Qingyun Town.
Black Tiger Gang.
Inside the heavily guarded main hall.
A Black Tiger Gang member with a brutish face quickly walked in, nervously shouting to the middle-aged man seated at the head of the table:
"Gang Leader! Something terrible has happened!"
Seeing this, Black Tiger Gang Leader Li Hu frowned and coldly rebuked him:
"What happened? Why are you shouting so loudly? Where are your manners!"
He was originally an Outer Sect Disciple of a small Sect, but due to his extremely poor Aptitude, he failed to Breakthrough to Qi Refining sixth level even after turning thirty, and was eventually expelled. Left with no choice, he could only return to the Mortal world.
Qi Refining fifth level strength was nothing in the Cultivation World, but in the Mortal world, it was definitely the mark of a top expert.
Thus, relying on his own cultivation and ruthless methods, Li Hu quickly gathered hundreds of subordinates and founded the Black Tiger Gang, becoming an undisputed ruler in the small place of Qingyun Town, practically an uncrowned king.
His Aura within the Gang was extremely strong. After a single rebuke, his subordinate immediately became silent as a cicada in winter, tremblingly replying:
"Rep-reporting to the Gang Leader, a Cultivator of unknown origin has arrived outside. That person claims to be Qi Yuan's cousin, repeatedly saying he wants to find Hall Master Xu Biao to avenge his cousin, and has already injured several of our brothers."
"A Cultivator?!"
Hearing this, Li Hu's heart skipped a beat, and his eyelids twitched wildly.
He didn't care who the victims were; too many people had died directly or indirectly by his hand, so how could he remember each one?
The Cultivator who had come knocking on their door was of unknown origin. If he provoked someone powerful, the trouble would be immense.
However, from his subordinate's description, it seemed the newcomer's strength wasn't that great, most likely a blustering but weak hothead.
The reason was simple: if the other party were truly a high-level Cultivator, they wouldn't need to go through so much trouble to seek revenge. They could simply wipe out his small Black Tiger Gang directly.
Furthermore, true powerhouses were mostly arrogant individuals who wouldn't even bother to look at ordinary Mortals without cultivation.
And that guy, when challenging them, beat up his subordinate's group of Mortal Gang members, and only injured them instead of killing them, proving that his scheming wasn't deep enough, his methods weren't ruthless enough, and his standing definitely wasn't high.
After all, he couldn't have imagined that a Golden Core expert would actually run to such a remote small town to trick a small fry like him, who was only at Qi Refining fifth level...
Despite thinking this, Li Hu still got up and went into the back hall. From a hidden compartment, he took out a strangely shaped small hammer and carefully slipped it into his sleeve.
With his trump card Magical Artifact in hand, he immediately felt invigorated. He swiftly flew to the front hall and loudly ordered:
"Pass down the order! Gather all brothers within the Gang to come with me and meet this troublemaker."
...
At the same time.
At the main entrance of the Black Tiger Gang.
Bang!
After kicking away a Black Tiger Gang thug who rushed at him with a knife, Qi Yuan slightly narrowed his eyes, looked up at the plaque above the main gate, and then flicked his finger.
Crack!
The wooden plaque fell with a crash, shattering into pieces.
Around him, Black Tiger Gang members lay scattered on the ground, groaning in pain.
Perhaps because the Black Tiger Gang's notorious reputation was too strong, or out of fear of being caught in the crossfire, despite such a big commotion, there wasn't even a single passerby watching the excitement on the street. Vendors had packed up early, and the entire street was eerily clean.
Seeing that the remaining Black Tiger Gang thugs dared not step forward, Qi Yuan smiled slightly and slowly walked towards the gate, loudly shouting:
"Xu Biao! Get out here and die!"
"If you don't hand him over, I will flatten your Black Tiger Gang today and get justice for my cousin!"
Qi Yao followed closely behind him, her pretty face filled with gratitude.
Although Qi Yao didn't know the deeper meaning behind the mysterious expert's actions, the fact that he actively sought trouble with the Black Tiger Gang seemed to be standing up for her deceased brother. How could she not be grateful?
