Chapter 312: The First Roar of Troubled Times, Competing to Defect

Master Shen's heart was deeply shaken; he had witnessed with his own eyes the rise of a powerful figure, or perhaps even an overlord.

Zhou You killed while chatting and laughing, then enticed the opponent's subordinates to defect; he did everything with such smooth naturalness, as effortless as drinking tea.

The calculating Zhang Hongmao and the arrogant, powerful Qiu Dazhi were played like pawns in his hands.

Even the War Order issued by the two great families was used by him as a tool for negotiation.

Could that honest, simple-minded Old Zhou have sired such a son? "Father, we should thank Junior Brother Zhou and express our gratitude for his life-saving grace."

Shen Sijing reminded Master Shen in a low voice.

If Zhou You hadn't stepped in today, their family would have long been swallowed by Zhang Hongmao, and the women of the household would have been humiliated.

As of now, Zhang Hongmao's corpse lay on the ground, already stone cold.

More importantly, Zhou You, who also held a War Order, was more ruthless and powerful than Zhang Hongmao and could have swallowed the Shen family without the slightest effort.

His father was still a high-level executive of the firm and could have logically taken over the Shen family's wealth.

The father and son were filled with trepidation as they stepped forward to thank Zhou You for his life-saving grace.

"Senior Brother Shen, with such a major incident in the family, why didn't you tell me?"

After sending off the ambitious Qiu Dazhi, Zhou You turned to face the Shen family father and son.

His tone carried a hint of reproach, clearly dissatisfied that they treated him as an outsider.

"Forgive me, Junior Brother, I truly didn't want to drag you into this."

Shen Sijing explained sheepishly; how could he have anticipated that Zhou You would also possess a War Order?

Beside him, Master Shen gritted his teeth and stomped his foot; since the other party had saved their lives and held a War Order, when else would be the time to proactively offer up their family fortune?

Before he could speak, Zhou You pinched the War Order and injected his Qi and Blood into it.

It was unknown what material this token was made of, but it could actually withstand the surge of Qi and Blood, and its surface temperature rose sharply.

In an instant, the temperature of the token became comparable to a red-hot branding iron.

Thud—the token flew from his hand and embedded itself into the Shen family's gate, burning a conspicuous brand.

"Senior Brother Shen, Uncle Shen, from this moment on, your residence is under my protection; everything for you shall remain as usual."

Zhou You put away the War Order, cupped his hands toward them, and rose to take his leave.

Master Shen wanted to urge him to stay, but was stopped by his son, "Father, Junior Brother Zhou is busy with official business."

Shen Sijing stepped forward to thank and bid farewell to Jiang Hua, Shi Gaofei, and the other fellow disciples, seeing them all the way to the gate.

Watching Zhou You and his group depart, he let out a breath, feeling a sense of relief.

Returning to the inner courtyard, he saw Master Shen and Lady Shen holding their little sister and weeping; the gloom had dispersed, and the storm had passed.

Shen Sijing couldn't help but feel fortunate; it was thanks to his investment in Zhou You back then that they had today's return.

Originally, because his little sister had refused the marriage proposal, he thought a rift had appeared in their relationship.

Today, Zhou You helped them without holding a grudge, showing that he cherished old ties and was by no means a narrow-minded person.

"Father, I heard it was Zhou You who appeared and drove away Zhang Hongmao."

Shen Siying raised her tear-stained eyes; she was, after all, only a teenage girl who had nearly fallen into the tiger's maw.

Master Shen did not dare tell her about the bloody slaughter outside, only saying that Zhang Hongmao had "retreated."

Shen Sijing and Master Shen nodded in unison, acknowledging this reality.

"He has a life-saving grace toward our family; Siying is willing to sacrifice herself to repay him, even if it means becoming his maid."

Shen Siying had thought that by doing this, she was making a great sacrifice, but she didn't expect her father and brother to have such strange expressions.

"Child, stay at home in peace and don't think about repaying the debt; that is for us to handle," Master Shen said tactfully. "He is now betrothed to the Qi Family and has his brother-in-law by his side; your brother and I just saw them."

