The Greenwood Sect's Ascension Token

At the entrance to the Black Tiger Gang's main hall, the enforcers who had rushed in all froze.

The man in front had his saber half-raised, but his wrist was trembling so badly he could no longer hold the blade steady.

What had they just seen?

The Black Tiger Gang's three leaders.

Two at the Late Body Tempering Realm and one at Mid-stage Body Tempering, and not one of them had lasted a single move against this young man.

The man with the bushy beard stood by the door, his ring-pommel saber drawn half an inch.

He looked down at his saber, then at the Gang Leader on the floor.

The Gang Leader's chest had caved in. Tea and blood mingled and flowed outward along the cracks between the floor tiles.

The bearded man slowly pushed his saber back into its sheath, his back bending.

Lu Ping raised his eyes and swept a calm gaze over the crowd.

[Bully at Home, activate.]

The knees of every gang member in the courtyard went weak at once.

Some clutched the doorframe, their teeth chattering faintly.

Others tried to edge backward, only to be blocked by the people behind them. They did not even dare turn around.

The enforcer at the front finally could not hold on any longer. His saber slipped from his hand and struck the floor tiles.

Clang.

The sharp crash jolted everyone in the main hall awake.

The bearded man stood by the door, his Adam's apple bobbing twice. Suddenly, he lifted the hem of his robe and dropped to one knee.

"Hu Dayou awaits your orders, Master Lu."

Immediately afterward, a second man knelt, then a third.

Soon, the dull thuds of knees striking the ground filled the doorway.

Lu Ping glanced at Hu Dayou, then walked to the seat of honor and sat down.

Lu Ping did not even move the chair, letting the Gang Leader's blood seep out beside its legs.

"Hu Dayou, close the courtyard gate."

"Yes."

Hu Dayou immediately rose, turned, and kicked the leg of an enforcer beside him.

"Didn't you hear Master Lu's order?"

The enforcer scrambled to his feet and clumsily shut the courtyard gate.

All that remained in the main hall was the smell of blood and wine, and the suppressed breathing of a roomful of people.

Lu Ping spoke as though nothing had happened.

"Who was getting ready to shoot just now?"

Several people outside the hall stiffened.

Hu Dayou understood at once. He immediately turned and roared,

"Bowmen, come out!"

No one moved.

Lu Ping said nothing more. He merely raised a hand and tapped lightly on the table.

A broken chopstick shot out, passed through the crack in the door, and struck the knee of a bowman outside the hall.

The man screamed and fell straight over the threshold.

A short crossbow hidden in his sleeve rolled out.

Immediately afterward, a second, third, and fourth chopstick flew out.

All four gang members hiding crossbows outside the hall had their knees broken and crawled into the main hall, dragging their legs.

Hu Dayou's back was soaked. How could these be the methods of a mortal? Even the so-called "plucking leaves and sending flowers flying" amounted to no more than this.

The man before him had not even shown any sign of circulating Qi.

Ignoring everyone's terror, Lu Ping kicked a length of broken saber across the floor.

The broken blade slid to Hu Dayou's feet.

Hu Dayou froze for a moment, then understood. He bent down and picked up the broken blade.

A moment later, four short screams rang out, and the main hall fell silent.

The gang members in the courtyard trembled, but not one dared make a sound.

Lu Ping tapped the table.

"Hu Dayou."

Hu Dayou threw the broken blade aside and knelt back down in his original place.

"Your orders, Master Lu."

"Seal off the news. Say that the Gang Leader has gone into seclusion to recover from his injuries, and the Second-in-Command and Third-in-Command have gone out on business."

"Yes."

Lu Ping paused, then pointed to the keys beside the three corpses.

"Also, take inventory of the storeroom."

"Bring me the account books, the storeroom keys, the Mine roster, everything behind the wall bricks in the Gang Leader's study, the iron chest under the Second-in-Command's bed, and everything in the hidden cabinet in the Third-in-Command's room."

With each item Hu Dayou heard, his heart trembled.

The wall bricks in the Gang Leader's study, beneath the Second-in-Command's bed, the Third-in-Command's hidden cabinet.

These were the three leaders' most concealed hiding places, yet Master Lu had named them all outright.

Just what was this master's background?

Hu Dayou suppressed the fear in his heart and put the keys away.

"Your subordinate will see to it at once."

An hour later, the items filled the main hall.

