The Clear River Gang's Crisis!

"Spare you?"

Only then did Zhang Ying learn from the woman with beady eyes that her younger cousin had successfully broken through and become a First-Rank Martial Artist. Today, he had beaten the family of the senior branch who had bullied them half to death and thrown them out of the ancestral home.

As for the beady-eyed woman's son, he had arrived at the Tang Household today only to be dismissed for stepping over the threshold with his left foot.

Anyone could see that the Tang Household had done it to curry favor with Zhou Chen, afraid of offending him!

Zhang Ying stood there, stunned. "My little brother's a Martial Artist. He really became a Martial Artist! I knew he could do it, I knew he could do it!!!"

When the people around her heard the news, they came over one by one with beaming smiles to congratulate her and cozy up to her. No one paid any attention to the beady-eyed woman and her son below.

Zhang Ying exchanged pleasantries with them, her face flushed with excitement.

Before long, people from the Tang Household arrived. All smiles, they told her she no longer needed to work so hard selling meat at a stall. She only had to make the rounds and keep the accounts. It was a minor supervisory position, with much lighter work and a far higher monthly wage.

Zhang Ying knew she owed it all to her younger cousin Zhou Chen becoming a Martial Artist. As the saying went, when one person attained the Dao, even his chickens and dogs rose to heaven.

Elsewhere, Sun Yang had just finished a delivery and was wiping away his sweat when he heard that the Yang Household's steward was looking for him. The sight of that thin old man made his heart lurch. Had he done something wrong?

Everyone knew the Yang Household's steward was as hard-hearted as they came. Sun Yang approached uneasily, only to find Steward Yang smiling from ear to ear. What the man said next made his eyes go wide.

"Young Sun, you're a lucky man! Did you know that younger brother of yours, Zhou Chen, has become a Martial Artist?"

"What?!"

Sun Yang shuddered, his face full of shock.

"You won't need to make deliveries anymore. Master Yang has spoken. From now on, you only need to check the deliveries here at the warehouse and count the goods."

Steward Yang finished explaining the arrangement with a smile.

"All right!"

Sun Yang nodded in a daze. It felt like a dream.

He remembered arguing with Zhang Ying the other day because she had sent a few extra pounds of meat. His face burned red with shame.

Steward Yang left with a smile.

Whenever a martial arts school in Qingtian District gained a new Martial Artist, the Lineages heard about it faster than anyone. Even if they could not recruit a newly promoted Martial Artist, they could still do him a good turn. After all, another friend meant another road open to them.

Back at home, Zhou Chen put away the money. Several congratulatory letters had also arrived from the various Lineages in Qingtian District, each containing a tael or two of silver.

Taken together, they came to more than five taels.

He leafed through the Tang Household's letter, which made a point of mentioning the favorable arrangements for Zhang Ying. The Yang Household's letter stated that Sun Yang had been moved to an easier job.

Zhou Chen showed the letters to his mother.

After reading them, Zhang Fang said happily, "Good! This is wonderful! Your cousin and her family have finally come through their hardships! Her husband won't have to haul a cart through wind and rain anymore..."

Trivial matters had taken up much of the day. Before leaving to practice at the martial arts school, Zhou Chen gave Zhang Fang half a tael of silver and told her to buy more meat over the next little while to improve their meals.

It would help nourish Zhou Tian, too.

Zhang Fang nodded, then began considering which market sold meat with less contamination and better quality, and how much she could buy without drawing anyone's attention. She did not want to bring more trouble on the family or give Zhou Chen anything else to worry about.

Zhou Chen had barely taken a few steps outside when he encountered several broad, burly men entering the alley. They wore black fighting clothes and walked with powerful strides.

The man leading them stood nearly two meters tall, with broad shoulders and a thick back. His bulging muscles stretched his black clothes taut. His brows slanted upward above a flat nose, giving him the fierce look of a tiger.

A faint Killing Intent hung around him. Several street vendors took one look and hurriedly pushed their carts out of his way.

This was Wang Ming, leader of the Evil Tiger Gang and a genuine Martial Artist at First-Rank Perfection.

