Chapter 594: Adopting a Foster Daughter

"You have quite the big mouth."

A figure appeared upon these ruins; it was none other than Zhou You's second avatar, Lu Zhigang.

The Cao family Martial Master glanced at him, showing no fear at all, "You are the master she speaks of. Do you know that this act insults the reputation of the Cao clan? You deserve to die!"

He swept his gaze over Cao Xuan'er, "Today, I shall use the blood of you two to wash away this stain."

Lu Zhigang smiled and asked Cao Xuan'er, "Do you still want to go home now?"

Cao Xuan'er shook her head, "I cannot go back. I should have known; Cao Xuan'er died long ago."

From the moment she was abducted by Wu Kui, the Cao family had tacitly assumed she was dead. Trapped in the Myriad Poison Secret Workshop, surrounded by a multitude of heinous Poison Martial Arts scoundrels, there was no possibility of her remaining pure.

Seeing her gaze like dead ash, Lu Zhigang said to the Cao family Martial Master, "If I guarantee that she has been under my protection the entire time, has not been touched or insulted in the slightest, and remains a maiden, what will you do?"

"Is it or isn't it, has it or hasn't it?"

The Cao family Martial Master said dismissively, "Who cares?"

Cao Xuan'er felt as if her heart had been struck by a giant hammer. She could not breathe, and she squeezed a hysterical sentence from her throat, "Kill him, kill him!"

It is said that the Myriad Poison Secret Workshop is a den of iniquity containing the most poisonous things in the world, but only now did she realize that the poison of the human heart cannot be compared to any deadly toxin.

The Cao family Martial Master stopped looking at her and moved directly against Zhou You.

His mission this time had the air of a suicide mission; as long as he could kill Cao Xuan'er and create the established fact that she was already dead, he could cover up the truth and eliminate the influence brought by this scandal.

A daughter of the Cao family who has been shamed cannot live; she must die to be clean!

Since Lu Zhigang had appeared, he would kill Lu Zhigang first, then kill Cao Xuan'er.

"Courage crowning three armies, crushing dry weeds and smashing rotten wood!"

The Cao family Martial Master took a deep breath, his body swelling into a sphere, his palms continuously gathering the immense power of Qi and blood.

The quality of his Qi and blood divine weapon was not low; it trembled incessantly under the infusion of Qi and blood, its load rising in a straight line, yet it had not reached its limit.

Using fist techniques to drive the Qi and blood divine weapon, he unleashed a secret technique of the Cao family fist, intending to kill Lu Zhigang and Cao Xuan'er with the force of a thunderbolt.

"Pustule Face!"

At Lu Zhigang's command, the Poison Snake slithered behind him, their movements perfectly in sync.

"A newly developed ultimate move—let's use you to break it in!"

Zhou You drew a breath into his chest, the toxic atmosphere of the Poison Flood Dragon Saliva churning, the patterns on his palms flashing with an eerie light.

Stepping Heaven Flood Dragon Subduing Palm! As his palm wind rose, the Nine Insects Pustule Face merged into his combat power, growing horns and fangs under the stimulation of the poison miasma, its scales protruding, transforming from the outline of snake scales into those of a flood dragon—a visible rebirth.

What flew out at this moment was a genuine 'Poison Flood Dragon' level Seven Step Poison Sand Palm.

The Poison Flood Dragon leaped like it was flying, crashing into the Cao family Martial Master's Qi and blood divine weapon, the infused infinite power causing it to collapse on the spot, landing amidst a spray of sparks. And that was not all...

"What?"

The Cao family Martial Master stumbled backward, his face full of shock. The opponent before him was more than just an Intermediate Martial Master; he had touched the threshold of the Strong Martial Level.

The wind and clouds surged all around. As the Poison Flood Dragon shook its head and wagged its tail, water vapor condensed, and the entire area became treacherous.

"Hm?"

Kongque Laoliu sensed something unusual and looked up at that area, "Strong Martial, is it Du Taiyue?" A shout came from the opposite side, "Kongque, you wild Martial Master, coming to join the fun? Do you think my Myriad Poison Secret Workshop is made of paper? Today, I will ensure you come but never return."

The ground was already littered with the corpses of at least 5 or 6 intruding Martial Masters.

