The man was no stranger. Having lived in Peach Blossom Alley for many years, his neighbors all knew his name.

Zhou Gouqi.

A name that sounded as if it belonged to someone frail.[1]

In earlier years, he indeed gave off an impression of frailty.

But as time passed, the neighbors began to notice to their surprise that the man living in the small courtyard at the end of the alley had inexplicably become much more steadfast compared to before.

Even the ill-tempered woman from before had now grown significantly gentler.

However, Zhou Gouqi had never been a frail man, just as he had never truly been called Zhou Gouqi before.

Many years ago, his name was Zhou Xianshan.

Back then, he was the legitimate son of the Zhou Family in the Divine Capital, a favored disciple of the academy’s dean, and one of the most brilliant figures of his generation of scholars.

Had it not been for that past incident, this young man before him would have had limitless prospects.

But circumstances change with the passing of time.

Time had passed indeed!

Thinking of this, Zhou Gouqi’s eyes brimmed with nostalgia for the past. As he had said himself, once he had been a bookish scholar with no strength to truss a chicken. Now, though he could no longer call himself a scholar, he was certainly no longer weak.

Snapping back to the present, Zhou Gouqi reached out and lightly rolled up his sleeves. The qi coursing through his body erupted outward, sending tremors through the surrounding black tiles.

That qi had been hidden within Zhou Gouqi for countless years, just like the suppressed spirit buried in his heart for many years.

There was a saying about mythical birds lying dormant for three years. Yet Zhou Gouqi had been in seclusion for far more than three years.

And that qi was also hidden for more than three years.

Zhou Gouqi exhaled slowly, and above the small courtyard, winds and clouds surged. Waves of qi spread outward layer by layer, like a wind risi

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