He was no longer the child that he once was. He now knew, better than anyone, the value of insight. With the hammering skill, he had achieved an insight. With the punching skill, he had also gained another insight. These two instances of insight were sufficient enough for him to attain the highest realm of both the punching and hammering skills. One had to understand that even for lucky practitioners, an instance of insight in one’s life was sufficient enough to attain significant achievements. What more would be for him having gained two insights?
In addition, he had now cultivated the Real Body of Zhuyan, the Primordial Fierce Beast. The Demonic Ape Zhuyan was known as the Great Strength Ape, the most vicious beast that people knew. This kind of fierce beast did not have much Divine Sense. However, even with only two types of Divine Sense, it had boundless Qi and a robust body.
Zhuyan could prey on any form of animal for food. Regardless of what he ingested, be it living creatures, pneuma, energy, or some other thing, Zhuyan could transform it into his own flesh and for his own power. Thereotically speaking, this kind of Qi of an Evil Beast could increase exponentially and his own body had the capacity to strengthen exponentially as well. With this kind of Divine Sense, Zhou Bao could enjoy the same powers after he infused himself with the Real Body of Zhuyan and cultivated up to the Mysterious Realm. He would have the same robust flesh and the same hammering and punching skills. Was he a fool!
“The killing power of the Yin and Yang Heavenly Sword is boundless. However, it’s very energy-consuming as it requires continuous insights. The Infinite Trembling Contemplation’s offense-defense fusion is not a bad secret skill. Once my body strength and Real Essence are strong enough and I can complement the new insights I gained in the Sea Area about the realm, my power will grow even stronger!” Zhou Bao thought to himself and slowly began to gain clarity. “It seems like I need to make another metal hammer again. No, wait, there’s no rush. Let’s wait until I have arrived at the Azure Secret Area and attained another profound level before I think about the metal hammer. After merging with the Real Body of Zhuyan, my strength will definitely multiply. If I make a metal hammer now, it might be too light for me later. I should really seek Green Spirit’s advice on this. Although that old monster’s strength is nothing admirable, he has great experience and perspective. Perhaps he can give me some good advice!”
…
The next few days were terrifying. Zhou Bao’s murder of Wang Hua and Wang Yuebai meant that the land under the Wang family was under Zhou Bao’s control. A few months had passed and yet the Wang nobility did not raise any suspicion at all. However, the Imperial Court’s reward was once again delivered. Zhou Bao’s status had once again risen another rank and the Wang family’s land was now legally given to Zhou Bao.
“It seems like you’ve been living well recently. There’s so much chaos outside and yet you have the peace of mind to drink tea here?!”
On this day, Zhou Bao was accompanying Yan Yunfei, whose pregnancy had her tummy increase another size, to drink tea and chat. The rascal Wang She appeared in front of them both.
“Say, Chief Wang, can’t you tell us first that you’re coming in?!” Dissatisfaction was written all over Zhou Bao’s face.
“I may not have informed you beforehand, but do you really not know that I’m here? With your capabilities now, as long as I don’t use the Snake-like Breath Holding Skill, I’m sure I cannot hide from you!”
Zhou Bao smiled. He did not linger on this topic any longer, but said, “Chief Wang would not come here without a reason. What’s up, did something significant occur?”
“Something big has happened in Jianghu. I thought you’d be interested in it!”
“Are you talking about the incident of the Wang family!”
“That’s right. You killed them all so quickly, you even directly killed Wang Yue-er. That woman is rather complicated. 20 years ago, she was the most beautiful woman in Jianghu. She was eyed by that old pervert and she was also Jianghu’s secret. It wasn’t a big secret though. Now that you’ve killed the woman of that old pervert, even if he envies your power, he will have to say something. If not, everyone will think that he is scared of you!”
“Without the guts to come and find me directly, he must be scared of me. Hmph! What’s the point of being so secretly manipulative! Is he expecting me to respond to him?!”
“Whether you respond or not, I am only here to pass the news onto you. Although that old pervert is my First Elder among the Elders, the news I’m passing concerns only his personal plans, which have no relation to Tian Long Taoism. Do whatever you deem fit!”
“No way. You’re so heartless. Ultimately, this guy is still your First Elder among the Elders and has been doing business under your Tian Long Taoism’s name!” Zhao Bao sniggered.
“I don’t care whose name he is working under. I know this guy is aware of our good relationship. Accommodating his worries about a woman is none of my concern. That is the Sect Leader’s decision. Therefore, don’t have any apprehension!”
“Ok, I understand!” Zhou Bao nodded and said with a smile. “I will handle this matter properly. Don’t worry, I will also take into consideration Tian Long Taoism’s face. I will make sure it doesn’t end up like Mingyi School’s!”
Wang She said with a laugh, “Oh yes, the Divine Wind Palace has been getting more aggressive recently. The rumor concerning their plans to conquer all the dragon veins on earth has left them rather embarrassed and agitated. The Azure Secret Area is about to open again—this is the real big news!”
