Level Up First If You Can't Win
Liang Qu sat on his Fist, his large arm wielding a golden sword, Wolf Hair brush flew across the pages of the book, sketching and filling in the characters.
That's roughly it...
"Are you sure you've confessed everything? Your accomplice has said far more than you have. Don't blame me for not warning you. Think it over carefully. If I had to remind you, you wouldn't be getting this treatment now!"
Liang Qu rebuked him sternly.
"No, no, no, let me think about it, let me think about it again."
Under Liang Qu's coercion, another previously unknown secret was revealed.
"Come on, put your handprint here."
Liang Qu took the man's hand, washed it in the puddle, then smeared some blood on the wound on his leg and pressed it firmly onto the page, leaving a clear and complete fingerprint.
The wound was aggravated, and the man's facial muscles spasmed in pain.
After taking the second statement, Liang Qu made his Fist keep an eye on the prisoner, then ran back to intimidate the first person.
Only after repeated confirmation can it be considered complete.
Comparing the two testimonies, aside from some irrelevant details, the general outlines are quite similar.
The Whale Gang has three Gang Leader, a dozen core members, and over two hundred ordinary members, making it the largest gang in Feng Bu County.
The strongest member of the gang is its Gang Leader, Liu Jie, who is at the peak of the Galloping Horse Realm.
Secondly, there is Liu Yi, the second Gang Leader. He is the younger brother of the Gang Leader Liu Jie. He doesn't fight much and acts as a strategist. His strength is roughly between the Galloping Horse Initial Realm.
Finally, there are the three Gang Leader, Liu Jie, and Zheng Tianfu, who grew up with Liu Yi and whose strength is around the Galloping Horse Middle Realm.
So weak.
Looking at the strength of the three Gang Leader of the Whale Gang, Liang Qu felt a strange sense of unease.
After much thought, he concluded that the root cause was the overwhelming strength of Ping Yang County, which broadened his perspective.
How could an ordinary county possibly have Hunting Tiger Martial Artist? Having even one at the Wolf Smoke Realm would be quite remarkable.
As a result, there were six Hunting Tiger Great Martial Master on the Bright Side of Ping Yang County, oh, and an Old Monk True Image Can.
Several of the Hunting Tiger even had impressive backgrounds, some being Prime Minister and others from ancient Aristocratic Clan, including many prime ministers and generals.
It's ridiculously exaggerated.
Even Liang Qu's senior brothers, including Senior Brother Xu recently broke through, all started from Fourth Senior Brother and were all Wolf Smoke Martial Master.
It can only be said that there are differences between counties.
Some counties are nominally counties, but in reality they have the power of a prefecture.
Compared to Ping Yang County Feng Bu County is a very small place.
However, as the saying goes, shallow waters have many turtles, and small temples have many demons.
Without a Sea-Stabilizing Divine Needle like Yang Dongxiong, Feng Bu County would be teeming with demons and monsters.
The story of the Whale Gang's rise to power dates back 23 years.
At that time Liu Jie and Liu Yi were just two ordinary fishermen. Their father died early, and the two brothers relied on a small boat for survival.
There's a saying that fathers and sons shouldn't be on the same boat. It means that if something happens to a father and son on the same boat, two strong laborers will be lost. If a family only has one son, it's even more disastrous, as it could lead to the extinction of the family line.
The Liu Family brothers were not father and son, but brothers, and their family line could not be broken. Naturally, one was responsible for launching the boat, and the other was responsible for selling baskets and fish.
Liu Jie lived like this for several years until he caught three Treasure Fish in half a month, and his fishing boat was sunk by jealous fishermen.
However, the retribution came very quickly afterward.
In just one month, Great Demon passed through the area, killing 28 fishermen, including two who were scuttling their boats. Countless others were injured.
On the contrary, Liu Jie was spared because his fishing boat was scuttled, but he was practicing martial arts at the Martial Arts School.
Six months later, Liu Jie unexpectedly passed the test and was favored by the Fishing Wharf owner, becoming his son-in-law.
From then on, Liu Jie began his unique path to "increase income".
The appearance of "Water Demon" in the vicinity of Feng Bu County has become more and more frequent, and only Fishing Wharf boats with Liu Jie's family's protective amulet are spared.
As a result, more and more fishing boats sank to the bottom of the river.
The fishermen had no choice but to live at Liu Jie's beck and call. As a result, the Fishing Wharf business grew bigger and bigger. In just ten years, all the Fishing Wharf in the city and even the entire Feng Bu County were owned by Liu.
From then on, in all the towns and villages under Feng Bu County, no fisherman was able to turn his life around like Liu Jie.
During this period, some fishermen noticed something amiss and filed complaints with the government.
