The Ji Public House.

　　Zhou Zifeng’s deep cry resounded from within the High Duke’s bedchamber. “Father…!”

　　“Father…!” Zhou Zimo’s voice rang out, his voice full of grief.

　　The faces of the Protectors and ladies in the courtyard immediately fell dark, they knew that the High Duke had finally breathed his last breath. With the collapse of the Ji Public House’s backbone, they could not help being overwhelmed by a surging wave of sadness. After all, no one knew how the Ji Public House would fare in the future!

　　Zhou Zifeng took slow steps to the main hall, his expression grave as he swept a look across the room. “Elder Lu, go and make the appropriate arrangements, I reckon that once the news gets out, there will be sordid thugs that will take the opportunity to stir up trouble!

　　“Yes, Eldest Master, I’ll get all the Protectors to return!”

　　Zhou Zifeng nodded and sighed. “Everyone, the Ji Public House is now in a crisis between life and death. We must be united in both spirit and action so that we can pull through this difficult time!”

　　“Brother-in-law, is my father-in-law…?” Zhou Mei asked, concerned.

　　Zhou Zifeng let out a shaky breath and shook his head.

　　“Father-in-law’s martial arts is unrivaled; how could he pass away just like that?” Zhou Mei asked anxiously.

　　Zhou Zifeng answered, “The Shura Palm is truly too vicious and aggressive such that there’s no way for it to be treated. My father had been trying his best to resist it, but alas, he was not able to combat the invasive palm force… I guess now he can finally rest in peace, he’s truly freed from everything.”

　　Zhou Mei sighed faintly. “Ah… What injustice is this? God didn’t give Father-in-law a life long enough to accomplish his task!”

　　The Second Madame, Wan Yi spoke up, “I should go in and clean things up for him.”

　　Zhou Zifeng shook his head. “There’s no need for that, once Third Brother returns, we’ll send father into the High Duke’s Ancestral Hall.”

　　Wan Yi scowled and huffed, “Why isn’t Brother-in-law back yet? I suspect he has delayed his task. Five days have passed, so why aren’t our reinforcements from Tempest Temple here yet?”

　　Zhou Zifeng reassured her. “Third Brother knows his priorities.”

　　Wan Yi replied worriedly, “I’m just concerned that without much training and experience, he will not be able to carry out his job well even if he intends to.”

　　Zhou Zifeng changed the topic. “We can only count on ourselves during crucial times like this. Tonight, stay in your rooms and don’t leave no matter what as we’re expecting people to seize the opportunity to attack the Ji Public House. When that happens, we must teach them a lesson!”

　　“Understood.” The ladies nodded.

　　Zhou Mei said, “Let’s go in and take a look at Father-in-law. We must at least see him one last time.”

　　“Mmm, head in then.” Zhou Zifeng gave a nod of approval.

　　As the two ladies entered the room and came to Zhou Yutian’s bedchamber, they saw a weeping Zhou Zimo who quickly wiped away his tears when he noticed them.

　　Zhou Mei came before High Duke Ji’s bed and lightly caressed his icy cold hand. Then, with a sad sigh, she retreated. On the other hand, Wan Yi merely shook her head after taking a quick look at her father-in-law.

　　Once they exited, they saw that there were only three people left in the room.

　　The High Duke Ji suddenly sat up and muttered in a grave tone, “Zhou Mei really knows martial arts!”

　　All of a sudden, Chu Li appeared in the room.

　　Zhou Yutian asked, “Chu Li, how are things going with recruiting reinforcements?”

　　Chu Li replied, “The masked men in white are with us. There is a whole group of them at the backdoor, please welcome them in, Eldest Master.”

　　“Mmm, go ahead.” Zhou Yutian approved.

　　Zhou Zifeng nodded and left.

　　“High Duke, you assume command of the Ji Public House, I will watch over the city.” Chu Li stated.

　　Zhou Yutian slowly nodded. “Alright. I will have to trouble you then!”

　　Chu Li did a fist salute and vacated the room in the blink of an eye.

　　Zhou Zimo frowned as he murmured, “Father…”

　　He was worried that even if they were able to chase off the Holy Church of Light, a certain someone might just take advantage of the situation to subdue the Ji Public House. After all, there was no reason to be careless during a time like this.

　　“We can only take our chances under these circumstances,” Zhou Yutian huffed.

