The battle finally became a stand still as the two original sides ceased their fighting after their strongest experts were killed off.
Without the elders, each side lost most of their command resulting in the unorderly slaughter of their lower subordinates which made up the majority of their force.
The newly emerged opponent had a little less than half their forces' number but were each stronger than most of their men.
"Who is this dangerous force?"
Both leaders were confused as they stared at the dark hooded assailants that crippled their strongest forces.
Their eyes eventually landed on the silver crests adorned on the operatives' clothing and gasped.
"It's FallenStar! They dare interfere in the fight for the position of East Fuyo's number one!"
Many gangsters were scared but extremely angry with the emergence of this small group that displayed a power greater than theirs.
"They're one of the lower ranked gangs. How could they compete with us!"
The two forces were indignant of a lower gang toppling their position in the city but were to afraid to speak loudly after witnessing their experts being slaughtered one by one without resistance.
Jason and Eisen both shed a hateful gaze towards one another before urging their forces to unite against the new opponent.
Sounds of weapons ringing followed with raging voices quietly resounded throughout the intersection as the slaughtered cries from the Hu and She gangs continued to drown out the other noise.
After an hour the two rivals were left tattered and on the brink of destruction as the men cried out with some even attempting to escape the reaper like countenances of the FallenStar operatives.
The evil purple mist began to settle down as the reserves in the ground seemed to be almost depleted, slowly revealing the sea of corpses from the Hu and She gangs' gangsters littering the intersection clearing.
The once white pillars of the She headquarters were splattered with dark crimson blood adding to the bone chilling and eerie atmosphere that lingered in this area of East Fuyo.
Jason's eyes naturally seemed to lock onto the dark silhouette of a youth with blood soaked blades hanging in his hands standing in the middle of a mound of corpses mixed with different Hu and She elders.
This mysterious youth frightened him and gave him the image of a hooded reaper from hell descending to their city to harvest their fellows while relishing in the blood bathed scenery.
This countenance forced a cold bead of sweat to slowly descend on his forehead as even staring at this strange person could result in the loss of his soul.
Many people in the surroundings held similar reactions when they watched the lonesome youth standing unfazed in the midst of the mayhem.
After seeing the actions of the FallenStar operatives and the appearance of this unknown young expert that they seemed to follow, the two leaders of the once mighty gangs gulped down their saliva like ice cold blades and lost their fighting spirit.
Forgetting their irritating grudges they held against each other, Jason and Eisen beckoned for their subordinates to withdraw.
"Retreat!"
"Withdraw immediately!"
Similar shouting voices echoed the command from their leaders as the two forces withdrew from the intersection to two neighboring streets that merged into the four-way intersection.
The previous glares from the gang members when they first saw the incoming force mellowed out and only showed different lights of fear flashing in their eyes.
The purple mist finally dispersed seeming to have never existed in the intersection in the first place revealing FallenStar's deadly force more clearly.
When the two opposing forces withdrew into the streets the operatives didn't give chase and silently waited for their leader's orders, gazing at the bloody youth in the center amongst the most corpses in the intersection.
Staring at the operatives in a more clear light and setting, the gangsters were even more scared as they couldn't discern any emotion in their heartless eyes that were mimicking the reaction of the silhouette in the center.
A gloomy and blood freezing aura seemed to surround the FallenStar unit as they gazed at the two gangs indifferently through their dark masks and hoods.
While the unsettled hearts and minds of their enemies were on the verge of breaking, Leon frowned underneath his mask.
This battle wasn't only for their future inside East Fuyo but also to help increase his experience and battle prowess.
Only through countless battles could a martial artist condense his mind and deepen his understandings of his techniques to increase his level of attainment.
By increasing his understanding of his techniques Leon would be able to better utilize the mysterious energy known as qi within his techniques increasing his strength.
With this current battle he had faced the higher experts of the two gangs and used his focus at its maximum capacity to defeat them efficiently, which increased his understanding of Silent Strides greatly.
Standing in the center of the sea of slaughter, Leon was in the midst of his comprehension of his movement technique and seemed to be on the verge of a breakthrough.
This intense and deep mental concentration drowned out his surroundings for a few moments until he gained his enlightenment.
Finally, he was brought back to reality as he exhaled a cold breath through his mask with a strange dark glint sparkling in his eyes beneath his hood.
'I've almost reached the next stage after Silent Strides known as Penumbra Clone!'
Testing his newly attained insight, a dark translucent figure appeared next to him that held a faint shadowy outline orbiting its exterior.
The clone like image lingered for only half a second before cracking and disappearing into thin air.
'Without the energy produced by a dan tian I can only reach this result...'
Realizing the technique was useless without more energy to sustain its existence caused Leon a slight headache since the strength and clarity of his mind was indeed more developed than his not yet created dan tian.
However, this experience had given him even more of a burning desire to walk the road of cultivation in order to release his new technique he had comprehended.
Although the battle before him wasn't quite over, Leon had lost interest and only stayed to continue his plan because of his earthly ambitions and for the sake of his friends and family.
The path of cultivation was very rewarding to its disciples and gave them unfathomable power but required extensive amounts of time, which was something Leon lacked at the moment.
He knew he would have to walk this dangerous but fruitful path eventually but could only anxiously wait until he had time.
Leon returned his attention to the scene of the intersection and was satisfied that both sides seemed to be in the mood to negotiate after witnessing their frightening might.
As he gazed at Jason's and Eisen's faces he could see the increasing fear he had begun to weave into their hearts from their bloody display and indifferently walked towards them slowly.
Flicking the tips of his blades, two arcs of blood fell off their dark glinting bodies, painting the pavement in front of the leaders before they were connected together, and returned to their shared scabbard.
Seeing the actions of the merciless youth standing before them, Jason and Eisen shivered inwardly before settling down seeing that the other wished to negotiate.
"The Hu and She gangs have continuously fought for the number one position of the East but were defeated due to their blind disputes. If you wish to continue fighting I don't mind, but understand you will be wiped out entirely even with only our small unit present."
Leon's emotionless words cut through the two leaders' chests like daggers as they realized the stupidity in their past rivalry.
Due to their continuous conflicts they neglected the possibility of another power rising in the east to over throw them and that arrogance in their own powers had shattered their dreams today.
As they glanced around at their worn and injured remaining men they understood the great defeat they had received not only from FallenStar but themselves as well, due to their blind disputes.
Both leaders had sorrow and regret in their eyes as their shoulders drooped to the pavement and the once proud burning arrogance they held was diminished by the youth before them.
Leon was once a powerful business man and understood the importance of beating his opponents not only physically but mentally as well.
He knew that once a man's ambition was crushed he would become much more servient an endearing to the other's terms.
Even when a man was beaten into the ground if he still held his burning ambitions and desires he could eventually stand back on his feet but without it he would become lost, seemingly losing his purpose in life and living.
Noticing his verbal disintegration of their ambition had worked, he became more relaxed than before and continued to his terms after seeing them gloomily nod while accepting his harsh critique.
"Our organization is more capable of running this sector and that has been made quite obvious after this exchange..."
He paused for a moment while thinking carefully about his next words before continuing.
"I don't wish for the forces within the city to be destroyed over this position and I think it would benefit everyone if we were more united.
The reason for our sector's lowest ranking isn't only because of our fewer resources but mainly do to our forces fighting one another instead of competing with the other sectors.
Both of your losses here today are because of this disunity and your petty conflicts."
The two leaders continued to grimace from his words as if cold water had been dumped on their heads resulting in the clarity of their minds.
They both understood that the situation of their sector was indeed caused mostly by their disarray and countless conflicts.
However, just like human nature, without a stronger power to punish them and remind them of their shortcomings, they just acted as they pleased for their own selfish benefits without considering the bigger picture.
"My goal is to unite the powers within East Fuyo and raise it to be an equal amongst the other sectors.
We have relied on their external help and resources far too much resulting in our current pathetic situation and debt."
Leon had always been frustrated with the structure of their sector, even in his previous life, since it had hindered his business multiple times.
The East wasn't any worse than the other sectors in regard to resources but they often sold most of it to the other sectors in exchange for their help in their petty power struggles which resulted in a lack of only poor resources available.
An example of this would be the She gangs most recent mission, the capture of the Hu heiress, which was only successful through gifting many resources to an expert from the north in order to bribe him for his help in the matter.
By mostly receiving services from experts and powers in the other sectors instead of other resources not found in the east, their sector continued to remain the weakest and was often bullied.
Without the strength to resist the other powers and even pay them for support, the organizations and experts in East Fuyo found themselves at the lower rung of the other powerful forces and sectors.
Leon could not understand this ridiculous system and the position that his part of the city had landed themselves in due to their own schemes.
In order for him to challenge the west sector that was controlled by Armani and his family, which was the next power above them in the ranking, he would need to raise the strength of his sector accordingly.
Therefore this discussion would lead to the foundation of his plans and were very important in gaining more power for East Fuyo under his control.
He controlled the majority of FallenStar and it was only a matter of time before he had it wholly in his grasp.
If he was able to make them the leading position and power within East Fuyo then the necessary time to accumulate this sector's power would shorten substantially.
Hearing the youth's ideology for the development of the East was logical in the two leaders' minds and after feeling that mysterious aura that exuded from him along with his organization's display of power, it supported his crazy claim.
After witnessing his might alone in their skirmish, they could sense the potential that the youth before them carried and thought that with his leadership the East could possibly rise.
