Just the Hall Master's Assignment

"You know?"

Wei Sheng stared at Che Zhenzhong.

He had considered this question before.

Unfortunately, his own standing was too low, he had virtually no sources of information, and his encounters with Fire Ox were pitifully few. He simply could not guess Fire Ox's intentions.

Che Zhenzhong beckoned with a finger.

Wei Sheng leaned closer.

"Brother Fire Ox wants to choose one of us to become one of the Five Tiger Generals!"

Che Zhenzhong lowered his voice.

The Five Tiger Generals?

Wei Sheng froze.

He was no stranger to them. Fire Ox was one of the Five Tiger Generals serving under the Black Tiger Hall Master.

But he still needed to make sure.

"Whose Five Tiger Generals?"

"Throughout the gang, only the Four Hall Masters have Five Tiger Generals under them. They're the strongest fighters in their respective halls. Brother Fire Ox serves under the Black Tiger Hall Master of Weiyuan Hall, so naturally, it means becoming one of Tiger Lord's Five Tiger Generals."

"How many Five Tiger Generals does Tiger Lord have?"

"Five, of course! But one died in a gang battle not long ago, leaving only four..."

Wei Sheng understood.

But he still had one question.

What did Fire Ox stand to gain from this?

If he was merely carrying out an assignment from his superior, surely Fire Ox didn't need to invest this much.

"More say in things!"

"Hm?"

"Whoever has the most say is the man second only to Tiger Lord! He gets a measure of decision-making power over the management of the hall's dozen or so streets, as well as its other businesses.

"That's why the Five Tigers often clash... If the newly appointed Tiger comes from Brother Fire Ox's ranks, the two will form a natural alliance. Their combined influence will naturally outweigh any lone Tiger's...

"Besides, Tiger Lord takes this selection very seriously and has offered plenty of good rewards. So it isn't just Brother Fire Ox. The other three Tiger Generals-Golden-Eyed Biao, Violent Bear, and Shanjia-are also grooming trusted followers to compete for the position!"

"So that's how it is."

Understanding dawned on Wei Sheng.

No wonder Fire Ox was willing to invest so much. It was not merely the hall master's assignment; there were all sorts of intertwined interests involved.

With that thought, Wei Sheng looked at Che Zhenzhong in a different light.

If everything Che Zhenzhong said was true, this fellow was no ordinary man. He had actually managed to uncover information about the gang's middle and upper ranks.

"Actually, I just happened to overhear it," Che Zhenzhong explained.

Like hell I believe you!

Near noon, Xiao Ran and Che Zhenzhong left one after the other.

Wei Sheng was just about to leave when the burly, dark-skinned youth Niu Yong stopped him. "My brother-in-law wants to see you!"

Brother-in-law?

Wei Sheng quickly realized that the brother-in-law Niu Yong referred to was probably Fire Ox.

His elder sister had now become Fire Ox's ninth concubine.

Wei Sheng nodded and followed Niu Yong to meet Fire Ox in the rear courtyard.

Fire Ox gave him five taels of silver as a reward for bringing the Savage Bull Fist to perfection.

"You started later than the other three. Hard training alone won't be enough. You'll also need secret medicine to aid your cultivation..."

Fire Ox offered him encouragement.

That was precisely why Fire Ox had given him the five taels early, though it should originally have been paid at the end of the month: so he could buy medicine.

"Thank you, Brother Fire Ox!"

Wei Sheng thanked him sincerely.

Wei Sheng returned to the outer courtyard. Seeing no one around, he walked to a corner by the wall.

A row of stone locks stood there in assorted sizes, ranging from three hundred to five thousand jin, all used for strength training.

I wonder how much strength I have now.

After bringing the Savage Bull Fist to perfection, Wei Sheng felt that his strength had increased greatly, but he had yet to test exactly how much.

He first picked up the three-hundred-jin stone lock. It was heavy, but he could lift it. Only after raising it three feet off the ground did he set it down.