The fishermen were uneducated and lacked experience, filled with a primal fear of Water Demon, but there were always one or two clever ones among them.
Unfortunately, being smart is useless.
The County Magistrate, who received a share of the profits every year, was very satisfied with the Fishing Wharf. Not only the County Magistrate, but also the Master Secretary, the Patrol Inspector, and the County Commandant all received a share.
Often, the fishermen who filed complaints would disappear within two days, dying in the mouths of the "Water Demon."
As for those who want to leave for other counties, no way! Don't even think about getting a travel permit without paying!
In the last seven or eight years, apart from a few small ones, most fishermen have started to make a living by Fishing Wharf, and the "Water Demon" have become less frequent. But then the Ghost Mother Sect came along.
Thanks to the "blessing" of man-made disaster, population movement has fallen between illegal and legal, and most fishermen want to escape.
The "Water Demon" had no choice but to return to his old ways, forcing the fishermen to stay away. Eventually, the news reached the River Conservancy Office. The two men there said that Liu Jie had set up a checkpoint on the only road between Ping Yang County and Feng Bu County, specifically to wait for the people from the River Conservancy Office to pass by.
Unfortunately, no one expected that the officials at the River Conservancy Office had forgotten to bring their Compass and had to navigate along a zigzag path using only an iron needle...
Liang Qu rested his chin on his hand.
In a county, how many fishermen make up 60% of the total income?
He didn't know the exact number of people, so he couldn't calculate how much money it was, but it was definitely outrageously large.
According to testimonies, the Fishing Wharf sometimes helped fishermen who were really struggling to make ends meet to become "Hidden Household" in order to avoid inciting a popular uprising.
Liu Jie's life story is that of a powerful and legendary figure.
It's a pity that Liang Qu ran into him.
Such immense Fugui! This task is far from being Grade E; it's at least Grade B!
With Liang Qu's strength, eliminating the Whale Gang could be considered Great Merit! The River Conservancy Office divides tasks into five levels: A, B, C, D, and E. The classification is mainly based on difficulty, scope of impact, and influence.
The number of fishermen in a single county is in the tens of thousands, and the scope of this impact alone is worthy of a Grade C, or even Grade B.
The tasks of both Class A and Class B have now entered the realm of Great Merit!
However, Great Merit cannot be obtained without considering the task level and the strength of the person completing the task.
A Martial Artist of mediocre skill risked his life to hold off a Galloping Horse Martial Master, which was of strategic significance. Even if the mission was only Grade C, it was still a Great Merit.
However, if it were Wolf Smoke Martial Master, it wouldn't count.
This is an advantage for Liang Qu.
With both factors combined, and given that Big Brother Xu is one of their own and wouldn't deliberately obstruct anyone, this is a sure thing—a Great Merit! It's more than just a Great Merit! In fact, this one instance Subordinate Eighth Rank to Principal Eighth Rank!
However, it's a bit risky for the Three Gates Martial Artist to fight the Galloping Horse Extreme Realm.
Liang Qu knew his own limitations; he knew he had no chance of defeating Liu Jie without being underwater.
Martial Artist's strength is determined by many factors, mainly martial arts skills, experience, and talent, apart from their realm of cultivation.
Compared to the scions of the Aristocratic Clan in the River Conservancy Office, Liang Qu's advantage lies in his natural talent for Martial Bone. His Cultivation Method are basically on par, but his experience depends on his age and background, which varies depending on the specific person he is dealing with.
Liu Jie has been Martial Master martial arts instructor for over twenty years, so his combat experience is definitely richer than his. He must know a lot of martial arts, but his Cultivation Method are probably not as good as his, and his talent is not as good either. If he really wanted to break through Martial Bone, he wouldn't have taken half a year to break through a level.
However, compared to the Three Passes, the Galloping Horse Extreme Realm is absolutely superior in terms of strength and realm.
Liang Qu estimated that his current strength was somewhere between the Galloping Horse Initial Realm for scions of the Aristocratic Clan and the Galloping Horse Middle Realm or even upper stage for commoner Martial Master, but he was still a bit short of the ultimate realm.
Not to mention that Liu Jie has three Galloping Horse Martial Master on his side. If they can't all be pinned down underwater and beaten, their lives might be in danger.
No matter how great the merit, one must be alive to receive it; he didn't want any posthumous rewards.
Fortunately, Liang Qu can level up first! At the current pace, even if he just takes it one step at a time, he should be able to Breaking Blood Barrier in just four or five days.
The Four Gates of Skin, Flesh, Bone, and Blood, and blood are all tested, with the Blood Barrier offering the greatest boost! Then, we can find a reason to choose the water as the battlefield, ensuring everything goes smoothly!