Chapter 31

Word of Chen Mu's innate "master" spread, and though Guan Tong never ordered secrecy, Xie Hong and the others fell silent on their own.

Even Sun Kui chose silence.

Now it was only a severed hand; if they truly angered the Chen brothers and were quietly eliminated, Guan Tong wouldn't say a word.

This led to Chen Mu receiving treatment that made the lower-tier gang members envious, jealous, even hateful.

A martial artist under sixteen was certainly formidable, but one who had just broken through couldn't yet inspire a sense of gap.

Yet the identity of "Supervisor," and the status it represented, made people covetous.

Walking the streets, he answered only to the boss.

This kind of treatment could be called "one below, ten thousand above"—who wouldn't want it?

Too bad, no matter how much envy, jealousy, or hatred, it was useless.

No one dared touch the "Supervisor" identity, and no one dared challenge Chen Mu's martial strength.

The result was that whenever Chen Mu stepped onto the street, people immediately swarmed to flatter and curry favor.

"Chief Chen!"

"Brother Mu!"

"…"

All sorts of titles, dripping with sycophancy.

Chen Mu initially nodded, but later grew annoyed and simply scowled, choosing to ignore them.

The flatterers, rebuffed, finally stopped.

…

The "Supervisor" identity facilitated action—only within the Big Knife Gang's territory.

Going to other gangs' territories, however, backfired.

Being spotted might well trigger an ambush.

For this reason, when Chen Mu entered other gangs' territories, he covered his face with a human-skin mask.

After touring the city, he went to the outside graveyard.

He hadn't collected many cards, but Chen Mu wasn't discouraged.

Back in Huicheng, he found a tavern, sat down to eat snacks and drink, then perked up his ears to listen to the surrounding conversations.

Under the "Listen to the Wind" skill, every word spoken in the tavern and along the entire street reached Chen Mu's ears.

The drinkers were a mixed crowd—varied and chaotic.

Martial hermits, hooligans, gang members…

Some boasted, some joked, some borrowed money…

Chen Mu's most desired topics—personal grudges, fights, murders—were absent.

Still, he could understand.

Though some fools might discuss private matters or plot murders in taverns, most wouldn't choose a tavern.

Chen Mu had great patience.

He sat in the tavern half the day; just as he was about to leave, he finally heard a "good piece of news."

"Did you hear? Liang County, Ning County, and Xuan County are joining forces to attack Xiao Liang Mountain and exterminate the 'Red Turbans'."

"True or false? Xiao Liang Mountain is rugged, easy to defend, hard to attack—the 'Red Turbans' have held it for over a decade without being wiped out. Is Liang County really going all out?"

"Supposedly, the deputy magistrate's wife was kidnapped up the mountain and eventually died; that's why the deputy magistrate went mad, spent his entire fortune to persuade the magistrate, and convinced Ning and Xuan Counties to join this three-county joint suppression."

"Tsk tsk, three counties joining forces—looks like the 'Red Turbans' are finished this time."

"Not necessarily. The 'Red Turbans' have lasted this long—their strength must be substantial. I heard their chief is a Post-Heaven Ninth Layer expert."

"Only Post-Heaven Ninth Layer? If he were Pre-Heaven, that'd be different."

"You're pulling my leg—Pre-Heaven experts would stoop to being bandits?"

"Why not? There are Pre-Heaven experts who've been wanted and turned to banditry."

"…"

The conversation quickly shifted to gossip about Pre-Heaven martial artists.

Chen Mu listened a while longer, then turned and left.

Walking down the road, joy surged in his eyes.

"Officials suppressing bandits?"

"Good thing!"

"Whoever wins, once fighting starts, deaths won't be few."

When people die, there are corpses—cards can be retrieved!

Chen Mu immediately returned to Changping Fang, found Huang Feiyang, and told him he'd be away for two days.

Huang Feiyang didn't ask why, only warned him to be careful.

In his mind, Chen Mu was probably taken by his "master" to see the world.

Or perhaps going out for training.

Nanyun Prefecture was simply too small.

Chen Mu naturally didn't bother to correct this misunderstanding.

That afternoon, Chen Mu left the city and headed for Liang County.

Nanyun Prefecture governed nine counties.

Liang County, Ning County, and Xuan County were three of them.

At the intersection of these three counties stood a rugged peak named Xiao Liang Mountain.

A gang of "Red Turban Bandits" had taken over the mountain.

The garrison troops from three counties, along with guards sent out by the wealthy households of those three counties, formed a coalition army. Two days ago, they began encircling Lesser Liang Mountain, then steadily tightening the perimeter, pressing upward.

The "Red Turban Bandits" had occupied Lesser Liang Mountain, holding the key transit route between the three counties and plundering passing merchant caravans. The wealthy households of the three counties had long hated them bitterly.

In the past, relying on themselves alone, they could do nothing against the "Red Turban Bandits."

This time, with the three counties' troops launching a siege, they were naturally thrilled and eagerly sent out guards to join in.

As a result, the coalition army's numbers reached over a thousand.

These people encircled Lesser Liang Mountain, starting from the foot of the mountain and methodically pressing upward to wipe them out.

Though slow, the plan proceeded very smoothly.

By the time Chen Mu arrived, night had already fallen.

Nighttime was extremely unsuitable for movement for anyone else.

Chen Mu had "Night Vision," so it had no effect on him at all.

He skirted the coalition army's camps outside the mountain, several sentry posts, and then headed straight for the place where the corpses were piled.

After all, with the terrain unfavorable, the coalition inevitably suffered casualties. The people who died in battle today had their corpses temporarily piled together; tomorrow they would be taken back to the city together, or burned on the spot.

Besides these, there were the corpses left behind by the "Red Turban Bandits" who died in battle — no one bothered with them, and they were casually tossed where they fell.

These corpses were now all being looted for cards by Chen Mu.

【Corpse discovered. Loot?】

"Yes!"

【Corpse discovered. Loot?】

"Yes!"

……

Under the cover of night, Chen Mu's figure was like a slithering snake, weaving between piles of corpses and looting card after card.

Energy Card! Energy Card! Stamina Card!

Strength Card!

Internal Force Card!

Starting from the first Internal Force Card he picked up, he subsequently looted thirteen more Internal Force Cards.

The cultivation of these Internal Force Cards was mostly around half a month to a month's worth.

There were also five Skill Cards, all martial techniques, yet not a single one was any good.

Unranked martial techniques, and the realm wasn't all that high either.

By comparison, Chen Mu preferred Internal Force Cards, or Strength Cards.

Internal Force Cards went without saying. As for Strength Cards — despite the power they generated, the boost was limited, especially as Chen Mu continued to Breakthrough Realm; the power generated by a single Strength Card grew less and less.

To the point that it couldn't compare to the power boost brought by a realm breakthrough.

But Strength Cards didn't merely generate power — they could also strengthen the body!

Although the strengthening process was slow, the effect of a single Strength Card was negligible.

Yet the continuous strengthening effect was always ongoing.

This was essentially equivalent to Chen Mu cultivating a body-tempering Wu Gong!

Without enduring the agony of tempering sinews and forging bones, without painstakingly training the body, his physique could keep growing stronger.

And there were no side effects whatsoever.

Naturally, Chen Mu wouldn't let the Strength Cards go unused.

……

【Corpse discovered. Loot?】

"Yes!"

After circling Lesser Liang Mountain once, he had looted several dozen cards.

Chen Mu nodded in satisfaction.

Just as he was about to turn and leave, a giant snake over thirty meters long suddenly emerged from a corner within his field of vision……