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

Zhou Yuan arrived at Tianxiang Tower in the inner city.

"Mr. Zhou, please come in. Young Master Cheng is waiting for you on the second floor."

The innkeeper personally led Zhou Yuan to the door of the private room on the second floor, his attitude very attentive.

Tianxianglou was one of the top restaurants in Gaoshan County. The cheapest meal there cost seven or eight taels of silver, a place he couldn't even enter before.

After achieving the top score in the county, Zhou Yuan declined many invitations to banquets, but he still had to give face to some people.

Cheng Jiuhe, who had always been a good judge of him, was naturally one of them.

Incidentally, Cheng Jiuhe also passed the martial arts examination and ranked thirty-sixth.

Of the blacksmith's original disciples, apart from Zhou Yuan and Cheng Jiuhe, all the others perished.

"Senior Brother Cheng."

"Junior Brother Cheng."

As soon as Zhou Yuan entered, the people in the private room stood up and greeted him with clasped hands.

Zhou Yuan glanced around and saw several familiar faces.

He Yuguang and Luo Rongrong were people he knew before, along with a few others.

Some of these people are this year's martial arts scholars, while others, although they did not pass the exam, come from powerful families and have a very high chance of passing it next year.

"Yuanzi, sit down."

Cheng Jiuhe arranged for Zhou Yuan to sit in the main seat, while he sat in the seat of the host.

Everyone else also took their seats according to their status.

"Yuanzi, those two don't need introductions, and these are..."

Cheng Jiuhe first introduced the people present to Zhou Yuan.

Zhou Yuan cupped his hands in greeting, saying, "I've long admired you."

"Brother Zhou's name is renowned far and wide, and meeting you today, your charisma surpasses even the rumors."

Those people also responded politely.

Cheng Jiuhe organized this gathering for two reasons: first, to celebrate Wuke High School, and second, to allow everyone to exchange martial arts knowledge and share news.

Barring any unforeseen circumstances, all of you here will become the backbone of Gaoshan County in the future.

"My uncle works in the city guard. I heard that Lin Jingsheng has escaped into the mountains. Commander Pang has not yet caught up with him, but a copy of the 'Collection of Military Manifesto' fell from Lin Jingsheng's body, which has become evidence of his crimes."

A young man named Wu Hengming spoke up.

"Now that Pang Tong has received the 'Collection of Military Strategy,' I wonder if he will leave Gaoshan County..."

A young girl said with a worried look on her face.

Pang Yunlong was greedy and cruel, and everyone was heavily exploited.

Moreover, Pang Yunlong has a powerful background, and even the county magistrate has to give him some leeway. He can be said to have absolute power in Gaoshan County.

Everyone breathed a huge sigh of relief when he went out of the city to hunt down Lin Jingsheng.

Otherwise, Cheng Jiuhe wouldn't even be in the mood to organize a gathering.

"It's hard to say."

Luo Rongrong shook her head and said, "I heard from my family that the old master of Divine Weapon Valley has passed away, and the current head of the Pang family intends to compete for the position of the next master. To compete for the position of master, one must not only be strong enough, but also have the support of the elders in the valley."

Therefore, the Pang family needs to win people's hearts, which requires a lot of money.

Pang Tong's purpose in coming to Gaoshan County was to raise money for his family.

"You are all scions of prominent families; you should know that for the prosperity of your families, each of you must exert your utmost."

As they spoke, Luo Rongrong secretly glanced at Zhou Yuan.

Zhou Yuan remained calm and ate quietly. Although he didn't wolf down his food, he hadn't put down his chopsticks since he entered the room.

Luo Rongrong felt a sense of disdain.

Even if one were to achieve the highest rank in the county, one would still appear unremarkable.

His achievement of becoming the top scholar in the county is probably the greatest achievement of his life; his future achievements will likely be mediocre.

Luo Rongrong initially doubted that she had misjudged him, but after inquiring, she learned that Zhou Yuan was able to become the county's top scholar because Li Lin regarded him as a lifeline and spared no expense in investing a lot of resources in him.

