Chapter 46: The Fall of the Four Tigers Gang

“Protection? Are you certain?” Zhang Shen couldn’t hide his slight astonishment. “Explain to me. Why is it that you seek only protection? Don’t embellish or deceive, lay bare your genuine thoughts.”

Faced with the intensity of Zhang Shen’s gaze, Li Zhi hesitated but soon realized that lying was not in her best interest.

“Senior,” she began cautiously, “as it stands, the Li family has been reduced to my younger brother, Uncle Zhong, and me. While we’ve lost our material wealth, our ancestral heritage remains intact. Given enough time, the Li family can certainly rise again. However, time is we lack most is time.”

“Even if you avenge us,” she continued, her eyes alight with passion, “without someone to protect us, it won’t be long before others will swarm in, lured by our inheritance. Martial artists in the Acquired stage, as well as rogue cultivators with incomplete Innate legacies, will descend upon us like vultures and tear us to pieces.”

Li Zhi’s eyes were aflame, “Revenge is important, yes, but the rebirth of our clan holds even greater importance.”

For the long-term survival and resurgence of her family, Li Zhi was willing to set aside her quest for revenge, for now.

She could have asked Zhang Shen to exact the revenge first and then seek his protection. But did he seem like the type to play the savior out of sheer benevolence?

Helping with revenge was one thing, even manageable. But it might very well stop there. Even if he later offered his protection, it could end up being nothing more than symbolic. He could easily forget about the trio for years once he got wrapped up in his own endeavors. And if calamity befell them in the meantime, what good would revenge do?

However, by sidestepping the issue of revenge, Li Zhi hoped that whatever profound connection Zhang Shen had with her ancestors could give way to genuine protection.

“A truly astute young girl,” Zhang Shen mused to himself, intrigued. “In such a short span, you’ve managed to glean some understanding of my nature. Stretch out your hand.”

Puzzled by the directive, Li Zhi complied, extending her right hand.

Zhang Shen channeled a wisp of his Innate True Qi into Li Zhi’s body, allowing it to circulate briefly.

“You have quite impressive talent,” Zhang Shen commented. “I can extend my protection to the three of you, but you mustn’t bring me any trouble. Should you do so, I won’t hesitate to be ruthless.”

Li Zhi was elated. She bowed her head respectfully, taking Zhang Shen’s warning to heart and mentally cautioning herself not to overstep any boundaries.

“In a few days, I will be leaving Black Iron City. You and your companions may accompany me. My name, by the way, is Zhang Shen. You may leave now.”

Having said what he wanted, Zhang Shen showed no interest in prolonging the conversation.

Li Zhi memorized his name and nodded as she took her leave. Once outside, she looked around with a wistful expression. She was fully aware that once they left with Zhang Shen, their ancestral Li family home would most likely decline and eventually be claimed by others.

‘But where family is, home is,’ she thought to herself.

Preserving lives would always take precedence over maintaining material assets.

Still seated on his meditation cushion, Zhang Shen was uncharacteristically not involved in any cultivation exercises at the moment.

He had a reason for revealing his true identity to Li Zhi and not approaching her not under any disguise.

Currently, he was immersed in deep thought, his senses alert.

A flurry of conversations filled reached his ears.

A True Core body had a sensory range that was even broader than the spiritual awareness of most True Core martial artists. The closer the source, the clearer his perception would be.

Within the confines of Black Iron City, nothing could escape his keen eyes and sharp ears.

If not for his extraordinarily resilient physical constitution, enhanced in all aspects, merely hearing the cacophony could be enough to make his head burst. Naturally, Zhang Shen didn’t maintain his senses at full alertness all the time, he only kept a certain level of awareness within a specific radius.

At that moment, he heard the uproarious discussions from the bustling conversations among various factions within Black Iron City, including the Four Tigers Gang.

By the afternoon, word had already spread about Zhang Shen’s decimation of hundreds of members from the Four Tigers Gang. 