Then he turned his gaze to the five-hundred-jin stone lock and gripped its handle hard.

It would not budge!

So my strength is around three hundred jin...

Wei Sheng was quite satisfied with his current strength.

A punch with three hundred jin of force would have nearly approached the level of a champion boxer in his previous life.

More importantly...

This was only the beginning.

Once he entered the first refinement, his strength would truly soar!

After leaving Fire Ox Courtyard, Wei Sheng went to a nearby medicine shop to buy the secret medicine for the Ox Demon Skin Refinement Method.

"How much? Three taels of silver per batch?"

Wei Sheng's teeth ached a little. In the past, working himself to death for a month had earned him only two or three hundred copper coins. He would have had to toil for a year to scrape together enough for one batch.

Worse still...

One batch's medicinal potency lasted seven days. He would need four batches a month, which meant twelve taels of silver, or a hundred and forty taels a year.

And according to Fire Ox, he had spent a full two and a half years taking Bull-Demon Skin Refining from entry to great accomplishment. That meant three hundred and fifty taels!

In the past, even working himself to death for a hundred years would not have earned him enough silver for the Skin Refinement Realm.

The poor studied letters; the rich practiced martial arts!

Practicing martial arts was burning money!

He tried several other medicine shops, but the prices were much the same.

In the end, Wei Sheng gritted his teeth and bought two batches.

He had originally possessed four taels of silver. With the five taels Fire Ox had rewarded him, he had nine in total, enough to buy three batches.

But he needed money to live and to have his younger brother treated, so he kept three taels and bought only two batches.

Two batches should be enough to reach entry...

Once I reach entry in the Skin Refinement Method, I can rely on Dao Origin Points and grind it to perfection with my unparalleled talent and hard work!

Back home.

Following Fire Ox's earlier instructions, Wei Sheng ground and boiled the medicinal ingredients he had bought, one by one, producing a pot of black paste that gave off a peculiar smell.

Once the skin-refining ointment was ready, Wei Sheng could hardly wait to try it.

He stripped naked, spread the ointment all over his body, then practiced his fist forms in the courtyard, circulating his qi and blood to temper his skin.

As his stance training and qi and blood worked together, Wei Sheng felt his skin grow numb, itchy, and scalding hot, as though ants were crawling all over it.

Rather than alarmed, he was delighted, knowing that the ointment was taking effect.

Only after two hours had passed was the medicinal potency completely spent. Wei Sheng was drenched in sweat, and although somewhat tired, he looked especially excited.

I tempered my skin five whole times this session. That's twice as efficient as before...

In Fire Ox Courtyard, relying solely on his own qi and blood, he could only temper his skin three times. With the ointment's aid, however, he could do it five times.

And this was only the beginning.

As long as he kept up his nourishment with meat, he could temper it another five times in the afternoon.

That would make ten times a day altogether, more than triple his normal efficiency.

Triple efficiency, day after day, for seven straight days...

This money was so fucking well spent!

After washing himself clean, Wei Sheng moved around a little but felt no change in his body.

Still, he paid it no mind.

Cultivation was much like physical training. One or two sessions would show no change at all. Only steady perseverance could transform him!

And so...

Over the following days, Wei Sheng's life settled into a regular routine.

He cultivated at Fire Ox Courtyard in the mornings, worked at the Gaoliu Branch Hall in the afternoons, then returned home at night to apply ointment and continue tempering his skin.

A month passed in the blink of an eye.

"Finally reached entry!"

That evening, having just finished tempering his skin, Wei Sheng showed a faint smile that had long been absent.

The panel, which had remained unchanged all this time, now displayed a new change-

[Name: Wei Sheng]

[Martial arts mastered: Savage Bull Fist (Perfection), Ox Demon Skin Refinement Method (Entry)]

[Talent: Nine-Breath Qi Ingestion]

[Dao Origin: 30 points]