Qingyuan

"You're saying the Bear Strength Gang came looking for you first?"

In the study, Chen Lixin nervously recounted the entire story of how he had found people to deal with Li Fei after being summoned out of the blue.

When he heard that the Bear Strength Gang had approached Chen Lixin first, Chen Yujing's eyes narrowed.

He abruptly rose to his feet and walked over to Chen Lixin.

Smack! A loud slap landed across Chen Lixin's face.

"Dad?"

Chen Lixin covered his face and stared at his father in disbelief.

"You useless fool! You were being used as a weapon and didn't even realize it!"

Chen Yujing cursed furiously.

"I—"

Chen Lixin still wanted to explain.

"Shut up!"

Chen Yujing cut him off without the slightest courtesy:

"How did I teach you before? If you truly wanted to deal with someone, you had to use all your strength, leave no loose ends, and give your opponent no chance to turn the tables! And what did you do? You acted blindly without even investigating the situation properly beforehand!"

"Dad, I—"

"That's enough. From now until you leave for the Military Academy, stay home and reflect on your mistakes. You're not allowed to go anywhere. Once the day of enrollment arrives, get your ass to the Military Academy and report in!"

Chen Yujing issued his order, then waved for Chen Lixin to get lost.

After Chen Lixin left with his tail between his legs, Chen Yujing summoned a steward. "Has the Third Branch delivered this quarter's beast feed to the Tiger Sabre Gang?"

"Master, not yet."

"Go to the storeroom and tell them not to give the goods to the Tiger Sabre Gang for now. Find some excuse to delay them. I'll speak to the Third Branch."

Chen Yujing said this.

He wanted the Tiger Sabre Gang to understand that his son, Chen Yujing's son, could not be used just any way they pleased.

"Yes, Master."

The steward accepted the order and left.

Wuping District in the southern part of the city was Xingcheng's old urban district. It was not as prosperous as the new district, and it had none of the novelties that had appeared after the Mingxin Reform, such as cinemas and trams.

The streets here were narrow, making it difficult for cars to enter. The vehicles seen most often on the roads were human-powered tricycles.

The area was a mixed bag, with relatively poor public security. The Tiger Sabre Gang had risen from this place in the first place.

From a small gang with only a few members to its current position as the dominant force throughout Wuping District and the number-one gang in Xingcheng, the Tiger Sabre Gang had needed only sixteen years.

In a large compound in Wuping District, a white-haired old man with a kind and benevolent appearance was practicing a standing stance in the courtyard.

After finishing his stance, the old man walked to a stone table nearby, picked up the teacup resting on it, and drank.

A burly man wearing a black short shirt jogged over to him and quietly whispered a few words.

"Understood. Go invite Master over."

The old man gave the order.

His name was Yu Hu, and he was the leader of the Tiger Sabre Gang!

Judging by his appearance alone, outsiders would have found it difficult to imagine that such a kind-looking old man was actually the leader of Xingcheng's number-one gang.

A moment later, a scholarly-looking middle-aged man in a blue long robe and black-rimmed glasses walked over.

"Gang Leader."

"Sit."

The newcomer was the Tiger Sabre Gang's Master, Zhang Mingze.

There was a saying outside that the Tiger Sabre Gang had become Xingcheng's number-one gang through 'intelligence.'

'Intelligence' referred to Zhang Mingze, while 'strength' referred to Yu Hu.

"The Chen Family didn't deliver this quarter's beast feed. They said there was a problem with the accounts and that they needed to recalculate them."

Yu Hu spoke.

As the number-one gang in Xingcheng, the Tiger Sabre Gang did not have the legendary 'three thousand members,' but its total membership still exceeded a thousand.

To support so many people, they were involved in all kinds of legitimate and illicit businesses. Naturally, they also had business dealings with the Chen Family, the leading family in the area.

The most important of these businesses was the buying and selling of beast feed.

To become a martial artist, one had to have an implant, and implants came from exotic beasts.

In this era, aside from exotic beasts of the upper three grades, almost all the others were raised in captivity by humans. Every faction capable of cultivating martial artists had exotic beasts in captivity.

