Start with acting, and you'll achieve immortality!

The sound of horses' hooves grew louder as they approached, and in an instant they arrived at the entrance of the guild hall.

He Wanjun led his men through the morning mist, their gaze passing through the open gate. The first thing they saw was more than thirty people lying on the ground.

It was only at a second glance that I noticed Wei Shanhe, Luo Jin, and Jiang Lie were tied up at the very front.

He reined in his horse, its hooves scraping against the bluestone.

The gang members following behind dismounted, and no one dared to move forward.

Qian Duo came out of the door carrying an empty bowl of porridge. Upon seeing He Wanjun, he first looked at the people on the ground and said, "Oh, Chief He, so early in the morning, are you rushing here for breakfast? The three hall masters have been lying on the ground all night, their bones are frozen solid. How about... I serve you a bowl of hot porridge to warm you up?"

He Wanjun didn't respond to that sentence.

He stared at the mud on Wei Shanhe's face, his chest heaving a few times.

"Who did it?"

"The dry season"

Qian Duo pointed to the yard, "Our family didn't even lift a finger."

Jiang Lie looked up and cursed, "Bullshit! That guy surnamed Li ate sunflower seeds on the roof all night, and his clothes weren't even ruffled. He's clearly making a fool of us!"

He Wanjun's gaze passed over him and landed on the lingering mist in the courtyard.

Fine, earthy-yellow veins are embedded in the cracks of the bluestone, and several mud pits are covered with footprints, yet there is not a trace of damage.

Thirty-six men, armed with knives, sneaked into the guild hall; by dawn, they were all lying here.

"Where is the person surnamed Li?"

"Inside the house"

He Wanjun stepped into the door

Li Ping sat at the table in the front hall, with tea beside him, while Su Wan stood to his side and behind him.

She didn't draw her sword, but simply held the scabbard horizontally in front of her. When He Wanjun entered, her gaze lingered for a moment on his large, calloused hands.

Those hands remained steady.

He Wanjun stopped three steps away, clasped his hands in greeting, and said, "Lord Li."

Li Ping took a sip of tea and asked, "Chief He, the wind was strong in the south of the city last night. Your brothers stayed out in the courtyard all night; are they alright?"

"His subordinates are disobedient and have disturbed Lord Li's peaceful sleep."

"traitor?"

Li Ping raised his eyes. "Thirty-six skilled men, wearing your Iron Fist Gang's badges, came to bang on the door. Did you order them to do this, or are they just asking for trouble? Explain yourself."

He Wanjun's face darkened: "He led men to raid the clubhouse without authorization, breaking the agreement between the two sides. According to the gang rules, he should be expelled from the Iron Fist Gang."

Wei Shanhe, standing outside the door, stirred. His shoulders were bound by a rope, and he could only whisper, "Chief, it was me—"

"Haven't you embarrassed yourself enough?"

Wei Shanhe swallowed the rest of his sentence.

He Wanjun walked into the courtyard and suddenly raised his right hand.

The moment the palm strike began, Li Ping was already beside him.

wrists were held

He Wanjun's shoulders slumped, and his hand stopped half a foot above Jiang Lie's head.

He gritted his teeth and pressed down with all his might, but Li Ping's fingers remained as still as iron clamps. Instead, a powerful, mountain-like earth-elemental spiritual force surged along his wrist bone and into his arm, causing half of his shoulder to go numb and nearly dissipating his strength.

Su Wan looked at his hand: "Chief He, with this palm strike, the Iron Fist Gang will have to change its leader."

He Wanjun didn't look at her: "The Iron Fist Gang's internal rules cannot be shown to outsiders."

"You manage your own people."

Li Ping released his wrist. "I'm not cleaning up your mess."

He Wanjun slowly lowered his hand.

Li Ping turned and walked towards the front hall: "But let me make this clear first, last night's formation was a trapping formation, which only traps people without killing them. Next time, I'll switch to a killing formation, and then whether they live or die will be out of your hands."

A piece of mud fell off Wei Shanhe's face.

Jiang Lie cursed, "Chief, did you hear that? He's using us—"

I heard it.

He Wanjun's voice wasn't loud, but Jiang Lie shut up.

The courtyard was quiet for a moment.

He Wanjun looked at the three hall masters, then at Li Ping inside the guild hall.

The Iron Fist Gang, with two hundred members, relies entirely on their fists to maintain their territory, gambling dens, and supply routes.

