Chapter 304: Obtaining the War Order

Zhou You's plan was interrupted again.

He had intended to stay home and practice his boxing, ignoring the complex and chaotic worldly affairs, but worldly affairs would not let him be.

Qi Fengzhang came to call for him again.

This time it was not for matchmaking, but to notify him of an important matter.

Zhou You arrived at the Qi Family residence and saw that many famous warriors of the city were present, among whom were many long-renowned boxers.

For example, Gu Lengzheng of the Awl Fist, an expert in the late stage of Qi and Blood; his ancestors had once run a martial arts school, but later, because no disciple could break through to become a Martial Master, he had to close the school and provide Instruction in boxing at home.

Passing down to his generation, he was the most hopeful to break through to Martial Master and revitalize the momentum of this style of boxing.

There were other warriors as well; although weaker than Martial Masters, because of their large numbers, they were a force in Gongliang City that could not be ignored.

Qi Fengzhang had summoned these people here; what exactly was he going to do? "Young Master Zhou, come over here."

The servants in the residence saw Zhou You and immediately led him through the crowd to enter the door directly.

A group of warriors behind him whispered upon seeing this, "Winged Tiger Zhou You, he has climbed up to a high branch."

"Hey, Wang Laohu sees this cast-off disciple living it up, why doesn't he do something about it?"

"The Third Young Master of the Qi Family values him, who can interfere? Nowadays, the Third Young Master is the one in the Qi Family, right?"

The person speaking held up a thumb, signaling that Qi Fengzhang had already replaced the position of the Second Young Master of the Qi Family.

Otherwise, why would they all be gathered at the entrance waiting to be summoned after just one invitation from Qi Fengzhang?

Zhou You entered the residence and soon saw Qi Fengzhang; the demeanor of this Senior Brother had undergone a heaven-shaking, earth-turning change.

Although he had long known that Qi Fengzhang's status was no longer what it used to be, the immense change brought by power still gave Zhou You a shock.

Originally, this Senior Brother Qi was merely a frustrated young master of a noble family.

Seeing him again today, he already possessed an extra air of unforced authority and the relaxed ease of one who controls the situation.

"Zhou You is here, quick, quick, sit down."

Qi Fengzhang invited Zhou You to sit and took a look, feeling astonished, "You have made progress again?"

"Practicing boxing at home, I have had some small gains."

After a few words of modesty, Zhou You cupped his hands and asked, "Senior Brother, you called me here, do you have any instructions?"

"We are going to war."

Qi Fengzhang's one sentence nearly made Zhou You stand up from his seat.

What, we are going to war.

After Zhou You's alter ego Lu Zhigang set out from the territory of Gongliang City, he headed north all the way, seeing dilapidated villages and overgrown weeds, a scene as if the world had been abandoned.

However, even in such desolation, traces of human activity still remained in the wilderness.

In caves, rock crevices, or grass nests, there might be three or five ragged, living people hiding in any place, terrified, fearful and guarded like wild beasts.

Besides this, dangerous places had also increased.

The panel warned him several times, reminding him that there were large-scale human gatherings in the vicinity, with tens of thousands of dense red dots.

He had thought it was large-scale refugees besieging village fortresses.

"We are truly going to war; the great army came from Su Cheng and has already destroyed eighty percent of my Qi Family's manors."

Qi Fengzhang paused and continued, "The Xu Family's manors have suffered losses of over ninety percent."

The manors of noble families possess multiple functions, including complex environments such as fields, forests, and wetlands, producing grain, aquatic products, meat, timber, and other materials to support the families in the city.

To put it simply, a manor is essentially a crystal tower with defensive fortifications.

Now, the noble families' towers have been pushed over, and the situation has deteriorated to an irredeemable point.

With so many people in the residence, the resources consumed daily are countless; without the replenishment of the manors, relying on purchasing from the market is undoubtedly a drop in the bucket. This is a tactic to cut off the supply lines; someone is about to make a move on Gongliang City.

