Chapter 53: The Storm Rises: Gang Turf War

In the second half of the night, Zhou You returned to his room, pushed the silver box under the bed, and went to sleep.

He slept until dawn!

At daybreak, news arrived from the outside world.

Last night, the Wild Fox Gang launched a surprise attack on the territory of the Lost Dog Gang, with flames soaring to the sky and blood flowing in the streets.

Vice Gang Leader Tu Laoer led the team, striking with ruthless precision, killing countless enemy gang members, and declaring he was avenging his brother, Tu Laosan.

The Lost Dog Gang was no pushover either; having risen from the refugees of Su Cheng, they were all a bunch of desperate outlaws.

Both sides fought until dawn, wielding blades and setting fires, affecting countless civilian homes.

The incident escalated, and in the end, the City Gate Guard had to step in to settle it.

This gang turf war resulted in over 1,000 casualties, and the very air was thick with the scent of blood.

Inside the Jian Xiong Martial Arts Hall, the Apprentices spent the whole day discussing this matter.

It is said that quite a few martial artists were dragged into this conflict, with double-digit numbers of Strength Apprentices killed.

Besides Tu Laoer, the Lost Dog Gang also had Qi-Blood martial artists join the fray, fighting until the sky turned dark.

Had the City Gate Guard not intervened, the scale of the scene would likely have escalated further, with even Martial Masters being drawn into it.

Zhou You followed his usual routine, getting up to have breakfast before heading to the training ground to practice his punches.

"Wind-Chasing Triple-Layer Technique."

"Wind-Ride, Hard-Lean, Great Fierce Kill."

Zhou You focused on pondering the mysteries of the Triple-Layer Technique, recalling every detail of Wang Jianxiong's strikes.

The Triple-Layer Technique, as the name suggests, stacks the power of three consecutive moves, erupting with several to over a dozen times the lethality.

During his previous bout with Zhang Shiyu, the final move of the Triple-Layer Technique, Sickle Cut, gathered the accumulated power of the first two moves and nearly severed his head.

The Wind-Chasing Triple-Layer taught by the Hall Master was faster and its power even more violent.

A rockery was easily razed to the ground!

"Trial Project (One-Star): Revenge (Cut the weeds and dig up the roots, leave no future trouble) has been completed, Experience Points +200."

"New Skill added: Ultimate Move — Wind-Chasing Triple-Layer Technique lv0."

Lv0 represents entry-level, not yet mastered.

"You have practiced a complete Wind-Chasing Triple-Layer Technique once, Experience Points +5."

"You have practiced a complete Wind-Chasing Triple-Layer Technique once, Experience Points +5."

According to the panel prompts, the output from practicing the Wind-Chasing Triple-Layer Technique was far higher than the Tiger-Subduing Fist, with a 5-fold difference.

The difference could also be seen from the evaluation: the Wind-Chasing Triple-Layer Technique was an ultimate move, while the Tiger-Subduing Fist was a common skill.

Zhou You practiced earnestly over and over again; before he knew it, it was noon, and news came from the kitchen that today's vegetable portions were halved.

It turned out that because of the gang war, fresh vegetables could not be bought on the market, so they had to eat what was in storage.

"Tomorrow, once the City Gate Guard finishes mediation, the market will return to normal, and the butcher shops and vegetable stalls will all be open."

Is it really that simple?

Zhou You intuitively felt that things were not that simple; with the massive influx of refugees into Su Cheng, order was deteriorating, and the government was gradually losing its ability to enforce control.

The fighting last night was brutal, with over a dozen houses burned down, yet the City Gate Guard did not appear to suppress it.

Even if shops reopened, they would face even more frantic extortion and blackmail from the gangs.

He would find time to go home and remind his parents to hoard some grain and vegetables.

"This is the address for Xingren Tang."

His sparring partner Li Hao found Zhou You and handed him a piece of paper.

On the paper was written the address of Xingren Tang, a long-established medical clinic in the city.

After being injured in the competition, Zhou You learned his lesson and decided to buy some injury medicine to stock up, so he had asked him to inquire about the clinic's address.

Li Hao did not fail the task and quickly found someone to ask for the clinic's address.

"Many thanks."

Zhou You thanked him and was about to leave when he suddenly heard a remark that made his hair stand on end: "You have an extra aura of killing on you."