There were stacks upon stacks of silver notes, piles of weapons, three wooden chests filled with medicinal herbs, and several more chests of valuable ores.

There were also a few books on mortal martial arts.

Besides those, Hu Dayou personally brought over a black-lacquered wooden box.

"Master Lu, this was the box at the very back of the Gang Leader's private treasury."

Lu Ping took the key and opened the wooden box.

Inside, a single green wooden token lay quietly on yellow silk.

The token was the size of a palm and slightly cool to the touch. Two characters, "Ascension," were carved on the front.

A green tree pattern was carved on the back.

Lu Ping's gaze paused slightly.

Seeing Lu Ping stop, Hu Dayou immediately explained in a low voice.

"Master Lu, this is an Ascension Token issued by the Greenwood Sect."

"Last year, the Black Tiger Gang finally met the Greenwood Sect's quota for tribute, and the Greenwood Sect granted it as a reward."

Lu Ping rubbed the edge of the wooden token with his fingertips.

"What is this Ascension Token for?"

Hu Dayou did not dare hide anything.

"With this token, anyone whose cultivation has reached the first level of Qi Refining can go directly to the Greenwood Sect and report for entry as an Outer Sect Disciple."

At this point, his voice dropped even lower.

"Unfortunately, the Gang Leader was always stuck at the Late Body Tempering Realm."

"The Second-in-Command and Third-in-Command were a long way off too."

"So the Ascension Token has remained locked in the private treasury. No one could use it."

Looking at the Ascension Token in his hand, Lu Ping suddenly found it a little ironic.

The Black Tiger Gang mined, seized people, and delivered tribute for the Greenwood Sect.

Year after year, it sent silver, ore, and medicinal herbs up to the sect.

After all that, it had finally earned a referral slot.

Yet no one in the entire Black Tiger Gang could even meet the minimum requirement to use it.

Even more ironic was that ordinary people who went to the Greenwood Sect would simply have every last bit of value squeezed out of them.

Lu Ping turned the Ascension Token over. A faint trace of spiritual power could just be made out within the green tree pattern.

This was indeed the Greenwood Sect's sect mark.

With this token, he could save himself a good deal of trouble when he went to the Greenwood Sect.

Lu Ping tucked the Ascension Token into his robes.

He pushed the wooden box aside and began looking through the pile of martial arts manuals.

When he had fought the three leaders earlier, relying on stats and mechanics had felt great, but it had also given Lu Ping a clear view of his own shortcomings.

Lu Ping flipped through several books. They contained either ordinary fist techniques or saber techniques from the martial world.

They were of little use to a Qi Refining old ancestor.

When he reached the last book, Lu Ping's eyes lit up. "Thousand-Hand Guanyin."

It was a manual on hidden-weapon techniques.

He flipped through a few pages. The contents were very detailed.

Hidden needles, flying knives, sleeve darts, scattering powder, using the wind, switching hands.

A mortal Cultivation Method naturally could not compare with immortal cultivation Technique Methods.

Hidden-weapon techniques combined with his poison pills—Lu Ping thought there was potential there.

Lu Ping put away "Thousand-Hand Guanyin."

Hu Dayou, watching from the side, felt his heart jump again.

A big shot was a big shot. He could do everything.

Lu Ping pointed to the Mine roster.

"Bring the people from the Mine to the main courtyard."

Hu Dayou hesitated, wanting to say something, but held it back and answered respectfully,

"Yes. I'll go at once."

By the time the Mine slaves were driven into the main courtyard, the sky was completely dark.

Their clothes were tattered, their feet were covered in scabs of blood, and many could barely stand.

Some thought they were about to be picked out to fill the mine shafts again; others kept their heads down, not daring even to glance at the main hall.

Uncle Sun was among the crowd.

Leaning on a walking stick, he limped along.

Lu Ping did not show himself. Hu Dayou sat in the seat of honor.

Hu Dayou coughed, and the mine slaves immediately flinched.

Hu Dayou felt rather pleased with himself. He had never expected a day like this would come for him too.

But he immediately put those petty thoughts aside and spoke.

"By order of the Gang Leader, as of today, slave status at the Mine is abolished."

No one in the courtyard made a sound. They looked at one another, unsure what the Black Tiger Gang was up to.

A little embarrassed, Hu Dayou slapped the table.

"Didn't you hear me?"

"You're free."