Seven Hundred Silver Taels, Thunderclap Blade Technique!

After subduing the entire Green Tiger Gang, Liu Chu immediately began taking inventory of the treasury.

Accompanied by Hall Master Ruan Jin, who had been the first to submit, he found a hidden underground passage within the main hall of the gang.

"There are seven hundred taels of silver in total within the gang, four hundred of which are reserved for operational expenses."

"There were six hall masters in the gang. Aside from the late Hall Master Zhu Kai and Hall Master He Yuanchang, as well as Hall Master Xu Kun whom you just executed, there are only three hall masters remaining..."

Although Ruan Jin was still nursing his injuries, he remained eager to brief the new gang leader on the situation.

"I never expected that out of the six hall masters of the Green Tiger Gang, three would end up dying by my hand."

Upon closer calculation, a trace of surprise stirred in Liu Chu's heart.

Without realizing it, he had killed the leader of the Green Tiger Gang and three of its hall masters, wiping out more than half of the gang's high-end combat power!

"In other words, I can make use of three hundred taels of this silver?"

Liu Chu pondered aloud.

Ruan Jin wore a flattering expression and chuckled, "Theoretically that is the case, but as for the remaining four hundred taels, as long as you can return them in a short time, there would be no harm in misappropriating them for a moment..."

Liu Chu glanced at him, thinking to himself that this man was truly a sycophant.

What Ruan Jin said was indeed tempting.

Seven hundred taels of silver was not a small sum.

However, after giving it some thought, he still felt it was somewhat improper.

Of course, the most important thing was that he had not yet reached the point where he needed to misappropriate the gang's operational funds.

"Take me to see the Treasure Fish!"

After finishing the inventory, Liu Chu tucked away his three hundred taels of silver notes and gave the order directly.

He knew that the Green Tiger Gang had annexed the territory of the Golden Fish Gang, and the Treasure Fish within had been seized as well.

The two arrived at a heavily guarded pond.

The pond water was clear, and several green lotus plants were planted within. One could clearly see several Treasure Fish playing and frolicking beneath the leaves. They were brightly colored, each with a different hue, some with four gills and two tails, others with horns on their heads; all possessed miraculous traits.

"There are only five Treasure Fish in total..."

Ruan Jin explained, "According to the former members of the Golden Fish Gang, there were originally eight Treasure Fish, but a few were lost during the chaos of war..."

"Only five Treasure Fish..."

Liu Chu frowned slightly, feeling somewhat disappointed.

He needed ten Treasure Fish to complete his next sacrifice.

Five Treasure Fish meant he had only reached half of his goal.

"However, now that I have sufficient silver, purchasing five more will be a simple matter!"

Liu Chu thought to himself, quickly sweeping away his disappointment.

He now had over five hundred taels of silver on his person, which was more than enough to buy five Treasure Fish!

After inspecting the Treasure Fish, Liu Chu returned to the main hall.

By now, the hall had been cleaned by the gang disciples; the bloodstains and corpses were gone, and it had returned to its original clean and tidy state.

The two hall masters remained in the main hall, waiting for Liu Chu's orders.

"By the way, does your gang possess any martial arts manuals?"

Liu Chu suddenly remembered another objective.

Martial arts manuals!

His blade technique was now approaching perfection, and he needed to seek out new martial arts to cultivate next.

"We do. There is the Rolling Thunder Nourishing Practice and the Thunderclap Blade Technique. They were obtained by the former leader by chance, and they are only taught to those who have rendered great service or possess exceptional talent..."

One of the hall masters spoke up immediately, "I once took a blade strike for the former leader, and as a reward, he granted me this technique, which allowed me to break through and become a hall master."

"Oh? Rolling Thunder Nourishing Practice! Thunderclap Blade Technique!"

Hearing this, Liu Chu's eyes lit up instantly.

He turned his gaze toward the remaining two hall masters.

Hall Master Ruan Jin also nodded and said, "Reporting to the leader, I also cultivate these techniques. I was one of the few selected from the gang members for my exceptional talent, and after being taught these, I finally broke through to enter the ranks!"

Liu Chu nodded slightly.

Gangs were ultimately different from martial arts schools. Students at martial arts schools paid their own way to learn, often costing dozens of taels of silver, accessible only to the rich and noble.

People like Liu Chu, who had the great fortune to acquire a sum of money and the courage to stake everything on a single throw, were few and far between!

As for gang members, they were just trying to scrape by. Most came from poor backgrounds, could not afford dozens of taels, and found it difficult to earn that much.

Even if they did manage to earn it, it was hard to harden their hearts enough to spend it on martial arts.

After all, that money was enough to marry a wife and live a stable life.

Using it for martial arts was highly likely to result in nothing but a wasted effort!

