December 25th
On Pingyang Street, in the main hall of the county government, dark clouds gathered heavily.
"On December 18th, Hou Lao Er led men to our Green Wolf Gang mining area. Not only did he kill my brother Tan Fei in front of Young Master Ren Hu, but he also robbed us of 1,500 iron ingots. Witness and evidence are both present. The Hou Clan is utterly lawless. I implore the Respected County Lord to lead us to execute this fiend, eliminate the Hou Clan, and restore peace to Zhaoyang!"
"On December 21st, the 2,000 iron ingots that our Flying Eagle Escort Agency was transporting were also hijacked, and the whereabouts of Chief Escort Wang Gong are currently unknown. Our sect members found the bodies of fourteen escort masters in the vicinity, all with fatal wounds at the neck, clearly the work of Hou Lao Si. If the Respected County Lord continues to tolerate this, Zhaoyang will be dictated by the Hou Family!"
"Recently, my Happy Forest has also lost more than ten assassins. Apart from the Hou Family, there cannot be another suspect. County Lord, please take action. If you don't, the arrogance of the Hou Family will only grow more rampant."
Tie Budong, Tan Gang, and Gao Cheng, one after another, were fiercely denouncing the recent crimes of Hou Yuxiao and the Hou Clan. Although they were visibly enraged and seemed on the verge of losing control, they were keenly observing Ren Feng's expression throughout their outburst.
The white-haired Ren Feng sat in the seat of honor, his eyebrows and eyes lowered, as if oblivious to the roaring trio of Tie Budong, completely absorbed in sipping his tea slowly, one sip at a time.
Seeing Ren Feng's demeanor, the three men immediately felt their teeth itch with hatred, but there was nothing they could do. They could only sit back down, faces clouded with anger.
The general wealth of the Hou Clan in Zhaoyang was no secret; four of the five sons of the Hou Family had achieved Ten Layers of Body Openings in their cultivation.
Without even taking into account the martial artists under the Hou Family, just the four mighty sons with Ten Layers of Body Openings made them unbeatable by the three families at present.
The Flying Eagle Sect, the Green Wolf Gang, and Happy Forest together counted only two such warriors with Ten Layers of Body Openings each, including themselves. Now that the deputy leader of the Green Wolf Gang, Tan Fei, had been killed, only five remained.
Half a year ago, Tie Budong had a bout with Hou Yuxiao and even then ended in a draw; not to mention during the events at Shengxin Residence, Hou Yuxiao had manifested Gang Qi. He was truly no match for Hou Yuxiao now.
Watching the Hou Family dominate alone, the fate of their three families was already foreseeable. Ren Feng sat high in the county government with the backing of the Holy Church; Hou Yuxiao wouldn't dare touch him, but what about their three families?
Tan Gang was restless sitting there. Compared to the other two families, his Green Wolf Gang was in the direst situation.
It was one thing to lose a large batch of iron ingots, but the key point was that his brother and deputy leader, Tan Fei, had been killed. Aside from him as the gang leader, there was only Tan Fei with Ten Layers of Body Openings among the Green Wolf Gang, and now he even feared leaving his house at random, apprehensive that those four unreasoning men from the Hou Family might come out to kill him.
After hesitating for a moment, Tan Gang finally stood up, unable to restrain himself. Looking at Ren Feng, he clenched his teeth and saluted with a fist, "Respected County Lord, Hou Lao Er came with a large group of men seven days ago and only stole some iron ingots. I am afraid that they may have their eyes on our Green Wolf Gang iron mine. If they really seize the iron mine..."
Tan Gang hadn't finished speaking when Ren Feng suddenly sprung up from his seat with a whoosh, his gaze sinisterly fixating on Tan Gang for a long time.
Tie Budong and Gao Cheng, sitting beside him, were immediately startled by Ren Feng's strong reaction, not understanding why it was so severe. Seeing that Tan Gang's words had an effect, they too began to feel a glimmer of hope.
Ren Feng's face wasn't only grim, but his pupils were also filled with intense killing intent.
His son, Ren Hu, had already informed him about the Green Wolf Gang iron mine situation. Hou Lao Er probably hadn't discovered the gold mine yet.
