163: Even the Fifth Master can't protect you

A temporary transfer point, over a hundred kilometers from Liyue City.

Not far outside the transfer point was the Forest of Curses.

Decades ago, this transfer station was quite bustling, not as deserted as it is now. However, because the Forest of Curses could not be conquered for years, and a large number of Professionals who attempted to clear it died, this transfer station gradually fell into disuse.

Finally, this Unowned Secret Realm was forcefully sold to the Zhou Family by the Zhi Family years ago under some pretext.

At that time, the Zhou Family paid a considerable price for this transaction and was ridiculed for a long time because of it.

In reality, the Zhou Family did not want to accept this transaction back then.

But they couldn't resist, as the other party was the Zhi Family. The Zhou Family dared not offend them and could only silently swallow the loss.

Because of this, the Zhou Family held a grudge and wanted to thoroughly conquer this Unowned Secret Realm to make the Zhi Family regret their actions.

Unfortunately, to this day, despite investing considerable manpower and resources intermittently, the Zhou Family still has no solution for this Unowned Secret Realm.

At this moment, outside the transfer station, stood a small team of young Professionals, four in total, two men and two women.

Opposite them, Zhou Yi was smiling at them.

Just then, a tall, imposing man with long hair and a hint of arrogance on his face, one of the group, complained impatiently to Zhou Yi:

"Fifth Master, how much longer do we have to wait?"

Zhou Yi was the fifth-ranked in his generation of the Zhou Family, so most people familiar with him called him Fifth Master Zhou.

Upon hearing Yang Jian's question, Zhou Yi said with a gentle smile: "Yang Jian, have some patience. This time, I've invited an expert to help you all."

"An expert? Fifth Master, are you getting more muddled with age? The Forest of Curses has a level restriction; experts can't enter it."

Zhou Yi chuckled and said: "Don't worry, that expert is only Level 95."

"Level 95? Can that even be called an expert?" Yang Jian immediately said with disdain.

At this moment, not only Yang Jian, but also the other three behind him looked at Zhou Yi with some surprise.

Among them, a fair-skinned, tall, long-haired woman, after Yang Jian finished speaking, couldn't help but ask curiously: "Fifth Master, although the Forest of Curses is a Level 90 to 120 Secret Realm, if someone truly only Level 90 enters, I'm afraid they won't be of much use."

The woman was named Zhou Wan, a member of the Zhou Family's newest generation and Zhou Yi's direct junior.

So her words were relatively tactful, but the other two were more straightforward. After Zhou Wan finished, they also chimed in.

"Sister Wan'er is right. Fifth Master, what were you thinking? Still Level 95 at this point? Isn't that useless?"

"Exactly, Fifth Master. Although it's hard to find Professionals willing to enter the Forest of Curses, you can't just find anyone to make up the numbers. If things go wrong, not only will they be no help, but they'll also drag everyone down."

Zhou Yi didn't get angry listening to their questions.

It was no wonder they thought that way.

After all, even for newcomers who entered last year, a normal person wouldn't be only Level 95 after a year.

Zhou Yi was well aware of their reactions, but he couldn't reveal the true identity of the incoming person.

That would not only offend the other party but also make the Zhou Family a target for the Eight Great Families.

So, Zhou Yi could only vaguely say: "Don't think so much. Would I harm you all?"

Zhou Wan and the other two, upon hearing Zhou Yi's words, didn't think much of it, even though they weren't sure what scheme Zhou Yi was planning.

The three of them were direct descendants of the Zhou Family and trusted Zhou Yi implicitly.

However, Yang Jian, who was in charge, didn't see it that way and said with a frown:

"Fifth Master, I'm leading the team into the Forest of Curses this time, and I am fully capable of ensuring the safety of Wan'er and the other two. Why do you need to bring in another burden? If something unexpected happens then, I won't be responsible."

"Or are you saying you don't trust me?"

"Yang Jian, what are you saying? How could I not trust you? I'm quite satisfied with you. I'm eager to recruit you into my Zhou Family."

Zhou Yi looked at Yang Jian, feeling a bit of a headache.

Yang Jian was not originally from his Zhou Family; he was brought in a month and a half ago by his troublesome cousin, Zhou Dafu.

Yang Jian entered the Eternal World last year, and now, a year later, his level has reached 120.

This leveling speed, while not fast, is certainly not slow.

After all, he has no background and managed to reach Level 120 in a year through his own efforts, which is no easy feat.

If not for the high difficulty of the Fourth Advancement quest, with Yang Jian's leveling speed, he would probably be close to Level 150 by now.

