Fisherman City wasn’t particularly large.

This modest-sized city was currently controlled by two gangs.

Xu Meng’s Fish Dragon Gang and the neighboring Water Dragon Gang.

The Fish Dragon Gang controlled the fish market, while the Water Dragon Gang ran the shore.

These two were considered the relatively more powerful gangs.

Each was backed by a Mingjin Martial Artist.

There were other, smaller gangs active in the area as well. However, their power couldn’t compare to the Fish Dragon Gang and the Water Dragon Gang, mainly because they lacked Mingjin Martial Artists.

...After all, Mingjin Martial Artists were quite rare.

Once a warrior reached the Mingjin realm, their Physique, speed, and Strength far surpassed that of an ordinary person.

As for Deng Chuan, the one who came to ambush and kill Xu Meng yesterday, he wasn’t from a gang. He was one of the Water Pirates.

"Water Pirates?"

A hint of surprise showed on Qin Fang’s face.

"Yeah. The Chujiang River is vast. Some men aren’t strong enough to conquer a city but are too proud to serve under anyone else, so they become Water Pirates. Deng Chuan was the leader of one such group."

Monkey explained in detail.

He said that Deng Chuan’s plundering of the fishermen had been a major headache for Xu Meng for a long time. After all, the fishermen chose to sell their catch in Fisherman City precisely because the city was supposed to offer them protection.

But with Deng Chuan running rampant on the River Surface, constantly robbing fishing boats in the area, the river wasn’t safe. Naturally, this made fishermen hesitant to come...

...Fortunately, other places weren’t peaceful either. Banditry was rampant everywhere, so the fishermen were forced to sell their catch at the nearest location.

If they chose to take a longer route, the chances of being robbed were even higher.

Qin Fang was left speechless. ’It’s just a race to the bottom.’

This place wasn’t safe, but other places were even less safe. The fishermen had no choice but to pick the closer, ’less unsafe’ option... the one with a lower risk factor.

After all, they had to do something with their catch. Even if you could eat fish every day, fish couldn’t be turned into salt, or pots and pans, or bedding and furniture, could it?

To trade for silver, they had to come to the market.

"But recently, Deng Chuan must have gotten tired of life on the river and wanted to establish a foothold on shore, so he set his sights on our Fish Dragon Gang. What can I say? Our Fish Dragon Gang is a bit weaker than the Water Dragon Gang."

Monkey shook his head with a bitter smile. "In fact, this wasn’t the first time Deng Chuan has come looking for trouble. The first few times, we traded blows, wins and losses on both sides, and that’s how the grudge started. But Deng Chuan is no pushover. He’s perfected his Gale Saber Technique. The boss fought him several times, but neither could get the upper hand..."

At this, a look of awe and admiration filled Monkey’s eyes as he looked at Qin Fang. "If it weren’t for you, Master Qin... I’m afraid the Fish Dragon Gang would have been wiped out yesterday."

"No matter how skilled Deng Chuan was, he couldn’t withstand a single one of your Darts, Master Qin. It was incredible."

Shi Tou, who was standing nearby, also looked on in amazement.

"Master Qin, how in the world did you get so good with Darts?"

Haozi, his eyes shining, asked from the side.

Hearing this, a thought struck Qin Fang. He asked, "My skill with Darts, is it really that impressive?"

"Of course it is!" Monkey and the others nodded eagerly.

A night had passed, but the image of Qin Fang taking down a man with each flick of his wrist was still vivid in their minds.

It was too brutal!

"Not many people around here practice with Hidden Weapons?"

Qin Fang asked.

Hearing this, the three of them stared blankly for a moment before replying, "Master Qin, you must be joking. Hidden Weapons aren’t that easy to master. Without a Famous Teacher to guide you, you could practice on your own for years and maybe get the hang of it... but the killing power is extremely limited. You might have some lethality at three to five meters, but it’s still easy for people to dodge."

"Exactly! The speed you threw those Darts yesterday, Master Qin... it was too fast. I couldn’t even react."

"You’ll probably laugh, Master Qin, but I tried to teach myself some Hidden Weapon skills for a while... It was too hard. Basically useless. The darts I threw couldn’t even pierce a wooden plank, let alone kill a person. Even if I hit someone, it would just be a scratch. Not lethal at all..."

they lamented.

