Chapter 453: On the Day of the Grand Wedding, the Prefecture Lord Conscripts Soldiers

"Ding-a-ling!"

The sound of silver bells rang out in the wilderness.

Zhou You leaned on his walking stick, walking through the wilderness outside Chongguang Cheng, silently pondering future matters in his heart.

The Dao Master and his lackeys were inciting uprisings in five or six prefectures simultaneously; such a massive scheme and such wide reach were not the work of a single day.

Being caught in the middle, he could not avoid being affected and had to find a path to survival for himself.

In the identity of Moyunzi, it was convenient to use the status of the Golden Immortal Dao to inquire about news and dig out more conspirators.

After he made up his mind, he originally intended to continue searching for the trail of Kunpengzi, but he did not expect an unexpected turn of events to interrupt his plan.

"Old sir, you are still alive; why are you no longer in Chongguang Cheng?"

The middle-aged man approaching was very familiar; looking closely, it turned out to be an old regular customer from when he opened his shop in Chongguang Cheng.

Zhou You still remembered that he had ordered several seals in the shop, and he himself had relied entirely on him to keep the shop alive.

"Oh, it's not peaceful in the city. A giant snake swallowed the shop. I was out at the time and not at home. Fearing the landlord would demand compensation from me, I fled Chongguang Cheng overnight. Now I have nowhere to go."

No wonder it was like this? The old regular customer could not help but feel pity in his heart; in his view, Zhou You was a lonely and helpless old man who could not withstand a shock.

He hurriedly extended an invitation, "Old man, I came here specifically to invite you. I thought I would return empty-handed, but I didn't expect to run into you on the way back. It's a coincidence, too much of a coincidence; it's simply fate!"

He immediately explained his intentions in concise and comprehensive terms.

Zhou You was stunned upon hearing this; what, inviting him to participate in compiling and editing boxing technique classics?

He vaguely remembered that because Ceng Fuzi had a high reputation, he had been invited by Wanxiu Mountain to recompile boxing technique classics.

He did not expect that the same heavy responsibility would one day fall upon his own head.

Zhou You decisively activated his panel, wiping the boxing techniques of this body to zero, instantly becoming an ordinary old man with weak limbs.

Although he had a talisman that could hide his strength, it was ultimately not safe; clearing his background to zero was the cleanest and most thorough way.

The scholars invited by Strong Martial sects were all weak and fragile, precisely to guard against them stealing the boxing techniques.

Once the other party discovered that this body had hidden the identity of a Martial Master, they would definitely turn hostile; he shouldn't let himself get into a situation where he could enter but not leave.

"Fine, this old man will follow you to scrape by for a living!"

The old regular customer laughed heartily, "When we reach the place, let me fulfill the duties of a host."

The place he was going to was Kukong Shan in the territory of the Caoshu Zhou Fucheng, a sect newly founded by a Strong Martial Fourth Heaven.

The old regular customer was one of the disciples of Strong Martial, the Intermediate Martial Master Xiang Qianfan.

Fucheng.

Zhou You's original body blinked; both of his avatars were traveling over mountains and through rivers, going thousands and tens of thousands of miles away.

As for the original body, his life was quite comfortable; the wedding was approaching, and the house had already been decorated.

Three days ago, Zhou You's parents went to Xingren Tang to propose marriage, and Master Hua accepted the betrothal gifts and agreed to this marriage.

Although there had been warm-ups beforehand, the finalization of the wedding still caused a sensation.

Daqian Martial Arts Hall and Xingren Tang—a martial arts hall currently in the limelight and a medicine hall with a long history—could be called a strong alliance.

Although Zhou You's relatives and friends felt the two families were a perfect match, in the eyes of the outside world, Zhou You was somewhat climbing the social ladder.

Hua Youxing had a background in the Medicine King Sect, her family was a powerful branch of the sect's heritage, and she herself was the target of pursuit by countless young talents in Fucheng; even children of noble families had pursued her.

Who could have imagined that she would actually marry down to a self-made martial arts hall master?

Privately, many young talents were heartbroken, bitterly complaining that fate was unfair!

