Yongle District Is Yours

Luo Zhen's strength was greater than Su Xin had imagined.

Su Xin guessed that he had at least opened more than seventy acupoints and was on the verge of breaking through to the middle stage of the Houtian realm.

"Kid, no wonder Dai Chong died at your hands; he certainly didn't die in vain." A look of appreciation appeared in Luo Zhen's eyes.

Although he was currently suppressing Su Xin, Su Xin's defense was impenetrable, leaving him only slightly at a disadvantage.

Considering Su Xin's age, Luo Zhen felt no sense of pride.

He had been practicing martial arts longer than Su Xin had been alive, yet he hadn't managed to take him down after dozens of exchanges; this was hardly a glorious feat.

Fighting to this point, a battle spirit had ignited within Luo Zhen. He let out a loud shout, and the Refined Iron Spear in his hand thrust out abruptly. The spearhead flickered five times in a tight space, like a dragon emerging from the sea, biting toward Su Xin!

"Six Harmonies Soul-Locking Spear: Hidden Dragon Emerges from the Sea!"

A clanging sound of metal striking metal rang out. Su Xin retreated several steps, his hands already numb.

This was the first time he had seen someone push spear technique to such a realm.

In Su Xin's view, according to the system's rating, Luo Zhen's spear technique was at most one star, not even as advanced as his own Great Sumeru Sword Style.

However, Luo Zhen had truly mastered this spear technique, with his proficiency reaching nearly one hundred percent.

Su Xin had always slightly overlooked the concept of proficiency, but today he had witnessed the terrifying nature of one hundred percent proficiency.

Setting aside the difference in their internal energy, this one-star Six Harmonies Soul-Locking Spear could completely suppress Su Xin's one-and-a-half-star Great Sumeru Sword Style.

Now Su Xin understood why the system included an option for one-time consumable items.

A martial art with one hundred percent proficiency and one with only five percent proficiency were as different as heaven and earth.

"Nine Heavens Thunder Fall!"

Luo Zhen shouted, leaping into the air. The Refined Iron Spear seemed to transform into a bolt of lightning, crashing down toward the ground.

Su Xin dodged to the side, and the spear tip slammed into the bluestone floor, shattering the five-finger-thick stone slabs instantly!

"Opportunity!"

Su Xin threw his heavy greatsword directly at Luo Zhen, then gripped the thin sword at his waist and lunged toward Luo Zhen, following the trajectory of the long spear.

Tilting his head to dodge the greatsword, Luo Zhen held the spear with one hand and immediately pulled back to retreat.

One inch longer means one inch stronger, one inch shorter means one inch more dangerous; those who use long weapons fear nothing more than being closed in upon.

The long spear flickered repeatedly, but Su Xin clung to it like a maggot on a bone, closing in along the shaft and forcing Luo Zhen to retract the spear and hold it horizontally before him.

Even Huang Bingcheng could see that Luo Zhen had made a blunder.

The advantage of a long weapon is distance. Now that Luo Zhen was defending with the spear held horizontally, the spear—over a person's height—could not be deployed, and its distance advantage was completely negated. Swung horizontally, the Refined Iron Spear was incredibly clumsy!

But they were not the ones in the fight; how could they know the pressure Luo Zhen was under?

Jing Wuming's fast sword was the purest form of killing, ending a life with one strike and deciding a battle with one move.

Su Xin's sword was held in check, not yet released. That intense killing intent and deterrent force made Luo Zhen's heart race, as if Su Xin's sword could pierce him at any moment.

If Su Xin had attacked directly, he wouldn't have been this nervous, but the fact that Su Xin kept this lethal sword hidden in his hand was infuriating.

A sword that has not left its sheath is the strongest sword!

Unable to bear such immense pressure, Luo Zhen had no choice but to defend with his spear held horizontally.

The roles of attacker and defender shifted. Su Xin did not hesitate; in a lightning-fast instant, Luo Zhen felt a sharp edge flash into his vision. Su Xin's left-handed sword had pierced toward his chest at an incredibly strange and tricky angle!

Luo Zhen pulled the spear back to retreat, shifting his grip to the middle of the Refined Iron Spear and sweeping it out horizontally. If this strike landed, given the immense power of the Refined Iron Spear, it would have shattered Su Xin's skull!

Huang Bingcheng gasped, but Li Huai let out a long breath and said, "The boss won."

"Huh?" Huang Bingcheng turned to look at Li Huai in surprise.

At that moment in the arena, the instant Huang Bingcheng turned his head, the outcome had been decided.

Luo Zhen's spear had ultimately failed to shatter Su Xin's skull, and Su Xin's sword had not pierced Luo Zhen's chest.

At the very last moment, Luo Zhen performed an "iron bridge" maneuver, bending his body back sharply, so the thin sword only grazed his clothes.

Luo Zhen looked at the torn fabric on his chest and smiled bitterly: "I say, kid, don't you know how to dodge? I already said this was to decide the winner, why did you have to make it a fight to the death?

If I hadn't dodged just now, the result would have been me smashing your head in, and you killing me with that sword."

Su Xin shook his head: "No, you're wrong. My sword is faster than you."

Luo Zhen shook his head with a bitter smile: "Fine, you win. This Yongle District is yours."

