Martial Arts Hegemony, Sword Cut to Self-Mutilate

Neither of the two intermediate draws yielded anything good, leaving Su Xin feeling rather unconfident about the third.

However, there is no technique to speak of when it comes to relying on luck, so Su Xin gritted his teeth and proceeded with the third draw.

The wheel spun slowly, landing unexpectedly on the cultivation technique category. This time, a young swordsman appeared on the large screen.

Dressed in a bright red robe, he had a tall, slender build and delicate, handsome features; at first glance, he appeared to be a refined young man.

But a closer look revealed that his sword-like eyebrows curved downward like willow leaves, and his skin was so fine it didn't look like a normal man's, containing a hint of feminine softness.

Furthermore, the young swordsman's eyes held a look of sinister, desperate madness, giving one a chilling sensation.

"Congratulations to the host for drawing the character Lin Pingzhi, accompanied by the cultivation manual Evil-Warding Sword Manual. No further drawing required. Technique rating: two and a half stars."

Upon hearing the system's announcement, Su Xin's vision went black; he nearly spat out a mouthful of blood.

Su Xin certainly needed a two-and-a-half-star technique, but what was the prerequisite for practicing the Evil-Warding Sword Manual?

To dominate the martial arts world, one must first castrate oneself!

If he were a man, it was unlikely many would be willing to practice such a technique.

If Su Xin were to send this to the Great Zhou imperial palace, those eunuchs would probably be very interested.

Having struck out three times in a row with the intermediate draws, Su Xin finally decided to give up.

He left one intermediate draw unused, keeping it for emergencies.

And those 200 Villain Points were even more untouchable.

Whether it was for selecting techniques after drawing characters or for when the shop opened, these Villain Points were hard currency; using them for draws now would be too wasteful.

Just as Su Xin tossed the Evil-Warding Sword Manual into a corner of the system space and prepared to log out, the system issued a new main quest.

"Quest Activated: Main Quest - Posture of an Overlord (II). Quest Description: Since you have money, you must seize power. Become one of the decision-makers of the Flying Eagle Gang (Hall Master level). Time limit: one year."

"Failure Consequence: A random martial skill will be crippled, and your cultivation will drop by one minor realm."

"Quest Reward: 50% completion grants a designated category draw (above two stars, below three stars)."

"100% completion grants Purple Mist Divine Skill (overall rating two and a half stars), 800 Villain Points, and two intermediate draws."

"It really doesn't give one any time to rest; these main quests just keep coming one after another."

Exiting the space, Su Xin shook his head and sighed. His luck today was truly poor; out of three intermediate draws, besides the Spirit Opening Powder which had some use, the other two were a chicken rib and a piece of trash.

Moreover, this newly issued main quest would not be easy to complete.

Becoming a decision-maker in the Flying Eagle Gang meant at least reaching the level of a Hall Master, and doing it within a year was a harsh condition.

He hadn't felt this way before meeting Sha Feiying and the three Hall Masters, but now that he had seen them in person, these gang leaders who had founded the Flying Eagle Gang were all far stronger than him.

Of course, while the quest conditions were harsh, the rewards were indeed generous, including a two-and-a-half-star internal energy technique—the renowned Purple Mist Divine Skill.

Furthermore, he could claim a reward upon reaching 50% completion. It seemed the system knew this quest spanned a wide scope and was providing some benefits in advance.

Su Xin also realized that compared to martial skills, the chance of obtaining internal energy techniques through draws was much lower.

If he relied solely on draws, he didn't know how many lifetimes it would take to get a decent internal energy technique. The reward for this quest was truly tempting.

With a one-year time limit, time was not abundant. Su Xin had to seize every moment to cultivate and build up his own influence.

Taking out the Spirit Opening Powder, Su Xin poured a bit into his mouth and swallowed it directly. A cool sensation immediately spread throughout his body.

Su Xin could clearly feel that, guided by the medicinal power of the Spirit Opening Powder, his true energy and blood were flowing three times faster than before, surging against the acupoints in his body.

However, although the Spirit Opening Powder was rated at two stars, its medicinal power was not enough to help him break through an acupoint directly.

Su Xin had spent over a month breaking through thirty-six acupoints; it seemed fast, but the speed would inevitably slow down afterward.

Of the one hundred and eight acupoints in the human body, the later ones would be increasingly difficult to open. The first thirty-six were merely an appetizer.

Taking advantage of the rapid circulation of his blood and energy driven by the Spirit Opening Powder, Su Xin went into the courtyard, lifted two stone locks weighing a total of three hundred catties, and began to swing them rapidly to accelerate his circulation even further.

In the Post-Natal realm, merely sitting in meditation was the behavior of an idiot. A martial artist's cultivation is, in fact, a process of developing the treasures within one's own body.

Post-Natal is for tempering the body; Pre-Natal is for refining energy.

The 'refining' of the Pre-Natal realm refers to the practice of sitting in meditation.

The 'tempering' of the Post-Natal realm refers to the forging of the body, treating oneself like a piece of raw iron; only after a thousand hammerings can a divine weapon reveal its edge.

A single character's difference reveals the true essence of these two great realms.

The next morning, after having breakfast with Xin'er, Su Xin went straight to the Happy Forest.

After more than a month of development, the Happy Forest was over ten times more prosperous than when it first started. Even in broad daylight, the streets were bustling with people; if one didn't look at the rest of the Joyful District, one would think this was the center of Changning Prefecture.

"Boss Su, congratulations, congratulations," Boss Liu of the Drunken Moon Pavilion said with a smile, holding a folding fan.