The general consensus was that Hidden Weapons were too difficult to master.

Qin Fang was starting to get the picture.

’It really was a bit difficult,’ he recalled when he first started practicing Darts.

’I couldn’t even hit a wooden board a meter away. More often than not, the dart just bounced off instead of sticking in.’

’But I have the effect of the Eternal Dao Fruit. Once I figure something out, I can maintain that optimal state indefinitely. That’s how I slowly progressed to the entry-level, then from entry-level to Minor Achievement, and from Minor Achievement to Great Success...’

’I also gained more techniques and ways to generate Strength through moments of Epiphany.’

’That’s what made my Darts more and more powerful, and my throwing speed faster and faster.’

’Especially after I acquired the Pile Method. Combining the power generation from the Pile Skill with my Great Success Darts... only then did I achieve my current level of lethality.’

’Before I started practicing the Pile Skill... if I wanted to kill someone like Wang Long with my Darts, I had to rely on a sneak attack, and even then, I only managed it by striking while he was still recovering from his own move.’

’And even then, the guy still managed to lunge at me and give me a good scare.’

’If we had faced each other head-on... my Darts at the Minor Achievement stage might not have been enough to take down Wang Long.’

’...It just goes to show, not only are Darts difficult to master, but their power isn’t as great as people imagine.’

Qin Fang was a complete anomaly, all thanks to his Golden Finger.

Now, his skill with Darts was nearly equivalent to the power of a large-caliber handgun.

’Across the entire world of True Martial, I wouldn’t dare say I’m the only one, but my skill must be considered quite strong, right?’

His eyes glinted.

Through this casual chat with the three men, he was gradually pinpointing his own place in this world’s ecosystem.

...But that was just one way of looking at it.

After all, these three were just low-level gang members. Their knowledge was bound to be limited.

Their words could only be taken as a reference, not as absolute truth.

’I’ll have to wait and see, and assess the situation myself.’

Qin Fang thought.

He stopped discussing Hidden Weapons and continued to ask about the situation in Fisherman City.

The conversation turned to the Water Dragon Gang and the other smaller gangs.

Qin Fang asked curiously, "I understand the Water Dragon Gang, but what’s the deal with the other small gangs? How can they survive without a Mingjin Martial Artist to back them?"

"Those smaller ones are usually Hometown Gangs. As you know, people in the market come from all different villages. Because the situation in the market is so complex... they band together with people from their own hometowns for safety. It’s a form of self-preservation. They’re different from us."

"They’re usually pretty docile and won’t cause trouble with us for no reason."

Monkey and the others said.

Qin Fang understood. So they were Hometown Associations.

As Monkey and the others continued their explanation, Qin Fang’s understanding grew...

In all of Fisherman City, the only true gangs were the Fish Dragon Gang and the Water Dragon Gang.

The rest were mostly just Hometown Associations.

These Hometown Associations wouldn’t rashly pick a fight with the Fish Dragon Gang or the Water Dragon Gang. In fact, they would help the two major gangs maintain stability in Fisherman City...

However, when Qin Fang used the term "Hometown Association," Monkey and the others clearly showed a hint of disdain.

"Hometown Association, my ass... Those little gangs are even more corrupt than we are. They’re crueler to their own people... When we collect stall fees and protection money, we usually let these Hometown Associations handle it for convenience. And what happens? We ask for a twenty percent protection fee, and they go and jack it up to forty percent! Then they skim half off the top before giving us our cut..."

"Hometown Association?"

Monkey sneered, his contempt for these Hometown Associations obvious.

"They say a rabbit doesn’t eat the grass near its own burrow, but these Hometown Associations specialize in exploiting their own people."

"I heard they don’t even go back to their villages anymore. They just hang around the market all day... but they’re living quite comfortably."

Qin Fang was stunned.

Then he shook his head.

’Right. So much for hometown camaraderie. More like a knife in the back.’

’Why exploit a stranger when an acquaintance is so much more convenient?’

And so, time slipped by as they chatted idly and watched the laborers work outside.