Chapter 546: Stirring Up Trouble, Breaking the Deadlock with Force

Zhou You's movement was like a thunderbolt, displaying a power that could shatter stone and startle the heavens.

He rose like a leaping tiger, and as he swept through the air, he was like a great eagle swooping down on its prey; he was so fast that his target had no time to react, and the ambusher remained where he was, not even shifting his feet by half an inch.

"Thump!"

The surrounding crowd scattered, only to see a person wearing a bamboo hat lying on the ground, their head having smashed a large pit into the earth.

They bent their arms against the joints, attempting to break the leg Zhou You was using to step on their back, but each heavy blow was as powerless as a tickle. The onlookers were in an uproar; what had happened? "After fishing for so long, I've finally hooked you."

Zhou You said softly, then lifted his foot and tapped four times in succession, breaking all of the person's arms and legs.

He turned toward the battlefield and said, "Good disciple, come down!"

Qi Qingdi put away his short staff and returned quickly, "Master, is this the guy who was shooting hidden arrows at my back?"

He lifted the bamboo hat, revealing an ordinary middle-aged face with no distinguishing features.

Zuo Shier and the others surrounded him from both sides and scolded, "Speak quickly, who sent you?"

The assassin closed their eyes and mouth, refusing to say a word despite all the urging, determined to keep the secret.

"Another death soldier; bring the one from before."

Zhou You sighed, noting that one could see the foundation of a noble family from this point alone.

As a resource, death soldiers were extremely costly to train and maintain, something even ordinary wealthy people could hardly afford; only noble families possessed a complete training system.

Since he knew the mastermind was Liu Chengen, it was only natural for him, as a scion of a noble family, to control a force of death soldiers.

The martial master who had previously chased Pang Jihui, and now this assassin who had released the Colorless Jellyfish to ambush Qi Qingdi, had said nothing after being captured alive, and even tried to commit suicide at every opportunity.

Therefore, Zhou You had not expected them to confess of their own volition.

One Blood Qi Gu per person, no need to waste effort.

The assassin's eyes suddenly widened; after the Blood Qi Gu entered their body, they instinctively wanted to resist, but having had their limbs broken by Zhou You, they were severely injured and their blood qi was thin, leaving them full of openings and easily dominated by the Blood Qi Gu.

Before long, the martial master from earlier was also dragged to the scene.

Zhou You looked at the two living captives and nodded with satisfaction; he had obtained quite a few good things from his battle with the Witch People.

The Witch People's ability to raise poisonous insects and Gu Insects was absolutely unrivaled in the region; they had various secret techniques, from those that promoted the breeding and egg-laying of Gu Insects to those that raised the grade of the Gu Insects, emerging one after another.

Zhou You's supply of Blood Qi Gu had almost run out, but after obtaining the secret method for inducing egg-laying from the Witch People, he immediately carried out some cross-breeding and propagation, producing thousands of eggs, which he then selectively bred.

The cultivated Blood Qi Gu could now lurk inside a martial master's body without being detected, enduring the scouring of blood qi.

Originally, Liu Chengen's death soldier had wanted to commit suicide, but after being parasitized by the Blood Qi Gu, they conveniently became obedient.

It was precisely because he had the trump card of the Blood Qi Gu that Zhou You was able to bring the two witnesses out into the public eye, under the gaze of everyone.

"Master Xue, these two culprits—the first one intercepted and killed Master Pang a few days ago; there's no need to ask, they were definitely going to frame your martial arts hall."

"The second one took advantage of my disciple fighting in the ring to release poisonous insects to plot against him, also to splash dirty water on your heads."

"Could it be that you have offended someone recently?"

Pang Jihui, standing to the side, said loudly, "Master Xue, I previously paid a visit, wanting to clear up the misunderstanding with you, but I encountered danger and was ambushed by an expert before I even saw the gate of Zhengming Martial Arts Hall."

He pointed at the martial master, "It is this person; do you recognize him?"

