It was just that this matter spread only within the Qiangu Clan.
The reason was that Leng Yaozhu had stepped in and directly suppressed it.
Even Qiangu Dongfeng was willing to do Leng Yaozhu this small favor.
So he, too, chose not to pursue the matter, and it was completely hushed up.
Because of this, many people realized that Qiangu Qingzhou, a member of the Qiangu Clan, had actually taken Leng Yaozhu's side.
Under everyone's gaze, this was already an open confrontation.
Chen Zhou, however, said nothing. He merely lowered his head in silence, putting on a self-conscious, submissive act.
Seeing Chen Zhou's appearance, Qiangu Chengfeng gave a cold snort.
He had originally wanted to find an excuse to provoke Chen Zhou, then beat him up and show off the authority of an older cousin.
But seeing how meekly the boy kept his head down, he held back.
What Qiangu Chengfeng didn't know was that although Chen Zhou kept his head lowered, he could barely keep the smile off his face.
The harsher he spoke today, the faster he would be humiliated tomorrow, when Chen Zhou defeated Qiangu Zhangting in front of everyone—or even killed him.
He had just finished boasting that Qiangu Zhangting was the family's greatest genius, only for him to be immediately defeated, even crushed. The shock this would cause was beyond imagination.
Chen Zhou had been wondering whether he should go this far. After all, that would mean taking Leng Yaozhu's side for good.
But after thinking it over, he decided it wasn't necessarily a bad idea.
The Qiangu Clan's true inner circle—the clan elders and senior elders, including Qiangu Dieting, the former clan head—all had one main goal: to have members of the Qiangu Clan take control of the Spirit Pagoda.
Though Qiangu Dieting was Qiangu Zhangting's grandfather, he didn't care much about such things.
He only wanted someone from the Qiangu Clan to control the Spirit Pagoda. It didn't matter who. Whether the successor was Qiangu Zhangting or Qiangu Qingzhou, this truly terrifying Limit Douluo didn't care.
And as for Chen Zhou's inherited Martial Soul not being the Coiling Dragon Staff, so what?
As long as Chen Zhou's Water Dragon Martial Soul was strong enough, the Qiangu Clan would be entirely willing to make it their new inherited Martial Soul.
Both Leng Yaozhu and Qiangu Dongfeng could see this.
That was why Leng Yaozhu had invested in Chen Zhou ahead of time.
She was deeply dissatisfied with Qiangu Dongfeng and even the entire Qiangu Clan, but she didn't dare to truly offend them.
After all, the Qiangu Clan had three Limit Douluos in a single generation. That was no joke.
But now, if she relied on her own strength and brought over a truly talented member of the Qiangu Clan to become the new Spirit Pagoda Master, there was a real chance she could pull it off.
No one knew whether the others, including Qiangu Qingfeng, were dead or alive. He had no interest in the Spirit Pagoda, either—his only goal was to increase his strength.
Qiangu Dieting was even less worth mentioning. The old clan head no longer involved himself in affairs and cared only about the Spirit Pagoda's succession.
In this situation, Leng Yaozhu only needed to deal with Qiangu Dongfeng.
If she could bring Chen Zhou over, then use his name to oppose the Qiangu Clan, the results would be excellent.
Qiangu Zhangting was completely unaware of this. That was why he was so eager to suppress Chen Zhou.
But Chen Zhou had figured it out. He understood that no matter what he did, the retaliation and pressure that followed would only grow harsher.
After watching Chen Zhou keep his head down the whole time and making a few more sarcastic remarks, Qiangu Chengfeng grew bored and brought the conversation to an end.
Meanwhile, the young woman's voice was much gentler.
Her name was Qiangu Qingsong. She was a young lady from a collateral branch of the Qiangu Clan, and her status was equally high.
"I'm delighted that everyone could attend my cousin Qiangu Zhangting's banquet. I hope you all enjoy the food and drink."
"We're all family. I hope we can stand together through thick and thin, grow together, and face everything together."
The woman's voice was gentle and free of any hostility, earning her the goodwill of many young members of the Qiangu Clan.
After the two had finished speaking, Qiangu Zhangting announced that the banquet had officially begun.
Everyone began to feast and exchange flattery.
They praised each other's achievements, one after another, showering each other with compliments and politely deflecting praise.
But not a single person spoke to Chen Zhou.
Even so, many people kept their eyes on him.
Clearly, they were waiting for Chen Zhou to approach them so they could coldly reject him and humiliate him.
Chen Zhou had seen through their little schemes long ago.
He simply pretended not to notice, acting as though he were too self-conscious to speak to them.
The banquet ended quickly, and everyone seemed to have enjoyed themselves.
As car after car returned to the Qiangu Clan's residence, Chen Zhou remained calm.
He would cultivate tonight, then take part in the competition tomorrow.
Chen Zhou was naturally interested in the Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone. He already considered it as good as his.
As night fell, Chen Zhou went to bed early and slowly drifted off to sleep.
Laite still wasn't there in his dream, but Chen Zhou didn't mind.
He sat cross-legged in silence and began meditating with his eyes closed, slowly improving his Soul Power.
With a cultivation speed of at least 240 times the norm, Chen Zhou's Soul Power rose rapidly.
An ordinary person would need at least a month, or even half a year, to gain a level or two.
Chen Zhou needed only a few days to rise by a level or two.
But to avoid appearing too extraordinary—or being treated like a test subject—Chen Zhou had always kept his progress in check.
This time, he didn't have to wait long before Neuvillette appeared.
Seeing his teacher, Chen Zhou calmly rose to his feet.
"Come on, Teacher. Let's continue our sparring. I want to polish my skills today. Tomorrow, I'm entering the Riot Spirit Ascension Platform."
As Chen Zhou spoke, he took a deep breath. He looked at Neuvillette, and Neuvillette looked back at him.
But this time, Neuvillette vanished on the spot. When he reappeared, he was already right in front of Chen Zhou.
It happened so suddenly that Chen Zhou couldn't react in time. He was killed on the spot.
Neuvillette demonstrated this near-instantaneous movement, along with his ability to appear in midair, dozens of times.
Each time he appeared, Chen Zhou was killed again.
At first, Chen Zhou was bewildered. But after watching him perform the moves over and over, he finally understood what Neuvillette meant.
His teacher was teaching him a technique: a close-range ambush.
Controlling water didn't mean controlling only ordinary rivers and streams.
Living creatures contained water, too—especially the human body, which was more than fifty percent water.
In that case, the water inside the human body could be controlled as well.
By taking advantage of this, Chen Zhou could also achieve an effect almost like teleportation.
And if he studied and experimented carefully, he could do more than just create the illusion of teleporting.
Even some things that had once seemed difficult could be accomplished with ease.