Marriage!

After the hall closed, Zhou Chen was due to take a shift at Warehouse No. 2. Ye Lingtian walked over, patted his shoulder, and said earnestly, "Junior Brother Zhou, Black City will be unsettled for quite some time to come. Who knows what major trouble might break out? Since ancient times, whenever interests were divided up, blood was bound to be shed. You must be extra careful."

"Thank you for your concern, Senior Brother. I understand."

Zhou Chen nodded, a faint sense of crisis rising in his heart.

With the times in turmoil, he had to work twice as hard at his cultivation!

That day, the Lian Household estate was decorated inside and out, with bright red lanterns hanging all the way from the gates to the rear courtyard.

Guests arrived in an endless stream, and carriages packed the space before the gates. It was enough to show just how widely connected Lian Taoze was. People from all walks of life, from every trade and every stratum, had come.

Zhou Chen and Ye Lingtian chose a table by the window. Steaming meat and large bowls of wine covered the table, and the two ate as they watched the festivities.

Using the tip of his chopsticks, Ye Lingtian gestured vaguely around the room and introduced people to Zhou Chen in a low voice. "See that man over there with the saber on his back? They call him Gale Blade. He made his name many years ago, and his saber arts are marvelously divine. They say he has already touched the threshold of Major Accomplishment."

His chopsticks shifted, pointing toward an inconspicuous short man in the corner. "Don't let his height fool you. His information network is incredibly broad. Of all the rumors, great and small, circulating through Black City, he can uncover eight out of ten. If there's anything you want to investigate later, you can try your luck with him."

"Eldest Senior Brother's connections really are frighteningly extensive." Zhou Chen stuffed a piece of meat into his mouth and muttered his admiration through a full mouth.

"Of course." Ye Lingtian smiled, then his eyes suddenly lit up. He patted Zhou Chen's arm. "Hey, look!!! Third Senior Brother is here!"

Zhou Chen looked up and indeed saw a tall figure entering through the gates.

Zhao Tianhong wore a fitted black outfit today. A dark, heavy token hung at his waist, engraved with the character "General," swaying gently with his steps.

His aura had grown several degrees deeper and heavier since their last meeting. Even as he walked, he carried a quiet pressure, like a heavy saber sheathed in its scabbard.

The instant he appeared, greetings rose throughout the venue. Many guests stood and hurried over, cupping their hands in greeting and exchanging pleasantries.

After all, he was one of the Zheng Family Martial Arts Hall's foremost figures. Who would not want to take this chance to exchange a few words with him?

"Greetings, Third Senior Brother."

Zhou Chen and Ye Lingtian also went over to greet him.

Since Master Zheng had put such effort into nurturing him, Zhao Tianhong naturally possessed both the temperament and talent required. After knowing him for so long, Zhou Chen had only one impression of this Third Senior Brother: he was a good man with considerable authority, serious in his work, and gave people a deeply reliable feeling.

When Zhao Tianhong saw them, some of the polite distance on his face faded, and he smiled. "Junior Brother Zhou, Junior Brother Ye, you came too. Hah, seeing our own brothers from the martial arts hall still feels warmer."

Ye Lingtian looked him over from head to toe and could not help asking, "Third Senior Brother, your Blood Vitality has already been tempered to Perfection, hasn't it? It feels much more substantial than when I last saw you."

"Hehe, more or less." Zhao Tianhong did not deny it, smiling as he said, "After this period, perhaps I can try to break through to Third-Rank Martial Artist."

The moment those words came out, several people nearby who had been listening closely were slightly shaken, exchanging looks with one another.

Third-Rank Martial Artist—how many people had been stuck at that hurdle for half their lives, unable to cross it?

After exchanging a few pleasantries, Zhou Chen and Ye Lingtian saw more and more people gathering around, so they tactfully withdrew and returned to their table by the window, leaving the excitement to those guests eager to strike up a conversation.

Zhao Tianhong stood surrounded by the crowd, a proper smile on his lips, though a trace of helplessness still leaked from the depths of his eyes. He had never liked occasions like this. Rather than being surrounded by people speaking flattering words, he would rather carry his saber outside the city and chop down a few more Mist Monsters.

But Master Zheng had said that the ways of human relationships were also a required lesson for Martial Warriors. No matter how well one trained one's fists, if one offended everyone, the road ahead would come to an end.

Remembering those words, he suppressed that sliver of helplessness, put his smile back on, and patiently nodded and cupped his hands to each person.

With Ye Lingtian's introductions, Zhou Chen met quite a few more people.

One of them resembled Lian Taoze by five or six parts in his features, but lacked some of Lian Taoze's easygoing, relaxed air. In its place was a sharper, more capable bearing. He was Lian Taoze's cousin, Lian Taofei.

