Chapter One: The Young Man's Success

  Inside the Black Tiger Hall in Linhai City, Tian Nan Province, Tong Guo, the sound of people filled the air, and the lights shone brightly. On the grand hall above, hundreds of Jianghu heroes clinked cups and exchanged toasts, drinking with great joy. Among them, some were loudly boisterous, drawing fists and fighting over wine, crying and making a ruckus, shaking the heavens, creating a scene of utter chaos.

  In the inner hall of the upper house, there was also a table, but it was not as chaotic as outside, and the noise from outside could not be heard. The hall was decorated with brocade and jade, and the environment was elegant. These people were not like those Jianghu guests outside who drank to their heart's content, they were all famous figures in the Jianghu world, dignified and refined. Seated upright in the middle was the master of the Black Tiger Hall, Po Tian Hu Ma Lao Hei.

  Look at this man's majestic physique, leopard head and ring eyes, swallow tail and tiger beard, a look that rivals Zhang Fei's appearance. He exudes an air of authority without even being angry, his voice is loud and clear, just one glance and you can tell he's a generous and trustworthy person. But if you think that way, then you've been deceived. In reality, he's meticulous in his thoughts, good at enduring, with a deep and intricate mind, always planning before acting. The original Black Tiger Hall's old master was taken advantage of by him, thinking he was the most loyal brother, but after his own death, his wife became someone else's, and the Black Tiger Hall's family business also became someone else's.

  Ma Laohei raised his wine glass and said:

  "Thanks to everyone's help, we were able to take down the Wild Wolf gang and end this 20-year feud, avenging our fallen brothers."

  If it weren't for the timely arrival of General Ma, Elder Liu and Elder Li leading the Iron Cavalry, we wouldn't have been able to defeat the 108 riders of the Wild Wolf Gang.

  If it weren't for the help of Bai Shixiong, Ma Shixiong and other seven seniors, we wouldn't be able to keep Ye Lang, the leader of the Wild Wolf Gang. If he escaped from Tang Guo, there would be endless troubles, and he would definitely make a comeback.

  If it weren't for Senior Zhang breaking through the Wild Wolf Gang's defensive formation, we wouldn't have been able to annihilate them completely.

  "On behalf of the 3,000 disciples of Hei Hu Tang, I thank you. If there's anything in the future, just call out and Lao Hei will not hesitate to die for it."

  Ma Laohei finished speaking and everyone else also drained their cups, responding:

  "The host and guest have parted ways."

  "It's like an outsider speaking when one's own brother says so."

  ……

  Today's banquet is a celebration of victory. Hei Hu Tang, led by Ma Laohei, relied on the support of the gang's general gate and invited top masters from all over the world to launch a surprise attack. In just three days and nights, they completely defeated their old rival, Ye Lang Bang, cutting off the grass and eliminating the roots. From then on, the black forces in Linhai City and even in the southern part of Tangguo were completely controlled by Hei Hu Tang of Meng Hu Bang.

  These guests at the table were either senior elders from the Tongmen or hired Jianghu heroes, all of whom had made great efforts in this battle, so Ma Laohei specially invited them to a banquet.

  Next to him, the deputy master of Hei Hu Tang, Cui Renxiong, saw that it was almost time, and with a wave of his hand, his subordinates brought out more than ten boxes. These were all gifts for them. When opened, some contained thousands of taels of gold, some had divine swords and precious knives, and some had secret manuals of martial arts. In the back of the room, there were also dozens of beautiful women, dressed in their best, waiting to be chosen by them at will.

  These guests accepted the gifts and were very satisfied. Some liked gold, some liked divine weapons, and some who were eager to start choosing the beautiful women behind them.

  At this time, a small servant brought over a large bowl of bao soup. Cui Renxiong didn't want the atmosphere to become cold, so he made some conversation:

  "Everyone try this soup, it's absolutely top-notch. This is one of the specialties of our Black Tiger Hall, extremely delicious and refreshing, with great nourishing effects."

  Then he gave each of them a small bowl, distributing it according to their respective shares. The people present heard Cui Renxiong's praise and couldn't help but take a sip, then simultaneously said:

  "Good, it tastes really good."

  Among them, one of the white-clothed young masters sitting in the first row was extremely cold and proud. The several senior brothers who had just thanked Ma Laohei seemed to be led by him. When the golden treasure knife and other objects were presented, he didn't even glance at them. Only after drinking this bowl of soup did his face move, and he said coldly:

  "This soup is quite good, was it made by that famous chef?"

  Choi In-ho immediately replied with a flattering answer:

  "This soup wasn't made by the head chef, but by a small servant in our hall. It's said that he studied ancient recipes from medical books and came up with this himself. The flavor is quite good, isn't it? It's strange to say, but only he can make this soup well, other chefs can't replicate the flavor no matter how hard they try. Even our head chef has been trying for months, but still hasn't mastered it, it's really mysterious."