Yes, you want to offer yourself, but it's too late; he might not even look at you now.

For the wealthy merchant Shen family, it would have been a marriage down for their daughter to the commoner martial artist Zhou You, but for the powerful Zhou You who held a War Order, it was undoubtedly a climb.

Just now, Zhou You's attitude was clear; he didn't even want the Shen family's assets.

Come to think of it, he had already subjugated the massive Zhang Family, so how could he care about small fry? In the end, they had missed their chance! Zhang Hongmao's death had a huge impact.

He was not only a tycoon and one of the top three wealthiest merchants in the firm, but also a holder of a War Order.

Since obtaining the War Order, his influence had expanded rapidly; aside from a lack of martial masters, the number of his Qi and Blood martial artists had ballooned, and his overall strength was already comparable to a medium-sized martial arts hall.

Who would have thought he would die so suddenly! The excuse of colluding with bewitching creatures and suffering a backlash, or slipping and falling to his death, was too childish—how could it convince anyone? Just as all the onlookers were waiting for the great families to be furious and punish the culprit...

The Xu Family and the Qi Family simultaneously stated that Zhang Hongmao's death was an accident, that the War Order would be taken over by his son, and that everything would continue as usual with the assistance of the Qi and Blood martial artist Qiu Dazhi and others.

Many wealthy merchants and martial artists who coveted this token wrung their hands in frustration, unable to understand it at all.

The matter was plain to see: Zhang Hongmao went to the Shen family to provoke them and "fell to his death" after encountering the Winged Tiger Zhou You.

Afterward, Qiu Dazhi covered up the truth, rapidly took over Zhang Hongmao's forces, and imprisoned his foolish son.

This was clearly collusion between internal and external parties to seize the Master Lineage's property.

Zhang Hongmao had relied on the Xu Family, but who would have thought that once a person died, their influence would vanish like a lamp going out; the Xu Family immediately tacitly allowed Qiu Dazhi to occupy the nest.

This was just too realistic.

Only the true upper echelons knew that the most valuable part of Zhang Hongmao's legacy was the martial artists led by Qiu Dazhi.

A martial artist at the Qi and Blood Stage 8 had consolidated the forces left behind by Zhang Hongmao; those hired martial artists did not disperse but instead submitted to his command.

Defending a city and blocking enemies relied on warriors who fought bravely; everything else was just trivial matters.

Through this incident, more and more people began to realize the cruel reality of these troubled times.

The one with the biggest fist makes the rules!

In peaceful times, so-called wealth, connections, and relationships were vulnerable in the face of iron-fisted slaughter.

Even if Zhang Hongmao was the victim, and his property was swallowed and his son reduced to a puppet after his death, his backers would not seek justice for him or investigate the truth, but would instead quickly accept the established fact.

The one who first exposed the rules of these troubled times was none other than the Winged Tiger Zhou You, who had beaten Zhang Hongmao to death and manipulated Qiu Dazhi into seizing power.

The little tiger in the eyes of the martial masters was now howling, having begun to eat people to fill its belly and strengthen its own bones.

Parties from all sides reacted and cast their gazes toward Zhou You, surprised to discover that Zhou You had already initially assembled a team.

Liu Bing took the lead, and the martial artists introduced by the Senior Brothers, having heard of Zhou You's deeds, were also won over and joined under Zhou You's command.

There was an interlude during this time...

Head Constable Qu led the Constables under his command to find Zhou You and express his intention to defect.

Zhou You turned no one away; in a mere dozen days, the number of martial artists under his command swelled to eight hundred.

At best, these eight hundred people were a motley crew, incomparable to an army that follows orders and prohibitions; the vast majority were just there to make up the numbers.

The truly useful people Zhou You valued were those few Blood-Qi warriors, fierce fighters who could be called a match for a hundred men.

He had Zuo Shier and Tie Niu on hand, and back home there was Zhou Laiwei; his former roommate Liu Bing, with a little cultivation, was also a beginner-stage Blood-Qi warrior, occupying the numerical advantage of this group of men.

With Blood-Qi carrying force, spreading it out like this, managing eight hundred people was not a problem.

(End of this chapter)