With that, Luo Zhen shouldered his long spear and led his men away in a clean, decisive manner. Yet, as he turned, he muttered to himself: "Are all young people these days this fierce? Incredible."

"Boss is mighty!" Huang Bingcheng cheered loudly, and the other gang members followed suit with excitement.

A duel between generals to decide the outcome before a battle—they had only heard of such scenes in storytelling, never expecting to see a real-life version today.

And for these rookies who had only just begun to touch upon martial arts, the duel between Su Xin and Luo Zhen was nothing short of spectacular.

After the cheering died down, Huang Bingcheng walked to Su Xin's side and asked suspiciously: "Boss, did that guy really just leave? He has six or seven hundred men under him; he could have easily swallowed us up. Just because he lost one fight, he left? Could there be some kind of trap here?"

"Don't worry. Luo Zhen's goal is simple: he just doesn't want to fight a meaningless battle. Although I only have a hundred or so men, if he wanted to take us down, he would have to pay a heavy price or end up in a mutual destruction.

He is a very simple person, and also a very idealistic one, which is why he can only ever be a chief. Otherwise, with his strength, he could even compete to be the third vice-leader of the Green Bamboo Gang."

Su Xin did not agree with Luo Zhen's way of thinking; he treated his subordinates like brothers and shouldered everything for them, but in the end, he would only cultivate a bunch of useless trash.

If Luo Zhen were to die, those subordinates of his would surely scatter like monkeys when the tree falls, and they would end up living even more miserably than before.

Moreover, by acting this way, he was clearly forming a small faction within the Green Bamboo Gang; it would be a miracle if the old gang leader promoted him.

Given Luo Zhen's personality, he would only ever be a mid-level boss in this lifetime, and that was only assuming his strength remained decent and he harbored no intentions of rebellion.

"Old Huang, send men to take over Yongle District. I'm going back to rest for a bit." Su Xin tossed the thin sword in his hand to Huang Bingcheng.

The intense collision with the Refined Iron Spear earlier had long since left Su Xin's hands numb, and the webbing between his thumbs and forefingers had even begun to split. Now that the battle was over, he didn't even have the strength to hold his sword.

"Boss, you can rest easy leaving it to me." Huang Bingcheng patted his chest in assurance and had Li Huai escort Su Xin back.

This was a critical moment in the gang war; if an assassin from the Green Bamboo Gang were to jump out from somewhere, Su Xin would be in trouble in his current state.

Although the probability was extremely low, one still had to be on guard.

After returning home and seeing that Xin'er had already fallen asleep, Su Xin didn't disturb her and instead went to the side room to sleep for the night.

Today's battle had brought Su Xin more than just combat experience; he had even managed to open up an acupuncture point in the process.

During a battle, the flow of qi and blood accelerates and internal energy is mobilized frequently. In the Houtian realm, this kind of high-intensity combat allows for faster breakthroughs than bitter cultivation.

Now Su Xin understood why Third Master Hu and the others hadn't even broken through the early Houtian stage despite their advanced age.

One reason was certainly their aptitude, but another was that they had lived in comfort for years and rarely fought anyone; relying solely on bitter cultivation naturally resulted in mediocre progress.

The next morning, while Su Xin was still asleep, he heard a frantic "bang, bang, bang" of knocking at the door, and could vaguely hear Huang Bingcheng's voice.

Su Xin glanced at the sky; it was only just beginning to brighten. If it weren't for something major, Huang Bingcheng certainly wouldn't have come to wake him at this hour.

He put on his clothes and opened the door to see Huang Bingcheng sporting dark circles under his eyes. Seeing Su Xin emerge, he hurriedly said, "Boss, something has happened! Our men have gotten into a fight with Tang Taihe!"

Su Xin frowned and asked, "What exactly is going on? Tell me slowly, and who is this Tang Taihe?"

Huang Bingcheng caught his breath before slowly recounting the whole story.

Tang Taihe was a minor boss under Third Master Hu and was considered someone Third Master Hu held in high regard, with over two hundred men under his command.

After Su Xin left, Huang Bingcheng and his men had split up to take over the territory throughout Yongle District.

A few of the gang members wanted to take over the territory near Shunyi Ward, only to find that this area had already been occupied by Tang Taihe and his men.

Their own boss had fought a life-and-death battle against Luo Zhen to win this territory, yet these people had just sat back and watched the show before swooping in to claim it—how could such a good thing exist in this world?

Those gang members went up to reason with them, but unexpectedly, they were beaten up by Tang Taihe, and the men were detained on the spot.

After Huang Bingcheng received the news, he didn't dare tell Li Huai for fear that his explosive temper would lead him to kill someone immediately, so he brought his men to find Su Xin instead.

A single Tang Taihe didn't amount to much, but the person standing behind him was Third Master Hu, which made it impossible for him not to be cautious.

After listening to Huang Bingcheng's account, a cold, mocking smile appeared on the corner of Su Xin's mouth.

They really took him, Su Xin, for a pushover, thinking any Tom, Dick, or Harry could come over and trample on him.

"Old Huang, don't worry about those territories for now; just get all our men together. I'd like to see just what kind of remarkable character this minor boss, whom my 'foster father' values so much, really is."