Chapter 206: No Fire to Vent

"This Disciple dares not!"

Seeing Shen Sijing and the others arrive, Zhou You knew his advance arrangements had taken effect.

But he also knew these people were far from enough.

Everyone knew Wang Laohu's personality; he responded to soft tactics but not hard ones. Making him unhappy would only be counterproductive.

Therefore, he still had a backup plan...

"Big Senior Brother, return to the martial arts hall!"

Blocking Lu Qiang's path was none other than the gloomy Jiang Hua.

He had traveled through dust and wind to intercept Lu Qiang, who was returning from out of town, and insisted on dragging him back to the martial arts hall to discuss matters.

Lu Qiang was greatly shocked; he knew the other man's personality well and was surprised that anyone could actually get him to act.

Jiang Hua's life had been full of hardships, leading to an extreme personality filled with hatred. Even Wang Laohu had determined he could not tame this Disciple, maintaining only a half-master-disciple relationship with him.

It was hard for Lu Qiang to imagine that anyone could convince Jiang Hua to make this trip.

"Zhou You has returned to the martial arts hall. If Big Senior Brother is not present, I fear there will be no way to have a peaceful conversation with Master!"

Jiang Hua stated his purpose concisely.

"It's Zhou You! How did you all get mixed up together?"

Lu Qiang was shocked beyond measure, suddenly realizing that among the Inner Courtyard Disciples, besides himself and Lu Jianqing, the others were all more or less standing on Zhou You's side.

Shen Sijing, Jiang Hua, and Zhou You himself...

As for Shi Gaofei, he was lazy and a coward, so he didn't count!

He had a bad premonition; if today's affairs were not handled well, the Jian Xiong Martial Arts Hall would split.

Although the core of the martial arts hall was Master Wang Jianxiong, as long as the old man was still there, he could recruit Disciples and train them slowly to recover their vitality.

But what time was this? A chaotic era was coming, and every family was expanding their strength and recruiting skilled hands. The martial arts hall currently had a great enemy eyeing them like a tiger.

Once there was infighting in the martial arts hall, Bao Tiefeng would be the first to grin from ear to ear, occupying the upper hand without any effort.

"Let's go quickly."

Lu Qiang grabbed Jiang Hua, his speed as fast as a whirlwind, sweeping across the tens of meters of street in the blink of an eye and blowing over the roadside stalls.

At the entrance of the Jian Xiong Martial Arts Hall, the Apprentices were panicked and at a loss, not knowing what had happened.

Injured Apprentices lay in the corners, clutching their heads and wounds while groaning incessantly.

"Big Senior Brother is back!"

Seeing Lu Qiang return, they felt as if they had seen their backbone and rushed forward, wanting to say something.

Lu Qiang and Jiang Hua did not linger, pushing aside the Apprentices on both sides and rushing into the martial arts hall.

From afar, they heard Wang Jianxiong's voice: "You have all arrived; it is convenient for me to purge the sect."

"Jianqing, watch closely; I am going to leave you a clean martial arts hall."

Hearing this, the hairs on Lu Qiang's body stood up, and he cried out in terror, "Master, you must not."

In his desperation, he accelerated, stumbling forward and falling to his knees before Wang Jianxiong.

A man of forty or fifty years old, he hugged his master's aged feet: "Master, you cannot do this; they are all your Disciples!"

Even if Wang Jianxiong was cold-blooded, he could not be so with Lu Qiang. The relationship between this Disciple and him far surpassed that of blood relatives, equivalent to half a son.

He saw Jiang Hua, who had brought Lu Qiang back, and his heart became perfectly clear.

Wang Laohu, raising a tiger to cause trouble—what a massive joke.

Among the Inner Courtyard Disciples, Zhou You had won over Shen Sijing, Jiang Hua, and Shi Gaofei, totaling 4 people.

And as the master, he only had 2 people left under his command, one of whom, Lu Qiang, was still bitterly trying to persuade him.

"Zhou You, you are testing my bottom line, betting on whether I have the courage to break and then rebuild."

Wang Jianxiong laughed aloud, "Bao Tiefeng's methods are brilliant; I have to admire them. With a slight application of his means, he made you bold enough to rebel against me." Several Disciples hurriedly argued that they absolutely had no two-hearted intention of betraying the sect.

Seeing him escalate the matter, Zhou You knew he couldn't remain silent.

