The Rapid Cultivation Method on the Attribute Panel was already a cheat for Martial Dao Cultivation, and Jiang Wangzu had used Xu Zhenzhen to comprehend a method of launching attacks, as if he were exploiting a bug.
This was a Heretical Cultivation Method!
After suffering terrible luck in his previous life and then encountering great fortune, Jiang Wangzu had been in this world for over a month in the blink of an eye.
By now, he had adapted completely to his identity.
His current identity was that of a low-level ruffian in the Cao Gang.
His usual work involved collecting usurious loans, forcing decent women into prostitution, collecting Protection Fees, guarding establishments, and carrying out Territory Seizure.
His predecessor was walking at night when a ruffian from a rival gang ambushed him in a dark alley and killed him with a club.
Thus, Jiang Wangzu, who shared his name, took his place.
As one of the Three Great Gangs of Shencheng, the Cao Gang had tens of thousands of members and more than a thousand Core Members. It occupied the entire Lower City District.
The Cao Gang operated across a broad range of businesses and maintained a strict internal hierarchy. Jiang Wangzu’s boss, Chen Tai, was only a Minor Gang Leader in the Cao Gang.
Even so, he was an important figure in the Cao Gang. He controlled prosperous Rongsheng Street, several other businesses, and more than a hundred enforcers.
Most importantly, Chen Tai knew Martial Arts—not flashy forms, but genuine killing techniques.
When Jiang Wangzu first crossed over, he looked down on all this. What martial arts? They were nothing more than great strength, ruthless attacks, and a few combat and killing techniques.
No matter how high your kung fu, you still fear the cleaver!
Beyond seven steps, the gun is faster; within seven steps, the gun is both faster and more accurate!
Therefore, as soon as he crossed over, Jiang Wangzu racked his brains trying to get himself a foreign gun!
After all, only by holding the truth could all living beings be equal!
But after witnessing Chen Tai shatter a thick Eight Immortals table with one slap and smash the brains of rival-gang ruffians with his iron fists, he changed his mind.
He had thought he had crossed into a Republic of China setting in a parallel universe, but he never expected it to be a fictional Republic of China fantasy world.
In this world, every craft was not merely a means of making a living but also a path of cultivation leading to the Great Dao.
All things possess spirits, mastery of skill reaches the divine, and every one of the Three Hundred and Sixty Trades can reach the heavens!
Martial artists were also one of the three hundred and sixty trades.
Thus, Jiang Wangzu began working hard to earn money, curry favor with his boss Chen Tai, and ask him to teach him Martial Arts.
That bastard Chen Tai gave him only the mediocre Body-Tempering Technique, Iron Crotch Technique, which every Gang Member in the Cao Gang could practice.
When Gang ruffians and scoundrels fought, they had no sense of honor. They gouged eyes, threw lime, attacked the groin, and used the Thousand-Year Kill—anything to win.
Every fight left quite a few people beaten until they were utterly emasculated and unable to continue their bloodline.
So learning the Iron Crotch Technique benefited low-level ruffians like them by helping them preserve their bloodlines.
However, the Iron Crotch Technique was easy to learn but difficult to master. It required special force to strike and temper the groin.
Practitioners also had to apply a specially prepared Secret Medicine and undergo a Medicinal Bath.
A moment of carelessness could cripple the practitioner.
Therefore, many gang members of the Cao Gang knew how to practice the Iron Crotch Technique.
Yet hardly any of them had entered the discipline successfully.
But Jiang Wangzu had a cheat ability: he possessed the Rapid Cultivation Method and had developed a Heretical Cultivation Method through Xu Zhenzhen.
Thus, his progress advanced a thousand miles in a single day.
In less than half a month after obtaining the technique, he had cultivated the commonplace Iron Crotch Technique, which was easy to learn but difficult to master, to Major Accomplishment!
The rear courtyard of Hongyun Mahjong and Card Hall.
A small outpost of the Cao Gang.
It was also Chen Tai’s headquarters.
In the courtyard.
“Big Brother, I regret joining the Cao Gang. Please spare my life!”
