The Advantage of Being Alone

Chen Mo ate both lunch and dinner at restaurants in the Inner City. He had even specifically asked about Exotic Beast Meat, only to learn that aside from the Three Great Families and the two top Martial Arts Schools in the Inner City—True Martial and Fierce Tiger—no other force could provide Exotic Beast Meat steadily.

Not even the government could.

In name, the government governed Hequ County, but in all matters, it had to show consideration for the Martial Arts Schools and the Three Great Families.

Even a mighty dragon could not suppress a local snake.

Not to mention that many members of the Three Great Families worked for the government. Unless it was a matter of principle, they would generally give each other face.

As for True Martial and Fierce Tiger, the county's two premier Martial Arts Schools, they relied on their own overwhelming strength. According to the waiter at the restaurant, rumors said that these two schools seemed to have sect forces backing them.

"Sect... I'm completely in the dark."

Before, it had been Chen Family Village. Now, it was Hequ County. The stronger Chen Mo became, the more he felt that his understanding of this world was too one-sided and limited, and the more he realized how small the place he inhabited was.

He would definitely venture out someday. For now, though, he would stay in this small place and keep developing.

"A stable supply of Exotic Beast Meat... I wonder how they manage it?"

Curiosity killed the cat. Chen Mo suppressed that curiosity, calmed himself, and prepared to continue improving his strength step by step.

Divine Strength Realm strength was still not enough.

After leaving the Inner City and returning home, he had three copies of the Health Cultivation Technique, the Qi Concealing Art, and the Pharmacopoeia. He would no longer train the Iron Thread Fist he had acquired earlier. That made four cultivation techniques and one illustrated guidebook. Chen Mo had plenty to keep himself busy with in the days ahead.

Of course, he did not make himself overly busy. Usually, after eating and drinking his fill in the morning, he would cultivate and study medicinal herbs. In the afternoon, he would go to the Inner District or the Inner City to relax. At night, if he had time after returning home, he would cultivate a little longer. If not, he let it be.

There truly was not much to do in the Outer City. Gradually, the Inner City became his main stomping ground. He found that it was not nearly as dangerous as he had imagined. Instead, it was calmer than the Outer City, and its public security was much better.

At any rate, after going there so many times, he had never encountered anyone galloping recklessly through the streets on horseback. Everyone obediently led their horses instead.

If he had had enough money on hand, Chen Mo would have considered buying a house in the Inner City.

And just as the rumors he had heard before claimed, the women of the Hundred Flowers Pavilion in the Inner City were indeed of a higher caliber. The two top courtesans were even exquisite beyond compare, but Chen Mo did not pursue them.

On one hand, he did not have enough money in his pocket. On the other, beautiful women were practically synonymous with trouble. He did not want to land himself in danger because of women.

There was plenty of time ahead.

Of course, Chen Mo had not become a monk either. If he could not sleep with the top courtesans, there were other options. There would always be someone he could sink his teeth into.

At the Divine Strength Realm, his stamina was exceptionally impressive. Every time, he raised the banner and claimed victory, leaving the other party sprawled in disarray and begging for mercy again and again.

Still, indulging once in a while was enough. Doing it too often became meaningless. Naturally, Chen Mo did not sink into it. In any case, he had never spent the night at the Hundred Flowers Pavilion.

To him, becoming the strongest person in Hequ County was his foremost goal at present.

The days passed one by one. Just like the Iron Body Technique before it, both Flying Cloud Steps and the Cleaving Wind Blade required only five Epiphanies to advance. They respectively advanced into Flying Swallow Steps and the Wind Slaying Blade.

Flying Swallow Steps greatly increased Chen Mo's speed and significantly improved his agility. What surprised him most was its ability to tread upon empty air and fly like a swallow. Though the duration was short, it would absolutely play an important role at a critical moment.

Once it reached the Perfection Realm, the time he could remain in the air should become even longer, while its boosts to speed and agility would grow even greater.

As for the Wind Slaying Blade, its power had undoubtedly risen tremendously as well. At the entry level alone, its striking speed had reached three slashes per second. Each slash was faster than the last, each slash heavier than the last. Few people would likely be able to withstand those three slashes alone.

Chen Mo did not immediately raise both techniques to the Perfection Realm. He still had Tiger Fist, which he had nearly forgotten, to advance. Fists and kicks were the foundation; they could not fall behind.

With only one Epiphany per day, it was starting to feel a little insufficient.