"Master, I am a person of the martial arts hall in life and a ghost of the martial arts hall in death; I have never thought of betrayal."

"Bao Tiefeng used a Property Deed to bribe me and used his daughter's marriage to tempt me, but this Disciple refused both; my loyalty can be witnessed by Heaven and Earth."

Mentioning Bao Tiefeng's attempt to marry off his daughter, Shen Sijing was shocked, and the fellow Disciples beside him were also moved.

To use an analogy, this treatment was equivalent to Wang Jianxiong marrying Wang Yan to Lu Jianqing.

Although Bao Tiefeng's daughter was a widow who had been married twice, he had no sons, and a son-in-law would be qualified to inherit the martial arts hall's family business in the future.

This matter could not be fabricated; a little inquiry would confirm whether it was true or not.

Wang Jianxiong was speechless. No matter how he had mistreated Zhou You in the past, there would never have been much of a reaction within the martial arts hall.

After all, a master is a master, and the word "father" is somewhat involved; all arrangements made by an elder are reasonable.

But now, the price offered by an outsider shook the reasonableness of his decision.

The chips Bao Tiefeng used to bribe him directly proved Zhou You's value! The Tie Feng Martial Arts Hall was thirsty for talent and aimed to cultivate Zhou You as an heir, yet in the Jian Xiong Martial Arts Hall, he was just a neglected punching bag.

If outsiders cherished him so much, why did Wang Jianxiong, as his master, want to put him to death instead? Wang Jianxiong's face flushed red; he knew the situation was no longer simple.

"Zhou You, are you certain that I dare not beat you to death?"

Wang Jianxiong paced three times and stopped in front of him, shouting in a deep voice, "In all these years in Gongliang City, if I cannot even handle one disobedient Disciple, it will be a laughingstock if it gets out."

"Master, this Disciple does not fear death, only dying unjustly."

"With my benevolent master above, I beg you to give me justice."

The next moment, a figure rushed out from the side and knelt on the ground, pleading with Wang Jianxiong.

"Martial arts hall disciple Zuo Shier wishes to testify for Senior Brother Zhou; he absolutely has no intention of betrayal."

"My Two Hearts Fist was destroyed by the Tie Feng Martial Arts Hall, and I am at irreconcilable odds with Bao Tiefeng. If Senior Brother Zhou had any two-hearted intentions, there would be no need for the Hall Master to give an order; I would be the first to risk my life fighting him."

"But Senior Brother Zhou is innocent, and I, Zuo Shier, will also vouch for him, vouching with my life."

The one who spoke was Zuo Shier, the Disciple who had defected to the Two Hearts Fist.

Only now did all the Disciples notice this blood-energy martial artist, remembering that Zuo Shier was also a die-hard loyalist of Zhou You.

"Master, please calm your anger; Zhou You is innocent, and this Disciple will vouch for him."

Lu Qiang's voice was somewhat hoarse as he knocked his head against the dirt and spoke.

Then, Shen Sijing, Shi Gaofei, Jiang Hua, and the rest of the group all knelt in unison before the old man.

With their heads knocked against the ground and their necks exposed, this was one of the most vulnerable vital points of the human body.

From the perspective of Wang Jianxiong, he could break the necks of these Disciples with a single lift of his hand, yet he could not bring himself to do so.

Wang Jianxiong looked at Zhou You; everyone else had knelt, yet he alone remained standing.

He knew that Zhou You was demonstrating his defiance.

"Zhou You, I ask you, what do you intend to do next?"

Wang Jianxiong began to reason, "You have not yet reached the Martial Master realm and have no qualifications to open a martial arts school; you are still far from being able to establish your own sect."

"If you leave the Jian Xiong Martial Arts School, you will have to face the storms outside all on your own; don't count on Bao Tiefeng to take you in—his goal of sowing discord has been achieved, and it is impossible for him to want you now."

His words were more piercing than fists or kicks, exposing a bloody, harsh reality.

Today's conflict was a lose-lose situation; Wang Jianxiong's prestige was greatly damaged, and Zhou You had also completely fallen out with the martial arts school.

From this day forward, with Zhou You leaving the protection of the martial arts school, he could only rely on his own efforts, which would be countless times harder than before.

However...

Zhou You had obtained the freedom he wanted most.

(End of this chapter)