Chapter 204: Dayin Mountain, Return to the Hall

Few in Gongliang City know the past of Wang Jianxiong before he came here.

He brought Lu Qiang and the infant Wang Yan here from elsewhere to put down roots, and in the blink of an eye, over twenty years have passed.

In these twenty years, he forged the reputation of a "Sovereign Tiger" and became one of the top Martial Masters in Gongliang City.

Regarding the origins of his sect, people have many guesses, but none are reliable.

"Dayin Mountain is one of the sects founded for powerful martial arts, specializing in the 'Nine Oxen and Two Tigers Divine Strength Dragon-Tiger Qi'."

"The location is 5,800 li west of Gongliang City; the mountains are occupied by packs of tigers and are rich in beasts, with hundred-meter-long exotic tigers often soaring through the air."

"The sect enforces a bloody elimination promotion system; the winners advance, while the eliminated are either killed or crippled."

"Our Hall Master only left Dayin Mountain to seek his own path after an incident occurred while he was promoting from an Intermediate Martial Master to a Senior Martial Master, causing his realm to fall and leaving him with no future."

"Commander Chen was a close friend of his when they were in the sect and also came out of Dayin Mountain; his Tiger Head Blade can cut through gold and jade."

It was Li Hao who spoke eloquently, pointing out the landscape and reeling off these old stories with ease.

Zhou You listened intently, only reacting after a long while, "How do you know all this?"

Li Hao's status in the martial arts hall is even lower than his own, so it is unlikely he learned such confidential information from Wang Laohu.

On the second day after returning to Gongliang City, Li Hao brought 5 jin of beef to visit and check on how his recovery was going.

As the two chatted, they eventually talked about the background of the Hall Master, Wang Jianxiong.

What Zhou You did not expect was that Li Hao was completely clear on the matter and gave him an on-the-spot lecture.

"I came here this time to tell you that I am going to graduate from the martial arts hall."

Li Hao explained, "I have an uncle in Fucheng who is a life-and-death friend of my father; he was previously in seclusion practicing boxing and didn't know what happened to my family."

"He has recently made a breakthrough and, upon learning of my family's situation, discussed with my mother about taking our family over there."

"It just so happens that I haven't broken through in Qi and Blood yet and don't belong to the Core Disciples of the martial arts hall, so it is convenient for me to transfer to my uncle's tutelage."

"Everything regarding the Hall Master was told to me by that uncle."

Being able to open a martial arts hall in Fucheng, Li Hao's uncle must have significant ability; no wonder he could make Wang Laohu concede and agree to let Li Hao go.

Although Li Hao does not progress as quickly as Zhou You, he is still a seed player who has broken through in Qi and Blood and belongs to the backbone of the martial arts hall.

"After I leave the martial arts hall, you..."

Li Hao thought of how Xu Ying and Shen Sijing had both left the hall, and now that it was his turn, Zhou You had no old friends left by his side.

He gritted his teeth, "The martial arts hall is not a place to stay for long; you should find a way to leave as soon as possible."

The current martial arts hall is completely the world of Lu Jianqing.

Especially since Wang Laohu took him back to the sect for a pilgrimage, it has been confirmed that he will inherit his mantle.

Big Senior Brother Lu Qiang has already stepped down, Lu Jianqing has become Wang Jianxiong's most trusted Disciple, and all Apprentices follow his lead.

"I know, there are still some things I haven't figured out; I'll talk about it after I'm done."

After seeing Li Hao off, Zhou You told his mother that afternoon that he was going to the martial arts hall.

Considering he was still on sick leave, this trip was not to cancel his leave, but to report some matters to the Hall Master.

The inner and outer scenery of the Jianxiong Martial Arts Hall was just like yesterday, and the shouts of the Apprentices rose and fell.

"Zhou You, aren't you recovering from an illness? What are you doing at the martial arts hall?"

The Outer Courtyard was being taught by "Lazy Tiger" Shi Gaofei, who was surprised to see Zhou You appear and asked subconsciously, "Looking for Master?"

"Yeah, is he home?"

Before Shi Gaofei could say anything, a crisp female voice rang out, "He's home, I'll take him to find Father."

