Military Aristocratic Family

"Big Brother, now isn't the time to be angry. Losing Zhao Yong is a small matter; he didn't know our true background. The key is that we've angered the local Garrison Commander. That will likely cause some trouble for our operations going forward."

A tall, lean man grabbed the agitated Luo Gang and reminded him.

His name was Yang Hua. He was Luo Gang's other right-hand man within the gang, and by status, he could be considered the gang's second-in-command.

He was also the only one in the gang who could speak with Luo Gang so freely and discuss major matters with him.

Luo Gang's chest heaved violently. Only after a moment did the fury in his eyes subside somewhat, turning cold and sinister.

"Contact headquarters. Tell them there's been a minor situation here. We'll lie low for now and suspend all operations."

"Alright." Yang Hua nodded. He also knew that the situation had become troublesome. During the period they were under the Garrison Commander's watch, they had to be exceedingly careful.

"That idiot Zhao Yong! I repeatedly warned him not to do anything over the line. Hmph, he brought down a few martial arts gyms and thought himself invincible under heaven. So brazen and reckless—he simply didn't know how the word 'death' was written!"

Luo Gang still could not swallow his anger and continued to roar.

Yang Hua sighed inwardly as well and said softly, "Zhao Yong's death is no great loss. It's good that he was taken out now, lest he ruin the Superiors' great plans someday.

But what should we do about that Shadowless Fist Gym?"

Luo Gang rubbed his fingertips together and said slowly, "That Sun Chengshan has maintained a trading relationship with that Garrison Commander for over a year. You could say he has already made contact with him. That Garrison Commander is his backer, so we can't touch him again.

For now, our first-stage expansion of local manpower has been completed. Once the matter with Zhao Yong blows over, headquarters will send people to carry out the next phase of work. We just need to wait."

The two spoke in great secrecy. After discussing some more unknown details, they finally went their separate ways.

Before long, word spread that the Secret Deer Gang's leader had been summoned by the Security Bureau for a talk.

He was not released until the following day.

From then on, the Secret Deer Gang became exceedingly low-profile, vanishing from the public eye without a sound.

Two more days passed, and joyful news spread.

Sun Chengshan, the master of Shadowless Fist Gym, had successfully advanced to the Body Tempering Sixth Level. From then on, he had entered the first tier of Island Town 732's Martial Realm. For a time, Shadowless Fist Gym was unrivaled in prominence.

Once the news spread, disciples coming to enroll and study martial arts arrived in an endless stream.

This made Song Hezheng even busier than usual.

Many merchants from the town, as well as masters from other martial arts gyms, even came one after another to offer their congratulations.

At this point, how could they still resist Sun Chengshan or call him an outsider? They could hardly curry favor with him fast enough.

Even the director of the Security Bureau had Zhou Dalong deliver a gift on his behalf.

That connection alone was enough to show Sun Chengshan's current standing in Island Town 732.

He might not have been someone who could shake the world with a single step, but he was at least a notable figure.

Sun Chengshan himself was naturally beaming with joy. His long-cherished wish of many years had finally borne fruit.

After more than twenty years of bitter cultivation, he had mastered his fist art's highest realm: the Shadowless Ghost Hand.

Only he himself knew the length and hardship of that journey.

The joyful atmosphere continued until half a month later, when the Purple Coal Vein was completely mined out.

After the last batch of Purple Coal Stone was sold, Wang Yu also received his final share.

A full fifty thousand Crystal Coins.

As they watched the workers steadily fill in the excavated mine tunnels, the temporary structures inside and outside the mining site were also being dismantled.

Sun Chengshan suddenly sighed. "To be able to break through so quickly this time, I truly have this mine vein's profits to thank.

Otherwise, relying solely on the gym's income, it would probably have taken another three to five years."

Practicing martial arts meant spending money.

Meng Lao Er, standing beside him, was even more moved. With a smile, he said, "The fate of my entire life was changed by this mine vein. If anyone should be grateful, it ought to be me."

