Chapter 24: Half a Year Later

The Green Bamboo Gang mainly operated casinos and brothels. The Emerald Fragrance House was one such brothel under their management, offering food, drink, entertainment, and pleasure, all in one place—everything one could desire. There was never a need to ask if dragons were present here.

Bang!

A burly man slapped the table, smashing it to pieces, and roared, “What kind of food is this? Are you trying to poison me?”

“This is outrageous! If the dishes are this bad, why bother running a brothel? Might as well close up shop.”

“The women are ugly too, absolutely sickening.”

The other burly men at the table joined in, shouting complaints. Those nearby fell silent, afraid to utter a word. The men’s exposed arms bore the tattoo of a fierce tiger, the emblem of the Tiger Gang—who would dare cross them?

“Gentlemen, please don’t be angry. I’ll have the dishes remade right away,” the madam hurried over, smiling nervously.

“Remake them? My stomach’s already ruined. What good will that do? Compensation! Unless you pay us a thousand taels of silver today, this matter isn’t over,” one of the men demanded.

The madam’s face turned ghastly pale. It was obvious to everyone that these Tiger Gang men had come to stir up trouble on purpose, but what could she do? All she could do was hope that the Green Bamboo Gang's experts would arrive to rescue the situation.

“Hurry up! If you don’t pay up, we’ll tear down the Emerald Fragrance House,” threatened the man who had smashed the table.

Just then, Lu Yan and Li Quan entered the Emerald Fragrance House.

“How dare you!” Li Quan scolded. With Lu Yan backing him, he feared nothing and even felt a bit… arrogant. Lu Yan was a ruthless figure who could kill Fang Xiong—why should they fear the Tiger Gang? The Tiger Gang’s leader was only as strong as Fang Xiong at best.

The Tiger Gang men rose and stood shoulder to shoulder. The madam, delighted, quickly went over and said, “Steward Li, thank heavens you’re here.”

“All right, leave this to us,” Li Quan waved his hand and swept his gaze over the Tiger Gang men. “Cao Hu, it’s you again. You’ve caused trouble several times now. Today, you’ll leave a hand behind before you go.”

Meanwhile, Zhang Dashan quietly explained to Lu Yan that Cao Hu was the Tiger Gang’s deputy leader, a warrior who had broken through three times. The others were elite members of the gang.

“Li Quan, Zhang Dashan, just the two of you? Where are the Green Bamboo Gang’s experts—have they all died?” Cao Hu glanced around, his tone provocative and probing.

Lu Yan couldn’t be bothered to waste words. He stepped forward and said, “You broke a table. Compensation: a thousand taels of silver. Leave a hand and get out.”

“Such a brat, barely grown, yet so boastful. Let me teach you a lesson on behalf of your leader Fang Xiong,” a burly man beside Cao Hu reached out to grab Lu Yan.

But Lu Yan moved faster, seizing the man’s wrist and twisting it. With a crack, the man’s arm twisted like a rope, and he screamed in agony.

“Stop!” Cao Hu shouted, charging at Lu Yan like a tiger descending the mountain.

Bang!

Lu Yan kicked out. No one saw how he moved, but Cao Hu’s massive figure was sent flying, crashing heavily to the floor. His chest had collapsed inward, and he spat blood, barely clinging to life.

Lu Yan had shown mercy, not wanting to kill in public and attract trouble. Otherwise, that kick would have ended Cao Hu’s life.

The brothel fell silent, not even a whisper.

“I am Lu Shan, the new deputy leader of the Green Bamboo Gang. Go back and tell Old Tiger Lei: if the Tiger Gang dares to cause trouble for us again, I’ll personally come and take his head. Now get out,” Lu Yan commanded.

The Tiger Gang members hurriedly picked up Cao Hu and fled in panic.

Lu Yan had no intention of fighting the Tiger Gang to the death—it was pointless. His main goal in taking over the Green Bamboo Gang was to use them to help him search for items similar to the white stone fragment, not to fight over territory.

He believed that after showing his strength today, the Tiger Gang would not dare to make trouble again.

Stabilizing the Green Bamboo Gang was the key to helping him search for "Dao Food," a name Lu Yan had coined for the items favored by the Dao Book.

Indeed, in the days that followed, no one disturbed the Green Bamboo Gang’s territory.

Li Quan soon handed over the meticulously transcribed Stone-Shattering Palm manual to Lu Yan. Lu Yan instructed the entire Green Bamboo Gang to help him search for Dao Food, telling them to notify him of any ancient artifacts resembling the ones he sought.

