#34 - Chapter 34 Undercurrent
Qingxi City, north side.
In the heavily guarded and imposing residence of the Blood Wolf Gang,
the Blood Wolf Gang leader sat enthroned on a tiger-skin chair in the center of the hall.
This was a man of immense presence,
with hawk-like eyes, a sharp nose, and a neatly trimmed mustache, clutching two iron balls in his hand.
His face was grim as he stared at the group of dejected subordinates before him.
These men had just completed an important mission, but it had ended in a crushing defeat, plunging the entire gang into a passive position.
Gang Leader Zhong He's eyes flashed with a cold light, fully aware that this failure was a significant matter for the gang.
It could also provoke a counterattack from the Lin family.
If they couldn't salvage the situation in time, it might attract the covetous eyes and attacks of other factions.
The Lin family, grain merchants in the north of the city, controlled the lifeline of the city's population as one of the largest grain suppliers.
Taking action against the Lin family was no easy task. The Lin family had been in business for many years, with deep roots and complex relationships with various forces.
Normally, to successfully take down the Lin family, they would have to formulate a detailed plan and send out elite forces, which would undoubtedly result in heavy losses for themselves.
Now that the secret was out, it all depended on how the Lin family head would play his next move.
Everything in the world has two sides, Yin and Yang, wonderfully mysterious.
Zhong He gazed in the direction of the Lin family, thinking that if his guess was correct, the Lin family head must be seriously injured!
Lin Wan'er arrived home safely under the protection of the coachman Lin Hu and several others.
The servants, seeing the knife marks and cuts on the carriage, were all visibly alarmed.
Lin Wan'er ignored them and immediately instructed the servants to take Lin Hu and the others to treat their injuries.
Then, she quickly walked towards the main hall.
Several people were sitting upright in the hall, dressed in luxurious clothes, discussing something heatedly.
Seeing Lin Wan'er return, they all fell silent.
After paying her respects, Lin Wan'er went straight to the point: "Where is my father? How is he?"
A man in a green robe, who looked very similar to Lin Wan'er, replied: "Wan'er, Little Sister, Uncle is still unconscious."
Hearing about her father's condition, Lin Wan'er turned to leave.
Behind her, she could vaguely hear words like "splitting the family," "giving up," and "holding on."
Lin Wan'er didn't care about any of that; she just wanted to see her father.
The father who had always doted on her since she was a child, and whether he was now dead or alive.
Looking at the man lying on the bed, his face pale and his breathing weak,
Lin Wan'er burst into tears.
But she also knew that if her father was gone, the Lin family would be finished.
Lin Wan'er was powerless to stop the uncles in the main hall who wanted to split the family.
Only her father, Lin Xiong, was at the late stage of the Blood Refining Realm in the Lin family. The rest were basically at the Skin Refining or Strength Refining Realm.
Among the three major families and four major gangs in Qingxi County, the Lin family managed the grain business, the Zhang family managed the cloth shop, and the Li family managed the restaurant, making them the leading wealthy merchants in the area.
The Blood Wolf Gang in the north of the city, the Black Snake Gang in the west of the city, the Red Star Gang in the east of the city, and the Green Bamboo Gang in the south of the city,
were all lackeys and money bags supported by the officials, involved in various industries such as brokerage, commerce, banditry, and brothels, covering a wide range.
A month ago, when the Lin family was transporting grain, they received news of a Tiger Bone Pill circulating from the rebel lands in the east, sold for personal gain by a member of a large eastern clan.
The news was spread that the transaction should be expedited, with the transaction location being in Lianshan Prefecture City.
Lin Xiong secretly gathered funds to go to the Prefecture City to purchase it without making a sound.
Although Qingxi County was not small, the Blood Refining Completion stage was almost the ceiling of martial arts strength. Only the County Magistrate had such a level of Bone Refining.
Now that there was news, how could Lin Xiong, who had been stuck in the Blood Refining stage for nearly ten years, not be tempted?
As a result, he bought the Tiger Bone Pill, but the news was leaked, and he was ambushed by several people of the same realm.
No one knew whether the Tiger Bone Pill was lost or swallowed by Lin Xiong to break through, but he failed.
