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

Chapter 87 Hidden Arrow (Third Update, Please Subscribe)

"Four times to pass the level?"

Dong Hailou's words were like wildfire, instantly igniting the entire audience.

"Commander Zhou has broken through the barrier four times? How is that possible?"

Everyone wore expressions of disbelief.

Ever since Zhou Yuan became the top scholar in the county, legends about him have been circulating in Gaoshan County.

As everyone knows, Zhou Yuan was able to become the county's top scholar because of his good looks.

He used his handsome face to deceive the second young lady of the Zhuo family, which gave him the money to buy Qi and Blood Pills and forcefully build up his cultivation level.

It was through the connection with the second young lady of the Zhuo family that Zhou Yuan got close to Li Lin, and then through Li Lin's connection that he got close to Luo Baiyan, the elder of Shenbing Valley.

That's how he got the position of commander of the city guard.

Everyone in Gaoshan County agrees that Zhou Yuan is good-looking, but no one in Gaoshan County would agree that he is a martial arts genius.

Everyone knows that Zhou Yuan only has inferior talent. Even Li Lin looked down on him back then. He was lucky enough to become Luo Baiyan's disciple, but was eventually expelled.

How could someone like that possibly pass the test four times?

The young talents below the hall who had once interacted with Zhou Yuan had mixed feelings.

Zhou Yuan, who was of inferior talent and usually quiet and only knew how to bury himself in hard training, actually broke through the barrier four times ahead of everyone else?

Everyone had different thoughts. They thought that once the new county magistrate took office, Zhou Yuan would soon be exposed and removed from his position as commander of the city guards.

But now that Zhou Yuan has broken through the barrier four times, even the county magistrate would find it difficult to suppress him.

Those who had initially sided with the new county magistrate began to waver again.

Zhang Jun and Cheng Hengjiang's eyes were filled with surprise, and also with a sense of relief.

They were close to Zhou Yuan and thought they would be implicated and targeted by the new county magistrate. Unexpectedly, everyone became distracted, and Dong Hailou lost interest, hastily ending the banquet.

"Fortunately, it's just a minor fracture, so it won't affect your command of the city guards."

Zhou Yuan said.

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The Gundam, with its splints on, couldn't help but roll its eyes.

"Have you no conscience? I've already broken my bones, and you still want to exploit me, making me manage the city guards for you?"

He said it in an annoyed tone.

"If you don't want to do it, there are plenty of people who do."

Zhou Yuan said casually.

"You fucking heartless boss!"

Gao Da grumbled and cursed, but in the end he still couldn't bear to part with the money.

The city guards owned quite a few properties and farmlands. If managed properly, they could receive more than a thousand taels of silver a year.

"Seriously, you really cleared the level four times?"

Gao Da looked at Zhou Yuan and asked with a serious expression.

"A few days ago, I went into the mountains and was lucky enough to find a rare and valuable medicinal herb that had been there for many years. By chance, I successfully passed the test on my fourth attempt."

Zhou Yuan said calmly.

Gundam's lips twitched, and he couldn't help but roll his eyes.

What incredible luck!

He often goes into the mountains, so why has he never seen any old medicinal herbs?

"You broke through the barrier four times and didn't tell me sooner. If I had known, I wouldn't have bothered with your busywork."

He said it in an annoyed tone.

"How could I have known you would be so impulsive? Besides, I only recently broke through to the next level, and I might not be a match for Gao Liang."

Zhou Yuan replied.

"That's true. Although you were lucky enough to pass the level four times, your innate talent is no match for Gao Liang's. If you were to actually spar, there's no guarantee that he wouldn't take the opportunity to cripple you."

Gao Da nodded in deep agreement.

He believed Zhou Yuan's explanation. After all, it was no secret that Zhou Yuan had inferior aptitude. If he hadn't obtained the precious medicine, how could Zhou Yuan have successfully broken through the barrier four times?

"What are your plans for the future? This guy surnamed Dong clearly has ill intentions. He probably won't give up easily now that he couldn't suppress you this time."

