Qian Jin felt this was the second time someone had spoken to him this way. The first was Snake Emperor Pan Hongji; this time, it was his own uncle, the underworld boss Jun Wudao.
“I had originally intended to let you temper yourself further in ignorance,” Jun Wudao adjusted his posture again. “Because of the Lei family’s involvement, I had no choice but to acknowledge you sooner. This is fine too. Remember this: whenever you have time, drop by the Wudao Society and get to know the heads of the various halls.”
Qian Jin felt a bit dizzy. He had only been back in Yongliu City for a few days, and already two major factions were showing signs of wanting to pass on their legacy: the Hongliu War Fortress and the Wudao Society!
“Introducing you now, I’m afraid you’ll face quite a few more challenges,” Jun Wudao spread his hands. “You know the underworld is different from those other kinds of organizations. Strength matters here more. If you are strong, they will obey you. If you are not strong enough, they will take you down.”
Qian Jin listened intently. He didn't really understand the nature of Jun Wudao’s faction. He had only heard vague, imagined descriptions of them from the bards.
“As long as I am alive, I can naturally suppress them,” Jun Wudao frowned. “But what if I die that day? Therefore, before I die, you must subdue the leaders of every hall in the Wudao Society, one by one. Make them genuinely recognize you as the Great Boss.”
Subdue the hall leaders? Qian Jin began to realize that becoming the leader of any faction was not an easy task.
In the Hongliu War Fortress, that Vice President was constantly eyeing the chair beneath Mu Gui Wuxin. This Wudao Society would probably be even more troublesome than the Hongliu War Fortress. After all, Uncle Fabreidis stood there, and his Saint-level imposing strength was enough to keep those people from daring to lift their heads.
“Actually, as long as you can suppress the Vice President, and the leaders of the Fierce Tiger Hall and the Raging Dragon Hall, you don’t need to subdue the others; they will all listen to you.”
Qian Jin felt his scalp tighten. The Vice President seemed troublesome enough. As for the other two halls, he only knew their names—this was definitely not simple. Fierce Tiger and Raging Dragon! They were likely the main powerhouses of the Wudao Society.
“Little Hei, come here for a moment.” Jun Wudao pointed to a lean, short warrior running over. “This is Little Hei, the steward of the Wudao Society. In the future, if I am not here and you need anything, tell Little Hei, it’s the same. If you want to look around the Wudao Society’s properties, Little Hei can also take you around.”
“Heiji…”
“Don’t! Just call me Little Hei.”
Little Hei, who appeared to be in his forties, repeatedly waved his hands in front of his chest. “Brother Jin, you are the future leader of the Wudao Society… it’s better to call me Little Hei.”
Qian Jin looked at the awkward expression on Little Hei’s face, who was clearly in his forties, and clicked his tongue several times. Asking him to call a man in his forties ‘Little Hei’ while being called ‘Brother’ himself was truly uncomfortable.
“These are minor matters,” Jun Wudao patted Little Hei’s arm. “Alright, you can get busy now.”
“Raging Dragon Brother, Raging Dragon Brother… You can’t go in, the Great Boss is meeting guests…”
A series of voices arguing echoed from the corridor outside the main hall.
“Why can’t I go in? I want to see Brother Wudao!”
“Brother Wudao gave instructions today…”
“I must go in today! Even if Brother Wudao slaps me, the Half-Raging Dragon, to death, I have to see him and find out what’s going on.”
The arrogant and domineering voice carried through the corridor. Qian Jin cast a questioning glance at Jun Wudao. “The leader of the Raging Dragon Hall?”
Jun Wudao nodded, clearing his throat. “Let Raging Dragon in…”
Before Jun Wudao’s words had even settled, Raging Dragon burst into the hall, the clothes on his chest ripped and tattered from being pulled. The Wudao Society member who tried to stop Raging Dragon looked embarrassedly at Jun Wudao. “Great Boss, Raging Dragon Brother he…”
“Alright, you go attend to your duties,” Jun Wudao waved his hand. “It’s not a big deal, don’t dwell on it.”
Qian Jin curiously stared at the intruder, Raging Dragon. He was about 175 centimeters tall, not particularly tall, but incredibly muscular. Even a brief glance conveyed a fierce aura emanating from him.
Interesting! Qian Jin scrutinized Raging Dragon repeatedly. He expected someone who spoke with such imposing authority to do something violent to the person who stopped him upon barging in, but that didn't happen.
The gate guard, whose rank in the Wudao Society was far below Raging Dragon’s, showed no signs of injury whatsoever; his clothes were still neat. In contrast, the leader of the Raging Dragon Hall had his own clothes significantly torn, yet he still showed no anger toward the guard.
Qian Jin couldn't quite determine if this showed Raging Dragon had good self-control, or if Raging Dragon was simply a good person.
“Brother Wudao, I heard you took money from the Lei family? To kill someone named Qian Jin?” Raging Dragon looked up at Jun Wudao. “Is that true?”
Jun Wudao shrugged nonchalantly. “It is true. Do you plan to take on the job?”
“No!” Raging Dragon turned and walked over to the junction between the corridor and the main hall, quite frankly planting his legs and sitting on the threshold. “I didn’t come here for the job. I came to persuade you to commit insider betrayal! Or, just return the money to the Lei family! Regardless, I came today to make things clear: anyone who wants to kill Qian Jin is making an enemy of me, Raging Dragon, first!”