It was even less likely for the Green Tiger Gang leader to voluntarily reach into his own pockets to have every gang member learn martial arts; doing so would require shelling out several thousand taels of silver!

Setting aside the fact that the Green Tiger Gang leader couldn't produce that much silver, even if he could, he would never do such a thing.

Squandering thousands of taels of silver in such a reckless manner, only to face a shockingly low success rate, was an utterly foolish approach.

After all, martial arts halls taught students to earn a profit!

Conversely, for a gang to teach martial arts would mean paying out silver instead.

The two were not the same path at all.

At most, gangs taught some combat techniques to improve the fighting ability of their members, but they would not have them practice Nourishing Practice to break through realms.

However, they would screen for those with exceptional natural talent, using a portion of the gang's profits to teach them techniques and provide them with meat and medicinal meals, cultivating them into gang elites.

Ruan Jin and the other man were exactly these types!

Liu Chu turned his gaze toward the final person.

The last hall master gritted his teeth, his expression pained as he spoke, "When I was young, I joined the Flying Eagle Martial Hall and practiced the Flying Eagle Technique; the technique cannot be passed on to outsiders."

He had joined the Flying Eagle Martial Hall in his youth, but unfortunately, he failed to break through to the ranked level. Over the next decade, he never completely gave up his training, and eventually, he was lucky enough to break through.

"Flying Eagle Martial Hall..."

Liu Chu frowned slightly, then immediately reassured him, "I am aware of the rule that martial hall disciples cannot pass on their techniques to outsiders. It is of no matter."

He did not force the issue.

The Dragon Tiger Martial Arts Hall had recently dealt with the unauthorized dissemination of techniques, and his senior brother, Lin Bei, had already gone to handle it.

If this hall master were to pass the technique to Liu Chu, he would very likely face the Flying Eagle Martial Hall coming to settle accounts.

If that drew out the Flying Eagle master, it would be quite troublesome.

"Many thanks for your understanding, Gang Leader!"

Seeing that Liu Chu did not hold it against him, the hall master breathed a sigh of relief. He had been truly afraid that Liu Chu would force him to divulge the technique, and if that were exposed, he would likely not survive the ordeal.

At best, his cultivation would be crippled; at worst, he would lose his life!

"The two of you will transcribe the Rolling Thunder Nourishing Practice and the Thunderclap Blade Technique respectively..."

Liu Chu instructed the pair.

The Rolling Thunder Nourishing Practice and the Thunderclap Blade Technique had been obtained from the Green Tiger Gang leader. Their origins were unknown, and they had likely been lost to time, so there was no need to fear anyone coming to claim them.

In less than half an hour, the two men handed over the transcribed manuals.

Liu Chu had originally worried that they might not be literate or skilled in drawing, making them unable to transcribe the contents of the techniques.

As it turned out, his worries were unnecessary.

In fact, after stepping onto the path of martial arts, practitioners would more or less learn to read and write, draw diagrams, and even study simple medical texts to supplement their knowledge of human meridians, tendons, bones, skin, and internal organs.

These were all foundations of the martial path.

Liu Chu compared the contents of the techniques transcribed by the two men one by one and, finding nothing suspicious, nodded with satisfaction.

"Come to think of it, I wonder if it is possible to practice two types of Nourishing Practice at the same time..."

A thought suddenly occurred to Liu Chu.

But it vanished in an instant, and he settled his mind: "No need to rush the training. Once my Duanmen Saber Technique and Dragon-Tiger Nourishing Practice reach perfection, then I will practice the Rolling Thunder Nourishing Practice and the Thunderclap Blade Technique."

Having not slept all night, Liu Chu discussed gang affairs with the three hall masters in the hall.

He mostly listened, gaining a rough understanding of the gang's foundation, the number of members, how many mid-level leaders there were, and who they were.

After listening, Liu Chu adopted a style of showing respect to his subordinates, meeting with these mid-level gang members one by one to soothe their anxieties.

This immediately left many of the mid-level members flattered, and their awe and reverence for Liu Chu deepened significantly.

Once everything was finished, a thought stirred in Liu Chu's mind: "I don't have many people I can trust within this gang yet; there is no guarantee they won't collude behind my back to undermine my authority."

He immediately wrote a letter and handed it to Ruan Jin: "Go to the territory of the Changle Gang, find Han Qi, give him this letter, and tell him to come see me."

"As you command, subordinate!"

Ruan Jin took the letter, secretly delighted: "The new gang leader entrusted his first task to me, which means he trusts me more!"

Holding the letter, he headed straight for the Changle Gang.

Originally, he would have paid little attention to a nobody like Han Qi, but recently, the former gang leader had paid him special attention, so he naturally knew who this person was.