Supreme Martial Venerable: Starting with the White Ape Cloak Hammer skill point allocation

"It's a mess."

Cheng Jiuhe glanced at Li Lin in the distance and lowered his voice.

"Did you know that Master Li inherited this blacksmith shop from his father-in-law?"

Lin Jingsheng once proposed to his teacher's wife, but lost to Li Shishi.

He was narrow-minded and had resented Master Li for many years, constantly trying to make things difficult for him.

Master Li had always been tolerant, and Lin Jingsheng hadn't found an opportunity. But this time... everyone was kicking him while he was down. Master Li was severely injured by Xu Nian, and his martial arts cultivation was mostly destroyed. Now, all sorts of scoundrels were eyeing the blacksmith shop.

Cheng Jiuhe explained it in a low voice.

The blacksmith's shop was doing very well; it could even be described as making a fortune every day.

Previously, Li Lin still possessed considerable power and had a good relationship with the county magistrate and others, so no one dared to target the blacksmith shop.

Now that Li Lin is practically a cripple, these monsters and demons naturally come out.

On the surface, it appears that Feiyun Martial Arts School is taking advantage of the situation to launch an attack, but in reality, countless forces are surging behind the scenes.

"That bastard Lin Jingsheng actually thought he could buy the blacksmith shop for one hundred taels of silver? He's dreaming!"

Cheng Jiuhe said angrily.

The blacksmith's shop's land, stored materials, ironware, and weapons must be worth at least several thousand taels of silver.

One hundred taels? What's the difference between that and outright robbery?

"They're blatantly robbing people, doesn't the county government care?"

Zhou Yuan asked in a deep voice.

"Manage? Who's in charge?"

Cheng Jiuhe snorted coldly, "The county magistrate was injured by Commander Pang, and now the position of county magistrate is vacant. The county magistrate and Commander Pang are both from Divine Weapon Valley, and I heard that they have a close relationship."

"Lin Jingsheng is nothing but Commander Pang's dog..."

Zhou Yuan's heart skipped a beat. When he went out of the city to suppress the bandits earlier, he noticed that Pang Yunlong was giving Li Lin a hard look. He originally thought that the big shot was just hot-tempered.

Now it seems there's more to this than meets the eye.

Li Lin had just performed a great service by killing Xu Nian, yet Pang Yunlong not only offered a generous reward but also ordered his men to attack Li Lin.

"Yuanzi, you don't know, Pang Yunlong is insatiably greedy. He came to Gaoshan County this time not only to hunt down Xu Nian, but also to make money."

Cheng Jiuhe looked around and, seeing that no one was around, whispered.

"After he arrived, the 'protection fees' paid by each household increased by 30%, and he kept finding excuses to ask each household for money and goods."

Your cheap father-in-law was just extorted for ten thousand taels of silver…

Since Cheng Jiuhe didn't mention these things, Zhou Yuan had no way of knowing.

Only then did he realize that beneath the calm surface of Gaoshan County, waves were already churning.

Ten thousand taels of silver! That's a huge sum of money!

He knew the Zhuo family was wealthy, but he didn't expect them to be this wealthy.

For a fleeting moment, Zhou Yuan thought that being a kept man wasn't so bad.

But he quickly dismissed the idea; he knew he couldn't just live off a woman whenever he wanted, and the other party wasn't willing to let him.

Besides, food tastes better when it's earned through your own hard work.

As Zhou Yuan and Cheng Jiuhe talked, they cleaned up the things that had been smashed at Feiyun Martial Arts School.

Throughout the entire process, Li Lin didn't say anything to him.

Zhou Yuan didn't care. He was only there to contribute his own strength, not to ask Li Lin for gratitude.

After cleaning up, he said goodbye to Cheng Jiuhe and left the blacksmith shop, heading home.

He had just walked out of the street when suddenly someone jumped out and blocked his way.

"Guo Liang?"

Zhou Yuan stopped and instinctively assumed a defensive stance.

"Junior Brother Zhou, Senior Brother Yuan would like to have a talk with you."

Guo Liang waved his hand to indicate that he meant no harm and then spoke.

He pointed to the distance, where Yuan Qingfeng was sitting by the window in a tavern. When Zhou Yuan looked over, he raised his glass in a gesture of greeting.

Zhou Yuan glanced at Guo Liang. Back at Aozi Mountain, Yuan Qingfeng had pushed Guo Liang out to block Xu Nian while he himself escaped on his own.

Even after this happened, Guo Liang still stayed with Yuan Qingfeng.

"I know it's unethical to leave the blacksmith shop and join the Flying Cloud Martial Arts School now, but I have no choice."

My whole family is counting on me to get into a martial arts high school; I have to climb that ladder.

