Aiming to Rule the Martial Arts World, He Wielded His Sword to Castrate Himself

Neither of the two intermediate draws had yielded anything good, so Su Xin had little confidence in his third attempt.

But there was no skill involved in something that depended on luck, so Su Xin gritted his teeth and went ahead with the third draw.

The wheel turned slowly, and to his surprise, it landed on the martial arts manual section. This time, the giant screen showed a young swordsman.

He wore a bright red robe and was tall and slender, with handsome, delicate features. At first glance, he looked like a strikingly beautiful young man.

But a closer look revealed that beneath his sword-shaped brows, the outer corners of his eyes drooped like willow leaves. His skin was also far too smooth and delicate for a normal man, with a trace of feminine softness.

There was a sinister, despairing madness in the young swordsman's eyes, making him seem downright chilling.

"Congratulations, host. You have drawn Lin Pingzhi, who comes with one copy of the Evil-Warding Sword Manual. No further draw is required. Martial arts manual rating: two and a half stars."

At the system's words, Su Xin's vision went dark. He nearly spat out a mouthful of blood.

Su Xin certainly needed a two-and-a-half-star martial arts manual, but what was the prerequisite for cultivating the Evil-Warding Sword Manual?

To rule the Martial Arts World, one had to wield one's sword and castrate oneself!

He couldn't imagine many men willing to cultivate a technique like that.

If Su Xin sent it to the Great Zhou Imperial Palace, the eunuchs there would probably be very interested.

After three consecutive intermediate draws had all ended in failure, Su Xin finally decided to give up.

He left his remaining intermediate draw untouched, saving it for an emergency.

And he certainly couldn't spend those 200 Villain Points.

Whether they were used to choose a martial arts manual after drawing a character or to access the shop, Villain Points were hard currency. Spending them on a draw now would be far too wasteful.

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

Main Quest: Posture of an Overlord (II)
Quest Details: Since you have money, you should seize power. Become one of the Flying Eagle Gang's decision-makers (at the hall master level).
Time Limit: One year
Failure Penalty: Randomly lose one of your martial skills and drop one minor realm.
Quest Rewards:
50% Completion: One draw of a specified category (two stars or above, below three stars).
100% Completion: Purple Mist Divine Skill (overall rating: two and a half stars), 800 Villain Points, and two intermediate draws.

"It really doesn't give me a moment to rest. One main quest after another."

After leaving the space, Su Xin shook his head with a sigh. His luck had been terrible today. Out of three intermediate draws, only the Spirit Opening Powder had been of any use. The other two had been one useless trinket and one piece of garbage.

And this newly issued main quest wouldn't be easy to complete, either.

Becoming one of the Flying Eagle Gang's decision-makers meant reaching at least the hall master level, and he had to do it within a year. Those conditions were harsh.

Before meeting Sha Feiying and the three hall masters, he hadn't thought so. But now that he'd seen them in person, he knew the founding leaders of the Flying Eagle Gang were all far stronger than he was.

Of course, the conditions were harsh, but the rewards were genuinely generous. They included a two-and-a-half-star internal cultivation method—the renowned Purple Mist Divine Skill.

And once quest completion reached 50%, he could claim a reward. It seemed the system knew this quest would take a long time, so it had offered him a benefit in advance.

Su Xin had also realized that internal cultivation methods were much harder to draw than martial skills.

If he relied on draws alone, who knew how long it would take to get his hands on a decent internal cultivation method? The reward for this quest was certainly tempting.

He had one year, and time was tight. Su Xin could only hurry to cultivate his own strength and build up his faction.

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

He could clearly feel his qi and blood moving three times faster than before under the powder's medicinal effects, surging against the acupoints within him.

Although the Spirit Opening Powder had a two-star rating, its medicinal effects weren't enough to let him open an acupoint outright.

It had taken Su Xin over a month to open thirty-six acupoints. That seemed fast, but his progress would inevitably slow from here on.

The human body had 108 acupoints, and the farther one progressed, the slower it became to open them. The first thirty-six were only an appetizer.

Taking advantage of the powder's effects, with his qi and blood circulating rapidly, Su Xin went into the courtyard. He lifted two stone locks weighing a total of three hundred jin and began swinging them rapidly, making his qi and blood circulate even faster.

At the Postnatal Realm, simply sitting in meditation to cultivate was something only an idiot would do. A martial artist's cultivation was really a process of unlocking the treasures within their own body.

Postnatal cultivation tempered the body; Xiantian cultivation trained the qi.

The "training" in Xiantian referred to the practice of sitting in meditation.

The "tempering" in Postnatal referred to forging the body, treating it like a lump of iron and hammering it again and again. Only after countless blows could a divine weapon begin to show its edge.

The difference of just one character revealed the essence of these two great realms.

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

After more than a month of development, Happy Forest had grown more than ten times busier than it had been at the start. Even in broad daylight, the streets were crowded with people. If one ignored the rest of Joyful District, it could almost pass for the center of Changning Prefecture.

"Congratulations, Boss Su! My congratulations!" Boss Liu from Drunken Moon Pavilion said with a smile, carrying a folding fan.

Su Xin raised an eyebrow. "Oh? What's there to congratulate me for?"

