Chapter 353: Substitute Colonel, Shocked to Hear of the Five Avian

"The Qianmei is dead!"

The young City Gate Guard, looking at the pile of ashes before him, still could not believe the scene he was seeing.

After observing for a long time without seeing any signs of the embers reigniting, he realized what had happened and knelt down to kowtow toward the small tripod.

"Ancestors, the Qianmei is dead; Gongliang City is saved."

The small tripod hummed and vibrated twice, then sped off toward the ruins of the City Gate Guard barracks.

The youth looked back at the streets littered with debris and heard the earth-shaking sounds of battle from the city walls; the rebel army was on the verge of breaking through.

Gongliang City had been spared the calamity of the Qianmei, but in the end, it could not escape the calamity of men! "The City Gate Guard has not yet perished; I must guard this city."

He took a deep breath and, instead of choosing to flee, followed the direction of the small tripod back to the City Gate Guard barracks.

After the great fire, a seed lay hidden in the scorched earth, waiting for the chance to take root and sprout.

The City Gate Guard of Gongliang City would surely welcome a chance to be reborn from the ashes.

"..."

Zhou You checked his body; his Qi and blood were full, with no signs of the evil spirits from his dream invading or draining his essence.

Although he was unwilling to admit it, he had been overpowered, and in a state where he had lost the ability to resist, he had engaged in a detoxifying encounter.

In a trance, a flash of red swept across his vision, further deepening the doubts in his heart.

Bao Shuixian had saved him with her virginity, eradicating the Grudge Fire; could such a huge sacrifice really just be for the sake of borrowing seed?

A notification sounded in his ear: "You were tormented by Grudge Fire and neutralized it through Yin-Yang Harmony; there are no aftereffects."

"The Mixed Origin Iron Garment has evolved under the stimulation of the Grudge Fire, adding the attribute: Fire-Bathed Heroic Hair. When struck by fire-attribute fist martial arts, it reflects 50% of the damage and increases strength by 30%."

"You have undergone one Yin-Yang Harmony and experienced a sudden enlightenment regarding the profound mystery of Yin-Yang complementarity and the balance of hardness and softness; this is the foundation of a High-Level Martial Master."

"You utilized the authority of the City Gate Guard to slay the Qianmei with a Divine Artifact bestowed by the Monarch, automatically substituting as the leader of the Gongliang City Gate Guard. Until the authorities send someone to fill the vacancy, you gain the occupation: Substitute Colonel of the City Gate Guard."

"."

Zhou You felt his waist token grow hot; the characters on the surface actually swam and rearranged themselves like tadpoles, turning into brand-new content in the blink of an eye.

"Substitute Colonel: Eternally guard the city gates, expel evil spirits, protect local peace, and command all members of the City Gate Guard."

After examining it carefully for a moment, he tucked the waist token into his bosom.

Suddenly, he discovered an extra object in his bosom, something that definitely did not belong to him.

"This is?"

The remains left behind after the Qianmei died had actually crossed hundreds of miles from Gongliang City to appear in his bosom.

Qianmei Remains—this was not some defective product like the near-Qianmei, but the remains left behind after slaying a fully-formed Qianmei.

A tuft of soft black gauze felt like nothing in his hand; even though Zhou You, as a Martial Master, could perceive the weight of a speck of dust, he could not detect the slightest weight in the black gauze.

If the panel had not reminded him that this object truly existed, Zhou You would have thought the black gauze was a clump of shadows deceiving his eyes.

Zhou You tried again and again, only to find that with his current abilities, he could not use this black gauze for the time being.

According to the panel's appraisal, this black gauze was the true Qianmei Remains, of immeasurable value! Since that was the case, it could continue to be fused into his dagger to upgrade it into a true Qianmei treasure.

When Zhou You caught up with the caravan, he found that it had already stopped and was piling up stoves to light fires, wash rice, and cook.

Thinking about it, it was normal; having fled Gongliang City for days and nights, everyone had finished their dry rations and was hungry and thirsty. Now that they had reached a safe area, they could get some food to fill their stomachs.

On the other hand, it was also to wait for Zhou You's return; after all, he was the backbone of the caravan. "... I picked up my mother and managed to escape the city with great difficulty, but then I saw it was bad—the rebel army was about to launch another attack, so I hurriedly found a small path and barely managed to escape."

