Chapter 98 - 96: Arriving in Force
The Nuhai Gang’s headquarters.
Zhou Ruhai hurried back. As he looked at the somewhat familiar figure standing in the reception hall and felt the inexplicable aura emanating from him, a trace of envy rose in his heart.
Back when Lu Shengyuan had left, he had actually invited him to seek their fortunes together.
However, Zhou Ruhai had already secretly attempted a breakthrough and failed.
To break through to the Grandmaster Realm again was now incredibly difficult.
So he had refused Lu Shengyuan’s invitation and continued to focus on developing the Nuhai Gang.
He wondered if things would have been different today had he left with him all those years ago.
"Congratulations, Lu, on reaching the Grandmaster Realm!"
Shaking his head, Zhou Ruhai cupped his fist to Lu Shengyuan and spoke.
"Let’s skip the pointless pleasantries. I came to ask about my brother. Don’t tell me you know nothing."
Lu Shengyuan looked calmly at Zhou Ruhai.
He was surprised by Lu Shengchun’s death, but not entirely.
With Lu Shengchun’s personality, he easily offended people. If it hadn’t been for him, his brother might have died long ago.
"I knew you’d come looking for me after you returned. As soon as I learned of his death, I had my men investigate secretly."
"I’m not sure who exactly did it, but we did find out the general course of events."
"Over a decade ago, during the eruption of the Hundred-Year Earth Fire on Fire Mist Island, a purple jade was blasted out from underground and fell onto the island."
"Lu Shengchun took a few gang members and went after it. At the place where the purple jade landed, he must have gotten into a dispute with someone. In the end, he and his men were all killed, their bodies thrown into the molten lava flow."
"That’s the gist of it. As for the finer details, I’m afraid no one knows,"
Zhou Ruhai said, recalling the events.
At the time, two purple jades had fallen.
The one in the sea was likely taken by a Sea Beast.
As for the one that landed on the island, he had also secretly tried to track it down afterward, but he never found out if it was hidden away or secretly sold, nor who it ended up with.
"What are the chances that one of the other gangs was involved?"
Lu Shengyuan asked with a frown.
"Not likely. Before the earth fire eruption began, all the major gangs had already claimed their own territory. At that time, the closest one to the purple Jade Stone was the Earth Dragon Gang."
"Your brother and his men were wiped out and their bodies disposed of in a very short time. An ordinary person couldn’t do that."
"When it happened, the main forces of the other gangs were all in their respective territories."
"If a gang had done it, the matter couldn’t have been kept secret."
Zhou Ruhai shook his head.
"In that case, tell the other gangs to have everyone who was in the Earth Dragon Gang back then come see me. I’ll question them myself."
Lu Shengyuan said after a moment of thought.
Zhou Ruhai had no objections.
He understood Lu Shengyuan’s thinking.
The Earth Dragon Gang had been the closest at the time. If anyone knew who the culprit was, it would most likely be one of their members.
However, the killer was likely a powerful martial artist. Lu Shengchun was already dead, so speaking up would bring no benefit and might even get them killed.
Anyone with half a brain would pretend they knew nothing.
But being questioned by Lu Shengyuan was a different matter entirely.
Now that Lu Shengyuan was a Grandmaster, anyone who knew anything would be compelled to speak.
...
More than half a day later.
All the former members of the Earth Dragon Gang received the message and came to the Nuhai Gang’s headquarters.
However, their numbers were less than half of what they were when the gang disbanded over a decade ago.
"Gang Leader Lu?"
"Gang Leader Lu is back!"
They had come without knowing why, right until Lu Shengyuan appeared.
Seeing Lu Shengyuan, everyone was stirred with excitement.
They had joined the Earth Dragon Gang because of him in the first place.
In terms of pure combat strength, Lu Shengyuan back then was on par with any other gang leader on the island.
"Gang Leader Lu is back! Does this mean you’ve advanced to Grandmaster?"
someone asked suddenly.
