The struggle for the Five Tigers had always been this way!

"One-Eye! Look over there-"

On their way back, Black Vajra seemed to spot something and lowered his voice.

One-Eye looked up and saw a fair-skinned young man approaching them.

"Xiao Ran?!"

One-Eye's pupils contracted slightly. He hurriedly lowered his head again and whispered, "What's he doing here? Could he have come specifically to intercept us?"

At that thought, the blood and qi in his body surged, poised to strike at any moment.

Even though Xiao Ran had come alone.

Both of them had been injured by Che Zhenzhong earlier. If a fight really broke out, they might not gain any advantage.

"Wait! He doesn't seem to be here to intercept us. Keep your head down and don't look at him!"

Black Vajra stopped One-Eye. All he wanted now was to return safely, without any new complications sprouting along the way.

The two kept their heads down as they passed Xiao Ran.

Xiao Ran seemed not to notice them. They both let out long breaths of relief and hurried away.

"Phew!"

Xiao Ran stopped and looked back at their retreating figures.

"Black Vajra and One-Eye, from Violent Bear's ranks-what are they doing here?!"

Xiao Ran had spotted them the moment they approached.

But Fire Ox and Violent Bear were at odds, and when their subordinates met, a single disagreement often led to blows.

Black Vajra had reached the second refinement long ago and had plenty of actual combat experience. Xiao Ran wasn't confident he could beat him.

With One-Eye there as well, Xiao Ran would inevitably be the one to suffer if a clash broke out, so he had pretended not to see them.

"Could Violent Bear be the one backing Zhang Yan?!"

The timing of Black Vajra and One-Eye's appearance was too coincidental for him not to dwell on it.

"If that's really the case, then their injuries..."

Xiao Ran's gaze shifted slightly. He suddenly quickened his pace and headed toward the street where the Gaoliu Branch Hall stood.

Before long.

Xiao Ran saw a crowd of townspeople gathered on the street ahead.

He pushed through the crowd.

At a glance, Xiao Ran spotted Wei Sheng sitting at an open-air tea stall beside the street.

At that moment, his expression turned somewhat strange.

Because three people were sitting at that tea table.

Besides Wei Sheng and Che Zhenzhong, there was a dispirited man with loose hair.

"Zhang Yan..."

But the Golden Goose Gang's Gang Leader looked rather wretched. Both his hands were wrapped in thick bandages, with blood seeping through them.

As for the other Golden Goose Gang members, although they were slightly better off than Zhang Yan, they all had bruised faces and looked miserable.

"It's been settled?"

Xiao Ran froze for a moment. "Wei Sheng really is lucky, getting through even this unscathed."

He instinctively assumed that Che Zhenzhong had arrived in time, injured Zhang Yan, and saved Wei Sheng.

He walked toward the tea table and said with a smile, "Wei Sheng, it's great that you're all right!"

At that moment, Che Zhenzhong seemed to be writing something.

Hearing Xiao Ran's words, he frowned but didn't look up at him.

Wei Sheng had noticed Xiao Ran long ago. Seeing him approach, he smiled at him. "Yes, I was lucky this time."

"What are you writing?"

"Done."

Just as Xiao Ran was about to lean over for a look, Che Zhenzhong folded the paper he had finished writing on and handed it to Wei Sheng, who tucked it straight into his sleeve without even looking.

Seeing the way the two behaved, Xiao Ran frowned, displeasure showing on his face.

Whatever else, he was the strongest of the three. By rights and reason, shouldn't they explain things to him?

Hiding it away like this, not even letting him look—did they have any regard for him as a Second Refinement martial artist?!

But before he could flare up-

Thud!

Zhang Yan bent his knees and dropped to the ground, tears and snot streaming down his face.

"Brother Wei, you said you'd spare my life as long as I handed over the cultivation art! I've already given you the Golden Goose Art. Please spare me! I'll never dare do it again."

"Huh?!"

Xiao Ran was dumbfounded.

Hadn't Che Zhenzhong injured Zhang Yan? Why was he so afraid and terrified of Wei Sheng?

"Please spare us..."

The dozen or so Golden Goose Gang members also knelt and begged for mercy.

Xiao Ran was utterly dumbfounded.

He looked around at everyone.

Only then did he realize that, apart from Zhang Yan and his men, even Cao Defa and the others from the branch hall looked at Wei Sheng with eyes full of awe.

Yes, awe!

Not toward Che Zhenzhong, but toward Wei Sheng!

At that moment, a thought he had never considered before suddenly surfaced in his mind:

The one who defeated Zhang Yan wasn't Che Zhenzhong, but Wei Sheng?!!

But how was that possible?!

He rejected the thought the moment it appeared.

Wei Sheng was just an ordinary person. How could he possibly defeat Zhang Yan, who was at the first refinement?!

Unless...

Bang!

Fire Ox and Violent Bear broke apart immediately after clashing.

Both looked somewhat bedraggled now.

But Violent Bear didn't care in the slightest and looked smug, while Fire Ox's face was dark.

Violent Bear was no weaker than him. Even if he gave it everything he had, he could only fight him to a draw, unable to do anything to him.

At that thought, he couldn't help shouting furiously:

"You damned bear! Stealing a street from me wasn't enough, so now you're plotting against my disciples too?"

"The struggle for the Five Tigers has always been this way!"

Violent Bear sneered. "Of the four Tiger Generals currently serving Tiger Lord, Brother Biao is devoted to the martial path, and Shanjia is absorbed in intelligence gathering. You're the only one who can compete with me for the fifth Tiger General position!"

"So you resort to such despicable methods?"

"The methods don't matter, as long as they achieve the goal! Don't worry, my men know how to hold back. Those three disciples of yours won't be in any mortal danger. They'll just have to spend three months in bed!"

Hearing that.

Rather than feeling reassured, Fire Ox grew even angrier.

Tiger Lord had set a deadline of three months. Spending three months in bed-wouldn't that mean handing the Five Tiger Generals position to Violent Bear on a platter?!

"That fifth spot among the Five Tiger Generals is mine! No one can stop me!"

Violent Bear's face brimmed with confidence, as though the situation were entirely within his grasp. "Judging by the time, they should be finished by now!"

As his words fell.

Two figures hurried into the courtyard.

Seeing them, Violent Bear's smile deepened. "Little Black, One-Eye, is it done?"

He paid no attention to their injuries.

After all, Xiao Ran and the other two weren't weak. It was only reasonable for his men to suffer some injuries while dealing with them.

Faced with Violent Bear's expectant gaze, Black Vajra forcibly swallowed the words on the tip of his tongue.

From what he knew of Violent Bear, if he spoiled Brother Violent Bear's mood now, Brother Violent Bear could take his life!

He wanted to step back and let One-Eye speak.

Only to discover that One-Eye had already positioned him in front as a shield, his eyes on his nose and his nose pointing toward his heart, his head lowered in silence.

Black Vajra cursed inwardly. Before he could work out how to begin, a dangerous aura locked onto him.

He forced a smile and raised his head, meeting Violent Bear's cold, lowered eyes. "Speak!"

"Brother Violent Bear..."

Black Vajra shuddered. Without further hesitation, he leaned toward Violent Bear's ear and whispered for a while.

Fire Ox wasn't far from Violent Bear. He faintly caught fragments such as "Wei Sheng," "First refinement," and "escort agency," but they were too broken up to hear clearly.

But he could clearly see-

As Black Vajra said more and more, the smile on Violent Bear's previously triumphant face gradually froze and stiffened.

By the end, his whole face had fallen, turning frighteningly dark!!