The eldest young lady, Wang Yan, appeared out of nowhere, grabbed Zhou You's arm, and pulled him toward the Inner Courtyard.

A sound of gasping echoed all around! Shi Gaofei looked at Zhou You's back and shook his head; this Junior Brother didn't even know he was in trouble. The eldest young lady had ill intentions and was deliberately acting intimate in public just to use Zhou You as a shield.

"Don't open your mouth, just listen to me."

"Father wants me to marry Lu Jianqing, but I don't like him, and you have a grudge against him too. Shall we join forces to ruin this marriage?"

"After it's done, I have a way to let you take over this martial arts hall."

Zhou You glanced at Wang Yan; the way this eldest young lady was racking her brains was truly foolishly cute!

In matters of marriage, even a Qi and Blood expert like the Mastiff, Bao Shuixian, could not make her own decisions, let alone a delicate eldest young lady like her.

If he believed her, there would only be one result: his IQ would be lowered, and they would perish together.

"Eldest Young Lady, it's never wrong to listen to Master regarding life's major events; don't let your imagination run wild."

Zhou You slowly pried open Wang Yan's fingers, "I wish you a happy marriage and a complete family."

As soon as he finished speaking, a roar came head-on, "Zhou You, what are you doing?"

It was Lu Jianqing; this youth was already at the 3rd Stage of Qi and Blood, and the muscles and bones all over his body were even more knotted and powerful.

Seeing his fiancée and Zhou You pulling at each other, his face turned blood-red with anger, and a 'Wang' character faintly appeared on his forehead.

Zhou You saw at a glance that he must have practiced some kind of powerful Secret Technique to possess such a unique sign.

Now, his nickname, "Tiger Grand Duke," is circulating in Gongliang City.

"You're courting death!"

Lu Jianqing thought to himself that although he was at the initial stage of Qi and Blood, the gap between him and Zhou You was only one minor realm; the other party had been recovering from illness during this time, while he had progressed rapidly, already closing the gap.

The current Jianxiong Martial Arts Hall had completely become his world, so he might as well take this opportunity to kill the other party.

As soon as the thought arose, Lu Jianqing's shoulder blades bulged in rage, the muscles in his arms exploded, and gray baleful energy emerged as his Qi and Blood surged.

"White Tiger Seven Kills, No Sun or Moon."

The violent airflow stirred up by Lu Jianqing blew Wang Yan directly over the wall, landing her a hundred meters away on the other side.

Zhou You blinked; he certainly had the capital to be arrogant, as the power of this ultimate move was enough to rival the middle stage of Qi and Blood.

He sensed the other's murderous intent and thought to himself that this could not be blamed on him.

It is very reasonable for fellow disciples to have a sparring match and occasionally accidentally kill someone, right?

Zhou You exerted his Lightness Skill slightly, his body flickering like a paper effigy, and he suddenly broke free under the collision and tugging of the violent air currents.

Swish, he lunged forward, circled behind Lu Jianqing, and raised his claw to strike downward.

With a dull thud, it sounded just like a stone roller smashing onto the ground from mid-air.

Lu Jianqing stumbled a few steps and lunged forward, looking utterly wretched; at the same time, the string of wooden beads on his wrist cracked open.

These wooden beads were carved from Wang Jianxiong's tobacco pipe and contained the traces of being washed by a Martial Master's Qi and blood.

Sensing that Zhou You was about to endanger his life, they automatically burst open to protect his body.

"A Martial Master's Qi and blood! The Amulet the old man gave him."

Zhou You instinctively crossed his arms, unleashing the Glazed Longevity Fist to set up an airtight defense.

The cracked wooden beads flashed a large expanse of red light on the spot, shooting and exploding in all directions indiscriminately.

Shi Gaofei of the Outer Courtyard caught a whiff of an unusual aura and turned his head to look.

The ground of the Jian Xiong Martial Arts Hall shook violently, and a rapidly expanding mushroom cloud rose slowly; the rumbling shockwaves were as fast as galloping horses, leveling the high walls along their path and smashing bricks and stones that left the Apprentices bleeding from head wounds.

(End of this chapter)