The members of the Earth Dragon Gang all knew that when Lu Shengyuan left, it was to pursue the path to the Grandmaster Realm.
Even though Lu Shengchun was such a liability, many had chosen not to leave, won over by Lu Shengyuan’s charisma.
Lu Shengyuan had dared to walk the path to the Grandmaster Realm, while the other gang leaders could only hole up on this tiny Fire Mist Island, engaging in internal squabbles.
Their vision and ambition were on completely different levels.
"You’ve guessed correctly. I am now an Inner Breath Grandmaster."
Lu Shengyuan looked at some of the familiar faces in the crowd, feeling a sense of nostalgia as he nodded in confirmation.
"A Grandmaster!"
"Gang Leader Lu really became a Grandmaster!"
"Haha, doesn’t that mean no one on Fire Mist Island is a match for our Gang Leader anymore?"
"As long as Gang Leader Lu wishes it, the Earth Dragon Gang will be the number one gang on Fire Mist Island! Let’s see who dares to challenge us now!"
Hearing this, the crowd erupted in a frenzy of joy.
"Everyone, quiet down. We can talk about gang matters later. Right now, I just want to ask if anyone knows what happened on the day Vice Gang Leader Lu was killed."
"You don’t have to speak here. I will meet with each of you individually in the next room. Anyone who knows something, feel free to speak up. I will ensure no one knows it was you who spoke, and afterward, I will give you a reward that is guaranteed to satisfy you!"
Lu Shengyuan held up a hand, gesturing for them to calm down.
"Vice Gang Leader Lu..."
Hearing this name after so long, a complex expression appeared on the faces of the crowd.
Lu Shengchun was really not cut out to be a leader. As a Vice Gang Leader, he had no sense of responsibility whatsoever.
His death didn’t cause much of a stir within the Earth Dragon Gang.
Many even couldn’t help but think that the gang might be better off without him.
...
"Gang Leader Lu, I know who killed Vice Gang Leader Lu!"
Inside the room, a middle-aged man of about forty walked in, paused, and spoke.
"You are... I remember your surname is Lin? You’re Lin?"
Lu Shengyuan looked at the man, a faint impression forming in his mind.
Twenty-two years was a very long time.
In the blink of an eye, the young boy from back then had become a middle-aged man.
"It’s me, Gang Leader Lu!"
Lin said, a little excited that Lu Shengyuan still remembered a minor figure like him.
"Speak. Who did it?"
"It was that Master Qianhai!"
Lin no longer hesitated.
As one of Lu Shengchun’s followers, Lin had naturally been there on the day of the earth fire eruption.
However, just before the purple Jade Stone fell, he had the misfortune of a burning rock landing nearby, and a fragment struck his calf.
This made it difficult for him to move.
When the purple Jade Stone fell, Lu Shengchun and the others abandoned him and sprinted off.
If it had been an ordinary item, Lin would have just stayed put.
But from its purple glow, he could tell it was something good.
Lin was curious and also wanted to hurry over so he could get a bigger share when the spoils were divided.
Unexpectedly, because of his injured leg, he couldn’t walk fast, which ended up saving his life.
When he got near the area, he saw from a distance that a great black dog was in the middle of a slaughter.
Horrified, he quickly hid.
After that Qianhai disposed of the bodies and left, Lin didn’t dare to show himself, terrified of being discovered and silenced. He ultimately fled without looking back.
’Qianhai, the Beast Taming Master? The great black dog at the Great Success of Meridian Passage?’
’Forget it. No matter who you are, a life for a life!’
Lu Shengyuan’s eyes narrowed, a vicious glint appearing within them.
He came from a poor family. His father was a gambler who didn’t care about the household at all, and his mother had left one day to find work and never returned.
He and Lu Shengchun had relied on each other to survive. Lu Shengchun’s greedy personality, always after petty advantages, was also formed during that time.
And in order for him to practice martial arts, Lu Shengchun had suffered a great deal.
That was why, despite Lu Shengchun’s countless faults later in life, Lu Shengyuan had never said much about them.
