Chapter 1 The Beginning

Three days passed in a flash.

The night faded, and the sky was just beginning to brighten, in the early dawn, permeated by the chill of spring.

In the inn room, Zhou Jing stood by the window, his gaze sweeping downward, already able to see figures gradually appearing on the street.

Some were carrying breakfast burdens to the market before dawn, others were wearing coarse linen clothes, hurrying to do odd jobs, all struggling for a living.

Zhou Jing withdrew his gaze and rubbed his temples.

Today was the agreed-upon day to take action. He had tossed and turned all night, unable to sleep, but his body was strong, so staying up all night was not a problem.

"After today, I'll probably be 'famous throughout the world,' right? Or rather, infamous."

Since there were no outsiders present, there was no need to put on an act. Zhou Jing gave a self-deprecating smile.

Making a name for himself was the current stage goal, and it also had to meet the Star Realm Apostle number four's standard of "acting on behalf of Heaven." He hadn't expected to run into Guo Hai Shen's situation.

There were many injustices in the world, but since he had seen it, he wouldn't let it go unchecked… The words he had said to Lu Yun Zhao were not just for show. Zhou Jing knew that this was the behavioral pattern of Star Realm Apostle number four.

These days, he had visited everywhere and carefully inquired, confirming that the local four major clans had indeed been acting like tyrants and being uncharitable for many years. Now that he happened to have stumbled upon it, he might as well use it as an opportunity to take action, both indirectly helping Guo Hai Shen, making a name for himself in the Jianghu (martial world), and eliminating local bullies… The downside was probably offending the government and local dignitaries.

"Hopefully, the battle can be resolved quickly today… Only Fang Zhen and Gao Yun are going with me; there shouldn't be any unexpected troubles."

Zhou Jing exhaled.

His original intention was actually to go alone, because taking action himself would make it easier to control the intensity.

However, Fang Zhen and Gao Yun disregarded the danger and were willing to accompany him on this dangerous journey. He pondered it over and finally did not refuse.

But if any Tianwang Zhai (Heavenly King Stronghold) leaders wanted to get involved, Zhou Jing would refuse. He didn't want too many Jianghu outlaws to participate in his actions.

He was well aware that these old Jianghu were not good people either. Falling into banditry might have had its hardships, but today, most Jianghu tycoons were already full of bad habits and would do anything once they got started.

However, this group of people at least dared to take up arms and resist feudal dignitaries, making them one of the few available forces at present.

Although Fang Zhen was an old Jianghu, reckless and impulsive, and often worked alone, he was still clear-headed when handling matters. Gao Yun was once an honest镖头 (biao tou – escort leader) and also knew how to exercise restraint when fighting. Both were easy to command and would not mess things up.

If he were to replace them with the leaders of Tianwang Zhai, it would be hard to say. These leaders would probably become uncontrollable and do unnecessary bad things, which would also delay the operation.

Although what he was doing was breaking families and destroying households, the greatest "evil," he wouldn't lose control. It was best to act quickly to avoid getting stuck here.

As for Zhang San and the other five personal attendants, because they didn't know martial arts yet, Zhou Jing arranged for them to provide support and didn't need to risk participating in the action.

While pondering the action plan, Zhou Jing casually opened the interface and looked at Star Realm Apostle number four's current abilities.

Although only ten days or so had passed since he traveled here, thanks to the blessing of the purple martial arts aptitude, various skills had shown obvious progress.

When he beat Wu Family Village before, Star Realm Apostle number four's [Zhongping Spear Technique] had risen to lv2 (Skilled). After practicing during this time, it had now risen to lv4 (Proficient), equivalent to an ordinary person being immersed in this spear technique for about ten years.

In addition, three days ago, Zhou Jing took the time to discuss spear techniques with Gao Yun. Under the guise of exchanging knowledge, he was actually teaching him. Gao Yun took out a common spear technique as an example and carefully broke it down. Zhou Jing obtained a new spear technique from it, called *Twelve Spear Styles*.

Although this spear technique was not rare, it was not as simple as the Zhongping Spear. It mainly practiced twelve action techniques, blocking, seizing, thrusting, splitting, hooking, parrying, picking, piercing, supporting, bouncing, sweeping, and drawing, which were considered a basic set of spear skills.

Although it had no special characteristics, practicing it to a profound level would result in a solid foundation and make one a good fighter.

It only took three days, thanks to his aptitude and accelerated cultivation, for Zhou Jing to practice this [Twelve Spear Styles] to lv2 (Skilled), and he was not far from the next level.

Because of the uniqueness of martial arts in this world, after these two spear techniques became proficient, it was easy to break through the bottleneck of mortals and generate internal energy, automatically activating a new transcendent system… After experiencing it, Zhou Jing named it the "Wuxia (Martial Hero) Internal Energy System" according to the theories of the main world.

