Chapter 243: Rewards and Thoughts of Retreat

The Nine Cauldrons of Heaven and Man!

The Earth Sect's selection of city sites is a pursuit of the locations where the Nine Cauldrons once appeared.

The various branches of the great clans guarding major cities are, in reality, also distributed according to the trajectory of the Nine Cauldrons.

When the "Monarch" ascends the throne, they must obtain the recognition of the Nine Cauldrons to possess the orthodox status to command the world.

For a Martial Dao expert to reach the supreme realm, they must exhaust the mysteries of the Nine Cauldrons and break through the Heaven and Man barrier.

Even the City Gate Guards who watch the world's city gates for the "Monarch" bear the secret mission of collecting information on the Nine Cauldrons.

The top-secret information Zhou You obtained from Ceng Fuzi can be described as soul-stirring.

In the end, Ceng Fuzi told Zhou You never to get involved in matters related to the Nine Cauldrons of Heaven and Man.

"Those with good luck can soar to the clouds overnight, but such cases are one in ten thousand; more often, people are dragged into endless disputes, their families destroyed, and their existence wiped away without a sound."

Ultimately, if one's strength is insufficient, one must never rashly get involved in high-level games.

Strength brings status, status brings one into circles, but if your strength is insufficient, others won't even let you play!

Zhou You only took out a single incomplete character and was met with such a grave warning, making him understand the weight of the Nine Cauldrons even more.

The operation of this world is, at its root, centered around the Nine Cauldrons of Heaven and Man.

Before your strength reaches that level, you must never expose any information about these characters.

I must still improve my strength! Zhou You thought of the Whiteboard Martial Master's plan, and his heart grew more urgent.

"Lu Zhigang" was doing quite well in the small town; the commissions for the first month were collected one after another, a considerable figure exceeding ten thousand.

The merchants and landlords in the town were very cooperative, and the handover process went very smoothly.

Master Shen moved his firm into the town from a remote area and came to pay a visit with generous gifts on the first day to express his gratitude.

Because the transport location improved, the caravan's costs were reduced by more than half; the situation that was originally suffocating suddenly improved, there was a surplus of funds, and the precarious firm immediately took a turn for the better.

Although they were polite to "Lu Zhigang" on the surface, in their hearts, they still believed Zhou You deserved the most credit.

After all, regarding the killing of the three from Golden Crane Mountain, Jiang Hua had an eccentric personality and, although he was a fellow disciple of Shen Sijing, they had no friendship; Lu Zhigang had a notorious reputation and enemies everywhere, so he was not easy to get close to.

Only Zhou You was "one of our own"; his father worked at the firm and was a veteran, and he himself was the young master's junior fellow apprentice.

With such a relationship, it would be a pity not to make it even closer! After the situation improved, the first thing Master Shen personally inquired about was the promotion of Zhou Laodie.

"From now on, everyone should address you as Manager Zhou."

Zhou Laodie skipped three ranks directly, was promoted to firm manager, his wages increased tenfold, and he was eligible for year-end dividends.

He was completely bewildered; I didn't even do anything!

Could it be that the eldest miss disagreed with the marriage, and the employer was compensating me? That can't be it!

Hmm, Zhou Laodie would need a long time to digest this surprise.

Zhou You arrived at the secret chamber, saw the dying Cheng Xiaohe, and shook his head.

He would have liked to stay in the small town for a while longer, but this guy had a short life and could not hold on for much longer.

Once Cheng Xiaohe breathed his last, the panel would settle the task, the avatar projection would immediately become invalid, and he would no longer be able to be in two places at once.

He calculated in his heart that he needed a proper conclusion and could not just walk away.

The original order of the town was suppressed by Golden Crane Mountain, but now it had been overturned, and the gap would be filled by Zhou You.

Once "Lu Zhigang" left, the struggle for benefits would inevitably lead to a bloody slaughter.

"Hmm?"

