Lin Hai took a bite of food and continued, "West City is more complicated. Since most of the people living there are commoners, it offers little profit to the major gangs, so it has become a paradise for many minor gangs."
"So compared with the other districts, it's rather chaotic. Your family lives in West City, so you should know it better than most."
"Mm! My family lives in Flowing Cloud Alley in West City. Those minor gangs do every kind of wicked thing, and they fight over territory every day. People die, and nobody does anything about it. Well, at most, the authorities send someone over, take the corpse to the mortuary, and call it a day! They don't even bother asking questions!" Jiang Liu said helplessly.
Thinking that he had been lucky enough to escape that place so quickly, Jiang Liu knew that otherwise, sooner or later, he would probably have ended up running with those lowlifes.
"So you're considered lucky—you caught Master Lin's eye. That's why you can sit here drinking in peace now!" Lin Hai emphasized.
"Thank you for your great kindness, Master Lin, and for looking after me, Brother Hai!" Jiang Liu said as he rose solemnly and bowed.
"Jiang Liu, what are you doing? There's no need for that. You really are talented! Just keep working hard for Master Lin from now on!" Lin Hai said, reaching across the table to pat Jiang Liu on the shoulder.
"Let me continue telling you about South City, where we're based! Although the Fallen Blossom Gang is the biggest gang in South City, there are also the Vast Ocean Gang and the Sky Roc Gang. You need to pay special attention to them!"
"Besides those two, there are several more mid-sized and small gangs below them. They're either our subordinate gangs or subordinate gangs of the Vast Ocean Gang and the Sky Roc Gang. You can look into the details yourself later!"
"The place you need to watch out for most is North District. Don't be fooled by how peaceful North District seems now. In truth, it's the result of a compromise among the Six Great Families of North District."
"The Six Great Families are the Chen Family, Li Family, Wang Family, Pan Family, Hu Family, and Ma Family. Be careful if you run into members of these six families. Every one of them has its own family crest."
"Pay attention, or you might offend someone without even realizing it. They generally operate in North District, though, and rarely come to the other districts."
"Oh, right. Wang Zhuang, who lives next door to you, is from the Wang Family. There are also Pan Duan and Pan Hou, who are from the Pan Family. They aren't direct-line family members, though. They came here hoping to find a way forward. After all, family resources are always reserved for the direct line first."
"The Six Great Families control most of Cloud Sun City's industries, including food, clothing, housing, and transportation. They've also planted plenty of their people in the authorities. They've trained quite a few experts within their own families, so each family has a sixth-grade expert guarding it. On top of that, they've recruited a large number of skilled Jianghu fighters."
"The Chen Family, Li Family, and Wang Family are said to have their main branches in the commandery city, while their branches here were developed by their collateral-line descendants. The Pan Family, Hu Family, and Ma Family, on the other hand, rose locally!"
"So the Six Great Families are naturally divided into two factions. But whatever dirty dealings are involved, outsiders like us have no way of knowing."
"However, I heard that the Old Ancestor of the Pan Family is nearing the end of his life. When that happens, the Pan Family won't have a sixth-grade expert guarding it anymore. North District should be thrown into chaos for a while then!" Lin Hai said meaningfully.
Lin Hai picked up some food and ate it, then lifted his wine cup and said to Jiang Liu and Uncle Hai, "Come! Let's celebrate meeting one another, and thank Uncle Hai for looking after us all these years! Bottoms up!"
Jiang Liu hurriedly raised his cup. "Thank you, Brother Hai, for clearing up my confusion! And here's to us meeting one another! Bottoms up!"
"You two boys, stop with all that empty ceremony. You don't need an excuse to drink! Come! Let's drink!" Uncle Hai said unhappily.
The three of them then drank cup after cup to their hearts' content. The drinking began during the Hour of the Rooster and continued until just before the Hour of the Rat. In the end, Jiang Liu and Lin Hai were each helped back by disciples on duty from the Miscellaneous Affairs Hall, while Uncle Hai simply stayed and rested in the Medicine Hall.
The next morning, at dawn.
"Ugh!" Jiang Liu slowly opened his eyes.
It took quite a while for his mind to clear. He crawled out of bed, found the teapot on the table, and gulped down a mouthful, which finally eased his thirst.
A hangover really didn't feel good. Fortunately, he didn't have a headache. That wine last night really was good stuff! Jiang Liu thought.
So there are Grandmasters above the ninth grade! Martial arts truly have no end!
Jiang Liu went into the courtyard and practiced a set of Five Elements Fist. Just as he was about to finish, he focused all his strength into his fist and punched the enormous stone he normally used for training. The boulder, which weighed at least five or six hundred pounds, instantly shattered into pieces, as though it had been smashed with all the force of a pile driver.
Jiang Liu looked at his fist with satisfaction. It hadn't suffered the slightest injury. By now, Jiang Liu had a fairly good understanding of his own condition.
When he had first begun learning fist techniques, he had watched his strength gradually increase with wonder, always wanting to find something to test it against.
After beginning Bone Tempering, he had gradually become able to circulate his qi and blood through his skin to protect his body. At first, it had covered only a small patch.
As his Bone Tempering progressed, the amount of qi and blood he could circulate through his skin had gradually increased. Now, he could protect both his hands and feet. Once Bone Tempering was complete, he should be able to cover his entire body! Jiang Liu thought.
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