“Ah, this is big news. But I’m sure you also know that I’m not a big person. I can’t possibly be responsible for something like this. So, please help me tell Elder Qing and White Tiger that I won’t be the leader for this mission!”
“Not being the leader is a good thing!” Wang She laughed and disappeared into the shadows.
“Exactly what has happened that required Chief Wang to come down in person?!” Yan Yunfei was curious as she saw Wang She leave. Although she was not involved in big incidents, she still had a curious heart. Plus, she loved to hear about all the strange things that happened in Jianghu.
“Nothing big. Sometime over the past few days, the First Elder of the Elders created a ruckus. He was a Mysterious Realm Individual Immortal. He suddenly received the Wang family’s First Young Master as a disciple and even brought him back to Tian Long Taoism. This incident created some discussion in Jianghu. The original discussion about the turbulent power of the Wang family has also ceased!”
“A Mysterious Realm Individual Immortal?!” Yan Yunfei’s face turned pale white immediately. A Mysterious Realm Individual Immortal in the Sea Area was nothing significant, but to be in the Seven-deity Regions under the Jin Dynasty was shocking. During their heyday, the Three Grandmasters of the Jin Dynasty only had Level Nine cultivations and yet they guarded the peace and security of Northern Yuan for hundreds of years. Plus, in the Jin Dynasty’s Jianghu martial arts world, the strongest was rumored to be only a Level Nine expert. A Mysterious Realm Individual Immortal was only heard of in folklore and never seen in reality. Even in Mingyi School, there were only a few Mysterious Realm guards. This piece of news could easily shock the entire Jin Dynasty.
“It’s nothing big. It’s only a dummy who wants face only. Keeping Tian Long Taoism’s face in mind, I won’t argue with this guy. But if the Wang family thinks that bringing in an Individual Immortal can threaten me, I will make sure they die an ugly death!” With regards to Tian Long Taoism’s First Elder’s behavior, Zhou Bao was still very unsatisfied. Although he could not deny his dissatisfaction, Zhou Bao ultimately was not a member of Tian Long Taoism and thus had no control over the intake of disciples there. Neither did he had any reason to. Plus, his identity was too sensitive now. Although in theory, he had a Level Nine cultivation, his combat capability was comparable to a Venerable Realm Genuine Immortal. People like this were strange breeds. In the past, he was a shit-stirrer in many people’s eyes. But now, nobody dared to treat him like a shit-stirrer anymore. He had now become a person with the capacity to disrupt power dynamics. Even the Divine Wind Palace’s attitude toward him changed a little. They no longer wanted to use him like before. This could be easily inferred from Li VII’s current treatment of him. If it were not for the Divine Wind Palace’s plan to focus all their energy on eliminating all the rumors about them conquering the dragon vein, they might have focused on ways to suppress Zhou Bao.
The Seven-deity Regions forbade any person with a Mysterious Realm cultivation and above to interfere with the matters of the normal world. Since time immemorial, although there had always been one or two people in each generation who were shit-stirrers like Zhou Bao, their powers were limited. They were, at most, comparable with the Genuine Immortals of above-average people. There was never anyone like Zhou Bao, a creature of an odd species who was a Venerable Realm Genuine Immortal. If people like that were not suppressed, peace on earth would certainly be destroyed.
Every kind of stability was built on a solid foundation. Once a solid foundation was broken, then stability no longer existed and chaos would befall. To those who loved chaos among mankind, chaos was a good thing. But for those in power, stability was the only thing that kept everything in place.
Therefore, a threatening presence had to be suppressed. There was no room for debate.
The problem was only a matter of time.
“Once the Divine Wind Palace suppresses those rumors about the dragon vein and obtains the Azure Secret Area, they will definitely restore order. I will then be on their blacklist. If I were the Divine Wind Palace, I would certainly think of ways to quickly raise this guy to the Mysterious Realm and channel his spirit into the Golden Book Fate in order to control him. Even if it is difficult to raise one to the Mysterious Realm immediately, I would still invite the other big sects to suppress me too. For a guy like me to exist is not a good thing for those sects. Suppress, control, and then finally, imprison in order to restore stability again. That’s what all people in power do! If I don’t submit myself to them, then they will use brute force to coerce me to. I’m definitely not afraid of them, but now that I have a family, I have to weigh my decisions carefully!” Zhou Bao stroked his chin and gazed at the worried face of Yan Yunfei. “Sigh. It seems like I have no other choice but to take the Azure Secret Area into my hands and disrupt the Divine Wind Palace’s plan. Stir up some conflict between the sects and the Divine Wind Palace. Conflict is the most advantageous for me!”
To stir up conflict, he had to control the Azure Secret Area. Zhou Bao could not do that by himself. His combat capability was not bad and his strength was also good, but it was not good enough to defeat every enemy. To achieve his goal, he needed assistance. The Origin of the Great Ways in the Azure Secret Area was already under his control. The Azure Secret Area had a lot of evil beasts that had settled on an agreement with him. It was apt to say that he was in a good position of power and peace over his networks. Yet, as for the exact plan of action, he needed to find someone to work on it together.