The Tiger Sabre Gang had risen too quickly and lacked sufficient foundations. For now, it still lacked the ability to cultivate martial artists itself.

Thus, Yu Hu had spent all these years working to raise exotic beasts in captivity. He purchased custom beast feed from the Chen Family for precisely this purpose.

Now that the Chen Family was not delivering the goods on time, it was bound to affect the exotic beasts the Tiger Sabre Gang was raising.

"Mm, I already understand."

Zhang Mingze nodded. "Adao handled this too crudely."

Yu Hu grunted, took a sip of tea, and looked toward Zhang Mingze. "Adao explained it to me. He said that the student he targeted this time, Li Fei, is Hao Yi's student. Not only did he win first place in the graduation grand exam at the technical secondary school, but the implant he used during the Embryo Nurturing Stage was also a Second Grade Upper Class Steel Armor. Adao felt that this person would become a threat in the future."

Zhang Mingze clearly already knew about these matters and was not surprised. "The commotion this time became so great not merely because the son of a squadron leader from the Overseeing Bureau was attacked. The Bureau's internal dissatisfaction with the Tiger Sabre Gang was also crucial. Judging from Huang Weiguang's attitude this time, he won't let us successfully maneuver Wu Yihua into that position."

Yu Hu frowned. "If the person promoted isn't Wu Yihua, then the Overseeing Bureau..."

"Mm."

The light in Zhang Mingze's eyes, seen through his lenses, was deep and obscure. "Gang Leader, that matter has to be expedited. Time waits for no one."

A flash of extreme viciousness crossed Yu Hu's eyes, and his expression turned cold and murderous.

At that moment, he was no longer a kind-looking old man, but the leader who commanded Xingcheng's number-one gang. "Since that's the case, I'll immediately send someone to apologize to the Chen Family and settle the matter as quickly as possible. As for Hao Yi..."

Zhang Mingze said, "For now, just don't provoke Hao Yi. I'll warn Adao about that. From here on, let him compete with that Li Fei through his own ability."

Under the cover of night, Xingcheng was ablaze with the lights of ten thousand homes.

After returning home, Li Fei completed his Embryo Nurturing training as usual.

This time, he likewise felt movement from the implant beneath his skin while taking his medicine, as if it were about to burrow out. The hunger it produced was also more obvious than last time.

According to Hao Yi, this was embryonic movement. The more frequently it appeared and the stronger the sensation, the closer one was to the Body Breaking Stage.

The embryonic movement also caused Li Fei to increase the amount of medicine he used. The Withering Fire Pills, Embryo Nurturing Pills, and Golden Kui Balm he had bought were almost used up, so he needed to purchase more.

A bottle of Withering Fire Pills cost 58 yuan, while a complete set of medicine for the Embryo Nurturing Stage cost 95 yuan. And Li Fei was already out of money...

"Yu Jie is about to leave for the Military Academy. She'll definitely need money in more places than I do. It wouldn't be appropriate to ask Uncle Li for money again. I can only rely on myself."

Li Fei muttered to himself.

He made up his mind, put on his clothes, gathered his things, and left his room to find Li Lei. "Uncle Li, the monthly exam at the Military Academy is coming up soon. My teacher told me to go do extra training tonight."

Li Lei did not suspect anything and nodded.

"Fine. Be careful."

"Okay."

Then Li Fei left the house.

Of course, he was not really going to the Military Academy for extra training. Instead, he planned to go out under a different identity.

He needed a way to earn money while also absorbing more energy. Previously, Li Fei had thought of only one method—fighting in underground boxing matches.

He had already covertly fished information about underground boxing from Li Lei. There was a place for underground boxing in Qingyuan District, in the northern part of the city. Moreover, the place was not under the Tiger Sabre Gang's control. Even the Tiger Sabre Gang had to follow that place's rules.

Li Fei wanted to give it a try.

After leaving the house, he first ran to a wig shop.

It was a novelty that had only become popular over the past year, imported from the West. These days, quite a few women on Xingcheng's streets wore striking wigs.

Li Fei bought himself a men's wig, then bought a mask from a peddler.

More than half an hour later, a man with long hair tied into a small braid and wearing an Azure Ghoul Mask entered Qingyuan District.