　　Zhou Zimo nodded helplessly.

　　…

　　A bright round moon hung in the sky as it shone its lucid glow upon the quiet and mysterious Ji Public House.

　　Suddenly, twenty-two masked men in black appeared on the Ji River Valley’s avenue. Their steps were like a fleeting wind, fast and light as they breeze past the streets and rushed straight into the Ji Public House. As soon as they went through the main gate, a wave of loud hollers and bellows rang out.

　　“Thump, thump, thump, thump…” Heavy thuds of the Grandmasters’ fighting echoed loudly, breaking the dead silence of the Ji Public House.

　　The people in Ji River Valley could vaguely hear the noise from the High Duke’s Public House, but none of them dared to step out for a peek.

　　The people were at peace because with the High Duke back at his residence, and his daily stroll around the city, the people felt protected.

　　As the twenty-two masked men in black charged in, they immediately realized that they had fallen into a trap — there were forty-four masked men in white waiting for them. In this two-versus-one situation, they were at a disadvantage as these masked men in white were also Grandmasters.

　　Amid this mess, six masked men in black were besieged by two in white. However, due to their numerical advantage, they quickly overpowered the two men. Luckily, at this moment, four other masked men in white rushed over to help them before their partners were overwhelmed, making the battle even once again.

　　Eventually, the battle reached a stalemate.

　　High Duke Ji stood on the rooftop and looked down at the fight beneath him as he roared loudly, “Where did you lot come from? Does my Ji Public House seem like a place for you to behave so atrociously?”

　　When they saw High Duke Ji standing upright on the rooftop gloriously, realization dawned upon the twenty-two masked men in black—they were tricked.

　　Their insider must have been discovered and lured them here on purpose to trap them.

　　Nevertheless, the masked men in black were not worried, even though it was currently a two-to-one situation, their secret skill was more than enough for them to flee. This was why they had to grab everything that could be useful to them before leaving.

　　As the two parties went on fighting, the stand-off continued. Not even one faltered in the slightest. This was because the Grandmasters had a startling tenacity which made it hard to defeat them unless they were clearly overwhelmed.

　　The masked men in white were incredibly flexible and they would head out to assist their comrades once they realized that their current opponents were weakened enough for their partners to manage on their own. With this cooperation, they were able to turn their numerical advantage into a strong positional advantage.

　　At this moment, High Duke Ji leaped into the air and drew a fist that was aimed at a black-clad man who was fighting off five other masked men in white.

　　As High Duke Ji’s fist neared him, the lean man in black suddenly ducked, barely avoiding the punch as High Duke Ji’s fist force almost struck his comrades in white. Then, while the men in white were evading Zhou Yutian’s fist force, the black-clad man shot out multiple palms, his movements as fast as a demon.

　　Suddenly, a loud “thud” rang out from his body as the eyes of the man in black instantly glowed a crimson red. He stared menacingly at the five white-clad men.

　　“Asura!” High Duke Ji yelled as he went up to face his opponent. “Leave this to me, go ahead and help the others!”

　　“Boom, boom, boom, boom…” His fist and the Asura’s palm clashed more than ten times but neither of them backed down. They fought from the courtyard to the rooftop and then moved back down from the rooftop into another courtyard in the side hall.

　　“Hmph, do you think it’s enough to just draw me away?!” High Duke Ji chuckled coldly as he threw out his punches non-stop.

　　A loud whistle rang out from a restaurant in Ji River Valley and reverberated throughout the night sky. “Number One!”

　　Instantly, five masked men in white popped out of a restaurant near the High Duke’s Public House and rushed into the Ji Public House within the blink of an eye, like five plumes of smoke. They each went up against a black-clad man who had previously held the upper hand and regained superiority in their induvial battles.

　　The martial arts of these five people were far better than the Ji Public House’s Protectors, so with them joining the fight, the masked men in white managed to subdue the men in black instantly.

　　A person in black called out, “Move it!”

　　Two slim silhouettes shot out of a courtyard and charged towards High Duke Ji’s study room. With their full black clothing and veil, anyone could tell that they were women.

　　The clear sound of a whistle rang out again, “Number Two!”

　　Two veiled people in white shot out of the same restaurant as if they were walking on air and arrived outside High Duke Ji’s study room just in time to greet the women in black. With a few martial art exchanges, they were able to get the two women under control.