In all of sprawling Yun Port City, gangs like theirs had either been wiped out or forced to surrender.
Ordinary members were sent off to sweep streets and do hard labor, while the once-powerful leaders were now just corpses in the street, their graves already overgrown.
A few crooked lines marked the streets surrounding the Da Xin Publishing House and the positions of the military sentries.
But in the next moment, Cyan Eagle’s brow furrowed. He looked at Brother Chen and said in a low voice, "But Lu Jingyao is Lord Lu’s son. He’s bound to have a large contingent of soldiers protecting him. How are we supposed to get close?"
"He’s always surrounded by a massive, heavily-guarded entourage, with hundreds of soldiers and a host of Martial Arts experts at his side. We couldn’t even get near him."
He glanced at the four trembling leaders behind him and curled his lip in disdain. "If it weren’t for these wastes of space and my few hundred loyal men, I would’ve fucking run out of the city by myself ages ago."
"Forget about capturing Lu Jingjun. We’d be spotted by his soldiers if we even got within a hundred feet of him."
At this thought, Cyan Eagle and the twelve Hall Masters behind him shuddered. ’I can’t just let them turn me into meat paste.’
BANG! With a muffled thud, their palms collided. In that instant, Cyan Eagle felt an overwhelming, mountain-toppling force surge from his opponent’s hand!
"Either help me capture Lu Jingyao, or you can all stay here in Yun Port City and wait to die."
’Take me, for example,’ Cyan Eagle thought. ’As the Gang Leader of the Weiyuan Thirteen Eagles Gang, if I hadn’t killed at least a few hundred innocent people while collecting protection money, I’d be considered merciful.’
This was the most practical problem. Several hundred well-equipped soldiers could easily crush them.
’Eat it.’
Tan Chen’s eyes practically bulged from his skull. He frantically devoured the rest of the black flesh.
Tan Chen hesitated for a moment, then he had the servant cut off a small piece and try eating it.
Cyan Eagle fell silent. The twelve Hall Masters behind him were silent as well.
He didn’t want to end up as just another forgotten corpse, but when it came to betting it all on one desperate gamble, Cyan Eagle just didn’t have the guts.
The voice seemed to rise from the depths of his very being, persistent and unshakable, as if something were whispering in his mind—bewitching him, tempting him.
He flew backward as if he’d been hit by a battering ram. Fortunately, a few of the Hall Masters behind him were quick to react, catching him before he could hit the ground.
No matter how strong a martial artist at the Peak of Anjin was, they were still limited by Dark Force. Between that and a Grandmaster of Huajin lay an insurmountable chasm.
Forget a martial artist at the Peak of Anjin; even a Grandmaster of Huajin would be terrified when facing several hundred guns.
And the result? Once Cyan Eagle was steady on his feet, he snapped his head up to stare at Tan Chen, his eyes filled with a deep, incredulous terror.
’How could he possibly ignore something like that?’
The smile on Tan Chen’s face widened. He spoke condescendingly, "Cyan Eagle, you have no choice."
In the blink of an eye, he went from a Martial Artist who had barely entered the Ming Jin realm to breaking straight through to the Peak of Mingjin!
The words had barely left his mouth when Cyan Eagle shot to his feet, his face ashen as he glared. "What? Tan Chen! You dare send my brothers into that kind of danger?"
"I bought a batch of the latest explosive packs and firearms from them."
He never would have dreamed that a single, palm-sized piece of black flesh could allow him to leap from the Peak of Anjin to the rank he had always coveted: Grandmaster of Huajin.
Seeing this, Cyan Eagle’s pupils contracted. He instinctively swung his right palm out to meet the blow!
Tan Chen watched the tense standoff, a smile playing on his lips as he slowly rose to his feet.
"He’s founded the Da Xin Publishing House and spends all his time cooped up in the editorial department, mixing with scholars and literary types."
And so, Tan Chen became the Grandmaster of Huajin he was today. At his words, a sinister smile spread across Brother Chen’s face. "Don’t worry, I’ve already made arrangements. As it happens, I’ve had some dealings with those foreigners from the Great United States over the last few months."
