A summer morning.
After his morning practice, Lu Changfeng went to the teahouse early.
Lu Changfeng had come to the teahouse for one reason: to find his next ’target’.
His supply of Exotic Beast Meat had run out long ago.
After reaching the Blood Forging Fourth Layer, given his Upper A Class Root Bone, the amount of Exotic Beast Meat he needed to cultivate without restraint was terrifying.
His monthly consumption was calculated in the thousands of silver taels.
To continue buying the high-priced Exotic Beast Meat monopolized by the Noble Families, the amount of silver coins required would be astronomical.
For the past few days, Lu Changfeng had been relying solely on his superior Talent to cultivate, and the Exotic Beast Meat his master provided was better than nothing, but not by much.
Even without Exotic Beast Meat, however, Lu Changfeng’s cultivation speed was still much faster than an ordinary person’s, thanks to his Root Bone. The only downside was his astonishing daily appetite after training.
Under the unsurprised gaze of the waiter, Lu Changfeng ordered enough pastries for fifteen people and sat down at a central table to leisurely sip his tea and eat.
During the teahouse’s busiest hours, Lu Changfeng overheard a lot of news and rumors, but unfortunately, he didn’t find the information he was looking for.
After the incident where the Golden Lion Gang was wiped out, the smaller gangs in the Outer City had become much more subdued.
Moreover, most of the gang powers in the Outer City had wisely sought out backers.
They had either proactively pledged allegiance to Inner City factions or simply become vassals of the Mang Gang.
In short, they were no longer opponents Lu Changfeng could deal with easily and without repercussions.
’Where can I get my hands on a method for breeding Exotic Beasts?’
’If I had a breeding method, the cost in silver taels would be at least halved, if not more.’
Slightly disappointed, Lu Changfeng returned to the Martial Arts Hall.
He couldn’t get any silver for the time being.
His Upper A Class Root Bone was likely the best in Feng City, so there was nowhere to copy a better one.
Lu Changfeng decided to switch to a different path for enhancement.
The Le Mountain Angry Vajra was a Blood Forging Technique that combined Palm Technique, Fist Technique, and External Skill.
’If I try to raise my Talent in Palm Technique, Fist Technique, and External Skill, I should be able to advance my Realm in the Le Mountain Angry Vajra,’ he reasoned.
Advancing the Realm of his Blood Forging Technique would also increase his cultivation speed.
Besides, with his copying Talent, Lu Changfeng had always intended to become an all-around Martial Artist, eventually evolving into the ultimate warrior whose entire body was a living arsenal.
’The copy cooldown is still over forty days long.’
’The copy interface refreshes every forty-nine days. I’ve used three of my chances this year, and I have four left. If I can’t find a better target, I’ll just copy my master’s Palm Technique Talent a few more times.’
’If a better Talent comes along, I’ll reconsider then.’
Thus, the places Lu Changfeng frequented on his daily strolls changed. He swapped the teahouse for the streets and alleys of the city, intending to find a target to copy among the common people.
The probability of finding someone with Martial Arts Talent among commoners was extremely low.
But their sheer numbers couldn’t be ignored.
One day.
In the afternoon.
After finishing his cultivation at the Martial Arts Hall, Lu Changfeng was strolling through an alley as usual.
He’d heard that two gangs had recently started fighting for territory in this alley.
Every now and then, a bloody brawl would break out.
Lu Changfeng thought that perhaps a few talented individuals might appear among these gang members.
Just as he was thinking this, two groups of gang members, armed with sabers and swords, suddenly surged into the previously peaceful street from both ends.
Passersby and vagrants, seeing that things were about to get ugly, quickly fled.
Those who were too slow were casually cut down by the gang members, suffering a senseless calamity.
With a remarkably agile movement, Lu Changfeng’s tall frame vaulted onto the roof of a nearby building.
From the rooftop, he watched.
The two groups attacked each other on sight, quickly escalating into an all-out gang war.
