Secret Technique

White Ape Martial Hall, Inner Courtyard.

"Master, there is news regarding the missing persons cases!"

A direct disciple ran over quickly, shouting with excitement.

"Speak."

Zhou Rongfeng, who had been troubled by this, asked immediately.

After a careful investigation over the past few days, it was discovered that more than a dozen disciples had gone missing from the Outer Courtyard.

Although Outer Courtyard disciples were considered expendable and could be replaced at any time, the inexplicable disappearance of martial hall disciples would lead to a crisis of trust for both the martial hall and the Zhou Clan if the truth were not uncovered.

If people joined your martial hall only to end up neither seen alive nor found dead, who would dare to apprentice here in the future?

"The rumor outside now is that the Azure Dragon Gang captured the martial hall disciples."

The disciple quickly relayed the rumors circulating outside.

"Azure Dragon Gang? What kind of thing is that?"

Zhou Rongfeng frowned; he had never even heard of such a faction.

As a member of the Zhou Clan and the master of the White Ape Martial Hall, he naturally paid no attention to street gangs.

"The Azure Dragon Gang emerged suddenly a while ago. They took advantage of the unrest in the East District to annex many gangs, and their background has yet to be investigated."

"It is said that besides our martial hall, they have also captured disciples from other martial halls. It is causing a huge stir outside now, and I suspect someone is fanning the flames behind the scenes."

The direct disciple said.

For news to spread so widely so suddenly, someone must be pushing it.

Perhaps someone wanted to use their hands to eliminate the Azure Dragon Gang.

"Go notify the Yamen and bring men to surround the Azure Dragon Gang."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Rongfeng immediately gave the order.

Since a lead had finally appeared, it was better to believe it than to ignore it.

"Yes."

The direct disciple left.

East District, Azure Dragon Gang.

"Damn it! How exactly did the news leak?"

In the main hall, a burly man as imposing as a bear let out a deafening roar, looking like a maddened beast.

"Investigate! I want to tear him into ten thousand pieces!"

The man grew increasingly furious, his eyes faintly glowing with a blood-red light, before he smashed a valuable Eight Immortals table with a single palm.

The other gang members retreated in haste, fearing they would be caught in the crossfire.

"Gang Leader, now is not the time to investigate a mole. The major martial halls in the city have likely heard the news and are probably already bringing people here."

Hall Master Pang, who possessed an elegant temperament like a schoolteacher, reminded him.

"That's right, Gang Leader. We must evacuate safely before we can investigate the mole."

The gang members who had retreated also spoke up one after another.

"Follow the plan: disperse and leave the city, then rendezvous at Nine Eagle Ridge. As for the peripheral gang members, send them on their way to prevent any intelligence leaks."

The burly man took a deep breath, finally calming down slightly.

"Yes!"

Hall Master Pang and the others received their orders and hurriedly began to act in an orderly fashion.

Jiang Clan, Ancestral Residence.

Having made all the necessary arrangements, Jiang Chen removed his disguise and ran over quickly.

"Young Master, you have finally arrived!"

The trusted steward, who had been watching from the doorway, immediately went to greet him.

"Chen'er, are you alright?"

Having received the news, Lin Shuyun also stepped out quickly, clearly having been waiting as well.

"Mother, don't worry."

Jiang Chen smiled, then asked about the clan reinforcements. Upon learning that Jiang Guiyuan had personally led men to go, he felt relieved.

The goal of the Azure Dragon Gang was to capture him to trade for his family's shops, so they likely wouldn't take his father's life.

After all, if his father were dead, those shops might be taken over by the clan.

If the Azure Dragon Gang wanted to get their hands on them then, the difficulty would be even greater.

"Madam, Young Master, the Master has returned home safely."

Sure enough, about an hour later, a guard came to report the news with joy.

"Let's go, let's head home."

Lin Shuyun and Jiang Chen did not hesitate and immediately rushed back.

When they arrived home, Jiang Guiyuan and the others had already left.

"Chen'er, you weren't hurt, were you?"

Seeing Lin Shuyun and Jiang Chen return, the pale-faced Jiang Sihai finally felt at ease.

"Father, Mother and I are both fine, but you..."

Jiang Chen spread his soul power to sense carefully.

Fortunately, his father had only suffered minor internal injuries and there were no major issues.

"Just a small injury, it will heal after a few days of rest."

Jiang Sihai smiled.

"Husband, why don't we just hand the shops over to the clan?"

Lin Shuyun, her eyes red-rimmed, said with great concern.

She had originally thought that with the prohibition from the Upper Sect Envoy, the Azure Dragon Gang would not dare to act rashly.

