Chapter 140: The Martial Master's Pursuit

"Trial Project (Two-Star Level): Break the bully's ambush and successfully reclaim the wealth—completed. Experience Points +300."

"Trial Project (Three-Star Level): This matter is not as simple as it appears on the surface; there is a conspiracy hidden behind it and even stronger enemies. You must find the truth while ensuring your own safety. Project in progress."

Hearing the panel's notification, Zhou You took two extra looks at the other party.

So these two weren't the masterminds after all! He was suddenly interested; he might as well play along with them and see who was pulling the strings tonight.

"Lu Zhigang, we want you to kill someone."

Bao Fan did not stand on ceremony and stated the purpose of this trip directly.

Zhou You thought to himself, as expected, the Iron Peak Martial Arts Hall was going to make a move against his own, and they weren't even doing it themselves, but hiring outsiders.

A sense of irony rose in his heart; were they asking him to strike at his own fellow disciples?

More money, he definitely needed more money! Everyone in the martial arts hall was his fellow disciple, akin to flesh and blood; he wouldn't do it for any amount of money!

"Who is the target? And what price are you offering?"

Zhou You asked coldly.

Bao Fan and the Mastiff Gang Leader exchanged a look; only looking at the target and asking nothing else, straight to the point—professional enough.

Bao Fan said, "I want you to kill Wang Jianxiong!"

What? Asking me to kill my master, to commit such an act of betrayal!

This time, even more money wouldn't work; it wasn't that he couldn't get past his conscience, but that it was impossible.

After entering the Inner Courtyard, he had the good fortune to be personally taught by Wang Jianxiong, coming into close contact with a powerhouse at the Martial Master level.

It is no exaggeration to say that the difference of one major realm meant they were completely different species.

Don't let the old man's thin, withered appearance fool you; he hid terrifying power within.

A light press of his withered, twig-like hand could instantly erupt with destructive force comparable to a crusher, capable of leveling a stone hill.

His skin trembling, blood flowing—the power circulating within that close proximity was enough to twist and deform steel.

Even the airflow from his breathing could kill a wild dog ten meters away from a distance.

Even if Zhou You exhausted all his trump cards and risked his life, it was unlikely he could even break a sliver of the old man's skin.

"Are you kidding me? Why don't you ask me to go kill Bao Tiefeng?"

Zhou You changed his expression on the spot; this wasn't a transaction, it was deliberately sending him to his death.

Since that was the case, talk over, time to leave!

A faint voice came from behind, making Zhou You's hair stand on end instantly, his whole body feeling as if it had fallen into an ice cellar.

"Kill me? You have quite the nerve!"

A line of text appeared on the surface: "Trial Project (Four-Star Level) completed. The mastermind has appeared: Bao Tiefeng."

"Experience Points +1000."

Zhou You heard the Mastiff Gang Leader and Bao Fan salute and address him: "Junior Martial Uncle, Master."

A figure appeared abruptly before him, the ground beneath his feet having been empty just a moment before.

In Zhou You's perception, this person was like someone who had emerged from the ground, without leaving a single trace.

Whether it was an ambush or a high-speed approach from afar, there should have been signs, yet the other party had none.

There was only one answer: it was Bao Tiefeng himself.

Only a Martial Master possessed such speed, surpassing the limits of his perception, crossing a long distance at extreme speed to appear on the scene instantly.

Compared to this, the Lightness Skill Zhou You prided himself on was simply a drop in the ocean.

"Lu Zhigang, I've finally met you."

Bao Tiefeng was a burly old man with a half-gray beard; looking at his features, one could not see a shadow of Bao Shuixian.

He simply stood there, and to Zhou You, he felt like an insurmountable chasm.

"Lu Zhigang, Master has also come; this is our sincerity."

"We have been planning the matter of killing Wang Jianxiong for a long time; it must be you."

"Only your Poison Palm can sneak up on him, making him unknowingly poisoned and his strength greatly reduced." Zhou You understood instantly, "And then, you challenge him and beat Wang Laohu to death fair and square?"