Killing aura, what killing aura?

Zhou You had just killed 5 people last night and thought he had left no traces, but he did not expect to be seen through.

"My father often goes out to quell rebellions and suppress bandits, and every time he returns home, he carries an ominous aura."

"I have been exposed to it many times since I was a child, so I am not unfamiliar with it; it is a killing aura."

"A unique aura left on the body after killing someone."

Scenes of last night's killings surfaced in Zhou You's mind, with fragments occasionally flashing through his thoughts.

He had originally thought it was a normal situation.

Now that he thought about it, perhaps there really was such a mysterious thing as a killing aura that influenced his thoughts and intentions.

"You guessed right, it is a killing aura."

Zhou You said to Li Hao in a low voice, "As my sparring partner, I cannot hide it from you."

"Yesterday, the Hall Master called me over and taught me an ultimate move, forbidding me from passing it on."

"The ultimate move overflows with killing aura when performed and is hard to control, which is why you noticed it; I hope you will keep it a secret for me."

Hearing that it was taught personally by the Hall Master, Li Hao was so envious he couldn't speak.

It must be that when Zhou You represented the Strength Apprentices in the challenge match and won, he received such a generous reward.

He did not connect Zhou You's killing aura with the Wild Fox Gang bloodbath.

It was rumored outside that the origin of the two gangs' conflict was that someone from the Lost Dog Gang had attacked and killed Tu Laoer's brother using the Yanxing Quan.

Although the Lost Dog Gang vehemently denied it, anyone who had seen the bodies could prove that it was indeed the unique mark of a killing by the Yanxing Quan.

"Zhou You, come here."

Lu Qiang stood outside the martial arts practice field and spoke in a loud voice.

Zhou You nodded toward Li Hao and turned to walk out of the martial arts practice field.

Lu Qiang had a serious expression as he led Zhou You to a corner, where only he and Zhou You were present.

"Last night, you did not leave the martial arts hall?"

Zhou You answered decisively, "I was in my room the whole time. Big Senior Brother, to be honest with you, I have never seen 500 taels of silver in my life; I couldn't even sleep after counting it until midnight."

After saying this, he feigned ignorance and asked, "What happened? Did something happen outside?"

Lu Qiang stared into his eyes, remaining motionless for ten breaths.

Zhou You did not show any sign of cowardice throughout and asked in return, "Big Senior Brother, is there anything you need me to do?"

"Nothing, you go back!"

After Lu Qiang left the Outer Courtyard, he immediately turned back to enter the Inner Courtyard to report the results of the questioning to Wang Jianxiong.

The 500 taels had just been delivered to the martial arts hall when Tu Laosan died that very night.

This matter was too strange, and the martial arts hall had to ask a question or two, but Zhou You's answer was airtight.

"Since he says it is unrelated, then this matter has nothing to do with my Jian Xiong Martial Arts Hall."

Wang Jianxiong clicked his tongue in admiration, "The handiwork was ruthless enough; five lives killed just like that, not even sparing the whore."

"Master, if someone follows this grudge in the future and tracks it to Zhou You..."

"So what? Are we afraid of trouble?"

Wang Jianxiong spoke in a tone of being disappointed that his student was not living up to expectations, "You, your mind is too rigid."

"Think about it, if this matter was truly done by Zhou You, what does that mean?"

Lu Qiang was stunned at first, countless possibilities flooding his mind, and then he shivered.

Traveling back and forth between the martial arts hall and the Wild Fox Gang's base in the middle of the night, a thunderous strike, killing five lives and retreating unscathed, framing others without leaving a trace.

He even forged the traces of the attack, using the Yanxing Quan at the Jinli Level.

Half a year ago, Zhou You was still an ordinary youth who hadn't even entered the door, his whole family oppressed to the point of having almost no way to survive.

In a few months, he not only cultivated Tiger Subduing Fist to the entry level of Jinli but also secretly practiced Yanxing Quan, which was also at the Jinli Level.

"Master, can Zhou You truly accomplish these things?"

Wang Jianxiong chuckled, "I want to give you two pieces of advice, listen well."

"The first sentence is: it is rare to be muddled; see through things but do not speak of them."

"The second sentence is: the meat is rotting in one's own pot, so don't think too much."