Chapter 110: The Meeting

The next day at noon, all seventeen martial hall masters from the Martial Arts Association sat in the meeting hall of the Chaoyang Martial Hall.

Some of them looked nervous, others had gloomy faces, and a few even seemed to be smiling, though no one knew what they were thinking about.

The most eye-catching among them were naturally Qin Wu, Xiao Jingyang, and several others who were injured and bandaged.

Among them, Xiao Jingyang had the worst expression. Zuo Zhicheng had broken one of his fingers, completely destroying the Eagle Claw Technique in that hand. This could be called an unforgivable hatred. But when he visited several important figures in Xinlu Port overnight, they all turned him away.

The plan to frame Zuo Zhicheng and use the Imperial Court’s power to suppress him did not succeed. Instead, the Hundred Families Association had already taken Rihuo back.

Xiao Jingyang turned his head and looked at the Hante man behind him, frowning uncontrollably. That was one of the Hante leaders, a strong man named Xing Feng.

He was one of the toughest Hante hunters in the Hundred Families Association besides Rihuo, the person sent by the Hante people to handle martial hall matters, and the second most important figure in the Hante faction of the Hundred Families Association.

According to the original plan, they would help each other. Xiao Jingyang would become the head of the Martial Arts Association, and they would provide a lot of martial power, training, and various protections and thuggish work for the Hante people of the Hundred Families Association.

This was a way for the Hante people to further increase their martial power and connect with the middle and upper levels of Xinlu Port. Compared to the other two factions in the Hundred Families Association, although the Hante people were strong in martial arts, they always lacked such direct connections to the high levels of Xinlu.

But the current situation was absolutely not what Xiao Jingyang wanted to see. Under these circumstances, even if he became the association head with the Hante people’s help, he would face a lot of restrictions from them.

Moreover, recalling Zuo Zhicheng’s methods from yesterday, he did not believe these Hante people had a hundred percent chance of dealing with Zuo Zhicheng.

While he was still thinking about these things in his head, Zuo Zhicheng arrived with several students from the Haoran Martial Hall. Following behind him were A Fei, Big Mouth Huang, and others.

Without paying any attention to the seventeen martial hall masters, he strode directly toward the main seat. The other masters did not dare to stop him, but that did not mean the Hante people in the hall would not dare.

A Hante man standing next to Xiao Jingyang, under Xing Feng’s signaling glance, stuck a foot out, blocking Zuo Zhicheng’s path.

Facing the outstretched foot, Zuo Zhicheng did not even glance at it. A leg shadow flashed, and he directly stepped on the other’s knee. With a crisp cracking sound, the big Hante man screamed and fell to the ground, clutching his twisted knee.

“What are you doing!”

“Kid, are you looking for death!”

Several Hante men who came with Xing Feng immediately surrounded him, pointing at Zuo Zhicheng’s nose and shouting.

Zuo Zhicheng did not look at them. Instead, he gave Xiao Jingyang a glance as cold as a blade and said lightly, “Master Xiao, we are having an association meeting. Why did you let outsiders in?”

“Heh, they’re not really outsiders. These are brothers from the Hundred Families Association. They’ve been training at our martial hall, so I brought them to the meeting today.”

Xing Feng smiled, his aggressive gaze fixed fiercely on Zuo Zhicheng. “So you’re the one taking over the Chaoyang Martial Hall? Want to be the association’s deputy head? Young man, let me give you some advice. Even the strongest lion cannot face a pack of wild wolves alone.

In these times, being strong isn’t everything.”

“Who are you?” Zuo Zhicheng frowned and said.

“My name is Xing Feng, just a leader in the Hundred Families Association.” Xing Feng spoke in a tone like an elder or someone with more experience. “When I was young, I also thought being strong was enough. I thought I could fight my way to the top with my fists. Thinking back now, it’s really laughable.

In this world, it’s not the one with the hardest fists who laughs last.”

While Xing Feng was speaking, none of the martial masters around stood up. The looks they gave him were full of fear. Clearly, they already knew Xing Feng’s identity, and no one wanted to get involved with these gang members. Otherwise, they would definitely fall into an endless swamp and be troubled by all kinds of problems.

Xing Feng pointed to his own head. “This is the most important thing. Only the smartest hunter can catch the fiercest beast. The biggest difference between us and animals is that we use our brains.

There’s a saying from you Qi people that I really like: ‘The hardest steel breaks easiest.’ Do you understand?”

“I only know that those who stand in my way will die.” Looking at Xing Feng’s ugly expression, Zuo Zhicheng pointed to the main entrance and said, “Do I throw you out, or do you leave on your own?”

“What did you say!”

“Do you know who you’re talking to!”

Xing Feng stopped his underlings. He had heard about yesterday’s events and knew that Zuo Zhicheng in front of him was very skilled—not someone a few underlings could easily deal with.

‘But so what? He’s not the Blood Rakshasa, heartless and without family, coming and going alone with no one to find. There are plenty of ways to deal with a young man like this. Catch people important to him, use poison, lime powder, crossbows, hidden weapons, honey traps—too many methods.’

Xing Feng coldly laughed a few times at Zuo Zhicheng. “Then remember what you said today. Boys, let’s go.”

Everyone watched as Xing Feng left with words that were clearly a threat. Their expressions were not good. After all, martial halls were different from gangs. They couldn’t spend all day fighting and killing; opposing gang members brought no benefits.

But aside from these old foxes, the young people behind Zuo Zhicheng like A Fei and Big Mouth Huang were stunned. They never imagined that Zuo Zhicheng, who usually joked around with them and seemed like anyone could push him around, had such a fierce and domineering side.

When Xing Feng stood up earlier, the fierce aura he had built from countless fights almost stunned them speechless. But Zuo Zhicheng not only faced him calmly but also directly drove him out.

Swallowing their saliva, A Fei and Big Mouth Huang looked at each other, then their gazes at Zuo Zhicheng became both admiring and somewhat unfamiliar.

Seeing Xing Feng leave, Xiao Jingyang said unhurriedly, “The Hundred Families Association is, after all, the biggest gang in Xinlu Port. Offending them like this will make it impossible for all our martial halls to operate. We are, after all, businessmen. It’s better to maintain good relations with them.”

“You don’t need to worry, because from today on, the Chaoyang Martial Hall is no longer yours.”

These words stung Xiao Jingyang’s heart with anger, but he did not dare to say more. Just then, another person walked in from the main entrance.

Zuo Zhicheng immediately went up to greet him, clasping his fists and saying, “Captain Huang, I apologize for not welcoming you properly.”

“Ah, Brother Zuo, you’re too polite.”

Seeing this person appear, several other martial hall masters also hurried forward. That Captain Huang was one of the leaders of the Xinlu city defense, responsible for street patrols, public order, and such matters. He could be considered the martial halls’ direct superior. It was also him who, under Qingyue Qiu’s orders, led a team to surround the Chaoyang Martial Hall yesterday.

Clearly, someone had already asked him to come specifically to help Zuo Zhicheng.

Watching this person chatting and laughing with Zuo Zhicheng, Xiao Jingyang’s frown deepened even more.