Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Cheng Yong and the others wanted to befriend Zhou Shu, so they didnât care how much money they would spend.
Even if Zhou Shu played freely, how much could he alone spend?
Now, they had the chance to invite Zhou Shu. When he truly became a Forging Master, even if they wanted to invite him, they wouldnât be able to do so.
On the stage, the performance continued.
Zhou Shu had an eye-opener today.
One after another, beautiful women went on stage to perform their talents such as dancing, singing, playing the zither, luteâ¦
There were even women performing splits.
The only thing these women had in common was their beauty!
If they werenât beautiful, there wouldnât be much room for survival in such a place.
How corrupt,?Zhou Shu thought.
These women, who were not inferior to ordinary celebrities even in his previous life, were performing practically naked in front of him. Any man would be full of vanity.
There were a few times he almost raised his card out of impulse.
Fortunately, his rationality won in the end.
Zhou Shu silently thought of the Visualization of the Five Mountainsâ True Form. He was calm and composed as he ate food and drank wine. Cheng Yong and the others were impressed.
If not for the sake of accompanying Zhou Shu, they would have long rushed into a room impatiently. Even now, a few young men full of vigor were already flushed red.
Look at Superintendent Zhou. He was clearly younger than them. Shouldnât he be more anxious?
A genius was a genius indeed. To be able to remain so calm in front of so many beautiful women, this was the difference.
Cheng Yong and the others were full of admiration.
âLieutenant Cheng, you donât have to bother about me. If anyone catches your eye, do as you please,â Zhou Shu said calmly and put a mouthful of food in his mouth.
âItâs fine, itâs fine,â Cheng Yong quickly said. âWe come here often. Itâs more important to drink with you.â
Zhou Shu didnât believe a single word they said.?These guys look like they want to rip off the clothes of the woman on stage. If they were regular customers, they wouldnât have such a look on their faces.
âLieutenant Cheng, are the Huben Troops usually busy?â Zhou Shu naturally wouldnât expose Cheng Yong and the others, so he tried to find a topic to talk about.
On the stage, another woman began to perform a sword dance. This woman was dressed more normally. Although the sword dance was very exciting, the cheers were much less than before.
Cheng Yong and the othersâ spirits were also greatly dampened. They practiced swordplay all day, so they didnât care about this sword dance.
âItâs alright,â Cheng Yong said. Compared to the border army, the Huben Troopsâ training wasnât that tough.
âIf we didnât have to prepare for next yearâs military parade, our Huben Troops would have it much easier.â
âMilitary parade?â Zhou Shuâs interest was piqued.
âYes, our Great Xiaâs military parade once every five years is a grand occasion,â Cheng Yong said with pride on his face. âNot all troops can participate in the military parade. Our Huben Troops is considered one of the top few in the Country Protector Army, so we are qualified to participateâ¦â
Cheng Yong became excited when he talked about his job.
Actually, Zhou Shu had heard of the military parade before. There were two types of military parades. The first type was the military parade that all the countries on the land participated in.
The other type was the national military parade.
The military parade that all the countries participated in was held once every ten years, but each countryâs own was different.
In Great Xia, the latter happened once every five years.
The military parade was actually the Great Xia emperor inspecting Great Xiaâs military strength. In essence, it was similar to the military parades in Zhou Shuâs previous life.
âSpeaking of which, Superintendent Zhou, this military parade has a lot to do with your Forging Division,â Cheng Yong said.
âThe Forging Division will choose Forging Masters to forge in front of His Majesty. In other words, it will be an inspection. If you can gain His Majestyâs favor, you will be able to achieve meteoric success.â
Cheng Yong licked his lips in envy.
Compared to soldiers like them, the chances of Forging Masters being noticed were much higher.
âThis has nothing to do with me.â Zhou Shu shrugged. âOnly Forging Masters have the chance to participate. Iâm just a Forging Apprentice.â
Even if this wasnât the case, he wasnât interested in participating in the military parade.
He relied on his own ability and hard work to make a living. He didnât need anyoneâs favor.
âWhat a pity. But Superintendent Zhou, you will definitely participate in the next military parade,â Cheng Yong said.
Next? Five years later?
Then, I might not be qualified to participate.
Only Forging Masters could participate in the military parade. Even Grand Craftsmen were not qualified to participate.
With the Legendary Armament Canon, if Zhou Shu couldnât become a Grand Craftsman in five years, he would kill himself with a piece of tofu.
âHelp yourselves. Iâll go to the latrine.â Zhou Shu stood up.
Following the maidâs directions, Zhou Shu found the latrine in the backyard. After happily taking care of his business, he was just about to return to the front hall when his ears suddenly twitched. He heard a faint voice.
After cultivating the Dragon Elephant Prajna Technique to the eighth level, Zhou Shuâs physique had undergone a tremendous change. Not only was his divine strength astonishing, but his five senses were also extremely sharp.
Not long ago, he had obtained the Visualization of the Five Mountainsâ True Form. After cultivating it, it strengthened his spirit and allowed him to derive divine sense.
