Chapter 263

The death of the Fengma Bangzhu caused a massive uproar, and the entire martial arts circle of Gongliang City was shaken.

Gale-force winds passing through, the epidemic zone defense line broken, countless residents fleeing the city... one incident after another followed in succession, reaching the ears of all parties; although slightly surprising, it did not cause much of a stir.

That was until the news of the Fengma Bangzhu's death arrived.

"The Fengma Bangzhu is dead? Which martial master in the city did it?"

"That's not right. He was a dog raised by a noble family, doing dirty work in the shadows. Who would easily beat a dog and provoke its master?"

"Hmm, have you found out who made the move?"

"."

Where there is light in the world, there must be shadow; where there is white, there must be black! The noble families control the order of Gongliang City, but in blind spots and similar places, there are inevitably those who survive in the cracks.

Gangs are the product of exploiting loopholes, controlling the low-level residents and commoners to further squeeze out their value.

However, a stray mad dog does not live long, and the same applies to gangs; without a backer, they are destined not to last long.

The two major gangs in the city, the Wild Fox and the Fengma, both have the shadows of the two major noble families behind them, including the later-joined Sangquan Gang, which only developed and grew strong with the full support of immigrants from Su City.

Privately, anyone with some connections knows that the Wild Fox Gang is backed by the Xu Family, and the Fengma Bangzhu is backed by the Qi Family.

The Fengma Bangzhu himself was a Weapon Master at the Qi and Blood Backend stage, and with the Qi Family backing him, he could be said to be someone no one dared to provoke below the level of a martial master. To kill him, those who dared to do so could be counted on one hand in the city, specifically naming the masters of several martial arts halls.

"Do you know who did it?"

The one speaking was the second young master of the Qi Family, Qi Fengxiao; he was the elder brother of Qi Fengzhang and held a higher status in the family.

The Fengma Gang fell under his direct management, and he had not expected trouble to arise.

The group had already left the Inner City and was galloping toward the city gate in a flurry.

Strong winds also swept across the surrounding streets, clearly indicating that other factions were also rushing to investigate.

"."

Qi Fengzhang lowered his head and said nothing, following his elder brother in silence as they hurried along.

Don't let his appearance as a glamorous noble young master fool you; he didn't rank highly within his own home.

His eldest brother, Qi Fengxiong, was the most outstanding genius in Gongliang City in five hundred years; he joined the Jueguang Sect and was already an Intermediate Martial Master at a young age, shouldering the channels for both the family and the Jueguang Sect.

His second brother, Qi Fengxiao, practiced the secret Family Fist Technique and was at the Qi and Blood Peak, with hopes of pushing for Martial Master within ten years.

The Qi Family Head relied on his eldest son externally, treated his second son as his confidant internally, and did not pay much attention to his third son.

Qi Fengzhang's disadvantage was that he was born late; the limelight was completely taken by his two elder brothers, and by the time it was his turn, there was no opportunity to stand out.

Manipulating the Fengma Bangzhu to control the underground order of the city through gangs was one of the rules established by the noble families.

The second young master, Qi Fengxiao, was responsible for this area, which showed how much the Clan Head valued and favored him.

In contrast, although Qi Fengzhang tried his best to perform and contributed significantly to the case of the Flower-Plucking Thief, he still could not get many opportunities.

He started late, his foundation was weak, he lacked deep connections both inside and outside, and he lacked usable experts or death-sworn subordinates.

In short, he was inferior to his two elder brothers in every way, and it was unknown how much he would get when the family property was divided in the future.

Qi Fengzhang was also sensible; whenever his elder brothers were present, he tried to speak less, show his face less, and keep a low profile.

However, Qi Fengxiao would not let him off... "Fengzhang, that area is the defense line managed by the Jianxiong Martial Hall; how come you didn't receive even a shred of news?"

Qi Fengzhang looked up in surprise; the Jianxiong Martial Hall had nothing to do with him.

Mentioning this made him angry; his eldest brother joined a glorious sect, his second brother inherited the family secret, yet only he could enter a hall to learn boxing and recruit Wang Laohu for the family.

At first, he studied boxing diligently, but he gave up after seeing the upper limit of the Jade Tiger Art.

Qi Fengzhang had recently been busy handling affairs for the family, trying his best to accumulate connections and resources, and had no time to pay attention to the martial arts hall.

The place where the Fengma Bangzhu met with trouble was precisely a defense line for which the Jianxiong Martial Hall was responsible.

