Chapter 82: Chapter 80: Surging Undercurrents

The auction came to a successful conclusion.

The Luoo Family, the Qian Family, and the Money Commerce Association had actually bought the three slots at such an exorbitant price, becoming the talk of the town.

Si Xiaosheng watched Jiang Chen counting the silver notes, a strange look on his face. He asked, "The Luoo Family, the Qian Family, and the Money Commerce Association are not to be trifled with. Those three old geezers, including Qian Luohao, are the type to swallow you whole and not even spit out the bones. Now that you’ve scammed them so badly, aren’t you afraid they’ll come looking for trouble?"

"It doesn’t matter whether I’ve offended them or not. Even if they don’t come looking for trouble with me, I was going to go looking for it with them sooner or later!" Jiang Chen waved his hand dismissively, a nonchalant look on his face.

Si Xiaosheng grunted, utterly baffled.

Yulan Tianpeng gave a wry smile. "Don’t bother guessing. Let me tell you! A few days ago, Gongsun Yangg of the Qinghuo Gang was killed. The Qinghuo Gang gathered forces from the Qian Family, the Luoo Family, the Money Commerce Association, and others to hunt down the murderer. And that murderer... was Jiang Chen!"

HISS!

Si Xiaosheng sucked in a sharp breath.

Yulan Tianpeng had only mentioned to him before that Jiang Chen, with just his Martial Arts Ninth Stage strength, had been able to heavily wound a Black Cloud Demon Bear, displaying immense combat power.

He hadn’t known that Jiang Chen was the mysterious expert who had caused such an uproar days ago by killing Gongsun Yangg.

A complex, wry smile appeared on Si Xiaosheng’s handsome face. He stared intently at Jiang Chen and sighed. "The Qian Family, the Luoo Family, and Meng Qing have always followed the Qinghuo Gang’s lead. During the great encirclement against you a few days ago, Brother Jiang, those three families sent out all their elites. They were clearly determined to see you dead. No wonder you decided to scam them like this!"

"Yeah. When I first heard the news that even Zhao Qiankun had personally taken action, I was worried about you for a long time. It’s a good thing you’re safe and sound. But speaking of which, the Celestial Demon Ancient Realm is about to open, yet Zhao Qiankun, Qian Jun, and the others still haven’t returned..." Yulan Tianpeng’s voice trailed off. He and Si Xiaosheng exchanged a look, then both turned to stare at Jiang Chen.

The same wild thought simultaneously flashed through both of their minds.

Just thinking that this idea might be true made both of them feel their blood run a little faster.

GULP!

Yulan Tianpeng swallowed hard and looked at Jiang Chen. "Jiang Chen, don’t tell me... Zhao Qiankun and the others were all..." He made a throat-slitting gesture.

Si Xiaosheng’s eyes went wide as he stared at Jiang Chen.

"Zhao Qiankun isn’t dead, just injured. I’m sure he’ll be back soon!" Jiang Chen said, his expression light and unbothered. Just as Yulan Tianpeng and Si Xiaosheng breathed a sigh of relief, he continued, "However, Qian Jun, Luoo Ming, and all those people from the Money Commerce Association... I’ve already sent them to see King Yama!"

HISS!

"What the... fuck..."

The two of them felt like their hearts were about to give out.

Yulan Tianpeng gave a wry smile. "You really killed them? My God, if Luoo Ri and the others find out, won’t they go crazy? Not only did you kill most of their families’ elites, but you also extorted tens of millions of silver from them?"

"If I were Luoo Ri and the others and heard this news, I’m afraid I’d go crazy too!" Si Xiaosheng shrugged and said with a wry smile.

Jiang Chen said, "Compared to them wanting to put me to death, what are a few tens of millions of silver? I, Jiang Chen, am not so easily provoked. They wanted my single life, so I’ll wipe out their entire clans!"

A cold glint shot out from Jiang Chen’s eyes, and the surrounding temperature seemed to drop several degrees.

Yulan Tianpeng trembled slightly, his gaze toward Jiang Chen growing ever more complex.