Given his formidable power, Zhang Shen could effortlessly obliterate Black Iron City. 

However, caution was a trait engraved in his bones, and it intensified after reading Li Yan’s diary. To avoid any mishaps, he had been vigilantly monitoring the city’s balance of power.

“Excellent. They are all just fledglings at the Innate stage. None of the families possess martial arts or techniques that are at the True Core stage,” he thought to himself, his eyes twinkling with satisfaction. The situation suited him perfectly.

The next day, Li Zhi, Li Wu, and Li Zhong awoke from an unusually restful sleep. But Li Zhi’s peaceful morning was interrupted when Zhang Shen woke her. 

“Rise. You have fifteen minutes to freshen up. Then meet me in the hall,” he ordered.

Li Zhi’s eyes snapped open, her drowsiness instantly vanishing. She dressed hurriedly and rushed to the hall, where Zhang Shen was already waiting.

“Follow me,” he said.

The two left the Li residence as the sky was just beginning to brighten, the early morning air filled with a thin mist. The area around the Li house was eerily silent, only when they had walked some distance did the sounds of street vendors and pedestrians become audible.

“Master, what are we going to do?” Li Zhi felt a gnawing emptiness within her. 

Martial artists in the Acquired stages still required sustenance and were particularly notorious for their hearty appetites. A whiff of food wafted by, igniting her hunger.

“We’re going to kill someone,” Zhang Shen replied, his tone casual as if discussing an everyday affair. “Even though you haven’t asked me to eliminate your family’s adversaries, I dislike leaving potential troubles behind.”

Li Zhi immediately grasped his meaning, her pangs of hunger instantly replaced by a surge of hatred and rage. 

She didn’t utter refrains like, “Don’t kill them, leave them for me to deal with someday.” For her, if it were possible, she would want her enemies gone, not living another day.

In light of yesterday’s events outside the Li residence, key figures within the Four Tigers Gang had convened.

Zhang Shen’s sudden appearance compelled them to exercise caution. Anyone with the capability to eliminate their gang members, as well as Hao Shuang, was likely a master at the Innate stage.

Should they disperse, the likelihood of casualties would increase. The Four Tigers Gang, after all, had only four members at the Innate stage.

When Zhang Shen arrived with Li Zhi, the four bosses of the Four Tigers Gang were each lost in hedonistic pleasures.

They had deliberated late into the night about strategies to counter Zhang Shen. For those at the Innate stage, such concerns were trivial. But after business affairs were settled, indulgence naturally followed.

What else were they striving for? While others might have different aspirations, these four Innate leaders, who had maxed out their potential, sought only pleasure.

The guards stood no chance against Zhang Shen. With a mere flick of his wrist, his internal energy materialized into razor-sharp blades, cleaving through everything in his path.

He bulldozed his way from the entry gates to the Four Tigers Gang’s central hall, leaving a trail of blood and corpses. Most couldn’t even slow him down long enough to scream. They were cut to pieces before they knew it.

Li Zhi, following closely beside him, was both terrified and thrilled by Zhang Shen’s ruthless efficiency.

Feelings of emptiness? Not a chance. Each person here had blood on their hands, blood of her family members.

It wasn’t until the air became saturated with the smell of blood that the four Innate leaders, still engrossed in their affairs, realized the gravity of the situation. Their surging internal energy spontaneously erupted, annihilating those underneath them.

Covered in gore, the four leaders broke through the ceiling, floating stark naked in mid-air, locking eyes with Zhang Shen standing in front of the hall.

“A Li family girl? And you!”

“We didn’t expect you to come to us before we went looking for you.”

Surveying the dismembered corpses and debris scattered across the ground, Wang Gao seethed with rage. The Four Tigers Gang, which he had single-handedly founded, had been dealt a crippling blow.

