Nine Flood Dragon Palms at Major Accomplishment

The night was black as ink.

The hall of the branch was brightly lit. Skinny Monkey hurried inside, his steps urgent, yet he did not dare make too much noise.

Seated in the grand chair at the center of the hall was Jiang Chong, branch master of the Dragon King Gang's Four Waters Ward and Zhou Dabao's cousin.

Jiang Chong was in his thirties, with high cheekbones and narrow, cold, piercing eyes that carried a murderous air.

He bore a slight resemblance to the late Zhou Dabao.

"Branch Master! Good news!"

Skinny Monkey rushed forward in a few quick strides, his face beaming as his voice trembled.

Jiang Chong slightly raised his eyelids and looked at him impassively. "Speak."

"The Gang Leader has emerged from seclusion!"

Skinny Monkey lowered his voice, unable to hide his excitement.

"The Gang Leader successfully broke through and is now a Dark Strength expert! He has ordered all branches to assemble and plans to strike the Black Tiger Gang! Branch Master, Lord Zhou's death can finally be avenged!"

Jiang Chong's pupils abruptly contracted, and delight immediately surfaced on his face.

Throughout the entire Outer City, Dark Strength was a dividing line.

A Manifest-Force Martial Artist could dominate a single street, while a Dark Strength expert was qualified to oversee a territory within a major faction.

The Gang Leader's breakthrough into Dark Strength meant the Dragon King Gang's strength would rise to another level. Swallowing up the Black Tiger Gang's territory would be effortless.

The smile on Jiang Chong's face gradually faded. His brows furrowed as he fell into thought.

He paced twice before the grand chair, then suddenly stopped and waved at Skinny Monkey. "Leave first."

Skinny Monkey bowed and silently withdrew from the hall.

Jiang Chong stood with his hands behind his back, his gaze deep and unreadable.

He had never believed that the Black Tiger Gang was responsible for Zhou Dabao's death.

Someone else had killed Zhou Dabao!

Jiang Chong had sent Skinny Monkey to secretly investigate Four Waters Ward, to see whether any suspicious figures had appeared recently.

The result was nothing.

Anyone capable of silently killing Zhou Dabao in a single night was no ordinary person.

Jiang Chong closed his eyes and turned the possibilities over in his mind.

Either it was some fierce dragon who had crossed the river.

Or it was a retainer raised by some important figure in the Inner City.

In any case, Zhou Dabao must have done something foolish and offended someone without realizing it!

Neither possibility was someone Jiang Chong could afford to provoke.

"Cousin... cousin..."

Jiang Chong murmured, with neither sorrow nor joy audible in his tone.

To make him investigate an expert of unknown origins for Zhou Dabao, perhaps even become that person's enemy...

Jiang Chong sneered inwardly.

A dead man was not worth taking such a risk for.

Jiang Chong returned to the grand chair, lightly tapping the armrest with his fingers in a dull rhythm.

Since the Gang Leader had emerged after breaking through and intended to use Zhou Dabao's death as a pretext to attack the Black Tiger Gang, then as his cousin, he naturally had to play along.

Not only did he have to act, he had to make it heartfelt and moving.

The corners of Jiang Chong's lips lifted slightly, revealing a meaningful smile.

In the martial world, profit came first.

His cousin was dead, but he could not be allowed to die for nothing.

As long as Jiang Chong performed this family tragedy well enough before the Gang Leader and secured a few more prosperous territories, Zhou Dabao's death would not have been in vain.

"Cousin, rest in peace. You will not have died for nothing. So long as I can get some benefits from the Gang Leader..."

He paused. His smile deepened, and his tone carried several layers of implication.

"I'll take care of your wife for you."

He drew a deep breath, and a faint redness actually appeared in those cold, sharp eyes.

He raised a hand and rubbed at the corners of his eyes, testing his expression until it showed just the right amount of grief.

"Skinny Monkey!"

Skinny Monkey had been waiting not far outside the door. Hearing the call, he immediately jogged in.

