Zongwu: Aspiring to be the mastermind behind the scenes

Chapter 334 The Aftermath of Shuiyue, Divine Marquis's Bribery

"Sow a single grain in spring, reap ten thousand grains in autumn..."

Within the personal space, there is a land constructed from countless golden rays of light.

A perfect place.

Three months ago, Zhou Ming decomposed nine strands of perfect energy and planted eighty-one seeds.

Three months later, on the land shrouded in golden light, streams of perfect energy, one end rooted in the soil and the other growing out, danced in the wind, looking like a golden blade of grass or an invisible breeze.

This means that the seeds have fully matured.

With a wave of his hand, Zhou Ming collected all the perfect energy, and then casually divided nine of them into ten parts.

Eighty-one of them then became seeds and were planted in the perfect land.

The remaining nine will be kept for the time being, to be used as seeds or made into Yellow Millet Pills or Inch Gold Pills in the future.

"There are still seventy-two complete streams of perfect energy remaining. It's not bad to have obtained seventy-two streams in three months."

Zhou Ming nodded, but then thought greedily, "I wonder when I'll be able to break through to the next realm. If I do, the number of Perfect Lands will multiply by ten, reaching a full one hundred, which is nineteen more than it is now!"

At that time, one can harvest hundreds of perfect energies at once. Even after deducting the ten that are necessary for seeding, a full ninety will remain.

The thought popped into his head, and he couldn't help but chuckle to himself.

As expected, human desires are endless. He had only just harvested the perfect nine-by-nine land once, and he was already thinking about ten-by-ten.

It's worth noting that his last breakthrough was only three months ago.

The higher the level, the more difficult it becomes to break through.

Moreover, the next realm he faces is the transformation of a cultivator, from having strong pure spiritual power but being powerless to the point of possessing substantial power by drawing upon the power of heaven and earth.

Therefore, reaching this level is several times more difficult than before.

To break through, unless you encounter some extraordinary opportunity, you can only persevere.

"With these seventy-two perfect energies, I'm finally a bit more financially secure, which will allow me to understand and digest the classic texts treasured by the Tong clan more quickly."

Zhou Ming thought.

Since acquiring countless treasures from the Tong clan, the rate at which Perfect Qi is consumed has greatly accelerated.

For a period of time, Zhou Ming used up each one he produced immediately, leaving him with almost no excess Perfect Qi.

This situation can now be greatly alleviated.

Zhou Ming handed all seventy-two strands of perfect energy to Xiao Ai and asked, "By the way, how is Yin Zhong settling into life in the organization?"

"I'm used to it. I'm currently trying my best to earn contributions, and in doing so, I've handed over many lost skills and knowledge to the organization."

Ai replied.

"Oh, all right."

Yin Zhong, this guy, has lived for so many years, and in order to treat his injuries, he has traveled all over the country and searched for countless methods. He really has some tricks up his sleeve.

Many lost martial arts techniques that even the organization can no longer find, Yin Zhong actually possesses.

Besides, he himself is a treasure trove.

Yin Zhong is undoubtedly a genius.

His bloodline concentration only allowed him to cultivate up to the sixth level of the Dragon God Technique, but he was able to modify the last three levels and combine them with the cultivation methods of the Tong clan, ultimately cultivating into an immortal god-demon.

That's the Dragon God Technique created by the Dragon God!

The complete legacy of Yujian Manor was entirely created by him.

The injuries caused by the spirit mirror could not be cured even after searching the whole world.

Ultimately, he himself created the mercury pool healing method.

Although this method is only effective on him, anyone else who dares to enter the mercury pool will surely be poisoned.

But all of this proves his genius and creativity.

After joining the organization, his main job was to lead a team to research the runes of the Demon God.

This was incredibly easy and simple for him.

Under his leadership, the team's research and deconstruction of runes has progressed rapidly.

In order to earn more contribution points faster, he published a large number of articles on the forum and offered rewards for solving problems.

In my spare time, I also like to make some small inventions.

I was completely curled up.

"Even if it's for the Yellow Millet Pill, does it have to be this complicated?"

Zhou Ming was quite surprised.

Xiao Ai's eyes flashed, and she said, "I suspect that Yin Zhong's purpose is to obtain the Yellow Millet Pill and then study it himself to find a way to cure himself."

"Hehe, that's quite ambitious."

Zhou Ming pursed his lips.

Research?

Then you should study it carefully.

I want to see what you can come up with with a single tonic pill.

Hmm, next time he redeems it, add some honey, red dates, blood bodhi seeds, or something similar.

With Yin Zhong joining the organization and becoming Zhou Ming's lackey, the matter at Shuiyue Cave was finally settled.

