Chapter 575: Chapter 558: Social Anxiety

Zhao Cong couldn’t help but remind, “You media people should know your limits and stop biting like mad dogs every day. If it causes international disputes or even attracts attention from the Otherworld, there’s bound to be repercussions from above.”

“Rest assured, a Divine Text Researcher with all martial arts abolished can’t stir up much trouble. I’ll follow your advice, ensure all procedures are lawful and compliant, reduce media hype, and only leave a few trending topics. As long as there’s solid evidence to smear Zhou Leng, and the sixteen families make some concessions, even if others want to protect him, they’ll have to compromise. We’ve already taken a step back; they can’t push their luck too far, can they?”

“Hmm.” Zhao Cong responded casually.

Gao Tianfeng breathed a sigh of relief.

Zhao Cong pondered for a moment and said earnestly, “Dragon Country is fundamentally a nation centered around the Martial Mansion, which controls everything and decides everything. Even the mighty Demon City Army, whose status has significantly risen in the martial artist era and has some independence, is still an organization under the Martial Mansion’s hierarchy.”

Gao Tianfeng was naturally aware of this.

The Martial Mansion is a generic term; all organizational institutions in Dragon Country are members of the Martial Mansion, commonly known as the National Mansion.

The highest institution in the Martial Mansion is the Supreme Court, which decides everything.

The Demon City Army is merely a part of the Martial Mansion, and the highest few in the Demon City Army are also among the Supreme Court.

The number one of the Martial Mansion is the true number one of Dragon Country, and the number one of the Demon City Army is under the number one of the Martial Mansion.

This is not simply a matter of civil and military issues, but a unanimous judgment made by many Martial Saints based on the lessons of history and experiences of various countries.

In any era, once warlords hold the highest power, the country inevitably falls into chaos, almost without exception.

Back then, Zhao Dongjun voluntarily withdrew from the position of number one in the Martial Mansion, establishing the current stable order.

Otherwise, Dragon Country would be like most countries in the world, with the Martial Mansion as an empty framework, in reality, ruled by martial clans and great families.

Zhao Cong continued, “Now the Martial Mansion has too many important issues to solve and hasn’t focused on this yet. You must handle this swiftly before they take notice. Otherwise, once the Supreme Court pays attention, you’ll be at a disadvantage.”

After saying this, Zhao Cong remained silent.

By this point, he had done all he could.

Gao Tianfeng carefully contemplated the meaning behind his words.

After parting with Zhao Cong, she made two phone calls and returned to the company.

The company was brightly lit, with representatives from various companies sitting in the reception room.

When they saw Gao Tianfeng enter, they all smiled and bowed in greeting.

Gao Tianfeng walked proudly, head held high, with a cold expression. She glanced over the crowd nonchalantly, nodded slightly, and said, “Let’s talk in the meeting room.”

Everyone followed respectfully into the meeting room.

Gao Tianfeng said calmly, “Today we will only discuss business cooperation, nothing else.”

“Yes, yes, only business…”

Soon, both sides finalized cooperation plans for the next five years, with total funds exceeding five billion.

Demon City Army, First Hospital.

Divine Literature Scholars from the Divine Literature General Hospital and Zhao Nandi inquired about the situation together, filled with emotion, surprised to learn that Zhou Leng was actually Ma Xingkong’s nephew.

An old expert said, “Back then, we also paid attention to Ma Xingkong’s situation. We may not be able to do much, but if they dare use deceitful means, I dare to hold a banner at their door. I just don’t believe it!”

“I’ll go too.”

“Count me in; I’m an old bone anyway, nothing to fear anymore.”

Many Divine Text Experts were indignant.

The Dean sighed and said, “Rest assured, as long as you’re innocent, no one can wrongfully accuse you for a day. You are a hero of Dragon Country and even humanity. If you were harmed, the Divine Literature General Hospital might as well disband. I will surely report this matter upwards, even if it breaks the sky!”

Everyone gradually dispersed, leaving only Zhao Nandi.

The two were talking when two martial artists in camouflage uniforms entered from outside.

They presented their identifications, from the General Headquarters of the Demon City Army.

Zhao Nandi was relieved; this was the core department within the Demon City Army, far beyond the reach of the sixteen families. If they dared to mobilize the General Headquarters, they’d certainly face overwhelming retaliation.

She glanced at Zhou Leng, lightly nodded to indicate no problem, and left the room.

Once Zhao Nandi exited, the two martial artists saluted in unison.

Their eyes, without hiding, showed respect for Zhou Leng, and one of the younger ones had slightly reddened eyes.

One said, “Comrade Zhou Leng, you’ve been wronged.”

Zhou Leng responded indifferently, “What are the Tiger-Bear duo scheming?”

“Ahem, we don’t know this; we are just following the General Headquarters’ orders to learn about the details of the Great Battlefield for cross-verification.”

“Did the Supervisory Troops take the people outside?”

“They will get the punishment they deserve.”

“Forget it, let’s talk about the Great Battlefield. What do you want to know?” Zhou Leng knew he was now devoid of martial arts, so he didn’t have the right to quibble.

The two inquired and recorded, and Zhou Leng answered.

Apart from particular privacy, he almost shared everything he knew without reservation.

Including Dragon God’s battle techniques, Tujun’s cultivation techniques, Skybone leftovers, among other things, because some experiences were not exclusive to him.

The two already knew some outlines and had inquired from others.

Now, through cross-verification, they became even more impressed by Zhou Leng.

The two were considered outstanding among the Innate rank, yet compared to Zhou Leng, they were far inferior.

“Can we inspect your War Merit Token?”

Zhou Leng handed it over.

The two placed the War Merit Token into a portable war merit logger, and as soon as it was inserted, it beeped incessantly.

