Origins

In the darkness, two burly men traded blows with a dull thudding sound. It looked fierce, but Lu Shan only felt that every punch and kick was obstructed, as if every single move was anticipated by his opponent.

Li Qi seemed able to predict the future, always intercepting his techniques mid-stroke, preventing him from landing a full blow!

His martial skills couldn't take effect, his strength was inferior, and he couldn't even break through the other's skin. With such disadvantages, Lu Shan was quickly defeated, his arms broken by Li Qi and his ankles stomped flat.

Around them, besides Li Qi and Lu Shan, there was no one else left.

"Whew..." Li Qi wiped the mixture of blood and sweat from his head, feeling a bit nauseous.

It wasn't because of the killing. He had no particular feeling about killing—neither excitement nor special disgust. But to put on a ferocious look and scare off those boatmen, he had bitten into several pieces of raw meat, and the rank taste in his mouth made him queasy.

On top of that, he had taken several heavy hits. Even with the thick skin from the Ox-Strength Technique, his internal organs were shaken and his skin had split. The injuries weren't severe, but they certainly weren't light either.

If those twenty-odd boatmen had been willing to risk their lives and form a formation to surround him, he might really have ended up dead here.

Fortunately, even with some degree of training, a mob of rabble was still a mob of rabble.

"Shan Dazhuang, you've really screwed yourself this time. How about it, convinced or not?" Li Qi sat down, maintaining the Ox-Strength Technique, and spoke to Lu Shan.

"Ptoo!" Lu Shan spat, but his hands and feet ached so badly that even the spittle was feeble, not even flying half a meter before landing on his own stomach.

"Li Qi, you cunning bastard! There's no way I'll ever be convinced!" he cursed loudly.

"But, a loss is a loss, and I accept that. You've killed so many people, yet you alone refuse to kill me. You've broken my limbs. I'm telling you, if you think you can humiliate me, dream on!" He struggled, shouting at Li Qi.

"Enough. I'm not sick. Who wants to humiliate you?" Li Qi shook his head. Why would he bother humiliating Lu Shan?

He kept him alive only because he had a few questions.

"You're crippled now. Answer a few of my questions, and I'll let you go so you don't die here. You've been a gang leader for a long time; you must have some savings. Go back and recover. Sure, you'll be a cripple, can't use your hands, but you won't starve to death. How about it? Deal?" Li Qi said bluntly.

"You and I both know that even though we've been fighting for so long, we've both kept our word. I'm not about to trick you now. So? Willing?" Li Qi sat beside him and said.

"What do you want to ask?" Lu Shan's vigilance hadn't completely faded, but his tone had softened a bit.

"You're definitely not a boatman. Where are you from?" Li Qi asked first.

"Heh. And you say that as if you are a boatman?" Lu Shan sneered, laboriously shifting his body to lean his back against a rock. "Pot calling the kettle black. You showed up out of nowhere three years ago, dressed strangely, completely weak, with not a trace of any cultivation method. I'd say someone shattered your Three Innate Treasures and dumped you in Li Prefecture, right?"

Li Qi's expression tightened sharply at the sudden mention of this unfamiliar term.

He knew his gamble had paid off.

But now wasn't the time to show weakness, so Li Qi shook his head. "Why do you need to ask so much about my affairs? I'm the one asking questions now."

"Heh." Lu Shan gave a cold laugh but didn't press further.

"You still haven't answered me. Where are you from?" Li Qi pressed.

"Song Kingdom. A deserter." Lu Shan answered impatiently. "Back when Song was being attacked by Tang, the whole kingdom fell. The generals didn't dare fight, the soldiers didn't dare advance. So I ran, following the Li River all the way to Li Prefecture."

Li Qi suddenly understood.

So that was it. That explained everything.

The military style, the battle formations that relied on morale—those must have been things Lu Shan learned in the army.

But thinking about it, something still seemed off?

"No. If you're a deserter from Song, with your skill level, how could those two boatman gangs have ever competed with you? Shouldn't you have swallowed them up long ago? Take your formation today, plus your martial arts—shouldn't you have won already?" Li Qi frowned.

"You think I didn't want to? If it weren't for you, the Wave-Pushing Gang and the Water-Horse Gang would have been mine long ago!" Lu Shan glared. "The Mighty Gang is the youngest gang. I came here six years ago with nothing, built the Mighty Gang with my own hands. My technique is the basic strength-training method of the Song army's lower ranks. Practicing it also trains formation tactics. I endured for four years and finally saw results—then you showed up, forcing me to keep building up strength."

The more Lu Shan spoke, the angrier he got. "If it weren't for you, I would have been in charge here two years ago!"

Li Qi thought about it carefully.

It was true!

When he first arrived here, the Mighty Gang was constantly encroaching on the other two gangs. But back then, to protect himself, he came up with a strategy of alliances, joining with the Water-Horse Gang to fend off several attacks, and using the terrain to leverage the Wave-Pushing Gang's aquatic techniques to hold off the Mighty Gang multiple times.

After that, Lu Shan must have realized he couldn't easily win with his current strength, so he hid his formation, saving it as a trump card?

So when he finally got his hands on a technique, he didn't hesitate to launch his plan.

He just never expected Li Qi to learn the Ox-Strength Technique in a single day and quickly plan a counterattack.

Thinking about it this way... Lu Shan was kind of unlucky.

But if he weren't unlucky... then the unlucky one would be Li Qi himself.

"And your formation—" Li Qi tried again.

"Dream on! Even if you kill me right here, I will never teach you!" Lu Shan roared, reacting violently.

Understandable. In this world, techniques like that were never passed on, not even under threat of death. Unless you joined an organization and proved your loyalty, established a master-disciple relationship, or made an equal exchange, getting your hands on another's technique was nearly impossible.

Look at the Water-Horse Gang and the Wave-Pushing Gang—they were practically being forced to extinction, but neither side had traded techniques.

To them, they'd rather be wiped out than pass on their secrets.

"Ah, fine then. You're already crippled. After today, the Mighty Gang's morale will probably scatter completely. So, take care of yourself." Li Qi said.

Then he stood up and stomped Lu Shan's head to pieces.

Let him live?

As if. This man was clearly ambitious. Even crippled, he couldn't be trusted! If he really let him go, what if he came back for revenge?

Li Qi kept his word most of the time, but that didn't mean he'd pay for his integrity with his own life.

With the threat eliminated, it was time to go back and figure out how to deal with the authorities.