Chapter 575: Bloodline Locks and Family Fist

For weddings, funerals, births, and marriages, as well as festivals and ancestral sacrifices, all matters must be conducted in accordance with ritual.

This is the rule passed down by noble families for thousands of years; every family must strictly observe it, otherwise they are considered outsiders and must be removed from the records.

Although Zhou You knew he also had his own origins, he only ever regarded himself as a Commoner and never paid attention to such things.

He himself scoffed at those tedious formalities, considering them a waste of time and money.

It was not until the interface gave a prompt that he realized there was truly profound mystery within it.

Bowing and paying respects to the family name, a mere formality, actually involved the function of activating bloodlines.

Thus, the Seal Script 'Qi' carved on that wall was passed down by the ancestors of Qi Fengzi, witnessing the various rituals and ceremonies of the forebears.

In layman's terms, the incense consumed was at least one ton in weight.

Zhou You took her as a concubine, bowed to the family name, and triggered a Trial Project, receiving a prompt on the spot.

"Activate bloodline? Whose bloodline is being activated? Qi Fengzi's? It couldn't possibly be mine, could it?"

The next moment, Zhou You sensed the blood within his body pulsing slightly.

Right, his marriage to Qi Fengzi was a political alliance; by bowing to the family name and gaining recognition, he also obtained benefits.

Qi Fengzi was the successor to the family name and received the greatest benefit; although it was only a faint activation, a strange energy had already awakened within her body.

If she practiced the Qi Family's fist techniques, she would surely break through a realm on the spot.

Hmm, Qi Qingdi also has the surname Qi; should I pull him over to try?

Ah, no, he and Qi Fengzi are not of the same clan, and their family names are different.

Qi Qingdi's family name should have been taken away by the Qi Family along with Qi Qingqie.

Zhou You felt the faint bloodline power in his body, circulated the path of the Zhou Family Fist, and heard a voice descend into his ears.

"Fist technique can be upgraded. Do you wish to upgrade Zhou Family Fist?"

Absolutely! "Experience Points -8000, Zhou Family Fist Lv3 → Lv4."

"Experience Points -12000, Zhou Family Fist Lv4 → Lv5."

"Experience Points -17000, Zhou Family Fist Lv5 → Lv6."

"Experience Points -23000, Zhou Family Fist Lv6 → Lv7."

"Experience Points -29000, Zhou Family Fist Lv7 → Lv8."

"Experience Points -33000, Zhou Family Fist Lv8 → Lv9."

With the bloodline power unsealed, this family fist technique could finally be upgraded to his heart's content. Zhou You changed from the agony of having money he couldn't spend to frantically raising his realm, until the interface prompted...

"Upgrade conditions not met!"

Sure enough, he had reached the bloodline lock again. To upgrade to Lv10, he must perform another family ritual; I fear next time, at least the Zhou Family's family name will be required to make it work.

The Zhou Family Fist could not be raised further, but the Glazed Longevity Fist could, so he continued to upgrade it.

He consumed over a hundred thousand Experience Points, raised the Glazed Longevity Fist to Lv13, and finally achieved his wish, obtaining the 'Poison Self-Dissolving' skill.

After reaching Lv10, a lotus watermark appeared on the surface of the Glazed Longevity Fist, emitting a faint fragrance that could block poison gas.

'Protection' was also born within his body; once external poison invaded, his Qi and blood would immediately undergo changes to dissolve the poison on their own.

It would be even more effective if assisted by detoxifying medicine, but no one would be foolish enough to rely entirely on their physical body to endure it.

"Hmm, the upper limit of the Glazed Longevity Fist is restricted by the Zhou Family Fist Lv9, allowing it to reach at most Lv19." Zhou You hesitated for a moment; he had plenty of Experience Points and didn't mind the cost, so he maxed out the remaining levels.

This fist technique's realm rose like a rocket, quickly reaching Lv19. It did not produce a brand-new skill, but 'Poison Self-Dissolving' underwent a change.

"'Poison Self-Dissolving' entry upgraded to 'Poison Instantly Dissolving'."

Don't let the literal difference fool you; the effect was vastly different. 'Poison Instantly Dissolving', missing the 'Self', meant it could not only save oneself but also save others.