"Would you be Brother Zhou Chen?" Wang Ming spoke first, his face piled with a kindly smile that looked entirely out of place on his fierce features. "I should have come earlier to congratulate you on your breakthrough, brother, but business held me up. I hope you won't hold it against me."

"Gang Leader Wang?"

Zhou Chen cupped his hands in greeting and gave Wang Ming a surprised glance. Then he guessed why he had come.

By the unspoken rules among the gangs, whenever someone in a household became a Martial Artist, that household's monthly protection payment was waived.

This was Zhou Chen's first time seeing the Evil Tiger Gang's leader up close. A Martial Artist at First-Rank Perfection was formidable indeed. Blood Vitality filled his body, far more abundant than Zhou Chen's own. With every breath, his chest moved like a little furnace.

Gang Leader Wang had fought his way up from the bottom. He had ample combat experience and who knew how many lives on his hands. In a fight to the death, a vicious man like him would be far more dangerous than a martial arts school disciple of the same rank.

Zhou Chen knew that if he faced the leader of the Evil Tiger Gang head-on, he would be no match for him!

The scars covering Wang Ming's body drove the gap home even more sharply. Zhou Chen needed more real combat experience. Practicing martial arts could not be all about going through the motions.

The Evil Tiger Gang's leader swept a hand out, and one of his underlings immediately stepped forward carrying a bundle of meat.

"Ten pounds of beef, lightly contaminated. For people like us who practice martial arts and want to strengthen our Blood Vitality, meat like this is a fine choice. Also, from now on, your family won't owe the Evil Tiger Gang any monthly payments. If you ever need anything from us, brother, just say the word."

"Thank you for the generous gift, Gang Leader Wang. I won't stand on ceremony, then."

Zhou Chen chuckled and took it.

"By the way, Brother Zhou, did you hear about Zhang Mingfei, that street thug in Qingtian District who died unexpectedly at home some time ago? It wasn't just him. His four lackeys died gruesome deaths too, every last one of them."

Wang Ming narrowed his eyes as he looked at Zhou Chen.

Zhou Chen's expression did not change. "I heard about it. The story was all over Qingtian District at the time. It frightened my mother and the others so badly they hardly dared go out."

Wang Ming watched him for a couple of breaths, then suddenly smiled. In a tone of idle conversation, he went on, "Hadn't Zhang Mingfei set his sights on your younger sister? I was thinking that if he were still alive, I'd have someone drag him before you to apologize. It's not that I shy away from killing. Zhang Mingfei had someone backing him: he was the younger brother-in-law of the Clear Moon Gang's leader, another gang here in Qingtian District. He ran wild around the district, and I only left him alone out of respect for the Clear Moon Gang's leader."

He paused and lowered his voice. "Lately, though, the Clear Moon Gang has been asking plenty of questions about the deaths."

With that, he cupped his hands and turned away with his burly men. His steps were steady, as though he really had come only to deliver a gift and offer congratulations.

Zhou Chen stood where he was and watched them disappear around the mouth of the alley. Only then did the smile slowly leave his face.

Wang Ming had made it sound like idle talk, but he had all but told Zhou Chen outright that it was only a matter of time before the Clear Moon Gang linked him to Zhang Mingfei's death. They might even have done so already!

Nor had Wang Ming's warning been entirely well-intentioned. The Clear River Gang and the Evil Tiger Gang had never gotten along. Helping Zhou Chen meant striking a blow against the Clear River Gang.

The Clear Moon Gang was about the same size as the Evil Tiger Gang, and its leader, Yin Mengbo, was roughly Wang Ming's equal in strength.

A sense of danger surged through him.

He had thought killing Zhang Mingfei and his men would be enough to protect his family. Who could have imagined Zhang Mingfei had this connection to the Clear River Gang?

Zhou Chen's mind, which had relaxed a little, went taut again!

He had to train harder, push his cultivation to Major Accomplishment as soon as possible, and bring his Wild Bull Fist to Minor Accomplishment too!

Better yet, he needed to gain real combat experience quickly!

Only then would he have the means to face an opponent like Yin Mengbo, who had reached Perfection in the First-Rank Skin Tempering Realm!