"Correct. Once I swallow Wang Laohu's territory and family business, my Mastiff Fist will be the number one martial arts hall in Gongliang."

The Mastiff Gang Leader and Bao Fan's eyes were filled with ambition; this was their common goal.

Bao Tiefeng said nothing; this had been his intention all along.

Zhou You felt a chill; in a sense, Bao Tiefeng and Wang Laohu were the same type of power-hungry overlord.

He felt as if he could smell the impending storm of blood.

"With my meager skills, I can't even sneak into the martial arts hall, so how can I get close enough to him to strike with my palm?"

The Jian Xiong Martial Arts Hall had tight Defense; when the flower-plucking thieves were rampant, they didn't even dare to go near the vicinity.

The Mastiff Gang Leader patted his chest, "That's easy to handle; we've already planned it for you."

"Recently, Wang Laohu took in a new Disciple whom he dotes on, often keeping him by his side for Instruction, eating and living together."

"This person is named Winged Tiger Zhou You; he is a commoner youth in the city, and both his parents are still alive."

"You only need to kidnap his parents and threaten him into helping you; sneaking into the martial arts hall will be no problem."

Huh? I'm eating melons and it turns out to be my own.

Zhou You pondered seriously: Is it okay for you to talk about kidnapping my parents right in front of me?

The Mastiff Gang Leader had a truly vicious eye, hitting his weak spot exactly; he might not care about others, but his parents were Zhou You's greatest weakness.

These guys were ill-intentioned; if he really did this, Zhou You would be a traitor with no way out, and even if Lu Zhigang found an opportunity to sneak an attack, he would not escape Wang Jianxiong's final strike upon discovery.

In other words, whether it was Zhou You or Lu Zhigang, they were both pawns used for a trade-off.

The other party's true target was Wang Jianxiong! "Ahem!"

Zhou You felt his throat itch; he absolutely could not agree.

Zhou You remained calm, channeling his Palm Poison into his palms and quietly dispersing it into the air.

The leader of the Mourning Dog Gang and Bao Fan were nothing, but with a Martial Master like Bao Tiefeng present, the difficulty of escaping rose to hellish levels.

The only plan for now was to secretly spread the Palm Poison and catch the opponent off guard.

"Audacious!"

A thunderclap on flat ground, the roar like a dog's bark, shook the walls until they cracked.

Bao Tiefeng raised his hands and rubbed them together lightly, causing the surrounding breeze to swirl and compress.

In the blink of an eye, the invisible poison Zhou You had dispersed into the air was all gathered by him from a distance into a transparent wind sphere.

One could see him exhale a slight force from his palms; without ever touching the wind sphere, he trapped all the poison tightly.

Was the power of a Martial Master actually this terrifying? "Lu Zhigang, you are wild and untamable; you are better off dead than alive!"

Bao Tiefeng flicked his wrists, and the palm force he exhaled flung the wind sphere out.

It covered the tens of meters in a single breath; the wind sphere broke through the air with a heavy, iron-ball-like momentum, slamming solidly into Zhou You's chest.

The General Unloading Armor Great Cloak, this Hard Qigong technique, was instantly crushed, and the Hard Qigong was broken on the spot.

Zhou You let out a cry toward the sky, spitting out the airflow that had been violently compressed in his chest.

Struck by the wind sphere, his body flew backward like a torn sack, suddenly accelerating in mid-air.

"Master, this brat is using the force to escape."

Bao Fan suddenly cried out in alarm.

Zhou You's entire body was wrapped in dense Feather Qi, a patch of his chest was sunken in, and more Qi wrapped around his arms and legs, flapping like wings as his speed grew faster and faster.

Bao Tiefeng's eyelids twitched slightly, and without even bending his knees, he leaped into the air in the blink of an eye.

His body transformed into a massive black cloud under the night sky, chasing after Zhou You.

His goal was clear: if he could not be used by me, then he must be slaughtered.

(End of this chapter)