Chapter 197: The Advantage of the False Face

After the gang of Hua Zhuomo was wiped out, the reputation of Du Yan Lu Zhigang was finally established in the martial arts circles of Fucheng.

This group of villains had committed many evils, but because they had not offended any truly powerful figures, they had remained at large until now.

Countless people hated them to the core; upon hearing the news of their deaths, they were wild with joy and wished they could set off firecrackers to celebrate.

There was an interlude during this time!

The down-and-out Intermediate Martial Master Zhang Huaimin took the face of the wanted criminal Gao Laozhuang to claim the reward, explicitly stating he had come on behalf of his sworn brother, which sparked a round of discussion.

Of course, these trivial matters were chaotic and occurred in Fucheng every day, numbering far more than a thousand; true big shots would not pay attention to such things.

After leaving Fucheng, Zhou You stopped halfway along his journey back, finding a quiet, deserted corner.

He spread his palm and summoned the Armory's False Face; a human face emerged on his palm, belonging to Zhou You himself.

The eyes of the human face opened, and the skin, muscles, blood vessels, and bones of his entire body began to squirm and change.

He had switched between different identities countless times, so he could be called well-versed in the process.

However, an unusual situation occurred this time.

The red dot on the back of Zhou You's hand was the Qi and blood injected by his cheap elder brother Zhang Huaimin, which had originally been stuck to his skin like a maggot on a bone.

When the False Face reclaimed the identity of Lu Zhigang, it actually caused the red dot to tremble violently, showing faint signs of detaching.

Seeing this, Zhou You was overjoyed and slapped his forehead; how had he not thought of this?

Zhang Huaimin's Qi and blood brand was bound to the identity of Lu Zhigang himself.

After the switch via the False Face, his next identity was Zhou You, so this tracker naturally had nothing to do with him.

The problem that had originally given him a headache was actually solved so easily?

After a few breaths, Zhou You returned to his original appearance and raised his hand to examine the back of his hand; the red dot had long since vanished without a trace.

The False Face emerged on his palm, and a glimmer of red light flickered on the face representing Lu Zhigang.

"Old brother, it's not that I'm not being loyal, it's that you can't reach me!"

In a garden in Fucheng, Zhang Huaimin was embracing two beautiful women, teasing them into drinking and playing finger-guessing games.

"Master Zhang, how do you have the money to take care of us sisters today!"

Cha Zi and Yanhong were the top stars of this garden; they claimed to be sisters to the outside world, but no one knew if they were truly related by blood.

Yanhong was beautiful and Cha Zi was curvaceous; together, they had a unique charm that made countless patrons flock to them.

Zhang Huaimin laughed happily, "I made a little money recently."

Don't let his old age fool you; his blade was still sharp.

Those who practiced martial arts could control their Qi and blood to strengthen their physical bodies; by the time they reached the level of a Martial Master, not only was their lifespan extended to two or three times that of an ordinary person, but their capabilities were also far beyond the reach of commoners.

As far as the old man's ability was concerned, satisfying ten women in a night was child's play.

"I recently recognized a little brother; when I entertain him in the future, you two must serve him well."

Cha Zi and Yanhong giggled, "What a coincidence, we sisters will battle you brothers to see who is stronger."

Suddenly, Zhang Huaimin's expression changed, and he pushed the two women away.

The fruit platter and wine glasses were knocked over onto the floor, instantly staining the gorgeous carpet.

The old Martial Master flicked his index finger slightly, his internal Qi and blood surging as he vibrated the distant brand's resonance at a unique frequency.

However, no matter how he urged it, it remained like a stone sinking into the sea with no response.

There was only one possibility: Lu Zhigang, along with his person and his Qi and blood, had been swallowed by some mysterious and terrifying existence.

Anything capable of swallowing his Qi and blood and blocking all resonance was definitely a top-tier monster he could not hope to look up to.

What a pity! Zhang Huaimin gave up on contacting him, thinking that this Du Yan was his shortest-lived sworn brother.