At the time, he had flown into a rage, scolding the servant. "How dare you bring such a filthy thing to me?"
After a long moment, Cyan Eagle gritted his teeth and, with all his might, forced a single word through them.
"Why don’t you send your own damn men!?"
Seeing everyone’s shocked expressions, Tan Chen grinned, revealing a mouthful of yellowed, blackened teeth.
"Once we get over there and pledge ourselves to Emperor Yinting, we can still make it big. Who knows, we might even land an official post and go back to living our carefree lives."
"The eldest son, Lu Jingteng, is now in charge of the Lu Family as its new Patriarch. He rarely appears in public, so he’d be a difficult target for us."
"And then there’s the youngest son, Lu Jingyao."
Not wanting to die, he slammed his hand on the table. "Fine!"
’Eat it.’
"They’re backed by the powerful Eastern Wa Country, and right now, their army is strong and well-supplied."
Besides, Tan Chen was right. ’If I want to get my entire Weiyuan Thirteen Eagles Gang out of Yun Port City, we have to capture Lu Jingyao.’
Seeing Cyan Eagle was tempted, Brother Chen gave a sinister smile. "I looked into the Lu Family’s background long ago," he said. "Lord Lu has three sons."
Who could have guessed? Just a few days ago, by a strange twist of fate, Tan Chen had received a palm-sized, pulsating piece of black flesh from one of his servants.
The next moment, Tan Chen suddenly thrust his right hand straight for Cyan Eagle’s face.
"You... You’re a Grandmaster of Huajin?"
Although the guards hadn’t yet moved against their headquarters, everyone knew the blade hanging over their heads was about to drop.
After listening, a flicker of interest flashed in the eyes of Cyan Eagle and the twelve Hall Masters behind him.
Cyan Eagle fell silent for a long while. Then, he looked up at Brother Chen. "What kind of gamble are you proposing?"
As he spoke, he pulled a crumpled piece of paper from his clothes, on which a simple route map was drawn.
After all, these high-ranking gang leaders were in a complete panic.
The servant’s entire body turned beet-red, as if he’d swallowed a thousand potent ginseng roots, and his aura surged explosively!
"The second son, Lu Jingjun, is the Deputy Officer of the one-hundred-thirty-thousand-man garrison in Yun Port City, making him the de facto Military Governor."
"I hear the kid’s head is filled with nothing but writing and publishing. If we can just get our hands on him, we can use him to threaten Lord Lu."
Circumstances had turned against them. Before a Grandmaster of Huajin, they were completely outmatched.
"I think that Yinwang Empire, with its dozen or so provinces in the north, would be the best place for us."
But as soon as Tan Chen got near that piece of black flesh, a voice began to echo in his mind.
’After all, those guards have Lord Lu’s backing, and he’s a Grandmaster of Divine Intent! Not to mention the one hundred and thirty thousand troops keeping the peace. Are our few men even enough to be a snack for them?’
"The map is right here. This time, these brothers of yours will carry the explosive packs and bomb the soldiers at the entrance of the Da Xin Publishing House."
’How many times over did I deserve the firing squad? Ten? Twenty? A hundred?’
"We’ll make him let our main force leave the city. Once we’re out, surely there’s a place for us somewhere in this wide world, right?"
This was a complete and total purge. No one in their position could just sit back and wait to die.
Tan Chen retracted his hand, clasping it behind his back. As he stood there, an invisible Qi swirled slowly around him.
The twelve Hall Masters behind him also rose to their feet, their expressions hostile as they stared daggers at Tan Chen and the four leaders behind him, who had already begun to tremble.
Which of them, having risen to the top of the gang world, didn’t have at least a dozen lives on their hands?
’Eat it.’
"The moment the explosives go off, the soldiers at the entrance will be thrown into chaos. We’ll use that confusion to rush in and grab that Lu Jingyao."
After all, according to Lord Lu’s orders, any gang member who had ever taken an innocent life would not be spared.
"Fine."

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