From the moment the Tiger Soul awakened, I became invincible.

Chapter 157 The Man Behind the Scenes

Many reinforcements from Tianwu Mountain arrived at the scene.

Seeing this, their eyes were filled with nothing but shock.

Qin Wu ignored them and walked up to the head of the Zhou family.

"Tell me, what exactly do you want to do with these two?"

Qin Wu was now somewhat puzzled, not understanding what the Zhou family head's purpose was. After all, Zhou Yan and Zhou Qiao'er were his children; even a tiger wouldn't eat its own cubs. But the Zhou family head's actions showed no regard for them as his children, which was clearly abnormal.

The Zhou family patriarch looked at Qin Wu, suddenly burst into laughter, and then spoke.

"I never expected you to be so strong. Fine, I've already lost today. How could I, Zhou Qi, die at the hands of a brat like you?"

As he finished speaking, his gaze turned to Zhou Yan, and he spoke coldly.

"You half-human, half-demon bastards! If it weren't for my Zhou family, how could you have been born? So what if I die today?"

Even without me, someone else would have done it; your people will never let you go.

Qin Wu was about to press further when, in the next second, he saw the Zhou family patriarch suddenly spit out a mouthful of blood and collapse to the ground, his eyes lifeless, clearly dead beyond any doubt. Seeing this, Qin Wu couldn't help but frown.

Judging from the injuries, the Zhou family patriarch should not have died at this time, but the current situation is enough to prove that the Zhou family patriarch has severed his own meridians and died.

His expression turned solemn as he recalled the last words of the Zhou family patriarch, a chill running down his spine. The Zhou family patriarch was no weakling; for such a person to call him "master" indicated the formidable power of the person behind him. Moreover, the depth of their conspiracy, orchestrated by this very person, was chilling.

Zhou Yan walked up to his father with a complicated expression. Although the head of the Zhou family had tried to kill him multiple times, there was still a blood relationship between them.

He remembered that when he was a child, his father treated him well. Although his eyes often showed some complicated feelings when he looked at him, they were not like this now. He didn't know what had happened to make his father turn into this terrible person.

Then he looked at Qin Wu and said gratefully.

"Senior Brother Qin, thank you so much this time. If it weren't for you, I would probably be dead today. Not only me, but Qiao'er would probably have no chance of survival either."

Qin Wu shook his head, not paying any attention to these things, and simply asked.

"What are your thoughts on the master he mentioned?"

Zhou Yan was naturally very puzzled. He thought for a long time but couldn't come up with anything, and could only shake his head in the end. Seeing this, Qin Wu didn't press the matter. He simply told everyone to clean up the battlefield and leave. The battle here was over, and there was no need to drag it out any longer. The most important thing now was to resolve the follow-up issues, such as going to the Zhou family.

The Zhou family attacked them, and the people who came out were the Zhou family's elite. But the Zhou family's elite were not limited to just these few people; behind them was the entire clan, and the danger there was definitely not insignificant. Moreover, Qin Wu was very wary of the master behind the Zhou family, so he had to make a trip to the Zhou family no matter what.

At the very least, we need to figure out whether the "master" the Zhou family patriarch is referring to is his own master or the master of the entire Zhou family, as there is a huge difference between the two.

Before long, the group returned to Tianwu Mountain. Qin Wu walked over to Li Lingfeng, who breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing them return.

Although he was a True Self Realm expert, he was not considered extremely powerful among the many elders.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have been assigned the task of staying behind. However, his strength in the past was actually not weak.

He had initially believed his strength was sufficient to protect the entire sect, but he hadn't expected such a turn of events. The Zhou family's arrival left him momentarily flustered, but fortunately, Qin Wu stepped in and resolved the situation.

Qin Wu then explained the current situation to him, as well as the master of the Zhou family. Upon hearing this, Li Lingfeng couldn't help but frown.

