Planning, Breakthrough

"I didn't catch him."

Zhang Dahu watched the one-armed man, one brow slightly raised. He knew the one-armed man's strength well; there was no way he should have failed to subdue a mere youth.

"Was someone protecting him in secret?"

The one-armed man remained expressionless, one hand tucked behind his back. He lifted his chin slightly and shook his head.

"I couldn't catch up to him."

The lamplight in the room flickered uncertainly as the place fell into dead silence.

"Sorry to trouble you."

After an unknown amount of time, Zhang Dahu was the first to break the silence.

Cock-a-doodle-doo—

A resounding crow of a rooster shattered the darkness before dawn.

Ye Xiaofan woke from his cultivation. After cultivating through the night, he had finally suppressed the poison in his body once more.

The residual poison had flared up last night, causing his lifespan to plummet to a single day. Now, nourished by his qi and blood, it was slowly increasing again.

Only, the poison had grown a little stronger as well.

Lifespan: 1.1 days (moderate poisoning) (suppressed; will flare up at any time upon using qi and blood)

"One-armed man. Black Tiger Gang!"

Ye Xiaofan spat out the two names through gritted teeth. He had painstakingly cultivated the poison in his body down to mild poisoning.

Now it had become moderate again, nearly rendering all his efforts futile.

"If I don't avenge this, then from now on, I'll put three spoonfuls of sugar in every bowl of porridge I drink."

After swearing this venomous oath, Ye Xiaofan heard faint sounds of painful bliss coming from someone's morning exercise.

The atmosphere of bitter hatred instantly vanished without a trace.

"The morals of the world are declining—the morals of the world are declining indeed."

Suppressing the urge to peek, Ye Xiaofan quietly left.

By the time he returned home, the sky had already brightened.

After washing up, he put on his Demon Suppressing Guard uniform, casually packed a few clothes, and headed out.

He planned to stay at the Demon Suppression Division for a while. Unless he broke through to the Body Refinement Fourth Layer, he would never return.

After arriving at the Demon Suppression Division and checking in, he went to Logistics and requested a small courtyard. Once he had put away the clothes he carried with him, he headed straight for the archives.

He wanted to learn about the Black Tiger Gang, Zhang Dahu, and the one-armed man.

Although the Demon Suppression Division did not interfere with martial world factions, it kept records of every force in Qingyang County, as well as information on every cultivator who appeared there.

The Black Tiger Gang was an old-established force in Qingyang County. It had five halls and more than two thousand gang members. Every hall master possessed strength above the Body Refinement Fourth Layer. Five years ago, gang leader Hu Hu mysteriously disappeared and was suspected to have been killed, allowing Zhang Dahu to seize the position.

Zhang Dahu, current gang leader of the Black Tiger Gang. Suspicious by nature and fickle in temperament. Skilled in using concealed weapons. His publicly known cultivation was the Body Refinement Sixth Layer, though he was suspected to have long since broken through to the Body Refinement Seventh Layer.

One-armed man. Origins unknown, strength unknown. He arrived in Qingyang County one year ago and was suspected to be connected to the Black Tiger Gang.

Setting down the files, Ye Xiaofan knitted his brows.

If he wanted revenge, he could only proceed slowly and carefully. The Black Tiger Gang's strength exceeded his expectations.

But if he did not take revenge, his Dao heart would remain unstable.

"Once I break through to the Body Refining Third Level, I'll use the External Affairs Hall to test my hand first."

With the Mid-grade movement technique Wind God Steps mastered to perfection, Ye Xiaofan was confident that even if he could not defeat them, he could still retreat with ease.

"But the residual poison in my body is a ticking time bomb. Should I go see the old Chinese doctor again?"

No sooner thought than done, Ye Xiaofan immediately headed for the courtyard where the old Chinese doctor was staying.

The old Chinese doctor of the Demon Suppression Division, Sai Hua Tuo, had an unknown cultivation level, but his medical skills were miraculous. Even Commander Xiao treated him with great respect.

Ye Xiaofan, however, had serious doubts about that. After the original owner had been poisoned, he had gone to see him, yet the man had failed to find anything wrong.

Ye Xiaofan was only trying his luck by coming to see him now.

"Divine Doctor Sai, take a look at me, quick! I'm dying!"

Seeing Sai Hua Tuo leisurely reclining in the courtyard and drinking tea, Ye Xiaofan immediately shouted.

"Scram!"

Sai Hua Tuo glanced at Ye Xiaofan and spat out a single word.

"Really. I even coughed up blood last night. Hurry and examine me."

Ye Xiaofan walked over, sat beside him, and extended his hand.

"Coughed up blood? Could it be that something went wrong with your cultivation?"

Upon hearing Ye Xiaofan mention coughing blood, Sai Hua Tuo finally took him somewhat seriously. He reached out with a hand like a withered tree and grasped Ye Xiaofan's wrist.

The next moment, Sai Hua Tuo's expression changed.