’Just how powerful has he become?’ Just over ten days ago, Jiang Chen was only at the Martial Arts Ninth Stage, yet he had managed to annihilate the host of experts hunting him down, even injuring the conceited Zhao Qiankun and forcing him into a delayed return. Now, he had already advanced to the True Martial Realm and had killed Lui Xiao, an expert at the True Martial Realm First Stage, with a single strike. Yulan Tianpeng felt that Jiang Chen was like a bottomless black hole—unfathomable and impossible to see through.

After the shock wore off, Yulan Tianpeng exhaled lightly and reminded him in a solemn voice, "Jiang Chen, with your strength, you could probably survive even if Luoo Ri, Qian Luohao, and Meng Qing joined forces against you. But you must not underestimate Zhao Qiankun. He, like us, is a disciple of the Saint Martial Sword Sect. He has many trump cards and is by no means a simple man."

"You can’t let your guard down!" Si Xiaosheng added.

Jiang Chen nodded and grinned. "Don’t worry, I know what I’m doing. We made a lot of money today, so I’ll treat you guys to meat and wine!" As he spoke, Jiang Chen yelled outside the tent, "Little White, is the meat roasted yet?"

"It’s ready!"

Little White strode in with his head held high, looking proud and imposing. A miserable-looking Lui Yifa followed behind him, carrying a whole, fragrant roasted pig.

"Don’t be shy! Eat and drink up!"

Jiang Chen tore off a large chunk of roasted meat. Eating heartily and drinking deeply, he brandished the wine jar at Yulan Tianpeng and Si Xiaosheng.

Little White half-sat on the ground, his two front paws clutching a wine jar bigger than his own body, and started drinking in big gulps.

The two men exchanged a glance, their appetites whetted.

For a time...

The four men and one beast drank cup after cup, completely at ease!

......

「Luoo Family Campsite.」

CRASH! BANG! SMASH!

Broken tables and chairs were thrown out from the tent, followed by Luoo Ri’s furious roar. "Jiang Chen, you little bastard! You scammed me out of forty million silver today! One day, I’ll make you spit it back out, doubled!"

"Brother Luoo, what’s all this?"

Qian Luohao and Meng Qing walked side-by-side into the tent.

Luoo Ri glanced at the two of them and snapped, "What are you two doing here? To laugh at my misfortune?"

"How could you say that, Brother Luoo? Weren’t we both scammed by that little bastard too?" said Qian Luohao.

Meng Qing glanced at Luoo Ri and said calmly, "Brother Luoo, even if you bear a grudge against that little half-breed, there’s no need to destroy your own property!"

"Hmph, easy for you to say! Forty million! That was forty million..." Luoo Ri’s face was ashen. He gritted his teeth, his eyes gleaming with a ferocious light, as if he wished he could swallow Jiang Chen alive.

Meng Qing found a chair and sat down, slowly turning a jade thumb ring on his finger, a cold glint flashing in his eyes. "Since I, Meng Qing, took charge of the Money Commerce Association, my business dealings have always been one-way—money comes in, it doesn’t go out. To think that I was scammed by that little half-breed today, for a full five times the price! But the money of Meng Qing is not so easily taken. The day our elites, whom we sent to hunt down the murderer, return will be the day Jiang Chen’s life ends on the road to the Yellow Springs!"

"But that kid’s strength is not to be underestimated..." Luoo Ri said.

Qian Luohao toyed with a Buddha Master figurine, his face a mask of hideous killing intent, like a bloodthirsty Killing God. "What’s there to be afraid of? In order to help Zhao Qiankun, we sent out more than half of our best men. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have only managed to grab so few slots. When Zhao Qiankun returns, we’ll naturally have him lend a hand!"

"If Zhao Qiankun takes action, that kid is definitely a dead man!" Luoo Ri nodded, a cold light in his eyes.

The three of them continued to discuss how to deal with Jiang Chen.

Just then, the old steward of the Qian Family hurried in and came before Qian Luohao. "Master, the men below saw Zhao Qiankun return!"

"Oh? He’s finally back!"

Qian Luohao’s face lit up with joy.

Luoo Ri and Meng Qing exchanged a look, a cold smile spreading across their faces. "Let’s go, let’s go! To the Qinghuo Gang to find Zhao Qiankun. That little half-breed Jiang Chen won’t be hopping around for much longer!" 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

The group headed for the Qinghuo Gang...