Chapter 355: Settling Down in the Mountain Village, Meeting Feng Zi Again

Zhou Family Village, a rare pure land in a chaotic world.

The village has undergone earth-shaking changes compared to the past; the mountain-side terrain was already precipitous, but now it has been reinforced with stone walls, bunkers, and other defensive structures, with only a single sheep-gut path for entry and exit.

It could be described as: one man guarding the pass, ten thousand unable to open it.

According to Zhou Laiwei, any bandits or refugees who approach the village surroundings attempting to scavenge are intuitive enough to walk around once they see the village's hedgehog-like defenses.

With Zhou You's cost-no-object support, the Grandfather and Zhou Laiwei have aggressively expanded the land and merged villages, gathering all the Zhou-surnamed clansmen with any family ties into the village and selecting the young and strong to practice fist arts to protect the village.

Furthermore, like a clever rabbit with three burrows, if they encounter a large-scale enemy and truly cannot resist, they can abandon the village and hide in deep mountain underground caverns; the underground space formed by natural karst caves is comparable to a small underground city.

The foundation for all of this is an inexhaustible supply of grain, medicinal herbs, cloth, and other materials.

In a chaotic world, only grain and supplies can gather hearts and minds and bring peace to a region.

Those rebel armies and chaotic soldiers, often numbering in the tens or hundreds of thousands, are actually a loose scattering of sand; essentially, they are human locusts driven by hunger and hatred, eating wherever they go.

Facing the well-fed and rested young men of Zhou Family Village, ten thousand of them might not even be able to win against eight hundred.

"Hoo!"

As the morning mist rises, the shouts of those practicing fist arts rise one after another; the figures of the village's young and middle-aged men interweave, and the sound of fist-wind, like the roaring of fierce tigers, explodes across the flat ground.

What they are practicing is the Double Body Tiger Form Fist!

After arriving at Zhou Family Village, Zhou You felt his strength was insufficient, so he simply had Zuo Shier, Tie Niu, Liu Bing, and others act as instructors to teach the Double Body Tiger Form Fist and enhance the strength of the village's young and strong.

This style of fist art is backed by a Martial Master and has immense practical power, having been verified in the great battle of Gongliang City.

Every day, Zhou Family Village is filled with the roars of tigers and the shadows of tigers in every direction, and the atmosphere of practicing fist arts grows increasingly fervent.

"Senior Brother Zhou, there are a few good seedlings among your clansmen; if you cultivate them, they will surely achieve Qi and Blood."

Zuo Shier considers things thoughtfully for Zhou You; ever since Zhou You was promoted to Martial Master, the future of the martial artists following him has become bright—opening martial arts schools and recruiting disciples is just like Wang Jianxiong and Mao Laoliu, surrounded by disciples like stars around the moon, and even becoming honored guests invited by prestigious families.

To open a martial arts school, besides needing the strength of a Martial Master, a solid core team is also indispensable.

Zhou You now has his first disciple Qi Qingdi, his right and left hands Zuo Shier and Tie Niu, and the newly joined Liu Bing and several other Qi and Blood martial artists; these people have successively turned to the Double Body Tiger Form Fist and can be considered his ironclad core team.

Besides this, a large number of backbone forces are needed to support the dual structure of the Inner Courtyard and Outer Courtyard.

Zuo Shier has his eye on the human resources of Zhou Family Village; these young and strong men are all Zhou You's clansmen, connected by blood, and naturally loyal and reliable.

"Hmm, let's cultivate them for a while longer; when the time is right, I will take the best of them to forge a future together."

Zhou You has also observed whether there is any talent in the village, but the results were not satisfactory.

Although it is said that everyone is born equal, natural talent is coldly divided into different grades.

A special case like Zhou You, with his innate panel Saint Body, cannot be found anywhere in the world, so there is no comparison.

Just look at the martial arts geniuses he knows? Liu Fengji is currently at the top of the pyramid; in his twenties, he is already a high-level Martial Master, just one step away from breaking through to Strong Martial—if he hadn't used the Zang Machine Seal Script which caused his realm to regress, he would have become the youngest Strong Martial.

