Officially Joining the Gang

The three of them arrived at the Internal Affairs Hall, where a goateed old man sat inside.

He was leisurely sipping tea.

"Old Yu, what brings you here today?" the old man asked Yu Shan with a smile.

"Brother Wu, I've come today to recommend a young man for the gang, to serve as a junior leader!" Yu Shan replied.

"Oh? The young lad behind you?" Old Wu glanced at Lu Shaolin.

"Yes!"

"Since he was brought by you, he surely won't be lacking!" Old Wu nodded.

"Kid, come over here." Having said that, he turned to Lu Shaolin.

Lu Shaolin stepped forward and cupped his hands. "Greetings, Old Wu!"

Old Wu nodded, took out a registry from a drawer, and asked, "Name?"

"Lu Shaolin."

"Address?"

"Panshan Village."

"Age?"

"Sixteen."

"..."

After filling in each piece of information in the registry, Old Wu took a red wooden token from another drawer and handed it to Lu Shaolin.

Lu Shaolin took it and examined it. The front was engraved with the words "Blackwater," while the back bore the words "Leader." Patterns covered both sides, and a serial number was engraved at the very bottom.

"A junior leader receives three taels of silver each month. You can come collect it next month."

"With the token, you can claim two sets of clothes and a Waist Saber from the warehouse behind us!"

"You can also use the token to go to the Martial Arts Pavilion on the second floor and receive cultivation manuals!"

"At any Blackwater Gang property, showing the token will get you a discount."

"You must keep the token safe. If you lose it by accident, be sure to come report it!"

"That's about all. Kid, have you remembered it?" Old Wu rattled off a long string of instructions in one breath, then looked at Lu Shaolin and asked.

"I've remembered!" Lu Shaolin nodded.

"Alright, Old Yu, the matter has been handled. Would you like to have a few cups of tea with me?" Old Wu turned to Yu Shan again.

"Sure." Yu Shan nodded, then turned to Lu Shaolin. "Go claim your things. Once you've got them, find Wang An and have him assign men to you. He can also familiarize you with the docks."

"Understood!" Lu Shaolin cupped his hands.

With that, he took the token and eagerly left the Internal Affairs Hall, heading straight for the second floor.

The Martial Arts Pavilion stood in the middle of the second floor.

Lu Shaolin looked at the plaque and quickly walked inside.

The moment he entered, he saw a white-haired old man sitting by the entrance, his face carrying a lecherous look.

A wooden table stood before him. He read the book on the table while raising a wine gourd to pour liquor into his mouth.

Lu Shaolin walked over and casually glanced at the book. It was filled with drawings of little figures, painful to the eyes!

Noticing someone approach, the white-haired old man calmly closed the book and looked up at Lu Shaolin. "New here?"

"Yes, sir." Lu Shaolin cupped his hands.

"Give me your token!" The white-haired old man took out a register from a drawer.

Lu Shaolin handed over the token.

After recording the number on it, the old man tossed the token back to Lu Shaolin.

"Go in! Inside hangs the Martial Dao True-Intent Diagram for the cultivation art Reckless Bull Force. Make sure you carve it into your mind. Then choose a martial technique for yourself. There are palm techniques, saber techniques, sword techniques, and more. Once you've chosen, come back out, and I'll give you the Skin Tempering portion of the Reckless Bull Force manual." The old man waved his hand as he spoke.

Lu Shaolin nodded and entered the Martial Arts Pavilion.

The moment he stepped inside, his gaze was drawn to a portrait of a Wild Bull hanging on the wall directly ahead.

The Wild Bull in the painting was lifelike, its entire body knotted with muscle. Every muscle seemed to contain boundless power, making one unable to resist sinking into the image.

Only after a long while did Lu Shaolin pull back his gaze. He had already firmly etched the True-Intent Diagram into his mind!

Turning to look around, he saw three large bookshelves inside.

Lu Shaolin walked to the third bookshelf and pulled out several manuals to inspect them. They were all unranked martial techniques.

He then went to look at the second bookshelf, but they were still unranked.

When he came to the first bookshelf, he finally saw ranked techniques.

"Fire Venom Palm," "Funeral Gate Saber," "Drifting Rain Sword," "Mad Demon Staff Technique," and so on...

There were only a few ranked techniques, all of them Yellow Grade. The rest were still unranked.

Lu Shaolin searched carefully. The ranked techniques consisted mostly of saber arts and sword arts. There wasn't even a single spear technique!

He found the long spear extremely handy and had grown accustomed to using it. He did not want to change weapons.

After thinking it over, Lu Shaolin turned his gaze toward the "Mad Demon Staff Technique." Both were long weapons, so there should be some common ground between them. At worst, he could use his long spear like a staff!

He pulled out the "Mad Demon Staff Technique" and looked through it. It contained thirteen staff forms, and judging by its description, it was quite formidable!

This is the one!

Lu Shaolin took the manual and walked out.

"Kid, chosen one?" The old man took a gulp of wine and asked.

"Mhm, I have. I'll take this 'Mad Demon Staff Technique.'" Lu Shaolin placed the manual on the table.

"Hehe, there are no spear techniques inside, but this Mad Demon Staff Technique isn't bad either." The old man glanced at the long spear in Lu Shaolin's hand and smiled.

He then registered the Mad Demon Staff Technique and took out the Skin Tempering portion of the "Reckless Bull Force" manual from the drawer, along with a sealed black clay jar, handing them over.

"This jar contains medicinal oil for practicing Reckless Bull Force. Just apply it over your entire body. There's enough for three uses. Once you've reached the introductory stage, you won't need it anymore," the old man explained.

"Alright." Lu Shaolin reached out and accepted the manual and medicinal oil.

"Remember to return the manual in three days. Kid! Different people have different constitutions, so the cultivation arts they can adapt to also differ. If you can't get Reckless Bull Force started, come find me. I also have a personal cultivation art here, the Savage Bear Skill. For ten taels of silver, I can pass it on to you." The old man waggled his brows as he spoke.

"Uh... alright." Lu Shaolin nodded, stuffed the manual into his clothes, and left the Martial Arts Pavilion with the medicinal oil.

After going downstairs, Lu Shaolin turned toward the warehouse behind the building. He took out his token and claimed his clothes and Waist Saber.

He hung the Waist Saber at his hip. With medicinal oil and clothes in his left hand and a long spear in his right, he left the Water Fortress and headed for the docks.

When he arrived at the docks, the same black pleasure boat was still there. Lu Shaolin stepped forward and jumped aboard.

"Brother Lu, you're back." Hearing the sound, Wang An emerged from the cabin.

"Brother Wang." Lu Shaolin answered with a smile.

"I've already sent people to call for your subordinates. One is called Ma San, and the other Li Si. I don't know their actual names too clearly; we all call each other by nicknames." Wang An spoke as he ushered Lu Shaolin into the cabin.

After entering the cabin, the two sat facing each other.

"What do we do each day?" Lu Shaolin asked.

"There isn't much to do. We just patrol the docks and maintain order."

"Usually, it's very quiet. With our gang's reputation in Ping County, no one comes looking to stir up trouble," Wang An said as he poured tea.

"Are we on duty today?"

"Brother Lu, you just joined the gang today, so you don't need to take a shift. Just come tomorrow."

"There are four junior leaders under the manager. The leaders take shifts in pairs, while another twenty subordinates remain stationed here long-term. Today, it's my shift together with another leader," Wang An explained.

"So that's how it is!" Lu Shaolin nodded.