"Get out! Have you got nothing better to do than come amuse yourself at this old man's expense?"

"No, Divine Doctor Sai, I—I really have been poisoned. Please take a good look. You wouldn't want a young genius from the Demon Suppression Division to die an early death, would you?"

"Get out!"

Sai Hua Tuo grabbed the teapot, making as if to hurl it at Ye Xiaofan.

Ye Xiaofan fled the courtyard as though running for his life.

"Who the hell poisoned me? Even the Old Chinese doctor can't detect a trace of it. This world is way too dangerous."

Ye Xiaofan was not discouraged that Sai Hua Tuo had found nothing. He had only come to try his luck.

"Forget it. As my cultivation keeps breaking through, I'll eventually purge it completely."

But he had to use his qi and blood to suppress the poison, leaving him unable to fight at full strength. It was agony.

That night, At the Black Tiger Gang's External Affairs Hall, Wang Meng was diligently plowing the Way of Meng De.

Crying, pleading, clapping, and laughter intertwined into a decadent melody.

A knock suddenly sounded outside the door.

"Hall Master, the black-robed person from last time requests an audience."

"Tell him to wait."

An impatient voice came from within.

Half an incense stick later, Inside the main hall of the branch, Sun Jiu paced back and forth anxiously, his eyes bloodshot. From time to time, he looked up toward the entrance. Beneath his clown mask, his face was deathly pale, with several faint dark-red marks still visible.

"Hall Master."

"Hall Master."

Voices came from outside. Sun Jiu's face lit up, as if he had seized a lifeline, and he hurried forward.

"Hall Master Wang, you've finally come."

"Mhm."

Wang Meng gave a perfunctory grunt, walked past Sun Jiu, and took a seat in the chair of honor.

"Speak. Why did you seek me out?"

Sun Jiu glanced at the Black Tiger Gang members who had entered alongside Wang Meng, signaling for Wang Meng to send them away.

"Spit it out. I've got things to do."

Seeing Wang Meng pretend not to notice, Sun Jiu gritted his teeth and stopped caring about secrecy.

"Hall Master Wang, when will you act on the job I hired you for? I'm in a hurry here."

How could Sun Jiu not be anxious? Today, Sun Chenyu heard that Ye Xiaofan had shown up at the Demon Suppression Division perfectly fine, and in his rage, he had Sun Jiu strung up, stripped naked, and beaten.

Now he had been given only one day. If he did not see Ye Xiaofan's head by then, he would have to offer up his own head for Sun Chenyu to kick around like a ball.

"I won't take your job."

"But you've already taken my money..."

Wang Meng leaned forward, danger gleaming in his eyes.

"Hmph. When you come to me for work, you pay whether I do it or not. Got a problem with that?"

"You—"

"See him out!"

Wang Meng shot Sun Jiu a mocking glance, rose, and left.

In the blink of an eye, three days passed.

A bright moon hung alone in the utterly bare sky.

In a secluded courtyard somewhere within the Demon Suppression Division, insects chirped without cease, while the silhouette of someone sitting cross-legged was reflected in the window.

Time slowly passed, and at some point, the insects in the courtyard fell silent.

Inside the room, Ye Xiaofan sat cross-legged on the bed. His body rumbled like war drums, and an invisible aura radiated from within him.

With every exhale, a stream of white vapor spurted from his nose and mouth.

After the time it took an incense stick to burn, No more white vapor emerged from his nose or mouth, and the turmoil within his body quieted. The insects in the courtyard began chirping again.

Ye Xiaofan slowly opened his eyes.

"Five days just to cultivate from the Body Refinement Second Layer to the Body Refining Third Level. Reaching the Body Refinement Fourth Layer will take seven days. It's getting slower and slower. My cultivation technique's rank is still too low, and the five qi-blood pills I have left won't be enough either."

Muttering to himself, Ye Xiaofan rose and threw a few punches.

The air tore with repeated blasts, like thunder exploding.

"My physical strength has already reached the limit of the Body Refining Third Level. Unfortunately, compared to the Body Refinement Fourth Layer, it's still a little short."

When cultivators broke through to the Body Refinement Fourth Layer, their bodies underwent another drastic transformation. A quantitative change in their blood and qi gave rise to a qualitative one, and their blood and qi could be projected outward to wound enemies. With a casual strike fueled by blood and qi, they could unleash the Strength of one tiger.

His body had yet to undergo its second transformation, and his blood and qi had not amassed enough for a quantitative change. Was the gap really a little—or a hundred million miles?

Before crossing hands with a Body Refinement Fourth Layer cultivator, he could not be sure.

Ye Xiaofan frowned, weighing the feasibility of ambushing the Black Tiger Gang's External Affairs Hall in light of his strength after the breakthrough.

"If the Sword Drawing Technique reached perfection, dealing with the Body Refinement Fourth Layer would be a sure thing. I'm still short on money and cultivation techniques."

At the thought of lacking money and cultivation techniques, a fierce glint flashed through Ye Xiaofan's eyes.