"What are you staring for? Drink, drink the wedding wine."...

Zhou You was sprinting across the desolate wilderness, his heart burning with excitement.

The identities provided by the False Face were distinct second personalities, from body and mind to appearance, and even down to martial arts techniques and boxing styles.

Even the Qi and blood differed according to the different personalities.

Because Zhang Huaimin's Qi and blood brand was bound to the identity, the danger of his true self being exposed was also avoided.

This matter gave him inspiration! The Lu Zhigang persona mainly practiced Yanxing Quan, but because he lacked advanced boxing techniques, he switched to the Seven Step Poison Sand palm.

And the more profound this Poison Palm technique was practiced, the more inevitably one would walk toward a dead end.

In the early stages, a Heart-Protecting Pill served as a barrier to protect the heart from the intrusion of poison gas, but by the middle and late stages of Qi and blood, the entire body's Qi and blood had to be replaced at least once, and the heart could be no exception.

This led to the inevitable invasion of the heart by the poison gas.

The Poison Palm technique was strange and ruthless, harming both others and oneself; once practiced to the end, it naturally developed an inertia, and even if you wanted to stop, it was impossible unless you crippled your own palm power.

Therefore, when practiced to the end, only two choices remained.

One: Cripple the Poison Palm's power, completely becoming a cripple with weak limbs, even worse than an ordinary person, and dying of various illnesses before reaching forty or fifty.

Two: Seek life through death, guiding the Palm Poison into the heart, merging the entire body and mind with the Palm Poison, and becoming a poison person.

The second path was extremely dangerous, with a mortality rate as high as 99.99%, meaning only one in ten thousand could survive.

There were already few people who practiced the Poison Palm, which meant that those who broke through to become Martial Masters were even rarer than phoenix feathers and unicorn horns.

Zhou You's original idea was to avoid taking risks as much as possible and, when the time was right, see if he could use the panel to bypass this hurdle.

Or simply suppress the Poison Palm's realm, letting the Lu Zhigang persona stop at the late stage of Qi and blood, which, combined with various secret techniques, was enough for self-defense for now.

But now...

"The Qi and blood circulation of the true self and the persona are separated by the False Face; Lu Zhigang guiding the Palm Poison into his heart will not affect the true self."

In this way, the room for operation was much broader.

Of course, this was just a hypothesis.

Zhou You's most important task at present was to accumulate Experience Points and forcibly raise his second persona, Yan Ping, to the level of a Martial Master.

Before that, all Experience Points must be saved; practicing boxing and techniques would rely on practice.

After deep deliberation on the road and formulating a plan for the next 1-2 years, his mood became much more at ease.

After he returned to his old home, he felt slightly apprehensive; he had been away for too long this time.

Although he used the excuse of accompanying the Granduncle, if he did not show his face for too long, it was hard to guarantee his father and mother would not grow suspicious.

"The Young Master has returned!"

Seeing Zhou You return, the Granduncle respectfully bowed to him, "Everything at home is fine."

Anyone who has worked in construction knows that once things get busy, there is no distinction between men and women, day and night, sunny or rainy, or even between the construction site and the dormitory.

The renovation of the old house was more than half finished, and for the sake of his family's feng shui, he had to worry about every brick and tile.

His mother was in charge of logistics, leading a group of village aunties to cook meals, boil soup, and wash clothes.

The couple was spinning around in circles, so how could they spare any attention for Zhou You? The Granduncle would occasionally send word, saying he was very satisfied with Zhou You and wanted him to stay a few more days to chat.

Because his son was favored by the Granduncle, Zhou Laodie's status within the clan became stable, and the petty incidents of villagers trying to take advantage of them gradually decreased.

Coupled with the secret care of Zhou Laiwei, the family of Zhou Laodie vaguely began to receive the treatment of respectable people in the village.

Zhou You breathed a sigh of relief after hearing this; it was good that he hadn't been exposed. The hardest part about secrets in this world is keeping them from one's own family.

(End of this chapter)