Zhou Leng glanced over these people, his gaze lightly shifting.

"Brother Leng!" Jax, with his dry hair and pale face, squeezed out a smile as he quickly stepped forward, extending both hands.

Zhou Leng also extended one hand to shake his.

After all, he was the Treasure-Bringing Child, and Zhou Leng couldn't let him feel neglected.

Beside Jax was Tu Rong, who used to be a small-time hooligan, still dressed in leather. Now, after entering the Body Refining Stage, he had a bit of an aura of a small master.

Zhou Leng glanced at Jax and said, "You're in the Late Stage of Life Force now, almost at the Innate level, right?"

"Within three months, thanks to your help. This time seeing you, I'll surely gain a lot. In the future, whatever you say goes, I'll follow your orders," Jax said with a smile.

The people behind Jax were puzzled and confused.

As one of the heirs of the Trup family, even the Innate level of the Shuangjiao Company respected him, so why was he showing such deference to this young man?

In the team, an inconspicuous person silently stepped back, lowered his head, and hid among the crowd.

"Brother Leng," Tu Rong also greeted.

Zhou Leng said, "You've grown not slowly either."

"Thanks to you," Tu Rong bowed his head respectfully.

His heart was flustered.

That day when Tian Wenhua was killed, he was present and almost became a sacrifice for Tian Wenhua.

At the time, Zhou Leng was masked, so he didn't recognize him.

Later, he heard that Zhou Leng had killed Tian Wenhua and Yan Fenggang, and also killed Chang Luan and his son Chang Yuanzhong.

The more he thought about it, the more similar they seemed.

"Following Jax is better than following Tian Wenhua," Zhou Leng said indifferently.

"Yes." Tu Rong's heart raced, the implication of the words was too obvious.

Zhou Leng knew Tu Rong was an informant for the Martial Guard Department.

"You didn't come here on your own, did you?" Zhou Leng looked at Jax.

Jax smiled, "In such a large-scale battle, we don't even have someone at the Innate level, we're purely here doing odd jobs. Aiden gathered us to help him."

Saying this, he gave Zhou Leng a wink.

The two walked to a deserted corner.

"I got some very important news..." Jax looked around and whispered.

"After Aiden negotiated with the Candleholder..."

"Wait, he's teamed up with a Candleholder? Which Candleholder?" Zhou Leng asked.

"You probably wouldn't know, it's the City Lord of a small city in the Ninth Layer of the Demon Purgatory, called Radiance of the Bright Candle."

"Continue." Zhou Leng didn't expect the two of them to join forces, faintly feeling it might be related to that counterattack battle.

"They gathered a large team, entered the Giant Insect Spiritual Land through the Demon Purgatory, to hunt Tree-men, to seize Tree-man hearts, and even intend to acquire the Heart of Life."

"But unexpectedly, they found that the Tree-man World was overturning, and some Ancient Tree Fossils had been unearthed one after another."

"So they started recruiting more people."

"As for me, with my weaker strength, I was arranged in the Tree-man camp to help gather intelligence and find opportunities to cooperate."

"I see, he doesn't want to share the Ancient Tree Fossils with me."

Finally, Jax couldn't resist complaining.

Zhou Leng said, "What rank are you now in the Trup family succession?"

"Eighth. After I advance to the Innate level, I can directly become the fifth in line," Jax replied.

"Help me find out about Aiden and Radiance of the Bright Candle, and also about the Ancient Tree Fossils. To be honest, my purpose for coming this time is also the Ancient Tree Fossils," Zhou Leng said.

Jax hesitated for a moment, then nodded forcefully, "The benefits you gave me are more than what Aiden gave. Cooperating with you, I'm not at a loss. Rest assured, I'll take care of it right away."

After speaking, he smiled and asked, "Have you advanced to the Innate level? Your aura is extraordinary. I know Miller, we met once when he returned to the Eagle Alliance."

Zhou Leng thought to himself, no wonder his attitude was so respectful this time, he must have guessed his strength.

"Miller was careless at the time, so I handled it. In a regular fight, he wouldn't have lost that badly."

"If you say so, it is."

Jax still remembered Miller's expression when talking about that event — both terrified and confused.

More unsettling than pure fear.

Miller was truly the first in the young generation of the Eagle Alliance, once dominating the North-South Eagle Alliance's Top Ten Martial Arts, competing against Li Shenkong in those years.

In the end, he was knocked to the ground by Zhou Leng's palm and couldn't get up.

The Eagle Alliance media tacitly agreed not to spread this incident.

Both countries were the same; any major news disadvantageous to their side would be blocked as much as possible to minimize dissemination.

"Recently, a friend sent me some Star Conches. If you don't mind, accept them, and help me out when you can in the future."

Jax said this and handed over an acrylic transparent box, containing forty Star Conches in two layers.

In the morning light, they shone brightly.

"You've been thoughtful. Let's maintain mutual support in the future," Zhou Leng accepted them unceremoniously.

"Definitely."

The two walked back, exchanged a few words, and then parted ways.

Zhou Leng took a few steps, suddenly stopped, and turned back to shout, "Wait."

Everyone stopped in unison, and Jax and Tu Rong returned nervously.

Zhou Leng did not look at the two of them, separated some people in the group, and looked towards an ordinary-looking young man among them.

"You should know me, right?"

Zhou Leng looked at the person.

As an Innate Martial Artist, the combined perceptual abilities like vision, intuition, and instinct are extremely strong.

When so many people gather together, at the first meeting, everyone's behavior is very similar. Those who haven't met before are puzzled, and those who have met are respectful.

