Of Changning Prefecture's forty-nine districts, Joyful District was the poorest. But it wasn't all slums; at least one street was decent. It was called Happy Forest.
Just as the name suggested, Happy Forest was a place for people to have fun. On that little street alone stood over a hundred gambling houses, restaurants, brothels, and inns.
That one street was enough to support dozens of Flying Eagle Gang members. Without it, the gang would probably have withdrawn from Joyful District altogether.
The Flying Eagle Gang thought it was a losing proposition to fight the Green Bamboo Gang to the death over such a poor district.
At that moment, inside the Drunken Moon Pavilion, the biggest brothel in Happy Forest, Liu Sandao was lounging with his eyes half-closed as two girls massaged him. He listened to several underlings report on the situation, enjoying a very comfortable life.
Liu Sandao was already in his thirties. He had spent more than ten years in the Martial Arts World just to reach the lowly position of minor boss. It hadn't been easy.
Though he hadn't exactly earned his current position honorably.
But this was the Martial Arts World. Even if small-time gang members like them were the lowest of the low, one rule applied to everyone: might made right.
Liu Sandao was vicious and ruthless. In his very first fight, he had hacked a member of a rival gang to death with three strokes of his blade, earning the name Liu Sandao. But he wasn't a martial artist; he didn't have even the slightest bit of kung fu.
Because he lacked strength, he had spent more than ten years struggling at the bottom of the Flying Eagle Gang.
Still, that wasn't entirely a bad thing. At least he had made plenty of friends among the gang's rank and file, and he had some connections with a few minor and major bosses higher up.
Otherwise, after he framed Su Xin, he wouldn't have ended up with this minor-boss position. He would have been punished under the gang's rules.
"How's Chen doing at the gambling house?" Liu Sandao asked casually, rolling a pair of iron balls in his hands.
He had picked up the trick from Tie Wuqing, the chief constable of Changning Prefecture's East Twelve Wards. He thought it made him look imposing.
The underling grimaced. "Brother Chen has already lost over a hundred taels at the gambling house. They just lent him another hundred."
Liu Sandao waved a hand, unconcerned. "Put however much he loses on my tab. Tell Old Huang at the gambling house he can skip next month's cut."
The underling said cautiously, "But the gambling house's monthly cut is only fifty taels. And Old Huang said the Green Bamboo Gang used to collect just thirty."
"Bang!"
Liu Sandao slammed one of the iron balls onto the floor. The two girls behind him turned pale with fright.
"This place is under my control now!"
His face twisted into a savage sneer.
"Go tell Old Huang that the monthly cut is two hundred taels from now on! If he doesn't pay, there'll be no reason for him to keep that gambling house open!"
"Yes, yes! I'll go tell him right away!" The underling hurried out.
For some reason, ever since he had become a minor boss, their usually kind and amiable Brother Liu had changed so much.
Liu Sandao picked up the iron ball and settled back into his chair, rolling it in his hand again. But before he could get comfortable, a commotion erupted outside.
"What's going on?" Liu Sandao asked, displeased.
"Big Brother! Lao Wu is dead!" A gang member with a scar across his face rushed in, his voice breaking.
"What happened? Wasn't Lao Wu out with Lao Si? Did the Green Bamboo Gang do this?"
Liu Sandao shoved past the others. At the entrance to the Drunken Moon Pavilion, he saw Lao Si carrying Lao Wu, whom Su Xin had killed with a single sword thrust. Lao Si stared at him blankly.
"How exactly did Lao Wu die?!"
Liu Sandao had plenty of underlings, but most had only joined after he became a minor boss. Of the people who had truly followed him loyally for years, only the five brothers remained.
"Third Brother! Su Xin killed Lao Wu!"
"Su Xin!" That was the last name Liu Sandao wanted to hear.
Though the righteous martial world looked down on gangs, they still valued loyalty.
Liu Sandao had secured his position by framing his brother, and though he had managed to hold on to it, people were bound to gossip.
"Impossible! The Green Bamboo Gang beat Su Xin so badly he was barely breathing. Even if he didn't die, he should be close to it. How could he have killed Lao Wu?"
Lao Si said bitterly, "It's true! Su Xin killed Lao Wu with one strike! No—that thing he used can't even be called a sword. It was just a piece of iron! He also said you owed him, Third Brother, and that he'd come collect it from you himself!"
At those words, a chill shot straight to the top of Liu Sandao's head.
He glanced around and roared, "What the hell are you looking at? Get out of here, all of you!"
The people watching inside the Drunken Moon Pavilion scattered at once.
"Go get Chen for me."
Chen's full name was Chen Dao. He was in his forties. Although he was an ordinary Flying Eagle Gang member, he had another identity: he was the adopted son of Third Master Hu, one of the gang's thirteen major bosses.
His Iron Sand Palm had been passed down to him by Third Master Hu, and ordinary minor bosses were no match for him.
This time, Liu Sandao had spent hundreds of taels treating Chen Dao to food, drink, women, and gambling, hoping Chen Dao would put in a good word for him with Third Master Hu and help secure his position.
An underling brought Chen Dao over, but he sat down in Liu Sandao's seat with an impatient look and asked, "What's going on? I was in the middle of a good game."
Liu Sandao didn't take offense at Chen Dao's rudeness. Instead, he smiled obsequiously. "Brother Chen, one of my men was killed with a single strike. I wanted you to take a look and judge how strong the person was."
