Annihilation! (Please Read Daily)

After who knows how long, Zhao An lifted his head and glanced out the window—the stars were already scattered across the sky, and the bright moon hung high.

From daylight into the dead of night, he had neither eaten nor drunk, nor felt the least bit weary. Instead, he was brimming with energy, as if he had unlocked a whole new world of martial arts!

This finger technique had been highly esteemed in earlier years for good reason; it possessed many miraculous qualities. Even if some aspects had been exaggerated by its supposed creator, as a martial finger technique in its own right, its level of refinement was already rarely seen in the world.

That Old Man Xuanji had never assigned a martial rank to this finger technique, which only added to its mystery.

Even though Zhao An had studied it so carefully and immersed himself in it, he had only managed to grasp a shallow bit of the surface.

If he wanted to master the profound finger techniques within, he could foresee that it would take a massive amount of time and effort in reality.

This process, of course, would still be shouldered by the Soul Slave, while he would simply reap the final results.

"An ordinary Soul Slave would probably struggle to train in this technique. Better to leave it to a Martial Master."

Zhao An made his decision and threw the He Song Soul Slave into studying and cultivating this finger technique manual.

Twenty days later, he would come to collect the results!

That day.

"Brother Zhao, today I passed by Two Wells Alley and saw Gan Xing collecting protection money there," Li Gou'er said.

"What, got your eyes on it?" Zhao An was sitting at the stone table, brush in hand, practicing calligraphy. He glanced at Li Gou'er and said flatly.

The Gan Xing Li Gou'er mentioned was a headman in the Tiger Head Gang.

In the past, relying on his seniority, he had often bullied Zhao An. He could be considered a sworn enemy within the gang.

"How could I, Brother Zhao? You've made it clear—we don't touch those old trades anymore." Li Gou'er shook his head and waved his hands repeatedly. He didn't dare to provoke Zhao An's temper.

Especially since he'd recently heard that Zhao An had casually wiped out a medium-sized gang.

Now, Zhao An's fearsome reputation had spread through every street and alley of the outer city.

The other gangs were all on edge, not knowing what had gotten into Zhao An, terrified that his madness might land on them.

"It's just that place used to be our turf, and now seeing that bastard get the benefit of it rubs me the wrong way," Li Gou'er muttered under his breath.

"That place has nothing to do with us anymore." Zhao An shook his head, not pausing in his calligraphy, still focused on practicing.

In his past life, he had known how to write with a brush, but only at an ordinary amateur level.

Now, when he wrote, it could only be described as passably neat.

Just then, Zhao Chunzi suddenly hurried in from outside.

"Chunzi, why are you only back now? Did that bastard leave?" Li Gou'er asked.

"Gou'er, we didn't even need Brother Zhao to make a move. Remember that Shen Boy? He almost beat the crap out of Gan Xing just now!" Zhao Chunzi laughed loudly.

"What? When did that Shen Boy get so strong!" Li Gou'er was full of surprise.

"You forgot? He's been training at Master Zheng's Martial Academy. He's fierce now—a few punches and Gan Xing couldn't hold his own and got carried off," Zhao Chunzi said with great seriousness.

Zhao An listened, initially not paying much attention.

But when he heard that the Shen Boy had made a move, his brush suddenly paused.

Being able to easily drive off Gan Xing meant that this Shen Boy had already trained to a real level—he had most likely stepped into the Martial Master realm!

And since the Tiger Head Gang had lost face today, they would definitely find a way to retaliate.

This was no different from the Python Gang—it was the nature of these street gangs. If one of their headmen was nearly beaten to death and the gang did nothing, they would lose their authority and fail to command respect.

It wasn't that he was worried about the Shen Boy's safety; rather, he was afraid the Tiger Head Gang would kick an iron plate and get themselves in trouble.

He had long regarded the entire Tiger Head Gang as his Soul Slave reserve.

If someone else beat him to the punch and delivered justice, he'd be the one losing those Soul Slaves.

Slap!

Zhao An gently set down his brush.

"Forget it. To avoid more trouble down the road, I might as well collect these Soul Slaves now."

It just so happened that his Soul Slave count had been draining fast lately. It was time to replenish.

On the other side, the Shen household.

"Mother, the Tiger Head Gang has left." Shen Pan, dressed in a neat, short-practitioner's outfit, tried to reassure his mother.

"My son, you beat them today. Tomorrow, the Tiger Head Gang will surely not let you off. What are we going to do?"

Mother Shen's face was full of worry, fear trembling through her body.

The Tiger Head Gang's infamy on these streets sometimes carried more weight than the words of the officials themselves.

People were genuinely terrified of these gangs.

The most common things they heard were about whose tongue had been cut out, or whose leg had been broken.

They didn't dare to disobey, let alone the fact that Shen Pan had beaten a Tiger Head Gang headman today—something they wouldn't have even dared to imagine before.

"Maybe, maybe we should leave the city, or go to the inner city and beg the Shen family elders to take you in. I don't care about my own safety, but I'm most worried about you. What can we do, my son..."

Mother Shen grew more and more frantic, on the verge of tears.

Shen Pan's heart ached for his mother, and he made a decision in his mind.

"Mother, trust me. I promise you—after today, the Tiger Head Gang won't come again."

That night, in the deep hours.

Shen Pan gazed at Mother Shen, already fast asleep, closed the door tightly, and resolutely vanished into the darkness.

Weaving through alleys and avoiding the night watchman, the Tiger Head Gang's headquarters soon appeared before him.

No one guarded the outer walls, so he easily climbed over and slipped inside.

In a side hall, Gan Xing kicked over a table and stools in a fit of rage.

"I'll fucking kill that brat, and his old mother too!"

"Boss, don't get so worked up. The chief has already agreed—tomorrow we'll go grab that Shen mother and son, and then they're yours to deal with," a Tiger Head Gang core member quickly said.

"Good!" Gan Xing's anger subsided a little at that.

But just then, a window beside him suddenly burst open.

A nimble figure charged in, and with a single punch, crushed the skull of that Tiger Head Gang core member.

Gan Xing shuddered in fright, and before he could react, the fist struck his jaw.

A crack sounded, and his jaw twisted askew, never to be set right again.

Gan Xing tried to shout, but the figure grabbed his throat, choking off any sound.

"You!!" Gan Xing recognized the person.

Wasn't this the Shen boy who had beaten him during the day?

Shen Pan's face was bone-chillingly cold. He had heard everything Gan Xing said just now from outside the room.

Without another word, he exerted his strength and twisted Gan Xing's neck clean off.

"And that Zhou Hu..."

Shen Pan looked at the two corpses on the floor, unwilling to let things end here.

If he didn't kill the Tiger Head Gang's chief, Zhou Hu, tonight, he and his mother would never know peace!

Stepping over Gan Xing's body, Shen Pan groped his way toward where Zhou Hu was.

On the other side, Zhao An walked along this once-familiar road, listening to the ceaseless croaking of frogs by the alley, a blade at his waist.

To keep blood from staining his clothes later, he had deliberately changed into a black outfit and black boots.

Under the cover of night, he was inconspicuous.

Soon, the headquarters lay right before him.

There was no rain tonight, nor any clouds—a stroke of bad luck from the heavens.

"Hm?" Zhao An furrowed his brow.

He hadn't expected to be a step too late.

From within the Tiger Head Gang's headquarters, sounds of fighting and killing were already spilling out.

Clearly, he wasn't the only intruder tonight.