But last night, more than 30 people couldn't even leave one courtyard.

Li Ping stood outside the formation, not even drawing his sword.

He took a deep breath, lifted the hem of his robe, and slammed his right knee heavily onto the cold bluestone slab, kicking up a cloud of dust.

Someone behind him gasped.

He Wanjun placed his right fist on his knee, bowed his head and said, "Lord Li, the lives of the two hundred brothers of the Iron Fist Gang are now in your hands."

Li Ping did not answer immediately.

He Wanjun raised his eyes: "Among the people in the gang, I can handle things on my territory. I know better than the three hall masters that you want the south of the city, and I can protect the south of the city for you. If you want to go to the capital, the Iron Fist Gang is willing to be your fist."

"Chief He, when did a Golden Core cultivator's knees become so easily bent?"

"They brought this upon themselves last night."

He Wanjun glanced at Wei Shanhe, "This morning I was the one begging for a way out for the brothers."

Li Ping chuckled: "Get up. I don't like people speaking while kneeling."

He Wanjun stood up and turned to the three of them.

Wei Shanhe lowered his head first: "Brother, I was wrong."

"I know"

He Wanjun punched him in the shoulder, and Wei Shanhe groaned, taking a half step to the side.

Luo Jin quickly said, "Brother, I just—"

He Wanjun punched him in the ribs: "You're the most calculating, how come you didn't foresee that there was no way out in the formation?"

Luo Jin clutched his ribs, his face contorted in pain.

Jiang Lie gritted his teeth and waited.

He Wanjun's fist landed on his chest, and the rope tightened.

Jiang Lie was beaten so badly that he sat back down on the ground, his lip bleeding.

"Are you convinced?"

Jiang Lie took a few breaths and whispered, "I give up."

"Speak louder!"

"Clothes!"

He Wanjun then ordered his men to untie him.

The three hall masters untied the ropes, but none of them dared to rub the injured areas.

Da Niu carefully put the rope away, while Er Hu squatted down beside him, checking the knots and muttering, "This rope looks pretty sturdy, how come it didn't break?"

Qian Duo looked at the group of thirty-odd people and bowed to He Wanjun: "Chief He, I've settled the accounts for the three broken door panels, twelve bluestone floor tiles, and the broken dishes in the kitchen last night, plus the cost of the workers' medicine..."

"Compensation at the original price"

He Wanjun said

Luo Jin immediately looked up: "How much will this cost?"

"The thirty-six men you brought last night, one by one, have to pay for their losses."

Luo Jin's face was even uglier than the lime around his eyes.

Li Ping put down his teacup and took out a folded piece of yellow paper from his sleeve.

The paper was covered with densely packed lines, and small characters marked next to several array nodes—it was the core array diagram of the trapping formation from last night.

He Wanjun took it, unfolded it, glanced at it a few times, and slowly frowned: "This is..."

"The core of the trapped formation"

"A gift for me?"

"You have too many men, and your headquarters is in a busy area. Change the formation to protect the headquarters and prevent someone from sneaking in at night."

He Wanjun's fingertip stopped at the center of the formation.

He studied the array diagram very slowly, even holding his breath.

The direction of the soil layers, the turning points of the array's power, the opening and closing of the trapping gate—the Iron Fist Gang had consulted several sorcerers, but none of them had ever produced anything like this.

"This gift is too extravagant."

"That's all? Just a small gift."

He Wanjun folded the yellow paper back, put it in his pocket, and solemnly clasped his hands in a fist and palm salute: "Lord Li, the Iron Fist Gang will remember this favor."

Don't dwell on the past.

Li Ping said, "After you remember the rules, news from the south of the city will be delivered every three days. Anyone who's itching to bang on the door should first check if their neck is tough enough."

He Wanjun nodded: "Understood."

At that moment, a cry of surprise suddenly came from the courtyard.

It turned out that a few gang members had curiously approached the lingering mist, and the moment their fingers touched the edge, a wisp of earthy yellow light shot past, startling them so much that they retreated in panic.

He Wanjun pressed his fingers against the array diagram in his arms, his knuckles tightening little by little.

No one spoke in the courtyard anymore.

The Iron Fist Gang has changed hands.

Li Ping put away his teacup and walked towards the backyard. Thump, thump, thump.

As soon as the small door to the back room was pushed open, a muffled chiseling sound came from deep within the cellar, echoing in the cold, damp passageway, as if something was about to break through the earth.