The other surviving Martial Masters were also being divided and surrounded by the Poison Martial Arts practitioners, who held the numerical advantage, and were trapped in a bitter struggle.

Only Kongque Laoliu remained, facing the two inner disciples, Wu Kui and Ha Rugou, who had arrived upon hearing the news, as well as the massive group of lackeys behind them.

Wu Kui and Ha Rugou, as inner disciples, had special privileges; they occupied territory in the Wanli Zhaohai that was rich in resources, allowing them to collect taxes and mine, making them filthy rich and enabling them to keep a massive number of scoundrels as lackeys.

Just looking at the surging crowd behind them, every single one was a Martial Master famous on the bounty list; anyone who hadn't killed at least a hundred people would be too embarrassed to stand among them.

'Beast-like' Xie Zanhuan, an Intermediate Martial Master of Caojiang Cheng, who, after failing to take over a rival school, snuck in at night and wiped out the entire family in blood, then went out for breakfast as usual the next day. After the matter was exposed, he escaped from the siege of hundreds of people, killing dozens of Martial Masters.

'Audacious' Tong Ruxi, who once gathered a group of outlaws to storm the Zhenxiong Yu in an attempt to rescue his companions, only to be wiped out when they hit the iron wall of the City Gate Guard; he managed to escape from the siege of nine Captains.

The weakest of these people were Intermediate Martial Masters, their bodies hard yet flexible, capable of immunizing against iron weapon damage unless attacked with Qi and blood divine weapons.

The leaders, Wu Kui and Ha Rugou, as inner disciples of the Myriad Poison Secret Workshop, held status equivalent to the fierce generals of Dayin Mountain and the 'Myriad Beauties' of Wanxiu Mountain; they were essentially 'Gu' raised among billions of poisonous insects.

Don't let their submissive and respectful behavior in front of Du Taiyue fool you; in the outside world, their images were those of arrogant Great Demon lords.

Not to mention the head of the inner disciples, Fu Manlun, a top-tier Martial Master who could face a Witch-tribe Strong Martial expert and not die; he could even occasionally contend with someone at the level of Yan Baihu.

Therefore, after the news of the Martial Masters' intrusion spread, the Myriad Poison Secret Workshop reacted only slightly, sending only Wu Kui and Ha Rugou.

Wu Kui was the party involved; he had abducted Cao Xuan'er out of an eager desire to perform a meritorious deed, intentionally provoking the incident. Since the other side had reacted, he, as the party involved, could not retreat and had to appear.

Ha Rugou was invited by him to assist.

Two inner disciples, plus the hundreds of scoundrel lackeys they each brought, made a scale of over a thousand people. This was a sure win! "Wu Kui, you've finally come!"

The corners of Kongque Laoliu's mouth curled up.

The Cao family Martial Master had already been laid to rest inside the belly of Pustule Face.

As a pawn of the Cao family on the outside, he certainly had some skills, having integrated and understood the Cao family fist techniques with the heritage he had obtained, forming his own school, and unleashing infinite power when he performed them.

However, under Zhou You's fist technique, which had been elevated to the Strong Martial Level, he still met his end on the spot.

After being killed with one palm, he was tossed into the mouth of Pustule Face as feed; that was his fate.

"Cao Xuan'er, are you going back now, or..."

Lu Zhigang glanced at Cao Xuan'er beside him. This woman hid her strength and thoughts; she was not as weak as she appeared on the surface, and deep down, she was not a simple character.

"Cao Xuan'er is dead. Many thanks, Master, for saving my life and granting me a new birth."

"If Master does not mind, this daughter wishes to acknowledge you as her foster father, taking Lu as my surname. From now on, there is no Cao Xuan'er in this world, only your foster daughter, only the one reborn from the ashes... Lu Chongsheng."

Lu Zhigang's mouth twitched twice. Could a person's transformation after seeing through life and death really be this great?

She had actually changed from her past aloof and cold nature to become so practical.

In all fairness, acknowledging him as a foster father was indeed Cao Xuan'er's best choice.

She had broken with the Cao family, so she certainly could not go home. Aside from the Wanli Zhaohai, she had nowhere to hide, and in this black water swamp, the only person worth entrusting her life to was this Lu Zhigang before her.

Bow to a foster father, change your name and surname, sever all ties with the past, and be reborn! (End of chapter)