In the deepest secret chamber of the Zhou family.
Zhou Yingxiong had crawled all the way here, already on his last breath.
He used his last bit of strength to knock on the stone door of the secret chamber.
"Old Ancestor..."
"The Zhou family... is at a point of life and death. Please, please Old Ancestor, come out of seclusion!"
Zhou Yingxiong's weak voice was soon answered.
The stone door opened.
A figure suddenly appeared before him.
This person had a ruddy complexion, without a single wrinkle on his face, appearing to have returned to his youth. It was truly terrifying.
Standing there...
Though clearly within sight, it was as if he couldn't be seen at all.
Making one think it was an illusion!
This was the Old Ancestor of the Zhou family, Zhou Batian!
Upon seeing Zhou Yingxiong.
Zhou Batian channeled several bursts of energy into his body, immediately stopping his bleeding and regulating his breathing.
"What exactly happened?"
After stabilizing Zhou Yingxiong's injuries, Zhou Batian questioned him with a chilling voice.
The moment he spoke.
The entire corridor was covered in ice crystals.
As if this place had always been a world of ice and snow.
"It was... Bai Zihe!"
Zhou Yingxiong's voice was still weak, but much improved from before.
This showed how powerful the energy Zhou Batian had channeled was!
"Bai Zihe?"
"I want to see who this person is, who dares to cause trouble in my Zhou family."
Without further ado.
Zhou Batian directly picked up Zhou Yingxiong and streaked towards the inner courtyard of the Zhou family.
But Zhou Yingxiong had wasted too much time. Bai Zihe had already left with Miao Yinuo and the others.
The Zhou family...
Was left with a courtyard full of corpses, and blood flowing like a stream.
Extremely tragic, extremely bloody.
Seeing this scene.
Zhou Batian's eyes narrowed into slits.
"This Bai Zihe..."
"Truly has remarkable methods and courage!"
Though these words seemed to praise Bai Zihe, Zhou Batian's heart was actually churning with a tempestuous rage.
For how many years...
Had no one dared to cause trouble in the Zhou family?
But today, Bai Zihe had audaciously broken in, and managed to retreat unscathed...
How could this not enrage Zhou Batian!
However.
Zhou Batian was not as impulsive as the Sword Master.
The old who does not die is the rogue!
Zhou Batian liked to tear enemies apart with brute force, but only when everything was planned and there were no unexpected circumstances.
Bai Zihe daring to storm the Zhou family single-handedly.
Clearly meant he had strong backing, proving he was not as simple as he appeared.
"I need to know, what is this person's background."
Zhou Batian sat in the main seat, his cold eyes fixed on Zhou Yingxiong.
Zhou Yingxiong immediately replied, "Old Ancestor, I have already summoned the elites from all over the family. I believe they will be back soon."
Not long after.
Dozens of Zhou family elites returned to the inner courtyard.
Upon seeing the piles of corpses, scattered limbs, and minced flesh, and rivers of blood filling the ground, everyone's expressions changed drastically.
But when they saw Zhou Batian in the main seat.
Their expressions shifted again.
They became restrained, cautious, and some...
Fanatical!
Zhou Batian was the eternal backbone of the Zhou family, and their last trump card.
As long as he was there, the Zhou family would not fall.
He had already been a Grandmaster ten years ago, and his ten years of seclusion to break through to higher realms did not affect his status in the Zhou family.
And now, he had emerged from seclusion!
"Old Ancestor!"
Everyone knelt before him in unison.
As for Zhou Yingxiong, who had lost his legs beside them...
Even with a belly full of questions, they chose to ignore them at this moment.
"Tell me, who is Bai Zihe?"
Zhou Batian's cold gaze swept over those below.
The elites immediately responded.
"Bai Zihe, from Suzhou and Hangzhou. He once established the 'Bai's Chamber of Commerce,' a behemoth enterprise in Suzhou and Hangzhou!"
