Really Foolish or Pretending?

"Third Brother, you're back."

Just as Chen Yuan was about to kneel, a stream of blue-black true qi emerged and supported him upright.

An old man in his seventies walked out from the inner hall. Though advanced in years, he was tall and powerfully built, his hair still jet-black. With a genial smile, he said, "We're family. No need to fuss over such empty formalities."

This old man was Jiang Kaitai, leader of the Heavenly Wolf Gang, known as the "Northern Wolf of the Northlands."

Jiang Kaitai had risen from the underworld. He had worked as an escort, been a bandit, and finally built the Heavenly Wolf Gang from nothing, taking control of half of Linked Mountains City. He was a true underworld tyrant.

Chen Yuan shook his head. "Etiquette must not be discarded. Adoptive Father took me into the gang and taught me martial arts. Your kindness surpasses that of my birth parents. I only feel that I have not bowed to you nearly enough."

The old Chen Yuan could never have said something so cloying.

The previous Chen Yuan had been somewhat honest and dull-witted. The only thing worth praising was his astonishing talent in martial arts.

The path of martial arts favored those who began cultivating early.

Of the Nine Martial Realms, the first three were Body Tempering, Meridian Opening, and Blood Shifting.

Jiang Kaitai's first and second Adopted Sons had cultivated for over a decade before reaching the Meridian-Unblocking Realm.

Chen Yuan had cultivated for less than two years, yet had already entered the peak of the Body-Tempering Realm, only a single step away from Meridian Opening. This alone showed how formidable his talent was. He could absolutely be called a genius.

But there was another saying in the martial world: only a genius who grew up was a true genius. A dead one was merely dead.

The Chen Yuan of the original plot had been exactly like that. Before he could even grow up, he was implicated by Jiang Kaitai and killed by the Murong Clan.

Jiang Kaitai lightly patted Chen Yuan's shoulder and said with a smile, "I heard you killed someone at Worry-Free Tower just now?"

Anger appeared on Chen Yuan's face. "Those lowly jianghu vermin, no better than pigs and dogs, dared slander you, Adoptive Father, and slander our Heavenly Wolf Gang. Their deaths were more than deserved!"

"Our Heavenly Wolf Gang has stood in Linked Mountains City for so many years. We have never lacked people speaking of us behind our backs."

Jiang Kaitai waved a hand magnanimously. "It is nothing more than the Blackwater Gang pressing us hard lately, while our Heavenly Wolf Gang temporarily avoids their edge. So what if they talk? By killing them, you only make our Heavenly Wolf Gang seem overbearing."

Chen Yuan cupped his hands. "Your son knows his mistake. But they dared insult Adoptive Father. Even if it happened again, I would still kill that dog!"

Jiang Kaitai lightly patted Chen Yuan's shoulder again and nodded in satisfaction.

He had injured his meridians through cultivation in his early years, so he was destined to have no children. That was why he began taking Adopted Sons.

His eldest and second sons had now become the backbone of the gang. Though capable, children grew older, and their thoughts grew more numerous.

The two had openly and secretly fought within the gang, each seeking greater power and wanting to take over the Heavenly Wolf Gang.

Now it seemed that only his third son, Chen Yuan, did not harbor so many schemes for power. No matter when, Chen Yuan placed him, his adoptive father, first—even above the Heavenly Wolf Gang.

He naturally liked capable Adopted Sons, but what he liked even more were filial and loyal Adopted Sons.

"Come. Follow me to the Council Hall. I have already summoned your eldest and second brothers, along with several hall masters, to discuss matters."

Chen Yuan followed behind Jiang Kaitai with his head lowered. Not a trace of anger remained on his face; he was calm to the extreme.

If he wanted to seize the Seven-Kill Stele Fragment, the first step was to gain Jiang Kaitai's trust—his genuine trust.

Jiang Kaitai was an underworld tyrant, ruthless and suspicious by nature.

He had never trusted anyone in the Heavenly Wolf Gang, including Chen Yuan and his other two Adopted Sons.