Brother Qi, he's truly a good person.
As soon as the two stepped through the Black Tiger Gang's main entrance, a loud shout rang out:
"You dare to cause trouble in the Black Tiger Gang? Are you tired of living?!"
Before his voice faded, dozens of fierce-looking strong men surged out from the courtyard ahead.
Leading them was a broad-shouldered, stout middle-aged man, dressed in a short shirt with bulging muscles, and a ferocious tiger embroidered on his chest. He was none other than Black Tiger Gang Leader Li Hu.
After confirming the newcomer's cultivation, Li Hu completely relaxed, and killing intent surged in his heart.
Damn it.
This kid is only at Qi Refining third level. Why is he putting on such a show?
He originally thought he was a troublesome character, but now it seems he's just a greenhorn!
Li Hu thought this in his heart, and then said sinisterly:
"Kid, you've got a lot of guts, daring to cause trouble for our Black Tiger Gang. If you don't explain yourself, I'm afraid you won't be leaving today!"
His underlying meaning was to probe Qi Yuan's identity and background.
If he had a powerful background, Li Hu would be wary, otherwise... Hehe!
"Explain myself?"
Qi Yuan sneered, saying with disdain:
"I am a Dao Child of the Tai Xuan Holy Land. Today, I specifically came to avenge my cousin. If you don't hand him over, I will tear down your dilapidated Gang!"
"Tai Xuan Holy Land?"
"Dao Child?"
"You? Hahahahahaha—"
Upon hearing this, Li Hu was first stunned, then he laughed so hard he bent over, as if he had heard the funniest joke in the world, almost choking on his laughter.
The other Black Tiger Gang members joined in the uproarious laughter, and the air was filled with joyous energy.
"Brat, at least make your stories a bit more believable."
After laughing, Li Hu stopped, and his gaze towards Qi Yuan was filled with fierce light.
"What kind of power is the Tai Xuan Holy Land? Forget about a Dao Child, even a random handyman from there would be enough to crush our Black Tiger Gang into pieces. How could he act like a street thug and challenge us in public?"
"If I believed that, I'd truly be blind."
Saying this, he shook his right arm, instantly bringing out the Magical Artifact hidden in his sleeve.
"Brothers, attack! Chop this thief who impersonates a Holy Land Dao Child into minced meat and throw him into the courtyard to feed the dogs."
"But that little beauty behind him must be captured alive. I'm very angry right now!"
Boom!!!
As soon as the dark small hammer left his palm, it grew larger with the wind, smashing heavily towards where Qi Yuan stood.
"Brother Qi, be careful."
Beside him, Qi Yao cried out in fright, instinctively leaning closer to Qi Yuan.
Qi Yuan seemed startled. After a moment of Stunned, he “fumbled” in his embrace and pulled out a dusty Storage Pouch, from which he yanked out a small shield made entirely of red gold, directly blocking it in front of him.
Bang!
A dull thud suddenly sounded. The Magical Artifact that Li Hu had launched was bounced away by the small shield. Along with it, the attacking Black Tiger Gang members were all shaken back, retreating one after another.
Qi Yuan, on the other hand, trembled, stumbled back several steps, his face incredibly pale, and a trickle of blood conveniently seeped from the corner of his mouth. His Qi Refining third level Aura also significantly weakened.
"Run!"
Then, he pulled Qi Yao's skirt sleeve and “fled frantically” towards the direction outside the town.
"No wonder this kid dared to challenge us here. Turns out he also has a pretty good quality Magical Artifact..."
Seeing this, Li Hu was not surprised but delighted, and his greed burned even brighter. While quickly recovering the True Qi consumed by using the Magical Artifact, he loudly urged his subordinates:
"Quick, chase him! Whoever catches that kid, this Gang Leader will reward them handsomely!"
In an instant, the Black Tiger Gang members poured out of their lair, led by Li Hu, fiercely pursuing the two in the direction they had fled.