He took the initiative to approach with a wine bowl, raised it first to Zhou Chen, and said, "You must be Brother Zhou Chen. We owe you a great deal for what happened at Warehouse No. 2. If you had not discovered it in time, who knew how large a hole the shortages in the warehouse would have torn? I have always wanted to thank you in person. Today, I finally had the chance. Let me offer this bowl of wine to Brother Zhou first."

"You give me too much credit, Brother Lian. You're too polite!" Zhou Chen hurriedly raised his own wine bowl. When they clinked bowls, he deliberately held his lower than the other man's. Smiling, he said, "It was my duty, part of my responsibilities. I do not deserve your thanks."

Then the two drained their bowls in one go. Lian Taofei set his bowl down and looked at Zhou Chen a few more times, inwardly nodding.

Zhou Chen's natural physique truly was not very good, but Lian Taoze had said that Zhou Chen's resolve far surpassed ordinary people's. Ever since he entered the martial path, he had cultivated bitterly every day without a moment's slackness. Even the servants at Warehouse No. 2 admired him immensely.

If Xiao Ze had even half of Brother Zhou's diligence, with his natural physique, his cultivation would not have been stuck at Minor Accomplishment of Second-Rank Martial Artist for so long.

Lian Taofei silently recited those words to himself. Unfortunately, on the martial path, neither talent nor diligence could be lacking.

No matter how diligent Zhou Chen was, his future achievements would be limited. Lian Taofei only admired Zhou Chen's resilient mindset, and nothing more.

Lian Taofei's desire to chat with Zhou Chen a little longer and draw closer to him consequently faded. There were many guests today, including no shortage of highly skilled people, and he still needed to devote more attention to offering them wine.

Then he smiled, patted Zhou Chen on the shoulder, said, "Let's keep in touch," and turned away to greet other guests.

Zhou Chen sat down and talked with Ye Lingtian for a while longer. Before long, he caught sight of Lian Taoze squeezing through the crowd unsteadily, a wine bowl in hand.

He wore a magnificent new red robe today, though his face had already flushed wine-red.

"Junior Brother Zhou, Junior Brother Ye—" he shouted at the top of his lungs, raising his wine bowl high. "This senior brother has not attended to you properly today and has neglected you in many ways. I'll punish myself with a bowl!"

Zhou Chen and Ye Lingtian quickly stood and raised their bowls, smiling as they said, "What are you saying, Eldest Senior Brother? Today was the fullest meal Senior Brother Ye and I have had in ages. I went back for three servings of that plate of white meat alone."

That was the truth. Today's dishes were all white meat, perfectly suited to both their tastes.

After waiting so long, neither of them had felt anything improper about it.

When it came to the rules of the wine table, it all came down to eight words: serve dishes according to the guest, and act within one's means. At such a grand wedding feast, there were at least dozens of tables. Naturally, Lian Taoze had to toast those of high status first, then tend to those with close ties.

Though they were Martial Warriors, they did not rank highly at today's wedding feast. The fact that Lian Taoze had not forgotten these two junior brothers and had come specially to toast them had already shown them ample respect.

Lian Taoze was about to say more when someone behind him called out, "Xiao Ze! Where did you run off to? You still haven't toasted Brother Liu!"

Lian Taoze turned back helplessly to glance at the speaker, then cupped his hands toward the two of them with an apologetic look. "Well, someone's calling me again! Eat slowly, and don't stand on ceremony!"

With that, he hurriedly turned away and was dragged off by the next group of people offering toasts.

After attending Lian Taoze's wedding banquet, Zhou Chen threw himself wholeheartedly into martial training.

Two months passed like a white colt flitting through a crack. Autumn gave way to winter, the weather turned cold, and a thick layer of white frost had long formed across the courtyard in the early morning.

Whoosh!

A powerful gust from a punch swept forth, stirring the fallen leaves stained with white frost from the ground. They whirled endlessly around a bare-chested man.

On an early winter morning, the cold pierced to the bone. Ordinary people felt chilled even in thick clothes, yet Zhou Chen stood here bare-skinned, practicing martial arts!

His muscles were engorged and bulging, wisps of white steam rising from his entire body. Anyone who came near would feel a scorching heat wash over them, and that heat only burned fiercer and fiercer.

Over these past two months, Zhou Chen had not spared his silver. He focused primarily on Stake-Standing Exercise and secondarily on fist techniques. Whenever he saved up a foot of Mist Incense, he used it first to advance his realm. After all, fist techniques depended on comprehension; taking medicine was of little use.

[Realm: First-Rank Skin Tempering Realm (Minor Accomplishment) 1871/2000]

At this moment, he was only one final kick away from breaking through to Major Accomplishment, and he had just accumulated another foot of Mist Incense.

With a thought from Zhou Chen, the Mist Incense ignited. At the same time, he shouted, "Break!"