Chapter 517: Going Home

Thick smoke rose from a ruined village; it was not the smoke of cooking fires, but the flames of burning corpses.

The eulogies of the Religion of Released Spirits drifted on the wind, faint and indistinct, as if they were there and yet not.

"Hall Master, the area covered by the battlefield has not been completely cleared; there are still many villages and towns where people live."

"The Shamans killed their way through, looting all supplies, reducing the living to slaves, and razing everything to the ground, even if they encountered martial artists..."

Zuo Lv and his companion spoke in low voices, introducing the situation to Zhou You.

As it turned out, the martial artists had not done anything good either; in order to replenish supplies, they had wantonly looted grain and medicinal herbs.

Many villages and towns were destroyed as a result, becoming absolute dead zones.

After this great battle, it would likely be hard to see any living people in the nearby area, though wild beasts were becoming more and more numerous.

Zhou You did not think so; he had the experience of Zhou Family Village and knew that the commoners' vitality was as tenacious as weeds, and that there were prosperous, hidden caves in the mountains and underground where they stored food and hid from the ravages of war.

The vast land appeared empty and clean, but once the martial artists and Shamans withdrew, the hidden survivors would emerge one after another like weeds breaking through the soil.

"The faith of the Religion of Released Spirits is becoming increasingly prosperous."

The corpses being burned in the village were the martial artists who had died in this battle; after the battle, their companions collected the remains, chopped down large trees, and dismantled the beams of ruined houses to perform a solemn cremation.

Zhou You noticed that the Religion of Released Spirits' cremation ceremony was very simple for commoners, but it was different for martial masters with status.

The site was adorned with various gold vessels, and the corpses were smeared with various incense and gold lacquer, then wrapped in silk and ignited on the pyre.

"In troubled times, human life is fragile; if there are too many dead, it easily triggers a plague, so the fire-working teams of the Religion of Released Spirits are very popular."

Qin Lie sighed, "Some time ago, the white-robed priests of the Southern Hall of the Religion of Released Spirits paid a visit to the Prefect to introduce their doctrines to him."

"Although the Prefect did not convert, he promised that the Religion of Released Spirits could operate freely in Fucheng, responsible for collecting and cremating the dead."

"Since then, the number of martial masters and nobles in the city who believe in the Religion of Released Spirits has grown."

Hmm, the Religion of Released Spirits is growing in power; it seems there are no hidden dangers for now, but as time goes on...

Zhou You knew that the Religion of Released Spirits, like the Golden Immortal Dao, had been passed down since ancient times; no one would believe they had no ambitions for the world.

Even the Prefect did not stop them, so they, as folk martial masters, were not qualified to judge.

"Don't look at those white robes of the Religion of Released Spirits as simple; their ceremonies require nothing less than gold, jade, and precious stones, exhausting every possibility of luxury."

"It is said that they believe that after the gods fell, their blood turned into beautiful jade and gems, and their physical bodies turned into gold; all the rare treasures in the world were transformed from the bodies of gods, and offering gold and jade can please the gods."

Zhou You and Qin Lie and the others walked and talked; the village was left behind, becoming a black dot, while the thick smoke still shot toward the sky.

"Brother Zhou, I didn't expect we would meet again after our previous parting."

Pei Li's voice rang out not far away; beside him were martial masters from other martial arts halls, who had gathered here from another direction.

This area was the assembly point designated by Yan Wan Jun; no matter where the Fucheng martial arts circle was, they had to hurry to arrive.

"Look, it's the people from the Bawang Martial Arts Hall."

One after another, martial artists from the Bawang Martial Arts Hall arrived; after Yan Wan Jun left alone earlier, they had scattered to fight in various places, and now, having received the summons, they were arriving one after another.

The most eye-catching was the Little Overlord Yan Wan Jun, along with other martial masters of his uncle's generation; many familiar faces had disappeared, and those who were alive were all injured, some even missing limbs.

However, no one dared to underestimate them.