The white stone fragment and the previous orb had no similarities in appearance; their only common trait was their age. Both were relics that seemed to have weathered countless years.

He could only search in this direction for now.

Lu Yan began to study the Stone-Shattering Palm.

With two martial arts skills already fused with his own being, comprehending the Stone-Shattering Palm was much easier. He mastered the basics in just five days, then advanced rapidly, propelled by daily meals of over ten pounds of meat.

In a blink, half a year passed.

It had been eleven months since Lu Yan joined the Scarlet Guards. He had celebrated his sixteenth birthday, and his cultivation had finally reached the state of overflowing blood and energy after breaking through twice, sensing the third locked gate.

Having forged two postnatal martial bodies, his blood and energy capacity had greatly increased. In the overflowing state of the second breakthrough, his blood and energy were nearly as abundant as those of a warrior who had broken through three times.

With two skills fused with his body, the third gate posed no obstacle to Lu Yan and was soon shattered.

Lu Yan had prepared martial food rations long ago and immediately devoured a pound, converting it into blood and energy.

After seven days of intense growth, his blood and energy doubled, surging through his veins like roaring rivers.

Though not quite equal to those who had broken through four times, the gap was small. When Lu Yan reached the overflowing state of the third breakthrough, he could compete with four-breakthrough warriors in terms of quantity, though not quality.

After all, four-breakthrough warriors trained with second-class martial arts.

“It’s said that third-class martial arts can only be cultivated up to the third breakthrough, but I feel the fourth gate won’t stop me,” Lu Yan thought confidently.

Others struggled to break through the fourth gate with third-class martial arts because their blood and energy limits were capped by the low level of their training.

But he, with two fused skills, possessed blood and energy far beyond ordinary people. The fourth gate could not hold him back.

If he acquired two more third-class skills and fused them with his being, not only the fourth gate but even the fifth could be broken.

Rules exist only to restrain the mediocre.

Lu Yan smiled.

“Unfortunately, the Green Bamboo Gang has yet to find new Dao Food.”

Without Dao Food, progress with the Stone-Shattering Palm slowed after reaching the masterful stage.

Three months prior, he had already achieved mastery, then began training with martial food and rations—accumulating blood and energy while advancing the Stone-Shattering Palm.

In the following three months, Lu Yan bought fifty pounds of martial food rations, spending fifteen hundred taels. Combined with fresh martial food, his silver quickly dwindled.

With the aid of martial food and rations, the progress of the Stone-Shattering Palm reached ninety percent mastery.

Only ten percent remained before it would merge with his being.

“I must advance to fusion as soon as possible,” Lu Yan pondered.

Recently, the area around Long Wind City had become unstable. Bandits from Green Maple Prefecture grew ever more brazen, frequently attacking caravans and escorts.

Merchant guilds and escort agencies in the city suffered terribly.

Moreover, the bandits raided villages and towns, stealing grain and women.

Lu Yan and other Scarlet Guards had investigated several times, but the bandits moved swiftly, hiding deep in the mountains and forests, making them hard to find.

Lu Yan heard rumors that the Liu and Wu clans were planning to join forces and eradicate the bandits. When the time came, the Scarlet Guards would be the main force.

He needed to improve his strength quickly. The bandits, known as the Red Sleeve Army, were no ordinary thieves—many among them were martial experts.

Originally, Lu Yan intended to reveal his second breakthrough after achieving the third, hoping for better treatment. Now, he reconsidered.

The higher his cultivation, the more likely he would be called to fight the bandits.

With only a single breakthrough, he might not be chosen.

Still, he must be prepared.

With this in mind, Lu Yan went to the Linglan Chamber of Commerce and purchased ten pounds of martial food in one go.

After eating, he didn't train but instead channeled all the energy to the Dao Book, accelerating the progress of the Stone-Shattering Palm.

After consuming four pounds of martial food rations, the progress finally reached one hundred percent mastery, transforming into fusion with his being.

For the third time, the postnatal martial body received the gift of heaven and earth.

Afterward, Lu Yan’s body improved again, with his blood and energy capacity increasing by thirty percent.

“As expected, the effect has diminished—this time, both body and capacity grew by about thirty percent,” Lu Yan mused.

“What’s that…”

Suddenly, Lu Yan was stunned.

Beside the Dao Book, his three martial arts avatars collided and then fused together.