Chapter 58: Chapter 54: Marriage Proposal

In the days that followed, a superficial calm returned to the Zhou Institute.

Chen Qing’s life fell into a rigid routine. By day, he trained diligently in the Long Arm Pile Skill at the Zhou Institute, honing his physique; by night, he returned home to focus on cultivating the Fishing Toad Force and sharpening his Gale Saber Technique in his small courtyard.

Aside from eating and sleeping, he poured nearly all his time into his cultivation, free of all distractions.

This grueling, almost masochistic, training regimen continued for over two months.

[Fate Plate: Heaven Rewards Diligence, Success is Guaranteed]

[Long Arm Pile Skill: Great Success (952/2000)]

[Long Arm Fist: Great Success (815/2000)]

[Gale Saber Technique: Great Success (21/1000)]

[Fishing Toad Force: Minor Achievement (287/500)]

…..

Boosted by [Heaven Rewards Diligence], the progress bar for his Long Arm Pile Skill advanced slowly but steadily. Everything seemed to be proceeding in an orderly fashion.

At first, his master, Zhou Liang, held a sliver of hope for Chen Qing, this newly promoted Martial Scholar. He would occasionally check on Chen Qing’s progress, wondering if this piece of raw jade, despite his “subpar aptitude,” truly had a chance to break through to the third level of Transmutation Force.

However, the speed at which Chen Qing refined his Power was ultimately far from astonishing. The limitations of his Root Bone became glaringly obvious with each passing day of cultivation.

Without his [Heaven Rewards Diligence] Fate Plate, his destiny would likely have been no different from that of Guo the Hammer, who had left in despair.

Gradually, Zhou Liang checked on him less and less.

Beyond Chen Qing’s failure to ignite any hope, what worried Zhou Liang even more was the Zhou Institute’s rapidly declining ability to “generate new blood.”

In the past, there had been a steady stream of new faces joining the school each month, sometimes even reaching double digits.

But over the last two months, the number of new entry-level disciples could be counted on one hand—only three to five in total.

The incident where the Songfeng Martial Arts Hall crippled Qin Lie during the Martial Arts Examination did more than just damage his personal reputation; it dealt a heavy blow to the prestige of the Zhou Institute.

Coupled with the malicious rumors secretly spread by the Songfeng Martial Arts Hall, many prospective students were now deterred from joining the Zhou Institute.

The worry lines on Zhou Liang’s brow deepened by the day. His mind would wander, and his gaze often drifted beyond the courtyard walls, lost in thought.

One day, Chen Qing had just finished two rounds of the Long Arm Pile Skill. Soaked in sweat, he sat on a stone bench under the corridor, wiping his brow.

His gaze fell upon the guest rooms in the deeper part of the Zhou Institute.

An important guest had arrived today. Zhou Liang had personally welcomed him, with Zhou Yu attending at his side.

The visitors were a middle-aged man with a calm and steady demeanor and a youth with a sharp gaze.

The disciples in the courtyard were already whispering amongst themselves, buzzing with discussion.

“Who are those two?”

“That’s Master Liu Ze of the Mantis Fist! Next to him is his only son, Liu Nianbo, the Martial Scholar ranked ninth on the B-List!”

“Ninth on the B-List? That’s even higher than Brother Chen’s rank, isn’t it?”

“I heard he’s already at Dark Energy Perfection and is going to attempt his third breakthrough at the end of the year…”

…

Liu Ze was not only a Mantis Fist expert but also a Military Examination graduate, and he was quite famous within Gaolin County.

Zhengzi Bridge sidled up to Sun Shun, who had just come from the guest rooms, and asked in a low voice, “Brother Sun, what’s Master Liu here for?”

The other disciples all pricked up their ears.

Sun Shun’s expression was complicated as he said slowly, “He’s here to propose a marriage.”

Zhengzi Bridge’s eyes widened. “A marriage proposal?! For whom? Don’t tell me… it’s for Junior Sister Zhou?”

At these words, the expressions of the surrounding disciples changed. It was as if an invisible hand had clenched around their hearts.

“Is Senior Sister really getting married?”

“Did Master… agree?”

“Who knows… *Sigh*…”

Their sighs were filled with unconcealable disappointment and reluctance.