  Seeing Bai Shaomen still savoring the flavor of the soup, Cui Renxiong immediately shouted to those below:

  "Hurry up and call over the young master of the Yu family."

  This White Young Master is the Young Master of the Red Water Gate in the Qilian Mountains. Ma Laohei spent countless amounts of money and used countless connections to get him to take action. Fortunately, he was invited, otherwise no one would have thought that the Wolf Gang's leader, Mo Tianlang, had recently broken through the Xiantian boundary. If it weren't for White Young Master taking action, no one would have been able to kill Mo Tianlang.

  This Chi Water Gate is different from the human green forest black road gangs like Hei Hu Tang, it is said that Chi Water Gate is a peripheral gate of the Xian Jia gang, although its power has never left the Qilian Mountains, but they firmly control the ten thousand great mountains of the Qilian Mountains in their hands, even the royal family of the Tang State, Chen Family, faces them with respect.

  For this future Red Water Gate master, Ma Laohei was very flattering, it can be said that whatever he wanted, he would give it to him, just wanting to get on this line.

  Before long, a young boy came running from outside. The boy was about 14 or 15 years old, slender in build, with a clear and handsome face, wearing a gentle smile on his face, and his eyes shone with boundless spirit, making people feel good at first sight.

  This man was none other than Yu Jiaxiaozi, Yu Ze Cheng. After entering the door, his eyes quickly scanned the crowd, judging the identity of these people through their seats. Yu Ze Cheng bowed to everyone and said:

  "Junior Yu then made his bow to everyone."

  Everyone was shocked to see that this soup was made by such a young boy. The white-haired youth asked:

  "Is this soup made by you, and who did you learn from?"

  Yu Ze Cheng replied:

  "It was made by me, it's a medicinal diet recipe that I found in an ancient book, and I brewed it according to the recipe."

  The White Tiger Hall Master suddenly shouted:

  "You're lying, this medicine has the properties of dispersing and regulating Qi, this is a secret transmission of my school, where did you learn it from, who taught you, speak quickly, otherwise don't blame me for being ruthless."

  As soon as this was said, everyone at the table changed color. Stealing and learning the secret transmission of a school is the most taboo thing for a school, it can be said that it is a heinous crime.

  Yu Zecheng heard the other party's angry rebuke and didn't panic, responding:

  "Absolutely not, this is what I found in the book. If you don't believe me, you can ask Cui Tangzhu, he was also present when we first made the soup."

  Choi In-ung saw that everyone's eyes were focused on him, especially Ma Laohei's face getting darker and darker, and he hastily said:

  "It shouldn't be, he's Zhang Fushan's grandson, grew up in our hall since childhood, originally the study boy of the main son of the Li Tang, later became a kitchen miscellaneous worker, and then studied out the stew, at that time I was also present. Won't eat inside and climb outside."

  Ma Zhengfa nodded and replied:

  "Kai Shan axe Zhang Fu Shan's grandson? Can be said to be our fierce tiger gang's old man, unfortunately Zhang Fu Shan died in the hands of Mo Tian Lang. This child is surnamed Yu, his father is Tie Jian Shu Sheng Yu Tian Gao, three years ago Tian Qing Zhi Huo, died in Chen Guo, what a pity."

  With a regretful expression on his face.

  Next to him was an old man with a refined and elegant demeanor, who was none other than Iron Ruler Master Ti, the array expert invited by Old Black Horse. This man was erudite and talented, and it was thanks to him that they were able to break through the Wild Wolf Gang's mountain gate grand formation and capture all of their enemies in one fell swoop. He looked at Yu Ze Cheng and slowly said:

  "You said you learned it from reading books? Which book did you learn it from? What are the ingredients for cooking soup?"

  Yu then gave one-word answers in a clear and loud voice:

  "I came across it in "Guiyuan Travel Notes", a book written by Ming Xuan Yu, a great Confucian scholar thousands of years ago. The main ingredients are eel, turtle, swallow's nest, ginseng, beef tendon, pig trotter, beef shank, chicken crown and fish scales. The auxiliary materials include: Chinese angelica, astragalus, codonopsis, tangerine peel, licorice, cassia bark, cloves, knife beans, notoginseng, three-edged caltrop, dried ginger, dried lacquer, and tree ginseng, a total of 36 medicinal herbs. This pot of soup takes one day and one night, twelve hours to cook."

  When Yu Ze Cheng was speaking, Master Tie Chi kept nodding his head, then said to Bai Shao Men:

  "Bai Shaoyou, you know now. Da Ru Ming Chuan Yu is actually Chuan Yu Zhen Ren. I've read this book too, and when it was written, he hadn't cultivated immortality yet, so it can be said to be heavenly transmitted."