This system was also a route of martial arts, but the energy basis was internal energy, which was different from his own "Martial Artist" system.

Although internal energy could be converted into Martial Dao aura, and the energy conversion rate was quite high, complementing each other, the two systems were displayed separately on the interface.

In addition, the skills of the Martial Artist system had also improved. Zhou Jing had practiced the "Basic Tempering Method" to lv2, bringing new bonuses.

And "Gale Style" had risen to lv3. Zhou Jing mainly focused his energy on the "Gale Footwork" within it and practiced the most diligently. Now he was quite handy with it. As for the boxing and saber techniques, he had only dabbled in them, and the 奥义 (aoyi – profound truth/essence) was still nowhere to be found.

Zhou Jing looked at the overall attributes of Star Realm Apostle number four:

[Transcendent System 1: [Martial Artist]]

[Realm: First Realm – Foundation]

[Aura Characteristic: Gale]

[Core Technique: Basic Tempering Method lv2]

[Martial Dao Style: Gale Style lv3]

[Total Bonus: Physique +3, Resistance +2, Energy +5]

——

[Transcendent System 2: [Wuxia (Martial Hero) Internal Energy]]

[Realm: Nascent Internal Energy, Natural Strength]

[Internal Energy Method: None]

[Martial Arts Moves: Zhongping Spear Technique lv4, Twelve Spear Styles lv2]

[Total Bonus: Physique +2, Energy +3]

——

[Current Total Attributes: Physique 31, Resistance 22, Perception 16, Spirit 14, Energy 8]

"A little stronger than ten days ago, and the energy attribute is no longer zero. Finally, I can use some wonderful applications."

Zhou Jing felt certain in his heart.

His initial strength was enough to fight against a hundred, and now that his martial arts were proficient and his attributes had increased, he was more confident in this trip.

Some Martial Dao systems have a characteristic, which is that they can accumulate internal energy or Martial Dao aura through slow and steady effort… As long as a martial art is practiced long enough, even if the skill level does not break through, the skill itself will gain some bonuses, which is the so-called "deep skill."

For example, many experts in this world have been practicing their strength day after day for decades. Even if some martial arts reach a bottleneck due to aptitude, their attributes will still improve to some extent over the years, which is all accumulated over time.

This accumulation of slow and steady effort allows the same skill to gain higher bonuses. His cultivation acceleration generally improves skill levels quickly. Only when he encounters a real aptitude bottleneck that he can't get past will he switch to long-term accumulation, and the acceleration effect will still take effect, improving the efficiency of slow and steady effort.

"There are also two auxiliary functions that will come in handy this time."

Zhou Jing glanced at them.

This time, he would probably be pursued and intercepted by government soldiers. In the complex environment of the city, the [Map Radar] function would naturally be very useful, enough to anticipate the enemy.

And the [Character Level System (10 level cap)] requires killing enemies to gain experience. Currently, the level is still the initial level 1, with no bonuses.

He knocked down hundreds of people in Wu Family Village, but he used a staff and didn't kill them all on the spot. The experience bar displayed on the interface only went about halfway, not enough to level up.

This time, he was going to make a big scene, and it was likely that he would level up.

Just then, there was a knock on the door.

Li Chun's voice came from outside.

Gu Yun

"Brother Chen, everyone is here."

Hearing this, Zhou Jing closed the interface, patted his cheeks, moved his jaw, and restored the ferocity of "Chen Feng."

He then opened the door and followed Li Chun to another room where all the Jianghu people involved in this matter were.

Shi Qing brought out objects wrapped in grass mats one by one, stacked them neatly on the table, and unwrapped the grass mats to reveal the contents, which were rows of weapons and ironware exuding a chilling light.

Pu Dao (a type of Chinese polearm), spears, axes… all real cold weapons.

"We have been staying here for many days, preparing for the prison break. We have already bought weapons privately. Brothers, please take what you need."

Xiang Tianjie cupped his fists and said in a low voice.

The risk of this trip was not small, putting their heads on the line, so naturally they couldn't just use staffs, but real weapons.

The crowd was not polite and took their preferred weapons, wrapped them in grass mats again, and disguised them again.

Zhou Jing was not pretentious either. He threw down his staff and picked up a heavy spear with a black pole and white tassel. The spearhead was as bright and cold as snow.

Of the two people who went with him, Gao Yun also used a spear, taking a spear with a red tassel and a ring. Fang Zhen did not change his weapon and still used his original iron-headed cudgel.

After everyone had taken their weapons, Xiang Tianjie cupped his hands and said solemnly:

"The city gate only opens during the day. We will rescue people and immediately disguise ourselves to leave the city. Brother Chen Feng, once you cause a commotion and distract the government soldiers, we will immediately break into the prison to rescue people… After it's done, everyone will gather at Sanliting (Three Li Flats) outside the city!"

