Elderly Martial Saint: Sixty Times the Cultivation Speed ​​at the Start

On the third floor of Fengyuan Restaurant, Zheng Haitao's head exploded so fast that no one had time to react.

After everyone realized that the Shallow Water Gang's chief steward had been killed, time seemed to stand still in the restaurant, and the oppressive atmosphere made the representatives of the various forces feel suffocated.

Zheng Haitao remained in the same position as when he slapped his thigh. He leaned back for a moment and then smashed half of the chair and table with a crash. His flesh and bone fragments sprayed onto the porcelain cups and dishes, and the wine mixed with blood spread across the blue brick floor.

The banquet hall was so quiet that you could hear the crackling of the candlelight.

Finally, someone made the first move.

Iron Pot Jiang's hand, holding the wine glass, froze in mid-air, the wine dripping down the rim of the glass without him even noticing.

Leng Sheng pressed his back against the chair back, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down, but he couldn't utter a single word.

Even the seasoned steward of the Mo family, Mr. Xue, was as white as paper, his teeth chattering.

They finally realized that the old man in front of them was, after all, a powerful expert at the Inner Qi Realm, and that crushing them was as easy as crushing an ant.

Everyone present assumed that Yi Yang would be afraid of the forces behind them and would not dare to make a move.

But Yi Yang told them that he was a lawless person.

As the head steward of the Wei family, Zhou Tao's mind is working the fastest right now.

He had just mentally assessed Yi Yang's strength, concluding that it was only at the first level of internal energy, and that it was unstable and unsteady. He had only heard a little bit about it, and that Yi Yang might live a little longer.

But he certainly won't be able to leave White Fish City, since he offended the Wei family's distinguished guest.

But now, Zheng Haitao's headless corpse on the ground was a stark slap in the face, forcing him to face reality.

The expert, who was at the sixth level of internal energy perfection, didn't even have time to dodge before Yi Yang smashed his head with a single palm strike.

Such absolute suppression and the aura it exuded were definitely not something that someone at the first level of internal energy could achieve.

He suddenly remembered Director Su, who died in White Fish City. He was also at the second level of internal energy. Although he died mysteriously overnight, his strength was indeed comparable to that of the leaders of various forces.

The old man in front of me might be a powerhouse at the same level as Director Su, standing at the pinnacle of White Fish City, or even stronger.

This made Zhou Tao's palms sweat. He felt that if he didn't handle the situation properly, he might die here.

Although the major powers will certainly kill Yi Yang to avenge them, what's the point? Can these people really be resurrected?

This caused cold sweat to trickle down Zhou Tao's spine. He then realized that he might have to pay with his life for his perfunctory "gift-giving" earlier.

In this atmosphere, Yi Yang withdrew his hand, patted non-existent dust off his sleeves, and calmly said after glancing at the pale faces around the table:

"Deacon Zheng is right."

He bent down, lifted the lid of the coffin on the ground, and said in a very casual tone:

"May you prosper by raising the coffin."

"He's accumulating good fortune for himself."

Xu Pei, standing to the side, felt as if a stone was stuck in his throat.

The six guards behind him didn't even dare to breathe loudly. They had been harboring a lot of anger, thinking that Yi Yang was too cowardly, but now that Yi Yang had really made a thunderous move, their anger had turned into a chilling feeling on the back of their heads.

Finally, Yi Yang turned around and waved to the few subordinates from the Shallow Water Gang who had followed him, saying:

"Come here, your high deacon, carry him away."

"Put it in the coffin and take it back to your gang leader. Don't leave it here and spoil the fun for me and my brothers!"

Upon hearing Yi Yang's order, the members of the Shallow Water Gang turned as weak as noodles, looking at each other, none of them daring to make the first move.

Finally, Yi Yang impatiently raised his eyelids. His voice wasn't loud, but it made the four burly men tremble.

"Didn't you hear me? Are you deaf?"

The four of them then hurriedly rushed over and stuffed Zheng Haitao's headless body into the coffin.

My hands were shaking as I was stuffing the body into the coffin. Several times I almost couldn't hold it up. The body's arm drooped down and hit the side of the coffin with a dull thud.

Looking at this scene, Yi Yang seemed to suddenly remember something and gestured with his chin toward the pile of "gifts" on the table.

That broken inkstone that cost three hundred coins, those two packets of cheap loose tea, that purse containing five taels of silver, that folding fan, and that copper coin.

"Throw these in too."

He spoke slowly, a hint of amusement in his voice:

"Consider this my apology to the Shallow Water Gang."

"The gifts were all donated, and the coffin was provided by the Shallow Water Gang. It's a fair exchange; nobody owes anyone anything."

Upon hearing this, the faces of the people at the table immediately turned ugly. They knew that Yi Yang was mocking them, but they dared not retaliate.

The inkstone, tea leaves, silver coins, and copper coins were all thrown into the coffin along with the headless corpse. When the lid was closed, the faces of the men who carried the coffin were filled with despair.

If this coffin is taken back, the Shallow Water Gang will surely be in an uproar, and they probably won't have a good ending either.

Seeing that the others had finished their business, Yi Yang turned his attention back to the remaining representatives at the table. He picked up his teacup, took a sip, and slowly began to speak:

"The old man enjoyed his meal quite a bit today."

"I appreciate everyone's kind gesture."

He paused, then gently placed the teacup on the table, making a crisp sound.

"But a welcoming gift has to be appropriate for this occasion."

"I'll give you all one night."