“I don’t want to end up like Skinny Monkey, taking a blade for you, losing my hands and feet, having my eyeballs gouged out, and spilling my intestines across the ground before being sunk into Longjiang until even my corpse could no longer be recognized!”
“I don’t want to end up like Da Sha Chun either, taking the blame for you, spending ten whole years in prison, losing my family, and having you swallow even my Settlement Allowance!”
“Even more, I don’t want to end up like A-Zu, ambushed with a club in a dark alley, lying in bed unconscious for three days and three nights and on the verge of death, while you were unwilling to pay even his medical expenses!”
A thin young man had been hung up, his body covered in wounds. He cried out as he spoke.
He was Hei Wa, a subordinate of Chen Tai’s, and had betrayed the gang because he regretted joining the Cao Gang.
As a result, Chen Tai had captured him and brought him back to carry out the gang punishment.
“Fuck your mother!”
“Are you threatening me or begging me?”
“Skinny Monkey was my beloved friend and sworn brother. He volunteered to take the blade for me, yet you dare slander me by saying I used him to take the blade?”
“The gang never paid Da Sha Chun’s settlement allowance. I kept demanding it, but I never managed to get it. How dare you fucking accuse me of swallowing Da Sha Chun’s settlement allowance?”
“As for A-Zu, if I hadn’t insisted on not burying him and believed he was still alive, you people would have fucking buried him alive by now!”
“You swore a deadly oath before Lord Guan that you would follow me. Now you say you won’t? Do you think you’re playing house with me?”
“I’m telling you, once you’re a member of the Cao Gang, you’re a member of the Cao Gang for life.”
“Since you refuse to be a member of the Cao Gang, then become a ghost of the Cao Gang!”
Chen Tai stood bare-chested in a black martial training uniform. With a savage expression, he walked up to Hei Wa and punched him in the chest.
Crack!
A deep, muffled sound of breaking breastbones rang out. A deep depression appeared in Hei Wa’s chest. His eyes bulged, blood seeped from the corner of his mouth, and he died.
Jiang Wangzu walked into the courtyard and saw the scene before him, but felt not the slightest stir in his heart.
This was the underworld—none of these bastards gave a damn about honor!
Especially his boss, Chen Tai. He looked insane, bloodthirsty, and brutal, making people want to hack him to death.
Unfortunately, Jiang Wangzu was still nowhere near Chen Tai’s match, so he still had to act like a coward when necessary!
“Boss, your most loyal subordinate, A-Zu, has arrived to report!”
“Loyalty!”
Jiang Wangzu stood ramrod straight and declared it loudly.
“A-Zu, you arrived at the right time.”
“After dark, you and A-Wei will sink this traitorous Hei Wa into Longjiang to feed the fish.”
“During the day, calculate this month’s accounts. Tomorrow, it will be time to pay the regular tribute to the gang.”
“As for everyone else, go do whatever you’re supposed to do.”
“Everyone must open for business today. If you can’t scrape together tomorrow’s regular tribute, you’ll be fucking making trouble for me, Chen Tai. You’ll see whether I’ll deal with you or not!”
Seeing Jiang Wangzu’s face, more handsome than Yan Zu’s, Chen Tai felt a trace of jealousy before roaring at his subordinates.
“Yes!”
Everyone shouted in unison.
Soon, Chen Tai took several dozen men out to open for business, leaving Jiang Wangzu and a few others behind to guard the place.
In these times, being a low-level ruffian in a gang was extremely dangerous. Someone could be slashed at any moment; at best, the wounds tore muscles and broke bones, and at worst, they killed him on the spot.
Therefore, as soon as Jiang Wangzu crossed over, he began looking for a way out of this predicament.
At the time, Chen Tai was overwhelmed by the previous month’s accounts and the Regular Tribute he had to hand over to the Gang.
Thus, Jiang Wangzu showed Chen Tai a glimpse of his ability and helped him sort out the accounts quickly.
He also settled several bad debts for him, allowing him to pay the regular tribute with ease.