However, the city gate faced the main road out of the city, not the road leading to the Inner City, so the Defense was not very diligent. A few Apprentices were just going through the motions, and there wasn't even a single Disciple with Qi and Blood; who could have imagined trouble would occur? "Second Brother, I am not too sure either; I will go and inquire now."

Qi Fengzhang cupped his hands toward his elder brother, and his feet kicked up a cloud of dust as his speed suddenly increased.

The Qi Family's Foot Treading on Smoke and Clouds! Qi Fengzhang broke away from the team, the gloom in his chest swept away, and his breathing felt a few points more comfortable.

He thought about his own situation; with two elder brothers pressing down on him, the hope of standing out was slim.

In this day and age, if you want to get things done, you must have people and money; the former represents power, and the latter is resources.

The martial masters in the city only cared about the face of the two Clan Heads; even his master, Wang Jianxiong, might not necessarily stand on his side.

As for the martial masters cultivated by the family, they had long since automatically leaned toward the promising eldest brother, Qi Fengxiong, and even the second brother looked down on him.

Further down were the martial artists at the Qi and Blood Peak and Backend stages who had mastered weapon techniques and were worth using.

The key was that such talent was not easy to find.

Qi Fengxiong had a Fengma Bangzhu under him, whom he already cherished greatly, but he ended up dead.

"The Fengma Bangzhu, at the Qi and Blood Backend stage, holding a bright silver iron fork, was killed without even a chance to escape; the one who made the move, even if not a martial master, is not far off."

Qi Fengzhang executed the 'Foot Treading on Smoke and Clouds' footwork, shuttling through the night sky rapidly, and already saw the scene of the incident.

The bloody scent permeating the air had not yet dissipated, mixing with the quiet atmosphere to create the unique smell of death.

"You, hmm, Junior Brother Zhou."

Qi Fengzhang saw a person holding the bright silver iron fork, which was the very tool of the Fengma Bangzhu, and concluded he was the killer.

Just as he was about to open his mouth to ask, he suddenly recognized that this person was none other than Zhou You.

"Junior Brother Zhou, where did you pick this thing up, and did you see anyone nearby?"

He only thought that Zhou You had happened to arrive nearby and picked up this iron fork, perhaps having had the chance to see the killer who beat the Fengma Bangzhu to death.

Zhou You heard this and turned back, smiling, "Senior Brother Qi, you've come at just the right time; a delusional man calling himself the Fengma Bangzhu came to stab me with an iron fork."

"Look, he's lying right there, very quietly. I'd like to ask, will I get into legal trouble for killing someone in self-defense?"

Qi Fengzhang subconsciously looked at the ground; headless corpses stained the yellow earth with blood, bringing a strong visual impact.

These corpses all had their heads smashed in; there were underlings, a second elder, and... the Fengma Bangzhu.

"You did this?"

Zhou You raised his sleeve, and the bone hammer flashed and vanished, "Master Wang's Tiger Head Hammer is sharp!"

So it was the Tiger Head Hammer; no wonder it had such terrifying lethality.

Qi Fengzhang nodded; he also mastered a weapon technique, though it was not the Tiger Head Hammer, but the Tiger Killing Staff.

Suddenly, he shuddered; that wasn't right, to master a weapon-awakening technique and still be able to beat the Fengma Bangzhu to death with it? "You are already at the Blood Qi Backend, and you also possess a Blood Qi Divine Weapon?"

On the surrounding traces of the battle, some bronze-colored tiger malevolence had yet to dissipate, confirming it was the mark of the 'Copper Tiger' of the Blood Qi Backend.

Qi Fengzhang found it inconceivable; how much time had passed, and Zhou You had already broken through to the Copper Tiger realm.

A dragon or snake among the commoners, a genius among men, he must not be missed! "Junior Brother Zhou, do you know whose man the Fengma Bangzhu was?"

Zhou You smiled honestly, "I am not clear, I ask Senior Brother for guidance."

"The Fengma Bangzhu was secretly controlled by my second brother, Qi Fengxiao, and had always served our Qi Family."

"You killed him, not only severing the connection to the Fengma Bang, but also offending my Qi Family; my second brother will not let you go once he finds out."

This sentence was a mix of coaxing and intimidation, with the goal of making Zhou You afraid.

Even the most ignorant commoner knew that the sky over Gongliang City was half surnamed Xu and half surnamed Qi.

To offend either of the two families in the city meant there was no escape from a doomed fate, whether in heaven or on earth.

(End of this chapter)