Once I enter the pass, great Confucian scholars will surely debate the classics for me.

The First Lady smiled and said, "Very well, starting today, I have another child. I hereby decree that the whole city should celebrate, to congratulate my first family, to congratulate my fourth son, and to congratulate Sword Tower City!"

The council chamber erupted into chaos, boiling over instantly like hot water.

"No, absolutely not! We disagree!" The three elders of the Sun, Moon and Star Sect had red eyes. How could they sit idly by and watch the power of the younger generation grow stronger again? How could they sit idly by and watch the first family have a fourth young master?

"I disagree too, Mother. Commander Zhou is too young and his achievements are too shallow. He still needs to gain more experience." Ma Dalang was anxious. He had just been preparing to take Zhou Qingfeng under his wing when his mother took him as her adopted son.

With the status of an adopted son, a noble position, and immense power, second only to the emperor, and on equal footing with him, how could he possibly recruit Zhou Qingfeng under his command? Even a fool would know that Zhou Qingfeng would never agree to such a thing.

Mao Erlang's eyes darted around, and he loudly praised, "Mother is wise and powerful, with profound foresight. Commander Zhou is a rare genius in the world, and he should become the fourth young master of my family."

"If such a prodigy doesn't become the young master of my family, will he be used by outsiders in the future?"

The three assistant commanders, Song, Tang, and Zhu, were incredulous and shocked. They then whispered among themselves, discussing the situation: "My goodness, the situation is a bit chaotic. Should we oppose or support it?"

"Let's keep quiet now. This involves the first family's internal affairs. It's no wonder we outsiders are asking for trouble by interfering."

"Yes, yes, let's pretend we didn't hear or see anything, we don't know anything."

The First Lady got up and left without any intention of listening to anyone's suggestions. As she walked out of the council chamber, she paused, turned back to look at Zhou Qingfeng, and a meaningful smile appeared on her lips.

Arguing is pointless, because the First Lady's words are law, and how could she easily take back what she said in public? Moreover, the First Lady never intended to listen to the opinions of others.

Butler Qiu stepped forward to help Zhou Qingfeng up, his eyes filled with a smile: "Congratulations, Fourth Master, on becoming the young master of my First Family."

Zhou Qingfeng chuckled, not addressing him as "Master" in public, but only by his title: "It's all thanks to Steward Qiu's guidance, otherwise I, Zhou Qingfeng, wouldn't be where I am today."

The three elders of the Sun, Moon and Stars glanced at the triumphant Zhou Qingfeng, snorted coldly, and turned to leave. Since things had come to this point, they had no other choice but to try to persuade the First Lady to retract her decision.

Mao Erlang stepped forward and said warmly, "Fourth brother, come visit me at my residence when you have time. We're brothers now, so we should visit each other often."

Zhou Qingfeng smiled and said, "Definitely, definitely. I'll definitely need your help in the future."

Mao Erlang nodded with a smile, then turned and left.

Ma Dalang walked over, his smile somewhat forced, but he still offered his congratulations: "Fourth brother, congratulations."

Then Ma Dalang left. He didn't know what to do with Zhou Qingfeng. He couldn't kill him before because he valued talent, and he couldn't kill him now because Zhou Qingfeng was also the young master of the Sword Tower. Killing him would be courting death.

When the three assistant commanders, Song, Tang, and Zhu, saw that no one was there, they stepped forward to offer their congratulations, showing remarkable quick wit.

Soon, only Steward Qiu and Zhou Qingfeng remained in the council chamber.

Seeing that there were no outsiders present, Zhou Qingfeng changed his tone and said, "Master, would you like to have a small gathering at the manor?"

Upon hearing this, Butler Qiu knew that Zhou Qingfeng had something else to say, so he nodded.

The two left the city lord's mansion and returned to the Zhou residence.

As usual, Zhou Qingfeng personally brewed tea and served it with both hands, showing no disrespect to his master just because he had become the young master of the first family.

Because Zhou Qingfeng has a family education, comes from one of the Southern Fist styles, the century-old Zhou family, and is the sole heir to a fortune of hundreds of millions, he has been educated since childhood and knows what it means to respect teachers and value the Way.

