Chapter 110: I Let My Guard Down

Lu Yan furrowed his brow slightly and asked, "Then what about your Zhou family's top martial art, the Divine Intent Diagram of the Azure Eagle’s Crimson Flame Claw?"

"Naturally, that was taken away by Zhou Hejian. Without a Martial Marquis to guard the Zhou family, he didn't trust leaving it behind, so he kept it close. Now, who knows if it’s in the hands of the Qiu clan or the Liu clan," Zhou Zhengkong replied.

Lu Yan was speechless.

He had hoped to obtain a first-rate martial art from the Zhou family, but it seemed that was a lost cause.

"Zhou Hejian is dead, so of course I'm glad, but without a Martial Marquis at the helm, the Zhou family can no longer be considered a noble house. Disaster is imminent," Zhou Zhengkong sighed deeply, his expression full of complexity.

"No wonder I saw people from the He and Ge clans in the city," Lu Yan remarked.

"They’ve all come to divide up the Zhou family. Without a Martial Marquis, the Zhou family’s martial chefs have become a delicious prize—everyone wants a bite. Hmph, what loyalty? In the face of interest, it’s all nonsense," Zhou Zhengkong sneered.

In the Great Chu Empire, having a Martial Marquis was the difference between heaven and earth.

Only with a Martial Marquis could a family be recognized as a noble house.

Without one, they had no status, no right to the ancestral lands.

Their holdings would be naturally carved up, and no one else could be blamed for taking even a sliver, no matter what past favors the Zhou family had extended.

When a Martial Marquis was present, those debts of gratitude were real—others dared not act rashly or they'd give others grounds for complaint, even provoke a coalition attack.

But without a Martial Marquis, those debts were worthless.

That was the unspoken rule of this world, a rule everyone tacitly accepted.

"The Four Great Noble Houses have come together and given us one month to prepare. After that, the Zhou family’s martial chefs will be divided into four parts, each assigned to one of the noble houses as their exclusive chefs. We have no power to resist. Ten days have passed; twenty remain before the Zhou family is completely erased," Zhou Zhengkong continued, his expression growing more complicated.

"If the Zhou family could produce a Martial Marquis within these twenty days, wouldn’t that solve the problem?" Lu Yan asked.

"Of course. As long as there’s a Martial Marquis, the Zhou family remains a noble house, retaining autonomy. The favors owed to the other houses would still hold, and they’d be reluctant to make a move, lest they lose face," Zhou Zhengkong said.

"But producing a Martial Marquis is no easy feat. The mutated Nine-Joint Heart Flesh is rare. Forced breakthroughs have at most a twenty percent success rate. In fact, before this, a peak Fifth Breakthrough warrior from the Zhou family tried to ascend to Martial Marquis, but his bones shattered, and he died."

"Damned Zhou Hejian’s branch. To suppress my branch, they never gave me the mutated Nine-Joint Heart Flesh, instead handing it to those useless ones. If they had given it to me, I would have been a Martial Marquis long ago," Zhou Zhengkong said, his voice filled with resentment.

Lu Yan took off the backpack from his back, opened a food box, and placed it in front of Zhou Zhengkong.

Zhou Zhengkong was surprised, unsure of Lu Yan’s intentions, and glanced curiously.

One look stunned him; a fiery light flickered in his eyes.

"Mutated Nine-Joint Heart Flesh? Brother Lu, what do you mean by this?" he asked, struggling to restrain the urge to snatch it.

Though Zhou Hejian was dead and the confession letter he wrote no longer held much sway over him, Lu Yan’s own strength still made Zhou Zhengkong wary.

Despite his recent progress with the Azure Eagle’s Crimson Flame Claw, he still lacked confidence to defeat Lu Yan.

"I’m giving it to you. With this mutated Nine-Joint Heart Flesh, do you have confidence to break through to Martial Marquis?" Lu Yan asked.