With a swish, Boss Liu opened his fan and offered a flattering smile. "Everyone knows you went after Dai Chong to avenge your brother. You're a real man, no doubt about it. The Flying Eagle Gang may not have rewarded you this time, but your position in the gang has been secured."

Su Xin looked at Liu Liu in surprise. The man had a very clear understanding of things.

This time, Su Xin hadn't merely weathered the crisis in front of him. He'd also won people's hearts.

There was no need to mention the subordinates in Happy Forest. Now, even in a Flying Eagle Gang with nearly ten thousand men, Su Xin was no longer a nobody.

Whenever anyone mentioned Su Xin, they'd think, Ah, he's the hero who went after the Green Bamboo Gang's top man to avenge his brother.

Though this kind of invisible status meant little on the surface, it represented the Flying Eagle Gang's formal recognition of Su Xin.

It was like Liu Sandao before him. Though he had also been a minor leader, his position had been shaky. Su Xin had killed him with a single sword, and that was that. Now, probably no one could even remember the man.

But if someone wanted to touch Su Xin now, it wouldn't be so simple. Even if the gang leader wanted to take him down, he'd need a good reason. Otherwise, the other gang members would be disheartened.

"Heh, I, Su, don't ask for any rewards. I only ask to have a clear conscience. But I'm curious, Boss Liu. Why have you come to congratulate me? I thought everyone in Happy Forest was hoping I'd die, so no one would be around to take a cut of your profits." Su Xin spoke with a faint, knowing smile.

Boss Liu's expression turned solemn. He put away his fan and lowered his voice. "Rest assured, Boss Su. I, Liu Kun, am not so short-sighted. I can't speak for the others, but I'll always support you.

"You're the one in charge of Happy Forest. All we give up is a portion of our profits, and in return we get a stable environment. If someone else from the Flying Eagle Gang took over, heh, we'd be nothing but fat lambs."

At that, Liu Kun gave a cold laugh. "I know what the bosses in other areas are like. They pay their men less and less each month, so the gang members can only try to squeeze a bit of extra money out of us.

"They mooch a little today and a little tomorrow. The money itself is small potatoes, but they disrupt our businesses plenty.

"Those short-sighted people in Happy Forest might think that bringing in someone else would turn our share of the profits into the old fixed fee. But they don't realize that the share can only grow, never shrink."

Su Xin smiled and patted Liu Kun on the shoulder. "Boss Liu really is a man who understands. They think I'm cutting flesh from their bodies by taking a share of the profits. But if someone else took over, it wouldn't just be a cut—it'd be a bloodletting."

After exchanging a few more pleasantries, Liu Kun—having pledged his loyalty to Su Xin—walked away, fanning himself. With his handsome, refined looks, he had more bearing than even Changning Prefecture's current prefect, who had once placed third in the imperial examinations. It was a pity the fellow was still a pimp running a brothel.

Huang Bingcheng came out of the hall and watched Boss Liu's retreating back. "Boss, are those merchants starting to stir up trouble again?"

Su Xin shook his head. "They wouldn't have dared before, and now they're even less likely to. Boss Liu is a clever man; he wouldn't do something like that. On the contrary, he'll stop a few of the less clever ones."

Huang Bingcheng wasn't stupid. After hearing Su Xin, he understood what was going on. The pimp had come to pledge loyalty to the boss. His judgment really was good.

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

Huang Bingcheng nodded and hurried off to find Li Huai.

Li Huai was a cold, hard man, with an expression that made it seem like he couldn't stand anyone. When he'd worked under Su Xin before, everyone had been rather afraid of him.

Partly because of Li Huai's personality, and partly because of his strength.

Back when he worked under Third Master Hu, Li Huai had already been well-known, though mostly for his bad reputation.

The fellow seemed to have a violent streak. Whenever he fought, someone ended up dead or crippled. Even the gang's own disciples were afraid to spar with him.

But after he followed Su Xin to assassinate Dai Chong, people's opinion of him improved quite a bit. They saw that he was cold on the outside but warm at heart, and that he never hesitated when it came to helping a brother.

Of course, Li Huai had followed Su Xin to assassinate Dai Chong purely for the fight—for the thrill of it.

So when everyone saw Li Huai afterward, they started greeting him of their own accord, and their voices were much warmer. That left Li Huai rather uncomfortable.

He was used to keeping everyone at arm's length. Now that people were showing him goodwill, he really didn't know what to do with it.

That morning, Li Huai had just arrived at the Martial Arts Arena in the hall's rear courtyard, ready to practice a few moves, when several young gang members surrounded him with looks of admiration.

"Brother Li, tell us how you and the boss took down Dai Chong!"

"Yeah, Brother Li! I heard Dai Chong was eight feet tall, and his waist was eight feet around. Is that true?"

Li Huai was sweating a little. He stammered, unable to get a word out.

Killing people was easy for him, but talking with these young gang members was far too difficult.

Just then, Huang Bingcheng ran over and scolded them. "What are you all standing around here for? It's early morning, and you should be toughening your bodies and practicing your fists and feet. And you want to know how Dai Chong was taken down? Do you think you can kill him with your mouths?"

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

Li Huai wiped away his sweat and nodded to Huang Bingcheng. There was even a trace of gratitude in his eyes, making Huang Bingcheng shiver. He wondered if Li Huai had forgotten to take his medicine that morning.