The Hall Master of the Bawang Martial Arts Hall, Yan Wan Jun, was already a Qiangwu Yichongtian; this news was known to everyone. From now on, Yan Wan Jun and they were no longer on the same level.

There were even rumors that a Qiangwu had the qualifications to establish a sect; whether the Bawang Martial Arts Hall would be upgraded to a sect in the future was something no one could say for sure! "Hall Master Zhou, congratulations, congratulations; I heard you challenged Gaoyang Ruoqiang, killed quite a few Shaman prodigies, and retreated unscathed."

Pei Li offered his congratulations upon meeting.

He then saw the two large hammers behind Zhou You, "Good weapons, were these snatched from the hands of the Shamans?"

As it turned out, the Shaman divine weapons were also very famous; the ancient divine weapons left behind after they retreated to Beijing were all exquisite, and every divine weapon had a history and a record of battle, far from comparable to the Qi-Blood divine weapons that everyone had.

The pair of large hammers in Zhou You's hands, the left hammer was named 'Grasping the Universe', and the right hammer was named 'Holding Heaven and Earth'.

History books recorded that when the Shamans fled, many pursuing martial artists died under these two large hammers.

Zhou You snatching them from the hands of the Shamans could be called a feat that brought honor and pride.

After the martial artists from all directions met and exchanged various pieces of information, gradually, more and more eyes focused on Zhou You.

Daqian Martial Arts Hall's Zhou You had killed at least three of the Ten Prodigies, participated in Liu Fengji's high-end battle without dying, and even continued to pursue Gaoyang Ruoqiang after being separated, retreating unscathed, and also snatched a pair of ancient Shaman divine weapons.

Such astonishing battle achievements were comparable to the fierce generals of Dayin Mountain, the elites of the Jueguang Sect, and were not even a bit inferior to the top direct descendants of the great families.

Among the Fucheng martial arts circle, the only one who could overshadow Zhou You was Yan Wan Jun, who had broken through to Qiangwu during the battle.

The Little Overlord Yan Wan Jun was originally infinitely glorious, having stabbed many Shaman experts to death with his Bawang Shu, and his master was a newly promoted Qiangwu; he should have enjoyed the treatment of being surrounded by stars.

As a result, most of the limelight was taken away by Zhou You.

"Young Hall Master, he is a martial master from a small martial arts hall, like a shooting star; he rises fast and falls fast. There are as many martial arts halls in Fucheng as there are hairs on an ox, and countless close and open every year; a mere Zhou You won't last long."

An attendant beside him advised.

Yan Wan Jun glared at him, "What do you know? If he were a Primary Martial Master, it would indeed be as you say, but the current Zhou You is already an Intermediate Martial Master; he won't be easily defeated."

That's right, under Yan Wan Jun's careful instruction, Yan Wan Jun was already an Intermediate Martial Master at a young age; he saw at a glance that Zhou You had broken through in this battle, and was no longer the small Primary Martial Master he once was, already qualified to become a backbone of the martial arts circle.

What he was angry about was that he had the guidance of the master who was the number one in the Fucheng martial arts circle to reach such a realm; how could Zhou You, a wild folk martial master with a lowly background, be on par with him? In an instant, without him noticing, a certain emotion called jealousy grew from the bottom of his heart.

A dark cloud drifted overhead, and suddenly a powerful aura that shrouded the four fields emerged, suppressing all the martial artists present so they could not move.

A figure broke through the clouds and descended from the sky, falling to the ground from several thousand meters high, causing the earth to shake and everyone to sway.

It was a Qiangwu-level expert; Yan Wan Jun had arrived.

After Yan Wan Jun landed, he leaned on his Bawang Shu to pull his feet out of the crust, and Yan Wan Jun led the senior members of the Bawang Martial Arts Hall to surround him.

"By the Prefect's order, the battle is over; withdraw to Fucheng."

Finally, they could go home.

Zhou You let out a breath, then heard his own name, "Daqian Martial Arts Hall's Zhou You, come with me."

Yan Wan Jun nodded toward Zhou You and stopped Yan Wan Jun, who was following behind, "You stay."

Everyone:...

(End of chapter)