Late at night, a piece of news flew through all of Guangming like wildfire!
Azure Dragon Gang Leader Zheng Tong had taken a new disciple, named Ye Li!
Since the residence where the incident occurred was surrounded by wealthy households, some martial artists had hidden in the shadows and witnessed the whole spectacle.
In the high-martial world, only fists and power could not be entrusted to others!
Zheng Tong's Half-Step Xiantian Realm cultivation made him one of Guangming's top three—perhaps even top two—experts.
With his authority, his status in present-day Guangming was roughly equivalent to that of the city lord.
As Zheng Tong's final disciple, didn't that make Ye Li, more or less, Guangming's young city lord?
As the news spread, everyone was stunned.
People scrambled to ask around. "Holy shit! Who the hell is Ye Li?!"
They could hardly be blamed for their shock. With Zheng Tong's standing, why had he suddenly accepted such an obscure disciple?
They remembered that the Azure Dragon Gang's most recently accepted core disciple seemed to have the surname Lu?
Information from every corner flowed through Guangming City as people constantly exchanged whatever intelligence they had on Ye Li.
Very quickly, before dawn had even broken, Ye Li's information had been piled onto the tables of every major faction.
His background was unprecedentedly clean. There was nothing much to investigate; it could be summed up in one sentence:
Born into hardship in South City, awakened at eighteen!
Less than two months into cultivation, he had faced a sneak attack and severely wounded seven core disciples of the same realm, one of whom even possessed a Blue Trait...
Looking at the compiled reports, everyone fell silent.
Some veteran figures who knew Zheng Tong's Trait quality secretly sighed. With such a record, even with the same Green Trait, it was no wonder he had been valued so highly!
Late at night, outside the main room of the Wang residence:
"Master, are you asleep? There's wonderful news!"
Wang Ganshi had only just gone to bed when the steward's knocking woke him.
The steward outside spoke while panting heavily. The instant he received the news, he had rushed over.
"Old Jia, what are you howling about in the middle of the night? It's so late, and you still came to disturb me!" Wang Ganshi shouted outside in displeasure.
From the steward's tone, he knew it was not bad news, so he did not panic. What good news couldn't wait until tomorrow...
"Master, that Young Master Ye Li has been accepted as Gang Leader Zheng's disciple!"
"What?!"
Wang Ganshi jerked in fright, rolled off the bed, and, without even bothering to put on clothes, rushed forward barefoot and shoved open the tightly shut door. Staring wide-eyed, he said:
"You mean Azure Dragon Gang Leader Zheng has taken Worthy Ye... Young Master Ye as his disciple!"
"Master, exactly so! For Young Master Ye's sake, the gang leader even expelled that Blue Trait genius! And an Apprenticeship Banquet will be held before long!" Steward Jia said.
Hearing the report, Wang Ganshi was so excited he could barely contain himself. Barefoot, he paced back and forth at the doorway while rubbing his hands, muttering:
"It's only been less than a month... less than a month... He's truly done us proud!"
At that moment, Wang Ganshi felt as though a potential stock he had casually invested in a month ago had suddenly increased more than ten thousandfold!
More than surprise, he felt deep regret!
His original plan had been to support Ye Li little by little before Ye Li reached the Post-Heaven Realm, gradually deepening the ties between their two families.
Yet Ye Li had advanced faster than a swallow riding a carriage. Even if Wang Ganshi ran himself ragged behind him, he could not catch up!
He could not catch up!
He truly could not catch up!
If only... if only he had known Ye Li would be so promising, he would not have made fixed investments—he would have gone all in at once!
Now that Ye Li had become Zheng Tong's disciple, his status was no longer what it had been.
After all, in all of Guangming, there were at least a hundred Post-Heaven Realm martial artists, yet not even ten who had reached perfection. Half-Step Xiantian Realm experts were rarer than phoenix feathers and qilin horns.
There would surely be an endless stream of people seeking to curry favor with him, a line stretching from East City all the way to West City. What did the Wang Family amount to?
