Chapter 4

In the afternoon, Ye Tian found a tavern and waited until nightfall.

The reward for Body Constitution Enhancement.

It made Ye Tian instinctively stretch his limbs, his whole body cracking with a series of pops and snaps. Daily novel companion, 𝓉𝓉𝓀𝓈. 𝓉𝓌 ultra thoughtful

He clenched his fist—the strength seemed more than doubled from before.

"Enough."

Glancing at the darkening sky outside the tavern, Ye Tian stepped out.

At night, ordinary civilians on the streets grew scarce, while gang disciples became more numerous.

Compared to daytime, Linshui City seemed livelier at night—taverns echoed with gang disciples drinking and boasting, brothels rang with girls laughing and teasing, and darker alleys carried the sounds of gang members slashing and killing.

Ye Tian walked past them in silence.

Though not from the same era, this lawless chaos felt strangely familiar to Ye Tian.

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Gao Fei's home was not large—these gang disciples lived lives of poverty at third watch, wealth at fifth watch.

They spent money like water outside, but cared nothing for the quality of their lodging.

Smelling the faint scent of blood in the air, Ye Tian curled his lips, then instantly replaced them with a pure, innocent smile as he stepped forward and pushed open the door.

"Big Brother Gao, I'm here!"

"Big Brother Gao?"

Seeing no response, Ye Tian feigned confusion and walked deeper into the room.

There he saw Gao Fei's lifeless corpse, eyes still wide open, along with several other corpses lying nearby.

You really sent someone to ambush me? You deserved to be cut down.

"Big Brother Gao!!!"

The next moment, Ye Tian screamed in heart-wrenching grief—so loudly that residents in nearby houses all woke up.

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The Black Water Gang had eight Halls; Gao Fei belonged to one of them.

"What exactly happened?"

Lei Tang was a Head Boss under one of the Halls; woken up late at night to learn his subordinate had died, his temper was now explosive.

After entering Gao Fei's home and seeing the corpses inside, his anger grew even fiercer.

"Who did this?"

Besides the few burly men who came with Lei Tang, several of Gao Fei's bodyguards from the teahouse that day were also summoned.

"This..."

The men exchanged uneasy glances—they had no idea what had happened. How could a healthy man just die like this?

"It must have been thieves who killed Big Brother Gao."

Do you really think we need you to tell us that?

Lei Tang turned to Ye Tian, frowning.

"Who are you?"

The bodyguards had been about to speak, but Ye Tian spoke first.

"I'm Ye Tian, a Registered Member of the Black Water Gang."

As he spoke, Ye Tian pulled out the Black Water Gang's waist token.

"Big Brother Gao asked me to come tonight—he said he'd make me an Official Member. But I never expected that upon arriving, I'd find you all dead. It's all my fault—if only I'd come sooner, I could've helped Big Brother Gao and the others."

All these people are dead—what difference would one more make?

But Lei Tang didn't say it outright; instead, he turned to the bodyguards.

"Is that true?"

"Uh!"

They couldn't admit that Gao Fei had summoned Ye Tian to kill him and steal his money—in the Black Water Gang, killing your own brother meant flaying and bone-breaking punishment.

"Yes, but..."

"Big Brother Gao said he admired me. I never imagined our parting would be our final farewell."

"..."

Wait, you actually believe that nonsense about him admiring you?

The interrupted bodyguards exchanged uneasy glances.

Lei Tang didn't know the hidden details; seeing that Ye Tian was truly a Black Water Gang disciple and had been admired by Gao Fei—promised promotion to Official Member—his expression softened considerably.

"If you've got the ability, making you an Official Member is no problem."

"Really?"

Ye Tian looked up, eyes bright with surprise.

"I've trained in Iron Wire Fist for several years. If Big Brother Lei won't reject me, I'd be honored to take you as my Big Brother and avenge Big Brother Gao."

This display of righteousness pleased Lei Tang, but Ye Tian's words sparked his interest.

"You've trained in Iron Wire Fist for years?"

Though he'd never heard of Iron Wire Fist, anyone who'd trained in martial arts was a valuable asset in their gang.

"Yes, trained for years—I can handle three or five men easily."

Ye Tian spoke humbly, yet his words made those around him glance over in surprise.

"Oh?"

Lei Tang's interest was fully piqued.

"Wang Hu, you go try him."

He glanced sideways at the burly man beside him.

This was the strongest Fist Master by his side, his Pigua Palm had reached a transcendent level.

"Good!"

"Uh." Those thugs who had come with Gao Fei opened their mouths, momentarily at a loss for words.

Gao Fei was still lying over there—was it really appropriate to test one's skill at a time like this?

But seeing that Lei Tang had taken an interest, none of them dared say another word.

"If you can last ten rounds, I'll not only make you an Official Member, I'll also make you a Fist Master of my Black Water Gang."

Not only the Black Water Gang—many such jianghu gangs have clear hierarchical divisions.

First come Registered Members, above them are Official Members, but above Official Members are Strongmen—Gao Fei and those thugs belonged to the Strongman tier—and above that are Fist Masters.

One could say that by taking the seat of Fist Master, Ye Tian had successfully completed a three-level leap.

"Good!"

Ye Tian's eyes lit up.

He planted his legs in a horse stance, raised his hands into the opening form of Iron Wire Fist. His opponent, whose build was about as sturdy as Wei Wu and the others, likewise assumed an opening form Ye Tian had never seen before.

"Be careful."

One could tell the man was very confident; not even in his words did he think he would lose.

The moment their hands met, Ye Tian sidestepped at once and swung his arm over. With just that first touch, the casual expression on Wang Hu's face changed.

What tremendous force!

If Iron Wire Fist is paired with Iron Arm Rings on the arms, splitting stone and snapping metal is nothing to speak of.

At present, although Ye Tian had no Iron Arm Rings, his strengthened physique still possessed force far beyond an ordinary person's.

"Again!"

The opponent, too, was someone who had trained in martial arts since childhood, and for a moment he felt his fighting spirit stirred at the sight of a worthy foe—his hand movements grew even fiercer.

By contrast, every move Ye Tian made in response was effortless and unhurried.

Iron Wire Fist belongs to Southern Fist—a high-level internal style, combining hardness and softness, now hard now soft.

Seeing Ye Tian able to trade blows evenly with the strongest Fist Master by his side, the expression on Lei Tang's face completely changed; the bad mood he'd been dragged here in had turned into pleasant surprise.

If he hadn't come on this trip, how could he have met such a treasure?

Although he had mastered Iron Wire Fist, this was truly the first time he had used it against another person in a real fight. The more Ye Tian fought, the faster he became, his movements growing ever more practiced and fluid.

From evenly matched exchanges at the start, to later showing faint signs of gaining the upper hand.

'About time.'

Seeing that Wang Hu's face had already turned somewhat green, Ye Tian knew the moment was right.

After clashing fists once more, Ye Tian voluntarily stepped back two paces, cupped his hands, and said.

"Fist Master Wang truly is formidable, but I was sickly as a child and truly have no strength left to continue."

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