The turns of life were just that wondrous.

They could let a destitute man rise with the wind in an instant and set him upon an utterly different path for the rest of his life.

Both men were filled with their own reflections.

Wang Yu, however, was much calmer inside. He had no particular thoughts and simply stood silently to the side.

"Speaking of which, although this breakthrough in cultivation fulfilled my wish, I don't seem to be as overjoyed as I imagined I would be."

Near the end, Sun Chengshan suddenly muttered this and glanced sideways at Wang Yu.

When a disciple reached the pinnacle before his Master and brought his art to perfection, any old master who arrived there afterward would feel that something was lacking.

After all, he had already witnessed the true Shadowless Ghost Hand in Wang Yu. The novelty was gone, and so was much of the sense of accomplishment.

There was nothing he could do about it. His disciple was simply too outstanding.

How could Wang Yu fail to sense the faint resentment Sun Chengshan was giving off toward him? He immediately changed the subject.

"Master, now that we've both reached the Body Tempering Sixth Level, as you said, if we want to advance further, we must master the Blood Burning Method.

But where can we learn the Blood Burning Method?"

This was a question that had been troubling him lately.

The Shadowless Fist Body Tempering Method had already been cultivated to its limit. If he wanted to advance his cultivation further, he had to master an authentic Blood Burning Method.

That was the key to advancing into the Blood Burning Realm.

Unfortunately, ordinary Body Tempering Methods were easy to obtain, but Blood Burning Methods were exceedingly difficult to find.

At least in this remote Island Town 732, Wang Yu had not even caught a glimpse of one.

Many local Martial Artists who liked to shut themselves away and build carts behind closed doors knew only of Body Tempering Methods and believed that was the entirety of cultivation.

They had never even heard of the so-called Blood Burning Realm or Blood Burning Methods.

Under such circumstances, how could it be easy for him to learn a Blood Burning Method? There was simply no channel through which he could obtain one.

The smile on Sun Chengshan's face faded somewhat. He sighed and said, "Blood Burning Methods are incomparably precious. As far as I know, the vast majority are held by Military Aristocratic Families in various countries, as well as government Military Departments.

Some are also controlled by outside forces such as families, organizations, gangs, and chambers of commerce.

Only what remains flows onto the market, and those are generally incomplete fragments of Blood Burning Methods rather than complete versions."

Wang Yu's heart sank after hearing this, and he asked, "So if one wants to master a Blood Burning Method, the best route is still to join a faction or organization that possesses one?"

Sun Chengshan nodded. Narrowing his eyes, he said solemnly with mixed emotions, "This is precisely the key to why nations, families, and other powerful forces endure without decline.

They control the key to advancing and growing stronger, even forming a trend of monopolizing the channels of advancement. Once independent Martial Artists reach the cultivation level you and I have attained, they have no choice but to join a faction in order to gain the opportunity to cultivate a Blood Burning Method.

Take Zhou Dalong, the Security Bureau's combat captain, for example. He is an example of a civilian Martial Artist choosing to rely on the government.

Or rather, choosing to rely on the Lu Family behind the Garrison Commander!"

The Lu Family was naturally a Military Aristocratic Family of the Nanxi Empire. The Garrison Commander, Lu Pan, was one of its descendants.

With his family's support, he had come to the remote Island Town 732 to pioneer and develop it.

Sun Chengshan studied Wang Yu's expression. After spending this period of time together, he had come to understand Wang Yu's temperament to some extent.

Wang Yu had always remained cautious, even resistant, toward joining other factions.

In fact, several forces had already contacted him before, including the Lu Family represented by the Garrison Commander.

They thought highly of Wang Yu's future potential and had tried to recruit him with generous benefits.

But Wang Yu had turned them all down. Some of the recruitment terms they offered had even moved Sun Chengshan greatly—they could be said to have been full of sincerity—yet they still had not made Wang Yu choose to go.