After the family split up, I achieved martial arts sainthood.

Chapter 0062 The Scheme of the Four Clans

Within the inner city of Qingyuan County, there are private rooms of unparalleled value.

The wealthy and powerful men of the four major families of Hu, Qian, Sun, and Tao gathered there, each sitting in their own corner.

They drank tea while playing dominoes.

In the afternoon, a game of Pai Gow ended.

Master Sun took a sip of tea and casually asked, "What time is it?"

"Reporting to Your Excellency, it's just past noon."

Behind Master Sun, the servants who accompanied him quickly responded.

"1-3 PM? Judging by the time, Zhou Feng should be back by now, right?"

Master Sun fiddled with the teacup lid, glancing casually at the other three gentlemen and asking them a question.

"Let's go take a look!"

Master Qian took a sip of tea and instructed the servant behind him, "Go and inform the kitchen to prepare the dishes."

"Yes, sir!"

The servant responded and left.

"Remove all of these!"

Master Hu waved his hand, signaling his servant to remove the dominoes from the table.

After the table was cleaned, Master Hu leaned on the edge of the table and looked at the three wealthy gentlemen, Qian, Sun, and Tao, and said with a smile, "As for our discussion, when do you all think would be a suitable time?"

"Of course, we should strike while the iron is hot!"

The patriarch of the Sun family picked his teeth and said without hesitation, "We should seize the opportunity when Zhou Feng has defeated them and issue them an ultimatum."

Upon hearing this, the patriarchs of the Qian and Tao families both nodded in agreement.

"This matter really needs to be resolved as soon as possible. Chen Tong has become active again recently, so we need to seize the time to forge an alliance and completely suppress Chen Tong."

Old Master Qian rubbed two iron balls together, his chubby face always bearing a smile: "That Chen Tong fellow is impervious to reason. If we don't deal with him, he'll always be a thorn in our side."

"Chen Tong is indeed a problem..."

Upon hearing Master Qian's words, even the usually arrogant Master Tao felt troubled: "This fellow is a martial arts scholar, and his strength has already reached the late stage of the Qi Creation Realm, surpassing all others in our Qingyuan County. Moreover, he was appointed by the imperial court, so he's not easy to deal with."

"Fortunately, this guy is an outsider with no roots in Qingyuan County. Most of the people in the yamen are from our family, and Magistrate Tian is happy to deal with us, making it difficult for Chen Tong to move an inch in the county yamen."

"Otherwise, how would we have the chance to sit here together playing cards and drinking tea?"

Master Tao's words drew nods of agreement from the other three masters.

"Our families' resources aren't deep enough. If we could all produce scholars, we wouldn't need to fear Chen Tong..."

Master Sun spat, his expression showing some disgust.

Upon hearing this, the gentlemen all agreed wholeheartedly.

This is also the biggest reason why they have been so determined to integrate martial arts in Qingyuan County.

The goal is to unite all the martial artists in Qingyuan County, select the most promising individuals, nurture them, and elevate them to higher positions.

At that time, they will be blessed.

"As long as we forge an alliance and unify the martial arts of Qingyuan County, keeping them under our own control, we can not only cultivate our own people, but also use this opportunity to confront Chen Tong and buy time."

Master Hu took a sip of tea and said with a faint smile, "But the prerequisite is that this alliance can be formed."

The gentlemen all nodded noncommittally, naturally understanding the significance of unifying the martial arts of Qingyuan County.

"Master, Master Zhou has arrived!"

At that moment, the voice of a servant came from outside the private room.

"Please come in!"

The four gentlemen, Hu, Qian, Sun, and Tao, straightened their clothes and suppressed their inner turmoil.

The door to the private room was pushed open, and the servant stepped aside to let Zhou Feng's figure appear in the doorway.

"Brother Zhou, you must be tired from your journey. Please come and take a seat!"

The four gentlemen stood up and greeted Zhou Feng with warm smiles.

Faced with such hospitality, Zhou Feng felt his cheeks burning and every step he took into the private room felt heavy.

"Brother Zhou, please take a seat!"

"Yes, yes, yes, Brother Zhou is the star of the show today!"

"Thank you for your hard work, Brother Zhou..."

The four gentlemen politely arranged for Zhou Feng to sit in the seat of honor, demonstrating their courteous attitude.

He then instructed his servants to notify the kitchen to serve the dishes.

Before long, the food and wine were ready, and the table was laden with delicacies that emitted an enticing aroma.

The polite treatment from the four clan lords weighed heavily on Zhou Feng's mind.

"Brother Zhou, did the trip go smoothly?"

With a smile, Mr. Qian poured Zhou Feng a full glass of wine and then inquired about the outcome of the trip.

"With Brother Zhou on the case, how could things go wrong?"

No sooner had Master Qian finished speaking than Master Tao sneered, "A bunch of peasants, daring to compare themselves to Brother Zhou's esteemed disciple? Old Qian, are you looking down on Brother Zhou?"

Upon hearing this, Master Qian smiled and immediately raised his cup, saying, "It was my fault. I misspoke. I will punish myself with a cup."

"One cup isn't enough! At least three cups!" Master Sun immediately added insult to injury.

"Fine, fine, three cups it is!"

Mr. Qian smiled smugly, raised his cup, and was about to drink it all in one gulp.

But just as he raised his wine glass, Zhou Feng reached out and pressed down on his wrist.

"Brother Zhou?"

Mr. Qian looked at Zhou Feng with surprise and confusion.

The other gentlemen also lowered their voices and stared intently at Zhou Feng.

"I, Zhou, will drink these three glasses of wine!"

Zhou Feng snatched the wine glass from Master Qian's hand, tilted his head back, and drank it all in one gulp.

Then I poured two more glasses and drank them one after the other.

After downing three cups of wine, Zhou Feng let out a long sigh.

"Brother Zhou, what's this?"

Old Master Qian frowned slightly, his chubby smiling face vanished, and he looked at Zhou Feng suspiciously, asking, "Brother Zhou, please speak frankly! Why keep it bottled up? You just can't hold it in any longer."

Zhou Feng sighed, poured himself another glass of wine and drank it all in one gulp. Then he put down the glass and looked at the four gentlemen one by one.

After a moment of silence, he finally sighed and said, "I'm sorry, everyone, I have failed in my mission!"

"Um?"

The four clan leaders were all astonished.

To bear such a heavy responsibility means to have failed their expectations.

"You lost?"

Master Tao quickly understood, and his face turned noticeably gloomy.

"Something went wrong..."

Zhou Feng poured himself a glass of wine, his expression also helpless: "Zhenwei Martial Arts School has produced a promising talent, unexpectedly good."

"Even better than Brother Zhou's top student?"

All four clan lords raised their eyebrows.

"Three battles, three defeats."

As soon as Zhou Feng finished speaking, he drank the rest of his wine.

Upon hearing this, the four gentlemen all wore expressions as if they had seen a ghost.

The three disciples that Zhou Feng brought were all personally appraised.

They had all heard of Qi Yu, Zhao Hu, and Duan Liang's strength.

Zhou Feng did not give them a perfunctory answer; he selected the best of the Zhou Family Martial Arts School to represent them.

As a result, they lost all three battles.

It's easy to imagine how formidable the opponent must have been.

"I apologize to everyone. Consider this meal my apology!"

Zhou Feng raised his glass and toasted the four gentlemen.