Chapter 86

Young Master Feng's plan was actually quite simple: he wanted to select a few capable and somewhat skilled young men from the group that Xiao Yuanshan was leading, and have Gongyang Yu train them properly. Feng himself did not know the mystic arts of this world, and the Life and Death Unchanging Art could not be taught to others, so he had to rely on Gongyang Yu.

Gongyang Yu, known as the Blood Soul Saber, was a well-known figure in the martial world. He must have seen many mystic arts and could certainly teach a few to help people cultivate their qi. Once they had a solid foundation, Feng would personally teach them the skills of assassination, training a few killers.

Then, he would gradually build up his own power. With a few outstanding talents, Feng Jueyu believed he could certainly train a group of killers to rival the Gold and Silver Society.

The plan sounded simple, but implementing it would be extremely difficult.

Gongyang Yu carefully analyzed Feng Jueyu's plan, naturally omitting the part about training killers. He shook his head and said, "I'm afraid it won't work. Think about it, with the foundation of Xiao Yuanshan and his group, it's already too late for them to start learning martial arts. Even with the best herbs and treasures, it would be a waste of effort. Your goal is to train experts who can stand on their own, and for that, a solid foundation is essential. If you're really serious, you should find some good prospects and start training them from a young age..."

"When will that be?" Feng Jueyu was taken aback. The Shangguan family was already in a dire situation. If the emperor decided to act, a thousand troops could surround them, and the Shangguan family would be doomed.

Gongyang Yu rolled his eyes, "Do you think martial arts are easy to learn? Every expert is forged through years of hard work, especially with a solid foundation of true qi. Without it, they would be dead in a fight against a true expert."

Feng Jueyu understood the logic. It was like learning to read and write; knowing more characters doesn't make you learned; you need to integrate and apply them with strong insight and experience.

"Is there a shortcut? Like finding some kind of elixir?" Feng Jueyu was at a loss and started thinking about the mystical methods he had read in cultivation novels from his previous life.

Gongyang Yu gave him a cold look, "Elixir? Go to the other side, cut your own throat, and ask the Buddha in the Western Paradise."

"Damn, if you can't say it, don't say it," Feng Jueyu retorted.

They fell silent. After a while, Gongyang Yu suddenly said, "It's not impossible, but it's very difficult."

"What method?" Feng Jueyu's eyes lit up.

Gongyang Yu said, "There's something called the Centennial Heavenly Snow Lotus on the Great Mystic Continent. Have you heard of it?"

Feng Jueyu had heard of it before, mostly from martial arts novels and TV series. It existed in his previous world, but was extremely rare. Gongyang Yu added the word "Heavenly" before "Snow Lotus," what was it?

Gongyang Yu explained, "It's a rare spiritual object that grows in extremely cold environments. The Centennial Snow Lotus is already very precious, but the Centennial Heavenly Snow Lotus is the best of the best, extremely rare. It's said that consuming it can completely transform one's body, regenerate meridians, and regulate qi..."

"Stop," Feng Jueyu's head was spinning. "Just tell me the specific effects, in simpler terms."

"Really, you're so ignorant," Gongyang Yu sneered. "It purifies the body and refines the bones. The Heavenly Snow Lotus isn't very useful for ordinary martial artists, maybe adding a few years of cultivation, but for some families whose children are unsuitable for martial arts, it's invaluable. Just one flower can make them like newborn infants, learning everything with half the effort. There's a rumor that a family's disciple, who couldn't cultivate for twenty years, found one and consumed it. In three months, he went from having no true qi to becoming a Spirit Martial expert, and then everything went smoothly..."

"Such a good thing exists?" Feng Jueyu jumped up in surprise. "Where can I find it?"

Gongyang Yu showed no excitement, just glanced at Feng Jueyu and said, "You won't believe it, but it's in Tian Nan City, at the Huichun Hall of the Xu family. There's only one, stored in a high-quality ice jade box, and heavily guarded. It's very difficult to obtain. Besides, even if you get it, what's the point? You can only train one expert, which isn't very useful."

