The Fourth Calamity: My Sect Has Countless Prodigies

Chapter 156 Zhou Xuanming's Plan

Zhou Yi regained his composure and continued to ponder the subsequent developments.

The situation in Lianyun Market is stable. They are just waiting for Suiyin, Qunxing, and the others to investigate, provoke trouble, and interfere with the events in order to gain luck points.

As for the Black Tiger Gang...

Zhou Yi's current idea is to influence the events by changing Liuye Town, thereby creating disturbances and gaining more fortune.

This change in approach can be addressed in many ways, such as the Black Tiger Gang's reputation and how they treat the lower classes.

Finally, regarding the two story-driven players he dispatched, Zhou Yi currently has no good plans.

We can only let them take it one step at a time.

"I wonder how the three major families will handle the Lianyun Market matter?" Zhou Yi finished his tea and placed the teacup on the table.

The cold wind howled, making Zhou Yi's clothes flutter.

The summit of Qingzhu Mountain.

The cold wind lifted the corner of Zhou Changsheng's clothes as he walked towards the wooden house and gently knocked on the door.

"Come in," an aged voice called from inside.

Zhou Changsheng pushed open the door and entered, but his eyes showed no emotion.

Logically speaking, those cultivators arranged by the Zhou family betrayed them and caused huge losses to Lianyun Market.

As the biggest victim and one of the current leaders of the Zhou family, Zhou Changsheng should be furious.

But the truth is, he didn't show any expression, and even seemed somewhat relaxed.

"Ancestor, we have taken care of the cleanup of the demonic cultivators," Zhou Changsheng said.

Zhou Xuanming nodded, his gaze fixed on the direction of Lianyun Market.

A chessboard was placed in front of him, with black and white pieces interspersed among it.

Despite being just ordinary chess pieces, they exuded an eerie and chilling aura.

Zhou Xuanming withdrew his gaze, picked up a white piece, and placed it on a spot on the chessboard, completely blocking and cutting off the black piece's path.

At the same time, his move not only eliminated this group of black stones, but also made the black stones on the other side of the board disappear from the board as well.

"Human greed is like a snake trying to swallow an elephant; you just have to blame yourselves for wanting too much," Zhou Xuanming said calmly.

Zhou Changsheng nodded as well.

The core area in the middle of Lianyungang City is a mix of many shops and powerful groups.

The resources that can be produced for the three major families, especially the Zhou family, are enormous.

However, recently, many shops in the core area have felt that Lianyungang Market is collecting too much tax and have joined together to boycott it.

They even clashed with the Zhou family steward at the negotiating table in the heart of the market.

If the Zhou family were to regress, they would directly lose thousands of spirit stones every year.

Moreover, if this precedent is set, there may be irreversible consequences later on.

Zhou Changsheng originally thought that he only needed to give them a warning.

Unexpectedly—

"The ancestor is right. These shops have really made too much money and become too ambitious. They don't even consider whether they can protect their wealth." Zhou Changsheng looked at the white piece that had been placed and sneered.

Ancestor Xuanming's move can be described as killing two birds with one stone.

Not only did they completely sever ties between the Zhou family and that group of demons, but they also wiped out the纨绔 (playboy/spoiled brat) forces in the market.

More importantly, winter is the off-season for Lianyungang Market, so the impact of this incident on them will not be significant in the long run.

All you need to do during this time is send out various messages, such as building a foundation and guarding the town, or reducing taxes and burdens.

Then, in less than two months, Lianyunfang City will be able to recover most of its vitality.

By the time the market bustles in the summer, the entire market will have almost fully recovered.

After reshuffling the old forces and infusing them with fresh blood, they might be able to reach even greater heights.

Zhou Xuanming nodded: "We cultivators need to spend countless years cultivating, but if we want to make progress, we must never blindly follow the path of our predecessors."

"Only by changing tactics in a timely manner and seeking new directions can we have the opportunity to go further."

Zhou Changsheng nodded slightly: "Changsheng is here, and will respectfully follow the teachings of the Ancestor."

"It's those demonic cultivators who escaped—"

As soon as he finished speaking, a cold wind blew in through the window, making the candlelight inside the wooden house flicker and almost go out.

In the dim light, the first batch of black pieces on the chessboard had long since disappeared.

"They're just a bunch of rogue cultivators, how could they possibly leave so easily?" Zhou Xuanming smiled, without...

What more can I say?

Seeing the smile on Xuanming Patriarch's face, Zhou Changsheng finally let go of the last bit of burden in his heart.

Although no one will believe it, it will still damage one's reputation to some extent.

But since Ancestor Xuanming laughed, he must have been absolutely certain of success.

Zhou Changsheng knew his ancestor very well.

Normally, the other party is always serious and only smiles when victory is assured.

Thinking of this, Zhou Changsheng looked at the chessboard again.

At this point, the black pieces on the board had no chance of survival, and were piled up heavily on the entire board, turning it into a stagnant mess.

Zhou Xuanming placed another white piece, instantly blocking the black pieces' liberties and causing them to disappear completely from the board, resulting in a clean defeat.

When the game of chess ended, he stood up from the wooden chair and looked towards the foot of Qingzhu Mountain.

"Chang Sheng, we need to prepare the next batch of candidates as soon as possible," Zhou Xuanming said in a deep voice.

Zhou Changsheng quickly agreed: "Changsheng understands. Then let's select from the bamboo cutters again this time."

"Alright."

A weathered sound echoed inside the wooden house.

A few snowflakes that had accumulated over time slid down from the eaves of the wooden house.

The snow fell heavily to the ground, splashing up snowflakes and making a dull thud.

On the other side, on the outskirts of the Lianyun Mountains.

Nine rogue cultivators dressed in black and wearing masks ran at top speed.

Their figures moved swiftly, darting through the dense forest.

"Phew, boss, how long do you think it will take us to escape from Lianyun Realm?" a cultivator asked.

The leader of the men in black shook his head, removed his mask, and revealed an extremely ugly face.

But this appearance did not surprise the group.

Because each of them practiced demonic arts and was influenced by demonic techniques, they all turned into this inhuman, ghostly appearance.

"Soon," the shadowy demonic cultivator said calmly, his gaze fixed on the distance.

According to his understanding, they are now far away from Lianyungang City.

After all, they had already arrived in Liuye Town yesterday, and after spending some time there, they had now been traveling for half a day.

I reckon they've already entered the outer perimeter of the Lianyun Mountains. We just need to pass through the outer perimeter and circle around halfway.

It won't be long before they can completely escape.

But just then...

Strange noises emanated from the depths of the dense forest, and eerie words left the group stunned for a moment.

"Get out of my way! Don't steal my monster! I haven't even reached the second level of Qi Refining yet."

"I'm not there yet, bro. I'm just basking in some experience points. I definitely won't finish off anyone."

"Then tell me, what's the meaning of aiming that arrow at the other person's head?"