There was no fairness or reason in this world to begin with; all that mattered was whose fist was bigger.
Now, his fist was bigger, so no matter what Lu Shengchun had done wrong, a killer must pay with their life!
After questioning everyone, Lu Shengyuan walked out of the room. "Does anyone know where that Qianhai is? Take me to him."
"Qianhai?"
"Could the killer be Master Qianhai?"
"It’s certainly possible. Qianhai’s great black dog is at the Great Success of Meridian Passage!"
Everyone in the hall was astonished.
There was no one of their generation who didn’t know Master Qianhai’s famous name and where he lived.
And so, a large, imposing group of people marched towards the seaside wooden house where Jiang Zuo was.
"It’s actually Master Qianhai?"
"I never would have thought... but on second thought, it seems to make sense."
"Exactly! No wonder Master Qianhai was later able to raise Seated Mountain Eagles to the Muscle Training and even Bone Refining stages. It’s because he has that purple Jade Stone!"
"Let’s go! We should go see what’s happening!"
Next door, Zhou Ruhai, He Tieshou, and a few other gang leaders had gathered, hoping to meet with Lu Shengyuan to discuss some matters.
They hadn’t expected that someone actually knew what happened that day, and that Lu Shengyuan would immediately lead a group to seek revenge.
Lu Shengyuan had returned to Fire Mist Island and was about to display the might of a Grandmaster for the first time. His opponent was none other than the famous Beast Taming Master, Qianhai.
Even they, the gang leaders, were incredibly curious about this.
They had secretly discussed Master Qianhai among themselves long ago, wanting to know what his own level of strength truly was.
After all, someone who could raise a Seated Mountain Eagle to the Bone Refining stage couldn’t be weak themselves.
But no one had ever seen him fight personally.
Let alone the huge flock of Seated Mountain Eagles, just that great black dog at the Great Success of Meridian Passage was enough to deter anyone from provoking him.
The news spread quickly, and more and more people heard about it.
In what felt like the blink of an eye, more than half the people on Fire Mist Island knew that Lu Shengyuan had returned as a Grandmaster, and the first thing he was going to do was seek out Master Qianhai to avenge his brother, Lu Shengchun!
"Lu Shengyuan became a Grandmaster and is going to get revenge on Master Qianhai? This is bad! We have to go warn Master Qianhai so he can get away!"
Hearing this news, Yu Yunhui was alarmed and spoke hastily.
"It’s too late. We got the news too late. If we rush over now, we’ll be lucky if the fight isn’t already over."
Yu Xuemei sighed and shook her head.
Lu Shengyuan was leading his men straight to Master Qianhai’s location, and they weren’t moving slowly.
The siblings had received the news a few steps later than others; by the time they got there now, the fight would probably be over.
Nevertheless, the brother and sister still rushed towards Jiang Zuo’s seaside location at once.
It wasn’t just the two siblings; anyone on the island who could make it did not want to miss this major event.
That was a Grandmaster! Countless people might go their whole lives without ever seeing a Grandmaster, let alone witnessing one in action.
And his opponent wasn’t some nobody, but the once-famous Beast Taming Master of Fire Mist Island.
Even if they were just watching the excitement, it would be something to brag about in the future.
Jiang Zuo’s seaside wooden house.
Great Black, who had been feigning sleep, suddenly stood up, its gaze fixed menacingly on the distance.
The flock of Seated Mountain Eagles resting and practicing the Blood God Skill nearby also sensed that something was wrong and took to the sky one by one.
Twenty-one Seated Mountain Eagles flew into the air in unison, each one enormous.
They circled back and forth in the air, a vast, dark swarm that blotted out the sky.
Even before the approaching crowd got close, they felt an immense, oppressive pressure, like a storm about to break.
"Are those all Master Qianhai’s Seated Mountain Eagles?"
"Why do they feel so much more powerful than they were a few years ago?"
Witnessing such a scene, the crowd of onlookers who had followed along were all stunned.