Master Liang's Actions (Seeking Reads)

"Master Liang, it is like this..."

Zhou Yun recounted the sequence of events exactly as they happened, without the slightest exaggeration, though he did not explicitly mention that he had killed an expert of the Dark Force realm alone.

Some matters were already beyond the level of a mere disciple; as a student of the Black Stone Martial Hall, there were naturally taller figures above him to shoulder the burden.

Therefore, he naturally did not wish to attract any unnecessary attention.

During his explanation, Master Liang's brows rose and fell repeatedly, clearly finding the situation quite unexpected.

As one of the two major powers surnamed Shen in Black Stone County, the Sky Sea Escort Agency actually wanted to make a move against Shen Qingxue, a direct descendant of the main branch, and intended to frame other factions for harboring hostility toward the Shen family?

If it were anyone else, Liang Wanshan might not have intervened, as he, being the master of the martial hall, had already established a contract with the local government.

But this time, it involved his inner-court disciple; although Zhou Yun had only recently broken through to the Bright Force realm, he still had earned the right to be involved.

"You handled this matter well. Here are ten taels of silver and a small bottle of Blood Coagulation Pill; take them."

Master Liang's expression returned to calm as he took a small porcelain bottle from his side and handed it to Zhou Yun. "There are three Blood Coagulation Pills inside, enough for you to reach the Great Completion of the Bright Force realm."

"Many thanks, Master."

Zhou Yun suppressed his excitement, not expecting Master Liang to be so generous right off the bat—three Blood Coagulation Pills!

Not to mention the ten taels of silver, which was more than the monthly salary Shen Qingxue had offered for a guest deacon position.

However, this also confirmed from another angle that this incident was deeply entangled and not so easily resolved.

"This matter will be handled by your Senior Brother Wang Lan later. For the next period, you should focus on your training in the martial hall; do not leave unless there is an urgent matter."

Master Liang's expression was calm. As one of the few Transformation Force grandmasters in Black Stone County, and a pillar of strength among them who could not be underestimated, his every move was watched by many. He could only send his disciple to act, but that would be enough.

After speaking, Master Liang turned his gaze toward Shen Qingxue.

"Qingxue, this is your family affair, so there is not much I can say... but you are, after all, my inner-court disciple. If you need any help from the martial hall, feel free to speak up."

"Many thanks, Master. Having Senior Brother Wang Lan's assistance is more than I could ask for."

Shen Qingxue bowed respectfully. Although Master Liang had only verbally agreed to help, the fact that he had already dispatched Wang Lan to intervene showed that he clearly understood some of the inner workings of this affair.

One must know that Wang Lan was one of Master Liang's few closed-door disciples, currently at the peak of the Small Completion of the Dark Force, having already touched the threshold of the Great Completion.

If there were no accidents, he would inevitably break through to the Transformation Force.

Coupled with Wang Lan's status in Xiang City and the martial arts techniques he had mastered, he had the strength to fight even if he encountered an expert at the Great Completion of the Dark Force.

How many Dark Force experts were there in the entire Black Stone County? Aside from the Black Stone Martial Hall, one could count them on one hand.

"Then Master, I shall take my leave."

Zhou Yun bowed. Having not closed his eyes for two full days, even he, at the Small Completion of the Bright Force, felt a hint of exhaustion.

The harvest from this trip was more than enough; what remained was to properly digest it and translate it into his own strength.

"Junior Brother, go and rest first. I will give you the escort reward money later."

Shen Qingxue had no intention of leaving. She was the most deeply involved in this matter and certainly had more details to report to Master Liang.

Once Zhou Yun had completely departed, she gritted her teeth and spoke: "Master Liang, my third uncle, in league with my second uncle, is likely trying to seize the position of Chief Escort."

"No, it is not that simple."

Liang Wanshan shook his head. "Qingxue, if your second and third uncles wanted the position of Chief Escort, they would have laid the groundwork ten years ago when your father was still here, rather than waiting until now."