Gao Da said, "If you pass the test four times, even if you don't become the commander of the city guards, you can still go to the prefectural capital to take the exam. Who knows, if you're lucky, you might pass the martial arts exam next year."

"It's only a half-month journey from Gaoshan County to the prefectural capital. The martial arts examination will be held next June, so going there three months in advance to familiarize yourself with the environment is enough."

I plan to resign from my position as commander of the city guards next March to go to the prefectural capital to take the imperial examination.

Zhou Yuan said calmly, clearly having planned this all along.

"Next March —"

Gao Da pondered, "That means there are still four months left. These four months are not going to be easy."

"When soldiers come, generals will block them; when water comes, earth will dam it."

Zhou Yuan said, "I did what I was supposed to do, so he had no reason to make things difficult for me."

Gao Da was speechless. If you don't cause trouble, trouble won't bother you?

They're planning to make a big move in Gaoshan County, and you, the commander of the city's garrison, are just a stumbling block.

"Got it. There are still four months left. Let's make as much money as we can, brothers."

Gao Da grinned. "We can't let this broken arm go to waste, can we?"

"Snap!"

Gao Liang crushed the armrest of the chair to pieces.

"So it was him who stole my Nine-Leaf Mushroom! Otherwise, how could a useless person with such poor aptitude have succeeded in breaking through the barrier four times?"

Gao Liang's eyes turned red with anger.

He arrived in Jiangzhou several months in advance for this sect's strategic deployment and unexpectedly discovered a Nine-Leaf Ganoderma, which made him extremely happy.

He later discovered that the Nine-Leaf Mushroom was already over twenty years old, and it wouldn't be long before it reached thirty years old.

Although it's only a few years apart, the potency of the medicine is vastly different.

So he left his demon pet there to guard it, planning to harvest the Nine-Leaf Mushroom after it had been thirty years.

Who would have thought that someone else would beat them to it!

Zhou Yuan not only stole the Nine-Leaf Mushroom, but also killed his demonic pet, the Spirit Snake. This hatred and grudge cannot be washed away even if a whole river of water is poured out!

"If I were to consume a 25-year-old Nine-Leaf Mushroom, I would surely break through to the Foundation Establishment stage and transform my blood and qi into essence."

"What a waste of a priceless medicinal herb! Zhou Yuan, that bastard, only broke through the cultivation level four times. It's an absolute waste!"

Gao Liang grew angrier the more he thought about it, and grabbed a cup from the table and smashed it.

Just then.

The door creaked open.

The cup flew straight towards the person's face.

The person raised their hand and deftly grabbed the cup.

"Junior Brother Gao has quite a temper."

Dong Hailou said calmly.

"Senior brother, I can't hold back anymore! I'm going to kill Zhou Yuan right now!"

Gao Liang roared angrily, "You killed my demon pet and stole my precious medicine! I've never suffered such a loss since I was born!"

"I came to stop you because I was afraid you would act too impulsively."

Dong Hailou shook his head. "Killing Zhou Yuan is easy, but what happens after that?"

I had just taken office when the city guard commander died. Isn't this handing Shenbing Valley a handle to use against me?

If someone accuses me of poor governance, I won't be able to remain the magistrate of Gaoshan County.

Wouldn't all our previous efforts have been wasted?

"What can we do then? Just watch Zhou Yuan swagger around like that?"

Gao Liang snorted, his anger still not subsided.

"Killing him is not difficult; what is difficult is doing it in a reasonable, justifiable, and legal manner."

Dong Hailou said calmly, "Now that you are the leader of the Martial Alliance, you need to use your brain more when you do things. Senior Uncle Gao asked you to come to Gaoshan County with me this time to hone your skills."

"If my Little White hadn't been killed by the city guards, I would have had it sneak into Zhou Yuan's house at night and devour him whole!"

Gao Liang said angrily.

Dong Hailou put his hand to his forehead, realizing he had said nothing of substance.

If this junior brother didn't have an elder father—

"Junior Brother Gao, there's no need to do everything yourself."