"Even one expert is an expert," Feng Jueyu said. "A little is better than nothing. One expert can be very useful."

Gongyang Yu facepalmed. This kid's analogies were... profound and unique...

But too naive...

Gongyang Yu said, "Don't tell me you're planning to steal from the Xu family? You must have the heart of a bear and the courage of a leopard."

"So what? Can't I steal from the Xu family?" Feng Jueyu said fearlessly.

Gongyang Yu was speechless. This guy was really fearless: "Do you think the Xu family is a place you can just walk into? When I found out the Xu family had a Centennial Heavenly Snow Lotus, I went there once. I didn't even get to the gate before I was spotted by a few people. I was injured at the time, but my cultivation wasn't too weak, at the Xuanwu stage. The Xu family has at least three Xuanwu stage experts protecting the Centennial Heavenly Snow Lotus, similar to my current level. That's not the main issue; the key is that the Xu family has a Mogude..."

"Mogude? Who is he?"

Gongyang Yu said, "He's terrifying. Even though he's at the Spirit Martial stage, he's an expert in the Five Elements and the Eight Trigrams. The Centennial Heavenly Snow Lotus is the Xu family's treasure, kept in the back yard of the Miaoshan Hall, protected by Mogude's mystic arts and feng shui. If anyone enters his mystic array, the three Xuanwu stage experts will immediately detect it. Unless you're at the high Tianwu stage and can kill them in three breaths, the Xu family's experts will swarm you. At that point, you won't just be in danger; you might not even escape the Miaoshan Hall..."

Feng Jueyu frowned, "If you say it's that difficult, I'll think about it."

He tapped the table, and Gongyang Yu rolled his eyes, knowing this kid was stubborn and had already made up his mind. He warned, "Kid, I'm telling you, don't mess with the Xu family. I know the Xu old man and the Shangguan old man are friends, but if you touch the Centennial Heavenly Snow Lotus, I guarantee that even Shangguan Lingyun can't protect you. Besides, if you die, I don't care, but first, cure my illness. I don't want to be disappointed."

Feng Jueyu looked at him, then fell silent, but in his heart, he had already decided to get the Centennial Heavenly Snow Lotus.

The Xu family, difficult? Hell, I'm going to steal it. Xu Zixiong hit me with a brick; I'll take some interest first.

As he was thinking, Xiao Yuanshan returned, bringing in Old Zhao, who was covered in blood, entering through the back door.

Feng Jueyu and Gongyang Yu were shocked, "What did you do?"

Xiao Yuanshan walked to the table, poured himself a glass of water, and drank it down, wiping his mouth and laughing, "Ha, I went to negotiate. Damn, we didn't agree halfway through, and a fight broke out. Young Master Feng, you were right; the weak fear the strong. I gave Ma Sanhu a kick, and he was bleeding all over. My brothers aren't weak either; they swarmed him, and in no time, we destroyed Ma Sanhu's Three Tigers Gang. From now on, the southern part of the city is ours. It feels great..."

Old Zhao was equally excited, probably the most glorious moment of his life. After Xiao Yuanshan finished, he chimed in, "Yeah, it was so thrilling. Young Master, you should have seen it. Our boss, with just two hundred brothers, destroyed Ma Sanhu's three hundred men. They were crying and begging for mercy. Ma Sanhu was crippled by our boss and won't dare to challenge us again. Boss, have some water, have some water..."

This guy was fawning, clearly idolizing Xiao Yuanshan, which made Feng Jueyu and Gongyang Yu roll their eyes.

"If people find out that a major gang in the southern part of Tian Nan City was incited by the Shangguan family's son-in-law, everyone will be shocked. You're really impressive," Gongyang Yu sneered and went back inside.

Feng Jueyu raised an eyebrow. This old man had finally grasped the word "impressive" and used it here. Really impressive.

Focusing back, Feng Jueyu looked at Xiao Yuanshan. To be honest, Xiao Yuanshan's achievements exceeded his expectations. In just two days, he had gathered two hundred men and started taking over territory. That's what it means to be capable; he couldn't help but admire him.