Zhou Dafu brought him in at the time because he saw Yang Jian's level.

After all, the maximum level to enter the Forest of Curses is 120. A higher level naturally means stronger combat power and a higher success rate in clearing it.

But at this point, it wasn't easy to find Level 120 Professionals who were not weak.

After all, those who were capable would have already surpassed Level 120 early on.

And most of those whose levels matched were obviously not very capable.

If Yang Jian hadn't been held back by the Fourth Advancement quest, he certainly wouldn't be only at this level.

And with Yang Jian's Talent, he was only considered average.

But this was already the relatively best Professional the Zhou Family could find.

Otherwise, Zhou Dafu wouldn't have promised Yang Jian that, after helping to clear the Forest of Curses for two months, regardless of success, he would assist Yang Jian in completing his Fourth Advancement.

Only then did Yang Jian reluctantly agree.

Although Zhou Yi was somewhat put off by Yang Jian's arrogant and self-righteous temper, this guy had, after all, led teams into the Forest of Curses multiple times in the past month and a half and always returned alive.

This alone proved that Yang Jian was indeed quite capable.

So, Zhou Yi pondered how to appease Yang Jian.

Upon hearing Zhou Yi's words, Yang Jian snorted indifferently, then turned to look at Zhou Wan behind him.

Seeing Zhou Wan's beautiful face, a flicker of passion crossed his eyes.

"Fifth Master, I actually admire the Zhou Family very much. If given the opportunity, I would naturally be willing to serve the Zhou Family."

Although Yang Jian's words didn't explicitly state it, his actions and gaze made his meaning clear to anyone who wasn't a fool.

As for Zhou Wan, the person concerned, upon hearing Yang Jian's words, her delicate brows unconsciously furrowed slightly.

A hint of disgust flashed in her eyes.

However, in the end, she said nothing.

On the other hand, a younger, petite girl, whose appearance bore some resemblance to Zhou Wan, showed a degree of excitement in her eyes after hearing Yang Jian's blatant words.

"Wow! Sister Wan'er, is Yang Jian proposing?"

On the other side, a seemingly more reserved young man chuckled and said: "Brother Jian's strength is good. Sister Wan'er might consider it."

Zhou Wan, hearing their words, glared at them and whispered: "Both of you, shut up."

Yang Jian, seeing this, a smug smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.

He took Zhou Wan's words as shyness.

After all, he was so excellent, and making such a direct offer would naturally have a great impact on a girl like Zhou Wan.

He didn't believe Zhou Wan wouldn't be impressed by him.

However, Zhou Yi, who was observing this scene, couldn't help but frown.

Just as he was about to say something, a voice suddenly came.

"Sorry, I took a wrong turn and arrived late."

The sudden voice made everyone immediately turn their gaze behind Zhou Yi.

Then they saw a young man with a strange mask on his face appear behind Zhou Yi.

Zhou Yi turned around and immediately recognized the masked young man as Ye Xiao, and he warmly smiled:

"No problem, no problem, we just arrived too."

The three Zhou Family disciples behind Yang Jian, hearing Zhou Yi's words, couldn't help but roll their eyes.

Their Fifth Master was simply talking nonsense with his eyes open. What did he mean, 'just arrived'? They had clearly been waiting here for almost half an hour.

However, they couldn't refute Zhou Yi, so they said nothing, only observing the strange masked man, whom Zhou Yi called an expert, with curious eyes.

However, their indifference didn't mean everyone was indifferent.

Yang Jian, seeing Zhou Yi's extremely enthusiastic attitude towards this suddenly appearing young man, immediately felt indignant.

Although Zhou Yi's attitude towards him was also like that, in Yang Jian's eyes, it was only natural.

After all, he considered his own Talent to be not bad; he was only stuck on the Fourth Advancement quest due to his ordinary background and limited resources.

In his eyes, those so-called favored children of heaven were only ahead of him because they had backgrounds and resources.

If he were given the same resources and help, his achievements would definitely not be just what they were now.

But this 'expert' in Zhou Yi's mouth was just a Level 95 good-for-nothing. Why should he receive the same treatment as him?

He even dared to make him wait here for half an hour.

The more Yang Jian thought about it, the more indignant he became, and he immediately began to scoff.

"Fifth Master, your temper is as good as ever. You're even willing to believe such a clumsy excuse?"

At these words, Zhou Yi's expression changed slightly.

He knew Ye Xiao's temperament. His cousin, after just a couple of threats, his bones hadn't even completely cooled yet.

