The Iron Fist Gang was quite powerful in Wangyue City, and the location of their headquarters was no secret. After a few inquiries, Fang Han learned its exact address.

Arriving in the western part of the city, he followed the directions he’d been given. From a distance, he could see a sprawling complex of buildings.

It was surrounded by high walls, its vermilion-lacquered main gate standing wide open. Above the gate hung a gilded plaque bearing the name "Iron Fist Gang."

Four burly men in matching brown uniforms stood guard at the entrance, their hands resting on the hilts of their blades. Their temples bulged high, and their sharp eyes scanned the passersby.

Security was extremely tight.

Pedestrians all gave it a wide berth. After all, as a gang, the Iron Fist Gang didn’t exactly have a good reputation.

Fang Han didn’t approach. Instead, he found a teahouse across the street, requested a private room by a window on the second floor, and ordered a pot of clear tea and a few snacks.

He appeared to be casually sipping his tea, but his gaze was fixed through the window lattice, quietly observing the layout of the Iron Fist Gang’s headquarters and the patterns of their guard rotations.

Infiltrating during the day was far more difficult than at night. The light was bright, the guards were more alert, and people were constantly coming and going.

But it also had one advantage: the element of surprise.

No one would ever imagine that someone would dare to sneak into the heavily guarded territory of a gang with multiple Seventh Grade Martial Artists in broad daylight.

After observing for about an hour, Fang Han had a plan.

He left money for the tea, got up, and left the teahouse, circling around to a quiet alley behind the Iron Fist Gang’s headquarters.

The alley was empty. He silently activated the Ten Thousand Transformations Concealing Breath Technique, pushing it to the Great Success Realm. Instantly, his aura blended seamlessly with the mottled walls and damp ground.

With a light tap of his toes, his figure drifted noiselessly over the high wall like a falling leaf, landing inside the courtyard.

Inside the walls was a cluttered back courtyard filled with miscellaneous items.

The moment he landed, Fang Han moved like a phantom, flashing behind an ancient, leafy tree. With the combined effects of the Ten Thousand Transformations Concealing Breath Technique and the Flowing Wind Shadowless Step, his presence was reduced to a bare minimum.

Two patrolling gang members walked past nearby, laughing and talking, completely oblivious to Fang Han, who was just a few feet away.

Fang Han held his breath, concentrating. Based on his earlier observations of the compound’s layout, he determined that the Gang Leader Shi Jian’s residence and office should be in the tallest three-story pavilion in the central area.

He moved like an invisible wind, speeding through the shadows of pavilions, rockeries, and corridors.

The Great Success Level of his Flowing Wind Shadowless Step allowed him to move without stirring even a whisper of wind, while the Great Success of his Ten Thousand Transformations Concealing Breath Technique perfectly masked his aura and body heat.

When he passed the occasional patrol or fixed guard post, they would only sense a blur in their vision, as if a light breeze had brushed by. By the time they focused their eyes, there was nothing there, and they would dismiss it as a trick of the light.

In just a few moments, Fang Han had stealthily reached the vicinity of the three-story pavilion.

The pavilion was surrounded by even more guards, both seen and unseen. He could even faintly sense the auras of two Seventh Grade Martial Artists patrolling nearby.

Fang Han circled to the rear side of the pavilion, finding a blind spot.

Moving like a gecko climbing a wall, he silently scaled the building to the second floor and scanned the inside of the pavilion to confirm if Shi Jian was present.

’Shi Jian isn’t here!’

His luck was good. There were no powerful Martial Artists inside the pavilion, which meant Shi Jian was probably out.

He silently made his way to the study and slipped inside.

The study was lavishly furnished. The bookshelves held many ancient-looking tomes, but there were no obvious signs of them having been read. Clearly, the owner of the study was not a man who enjoyed reading.

Keeping so many books in the study was merely a pretense of sophistication.