  Bai Shaomen nodded silently for a moment, then nodded and replied:

  "What a coincidence! The great Confucius' transmission of the Jade Scripture is actually from my sect's ancestral master, and the method of dispersing Qi is also his creation. It seems that back then when he wasn't cultivating immortality, he recorded it in his travel notes. After a thousand years, you've discovered it - this is heavenly fate. Since fate has brought us together, I won't pursue your responsibility."

  "Listen up, kid. You can make this medicinal dish according to the recipe, but you're not allowed to pass it on to anyone. If you do, even if you flee to the ends of the earth, I'll send someone to tear you limb from limb."

  The last sentence, Bai Shaomen shouted loudly, the power of the First Heaven's high hand appeared, and everyone felt that the house was shaking. Yu Ze Cheng almost fainted from the shock, and replied:

  "Yes, I will never leak it out."

  Bai Shaomen picked up a gold ingot from the trunk beside him and threw it at Yu Zecheng, saying:

  "I just scared you, consider this an apology. Remember, if anyone bullies you in the future, report it to me. I am Bai Heshi of Chi Shui Men, and from now on, I'll be watching over you."

  Yu then took over the gold ingot, which was heavy and weighed at least two taels. It was hard to believe, and he hastily said:

  "Thank you for the gift, Master Bai."

  Bai He saw that Yu Zecheng was no longer interested, so Cui Renxiong gave him a look and Yu Zecheng slowly left the main hall and returned to the kitchen.

  Yu then walked along this road, looking at these drunk and boisterous Jianghu heroes, couldn't help but shake his head. Three days ago when they set out with a solemn oath, there were two thousand Black Tiger Hall disciples, now only so many remained. They had killed one thousand enemies, but lost eight hundred of their own. More than five hundred Black Tiger Hall disciples had died in this battle, and over three hundred were severely injured, many familiar faces could no longer be seen. These people were not just drunk, they were actually venting, celebrating that they had made it to the end alive.

  Yu Zecheng returned to the back kitchen, although today's task was already completed and he could go home. However, he didn't leave, knowing that Vice Hall Master Cui Renxiong would arrive soon. He had received a reward of two taels of gold, which was equivalent to sixty taels of silver, as one tael of gold was worth thirty taels of silver. A steamed bun cost only three cents, a tray of buns ten cents, and a young girl could be bought for ten taels of silver. His monthly salary was only two taels, but this money was enough to support his family's rich life for three years, unfortunately, it didn't entirely belong to him.

  Yu Ze Cheng's father, Yu Tian Gao, was originally a direct descendant of the Yu family in Linhai City. However, because he fell in love with his mother and did not receive support from his elders, he was expelled from the Yu family and married his mother, becoming an official at Hei Hu Tang.

  Since childhood, in Yu Ze Cheng's memory, the whole family lived a very happy and fulfilling life. His father was warm and elegant, liked to read books, and taught Yu Ze Cheng countless ways of being a good person. His mother was kind and gentle, showing boundless love for Yu Ze Cheng. His younger brother and sister were also very well-behaved and obedient. Moreover, his parents' jobs were not bad, with a considerable monthly salary, so the family did not lack money, and it can be said that they lived a stable and happy life.

  Later, my uncle Zhang Fushan died in battle, and my father Yu Tian Gao lost his backing. His work was taken over by others, and he had no choice but to join a merchant caravan and travel far away from home.

  Three years ago, the merchant group encountered a disaster in Luzhou Chen Guozhong, and my father never came back. My mother missed him too much and got seriously ill. The money that was supposed to be used to comfort my father was all spent on treating my mother's illness, which finally cured her. However, my mother's body became weak and she couldn't work, so we lost our livelihood in the group.

  From then on, the family began to decline. In order to take care of his mother and younger siblings, Yu Zecheng had no choice but to work in the main hall as a book boy for San'er, the third son of the former master of the hall, accompanying him in reading books. The teacher was Master Zhu Li from the Law family. This period of studying had a great impact on Yu Zecheng, and under Zhu Li's influence and cultivation, he developed his clever, tolerant, and steady personality.

  Who would have thought that a year ago, the hall master and the Wild Wolf Gang had a fierce battle, and in the end, they died in battle. The deputy hall master, Ma Laohei, squeezed out the successor of the former hall master and took over the concubines of the former hall master, becoming the boss of the Black Tiger Hall.

  He lost his job as a result of being too natural. Fortunately, his mother pulled some strings and found him a new job in the back kitchen, where he became a small servant.

  Where there's gold, it will shine. Yu found an ancient recipe in "Guiyang Travel Notes" while serving as a book boy and used it to make this nourishing soup, which instantly surpassed all the other chefs and earned him recognition from Vice Hall Master Cui Renxiong, becoming the youngest head chef of Hei Hu Dang.