Chapter 142: Internal Strife and External Threat

At this moment, the atmosphere before the War Wolf BBQ shop was heavy with tension!

More than forty new and veteran gang members ignored their boss, Cang Luo, and the internal affairs vice-boss, Wang Fuhai, and showed deep respect to the general affairs vice-boss, Zhao Renwu.

Zhao Renwu pretended nothing had happened, wearing a faint smile, standing half a step behind Cang Luo to show his respect for the boss.

Wang Fuhai also stood half a step behind Cang Luo, but his face was filled with worry.

Although Cang Luo’s expression remained calm on the surface, his heart was already seething with rage.

The situation was far worse than he had imagined—these forty-odd War Wolf Gang members recognized only Zhao Renwu, not him!

Cang Luo had originally planned to slowly win over Zhao Renwu’s followers, then find an opportunity to expel him from the War Wolf Gang—but he never expected this brat had grown so powerful that half the gang was his.

So infuriating!

Fortunately, He Cheng and Gan Lei and others were not among these people...

Cang Luo was troubled, unsure what to say.

Zhao Renwu said nothing, waiting to watch Cang Luo’s humiliation.

The standoff lasted several minutes, each side lost in thought, until a group of over fifty people appeared across the street, breaking the silence.

These fifty-odd individuals were all outer-disciple students of the Profound Heaven Sect, standing across the street, glaring menacingly at the War Wolf Gang members—clearly hostile.

Upon seeing them, the War Wolf Gang members clenched their fists; someone muttered angrily, “It’s the Lie Tian Gang!”

Zhao Jin, head of the Zhu Que Hall, whispered, “Brothers, don’t be afraid—the Senior Brothers of the Enforcement Pavilion are nearby...”

Cang Luo’s eyebrows lifted. Lie Tian Gang?

Wasn’t that Ouyang Lie’s gang? What were they doing here? Come to smash the shop?

Suddenly, Cang Luo spotted someone he recognized.

Chen Dahu!

This guy had been defeated by him twice; his brother, Chen Dalong, had been killed by him in the Beast Forest—these two brothers had been ordered by Lie Tian Gang’s boss, Ouyang Lie, to repeatedly try to kill him.

The first time was the day after he was reincarnated, when Chen Dahu provoked him in the outer-disciple cafeteria, trying to cripple his hands—he was defeated by cunning.

The second time, over half a month later, in the Beast Forest, Chen Dahu’s brother Chen Dalong led a group to hunt him down—but Cang Luo had grown vastly stronger and slaughtered them all.

He hadn’t even sought revenge on Ouyang Lie yet, and now Lie Tian Gang had come knocking!

Did they really think he was easy to bully?

Top ten in the outer-disciple rankings? So impressive? Peak Level Nine General cultivation base? So impressive?

Cang Luo sneered—he was certain his current self had no fear of Ouyang Lie. Satellite’s many abilities, the Destruction Body Art, the Dragon-Slaying Palm, and his two beast companions.

Combined, these hidden cards were more than enough to eliminate a Level Nine General outer-disciple.

Even against an inner-disciple Master, with Erha’s infinite fire breath, he could fight a war of attrition.

Perfect—killing Ouyang Lie would not only avenge him, but also establish his authority and intimidate Zhao Renwu, allowing him to reclaim control of the War Wolf Gang...

But Lie Tian Gang had hundreds of members, dozens of General-level fighters—if he fought them one-on-one, his infinite Qi could wipe them all out, but he feared a mob attack.

If Ouyang Lie led a group of Generals to overwhelm him, even three or five would force him to flee.

What would happen to the War Wolf Gang if he lost?

The War Wolf Gang had only a hundred-odd members—all except him were Warrior-level cultivators; they couldn’t possibly match Lie Tian Gang.

If the War Wolf Gang was destroyed, the BBQ shop couldn’t stay open, and his business plans would die before birth...

What should he do? This was far more complicated than he’d thought.

This was internal strife and external threat!

Internally, Zhao Renwu was vying for power; externally, Ouyang Lie and the Lie Tian Gang were a formidable enemy!

Cang Luo suddenly felt this might be the greatest crisis he’d faced since his reincarnation.

Across the street.

Chen Dahu glared at Cang Luo, teeth clenched, desperate to drink his blood and eat his flesh.

His lower body had been crippled by Cang Luo; his brother Chen Dalong had gone to hunt Cang Luo, but two months had passed and he hadn’t returned—while Cang Luo stood unharmed across the way.

He knew his brother was almost certainly dead at Cang Luo’s hands.

Just now, a masked man had told him: your brother was indeed killed by Cang Luo, and your Lie Tian Gang senior brother Zhang Zhen was also killed by him...