He quickly scanned the study: the bookshelves, the curio shelves, the writing desk... nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

Imbuing his fingertips with Inner Qi, he tapped the walls and floor with extreme lightness and speed. The echoes were solid, suggesting there were no hidden compartments or secret rooms.

’The secret room isn’t here. It must be in the bedroom, or somewhere else.’

Using his Perfection-level Spirit Nose Technique to memorize what he suspected was Shi Jian’s scent in the study, Fang Han silently slipped out and made his way to the bedroom.

In the bedroom, a section of the wall produced a strange, hollow sound when tapped, different from that of a solid wall.

Fang Han’s gaze fell upon that wall.

The wallpaper pattern was continuous, with no obvious seams.

He walked over and carefully ran his fingertips over the area where the scent was strongest.

His fingers detected a slight irregularity in the wallpaper, an extremely subtle unevenness. He channeled a trace of Inner Qi and pressed gently.

CLICK.

With the faint sound of a mechanism, a square-foot section of the wall slid silently inward, revealing a dark, narrow entrance just large enough for one person to pass through.

’The secret room is here!’

Fang Han slipped inside. The secret room wasn’t large. Inside were seven or eight iron chests of varying sizes, all filled to the brim with gold, silver, and jewels.

’Panel.’

Fang Han summoned the panel.

[Host: Fang Han]

[Root Bone Talent Amplification: 64x (Requires 10,000,000 silver for Level 7 Amplification)]

[Swordsmanship Talent Amplification: 64x (Requires 10,000,000 silver for Level 7 Amplification)]

[Stepping Talent Amplification: 64x (Requires 10,000,000 silver for Level 7 Amplification)]

[Secret Technique Talent Amplification: 64x (Requires 10,000,000 silver for Level 7 Amplification)]

[Current Wealth: 415,000 silver]

’Deposit!’

The iron chests and their contents vanished instantly.

[Current Wealth: 515,000 silver]

[Current Wealth: 615,000 silver]

[Current Wealth: 715,000 silver]

[Current Wealth: 815,000 silver]

[Current Wealth: 915,000 silver]

Finally, the number settled at [Current Wealth: 915,000 silver].

’Five hundred thousand taels?’

Seeing the haul, Fang Han frowned slightly.

A gang with multiple Seventh Grade Martial Artists had only about five hundred thousand taels in their secret room? That seemed far too little.

Even if the Iron Fist Gang wasn’t as wealthy as the Deng Family, they should have more than this.

’Something’s strange... Could there be a second secret room? Or perhaps the most valuable assets aren’t stored here?’

His mind filled with suspicion, Fang Han quickly exited the secret room, reset the mechanism, and erased his tracks.

He didn’t leave immediately. Instead, he relied on his Spirit Nose Technique to carefully trace Shi Jian’s scent trail in the air.

His enhanced sense of smell picked up a relatively clear scent path leading toward the basement of the pavilion.

’I should check it out!’

Spurred by the thought, Fang Han silently descended, avoided the guards, and reached the ground floor of the pavilion.

Following the scent, he found a hidden entrance leading underground in a corner that appeared to be used for storing junk.

He found the mechanism, activated it, and stepped onto a downward staircase.

This underground secret room was more spacious and dry. Inside were more than twenty large camphorwood chests, neatly stacked.

The lids were ajar, revealing gleaming gold and silver ingots. The sheer value of the treasures far surpassed that of the secret room upstairs.

’So there really is a second secret room for the money!’

A sharp glint flashed in Fang Han’s eyes. He didn’t hesitate and did the same as before.

’Deposit!’

The chests vanished one after another, and the wealth value on his panel began to skyrocket again!

[Current Wealth: 1,015,000 silver]

[Current Wealth: 1,215,000 silver]

[Current Wealth: 1,415,000 silver]

[Current Wealth: 1,615,000 silver]

[Current Wealth: 1,815,000 silver]

[Current Wealth: 2,015,000 silver]

Finally, the number slowly settled at—[Current Wealth: 1,925,000 silver].