The two were well prepared.

After a while, they glanced at the results, their eyes widening in disbelief.

The number of innate marks exceeds one hundred thousand.

The number of Great Innate marks alone exceeds twelve thousand.

There are as many as thirty marks of newly promoted grandmasters, most of them at the innate king level.

Although most of them are unrecognizable alien races, the number of demon alliances is not small either.

“You didn’t mention killing so many Great Innates and even grandmasters.”

Zhou Leng said calmly, “I was so busy killing that I didn’t remember how many.”

The two of them exchanged a glance, only then realizing why the Demon Alliance sent in over a thousand people, yet only a few dozen remained, utterly defeated.

It turned out Zhou Leng had killed them all by himself.

“I heard you had contact with Xu Ming?”

Zhou Leng said, “I pulled him into the Ten Thousand Lantern Plan, do you have clearance?”

The two of them smiled, “Yes, we do.”

“I gave the stuff to Hall Master Wang,” Zhou Leng said.

“We know. Do you have any other means? I heard from a member that he sent you messages via Martial Faith.”

Zhou Leng said, “Then you can add me on Martial Faith, and I’ll forward our conversation to you.”

“Thank you for the trouble.”

One person added Zhou Leng on Martial Faith, and Zhou Leng sent over the chat logs with Xu Ming.

One continued asking questions, while the other looked at the text version and recorded it, suddenly turning his head, wiping the corner of his eyes, and turning back.

After the inquiry, one of them said in a low voice, “We originally planned to wait until your injuries stabilized a bit more, but things developed so quickly that we had to come early. This is the alarm from our General Command. If you encounter an emergency, press it hard, and someone will come to protect you.”

“Okay.” Zhou Leng took the alarm.

“Regarding your situation, sometimes there is nothing we can do. But please believe, even if you lose all your martial arts, you are still one of us in the Demon City Army. Even if you are not part of the Demon City Army, even if you have no identity left, there will definitely be martial artists who uphold justice.”

The two of them got up and walked out.

One of them hesitated for a moment, then came back, looked at Zhou Leng, stood at attention, saluted, and said, “The Ancient River Flows Forever.”

After the two left, Zhou Leng lay there quietly.

In the demonized watch, there were countless messages.

Zhou Leng didn’t know how to reply.

At this moment, social anxiety reached its extreme.

He didn’t even dare to open Martial Faith.

He didn’t know how to face it all.

All past despair and suffering seemed insignificant in the face of the severance of martial arts.

Zhao Nandi came in, feeding Zhou Leng fruit while chatting attentively.

At this moment, she had lost all her teacher’s sternness, like a kind, gentle older sister, her face always wearing a smile, gentle and attentive.

Until late at night, she stayed here to accompany him, no matter how much Zhou Leng persuaded her otherwise, he could only let her stay.

Lou Family.

Lou Shan Cauldron walked into the room, looking at the slightly thinner Lou Fei Qiong.

“Father,” Lou Fei Qiong said.

“Not calling me Dad anymore?”

“Dad,” Lou Fei Qiong said helplessly.

Lou Shan Cauldron said, “Perhaps in a few more months, you’ll be able to go out.”

Lou Fei Qiong’s face changed slightly, asking, “Did you make a move against Zhou Leng?”

Lou Shan Cauldron slowly narrated what had happened these days.

From the sixteen families uniting, to sending grandmasters for assassination, to launching a campaign of defamation with four hundred media outlets, to dispatching people for arrest.

Lou Shan Cauldron said, “I have to say, Zhou Leng indeed has some skills, even if his martial arts are severed, Chen Shouhu and Wang Boxiong are still willing to protect him, and the people from the Divine Literature General Hospital are also protecting him. Even Gao Tianfeng advised us to back off a step. However, we never intended to resolve this head-on. As long as we ruin his reputation first, there are countless ways to torment him until he voluntarily takes his own life.”

Lou Fei Qiong stared blankly at his father, asking, “Is his martial arts really severed?”

“Not only did a grandmaster personally take his pulse, but the demon spirit masters and healing experts can all prove it. Since he’s doomed to be unable to ascend to grandmaster, our methods don’t need to be so drastic. However, we must firmly pin this crime on him, otherwise, the hatred of the sixteen families against Ma Xingkong cannot be resolved.”

Lou Fei Qiong said with a blank expression, “So, you’re saying you have committed numerous evil deeds, made deals with the Demon Worship Sect, coerced Ma Xingkong into confessing guilt or even joining, and when he refused, you ruined his future. Forced into a corner, he reported you, and you not only killed him but also wouldn’t spare his nephew, resorting to false accusations and defamation? This is what you call settling hatred?”

“Is there a problem?” Lou Shan Cauldron’s expression was equally cold.

“You will not succeed. Conscientious martial artists will not let you off, and the Huang Meng Sect will not let you off.”

“What did you say!” Lou Shan Cauldron stepped forward.

Lou Fei Qiong, unafraid, met his father’s gaze and said, “Dad, stop it. You’ve already made countless mistakes, committed every sin possible. Zhou Leng has already lost his martial arts, just leave him a way out.”

“How can I trust you to take over the Lou Family like this?”

“How can I take over the Lou Family with a clear conscience like this?”

“You little bastard, what kind of bewitching words did Zhou Leng say to you?” Lou Shan Cauldron, having held back for days, finally exploded.

“Because, you taught me from a young age to be a good person, a good son, a good student. You’ve forgotten, but I always remembered.”

“You…”

Lou Shan Cauldron stared hard at his son, finally sighed in helplessness, turned around, and left.

“Once the matter with Zhou Leng is settled, I’ll hand the position of Patriarch to you. You can do whatever you want with it.” Lou Shan Cauldron closed the door and walked away slowly.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep