Chapter Sixteen: Seizing Territory

  Seeing Ma Tianyu withstand ten moves under Fu Qiang's hands, someone suddenly came to life. One of Mo Tu's trusted followers jumped out and began to challenge Fu Qiang.

  Mo Tu had four good brothers by his side, known as the Four Great Guardians. Their martial arts skills were not bad and they could emit their inner energy externally. They were also loyal to Mo Tu. The two who wielded the Seven-Branched Sword and the Eight Trigrams Knife were among them, which was Mo Tu's greatest capital. This person was also one of them, holding a long spear and issuing a challenge to Fu Qiang.

  Two men fought together, as the saying goes, "one inch longer, one inch stronger, one inch shorter, one inch more dangerous". The two exchanged blows. The opponent was a long spear thrusting and poking, with a wheel smashing, this man's hands were indeed skilled, and had seen blood before, extremely ruthless.

  Feng Qing used the Iron Claw technique, taking a step forward with his right foot and exerting his inner energy. He approached him, getting closer and closer, only close combat could bring out the power of the tiger claw. To say that Feng Qing was still weaker than Feng Gang, he didn't have the same ease and confidence as his father. His internal energy could only support about seven or eight moves.

  The two of them fought fiercely, neither giving an inch, as if they were staking their lives on the outcome. The air was filled with dust and the atmosphere was tense. The onlookers around them gasped in amazement at the intensity of the battle.

  What a ten-move agreement, no one checked, and in the blink of an eye, it was already fifty moves away. The two of them fought with real fire, that person let out a loud roar, his true energy bursting outwards, the long spear suddenly appearing as a red glow, transforming into seven red threads, stabbing towards Fu Qiang.

  Fu Qiang also let out a loud roar, and suddenly a fierce tiger appeared on his body. Not only did he release his true energy, but he also wrapped his entire body in it, forming a tiger shadow outside his body. This was the highest realm of Tiger Claw. Then, he saw Fu Qiang pounce like a tiger, charging towards the opponent's long spear.

  In an instant, the two intersected, a mournful cry rang out, and the gun holder was pressed down on his body, scratching out five deep blood marks, with fresh blood flowing, and the long gun was also broken into three segments.

  The spearhead of the long gun pierced into Fu Qiang's waist, a full inch deep, and hung on his waist, but Fu Qiang didn't change color at all, and shouted loudly:

  "Who else?"

  At once all the disciples retreated a step back, you look at me, I look at you, no one dares to come up. Yu Ze Cheng shouted:

  "Hurry up and treat the wounded, you also go down and rest. Good good treatment of injuries."

  Some people carried the wounded out for treatment, but Mo Tu didn't even look at his own injured brother. Instead, he was thinking that this time he had suffered a crushing defeat, and it seemed that even if he had gone on stage himself, he might not have been able to beat Fu Gang. It looked like he had lost this time.

  Mo Tu stared dead at a disciple in the corner of the wall. The man was dressed in black and crouched in the corner, without making a sound.

  Yu Ze Cheng followed Mo Tu's line of sight and saw that person. Ma Tianyu, who was beside him, immediately came over and said:

  "That's the one who just arrived today, sent by Tan Er Ye just now. He used to be a Red Flower Golden Fist from the Wild Wolf Gang's branch here."

  Ma Tianyu has thoroughly surrendered to Yu Zecheng. This news indicates that this person is a master, otherwise Tan Er Lang would not see Yu Zecheng's immortal technique and send someone over. It seems that the person sent over was to support Mo Tu, planning to have a mole under his own command.

  The man slowly stood up and walked into the arena, saying:

  "I'll give it a try and see if I can pass."

  With a flick of his hand, a soft sword shook out from his sleeve and immediately transformed into a strong and long sword, this move showed that he was absolutely not an ordinary swordsman.

  Fu Chen had just wanted to go up when Fu Gang suddenly pulled him back and said:

  "You're no match for him, let me handle it."

  After finishing, he tightened his clothes and was about to go on stage. Yu Ze shook his head and stopped Fu Gang's request. Although he didn't speak, he was actually waiting for Lin Ye Hong's performance. Since he joined his team, there has been no performance at all. Let's see if he can get up from the ground.

  Lin Ye Hong sensed Yu Ze Cheng's meaning and said:

  "I'll do it."