"Someone from the Green Bamboo Gang?" A place like Joyful District wouldn't attract people from other gangs. The only possibility was the Green Bamboo Gang, who had just fought them and lost.
"No. One of our own." Liu Sandao looked awkward.
"One of our own? Damn it, you can't even keep your own men in line?"
Chen Dao frowned at Liu Sandao, then seemed to realize something. He asked in surprise, "Was it Su Xin? The Su Xin whose position you stole?"
Liu Sandao nodded awkwardly. Selling out a brother was the sort of thing that sounded bad no matter how you put it.
Chen Dao shrugged. He'd taken the man's money, so he'd deal with the problem.
Lao Wu's body was brought over, and Chen Dao crouched to examine it carefully.
When he saw the sword wound on Lao Wu's throat, Chen Dao's eyes narrowed.
"Brother Chen, what do you think? Can you tell anything?" Liu Sandao asked hurriedly.
"A master! A master swordsman!" Chen Dao said gravely, all trace of his earlier laziness gone.
"One strike, and the blade cut the windpipe cleanly. It didn't even go a hair's breadth farther. This person's control of the sword has reached a terrifying level. Was Su Xin this strong when he worked under you?"
Liu Sandao said blankly, "The kid could fight back then, that's true. He looked frail, but he was strong, and he fought viciously, without regard for his own life. He could take on three burly men at once. But I never heard that he knew how to use a sword."
"That's strange. No one could pull off a move like that without more than ten years of sword training." Chen Dao sat up and toyed with Liu Sandao's two iron balls.
"Could Su Xin have learned internal cultivation?" Liu Sandao suddenly asked.
Chen Dao scoffed. "You think just anyone is qualified to learn internal cultivation? Only martial artists who've truly reached the Postnatal Realm can practice it. In our Sand Eagle Gang, only the gang leader and the three hall masters have reached the Postnatal Realm.
"Where do you think we are? This is Changning Prefecture, not Shengjing City, where martial artists are everywhere. The best we can call ourselves is people who make a living in the martial world. Internal cultivation? Have you been listening to too many stage plays?"
Liu Sandao smiled ingratiatingly. "I was ignorant, Brother Chen. So, are you confident you can deal with Su Xin?"
"What good does it do if his sword is fast and precise? Strength is what matters!" Chen Dao said. "For five hundred taels of silver, I'll take care of Su Xin for you. I'll also report to my adoptive father that Su Xin colluded with the Green Bamboo Gang, clearing your name of the rumor that you framed your brother."
"Fine! I'll get the silver ready right away!" Liu Sandao gritted his teeth and agreed.
His life mattered more than money. Five hundred taels was a lot, but if he squeezed the shops in Happy Forest a little harder, he could make it back in a month.
"Now that's the spirit! Liu Sandao, you'll soon see that your five hundred taels were well spent."
Chen Dao tossed down the iron ball and stood up. Five clear fingerprints had appeared on its surface, though it had been forged from solid steel!
What was Su Xin doing at that moment? He was eating buns.
As soon as he reached Happy Forest, he felt hungry again, so he found a roadside stall and ordered several baskets of steamed buns.
Martial artists had vigorous qi and blood, so they ate a lot. And since Su Xin had just started practicing internal cultivation, he needed to digest the food's essence and refine it into inner strength.
Some experts could eat an entire ox in a day. Of course, they could also go a month without eating or drinking.
After finishing the buns, Su Xin suddenly remembered that he still had a draw left to use today.
With a thought, Su Xin appeared in the System Space.
"System, I still have one draw left today, right?"
The system replied, "Correct. Host has one primary draw remaining. Would you like to draw?"
"Draw," Su Xin said without hesitation.
The primary draw was rather underwhelming, but if he got lucky and drew another technique or martial skill, that would be good.
But this time, Su Xin evidently didn't have fortune on his side. The wheel's pointer swept past martial arts techniques and landed on the pills section.
"Tsk! Not quite what I'd hoped for. A weapon would've been nice."
Su Xin was still using that Iron Sheet Sword, which was rather shabby.
The silver he'd taken from Lao Si could buy him a fine steel sword, but they were all ordinary goods, not much better than his scrap of iron.
"Congratulations, Host. You've drawn one Primary Inferior Qi Nourishing Pill. Rating: half a star."
Su Xin's mouth twitched. A primary Qi Nourishing Pill—and an inferior one at that. Just hearing the name made it sound useless.
After he left the System Space, the Primary Inferior Qi Nourishing Pill appeared in Su Xin's hand. It wasn't round, but an irregular lump that didn't look trustworthy at all.
Su Xin opened his mouth and crunched it down in two bites. Instantly, he felt the inner strength in his body double.
Don't think that doubling it meant much. Su Xin had only practiced internal cultivation for a day, so he had barely a trace of inner strength to begin with. Even doubled, it was still just a trace.
All in all, the Primary Inferior Qi Nourishing Pill could only add as much inner strength as Su Xin would gain from one day of cultivation. It was better than nothing.
Just as Su Xin stood up, the system's voice rang in his mind: "Quest system activated. Issuing quest. Newbie Quest: Kill Liu Sandao within three days and become a minor boss in the Flying Eagle Gang. Quest rewards: 10 Villain Points and one primary Qi Nourishing Pill. Failure penalty: Lose one arm."
"The failure penalty for a newbie quest is that harsh? Still, the quest itself seems simple enough."
Su Xin dropped a piece of silver on the table and headed straight into Happy Forest.
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