I picked up skill fragments in the demon world.

Chapter 719 Escape from Marriage
Zhang Chen walked out of the house slowly and looked up at the sky in the distance: "It's a sunny day today."

After saying this, Zhang Chen used his escape technique and rushed towards Chongzheng Academy.

The atmosphere in Chongzheng Academy is still lively, with countless travelers coming from all directions, some staying in Jinling City, and some visiting directly to pay their respects.

Zhang Chen saw Zhou Qiucheng's chief steward Chen Qi standing in front of the gate to greet guests, but there was no sign of Zhou Zhen, which made him feel strange.

Logically speaking, Zhou Zhen should be standing in front of the mountain gate to welcome the guests. While stroking the letter in his arms, Zhang Chen's thoughts that night became more serious: "No way? Zhou Zhen is a scholar, he wouldn't do that kind of thing, right?"

In fact, Zhang Chen was overthinking. Just as Zhang Chen was thinking, he saw Zhou Zhen, who looked tired, walking slowly in from a distance, standing in front of the mountain gate and began to welcome guests.

For Zhou Zhen’s wedding, it was necessary to inform guests from afar in advance, and many guests had to come early and then stay in the academy.

After seeing Zhou Zhen, Zhang Chen thought he was overthinking, and turned around to help arrange the furnishings in the mountain and help greet the guests.

Zhou Zhen is an eleventh-rank strongman in Jiangnan, and he is the pillar of support of the imperial court in Jiangnan. His cultivation is earth-shattering, and he is one of the best masters in the entire Jiangnan Road. How dare the dignitaries in Jiangnan Road neglect his son's wedding?

Zhang Chen was busy all day and went back home at night to continue walking through the endless yellow sand. The night passed quietly.

The next day was the same. Zhang Chen's life became quiet and everything seemed to be back on track.

In recent days, many guests have come to the mountain, including many Confucian scholars, who talk about Chen Sanliang's discussions on Jiangnan all day long. Zhang Chen uses his keen ears to eavesdrop quietly.

Chen Sanliang was unstoppable in the south of the Yangtze River. Wherever he went, no one could discuss philosophy with him for an hour. All people were convinced by his reasoning. Dozens of academies had already joined Chen Sanliang and became his running dogs.

At this time, the demon tribe crossed the Yellow River with great momentum and had begun to wreak havoc in Jiangnan Road. The demon tribe slaughtered people in Jiangnan Road, and Shunchang was extremely tyrannical. In order to survive, countless powerful people had to choose to join the demon tribe.

The reason why all the dignitaries came here was, firstly, to congratulate Zhou Zhen, and secondly, they wanted to find out the details of Chen Sanliang and see how confident they were of defeating Chen Sanliang, so that everyone could make plans early.

Unfortunately, Zhou Zhen was in seclusion, and when everyone arrived, they could not see any trace of Zhou Zhen.

On the wedding day, accompanied by the sound of firecrackers, a sense of joy filled the Chongzheng Academy. Chen Sanliang finally came out of seclusion and greeted the guests.

The entire Chongzheng Academy was filled with the sound of gongs and drums. There was an opera troupe performing at the foot of the mountain, which made the place quite lively.

Zhang Chen and other disciples were responsible for welcoming and entertaining guests. As Zhou Qiucheng's eldest disciple, Zhang Chen naturally had to help with overall coordination.

As time passed, it was soon time for the wedding ceremony. The host shouted, "Please invite the bride and groom to come to the ceremony."

With his shout, a maid supported Jiang Nan, who was dressed in a bright red robe, and walked out from the backyard. Jiang Nan, who was dressed in a bright red robe, walked on the red carpet and came to the lobby. He was wearing a shawl and stood quietly in the lobby waiting.

"Where is the groom? Please invite him to come and worship in the hall." The witness shouted.

The witness shouted, but there was no sound, which made Zhang Chen, who was watching the ceremony, feel nervous.

"Where's the groom?" the witness shouted again.

Zhou Qiucheng, who was sitting at the head of the table, frowned slightly and sat there expressionlessly, not knowing what he was thinking. After hearing what the witness said, he said to the steward beside him, "Go to the young master's room and urge him not to miss the auspicious day."

The steward left in a hurry, and soon came back in a hurry, sweating profusely. He came to Zhou Qiucheng and whispered, "Master, it's bad! A servant said earlier that the eldest son took off his wedding gown and went down the mountain."

Although the servant's voice was low, who were the people present? They were all sharp-eyed and sharp-eared, so how could they not hear such words?
Everyone looked at each other, and suddenly the whole hall fell into deathly silence.

Zhang Chen also noticed that Jiang Nan clenched the bright red silk in his hand in an instant, and the sound of gritting teeth came from under the veil.

Escaped from marriage!
Everyone knows that Zhou Zhen ran away from his marriage.

At this time, all the guests looked at Jiang Nan, wanting to see the bride's reaction, but they saw the bride sitting there blankly, like an unresponsive wooden stake.

Then Zhang Chen turned his gaze to Zhou Qiucheng, who stood up expressionlessly and said, "Everyone, today, due to an unexpected incident, the wedding has been postponed. Let's just treat it as a banquet for friends and relatives, and have a drink."

After saying this, he told the maid, "Please ask the bride to go back first."