In the original plot, when Jiang Kaitai used blood sacrifice for a divine weapon within Linked Mountains City, he had not used anyone from the Heavenly Wolf Gang. Instead, he had used a group of deathsworn he had personally trained for over twenty years.

That was also why no one had initially suspected the Heavenly Wolf Gang or Jiang Kaitai.

What Chen Yuan needed to do now was continuously raise Jiang Kaitai's favorability until he gained the man's trust and could participate in the blood sacrifice of the Seven Kill Stele.

Only then could he seize the Seven-Kill Stele Fragment from the hands of Jiang Kaitai, the Murong Clan, and the One Qi Piercing Sun Alliance.

More than twenty people were already seated in the Council Hall, all of them hall masters from the various branches of the Heavenly Wolf Gang.

At the very front sat two men facing each other. One was in his thirties, tall and powerfully built, with a savage saber scar across his face.

He was the eldest brother, Qin Yuancheng, who commanded the Blood Fang Hall, the strongest of all the Heavenly Wolf Gang's halls.

The man opposite Qin Yuancheng was just over thirty, with delicate, feminine features and a moon-white long robe, looking like the young master of a wealthy family.

He was the second brother, Chu Ziping, who commanded the Heavenly Wolf Gang's Punishment Hall, the hall with the greatest authority in the entire gang.

As Jiang Kaitai entered the Council Hall, everyone present hurriedly rose and saluted.

"Greetings, Gang Leader!"

After saluting, everyone saw Chen Yuan following behind Jiang Kaitai, and strange expressions appeared on their faces.

Since when had Chen Yuan become so close to the gang leader?

Both Qin Yuancheng and Chu Ziping's expressions darkened somewhat.

After fighting each other for so many years, they seemed to have forgotten about Chen Yuan, their third brother.

Well played, Third Brother. He had looked honest and guileless before, yet he had actually been pretending to be simple-minded!

Chen Yuan ignored the looks from Qin Yuancheng and Chu Ziping and walked directly to his seat.

They were merely two idiot cannon fodders.

In the original plot, after nearly all the deathsworn in Jiang Kaitai's hands had died, he began deceiving them into helping him kill people for a blood sacrifice.

The two really believed Jiang Kaitai could fuse with the divine weapon and carry them to heaven, dogs and chickens alike. They began a great slaughter throughout Linked Mountains City.

In truth, Jiang Kaitai never trusted them. He had merely been using them as expendable materials.

After they finished killing, he even blood-sacrificed them along with the divine weapon, caring nothing for his two cannon-fodder Adopted Sons.

Jiang Kaitai coughed and looked at the many hall masters present. "Recently, the Blackwater Gang has been pressing us hard. They have seized much of our business and territory. I know everyone is furious.

"But rest assured. My cultivation has advanced recently. We will endure the Blackwater Gang for a while longer. When the time comes, I will settle both old and new debts with Yuan Dongtian, that fake monk!"

The Heavenly Wolf Gang and the Blackwater Gang had always been evenly matched before.

But recently, Jiang Kaitai had been busy with the blood sacrifice for the divine weapon, so he naturally neglected matters within the gang.

He had not personally acted for nearly a year, only telling the outside world that he was cultivating in seclusion.

But the Blackwater Gang believed Jiang Kaitai had grown old, his qi and blood withered and his strength declining, so they began to nibble away and probe at him.

When they saw Jiang Kaitai still had not made a move, they pressed forward step by step.

Many in the Heavenly Wolf Gang had already begun to feel dissatisfied. Left with no choice, Jiang Kaitai could only come forward to placate the hall masters.

At that moment, a brawny man stood up, his face full of grievance. "Gang Leader, it is not that we cannot endure it. Those bastards from the Blackwater Gang have simply gone too far!

"Of the three market districts under me, they have occupied one and a half. They seized my gambling houses and brothels, and several of my brothers have been lost as well.

"If this goes on, I fear this hall master of yours will become a commander without troops!"

Jiang Kaitai frowned slightly.

As long as he could obtain the divine weapon, what did a mere Blackwater Gang amount to?

He truly did not want to concern himself with these low-level gang struggles right now.