  After finishing speaking, he walked over with his sword in hand and faced the black-clad guest. The man held a soft sword and looked at Lin Ye Hong, then suddenly took a step back and said:

  "You, you are Can Lang Lin Ye Hong Lin big brother."

  Lin Ye Hong was also stunned and looked at him for a long time before saying:

  "It's me, you, you're Xiao Liu Zi who killed wolves and wandered around, how did you end up in this state?"

  He said:

  "Big brother, since you betrayed the Wild Wolf Gang, under the instigation of that little thief, Mo Tianlang has been wary of our lineage. Li Changlao was killed by him, Liu Changlao was expelled by him, and we disciples were all assigned to individual branches, idle and not allowed to come into contact with great power."

  Recently, our department's Zhang Shizhong was persuaded by Ma Laohei and then our faction turned against the Ye Lang Bang Mo family in the big battle a few days ago, completely surrendering to the Meng Hu Bang. The helmsman Mo Tianchen here was killed by me, but unfortunately his son Mo Liqing escaped.

  Lin Ye Hong said:

  "It's all me, I'm the one who ruined everything, I'm the one who ruined the Wolf Pack."

  The man in black replied:

  "It's not you, it's Mo Tian Lang himself who brought about his own downfall. He treated others as family, ignored advice, and acted arbitrarily. He regarded the Wild Wolf Gang as his own property, didn't take his fellow founding brothers seriously, which led to the current outcome."

  Yu Ze Cheng let out a loud hum on the side, reminding the two of them in the arena that the Wild Wolf Gang was no longer around and they were now disciples of the Ferocious Tiger Gang, so there was no need to reminisce about the past.

  Yu Ze Cheng's humming suddenly woke up the two of them, and Lin Ye Hong said:

  "Everything in the past is over, I'm now a disciple of the Mantis Clan. If you eat someone's food, you should do something for them. Xiao Liu Zi, come on, let's try it out, it's been a long time since we last fought."

  The man in black excitedly said:

  "It's been a long time since we last fought, let's see if your martial arts skills have improved, big brother."

  He finished speaking and swung his soft sword at Ling Ye Hong, who drew his long sword from its scabbard. "Cang Lang Lang" - a snow-bright treasured sword appeared in his hand, meeting the opponent head-on as they clashed and fell together.

  Their swordsmanship was highly skilled, with each move releasing their true energy. The collision of their energies created a whirlwind around them. Although they couldn't quite reach the level of Ma Laohei's mastery of air manipulation, they were absolutely superior to Fu Gang by at least three points.

  In the Jianghu of martial arts, there is a standard for evaluating masters. Being able to emit true energy and reach five or six moves is considered a high-level master, like Fu Qiang and Mo Tu's four great golden strongmen. Those who can emit true energy for a long time, such as Fu Gang and Lin Ye Hong, have transformed their energy into form and are considered top-notch masters. And those like Ma Lao Hei, who can condense energy into a shield, have reached an even higher level, belonging to the pinnacle of acquired masters.

  Above them are the Innate Masters, who can enter the Dao through martial arts. They can turn white hair black, ride the wind and clouds, and even if they encounter dozens of post-heavenly peak masters, they won't be at a disadvantage. Mo Tian Lang is a representative example.

  Two figures clashed with long swords, their blades flashing in the cold air as they exchanged hundreds of blows. The black-clad figure's flexible sword darted and weaved like a venomous snake, striking straight or slashing diagonally, constantly pressing its attack against Ling Yehong.

  While Lin Ye's red long sword was grandly opened and closed, it seemed like the majestic Mount Tai, the waters of the Yangtze River, fully displaying its heroic momentum. In front of this momentum, the opponent's strange attack had no way to break through Lin Ye's sword energy defense.

  After a long attack, the black-clothed man's true energy was exhausted. In the end, Lin Ye Hong's technique was superior, and in an instant, he launched five consecutive sword strikes, "Dang, dang, dang", using brute force to overcome cleverness, knocking his opponent's soft sword flying, achieving a complete victory.

  The two of them sheathed their swords and smiled at each other. Lin Ye's long red sword returned to its scabbard, while the man in black picked up his soft sword and said:

  "Lin big brother is indeed as capable as he was in his younger years, little brother is completely convinced."