The martial arts hall was also under great pressure; the surrounding public opinion environment made it seem as if their hall master was climbing the social ladder.

Especially Zhou You's parents, who originally thought their son's business was not small, but after hearing about the family assets of the Hua family of Xingren Tang from the outside, they were scared out of their wits. To them, Zhou Laodie's former employer, Master Shen, was already rich enough, but they didn't expect he couldn't even compare to a drop in the bucket of Xingren Tang.

They could not help but worry about how the Zhou Family would get along with the new daughter-in-law once she entered the family.

"Father, Mother, you are overthinking."

Zhou You exhausted his tongue before he finally persuaded his parents.

After he and Hua Youxing confirmed their relationship, they both had a tacit understanding; they were not the type of characters to indulge in a small, quiet life, and each had their own pursuits.

Zhou You was obsessed with the Martial Dao, and Hua Youxing was focused on management; neither were characters who could settle for a quiet life.

Privately, they made a pact of three chapters, agreeing not to force the other to make sacrifices and to pursue their own goals after marriage.

This move by Zhou You greatly moved Hua Youxing.

Usually, after a woman marries, she becomes an appendage of the man, abandoning all her career and dreams.

Even a management expert as strong as Hua Youxing, once married, would have to become a housewife and could not easily step out of the house.

Was this also the reason why Hua Youxing rejected many suitors and preferred to stay at the medicine hall to help?

After getting married, she would no longer be able to continue looking after her own business.

"Good lad, you didn't choose wrong."

Master Hua was also very satisfied with Zhou You's attitude.

Hua Youxing took the opportunity to suggest that in order to repay Zhou You for being so reasonable, she must express sincerity regarding the dowry.

Under her strong request, the Hua family spent a fortune, adding a type of Great Medicine as part of the dowry.

This dowry included the refining methods and dosage secrets of the Great Medicine, along with the collection, processing, and extraction of the raw materials.

Its value was immeasurably precious; there were not many families in the entire Fucheng that could bring out such a dowry.

The closer it got to the wedding date, the busier the people around were, running around all day.

On the contrary, the person involved, Zhou You, became increasingly free; today he tried on wedding clothes, tomorrow he made an appearance, and he had plenty of time left to practice boxing, play the pipa, and study the contents of the "Medicine King Canon."

The Tiger-Crane Dual-Form Boxing had already reached a bottleneck—the bottleneck of a Primary Martial Master.

The techniques and moves were extremely proficient, but the realm was slow to improve.

His thick Qi and blood instead became a shackle, making the difficulty for him to break through to an Intermediate Martial Master dozens of times higher than that of an ordinary person.

This situation was very special; he could not find any reference examples and could only grope for a solution himself.

Recently, Zhou You had a sudden inspiration and designed a plan with quite high feasibility.

Since his Qi and blood were too thick, why not just trim them away? He could disperse seven Profound Hearts and keep only one original heart as the foundation.

Then, by taking medicine of the Qi-dispersing variety and carefully considering the methods, he could suppress the total amount of Qi and blood within his body.

Through medicinal regulation, he could bring his physical condition to a stable state and gather enough strength to charge at the bottleneck of an Intermediate Martial Master.

Hmm, thinking about it carefully, the chance of success is very high!

Even on the day of the wedding, Zhou You was still pondering the feasibility of this plan. The success rate was high, but the risk was also great; crippling one's own cultivation was no small matter.

The environment he was in was fraught with crises, and the only thing he could rely on was strength. What if he encountered danger while he was weak? Holding a complex and struggling mood, Zhou You stepped into the wedding venue wearing his ceremonial robes.

That day, the entire street was decorated with lanterns and colored streamers, as prosperous as a dream.

The Zhou Family residence was bustling and crowded with people, with residents looking on and watching the excitement everywhere.

The welcoming of the sedan chair, entering the gate, bowing to heaven and earth, and other such procedures all proceeded smoothly, until... "By order of the Monarch, conscript three thousand men each from the garrison, the martial arts circles, and the various crafts, totaling ten thousand, to depart this day to suppress the Witch People army."

(End of this chapter)