Destroying the Golden Tiger Gang

Before destroying the Golden Tiger Gang, Cheng Yang had not forgotten about the evening banquet at Drunken Immortal Tower.

After a lavish dinner, his mouth shone with grease, yet he quietly calculated his next moves for the night.

Night deepened.

The Golden Tiger Gang's headquarters was brightly lit.

Xu Chengfeng sat in the seat of honor, heavy with worry, his brows twisted into a deep furrow.

Originally, their gang had been locked in fierce battle with the Blackwater Gang, on the verge of swallowing them whole, when the Four-Ping Gang suddenly thrust itself into the affair and sent people to stop the conflict.

The Four-Ping Gang was a force that had risen only this year. Though established not long ago, its strength was exceptionally formidable.

By swallowing up small gangs from every corner and growing like a snowball, it had now become Qinglin County's undisputed number one gang.

This was the source of Xu Chengfeng's concern.

Just today, the Four-Ping Gang had sent word ordering the Golden Tiger Gang to surrender voluntarily, giving them two days to consider.

The Golden Tiger Gang was the painstaking work of his life. How could he willingly hand it over to someone else?

Yet if they did not surrender, the only thing awaiting them was the destruction of their gang.

"Second Brother, what do you think we should do?" Xu Chengfeng looked toward Han Dezhu.

"Big Brother, as long as the green hills remain, there will be no shortage of firewood. So long as you and I live, why fear that we cannot build another Golden Tiger Gang?" Han Dezhu said in a deep voice. "Besides, once we abandon the Golden Tiger Gang, neither of us will have anything holding us back. We can finally avenge Brother Hao."

His words carried a teeth-gritting hatred as the image of a young man surfaced in his mind.

"Cheng Yang... that damned little bastard!"

"Two Gang Leaders, if you leave, you must take this humble one with you!" Li Qiang, one of their confidants, hurriedly declared his loyalty.

"Must we truly abandon the Golden Tiger Gang..." Struggle showed on Xu Chengfeng's face. He let out a long sigh. "At this point, I have no other choice."

Before his words had faded—

Bang—!

The hall doors were kicked open with a savage blow. Wood chips flew everywhere as the entire door panel shot across the room and smashed into the wall.

A tall figure stepped into the hall, clad in a black robe and wearing a savage fanged mask. The long saber in his hand pointed diagonally at the ground, and killing intent surged around him, cold and sharp as a death god come to claim lives.

"An intruder?" Han Dezhu reacted first and immediately sprang up. "Little thief, die!"

A trace of contempt flashed through Cheng Yang's eyes.

With a tap of his toes, his body floated up like a spirit crane, and the distance between them vanished in the space of a breath.

A cold flash streaked through the air.

Splurt.

A large head dropped to the floor, rolling twice before coming to a stop.

Han Dezhu, a dignified Skin-Tempering Martial Master, had not even lasted a single exchange under Cheng Yang's hand.

You were already weaker than me, and you did not even take up a weapon. I really don't know where you found the nerve to charge at me.

Cheng Yang glanced at the headless corpse, then withdrew his gaze without sparing it another look.

"Second Brother—!" Xu Chengfeng's eyes split with fury. Like a tiger unleashed from its cage, he lunged at Cheng Yang with grief and rage filling his chest.

Cheng Yang shook his head. So this was the sort of fool, blinded by rage, whom he had always imagined as his opponent.

After seeing him cleave Han Dezhu down with one slash, Xu Chengfeng should have realized just how vast the gap between them was.

Arm-Penetrating Fist: Mountain-Shattering Form!

Xu Chengfeng gathered all his strength and brazenly unleashed his killing move, both fists wrapped in fierce wind as they smashed toward Cheng Yang's chest.

All flash and no substance.

A saber flash swept out. Before Xu Chengfeng's fist could even touch Cheng Yang's robes, one of his arms had been severed at the shoulder, blood spraying from the wound like a fountain.

"Ah—!" He let out a miserable scream. His knees buckled, and he fell straight to the ground.

Cheng Yang did not hesitate. He swung his saber again with a backhand slash.

Splurt.

A head fell to the floor.

Killing Xu Chengfeng had been as easy as killing a chicken. Cheng Yang knew no saber techniques, but strength could shatter ten thousand techniques; the numbers were right there. His physical abilities surpassed Xu Chengfeng's by more than twice over. No matter how skillfully Xu Chengfeng wielded his fists, it was all useless.

"One more left."

Killing intent covered Cheng Yang as he slowly turned his gaze toward Li Qiang, who was trembling in the corner.