"Yes, at least sixty percent. I’ve accumulated years at the peak of Fifth Breakthrough, plus my martial talent—how could I compare to those mediocre fools?" Zhou Zhengkong’s chest pounded with excitement, but he quickly calmed himself and eyed Lu Yan suspiciously, asking, "Why don’t you use the mutated Nine-Joint Heart Flesh yourself?"

Lu Yan flexed his bone strength, gently squeezing a corner of the stone table; it immediately crumbled into powder, drifting away on the wind.

Zhou Zhengkong’s pupils contracted, and he exclaimed, "Bone Strength? You’ve already broken through to Martial Marquis?"

"That’s right," Lu Yan nodded.

"Zhou Zhengkong pays respects to Martial Marquis. I hope the Marquis will forgive my past offenses and overlook my faults," Zhou Zhengkong stood and bowed respectfully.

Martial Marquis and limit-breaking warriors belonged to completely different realms.

In terms of rank and power, it was a gulf as wide as the heavens and earth.

Now that Lu Yan was a Martial Marquis, Zhou Zhengkong was no longer his equal.

Lu Yan calmly accepted the salute and said, "This mutated Nine-Joint Heart Flesh isn’t a free gift. Market price: forty thousand taels of silver."

"But I can’t pay that all at once," Zhou Zhengkong said awkwardly, anxious inside. Such a rare opportunity lay before him, and he didn’t want to miss it.

If successful, not only could he solve the Zhou family’s current crisis, but his branch could regain control of the family’s power.

The allure was immense.

"No problem. Write an IOU. You can repay me slowly by cooking martial food," Lu Yan said with a smile.

Did Zhou Zhengkong have any other choice? No.

He immediately took out his writing tools and penned an IOU for Lu Yan.

"Please stay at the management office for now. I will go break through to Martial Marquis immediately," Zhou Zhengkong said, eager beyond patience.

"Go ahead," Lu Yan waved a hand.

Zhou Zhengkong carried the food box and left joyfully.

Lu Yan devoured the five plates of martial food on the table, then entered a training room to practice martial arts.

He had no urgent need to break through in any particular area, so he divided the energy from the martial food in half—one half to enhance the progress of his martial arts scripture, the other half to boost his cultivation.

Twelve days passed in the blink of an eye.

Zhou Zhengkong emerged from seclusion, radiant and imposing.

"Congratulations—your qi and blood have entered the bones. You’ve truly reached Martial Marquis," Lu Yan smiled.

Zhou Zhengkong had lived up to his expectations. Had he failed, things would have been difficult afterward.

"Brother Lu, same to you," Zhou Zhengkong said, standing tall and proud, now carrying himself as an equal to Lu Yan.

His form of address had shifted from "Sir" to "Brother Lu."

Lu Yan smiled faintly.

"Brother Lu, now that Zhou Hejian is dead and years have passed since Zhou Hezhen’s time, it’s about time you return that confession letter to me," Zhou Zhengkong said.

Ha!

That was pushing his luck.

He needed to be taught a lesson.

Swish!

Lu Yan slapped him directly.

Zhou Zhengkong was startled and tried to dodge, but realizing he was now a Martial Marquis with much greater strength, he steeled himself, activated bone strength, and counterattacked with the Azure Eagle’s Crimson Flame Claw, attempting to grab Lu Yan’s wrist.

Lu Yan made no move to evade, letting Zhou Zhengkong seize his wrist.

Zhou Zhengkong rejoiced, prepared to teach Lu Yan a lesson and force him to hand over the confession letter. He unleashed his full strength, energy surging to his fingertips, and twisted hard.

But Lu Yan’s wrist didn’t budge an inch.

What was going on?

He refused to believe it and tried again.

Suddenly, three streams of bone strength burst forth from Lu Yan’s body, shaking his wrist.

Zhou Zhengkong felt as if struck by lightning; a sharp pain shot through his fingers, and he involuntarily released Lu Yan’s wrist.

Lu Yan grabbed Zhou Zhengkong’s wrist with his other hand, swung him around, and slammed him down.

Boom! Zhou Zhengkong crashed onto the ground, leaving a human-shaped crater.

Lu Yan released his grip and smiled gently. "Want to spar some more?"