Zhou You rubbed his chin; he suddenly thought of his cheap elder brother, Zhang Huaimin.

He immediately ground ink and spread paper, finished the letter, and sent someone to deliver it to the... garden in Fucheng.

This letter passed through eight messengers, ran three horses to death, passed through deserted villages, plague zones, and even rebellious areas where refugees gathered, finally arriving at Fucheng.

Flower House...

Zhang Huaimin, wearing an open light silk robe, leaned listlessly against the second-floor railing. In the suite behind him, a pair of sisters were curled up in a silk quilt, looking lazy and languid like crabapple blossoms in spring.

The old man was still vigorous, and after subduing the two little Demons, he felt a bit melancholy.

He was out of money again! After today, if he didn't renew his account, the fat procuress would open her bloody mouth and kick him out.

In this land of gentleness and money-burning, even if you have peerless martial arts, you can't use them; drinking flower wine and eating without paying is not allowed.

"Master Zhang, there is a letter for you."

Zhang Huaimin took the curled letter from the servant, opened it, and glanced at it carelessly, his eyes widening into circles.

His expression was very colorful; he seemed to want to laugh but was struggling to hold it back, blowing his beard until it scattered and fluttered.

"Master Zhang, what is it?"

A soft, sweet-scented voice blew on the back of Zhang Huaimin's neck, which was very teasing.

"A good brother wrote to me; there is a big business deal to take care of me."

Zhang Huaimin grabbed a jade arm, "Haha, I'm going out for a trip to earn money to buy you powder."

Having said that, he threw on his clothes, grabbed a fruit to chew on, and strode out of the Flower House.

Half a day later...

"Brother, your elder brother has arrived."

Zhang Huaimin's booming voice rang through every corner of the small town like a high-powered broadcast.

The sound was like thunder; the tiles on all the houses vibrated, and many insects in dark corners were directly shaken to death.

The residents of the town trembled; even when Golden Crane Mountain was here, there was no such power! As soon as the voice fell, a figure whistled in, leaving shadows on the long street that the naked eye could not react to, overlapping and dissipating one after another.

A moment later, Zhang Huaimin stopped in front of the poison wall outside the villa and reached out to touch it, "Not bad, this is my brother's handiwork."

"Big Brother, you came really fast, please come in."

Zhou You smiled and invited Zhang Huaimin inside, explaining the situation.

"Hmm, I've heard about it in Fucheng too; after Jin Heshan died, his family estate fell into your hands. You must have saved up quite a bit, right?"

Zhou You shook his head modestly, "I didn't take much, after all, there are two little tigers to split the accounts with."

"Wang Laohu, tsk tsk!"

Zhang Huaimin said leisurely, "Ever since he dropped in realm from an Intermediate Martial Master, he can only scrape by in Gongliang City."

Hm? Wang Jianxiong was once an Intermediate Martial Master; no wonder his status and position were different from ordinary martial masters.

Zhou You invited Zhang Huaimin to sit down and explained the purpose of inviting him over.

"Brother, don't look at this town as small; the pickings are quite rich, at least this much every month."

Zhou You gestured with his hand, and Zhang Huaimin's eyes lit up; he was clearly tempted.

"Brother, are you going to hand this place over to me?"

Zhou You nodded; with the other party's strength as an Intermediate Martial Master, it was enough to protect this small town.

"Have you ever wondered why, with so many martial masters in nearby Gongliang City, only Jin Heshan occupied this place?"

Zhou You fell into deep thought; that's right!

The location isn't far, the pickings are rich, and it brings in a conservative estimate of over 100,000 taels a year.

Aside from lacking city walls and being prone to harassment by specters, this isn't too big of a problem for a martial master.

"Brother, if you want to achieve something in the future, try to go to the big cities; treat the wilderness only as a place to stay."

"Look at me, even if I'm reduced to doing odd jobs, I still have to stay in Fucheng."

Zhang Huaimin said these Taoxin Tuofei words to Zhou You.

(End of this chapter)