Keep It Up, Brother Precious Blade (Thanks to the League Leader Who Never Gives Up or Looks Away)

Under the locust tree.

Chang Yi stood tall and straight, leaning on his saber.

He noticed Lin Shu's small motion as he put away the cloth bag.

He also noticed that hint of...show-off pride hidden on the other man's face, as if he were just waiting for Chang Yi to ask about it.

In the early morning, Chang Yi would definitely have been curious about what was in the bag.

But now, his dark face looked a little downcast. He raised his head and forced a smile. "You really got promoted?"

"More or less."

Lin Shu clicked his tongue. His little scheme to show off his wealth had gone unsatisfied, and somehow it just wasn't enough.

At that, Black Charcoal fell silent for a moment, then squeezed out a muffled, "Congratulations."

Joining Fierce Wolf Hall and becoming a Young Wolf meant a far higher status and brighter prospects than he'd had as a Fox.

It should have been something worth celebrating for the other man.

Chang Yi, however, couldn't help glancing at the Purple Flood Dragon on his chest, and fell into thought.

"..."

Ever since the city had been hemmed in by the Black River, the Yamen and the imperial court had lost contact, cutting off the supply of funds and reinforcements.

The Blackwater Gang had seized the opportunity to grow powerful, and its four halls had become notorious!

Cunning Fox Hall was shameless and hard-hearted. It handled the gathering of wealth and treasures. Strength came second; what mattered most was whether its members were quick-witted and well-informed.

The money and treasures they extorted supported the entire gang.

White Tiger Hall was full of madmen obsessed with cultivation, trying every method they could to achieve Foundation Establishment one day.

As for Dragon Hall at the very top, it had only the gang leader and two deputy leaders.

They were the foundation that allowed the Blackwater Gang to stand toe-to-toe with the Yamen.

As for when another person might join their ranks, that depended on when the madmen in White Tiger Hall managed to achieve Foundation Establishment.

These three formed a cycle of mutual support.

But one crucial piece was missing.

How could Cunning Fox Hall extort the people of Blackwater City without getting crushed by the other factions? And how could White Tiger Hall cultivate in peace, ignoring worldly affairs?

Because on every street in the city, a Fierce Wolf kept watch!

Against those below, they needed enough fearsome repute to provide the Foxes with invisible protection. Against those above, they also had to meet the Tigers' many demands.

No matter what kind of person they'd been before, once they took this position, the entire gang pushed them into becoming a ruthless, vicious wolf!

"What are you thinking about?"

Lin Shu slowly came to a stop.

Black Charcoal stood there in a daze, his emotions shifting across his face far too plainly.

"N-nothing."

His thoughts interrupted, Chang Yi looked at the young man before him, his expression helpless.

When it came to ruthlessness, this man hardly needed anything else to push him. He already had plenty of it in him.

They hadn't known each other long.

Chang Yi had such a good impression of Lin Shu because, despite being a Fox, Lin Shu never acted like one.

But wolves were different.

Their very existence was a grave threat to public order in Blackwater City!

That was why the Purple Flood Dragon existed: to keep these vicious wolves in check!

"Hah—"

Chang Yi exhaled forcefully, as if he'd made some decision. His expression gradually turned serious.

His face was filled with solemn, resolute conviction—and with the fateful sense that he would be Lin Shu's enemy forever.

"No matter if it takes ten years or twenty, and no matter whether you're a Young Wolf or a Fierce Wolf, my saber and I will always be watching you!"

"..."

Lin Shu fell silent for a long moment, his gaze slowly turning strange.

His face expressionless, he struggled to keep the corners of his mouth from lifting.

No need to laugh. It was normal for young people to be a little chuuni. Phew... perfectly normal!

"Keep it up, Brother Precious Blade."

Lin Shu patted Black Charcoal on the shoulder and nodded. "I'll do my best to spend my whole life messing around in Fierce Wolf Hall."

What a nostalgic age.

He let go, then turned toward Firewood Courtyard with a sigh.

"You!"

In Chang Yi's mind, Lin Shu should have been just as serious at that moment.

Better yet, he should have said something like, "We follow different paths, so we can't work together." Then the two of them would have turned away resolutely, walking in opposite directions down Long Street.

