Charge Up!

Between two black pine trees, in a place covered by ice and snow, a crevice suddenly opened.

A short, stout man, carrying a broadsword with iron rings, climbed out of the gap.

Seeing a strange man standing next to Zhao Xia, not a disciple of the Wild Wolf Gang, he immediately became alert.

"Young Gang Leader, who is this person?"

Zhao Xia, seeing Liu Dachui safe and sound, let out a sigh of relief and quickly introduced him.

"Sir, this is Liu Dachui, the Sixth Master of the Wild Wolf Gang, nicknamed 'Iron Head Wolf', one of the Seven Fiends."

Zhang Yu nodded. Iron Head Wolf, that's quite a unique nickname.

Liu Dachui, hearing the Young Gang Leader address him as 'Sir', understood. This person must be from the Sun Moon Divine Cult. However, he looked far too young. Could he handle the Dragon Scale Association?

"Uncle Liu, this is the Divine Cult's envoy. If he hadn't arrived at the Martial Saint Temple in time, we would have all been killed by that scoundrel Zhao Huaien."

"Zhao Huaien?"

"That dog stole had already colluded with the Dragon Scale Association. He drugged my father and the five masters that night, which is why... why none of them escaped."

Liu Dachui was stunned. Zhao Huaien was an adopted son of Eldest Brother, had been with the Wild Wolf Gang for over ten years, capable of fighting on horseback and managing finances on foot, diligent and without any past mistakes.

"Young Gang Leader, is... is this true?"

Zhao Xia said hatefully, "After you all left, he used the same trick again, putting the Five Tendon Softening Powder in the porridge. We were all poisoned. That dog thief, thinking he had covered all his tracks, confessed everything himself."

Liu Dachui's face turned bright red, blood surging, his eyes bulging as if they would spew fire.

He raised his broadsword and cursed, "Zhao Huaien, pah, he doesn't deserve the surname Zhao, nor the name Huaien. Where is that bastard, that bastard now? I'll flay him alive!"

Zhao Xia said, "I've already killed him!"

"Well killed, well killed! It's just too easy for him."

Liu Dachui, overcome with emotion, knelt and bowed in the direction of Wolf Head Mountain, crying out loudly.

"Eldest Brother, you rose from humble beginnings, a hero in your lifetime, to fall at the hands of such a villain..."

Zhao Xia quickly helped him up and said, "Uncle Liu, with enemies surrounding us, now is not the time for grief."

Liu Dachui got up and then knelt again, cupping his hands towards Zhang Yu. "Thank you, Envoy of the Divine Cult, for saving our Gang Leader."

"From now on, we are all brothers in the same den. Let us unite our hearts, avenge the late Gang Leader Zhao, and return to Pingyang City soon."

Zhang Yu exchanged a few pleasantries, took two steps forward, and prepared to help Liu Dachui up.

But he couldn't lift him.

Liu Dachui remained kneeling on the ground, unmoving, his cupped hands posture resembling an embrace of an iron barrel.

"Esteemed Liu, you are a senior of the Jianghu..."

Zhang Yu's gaze turned cold. He placed his hands on the stout man's elbow joints, and his Internal Energy surged from his Dantian. After a five-count stalemate, he slowly managed to lift Liu Dachui.

"...This place is too cold to kneel for long, lest you injure your legs."

"You are truly young and promising, Sir. I was merely exaggerating my age."

Liu Dachui smiled and rubbed his numb elbow. He had only used seventy percent of his strength. But comparing strength was like besieging a city; he was the defender, already holding a three-point advantage. For the other party to lift him, it showed his Internal Energy was no less than his own.

He secretly thought, Such a young master, truly worthy of the Sun Moon Divine Cult!

Zhao Xia noticed the subtle exchange between the two and could roughly guess Liu Dachui's intentions.

Firstly, seeing the Divine Cult's envoy was young, he harbored a desire to test him, to see if he was just a pretty face or truly capable.

Secondly, he intended to establish dominance. He worried that with this outsider's arrival, he might try to seize power in the Wild Wolf Gang.

The older generation of Jianghu figures had experienced too much deceit and treachery. Such thoughts were inevitable.

