Chapter 42: Blackbeard’s Ambition

Amid Lin Qi’s wild and unrestrained laughter, Blackbeard’s face turned as dark as his beard. He clenched his fists tightly and stared fixedly at Lin Qi, who was rolling on the ground clutching his stomach. After a long while, he roared, “What’s so funny? What’s there to laugh about? Is it hilarious that I want to become mayor?”

Lin Qi laughed for a long time before he managed to stop. Gasping for breath, he lay on the ground and pointed at Blackbeard, saying, “Dad, when you said you were going to slaughter the entire family of the mayor of Dun Er Ke, I believed you. When you said you were going to seduce the mayor’s wife, I believed you. Even when you said you would woo the mayor’s daughter to be my stepmother, I reluctantly believed you!”

He took a deep breath and burst into laughter again. “But you want to run for mayor? Hahaha, look at yourself! Where do you look like a mayor?”

Ironhammer and Butcher Knife suddenly burst out laughing at the same time. Ironhammer laughed heartily, spitting saliva far and wide. He guffawed, “Master, Young Master is right. The last time you said you wanted to run for mayor, I thought it was ridiculous. If you want to kill and set fires, we brothers will follow you without question. But being a mayor? You’re not cut out for that!”

Butcher Knife, who had a gloomier temperament, just covered his mouth and let out a strange ‘hehe’ laugh, not as boisterous as Ironhammer.

Blackbeard flew into a rage. With an angry shout, he glared and swung his fist backhandedly at Ironhammer. Across a long table that could seat a hundred people for a feast, a surge of energy shot from Blackbeard’s fist. The energy, pale black on the outside with a deep purple core shaped like a black tiger, struck Ironhammer in the stomach, sending him flying far away and slamming hard against the wall behind him.

Even after being sent flying, Ironhammer continued to laugh happily. Blackbeard’s punch was spectacular, but it used a soft, internal force that merely pushed Ironhammer away without delivering any real impact. Ironhammer laughed so hard his whole body convulsed. He pointed at Blackbeard and said, “Master, see? Young Master says so too. You really don’t seem like someone who should be mayor!”

Enzo did not find it funny at all.

Blackbeard’s punch was not amusing in the slightest. It was utterly terrifying, so much so that Enzo’s body stiffened, and his mind went blank.

On the Western Continent, there was a saying about the nine colors and nine levels, which divided knights into three ranks from top to bottom: Celestial Rank, Earth Rank, and Human Rank. The color of a knight’s Combat Qi was also categorized according to those nine colors. However, besides the common, widely available Cultivation Techniques, there were many secret ones, such as those passed down within families or even unique techniques inherited through bloodlines.

Without a doubt, Blackbeard’s punch just now was a genuine special technique. The deep purple core of his Combat Qi proved that he was a true Celestial Knight, and he was close to breaking through to the violet-gold color, becoming the most powerful Grand Celestial Knight among Celestial Knights.

But the thick black energy surrounding his fist was an additional effect brought by the special Cultivation Technique he practiced. Some special techniques could make Combat Qi as hot as fire, some could make it as cold as ice, and some could even imbue it with deadly poison or corrosive power. It was unclear what additional properties Blackbeard’s black fist energy had, but any special technique was absolutely extraordinary.

Did Lin Qi also practice this technique? No wonder Lin Qi, who was a few months younger than Enzo and usually busy managing the affairs of the Iron Fist Brotherhood and earning Gold Coins all day, always progressed faster in Combat Qi than Enzo.

It was shocking, truly shocking to the extreme. Lin Qi’s father was actually a Celestial Knight, and one with such profound cultivation at that. To make matters worse, he actually practiced one of those legendary special techniques! Tsk tsk, the Iron Fist Brotherhood really had an incredible leader!

No wonder Lin Qi dared to oppose the Round Table Knight Society so recklessly. With such family background, a father like that for support, and experts like Ironhammer and Butcher Knife backing him up, the Bavell Family probably wasn’t much of a challenge after all?

The uproarious laughter from Lin Qi, Ironhammer, and the others infuriated Blackbeard. But one was his only son, and the other two were brothers who had followed him through life and death for decades, generations of loyal subordinates of the Black Tiger Family. No matter how angry Blackbeard was, there was nothing he could do to them.

Frustrated and furious, Blackbeard snorted sharply. He took a deep breath, and the foot-long Cigar in his mouth suddenly burned rapidly. The entire Cigar was consumed in just one short breath, and all the smoke was sucked into Blackbeard’s lungs. After letting the intense smoke burn in his lungs for a moment, Blackbeard exhaled two streams of smoke dragons from his nostrils. A gust of wind swept out in all directions, forcibly lifting Lin Qi up from the ground.

Only then did Lin Qi stop laughing. He looked seriously at Blackbeard and asked, “Dad, are you for real?”

Blackbeard puffed out his chest and looked just as seriously at Lin Qi, saying, “Of course I’m serious!”

He stepped back and sat on the Black Tiger Throne, then snorted heavily and gritted his teeth. “I’m doing this for the family’s benefit.”

Slapping the armrest of the Throne forcefully, Blackbeard snorted coldly. “Over the years, the family has prospered and grown. We have more brothers under our command and a larger territory. But business isn’t as good as it used to be! For thirty years in a row, there have been favorable weather conditions, and for thirty years, not even a small-scale conflict involving a thousand people has occurred on the Continent. Money isn’t easy to come by, Lin Qi, money isn’t easy to come by!”

Lin Qi thought of his own hard work in Borelly, striving to earn every single Copper Coin. He couldn’t help but nod repeatedly. “Yes, dear father, money really isn’t easy to earn! Ah, every Copper Coin is soaked with sweat!”

Blackbeard nodded firmly and said gravely, “It’s not good to live off past gains. Not only can we not do that, but we must also have significant surplus every year to keep the family strong forever. But now, those traditional trades aren’t profitable! Tsk, last time we robbed two gold transport ships of the Vias Commercial Federation. Although the gains were substantial, many brothers were killed or injured!”

Enzo’s calf muscle twitched violently. The gold transport ships of the Vias Commercial Federation? That was the notorious case that shocked the Continent half a year ago!

Gazing at Blackbeard with immense respect, Enzo couldn’t help but sigh. Truly, dragons beget dragons, phoenixes beget phoenixes, and the sons of mice know how to dig holes. Lin Qi’s father was indeed extraordinary; his dealings were on a much larger scale than Lin Qi’s!

Blackbeard waved his arm grandly and said with a laugh, “So, we must find new profit sources beyond the traditional family businesses! We need to expand the family’s business scale and scope! What’s a mayor of Dun Er Ke? In the future, I’ll even compete for the position of Province administrative chief! And maybe even get myself a Noble title!”

Lin Qi looked at Blackbeard blankly. “But how is that a new profit source?”

Blackbeard glared at Lin Qi as if he were a hopeless case. He said angrily, “Don’t you know that every year the Empire subsidizes local administrations with a large sum of administrative funds? And that every year, the local administrative chief alone decides all administrative expenses and tax revenues? You fool!”

Lin Qi’s eyes suddenly lit up, shining like two Gold Coins.