After Han Zheng had left, Jiang Tai still stood in the study, his face displaying expressions of conflict and struggle before finally hardening with a ruthless glint.
"No gentleman is without a bit of cunning, no real man lacks a dose of ruthlessness!"
Had he not regarded them as his elder and second brothers, but had they ever thought of him in the same way?
After the foundation of the Sanhe Gang, both Gao Kaiyuan and Cao Bin had their own strong followings, but he, Jiang Tai, being the youngest and the weakest, attracted few gang members to his side.
The result was that over the years, he could only make suggestions within the gang and never even had the power to make decisions.
Now that he finally had a chance to turn over a new leaf, how could he possibly give it up?
Making up his mind, Jiang Tai immediately left to head inside the hall.
This year, Cao Bin was just over fifty, which by the standards of an Innate Martial Artist wasn't considered old— he should be in the prime of his life.
Innate Transcendence meant that one's body had undergone a complete transformation, and lifespan could easily exceed a century.
But because of internal injuries suffered in his early years, by his fifties, his vital energy had begun to wane, and his hair had even turned white.
Having just received the news of his only son's death, Cao Bin was stupefied for a moment, and his hair turned half white in an instant.
"Gao Kaiyuan! I swear to you, it's a fight to the death!"
The look on Cao Bin's face instantly became incredibly ferocious.
"Eldest brother, I've heard that the men under second brother's command actually killed Cao Rui?"
Jiang Tai pushed the door open and entered, a face full of anger: "What is second brother thinking? It's normal for us to have some disputes, and it doesn't matter if the underlings clash.
But Cao Rui was your own son, his nephew, how could he have the heart to kill him?"
Cao Bin roared in anger, "He's not your second brother, nor is he my second sibling!
Gao Kaiyuan has long coveted the Sanhe Gang, not just for a day or two. He even wants me dead; what wouldn't he dare to do?"
Cao Bin had no doubt about the authenticity of the incident.
After all, Cao Rui had already clashed with Gao Kaiyuan's men before, so it was only logical for them to strike a deadly blow this time.
Besides, so many underlings witnessed it, his son had died at the hands of Gao Kaiyuan's men.
Cao Bin turned abruptly to face Jiang Tai: "Third brother, Gao Kaiyuan has killed my only son, and I must this time fight him to the death!
Given Gao Kaiyuan's nature, after he completely dominates the Sanhe Gang, he will certainly not tolerate you.
If you and I join forces to strike first and kill Gao Kaiyuan, we can transform the Sanhe Gang into the Erhe Gang and still stand strong in Black Stone County!"
Jiang Tai showed a conflicted expression, and then gritted his teeth: "Second… If Gao Kaiyuan is so ruthless, I am willing to join forces with you, eldest brother!"
"I will gather our men now!"
Cao Bin called his subordinates, mobilized his trusted followers, and headed straight for Gao Kaiyuan.
The Sanhe Gang's hall front covered half a street in length, with Cao Bin and Gao Kaiyuan each occupying one side.
At that moment, Gao Kaiyuan was still unaware that his men had 'killed' Cao Rui; he was listening to other subordinates report the results of recent investigations.
"Gang Leader, we've taken over the investigation results from Hall Master Feng Yuan these past few days and revisited the five suspects he had previously listed.
There were some complications, a few clashes with the county constables, and some of our men were detained.
Luckily, the investigation is almost complete, four of the suspects have been completely cleared.
There's still one we haven't investigated thoroughly."
"Oh? Who is that person?"
"A disciple of Li Jingzhong from Zhenwei Martial Arts Academy, Han Zheng, who should be at the Postnatal Late Stage.
It's said that he's the most outstanding among Li Jingzhong's disciples this year, once escorted a caravan for Shenghe Hall, and is rumored to have slain a demon.
In the Martial Arts Hall, he consecutively defeated Guo Mingyuan, the son of the grain store owner, and Song Tianqing from the Song Family, earning the qualification to learn the White Ape Extended Arm Fist.
With 'Long-Armed White Ape' Li Jingzhong backing him, an Innate Martial Artist, our brothers didn't dare to enter the Martial Arts Hall for a detailed investigation."
"Zhenwei Martial Arts Academy!"
Gao Kaiyuan's eyes suddenly shone with a sharp light.
He was almost certain now that it was this Han Zheng who killed Ma Gui, Wang Xiong, and Feng Yuan!
When he first examined Wang Xiong's body, he had noticed that Wang Xiong died at the hands of someone using Vajra Fist.
At that time, Gao Kaiyuan had only some suspicion of Zhenwei Martial Arts Academy.
His challenge to Li Jingzhong was just a pretext to show others that his men couldn't die in vain.
Seeing Li Jingzhong's response, Gao Kaiyuan also thought that it couldn't be Li Jingzhong's doing, he had no reason to kill Ma Gui and Wang Xiong.
And in his opinion, all the disciples in the Martial Arts Hall were greenhorns who hadn't seen blood, how could they possibly kill Wang Xiong?
Who would have thought after such a roundabout investigation, it would come back to the suspect who was the most likely— a disciple from Zhenwei Martial Arts Academy!
Now everything seemed to fall into place.
A murderous intent flashed in Gao Kaiyuan's eyes.
Whether the other party really knew about that matter or merely acted on a personal grudge, killing Wang Xiong first, then Feng Yuan, Han Zheng was doomed!
Just as Gao Kaiyuan was preparing to order Han Zheng's capture, a subordinate suddenly barged in, panic-stricken.
"Gang Leader, something terrible has happened! The Great Gang Leader and Third Gang Leader are leading men over here to kill us!"