The moment he entered the hall, his steps faltered slightly.

The Branch Master before him seemed like a completely different person from before.

"Branch Master, what is this..." Skinny Monkey stared in astonishment.

"Come."

Jiang Chong's voice was hoarse, choked with emotion.

"To the main hall. I want to see the Gang Leader."

Skinny Monkey froze, then hurriedly followed, clicking his tongue inwardly.

The Branch Master's bond with Lord Zhou was actually this deep?

He did not dare ask further and followed closely behind Jiang Chong. Before long, the two vanished into the night.

At Fang Han's home, the candle had already gone out.

Fang Han lay on his bed with his eyes half-closed, his breathing long and steady.

He had already adjusted to a new routine:

He practiced boxing at the martial hall during the day and continued at the back mountain at night.

But unlike his previous madness, he now trained only during the first half of the night and returned home to rest during the latter half.

It was not that he had grown lazy. His energy simply could not keep up.

The Martial Soul Avatar practiced martial arts on its own day and night, consuming an amount of mental energy that ordinary people could scarcely imagine.

That was why he now cherished his sleeping hours so greatly.

Lying on the bed, Fang Han sank his consciousness into his mind, where the Martial Soul Avatar was practicing the Nine Flood Dragon Palms move by move.

Fang Han watched quietly and sighed inwardly.

The Martial Soul Avatar cultivated several times faster than his physical body could practice martial arts.

Unaffected by fatigue or pain, it could train every moment as long as he had sufficient energy.

At a certain moment, the Martial Soul Avatar's movements suddenly changed.

It was still the Nine Flood Dragon Palms, but the transitions between its palm strikes underwent a qualitative transformation.

Previously, the transitions between moves had still been slightly stiff, like a stream flowing through cracks in stone—smooth, yet inevitably bumping along the way.

But now, the nine palm techniques seemed linked together by an invisible thread, flowing like drifting clouds and running water, perfectly natural!

Every palm strike carried a heavy, condensed momentum, like a flood dragon bursting from the water, impossible to stop.

Fang Han's heart jolted. The Nine Flood Dragon Palms had broken through from Minor Accomplishment to Major Accomplishment!

Fang Han was secretly astonished.

The Martial Soul Avatar's training efficiency was simply unimaginable.

It was only a pity... a trace of regret flashed through Fang Han's heart.

Though the Martial Soul Avatar could practice martial arts hundreds or thousands of times, it could not trigger the special effect of [Rising Talent].

[Rising Talent] required him to practice personally and use his own body to feel the subtle changes in every punch and palm strike. Only then could he draw upon that faint, elusive spark of inspiration and increase his comprehension points.

The Martial Soul spared him countless tedious repetitions, but it could not replace that sudden flash of insight.

However, Fang Han quickly accepted it.

How could one have everything in the world?

The Martial Soul had already given him an advantage beyond the reach of ordinary people. If he still remained unsatisfied, he would simply be greedy beyond measure.

Fang Han calmed his mind. With a thought, he summoned the system Panel.

A screen of light slowly unfolded in his mind.

Fang Han composed himself, and with a thought, the Panel appeared before him:

[Forged to Excel]

[Name: Fang Han]

[Age: Twenty-Three]

[Bone Structure: Inferior (Cultivable)]

[Comprehension: 107]

[Realm: None]

[Martial Art: Gale-Breaking Fist (Mortal Grade)]

[Proficiency: 481/1000, Minor Accomplishment]

[Martial Art: Nine Flood Dragon Palms (Mortal Grade)]

[Proficiency: 21/5000, Major Accomplishment]

[Talents: Unyielding Practice (Never Regresses), Rising Talent (Comprehension Increase)]

Fang Han's gaze fell upon the line for the Nine Flood Dragon Palms.

Its proficiency was only 21 points, yet its realm had already broken through to Major Accomplishment.

Then he looked at the Gale-Breaking Fist.

With 481 proficiency points, it would take at most five days to reach the 1,000 points required for Major Accomplishment.

When that time came, his strength would surely rise another level.