5: Chapter 5 Liu Zhen

West of the city, Willow Lane.

Deep in the alleyway stood a three-courtyard residence. The gate was painted with black lacquer, and a plaque hanging above the lintel read "Green Wolf Gang."

Two burly men were leaning against the doorframe, cracking melon seeds and spitting the shells all over the ground.

When Jiang Yan walked into the alley, the two men glanced up, but didn't pay him any mind.

When he reached a spot five paces from the gate, the one on the left lazily spoke up: "What are you here for?"

Jiang Yan did not stop.

The one on the right straightened up and reached for the short blade tucked at his waist: "I'm talking to you!"

Jiang Yan walked past him and lightly bumped him with his shoulder.

The man felt a surge of great force, as if he had been struck by an ox. His back slammed heavily against the doorframe, and he slid to the ground with a muffled grunt.

The man on the left dropped his melon seeds everywhere. Just as he was about to shout, Jiang Yan's hand pressed against his Face and shoved him to the side.

The back of his head struck the wall, his eyes rolled back, and he slumped down.

Two men, in the time it takes to draw a breath.

Jiang Yan pushed open the black-lacquered gate and walked into the courtyard.

There were seven or eight people in the courtyard; some were gambling, some were drinking, and others were dozing against the pillars. Hearing the gate open, they all looked up in unison.

"Who is it!"

"Where did this blind fool come from!"

The three men closest to him were the first to react, grabbing the clubs and blades at their sides and rushing forward.

The first one to charge was wielding an iron club; he swung it in a full arc, bringing it down toward Jiang Yan's head.

Jiang Yan dodged to the side and clamped his right hand onto the club, pulling it back. The man couldn't stop his momentum and pitched forward. Jiang Yan's knee shot up, striking him squarely in the chest.

With a crack, two ribs broke.

The second man swung his blade down. Jiang Yan pinched the blade with his left thumb and index finger and gave it a light twist.

The blade turned, tearing the man's web between thumb and forefinger, and the weapon slipped from his hand.

Jiang Yan caught the blade and tapped the back of it against the man's neck. The man collapsed onto the ground and didn't Move again.

The third one stopped halfway, his footsteps coming to an abrupt halt.

Seeing the fate of the first two, his hand holding the blade began to tremble.

At this moment, the door to the main hall opened.

A burly, middle-aged man walked out. He was wearing a brown short-sleeved garment with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, revealing two thick forearms.

His palms were exceptionally large, his knuckles were coarse, and the edges of his palms were covered in a thick layer of calluses.

Gang Leader Liu Zhen, the leader of the Green Wolf Gang.

"Stop," Gang Leader Liu Zhen said in a low voice.

The remaining Gang members in the courtyard felt as if they had been granted a pardon and scrambled to retreat behind him.

Gang Leader Liu Zhen sized up Jiang Yan. The young man was dressed in a clean, cyan long robe, looking like a Young Master from a scholarly family.

But at his feet lay three of his subordinates: one with a caved-in chest, one lying on the ground with life or death unknown, and another kneeling two paces away, clutching his wrist with a deathly pale Face.

"Who are you?" Gang Leader Liu Zhen frowned. "Has the Green Wolf Gang offended you?"

Jiang Yan said, "No offense taken. I just came to ask you about something."

Gang Leader Liu Zhen's expression darkened. He had been active in Qingyang County for twenty years, and no one had ever dared to come to him to "ask about something" in this manner.

"Kid, do you know what place this is?"

Jiang Yan didn't answer the question, but instead took a step forward.

Gang Leader Liu Zhen's pupils contracted.

He was a Second-rate Martial Artist who had spent half his life on the edge of a blade, and he had an instinctive intuition for danger.

When the youth took that step forward, a chill shot up his spine, as if he were being stalked by a wild beast in the mountains.

He stopped talking nonsense, flipped his iron palm, and struck out.

Gang Leader Liu Zhen's Iron Sand Palm was famous in Qingyang County.

Years ago, he had killed a water buffalo that charged into the market with a single strike, shattering its skull.

