Chapter 42: You're Acquired-Stage Fourth Layer!?

Unlike the East District, which has three gangs—the Broadsword Gang, the Blood Wolf Gang, and the Green Snake Gang—

the South District, occupied by the Hungry Tiger Gang, is dominated by a single power.

Therefore, the Hungry Tiger Gang has over ten thousand members, and the number of Acquired-Stage martial artists among them is also considerable.

However—

the gang bordering both the East District and the Hungry Tiger Gang's territory is not the Broadsword Gang, but the Blood Wolf Gang.

For Hungry Tiger Gang people to cross Blood Wolf Gang territory and show up in Changlong Ward, there must be something fishy going on!

……

Chen Mu, bringing along Long Tutu—who never missed a chance to stir up trouble—arrived at the scene, inside a gambling house.

The Broadsword Gang members led by Huang Feiyang were confronting a sturdy middle-aged man whose face was full of puffy flesh and who had a vicious scar on his right cheek.

Huang Feiyang's face was slightly pale, there was blood at the corner of his mouth, a palm print on his chest, but his hands and feet were fine.

Seeing this, Chen Mu set his mind at ease, sidled up beside Old Zhou, and asked in a low voice, "Uncle Zhou, who is this man?"

"Cheng Dongfeng!"

Old Zhou replied in a low voice, "A big boss of the Hungry Tiger Gang. He came over last night, gambled in the gambling house all night, and lost all night. But early this morning, his luck started to recover—not only did he win back all the money he lost last night, he went on to win another two hundred thousand taels of silver!"

"We suspected foul play, because after losing all night he had only lost three thousand taels, yet early this morning he kept winning. No matter how you look at it, something's off."

"…He was cheating?" Chen Mu asked quietly.

"Definitely. But we have no proof." Old Zhou's expression was also grim. "Boss Hu came over to negotiate, willing to give him fifty thousand taels, but Cheng Dongfeng refused. During the scuffle they fought, and it turned out this Cheng Dongfeng is Acquired-Stage Third Layer!"

"Ah, only Acquired-Stage Third Layer?" Long Tutu, standing nearby, couldn't help but complain when she heard this.

Uh……

Old Zhou was at a loss for words.

Only?

He himself wasn't even Acquired-Stage First Layer, for crying out loud.

Acquired-Stage Third Layer, among the big bosses of every gang, was already a top-tier existence.

"You little brat, what did you say?"

Long Tutu's voice had been a bit loud. A man in his thirties standing behind Cheng Dongfeng—his hair loose, his eyebrows looking as if they'd been singed by fire, uneven and ragged—turned around, glared at Long Tutu, and barked, "Get over here right now and kneel!"

"You're the one who should kneel."

Long Tutu was not afraid in the slightest. She tilted her chin up and snorted, "A bully's lackey, barking like a dog—truly earsplitting."

"You damned little bastard, what did you say?" The man's face instantly flushed red. With a vicious look, he raised his leg and strode toward Chen Mu's side.

Smack~!

Chen Mu stepped forward and slapped out with one hand.

Accompanying the crisp sound, before the man could even get close, half his cheek swelled up bright red, several teeth flew out of his mouth, and his whole body flipped backward, crashing hard onto the ground.

"If your mouth stinks, then don't open it."

Chen Mu walked over calmly.

"How dare you!"

"Seeking death!"

"……"

The others behind Cheng Dongfeng strode forward in fury and rage, intercepting Chen Mu.

"Tiger Cub."

Huang Feiyang's expression changed. He stepped forward to shield Chen Mu, met Cheng Dongfeng's half-smiling gaze, and said in a deep voice, "Boss Cheng, this matter has nothing to do with my brother. Two hundred thousand taels of silver—no matter what you say, I can't produce it, and I won't. Boss Cheng, if you insist on making us pay, I can only report it to the Gang Leader."

This gambling house was a Broadsword Gang property; a month's profit was only a little over a hundred thousand taels of silver.

"Heh heh~"

Cheng Dongfeng spoke mockingly, "Boss Huang, you really do dote on your little cousin. My brother here only said one sentence, and he lashed out and beat him, knocked his teeth out—and this has nothing to do with him?"

