Steel Claw Tiger Huo Tianlu

The Black Tiger Society was indeed no ordinary group.

At least within the outer sect's affiliated academy, the Black Tiger Society wielded considerable influence.

The outer sect's affiliated academy had several thousand disciples, so naturally, groups of varying sizes existed among them. The Black Tiger Society was one of them, and one of the strongest at that.

Not only did the Black Tiger Society have several hundred "members,"

its leader was Zhao Yuanji, currently known as one of the outer sect's Two Tigers.

Zhao Yuanji was a prominent figure whose strength ranked among the top three in the entire outer sect, and he was also one of its most senior disciples.

In fact, had he not suffered bad luck during the last inner sect assessment, he would probably have become an inner sect disciple long ago. His cultivation and strength were also widely acknowledged to be at an inner sect disciple's level.

Besides him, the Black Tiger Society had quite a few other experts.

The most famous among them were Black Tiger Zhao Yuanji's three tiger generals: Disease Demon Tiger Lei Yuan, Smiling Tiger Xu Pingzheng, and Steel Claw Tiger Huo Tianlu.

All three were veteran disciples of the outer sect's affiliated academy, and their names carried considerable weight. Though weaker than Zhao Yuanji, they were all strong enough to rank among the outer sect's top fifty.

Ranking among the outer sect's top fifty might not sound particularly impressive.

In reality, it was no simple feat.

After all, the outer sect's affiliated academy had several thousand disciples. They were either elite geniuses recommended by various factions or outstanding martial artists selected from the affiliated academies of the Overlord Sect's various branches. Like the group from True Martial Academy, every one of them possessed considerable talent and strength. Anyone who could stand out among so many people naturally could not be an ordinary martial artist.

In short, the Black Tiger Society truly possessed considerable strength within the outer sect's affiliated academy.

Not just newcomers-even the veteran disciples dared not offend them.

Now that a few newcomers had slapped them in the face, how could the Black Tiger Society swallow this insult?

Thus, early the next morning, dozens of Black Tiger Society members blocked the entrance to the residence of Wei Yi and the others.

"You were the ones who dared provoke and attack members of our Black Tiger Society?"

Leading them was a burly man in blue with a gloomy expression.

Frost covered his broad, square face, and his thick black eyebrows twitched slightly. His dead-fish eyes stared coldly at Wei Yi and the others standing before the courtyard entrance as he questioned them, suppressing his anger.

"He should be Steel Claw Tiger Huo Tianlu, one of the Black Tiger Society's three tiger generals."

Zhou Heng offered the reminder in a low voice.

He had used his connections to gather quite a bit of information on the Black Tiger Society last night, so he knew something about its members.

Hearing this, everyone from True Martial Academy could not help feeling their hearts sink slightly.

Steel Claw Tiger Huo Tianlu!

Though not as terrifying as Black Tiger Zhao Yuanji, he was still one of the Black Tiger Society's top five experts.

Looking at the dozens of Black Tiger Society members outside the courtyard entrance, they saw cold smiles on every face and distinctly hostile looks directed their way.

Things probably would not end peacefully today...

The group from True Martial Academy sighed inwardly. Although they had guessed that the Black Tiger Society might retaliate, they had never expected it to come so quickly, without even giving them time to prepare.

The other outer sect disciples, however, were spectators who never minded trouble getting bigger. They gathered nearby, laughing and discussing the situation without pause.

"Brother Wei, what should we do?"

Zhu Ling'er asked worriedly.

"Should we go find Dean Liu?"

After comparing the strength of the two sides, even the usually hot-tempered Pei Qinghe could no longer put up a tough front.

"If we go to Dean Liu, how will we ever establish ourselves in the outer sect?"

Liu Huan shook his head.

It would be like tattling to a teacher. Once they did that, others would certainly look down on them, regardless of who was right or wrong.

"Besides, Dean Liu can't really do anything about this sort of thing."

