Qiangu Clan

This feeling was incredibly profound.

Chen Zhou could clearly sense that as his mood smoothed out, a certain change was quietly taking place within his body.

This was a good thing for Chen Zhou; he could even feel his meridians beginning to become clear and unobstructed.

Watching Chen Zhou sitting cross-legged with a clear and bright gaze, Neuvillette stood up slightly. His figure vanished from the Dream World, and he began to return to Fontaine to handle his daily affairs.

Chen Zhou was awakened by a knock on the door.

By the time he opened his eyes, the sky outside had already darkened; it must have been eight or nine o'clock in the evening.

He opened the door.

A young girl stood there, looking at him with a hint of fear.

"Young Master Qiangu Qingzhou, the young masters of this branch have all returned. Several of them were injured by you, and the Elder has ordered me to summon you."

As the young girl spoke, she kept her body hunched.

Her face carried a trace of terror.

The news that Chen Zhou had beaten many people upon his return had already spread; the lightest injuries were severe.

The most severely injured servants had even had a leg crippled, and in a place like this, to have an arm or leg crippled—

The final outcome was often being sold off.

They would lose the capital they relied on to survive.

For many, this was cruel and would even have a significant impact on their lives.

However, Chen Zhou did not care about this. When those people bullied him for money back then, they should have expected a day like this would come.

But for this young girl who had just arrived, Chen Zhou had no intention of making things difficult for her. He simply gave a soft grunt, stood up, and walked out quickly.

Upon arriving at the massive dining hall, there were already quite a few people inside.

Most of them were girls, while the number of boys was very small, either because they had been beaten by Chen Zhou upon returning or had returned early only to have Chen Zhou break into their rooms and beat them up.

Chen Zhou had shown restraint, but these people would be bedridden for at least a week or two, if not a month or two.

Watching Chen Zhou, the only boy, walk over, the cousins who had previously been indifferent to him all cast their gazes upon him.

Chen Zhou, however, couldn't be bothered to pay them any mind; he sat down and began to eat in silence.

None of these people were very old; the oldest were only nine or ten, and the strongest among them only possessed two rings.

There wasn't even a single three-ringed soul master.

Under these circumstances, compared to a peerless monster like Chen Zhou, who had reached two rings at the age of six and a half, there was simply no comparison.

Coupled with the fundamental gap between their Martial Souls, it was no surprise they had been beaten so miserably by Chen Zhou.

Presiding over the table was an old man who glanced at Chen Zhou without saying a word.

The Qiangu Clan had its share of geniuses, but those with such talent were few and far between.

In the past few years, this branch had produced only two individuals with innate full soul power.

Besides Chen Zhou, there had been another one two years ago.

That girl also had innate full soul power and even possessed twin Martial Souls, but both Martial Souls could only be described as average.

The Qiangu Clan had many geniuses only because of the large population base across these dozens of branch families.

This was equivalent to seeing a few, or perhaps a dozen, such individuals emerge from hundreds of talented descendants each year.

One must realize that under generations of genetic succession and protection, all descendants of the Qiangu Clan, whether branch or direct, possessed top-tier bloodlines.

Whether it was his father or mother, as long as they were not from outside the clan, they almost all possessed top-tier Martial Souls.

It was only after these top-tier Martial Souls were rotated and sustained for generations, even dozens of generations, that this situation had formed.

Yet even so, the number of top-tier geniuses and those with innate full soul power remained very small.

And if such a genius were placed in a branch family like this—

Even the head of this branch, Chen Zhou's uncle, would not say anything to Chen Zhou, even if his own son had been beaten quite badly.

In fact, when he saw Chen Zhou approach, Chen Zhou's uncle even smiled.

"Little Zhou, it was Uncle who didn't understand the situation before. I didn't expect them to bully you in secret like that. Uncle is now aware of this matter."

"Uncle will gather evidence on everyone who participated in bullying you. Then, I will punish them accordingly."

The middle-aged man looked at Chen Zhou with a gentle expression. Within the Qiangu Clan, he was a deacon.

He was the head of this branch, yet he only possessed the cultivation of a Soul Saint; such talent and aptitude were already considered quite good among the branch families.

But when compared to a monster like Chen Zhou, there was no comparison at all.

Based solely on the strength of the Martial Soul Chen Zhou had displayed, the clan had already begun to make calculations.

The data he had received so far suggested that the other party's Martial Soul might not be an ordinary Water Dragon Martial Soul.

It was likely a special Water Dragon King Martial Soul, and one that had undergone a second mutation at that.

This type of new dragon-type martial soul had never appeared even within the entire clan.

Looking at the gentle expression on the other man's face, Chen Zhou ignored him entirely. He simply finished his meal in silence, offered a calm bow, and turned to return to his room.

He did not care at all about this display of goodwill; he would be returning to the Spirit Pagoda branch in a few days regardless.

The East Sea City Spirit Pagoda was his home, or rather, the only place he truly recognized.

He felt no sense of belonging toward this so-called uncle or any of his other relatives.

It was not that Chen Zhou was cold-hearted, but for cousins he hadn't spoken to in years—or who only spoke to him to bully him—anyone would find it impossible to harbor any affection.

That night, Chen Zhou continued his cultivation.

Furthermore, he discovered that every time he entered the Dream World, a water-colored barrier would be cast over his body in the real world; this was the power Neuvillette could project.

The moment Chen Zhou entered the dreamscape, or rather, the moment a connection was established between the Dream World and the real world, Neuvillette could shroud him in this protective layer.

This was effectively a bug, as the barrier was cast by Neuvillette himself.

Even an average Titled Douluo could not break through this shield.

In other words, if Chen Zhou truly could not win a fight, he could simply force himself to sleep and use this barrier to protect himself; it was an excellent defensive method.

Moreover, while he was in the Dream World, his physical body continued to recover soul power.

This was another way to exploit the bug.

However, as Chen Zhou's strength increased at an ever-accelerating rate, the utility of this bug would diminish over time.

Especially as his Water Dragon King martial soul began to evolve and mutate toward the legendary Primordial Dragon.

Chen Zhou could clearly feel that his strength was changing with each passing day.

The speed of his improvement was astonishing.

Yet, for Chen Zhou, this was not necessarily a good thing.

Being a prodigy was one thing, but if he became monstrous to an unreasonable degree, it would likely invite suspicion from the Douluo World.

Especially since his own martial soul was already problematic; the Qiangu Clan might very well treat him as a research subject, which would be detrimental to him.