Gao Kaiyuan's expression instantly changed: "Have they gone insane? They were fine yesterday, and now they're provoking a gang war? And when did the boss persuade Third?"
The subordinate anxiously said, "The Great Gang Leader has really gone mad! We've killed Cao Rui; how could he not lose his mind?
Gang Leader, think of something quick, they're already heading straight for our hall front!"
"What did you say!? We killed Cao Rui? Who did it?"
Gao Kaiyuan's eyes widened instantly.
Even if he had always been openly and secretly competing with Cao Bin, he wouldn't have killed his son; that would be tantamount to forcing Cao Bin into a fight to the death with him.
His subordinate was also stunned.
He had always thought that it was Gao Kaiyuan who had ordered Deng Bao and the others to kill.
The subordinate hastily said, "Wasn't it the Gang Leader's order?
This morning, Deng Bao took people to Shenghe Hall to get spiritual medicine, but Cao Rui also brought people to rob the medicine.
Neither side gave ground and they began to fight, and the leader under Deng Bao's command, Wang Tiezhu, whose bravery was unmatched, charged directly at Cao Rui.
However, that scoundrel Cao Rui didn't play by the rules and resorted to deadly weapons right from the start, only to end up getting killed by Wang Tiezhu."
Gao Kaiyuan was stunned for a moment, then swore furiously, "Son of a bitch! Who let them act on their own?"
Before Gao Kaiyuan could react further, the sounds of shouting and killing had already come from outside.
Gao Kaiyuan's heart sank immediately, and he pushed open the door in haste.
Outside, Cao Bin and Jiang Tai had already brought people to besiege the entrance of Gao Kaiyuan's hall, sealing it off completely.
Gao Kaiyuan took a deep breath and said, "Big brother, this is a misunderstanding, I truly didn't mean to kill Cao Rui!
I watched Cao Rui grow up, and even though there are disputes between us, how could I possibly kill my own nephew?
Martial World rules forbid bringing harm to family members, we are sworn brothers, how could I possibly do such a thing?
This tragedy occurred because my men got carried away in the heat of combat.
I will give you an explanation, big brother. Those who acted at the scene will all be handed over to you for disposition!"
"A misunderstanding?"
Cao Bin smiled bitterly, "Gao Kaiyuan, you're still playing games with me at this point!
If it wasn't for your instigation, how would those gang members dare to kill my son?
Now you still pretend to be innocent, do you think that giving up a few scapegoats will settle this matter?
Wishful thinking!"
Cao Bin's expression turned increasingly ferocious, "The feud of killing my son is intolerable, today it's do or die for us!"
Jiang Tai was also heartbroken, "Second brother, this is the last time I will call you that.
When the three of us brothers started from humble beginnings, it wasn't easy to establish the foundation of Sanhe Gang.
Just for power and wealth, you actually went so far as to kill Cao Rui, what a ruthless heart you have!
He used to admire you the most as a child, even saying he wanted to grow up to be like his Uncle, how could you be so heartless?
I didn't want to get involved in the dispute between you and big brother, but now I have no choice but to take action."
"Listen to me explain..."
Gao Kaiyuan's forehead was already faintly sweaty.
He wasn't afraid of just Cao Bin.
But with Jiang Tai as well, Gao Kaiyuan was not confident of overcoming the two of them.
He just couldn't understand, why would his men kill Cao Rui for no good reason?
Deng Bao, his confidant, was a clear-headed man; he should have known the consequences of killing Cao Rui.
Moreover, Cao Rui himself was a Postnatal Perfect Martial Artist, and his Spirit Snake Eight Strikes had even received Cao Bin's true teachings.
With the two of them in combat, it was still a question who would win or lose.
Intuition told Gao Kaiyuan that something was amiss with this incident; he needed to stabilize Cao Bin and the others first, then investigate further.
However, the vengeance for a son's murder cannot coexist under the same sky, and any explanation from Gao Kaiyuan seemed like sophistry and an insult to Cao Bin!
"Kill!"
Cao Bin flipped his hands and two azure snake-shaped daggers fell into his grasp.
At the same time, a slight tinge of dark green appeared on Cao Bin's palms, looking somewhat eerie.
Cao Bin was known as the Green Scale Hand for two reasons: one was his signature move, Spirit Snake Eight Strikes, and the other was because he once cultivated a poison skill from the Miao territory in Western Hunan.
He refined various poisons in his hands, capable of eroding the opponent's Inner Strength and flesh.
Even using daggers, a type of short weapon, they became imbued with poison, making them insidiously lethal.
Only now, Cao Bin was also suffering from the backlash of this poison skill.
His vitality was in decline because he couldn't suppress the poison after being injured, which led to the toxins invading his meridians, forcing him to use most of his cultivation to suppress the internal spread of the poison.
Meanwhile, Gao Kaiyuan's Shattering Jade Hand could smash gold and jade, possessing an alarming Attack Power and defensive power.
He could even directly counter Cao Bin's Spirit Snake Poison Dagger with his Shattering Jade Hand, and his Hand Skill subtly restrained Cao Bin.
Jiang Tai immediately joined the fray as well.
Known as Zhengyang Hand, his signature Zhengyang Palm Skill was expansive and forceful, radiant, and vigorous.
In terms of cultivation, he was slightly weaker than both Cao Bin and Gao Kaiyuan, but he had also just reached the Innate Transcendent Realm Late Stage.
In a moment, with two against one, he forced Gao Kaiyuan into defense.
The disciples from both gangs also surged forward and began to fight one another.
The large entrance of Sanhe Gang was quickly stained red with blood.