The Chief Takes Turns

Qing He Gang's great leader, Xu Ruohai, had completely abandoned any thought of opposing Yun Shou.

In the simulation, he was someone who knew how to back down gracefully, and in reality, he was naturally no tougher than that.

After Yun Shou "blazed with brilliant light," revealing his Martial Master-level Martial Cultivation, Xu Ruohai's heart had already fully surrendered and conceded defeat.

His brain, which he rarely used for anything besides martial training, spun wildly, thinking about how to turn things around and erase the grudge between them.

Especially after hearing Yun Shou's giggles, he inwardly cried out at the absurdity.

"Young Brother Yun, don't you think there's some misunderstanding here?"

"My Qing He Gang at least provided you with a boat, and the debt we collected was only for two years—it doesn't even match the boat's worth. I'll make the call!" Xu Ruohai thumped his chest and said, "All debts are forgiven. And since this delayed you for fourteen years, I'll compensate you one hundred taels of silver per year!"

"Do I want your compensation?" Yun Shou laughed. White light burst forth as he swung a leg up, and Xu Ruohai raised his saber to block horizontally.

But he couldn't parry in time—Yun Shou's leg moved too fast. Before he could even grip his saber firmly, it was swept hard across the blade. The dozens-of-jin Boat-Slaying Saber flew off like a wooden plank, embedding itself into the ground nearby with a ch sound.

He'd put on enough of a show; now it was time to vent!

White light flickered as Yun Shou's fist slammed into Xu Ruohai's cheek, sending his two-hundred-jin body flying several zhang. Several white teeth spat from his mouth, shooting out like pellets.

Xu Ruohai's limbs flailed as his deep blue Force Qi surged desperately, but before his feet could touch the ground, Yun Shou hooked a leg out again, kicking him into the air.

Boom!

The battlefield shifted from the ground to a dozen meters in the air. Yun Shou leaped higher, descending from above to stomp down on Xu Ruohai's chest!

"Too far!" Xu Ruohai grabbed at Yun Shou's shoe, intending to drag him down together, but Yun Shou changed his stomp into a kick.

Originally, he meant to step straight onto Xu Ruohai and cripple him from the fall.

Now, he abruptly kicked him instead, making it impossible for Xu Ruohai to hold on, sending him tumbling diagonally downward.

Crash!

Xu Ruohai's burly frame smashed through the gang's gate, skidding nearly twenty meters across the ground before stopping. His clothes were shredded into rags, his skin rubbed raw but unbroken.

"Weren't you barking pretty happily with those 'dog' comments earlier?" Yun Shou stepped on empty air, using Force Qi as footholds in the midair where there was nothing to brace against, like a flying immortal crossing dozens of meters before landing and shattering the stone tiles.

"Being too invincible really does lose you some fun." Yun Shou muttered to himself as he pressed his shoe onto the gang leader's face.

"This face of yours—I've wanted to step on it for a long time."

Xu Ruohai's face twisted, but he said nothing. He shut his eyes tight and went still.

Yun Shou ground his foot a few more times.

"Too bad. The feel wasn't as good as I imagined. My youth is over."

Around them, other Qing He Gang members had gathered, but the fight had been too fast and too sudden. Only now did a few dozen people crowd in, eight of them dressed differently from the ordinary gangsters—they were the gang's headmen, Second-rate Martial Artists.

When they realized someone was fighting, they acted as if facing a great enemy.

When they saw their invincible leader had fallen, with the intruder stepping on his face, some of them had already started backing away.

What's the point of fighting this! Even a First-rate Martial Artist got beaten like a dog—who among us could handle it?

This intruder was clearly after the big shots in the gang. As long as we small-timers ran fast enough, he wouldn't bother chasing us.

Still... why was this intruder a kid?

Yun Shou swept his gaze around, noting eight Second-rate headmen and the gang leader under his foot.

He announced loudly, "Since I've come knocking at your door, it must be fate."

Qing He Gang members: "???"

Whose fate works like this?

The leader got beaten like a dog by you, and you call it fate?

Yun Shou nudged the feigning-unconscious Xu Ruohai with his foot: "Wake up. I'm not hitting you anymore. I've got a question."

Xu Ruohai's tiger-like eyes snapped wide. Just as the other gang members expected him to erupt and strike, they saw their great leader reply obediently, "What is it? Speak."

His face was calm, his tone steady, the shoe print on his cheek as if it didn't exist. The other gangsters couldn't help but feel admiration—truly worthy of being our... leader who's been beaten. Even after getting pummeled and stepped on, he still spoke with such domineering presence.

"Alright, get up. Look at the state you're in—what kind of image is that?" Yun Shou gestured for him to tidy himself up.

Xu Ruohai rose, his deep blue Force Qi sweeping the dust from his clothes. Suddenly, his face flushed red. He turned aside and spat out a mouthful of stagnant blood.

His bear-like frame wobbled as he stood, seeming on the verge of toppling like a collapsing mountain or falling pillar, but after swaying for a moment, he gradually steadied himself.

His heaviest injury came from Yun Shou's first strike—the instant impact had heavily damaged his internal organs, which were only seventy to eighty percent reinforced. Aside from that, the rest were just flesh wounds.

For a First-rate Martial Artist, at most two or three months of rest would heal it. Now, forcing himself up with Force Qi was no trouble.

Other gang members: Truly our leader—even his silent endurance of humiliation is so domineering. Even gravely wounded, he forces himself to stand. Haki Hai, you leader really gets our blood pumping!

"I'm just curious—how did you become the leader of Qing He Gang?"

Xu Ruohai said in a deep voice, "Hai joined the gang twenty-seven years ago, training in the family's Water Dragon Skill. Later, I dared to fight and take risks, earning the appreciation and guidance of the then-leader. I succeeded him ten years ago, and a few years after that, broke through to First-rate..."

"Hey, Little Hai." Yun Shou's address made Xu Ruohai's eyelid twitch, but he forced himself to endure it.

"I, Yun, have lived in this Qing He Gang since I was a child—fourteen years now. That's not a short time, is it?"

Xu Ruohai: "..."

"Even a mere Second-rate Martial Artist can stew for seventeen years and become a gang leader—oh wait, no, he's a passable First-rate Martial Artist now."

"You're saying, if someone like that can become a gang leader, then, ahem, I'm not referring to myself, just raising a hypothetical—if there happened to be a powerful Martial Master with fourteen years of seniority, could he become a gang leader?"

"Of course... he could."

Xu Ruohai spoke with great difficulty, utterly despairing.

A Young Martial Master said he wanted to take his damn seat, and before that had beaten him black and blue—what could he do?

"Then do your job well from now on." Yun Shou extended his hand.

Xu Ruohai was silent for a few seconds before he reacted, bending down.

After two pats on the shoulder, Yun Shou said with a trace of nostalgia and emotion: "Since it's decided, let's do it this way. Let the unpleasantness of before pass."

Yun Shou had no intention of traveling or exploring outside. As a Martial Master roaming the world with his martial prowess, those things could be handled by Old Yun in the Simulator.

Not to mention Zhu Baowen, that freak of "Third Step of Martial Dao" with his inflated stats, just from the information he already knew, this world had a pile of Grandmasters and Great Grandmasters above him.

For now, as a mere Martial Master, he'd just settle down and be a proper gang leader.

The rest of the gang members: As expected of the boss—he gives up the seat the moment he says so, no stubborn clinging or dithering. Truly worthy of being our old... second!