The Tong family believed that it was their ancestors who had appeared to them and protected them from the earthquake.

Only Tong Bo and Tong Zhan know the real reason.

After worrying for several days, seeing that nothing had happened, I finally felt a little relieved.

At this point, it was time for Tong Bo to leave.

Although he's leaving, he doesn't plan to go too far.

He decided to settle down near Yujian Manor, and after establishing his own business, he planned to marry Doudou and start a new Long family.

The Imperial Sword Manor destroyed the mercury pool, filled in the underground city, and also allowed Yin Tianchou to be recognized as a member of the clan.

They were also wary of Yin Zhong for a while, but in the end, they were met with nothing.

However, the threat always exists.

After careful consideration, Yin Hao decided to expand the Iron Guard and cultivate loyal members within it to enhance the overall strength of the Imperial Sword Manor.

To do this, you need sufficient resources.

The commercial network of Yujian Manor must also expand accordingly in order to meet the needs of Yujian Manor.

This inevitably leads to conflicts with other forces.

Unfortunately, these were all things that Yin Tianqi was unable to handle.

So Yin Hao, who had only retired a few days earlier, had no choice but to take back the position of manor lord and get busy again.

He also realized that his son was simply not capable enough; he could barely maintain the status quo, let alone make progress.
Therefore, he allowed Yin Tianxue and Yin Tianchou to participate in family affairs and assist Yin Tianqi.

Even if Yin Tianxue didn't say it, Yin Tianchou was someone who, after his father's death, came to Yujian Manor alone and secretly investigated Yin Zhong for a long time. His abilities were much stronger than Yin Tianqi's.

Externally, Yin Hao offered a piece of land to Tong Bo and Long Po free of charge, his aim being to form an alliance with these two masters.

In Yin Hao's view, if Yin Zhong were to return for revenge one day, none of his three nephews and the Iron Guard in the manor would be as reliable as Tong Bo.

After all, Tong Bo is truly a rare genius.

In his early twenties, he already possessed the strength of a grandmaster, along with many unique skills, and could even unleash powerful attacks comparable to a second-level grandmaster.

And the mysterious means of controlling the gale and transforming into a dragon.

Even though Zhou Ming was separated by two countries and was countless miles away, Yin Hao would deliberately make an effort to befriend him.

Not to mention such geniuses right before our eyes.

"One should not accept a reward without merit." Tong Bo was originally not prepared to accept, but at the moment he did need a place to live and a business to make money. In addition, after talking with Yin Hao in private, he decided to accept for the time being.

As for what they talked about in private, it was naturally about Yin Zhong.

When will Yin Zhong appear again?
No one can be sure.

It is even possible that Yin Zhong will reappear to deal with their descendants only after they have all grown old or even died.

Whenever Yin Hao thought about this possibility, he felt even more that he needed to prepare in advance.

This is probably the helplessness of the weak.

Even though the enemy had disappeared, they still had to live in fear and be on guard at all times.

And these things, their enemy... Yin Zhong, were completely unaware of.

They are so busy trying to earn contributions that they are extremely busy.

Ming Dynasty.

Pei Mansion.

Zhou Ming lay back in his recliner and asked helplessly, "Have you been having a lot of free time lately?"

"Yes, there is a bit..."

Lu Xiaofeng lay down to the side and said, "I haven't had anything else to do lately except practice the Thunderclap Sword Technique."

Zhou Ming thought about it and it seemed to make sense.

There are several stories about Lu Xiaofeng, most of which have already ended.

The remaining two are Ghost Villa and Nameless Island.

Needless to say, the identity of the Wood Taoist was exposed as early as last year at Ghost Manor.

The story of Nameless Island has completely collapsed, and the Invisible Man has become a subordinate of the organization.

Of course, in the real world, there are definitely far more than just these few stories about Lu Xiaofeng.

However, in the real world, no one is as confident as those bosses.

Many bosses choose Lu Xiaofeng for two reasons: first, because Lu Xiaofeng is a busybody; and second, because Lu Xiaofeng is naturally famous. However, many of the cases he solves have an element of luck.

this point is very important.

Those bosses were all incredibly confident that their plans were flawless and that there would be no luck-related bugs whatsoever.

In their eyes, Lu Xiaofeng, who solved the case by luck, was just a lucky guy, and thus they looked down on him.

The last reason is that their strength is often greater than Lu Xiaofeng's.

At least that's how they see it.

In the world of martial arts, strength is often the key factor that truly determines everything.

They felt they could easily control Lu Xiaofeng with their strength, so they didn't care about this.