"Bai Zihe's identity is mysterious. He once made the Governor of Suzhou and Hangzhou, Chen Zhennan, and the Commander of Suzhou and Hangzhou, Hong Tianyin, acknowledge him as their master, daring not to defy him in the slightest."
"Bai Zihe's methods are extraordinary. He once entered Miao territory, fought a fierce battle with the Evil King, and retreated unharmed, causing the Evil King to disappear."
"Bai Zihe's strength is unfathomable. Recently, he has successively killed the masters of Yue Long Villa, the Old Ancestor Tian Xuan, the Old Ancestor of the Long family, and the Sword Master, all of whom were Grandmaster-level experts. Yue Long Villa and the Long family have also been taken over by him." Kuaishu Pavilion
The crowd spoke endlessly.
Every detail was reported, almost every deed Bai Zihe had ever done was presented.
"Oh?"
Upon hearing this, Zhou Batian raised an eyebrow.
The master of Mingyue Villa and Old Ancestor Tian Xuan, though Grandmasters, were weak. Zhou Batian didn't take them seriously at all.
But the Sword Master was different.
Though he was hot-tempered and bloodthirsty, his swordsmanship was undeniable.
In the early years...
He had also been his opponent.
However, in recent years, as his own strength had advanced, Zhou Batian no longer considered this old rival worthy of his attention.
But Bai Zihe could easily kill him...
This was enough to prove his own strength.
"This child is not simple."
Although Zhou Batian said this, a faint smile played on his lips.
Zhou Yingxiong's eyelids twitched.
He had only seen his Old Ancestor smile like this twice.
Once was thirty years ago, when he was still a child.
An enemy had attacked the Zhou family, causing many casualties. Zhou Batian was already the Old Ancestor of the Zhou family at that time.
When he emerged from seclusion, he had this same smile.
Those enemies were torn to shreds on the spot, and the next day, their entire clan was annihilated, leaving none behind!
This was the second time!
"Yingxiong, go prepare for the Ancient Martial Arts Tournament."
"Remember, you must invite the Long family, otherwise, the protagonist will be missing."
A cold glint flashed in Zhou Batian's eyes.
Zhou Yingxiong immediately responded, "Old Ancestor, I will attend to it right away!"
In Ji Xueyun's base.
Bai Zihe was fiddling with the ten-sided die.
Just moments ago, when he had broken Zhou Yingxiong's legs, he had specifically searched him and found that the Zhou family's key was not on him.
That was why he had intentionally let him go.
Just then.
Long Qinglian found Bai Zihe.
"Master, I received an invitation to the Ancient Martial Arts Tournament."
She presented Bai Zihe with a gold-embossed card with both hands.
Bai Zihe glanced at it.
It was an invitation for Long Qinglian to participate in the upcoming Ancient Martial Arts Tournament.
"This Ancient Martial Arts Tournament..."
Long Qinglian briefly explained, "It is essentially a competition where various forces, led by the three ancient martial arts families, send their elites to compete."
"The final results will determine the distribution of benefits in Jiangdong Province for the next five to ten years."
"Whichever family wins the most, will gain the greatest benefits."
"However..."
At this point, Long Qinglian's expression became more serious: "The host family this time is the Zhou family. We just caused quite a commotion at the Zhou family, I'm afraid..."
Without her needing to say it.
Bai Zihe knew what she was worried about.
Conspiracies.
Bai Zihe was never afraid of conspiracies.
He immediately said, "Since it's about deciding the benefits for the next five to ten years, what is there to discuss? We'll just participate."
"Long Qinglian, you should return to the Long family now, select the capable ones, and prepare for this Ancient Martial Arts Tournament."
Afterward.
Bai Zihe looked at Ji Xueyun, "Second Senior Sister, you prepare as well."
"Since we finally have meat to eat, we must seize the biggest and fattest piece and hold it tightly in our mouths!"
The two immediately went to carry out their tasks.
Not long after they left.
Yue Rushuang sent a message: "Junior brother, I have another clue regarding the ten-sided die key. Come to the Xuan Tian Pavilion headquarters quickly."