Tan Gang's words were clearly a threat, and he had no trouble discerning it.
He was already over 130 years old this year, and he had lost hope of breaking through to the Gathering Evil Phase of the Gang Qi Second Realm all on his own.
Only if he had enough money to buy a Yuan Gang Precious Pill could he have a chance to extend his life, which made the gold mine his lifeline.
The three families were fighting against the Hou Family, and he intervened, firstly for personal gain, and secondly, he truly did not wish to see the Hou Clan grow too dominant. But who could have predicted that these three incompetents would be so incapable, constantly routed by the Hou Family.
Now, they were begging him for help, and of course, he wanted to take the opportunity to make some money. That's why he adopted this stance, waiting for the three to offer payments. Little did he expect Tan Gang to have found his Achilles' heel, leaving him with no choice but to capitulate.
Ren Feng took a deep breath, suppressing the killing intent in his pupils, and said to the three, with an air of righteousness, "Since you have all spoken to this extent, it would truly be remiss of me not to respond as the Respected County Lord."
Upon hearing this, a look of surprise and delight appeared on the faces of the three men.
Only Gao Cheng had a flicker of an imperceptible gloomy light in the depths of his pupils amidst his joy. It vanished in a flash as he, alongside Tie Budong and Tan Gang, looked at Ren Feng with anticipation, waiting for what he would say next.
"At this point, I won't hide from you three any longer. Protector Cheng Yue will arrive in Zhaoyang in two days. At that time, you will accompany me to welcome him.
When the time comes, I will have a good talk with Protector Cheng about the Hou Family. Hou Yuxiao is so lawless and disrespectful towards the county government, we'll accuse him of defying the Holy Church. With Protector Cheng taking action, will it not be effortless to catch him?"
The trio was overjoyed at this news.
They had already known that Cheng Yue was due to arrive by the end of the month, but they weren't clear on the specifics. Now, with Ren Feng's confirmation that Cheng Yue would arrive in three days, their minds were at ease.
Tan Gang, full of excitement, said, "Protector Cheng Yue is the third disciple of King Ding of the Prison Admin Department in Tongling County and is highly favored by King Ding himself.
I heard from the county that Protector Cheng is under thirty and already has the cultivation of the Gather Malevolence phase of the Gang Qi Second Realm. King Ding once said that if it weren't for his disciple's young age and lack of experience in the martial world, he would already be on the Demon Path New Star Ranking."
Upon hearing this, expressions of awe flashed across their faces. Cheng Yue's youth and cultivation were one thing, but the key point was Ding Dian's claim that he could make it onto the Demon Path New Star Ranking, indicating the high caliber of this recognition.
The Demon Path has three lists: the New Star Ranking, the Demon Head Ranking, and the Giant Ranking, all established by the leading power of the Great Jin Holy Dynasty. Among them, the New Star Ranking exclusively includes the top hundred young prodigies under the age of fifty from the six states of the Demon Path.
Generally speaking, anyone on this list has at least the strength of the Gang Qi Realm; to break through and become a Warrior of the Gang Qi Realm before fifty is to be considered a true genius in the martial world.
Just looking at Ren Feng, with white hair and beard, who is still only at the Consolidating Gangqi Phase of the Gang Qi First Realm, one can understand how extraordinary Cheng Yue is.
Ren Feng, standing to the side, clearly knew more about Cheng Yue than Tan Gang did. Yet upon hearing these words, his eyes couldn't help but reveal a trace of envy.
However, Tie Budong, although moved, remained cautious and asked, "Is the Respected County Lord so confident that Protector Cheng will join hands with us to deal with the Hou Family?"
Upon hearing this, Ren Feng shook his head, a mysterious smile appearing on his face as he suddenly extended his palm and clapped twice.
The crowd was baffled by his actions until they saw two yamen runners suddenly leading a horse in from the outside. The sight of that horse elicited a look of surprise from everyone.
The horse's entire body was a shiny, dark black, with lively eyes and a height nearly reaching one meter forty, nearly one and a half meters in length, its limbs strong and muscular, its whole body rippling with muscles and full of strength, far surpassing any nag they had seen before.
