Chapter 89

It's precisely because this place is really rural that "It's still quite lively, yet it's considered rural?" Bai Lang didn't quite understand, but perhaps it's because he's gotten used to it; the population of this city, according to the last census, is about sixty-odd thousand, "I even thought this was a city of over ten thousand." This place actually still has several gangs, the Everlasting Joy Gang being just one of them, and Bai Lang searched for a long time but found no martial arts manuals for sale.

That could only be aimed at the gang, "Otherwise what's the point of joining a gang?" Bai Lang felt he should interact more with the vice gang leader and such, see if he could exchange some manuals through the gang's merit points. As gang leader, Ri Luo Chang He Gao Yuan is high and mighty, but even he is merely an ordinary Innate Expert in the remote regions of the Great Yan Dynasty. Speaking of the Heaven, Earth, and Man rankings, the Man ranking is for newcomers, young people, and getting in under forty is also the ranking where personal connections matter most.

Basically, on the Man ranking, those lower down are all disciples of prestigious sects; whether they can fight is uncertain, but the top ten are basically deserving of their reputation. The Earth ranking is also where the gang leader of the Everlasting Joy Gang, Gao Yuan, resides; there are about five or six hundred people on it, and Gao Yuan is roughly in the five-hundreds position...... Those at that position definitely aren't opponents of the top ten or top hundred of the Man ranking. One can only say that these Innate Experts, once they enter the Innate realm, will surely be listed on the Earth ranking.

'Just this and they want that many contribution points from me!' Flipping through the thin booklet and its matching jade tablet, Bai Lang was just saying that casually, but he was still quite satisfied with what could be redeemed in the gang. The booklet contains the outline and key points, while the jade tablet stuck on the forehead lets one focus and view the demonstration; this really opened Bai Lang's eyes. 'Is this cultivation or martial arts?' He couldn't figure it out.

However, from the official documents he also realized that in this world, Dao cultivation and martial arts have no clear boundary; even the documents record slaying demons and monsters. This jade tablet merely lets Bai Lang intuitively experience all of that. You could say this method is either martial arts or Dao arts; the fact that a rural Everlasting Joy Gang can achieve this suggests that this thing is actually quite widespread. After all, it's just the so‑called Black Tiger Fist; hearing the name you know it's nothing special.

Black Tiger Fist is far stronger than the San Shi Er Lu Chang Quan, and of course stronger than the Tiger Form True Meaning that Bai Lang worked out by grasping the Ultimate Secret of the fist. Its strength lies in the techniques and the skill of coordinating Internal Force explosions to generate power. Once you have the Tiger Form True Meaning, practicing this martial art is truly twice the result with half the effort—though Bai Lang mastered the basics in just a day. This Tiger Form Fist is better than Bai Lang's self‑taught ways; it's better because it's a complete, inherited system that also includes the eruption of Internal Force.

'Compared to the half‑assed techniques I used to practice, like the 'King of Hell's Three‑Point Hand' or the 'Fierce Tiger Hard Climb Mountain,' this is the martial art that truly suits my Tiger Form True Meaning.' Bai Lang also knows his Tiger Form True Meaning was honed through slaughter like a tiger, not merely by contemplating and imagining a tiger's movements; back when he first crossed over with Yu Yu twice, he'd felt a bit smug, thinking he was a martial arts genius. Now, after being beaten awake by Murong Hua, he realizes he's just a junior.

Since he's a junior, he should have a junior's training method—stop pretending to be a super genius, train earnestly, and don't think you can innovate. The world's history spans thousands of years, and the transmission of martial arts likely goes back at least that far; every conceivable variation has probably been tried. Things like circulating Internal Force through the meridians, for example—since Bai Lang hasn't encountered it, there's likely something wrong with it, and in any case he has no interest in reinventing the wheel.

Methods for cultivating Internal Force are relatively rare, but those for external martial arts are fairly common—on the gang's exchange list, most entries are of this type. Blades, spears, swords, halberds, fists, palms, claws, fingers, and even light‑body techniques are available, and not few; the only thing lacking is Internal Force cultivation methods—aside from the introductory set, there are only a couple of high‑cost options. 'Still, I need to find a way out; staying here I think is suicide! Next time I go in with Murong Hua and the others, I might just die!'

Now he truly grasps how difficult that previous adventure was; with Murong Hua's skill, it's clear that others, especially Ma Rulong, are no slouches either, and even that little monk and the seemingly just a Medicine King Valley girl likely have actual martial arts surpassing Bai Lang's former level...... His ability to win effortlessly really seems like luck. 'Speaking of which, the people guarding that pavilion are probably just ordinary gang members—the type who wave flags and shout.'

Thinking how he'd almost been cut down by three flag‑waving knife men, Bai Lang felt a bit resentful. Of course this also solidified his resolve to leave—just how to go about it, Bai Lang felt he needed to think it through. Simply running away probably won't work; a gang traitor would likely be hunted down, and since his martial arts are known to the vice gang leader, whoever is sent after him will surely be able to defeat him—such people are probably not few in the Everlasting Joy Gang......

'There should be a Punishment Hall that specializes in this sort of thing; I suppose Mo Di is a disciple of an elder there? That seems about right. Ah, if only I had listened more carefully back then.' Bai Lang thought of the kids who came in with him; over these years Mo Di's martial arts...... hard to say how high, but he's definitely stronger than Bai Lang. 'If he had Murong Hua's level, killing me wouldn't take much effort.'

Never mind that for now—first I need to get good at Black Tiger Fist, seriously. 'These move names are just awful—Black Tiger Pulling Heart, Black Tiger Crossing the Stream, Black Tiger Cutting Tail, and so on—you can tell at a glance they're of the same ilk as the Five Tiger Soul‑Breaking Saber. Still, they're better than the moves I came up with myself!' Bai Lang cursed while practicing martial arts; the techniques are dead, the live factor is the luck of timing and application, and of course more important are the timing and skill used.

'I recall I had a martial‑god plug‑in for sensing true qi? Come to think of it, when Yu Yu crossed over last time it was useless too, and this time around, while I've been training martial arts, it hasn't shown up at all—is this martial‑god plug‑in real or fake?' Bai Lang felt that the state of divine clarity and heartfelt sensing hadn't reappeared, making him wonder if he truly didn't have the plug‑in.

"I recall I had a true qi sensing martial god cheat, right? Speaking of which, last time Yu Yu crossed over it wasn't useful either, and this time, while I was cultivating martial arts, I didn't even show it— is this martial god cheat real or fake?" Bai Lang felt that the state of being divine and clear, with the heart sensing something, seemed not to continue appearing, which made him wonder if he truly had no cheat.