Three Great Halls

The next day.

The sky had barely begun to pale with the first light of dawn when Shen Mu rose, washed up, and hurried to meet Luo Tao before heading toward Yunxiang Street together.

"Brother Wang."

Upon arriving at Yunxiang Street, the two saw Wang Jin busy assigning tasks to the peripheral gang members under his command.

Yunxiang Street consisted of several alleys housing over two thousand households, at least a thousand of which made their living by chopping and selling firewood—and these people were only a fraction of those from whom the gang collected firewood fees within the city.

"Yo, Brother Shen, what brings you here?"

Seeing Shen Mu and Luo Tao approach, a flash of surprise crossed Wang Jin's face as he smiled and said, "I heard you've broken through to the first level of Boiling Blood. Congratulations, congratulations!"

Although it had only been a single night since Shen Mu's breakthrough, there had been many peripheral members present to witness it yesterday. With the news fermenting overnight, Wang Jin had already heard the report.

When he first heard the news, he had been shocked himself.

In just one month, Shen Mu had already reached the first level of Boiling Blood?

Wasn't this cultivation speed a bit too fast?

Shen Mu wore a bashful smile and replied, "It was just good luck."

"Brother Shen, now that you've reached the first level of Boiling Blood, you're qualified to be a formal member of the Firewood Gang. If I still had you out collecting firewood fees, wouldn't that be a disgrace to me?"

Wang Jin said, feigning a look of mock alarm.

Shen Mu laughed, "Even if I've reached the first level of Boiling Blood, you are still my big brother. Besides, my breakthrough was too sudden, and I haven't registered it yet. I plan to finish collecting the fees with Luo Tao today and register tomorrow."

"Heh, you and Brother Luo truly have a deep brotherhood."

Wang Jin nodded and smiled, "Very well, you two can continue to be responsible for the fees in your usual alley."

"Understood."

Shen Mu acknowledged, then added, "Brother Wang, I've been well looked after by you. If you have time today, I'd like to host a banquet at Yunxiang Restaurant to thank you for your care since I joined the Firewood Gang."

Wang Jin looked deeply at Shen Mu and smiled, "Fine, I wouldn't miss this promotion banquet!"

"Then Brother Tao and I will go collect the fees."

Shen Mu said no more, leading Luo Tao toward the alley where they had collected fees the previous month.

Having had the experience of collecting fees before, and now possessing the cultivation of the first level of Boiling Blood, Shen Mu had long since transcended the realm of ordinary men, giving him much greater confidence in his work.

The two no longer went door-to-door; instead, they had Luo Tao knock on several doors at once to speed up the collection process.

In just two hours, Shen Mu had collected all the fees from the one hundred and thirty-seven households in the alley.

"Tsk tsk, the speed of collecting fees today is several times faster than last time."

Luo Tao shook the money bag, the copper coins inside clinking together, and he couldn't help but say with excitement.

Shen Mu merely smiled without a word.

Without the cultivation of the first level of Boiling Blood, he would never have dared to collect the fees so brazenly, lest the woodcutters band together to protest or revolt.

But now, with his current cultivation and a body tempered by a month of high-intensity training, he was no match for ten ordinary men, so he naturally had no fear of these woodcutters joining forces.

"Brother Wang, this is the money from all one hundred and thirty-seven households. It's all here; would you like to count it?"

Shen Mu and Luo Tao found Wang Jin, who was leisurely sipping tea at a teahouse on Yunxiang Street, and placed the money bag on the table.

"Haha, who would have thought that a month ago you two were the last ones to finish collecting, yet this time it only took you two hours."

Wang Jin said with a hint of teasing in his tone.

Shen Mu laughed, "That's all thanks to your reputation, Brother Wang. Even if those woodcutters don't give us face, they have to give you face, right?"

He then changed the subject, "Brother Wang, it's lunchtime now. I've already booked a private room at Yunxiang Restaurant. Shall we head over?"

"Let's go."

Wang Jin nodded, and the three of them left the teahouse, heading toward Yunxiang Restaurant.

In the private room, stimulated by Shen Mu's breakthrough and the fact that the monster meat in his body had not yet been fully digested, Luo Tao excused himself after offering three toasts to Wang Jin at Shen Mu's request, heading straight to the Firewood Gang headquarters for body training.

"Brother Shen, if you hadn't come to find me today, I wouldn't have had the chance to tell you certain things. But since you're here, I might as well tell you—you'd find out eventually once you become a formal member of the Firewood Gang."

With only Shen Mu and Wang Jin left in the room, Wang Jin, spurred by the enthusiastic toasts, seemed to recall something and spoke with profound meaning.

Shen Mu's heart stirred at these words, and he replied, "I am ready to listen to your guidance, Brother Wang."

Wang Jin smiled, "Brother Shen, you've been in the Firewood Gang for two months now. You should know that the gang has three main halls, right?"

Shen Mu nodded, pouring a full cup of wine for Wang Jin while maintaining an attentive expression.

Wang Jin continued, "Now that you've reached the first level of Boiling Blood, you can become a formal member once you register."

"At that time, you will need to choose one of the three halls to join. For example, the hall I belong to is the Firewood Hall, which is primarily responsible for managing the peripheral members who collect firewood fees on Yunxiang Street!"

Shen Mu immediately realized that Wang Jin was introducing the situation of the three halls to deepen their friendship.

If he hadn't sought him out today and hosted this banquet, he would never have heard these things.

Thinking of this, Shen Mu couldn't help but feel a sense of relief.

If he had been completely in the dark and joined a hall at random, he feared it would be too late to regret it later.

"Brother Wang, I truly haven't decided which hall to join yet."

Shen Mu asked humbly, "Could you tell me more about the situation regarding the three major halls?"

"The three major halls are the Beast Hunting Hall, the Yuan Mulberry Hall, and the Firewood Hall."

After downing his cup of wine in one gulp, Wang Jin continued slowly, "The Beast Hunting Hall is primarily responsible for hunting demonic beasts in the Dark Night Beast Forest, located over a hundred miles away from Cloud Dragon County."

"The members who join the Beast Hunting Hall are mainly responsible for digging traps and surrounding and killing demonic beasts."

"This makes the Beast Hunting Hall the one with the highest casualty rate among the Firewood Gang. Of course, the monthly salary for members who join the Beast Hunting Hall is also the highest, and there is an endless supply of beast meat—as long as you can stomach it!"

"Brother Shen, would you be willing to join the Beast Hunting Hall?"

Seeing this, Shen Mu shook his head immediately.

He certainly understood that rewards were often accompanied by risks, but since he possessed the Martial Dao Tree to accelerate his cultivation speed, why would he need to take such risks?

Once his cultivation improved in the future, wouldn't it be simple to earn money?

If he joined the Beast Hunting Hall and accidentally died at the hands of a demonic beast, he wouldn't even have a place to cry.

Converting the silver in his hands into cultivation progress was his current short-term goal; no matter how much money he earned, he had to be alive to spend it.

His goal was to one day become a Martial God and attain eternal life; he certainly couldn't die halfway to becoming a Martial God!

Shen Mu said, "Brother Wang, the principle I have always followed is to avoid risks whenever possible. Although the Beast Hunting Hall offers a generous salary, if one loses their life, what use is all that money?"

Wang Jin gave him an appreciative look and laughed, "Brother Shen is right. We work hard to temper our bodies and cultivate, isn't it just so we can live a good life?"

"But if we have to hang our heads from our belts to make a living for the sake of it, wouldn't that be putting the cart before the horse?"

Shen Mu poured another full cup of wine for Wang Jin and continued to ask, "Then what about the Yuan Mulberry Hall?"