From slave trader to the Immortal Lord of Ten Thousand Laws

"Coo coo coo..."

The moonlight was cold and clear, and the night owls cried. The side gate on the left side of the main gate of the Xu family mansion was slightly ajar.

"Da da da—"

The sound of horses' hooves broke the silence, and they came slowly, one after the other, stepping on the bluestone path.

Upon reaching the gate, two figures dismounted one after the other.

The first person to dismount was slightly older, appearing to be around forty years old. He wore a blue long robe, had a mustache, and acted like a gang clerk.

The man on the right had a scarred face, with the scar running diagonally from his left eye to the corner of his mouth. He was lean and wiry, with shoulders and back like cast iron. Although he was not tall and imposing, his muscles and bones were exceptionally firm and agile. His every move exuded the aura of a tiger or leopard lurking around him.

His eyes were like hooks. As soon as he dismounted, his gaze was fixed on the mansion in front of him. His right eye swept over the "Xu Residence" plaque above the main gate, while his left eye had a cloudy artificial eye with a dark brown pupil, like a dog's eye.

"Wang Dao, I know you hate."

Seeing that Scarface's eyes were bloodshot, the clerk next to him patted him on the shoulder and said, "In this battle at the Ghost Market and in the suburbs, my Money Gang lost at least ten brothers. You are a Red Stick in the gang, so you must avenge this loss."

"But this grudge cannot be vented indiscriminately."

"On what grounds?"

Scarface gritted his teeth, his eyes blazing with fury: "Just because that thief is a disciple of Thunderbolt Chen Kun? He thinks he can kill and run away without letting the brothers avenge him? Ha! What kind of logic is this, bullying the weak and fearing the strong!"

Shh, keep your voice down.

The clerk held up one finger, looked around for a moment, and then, looking terrified, leaned closer and whispered, "The gang leader also knows about this."

"What did the gang leader say?"

"The gang leader didn't say anything."

hiss...

Scarface's eyelids twitched, clearly startled by these words, but he quickly regained his composure, clasped his hands in a respectful martial arts salute, and whispered:

"Thank you for your kindness, Chief."

The advisor was the gang leader's confidant, and he usually relayed all orders. Although Scarface couldn't tell whether the gang leader's words were true or false, he knew that before the gang leader spoke, whether he killed or was killed, it was all the same, and it would be considered that the gang leader knew nothing about it.

He thanked him.

This... is how I can get revenge.

"But you should know which disciple of Chen Kun, the Thunderbolt Hand, that thief is."

The advisor offered a timely reminder.

Scarface nodded: "Of course I know that."

"I have already inquired. Chen Kun, the Thunderbolt Hand, has not yet returned from his escort mission. The disciples from the escort agency also rushed on this trip. This is not something that the Zhenyuan Escort Agency would do."

The advisor nodded, finding his words reasonable.

Scarface glared angrily at the gate of the Xu residence, "But Chen Kun, the Thunderbolt Hand, has been an instructor in this Xu residence for over a month, teaching the guards and servants how to kill and capture."

"This has sown the seeds of future problems!"

"Alas!"

The advisor's eyes widened, and he said blankly, "So you're doubting the Xu family."

"I wouldn't dare."

Scarface clasped his hands in apology, then suddenly changed the subject before he could finish speaking: "But there are always some beasts who abuse their power, and I know that best."

"Because...I'm a beast too!"

...

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

A small courtyard with blue bricks, where gusts of wind from fists could be heard.

The fist, as big as a vinegar basin, slammed into the wooden dummy, each punch heavier than the last, each sound deeper than the last.

"Brother Li, the two from the Money Gang have arrived."

A sudden announcement interrupted Li Nian's practice of boxing.

He abruptly stopped his right fist, which he had just thrown out, and then with a flick of his sleeve, he dispersed the remaining force that had gathered into a gust of wind and was still heading towards the wooden stake.

"Call them..."

"Please let them in."

Li Nian straightened his clothes and, imitating the dashing young men in storybooks, began to act elegantly.

He quickly changed his words, saying "invite them in" instead of "call them in," not because he was afraid of the two people outside the door.

However, he thought to himself:

"The leader of the Money Gang has a close relationship with Instructor Chen, but I don't know if it's the current leader or the retired leader. If it's the latter, I need to be very careful."

"Right now, we must unleash our full martial arts skills so that those two distinguished guests won't look down on us."

For three generations, Li Nian's ancestors had been servants of the Xu family. Even now, though his father was the head guard of the Xu family, he was still considered inferior to those with good family status.

Although the Money Gang is composed of all sorts of people, including snakes and rats, all its members are registered citizens, including both commoners and artisans.

But they are the ones who despise the lowest of the low the most.

But this was not what worried Li Nian the most.

"Instructor Chen said that if anyone can master the form and spirit of Bajiquan, they can go to the Money Gang, get one or two lanterns, and ask Bai Zhishan to be a witness for a live demonstration. I went to ask him today, but I didn't expect him to only arrive now."

"Let Liu Shun go and test his skills first. Don't let me rush into battle and fail to impress them."

Li Nian calmed down and thought for a while.

After all, this is a chance for everyone to compete with the Blue Lantern of the Money Gang, and the meticulous Li Nian guessed that Chen Kun, the Thunderbolt Hand, wanted to use this competition to select disciples who could be taken under his wing.

Now that he had this opportunity, he didn't want to waste it, so he thought of Liu Shun.

At this moment, Li Nian squinted at the man who had been waiting for a long time and asked, "Liu Shun, during your seclusion, have you grasped any of the true essence of Bajiquan?"

Liu Shun clasped his hands in a fist and bowed, then said, "So that Brother Li knows, I have not failed in my mission! These past few days, I have used my family's secret technique to refine myself in the [Gold-Destroying Cave], and finally managed to grind out three-tenths of my physical form and spirit in one go."

"good!"

Li Nian clapped loudly.

If what Liu Shun said is true, then he is the third person besides himself to have mastered Bajiquan to a degree that is three-tenths similar to the original.

In this way...

Having him take my place would be the best option.

Thinking of this, Li Nian smiled slightly: "I just want you to know that the two men outside the door are both experts from the Money Gang. They were invited by me to train you in boxing."

"hiss..."

Money Gang?

Liu Shun was taken aback.

That's the number one gang in the capital!

Although the Money Gang currently lacks many experts and only has a leader who is a first-rank martial artist, it still firmly holds the top position among gangs in the capital and refuses to relinquish its claim.

It can be said that...

That gang leader truly single-handedly suppressed the three gangs and five factions, making them all unable to raise their heads.

"Oh, right."

Li Nian suddenly spoke up, saying to a follower beside him, "Go and summon the three Niu brothers as well. Their eldest brother, Niu Da, has also mastered three parts of the form and spirit of Bajiquan."

"Today, let's try it all together, so as to save the trouble of having the clerk keep you company and waste your time here."