Jinghai Casino.
After a moment's thought, Za Jiu took a drag on his cigarette and said to Missing-Tooth Kid:
"If nothing else works, do it on the sly. Whatever happens, we can't let Huang Sihai get anything on us.
Brother Ming will say Rotten-Life Ji doesn't matter and act like he doesn't care, for the sake of the bigger picture and to keep people from talking.
But don't forget, after Rotten-Life Ji did what he did, Brother Ming paid a hefty price to keep Brother Ji's sorry hide alive at the Branch Headquarters.
He might be ruthless, but he values loyalty and brotherhood. Deep down, he still cares.
If I pull this off, I'll have a better chance of getting the Flood-Dragon Elixir.
Then I can get stronger, and you little bastards can ride my coattails to the top."
His underling nodded, flashing a big gold tooth as he grinned foolishly. "Then I'll keep digging. If nothing else works, I'll snatch him in secret.
I've asked around. This kid's talent is nothing special. He only reached purple membrane so quickly by stuffing himself with fish balls.
I reached black membrane peak ages ago. I could knock him flat with one hand.
My guess is, the money he spent on fish balls all came from Rotten-Life Ji.
Everyone knows Master Huang loves money. He probably doesn't care that much about some First-Floor Disciple.
If you ask me, Ninth Master, you're being too cautious.
We're in this life to dance on a knife's edge. How are we supposed to get anywhere if we're scared of everything?"
Za Jiu flicked his underling on the forehead and said coldly, "The Enclave is full of hidden experts. Caution comes first.
Mr. Ming once said, a Street Thug who doesn't use his brain will be a fucking Street Thug all his life!
I, Za Jiu, have a servant physique for my martial constitution, and my comprehension is nothing special either. When I was young, I went to the Night Heron Martial Arts Hall to ask for a master, and they threw me straight out. I had no choice but to join a Club.
Ten years later, plenty of people with average physiques are still Forty-Niners, but I've made it to Straw Sandal.
Know why?
Because I'm careful!
Because I've spent my whole life walking on thin ice!
Use your brain before you use your fists... Learn something from that!"
"Sure, I'll learn..." Missing-Tooth Kid hastily flattered him, then left with a smile, not really taking Za Jiu's words to heart.
If he was going to use his brain, why would he be a Street Thug? Why not get a regular job?
Time drifted by.
Before he knew it, Li Xiuwen had entered his fourth month at the Four Seas Martial Arts Hall.
Only ten days remained until the Second-Floor Contest.
These days, the atmosphere of training at the martial arts hall was especially intense.
A Zhen looked at Li Xiuwen as he returned with rice noodle rolls. "A Wen, the matches are almost here. Why do you keep going over to the Night Heron Martial Arts Hall lately?"
Li Xiuwen smiled. "To buy rice noodle rolls."
"You eat them every day?"
"They're good."
Li Xiuwen hadn't only been visiting the Night Heron Martial Arts Hall.
He had left his footprints on the streets around Longjin Road, the streets surrounding the Four Seas Martial Arts Hall, and the Dragon City Grand Arena.
He had also gradually worked out some of the rules for "map exploration" in the Grand Void Illusory Realm.
For instance, if someone's cultivation realm was too high-say, a Third Gate expert-and he hadn't spent a long time around them as he had with Huang Sihai, they wouldn't enter the illusory realm.
Master Ye from the neighboring martial arts hall wasn't in it.
At present, the Grand Void Illusory Realm contained only one Third Gate expert: Old Huang.
Thunder Boy, whom he had met just once, had gone beyond the Third Gate. He was far too remote from Li Xiuwen and wasn't in there either.
Once he understood these rules, he stopped wandering around at random and visited the Central District less often.
After all, even if he brought every expert in the world inside, he was no match for them at his current stage. There was no point.
Having Liu Chun, Longlegs Seven, and the others as sparring partners was enough.
His daily "map exploration" took plenty of effort, too, and he could easily get beaten up by people who thought he was a petty thief casing the area.
Of course, he still found time to wander around the Nine Dragons Grand Arena. That concerned his future means of making money.
Meanwhile...
Somewhere on Longjin Road...
A close-cropped Martial Artist wearing a Ghost Mask looked down from the second floor, waiting for night to fall.
He was Za Jiu's underling, the one his brothers all called Missing-Tooth Kid.
After several days of investigating, Missing-Tooth Kid had given up and decided to play dirty.