"Even if Dean Liu stops them once, he can't stop them a second or third time. Are we supposed to go to him every time?"

Hearing this, everyone looked even more dejected.

Their gazes involuntarily gathered on Wei Yi.

Although Wei Yi was not the oldest, the strength he had displayed yesterday had won them over. He had already become the pillar they relied on.

"What do you want to do?"

Faced with everyone's expectant gazes, Wei Yi did not stand on ceremony and stepped forward.

Looking at Huo Tianlu opposite him, he had no intention of reasoning with the man and simply asked him outright.

In this world, the fist ruled supreme. Often, reason was not something established through words, but proven through strength. Without strength, even if your words made flowers rain from the heavens, no one would give a damn about you...

"Hmm?"

Wei Yi's directness clearly caught the other man off guard.

Huo Tianlu could not help freezing for a moment.

He turned to look at the hook-nosed young man beside him.

"Brother Huo, this brat was the one who attacked us yesterday. He beat all of us single-handedly... His blows were vicious, and he showed absolutely no regard for our Black Tiger Society. We can't let him off!"

The hook-nosed young man immediately clamored, his face full of hatred.

His voice was loud. Hearing his words, the melon-eating spectators immediately burst into laughter.

A group of veteran disciples had actually been beaten by a newcomer!

Now that was a rare sight...

The mouths of the nearby Black Tiger Society members twitched involuntarily. Looking embarrassed, they hurriedly distanced themselves from the hook-nosed young man.

He had been beaten by a newcomer, yet he still had the nerve to shout about it?

"Useless trash!"

Huo Tianlu could not help shooting him a fierce glare as well.

Only then did he turn back to Wei Yi, his expression growing even more hostile. It had been a long time since the Black Tiger Society had lost this much face.

"Newcomers pay protection fees. That's the rule in the outer sect."

"Not only did you break the rules, you even dared injure members of our Black Tiger Society."

"Don't say I'm bullying my juniors. Today, I'll give you two choices!"

Huo Tianlu stared at Wei Yi and said coldly,

"First, each of you pays ten times the protection fee, then joins our Black Tiger Society."

"The second choice is simpler. You fight me, and regardless of the outcome, this matter will be settled."

At this point, a savage, cold smile appeared on Huo Tianlu's lips. "Choose..."

"Ten times the protection fee? Wouldn't that be fifty thousand taels each, and five hundred thousand for ten people? Fuck, he's opening his jaws like a lion, demanding that much..."

"What does he mean by joining the Black Tiger Society? Isn't it really hard to get in?"

"Are you stupid? Once they join the Black Tiger Society, won't they be bullied however the society pleases..."

"But the second choice isn't easy either. Huo Tianlu is notorious for being ruthless. Anyone who fights him will end up at least half-crippled. They can forget about taking the inner sect assessment a month from now."

The bystanders buzzed with discussion.

Everyone from True Martial Academy looked grim.

Neither of these choices was clearly any good.

They exchanged looks, unsure what to do for a moment.

"No need to choose. I'll fight you."

Before anyone else could speak, Wei Yi answered directly.

There was no fear in his eyes. Instead, there was a faint trace of excitement.

"Brother Wei, fighting him is too dangerous."

"That's right, Wei Yi. There's no need..."

Hearing Wei Yi's words, Zhu Ling'er and the others hurried to dissuade him.

"Don't worry. I'm confident."

Wei Yi nodded.

"Brat, you've got guts!"

"Don't worry, I'll be sure to treat you well. It's been a long time since I've seen such an interesting newcomer."

A bloodthirsty gleam appeared in Huo Tianlu's eyes.

The Overlord Sect's outer sect affiliated academy did not prohibit private fights. As long as no one died, the higher-ups generally would not interfere.

"I certainly won't disappoint you!"

Wei Yi looked at him, his expression unchanged.

A hint of a strange smile appeared in his pitch-black eyes...