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

"Who attacked me?"

Pang Yunlong suddenly turned around, his long sword slammed down, the heavy blade instantly smashing several bricks.

Outside the gate of the Li residence, two city guards were knocked flying by a figure.

The man had already broken in before the city guards could surround him.

"Zhou Yuan!"

Li Lin struggled to get up, his expression changing.

"Junior Zhou Yuan greets Commander Pang."

No sooner said than done, Zhou Yuan had already rushed to a short distance in front of Pang Yunlong, first picking up the metal waist tag from the ground, then cupping his hands and shouting loudly.

Before he finished speaking, he had already raised the waist tag high.

The waist tag, made of some unknown metal, remained intact despite having just experienced a clash of power between Zhou Yuan and Pang Yunlong.

"Um?"

Pang Yunlong narrowed his eyes, his face darkening.

"You're the newly appointed county magistrate of Gaoshan County?"

His gaze swept across Zhou Yuan's face briefly before settling on the waist token in Zhou Yuan's hand.

He didn't care about a mere county magistrate; the Pang family had recruited at least eight or ten county magistrates.

Without passing the martial arts examination, they wouldn't even be considered a backbone member of the Pang family; at best, they could only be considered to have some potential.

However, that waist tag was different.

"Where did you get this waist tag?"

He asked in a deep voice.

Pang Yunlong already had a guess in his heart, and his anger had made his beard and hair stand on end.

As his blood and qi surged, his clothes fluttered and rustled even without wind.

Feeling the overwhelming pressure, Zhou Yuan's blood and qi surged, and he felt so uncomfortable that he wanted to vomit blood.

He was also somewhat shocked. Was this the difference between him and a true expert?

"This token was a gift from my master."

Zhou Yuan took a deep breath. He didn't want to clash with Pang Yunlong, but Li Lin had been kind to him, and he couldn't just stand by and watch Li Lin die at Pang Yunlong's hands.

"My master is Luo Baiyan."

Zhou Yuan said, enunciating each word clearly.

boom!

Pang Yunlong unleashed a burst of energy, slamming into the ground and kicking up a cloud of dust. The dust billowed up, causing Zhou Yuan and the pursuing city guards' clothes to flutter wildly.

The veins on his hand gripping the knife bulged, and his eyes were filled with murderous intent.

Zhou Yuan became more vigilant. Although he knew that Pang Yunlong might not dare to kill Luo Baiyan's disciple, what if Pang Yunlong wasn't so rational?

Moreover, he was only Luo Boyan's nominal disciple. If he really died, Luo Boyan probably wouldn't make things difficult for him and the Pang family.

Even if Luo Baiyan did avenge him afterward, he wouldn't survive.

In comparison, Zhou Yuan still preferred to live.

"Commander Pang, please think carefully!"

Li Lin flashed forward, blocking Zhou Yuan and Pang Yunlong's path. "Lord Yue is still in Gaoshan County!"

Pang Yunlong's imposing aura gradually subsided, and he gave Li Lin and Zhou Yuan a cold look.

"Very well, you'd better not fall into my hands, otherwise—"

He snorted coldly, swished the knife back into its sheath, and strode outside.

"withdraw troops!"

A loud shout rang out from outside the door, filled with anger.

The clatter of hooves sounded, and the city guards arrived and left quickly, taking Lin Jingsheng's head with them.

Only then did Li Lin finally vomit a mouthful of blood.

Zhou Yuan and Han Shi quickly stepped forward to support him.

Li Lin shook his head, indicating that nothing was wrong.

His gaze fell on Zhou Yuan, his eyes filled with satisfaction.

"Zhou Yuan, you did it."

He smiled and said, "You're a promising young man. I never expected you to get this far."

"Master Li, Elder Luo only accepted me as a nominal disciple, the kind that's all talk and no action..."

Zhou Yuan explained the situation with a wry smile.