One person in the caravan was gnawing on dry rations, impatiently telling everyone about their encounter.

Zhou You took a look and realized it was a coincidence; it was Shi Gaofei, whom he had met when leaving the city. He had also escaped, and he was carrying his elderly mother with him.

Seeing Zhou You return, everyone breathed a sigh of relief in unison; in the vast wilderness, dangers lurked everywhere, and it was good enough just to come back alive.

Upon seeing Zhou You, Shi Gaofei stood up and cupped his hands in a salute, "Junior Brother Zhou, great kindness needs no thanks."

Zhou You returned the salute, everything understood without words.

Next, the people of the caravan gathered in a circle, some standing and some sitting, listening quietly to Shi Gaofei talk about the aftermath in Gongliang City.

Shi Gaofei and the caravan had only been separated by a short time, yet he had seen the apocalyptic scene of Gongliang City's impending collapse.

The Qianmei entered the city, completely shattering the last shred of courage for resistance in Gongliang City, and the external rebel army seized the opportunity to capture the city.

The Martial Masters who fled fell into the sea of the rebel army; fighting few against many, their fates were all different.

"Human strength has its limits, and Qi and blood eventually run dry. Once trapped in the endless rebel army, Qi and blood are like water without a source and cannot be replenished. In the end, one dies fighting, ending up without a complete corpse."

Shi Gaofei sighed endlessly when mentioning this scene.

He had once seen with his own eyes a certain Martial Master who was all alone, having neither trusted disciples nor capable helpers, thinking that he could break through the rebel army's formation by himself.

As a result, he had not even made it halfway through the rebel army before his Qi and blood were exhausted. He was hooked by the limbs by enemies swarming up, and with ten thousand blades striking his body, he was hacked for three days and three nights. Even a Martial Master's body could not withstand it and was hacked to pieces.

Those with the best chance of survival were still the Martial Masters of the martial arts halls, who at least had a few disciples willing to die for them.

"Master Wang of the Panshi Martial Arts Hall—several disciples fought to the death to hold off the enemies for him, dying miserably under the repeated sieges of the rebel warriors. He alone brought his family out of the rebel formation, but in the end, he refused to leave."

Shi Gaofei sighed with emotion, "He looked toward the place where his disciples were buried and roared, 'What is the use of me living alone? The Rock Fist ends today.'"

"And there was Master Jia of the Sanhong Fist, the one who liked to chew on tree vines. His entire household of Apprentices, along with his wedded wife and three pairs of sons and daughters-in-law, fell into the chaotic army. In the end, he only saved two half-crippled disciples and a grandson who was still nursing."

"He originally had a full head of dark hair and didn't look like an old man, but after this ordeal, his hair was as white as snow; not a single black hair remained."

"And then there is Master..."

Mentioning Wang Jianxiong, everyone became a bit nervous and couldn't help but look at Zhou You.

Zhou You's expression was calm, "Continue."

"I wasn't there at the time and didn't see it with my own eyes, but I heard that when Master faced the siege of strong enemies, he displayed the ability of realm leaping, leaping into the Golden Tiger realm, only then managing to escape successfully with the Junior Sister."

"The Big Senior Brother died. The enemy was too strong; he fought to the death to hold them back, but his arms were torn off, and he died with his severed arms thrust into his mouth."

Lu Qiang also died? Zhou You thought of how when he first entered the martial arts hall, his guide was Lu Qiang, and his early fist training was all taught hand-in-hand by him.

Although named Senior Brother, Lu Qiang was equivalent to his enlightening mentor.

"What kind of enemy could make Wang Laohu so miserable?"

Knowing the meaning of realm transition, Zhou You could not help but click his tongue; even Wang Laohu had to unleash his potential and advance to an Intermediate Martial Master to escape with his life, so where could such terrifying experts have come from within the rebel army?

"I heard they are martial masters from out of town, five in total, known as the Five Beasts."

"Their strength far exceeds that of the martial masters in this city; not only did they force Master to flee in a sorry state, but they also captured the Jiba Martial Arts Hall's Hall Master Mao and his disciple alive, and their fierce reputation is currently at its peak."

(End of chapter)