However...

Feng Jueyu was afraid Xiao Yuanshan would get carried away, so he warned, "Yuanshan, I won't stop you from forming a gang, and I even support it, but you must understand that the bigger the tree, the more wind it catches. Your foundation is not solid yet, and someone will notice you. Be cautious; don't let your gang get into trouble with powerful people or even the law."

A gang in the Great Mystic Continent wasn't a big deal, and Feng Jueyu wasn't worried about Xiao Yuanshan losing in gang fights. He was more concerned about running into powerful martial artists, which would be a problem. Before the gang had a strong expert, everything had to be done carefully. Most importantly, Feng Jueyu was afraid of legal trouble.

In the capital, if things got out of hand, the authorities would intervene. The people don't fight the government; even if you're powerful, you can't match the tens of thousands of troops of the Tian Nan Kingdom. If the authorities came to arrest people, Xiao Yuanshan, as the leader, would be in danger.

Hearing Feng Jueyu's warning, Xiao Yuanshan said solemnly, "Young Master Feng, rest assured. I've thought of this. Before the fight today, I had already bribed the southern city's constables and the magistrate. They won't interfere and will even help us. Speaking of which, we owe it to Young Master for urging us to gather information. If it weren't for the new magistrate's two concubines in Xilin Lake, we wouldn't have been able to use it as leverage."

Feng Jueyu was still unsure, but hearing this, he understood and showed some approval.

After Xiao Yuanshan's detailed explanation, Feng Jueyu learned that the original magistrate had been reassigned for poor governance after the day he was chased. The new magistrate, relying on his father-in-law's connections, was transferred from another state, a typical case of favoritism.

This guy had taken two concubines in Xilin Lake just two days after taking office. Xiao Yuanshan, being capable, had his men keep an eye on him from the start. It was his bad luck that he was caught in the act the next day, with "many people" testifying to his misconduct. With this information, Xiao Yuanshan used both soft and hard tactics to establish a good relationship with the new magistrate. Otherwise, he wouldn't have dared to lead two hundred men against three hundred, with a bunch of constables standing guard outside.

Xiao Yuanshan indeed had the potential to be a gang leader, a rising star in the underground world of Tian Nan City.

Feng Jueyu was finally reassured. If Xiao Yuanshan had the courage and vision to start a business, Feng Jueyu would support him wholeheartedly.

Then, Feng Jueyu gave Xiao Yuanshan a few suggestions and said, "Yuanshan, help me with a few things."

"Young Master Feng, just say it. I'll do anything, even if it means death."

Whether it was the Jishi Hall or Xiao Yuanshan personally, they owed everything to Feng Jueyu. Xiao Yuanshan was devoted to him.

Feng Jueyu said, "First, have your people closely monitor the Xu family, from Xu Liefeng down to every servant. Record every piece of information, every word they say. Send a few of your own people to the Xu family to gather information. In short, I want every move of the Xu family to be in our sight. Also, find a few reliable people to monitor the Chen family in the western part of the city. Don't let either of them off."

"Second, find a place to gather your people. Remember, they must be very loyal. Prefer those who are in good physical condition and have a foundation in mystic arts. Send them to Gongyang Yu, and he will pick a few to bring back for training."

"Third, the Jishi Hall will open in two days. Send two groups of people to pretend to fight, using knives. Try to inflict injuries, but be careful not to kill anyone. They are all on our side, so make it look real. On the opening day, find a few who can act well and have them come to the Jishi Hall to buy medicine. Do you understand?"

Xiao Yuanshan, being smart, understood immediately. He patted his chest and promised, "Young Master Feng, I understand. You want to demonstrate the effectiveness of the First-Class Golden Wound Medicine to everyone on that day. Am I right?"

Feng Jueyu gave a thumbs up. It was necessary. Since the Jishi Hall sold Golden Wound Medicine, the advertisements had to show some blood to demonstrate its effectiveness. In the Great Mystic Continent, if one person saw it, it would spread quickly, and soon, people would come to buy medicine without needing to be called.