"After mastering Thunderclap Blade Technique, my strength has surged. I can now kill a Bone Refining Realm warrior in three strikes!"
"Unfortunately, there's no Neizhuang Blade Technique for me to study. I can only keep practicing external blade techniques, accumulating them until quantity gives way to quality!"
Liu Chu practiced Jintao Blade Technique, his thoughts swirling along with the flashes of his blade.
The battle with the Li Family had pushed him under pressure to draw even greater potential from his blade techniques. With fourfold comprehension, he had broken through in the midst of battle.
His strength had grown tremendously. An ordinary Bone Refining Realm warrior probably couldn't withstand five of his strikes!
If he fought Gu Hualong again, Liu Chu could take his life within five strikes!
That was the wonder of exceptional comprehension. His cultivation of techniques advanced at every moment.
Sometimes, a single battle could bring tremendous improvement.
Sometimes, all it took was a moment of enlightenment to achieve a breakthrough.
Even bringing many blade techniques together had greatly benefited him. Every technique he mastered raised him to a higher vantage point.
With such a commanding perspective, his progress in blade techniques was swift as a thousand miles a day!
In only a day or two, he had also cultivated Jintao Blade Technique to Great Accomplishment Realm!
Host: Liu Chu Comprehension Multiplier: 4x (Can be sacrificed: 30 Treasure Fish / 300 taels of silver, 10 years of lifespan) Dragon-Tiger Nourishing Practice (Perfected) Dragon-Tiger Combat Technique (Perfected) Dragon-Tiger Blade-Breaking Technique (Perfected) Thunderclap Blade Technique (Perfected) Rolling Thunder Nourishing Practice (Minor Accomplishment Realm, 16%) Jintao Blade Technique (Great Accomplishment Realm, 1%) Jingfeng Blade Technique (Minor Accomplishment Realm, 12%) ...
"It's said that if one cultivates blade techniques to their limits, they can condense Blade Momentum. I've now mastered two blade techniques and brought another to Great Accomplishment Realm. I wonder when I'll comprehend Blade Momentum..."
Looking at the progress of his techniques on the Attribute Panel, Liu Chu couldn't help feeling eager.
He had perfected two blade techniques and brought one to Great Accomplishment Realm, while another had reached Minor Accomplishment Realm. His skill with the blade was truly exquisite.
An ordinary Bone Refining Realm expert couldn't withstand five of his strikes.
He was probably a formidable blade wielder, too.
But... he still hadn't reached the limit!
Perhaps I'll have to perfect four or five blade techniques before I can reach the limits of blade mastery and comprehend Blade Momentum!
Liu Chu thought to himself.
Blade Momentum was the blade realm every blade wielder dreamed of!
Countless blade wielders of the Middle Three Grades spent their entire lives without ever mastering Blade Momentum.
And they cultivated Neizhuang Blade Techniques!
Liu Chu didn't have a single Neizhuang Blade Technique yet. He could only rely on his extraordinary comprehension to perfect one external blade technique after another, then use them to glimpse the limits of blade mastery!
Naturally, that made it much harder. Just two perfected blade techniques wouldn't be enough.
Only Liu Chu, with his fourfold comprehension multiplier, would dare to harbor such ambition—to glimpse Blade Momentum while still in the Lower Three Grades.
"Two aren't enough? Then three, four, five... One day, I'll reach the very pinnacle of the blade and master Blade Momentum!"
Pride welled up in Liu Chu's heart.
After perfecting two blade techniques, his speed at learning new ones had surged. It wouldn't be long before he perfected another.
And he was close to gathering thirty Treasure Fish, enough to begin the next sacrifice and send his comprehension soaring once more.
His progress in blade techniques would likely rise to yet another level. With that confidence, he could glimpse Blade Momentum while still in the Lower Three Grades!
"Gang Leader, Xing Butou has come to pay you a visit."
Suddenly, Han Qi's voice sounded from outside the hall, interrupting Liu Chu's thoughts.