As this palm struck out, the wind from the strike whistled, and the air carried a metallic, bloody stench.

Jiang Yan didn't dodge. He also struck out with a palm.

The two palms collided in mid-air. Bang! The dull sound was like a beating drum.

Gang Leader Liu Zhen felt as if his palm had struck an iron plate. No, it was harder than an iron plate.

He had diligently practiced the Iron Sand Palm for thirty years and could split blue bricks and crack stone steles. But the moment he clashed with this fair, slender palm, a mountain-toppling, sea-draining force surged from the palm, tearing the web between his thumb and forefinger and causing blood to splatter.

Immediately after, a crisp sound came from his wrist. The wrist bone had broken.

Gang Leader Liu Zhen let out a muffled grunt and stumbled backward.

But he was a veteran of many battles; he stomped his right foot hard on the ground to steady himself and simultaneously struck out with his left palm toward Jiang Yan's throat, hoping to force his opponent back.

Jiang Yan's left hand was faster. He clamped onto Gang Leader Liu Zhen's left wrist, pressed it down, and flipped it outward.

Another crisp sound, and the left wrist broke as well.

Gang Leader Liu Zhen's two arms hung limply. He was drenched in cold sweat from the pain, but he gritted his teeth and didn't cry out.

Jiang Yan reached out with his right hand, gripped the back of his neck, and lifted him up as if he were a chick.

All of this happened in the blink of an eye; the Green Wolf Gang members in the courtyard hadn't even reacted yet.

By the time they came to their senses, their own leader already had both wrists broken and was being held in someone's hand.

"Leader!"

"Let the leader go!"

A few loyal Gang members brandished their weapons and rushed forward.

Jiang Yan, holding Gang Leader Liu Zhen, pivoted his feet and wove through the three men.

His shoulder, elbow, and knee struck the three men almost simultaneously. The three flew off in three different directions, smashing into the tables, chairs, and benches in the courtyard.

The rest stood frozen in place, none of them daring to Move.

Jiang Yan carried Gang Leader Liu Zhen out of the main hall of the Green Wolf Gang at a steady, unhurried pace.

Behind him was a scene of chaos, and no one dared to pursue him.

Outside the city, in a secluded patch of woods.

Dusk was approaching, and the forest was dim. The wind blew through the treetops, making a rustling sound.

Jiang Yan threw Gang Leader Liu Zhen onto the ground.

Gang Leader Liu Zhen's back struck an old locust tree, and he bared his teeth in pain.

With both wrists broken, he couldn't exert any strength. He could only lean against the tree trunk, panting heavily, his forehead covered in cold sweat.

"What... exactly do you want?" Gang Leader Liu Zhen's voice was hoarse.

Jiang Yan squatted down to look him in the eye.

"How much do you know about the Zhou Family in Qingshi Town?"

Gang Leader Liu Zhen was stunned. "The Zhou Family... are you coming for them?"

Jiang Yan didn't speak, waiting for him to continue.

Gang Leader Liu Zhen was speechless. If you have a grudge against the Zhou Family, why are you causing trouble for me?

He caught his breath and began to speak intermittently: "The Zhou Family in Qingshi Town is renowned in Qingyang County... Generally, no one dares to provoke them; even the County Magistrate gives them some Face."

"It's not because the Zhou Family itself is that strong, but because Zhou Mubai's sister, Zhou Muqing... married the Kingdom of Jin's General Jiang Ce, the Protector of the Nation."

He observed Jiang Yan's expression, wanting to see something in that Face. But the youth just looked at him calmly, like a pool of stagnant water.

Gang Leader Liu Zhen felt increasingly uneasy and could only continue: "General Jiang Ce is an Innate Grandmaster, holding the rank of General and Protector of the Nation, commanding one hundred thousand border troops; his power is immense."

"Never mind Qingyang County, even if you go to the prefecture city, the Prefect has to give the Zhou Family some Face... The Zhou Family can walk sideways in Qingyang County, and no one dares to say a word."