"By Boss Huang's logic, if your brother here killed us all, that would also have nothing to do with him!"

At the end, Cheng Dongfeng slammed the table, suddenly stood up, killing intent bursting from his eyes.

Huang Feiyang's body tensed under his glare, his throat dry.

Chen Mu didn't feel it, but his ears twitched.

With Cheng Dongfeng's slam, the dice on the table trembled twice along with it.

But the amplitude of those two tremors seemed off!

Whoosh~

Chen Mu decisively blurred forward, weaved past two people, and grabbed the dice cup along with everything else into his hand.

Three dice poured out. He weighed them in his palm, and his eyes lit up.

"You bastard, what are you doing?"

Cheng Dongfeng's face changed slightly. Seeing Chen Mu toying with the dice, he struck out viciously, a palm coming straight at him.

"Careful!"

Boom~!

Huang Feiyang's shout rang out.

Chen Mu's other hand shot out, meeting Cheng Dongfeng head-on, palm against palm.

Then, Chen Mu stood without moving, his body not swaying even a little.

Cheng Dongfeng, however, couldn't control himself. His whole body staggered backward, retreating three steps in a row, crashing into two of his own subordinates before barely steadying himself.

The moment he steadied his stance, the arm he had struck out with couldn't help but tremble—numbness shot through it, followed by waves of stabbing pain.

"You……" Eyes wide, staring fixedly at Chen Mu, Cheng Dongfeng took a deep breath, his face full of disbelief. "You're Acquired-Stage Fourth Layer!?"

"..."

Silence.

The dozens of people in the entire gambling house, who had been on the verge of raising a ruckus, fell dead silent in that instant, every one of them staring wide-eyed at Chen Mu.

Except for Huang Feiyang, and Long Tutu.

The former had long known; the latter covered her mouth and snickered.

As for everyone else, whether members of the Broadsword Gang or Cheng Dongfeng's subordinates, all were shocked, stunned, and unable to believe it.

But they had no choice but to believe.

Cheng Dongfeng was at the third layer of the Postnatal realm!

Striking out in fury with a palm, it had actually been easily neutralized by Chen Mu, who had even retreated three steps.

This strength undoubtedly laid bare one fact: Chen Mu's realm surpassed Cheng Dongfeng's.

He was at the fourth layer of the Postnatal realm!

Huang Feiyang himself was only at the first layer of the Postnatal realm—Chen Mu was actually at the fourth layer of the Postnatal realm!?

"..."

Silence.

The gambling house was utterly quiet.

Cheng Dongfeng's subordinates no longer spoke, and even their breathing grew much softer.

Cheng Dongfeng himself dared not act arrogant any longer, a glint flickering rapidly in his eyes.

Seeing Chen Mu examining the dice, he immediately let out a cold shout and said, "Fine, we admit defeat! We're not skilled enough—the silver's off the table!"

Having said that, he turned and headed straight for the main entrance.

"Hold on."

Chen Mu spoke calmly, "The matter isn't over yet, big brother. Who placed these three dice?"

"What do you mean?" Huang Feiyang was puzzled. The next moment, he caught on and exclaimed in shock, "There's something wrong with these three dice?"

Chen Mu said nothing, merely handed the dice to him.

Huang Feiyang took them. The instant the dice landed in his palm, he sensed something off.

They were too heavy!

Heavier than ordinary dice by a full fold.

"Who set out these dice today?" Huang Feiyang whirled around and looked at the gambling house's manager.

"Huh? Huh?"

The manager's body trembled, and he quickly said, "I... I don't know."

"You're the manager, and you actually don't know?" Huang Feiyang roared. "Has your brain rotted away!?"

"I... I..." The manager's mind raced. "I remember now—it was Wang Jiu! Wang Jiu was the one shaking the dice this morning!"

"Wang Jiu?" Huang Feiyang turned his head and looked around. "Wang Jiu, get out here and—"

Whoosh!

A figure suddenly darted out from a corner, charging swiftly toward the main entrance...