Zhao Xia asked, "Uncle Liu, are the other brothers alright?"

Liu Dachui wiped his tears and smiled, "They're fine, not a single one is hurt. The brothers are all down below."

"All down below?"

"This is also thanks to Eldest Brother's spirit in heaven. Please follow me."

Liu Dachui walked to the crevice, pushed open the wooden cover at the entrance, revealing a row of earthen steps. The three of them bent down and descended.

"Back then, our seven brothers, when we first entered the Jianghu, we used to rob... do a little business around Black Pine Forest."

"Sometimes, when we had too much wealth and couldn't transfer it in time, we dug a cave here."

"It served as a temporary storage. And also, like a cunning rabbit with three burrows, this place was a hiding spot."

"Later, the Wild Wolf Gang grew stronger and stronger, dominating the area around Pingyang City, with few rivals. This place was then abandoned."

Liu Dachui led the way, reminiscing about the glorious past of the seven brothers who founded the Wild Wolf Gang.

The cave was small, with over thirty dark figures sitting inside.

One person was lying down, now on the verge of death. It was Wang Jinquan. After being captured, he couldn't endure the torture and surrendered to the Dragon Scale Association. This time, under Peng Canghu's orders, he had come to the Martial Saint Temple to deliver false information.

Liu Dachui kicked him away and said to Zhao Xia, "This son of a bitch had very poor psychological fortitude. As soon as we entered the forest, he wanted to escape. After I caught him, he confessed everything."

However, Wang Jinquan didn't know that Zhao Huaien was also an informant planted by the Dragon Scale Association within the Wild Wolf Gang.

"Brothers, I have two pieces of good news for you."

"The Gang Leader is coming to save us."

"The messenger from the Sun Moon Divine Cult has also arrived."

"With the Divine Cult sending people to help us, retaking Pingyang City is just around the corner!"

With his extensive experience in the martial world, Liu Dachui managed to lift the spirits of his men, who had been at rock bottom, with just a few words.

Most of these men who were still willing to follow the Wild Wolf Gang were its core members, or they harbored a deep hatred for the Dragon Scale Association.

Liu Dachui led thirty men to kneel before Zhang Yu and Zhao Xia.

"We greet the envoy of the Sun Moon Divine Cult, and we greet our Gang Leader."

Among the martial world factions, clearly defining hierarchy was the top priority.

Zhao Xia also stepped forward and knelt before Zhang Yu: "Your subordinate Zhao Xia pledges to follow your commands. I beg you, sir, to lead the Wild Wolf Gang and avenge our fallen brothers, to annihilate the Dragon Scale Association!"

Zhang Yu nodded slightly. Though it was too dark to see clearly, he took out a bronze plaque symbolizing the Sun Moon Divine Cult and flashed it.

"By the sacred order of Cult Master Dongfang Bubai, I, this envoy, have come here precisely to lead you back to Pingyang City and make the Dragon Scale Association pay for their blood debt..."

Zhang Yu spoke eloquently and said many things, but none of them were as inspiring as those four words.

The common members of the gang might not know of Tong Baixiong, an Elder of the Wind Thunder Hall.

But if one hadn't heard of Dongfang Bubai, the Cult Master of the Sun Moon Divine Cult, they wouldn't even dare call themselves a martial artist.

Liu Dachui had initially felt a bit displeased seeing Zhao Xia also kneel before Zhang Yu, but upon hearing the name Dongfang Bubai, he instantly felt it was only right.

Dongfang Bubai, those four words evoked a sense of: Invincibility.

To those in the martial world, he was practically an unshakeable mountain, capable of suppressing half of the martial world, making it hard to breathe.

The Wild Wolf Gang was originally an insignificant one among the many subordinate factions of the Sun Moon Divine Cult. Zhao Laodao didn't even have the qualifications to ascend Blackwood Cliff. Naturally, an envoy sent by Cult Master Dongfang would be in command of the Wild Wolf Gang.

Liu Dachui asked, "Sir, what do we do now?"

Zhang Yu spoke only three words, filled with palpable killing intent.

"Charge up!"