I was told I'd be a late bloomer, but I was born with the potential to achieve great things!

"Monsters? Where did all these monsters come from?"

Inside the Black Tiger Gang, Wang Hu had just seen off the constables from the yamen with a smile on his face, but as he turned around, anger surged within him.

The Seven Mysteries Sect truly lives up to its reputation as a sect that has dominated Ningshan City for decades; its foundation is far more complex than it appears on the surface.

On the surface, several people were protecting that genius Mo Kai, cooperating with him to fish for opportunities.

However, there were still skilled individuals secretly guarding Zhou An's side.

Otherwise, with two experts at the Bone Forging Realm joining forces, how could they possibly fail to kill a junior at the Skin Polishing Realm?

Sword energy.

There are also sword masters hidden within the Seven Mysteries Sect who are unknown to them.

As for that nameless villain in the yamen...

How could Wang Hu possibly believe such clumsy words?

"Brother, we've already lost a lot of men these past few days, and now we've lost Zhong Wei. Perhaps we should take a break."

"It's not too late to deal with the Seven Mysteries Sect after we've consolidated our current territory."

Huang Xuan, the second-in-command of the Black Tiger Gang, stepped forward to persuade them.

"You're right. It's indeed not advisable to start another conflict before we've thoroughly investigated how many trump cards the Seven Mysteries Sect still has."

Upon hearing this, Wang Hu pondered for a moment and nodded, though a hint of resentment still lingered in his eyes.

"We thought we could crush them in one fell swoop, but now that we've stopped, the Seven Mysteries Sect will probably have a little more breathing room."

"Giving them more time might even allow them to regain control of us."

"There's nothing we can do about it. Zou Quan may seem fierce, but he's actually completely useless."

The third brother died in vain.

As he spoke, Huang Xuan's gaze kept drifting towards his own gang leader.

If it were anyone else, given their gang leader's personality, they would either have sold him out or killed him. Yet, they were quite tolerant and even indulgent towards Zou Quan.

"That Zou Quan is no ordinary person. He is not a martial artist like you or me. Without my permission, you absolutely cannot make a move against him."

Wang Hu's lips twitched slightly when Zou Quan was mentioned.

He never expected that Zou Quan, who used to be so efficient and decisive, would become so incompetent.

All I can say is that the Seven Mysteries Sect is a bit strange.

"He's just a bandit who robs and steals, yet you, brother, are so wary of him."

Huang Xuan was puzzled.

Before the Black Tiger Gang grew into a powerful force, they also engaged in robbery under different guises.

"It's complicated, I can't say too much... I can only tell you that if this person really goes all out, even if you and I join forces, we'll only face certain death."

Thinking back to how he first met Zou Quan, Wang Hu still feels a pang of heartache.

He could have the upper hand in words when facing Zou Quan, and even adopt an attitude of intimidation, but he could not take action at will.

"You must maintain good relations with Anyang Prefecture during this time; there absolutely cannot be any more problems with the goods."

"Yes, brother."

Faced with Wang Hu's instructions, Huang Xuan nodded solemnly and immediately turned to leave.

.......

Sunrise and sunset, and a month has passed in the blink of an eye.

The Seven Mysteries Gate.

Wisps of smoke curled and swirled, spreading out like clouds and mist.

The exquisite study was immediately filled with a faint sandalwood scent, which calmed the mind and soothed the spirit.

"Has the true identity of the person who killed Zhong Wei and Tian Dan that day still not been discovered?"

Sect Leader Wang Xuan put down his teacup. He appeared calm, but there was a barely perceptible urgency in his words.

"Recently, the Black Tiger Gang has been frequently traveling to and from the city, and has even gotten involved with the An family."

If they actually gain the support of the An family, the situation might reverse again.

"no."

Li Shanming, who came to report the situation, shook his head, his face solemn, with a hint of helplessness in his eyes.

"The yamen and the executioner's office have repeatedly investigated people who have traveled to and from Ningshan City in the past three months, but they still cannot determine who killed Zhong Wei and Tian Dan."