"That's the Black Cloud Colt from Xuzhou's Guiyu County. The Respected County Lord sure is lucky. Although this horse doesn't compare to the nine finest breeds of Shenzhou, it can still travel a thousand li in a day and truly is an excellent steed.
This one is worth over seven thousand taels, and furthermore, it's not available for sale in our Yongzhou. But Respected County Lord, what is the purpose of showing us this horse?"
Tie Budong, also a horse lover, instantly recognized the origin of the horse and gave Ren Feng a proper compliment, but his confusion couldn't help but spill out in the end.
They were discussing serious matters, so why suddenly bring out a horse?
"You all might not know this, but our own Protector Cheng has no love for women or wine; his only passion is horses.
Though this Black Cloud Colt is not the finest, its value is not low, and since it comes from Xuzhou, it's rarely seen in Yongzhou. How could Protector Cheng not like it upon seeing it?"
After Ren Feng explained, everyone suddenly realized the shrewdness of the plan and hastily began to lavish praise.
"To cater to his interests, Respected County Lord, you are truly astute!"
"The Respected County Lord had prepared in advance, no wonder you were so confident. I admire you."
...
Main Hall of the Hou Mansion
Hou Yuxiao sat cross-legged with closed eyes, cultivating his Xuan Mo True Technique. As it circulated, blood surged within him, while he recalled the vision he had perceived from the Yuan Gang Beads and compressed the energy within his body, his fists clenched tight enough to almost ooze blood.
Moments later, a layer of black Gang Qi began to rise around his skin. Seeing this, a flicker of excitement appeared in Hou Yuxiao's pupils, and joy surged on his face.
But the very next second, his expression froze.
The Xuan Mo Gang Qi once again dispersed, just like it had after he perceived the Yuan Gang Beads before.
"Do I really need the Yuan Gang Beads to succeed? Is reaching the Gang Qi Realm this difficult? Perhaps I really should make a special trip and buy some more Yuan Gang Beads!" Hou Yuxiao said, his voice heavy with frustration. This was his third attempt at reaching the Gang Qi Realm, and he couldn't help but feel defeated.
"Don't rush, don't rush. The Transformative Realm's 'Black Dragon Thirteen Moves,' combined with my half-step Gang Qi cultivation, are enough for now. Hastiness leads to failure. A solid foundation will make breaking through smoother later on. At twenty-five years old, I'm still young, there's no need to hurry!"
After contemplation, Hou Yuxiao managed to suppress the impatience in his heart. However, when he thought of the events from two years ago, a wave of restlessness swept over his face as his obsession with cultivation intensified.
A voice seemed to rise from the depths of his heart, making the resentment on Hou Yuxiao's face grow thicker and his expression increasingly manic.
"At twenty-five years old you're still young, yet you're nothing but waste.
At twenty, someone was able to kill your father and almost you, backhanded Second Elder, humiliated your sister, and crippled Fourth Elder's foundation of life. If not for Old Fifth begging on his knees, not one of you siblings would've survived.
As the eldest, you couldn't even protect your own brothers. What right do you have to be their Family Head, their older brother? You're nothing but a useless, good-for-nothing waste... waste..."
Covered in sweat and beginning to convulse, Hou Yuxiao experienced the Xuan Mo True Technique running in reverse, causing his face to alternate between ashen and flushed.
Recognizing the symptoms of entering a demonic state, Hou Yuxiao immediately realized his predicament, his face showing a hint of fear. He quickly drew on the good energy of the Divine Lotus between his brows and resumed the cultivation technique, closing his eyes to calm himself.
After a long while, he opened his eyes again, his face showing a trace of fear.
"Don't rush, don't rush. Even revenge must be taken step by step!"
Creak...
Suddenly, there was a disturbance on the rooftop. Hou Yuxiao's expression shifted and he quickly got to his feet.
But before he could get up, a voice came from outside the door.
"Eldest Young Master, Gao Cheng seeks an audience!"
Hearing this voice, the cautious expression on Hou Yuxiao's face eased as he waved his hand slightly and popped the door open with a burst of energy.
"Come in."
The person in black entered, removed the black mask, and it was indeed Gao Cheng from Happy Forest who had pleaded with Ren Feng at the county government to make a move against the Hou Family earlier that day.
...