Annihilation

"The Five Tigers Gang in town is gone!"

"Jiao Darong tried to trick you, junior brother, into joining the Five Tigers Gang before. He really wanted to drag you down with him even as he was dying. What a malicious person."

"It's a good thing you didn't get involved with them. Otherwise, you might have been affected too."

Zhao Cheng said this as he approached Shi Yi, who was training in the backyard of the Anyang Martial Arts School.

He had already learned about the major events of last night from his father.

To be honest, he truly hadn't expected things to turn out this way.

The three major gangs in Anyuan Town had been feuding for many years, constantly clashing. Each could only gain the upper hand for a short period before being overtaken by another gang. This situation had persisted for many years, with no single faction dominating.

Zhao Cheng had lived in Anyuan Town for years and had grown accustomed to this dynamic. He never expected that upon waking up this morning, his father would inform him that the Five Tigers Gang had been wiped out!

Knowing this, he came to the martial arts school. When he went to the backyard pavilion, he saw someone with the School Master Lu Feng, so he came over to tell Shi Yi about it.

Because of what happened to his Ninth Senior Brother Ding Yu years ago, he had a strong dislike for the Five Tigers Gang.

Especially that Jiao Darong, who dared to poach disciples while he was taking Shi Yi on a mission. He clearly didn't respect Zhao Cheng at all.

"The leader of the Five Tigers Gang and their members are all gone?"

Shi Yi was also a bit surprised by the news.

From what he saw last night, he knew the Five Tigers Gang was being targeted. Otherwise, Jiao Darong wouldn't have been so heavily injured that he had to flee for his life.

He just hadn't expected it to reach this extent.

"The leader of the Five Tigers Gang, Shangguan Hu, is dead. Most of the members are also dead. There will be no more Five Tigers Gang in Anyuan Town; they've been completely annihilated!"

Zhao Cheng elaborated in detail.

While this event seemed significant, to him, it was just idle gossip, a way to pass the time. Regardless of what happened, it wouldn't affect him.

"Junior brother, was the flesh and blood of the Silver Wolf Spirit delicious?"

Zhao Cheng changed the subject, bringing up the Silver Wolf Spirit's flesh and blood.

After he excitedly returned yesterday, he had someone cook a small portion. The taste still made his mouth water.

"It was very delicious. Even a small piece contained so much vital energy, far superior to beef."

Shi Yi nodded.

The flesh and blood of the Oddity had given him a great surprise.

If he had the chance in the future, he would naturally seek to obtain such flesh and blood again.

Shi Yi had actually considered the idea of breeding them, but raising Oddities required too many preparations.

Even with the Hundred-Year Stone Milk, successfully cultivating them wouldn't be a quick process.

Looking at the traces in the Silver Wolf Spirit's lair, it likely took a very long time for the Silver Wolf Spirit to evolve into an Oddity.

Therefore, for Shi Yi at the moment, breeding was still a distant prospect.

"The flesh and blood of Oddities are incomparable to ordinary wild beast meat; they're on a completely different level."

"It's also because Anyuan Town isn't large, and there are no continuous mountain ranges nearby. Otherwise, there would be many more Oddities hidden in those deep mountains."

"The scions of great clans have people dedicated to hunting Oddities for them from a young age. They use the flesh and blood of Oddities to temper their bodies and build their foundation, making their physique far surpass that of ordinary people. They begin cultivating the Martial Path at twelve years old, practicing top-tier cultivation techniques, guided by powerful individuals, and aided by various medicinal supplements. Their cultivation progress is terrifyingly fast."

"At a young age, they are already masters at the Bone-Refining Martial Master level, possessing formidable combat strength."

Zhao Cheng paused when he said this, then continued.

"A while ago, the Buddhist Treasure was stolen. The person who stole it was a young expert from the Kongkong Sect, and the task of retrieving the Buddhist Treasure was assigned to a young Gold Constable from the Divine Constable Bureau."

"Both of them are not very old, yet they are already Bone-Refining Martial Masters, even stronger than our Master."

"These people must have consumed a lot of Oddity flesh and blood since childhood to reach this level!"

He had learned about the stolen Buddhist Treasure a few days after the people from the Divine Constable Bureau left.

This was because some information was no longer a secret and had already spread.

He spoke of this now, feeling quite emotional.

Those two were around his age, but their strength and cultivation realms were on entirely different levels.

Above the Flesh and Blood Realm Martial Student, there was the Muscle and Tendon Realm Martial Warrior, and then the Bone Refining Realm Martial Master.

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

His Master, Lu Feng, had been stuck at the Muscle and Tendon Realm Martial Warrior level for a long time; this was a clear demonstration.

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

Shi Yi mused, lost in thought.

He had witnessed their confrontation on the Dan River before. Not only did they possess powerful martial arts, but they also wielded Daoist Magic, making them far more formidable than Zhao Cheng described.

People like them were likely nurtured with all sorts of cultivation resources from birth, or perhaps even in the womb. They had a head start from the moment they were conceived.

It was incredibly difficult for ordinary people to catch up.

With so many resources poured into them, how could mere effort bridge the gap?

Shi Yi knew this, but his mindset hadn't changed at all. Having mastered two worlds, he was bound to possess abundant cultivation resources.

Just because he was a step behind now didn't mean he would always be.

He would close that gap bit by bit, then surpass them, and chase further ahead.

Those who were a step ahead of him were merely short-term goals.

"But it's fine for now. We, as fellow disciples, have also consumed the Oddity flesh and blood. Once we digest all of this Oddity flesh and blood and convert it into cultivation, we might be able to catch up to them."

Zhao Cheng changed the subject, his expression returning to normal, and he began to comfort Shi Yi.

It was as if he, not Shi Yi, had been the one lamenting just moments ago.

"Senior Brother is right."

"We'll catch up slowly."

Shi Yi smiled upon hearing this.

Zhao Cheng's mindset truly didn't require his comfort.

"I should go check the stone cave on Mount Jiuhua tonight!"

Shi Yi thought about his plans for the evening.

This was his original plan, and there was no need to postpone it further.

Cultivation resources should serve cultivation, not interfere with daily practice.

"Junior Brother, focus on your cultivation and accumulate enough in the Blood Essence Realm as soon as possible. I'll go see Master first."

Seeing someone emerge from Lu Feng's place, Zhao Cheng said to Shi Yi before heading towards the backyard pavilion.

He would report the destruction of the Five Tigers Gang to Lu Feng as usual. Even if Lu Feng might have already known through other channels, this was something he customarily did.

He informed Lu Feng of any major events in town, a directive from his father.

In his father's words, after he became a disciple of the Anyang Martial Arts School's School Master, their interests were intertwined.

As for Lu Feng, while diligently teaching him martial arts, he also provided him with some excellent missions.

Take the previous Divine Constable Bureau mission, for example. If the Silver Wolf Spirit hadn't appeared, that mission would have been purely a public-facing one, very beneficial for Zhao Cheng.

After the Silver Wolf Spirit incident, although there was some danger, a portion of the final benefits also fell into Zhao Cheng's hands; it wasn't without reward.