"The only possibility is that they do not just want the position of Chief Escort; they want to completely overturn the entire Black Stone County."

Shen Qingxue's pupils constricted, shocked by this conclusion.

But upon closer reflection, it seemed to make perfect sense.

Along this journey, first the son of Magistrate Liu was killed, followed by the death of Second Master Shen's own son; the only survivors were her and the inner-court disciple of the Black Stone Martial Hall.

No matter how the situation unfolded, she and the Black Stone Martial Hall were destined to be the targets of the two major factions.

It would be difficult to explain things to Magistrate Liu, as Liu Guyuan was his only heir.

As for Second Master Shen, he had used the death of his own son to clear his name entirely.

Even the only Dark Force expert who might have known something had been killed by Zhou Yun.

"Master, what do you mean by what comes next..."

Shen Qingxue spoke subconsciously.

"The Three Halls Martial Tournament is approaching."

Master Liang said slowly, "Everything needs a catalyst. Clearly, they intend to reshuffle Black Stone County by stifling the younger generation and leveraging the momentum of the Three Halls Martial Tournament."

"As long as the Black Stone Martial Hall or your father's branch takes the top spot in the tournament, this matter can naturally be handled slowly."

"The Three Halls Martial Tournament..."

Shen Qingxue fell into memory. Past tournaments were attended by young experts under the age of thirty; generally, only those at the Dark Force level had a chance to win the top three and secure an opportunity to go to the main city.

Her strength was at the Small Completion of the Bright Force, and even though she had touched the threshold of the Great Completion, she could not possibly reach the Dark Force level in a month.

That is why she cared so much about the position of Chief Escort, hoping to leverage the influence of the Shen family to reach Xiang City.

Within Black Stone Martial Hall, the only people under thirty with the strength of the Dark Force realm were Wang Lan, Senior Brother Chen Jingping, and Liang Chengshi, who also had a chance to break through to the Dark Force.

However, both senior brothers were already natives of Xiang City; whether they placed in the top three or not, they could establish themselves in the main city. As for Liang Chengshi, he was Master Liang's adopted son, so he had a guaranteed spot to go to Xiang City regardless of the outcome...

"No, there is one more."

A figure suddenly surfaced in Shen Qingxue's mind—a man who had broken through to the Minor Accomplishment of the Bright Force just days after knocking on the gate, and who had mastered two martial arts to the Great Accomplishment.

Furthermore, during this escort mission, he had killed a Dark Force expert while only at the Bright Force realm; he could truly be called a genius among geniuses.

Zhou Yun had not explicitly told Master Liang about this, so she would not speak out of turn, but she silently etched that man's name into her heart.

"Zhou Yun..."

Inner courtyard.

Zhou Yun returned to his quarters and specifically drew a bucket of hot water to enjoy a proper bath.

The dangers of yesterday were still vivid in his mind; if he took on any jobs next time, he would have to inquire about them thoroughly beforehand, otherwise, it would be all too easy to fall into a crisis.

"But after this incident, Shen Qingxue won't be assigning me any escort missions for a while."

Soaking in the wooden tub, Zhou Yun did not linger in the hard-won bath; he turned, dried off, and put on his clothes.

He stepped into the courtyard and simultaneously unleashed the Black Ape Fist and Black Ape Movement Technique at the Great Accomplishment level, his internal blood and qi surging once again.

Having gone through this experience, Zhou Yun finally saw clearly the gap between the Bright Force and the Dark Force.

The ability to kill just by condensing force in one's palm truly exceeded the limits of humanity, and it was something that filled him with longing.

Before he knew it, the afternoon had arrived.

Just as Zhou Yun was deep in his practice, the front gate was suddenly knocked.

"Is Brother Yun here? It's Zhang Hu."

A familiar voice rang out, and Zhou Yun stopped his practice, feeling puzzled.

"Zhang Hu? Why has he come?"