Chapter 468: Zhou Yu’s Visit
An hour later after the commotion, the local cultivators resumed their activities as if nothing had happened earlier.
Zhou Gongjin was at a loss. He was away for a year, but many things had changed.
He never feared changes. However, this timeline was too different than the previous world that he knew, and he could barely use his knowledge of the future to his advantage.
Siren City wasn't supposed to exist. Yet, in front of him, this city flourished and became a powerhouse.
Who was that dragon?
Who were the deities?
How did Ling Tianlong show up there and got injured?
Unable to find the answer by just looking, he suppressed his cultivation and disguised himself. Then, he asked around.
He first asked the nearest vendor, who had been managing a weapon stall.
"Sir, do you know what happened to Siren City?"
The vendor gave Zhou Gongjin an odd look. Then, he pointed at the city wall.
"If you're looking for information, instead of asking me, go read those bulletin boards. The officials post the city's news regularly."
"Huh?"
Zhou Gongjin wasn't familiar with the press system that Miaomiao was using. He thought that the vendor was just being unfriendly.
He went for a local cultivator, who was staring at the large jade boulder on the platform. The guy was reading the Selection Tournament Rules.
"Excuse me, I've just arrived in this city. What happened here? What was that dragon?"
The cultivator glanced at Zhou Gongjin and snorted. He pointed at the jade boulder, "Read it yourself. Don't you have eyes?"
"… What's your problem, sir? I was just asking because I'm new here."
"I'm busy. Go away. Oh, shit. Fairy dryads and mermaids are coming. Gotta go!!"
"…"
Strangely, the local cultivators were unfriendly to strangers. But when they encountered the sexy dryads from World Tree Forest, they turned into horny puppies, wagging their tails and following the women around.
'I guess I have to search for clues myself.'
Zhou Gongjin inspected the boulder and spread his Qi sense to read the jade.
Then, he discovered the messages inside. It contained the brief detail of the Selection Tournament Preliminary Round.
'A reward from the Continent Host? Can I join the tournament, too?'
Zhou Gongjin was tempted. He stared at the boulder for several minutes, contemplating the pros and cons.
As Zhou Gongjin was standing on the platform, he stood out from the local crowd.
Soon, someone from the Sun Clan saw Zhou Gongjin and recognized him. The cultivator approached him.
"Fellow Daoist, by chance, are you Zhou Gongjin, the friend of Lord Sun Bofu?"
Zhou Gongjin snapped back to his senses when he heard his sworn brother's name, "Yes, I'm Zhou Gongjin. Who are you?"
"I-I'm a servant of Lord Sun Bofu. The Lord has been searching for you, sir! Would you come with me to meet my lord? He would be overjoyed if he could see you again!"
"Bofu is here!?"
"Of course, he's here. The Sun Clan has moved here last year. We're now working for Siren City Lord, Mao Miaomiao!"
Again, Mao Miaomiao didn't exist in his previous world. He began to get curious about the mysterious city lord.
"Take me to Bofu."
"Yes, sir! Please follow me!"
…
With a guide, Zhou Gongjin passed through the city checkpoint. The servant led Zhou Gongjin to the Sun Clan Manor in the city.
The manor and the allocated land were large enough for a thousand households. Sun Wentai, Wu Guotai, and Sun Bofu lived there with their servants and soldiers of their clan. A portion of their land was also partitioned to be the resting quarters and training grounds for the fourth division's disciples and workers.
The servant excused himself after he led Zhou Gongjin there. The latter looked around, walking in a circle around a tea table in a wooden hut on a large pond. As he got nothing to do, he gazed at the tall pylon tower to the south, admiring the scenery.
It didn't take long for his friends and Zhou Gongjin's personal servants to gather.
Sun Bofu, Zhou Tai, Lu Meng, and Lu Xun rushed to the wooden hut.
"GONGJIN, YOU'RE ALIVE!!"
Sun Bofu hugged his sworn brother in front of the men. The group raised their eyebrows as they had strange thoughts.
Currently, Zhou Gongjin's appearance was as graceful as a maiden. His face was too beautiful for a man.
As such, it felt strange for Sun Bofu to embrace Zhou Gongjin. From the onlooker's perspective, it looked like lovers had just been reunited.
"Okay, that's enough. Back off, idiot!"
