"Never mind if you don't believe me. You can practice here in the park by yourself."
"Where are you going?"
"I'm going to find someone!" Zhou Hong sighed, thinking of Shen Yanran. He hadn't heard from her in a long time. Ever since he killed her brother, she hadn't contacted him proactively.
Zhou Hong felt he should go find her. Thinking back, killing her brother back then might have been unnecessary.
Thus, Zhou Hong left Liu Hua to practice martial arts in the park and headed to Shen Yanran's house.
"Hello, I'm looking for Shen Yanran," Zhou Hong said to the security guard at the entrance of the Shen family's estate half an hour later.
The guard immediately recognized Zhou Hong and exclaimed, "Champion! I know you."
"Heh, is Shen Yanran home?"
"Please wait a moment, I'll report it right away!"
The guard quickly picked up the phone in the security room and made a call.
A few seconds later, the guard said, "Please come in with me."
"Alright!"
Zhou Hong entered the gate. Before he had walked a few steps, several old men hurried out to greet him.
"Hello, hello, Senior Zhou Hong, welcome to our family," one of the old men said with a smile.
"Hello!" Zhou Hong scanned the old man before him. Shen Yanran's grandfather was among them, but he stood at the back and said nothing.
"Hello, hello, my name is Shen Tianbing, the Great Elder of the Shen family. This is Shen Wanba, the Vice Patriarch of the Shen family, and this is Shen Wan si, the Patriarch of the Shen family," the old man quickly introduced.
"Heh, I already know Senior Shen Wan si," Zhou Hong said with a smile. Although Zhou Hong's strength was superior, he addressed him as senior out of respect for Shen Yanran.
"We dare not, we dare not. Your strength is enough to crush him with one hand. How can we dare to call him senior?" Shen Tianbing quickly replied.
"To be honest, I have two things to discuss today."
"Please, speak," Shen Tianbing nodded eagerly, seemingly afraid of Zhou Hong. "Regarding our family's young disciple Shen Dongyang, who offended you out of ignorance, it was our fault. We are willing to negotiate any compensation. Please do not bring disaster upon our family." While others might only see Zhou Hong as the champion of the martial arts competition, they knew that perhaps less than ten people in the entire Jinshi City could defeat him. They were now apprehensive, wondering if Zhou Hong's unexpected visit meant he was still harboring resentment over the Shen Dongyang incident.
Before Zhou Hong could speak, Shen Wan si quickly stepped forward and said to him, "Senior Zhou Hong, it is my fault for not disciplining him properly. My grandson tried to take your life last time. If you still cannot let go of this, I am willing to die before you. Please do not involve my family."
Zhou Hong was speechless.
"You are mistaken. I am here today mainly to find Shen Yanran. As for Shen Dongyang, I killed him that day, and now, thinking back, it might have been too impulsive. Therefore, for Shen Yanran's sake, I will offer you some compensation."
"Ah? You're not here...?"
"Of course not. I will give your family a powerful cultivation technique as compensation for killing Shen Dongyang. Of course, this is all for Shen Yanran's sake. I haven't heard from her in a long time, and as a friend, I am a little saddened."
After speaking, Zhou Hong immediately took out a prepared cultivation technique.
"Th-this?" The old men of the Shen family looked incredulous.
"This cultivation technique is called the Seventy-Two Heavenly Gang Swords. Its power is immense, yet it is not difficult to cultivate, making it suitable for families like yours. After all, your talent is limited, and if it's too difficult to practice, it won't work. Therefore, the Seventy-Two Heavenly Gang Swords are easy to learn and powerful. With this sword art, your Shen family will become a first-class family in Jinshi City within five years at most, or two to three years at least."
"Thank you, Senior Zhou Hong!" The old men of the Shen family immediately knelt down and kowtowed, especially Shen Tianbing, who was moved to tears.
"Heh, you're welcome. I'll be going now." Zhou Hong turned to leave. The reason he gave their family a cultivation technique was indeed for Shen Yanran's sake.
"Senior Zhou Hong, weren't you looking for my granddaughter?" Shen Wan si quickly said.
"Never mind. After all, I killed her brother. It would be awkward not knowing what to say if we met."
"No, no, no, it won't be awkward. If she dares to be awkward, I will...!"
"No need."
Zhou Hong turned and left. He had originally intended to say a few more words to Shen Yanran, but on second thought, he already had enough women bothering him, so it was best to let it go.
"Seventy-Two Heavenly Gang Swords? My heavens! This is heaven blessing our Shen family."
"Yes, we lost Shen Dongyang, but we gained such a powerful cultivation technique. It's worth it."
After Zhou Hong left, the old men of the Shen family also cried out in joy. Shen Wan si listened with mixed feelings. While he didn't deny that his grandson's life was a worthwhile exchange for the entire family's rise, he was still his grandson.
"It's just a shame he doesn't want to see Shen Yanran anymore. If Shen Yanran could become his concubine..."
Thinking of this, the Great Elder of the Shen family immediately said to Shen Wan si, "Hurry up and persuade your granddaughter to find Zhou Hong proactively and mend their relationship. If not, even being friends would be good."
"Okay." Shen Wan si nodded without hesitation.
At this moment, at the Jinshi City Conservatory of Music.
Shen Yanran sat in a classroom, her expression dazed. She had been in this state of lethargy for the past half month.
Just then, her phone rang.
"Hello, Grandpa!" Shen Yanran walked out of the classroom to answer it.
"Yanran, Zhou Hong just came to our family."
"Oh!" Shen Yanran nodded, her heart filled with complex emotions. He was the first man she had actively pursued, but unfortunately, she felt she was no longer worthy of him, and with the psychological barrier between them, they would never be in contact again.
"He said he felt some regret about killing your brother and gave our family a very powerful cultivation technique as compensation. We've studied this cultivation technique, and it's truly formidable. It's likely that within one to two years, our Shen family will become one of the top families in Jinshi City."
"What?" Shen Yanran was shocked, finding it hard to believe.
"Yanran, although he killed your brother, don't blame him too much. After all, your brother brought it upon himself. Now that he's compensated our family with such a powerful cultivation technique, I think he's quite a righteous person. I heard you haven't contacted him again, is that right?"
"Yes," Shen Yanran said with red eyes.