Chapter 66: Progress

As the Sea Dragon Gang completely withdrew, the Hundred Families Association grew larger and more powerful. Even some local people from nearby cities heard about it and came to join.

The so-called Hundred Families Association was actually made up of many indigenous people from the New Continent in Xinlu Port. After all, as a colonial city, although its management was mostly made up of people from Great Qi, and there were also many Great Qi people living in the city, there were also lots of native races from the New Continent mixed in.

As a group formed by the indigenous people, the Hundred Families Association had three main factions. These were the Newman People, who were slender and good-looking; the Western Indians, who were dark-skinned, short, lazy, but the most numerous; and the Hante People, who also had yellow skin and black hair and were originally the best hunters and nomads on the New Continent.

Of course, decades of city life had made them very different from their relatives who still lived in the central parts of the continent and were not under Great Qi’s colonial rule.

According to the information Zuo Zhicheng gathered, in simple terms, most of the Newman People in Xinlu City were women, and many worked in the sex trade. Among the three factions, they were the richest and had the closest ties to the city’s upper management.

The Western Indians were individually weak, and their personalities were cowardly when alone but became aggressive in groups. In Xinlu City, they mostly did things like petty theft. But because they had the largest numbers, they became one of the three main factions and had the best sources of information.

Among the three factions, the Hante People had the smallest numbers. But almost all of them were tall and strong, and they were excellent hunters and riders. They were considered the strongest in terms of fighting ability among the three factions.

On the original New Continent, these three races did not get along well and even fought each other constantly. But when faced with the Great Qi army that swept in from the sea, and when crushed by this unstoppable monster, the different peoples on the continent had to join hands to resist the suffocating oppression from Great Qi.

On a larger scale, the allied races of the New Continent were always ready, facing off against the Great Qi stationed troops. Small conflicts broke out from time to time, as they tried to take back the large lost territories along the East Coast.

In Xinlu Port, this meant the indigenous people could unite to resist the bullying from the Great Qi people.

So when Geloo, the leader of the Western Indians in the Hundred Families Association, found out that Tuoki and his group had disappeared, even though their bodies were never found, he was still very angry. Plus, the sharp increase in the number of members and the growing power of the Hundred Families Association also led to a period of intense conflict between the indigenous people and the Great Qi people.

There were even several attacks between the two sides because of racial tensions.

After all, for the indigenous people in the Hundred Families Association, the Great Qi people were plunderers, oppressors, and enemies.

For many Great Qi people who had come to the New Continent over the past few decades seeking fortune, the indigenous people should be lowly, people to oppress, and also those who took their jobs with low pay or because of their specific ethnic traits.

Also, the New Continent was not as wonderful as many Great Qi people had imagined. The initial phase of easy gold was long over, and most of the profits were taken by the upper class. This led to disappointment and resentment among many Great Qi people, especially the younger ones who had come or grown up in recent years. These feelings were easily directed at the indigenous people, who were generally weaker.

One month, a few indigenous women working as servants might be raped. A few months later, some Great Qi dockworkers might have a leg broken.

The rise of the Hundred Families Association especially worsened the conflict between the two sides.

However, under the combined pressure from the stationed army and the city lord of Xinlu City, after several warnings, underground organizations like the Hundred Families Association had to learn to be more careful and follow the old rules of the Sea Dragon Gang.

Everything seemed to calm down after the battle at Chaoyang Martial Hall.

If possible, Zuo Zhicheng would have preferred that nothing bother him until he became the strongest in the world. But that was just a wishful thought.

Two months later, the proportion of Purple Innate Qi reached 55%. The Innate Primordial Breath in his head finally opened up completely after Zuo Zhicheng’s slow, steady work. The bottleneck that had stuck for over half a year was finally broken through.

On this day, Zuo Zhicheng finally reached the state that countless martial artists dreamed of—the Grand Completion of Qi Training. But trouble eventually came.

…

Under the moonlight, Zuo Zhicheng stood quietly in the courtyard, feeling streams of warmth moving around in his head. It felt like his whole head was placed in a hot spring—extremely comfortable and relaxed.

Although it was called opening up the Innate Primordial Breath, which sounded like an instant process, changes in the human body, the transformation of muscles and blood vessels, naturally could not happen all at once.

From the moment the Innate Primordial Breath began to fully expand in his head until now, when his whole head was wrapped in the Innate Primordial Breath, Zuo Zhicheng had taken about ten days to complete it.

The first feeling after fully opening up the Innate Primordial Breath in his head was relaxation, as if many burdens had been lifted from his head, making him feel incredibly light.

However, because the Innate Primordial Breath in his head, being opened for the first time, was the lowest grade of pink, in his Infrared Vision, the measured proportion of Purple Innate Qi in his whole body dropped from 55% to 41%. Of course, because of the difference in coverage, his actual strength increased instead of decreasing.

The changes in the structure of his brain seemed to further free his mind. After feeling relaxed, Zuo Zhicheng felt that his thinking seemed more agile. Later tests he did himself also proved that his memory, calculation ability, reaction speed, and other skills had improved significantly.

‘Is this what they mean by Transform Fist Practice into Brain Cultivation?’

‘As the Innate Primordial Breath keeps breaking through, and with more sufficient nutrients and a stronger structure, will the brain’s various attributes also improve?’

On the other hand, as Zuo Zhicheng’s brain improved in various abilities, the amount and speed of information he could process also increased. As a result, his left eye, the regenerative eye, underwent new changes.

In his Infrared Vision, Zuo Zhicheng could now see changes in energy flow. This meant that in the original Infrared Vision, the radiation produced by the Innate Primordial Breath, divided by color blocks, basically didn’t change much. Even in intense fights, because of heat changes, the color blocks would change, but the process was blurry, and Zuo Zhicheng couldn’t gain much from watching.

But now, Zuo Zhicheng could clearly see the subtle movements of the heat flow. In other words, he could sense the order in which each muscle and each fiber exerted force. This was a further function unlocked in his left eye after his brain’s ability to process information improved.

He threw a punch, and a cracking sound echoed in the air. Zuo Zhicheng looked at his fist—the transmission of power and heat throughout his arm had been so clear in his left eye.

This meant that no matter what martial arts others used, he could easily see how they directed their force. And in combat, he would be able to predict his opponent’s various attacks at any time.