Reminding himself not to become impatient, Chen Mo settled down. The speed at which his strength improved was already in a league of its own. As the only cheater in this world, no one should be able to cultivate faster than he could.

That day, as usual, Chen Mo cultivated for an entire morning, then prepared to take a stroll around the Inner City. The food in its restaurants was far more delicious than that of the Outer City. Though they did not have Exotic Beast Meat, their unique Medicinal Cuisine was also remarkably effective, no worse than the Great Tonic Soup.

Naturally, the price was not cheap either. One serving cost five taels of silver, but Chen Mo could still afford it.

However, the moment he left home that day, before he had gone far, he noticed that someone was following him. His expression unchanged, he habitually entered an alley. Rather than hiding, he simply stood inside and waited for the other party to reveal himself.

Very soon, a tall man wearing a bamboo hat entered his sight. Upon noticing Chen Mo's gaze, the man did not evade it either. He strode directly over, removed his hat, and revealed his true face.

Well, Chen Mo did not know him.

"Need something?" Chen Mo asked.

He sized the man up from head to toe. The man was dressed very plainly and did not look like someone with money, leaving Chen Mo immediately disappointed.

Unaware of Chen Mo's thoughts, the newcomer spoke first.

"I am the Green Gang's gang leader, Zhao Long."

"You're not dead?" Chen Mo blurted out, instinctively glancing at the man's shadow.

Mm, not a ghost.

He then realized that was very impolite, but he did not apologize.

With the assistance of a Martial Arts School, the Wild Wolf Gang had ultimately succeeded in crushing the Green Gang. Rumors in the streets said that Zhao Long had already been killed.

But now, it seemed that street rumors truly could not be trusted.

"Those pieces of Wild Wolf Gang trash can't kill me!"

A look of hatred surfaced on his face. Zhao Long stared into Chen Mo's eyes, his expression solemn.

"Friend, I have a big deal here. I wonder if you'd be willing to join?"

"Help you get revenge?" Chen Mo folded his arms before his chest.

"You're very smart."

After praising him, Zhao Long continued, "You should be an Inner Strength Realm martial artist, right? I've also successfully broken through to the Inner Strength Realm. I have two Strength Refining Realm subordinates and fifteen former elite gang members. With you added in, that will be enough to deal with the Wild Wolf Gang."

"What do I get?" Chen Mo asked curiously.

He did not regard the Wild Wolf Gang, whose strongest fighters were merely in the Inner Strength Realm, as a threat.

As if he had expected this question, Zhao Long raised a hand and spread five fingers.

"After we destroy the Wild Wolf Gang, half of the gains will be yours."

"When do we act?" Chen Mo nodded noncommittally.

"Tonight," Zhao Long said with a smile.

"So urgent?"

"Delay breeds change!"

"..."

After looking at each other for a while, Chen Mo glanced at the few people guarding both entrances to the alley and curled his lips into a faint smile.

"Pleasure doing business with you!"

"Good. With you joining us, our odds of victory are high!" Zhao Long said with a smile.

He then brought Chen Mo to their current hiding place... a single-story house in the Slum District. There, Chen Mo also met the remnants of the Green Gang. Including Zhao Long, their gang leader, only eighteen people remained in total. They had truly been reduced to a miserable state.

Honestly, with so few people, Chen Mo could easily handle them with one hand. But he did not do so, because a large haul still awaited him afterward.

He needed some scapegoats. He did not like trouble.

The Inner City's expenses were still far too high. The prices for Xiao Yu and Xiao Mei to accompany guests at the Hundred Flowers Pavilion were truly not low. Silver vanished too quickly, the Black Market was only held twice a month, and Chen Mo himself was rather lavish in other expenditures. Nine hundred taels of silver really did not go far.

Since Zhao Long had come knocking on his door himself, Chen Mo naturally had no reason to refuse. He only hoped the Wild Wolf Gang would not disappoint him.

While waiting for the operation to begin, Chen Mo asked Zhao Long why he had chosen him. The answer was extremely realistic: Inner Strength Realm martial artists were not common in the Outer City, and those who were alone, unburdened by ties, and willing to help were even rarer. Of those Zhao Long knew, Chen Mo was the only one.

All right, that was the advantage of being alone.

Chen Mo did not eat the food Zhao Long and the others provided. With the Green Gang's two "little tails" following him, he casually went to the Commercial District for a meal. Only toward evening did he head to the agreed meeting place and successfully reunite with Zhao Long and the others.

They waited until the dead of night, and then the operation began...