However, they couldn't truly accept his claims at face value and only accepted his next demands since he held the lives and existence of their organizations in his hands now after he crippled both of the forces.
"I propose you and your forces join the FallenStar organization under my elite subordinate's and my command to strengthen and benefit not only everyone gathered here, but the whole of East Fuyo as well!"
The two leaders easily accepted the proposal since their forces could no longer be stronger than any of the minor figures and forces within the east at this point and decided this was their best option for survival.
With FallenStar's new strength, the other forces paled in comparison and they wouldn't let this chance to be one of the top powers in the east slip away again.
Leon was satisfied with their unanimous acceptance of his plan and motioned to his subordinates to sheathe their weapons while Jason and Eisen did the same.
The blood bath and slaughter that was witnessed this day would be remembered as a historical moment in East Fuyo where the top powers had sublimated under FallenStar's power, and pushed them to greater heights with their merging, like the intersection they stood upon.
A couple months passed with the now sublimated top gangs recuperating their strength under the supervision of FallenStar and Leon.
Multiple meetings were held in order to construct a fitting system within FallenStar to accommodate the different conquered gangs and organizations.
After their victory over the Hu and She many other of the powerful gangs followed suit after infiltration and the destruction of all their elders.
Many of the minor gangs that had elders that were only as strong as the lackeys and gangsters in the bigger gangs were left alive.
The system that Leon had created made it quite easy for FallenStar to manage its new assets and territories, especially with the added number of people from their conquered gangs.
For every elder that was killed in the respective gangs an operative from Leon's specially trained force replaced them to oversee their men.
While the leaders who accepted the change of power were left alive and received training along with counseling from FallenStar, conversely the ones who refused were mercilessly disposed of.
The newly gained unity of the east could not afford internal conflict and Leon decisively upheld this ideology.
His secret warehouse had continued to expand with the increase of new recruits and prior gang members being trained under his influence and had become a large facility that was four times its original size.
The facility now had two arenas installed with multiple different types of equipment to supplement the recruits' growth.
Leon's elite force that resided and operated within the compound beneath the facility was even expecting many new members joining their ranks by the end of the year.
With the great expanse of territory and men, FallenStar had become not only the top power in the East but also one of the richest.
This provided them with a lot more opportunities to grow, strengthen themselves, and begin to consolidate the resources within their sector.
Many powers from the other sectors noticed the lack of resources and communication from the east and were beginning to become curious with the situation that had arisen there.
A lot of the different forces that profited the most from the extorted resources of the east were getting more infuriated within those passing months, but didn't see it as an urgent issue.
Except for the west which gained the most of these profits and was only slightly stronger than the east, which made this a problem for them.
Eventually they decided to send some experts over to discover what had happened.
However, due to the lack of resources they would sell to make money from the east, they first had to stabilize their current situation in order to not lose any money.
They estimated that after one month they would be able to spare some of the lower realm experts and send them over to investigate.
This news had reached Leon through his elite operatives' constant surveillance and forced him to speed up their training schedule.
Along with this new concern, he had to strengthen himself as well to be able to stand up to the north. Even though FallenStar was on the right track for making the east and themselves reach a great strength, they were still in the early phases of this development.
They couldn't risk the disruption of the incoming experts even if they weren't the strongest powers within the other sectors.
But Leon understood that a sturdy foundation was as important to the east as it was for a skyscraper and could not afford to be uprooted while still being a little sapling.
The east started to become very hectic, especially for the underground, where many people understood their lives and future were banking on the success of their breakthroughs.
Unfortunately, one month was not enough time and was half of which they needed in order to reach the first realm known as the first of three in the mortal realm.
Only the previous leaders of the larger gangs held this cultivation realm and a couple of Leon's elite operatives, but the number of these experts could be counted on their hands.
Without better resources and more time, they would be unable to withstand the west and their minor realm experts.
However, Leon was not idle with his own development in the past months and had gathered many herbs that could supplement his energy once they were condensed into pills.
Just like he had done after his trip to Agnolo's Alley, Leon was able to create four pills with abundant energy within them that could speed up the process of gathering qi.
He knew qi was crucial if he wished to form a dan tian and he would need a lot of it at that.
After looking over the different matters within the organization and reviewing the reports received from his surveillance squad, he found a quiet isolated room meant for his cultivation that was recently built for him in the basement compound.
He was eager to finally establish a spiritual sea and dan tian so he could be prepared for the incoming minor experts from the west.
He entered the small but comfy room and isolated himself.
After popping one of the condensed qi pills in his mouth, it melted, and he could feel the medicinal properties dissolve as he spread it throughout his body to increase his gathering speed and nourishment.
Sitting cross-legged on a gray mat, Leon began absorbing heavy amounts of qi into the pores on his skin all around his body while he guided the newly arrived energy into the location where the lower dan tian should be.