"Not bad." Zhao An sheathed his blade, thoroughly satisfied.
The Soul Slave had spent what seemed like only a year deducing the blade techniques.
But a Soul Slave never slept, never tired, and never slacked off.
So a Soul Slave spending a year deducing blade techniques was worlds apart from an ordinary person spending a year honing their blade work.
What Zhao An had gained from enslaving the Soul Slave was even more than he'd expected.
The Black Tiger Blade Technique, which had never been all that sophisticated to begin with, had now reached mastery. And in the memories he'd absorbed, he'd even glimpsed hints of something more!
It wasn't part of the blade technique itself. If Zhao An wasn't mistaken, after mastering the Black Tiger Blade Technique, the Soul Slave had used it as a foundation to deduce further intricacies of blade work.
"Fierce Tiger Blade Art, huh."
Zhao An had seen the Tiger Head Gang's leader use the Fierce Tiger Blade Art. The Black Tiger Blade Technique had evolved from it, and given the Soul Slave's drive to carry out its task to perfection, it seemed capable of working backward and deducing the entire Fierce Tiger Blade Art!
Zhao An had spotted the beginnings of it, but perhaps a year of enslavement wasn't enough. In the end, the Soul Slave hadn't managed to fully deduce the art.
"One Soul Slave isn't enough? Then I'll get another..."
Zhao An still had Xu San's Soul Slave, freshly refined. It had a full five years of enslavement, along with the bonus from the Martial Savage trait.
Perhaps it really could deduce a complete set of blade techniques.
Zhao An didn't hesitate. He fed his now-mastered Black Tiger Blade Technique to Xu San and had it continue the work.
Around noon, Li Gou'er knocked and came in, looking a little panicked. "Brother Zhao, the gang leader wants you to come over."
"He probably found out you beat Xu San to death yesterday."
At that, Zhao An recalled what he knew about the gang leader.
Zhou Hu was just like his name suggested: domineering, and intolerant of the slightest offense.
Crossing him would likely end badly.
More importantly, the gang leader had opened his qi sea and cultivated Internal Breath. He wasn't one of those martial artists who relied only on brute force.
According to the martial path, anyone who had cultivated Internal Breath had entered the ranks and could be considered a true Martial Master. Against ordinary Martial Savages, he would have little trouble.
"Let's go see." Zhao An replied calmly. He slanted the Big Ring Blade behind his back, then headed for the Tiger Head Gang's headquarters with Li Gou'er and Zhao Chunzi.
This matter had to be settled one way or another.
They walked down a narrow alley and soon came to a large compound. The words "Tiger Head Gang" were carved prominently above its entrance.
Two men in dark blue short jackets, cudgels tucked at their waists, were squatting by the gate and chatting.
When they saw Zhao An stride over, the two Tiger Head Gang members immediately greeted him with ingratiating smiles.
"Brother Zhao's here. The gang leader is looking for you; he's inside." As he spoke, one of the men even opened the gate for him.
As one of the gang's leaders, Zhao An had standing here. Ordinary members wouldn't dare offend him.
"Mm." Zhao An kept walking and stepped into the compound.
Two or three dozen young, burly men were inside, grappling with one another as they trained.
The men were all solidly built, with muscle on their frames. That alone showed the gang had some strength.
After all, in these chaotic times, with the country falling apart, most people were hungry and struggling to get enough to eat.
By contrast, the Tiger Head Gang's leader could at least keep his men fed. That was a skill in itself.
Inside the main hall, the Tiger Head Gang's leader, Zhou Hu, sat in the seat of honor, legs spread wide. A cup of tea sat on the table beside him, along with a Great Gold Blade!
Zhou Hu wasn't particularly tall, but he was powerfully built, with a face full of bunched muscle. Even when he wasn't smiling, he looked fierce. Anyone who faced him could feel an invisible pressure.
Besides him, there were six chairs in the hall.
Five of the gang's leaders were already seated. Zhao An was the sixth, and the youngest.
Only the gang leader and the other leaders could sit. The rest of the gang's elite members had to stand behind them, with no right to take a seat.
"Gentlemen." Zhao An approached and swept his gaze around. He spotted a man beside Zhou Hu dressed in black, with a beard and a long, narrow face. Though tall, he wasn't particularly broad-limbed.
The man wasn't part of the Tiger Head Gang, but Zhao An recognized him.
He was Xu Donglai, the leader of the Python Gang.
The red name hovering above his head showed that the Python Gang leader had committed many grave sins.
In fact, hardly anyone there didn't have a Red Name. Zhou Hu's name was the reddest of all—and the most glaring.
So I've walked into a den of Red Names... Zhao An sighed inwardly. In this world, finding a wicked man with a Red Name wasn't difficult at all.
Good-hearted people, on the other hand, were truly rare.
Xu Donglai narrowed his eyes. His sharp gaze carried a hint of scrutiny as he sized up the young man who had recently earned quite a reputation for his ferocity.
Zhao An was burly, but his features weren't actually fierce. Compared with Zhou Hu's face full of bunched muscle, the young man was much better-looking.
"Zhao An, was it you who beat Xu San to death yesterday?" Xu Donglai cut straight to the point and demanded.
"It was." Zhao An answered just as directly, showing no fear in front of a gang leader.
Bang!
Xu Donglai slammed his large palms down and glared at him. "Well, Zhao An, you've got guts!"
"Zhou Hu, what do you say to this?"
Zhou Hu knitted his brows and looked at Zhao An, whose bandages were still wrapped around him.
"Xu Donglai, don't be in such a hurry. At the very least, we should get the whole story first."
"Zhao An, explain yourself."
Zhao An glanced at Li Gou'er.
Seeing this, Li Gou'er swallowed hard. He could only summon his courage and recount what had happened the previous day.
The truth was that Zhao An had indeed been in the wrong to beat Xu San to death. But Xu San had first trespassed on the territory Zhao An was responsible for. He hadn't just tried to snatch a girl; he'd also tried to skim the profits from that street.
When it came down to it, Xu San had started the whole mess.
"Gang leader, you have to stand up for your men! Xu San didn't just cross the line into our territory. Yesterday, he had someone club Brother Zhao from behind and nearly got him killed. Brother Zhao was entirely within his rights to fight back!"
Li Gou'er was fairly sharp and quick-witted. With just a few words, he cleared himself and the others of blame, while pinning more than one crime on the dead Xu San.
"Xu Donglai, Xu San died on Tiger Head Gang territory. He was the one in the wrong." Zhou Hu spoke in a muffled voice.
"Bullshit! If you don't hand Zhao An over, this isn't over." Xu Donglai replied coldly.
Right or wrong, Xu San's death was a fact. If Xu Donglai went back just like this, he'd have no way to answer to his gang.
Besides, this wasn't just about Xu San and Zhao An. It was a contest between the two gangs.
"Zhao An is one of the Tiger Head Gang's core members too." Zhou Hu's tone turned dark. In this situation, as gang leader, he couldn't afford to look weak either.
Zhao An had killed someone, but from the looks of it, he wasn't entirely to blame. Both sides had done wrong.
Zhao An had simply been stronger and won.
Just as the two sides reached a stalemate, the adviser who stood beside Zhou Hu rose and proposed a solution.
"Gang leaders, since Xu San is dead, let's wipe the slate clean and put the question of right and wrong behind us. We can each give a little ground. The Python Gang absolutely can't just take Zhao An away."
"Why not follow the old rules? Gang Leader Xu can send someone, and Zhao An can face the Three Trials. If he makes it through, the matter is settled. If he fails, then he'll have paid with his life for Xu San's."
Before you continue