Their four most crucial Innate stage warriors remained untouched, but those who served as the backbone in the Acquired stage had been almost completely annihilated.

In the absence of these key figures, the Four Tigers Gang would inevitably have to lie low for some time. How could just four people effectively govern such a vast territory? Recruiting new members and fostering loyalty would undeniably take time.

“You’re going to die!”

With a roar of fury, Wang Gao aimed a palm strike at Zhang Shen. The other three also launched their attacks, brimming with rage.

Among them, only Lin Huan harbored doubts.

Although not particularly strong, Innate martial artists usually develop a form of spiritual perception that should cover the entirety of the Four Tigers Gang’s base. Yet, until they physically saw Zhang Shen, there was no trace of him in their spiritual awareness.

This anomaly made Lin Huan inwardly vigilant.

“Two at the second layer of Innate, one at the third, and one at the fourth. You all seem good enough to test my new blade on.”

In Zhang Shen’s hand materialized a long sword, moonlight-pale and adorned with flame-like etchings.

This would be its maiden battle since his Cold Moon Blade had transformed into the Sun-Moon Blade.

Zhang Shen had no intention of toying with his foes. He merely wanted to assess the Sun-Moon Blade’s combat effectiveness. Li Shuang had gone to great lengths to craft it, infusing not just Flame Iron but a multitude of precious materials, ultimately producing an Innate-grade masterpiece.

Wang Gao and his allies were the first to act, yet almost immediately realized that Zhang Shen had vanished from in front of the hall.

“Where are you looking?” a taunting voice echoed, sending chills down their spines.

A brilliant flash of the blade cut through the air, bisecting one of the warriors at the second Innate layer.

“Quite satisfying. It cuts like butter,” Zhang Shen mentally commended his blade as he directed it toward another target.

The disparity in their cultivation was simply too great. Zhang Shen, at the eighth layer of Innate cultivation, vastly outperformed the four. They couldn’t even keep track of his movements, much less mount an effective counterattack.

With another stroke, he cleaved another man in half at the waist.

It was only then that Wang Gao and Lin Huan snapped out of their horror, hastily distancing themselves.

“Too slow.”

Agile as the wind, Zhang Shen closed the gap and rapidly caught up to Wang Gao.

Terrified, Wang Gao thrust his palms forward, aiming a desperate strike at Zhang Shen. Innate True Qi cloaked the Sun-Moon Blade, elevating its already deadly sharpness to a whole new level.

Fingers severed, head sent flying. Wang Gao, the man who had single-handedly founded the Four Tigers Gang, met his end.

A sense of impending doom flooded Lin Huan as he frantically attempted to flee.

Sunset Slash! A technique within the Great Sun Blade Technique.

“The setting sun may be infinitely beautiful, but it heralds both twilight and a rendezvous with the King of Hell.”

A radiant blade light, reminiscent of a splendid sunset, swept across Lin Huan’s legs, causing blood to spurt out violently. The Sun-Moon Blade’s inherent heat and venomous fire surged into Lin Huan, searing his meridians.

His True Qi thrown into turmoil, Lin Huan screamed in agony as he plummeted into the Four Tigers Gang’s territory.

Martial artists who have broken through to the Innate stage may not be as durable as Zhang Shen, but a drop from several hundred meters wouldn’t be enough to kill them.

With a flick of his fingers, Zhang Shen sent bursts of concentrated Qi to shatter Lin Huan’s remaining arms and cripple his dan tian.

“Li Zhi, I leave him to you. Do as you wish.”

Now a broken man, Lin Huan could pose no threat to Li Zhi.

‘Don’t disappoint me,’ thought Zhang Shen, his eyes twinkling as he left the area.

All the Four Tigers Gang members in that place had been annihilated. Naturally, Zhang Shen intended to claim their accumulated wealth. It would be a waste otherwise.

Bloodshot eyes glaring, Li Zhi moved closer to Lin Huan, her internal energy already surging to its peak.