’One million and ten thousand taels!’

In this secret room, Fang Han had collected a total of 1,010,000 taels. Adding the 500,000 from the first room, he had obtained a grand total of one million five hundred and ten thousand taels from the two secret rooms.

Now *this* was the kind of wealth a powerful gang should have accumulated.

Fang Han didn’t linger. He quickly exited the underground room, carefully reset all the mechanisms, and wiped away all traces of his presence.

Then, relying on his extraordinary Body Technique and Breath Concealment Technique, he left the heavily guarded Iron Fist Gang headquarters as phantomly as he had arrived, without anyone noticing.

Since it was still daytime, the city gates were open, and Fang Han walked straight out of Wangyue City.

...

「Dusk fell over the western part of Wangyue City, at the Iron Fist Gang’s headquarters.」

Gang Leader "Earth-Splitting Hand" Shi Jian, reeking of alcohol and exhaustion, pushed open the main door of the three-story pavilion.

He had spent the day entertaining several prominent families in the city. Though it was draining, he had managed to secure a sizable deal on a mining business. The potential profits were considerable, leaving him in a rather good mood.

He dismissed his personal guards, walked up to the second floor alone, and, out of habit, went to his bedroom first.

He gently pressed a corner of the wallpaper, and the wall slid open silently, revealing the entrance to the secret room.

However, when he stepped inside holding an oil lamp, the relaxed expression on his face instantly froze, replaced by utter horror.

Empty!

The seven or eight iron chests that had been neatly stacked there were now gone!

Even the chests themselves had vanished without a trace, leaving only faint indentations on the floor.

"No... Impossible!"

A hoarse growl escaped Shi Jian’s throat. The oil lamp in his hand fell to the ground with a CLATTER, spilling oil. Flames shot up, illuminating his face, which was twisted in absolute shock.

He scrambled down to the storage room on the ground floor and activated another, more concealed mechanism.

CLICK.

The entrance to the second, underground secret room opened.

Shi Jian rushed down the stairs. When he saw the equally empty underground room, with not a single chest remaining, he felt as if he’d been struck by lightning. The blood in his veins seemed to freeze solid.

"Argh—! My... my savings! It’s all gone! It’s all gone!!"

A wail of utter suppression and heartache echoed shrilly in the empty underground chamber.

Shi Jian’s face was ashen, as if all his Essence, Qi, and Spirit had been drained away.

The wealth the Iron Fist Gang had accumulated over decades had been plundered right under his nose!

...

「While Shi Jian was mired in grief, hundreds of miles away in a mid-sized city called Luoxia, Fang Han had just paid the entrance tax and was walking through the city gates with the crowd.」

He was still dressed in a simple set of blue robes, his expression calm and his aura contained. He looked no different from any other ordinary Martial Artist coming and going in the city, like a mere traveler passing through.

Luoxia City was also home to a power that had pledged allegiance to Chu Feng—the Ding Family, who primarily ran an Escort Agency.

According to his intelligence, the Ding Family’s strength was comparable to the Iron Fist Gang’s. They had several Seventh Grade Martial Artists in their ranks, and the Patriarch, Ding Mian, possessed a Late-Stage Seventh Grade Cultivation.

Fang Han’s goal was clear: to ride this momentum, consecutively plunder Chu Feng’s subordinate factions, and gather the ten million taels of wealth needed to unlock the Level 7 Talent Amplification!

He was confident he now had the ability to do so.

After all, his Cultivation had now reached the Late Stage of Sixth Grade, and both his Flowing Wind Shadowless Step and Ten Thousand Transformations Concealing Breath Technique had reached Great Success, resulting in a qualitative leap in his power.

Even against a faction guarded by a Sixth Grade Martial Artist, he was confident he could knock them out and plunder the wealth.