Dusk fell, and the sun sank beyond the western hills.
Ye Li stood before Guangming City's southern gate, looking at his uncle and aunt's family.
"Uncle, Aunt, after we part, we may not see each other again for years."
Ye Li's expression was solemn. "Take care of your health. Settle down somewhere and live comfortably as wealthy folk. Once your nephew has made it big, I'll bring you back in glory."
With that, he turned to Wang Ganshi, who stood nearby. "Uncle, please make sure the three of them reach somewhere safe."
"Don't worry, nephew. We'll travel along the official roads, escorted by Body Tempering Realm bodyguards hired by the merchant caravan. Nothing will go wrong." Wang Ganshi assured him, then looked deeply at the handsome young man before him.
He could hardly describe the shock he'd felt when Ye Li had come to thank him yesterday for giving him a Body Tempering Pill.
To break through to the Body Tempering Realm in two months—excluding the legendary figures from storybooks whom no one ever saw, that speed was top-tier talent in Guangming. There was hope of reaching the peak of the Post-Heaven Realm!
Wang Ganshi was now deeply grateful for his investment strategy.
So when he heard Ye Li ask him to send his uncle and aunt to another city, to keep them from being caught up in trouble, he'd decisively organized a merchant caravan the very next day and prepared to depart.
Parting brought sorrow most of all. Ning Qiu sighed softly and gazed at Ye Li without a word.
Ye Duo clung to Ye Li's waist, unable to bear letting go. Ye Cunmang looked at his nephew and said:
"You need to take care of yourself, too. If you really find it too hard, don't practice martial arts. Keeping the family safe is what matters most. Your father got into trouble back then because he was always picking fights. Be careful in the city, all by yourself."
Ye Li nodded silently. "Your nephew picked fights and dragged the family into this. Don't scrimp on those one hundred taels of silver. Don't worry about money; more will be sent along in the future. As long as the money keeps coming, it means your nephew is safe and sound."
"What kind of talk is that, saying you dragged the family into this? If anything, we've dragged you down." Ye Cunmang sighed softly.
His only trait was [White: Numeracy]. He'd spent the first half of his life barely supporting the family by keeping accounts at the counter. Faced with Ye Li's difficulties, there was nothing he could do to help.
As an ordinary person, he understood his own abilities clearly.
He knew that a life spent earning a few taels of silver a month had left him with no experience that could offer his nephew any guidance in his current life.
All he could do was curl in on himself, trust Ye Li's choices, and let him venture out and explore until he found the road best suited to him.
As for himself, he would do his best to attract no attention along his nephew's path and avoid becoming a burden.
"Brother Ye Li, I don't want you to go." Ye Duo buried her face against his chest and spoke in a muffled voice. Her hands still gripped the colorful pinwheel Ye Li had given her.
Ye Li felt reluctant, too, and gently stroked the girl's hair. "Bear with it for a few years. Once Duo'er has grown up and Brother Ye Li is invincible under heaven, I'll bring you back."
"When you come back, the whole of Guangming City will be covered in pinwheels!"
Children were naturally flighty. Ye Li's grand promise quickly lit up her eyes, making her briefly forget the sadness of parting as she looked forward to that glorious sight.
After exchanging a few more words, the two sides finally parted.
Ye Li watched silently as the three of them disappeared into the caravan. He watched the merchants depart and said nothing.
He knew full well that in a fantasy novel, after a parting like this, the next time they met would probably be dozens, or even hundreds, of chapters later.
By then, everything would be entirely different.
Watching the long caravan disappear from sight, Ye Li slowly exhaled a breath of stale air. In the end, he still lacked strength!
He rolled his joints lightly, then turned and headed for East City.
Now that he'd sent away his vulnerable spot, he had no more worries holding him back. He could make his move in the city without worrying that his family would be caught up in it.
First, he had to return to the Azure Dragon Gang!
Over the past two days, Ye Li had been busy.
Busy cultivating and making connections.
He had to ask Wang Xian's father, Wang Ganshi, to take his family somewhere safe in another city. He also had to use Feng Yue to get in with Yang Shichang, a Post-Heaven Elder.
Only then could he use that as a stepping stone to get connected with the Gang Leader, Zheng Tong!
Zheng Tong was at the Half-Step Xiantian Realm, one of the top three martial artists in Guangming!
Whether Ye Li wanted to protect himself or grow stronger, what could be faster than getting connected with the Gang Leader?
The Azure Dragon Gang was an organization whose influence covered most of Guangming. The variety of martial arts manuals it possessed was beyond anything Ye Li could gather on his own.
He still clearly remembered the day he joined the gang, when Feng Yue had handed out manuals of ordinary martial arts to every student-reader as if he were distributing picture books.
They were only basic martial arts, the kind that could be bought for a mere twenty taels of silver.
But the gang must have had deeper secrets—manuals for cultivation in the Body Tempering or Post-Heaven Realm.
If he wanted to gain traits through martial arts manuals and earn the standing to contend with the Li Family, he had to rely on the gang's influence.
A few days after leaving the Azure Dragon Gang, Ye Li returned to the gang once more.
This time, however, he wasn't headed to the area for new members. He was going to the Gang Leader's Mansion, the gang's core grounds!
The moment he neared the mansion, a killing pressure washed over him.
The towering walls of stacked bluestone stood like iron ramparts. The mansion gates, lacquered red and studded with copper nails, were as imposing as a mountain. On either side, stone Suannis crouched with savage fangs bared. Their beastly eyes were inlaid with red gold, glinting coldly in the dusk.
The four guards on duty wore black armor. Their refined qi and blood were as solid as rock, and all had reached the peak of the Body Tempering Realm.
The guards' falcon-sharp gazes swept over the token at Ye Li's waist, and their expressions eased. It was Elder Yang Shichang's personal token.
Yang Shichang had already told them yesterday that Ye Li would be coming, so after Ye Li presented his token, he was allowed inside without trouble.
The moment he stepped into the Gang Leader's Mansion, the view opened wide before him.
The courtyard held no delicate flowers or willows. Instead, pines sprawled around artificial rockeries, and the paths were laid with whole planks of ironwood, carrying an air of blood and iron.
At the far end of the courtyard, in the reception hall, Ye Li saw a battle-hardened man whose face looked cast from bronze, his cheekbones carved as if by knife and axe.
Only now did Ye Li meet the Gang Leader in person for the first time.
Zheng Tong sat in a grand armchair, legs spread wide. When Ye Li entered the main hall, he spoke in a deep voice. "Shichang told me you wanted to see me?"
Before Ye Li could answer, Zheng Tong continued, "If this is about the Li Family, you can leave right now. They wouldn't dare make trouble!"
With that, he fixed his gaze on Ye Li and quietly waited for the young man's answer.
Standing before the Gang Leader, Ye Li drew a light breath and replied with neither arrogance nor fear:
"I've come for two reasons, Gang Leader. First, to present you with a gift. Second, to offer you my congratulations!"
"Oh? What did you say?"
Ye Li's words stirred Zheng Tong's expression and sent ripples through his heart. "What gift? And what happy news?"
All right, I've got half of it done!
Seeing Zheng Tong take the bait, Ye Li felt relieved.
As the old saying went: once a girl became curious about you, success was not far off.
The same held true for men.
After all, besides galgames—romance games for beautiful girls—there were also otome games for winning over men!
Yet people knew only the name of galgames and had never heard of the great otome games!
The experience worked both ways. He could use galgames to win over a wife, and use his otome-game experience to get his roommates and brothers calling him "Dad"!
To win someone over, he had to make their emotions follow his rhythm completely.