If someone else had taken over and become the master, they would probably be so arrogant that they wouldn't even know their own name anymore.

However, Zhou Qingfeng knew very well that although Butler Qiu was just a butler, he held a great deal of weight in the lady's heart and was highly trusted. If Butler Qiu were to spread rumors, someone would be in big trouble; it was a case of killing without shedding blood.

Moreover, Steward Qiu has indeed treated me very well. Regardless of any change in my status, I should always remember this kindness and be grateful.

"Hmm, my disciple invited me to the manor, did you secretly discover something?"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Qingfeng stopped, clasped his hands in a salute, and said, "These are just some guesses and should not be taken as evidence."

Butler Qiu smiled and said, "Please sit down and tell me what's going on."

"Yes, Master." Zhou Qingfeng bowed respectfully, took his seat, and said, "Master, the bandits of Zhuxian Village are not simple. There must be a master behind them, and they may even be involved with some of the higher-ups in the Sword Tower."

“I even suspect that the Renxin Sect is behind this. They want to replicate the tragic state of Yumi City and turn my Sword Tower into a second Yumi City.”

Butler Qiu frowned slightly: "What's the reason?"

Zhou Qingfeng said, "There are two reasons."

"First, the Zhuxian Village has grown to an unprecedented size and strength. It has grown and expanded right under the nose of the Sword Tower, and the Sword Tower was completely unaware of it. It is highly likely that there is a hidden hand protecting it at the higher levels."

Steward Qiu nodded: "The guess is reasonable. Please continue, my disciple."

Zhou Qingfeng, having received affirmation, began to speak boldly: "Secondly, the Zhuxian Village, under the guise of acting on behalf of Heaven and eliminating treacherous officials, uses loyalty and righteousness as a pretext to gather people's hearts. This is something that ordinary bandits could not have imagined."

"I learned from the captured bandits that the Zhuxian Village was able to develop entirely thanks to the strategist Sima Yan. This man is extremely suspicious and not simple at all."

"If we allow the Zhuxian Village to continue developing for another year or two, it will definitely become a force to be reckoned with. In thirty to fifty years, it will inevitably become a major threat to our Sword Tower. At that time, it will set off an unprecedentedly large rebellion."

Butler Qiu shook his head: "A bunch of clowns trying to overthrow the Sword Tower? That's just wishful thinking."

Zhou Qingfeng said, "Yes, Master, even if they develop for decades, they will never be able to overthrow the Sword Tower. But what if someone colludes with them from the inside?"

I haven't spent all this time in the council chamber for nothing.

As far as I know, Sword Tower is the largest city within a radius of ten thousand miles. Sword Tower's territory is shaped like a long sword, no more than two hundred miles wide, and stretches across a mountain range of one thousand eight hundred miles, bordering cities of all sizes.

All industries are highly developed, and the natural resources of mountains, rivers and lakes are extremely abundant. There are 500,000 ordinary people in the city alone, and when you add the population scattered in the villages throughout the Sword Tower region, the total population is 1.8 million.

This only includes the registered population; the number of unregistered residents is likely several times higher.

Moreover, the First Family is renowned and has a history spanning ten thousand years. The family is full of talented people and experts. No one dares to test the terrifying power hidden beneath its ten-thousand-year heritage.

Without being immodest, the Sword Tower is a behemoth compared to the surrounding city lords.

Upon hearing this, Butler Qiu pondered for a moment and said, "You're right. Often, powerful forces are not defeated by external forces, but by internal problems. If there is a rebellion outside and someone inside is colluding with them, they might really be overthrown."

Zhou Qingfeng said, "Yes, Master, I suspect that this Sima Yan is the demon Ren Xin."

"He colluded with high-ranking officials within the Sword Tower, working together to overthrow the Sword Tower."

"Perhaps there are Ren Xin's faction members in the upper echelons who want to replicate the Yumi City massacre."

“Master, I’m not exaggerating. The lessons of the past are right before our eyes, so I have no choice but to think about it.”