  Then he turned his head and said to Mo Tu:

  "It's not that I don't want to help you, it's just that I'm no match for them. Sorry, there's nothing I can do about this matter. I'll leave now."

  Lin Ye Hong said:

  "Sixth brother, where are you going?"

  Du Youzi replied:

  "Things didn't work out, and I don't have the face to go back. Well, let's just drift around like a cloud then, and see where we end up."

  Having said that, he was about to leave. Yu Ze then let out a loud roar:

  "Stop, where are you going?"

  All of you turn around and look at Yu Ze Cheng, saying coldly:

  "How can you stop me from leaving?"

  Yu Ze Cheng replied:

  "As my disciple, you have passed the test and are about to take on the responsibilities of a formal disciple. Why do you want to leave and become a wandering cloud guest?"

  Wandering guests have no roots and no power, in the world of aristocratic families and imperial courts, it's not that easy to get by, unless they are desperate. These swordsmen who are used to surviving in their own sects would absolutely not want to do so.

  All travelers were stunned and said:

  "I was invited by him to deal with you."

  Yu Ze Cheng replied:

  "I don't care, you're my disciple, I didn't dismiss you, so you can't leave. His character I won't mention, but you also know, is he worth risking your life for?"

  Both of them were referring to Tan Er Lang, and Yu Zi curled his lips and said:

  "He doesn't even deserve me to die for him."

  Yu Ze Cheng continued:

  "That's good, since that's the case, you can stay. I'm short-handed anyway. Don't you trust me? Don't you even trust your own brother, Lin Ge? I swear to heaven, if I were to be two-faced and unfair to my own brothers, I'd rather be a dog."

  He pointed to a large wolf dog tied with iron chains five feet away, activated the hidden fire talisman, and suddenly a flame burst out, hitting the wolf dog. The wolf dog let out a miserable howl and turned into a fireball, burning into charcoal in just three breaths, even the iron chain that bound it was melted.

  As soon as this move was made, everyone was shocked and stared at Yu Zecheng, and the previous sword energy battle was completely overshadowed by this blow.

  All the travelers looked at Yu Ze Cheng and then at Lin Ye Hong, gritted their teeth and said:

  "Alright, all disciples come and pay respects to the leader."

  Yu Ze Cheng said:

  "Good. We have another tiger general."

  Mo Tu on the side slapped the table with a "bang" and stood up, giving Yu Ze Cheng a thumbs up.

  "You're cruel, you're cruel, let's go."

  After finishing, he stood up and took his younger brother away from here. Even the masters who came to support him were all recruited by Yu Zecheng. Mo Tu found that he was not a match for Yu Zecheng at all. If this continued, all of his younger brothers would be eliminated, leaving only himself as a lone survivor. What's the point of that? It's better to leave now.

  As he left, there were also some loyal subordinates who followed him out, about a dozen people leaving, with only eight young people led by Ma Tianyu staying behind.

  Yu then turned his head to look at Ma Tianyu, and Ma Tianyu replied:

  "These people and I were originally all local rascals from these three streets, we were all local snakes, but without us they didn't know the ins and outs of this street, so they took us in as disciples, rather than driving us away. We're not on their side."

  So that's why Ma Tianyu and others were wearing tattered clothes, while Mo Tu and others were dressed in bright attire. It turned out that this territory was originally the Wild Wolf Gang's, but later the Fierce Tiger Gang took it back, however no one knew the local snakeheads, so Mo Tu took these small-time hooligans as his disciples.

  Yu Ze nodded and said:

  "You can stay, but the disciples of the Tiger Gang must be able to fight and sacrifice for the gang. Can you do that? Remember, you must have a strong sense of conviction. If you retreat in battle, you will receive the punishment of three cuts and six holes."

  Everyone heard that things had settled down, they were originally small gangsters, struggling to make ends meet. As a result, they were taken in by Mo Tu and joined the Manton Gang, with three or four silver coins as their monthly allowance, so they no longer had to worry about food and clothing. Who wouldn't want that? But then Yu Ze Cheng suddenly appeared out of nowhere, and everyone was about to be kicked out of the Manton Gang. Just when all hope seemed lost, another opportunity arose - what about San Dao Liu Dong? Suddenly, everyone replied:

  "I'm willing, I'm willing."