Only this person actually hid secretly.

And did so twice.

Even if Zhou Leng didn't notice at first, he noticed this person's difference the second time.

Zhou Leng looked at this person, vaguely feeling that he had seen him somewhere, but really couldn't remember, likely from a long time ago.

Recent encounters with people would definitely be remembered.

"Brother Leng, this person's name is Limp Qiu, he used to work under Tian Wenhua. Do you know him?" Tu Rong asked nervously, afraid of provoking Zhou Leng.

When he saw Zhou Leng's Martial Arts Index was 11, he understood that he and Zhou Leng were no longer on the same level.

"This person's behavior is off; I always feel like I've seen him somewhere. You tell me," Zhou Leng looked at Limp Qiu.

Limp Qiu said with a bitter face, "Brother Leng, Lord Leng, back then you didn't suffer, it was me who did. You wouldn't really mind a small fly like me, right?"

Zhou Leng looked at the face, remembering slowly, "Brother Qiu, is it? I remember now, probably around fifth grade in elementary school. That time Rucheng was quite chaotic. You bullied classmates in our class, and we joined forces to fight back. Later, we met alone, exchanged a few words, you were scared, and I was scared too, so there was no fight. Then you said you would find people to block me at school, right?"

Limp Qiu pulled up his right pant leg, revealing a red-brown scar.

"Brother Leng, back then I was going to find people to block you, but you then had Zhang Xinglie lead people to beat us up. The scar I have now was from that time. I submitted immediately, and these years, I haven't caused trouble for you or Zhang Xinglie. Now that you're an Innate Grandmaster, just treat my past actions like a fart and let it go."

"Zhang Xinglie? Wasn't it around autumn of that year, probably October, just after the National Day?"

"Yes, exactly around that time."

Zhou Leng sighed and said, "He never mentioned it to me, I'm only learning about it now. But I remember, during that period he got injured. It was not severe, but not light either. Before then, when he got injured, he would always boast to me about who he fought and what techniques he used to win, but he didn't say a word that time, so it stuck with me. Instead, after you threatened me, I never saw you again and forgot about it."

Limp Qiu said, "At that time, he was not that strong, but we still couldn't beat him. He was too fierce. I was scared of him, didn't dare to cause trouble. Brother Leng, I was just in middle school then, naive, and now I'm just making a living. Last year when you beat Ni San at the Ghost Market, Brother Hu... No, Tian Wenhua sent people to investigate your home, and I didn't get involved."

"How did Zhang Xinglie know you wanted to block me?" Zhou Leng asked.

Limp Qiu thought for a moment and said, "If you didn't mention it to him, then probably when we were planning to block you, he or a friend overheard us. Because before blocking someone, we would gather and chat in front of small restaurants or supermarkets, and your name was mentioned. At that time, everyone was active in that area, lots of people and talk, it's normal to be overheard."

The people present were mostly from Rucheng, and many had heard of Zhang Xinglie, all of whom marveled at his loyalty.

Zhou Leng looked at Tu Rong and asked, "What's this person like?"

"Very honest."

Zhou Leng was taken aback for a moment and looked at Limp Qiu.

The Brother Qiu from back then had some fame in the area, quite proud and vigorous, but now, he appeared humble and low-key, not too old yet weathered by life's hardships.

Time has smoothed out all sharp edges.

"You bullied so many people back then, did anyone come looking for you later on?"

"Yes, they did, and I acknowledged it," Limp Qiu said with his head down.

Everyone looked at him, vaguely guessing what he had gone through over the years.

"What about those gangsters you hung around with back then, what's going on with them now?"

"Aside from a lucky few who make us envious, most are about the same, not going anywhere fast."

"I remember someone named Ma Tian, he was a big deal back then. What happened to him later?"

"He was tougher than me back then, but later his Dantian was abolished. He opened a small shop. Saw him last year, and now... he's actually doing quite well."

"There was also a guy called Old San, a pretty big guy, very tough."

"Got caught for a crime, sentenced to death," Limp Qiu said.

Zhou Leng asked about several famous thugs from back in the day, finding that except for one or two who made a name for themselves, half faded into obscurity and the other half ended up in dire straits.

"Try to be a decent person."

With that, Zhou Leng turned and left.

Things from long ago, let them stay in the past. Next time he meets Zhang Xinglie, he'll chat about it.

After Zhou Leng left, Tu Rong smiled at Limp Qiu and said, "Brother Qiu, you were quite something, daring to fight an Innate when he was a kid?"

Everyone laughed, and Limp Qiu could only give a wry smile.

Jax asked, "When did Tian Wenhua investigate Zhou Leng?"

Limp Qiu recounted the story, saying those four went to Zhou Leng's house, but were promptly dealt with by a neighbor across the street, which then led to a wagered duel.

After hearing this, Jax and Tu Rong exchanged a glance; Limp Qiu's eyes had flickered while he spoke, clearly hiding something.

The two of them took Limp Qiu to a deserted place.

Jax gave a look, and Tu Rong understood, saying, "Spill it, what else are you hiding about this?"

Limp Qiu helplessly said, "Actually, I'm not hiding anything major, just afraid Brother Leng doesn't want people to know."

Jax said, "You've seen our relationship with Brother Leng, we're not outsiders, go ahead and tell us."

"When they were investigating Zhou Leng, they entered his house and found a photo, then took a picture of it. Later, when they were chatting in the group, a photo was sent around, and I saved it at the time. I'll look for it now. Once you see it, you'll understand."

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