Malicious Intent

Zhao Cheng cleared the path ahead. Upon noticing the activity on Shi Yi's side, he signaled the next person to take his place and walked over with a cold expression, staring at Jiao Darong of the Five Tigers Gang.

"I'm warning you, you'd better not get any closer to my junior brother. Otherwise, I think my Master wouldn't mind paying another visit to the Five Tigers Gang and personally telling your Gang Leader not to lay a hand on my junior brother."

Zhao Cheng said coldly.

The threat in his words was self-evident.

As he walked, he also paid attention to Shi Yi's situation.

Lu Feng was willing to let him bring Shi Yi out to gain experience, which was a testament to his abilities. Zhao Cheng naturally couldn't let anything happen to Shi Yi.

Seeing this, Jiao Darong pouted but dared not retort.

Zhao Cheng was not only Lu Feng's disciple but also the son of the Town Clerk, Zhao.

Zhao, the Town Clerk, not only held an official position but also had considerable cultivation in the Martial Path, being a master at the Martial Warrior level.

Therefore, Jiao Darong did not dare to provoke him.

"Junior Brother, don't get too close to these gang members."

"These people all have ill intentions."

Zhao Cheng looked at Shi Yi and said with a solemn expression.

It was rare for him to be so serious after getting to know Shi Yi.

"Senior Brother, I know."

"I can tell he has no good intentions; I was just refusing him."

Shi Yi replied earnestly.

He already had a bad impression of the Five Tigers Gang members, let alone Jiao Darong, who looked clearly malicious.

Jiao Darong thought he was hiding it well, but in Shi Yi's eyes, the man's clumsy acting was full of flaws.

"Good, I'm glad you know."

"Our Master's ninth senior brother, Ding Yu, was tricked into joining the Five Tigers Gang back then. They then forced him to undertake dangerous missions, and he eventually died in a gang brawl. When his body was sent back to the martial arts school, there wasn't a single intact part of him."

"When Master learned of this, he personally went and injured the Five Tigers Gang's Gang Leader, making these gang forces afraid to scheme against us."

"Lately, the town has been unstable, with constant gang disputes. This is why these gangs are trying to recruit people everywhere."

"Judging by the appearance of Jiao Darong of the Five Tigers Gang today, they clearly haven't changed their ways and want to scheme against you again, pulling you into their mess."

"When we get back, I'll tell Master about this."

"After we complete this mission, you should focus on cultivating at the martial arts school for a while and ignore gang matters."

Zhao Cheng recounted what had happened in the past, allowing Shi Yi to be more vigilant.

The death of Ding Yu back then involved too many schemes. The Five Tigers Gang wanted to drag the Anyang Martial Arts School down with them.

Upon learning of this, Lu Feng acted directly, forcefully breaking the deadlock.

Zhao Cheng knew that the conflict between the three major gangs in Anyuan Town had reached a boiling point. It was only after the Divine Constable Bureau appeared that things were temporarily suppressed, but that didn't mean they wouldn't make a move later.

Once the Divine Constable Bureau personnel left, the three major gangs would inevitably engage in a large-scale war.

At this time, all three major gangs were trying to recruit personnel to prepare for the upcoming battle.

This was why Jiao Darong had set his sights on Shi Yi.

This information was quickly organized in Zhao Cheng's mind. Because he knew many things and had experienced a lot over the years, he was no longer the naive young boy he once was.

He just needed to connect the dots of what he knew to draw conclusions.

"Oh, so that's what happened."

"These Five Tigers Gang members are truly malicious."

"Don't worry, Senior Brother, I don't like to wander around. If there's nothing going on, I basically just cultivate in the martial arts school."

Shi Yi nodded, finally understanding the reason.

He hadn't joined the Anyang Martial Arts School for long, so his knowledge of past events was limited.

Especially for things that happened a long time ago, it was even more difficult for him to find out.

However, learning this from Zhao Cheng now, he had a complete understanding of Jiao Darong's intentions.

Initially, Shi Yi had thought that the Five Tigers Gang members suspected him of the disappearance of Yu Daqiang and others, and that's why they had arranged for Jiao Darong to test him.

Now, it seemed he had been overthinking things!

Or perhaps, the Five Tigers Gang didn't care about the disappeared Yu Daqiang.

If one fighter died, they could just replace him with a new one.

In gangs, once someone died, no one cared anymore!

The idea of avenging a fallen brother with the entire gang was nonsense, only meant to fool those who had just joined.

"This Five Tigers Gang is too restless!"

"It seems that besides pistols, I need to prepare some firearms with stronger destructive power for self-defense."

Shi Yi had this thought pop into his mind.

Since they were all targeting him, there was a possibility of them making a move. If only they didn't have heavy firearms like rockets, he would have directly sent the Five Tigers Gang a few large rockets, and that would surely make them back down!

"Alright, just focus on your cultivation," Zhao Cheng said, nodding.

"Let's go, it'll be your turn to clear the path soon!" Zhao Cheng continued.

The order for clearing the path was based on the respective factions. Since he was the first from the Anyang Martial Arts School to start, Shi Yi would begin after everyone from the other factions had their turn. Those who only came once wouldn't need to participate in Shi Yi's round.

Basically, everyone would participate in clearing the path.

Previously, Shi Yi's group had made quite a bit of noise, attracting the attention of many, but most people pretended not to see it.

No one intervened in verbal disputes, not even the people from the Divine Constable Bureau.

At this moment, the person from the Divine Constable Bureau was still staring at the special compass in his hand.

Before long, it was Shi Yi's turn to clear the mountain path.

Clearing the mountain path with a great saber was somewhat strenuous. If Shi Yi had known beforehand that he would be clearing the path, he wouldn't have chosen to bring the great saber; he would have opted for two short swords instead.

Fortunately, after his recent cultivation, his strength, stamina, and endurance had all improved significantly. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to last long at all.

He hadn't expected that his first mission outside of Anyuan Town would be to clear a mountain path.

He had originally thought he might encounter a few foolish bandits or ferocious beasts in the mountains, in which case his great saber would have been put to good use.

Who knew it would turn out like this.

Shi Yi didn't know if his great saber was thirsty for battle, but he himself felt quite tired.

If they had used Earth's path-clearing tools, it would have definitely been more convenient and less strenuous.

Before long, someone replaced Shi Yi.

This was a long-term task, so everyone needed to conserve their energy.

In the span of the morning, everyone had finished surveying the three routes on the map.

They had encountered wild beasts in the mountains as well, but upon discovering so many people, the beasts had immediately fled.

Zhao Cheng and the others did not hunt those beasts because of the Divine Constable Bureau's mission. Although these beasts had some value, they could not interfere with the Divine Constable Bureau's mission.

Everyone participating in the mission was aware of the message Xu Tianlei had sent to the various factions yesterday, so they naturally understood the priorities.

Shi Yi's participation wasn't without its gains. At least when clearing the path, the people doing so would also collect herbs. Zhao Cheng would also explain a few things to him, letting him know the names and general functions of these medicinal herbs. This allowed Shi Yi to gain more knowledge about the herbs in this world.

Previously, he had purchased the relevant medicinal ingredients for the two prescriptions Zhao Cheng and the others had given him in Anyuan Town. He had gained some understanding, but not much, as the variety of herbs was vast, and their combinations with prescriptions made things even more complex.

Even with his eidetic memory, mastering such knowledge would still require time.

As for books on herbal medicine, he was waiting until he had a good grasp of the "Great Zhou Ten Thousand Character Text" before systematically studying them.