Zhou Zhengkong spat out a mouthful of blood, unwilling to give up. "I was careless just now and didn’t dodge. Let’s go again."

Clash! Clash!

After two breaths, Lu Yan’s fists struck Zhou Zhengkong’s eyes, who staggered back and collapsed, sitting on the ground with dark panda-like eye sockets.

Some time passed before he recovered.

"How much force did you use just now?" Zhou Zhengkong asked stubbornly.

"Two parts… maybe three," Lu Yan replied.

"Three parts…" Zhou Zhengkong finally despaired, his heart filled with dread.

Lu Yan’s strength was unfathomable. He had the feeling that if Lu Yan wanted to kill him, it would be effortless.

"Brother Lu, Sir, you are truly a remarkable man. So young, yet possessing such strength—a future Grandmaster is assured," Zhou Zhengkong said sincerely.

When facing Zhou Zhengkong, Lu Yan did not disguise himself; this was his true self. The first time they met, he had not concealed his identity.

So young—just over twenty, perhaps—with such cultivation; even among the Grandmaster-level noble houses, few could compare.

The odds of his future breakthrough to Grandmaster were extremely high.

Zhou Zhengkong was thoroughly convinced and abandoned all thoughts of resistance.

"Grandmaster," Lu Yan smiled but said no more.

From then on, Zhou Zhengkong treated Lu Yan with much greater respect.

Eight days passed in a flash.

On this day, in the Zhou family’s reception hall, the Four Great Noble Houses arrived together, bringing more than ten people, each led by a Martial Marquis.

The four great noble houses, four great Martial Marquises.

The leaders of each branch of the Zhou family were also gathered.

"Gentlemen, the one-month deadline has arrived. The cleanup should be mostly done by now. Please hand over the list of all martial chefs from the Zhou family. We will discuss how to divide them," said a Martial Marquis from the Ge clan of Snake City, his face cold and tone uncompromising, as if the Zhou family members were mere commodities to be divided.

Having lost their Martial Marquis, the Zhou family no longer had the right to negotiate as equals.

The leaders of the Zhou family branches looked grim.

Survival of the fittest—they were powerless to resist.

"Gentlemen, we have but one request," one branch leader spoke. This was Zhou Zhenghong, the current head of the main branch and the strongest warrior among Zhou Hezhen and Zhou Hejian’s lineage.

"What request? Speak it out. We’ll see if it’s reasonable," said a Martial Marquis from the He clan of Pursuit Wind City.

"We will follow you gentlemen away, but in the future, if the Zhou family produces a new Martial Marquis, you must allow us to return to our ancestral lands and rebuild the Zhou family," Zhou Zhenghong said.

"A new Martial Marquis? Of course," the four Martial Marquises nodded, though they sneered inwardly.

Wanting to produce a new Martial Marquis? How naive. Once the Zhou family’s martial chefs go to them, no new Martial Marquis will ever be born—destined to serve and prepare martial food for them their whole lives.

Zhou Zhenghong trembled as he was about to hand over the list.

"I object," Zhou Zhengkong said calmly.

All eyes turned sharply to Zhou Zhengkong, surprise flashing across their faces.

"What do you mean, Zhou Zhengkong?" Zhou Zhenghong asked.

"What do I mean? You’re selling off the Zhou family’s century-old legacy and all its members? After death, how will you face our ancestors?" Zhou Zhengkong’s words struck like thunder.

"I, Zhou Zhengkong, am ashamed to stand among you," he declared.

Many Zhou family members showed signs of shame.

But the situation was stronger than the people—what could they do?

Risk their lives to fight?

"Zhou Zhengkong, I’m acting for the family’s sake," Zhou Zhenghong defended.

"If you truly cared for the family, you wouldn’t hand them over so easily. You’d protect our ancestors’ legacy. If my father were alive, he would never let the Zhou family fall to this," Zhou Zhengkong stood and shouted, righteous fury filling him.

Zhou Zhenghong’s face flushed red, but he had no retort.

(End of chapter)