Seven days ago, Lin Xiong, clinging to his last breath, fled back to the Lin family and had been unconscious ever since.
Without martial power, how could they protect such a large family business?
Lin Wan'er knew it, and so did the uncles in the family.
The Lin family was almost at the end of its rope.
But this news had been blocked by the Lin family.
Only recently had their opponents begun to test the waters.
Lin Wan'er's attack was proof of this.
Originally, Lin Wan'er was meeting friends in the Prefecture City, and the exchange of messages delayed her time.
But she never expected to be ambushed on the way home.
The children of large families still had a high level of understanding.
Elite education was far superior to ordinary people, which was also the reason for the recommendation system of the Great Zhou Dynasty.
Lin Wan'er dismissed the servants and wept alone in her room.
This situation was unsolvable.
After Cheng Feng returned from visiting relatives, he practiced martial arts steadily in the martial arts hall.
After taking twelve taels from Lin Wan'er, plus his previous one tael,
his small treasury returned to the amount of thirteen taels.
For the time being, he didn't need to buy anything.
Having experienced killing, Cheng Feng was eager to improve his strength.
Assuming that he hadn't mastered Strength Refining, he might have already died in that patch of grass.
When a person has a sense of crisis, then motivation arises.
The people in the martial arts hall, seeing Cheng Feng, who had just joined, practicing so desperately,
gradually increased their training as well.
Name: Cheng Feng
Lifespan: 16 (62)
Talent: Blessed with Many Children
Realm: Strength Refining Realm
Skills: Fishing (Proficient 90/100)
Archery (Beginner 2/100)
Horse Stance (Proficient 26/100)
Calligraphy (Beginner 4/100)
Fortune Points: 0
The new content learned in the outer sect was to start practicing knife stances on the basis of the horse stance. After the knife stance was completed, they would practice the basic knife techniques taught by the martial arts hall.
After achieving something in the basic knife techniques, they could practice the three major knife techniques of the martial arts hall.
According to Qian Ming, the major realms were divided into four minor realms: initial, intermediate, advanced, and completion.
The Strength Refining Realm mainly used stance work + medicinal soup to temper one's own strength.
Strength Refining Completion allowed one to move one's strength at will, and one could unleash one's full blow from the feet, shoulders, elbows, and knees.
When strength flowed throughout the body, the body's strength and blood had a similar breathing reaction. When the strength was perfectly controlled, it could be fused with the blood.
Then, it could be guided throughout the body, which was Skin Refining.
In Cheng Feng's view, it meant that the horse stance had to continue to improve, and he had to learn the knife stance, learn a wave of basic knife techniques, and then learn the three major knife techniques.
Strength Refining Completion required diligent practice, and it could be accelerated if the medicinal soup could keep up.
After the Skin Refining Realm, the martial arts hall would sign some agreements with you.
Work for the martial arts hall or directly become Wang Tieshan's disciple and enter the inner sect.
Working for the martial arts hall meant there was a salary, and you were allowed to escape when the martial arts hall was in danger, but the core martial arts techniques would definitely not be provided.
But there were other martial arts available for practice.
Entering the inner sect and becoming Wang Tieshan's disciple meant you were definitely a core disciple.
But at this time, it depended on whether Wang Tieshan was willing to accept you.
If the qualifications and other aspects were not up to par, you definitely wouldn't be able to enter the core circle.
But you could be recorded as a nominal disciple under Wang Tieshan.
A nominal disciple could also be promoted to an inner sect disciple.
The standard for inner sect disciples was only one: the Blood Refining Realm.
Disciples who were not qualified enough could receive guidance during this period, but they had to purchase their own resources.
Directly promoted to inner sect disciples could receive Wang Tieshan's long-term personal guidance and resource inclination.
For disciples, Wang Tieshan had already given a very considerable way out.
Some people learn martial arts not for the peak of martial arts, but to support their families. These people are suitable for working for the martial arts hall.
There are also people who are for strength, for breaking through their own limits, and for seeing if there are higher peaks in martial arts.
These people are suitable for becoming Wang Tieshan's disciple.
As long as the qualifications are up to par, Wang Tieshan will also teach them carefully.