Although Zhou Yuan passed the county examination with top honors, it was merely a case of forcing growth; his potential had already been exhausted, and his chances of passing the imperial martial arts examination in the future were slim.

"As far as I know, Pang Yunlong wanted to take back the 'Collection of Military Skills' in order to get an elder from the Divine Weapon Valley to support the Pang family. Xu Nian stole the 'Collection of Military Skills' from that elder."

Cheng Jiuhe also spoke up, "The Pang family will stop at nothing to seize the Divine Weapon Valley Master. Half of my family's assets have already been taken away. If this continues, we will all become slaves of the Pang family."

While eating, Zhou Yuan listened attentively to the conversation among the others.

He felt something was off.

These people come from wealthy and influential families, yet they have been driven to such a state of discontent by Pang Yunlong.

But doesn't it sound a bit like Robin Hood-style redistribution?

As a poor person without any property, I didn't feel exploited by Pang Yunlong...

"If only we could become disciples of the Divine Weapon Valley."

Someone said something, and everyone fell silent.

Shenbing Valley is the largest power in Jiangzhou, and becoming its disciple is no easy feat.

Through the conversations with everyone, Zhou Yuan also heard a lot of information that he had never heard of before.

He only realized now that Li Lin wasn't the only one being bullied by Pang Yunlong; none of these powerful families could escape it.

"The Valley of Divine Weapons is like Tsinghua and Peking University in my previous life. Joining it will greatly increase my chances of becoming a martial arts scholar in the future."

In this world, sects and the imperial court have an interdependent relationship; sects cultivate talent to serve the country…

Zhou Yuan pondered to himself, this was very different from his previous life.

In my previous life, those martial arts sects were similar to organized crime, and they looked down on the imperial court the most.

"I have some news for you. Liu Jin is coming back."

A girl named Suzaku suddenly spoke, breaking the silence.

Zhu Que is the younger sister of Zhu Yiwei, the head constable of Gaoshan County. She has been practicing martial arts at a martial arts school in the inner city. This time, she also passed the martial arts examination and ranked eleventh, which is much better than Cheng Jiuhe's ranking.

"Liu Jin? Didn't I hear he'd gotten involved with the Pang family's daughter?"

Everyone exclaimed in surprise, "What is he going back to Gaoshan County for?"

"What Miss Pang? She's just a illegitimate daughter from a collateral branch of the Pang family."

Some people said dismissively, "Liu Jin was always scheming back then, and even after passing the martial arts exam, he couldn't change his ways."

He couldn't help but steal a glance at Zhou Yuan as he spoke.

Liu Jin built his fortune by living off women, which is remarkably similar to someone else.

Zhou Yuan's achievement of becoming the top scholar in the county has aroused envy in countless people.

There aren't many people in this world who can truly see the good in others.

"Although Liu Jin's character is despicable, he is, after all, a martial arts graduate, and he has married a concubine's daughter from a collateral branch of the Pang family. In addition, the Pang family is currently in need of manpower, so he is now an outer disciple of the Divine Weapon Valley."

Zhuque continued, "This time, he can be considered to have returned home in glory."

The information I received is that Shenbing Valley is preparing to recruit a special group of disciples, so it has sent out teams to search for lost geniuses in various prefectures and counties of Jiangzhou.

Liu Jin is from Gaoshan County, so he came to Gaoshan County with the research team.

Zhuque paused for a moment.

"Everyone, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. If you are chosen by the searching team, you will have the chance to become a disciple of Divine Weapon Valley and learn superior martial arts..."

Zhuque's voice carried a hint of longing and excitement.

A commotion broke out in the room, and everyone's face showed anticipation.

Zhou Yuan's heart also stirred.

He wasn't thinking about the opportunity to join Shenbing Valley, but rather, with Liu Jin back, could Liu Yin's death still be kept secret?

Should we strike first?