly.

He had already reached the stage of mastery in this Hard Qigong, General Unloading Armor Great Draping.

During their sparring, Zhou You tested his defensive limit; he could withstand a full-force blow from someone with skilled force.

Skilled force is the level of Zhou You's current Tiger-Subduing Fist, which is already quite formidable.

If he were to use his Qi and blood, a single punch would break Li Hao's Hard Qigong.

The Tiger Claw struck in a whirlwind, landing on Li Hao with a *thud-thud-thud*, his body swaying.

"I saw it too at the time; Zhang Shiyu joined the City Gate Guard."

Zhou You thought to himself that this guy had made off with his master's savings and actually found a way to join the City Gate Guard.

Not simple at all!

Zheng Qing had said he even took one of the Eight Captains as a godfather; he was truly willing to put in the effort.

"Zhou You, he is now in the City Gate Guard, and he is not in our circle, so don't worry about him."

Li Hao advised.

Although the City Gate Guard holds power, they do not interfere much in worldly affairs, and even if something happens, it is handled through the local government.

Captain Chang's daughter died a miserable death, yet he could not use the troops under his command to take revenge on the flower-plucking thief.

Zhou You nodded and backhanded a punch into Li Hao's chest.

This punch was thrown unintentionally, and he did not expect the effect to exceed his expectations.

*Pfft! *

A shrill whistle like a steam whistle came from Li Hao's mouth.

Rapid air currents spewed from his seven orifices, and his body suddenly shrank by a large margin.

The General Unloading Armor Great Draping had been broken!

Li Hao took a few breaths and looked at Zhou You's fist in surprise, "Your punch this time has strength far exceeding the past."

There was nothing special about it!

Zhou You recalled the force he had just exerted; he had not used the hidden Qi and blood of the Yanxing Quan, and what he had thrown was an ordinary Tiger-Subduing Fist.

"Are you about to break through?"

Li Hao thought of this possibility, "Good news, Zhou You. If you can achieve the Qi and blood realm, you can enter the Inner Courtyard to receive the true teachings."

The true teachings of the Jian Xiong Martial Arts Hall are called "Jade Tiger Art," which can be practiced all the way to a Martial Master.

The Tiger-Subduing Fist is merely the foundational fist technique for the Jade Tiger Art.

Zhou You felt calm in his heart; the bottleneck had finally loosened, and he had hope of breaking through to become an Inner Court Disciple.

When it came down to it, it was because he had consumed two Scale-Beard Pills.

Although the City Gate Guard's Secret Medicine, the Scale-Beard Pill, is meant to be paired with the Thousand Army Breaking Evil Fist, it still had a seventy to eighty percent effect on him.

The effect after taking it was immediate; the Qi and blood barrier was now within reach and no longer a distant prospect! Hmm, all that remained was an external force to trigger it, to take that final step! By the afternoon, he met Zhuang Tie at Tianjing Fang to practice boxing.

After throwing a few punches, Zhuang Tie also reached this conclusion.

"Your fist force is like the tide, rising and falling unpredictably; this is a sign that you are about to break through."

"During this period, you must abstain from alcohol and lust, maintain a peaceful state of mind, and try not to fight with others, lest you get injured and fall back in your realm, wasting this great opportunity."

"Hmm, your progress is considered upper-middle level."

Zhuang Tie's evaluation was hit the nail on the head and was very fair.

Zhou You had always practiced the Tiger-Subduing Fist in a down-to-earth manner, rarely using Experience Points to force an elevation.

As a sparring partner, he had witnessed Zhou You's growth all along, and although he was hired, an invisible bond of being both teacher and friend had formed.

Now that Zhou You was about to break through to the Qi and blood realm, he felt a sense of anticipation and gratification in his heart.

"Zhou You, some days ago, Beast Charms appeared in the busy streets. Although the government tried its best to suppress this news, those of us who came from Su Cheng have all experienced similar things and know that chaos is coming."