He was also pondering the relevant information in his mind. Since the Zhou siblings had been brought to Tianwu Mountain and recruited as disciples, Tianwu Mountain must have been prepared.

They knew something about the Zhou family's situation. But after thinking for a long time, he could only shake his head and then speak.

"We don't have any information about the master of the Zhou family patriarch on Tianwu Mountain. It seems that this person is quite mysterious, and the fact that he can control a strong person like the Zhou family patriarch is enough to prove that his master is not weak. He must have entered the True Self Realm, and may even be quite powerful in the True Self Realm."

The Zhou family patriarch's goal must be to help Zhou Yan and his sister break through to the True Self Realm and enter the True Martial Realm.

This strength and ambition are beyond the reach of ordinary people. Regardless, we must proceed with caution. If the Zhou family's master appears, it will likely be a test for Tianwu Mountain, and it's even possible that their schemes extend beyond Tianwu Mountain to encompass the entire dynasty.

Qin Wu nodded, and then said.

"I plan to go to the Zhou family now. Although we have already eliminated the Zhou family patriarch and many of the Zhou family's powerful members, the Zhou family's attitude is still not very clear. We absolutely cannot let this opportunity pass us by."

Li Lingfeng nodded, and then said.

"Since that's the case, then take your men and go there. You can investigate and see if you can find any clues about the Zhou family master. If you do find anything, don't rush to take action. He's definitely not an enemy you can handle."

Qin Wu nodded; of course he knew that.

This time when he returned to the Zhou family, Zhou Yan took on the role of guide without hesitation. Although he loathed the Zhou family, it was still the place where he had lived for 20 years.

With him around, he could naturally reduce a lot of trouble for Qin Wu and the others. Besides, that was Zhou Yan's family after all, and there were bound to be some innocent people there.

There's no need to slaughter the entire clan. However, all threats must be eliminated, ensuring there are no remnants of the Zhou family patriarch's lineage, before this problem can be considered solved.

The group then headed towards the Zhou family's residence. The Zhou family's residence was not close to their location.

Explore the fantasy novel genre; there's bound to be one that suits you.

Half a month has passed in the blink of an eye. During this time, Qin Wu and his group have been traveling. However, Qin Wu has not been idle. Along the way, his True Self Realm has been consolidated and has even improved to a certain extent.

However, a breakthrough still requires some opportunity. With his current level of accumulation, a breakthrough is impossible.

Finally, the group arrived near a mountain range. Upon seeing the mountain range, Zhou Yan's expression was complicated, and then he spoke.

"The Zhou family occupies a secluded spot in the mountains, where the spiritual energy is abundant, making it an excellent place for cultivation."

Hearing this, everyone was somewhat surprised. The prestigious Zhou family actually lived deep in the mountains and forests, a place with abundant spiritual energy, which was extremely rare.

After all, even if the spiritual energy is abundant, just how abundant can it be? Even on their Tianwu Mountain, it's hard to describe it as having abundant spiritual energy.

So everyone was a little curious, not just them, but Qin Wu was too. Soon, the group climbed over the mountain peak, and when they arrived at the Zhou family's residence, the Zhou family was completely unaware of what had happened.

Upon seeing Zhou Yan, some people immediately reacted and frantically ran into the Zhou family mansion. Not long after, a group of people rushed out and looked at Zhou Yan coldly.

"Good lad, the patriarch went to arrest you, but you actually delivered yourself to my doorstep. Where is the patriarch?"

An elder from the Zhou family spoke up. This person was quite powerful, clearly having reached the True Martial Realm, though the exact extent of his strength was unclear. Upon seeing this person, Zhou Yan's expression turned somewhat solemn, and a strange look appeared in his eyes.

"Senior Brother Qin, the situation of the Zhou family is not quite what I imagined. Originally, our Zhou family should only have five True Self Realm experts, but the ones who surrounded and killed me before were more than that, and several of them were unfamiliar faces. I have never seen this elder before either."

