The Gang

"Young Master is back! Hurry and inform the master and madam."

Seeing Jiang Chen return, the gatekeeper hurried over from a distance.

"Chen'er."

Before long, Jiang Sihai and Lin Shuyun came out after hearing the news.

"Father, Mother."

Jiang Chen walked over.

"What brings you back today?"

Jiang Sihai looked Jiang Chen up and down, worried that something had happened to him.

"I've reached perfection at the Second Qi and Blood Gate."

Jiang Chen skipped the pleasantries and told them about his cultivation.

"Perfection at the Second Qi and Blood Gate?!"

Hearing Jiang Chen's words, Jiang Sihai and Lin Shuyun both froze.

Hadn't Jiang Chen only entered the Second Qi and Blood Gate a little over twenty days ago?

How had he reached perfection at the Second Qi and Blood Gate so quickly?

Although they weren't martial artists, they knew this rate of cultivation was abnormally fast.

"Here's what happened..."

Jiang Chen told them about Sun Wu and the high-grade Five Elements Pill, and also mentioned that he needed six thousand taels in silver notes to buy a month's supply of Aperture Breaking Pills.

"I see!"

Jiang Sihai and Lin Shuyun were both unable to hide their delight.

It had been only a little over a month since the danger at the Cursed House.

In that short time, Jiang Chen had reached perfection at the Second Qi and Blood Gate.

At this rate, entering the True Martial Realm before the end of the year was just around the corner. He might even have a chance of reaching the True Martial Second Layer.

How could they not be excited?

"Chen'er, just focus on your cultivation. Don't worry about the money."

Jiang Sihai was very generous.

Although six thousand taels was no small sum, his family had been in business for many years, and they had enough savings to cover it.

In his eyes, as long as it could make Jiang Chen stronger, no expense was too great.

In this world, only formidable strength could give a person the means to stand firm.

"Master, people from the Azure Dragon Gang are here again."

Just then, the steward hurried over.

At those words, Jiang Sihai and Lin Shuyun both frowned, their expressions darkening.

"The Azure Dragon Gang? A gang?"

Seeing his parents' expressions, Jiang Chen understood that the visitors probably hadn't come with good intentions.

"Chen'er, go back to your room and rest for now."

Before Jiang Chen could ask anything, Jiang Sihai had Lin Shuyun take him away.

Jiang Chen didn't say anything, but he didn't return to the small courtyard either. Instead, he went to the side hall.

"Shopkeeper Jiang, we meet again."

Before long, the steward brought several figures over.

The man at the front wore a long gown and had a refined air about him, like a private tutor.

But the men behind him were broad-backed and burly, their eyes sharp and their faces murderous. They had clearly taken lives.

"Hall Master Pang, please sit."

Although Jiang Sihai knew his visitors meant trouble, he didn't neglect his manners.

As a maid served tea, several burly men came in and stood beside Jiang Sihai. They were the martial artist bodyguards he had hired a few days ago.

"Shopkeeper Jiang, have you considered my proposal from last time?"

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Hall Master Pang got straight to the point.

As for the bodyguards Jiang Sihai had hired, he didn't care about them in the slightest.

"Hall Master Pang, I already told you last time: my family's shops are the assets my parents built up at the cost of their lives. I can't possibly sell them to someone else."

Jiang Sihai still wore a smile, but his attitude was unyielding.

"Your parents' property should indeed be passed down."

"But from what I hear, business at your family's shops has recently fallen by half, and it's still declining."

"If things continue like this, in a few months those shops won't even make enough to pay their employees."

Hall Master Pang smiled as he accurately described the state of the shops.

Jiang Sihai's eyes twitched, and his hands clenched beneath his sleeves.

As expected, the Azure Dragon Gang was behind the sharp decline in his family's business.

"Shopkeeper Jiang, you should understand the situation in Prefecture City better than I do. After City Lord Yu leaves office, your Jiang Clan won't have the strength to establish itself in Prefecture City."

"So, transferring your shops to us now is the wisest decision. Otherwise, once things get even worse, it'll be too late to sell."

Hall Master Pang spoke again, his voice calm, but the threat in his words grew stronger, as though the Jiang Clan were already meat on the chopping board.