At that moment, Wang Ganshi was like someone who remembered to buy only after the stock had risen, or who went to trample on his moonlight only after she had married—what had he been doing earlier?
"Fortunately, fortunately, it's not as though I offered no support at all."
Wang Ganshi recalled how he had sent Ye Li's parents out of the city overnight. It was not as though he had made no investment. No matter how few the original shares were, they were still original shares.
Thinking of this, he turned to the steward beside him. "You said Young Master Ye's Apprenticeship Banquet will be held soon?"
"Indeed." The steward hurriedly nodded, inwardly admiring his master's discerning eye for talent.
"In that case, immediately prepare five hundred... no, one thousand taels of silver for me, as a gift for Young Master Ye's Apprenticeship Banquet!"
Tonight, because of Ye Li, countless people in Guangming could not sleep.
Meanwhile, within the prison, the six men, including Lu Xiuyuan, felt the butcher's blade being raised behind them, tears continually streaming from their eyes.
Regret!
Such regret!
Why the fuck hadn't Ye Li said earlier that he was the gang leader's disciple?
If he had said so sooner, wouldn't they have bowed their heads and pledged allegiance long ago?
Among the six, Lu Xiuyuan was instead the most emotionally steady.
Before their execution, everyone had undergone the torture of Three Blades Six Holes.
However, because of his Blue Trait, [Master of Ninjutsu], he did not feel pain. He only felt the strength in his body gradually ebb away.
At death's door, he felt a touch of sorrow.
"What a pity. Death isn't frightening, but if I'd known I was going to die, I would have left the money for Xiao Fang. Farewell, Spring Return Alley of tomorrow!"
Clang!
Just as he stretched out his neck to meet death, a crisp abnormal sound came from behind him.
He turned back in confusion, only to see that the other five had already been beheaded. Only the iron chains binding him had snapped apart.
"Surprised?"
The executioner sneered. "The Azure Dragon Gang has such a vast foundation; it is hardly a solid slab of iron. Naturally, there are spies like me within it."
"Not just me—even among those higher-ranking Post-Heaven Realm Elders, we have our people!"
"I see that you have a Blue Trait and are worth keeping alive. Take this chance to consider whether you want to defect to the Poison Wolf Gang!"
"The Poison Wolf Gang?" Lu Xiuyuan's eyes widened. That was a force that divided the city with the Azure Dragon Gang.
"That's right. That Ye Li may look as though he is blazing like the noonday sun, but in truth, he is already oil poured onto raging flames. He has long since made it onto the Poison Wolf Gang's must-kill list!"
"If not for Zheng Tong's fierce reputation, and the fear of reigniting gang warfare, the gang's Post-Heaven Realm Elders would have long since acted and cut down that fledgling!"
"But rest assured, that brat will not remain arrogant for long. Just like Zheng Tong's previous disciple, he will certainly die before reaching the Post-Heaven Realm!"
As he spoke, the disciple impatiently urged him:
"You brat, are you agreeing or not? I can't keep the others away for long. If you refuse, then die here!"
"This..." Lu Xiuyuan was still hesitating when the disciple added:
"That little mistress of yours, some Fang or whatever—after you lost power and no one was there to protect her, our people took her away. If you refuse, I'll send her into the Poison Wolf Gang's courtyard and let the disciples line up to play with her!"
"What?!" Lu Xiuyuan was horrified. He hurriedly said, "Don't touch Xiao Fang! I'll agree to anything you want!"
Hearing this, the disciple curled his lip.
Sometimes, an awakened Trait could reveal a person's character. Those with [Master of Ninjutsu] were born with a weakness!
And just as a glimmer of hope appeared for Lu Xiuyuan...
The next morning.
Ye Li returned to the Azure Dragon Gang. Outside the Martial Armory, he glared at the guard and said word by word:
"Hey, old man!"
"What do you mean, you won't let me in without proof?"
"Fuck, do you know who my master is?"
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