Add their shadows stretching beneath the slanting sun, growing farther and farther apart, and so on.

Chang Yi had spent the entire afternoon imagining that scene.

But Lin Shu had simply turned and walked away, as if it meant nothing.

And he'd even left behind a laugh he just couldn't hold in.

Tsk.

Broken Firewood Courtyard, Side Room.

Lin Shu shut the door, went to the bed, and pulled back the covers.

First, he checked that the Immortal Scion in the green apron, who looked like a Porcelain Doll, hadn't changed at all.

Only then did he sit on the bed.

Lin Shu hadn't taken Chang Yi's "threat" to heart.

Not because he'd overlooked the Purple Flood Dragon's strength beneath that youthful face, but because his mind simply wasn't on that sort of thing.

Unless they had some peculiar hobby, no one wanted to keep rolling around in a pit of mud.

Walking the same path once was enough. Walking it again would be dreadfully boring.

From the very beginning, Lin Shu had never planned to climb the ranks of the Blackwater Gang, then get trapped in this city, throwing his weight around.

He'd joined the gang because the mess his predecessor had left behind was too rotten.

He had to use the methods he knew best to survive as quickly as possible before he could afford to think about anything else.

Those spells and Immortals were what interested Lin Shu most.

Immortality, moving mountains and filling seas, flying on swords to ascend as an Immortal...just thinking about it filled him with anticipation.

But right now, he was stuck in the city, with an unimpressive status and no way to get in touch with any so-called Immortal Sects.

Most importantly, he had to repair his heart first.

"What exactly are you?"

Lin Shu half-closed his eyes, recalling how it had felt when he first saw the White Mist Wolf Shadow.

This heartless body could stay alive because it was "borrowing life" from the White Wolf.

But could he keep borrowing that life forever?

Or rather, would the person who had placed the White Wolf's phantom in his chest one day suddenly take it back?

These were problems he needed to consider in advance.

Until then, all he could do was accumulate as many resources and tricks as possible.

Rustle, rustle.

Lin Shu slowly opened his eyes. Forty-seven Evil Coins slipped from his sleeve into his palm like a stream of water.

Then they turned one after another into black light, surging toward the Wolf Tooth that represented the Ghost Moon Bone-Splitting Hand.

Earlier, when he'd attacked the Immortal Scion, Lin Shu hadn't felt how much this Immortal Method had grown.

It wasn't until he faced Fatty Tian that its power had truly shown itself.

And it was precisely by relying on this fifth-grade Immortal Method that he'd been able to take the position of Fierce Wolf despite being only at the early stage of Qi Condensation.

"Grr..."

At the Little Wolf's feeble growl, Lin Shu's palms trembled.

Both of them were being corroded by the Evil Coins. It was as if the souls of the dead represented by each coin were wailing.

Their resentment gathered into claws, tearing at his mind.

It left him inexplicably agitated, wanting to pull them out and whip their corpses hundreds of times over.

Lin Shu continued circulating the Blue Bird Qi-Guiding Art, but its faint chirps had clearly begun to fail to suppress the wails.

"The seventh-grade Inner Method is still too weak."

He sighed softly, but had no intention of stopping.

Killing Fatty Tian might have seemed easy, but he'd been a special case.

The man had the name of a Fierce Wolf, but had only just gotten his territory less than half a month ago. He'd been busy scheming to get the silver from Good Fortune Martial Hall and hadn't had time to gather the methods that someone of his station should have.

If Lin Shu mistook Tian's strength for the typical level of the other Fierce Wolves or Purple Flood Dragon Constables,

he wouldn't be far from death.

No matter how you looked at it, a fifth-grade Immortal Method belonged to the Middle Three Ranks. It was merely a common cultivation method for a Mid-Stage Qi Condensation Cultivator, not even among the best.

"Don't be stingy. Give me a little more."

Lin Shu furrowed his brows and sped up the rate at which he fed in the Evil Coins.

He was about to take over Four Directions Street.

The methods he had now weren't enough to make him feel secure.

"Grr!"

The Little Wolf's growl was no longer feeble. Instead, it carried a thick, murderous edge.

The Wolf Tooth representing the Ghost Moon Bone-Splitting Hand gradually became wrapped in black qi, growing ever more ferocious!