"So he's finally here. I'm still three Treasure Fish short."
Liu Chu's eyes opened abruptly. In a calm voice, he said, "Show him in."
Soon, a portly man dressed as a constable entered. He wore a beaming smile and looked utterly harmless.
When he saw Liu Chu, he smiled broadly and cupped his hands. "You must be the Black Dragon Gang's Gang Leader. I've heard so much about you."
Then he sat down across from Liu Chu as if they were old friends, and even poured himself a cup of tea.
Lifting the cup, he narrowed his eyes and breathed in the aroma, but didn't take a sip. He set it back down, opened his eyes, and praised, "Fine tea. As fine as the Gang Leader's blade work!"
Liu Chu frowned slightly.
"May I ask what brings you here, Xing Butou?"
Liu Chu asked calmly.
"Heh, nothing too serious."
Xing Butou's chubby face bloomed like a chrysanthemum as he spoke offhandedly. "I'm just handling a case recently—one concerning the extermination of the Li Family."
"The Li Family's extermination? What does that have to do with the Black Dragon Gang? My gang doesn't have the strength to wipe out the Li Family."
Liu Chu remained calm and took a small sip of tea.
"Quite right. I also think the Li Family's extermination has nothing to do with your Black Dragon Gang, old friend."
To Liu Chu's surprise, Xing Butou agreed with him. But then he changed tack. "However, some of my constables don't share my view. They think the Black Dragon Gang may have had something to do with it."
As he spoke, his smile widened. "You should know that it doesn't matter if something is true; what matters is whether someone believes it's true. Whether the Black Dragon Gang had anything to do with the Li Family's destruction isn't important."
He stared into Liu Chu's eyes, a glint flashing in his own. "What matters is that someone thinks the Black Dragon Gang was involved!"
At that, Liu Chu's eyes narrowed too.
"May I ask what you mean, Xing Butou...?"
Liu Chu asked tentatively.
By now, he'd figured out that Xing Butou had come to extort some benefits!
In truth, the government and the great families weren't much different from gangs like the Black Dragon Gang.
Whether it was the Black Dragon Gang or the Wild Wolf Gang, they collected protection money from ordinary people.
But they couldn't keep it all for themselves. They had to set some aside for bribing the people above and below them.
When Liu Chu took over the Black Dragon Gang and the Wild Wolf Gang, half of the hundreds of taels of silver in their treasuries had to be used to grease the palms of government officials and certain powerful families.
These government and family powers didn't just squeeze the common people; they squeezed the gangs, too.
In the eyes of the government and the great families, the Black Dragon Gang was no different from the common people they forced to pay protection money.
If Liu Chu didn't grease the right palms, then even if he kept the gang members in line, they could make him disappear with no more than a word.
And as for expecting them to protect him after he'd paid them? That was sheer wishful thinking.
Who became Gang Leader made no difference to them. They only cared that he obeyed and paid tribute.
Black Dragon Gang or Wild Wolf Gang, it didn't matter. The more territory you controlled, the more silver you had to pay.
They might not be pleased if you paid too much, but they'd certainly be furious if you paid too little!
Since taking over, Liu Chu hadn't broken with that arrangement. He hadn't touched a single tael meant for the usual payoffs, and had ordered his subordinates to deliver them on schedule.
He didn't need to handle such matters himself.
Now, faced with Xing Butou's shakedown, Liu Chu instinctively hated it, but he didn't refuse outright. He wanted to see how much the man intended to extort.
"Heh, I have a lot of brothers. When they're sober, they're always running their mouths. But if you give them good food and drink, fill their mouths with something, and they'll quiet right down."
Xing Butou spoke slowly, then raised one finger with a beaming smile. "This much will keep my brothers well fed!"
"One hundred taels?"
Seeing him raise just one finger, Liu Chu asked.
But Xing Butou shook his head.
"One thousand taels!?"
A sharp glint suddenly flashed in Liu Chu's eyes as he stared straight at Xing Butou.
A thousand taels of silver—what an appetite!
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