You're One Ruthless Man!

"I'll pass on joining the gang. I've received some favors from a Lineage, so joining another organization wouldn't really be appropriate."

Zhao Er caught the implication behind Gao Du's words, but if the man could drape himself in a tiger's skin, he could hoist a mighty banner of his own.

He didn't need to be able to threaten the Red Tiger Gang. He only needed to intimidate Gao Du.

As for whether the Red Tiger Gang would come to the village to make trouble for him—what a joke. If the Longwind Gang Leader had that kind of ability, why would he still be holed up in a small town?

Besides, would the Red Tiger Gang care whether a gang leader in some small town lived or died? In truth, they wouldn't. All they cared about was that the protection money kept coming.

"It seems your ambitions soar far beyond ours, Master Zhao. Rest assured, with me keeping the Longwind Gang in line, no one will ever come to harass the people of Zhao Family Village again."

Gao Du wasn't surprised by Zhao Er's refusal. After offering a compliment, he immediately made his position clear: with him in charge of the Longwind Gang, both Zhao Er and Zhao Family Village stood only to benefit.

"In that case, allow me to thank you on behalf of the villagers of Zhao Family Village, Gang Leader Gao!"

Zhao Er didn't hesitate for long. Just as Gao Du had said, with him running the Longwind Gang, Zhao Er wouldn't have to worry so much about the village.

Lately, for fear that someone might come to his home to cause trouble, he hadn't even felt comfortable going into the mountains, much less heading to County Town to buy martial manuals.

"To celebrate your breakthrough as a martial artist, Master Zhao, I had my men prepare a modest gift. I won't disturb you any further. Farewell!"

Having secured Zhao Er's approval, Gao Du broke into a broad smile, then took his men and left.

The men departed, but they left plenty behind: fine white flour, a live sheep, and several jars of liquor.

"Dad, divide these things among everyone."

Looking at the goods Gao Du had left behind, Zhao Er didn't keep them all for himself. Instead, he asked Zhao Dazhu to distribute them among the villagers. Everyone had just paid their protection money, and times were tight. These gifts weren't much, but they were a token of Zhao Er's goodwill.

With the Longwind Gang affair settled for the time being, Zhao Er hurried to County Town the next day. Having tested himself in battle, he felt an increasingly urgent desire to broaden his arsenal.

Actually, fighting other people was manageable. For now, the poison in his palms could still inflict devastating damage in fights against opponents of the same realm. But poverty was Zhao Er's greatest weakness.

Without an organization devoted to nurturing him, following the conventional path of cultivation was bound to be difficult. He had to stake his future on the Clear Radiance Mountains.

His current abilities were adequate against martial artists, but once he entered the Mountain Range and faced large wild beasts or even exotic beasts, his advantage in poison would vanish entirely. That was the main reason he had yet to risk venturing into the Mountain Range.

"Oh? Back so soon? Have you run into trouble with your cultivation?"

Inside County Town's Martial Pavilion, Dian Zhang hadn't expected Zhao Er to return so quickly. After telling him last time what would be possible once he reached the third level of the Nine-Turn Golden Armor Art, Dian Zhang had assumed he would devote every effort to cultivating it. He hadn't imagined Zhao Er would come back to buy a Halberd Art.

"It's been all right. Aside from being a little painful, cultivating the Nine-Turn Golden Armor Art has gone fairly smoothly. I came this time to buy the Dian Clan Eight Methods of Twin Halberds."

Smiling, Zhao Er set the Shaodaozi he had bought on the table, then reached into his robes and took out a five-tael silver ingot.

He had sold his dried centipedes first that day, then come straight to the Martial Pavilion without even visiting his eldest brother. His purpose was very clear.

"Oh? I didn't realize you had such ample funds. You can afford to buy a Halberd Art while cultivating the Nine-Turn Golden Armor Art?"

Holding the silver ingot, Dian Zhang gave Zhao Er a curious look.

Cultivating the Nine-Turn Golden Armor Art was far from cheap. Even the most basic requirement, iron, cost a tael of silver for just over fifty jin. Once the cost of processing it into iron filings was added, the daily expense came to roughly half a tael. As cultivation accelerated later on, the expenditure would only increase.

That didn't even include the considerable cost of meat and pills. Taken together, it was simply beyond the means of ordinary people, yet Zhao Er still had money left to buy a Halberd Art.

"Uh... I haven't been using metal filings the way the manual describes. I found a shortcut and used the Iron Dregs from a blacksmith's shop. That stuff isn't worth anything, so it's easy to get..."

Knowing Dian Zhang had misunderstood, Zhao Er didn't conceal much. He simply explained his cultivation method.

"Iron Dregs? Tell me about it!"

Dian Zhang's eyebrows rose, and his interest was immediately piqued. He thought Zhao Er had discovered a new cultivation resource.

Why had the transmission of the Nine-Turn Golden Armor Art nearly died out by now? Not because the art was weak, but because it demanded too much pain and too many resources. The poor could endure the pain but lacked the resources, while the rich had the resources but weren't willing to endure the pain.

If the problem of cultivation resources could be solved, wouldn't this art be much easier to pass down?

That was what Dian Zhang most hoped to see.

"Iron Dregs are the flakes and residue that fall off during forging at a blacksmith's shop. They don't contain much metal, but they cost nothing at all. They're normally used to pave roads or build city walls. As long as you have enough, they can still support cultivation."

"It really hurts when you cultivate with them, though. If I hadn't taken large amounts of poison to ease the pain, I might not have been able to hold out."

Zhao Er was actually quite pleased that he had found such a method, so he grew rather excited as he spoke.

Clack!

After hearing Zhao Er's explanation of "Iron Dregs," Dian Zhang was completely dumbfounded. Thinking of the pain he had endured while cultivating with pure iron filings, then imagining the several times greater pain of cultivating with these so-called Iron Dregs, his hand involuntarily trembled. His grip slipped, and the silver fell onto the tabletop.

"Is something wrong?"

Zhao Er had never cultivated with metal filings and didn't know what that felt like, but Dian Zhang's reaction told him something was amiss.

"You're one ruthless man..."

Dian Zhang stared at Zhao Er in silence for a long while before finally uttering those words.

Now he understood why someone of Zhao Er's background had managed to break through to the Blood Condensation Realm at such a young age. With that kind of resolve, and such ruthlessness toward himself, a person like him was certain to achieve great things in the future—as long as he didn't perish prematurely.

"Here's the manual. Come find me once you've cultivated this Basic Halberd Art to perfection. When the time comes, I'll give you a more advanced Halberd Art for free."

By now, Dian Zhang had begun to glimpse Zhao Er's potential. Since that was the case, he might as well increase his investment. It would also let him see how much aptitude Zhao Er had for martial techniques.

"All right. Thank you, Senior."

With the manual in hand and a promise secured as well, Zhao Er was quite happy. After exchanging a few pleasantries, he took his leave.

Iron Dregs... Quite a vivid description. Should I give them a try? If that lad can endure it, perhaps it isn't all that painful?

Watching Zhao Er leave, Dian Zhang sank into thought...