Raging Dragon slapped the ground, then glanced at Jun Wudao. “Of course, Brother Wudao, I wouldn't dare do anything to you. But if you personally move to kill Qian Jin, you might as well kill me first!”
Qian Jin felt Jun Wudao’s curious gaze and shook his head in confusion. This Raging Ghost… he didn’t know him at all! What in the world was going on?
“Little Long, you…” Jun Wudao focused all his curiosity on Raging Dragon. “Do you know Qian Jin?”
Qian Niancheng leaned on the table, his large eyes flickering with endless curiosity, awaiting Raging Dragon’s reply.
“Never met him!” Raging Dragon shook his head frankly. “But that doesn’t stop me from doing what I need to do today.”
“You don’t know him…” Jun Wudao was even more perplexed. “Then what are you doing? You should know, the Lei family put up one million gold coins for this.”
“Brother Wudao! Insider betrayal and swallowing it is fine!” Raging Dragon frowned, clearly displeased. “The Lei family aren’t good people either.”
Jun Wudao’s eyes suddenly lit up. “No wonder! I know why you are so concerned about Qian Jin.”
“That’s right! Brother Wudao saved me back then, but he couldn’t save my sister.” Tears welled up in Raging Dragon’s domineering eyes. “I have a blood feud with the Lei family! Especially Lei Yueyue!”
Jun Wudao recalled the events of that year. Raging Dragon, covered in blood, had fought Lei family members outside the city. The reason for the conflict always stemmed from the trivialities that happened daily. The day Raging Dragon returned from the Man-Demon Battlefield, he saw his sister being taken away by Lei family members.
It turned out that Raging Dragon’s aunt had gambled away all the gold coins Raging Dragon earned fighting enemies on the front lines at the Lei family’s casino, and she even incurred significant debt. Thus, Raging Dragon’s aunt handed over his sister to the Lei family to settle the debt.
Coincidentally, Raging Dragon returned exactly when they were demanding the debt. The person leading the Lei family group at the time was a young Lei Yueyue. Though the girl was young, she was decisive and efficient, forcefully insisting on taking the sister away.
Raging Dragon resisted, and the Lei family members attacked. The Lei family never expected a Raging Dragon to suddenly appear, and he beat them back severely, forcing Lei Yueyue to flee back into the city.
Raging Dragon knew he couldn't stay in Yongliu and tried to leave with his sister, but they were caught up by Lei Yueyue leading more Lei family members. This time, the Lei family sent true experts. Raging Dragon, protecting his sister, was still badly wounded.
Because she had been driven away last time, the young Lei Yueyue felt utterly disgraced. She directly took action and killed Raging Dragon’s sister in front of him.
Raging Dragon, having lost the will to live, fought the Lei family desperately but was still severely injured. It was at that moment that Jun Wudao passed by, saw Raging Dragon fighting in a frenzy, and casually rescued him. He tossed ten thousand gold coins to the Lei family and bought Raging Dragon’s life from Lei Yueyue.
“For all these years, I, Raging Dragon, have only wanted to kill that bitch Lei Yueyue! And wipe out the Lei family!” Raging Dragon was crying by this point, snot and tears streaming down his face. “But if I kill Lei Yueyue, Brother Wudao will be implicated. Because I was saved by you! The Lei family will seek vengeance on you! I cannot let my personal vendetta implicate the entire Wudao Society! Even if you say you’ll take the heat, I cannot allow you to!”
“I have the combat strength to kill Lei Yueyue, but I cannot kill her! Every time I see her, I hate myself!” Raging Dragon wiped the snot and tears from his face with one hand. “I heard a few days ago that Lei Yueyue’s true cause of death was being hacked to death by someone named Qian Jin. Even the Lei family Patriarch who died is connected to Qian Jin’s actions. I, Raging Dragon, couldn’t find him to repay the kindness, and now I hear our Wudao Society wants to kill him…”
Jun Wudao smiled. “There isn’t only one person named Qian Jin in the world…”
“Brother Wudao, please don’t lie to me.” Raging Dragon shook his head repeatedly. “I’ve inquired; the Qian Jin the Lei family wants dead is that Qian Jin.”
“Insider betrayal…” Jun Wudao looked troubled. “That doesn't seem right?”
“Brother Wudao! We are in the underworld!” Raging Dragon straightened his back. “At worst! If any Lei family members come to question this, just say I, Raging Dragon, swallowed the money but didn’t do the job. Tell them to come find me!”
“Find you? What are you worth? The Wudao Society isn’t just your Raging Dragon Hall!”
At the junction between the corridor and the main hall, a sallow-faced warrior stood behind Raging Dragon. He was at least a head taller than Raging Dragon, and a fierce tiger tattoo stretched from his cheekbone down his neck, reaching his chest.
“Fierce Tiger?” Qian Jin turned to look at Qian Niancheng. In the Wudao Society, the only people who dared to speak to the leader of the Raging Dragon Hall in such a manner were likely the leader of the Fierce Tiger Hall and the Vice President. Moreover, this man had a fierce tiger tattooed on his neck.