But he still needed the Heavenly Wolf Gang as a cover, so he could not truly ignore its affairs.

Lightly tapping the table, Jiang Kaitai pondered for a moment before saying, "Eldest, it is time for your Blood Fang Hall to move.

"Whichever hall has suffered serious losses, send men to help that hall hold the line. I do not demand that you reclaim lost territory, but at the very least, preserve what we have now.

"Second, do not let your Punishment Hall sit idle either. Stop watching only our own people. Go down and help resist the Blackwater Gang as well."

Qin Yuancheng and Chu Ziping hurriedly stood and saluted.

"Yes, Adoptive Father!"

Jiang Kaitai suddenly turned his gaze toward Chen Yuan. "Third, do you want to go out and command a hall on your own?"

The moment those words fell, Qin Yuancheng and Chu Ziping both fixed their eyes on Chen Yuan.

Previously, Chen Yuan had commanded the Merit Transmission Hall, but he did not possess any real power. He was simply an instructor teaching basic martial arts to gang members.

After training for a time, those gang members would be assigned to other halls.

Thus, Qin Yuancheng and Chu Ziping had never taken him seriously.

But if Chen Yuan went out to command another hall, with a group of gang members beneath him who could fight and throw themselves into battle, that would be a major threat.

Chen Yuan shook his head. "Thank you for your favor, Adoptive Father.

"But my abilities are limited. I have never been trained within the gang's affairs. If I were to command a hall alone now, I might instead ruin matters.

"I only hope to remain in the Merit Transmission Hall, train more gang members for Adoptive Father, lay a solid foundation for our Heavenly Wolf Gang, and ease Adoptive Father's burdens."

The Heavenly Wolf Gang would soon be reduced to ashes and smoke. He would have to be full to bursting before creating extra trouble for himself.

Instead, life in the Merit Transmission Hall was quite leisurely, leaving him ample time to make his own arrangements.

Jiang Kaitai nodded in satisfaction.

Third really was still Third, unlike Eldest and Second, whose minds were filled with fighting for power and profit.

This time, Jiang Kaitai truly had not been testing Chen Yuan. Publicly, there really were not many people around him whom he could use.

If Chen Yuan had agreed, he truly would have given Chen Yuan a hall and had him help resist the Blackwater Gang.

But at the same time, Jiang Kaitai would have become somewhat more wary of Chen Yuan.

"Enough. Dismissed. Our Heavenly Wolf Gang has weathered wind and rain for so many years. This little setback is nothing."

Jiang Kaitai waved a hand, dismissing everyone.

As Chen Yuan walked out of the Council Hall, Qin Yuancheng suddenly strode up and sneered. "Third Brother, you are quite something now. You know how to curry favor with Adoptive Father."

"What do you mean by that, Eldest Brother? What do you mean, curry favor?"

Chen Yuan looked astonished. "Without Adoptive Father, you and I would be nothing more than ordinary gang members. How could we have our current status?

"Is it not only right to be filial and respectful toward Adoptive Father, to ease his worries and solve his troubles? How could that be called currying favor?"

Qin Yuancheng choked on his words and was immediately left speechless.

Chen Yuan could not be bothered with him and turned to leave.

Chu Ziping also walked over from behind. Qin Yuancheng frowned and asked, "Do you think Third Brother is truly foolish, or pretending to be foolish?"

Chu Ziping drawled, "Who cares whether he is truly foolish or pretending?

"Adoptive Father gave him a chance to command a hall, yet he refused it. Even if he was pretending to be foolish, he has now become truly foolish.

"You know Adoptive Father's temperament. Third Brother rejected him this time. If another chance like this comes, who knows whether he will have to wait until the year of the monkey and month of the horse?

"Still, with the Blackwater Gang pressing so hard this time, it is an opportunity for me.

"My Punishment Hall may carry great prestige within the gang, but ordinarily we do not have many chances to show our faces outside and earn merit. This opportunity is not easily won, hahaha!"

Laughing loudly, Chu Ziping turned and left, leaving behind Qin Yuancheng with a dark expression on his face.