Damn it, Ninth Master was too timid, too hung up on the rules!
They were in a Club-a gang!
Couldn't he just find a way to beat a confession out of Li Xiuwen and make him stamp his handprint on it? Wouldn't that be direct evidence?
Wasn't that exactly what those police inspectors outside did?
They were gangsters, yet they had to fret over grabbing one guy and bother with all those sanctimonious underworld rules.
What a fucking absurd world.
Inspector Lei, a man of the law, had used underworld methods to seize absolute power and rake in five hundred million!
Meanwhile, gangsters were using the law's methods, fussing over underworld rules and pretending to be innocent!
Idiots!
Missing-Tooth Kid wasn't yet thirty. His qi and blood were still in their prime, his cultivation hadn't declined, and he was a genuine black membrane peak fighter.
It was only his poor aptitude and low chance of passing the gate that had kept him stuck here, accumulating his reserves.
He had also mastered a basic fighting technique to near major accomplishment, and his skill wasn't bad.
He was confident that, at the black membrane stage, few of those barely grown brats in the martial arts halls could match him.
He had spent five years in a Club. They were all hardened fighters who had killed their way through mountains of corpses and seas of blood. His practical combat experience would crush these fledglings from the martial arts halls.
"If I pull this off, Ninth Master promised to help me pass the gate. Then I can become a glorious Straw Sandal myself and marry Xiu'er from Temple Street fair and square."
Temple Street was the most prosperous area in the Enclave, with brothels and prostitutes everywhere.
At last, after all his waiting, night fell.
Missing-Tooth Kid had staked out the area for several days and confirmed that Li Xiuwen had to pass through here.
The times were troubled. It was only eight in the evening, but pedestrians were already thinning out as everyone retreated into their homes.
At one end of the street, a quiet young man about six feet tall came walking toward him.
"Here he comes." Missing-Tooth Kid grinned, murmuring inwardly, Sorry, kid. Once Ninth Master gets his hands on you, your days are over.
The thought of Za Jiu's vicious methods made Missing-Tooth Kid shudder instinctively.
He waited until Li Xiuwen passed beneath his hiding place.
Then Missing-Tooth Kid sprang lightly down from more than ten feet up, like a leopard.
His legs clamped around Li Xiuwen's neck with the precision of scissors.
Then he rolled his body and brought Li Xiuwen down.
His fist shot out of his sleeve, the Brass Knuckles gleaming coldly as he punched toward Li Xiuwen's abdomen.
This punch wouldn't kill Li Xiuwen, but it would scatter the qi and blood in his dantian and temporarily cripple his cultivation.
This little ambush combination had never failed him. He had killed who knew how many so-called trained fighters with it.
Clang!
The Brass Knuckles struck as though they had hit a stone slab and were forcibly knocked aside.
Missing-Tooth Kid felt an immense force surge up. Beneath him, the young man let out a low roar and thrust him high into the air, like Overlord Lifts the Cauldron.
He tried to slip away, but the young man's arms, which weren't particularly thick, locked around his legs like a Beast Trap and hurled him backward in a body slam.
Thud! After a dull impact, Missing-Tooth Kid crashed hard onto the ground, his qi and blood churning.
Luckily, his rich combat experience had prompted him to lift the back of his head as far as possible. Otherwise, that blow would have cracked his skull open.
The young man's eyes were icy. "Children's Gang?" he asked in a low voice.
Missing-Tooth Kid ignored him. He used a Carp-Leap Recovery, but just as he was about to spring up, the young man greeted him with a seemingly soft, feeble palm strike.
The rush of the palm carried sea sand straight into his face, acrid and biting, mingled with the fishy stench of seawater fish.
His eyes instantly turned red and streamed with tears, blurring his vision.
He didn't dodge. He intended to rely on his black membrane peak cultivation to trade injury for injury and end the fight quickly, before patrolmen from the major Clubs noticed him.
Li Xiuwen's large hand pressed against his chest. At first, he felt no force and thought nothing of it.
He got to his feet, but after just two steps, his face suddenly flushed scarlet, and he spat out a thick mouthful of blood.
Bang! A muffled report came from his chest, like a gun barrel bursting.
His powerful heart was torn apart, his meridians and blood vessels snapping one by one.
His pupils dilated, then lost their light. Staring at the young man before him in disbelief, he stammered:
"You... black membrane... and you still fucking used... hidden weapons... no rules..."
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