Zhuang Tie sighed, "It is a good thing that you are breaking through to the Qi and blood realm at this time; at least you will have a bit more self-preservation power." "Wang Laohu is the most realistic person; as long as you are useful to him, he will naturally promote you."

"In the future, when you leave Gongliang City, you must follow the martial arts hall and never be left alone."

These words were a true expression of his feelings and were genuinely for Zhou You's sake.

Zhou You could not hide his secret either and said, "Master Zhuang, I saw Zhang Shiyu; he joined the City Gate Guard."

"Zhang Shiyu? The City Gate Guard?"

Zhuang Tie thought of this cold and selfish junior brother, clenched his fists, and after a long time, let them go dejectedly.

"If it were half a year ago, I would have gone to his door to question him, but now, forget it."

"Master cannot hold on for many more days; I must see him to his end and have no time to bother with him!"

"Zhang Shiyu is bent on rising to power; whether he succeeds or not is his fate. I have severed all ties with him regarding the Dazhuang Fist."

The one-armed man cupped his hands toward Zhou You, "Thank you for helping me resolve my inner knot."

"I will help you with a hand to smash through the barrier of the Qi and blood realm."

In the evening, Zhou You went home to reunite with his parents.

After the flower-plucking thief died, the family moved back to their original rental, and before leaving, they cleaned Wu Yanyi's old house until it was spotless, leaving no traces or damage behind.

The lease on the rental was about to expire, and they did not intend to renew it.

This street was becoming increasingly unstable; petty theft was on the rise, and often in the middle of the night, people would sneak into homes to steal food.

The government could not manage it, and the local gangs did not care.

Constable Liu had already been transferred to patrol the core area of the city and had also taken Li Guafu and her son away.

The whole street was like abandoned farmland, gradually becoming overgrown with weeds.

"You'er, last night a family heard movement by their stove in the middle of the night. They discovered someone stealing things, and during the scuffle, the thief slashed them with a knife. Blood flowed across half the room, and they were gone before they could even be sent to the medical clinic."

"That's too terrifying! Just for a bite to eat, they went straight to murder!"

Mother ladled a full, large bowl of rice for Zhou You, the rice piled high in the bowl emitting steaming heat.

Zhou You glanced at the two elders' rice bowls and breathed a sigh of relief; everyone could eat their fill.

If 'Lu Zhigang' himself, who held one million catties of grain in his hands, let his family go hungry, that would truly be a massive joke.

Nowadays, the grain market is rising, and the value of that batch of grain increases every day, making many people covet it.

However, at the thought of Du Yan Lu Zhigang still Zang in the shadows, no one dared to lay a finger on this batch of grain.

What is Lu Zhigang's nickname? Du Yan!

If this batch of grain isn't approved by him, who would dare eat it? Are they not afraid of being poisoned!

Therefore, the one million catties of grain are stored securely in the granary.

Although Zhou You cannot move this batch of grain for the time being, no one else dares to touch it either.

"Dad, have you looked at any houses yet?"

Zhou Laocan put away his pipe and nodded, "I looked at a few, some good and some bad, but the key is still the price!"

"Don't worry about the price; the key is to live comfortably and with peace of mind."

Zhou Laodie shook his head, "We still need to save a bit; the trading firm hasn't been doing well lately, and income is going to be discounted."

"If the money isn't enough, I'll think of a way."

Zhou You patted his chest; he was a super wealthy man worth 100,000 taels, keep it low-key! "Don't bother, you'd just go and borrow from the young master of the firm, don't make things difficult for him."

Zhou Laodie waved his hand and explained the predicament of the trading firm.

It turned out that there were major problems with the trade routes outside the city, and the Shen Family Trading Firm, like other merchant caravans, had suffered heavy losses.

As the Vice President of the local trading firms, the master of the Shen family had been busy and frazzled lately, calling Shen Sijing home to help.

"Is the situation really that dire?"

Zhou You put down his chopsticks and fell into deep thought.

(End of this chapter)