Precisely because his talent is so heaven-defying, such a genius is treated as a treasure even by noble families.

The scale of Liu Fengji's Personal Guard is more luxurious than all the martial arts circles of Gongliang City combined, and there are even Strong Martial experts to cover his retreat.

Therefore, he is listed as a top-tier genius.

Further down, Lu Jianqing and Mao Lang realized their own power without a teacher; with a little guidance, they broke through to Qi and Blood, and reaching the Martial Master realm is only a matter of time.

To be precise, Zhou You's disciple Qi Qingdi is also at this level, even stronger than the previous two. Further down are the standouts among ordinary people, an example of which is Zhou You's sparring partner Li Hao.

Someone like Li Hao represents the general state of those Inner Court Disciples in the major martial arts schools of Gongliang City—better than the average person, and by relying on hard work, they can eventually study their way to a higher realm after exhausting their youth.

Those white-haired Martial Masters in the city are their final destination.

Speaking of which, fist-martial arts have high requirements for comprehensive conditions: one must be willing to endure hardship, have perseverance to persist year after year, and have high comprehension—that is, the ability to understand and draw inferences about other cases.

To summarize, there are three points: high physical fitness, a decent brain, and unwavering willpower.

Hah, with this talent, one can succeed in anything; one must know that other industries also need talent!

This has resulted in good seedlings being a scarce commodity in the martial arts world, the kind that has a price but no market.

Unfortunately, Zhou You did not find anyone too eye-catching in Zhou Family Village; the ones Zuo Shier mentioned are about the same as Li Hao, belonging to the standouts among ordinary people.

With a little cultivation, they can still serve as Inner Court Disciples to supplement the backbone forces.

As for holding up the facade, that still has to be his first disciple, Qi Qingdi.

Speaking of this kid...

When he first entered Zhou Family Village, Qi Qingdi was well-behaved for a while, but later he was truly worried about his sister Qi Qingyao, occasionally hearing rumors from passersby that female relatives of a Gongliang City noble family had become stranded nearby.

Qi Qingdi feared it might be his sister and was filled with anxiety, hurriedly pleading with Zhou You to let him go out of the village to take a look.

Zhou You gave him an Amulet and told him to take care, then did not stop him further.

Don't look at the fact that this child is still young, just over ten years old, but he is already at Qi and Blood 3rd Stage; anyone who underestimates him, even a martial artist at the middle stage of Qi and Blood, will take a big tumble.

"Senior Brother Zhou, you are truly prepared for a rainy day to be able to find such a safe place."

"In the current situation where Gongliang City has fallen, this is truly rare and commendable; the village has plenty of food and medicinal herbs to treat illnesses, and we came here from Gongliang City without losing a single person."

Zuo Shier sighed endlessly, admiring Zhou You even more.

Zhou You used the large amount of grain and supplies gathered by the Hunger Pouch to support the consumption of Zhou Family Village and stabilize the anxious hearts of the people. Therefore, in Zhou Family Village, he is the undisputed number one, and his prestige is unmatched.

Two days later, Qi Qingdi returned with someone; it was the 'Qi Family female relative' mentioned by outsiders.

"Why is it you?"

Zhou You was shocked to see the person before him; the other party was not Qi Qingyao.

The innocent and lively girl Qi Fengzi, despite her dusty face, could not hide her delicate and refined grace.

She bowed respectfully to Zhou You, "Feng Zi implores Master Zhou to take me in; I am willing to be a slave or a maid to serve by your side."

Qi Qingdi walked away tactfully; he had heard that his master and Qi Fengzi had once been betrothed, and it seemed he still had feelings for her.

Although he failed to find his sister this time, there was an unexpected joy; Qi Fengzi said herself that her sister had evacuated with the main family group and was very safe, with no danger.

"Forget it!"

Zhou You looked at Qi Fengzi and shook his head, "I cannot afford a maid like you!"

Enslaving members of a noble family is a great crime; furthermore, the Qi Family still exists, and once discovered, he and Zhou Family Village would surely be wiped out.

(End of chapter)