This guy actually dared to mock the other party like this? Does he not care about his life?

However, Yang Jian didn't notice Zhou Yi's somewhat unnatural expression. Looking at the suddenly appearing Ye Xiao, he spoke again: "Sorry, this mission doesn't need you. Go back where you came from."

Ye Xiao, who had just arrived and hadn't had time to figure out the identities of the people in front of him, heard Yang Jian's sarcastic remarks and was also a bit confused.

He then looked at Zhou Yi.

"What does this mean?"

Zhou Yi heard this and quickly began to explain.

"This is a helper my cousin found a month and a half ago. He's a very good young man who has entered the Forest of Curses three times and is very familiar with the terrain inside."

Pausing, Zhou Yi continued: "Young people, it's normal to have some arrogance."

Ye Xiao understood, indicating his comprehension.

Zhou Yi, seeing this, breathed a slight sigh of relief.

Zhou Yi was quite concerned about the Forest of Curses and naturally didn't want them to have conflicts at this time.

There was no need to mention Ye Xiao. According to the information collected by the Zhou Family, he had single-handedly killed five Level 5 Black-Clad Deacons from the Zhao Family.

Just this achievement alone meant that even if Yang Jian's level was considerably higher than Ye Xiao's, he probably couldn't withstand a single move against him.

But Yang Jian had, after all, returned alive from the Forest of Curses three times in a row. No one knew the situation inside the Forest of Curses better than him.

With him there, the success rate of clearing the Forest of Curses would be significantly higher.

Zhou Yi naturally didn't want the two to have a conflict and could only try his best to mediate.

After seeing Ye Xiao nod, Zhou Yi secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

At the same time, he couldn't help but look at Ye Xiao with even more respect.

As expected of someone who could contend with the Zhao Family and still live well.

Just this composure alone was remarkable.

However, Zhou Yi's inneremotion had not yet ended.

Ye Xiao suddenly spoke.

"I'm also a young man. Shouldn't I also have a temper?"

Zhou Yi's expression stiffened, and he immediately said with a wry smile: "He's only Level 120, a newcomer from last year. It's not worth getting angry with him."

Ye Xiao didn't speak upon hearing this, but Yang Jian was the first to get upset.

What did he mean, 'only Level 120'?

What did he mean, 'not worth getting angry with him'?

Was Zhou Yi implying that he was an ignorant child?

Yang Jian was secretly furious.

For the past month or so, every member of the Zhou Family he had met had been polite to him.

Although the Zhou Family couldn't compare to the Eight Great Families, or even some second-tier families, it was still a considerable force, at least hundreds of times stronger than the small forces Yang Jian had encountered before.

And such a force treated him with such respect.

This caused Yang Jian's ego to gradually inflate.

Just like when he spoke those words to Zhou Wan in front of Zhou Yi earlier, from his perspective, given his aptitude, there was no problem whatsoever.

He even believed that for him to take an interest in Zhou Wan meant the Zhou Family was reaching above their station.

However, he, an expert with limitless potential, was being mocked by a mere Level 95 good-for-nothing.

And Fifth Master Zhou, who had always been polite and respectful to him, was now even belittling him for this good-for-nothing. How could Yang Jian tolerate this?

"Kid, before, I was polite to you because you were someone Fifth Master brought. Fifth Master praised you, and you actually started thinking you're hot stuff? You're only Level 95, yet you dare to act arrogant in front of me?"

"Now, I'll give you a chance. Kneel before me, kowtow and admit your mistake, and I'll consider letting you off."

"Remember, you only have one chance. Don't waste it, or even Fifth Master won't be able to protect you."

After speaking, Yang Jian even turned back and smugly glanced at Zhou Wan.

His look was as if he was showing off his abilities and importance to Zhou Wan.

However, he didn't notice that after he said these words, Zhou Yi's expression immediately became extremely ugly.

What did he mean, 'even Fifth Master won't be able to protect you'? This was the Zhou Family's territory.

Wasn't this a blatant slap in Zhou Yi's face?

Zhou Yi inwardly cursed Yang Jian as an idiot.

Who was Ye Xiao? He was Night Shadow, who had directly confronted the Eight Great Families. You, a nobody, dared to be so presumptuous, even demanding that someone kneel and kowtow to you?

Are you crazy?

Indeed, just as Zhou Yi had thought, Ye Xiao also spoke at this moment.

However, compared to Yang Jian's overbearing tone, Ye Xiao's tone seemed very calm.

"This person doesn't seem to put your Zhou Family in his eyes either, does he?"