"Hahaha! I won't! Come on, don't be shy. Men hug each other all the time."
"Like hell they hug each other! Also, stop rubbing my butt!!"
"It's a friendly massage. You can massage mine. By the way, Gongjin. Your butt is pretty soft."
"To hell with you!!"
Zhou Gongjin kneed Sun Bofu to the nuts in anger. The latter's face instantly turned purple.
Sun Bofu crouched on the floor while his mouth started foaming. The physical attack power of an 8th-stage cultivator was still deadly even though it was a friendly knee to the balls.
…
After an hour of recuperation and first-aid, Sun Bofu returned to health. He stopped messing with the graceful Zhou Gongjin and sat on the chair, looking at his sworn brother with a solemn expression.
As long as nobody paid attention to the first-aid crotch-supporting diaper that Sun Bofu was wearing, his jade-white naked thighs, and his hairy shins, his serious expression was intimidating.
Zhou Gongjin also sat on the opposite chair, staring into the eyes of his sworn brother. He prepared to get into a serious business, so he sipped the tea, clearing his throat.
Using this opportunity, Sun Bofu got to business.
"Marry me, Gongjin."
Zhou Gongjin spat his tea on Sun Bofu's face.
Sun Bofu maintained his demeanor and wiped his wet face with a handkerchief, "That was a joke. Anyway, don't seriously fall for me even though I'm handsome, Gongjin."
"Be serious for once."
"Okay," Sun Bofu coughed. His face turned dark.
Zhou Gongjin refilled his tea again. However, he didn't drink it as he got paranoid.
"Are you not drinking the tea?"
"Say it first. I'm not falling for your trick again."
"How boring."
Sun Bofu coughed and revealed a playful smile. Zhou Gongjin shook his head and sipped the tea.
"Are you interested in men or women, Gongjin?"
Again, Zhou Gongjin spat the tea on Sun Bofu's face.
"You're doing this on purpose!!"
Sun Bofu smiled as he wiped his face, "I just want to cheer you up, man. You look like a sad widow in the redlight district. You know that I can't leave heartbroken women alone."
Sun Bofu did it on purpose. After all, his brother's expression was so tense as if he had been carrying the world on his shoulders. Thus, Bofu needed to do something to lift the mood.
"I'm a guy, Gongjin."
"But you have that expression. I couldn't help it."
"…"
Zhou Gongjin sighed and rolled his eyes. This stupid brother enjoyed teasing him too much, but he was still a good guy.
Unbeknownst to Zhou Gongjin, he subconsciously relaxed and temporarily forgot about his worries. The oppressive aura of Zhou Gongjin dissipated, and everyone could be at ease.
"Alright," Seeing that Zhou Gongjin was softened, Sun Bofu got to the point, "I know what you want to ask me. I'll recount the stories after we decide to join Yuan Shaoqing's invitation."
…
Zhou Gongjin listened to Sun Bofu in solemn.
After he had jumped into the mysterious void hole, many things happened.
Mao Miaomiao emerged victorious over the Anti-Siren City Alliance with the help of mysterious deities. Even Fang Yanxu couldn't suppress them.
Jiangdong White Tiger Sect was disbanded later on after many evil disciples decided to switch sides to Liu Biao.
Then, Mao Miaomiao dispatched his troops to expand his territory. He invaded Liu Biao, but the latter retreated to Jianye.
Meanwhile, a new force, the orc and the oni, invaded the central plain and slaughtered many human cultivators and commoners.
Chaotic battles and skirmishes between the Orc Army and Human Armies were uncountable. However, Liu Xuande led his troops and managed to drive the invaders back to the Holy Land.
But chaotic wars continued as Ling Tianlong suddenly appeared with his Taotie Armies. He allied with Liu Biao, Ling Cao, and Huang Hansheng before he started murdering cultivators, commoners, and innocent people from the central plains.
Then, Mao Miaomiao's forces became the human cultivators' pillar of hope. Their top fighters, Dian Wei and Liu Guang, kept the Taotie Armies at bay for a long time.
While the turmoil was raging, the Selection Tournament was announced, and many warlords, experts, and Mao Miaomiao's men were forced to participate.
And just a moment ago, Ling Tianlong showed up and attempted to raze Siren City, but the dragon appeared to save the day. The assailants retreated into the vortex portal, which was the gate to the preliminary tournament ground.
