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Chapter 1065 The Governor's Son Blocks the Way
"The border of Jingzhou lies ahead, Lord Nanchen, I will not see you off any further!"

"Be careful!"

Zhou You and his group traveled from Putuo Prefecture to the capital, encountering many twists and turns along the way. They faced attacks and obstructions from unidentified individuals, but also received secret assistance from powerful families who even escorted them on their own territories and replenished their supplies.

The speaker was a high-ranking member of a local powerful family. They lived near the state of Maijing and knew that the governor belonged to the opposing camp, so they spoke up to remind him.

The allies of the eighteen ancestral families are spread across fifty states, and they respond enthusiastically to the call to abolish the feudal lords. This person is also one of their allies.

Zhou You bowed to the other party in thanks and watched them leave.

We've crossed the border and are about to enter the territory of Mae Jing State.

Zhou You had already received news from the Heart Demon Ring that the governor of Maijing Prefecture harbored ill intentions towards his trip and had sent his most trusted son to obstruct or even assassinate him.

Since it concerned the eighteen ancestral families, the other party was extremely cautious and even considered framing the Zhou clan's Eastern branch.

However, Wu Linbei learned of this and devised a plan to ambush and kill the eldest son of the governor of Maijing Prefecture, thereby destroying the governor's power. The plan was adopted at the Circular World Conference.

Zhou Youxiu sensed the tense atmosphere carried on the wind and thought to himself that he would face a bloody storm before even entering the capital.

Although the Enchantress did not cause any harm, the human race itself fell into chaos.

"Pass on my order: during our journey to Jingzhou, we will only camp in the wilderness and not enter the city. We will not accept any invitations from any local gentry families who come to see us."

This is the stronghold that Governor Maijing has cultivated for countless years. He controls all the prefectures and cities, and has even won over countless powerful families. The current situation is one where it is difficult to distinguish friend from foe.

Therefore, the safest approach is to travel discreetly, remain unnoticed, and cross the border as quickly as possible.

No one could find fault with Zhou You's determination, so the team changed its usual style and became low-key and secretive.

However, trouble came uninvited.

"My lord, something seems amiss ahead."

In the middle of the night, all four gates of a city were wide open and brightly lit, yet no one was patrolling or on duty. Looking through the gate openings, the streets were deserted, with no watchmen or gatekeepers.

It resembles the skeleton of a giant beast that has weathered for many years after its death, hollow and open inside and out, lying in a vast desolate desert, with no insects crawling in or out, and no weeds growing.

Every city was built by the earth god to protect its inhabitants and defend against evil spirits.

But the city before them was nothing more than an empty shell, and any evil creature could break in.

But the city's undefended streets were deserted, with not a single living person or even a demon in sight.

This is not a city inhabited by the living, but... a ghost town.

Anyone with two eyes could see there's something wrong with this city; only a fool would venture inside!

Without even thinking it over, Zhou You made his decision: to walk around the city's walls.

A team was sent out to scout ahead, circling the ghost town, with a promise to report back in fifteen minutes. But when the time came, the team disappeared without a trace, and not a single message came back.

It was indeed a trap. Not only was the city itself problematic, but the surrounding environment was too.

A colossal beast, its full form obscured, lay sprawled on the plain, its jaws agape, waiting for its prey to enter.

"A city built by a sect master? In the territory of Maijing Prefecture, only that governor, who is at the sect master level, has the strength to do so."

Anyone who possesses such sophisticated skills in the application of space must be a powerhouse at the Earth Sect level.

Zhou You understood immediately; it must be Governor Maijing who made the move. Who did they think they were bullying? Did they think he didn't have the support of the local sect or the governor?

Zhou You took out the travel document given to him by Zhou Nanwang. It was stamped with the seal of Li Huo Prefecture and had legitimate legal basis, allowing him to travel freely within the territory of Di Jing.

"Peace reigns on all sides, we journey together, paving the way through mountains and building bridges over rivers, let's go!"

After the travel document was displayed, the city in front of them shook twice, instantly shattering the deathly and mysterious atmosphere.

The second scout team ran ten miles and found the first group of men lying unconscious and staggering on the ground, with no casualties.

"Lord Nanchen, even now, you still want to go through official channels?"

"But you eat the rice bowl bestowed upon you by the lord, yet you want to smash the pot and overturn the stove, siding with the aristocratic families to feed the lord. Isn't that the behavior of a despicable person?"

Brush brush!
Suddenly, countless heads appeared on the city wall; it was none other than the eldest son of the governor of Maijing Prefecture, leading his troops to block their way.

What just happened was his attempt to distort space by using the power of the governor of the Buried Mirror State to make Zhou You and his group lose their way.

However, Zhou You also had a pass given to him by Zhou Nanwang, and he broke their ambush in one round.

Since that's the case, we have no choice but to switch from an ambush to a full-scale attack.

Faced with the doubts, Zhou You calmly said, "The full power of a feudal lord comes from the support of all the people and the great families. If he acts righteously, he will naturally be as stable as Mount Tai. But if he acts wickedly and tyrannically, and goes against the will of the people, he is a wicked and incompetent ruler and should be deposed!"

"Our Zhou clan of the Western Branch is loyal to virtuous rulers, not wicked and incompetent ones."

"But you, as subjects, instead of admonishing and correcting, have gone down a dark path and aided and abetted the wicked!"

The eldest son of the governor of Maijing Prefecture sneered, "I can't argue with you, but now that you've come to Maijing Prefecture, you're not leaving!"

"Allow me to do my duty as a host and entertain you for a hundred or eighty years."

The implication was clear: they were all to be imprisoned.

The eldest son of the governor of Maijing Prefecture spent a lot of resources and, with the governor's support, was recently promoted to the Human Sect.

In addition, he was surrounded by several grandmasters, all of whom were a luxurious lineup specially prepared for him by the governor of Maijing Prefecture.

For a commoner to break through to the Grandmaster level, the necessary accumulation would take most of their life. There are precedents where people sign contracts to repay the debt by serving for a certain number of years after their advancement.

There were four grandmasters standing on the city wall, including their disciples and sons.

Zhou You sighed. He was also the son of a governor, but he didn't receive such generous treatment.

His personal guards were all assembled by himself back then. Although he provided resources for them over the years and they reached the mid-to-late stages of the Strong Martial Realm, he still didn't have a single Grandmaster.

The other party is different. His father is the governor of the eight directly governed states, which are rich in resources far exceeding those of Li Huo State by dozens of times. This not only supports his advancement to Grandmaster, but also allows him to be assigned several members of the Human Sect as personal guards.

The fifty prefectures under heaven were also divided into different classes, and the eight directly governed prefectures looked down on the poor and barren border prefectures.

"Hehe, Zhou Daqian, if you know what's good for you and surrender obediently, I might spare your life. But if you insist on resisting, I won't show you any mercy."

The younger brother of the governor of Jingzhou was smug, saying, "My men are everywhere here. They will all give the same story: that the Eastern Zhou Clan had a conflict with you and killed your entire group!"

"In this way, the governor of Lihuo Prefecture will not let the matter rest, and the Zhou family's eastern and western branches will inevitably break apart."

"Before the eighteen ancestral families even launched their attack, one of them was already missing. The start was unfavorable, and the defeat was already inevitable."

(End of this chapter)