157: Undercurrents

"Alright, your meridians have mostly recovered. As for the bone injury, rest well, and it shouldn't be long before it heals."

After a while, Qin Shou stopped transmitting spiritual energy, took a deep breath, and fine beads of sweat appeared on his forehead.

"Thank you, Brother Qin. You've worked hard."

As a martial artist, Zhang Biao naturally understood how difficult it was to repair damaged meridians. If he had submitted to Qin Shou out of fear just now, he was now completely and utterly convinced.

"Hmm, I'll be going now. Remember what I told you."

Qin Shou nodded faintly, left his contact information with Tie Wei, then executed Absolute Shadow Steps, instantly disappearing from the spot.

Everyone saw Qin Shou in front of them just a moment ago, but in the blink of an eye, he had vanished. They were all stunned, feeling that this new boss was truly unfathomable.

After leaving Black Liu's manor, Qin Shou couldn't help but pat his chest and let out a long sigh.

He thought to himself that this evening, first Geng Long, then Nuo Nuo, and finally Black Liu—it was truly one wave after another. Fortunately, he was bold, meticulous, and quick-witted, otherwise, he would have died several times over.

Qin Shou recalled that if Black Liu hadn't been so overconfident in his Iron Sand Palm, fallen for his trick, and been instantly killed, he would never have been able to subdue the White Sand Gang so smoothly.

If he had entangled himself in a fight with Qin Shou, with so many guns wielded by his subordinates, if they had all opened fire, Qin Shou would have been riddled with bullets.

A Half-step Profound Rank master could not withstand seven or eight guns firing a volley at him.

[Ding, the system has detected that the host has overcome powerful enemies tonight with wisdom and decisiveness. You are hereby rewarded with a Earth-rank skill: "Tang Clan Ghost Hand." Tang Clan Ghost Hand is an ancient immortal sect's hidden weapon technique, as fast as lightning, and an ultimate method for sneak attacks and assassinations. If used well, it is no less powerful than a Heaven-rank skill, and when combined with the host's ancient golden needle, it can allow you to kill across realms.]

Qin Shou thought to himself that it was worth the effort of overcoming numerous challenges and using all sorts of surprising tactics tonight, even resorting to the last-resort method of athlete's foot. The system reward had finally arrived.

[Ding, it has been detected that the host has used both grace and might, earning the heartfelt loyalty of followers and successfully establishing his own power. The skill "Grasp the Overall Situation" has been fully upgraded to "Aura of Hegemony," which will invisibly strengthen your presence, making people willingly follow you and devote their lives to you. This is a power only ancient emperors and regional overlords are qualified to possess.]

Qin Shou had just finished understanding the first skill and hadn't even had time to celebrate when, unexpectedly, the second skill was delivered. Qin Shou's heart was practically blooming with joy.

It was just a pity that the name of this second skill was a bit unpleasant, called "Aura of Hegemony," which sounded more like "Aura of a Turtle."

However, Qin Shou was too lazy to think much about it. As long as he received skills, that was all that mattered. After this entire night, Qin Shou felt that his consumption was truly significant, and he was exhausted. Since Xu Nanqin and the others should be out of danger, there was no need for him to rush over. He planned to go back and get some good rest, then visit them at the hospital first thing in the morning.

Not long after Qin Shou returned home, around three in the morning that night, Liu Haiyuan died in his hospital bed. The forensic examiner later determined the cause of death to be a medical accident: an overdose of anesthetic during surgery.

News related to this incident was suppressed by a mysterious force and barely made it into the news. Furthermore, the videos of Qin Shou breaking Liu Haiyuan's hands and feet at school during the day were all completely deleted within a few days, as if everything had never happened.

All of this was naturally Zhang Biao's doing. Zhang Biao clearly understood that Qin Shou only wanted to be the king behind the scenes and absolutely did not wish to surface. Therefore, Zhang Biao used the massive wealth left by Black Liu to completely delete all videos related to the conflict between Qin Shou and Liu Haiyuan, to prevent anyone from suspecting Qin Shou of Liu Haiyuan's and Black Liu's deaths. He did this entirely to show his loyalty to Qin Shou and also to prove his own capabilities.

Of course, although this incident didn't gain much traction online, it directly led to a major earthquake in the City's underworld. The reason was simple: the news of the death of the notorious Iron Hand Black Liu spread like wildfire, and Zhang Biao now became the nominal boss.

But everyone knew that Zhang Biao only had the strength of Late Yellow Rank at most, and Zhang Biao had not appeared for many days. There were many rumors that Zhang Biao had assassinated Black Liu to seize power. Although he succeeded, he also suffered serious injuries, and the White Sand Gang could now be said to be leaderless.

For a time, several factions in the City that had been suppressed by Black Liu all began to stir, each eager to claim a share of Black Liu's territory.

Moreover, for some unknown reason, the other factions, ever since Zhang Biao took power, had actively withdrawn from the City's underworld drug trade. This immediately created a huge market vacuum in the City's drug industry. The other three families all pounced like hungry tigers, frantically dividing the market share of drugs abandoned by the White Sand Gang. For a time, the City's underworld was rife with hidden currents.

City, Heaven and Earth Human World Club, inside a luxurious private room on the top floor.

Zhang Biao was currently half-reclining in a wheelchair, with Tie Wei and several capable confidantes behind him.

"Speak, what do the two bosses want with me?"

Zhang Biao took a cigar from his hand, took a deep puff, exhaled rings of smoke, and looked completely at ease.

The two people on the opposite sofa exchanged glances, each with their own schemes.

These two were the bosses of the remaining two major forces in the City's underworld: Zhao Zheng, the boss of Xicheng New District, and Big Sister Ma of Beicheng Yangshan District.

These two were also old hands who had started out at the same time as Black Liu, considered his peers. Both of them were at Yellow Rank Peak, with Big Sister Ma already at Yellow Rank Peak Great Perfection, just a step away from the Profound Rank.

If it were in the past, they would never have dared to provoke the White Sand Gang. But now that Black Liu was dead, both of them considered their strength to be above Zhang Biao's, so they naturally wouldn't miss this excellent opportunity.

Zhao Zheng was a Middle-aged Man around forty, already somewhat bald. A few sparse strands of hair barely covered his somewhat shiny head. He looked displeased and sneered at Zhang Biao, "Heh heh, Zhang Biao, it seems the rumors outside aren't false! You really are injured. I don't know how you killed Black Liu, but you betrayed your boss and seized his property, which goes against the rules of the jianghu. I'm going to uphold justice today."

Big Sister Ma on the side also gave a charming, yet insincere, smile and echoed, "That's right, Zhang Biao, you defied your superior and killed your own boss. In our circles, that's despised, and it will be hard to win people over.

I think it would be better this way: Black Liu left behind such a huge territory, and you probably can't handle it. Why not be sensible and hand it over to us? We'll help you share the burden."