Through the input of his own Qi and blood, he could dissolve poison for those close to him, resolving urgent crises.

Generally speaking, noble family fist techniques are for self-preservation and rarely have such functions for rescuing others.

But Zhou You thought about it and understood; there are also rules of respecting the old and showing filial piety within a family. Could this move be a means to rescue one's father or ancestors and show filial piety? Regardless, the detox skill brought by the breakthrough of the Zhou Family Fist added a trump card for Zhou You.

What is even more valuable is that 'Poison Instantly Dissolving' can also be enhanced by taking anti-poison medicine, enriching the diversity of his responses.

After all, poison and medicine, as spear and shield, have always evolved and improved through constant confrontation.

Deadly poisons are also constantly evolving and adjusting to bypass the solutions of detoxifying medicines, while detoxifying medicines are also optimized against the evolution of deadly poisons.

The so-called immunity to a hundred poisons is only a relative concept; there is always a one-hundred-and-first poison that will 'invade' the defense.

"Master Zhou, Du Taiyue has gone mad."

"Not long after that Martial Expert fell, he sent people to wipe out all the martial arts halls and masters of that lineage, killing them all and completely severing that branch."

"The Ten Thousand Poisons Secret Workshop has raised the 'Dazzling Gold Banner', acting in opposition to the Thousand Faces Hall's bounty. Those vicious criminals only need to kill the martial artists hired by the Thousand Faces Hall to go to the outskirts of the swamp and collect the reward."

"His famous Disciples, Fu Manlun, Ha Rugou, Wu Kui, and Zhu Shuowang, are harassing cities, plundering resources, and slaughtering martial artists everywhere with incomparably cruel methods."

"By the way, you probably don't know yet, but Lu Zhigang, who took your bounty, has also become one of Du Taiyue's inner Disciples."

Martial arts hall masters in the same city have been visiting more frequently during this period, bringing all sorts of news.

Zhou You's status is no longer what it once was. He has received Instruction from the Fucheng Monarch, enlisted the support of a Martial Expert, destroyed the Zheng Martial Arts Hall which had produced a Martial Expert, and received a Merit Tripod presented jointly by the noble families.

All these achievements combined have caused his status to rise rapidly, and some are already comparing him to the Yanshan of the past.

Now, a storm is brewing at the Ten Thousand Poisons Secret Workshop, and the threat of Poison Martial Arts is right at his doorstep.

Zhou You's wife, Hua Youxing, has the backing of the Medicine King Sect, and her family business, Xingren Tang, is famous throughout Fucheng. Even a small concubine who serves with her beauty is an officially certified herbalist.

The background of the Daqian Martial Arts Hall is unfathomable; they must have channels to procure large quantities of anti-poison and detoxifying drugs.

More and more martial arts halls are scrambling to be on good terms with him, hoping to build a favorable connection in advance.

The Disciples of the Ten Thousand Poisons Secret Workshop, incited by Du Taiyue, are burning, killing, and looting everywhere, committing every evil deed.

Their notorious reputations, enough to stop infants from crying, have spread far and wide, especially the top inner Disciples, whose profiles have long since spread throughout the area around Fucheng; no one does not know them.

Lu Zhigang has also been dug up; he once operated in Gongliang City and Fucheng, and many people have seen him before.

Everyone thought he had disappeared for years and was long dead; who could have imagined he would cling to Du Taiyue's thigh and become one of the infamous inner Disciples.

It is ironic to say that the Ten Thousand Poisons Secret Workshop targeted the people of the Thousand Faces Hall, wantonly slaughtering the martial artists who accepted the bounties.

Before Lu Zhigang entered the sect, he had also accepted jobs at the Thousand Faces Hall; if he were to carry this out resolutely, he would first have to commit suicide.

Someone thought of the past conflict between Lu Zhigang and Zhou You, dug up this old, stale matter, and asked Zhou You to step forward to deal with the inner disciples of the Ten Thousand Poisons Secret Workshop.

Du Taiyue has powerful martial experts from above backing him, so these martial master-level Poison Martial Arts practitioners must be dealt with, otherwise no one can endure it.

(End of this chapter)