Who would have thought they would dare to defy an Upper Sect Envoy's prohibition?

And if it happened once, it could happen again.

If the Azure Dragon Gang made another move, it would surely be even more dangerous.

"There is some good news..."

Hearing this, Jiang Sihai immediately revealed the news that the Azure Dragon Gang was being hunted by the Yamen and the major Martial Arts Hall, his expression full of excitement.

"The Azure Dragon Gang is that bold? Daring to lay hands on Martial Arts Hall disciples?"

The previously worried Lin Shuyun also had her eyes light up, unable to hide her surprise.

Being hunted by the Yamen and the major Martial Arts Hall meant the Azure Dragon Gang would become a total pariah in the Prefecture City and would likely vanish from sight.

"Who knows what got into the Azure Dragon Gang."

Jiang Sihai laughed happily.

Having been in business for so many years, he could naturally see that the rumors about the Azure Dragon Gang had been spread by someone on purpose.

But this had accidentally helped them resolve their crisis.

This was truly a blessing from the heavens.

Watching his parents filled with joy, Jiang Chen also smiled.

Although he wanted to personally storm the Azure Dragon Gang and wipe out every single one of those Evil Cultivator, he was helpless as his cultivation was too weak; using one tiger to devour another was more practical.

At the very least, his family's crisis had been resolved.

As for the Primordial Point, there was no need to rush.

As long as the Azure Dragon Gang wasn't completely wiped out, they would surely make a comeback.

It wouldn't be too late to harvest them once he had sufficient strength.

Returning to his room in the small courtyard, he took out the ancient book and the piece of parchment.

"Ninefold Strength!"

"Qi Concealment Technique!"

The ancient book and the parchment each recorded a secret technique.

Ninefold Strength was an offensive secret technique that could amplify combat power.

Mastering one fold could increase combat power by ten percent.

When the nine folds were perfected, it could double one's combat power.

In other words, by cultivating this Ninefold Strength, one at the First Qi and Blood Gate could fight those at the Second Qi and Blood Gate, those at the Second Qi and Blood Gate could battle those at the Third Qi and Blood Gate, and those at the Third Qi and Blood Gate would have the potential to rival the True Martial Realm.

This was also the reason why that Evil Cultivator dared to come alone to kidnap people.

An ordinary True Martial Realm expert was simply no match for him.

Unfortunately, he was too unlucky to have run into Jiang Chen just as he was breaking through.

"Consuming life essence? The greater the power boost, the more life essence it consumes?"

Jiang Chen frowned slightly after seeing the cost of Ninefold Strength.

This was no secret technique; it was practically an evil art.

Aside from those Evil Cultivator who consumed blood pills, no one else could possibly cultivate it.

If one were to force its use, they would likely exhaust their life essence and die within a few attempts.

"Hm? Blood Essence Replenishing Soup?!"

When he flipped to the last page, a recipe for a potent blood-qi tonic appeared.

Judging by the quantity and rarity of the medicinal ingredients, it was far beyond anything like Tiger Bone Soup or Blood Qi Pill.

"So, this Ninefold Strength wasn't created for Evil Cultivator after all?"

After carefully examining the formula for the Blood Essence Replenishing Soup, Jiang Chen's eyes flickered.

If this tonic could truly replenish the consumed life essence, then this secret technique was worth cultivating.

A twofold increase in combat power was enough to allow one to easily fight enemies across cultivation realms.

"Qi Concealment Technique!"

Following that, Jiang Chen took out the parchment to examine it.

Compared to Ninefold Strength, the Qi Concealment Technique was much simpler; it was merely a secret technique for suppressing one's aura.

Those Evil Cultivator were likely able to hide their presence by relying on this very technique.

"This secret technique is also worth practicing."

When traveling the world, concealing one's aura was an essential skill.

"Better to improve my cultivation first."

Putting away the two secret techniques, Jiang Chen took out the Aperture Breaking Pill and swallowed it.

No matter how good a secret technique was, it still required cultivation as its foundation.

While Jiang Chen was focused on his cultivation, a massive commotion erupted in the East District.

Forces led by the White Ape Martial Hall surrounded the Azure Dragon Gang, and not a single member inside managed to escape.

Upon investigation, several dungeons were discovered within the Azure Dragon Gang, along with hundreds of withered bones.

This meant that the number of young martial artists poisoned by the Azure Dragon Gang had reached over a hundred.

This naturally infuriated the major martial halls, who decided to interrogate the Azure Dragon Gang members to root out the power behind them!

But before they could even act, those gang members all dropped dead simultaneously, leaving no survivors.

This shocking and horrific case thus had its leads cut off.