In Lu Changfeng’s eyes, the fighting style of these low-level gang members was extremely clumsy.
Only a few showed any trace of formal Martial Arts training.
To Lu Changfeng, who was at the Blood Forging Fourth Layer, their physical strength, speed, and explosive power seemed incredibly weak.
"Hm?"
Lu Changfeng scanned their Root Bone and Talents.
Most were C, D, or E Class. The two Small Leaders were Lower B Class, but their cultivation was clearly poor; though they were in their twenties or thirties, they were only at the Blood Forging First Layer.
However, on one short man, he saw exactly what he was looking for.
Name: ??? (Gang Member)
Root Bone: Lower C Class
Talent: Middle Grade Talent [Fist Technique]
A living, breathing Middle Grade Talent!
And it was a Fist Technique Class Talent, which would be beneficial for cultivating the Le Mountain Angry Vajra!
This short man was extremely fierce. He was about five-foot-three, with dark skin.
At first, he was wielding a staff, but he was clumsy with it and kept getting beaten back, so Lu Changfeng hadn’t paid him much attention.
But after his staff was knocked away and he was nearly cut down, the kid exploded with power.
With his Middle Grade Fist Technique Talent, even without any systematic training in Fist Techniques, he was like a fish in water amidst the chaotic gang battle, felling an enemy gang member with every punch.
Unfortunately, Talent alone wasn’t enough without a good Root Bone, especially since he had never even properly cultivated any Fist Technique.
Soon, the Blood Forging Realm Small Leader of the short man’s gang was defeated by the opposing Small Leader. A saber was plunged into his heart, and his life quickly faded.
"Kill them all for me!"
With that command, the gang’s Small Leader raised his saber and charged toward the short man, who had stood out among the enemy members.
The short man shuddered. He wasn’t even a proper Martial Artist and hadn’t even touched the threshold of the Blood Forging First Layer. He knew he was no match for the Small Leader, so he turned to run!
But how could he possibly outrun him?
Just as he was about to be cut down from behind,
a figure dropped from the eaves, grabbed the short man, and leaped back onto the roof with him, displaying an incredibly masterful Lightweight Skill.
"Who the fuck are you, interfering in the Cyan Snake Gang’s business?" the Small Leader shouted from below, furious and exasperated.
The Small Leader suddenly got a clear look at the Martial Arts Hall uniform Lu Changfeng was wearing. His expression changed, and without waiting for a reply, he raised his saber and went to cut down the short man’s other gang mates instead.
"You’re a smart one," Lu Changfeng said lightly.
He glanced at the short man beside him, who was still trembling, his nerves not yet settled.
Just now, the Small Leader’s Horse-Cutting Saber had come within two centimeters of splitting his skull open.
The short man had truly just taken a stroll along the edge of life and death.
The fighting below gradually came to an end. With their Small Leader killed, the outcome of the gang fight was sealed.
The short man’s side had lost, and lost miserably. The street was littered with severed limbs.
Ownership of this street now fell to the Cyan Snake Gang.
This was how gang conflicts went.
They wouldn’t use their full strength; victory and defeat were decided by only a fraction of their power.
If you lost, you just had to win it back the next time you fought over territory.
A gang could afford to lose and start over, but for ordinary members like the short man, losing meant a high probability of injury, or even death—losing everything.
"What’s your name? What gang are you with?" Lu Changfeng asked.
The short man looked up at the tall young man who had saved him and replied simply, "Name’s Hei Niu. From the Black Tiger Gang."
"With skin that dark, you must have been a farmer before, right?"
Hei Niu nodded. "The lord took our fields. With no land to farm, I could only come to the city and join a gang to get by."
"Forget farming. And there’s no future in gangs, either. From now on, you’ll follow me," Lu Changfeng said.
It would take four copies of a Middle Grade Talent to merge it into a High-Grade one. Lu Changfeng planned to keep Hei Niu by his side for the rest of the year.