But as Lu Xiaofeng solved one sensational case after another, his own abilities were fully demonstrated in each and every case.

There are even enhancements.

Therefore, the number of bosses who are confident they can easily control Lu Xiaofeng is naturally decreasing.

Without this kind of confidence, who would be so bored as to lure Lu Xiaofeng there and add so much trouble to their own plans?

As a result, Lu Xiaofeng naturally became more and more idle.

If it weren't for the fact that the sword spirit of the Thunderclap Sword recovered some time ago and suddenly taught him a Thunderclap Sword Technique and corresponding internal and lightness skills, he would probably be even more idle than he is now.

"Why would the sword spirit suddenly teach me sword techniques?"

"After a while, I finally accepted you."

"But you and Miss Long also obtained the Rainbow Sword Technique and the Ice Soul Sword Technique at almost the same time."

"It's a coincidence, isn't it? We didn't take much longer than you to obtain the Rainbow and the Ice Soul."

"No, it shouldn't be a matter of time. I think it might be that the destiny represented by the Seven Swords is about to appear."

Zhou Ming flicked his fishing rod: "If you're bored, you can go find Li Xunhuan for a drinking contest. He's recently returned to the capital."

Looking at Zhou Ming, who was focused solely on fishing and only gave casual replies as if he hadn't been listening at all, Lu Xiaofeng said helplessly, "Hey, Zhou Ming, it seems like you've been staying in the manor the whole time lately and haven't gone out at all, have you? Has the Grand Secretary confined you to your quarters again?"

Zhou Ming said, "No, but the situation in the court is not good recently. My godfather told me to stay at home and not to go out casually. So as not to give the enemy an opportunity and cause him trouble."

Lu Xiaofeng, thinking of the recent situation in the court, couldn't help but nod: "That's true."

A sham court: verbal battles, deceit, and clashes and struggles for power.

The real imperial court: fabrication, sneak attacks, assassinations, and physical elimination are more important than the struggle for power.

As the adopted son of the Grand Secretary, Zhou Ming enjoyed all the riches and honors.

However, at times, one must also bear the negative effects that come with this wealth.

"Alright, then I won't bother you anymore. But if you run into any trouble, you can ask me for help. I can't do much in the imperial court, but in the martial arts world, my name, Lu Xiaofeng, still carries some weight."

"Sure, if anything really happens, I'll definitely come to you!"

Zhou Ming turned around and said with a smile.

Lu Xiaofeng then left the Pei residence and found Li Xunhuan without much effort.

Li Xunhuan was still with his group of three, resting in an inn.

Upon meeting Lu Xiaofeng, she naturally extended a warm invitation to him to drink together.

"How did Brother Lu know we had returned to the capital?"

"Oh, this is information that Lao Zhou told me."

"Young Master Zhou?"

The three exchanged glances, and Li Xunhuan said, "We three have only been back in the capital for half a day, and Young Master Zhou already knows? This intelligence is truly impressive."

However, why is only Brother Lu here?

Lu Xiaofeng said, "The situation in the capital is not good right now, so Old Zhou can't just go out."

“I see…” Li Xunhuan nodded: “Although I’ve only been back for half a day, I’ve heard a little about it. I didn’t expect that the situation in the court would change so drastically in such a short period of time.”

We were just about to ask someone for details when Brother Lu arrived. Perfect timing, we might as well ask you, Brother Lu.”

Lu Xiaofeng said, "The changes in the court situation should be traced back to the wedding of the richest man, Wan Sanqian, which shocked the martial arts world."

That wedding is still talked about today and is often mentioned.

The marriage between the young tycoon and the adopted daughter of the Iron-Blooded Marquis should have been a beautiful one, but unexpectedly, it also involved another spy from the Dragon Guard Manor.

Finally, the appearance of the mysterious organization brought the matter to a climax.

After this incident, Wan Sanqian, the richest man in the country, became a laughing stock.

Wanjia has not responded to this.

Until recently...

"The Divine Marquis Bribery Case!"

Lu Xiaofeng said in a deep voice: "Dozens of officials in the court have joined forces to accuse Iron-Blooded Marquis of accepting bribes, totaling 160 million taels of silver!"

"One hundred and sixty million taels?"

The enormous number startled all three of them.

Li Xunhuan said, "The Divine Marquis controls the Dragon Guard Manor, and all expenses are paid by the imperial court, yet he himself does not indulge in any extravagant lifestyle. If he accepts bribes, where did the money go?"

Lu Xiaofeng shook his head: "No one knows, but the Wan family has produced account books as evidence."

"Wan family?"

"That's right, it was the Wan family who bribed the Iron-Blooded Monkey!"

(End of this chapter)