"Spare my life, hero!" Li Qiang dropped to the ground with a thud, shaking all over like chaff in a sieve. "This lowly one knows where the Golden Tiger Gang's most important place is. Please spare my life, hero!"

"Lead the way," Cheng Yang said indifferently.

Li Qiang scrambled to his feet and hurried ahead in a panicked, scrambling rush.

After twisting and turning through several passages, the two arrived before a heavy iron door.

"Where is the key?" Cheng Yang looked at Li Qiang without a shred of emotion.

"My lord... the key isn't on me, but I—"

"You think you are worthy of bargaining with me?"

Before his words had faded, Cheng Yang spread the five fingers of his right hand, grabbed Li Qiang by the back of the head, and brutally smashed his face into the iron door.

Thud! Thud!

After only two impacts, Li Qiang's forehead was a bloody pulp. He completely lost consciousness and slid limply to the ground.

The upper half of the iron door had been smashed into a dent and warped out of shape.

Cheng Yang took half a step back, gathered his strength, raised his leg, and savagely kicked the dented section of the iron door.

Boom—!

The iron door burst open.

Inside was a modestly sized secret chamber. More than a dozen sabers rested against the walls, while three small chests sat on a desk in the center, with several account books placed beside them.

Cheng Yang opened the first chest. Inside were gleaming silver coins and several banknotes, worth no less than a hundred taels at a rough estimate.

When he opened the second chest, he found neatly arranged dried exotic beast meat, heavy enough to total more than ten jin.

Inside the third chest lay two yellowed manuals in silence.

Arm-Penetrating Fist and Arm-Penetrating Stance. After flipping through them, he found that the cultivation methods reached all the way to the Bone Tempering Realm. They were precisely what Cheng Yang needed most right now.

He had struck it rich.

Delight spread across Cheng Yang's face as he packed up all three chests and took them away. Before leaving, he returned to search Xu Chengfeng, Han Dezhu, and the others' corpses one by one. Only after confirming that he had not missed anything valuable did he slip into the night, fully satisfied.

The next day.

Before dawn had fully broken, Cheng Yang was already up and practicing martial arts.

Previously, he had had nothing to practice. Now, he had a little too much to practice.

He did not rush to break through to Flesh Tempering. Instead, he began practicing the newly acquired Arm-Penetrating Stance.

The entire morning flew past in the stance.

Cheng Yang exhaled a long breath of stale air and glanced at the panel.

[Arm-Penetrating Stance Minor Accomplishment (0/500)]

His fourth stance art had reached Minor Accomplishment. His physical abilities rose another step, his muscles knotted like dragons, his blood and qi blazed like fire, and he looked a full circle sturdier than yesterday.

More than that, his speed in practicing stances had clearly increased as well.

It was likely that the foundations laid by his previous stance arts had allowed his body to adapt more quickly to this new stance technique.

But the consumption was enormous too. Of the Breeze Wolf jerky he had bought several days ago, only a few scraps remained.

Resources worth a full one hundred and ten taels of silver had been devoured completely by him in just two or three days.

Fortunately, when the old did not go, the new would not come. Today, Senior Brother Yan Ze and Junior Brother Chu's resources should arrive, and together with the meat and silver seized from the Golden Tiger Gang last night, they would last him another few days.

He wondered whether he could defeat a Flesh-Tempering Martial Master now.

After thinking it over without reaching an answer, Cheng Yang simply stopped dwelling on it and took his mother to the kitchen to eat.

"Mother, take whatever you want. It's all free," Cheng Yang said, urging his timid mother to relax.

It was Lin Xia's first time seeing such a dazzling array of food, and her eyes were almost overwhelmed. After picking and choosing, she ultimately took only two plates of vegetables.

"Mother, why didn't you take any meat? Forget it, I'll get some for you." Without allowing any argument, Cheng Yang placed two large chunks of meat into his mother's bowl.

"That's enough, that's enough! If you add any more, I won't be able to finish it!" Lin Xia hurriedly stopped him.

"If you can't finish it, isn't there still me? Today, I'm definitely going to let you eat your fill."

Watching her son's grand manner, Lin Xia could not help smiling. The sorrow that had clouded her face for days finally faded a little.

After having lunch with his mother, Cheng Yang prepared to head out and handle some proper business.

Back when Haozi and Xiaoxue had given him two taels of silver when he was at his lowest, he had not yet grown wings enough to soar, but at least he now possessed a measure of strength.

He wanted to do whatever he could for those two friends who had offered charcoal in the snow.