The only suspects are the ferocious swordsman Feng Buping, who is currently ranked nineteenth on the list of sword-wielding masters in the prefecture, and the demonic hand Yan Tai, who is ranked twenty-first.

Both men were notorious criminals and extremely bloodthirsty.

Especially the Blood Fiend Sword Feng Buping, who is rumored to have learned an evil technique from somewhere that allows him to feed the sword with blood to enhance his own combat power.

Their methods are extremely bizarre and ruthless, and they specialize in hunting down lone martial artists.

However, because it was difficult to leave any survivors, it had not been exposed until a month or so ago when the news came from the prefectural city.

Officer Zhao suspected that he had been lured there by the martial arts competition and had disguised himself in human skin to infiltrate Ningshan City.

However, some say his most recent public appearance was in Changyuan Town, so for now he's only a suspect and it can't be confirmed yet.

As he finished speaking, Li Shanming's eyes became cautious, and his voice was lowered considerably.

"I'm worried he'll turn on Mo Kai."

"It's alright, Mo Kai has already begun his seclusion within the sect, he'll be fine..."

As soon as he finished speaking, Wang Xuan, the sect leader of the Seven Mysteries Sect, noticed a flicker of his gaze and saw a look of hesitation on Li Shanming's face, causing him to pause in his speech.

"Speak your mind."

"A few days ago, Zhou An successfully cultivated the sword aura."

Although the sword light was not yet refined enough, I believe this young man's talent in swordsmanship is no less than Mo Kai's.

"A sword's edge?"

Upon hearing this, Wang Xuan's eyes lit up.

"This child is indeed a talented individual."

"Sect Master, then we..."

"I understand what you mean. I can allocate another 20% of the resources to him on top of the original amount, but that's all I can do."

Seeing the expectation in Li Shanming's eyes, Wang Xuan sighed helplessly.

"To this day, the Seven Mysteries Sect is no longer owned by me alone, but the Black Tiger Gang is a gang owned by one person."

Although we surpassed the Black Tiger Gang after the arena competition, without external pressure, the internal problems within the sect cannot be solved in a short time.

Regarding resources for those below the Bone Forging Realm, I can go against the majority and try my best to satisfy him, but resources for the Bone Forging Realm...

Let's wait and see. He's still young. Perhaps the situation inside will improve once he's had enough skin resurfacing.

As he spoke, Wang Xuan got up and walked towards the bookshelf.

When he returned, he had a sword manual in his hand.

"Since he has already mastered the sword aura, you should also bring him this sword manual, 'Ten Steps, One Kill'."

The Free and Unfettered Wind-Riding Sword Technique is too difficult, but the "Ten Steps One Kill" is a quick-to-learn sword technique that should allow him to improve his strength in a short time.

Remember, do not tell anyone about this.

"Your subordinate understands, Sect Master, please rest assured."

Looking at the sword manual in front of him, Li Shanming respectfully expressed his gratitude.

But thinking about the current problems within the Seven Mysteries Sect, I can't help but sigh.

......

In the small courtyard, a few gusts of cold wind blew through the withered trees.

"Does the sect leader really say that?"

Looking at the book "Ten Steps, One Kill" laid out in front of him, Zhou An felt a mix of emotions.

A few days ago, his Free and Unfettered Wind-Riding Sword Technique reached the peak of the Sword Qi Realm, and he was only about ten days away from condensing the Golden Bone.

Thinking of the protection and resources that the Seven Mysteries Sect had provided over the past few days, Zhou An naturally began to consider relying on the Seven Mysteries Sect even more.

Unfortunately, the results of the trial were not satisfactory.

"The sect leader is willing to promote you; otherwise, he wouldn't have allocated two more layers of resources to you on top of the original amount and instructed me to give you this sword manual."

However, the Seven Mysteries Sect is a large and complex organization, far from being as harmonious and simple as it appears on the surface.

