Tiger's Roar

"A Sheng!"

The two Third Refinement gang members guarding the gate hurriedly called out when they saw Wei Sheng.

"Mm."

Wei Sheng nodded and walked into the courtyard.

The outer courtyard was empty.

Only when he reached the second gate did he see Black Tiger seething with anger in the inner courtyard.

Black Tiger was normally stern enough to inspire fear at a glance. Now, in his fury, he looked even more like a savage tiger poised to devour someone.

Facing him were Fire Ox, Violent Bear, and Shanjia.

At that moment, they looked like schoolchildren who had done something wrong, each hanging his head under the scolding, not daring to speak.

Wei Sheng did not hurry forward. Instead, he listened from behind the gate for a while and roughly understood the reason.

It all had to do with Changyou, the deceased member of the Five Tiger Generals.

Changyou's territory had been on East Prosperity Street in Black River Ward.

The street connected several wards, including Black Mud, Black Forest, and Black River, and was the main thoroughfare leading to Black Glory Ward.

As such, the street had many shops and counted as prosperous within the Outer City.

Both the Fish-Dragon Gang and the Firewood-Fisher Gang had sent experts to plant their flags there.

Before Changyou died, three forces had planted their flags on East Prosperity Street-

Changyou, one of the Five Tiger Generals under Black Tiger of the Fish-Dragon Gang's Weiyuan Hall;

Gu Diao, one of the Five Tiger Generals under Dapeng of the Fish-Dragon Gang's Wind and Cloud Hall;

And Chu Dongjiao, deputy hall master of the Firewood-Fisher Gang's Azure Dragon Hall.

After Changyou died, Black Tiger had reached an agreement with Dapeng, hall master of Wind and Cloud Hall, and the hall master of the Firewood-Fisher Gang's Azure Dragon Hall.

They would maintain the status quo and refrain from encroaching on one another's territory for six months.

Both hall masters had agreed.

Yet that surface peace had lasted only three months before Gu Diao and Chu Dongjiao began nibbling away at Changyou's territory.

In barely half a month, the two sides had each swallowed up one of the three streets Changyou had originally controlled.

Even that had not satisfied them. They intended to take Changyou's last remaining street as well and drive Black Tiger's claws and fangs out of East Prosperity entirely.

When Black Tiger first heard about it, he had not been particularly angry.

He knew that their so-called agreement could not stop their ambition to seize territory.

What infuriated him was...

It was one thing for an enemy gang like the Firewood-Fisher Gang to seize Changyou's territory.

But Wind and Cloud Hall, a brother hall of his own, had actually stooped so low as to loot a burning house, showing not a shred of brotherhood.

Even more stifling was the fact that...

Even if he sent men to take it back now, he had no suitable candidate among his subordinates.

Because even after reclaiming it, without someone to hold it, it would still be useless.

As for tiger generals like Fire Ox and Shanjia, they each had their own territories and could not be in two places at once.

Having sorted it all out, Wei Sheng entered the courtyard.

Black Tiger swept his gloomy gaze over him, and Wei Sheng immediately felt an immense threat and pressure.

His expression unchanged, Wei Sheng cupped his hands in salute to Black Tiger. "Tiger Lord."

"What brings you here? Weren't you training hard at home?"

Black Tiger's tone softened considerably.

"Tiger Lord, I've come to learn a martial art for entering Jin Force."

Already in a temper, Black Tiger instinctively snapped upon hearing this:

"Didn't I already give you the Flesh Refinement Method? What martial art for entering Jin Force could you possibly-"

But before he finished...

Black Tiger abruptly realized, his gaze instantly clearing considerably.

"You... you've broken through to the fourth refinement?!"

Fire Ox, Shanjia, and Violent Bear all raised their heads too, looking at Wei Sheng with startled uncertainty.

Wei Sheng said nothing.

He simply walked beneath a jujube tree in the courtyard, closed his hand into a fist, and threw a straightforward punch.

The jujube tree was completely unharmed. Not even a scrap of bark had been knocked loose.

But just as Wei Sheng turned around...

Boom!

A low explosion abruptly sounded from inside the spot on the jujube tree where his fist had struck.

Immediately afterward...

A split half a foot long and a thumb's width across opened in the middle of the trunk. The jujube tree shook violently, its fruit falling like rain!