Su Xin raised an eyebrow: "Oh? What is there to congratulate me for?"

Boss Liu snapped his fan open and flattered: "Everyone knows that you assassinated Dai Chong for the sake of your brothers, Boss Su. You are truly a man of your word. Although the Flying Eagle Gang didn't reward you this time, your status within the gang has been solidified."

Su Xin looked at Boss Liu with surprise; he saw things quite clearly.

This time, Su Xin hadn't just survived the immediate crisis; he had also won over the hearts of his men.

Not to mention his subordinates in the Happy Forest, Su Xin was no longer a nobody within the nearly ten-thousand-strong Flying Eagle Gang.

Whenever anyone mentions Su Xin, they think, "Ah, that's the hero who assassinated the Green Bamboo Gang's top leader to avenge his brother."

While this invisible status might not seem like much on the surface, it signifies that Su Xin has been officially recognized by the Flying Eagle Gang.

Just like Liu Sandao before him; although he was a minor leader, his position was illegitimate, so when Su Xin killed him with a single sword strike, it was simply done and over with. By now, I doubt anyone can even recall such a person.

But now, if anyone wants to move against Su Xin, it won't be so simple. Even the gang leader would need a solid reason to take him down; otherwise, the other gang members would grow cold-hearted.

"Heh, I, Su, don't ask for any rewards, only to have a clear conscience. However, I am quite curious—Boss Liu, you came to offer me congratulations?"

"I thought everyone in Happy Forest was hoping for my death, so that no one would be around to collect your dividends," Su Xin said with a half-smile.

Boss Liu's expression turned solemn. He closed his folding fan and whispered, "Rest assured, Boss Su. I, Liu Kun, am not a man of such short-sightedness. I don't know what others are thinking, but I will always support you, Boss Su."

"You should be the one calling the shots in Happy Forest. What we pay is merely a portion of our dividends, but in exchange, we get a stable environment. If it were anyone else from the Flying Eagle Gang, heh, we would just be a flock of fat sheep."

Speaking of this, Liu Kun revealed a cold sneer: "I know the character of the leaders in other districts. The monthly wages they pay their subordinates are lower than the last, so those gang members have to look to us if they want to make some extra pocket money."

"They scrape a little here and a little there today and tomorrow. The money is a small matter, but our business is being significantly hindered by them."

"Those short-sighted fools in Happy Forest might think that if someone else took over, the dividends would revert to the old protection fees, but they don't know that these dividends could only increase, never decrease."

Su Xin smiled and patted Liu Kun on the shoulder: "Boss Liu is indeed a man of understanding. They all think that by taking these dividends, I am cutting flesh from their bodies, but if someone else were to take over, it wouldn't just be cutting flesh—I fear they would be drained of blood."

The two exchanged a few more pleasantries. After finishing his display of loyalty to Su Xin, Liu Kun walked away fanning himself. With his handsome and scholarly appearance, he had more class than even the top scholar-turned-prefect of Changning Prefecture. It was a pity that this fellow was nothing more than a pimp running a flesh trade.

Huang Bingcheng walked out of the hall and, seeing Boss Liu's back, asked suspiciously, "Boss, what kind of tricks are those merchants up to now?"

Su Xin shook his head: "They didn't dare before, and they dare even less now. Boss Liu is a smart man; he won't do such a thing. On the contrary, he will even stop some of the less intelligent ones."

Huang Bingcheng was no fool. Once Su Xin put it that way, he understood what was going on. So, the pimp had come to pledge his loyalty—his eye for talent was truly not bad.

"Go call Li Huai over. We have some things to discuss," Su Xin ordered.

Huang Bingcheng nodded and hurried off to find Li Huai.

Li Huai was a cold man who looked at everyone as if they were an eyesore. When he was under Su Xin's command previously, everyone was quite afraid of him.

One reason was Li Huai's personality, and the other was his strength.

Back when he was under Third Master Hu, Li Huai was already quite famous, though it was an infamous reputation.

The man seemed to have a violent streak; whenever he made a move, it was either death or disability. Even fellow gang members didn't dare to spar with him.

But after following Su Xin to assassinate Dai Chong, everyone's perception of him improved significantly. They felt that while he was cold on the outside, he was warm on the inside, and he never hesitated when it came to his brothers.

Even though Li Huai had followed Su Xin to assassinate Dai Chong purely for the sake of combat and seeking a thrill.

Consequently, when everyone saw Li Huai again, they began to greet him proactively, their tones quite gentle. This actually made Li Huai feel rather uncomfortable.

He was used to interacting with people coldly, and now that people were showing him goodwill, he really wasn't accustomed to it.

Just this morning, as soon as Li Huai arrived at the training ground in the back of the hall to practice, he was surrounded by several young gang members with looks of admiration.

"Brother Li, tell us, how did you and the Boss take down Dai Chong?"

"That's right, Brother Li! I heard Dai Chong was eight feet tall and eight feet around the waist. Is that true?"

Li Huai broke into a light sweat, stammering and unable to speak.

It was easy for him to kill people, but asking him to socialize with these young gang members was far too difficult.

Just then, Huang Bingcheng ran over and scolded, "What are you all doing gathered here? It's early in the morning—if you aren't out there tempering your bones and training your fists, you want to know how to kill Dai Chong? Can you kill him just by flapping your mouths?"

After chasing the gang members away, Huang Bingcheng said, "Li Huai, the Boss wants to see you."

Li Huai wiped his sweat and nodded at Huang Bingcheng. A trace of gratitude even appeared in his eyes, which gave Huang Bingcheng a sudden jolt. He thought to himself, Did Li Huai forget to take his medicine today?