Branch Master

"Since you possess Seventh Stage of Body Tempering cultivation, if I assigned you too low a position, I'm afraid you'd harbor resentment. Not long ago, the branch master of Qingshi Town was beaten to death. You will take over as its branch master!"

Sun Tianxing made the arrangement directly.

He did not mention testing Chen Xuan's cultivation.

If Chen Xuan had deliberately inflated his cultivation just to obtain a higher position, then he was like an old birthday star eating arsenic—seeking his own death.

In a chaotic place like Tiannan Prefecture, the higher one's position, the greater the dangers one had to face. Without the corresponding cultivation, one would only die faster.

"Branch master?"

Chen Xuan was slightly taken aback.

"The Red Sun Gang has eighteen branches in total, responsible respectively for the ten districts of Nancheng and the eight towns under its jurisdiction. Each branch has one branch master and one deputy branch master. The branch master handles all affairs within the branch." Zhao Yuanshan explained from the side, "Qingshi Town is one of those eight towns. It has always been Red Sun Gang territory, but not long ago, the Blood Wolf Gang launched a fierce assault on Qingshi Town, causing us grievous losses. Even the branch master of the Qingshi Branch did not escape disaster. If you can retake Qingshi Town, you will be credited with one Great Merit. If you feel unequal to the task, then you can only serve as deputy branch master."

Chen Xuan understood.

The so-called branch master sounded like an official post, but in truth, it was a hot potato.

Qingshi Town's territory had been lost, and its branch master had died. Sun Tianxing was sending him to seize back the lost territory.

It would be best if he could take it back.

The Red Sun Gang would gain a capable general.

If he could not take it back and died outside, no one would mourn him.

That was the rule.

In a place like Tiannan Prefecture, no one kept idlers.

If one wanted status, one had to trade one's life for it.

But this suited Chen Xuan's wishes as well. Becoming branch master would give him greater freedom, free from being constrained by others, and he could also obtain one Great Merit.

For outer disciples like them to obtain Guiyuan Sect's cultivation resources, they needed to exchange Merit Points for them.

One Great Merit was equivalent to ten Minor Merits.

Zhuqi Realm martial arts required two Great Merits to exchange for.

Without Zhuqi Realm martial arts—

With his utterly ordinary Inferior Bone Aptitude, even with a cheat that granted him a year of cultivation every day, it would merely accelerate his martial arts training. It could not deduce the Giant Whale Body Refining Technique into a Zhuqi Realm martial art.

Those Martial Grandmasters with peerless aptitude, capable of founding sects, also needed to accumulate experience in their early days, studying all kinds of martial arts and gathering the strengths of a hundred schools before they could create martial arts of their own.

Therefore, he had to obtain Zhuqi Realm martial arts.

There was another point.

What Chen Xuan considered most crucial was finding a way to improve his own aptitude.

With the same year of cultivation, the results for utterly ordinary inferior aptitude and average aptitude were naturally different.

Within Guiyuan Sect, disciples with inferior aptitude cultivated for three years and only reached the Fifth or Sixth Stage of Body Tempering, while those with average aptitude had already broken through to the Seventh or Eighth Stage of Body Tempering.

The gap between inferior aptitude and peerless geniuses was even greater.

It was like Di Shitian, who had cultivated for a thousand years and gathered the strengths of a hundred schools to create the Sacred Heart Art he was so proud of, only to still be utterly crushed by Wu Wudi.

Fortunately, bone aptitude could be improved to a certain extent after birth. Guiyuan Sect possessed heavenly treasures capable of improving bone aptitude, but they required Merit Points to exchange for.

The most common example was the Marrow Cleansing Pill. It cleansed the marrow and remolded the bones, allowing inferior aptitude to rise to average aptitude. Taking five or more could raise one to Above-Average Aptitude, but it too required Merit Points to exchange for.

"What is the background of this Blood Wolf Gang?"

Chen Xuan asked.

A trace of surprise flashed through both Sun Tianxing's and Zhao Yuanshan's eyes.

They had thought Chen Xuan would hesitate, make excuses, or even be afraid.

After all, he was an outer disciple who had just arrived. Even if he possessed Seventh Stage of Body Tempering cultivation, anyone would have to weigh matters carefully before being sent to reclaim territory occupied by another gang.

But Chen Xuan did not. He directly asked about the Blood Wolf Gang's background, which showed that he had already accepted this task.

