Qingyun Town.
Black Tiger Gang.
Inside the heavily guarded main hall.
A Black Tiger Gang member with a face full of scars hurriedly rushed in, looking flustered as he shouted to the middle-aged man sitting at the head: "Boss! Something terrible has happened!"
Upon hearing this, the Black Tiger Gang leader, Li Hu, frowned and reprimanded coldly: "What happened? Why are you shouting like this? Have some decorum!"
He was originally an outer disciple of a minor sect, but due to his poor aptitude, he was expelled at the age of thirty without breaking through the sixth level of Qi Refining. With no other choice, he returned to the mundane world.
Though the fifth level of Qi Refining was nothing in the world of cultivation, in the secular world, it made him quite a formidable figure.
With his cultivation and ruthless methods, Li Hu quickly gathered hundreds of followers and established the Black Tiger Gang, becoming the undisputed ruler of the small town of Qingyun, like a local tyrant.
His authority within the gang was absolute, and with a single reprimand, his subordinate immediately fell silent, trembling as he replied:
"Boss, an unknown cultivator has come, claiming to be Qi Yuan's cousin, demanding revenge for his cousin against Master Xu, and has already injured several of our brothers."
"A cultivator?!"
Hearing this, Li Hu's heart skipped a beat, and his eyelids twitched.
He didn't care about the victim's name; many had died directly or indirectly by his hand, and he couldn't possibly remember them all.
The cultivator who had come knocking was an unknown entity. If he had provoked a powerful one, it could spell disaster.
However, from his subordinate's description, the intruder didn't seem that formidable, likely just a brash fool.
The reason was simple: if the person were truly a high-level cultivator, they wouldn't need to go through so much trouble for revenge; they could easily wipe out the small Black Tiger Gang.
Moreover, true experts were usually proud and wouldn't bother with ordinary mortals without cultivation.
The fact that the person had only injured, not killed, the gang members while challenging them showed a lack of deep scheming and ruthlessness, indicating they weren't of high caliber.
After all, he couldn't imagine a Golden Elixir expert coming to such a remote town to deceive a small fry like him at the fifth level of Qi Refining...
Despite these thoughts, Li Hu still got up and went to the back hall, retrieving a uniquely shaped small hammer from a hidden compartment and carefully tucking it into his sleeve.
With his trump card magical artifact in hand, he felt invigorated and immediately flew to the front hall, loudly ordering: "Pass the word, gather all the brothers in the gang, and follow me to meet this troublemaker."
***
Meanwhile.
At the entrance of the Black Tiger Gang.
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Bang!
After kicking away a knife-wielding Black Tiger Gang minion, Qi Yuan squinted slightly, looked up at the plaque above the gate, and flicked his finger.
Crack!
The wooden plaque fell and shattered into pieces.
Around him, Black Tiger Gang members lay sprawled on the ground, groaning in pain.
Perhaps due to the Black Tiger Gang's notorious reputation or fear of being caught in the crossfire, despite the commotion, not a single bystander was on the street, and vendors had long packed up, leaving the street eerily clean.
Seeing the remaining Black Tiger Gang minions too afraid to approach, Qi Yuan smiled slightly and slowly walked towards the gate, loudly shouting: "Xu Biao! Come out and meet your end! If you don't hand him over, I'll level your Black Tiger Gang today to seek justice for my cousin!"
Qi Yao followed closely behind him, her pretty face full of gratitude.
Although Qi Yao didn't understand the mysterious expert's intentions, it seemed like he was standing up for her deceased brother, and how could she not be grateful?
Brother Qi, you're truly a good person.
As they stepped through the Black Tiger Gang's gate, a loud shout rang out:
"Daring to cause trouble at the Black Tiger Gang, are you tired of living?!"
Before the words had fully settled, dozens of fierce-looking men surged out from the courtyard ahead.
Leading them was a broad-shouldered, thick-waisted middle-aged man in a short shirt, muscles bulging, with a fierce tiger embroidered on his chest—none other than the Black Tiger Gang leader, Li Hu.
After confirming the intruder's cultivation, Li Hu relaxed completely, his heart filled with murderous intent.
Damn it.
This brat was only at the third level of Qi Refining, pretending to be something he's not.
He had thought it was a tough opponent, but it turned out to be just a young punk!
Thinking this, Li Hu spoke sinisterly: "Kid, you've got some nerve, daring to mess with the Black Tiger Gang. If you don't have a good reason, you won't be leaving today!"
His words were meant to probe Qi Yuan's background.
If he had some backing, Li Hu might be cautious, otherwise... heh heh!
"A reason?"
Qi Yuan sneered, his tone contemptuous: "I'm a Dao Child of the Supreme Profound Sacred Land, here to avenge my cousin. If you don't hand him over, I'll tear down your pathetic gang!"
"Supreme Profound Sacred Land?
Dao Child?
You?"
Upon hearing this, Li Hu was momentarily stunned, then burst into laughter, as if he had heard the funniest joke in the world, laughing until he almost choked.
The other Black Tiger Gang members joined in the laughter, the air filled with mirth.
"Brat, if you're going to make up stories, at least make them believable."
After laughing, Li Hu stopped and looked at Qi Yuan with eyes full of malice.
"The Supreme Profound Sacred Land is such a powerful force. Forget a Dao Child; even a menial worker from there could crush our Black Tiger Gang. How could they act like a street thug? If I believed that, I'd truly be blind."
Saying this, he shook his right arm, instantly summoning the hidden magical artifact from his sleeve.
"Brothers, go! Chop this imposter claiming to be a Sacred Land Dao Child into pieces and feed him to the dogs in the courtyard. But make sure to capture that little beauty behind him alive; I'm in a foul mood!"
Boom!!!
The dark hammer, once released, grew larger in the wind, crashing down heavily where Qi Yuan stood.
"Brother Qi, be careful."
Beside him, Qi Yao exclaimed in fright, instinctively moving closer to Qi Yuan.
Qi Yuan seemed startled, hesitating for a moment before "frantically" pulling out a dusty storage pouch from his chest, extracting a small golden shield, and placing it in front of him.
Thud!
A dull collision sounded, and Li Hu's magical artifact was deflected by the small shield, sending the attacking Black Tiger Gang members flying back, retreating one after another.
Qi Yuan staggered back several steps, his face pale, a trace of blood at the corner of his mouth, and his third-level Qi Refining aura significantly weakened.
"Run!"
Then, he grabbed Qi Yao's sleeve and "frantically" dashed towards the outskirts of town.
"No wonder he dared to challenge us; turns out he has a decent magical artifact..."
Seeing this, Li Hu was not alarmed but delighted, his greed intensifying. While hastily recovering the true energy spent on using his magical artifact, he loudly urged his subordinates:
"Chase them! Whoever catches that brat will be richly rewarded by me!"
In an instant, the entire Black Tiger Gang mobilized, led by Li Hu, aggressively pursuing the two fleeing figures.
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