Annihilation

"The Five Tigers Gang in town is gone!"

"Jiao Darong even tried to sweet-talk you into joining the Five Tigers Gang before. Even at death's door, he wanted to drag you down with him. That man was rotten to the core."

"Good thing you never got involved with them, Junior Brother. Otherwise, you might have been caught up in it as well."

When Zhao Cheng saw Shi Yi cultivating in the rear courtyard of the Anyang Martial Arts School, he walked over and said this.

He had already learned of the major events from the previous night through his father.

To be honest, he truly had not expected things to end this way.

The three major gangs of Anyuan Town had fought for many years. They had always traded blows, with one side only gaining the upper hand for a short while before another gang took it back. This state of affairs had persisted for years, and there had never been a situation where one side stood alone above all others.

Zhao Cheng had lived in Anyuan Town for many years and had long grown accustomed to such changes. Yet when he woke up this morning, his father informed him that the Five Tigers Gang had been destroyed!

After learning of this, he came to the martial arts school. When he headed toward the rear courtyard pavilion and saw that someone was with School Master Lu Feng, he came over to tell Shi Yi about it.

Because of what had happened to Ninth Senior Brother Ding Yu back then, he had always found the Five Tigers Gang deeply unpleasant.

Especially that Jiao Darong. He had actually dared to poach Shi Yi while Zhao Cheng was taking him on a mission, showing absolutely no regard for Zhao Cheng.

"The Five Tigers Gang's Gang Leader and members are all gone?"

Shi Yi was also somewhat surprised when he heard this.

From what he had seen last night, he knew the Five Tigers Gang had been targeted. Otherwise, Jiao Darong would not have fled for his life with such severe injuries.

He simply had not expected matters to reach this extent.

"The Five Tigers Gang's Gang Leader, Shangguan Hu, is already dead. Those gang members are basically dead as well. From now on, there will be no Five Tigers Gang in Anyuan Town. It has been utterly wiped out!"

Zhao Cheng explained in detail.

This matter looked significant, but to him, it was merely idle talk to pass the time. No matter what happened, it would not affect him.

"Junior Brother, that Silver Wolf Spirit flesh and blood was delicious, wasn't it?"

Zhao Cheng changed the subject and brought up the Silver Wolf Spirit flesh and blood.

After returning excitedly yesterday, he had immediately had someone cook a small portion. Even now, the taste made him unable to stop reminiscing.

"It was delicious. A small piece contained a great deal of vital essence, far surpassing beef."

Shi Yi nodded.

Oddity flesh and blood had given him a tremendous surprise.

If he had the opportunity in the future, he would naturally continue acquiring this kind of flesh and blood.

The thought of raising them had actually crossed Shi Yi's mind, but cultivating an Oddity required far too many preparations.

Even with Hundred-Year Stone Milk, successfully raising one was not something that could be done in a short time.

From the traces within the Silver Wolf Spirit's nest, he could tell that it had likely taken a very long time for the Silver Wolf Spirit to transform into an Oddity.

Therefore, for the current Shi Yi, raising them was still somewhat distant.

"Oddity flesh and blood simply cannot be compared to the meat of ordinary wild beasts. They are not on the same level at all."

"It is also because Anyuan Town is not large, and there are no endless mountain ranges nearby. Otherwise, those deep mountains would hide far more Oddities."

"Children of those great clans have people specially hunt Oddities for them from childhood. They use Oddity flesh and blood to nourish their bodies and establish their foundations, giving them physiques far beyond ordinary people. They begin practicing martial arts at twelve, cultivate the finest techniques, receive guidance from experts, and use all kinds of medicines to aid their cultivation. Their progress is terrifying."

"At such young ages, they are already experts at the Bone-Refining Martial Master level, with exceptionally formidable combat strength."

At this point, Zhao Cheng paused before continuing.

"Some time ago, wasn't that Buddhist treasure stolen? The person who stole it was a young expert from the Kongkong Sect, while the mission to recover it was assigned to a young Gold Constable from the Divine Constable Bureau."

"Neither of them is very old, yet both are already Bone-Refining Martial Master experts, stronger even than our master."

"Those people must have eaten a great deal of Oddity flesh and blood since childhood to reach this point!"

Several days after the people from the Divine Constable Bureau had departed, he had also learned some details about the stolen Buddhist treasure.

By then, some of the news was no longer secret and had already spread.

Speaking of it now, he could not help feeling deeply moved.

Those two were around his age, yet their strength and realms were simply not on the same level.

Above a Flesh and Blood Realm Martial Scholar was a Muscle and Tendon Realm Martial Warrior, and only after that came a Bone Refining Realm Martial Master.

Upon reaching the Martial Master level, one's strength would undergo a qualitative transformation, and the bottleneck at this stage was even harder to break through.

His master, Lu Feng, had been trapped at the Muscle and Tendon Realm Martial Warrior stage for a long time. That was proof enough.

"They must have eaten a great deal of Oddity flesh and blood!"

Shi Yi fell thoughtful upon hearing this.

He had personally witnessed the two clash upon the Dan River. Not only did they possess formidable martial arts, but they had also mastered Daoist arts. They were far more impressive than Zhao Cheng had described.

People like them had probably been raised with all kinds of cultivation resources from the moment they were born—or perhaps even while still in their mothers' wombs. One could say they had been one step ahead of others before they were even born.

For ordinary people to catch up to them was immensely difficult.

With so many resources piled upon them, how could others possibly catch up through hard work alone?

Shi Yi understood all this, but his mindset did not change in the slightest. With two worlds in his grasp, he would certainly possess abundant cultivation resources.

Being one step slower now did not mean he would remain slower in the future.

He would gradually close those gaps, then surpass them, chasing toward even greater heights ahead.

Those people who were one step ahead of him were merely his short-term goals.

"But things are still all right now. You and I, Martial Brothers, have also eaten Oddity flesh and blood. Once we fully digest it and turn it into cultivation, we may be able to catch up to them."

Zhao Cheng changed the subject again, his expression returning to normal as he instead began comforting Shi Yi.

It was as though Shi Yi, rather than he, had been the one sighing with emotion just now.

"Senior Brother is right."

"We'll catch up slowly."

Shi Yi smiled upon hearing this.

With Zhao Cheng's mindset, he truly had no need for Shi Yi's comfort.

Tonight, I should go take a look at the stone cave on Mount Jiuhua!

Shi Yi considered his plans for the night.

That had been his original arrangement, and there was no need to delay it any longer.

Cultivation resources ought to serve cultivation, rather than disrupt his daily practice.

"Junior Brother, cultivate properly and complete your Blood Essence Realm accumulation as soon as possible. I'll go see Master first."

After Zhao Cheng saw someone leave Lu Feng's side, he spoke to Shi Yi and headed toward the rear courtyard pavilion.

As usual, he would tell Lu Feng about the destruction of the Five Tigers Gang. Even if Lu Feng might have already learned about it through other channels, this was something Zhao Cheng normally did.

Whenever anything significant happened in town, he would report it. This was also at his father's instruction.

In his father's words, once he became a disciple of the Anyang Martial Arts School's School Master, their interests would be bound together.

As for Lu Feng, while he earnestly taught Zhao Cheng martial arts, he would also give him some worthwhile missions.

Like the earlier mission from the Divine Constable Bureau—if the Silver Wolf Spirit had not appeared, it would have been entirely a mission for Zhao Cheng to make a name for himself, and would have greatly benefited him.

After the Silver Wolf Spirit incident arose, there had been some danger, but in the end, part of the benefits had still fallen into Zhao Cheng's hands. It was not as though he had gained nothing.