Li Lin was quite carefree, and said with a smile, "A disciple in name is still a disciple. With this title, ordinary people won't dare to target you easily."

For people like us, how can we expect to achieve instant success?

With the status of Elder Luo's disciple, you can at least be guaranteed fair treatment in most cases.

Once you truly unleash your potential, a bright future awaits you.

Zhou Yuan nodded. Compared to his initial status as a craftsman, he was much better off now.

In fact, he initially only wanted to be exempted from corvée labor and taxes so that he could practice martial arts in peace.

After the master and apprentice talked for a while, Li Lin, knowing that Zhou Yuan still had to go home to see people, let him go back.

Upon seeing Luo Boyan's waist token, Pang Yunlong naturally understood that the Jade Knife was no longer a possibility. Furthermore, since he couldn't immediately ascertain the true relationship between Zhou Yuan and Luo Boyan, he probably wouldn't bother Li Lin again anytime soon.

Zhou Yuan was relieved and went home to share the good news with Zhuo Changyu.

In the following days, Zhou Yuan's life was as peaceful as usual, only the outside world was in complete chaos.

Using the pretext that someone in Gaoshan County had colluded with Xu Nian and had access to the "Collection of Military Forces," Pang Yunlong launched a frenzied attack on various forces.

His reasons were so plausible that even Prefect Yue Zichuan couldn't stop him.

The various factions in Gaoshan County are suffering greatly, and the pressure is constantly being transmitted downwards, even affecting the lives of ordinary people.

Fortunately, Zhou Yuan now holds official rank, is exempt from all corvée labor, and has had his taxes reduced by more than half, so this turmoil has not affected him for the time being.

He secluded himself at home, practicing martial arts and forging weapons, hoping that everyone would forget his existence.

On this day, Li Lin suddenly summoned him to his residence.

The master and apprentice sat facing each other in the study. Li Lin took out a wooden box and handed it to Zhou Yuan, then slowly began to speak.

"I've sold off all my properties in the past few days, including this house."

A look of dejection appeared on Li Lin's face. "This experience has taught me that always backing down is not the right choice. Sometimes you have to have some edge, and you do that better than me."

For years I've been hiding in Gaoshan County, afraid to fight for this or to rob that, and as a result I almost lost my life and my family.

Your teacher's wife and I plan to leave Gaoshan County to live with our only daughter and enjoy our retirement.

Li Lin straightened his back and perked up again. "Over the years, I've always worried about being a burden to my daughter, but now I've figured it out."

Zhou Yuan, we've been master and disciple for a while. There are three Qi and Blood Pills in this box. As for the silver, I won't leave it for you.

It's not that I'm stingy, but I'm afraid you'll develop a habit of wanting something for nothing.

"Master Li, are you leaving?"

Zhou Yuan was somewhat surprised. He didn't care whether Li Lin gave him money or not. He was already a martial arts scholar and a blacksmith, so he could earn money with his own hands.

"Yes, I have taught you everything I know. The master leads you through the door, but the cultivation is up to you. How far you can go in the future depends on your own efforts."

Li Lin said, "I miss my daughter."

"Before we part, I will give you one last piece of advice."

Li Lin paused, then said in a deep voice, "The world is dangerous; if you can endure it, then endure it."

If you can't tolerate it any longer, then you don't need to tolerate it anymore.

…………

The next morning.

Li Lin and Han's carriage discreetly drove out of the city gate of Gaoshan County.

Zhou Yuan and Zhuo Changyu stood by the roadside to see them off, and only after the carriage was out of sight did they walk home hand in hand.

As soon as I entered the city gate, a procession of people escorted a sedan chair carried by eight men, with people holding signs that read "Silence" and "Avoidance".

Zhou Yuan and Zhuo Changyu retreated to the side of the road.

Just as the procession passed Zhou Yuan, a person suddenly walked towards him from beside the sedan chair.

"Zhou, the Prefect requests your presence for a talk."

…………