"What?!"

Shanjia's and Violent Bear's mouths dropped open in shock.

Along with his shock, Fire Ox felt something strange. He kept feeling as though he had seen this somewhere before.

"Jin Force! It really is Fourth Refinement Jin Force! Hahaha..."

After his astonishment came delight, sweeping away Black Tiger's earlier gloom.

"It's all thanks to the Golden Body Paste you rewarded me with, Tiger Lord. After refining all of it, I was fortunate enough to raise my cultivation to the fourth refinement..."

Wei Sheng spoke with a smile.

"Golden Body Paste? So that's it!"

Understanding dawned on Shanjia, Violent Bear, and the others.

Breaking through from the peak of the third refinement to the fourth refinement in a month was rather astonishing.

But with the help of Golden Body Paste, it was within the bounds of what they could accept.

"That was only possible because you reached a profound level in skin refinement and built a solid foundation, letting the water flow naturally into its channel. For anyone else, even with Golden Body Paste, it would be hard to bore through that barrier without several months of hard work..."

Black Tiger smiled.

Fire Ox and the other two nodded in agreement.

The gap between Third Refinement and Fourth Refinement might seem like only one level, but the difficulty was actually greater than breaking through from the first refinement to Third Refinement.

Because one had to condense Jin Force!

That was far harder than condensing vital energy and blood.

Even they had been stuck at this stage for over half a year before breaking through and stepping into the fourth refinement.

And that was already considered relatively fast.

Many Third Refinement martial artists were trapped at this very step for years. For Wei Sheng to break through within a month truly showed exceptional talent.

Wei Sheng's expression remained unchanged as he thought, Good thing I only used Fourth Refinement Jin Force.

Had he used his full strength, these people would not merely have been shocked, but utterly appalled.

"Congratulations, Tiger Lord, on gaining another tiger general!"

Shanjia hurriedly offered his congratulations.

Violent Bear and Fire Ox reacted as well and hastily echoed him.

They had already said those words on the day of the selection.

But everyone knew perfectly well that although Wei Sheng had defeated Huang Man'er and become one of the Five Tiger Generals then, he had only counted as a promising seedling of a tiger general. He had still been some distance from being one capable of holding his own.

But now that he had entered the fourth refinement and condensed Jin Force, the seedling had sprouted and grown into a small tree. He could just barely be counted among the tiger generals.

"A Sheng!"

Fire Ox could not help speaking up:

"After Changyou died, his men became dragons without a head. The Firewood-Fisher Gang and Wind and Cloud Hall have been watching like hungry tigers, always looking to nibble away at Changyou's territory...

"Originally, Tiger Lord wanted you to take over Changyou's territory, but he feared your strength might fall short and you would become mired in gang fighting, hindering your cultivation and wasting your fine talent. That was why he kept holding off on sending you...

"But after Changyou's territory lost two streets in succession, some people in the hall have been grumbling about you enjoying a tiger general's treatment without fulfilling a tiger general's duties. Some even said you weren't worthy of being a tiger general...

"Now that you've broken through to the fourth refinement, let's see who still dares say another word!"

As Fire Ox spoke, he looked around haughtily, his face full of pride.

After all, Wei Sheng had risen from under his command. The stronger Wei Sheng became, the more glory it brought him as the man who had recommended him.

"Tiger Lord, I'm willing to go and hold East Prosperity Street."

Wei Sheng naturally understood what Fire Ox meant and promptly declared his position.

Black Tiger waved a hand.

"Leave that aside for now. Since you've reached the fourth refinement, you should indeed cultivate a martial art for entering Jin Force. Today, I shall teach you a saber art!"

Fire Ox hurriedly jogged forward, took a saber hanging on the nearby weapon rack, and presented it to Black Tiger with both hands.

Black Tiger already resembled a fierce tiger, his bearing imposing. With a long saber in hand, he looked fiercer and more fearsome still.

"This saber art of mine is called Tiger's Roar!

"...Watch closely!"

As his words fell, Black Tiger abruptly drew his saber, gathered momentum, and lunged forward. The long saber carved a chilling gleam through the air, its momentum like a fierce tiger pouncing, aimed straight at Wei Sheng's throat!