The martial artists from both camps were in an uproar; people dying in a fist fight was not rare, but using underhanded methods was too lacking in integrity.

Xue Zhengming's face flushed red with anxiety, "It wasn't me! I have never seen this person."

His disciples and apprentices retorted, "Who knows if you didn't hire people to act this out, deliberately framing our martial arts hall." Zhou You's words left them speechless.

"These two are both Intermediate Martial Masters; do I have enough face to make them risk their reputations to cooperate in a play?"

Only then did someone notice that the two bound martial masters were actually both Intermediate Martial Masters.

The situation was serious.

Even if Xue Zhengming was slow-witted, he could smell the scent of a conspiracy; he felt that both he and Daqian Martial Arts Hall had been dragged into some massive scheme, pushed to fight each other as enemies.

He opened his mouth, just about to say something, when he suddenly heard a cry of wailing and grief, "Master, what's wrong? What's wrong?"

He had just wanted to say he was fine when a cold, sinister current of air pierced his heart.

The bone-chilling cold froze Xue Zhengming, leaving him stunned and speechless, his blood qi congealing, unable to make a sound.

At this moment, he was incredibly close to death, and he understood that he was a pawn—a pawn used to deal with Zhou You.

If he had known this would happen, he would rather have...

Lu Shengfa, who had just been injured, tearfully supported the slowly collapsing Xue Zhengming, his expression full of indignation, "Zhou You plotted against my master! We will not coexist with him; let's fight to the death!"

Under the gaze of everyone, Xue Zhengming collapsed with his eyes tightly shut. Before anything could be investigated, his disciple insisted that Zhou You had plotted against him, inciting the surrounding fellow disciples.

In an instant, the crowd was agitated, and the apprentices and disciples of Zhengming Martial Arts Hall had bloodshot eyes.

"Fight them to the death! Master cannot die in vain!"

Incited, the martial artists from the Zhengming Martial Arts Hall side charged toward Daqian Martial Arts Hall. The surrounding martial artists were in an uproar; how had a chaotic battle suddenly broken out? This was terrible.

Zhou You had just pointed out that someone was fanning the flames behind the scenes, and then Xue Zhengming died; this was too suspicious. Those with a discerning eye could see the traces of the mastermind at a glance.

However, the disciples of Zhengming Martial Arts Hall were blinded by rage and could not listen to explanations; a chaotic battle was inevitable.

Seeing this, Qin Lie and Yang Kuoqiong felt their scalps go numb and called out to their own disciples, "Quick, stop them!"

As Zhengming Martial Arts Hall moved, the many martial arts halls that had come to assist also moved; at least 30 martial arts halls were involved, and the wave they stirred up was like a tsunami.

The matter had blown up; with so many people fighting, it was comparable to a small-scale war.

"What the hell are you doing?"

Zhou You's shout was like a tiger's roar, suppressing the entire scene with his individual strength; in an instant, all the noise and cursing stopped.

In the brief silence, he leaped into the air, his posture seemingly detached from gravity. The onlookers watching his back felt as if their own hearts had leaped along with him.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh! He was in mid-air, moving at extreme speed, plunging headlong into the Zhengming Martial Arts Hall camp like an arrow released from a bow.

Lu Shengfa was still fanning the flames and, seeing this, screamed, "He won't even spare Master's remains! This is too much!"

"I'm coming for you."

Zhou You, still in mid-air, spread his palm, pressed it down toward Lu Shengfa's head, grabbed his head, and slammed it into the ground.

Boom! The solid stone floor was pressed into a huge, wok-shaped crater on the spot; Lu Shengfa was pinned to the bottom of the crater by his palm, his head surrounded by dense, spiderweb-like cracks, with not a sliver of room to move.

"You dog, fanning the flames—did you think I couldn't see you?"

Zhou You spat at him, then roared at the other Zhengming Martial Arts Hall Disciples, "What are you wailing for? Your master isn't dead."

(End of chapter)