"Okay!"

The crowd did not delay and left the inn separately.

Zhou Jing watched the others leave and nodded to Fang Zhen and Gao Yun, saying in a deep voice:

"Today, the three of us brothers will make a big fuss in the prefecture, sending these bullying and market-dominating gentry to their deaths, which can be considered a public service!"

With that, he turned and walked away.

Hearing this, the two felt a surge of heroism and immediately agreed loudly, quickly following.

…

The sun gradually shifted, the sky brightened, and the streets became lively.

Zhou Jing came to the south of Anlin Prefecture City, sat in a roadside tea shed, and, while cracking peanuts, surveyed the gate of the He family mansion not far away.

"The Lu, Chen, He, and Huang are the four major local clans, and their residences are all in the south of the city, which is convenient for us to act." Fang Zhen lowered his voice and said with a snort.

"We'll kill our way along the path, and the He family will be the first. If we act quickly, none of the four families will be able to escape."

Zhou Jing spoke expressionlessly.

After scouting for a few days, the three naturally figured out the locations of the four major clans' residences and decided on a convenient order according to the map.

In addition, the crowd also figured out the basic armed forces of these four families.

Because they lived in the city, the four major clans couldn't recklessly recruit Zhuangke (manorial soldiers), but each family had at least hundreds of guards.

The four major clans also knew that they were unpopular and resented, so in order to prevent people from causing trouble, they raised many high-level bodyguards, including many well-known tough guys.

As for the direct descendants and collateral relatives within the four families, everyone also had a rough understanding, mainly from the information collected by Shi Qing. This person had a habit of stealing and playing tricks, but his ability to gather information was indeed good.

Zhou Jing tapped the table with his finger and said in a low voice:

"Act according to the plan. I'll smash through the gate and kill my way in from the front, deliberately causing a commotion. At the same time, I can also lure out the snakes and draw away most of the guards. You guys find a place to climb over the wall and take action on your own."

"… Okay."

Gao Yun and Fang Zhen reluctantly agreed.

They originally wanted to fight alongside Zhou Jing and were unwilling to let Zhou Jing face the most enemies alone.

However, the three of them gathered together would be inconvenient to act. Over the past few days, they had been persuaded by Zhou Jing, who insisted on doing so.

At this time, Zhou Jing paused and instructed in a deep voice:

"Don't forget what I said before. After you go in, only kill those who are richly dressed. Don't get entangled with women and children, and ignore the servants who run away without resisting. It's not worth wasting time on these people. As long as you get rid of the family heads, these local bullies and powerful families will collapse, and someone will clean them up later… You must know that the faster you do it, the sooner I can withdraw, and the safer the situation will be."

Hearing this, the two's faces became serious, and they immediately responded:

"We will never delay you, brother, and will definitely act quickly!"

Zhou Jing nodded, waved his hand and said, "Okay, go ahead and wait for my signal."

"Brother, be careful. If things can't be done, self-preservation comes first!"

Gao Yun was worried and couldn't help but say a word. Then he got up and turned to leave with Fang Zhen.

Seeing the two disappear around the corner, Zhou Jing withdrew his gaze.

He sat in his seat, finished a pot of tea, estimated that the time was almost up, and then suddenly stood up, carrying the spear wrapped in grass mats, and strode towards the gate of the He family.

The gatekeeper in front of the He mansion was a strong servant who quickly noticed Zhou Jing walking straight towards him.

The gatekeeper looked Zhou Jing up and down, then frowned and said loudly:

"Hey, you, what's the matter?"

Zhou Jing was expressionless and did not answer. He just strode closer and untied the rope that fastened the grass mat.

The gatekeeper sensed something was wrong and immediately shouted angrily, "Stop! Don't move forward!"

Zhou Jing did not stop and got closer and closer, shouting:

"Grandpa wants to move forward, what are you going to do!"

"So he's a hooligan. Do you know what place this is? How dare you come to cause trouble. You're going to be in for a world of hurt!"

The gatekeeper was furious, stepped forward and pushed Zhou Jing in the chest.

Zhou Jing took his push, his body still standing still. He glanced down and grinned.

Bang!

In the next moment, the gatekeeper flew out and crashed open the gate of the He mansion.

Snap, snap… The severed door bolt fell to the ground.

Such a big commotion immediately alarmed the many guards in the front yard, and the people in the mansion looked over in astonishment.

They saw the dying gatekeeper lying on the ground, and the gate of the He mansion was wide open. A burly and strong man with disheveled hair walked in, holding a black pole with a white tassel spear upside down, the blade of the spear gleaming in the sunlight.

An unspeakable murderous aura, with the advance of this man, step by step, pressed over.

At the same time, a roar like a thunderbolt from a clear sky, resounded through the clouds:

"Chen Feng pays a visit!"

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