Yi Yang stood up, his gaze sweeping over Zhou Tao's face, then over Leng Sheng, Steward Xue, and the young scholar from the White Fish Chamber of Commerce.

"Tomorrow, deliver the necessary gifts to the Astronomical Bureau."

"I don't have many hobbies, except that I have a bad temper."

"If the food is too thin, I'm afraid I won't be able to resist and will touch it again."

He spoke calmly, but the threat he conveyed was crystal clear.

This made Xu Pei's palms sweat as he listened, thinking to himself, "Sir? Please, have some decency! You've already gone this far tonight, those guys are going to throw the pot away! Now you're adding fuel to the fire!"

No one present dared to refuse Yi Yang's words.

You won't give it to me? Then you'll be the next Zheng Haitao.

Zhou Tao was the first to react. He quickly stood up, his face beaming with a smile ten times wider than before, and bowed deeply, saying:

"Rest assured, sir! The Wei family will never let you down!"

Leng Sheng and Steward Xue stood up and echoed, and the scholar from the White Fish Merchant Guild also agreed tremblingly.

Seeing that these people were sensible, Yi Yang nodded in satisfaction, turned around and walked towards the stairwell, with Xu Pei and six guards quickly following.

As Yi Yang reached the top of the stairs, he turned back, looked at the coffin, and added:

"The coffin is of good quality; thankfully, it wasn't a waste."

"Remember to thank Deacon Zheng for me."

……

Nighttime, Shallow Water Gang headquarters, backyard meeting room.

When the four henchmen carrying the coffin into the banquet hall arrived, the gang leader, Song Liangcheng, was sitting behind his desk drinking tea, surrounded by other experts from the gang. They were all waiting for the outcome from the restaurant.

When everyone heard the noise and looked up, their faces instantly froze.

The moment the coffin lid was lifted, the hall erupted in chaos.

"This...this is Brother Haitao?!"

A deacon rushed forward, saw the headless corpse in the coffin, and his legs went weak, causing him to collapse to the ground.

Several of Zheng Haitao's close friends in the hall had red eyes and clenched their fists, questioning the others:

"Who did this?!"

"I'll take some men and kill him right now!"

"Using our own brothers in coffins we sent ourselves, who the hell are we humiliating?!"

The hall was filled with curses, and several young deacons had already touched the hilts of their knives, wishing they could rush out and fight to the death.

But Song Liangcheng, the gang leader, sat in the main seat without saying a word.

He stared at the corpse in the coffin, then glanced at the pile of junk mixed in with it—an inkstone worth three hundred coins, cheap tea leaves, five taels of silver, and a folding fan.

Those were welcome gifts from various families, which he knew about, but now they were buried intact with Zheng Haitao's body.

This is clearly an insult to everyone, but the Shallow Water Gang was the first to stick their neck out and is now being brought down.

After realizing he had been outmaneuvered by various powerful forces, Song Liangcheng sneered, slammed his hand on the table, and shouted:

"Sit down, all of you."

Upon hearing the gang leader's order, the commotion in the hall ceased.

Seeing that the gang leader's face was expressionless, no one dared to utter a sound and obediently sat back down.

"Do you really think this was just that old man's idea?" Song Liangcheng stood up and tapped his fingers on the table as he questioned.

"The Wei family, the Mo family, the Green Snake, the Three Lakes—they've all hidden themselves away. Let Haitao be the one to stick his neck out."

"They wanted to use this banquet to test the capabilities of the new Director of the Sky Patrol."

"The results are in, but they used one of our own people to test it! Who gave the order within the gang to make Zheng Haitao the scapegoat?"

The hall was deathly silent; no one dared to speak, for everyone knew the gang leader was in a bad mood.

Song Liangcheng continued to question, "Those other groups all knew that tonight's operation was a test, but only we acted impulsively and provoked that old man from the Sky Patrol Division."

"This Yi Yang's strength is definitely at the same level as Director Su from a little over a month ago—the second level of internal energy—and he might even be stronger."

At this moment, one of the deacons couldn't help but ask, "Master, what should we do now? Just endure this?"

Song Liangcheng did not answer immediately.

He walked to the window, looked at the pitch-black night outside the courtyard, and after a long while, slowly spoke and gave his orders:

"Tonight, prepare the gift that Yiyang requested."

"Prepare a generous amount."

The steward was taken aback: "Master, isn't this just letting him get away with it for nothing?"

Song Liangcheng turned around, a calculating glint in his eyes.

"You haven't thought about one thing."

"That Director Su from over a month ago, whose strength was at least at the second level of internal energy, still died in this city, didn't he?"

"I don't know who did it, but it was definitely one of these families."

"Today, Yi Yang publicly humiliated everyone. If he survives tonight, it means he really has some skill."

"Preparing a generous gift can help ease our grudges and prevent us from being made the first to stick our necks out."

"But what if he's gone tonight too..."

Song Liangcheng paused, then smiled knowingly, and said:

"Then we don't need to send this gift at all."

The deacons in the hall exchanged glances, gradually realizing what was going on.

"Does the leader mean we should wait and see tonight?"

"That's right."

Song Liangcheng sat back down in the main seat, his tone regaining its usual composure as he spoke:

"The rules of this White Fish City were established by all the families together. No matter how powerful the people sent by the prefectural city are, as long as we families hold onto our interests and don't scheme for our own ends, he can't overturn the heavens by himself."

"Zheng Haitao's death is a lesson. In the future, when dealing with people like him, we need to learn to read the winds before making any moves."

One of his subordinates couldn't help but exclaim, "Our leader is brilliant! This move, using stillness to control movement, minimized our losses."