Guo Liang noticed Zhou Yuan's gaze and whispered, "Senior Brother Yuan can help me."

"oh."

Zhou Yuan responded calmly.

Many people come from humble backgrounds, and many of them are able to uphold their integrity.

Having a difficult background is not a reason to give up.

Zhou Yuan stepped into the tavern and cupped his hands in greeting to Yuan Qingfeng.

"Brother Yuan, is there something you need?"

Yuan Qingfeng didn't get up; he just sat there, scrutinizing Zhou Yuan with a critical look.

"I didn't notice before, but I can see it now. Junior Brother Zhou, you have long arms and legs, and well-proportioned muscles. You've already trained your muscles, haven't you?"

"To reach the Dark Force level after just one year of training with Li Lin, it seems you've received quite a bit of benefit from the Zhuo family, haven't you?"

Yuan Qingfeng said.

Many people assumed that Zhuo Changyu had brought a sum of money from the Zhuo family, but Zhou Yuan was no longer surprised and didn't bother to explain to irrelevant people.

"Just say what you want to say, everyone's pretty busy."

Zhou Yuan said.

A hint of displeasure flashed in Yuan Qingfeng's eyes. Whether in the blacksmith shop or the Feiyun Martial Arts School, he was the most talented one. Who would dare to speak to him like that?

"I'm a straightforward person, so I'll just say it directly."

Yuan Qingfeng said, "You were kicked out by that old guy Li Lin, and originally no force in Gaoshan County would take you in, but now, Feiyun Martial Arts School is giving you a chance."

By joining Feiyun Martial Arts School, you can not only continue practicing martial arts, but the school will also personally intervene to get Zhuo Wangsun to acknowledge you as his son-in-law and help you obtain Zhuo Wangsun's family property.

Junior Brother Zhou, you're about to rise to the top in one step.

Yuan Qingfeng adopted an attitude of "I'm here to help you," saying, "Your talent is mediocre; you can only refine meat because of the silver that Miss Zhuo secretly brought out."

But I think Miss Zhuo has probably spent most of the money she brought from the Zhuo family.

Instead of burning firewood for Li Lin, you should follow me.

Junior Brother Zhou, you are quite capable. Coming from a poor background, you have managed to win the heart of Miss Zhuo. That's what I valued in you.

"If we join forces, we can seize the Zhuo family's assets, and then we can naturally carve out our own territory!"

"I'm sorry, I'm not very smart. I haven't even mastered the White Ape Cloak Hammer technique yet, so I can't learn the advanced moves of the Flying Cloud Martial Arts School."

Zhou Yuan said, then turned and walked outside.

"How dare you! My senior brother Yuan is doing you a favor by recruiting you, how dare you refuse?!"

You won't listen to a polite toast, you'll have to suffer the consequences! You're being disrespectful!

"Take this punch, it'll teach you a lesson!"

Guo Liang roared and threw a punch at Zhou Yuan.

Guo Liang was a bad person, but he worked very hard when he was practicing martial arts at the blacksmith shop. Although he only passed the level once, he mastered the White Ape Tongbei Fist very well.

He darted forward, his right fist moving like a serpent, a sharp crack echoing from his sleeve as he aimed straight for Zhou Yuan's shoulder.

Zhou Yuan snorted coldly, turned around abruptly, and in an instant, his spine stretched out like a pagoda, and with a flick of his arm, he quickly lifted it up from the bottom.

The muscles on his bare arms, exposed outside his sleeves, were knotted and as hard as iron.

"Snapped!"

The fists and arms struck each other, producing a crisp sound like a whip cracking.

Guo Liang screamed and staggered backward, knocking over a bunch of tables and chairs.

He clenched his fists, feeling as if his finger bones had been fractured by the shock.

"presumptuous!"

Before Zhou Yuan could give chase, a loud shout rang in his ears, and a gust of wind swept past him from behind.

The hairs on Zhou Yuan's back stood on end instantly. Without turning his head, he used the move "White Ape Carrying Sword" to swing his arm backward.

There was another crisp snap, even crisper and louder than the last one.

Zhou Yuan and Yuan Qingfeng both shuddered at the same time.

Yuan Qingfeng took a half step back, feeling an incomparably powerful force surge from his hand, making his fist and arm feel numb and tingly.

Ding Deng Deng.

Using the force of the recoil, Zhou Yuan took a few steps forward and was already outside the tavern.

"I've learned my lesson. Goodbye."

He strode away without looking back.

The commotion had already alerted everyone inside and outside the tavern, and they all turned to look.

Yuan Qingfeng had no chance to make another move and could only watch Zhou Yuan disappear with a cold look in his eyes.