How could their hearts not ache, seeing Zhou Yu—the flower that blossomed in the hearts of all Zhou Institute disciples—about to be carried away, pot and all, by an outsider?

Sun Shun nodded. “Yes, but Junior Sister Zhou gracefully declined on the spot. She said… they can talk again after Liu Nianbo successfully passes his third breakthrough.”

Hearing this, the taut strings in everyone’s hearts relaxed slightly.

Zhengzi Bridge’s brows were tightly knit. “A third breakthrough…” he muttered. “Easier said than done.”

Even so, he knew deep down that Liu Nianbo was a genius to begin with. With the full support and cultivation of his father, a Military Examination graduate, his chances of success were far greater than that of any ordinary Dark Force user.

Chen Qing silently wiped away his sweat, his gaze darkening slightly.

Making a marriage proposal at a time when Zhou Liang’s closed-door disciple had just been crippled… the timing was certainly thought-provoking.

After all, Zhou Liang had only one daughter.

…..

At the Cheng Family estate, however, the atmosphere was as frigid as an icehouse.

In the center of the main hall, two bodies covered in white cloths lay side by side on the cold floor.

Lifting the white cloths revealed the bodies of the Cheng Family’s Guests, Jiang Han and Pang Shuhua.

The two were skilled Dark Force experts who had been stationed at the Goddess Temple Pier year-round!

Cheng Huan stared intently at the bodies, forcing the surging rage back down her throat. “Who… was the killer?”

Beside her, Cheng Ming’s face was ashen as he arduously forced out two words: “Tian Yaosong.”

The main hall instantly fell into a deathly silence.

Several of the younger family members turned pale as paper, their bodies trembling uncontrollably.

“The Wu Family… has gone too far!” Cheng Huan clenched her fists.

Ever since the Cheng and Wu Families had “evenly split” the Goddess Temple Pier, the Wu Family had remained peaceful for only a short time before beginning a campaign of endless encroachment.

For the sake of the bigger picture, Cheng Huan had endured it time and again, only to be met with escalating pressure from the other side.

“The Wu Family… sent a messenger.”

A Cheng Family Elder broke the suffocating silence, his voice hoarse. “They said… in half a month, that’s the final deadline. Either the Cheng Family gets out of the Goddess Temple Pier completely, not leaving even an inch behind, or… we follow the old Jianghu rules and ’settle it with our fists.’ The loser… leaves with nothing.”

The air grew thick, and even breathing became difficult.

“The Wu Family is trying to wipe us out!”

Cheng Huan took a deep breath, her eyes filled with the resolve of someone burning their bridges. “We have no path of retreat. Our only choice… is to fight!”

She knew that even if they were to surrender the territory now, the Wu Family would never let the Cheng Family off the hook.

Cheng Ming’s face was full of bitterness.

The few remaining Dark Force experts in the Cheng Family had either been killed or were old and feeble, their vitality and essence withered.

They wouldn’t stand a chance against an ordinary Dark Force user, let alone someone like Tian Yaosong, an expert at Great Success in Dark Force who was in his prime.

He had previously gone to the Xue family to seek help from his old friend Xue Gaojian, only to have the door slammed squarely in his face.

To refuse to see him at such a critical juncture made their attitude perfectly clear. No one was willing to offend the ascendant Wu Family for the sake of the declining Cheng Family.

This was the very definition of the world’s fickleness and the coldness of the human heart.

The Wu Family had been plotting this for a long time. They were coming on strong, clearly intending to swallow the Cheng Family’s last piece of territory in one bite.

“*Sigh*!”

Cheng Ming let out a heavy sigh. “If there’s truly no other way… we’ll have to ask Jiang Yang to step in.”

Jiang Yang was a promising talent the Cheng Family had poured all its resources into cultivating. After being injured during a failed attempt at his third breakthrough, the family had spared no expense, supplying him with Treasure Medicine and Treasure Fish to aid his recovery. His injuries were now said to be seventy to eighty percent healed.

However, whenever they asked about his recovery, Jiang Yang’s answers were always vague.

Cheng Huan nodded wearily, the last glimmer of light in her eyes dimming. “At this point… it’s like trying to cure a dead horse as if it were still alive.”

…..

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep