Faking Death to Mend Fate!

Deep in the night, a piece of news spread through Guangming City like wildfire!

Azure Dragon Gang leader Zheng Tong had taken on a new disciple! His name was Ye Li!

Because the residence where the incident occurred was surrounded by wealthy estates, several martial artists lurking in the shadows witnessed the entire affair.

In this world of high-level martial arts, only fists and power command respect!

With his cultivation at the half-step Post-Heaven Realm, Zheng Tong was a powerhouse ranked in the top three, if not the top two, of all Guangming City.

By virtue of his influence, his status in present-day Guangming was roughly equivalent to that of the City Lord.

As his closing disciple, wouldn't Ye Li effectively be the Young City Lord of Guangming?

As the news rippled outward, everyone was struck with astonishment.

People scrambled to contact their connections, asking, "What the hell! Who is this Ye Li???"

It was no wonder they were surprised; given Zheng Tong's status, why would he suddenly take on such an unknown disciple?

They recalled that the core disciple the Azure Dragon Gang had recently recruited was named Lu, wasn't he?

Various reports circulated within Guangming City, with intelligence on Ye Li being constantly traded and verified.

Soon, before dawn had even broken, information on Ye Li was laid out on the strategy tables of every major faction.

His background was unprecedentedly clean, leaving nothing to investigate; it could be summarized in a single sentence:

Born in South City, awakened at 18!

In less than two months of cultivation, he had faced an ambush and severely wounded seven core disciples of the same rank, one of whom even possessed a blue-tier trait...

Looking at the summarized intelligence, everyone stared at each other in silence.

The veterans who understood the quality of Zheng Tong's traits sighed to themselves; with such a battle record, even if he only had a green-tier trait, it was no wonder he was held in such high regard!

Late at night, outside the main bedroom of the Wang residence:

"Master, are you asleep? There is major news!"

Wang Ganshi had just turned in for the night when he was jolted awake by the steward's knocking.

The steward was panting heavily, having rushed over the moment he received the news.

"Old Jia, what are you howling about in the middle of the night! Why disturb me so late?" Wang Ganshi shouted back, somewhat annoyed.

From the steward's tone, he knew it wasn't bad news, so he wasn't particularly panicked; surely whatever good news it was could wait until tomorrow...

"Master, that young master Ye Li has been taken as a disciple by Gang Leader Zheng!"

"What!"

Wang Ganshi was so startled he jumped, rolling off the bed. He didn't even bother to put on his robes, running barefoot to push open the heavy doors, eyes wide.

"Are you saying Gang Leader Zheng of the Azure Dragon Gang has taken Young Master Ye... Young Master Ye as his disciple!"

"Master, that is exactly it. For the sake of Young Master Ye, the Gang Leader even dismissed that genius with the blue-tier trait! Furthermore, an Apprenticeship Banquet will be held soon!" Steward Jia reported.

Hearing the steward's confirmation, Wang Ganshi was beside himself with excitement. He paced back and forth at the doorway, rubbing his hands together while muttering:

"It's been less than a month... less than a month... he's truly lived up to expectations!"

At this moment, Wang Ganshi felt as if a penny stock he had casually invested in a month ago had suddenly skyrocketed in value ten-thousand-fold!

Compared to the surprise, he felt a deeper sense of regret.

He had originally intended to provide small favors to Ye Li before he reached the Post-Heaven Realm, slowly deepening the connection between their two families.

But Ye Li's progress was faster than a taxiing swallow; he couldn't keep up no matter how hard he ran!

He couldn't keep up!

He really couldn't keep up!

If he had known... if he had known Ye Li was this capable, he wouldn't have bothered with incremental investments—he would have gone all in!

Now that Ye Li was Zheng Tong's disciple, his status was no longer what it used to be.

After all, in all of Guangming, there were at most a hundred Post-Heaven Realm experts, and you couldn't even find ten who had reached perfection, let alone those at the half-step Post-Heaven Realm.

The line of people wanting to curry favor with him would stretch from the east side of the city to the west; what did his Wang Family count for in that crowd?

At this moment, Wang Ganshi felt like someone who only remembers to buy a stock after it has surged, or someone who only tries to pursue a crush after she's already married—what was he doing all this time?

"At least, at least it's not like I provided no support at all."

Wang Ganshi thought of his actions in sending Ye Li's parents out of the city overnight; it wasn't as if he hadn't placed a bet. Even if the initial stake was small, it was still an initial stake.

Thinking of this, he turned to the steward beside him and asked, "You said the Apprenticeship Banquet for Young Master Ye is coming up soon?"

"Indeed." The steward nodded quickly, inwardly admiring his master's keen eye for talent.

"In that case, prepare five hundred... no, one thousand taels of silver immediately as a gift for Young Master Ye's Apprenticeship Banquet!"

Tonight, because of Ye Li, countless people in Guangming were unable to sleep.

Inside the prison, the six men including Lu Xiuyuan felt the butcher knives raised behind them, tears streaming incessantly from their eyes.

Regret!

Utter regret!

Why the hell didn't Ye Li say he was a disciple of the gang leader earlier?

If he had said so, wouldn't they have kowtowed and pledged their loyalty long ago?

Among the six, Lu Xiuyuan was actually the most composed.

Before being executed, everyone had been subjected to the torture of Three Blades Six Holes.

However, thanks to his blue trait Master of Ninjutsu, he felt no pain, only the sensation of his physical strength gradually fading away.

At the moment of death, he felt a tinge of sorrow.

What a pity. Death isn't scary, but if I had known I was going to die, I would have left my money to Xiao Fang. Farewell, Spring Return Alley of tomorrow!

Clang!

Just as he stretched out his neck to meet his end, a crisp, strange sound rang out from behind him.

He turned his head in confusion, only to see that the heads of the other five men had already fallen to the ground, while only the iron chains binding him had been severed.

"Surprised?"

The man in charge of the execution sneered, "The Azure Dragon Gang has such a massive fortune, yet it is not a monolith; naturally, there are moles like me."

"Not just me, even among the higher-ranking elders of the Post-Heaven Realm, there are our people!"

"I see you have a blue trait, so you have value alive. Consider now whether you will defect to the Poison Wolf Gang!"

"Poison Wolf Gang?" Lu Xiuyuan's eyes widened; that was a faction that split the city equally with the Azure Dragon Gang.

"Correct. That Ye Li may seem to be at the height of his power, but in reality, he is already like a fire raging on oil, and he is on the Poison Wolf Gang's hit list!"

"If it weren't for the terrifying reputation of Zheng Tong, fearing that it would trigger another gang war, the Post-Heaven elders in the gang would have already taken action to cut down that seedling!"

"But you can rest assured, that kid won't be arrogant for long. Just like Zheng Tong's previous disciple, he will undoubtedly die before reaching the Post-Heaven Realm!"

As he spoke, the disciple urged him with some impatience:

"You brat, are you going to agree or not? I don't have much time to distract the others. If you don't agree, you die right here!"

"This..." Lu Xiuyuan was still hesitating, but the disciple added:

"That mistress of yours, what's-her-name, Xiao Fang? After you lost your influence, she had no one to protect her and has already been taken by our people. If you don't agree, I'll have her sent to the Poison Wolf Gang's courtyard for the disciples to take turns with!"

"What!" Lu Xiuyuan was shocked upon hearing this and hurriedly said, "Don't touch Xiao Fang! I'll agree to anything you want!"

Hearing this, the disciple curled his lip.

Sometimes, the awakened traits can reveal a person's character; those who possess Master of Ninjutsu are born with a weakness!

And just as things took a turn for the better for Lu Xiuyuan.

The next morning.

Ye Li returned to the Azure Dragon Gang, glaring at the guard outside the armory, saying word by word:

"Hey, old man!"

"What is this about you not letting me in because I don't have proof?"

"Are you f*cking kidding me? Do you know who my master is?"

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