"Oh?"

Qin Wu narrowed his eyes. This was quite different from what he had imagined; it seemed the Zhou family indeed harbored a significant secret. The elder, however, sneered and then spoke.

"Kid, this is not information you should know."

As he spoke, the elder looked at Qin Wu and his group again, his expression a mixture of doubt and wariness. He knew, of course, that these people had come with ill intentions. However, he showed no concern, simply letting out a wild laugh before speaking.

"Although I don't know what you're here for, since you've come to my Zhou family and are helping Zhou Yan, this remnant of the family, then you don't need to leave."

Almost instantly, a large number of martial artists surged in from all directions, completely surrounding them. Upon seeing these people, Zhou Yan's expression changed.

He saw many familiar faces inside. These familiar faces were originally not very strong, and many of them had not even reached the stage of true qi.

But all the people he saw now had reached the stage of "True Qi Emergence," and many had even entered the Realm of True Self. This situation was definitely not normal.

"How is that possible?"

He spoke, unable to hide his shock.

Such strength is something that even the Zhou family, let alone Tianwu Mountain, might not be able to produce. However, fortunately, these people's strength also has its limits; even the strongest among them is only at the True Self Realm.

"It seems that the Zhou family is indeed in a somewhat different situation."

Qin Wu also realized the unusual situation here, and a hint of amusement flickered in his eyes. There were quite a few of these people, but none of them possessed the decisive power to deliver a single blow. For him now, a protracted battle was his forte, so he naturally felt no fear.

Behind him stood the elite disciples of Tianwu Mountain. Ye Dou had all reached the True Qi Transformation Realm, and their fighting spirit was high. Having experienced their previous battle with Qin Wu, they had exceptional trust in him. They believed that as long as Qin Wu was there, they would be invincible.

"Kill them!"

The elder suddenly roared in anger.

No one could withstand a single blow from him. In the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, dozens of people had already died at his hands. Such terrifying combat power instilled a deep sense of fear in even the large number of members of the Zhou family.

Before long, Qin Wu's slaughter caused their fighting spirit to crumble, while the other disciples of Tianwu Mountain became more and more courageous in killing, because they all realized that although the people of the Zhou family were quite strong, and many of them could even be compared with them, they did not have the combat experience to match their strength.

It was as if they had been forcibly elevated, and this power was not at their disposal. So even though the two sides were at roughly the same level, the disciples of Tianwu Mountain were able to almost completely overwhelm their enemies.

After a while, the Zhou family elder finally started to panic. He clearly hadn't expected the battle to develop to this point, his eyes filled with disbelief. He simply couldn't believe that the Zhou family should have had an absolute advantage, so why had the battle progressed to this stage?

However, it's too late to think about these things now.

He seized an opening and turned to run. But Qin Wu noticed his movement immediately. Without hesitation, Qin Wu transformed into a bolt of lightning and rushed towards him, appearing before him in the blink of an eye.

Then Qin Wu grabbed him by the neck and said:

"Tell me, what's the situation with your Zhou family? How did you acquire such formidable strength in such a short time? Who exactly is the master behind your Zhou family?!"

The elder's face was extremely pale, and his eyes were filled with fear.

"Everything the Zhou family has was brought by our master; all that's needed is a sacrifice..."

Before he could finish speaking, he suddenly exploded.

This sudden turn of events even startled Qin Wu.

He stared at the corpse in his hand, now reduced to a bloody mist, his face extremely grim. This was the first time he had encountered such a situation; clearly, the person behind it was incredibly powerful and had complete control over everything.

Even so, Qin Wu had never heard of such a method that could make someone want to reveal their secret and then suddenly explode with a bang.

Then Qin Wu looked at the others.

"Walk!"

He uttered a single word and rushed straight into the Zhou family compound. No matter what, he had to get there and find out what was going on.

No matter what's behind the Zhou family, he's determined to get involved in this matter!

……