The Ignorant Are Reckless

Anger was like a surging tide, powerful enough to drown the island of reason.

Yet, when the tide slowly receded, the island would naturally reappear.

It was exactly because the extravagant hope he had obsessively clung to had finally appeared, only for his own family to hide it from him. This made it impossible for Zhou Bai to accept, allowing boundless rage to overwhelm his mind for a time.

As the fury slowly ebbed from his heart, his rationality naturally returned, and he understood that Zhou Minghu was unlikely to deceive him. Glancing from the corner of his eye at Zhou Liang, who was secretly gloating behind him, Zhou Bai's face betrayed neither joy nor sorrow.

He had never imagined that this childhood companion, who had grown up alongside him, concealed his true thoughts so deeply. If not for this ancient text, he likely would never have noticed.

Just what exactly was this fellow after? The family had never treated him poorly. Could he truly be acting out of devotion to his master?

Zhou Bai swiftly banished the thought from his mind.

Zhou Liang remained entirely oblivious to Zhou Bai's shift in demeanor, his heart swelling with endless wild ecstasy. All these years of attentive servitude had indeed paid off; Zhou Bai now trusted and protected him completely. With Zhou Bai present, the Zhou family was unlikely to lay a hand on him. As long as he continued to satisfy Zhou Bai's desires and used this method to become an Immortal Master, how could he fail to achieve his revenge!

"Brother Bai, should we test if this cultivation method actually works?"

Zhou Bai smiled faintly. "Alright."

Since he did not know what Zhou Liang was after, he would play along for now and see exactly what he intended.

He had heard from Elder Brother Changhe that the villages at the foot of the mountain had suffered from a foul atmosphere in recent years, plagued by roaming rogues and bandits. Since this cultivation method required killing, he could use this opportunity to purge them.

The two men, each harboring their own thoughts, descended the mountain and headed straight for Zhou Family Town.

Meanwhile, Zhou Ping and the others had naturally learned the cause of the matter.

Zhou Ping pondered for a moment before asking Zhou Changhe, "Changhe, have any of the servants ever abused Zhou Liang? Has Bai'er ever acted tyrannically and bullied his servants?"

Zhou Changhe shook his head. "Uncle, you know Sixth Brother's temperament. He would absolutely never do such a thing, nor would any servants have ever bullied him."

"Then what is this fellow after?" Zhou Ping was somewhat confused.

To the side, Zhou Xuanya spoke with fierce indignation, "Father, let me go and kill that scoundrel! If we wait any longer, in case he incites my brother to practice demonic arts, it will be disastrous!"

Zhou Ping thought so as well and was about to agree, but upon seeing Zhou Changhe's tempted expression, the words stopped at his lips.

He understood that this matter could not be resolved simply by stopping it.

It had not only stirred Zhou Bai's unyielding obsession, but also the desires of mortals like Zhou Changhe within the Zhou family. They had to witness the harm of demonic arts with their own eyes to resolve the problem from its root.

"Send Zhou Liu and Zhou Qi to protect Bai'er. Have everyone else cooperate a bit, and let us see exactly what this Zhou Liang intends to do."

"Yes, Father." Though somewhat helpless, Zhou Xuanya could only obey the order.

Meeting no resistance, Zhou Bai and Zhou Liang moved extremely fast, quickly rounding up dozens of roaming bandits and outlaws.

In recent years, thanks to peace and stability, along with the implementation of tax reductions to comfort the populace across various regions, the population of Nanyang Prefecture had shown a trend of explosive, manic growth. The mortals under the Zhou family's jurisdiction had also reached over five thousand. Some villages even boasted over a thousand residents, and the process of dividing them into smaller settlements had already begun.

With more people, the jurisdiction naturally fell into some disorder. It was not out of rebellion against the Zhou family, but rather some lazy vagrants stealing chickens, pilfering dogs, and idling about, severely affecting the atmosphere of the villages.

Zhou Bai then had Zhou Liang go to the four villages to capture people, especially those scum and parasites, while he himself remained hidden from beginning to end.

Hearing it was Zhou Bai's order, the stewards of the four villages naturally did not obstruct Zhou Liang. Moreover, they actively cooperated with his actions.

Because the Zhou family's jurisdiction had an evaluation system, if a steward governed too poorly, they would be held accountable or even dismissed. Being able to eliminate these lazy scums was a cause for rejoicing for these stewards; how could they possibly obstruct it?

In any case, even if lives were lost, the Sixth Master would bear the responsibility. It would not implicate them.

Within a underground prison, a dense crowd of nearly a hundred figures was locked inside narrow, dim cells, occasionally letting out wails of misery. In the center of the underground prison, a large cauldron boiled continuously, rolling waves of heat sweeping in all directions.

"Brother Bai, everything is prepared. Please wait in the adjacent room. Once the refinement is complete, I will bring it to you, Brother Bai," Zhou Liang said with a bow.

According to the records in that ancient text, refining living humans into pills was an extremely terrifying and miserable process. He feared that during the refinement, Zhou Bai's conscience might be stirred, ruining all their past efforts.

Zhou Bai surveyed the surroundings, gazing at the horde of fierce bandits and thieves in the cells. Even though these fellows had committed numerous atrocities, he still felt a trace of hesitation.

But thinking of how these people committed countless atrocities, or caused chaos with their theft, severely affecting the livelihood of the mortals under the Zhou family's jurisdiction, his heart grew much firmer.

He stood up and looked around, resolutely shifting his gaze away from these criminals, and then walked into a side room.

Seeing Zhou Bai leave, Zhou Liang's entire demeanor suddenly transformed. "Men! Throw all these wretches into the large cauldron and boil them to wash away their sins."

A servant, unable to bear it, stepped forward. "Sir, isn't this inappropriate? It is simply too cruel."

Zhou Liang stared at him coldly, like a man-eating beast. "Do your job, and do not speak out of turn."

The servant was so terrified he scrambled backward. He hurriedly joined the others, dragging the prisoners out of the cells one by one and hurling them into the large cauldron.

"Ah!"

Miserable wails echoed through the underground prison. Living people struggled madly in the rolling heat, causing boiling water to splash violently before they finally sank completely into the large cauldron.

Watching the people struggling inside the cauldron, Zhou Liang's face revealed a flushed madness, but he still tried his hardest to suppress it.

"Father, I will definitely avenge you and slaughter everyone in the Zhou family!"

Burying over a decade of accumulated hatred in his heart while having to feign loyalty had long since twisted Zhou Liang's mind, plunging it into utter darkness.

Because Zhou Liang had been taken care of by the Zhou family since childhood, yet the family concealed the matters of cultivators, he actually knew very little about the path of cultivation. He only knew that cultivators existed; beyond that, he was completely ignorant.

He did not know the cultivation realms, nor did he know the disparity in strength within them. Even less did he know what an inch of aptitude meant.

He believed that once he became a cultivator, even if he were weaker than the Zhou family, he would absolutely not be much weaker. This was precisely why, after learning of the ancient text, he would tear away decades of disguise and become so madly audacious.

In reality, he could not even defeat Wang Dashi.

Truly, the ignorant are reckless.

"Once the pill is completed, I will become a cultivator and forcefully slay Zhou Bai. Then, I will flee to a distant land to wait for an opportunity for revenge. I will definitely make the Zhou family wear white mourning clothes every single year!"

As the wails continued endlessly, Zhou Liang's mood became increasingly ecstatic.

In the shadows, Zhou Ping brought along Zhou Changhe, concealing their figures as they silently watched all of this unfold.

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