Li Shanming put it very tactfully, but he genuinely hoped that Zhou An would not become estranged from the sect and was willing to give him more care.

The resources available for the Bone Forging Realm have long been firmly controlled and allocated by the elders of the sect, and cannot be promised lightly.

Although Zhou An has rendered meritorious service to the Seven Mysteries Sect, which elder in the sect has not shed blood and tears for the sect? How can we grant the wish of one person at the expense of the hearts of the masses?

"Don't be in a hurry. Once you've tempered your skin to the level of iron, the sect's predicament might be able to change."

"Disciple understands."

Zhou An nodded and then asked another question.

"I wonder if Senior Brother Mo Kai has refined his skin to a golden state, and whether the sect possesses a technique for refining jade bones. After entering the Visceral Realm, is there a complete path of cultivation?"

"Although Mo Kai's skin is far superior to iron, it is still a hair's breadth away from being gold. As for the method of tempering jade bones..."

At this point, the helplessness in Li Shanming's eyes deepened.

"Apart from the Limitless Martial Arts Academy, you can also buy them in the black market in Ningshan City, or go to the prefectural city."

The Seven Mysteries Sect also has a method for tempering jade bones, but tempering jade bones is too difficult. It requires not only exceptional talent but also a vast amount of resources.

The sect can provide the cultivation techniques.

However, the resources are insufficient; this is not as simple as ordinary medicinal diets and blood-tonifying powders.

It has already consumed a great deal of resources to enable Mo Kai to refine his golden bones.

Otherwise, Mo Kai wouldn't have repeatedly cooperated with the "fishing within the gate" strategy, hoping to use this method to deal with the Black Tiger Gang's high-end combat power.

However, Li Shanming would not talk about these things.

Rather than letting Zhou An have too high expectations now, it would be better to wait until he has forged the iron sheet before seeing if the sect's predicament can be changed.

"This is a 300-tael silver note. You can exchange it at the Dali Silver Shop at any time."

Thinking of this, Li Shanming took out a silver note from his pocket and handed it to Zhou An.

"Like the civil service examinations, the military examinations have two types of official positions: the 'military examination candidate' who has reached the 'bone-forging' level and the 'military examination scholar' who has reached the 'skin-refining' level."

You are still very young, and the sect will definitely give you its full support to take the martial arts exam in two years.

Once you pass the martial arts examination and become a martial arts scholar, a whole new world will surely open up for you.

"Manager Li, you have shown me great kindness. Please accept my bow."

Looking at the silver notes in his hand, Zhou An knew perfectly well that this was Manager Li's private savings that he had accumulated over a long period of time. Moved by the sight, he bowed respectfully.

"Practice martial arts diligently. Your future is in your own hands. The sect will not treat you unfairly."

Li Shanming offered further comfort and emphasis.

Zhou An nodded, then respectfully saw Li Shanming out.

"The Seven Mysteries Gate is still too small; the internal organs are already reaching the sky."

Now, even if I were to display all my talents, it wouldn't provide me with better conditions; instead, it would only further bind me.

"That's good too. In the future, we won't have to worry about getting too involved, like Senior Brother Mo Kai. While binding ourselves to the sect, we also need to be willing to die for it at crucial moments."

After seeing Li Shanming off, Zhou An returned to his room, pocketed 300 taels of silver, and opened the sword manual on the table.

With his current level of swordsmanship, he only needs to watch it once and practice it in his mind to have mastered the basics.

Several days later, Zhou An had already mastered this Earth-rank sword technique, which would normally take an ordinary person several years to learn.

After Zhou An cultivated sword qi with the "Ten Steps One Kill" technique and reached the minor completion stage, he also successfully condensed golden bones.

"With golden skin and golden bones, even Mo Kai is no match for me."

Feeling the immense energy and power emanating from his body, Zhou An clenched his fists and continued his arduous training.

Golden Bones are very strong.

However, if Ningshan City were replaced with a prefectural city or a royal capital, it would still be far from enough.

......