Chen Dahu erupted in fury, his hoarse throat shrieking as he pointed at Cang Luo: “Brother Chen, this is Cang Luo, boss of the War Wolf Gang—the murderer of my brother!”

“And Zhang Zhen was also killed by him.”

Then, urgently and in a low voice, he added: “Brother Chen, my brother and I were ordered by our boss to kill Cang Luo, but we failed, suffered heavy losses, and ended up with one dead and one crippled...”

“I beg you, Brother Chen, to act—first to fulfill our boss’s command, second to avenge my brother—I’ll be eternally grateful, and I’ll serve you faithfully for the rest of my life!”

The “Brother Chen” he referred to was Chen Yun, vice-head of the Xuan Wu Hall of the Lie Tian Gang, a Level Two General cultivator—the highest-ranked among them.

Chen Yun nodded slightly. Chen Dalong and Zhang Zhen were both Lie Tian Gang members, under his Xuan Wu Hall—his own people killed by outsiders; he must restore their honor.

Moreover, this was an order from the boss—anyone the boss wanted dead, he would kill.

And the target was the owner of the War Wolf BBQ shop—this made it even more necessary to act.

Lie Tian Gang also operated two BBQ shops, but their business was worse than War Wolf Gang’s—less than half as good. The gang wanted to seize the War Wolf BBQ shop, but lacked a legitimate excuse.

Commerce in Tianzhen Town was a vital source of income for the sect; the Sect Master valued it highly, so Enforcement Pavilion disciples patrolled to maintain order.

Chen Yun knew that if he attacked the War Wolf BBQ shop without cause, Lie Tian Gang would be crushed.

But now, he could use Chen Dahu’s revenge as an excuse to eliminate the War Wolf Gang and take over the BBQ shop.

Revenge was righteous—if no large-scale battle occurred, the Enforcement Pavilion wouldn’t intervene.

With this in mind, Chen Yun strode quickly toward Cang Luo, glanced at the War Wolf Gang members, and sneered: “A rabble!”

The insult was loud enough for every War Wolf Gang member to hear—even Yin Mengruo and Xiang Yunjiao inside the shop, and the customers grilling meat and drinking, could hear it.

Most of the customers were cultivators—bounty hunters and Profound Heaven Sect disciples—who sensed a good show was about to unfold, turned to look outside, faces eager for blood, hoping the two sides would fight.

Yet the War Wolf Gang members, whether new or veteran, dared not retaliate against Chen Yun’s taunt.

Why? Because the War Wolf Gang was no match for Lie Tian Gang.

Lie Tian Gang was the largest outer-disciple gang, with hundreds of members, dozens of General-level fighters, and its boss was among the top ten strongest in the outer-disciple rankings.

Ouyang Lie, a Peak Level Nine General cultivator, a favorite to win the year-end competition!

The War Wolf Gang had only been founded for over a month, with barely a hundred members—all Warrior-level disciples, weak and insignificant.

The highest-ranked among them, General Affairs Vice-Boss Zhao Renwu and Boss Cang Luo, were only Level Nine Warriors—they weren’t even Generals.

With such strength, how could they oppose Lie Tian Gang? How could they stand against it?

How could they stand against Ouyang Lie, a Peak Level Nine General?

If they angered Lie Tian Gang and provoked Ouyang Lie, they guessed he could defeat Zhao Renwu and Cang Luo with a single blow.

Not even mentioning Ouyang Lie—this man, Chen Yun, a Level Two General, had no equal among the War Wolf Gang.

Vice-Boss Zhao Renwu had risen from Level Seven Warrior to Level Nine Warrior in just half a month—a true prodigy, with formidable combat ability, capable of fighting above his level.

Yet even Zhao Renwu, just two days ago, could barely hold off Chen Yun for dozens of strikes—if the Enforcement Pavilion disciples hadn’t arrived just in time, Zhao Renwu would have lost within ten more moves.

As for Boss Cang Luo, the newcomers didn’t know his strength and assumed he was weaker than Zhao Renwu.

The veterans knew he too could fight above his level, but none believed he could defeat Chen Yun.

Even if he could defeat Chen Yun, what then of Lie Tian Gang behind him? What of Ouyang Lie, a Peak Level Nine General?

Who would stand against Ouyang Lie’s wrath?

If they fully enraged Lie Tian Gang, where would the War Wolf Gang go?

Disband the gang?

Thinking of this, the War Wolf Gang members felt utterly powerless; they dared not even grow angry, instinctively stepping back, avoiding Chen Yun’s gaze.