"Yes, the forces making the move are the remnants of Su Cheng; upon investigation, the mastermind behind them is Kunpengzi."

"That is the fellow disciple of the Golden Immortal Dao that Moyunzi Yan Ping wanted to hunt down on the night of the Charm Chaos."

Zhou You was just guessing how much time, cost, and human and material resources the other party had spent to obtain this information.

Combined with the large-scale crowd gatherings Lu Zhigang encountered, connecting them together, it was clearly the trajectory of a great army moving toward Gongliang City.

It matched; the clues all matched.

Kunpengzi's plan had been ruined by him, and he could no longer hold back, deciding to stake everything on a single throw to attack Gongliang City.

"Junior Brother, you are my trusted aide; those people outside cannot compare."

"Once the war starts, all warriors in the city must be summoned to defend the city and be deployed by my noble family; I can give you the authority to raise your own men."

Qi Fengzhang took out a token, "This is the War Order; my Gongliang City must absolutely not follow in the footsteps of Su Cheng."

Zhou You thought that this would not be easy, after all, the reason for the fall of Su Cheng was the battle between two Grandmasters.

Currently, there are no Grandmasters near Gongliang City, and the city walls cannot be destroyed by ordinary natural disasters or man-made calamities.

It is conceivable that the coming great battle will inevitably be a matter of both sides fighting repeatedly around the city walls, consuming human lives.

Qi Fengzhang was busy with official business; after finishing his instructions, several groups of people urged him, and he had no choice but to get up and leave.

"Zhou You, the matter of the marriage is going to change; the Clan Head's meaning is that since you are not a Martial Master, the only way to marry a daughter of the Qi Family is to become a live-in son-in-law."

Speaking of this, Qi Fengzhang paused, "You go back and persuade your father and mother; although your reputation will be damaged, it will be of great benefit to your future."

"I will go get busy first; you can go find them and chat on your own."

Before leaving, Qi Fengzhang smiled and said, "Fifth Sister is proud and arrogant, and she is a woman, so she cannot see the situation clearly; you did the right thing."

It was not until he left that Zhou You realized what had happened; Qi Wu Guniang had gone home and complained that day.

Unfortunately, the background she prided herself on was not worth mentioning against the backdrop of the true grand situation.

Qi Fengzhang did not care at all about the so-called 'teasing' or 'flirtation', and even wanted to appease Zhou You to work for him.

A moment later, when Zhou You saw Qi Wu Guniang again, this daughter of a noble family was much more docile, her prickles seemingly smoothed out.

Beside her, Qi Qingyao was keeping her company, but only Feng Zi was nowhere to be seen.

"Hmm, where is Younger Sister Feng Zi?"

Zhou You had assumed that Feng Zi was annoyed by him and did not want to see him, but he had not expected...

"Younger Sister Feng Zi's foster father was implicated in the Second Young Master's affair and has been punished; he is now a man under a cloud of guilt."

Qi Qingyao said softly, "Please forgive her, Young Master Zhou, she cannot come."

"A man under a cloud of guilt? What will happen to her?"

When Zhou You asked this question, he noticed that both Qi Wu Guniang and Qi Qingyao trembled, as if they had thought of something truly terrifying.

Later, he learned that this internal shift within the Qi Family, which appeared to be a transfer of power between two brothers, was in reality extremely bloody and brutal.

Because their master had been disgraced, hundreds upon hundreds of Qi Fengxiao's confidants were implicated and executed, among whom were many well-known martial artists.

Feng Zi was implicated, and her days ahead would be extremely difficult; not only had she lost the qualification to be used for marriage alliances, but she would likely meet an end of 'dying of a sudden illness brought on by melancholy' in a few years.

Qi Wu Guniang had also been frightened upon hearing this; having experienced the cruelty within the family at close range, she became even more determined to escape and no longer dared to provoke Zhou You.

After all, Zhou You was her only path to survival for the time being.

(End of chapter)