Dong Hailou said earnestly, "The Martial Alliance is full of talented people. You can let them deal with Zhou Yuan. If something goes wrong, you can still remove them to take the blame."

I think Chen Huojia is a smart man; why not let him give it a try?

"Chen Huojia? That old geezer has that kind of ability?"

Gao Liang said disdainfully.

Dong Hailou was too lazy to explain to him that although Gaoshan County was a small place, those who could establish themselves there were not easy to get ahead in.

Sometimes, the struggles at the bottom are more brutal than those of the Mongol faction, and it takes more methods to stand out.

"Whether it works out or not, we won't lose anything by letting him try."

Dong Hailou said, "If he can't handle it, I'll deal with him myself. Is that alright?"

"Oh well."

Gao Liang said somewhat unhappily, but reluctantly agreed.

After the banquet, many people went to Zhou Yuan's home to visit him, but all of them returned empty-handed.

To avoid giving Dong Hailou any leverage, Zhou Yuan moved directly to live in the county military camp.

In this way, no one can accuse him of being negligent.

Moreover, with three hundred city guards stationed in the military camp, safety was guaranteed.

Zhou Yuan had a large tent all to himself in the county guerrilla camp. With no one to disturb him, he focused on practicing his boxing and forging his weapons, and his strength improved slowly and steadily.

Although he no longer had the support of precious medicines and Qi-blood pills, Zhou Yuan unexpectedly discovered that if he set aside an hour each day to practice sparring with others, his work efficiency would also improve.

The daily settlement points have been increased from 150 to 160.

Since then, he has been finding some people from the city guards to spar with every day.

While the city guards were no match for him in one-on-one combat, he had to be very careful when dealing with their numbers.

Moreover, the city guards also include martial artists like Gao Da and Zhou Shun, who have broken through the barrier three times.

Zhou Yuan was perfectly at home in the military camp, and he even wished that life could continue like this forever.

That day, he had just finished practicing the White Ape Tongbei Fist when Zhou Shun suddenly came in to report.

"My lord, Chen Huojia, the master of Hongsheng Martial Arts School, is outside requesting an audience with the county magistrate, carrying his credentials."

Zhou Shun clasped his hands in a fist salute.

"Chen Huojia?"

A figure flashed through Zhou Yuan's mind.

He was deeply impressed by what happened at the banquet that night; did this movie star really win Dong Hailou's favor?

"Let him in."

Zhou Yuan put on his coat and said casually.

Since he had the county magistrate's approval, he had no reason to turn people away.

Zhou Shun obeyed the order and went out. A moment later, he brought Chen Huojia in.

"Chen Huojia greets Commander Zhou!"

Chen Huojia clasped his hands in a fist salute, his voice loud and clear, his attitude as respectful as ever.

"Commander Zhou, this old man has come to ask for help."

Before Zhou Yuan could ask his purpose, Chen Huojia took the initiative to say, "Commander Zhou also knows that the county magistrate did not entrust the old man with an important task because of his age and frailty, and made him the vice leader of the Martial Alliance."

A few days ago, a shipment of goods belonging to the Martial Alliance was robbed seventy miles outside the city. I, an old man, was so ashamed that I wanted to hang myself.

I originally wanted to take my disciples to retrieve the goods, but considering my limited abilities, I had no choice but to report the matter to the county magistrate.

The county magistrate said that since there were bandits outside the city, the city guards should go out to suppress them. So he wrote me a warrant and asked me to ask Commander Zhou for help.

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As he spoke, he handed over the playing cards.

Zhou Yuan glanced at it, noticing the bright red county magistrate's seal, and pondered, "What kind of goods were robbed?"

"What was stolen was our city guards' rations for next month."

Chen Huojia said with a bitter face, "If we can't find it, the brothers of the city guard will go hungry next month. I would never be able to atone for that."

"Who is the person who did this?"

Zhou Yuan interrupted his act and asked in a deep voice.

"According to the brothers who escaped, it seems that the ones who did it were from the Red Lotus Society."