Chen Yun laughed aloud at their timid posture, laughing without restraint; the Lie Tian Gang members behind him also roared with laughter.

Their laughter humiliated the War Wolf Gang members to the core!

Zhao Renwu, seeing this, immediately shouted: “Chen Yun, what do you want? I’ve already said—the War Wolf BBQ shop won’t be sold to you! If you keep using these low tactics, don’t blame us for fighting to the death!”

Then he quickly explained to Cang Luo: “Boss, while you were away, Lie Tian Gang came to me, wanting to buy the War Wolf BBQ shop.”

“After I refused, they came several times to disrupt us, hinder our business, and injured many of our brothers...”

Cang Luo listened silently, saying nothing, his heart filled with profound disappointment toward these forty-odd War Wolf Gang members.

Facing enemy taunts, they didn’t even dare to shout back?

How long had he been gone? How had the War Wolf Gang become the War Dog Gang?

Chen Yun heard Zhao Renwu’s words and laughed: “Fight to the death? Zhao Renwu, last time, if the Enforcement Pavilion disciples hadn’t arrived in time, I’d have crippled you.”

Then he looked down at Zhao Renwu with contempt and turned to Cang Luo: “I’m here today for one reason only—to demand justice for my junior brother.”

Cang Luo remained silent, waiting for the man to state his purpose—he could guess it already: simply to defend Chen Dahu.

Beside him, Wang Fuhai felt something major was about to happen, sweat beading on his forehead.

Zhao Renwu’s face was filled with fury—as if silenced by Chen Yun’s retort—but in truth, he was hoping they’d fight immediately.

Chen Yun had been secretly summoned by Zhao Renwu through Zhao Renli, to provoke Cang Luo into conflict, ideally to start a fight on the spot.

Whoever won or lost, Zhao Renwu was the biggest beneficiary.

If Cang Luo lost—or was killed on the spot—the War Wolf Gang became Zhao Renwu’s.

If Cang Luo won, he’d fully alienate Lie Tian Gang and would inevitably die—still, the War Wolf Gang would become Zhao Renwu’s.

Chen Yun looked down on Cang Luo with disdain and said calmly: “Did you kill Chen Dalong? Did you kill Zhang Zhen? You can deny it—I have no proof.”

Then he gave a malicious glance at the War Wolf Gang members and smiled: “If you deny it, don’t blame me for being ruthless.”

“One life for one life—I’ll take the lives of your War Wolf Gang members.”

“Don’t worry—I won’t let you find any evidence. Silently eliminating a few useless fools? Easy.”

At these words, some War Wolf Gang members turned pale, while others didn’t understand the meaning.

Zhao Renli, having just returned to the crowd, cried in terror: “He means they want to assassinate us? To make us pay with the lives of the War Wolves for Chen Dalong and Zhang Zhen?”

“Pay with our lives?”

“Take our lives in exchange?”

“Why? We didn’t kill them—why are they coming after us?”

After Zhao Renli’s explanation, the War Wolves were thrown into panic, their faces filled with horror as they all turned to Cang Luo, their eyes brimming with blame.

One newcomer muttered angrily: “One man’s deed, one man’s punishment—if the boss won’t admit it, then I quit the War Wolves!”

“I quit too—I won’t die for someone else’s crime.”

“Count me in—I’m quitting the War Wolves...”

This was blackmail!

This was a coup!

Many newcomers threatened to quit the War Wolves to force Cang Luo into admitting he had killed Chen Dalong and Zhang Zhen.

Zhao Renwu still wore an angry expression, but inside he was laughing wildly, triumphantly.

This was an open strategy—Cang Luo had no retreat, no escape!

Fight, and whether he won or lost, Zhao Renwu would benefit.

Don’t fight, and he’d lose face staying in the War Wolves—lose face as their boss.

“Truly a rabble!” Chen Yun shook his head in disdain. Such a worthless gang could be wiped out in an instant by the Lie Tian Sect!

He continued, staring at Cang Luo: “If you admit you killed Chen Dalong and Zhang Zhen, I’ll give you two choices.

One: face me on a life-or-death arena—life or death, left to fate.

Two: hand over the War Wolves Barbecue Shop, then sever your own cultivation base—I’ll spare your life.”

At Chen Yun’s words, the War Wolves turned again to Cang Luo, waiting for his decision.

This time, Cang Luo did not remain silent. He looked at the War Wolves and said calmly: “Do you remember what I said when we founded the War Wolves?”

No one spoke. The elders stayed silent. The newcomers still glared.

Cang Luo shrugged indifferently and said firmly: “The lone wolf dies. The pack lives.”

With that, Cang Luo glared at Chen Yun and roared: “You want war? Then fight!”