"What about the strength of the Zhou Family itself?"

"The head of their guards is called Guard Leader Sun Wei, a Second-rate Martial Artist who practices hard-body techniques; he has a body of copper and bones of iron." Gang Leader Liu Zhen licked his cracked lips.

"I don't know how many Third-rate Martial Artists they have, but there are at least three. The Zhou Family has operated in Qingshi Town for generations, and their residence is built like a fortress; a direct assault would be very difficult."

Jiang Yan was silent for a moment.

An Innate Grandmaster.

His current cultivation is at the Middle Stage of Qi Induction, equivalent to a Second-rate Martial Artist. With his combat experience and methods from his past life, he could crush Second-rate and Third-rate Martial Artists, but he was indeed still a cut below an Innate Grandmaster.

However, it was not impossible.

If he could absorb all the Martial Artists of the Zhou Family, plus the Martial Artists from the three major Gangs in Qingyang County, it should be enough for him to break through to Qi Refining Stage 1.

Once he reached Qi Refining Stage 1, his Spiritual Qi would transform into spiritual power, and he would truly step onto the path of cultivation, allowing him to use many more techniques.

By then, let alone one Innate Grandmaster, even a Martial Artist at Xiantian Perfection, if given some time to prepare, he would be confident in killing them.

The Qi Induction stage was still too limited, like a person with peerless martial arts but insufficient Internal Energy; no matter how exquisite the Moves, the power would be greatly discounted.

"One last question." Jiang Yan looked at Gang Leader Liu Zhen. "Which courtyard does Zhou Mubai live in?"

Gang Leader Liu Zhen swallowed with difficulty. "The Zhou Residence has three courtyards. Zhou Mubai lives in the main room of the innermost courtyard, and his study is in the east wing. Guard Leader Sun Wei's room is right next to the study, and he keeps watch at night too. But these are just things I've heard; I don't know how accurate they are."

Jiang Yan nodded.

Gang Leader Liu Zhen watched his movements, and a bad premonition arose in his heart. "I've told you everything you asked... you..."

Before he could finish, Jiang Yan's hand pressed against his chest.

A terrifying suction force came from his palm, and Gang Leader Liu Zhen's eyes widened abruptly.

He felt the blood in his body boiling as if it had been brought to a boil, rushing uncontrollably toward his chest and being sucked away through the palm of that hand.

He wanted to scream, but a clucking sound came from his throat, like a chicken being strangled.

His body shriveled up at a speed visible to the naked eye; his skin turned gray and white, his eye sockets sank deep, and his lips cracked and shrank, revealing a mouthful of stark white teeth.

In the time it takes to draw a few breaths, a burly man of one hundred and eighty jin had turned into a skin-and-bones corpse.

Jiang Yan felt the changes within his Dantian. Gang Leader Liu Zhen was a Second-rate Martial Artist, and his essence and blood were much thicker than those of the Third-rate Chief Constable Zhao Tieshan.

Three strands of Spiritual Qi condensed in his Dantian, adding to the original twenty-two, for a total of twenty-five.

The twenty-five strands of Spiritual Qi formed a dark red vortex in his Dantian, larger and rotating faster than before.

He could feel power surging within his body that was several times stronger than before.

He had reached the Late Stage of Qi Induction. It was equivalent to a First-rate Martial Artist among mortals.

Jiang Yan withdrew his hand and looked down at Gang Leader Liu Zhen's corpse. He was silent for a moment, then vibrated his palm.

The corpse crumbled into powder like weathered clods of earth, scattering among the dead leaves and soil, mixing with the ground. As the wind blew, not even a trace remained.

Jiang Yan stood up and brushed the dust off his hands.

It was best not to bring the cultivation of a Demonic Technique into the open.

Since ancient times, the Righteous Path and the Demonic path have been irreconcilable; the attitude of those Righteous Path Cultivators in the cultivation world toward Demonic Cultivators has always been to exterminate them completely.

Although the Spiritual Qi in this world was thin, and there might not be any Cultivators, it is better to be safe than sorry.