"The Blood Wolf Gang is a gang established by the stewards of the Blood Fiend Devil Sect. In terms of strength, it is roughly comparable to our Red Sun Gang." Zhao Yuanshan explained, "But a Seventh Stage of Body Tempering disciple named Li Lie arrived a few days ago. Since all the Blood Wolf Gang's branch master positions were filled, with no vacancies available, Li Lie led men to attack Qingshi Town and seize our territory."

"Understood." Chen Xuan nodded. "When do we leave?"

"It is already late, and after such a long journey, you must be tired. Rest for the night, then set out early tomorrow morning." Sun Tianxing said, "Yuanshan, arrange lodging for Nephew Chen."

"Leave it to me."

Zhao Yuanshan answered, then led Chen Xuan outside.

Before long, Chen Xuan was settled into a side room in the inner courtyard of the stronghold.

The room was not large, but it was clean and tidy. There was a wooden bed, a writing desk, and a chair. An oil lamp sat on the table, its wick neatly trimmed; clearly, someone maintained it regularly.

After Zhao Yuanshan left, Chen Xuan closed the door, sat cross-legged on the bed, and opened the panel.

By then, the sun had already set.

He gained another point of Zhaoxi Value.

Host: Chen Xuan

Fate: Zhaoxi Bizheng

Realm: Ninth Layer of Body Tempering (Huajin)

Martial Arts: Giant Whale Body Refining Technique / Ninth Layer, Mountain Crushing Fist / Proficient

Zhaoxi Value: 1

"Upgrade Mountain Crushing Fist."

With a thought from Chen Xuan, his Zhaoxi Value dropped to zero.

New insights into the fist technique were branded into the depths of Chen Xuan's soul, as though he had trained Mountain Crushing Fist tirelessly day and night for an entire year. Mountain Crushing Fist broke through from Proficient to Mastery.

Every move and stance, every crucial point in the circulation of fist force, the timing at which power erupted from within to without... all the details became several times clearer than before.

Feeling the additional understanding of the fist technique in his mind, Chen Xuan nodded in satisfaction. Although his cultivation remained at the Ninth Layer of Body Tempering, the fist force unleashed by Mastery-level Mountain Crushing Fist was more solid, faster, and reached farther, raising his combat strength considerably.

The next morning.

Just as the sky at the horizon turned pale like a fish's belly, Chen Xuan had already risen.

He pushed open the door and stood in the courtyard, watching the first ray of sunlight in the eastern sky pierce through the clouds and spill into the courtyard.

A new day had begun again.

"Junior Brother Chen, you're up?" Zhao Yuanshan entered from outside the courtyard, carrying a food box in his hand. "I brought you breakfast. Eat before you go."

"Thank you, Senior Brother."

Chen Xuan accepted the food box without ceremony and sat on a stone stool in the courtyard to eat.

Breakfast was lavish. There was a roasted chicken, as well as beef, pork knuckle, and other hearty dishes, along with a bowl of medicinal cuisine to replenish qi and blood.

For martial artists, eating was a very important matter. Only by ensuring the body received the nourishment it needed could one better sustain cultivation.

Zhao Yuanshan stood nearby. Only after Chen Xuan had finished eating did he say, "The manpower has been arranged for you: twenty elite gang members, all with Third-Level or Fourth-Level Body Tempering cultivation."

"Alright!"

Chen Xuan nodded and said nothing more.

In a remote little city like Lianshan City, reaching the Sixth Stage of Body Tempering and cultivating Anjin made one an expert. Whether in the Red Sun Gang or the Blood Wolf Gang, one could become a branch master. The Fifth Stage of Body Tempering qualified one to be deputy branch master.

Elite gang members all possessed Third-Level or Fourth-Level Body Tempering cultivation.

Do not be fooled by how Guiyuan Sect disciples could all reach the Fifth or Sixth Stage of Body Tempering after three years of training. That was because, within the sect, they were completely removed from production and labor. They did not need to work, and the sect provided cultivation resources free of charge.

But Rogue Cultivators without backing had to struggle every day to make a living. Forget taking medicinal cuisine daily—even whether they could eat meat and fish at every meal was a problem. And if they were injured while fighting others, recovering could take months.

Therefore, even Guiyuan Sect disciples with inferior aptitude could reach the Fifth or Sixth Stage of Body Tempering before twenty. Yet Rogue Cultivators without backing might train for ten or twenty years, reach their thirties or forties, and still fail to cultivate Anjin.