Jiang Nan staggered and was supported by two maids as he walked out of the hall.

Looking at Jiang Nan's back, Zhang Chen couldn't help but sigh softly: "What a shame!" The groom actually ran away on the wedding day. If this news gets out, how will Jiang Nan face the world?
She probably has no face to live in this world!
Zhang Chen mastered the blood channels and was most sensitive to blood. He could feel that Jiang Nan's nails had pierced into his palm and blood was slowly flowing out.

"This kid Zhou Zhen doesn't do things in an honest way." Zhang Chen muttered to himself.

The banquet continued, but the atmosphere had changed a bit.

When night fell and all the guests had left, Zhang Chen came to Zhou Qiucheng's house, knocked on the door, and stood outside the door and said respectfully, "Sir!"

"Come in." Zhou Qiucheng said from inside the house.

When Zhang Chen walked into the house, he saw Zhou Qiucheng sitting inside soaking his feet.

"Disciple greets you, sir." Zhang Chen raised his hand and saluted.

"Zhang Chen, what are you doing here?" Zhou Qiucheng asked.

"Three days ago, my senior brother left me a letter, asking me to pass it to you after the wedding." Zhang Chen took out the letter and handed it to Zhou Qiucheng.

Zhou Qiucheng didn't seem surprised. He took the letter and glanced at it without any fluctuation on his face.

After a while, Zhou Qiucheng finished reading the letter and sighed: "He really ran away from his marriage."

Zhang Chen looked at Zhou Qiucheng. Instead of seeing the sadness on Zhou Qiucheng's face, he saw a hint of relief on his face.

As if he noticed Zhang Chen's gaze, Zhou Qiucheng said, "In fact, I already knew that he didn't like Jiang Nan."

"Sir, since you know that senior brother doesn't like Jiang Nan, why do you still want to arrange this marriage?" Zhang Chen was puzzled.

Zhou Qiucheng took out a foot cloth and wiped the water stains on his feet, then said slowly: "What do you think my chances of winning in a debate with Chen Sanliang?"

"Disciple, I don't know." Zhang Chen replied quickly.

Of course he knew that Zhou Qiucheng had no chance of winning, but even if he knew it in his heart, he couldn't say it out loud. No one likes to hear the truth because it hurts.

Zhou Qiucheng glanced at Zhang Chen and said, "I deliberately forced him to go down the mountain, so that he wouldn't stay in the mountain and be buried with the academy. I heard that Chen Sanliang is very domineering, and no one can stop Shunchang from going against the will of the enemy. He has a strong character and would rather die than bend. If he stays in the mountain, he will definitely die. If I persuade him to go down the mountain, he will definitely refuse to do so. It's better to take this opportunity to force him."

Zhang Chen was shocked when he heard this. He never thought there was such a plot.

"What about Jiang Nan???" Zhang Chen asked tentatively.

"It's just hard for her." Zhou Qiucheng sighed: "This woman is very scheming and is not suitable to marry Zhou Zhen. I will match her with Shen Qiu again."

"But Shen Qiu has already left?" Zhang Chen asked.

"Who said Shen Qiu is gone?" Zhou Qiucheng asked meaningfully.

Zhang Chen was stunned when he heard this, and couldn't help but exclaim in amazement. Zhou Qiu had a good plan.

"The reason I'm telling you this is because we are not outsiders, and Zhou Zhen believes in you. I hope you can take good care of him when you come down the mountain in the future if you have the chance. Your brother is a simple-minded and straightforward person, and I don't know how much trouble his character will cause in the future. I hope that if you can meet him down the mountain in the future, you can take good care of him on my behalf." Zhou Qiucheng said, his voice full of solemnity: "This is my plea, not an order."

"My senior brother and I get along well. I will naturally take care of him when we meet at the foot of the mountain in the future. But I think your worry is a bit too far-fetched. Although Chen Sanliang acts in a domineering manner, he may have room for maneuver." Zhang Chen comforted Zhou Qiucheng.

Zhou Qiucheng shook his head without saying anything. Instead, he slowly put down his towel, stood up, walked to a cabinet, and took out a box from it.

The box is very big, and it looks like a medicine box sold online in the previous life.

Zhou Qiucheng put the box on the table and pushed it in front of Zhang Chen: "This box contains my life savings. You can take half of it. If you meet your senior brother in the future, please give the rest to him. Of course, if you encounter any difficulties, just take it and don't leave it to your senior brother."

"The contents of the box are my accumulated wealth. As for the doctrines and my Dao... If I win the debate, it won't be too late to pass them on to you then. If I lose, a failed Dao has nothing worth learning, so let it completely disappear in time and space." Zhou Qiucheng said to Zhang Chen:
"After you go down the mountain tonight, leave Jinling City immediately and don't come to the academy again. If Chen Sanliang and I survive the discussion, the news will spread all over the country. It won't be too late for you to come back after hearing the news. If I die, I'm afraid that Huang Tiandao and the White Lotus Sect will sweep Jinling City again and cause chaos in Jinling City. By then, no one will protect you and you will definitely die."

Zhang Chen looked at the box, then at Zhou Qiucheng, and he couldn't help but stand there in a daze, with a look of astonishment in his eyes. His mouth opened and closed, and opened and closed again, not knowing what to say.

(End of this chapter)