Although Zhou Shu had yet to have any divine sense, his spiritual strength had already surpassed that of martial artists of the same level. The external improvements were his five senses, which had once again been greatly enhanced. He could see farther and hear farther.
The voice was extremely soft. If not for Zhou Shuâs exceptional hearing, he definitely wouldnât have heard it.
Even so, he noticed this voice because it was somewhat familiar!
Otherwise, Zhou Shu wouldnât have paid too much attention to such a faint sound mixed with the noise of the bamboo rustling nearby.
âSuperintendent Xiao, that Zhou boy wonât stay the night, right? If thatâs the case, are we going to wait here all night?â
Zhou Shu stopped and listened carefully. The somewhat familiar voice seemed to filter through layer after layer and once again entered his ears.
Zhen Cai??Zhou Shuâs eyes narrowed.
This voice belonged to Zhen Cai, Zhu Chuanfengâs subordinate.
Needless to say, the Zhou boy he mentioned was definitely referring to him!
Heâs really persistent!?Zhou Shu looked in the direction of the voice.
This direction is a high wall. Zhen Cai is waiting for me outside the high wall?
The person heâs talking to is Xiao Zongshui?
Zhou Shu slowed down and took a few steps toward the high wall.
Zhen Caiâs voice became clearer.
âIn my opinion, we should just go in and kidnap him. Thereâs no need for such trouble!â Zhen Cai grumbled softly.
âGo in? Do you know which girlâs room heâs sleeping in?â Xiao Zongshui snorted. âOr do you plan on kidnapping him in public? Do you really think you can do whatever you want in the capital with Grandmaster Zhuâs protection?
âIf things get out of hand, are you going to bear the consequences, or should I?â Xiao Zongshui sounded impatient.
After being in the cold wind for half the night, the two of them were not in a good mood. They were thinking that once they caught Zhou Shu, they would definitely vent their anger on him!
Anyway, Grandmaster Zhu only needed them to keep him alive!
What they didnât know was that the person they wanted to capture was standing right beside them and listening to their conversation.
Listening to Xiao Zongshui and Zhen Caiâs conversation, Zhou Shu was extremely confused.?What exactly does Zhu Chuanfeng want?
Is there a need for him to do this to take in a disciple?
If he really took a fancy to my talent, it wouldnât be appropriate to use such methods.
But if that isnât the case, why would he resort to such means to take me as his disciple?
Thereâs definitely something I donât know.
Zhou Shu had never heard of such a thing. Who would accept a disciple in such a manner? Wasnât he afraid that his disciple would hate him?
Who cares what he thinks? If he wants to be my master, heâs not good enough.
Zhou Shu snorted coldly in his heart.
And Xiao Zongshui, you had a chance to go to heaven, but you chose to barge into hell instead.
Zhou Shu looked around. This was the backyard of the brothel, and not far away was the latrine. There was no one in the latrine, and no one was walking around nearby.
He took off his outer garment, turned it inside out, and put it back on. Then he suddenly exerted strength in his legs and jumped up into the air. He jumped up more than ten feet, reached out his hand on the wall, and directly flipped over.
Xiao Zongshui and Zhen Cai were hiding in a dark alley not far from the brothelâs entrance. From time to time, they would peek their heads out to take a look at the brothelâs entrance.
Suddenly, they heard the sound of rushing wind above their heads. Almost at the same time, they thought that something was amiss.
As a ninth-rank martial artist, Zhen Cai had a faster reaction than Xiao Zongshui. He didnât even raise his head as he grabbed upward without any hesitation. His five fingers formed the shape of an eagleâs claw, and his sharp claws shone faintly in the darkness.
He believed that even martial artists of the same rank wouldnât dare to take this grab head-on!
Zhen Caiâs arm was halfway out when it suddenly stopped in the air.
His pupils dilated, and his face was full of fear.
In his consciousness, a towering mountain descended from the sky and directly pressed down on his head.
Zhen Caiâs breathing almost stopped due to the oppressive aura. He only lasted for two breaths before his eyes rolled back and he fell to the ground.
On the other side, Xiao Zongshui lay on the ground with his eyes rolled back.
Zhen Cai couldnât withstand it. Xiao Zongshui, who was not even a ranked martial artist, naturally couldnât withstand it either.
At this moment, Zhou Shuâs feet had just touched the ground.
Zhen Cai? Rookie!?Zhou Shu looked at the unconscious Zhen Cai with some disdain. He was also somewhat surprised by the power of the Visualization of the Five Mountainsâ True Form.
His Visualization of the Five Mountainsâ True Form had only just entered basic mastery, and the Visualization of the Five Mountainsâ True Form had only just formed an outline.
He had only attempted to use the Visualization of the Five Mountainsâ True Form to intimidate Zhen Cai and Xiao Zongshui so as to avoid making too much noise when he made a move.
Unexpectedly, the two of them were so weak that he didnât even need to do anything. They were actually knocked unconscious by the Five Mountainsâ True Form.
Zhou Shu even suspected that Zhen Cai, this ninth-rank martial artist, was a fake.
You two think you can kidnap me?
Zhou had wasted his efforts in disguising himself, afraid that they would recognize him.. If he knew this would happen, he wouldnât have wasted so much effort.