Zhou Gongjin nodded in satisfaction as Ling Tianlong and Sun Clan's enemies were beaten and battered. He started to like Mao Miaomiao more.
"Gongjin, look here," Sun Bofu flexed his red uniform with the badge [Fourth Division] to his sworn brother.
"What's that?"
"The emblem of my current status. I'm now an outer disciple of the Ten Paths of Nirvana Sect. I belong to the fourth division that is running by my father!"
"Your father has joined the… Nirvana Sect?"
"Yup! You should join us as well. We get so many cultivation resources every month as long as we help the sect managing their stores, inns, or other stuff. Strong guys get to join the city guard unit, and they're earning one essence core a month!"
"…"
Zhou Gongjin had a wry smile on his face. He didn't dare to reveal his true cultivation base to his brother and servants.
An 8th-stage cultivator like him didn't need to join a sect as a disciple. Instead, he should be their executive member or elder.
"How about it? Wanna join my division?"
"I'll think about it."
"Yeah, you should think about it. Anyway, wanna grab a drink? This city has so many beautiful ladies. I'm sure I can introduce you to a few hotties. Oh wait, I should introduce you hot guys instead."
"BOFU!!"
"AHAHAHAHA!! Just kidding."
They continued to chat and questioned Zhou Gongjin about his disappearance and what he had been doing. The time-traveled protagonist told them that he got stuck in a mystic ruin and got a fortuitous encounter. He even shared a heaven-grade martial technique of Tiger Qiongqi with everyone.
While they chatted, Zhou Gongjin secretly glanced in the direction of the portal to the Tournament Ground.
As Sun Bofu had already revealed the strength of Siren City's participants, Zhou Gongjin was confident.
He should be able to pass the qualifier round with ease with his current strength.
That day, Zhou Gongjin had a party with his brother and servants.
But at night, he slipped out of the city and entered the portal without anyone noticing him, except a fellow protagonist.
…
Ma Moxi had been watching Zhou Gongjin since the latter had passed the checkpoint with a guide. As someone with a cheating soul-bound artifact inside his soul, he discovered Zhou Gongjin's cultivation base as soon as the latter got into his vision range.
Ma Moxi had been diligent after he sensed the bad omen regarding Ma Chao's karma. He worked harder than usual, trying to prove his loyalty.
His loyalty to Miaomiao was absolute!
However, Wei Yuan sometimes bullied him. An assassin like him was always entrusted with dirty works or undercover jobs. As a result, his resume was blemished with evil deeds, such as assassination, kidnapping, money-laundry, and drug dealing.
As such, Wei Yuan tended to misunderstand him. He sometimes complained to Miaomiao, hoping that the latter could educate his wife.
Fortunately, Miaomiao understood the nature of Ma Moxi's jobs. He returned Ma Moxi's confiscated dirty money and a slush fund for his underground works. The Ma Clan's assassin unit got to keep operating.
And now, he got another work to do. Ma Moxi wanted to ensure that nothing would happen to his lord, Mao Miaomiao's family, and the peaceful city that he had been protecting in secret.
Seeing that Zhou Gongjin suspiciously entered the tournament plane, Ma Moxi reported his findings to Miaomiao via voice transmission.
'Miaomiao, I detect a suspicious individual entering the portal. He's an 8th-stage cultivator, and he seems to have some connections with the Sun Clan.'
A few seconds later, Miaomiao replied.
'Who did he meet?'
'Sun Ce's counterpart.'
'What's his name? Have you heard their conversation?'
'Actually, I did. Sun Ce called him by the name "Gongjin". They seem to be close to the point that they teased each other.'
'Hoh? Gongjin? By chance, is his surname "Zhou"? Is he Zhou Yu's counterpart?'
'I'm not sure. They didn't say that guy's surname, but it's very likely that he might be Zhou Yu since he's quite a looker as the legends said.'
'Don't make a reckless assumption. He can be either Zhou Yu or someone with an identical name. Before you chase after that guy, visit Sun Ce and inquire him about that "Gongjin". Get me the detail of that guy before you do something drastic. We don't want to make the Sun Clan our enemy!'
'Roger!'
The source of this c𝐨ntent is freewe(b)nov𝒆l