"My family's affairs are none of your concern, Hall Master Pang."

Jiang Sihai took a deep breath, suppressing his anger, and waved him away.

"Heh. Then we'll take our leave."

Hall Master Pang glanced at Jiang Sihai but did nothing. He led his men away.

"Head Guard Li, I'll have to trouble you to take charge of the guards at the residence from now on!"

After Hall Master Pang and the others had left, Jiang Sihai cupped his hands to the bodyguards.

Given the Azure Dragon Gang's methods, they would never let this go. They might try something underhanded at any moment.

That was why he had spent a fortune to hire bodyguards.

"Don't worry, Master."

Head Guard Li assured him and went to arrange the guards.

"Father, what's the story behind the Azure Dragon Gang?"

Only then did Jiang Chen emerge from the side hall.

He had heard a little about the gangs in the East District.

But this was the first time he'd heard of the Azure Dragon Gang.

"It's a new gang that appeared a while ago. They're extremely aggressive, and have already swallowed up several gangs."

Jiang Sihai didn't hide anything and told him what he had learned.

"Looks like they have powerful backing."

Jiang Chen's expression shifted slightly.

Almost every gang in the East District had a major power behind it.

Put simply, they were the underworld's enforcers for the various powers.

And now, with the situation as it was, the Azure Dragon Gang had still managed to rise aggressively and swallow up the territory and resources of other gangs. That showed just how deep their foundations ran.

Compared with the Azure Dragon Gang, his family was nowhere near their level.

"Chen'er, don't worry about the Azure Dragon Gang. Since the Upper Sect Envoy entered the city, he's issued several bans. One of them strictly forbids causing trouble."

Seeing Jiang Chen's expression, Jiang Sihai smiled as he spoke.

That was why the gang fights in the East District had disappeared overnight.

If the Upper Sect Envoy had arrived earlier, the Azure Dragon Gang wouldn't have had the chance to show its face.

Before the True Sun Sect, whether they were powerful outsiders or old-established clans, they all had to bow their heads obediently. At the very least, they had to submit on the surface.

"I have to enter the True Martial Realm as soon as possible!"

Thoughts churned through Jiang Chen's mind.

The Upper Sect Envoy's bans would only be effective in the short term. Given enough time, people would inevitably find loopholes.

He couldn't pin his hopes on the bans.

At present, his only way out was the White Ape Martial Hall.

Once he entered the True Martial Realm, he could become a personal disciple of the martial hall.

Then he could rely on the Zhou Clan's connections to cow the Azure Dragon Gang into submission.

The foundations of a great clan couldn't be matched by a mere gang.

Of course, relying on the martial hall was only a stopgap.

The real key was still to grow stronger.

Only if he himself was strong enough could he ignore every crisis.

"Father, Mother, if things become truly dangerous, just give up the shops. As long as we're safe, we'll still have everything."

Jiang Chen reminded them.

Money or shops, in the end, were only worldly possessions.

As long as they were safe, they could make a comeback even if they lost everything.

As a great man once said:

"Keep the land but lose the people, and you lose both. Keep the people but lose the land, and you keep both!"

"Don't worry. If it really comes to that, we'll know what to do."

Hearing this, Jiang Sihai patted Jiang Chen's shoulder with satisfaction.

Lin Shuyun's eyes reddened slightly, too.

Jiang Chen had truly grown up.

"Father, Mother, I'll head back to the martial hall now."

After checking the time, Jiang Chen prepared to leave for the martial hall.

"All right!"

Jiang Sihai and Lin Shuyun didn't try to stop him. They stuffed a thick stack of silver notes into Jiang Chen's hands, then called for Head Guard Li and the others to escort him.

They were taking precautions in case the Azure Dragon Gang tried to attack Jiang Chen.

A quarter of an hour later, the group arrived at the martial hall.

"Sorry for the trouble."

Jiang Chen thanked them.

"You're too kind, Young Master."

Looking at the lively martial hall disciples inside the gates, Head Guard Li and the others couldn't help feeling envious.

In the eyes of people like them, who came from humble backgrounds, anyone who could join a martial hall to train was a child of heaven, with boundless prospects ahead.