Teng Qingshan had perused the Earth Ranking compiled by the Myriad Manifestations Gate, giving him a fair understanding of the foremost experts across the land. On the continent of Jiuzhou, figures like Fourth Master Hong of the White Horse Gang were counted among the absolute elite of the Houtian Peak realm. Establishing the White Horse Gang meant he certainly commanded a retinue of experts possessing Internal Strength.
“To think this Iron Mountain Gang dares to stand against the White Horse Gang; they must have a few Internal Strength masters among them. But bandits are ultimately bandits; they cannot attract truly powerful figures. These are likely internal strength practitioners who failed to achieve recognition in their own sects and ended up joining these robber strongholds,” Teng Qingshan understood his own strength perfectly.
Currently, he was vastly stronger than he had been at his peak in his previous life.
Even if these men’s swords struck him, they likely couldn't even pierce his skin and muscle!
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!……
Thirteen gleaming swords, trailing shafts of cold light, stabbed towards Teng Qingshan, who stood precisely in the center. Teng Qingshan’s long spear suddenly whipped into motion, resembling a tempest sweeping around him, managing to simultaneously parry all the incoming blades in an instant.
“Fine spear technique!” The Second-in-Command of the Iron Mountain Gang, watching the scene unfold, brightened. “But this spear method… I have never seen it before. Which sect’s technique is this?”
This Second-in-Command was certainly knowledgeable, having witnessed the methodologies of many schools of spear fighting, yet he could not fathom Teng Qingshan’s skill.
……
The members of the Teng Clan watched the display with bated breath. In their eyes, the swords wielded by the thirteen men were like relentless, rapid rain. They feared Teng Qingshan being even a fraction too slow, lest he be struck.
“Qingshan.” His mother, Yuan Lan, was extremely tense.
“Mother, Brother is the strongest,” Qingyu beside her expressed absolute faith in her elder brother.
It wasn’t just the Teng Clan who cared; the bandits of the Iron Mountain Gang also keenly observed this confrontation. If they lost, it would be a profound loss of face. Teng Qingshan and the Thirteen Swordsmen fought fiercely for some time. The Second-in-Command, mounted on his Crimson Fire Horse, frowned deeply and shouted, “Finish this quickly.” The battle had dragged on without Qingshan even being scratched, which clearly displeased the Second-in-Command.
Teng Qingshan had actually been studying their swordplay. After all, since arriving in this world, he hadn't truly crossed blades with Internal Arts masters. “This sword technique is not ordinary, I admit. Every move flows seamlessly into the next, creating a continuous sequence, and when infused with Internal Strength, its power is considerable. However, it’s clear… these swordsmen are all still stuck in the stage of ‘Form’; they haven't grasped the deeper meaning, the Yi, of the sword style!”
Teng Qingshan’s spear maneuvers appeared complex.
In reality, from start to finish, he was executing a single move: the Primordial Unity Spear Technique!
Teng Qingshan practiced his spear not through fixed forms, but through Intent.
When the Intent was perfectly aligned, even his most casual movements carried tremendous power.
“That’s about all the sword moves they have. The creator of this sword formation was formidable, but these men using it only yield mediocre power,” Teng Qingshan mused internally.
“Chaotic Sword Style!” The leader of the thirteen swordsmen roared.
Instantly, the sword shadows of the thirteen blades converged densely, like thirteen silver blossoms blanketing Teng Qingshan.
Teng Qingshan, centered within the sword array, let out a sudden, sharp cry: “Release your grip!”
The thirteen swordsmen suddenly felt an incredible, almost crushing force emanating from the long spear in Teng Qingshan’s hands, as if gigantic boulders had slammed onto their blades. With a deafening clamor—Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!—all thirteen swords were knocked from their hands, clattering onto the ground.
“How could this be…”
The thirteen swordsmen stared in horror at Teng Qingshan in the center. Their right hands trembled violently, the web between their thumb and forefinger torn open, blood streaming down.
Silence!
The numerous bandits in the training ground were stunned into immobility. Almost all those who could ride the Green Mane Horses in the Iron Mountain Gang were Internal Strength experts. To be defeated by the combined effort of thirteen masters was simply unbelievable.
Teng Qingshan then strode toward his clansmen. The intimidated bandits backed away, clearing a path for him to return to the embrace of his family.
“Good!”
“Well fought!”
The members of Teng Family Village erupted in cheers, their excitement palpable.
“Qingshan, you did well.” His maternal grandfather, Teng Yunlong, patted Teng Qingshan’s shoulder. Teng Qingshan smiled, then turned toward the rest of his clan, gently raising and lowering his hand, instantly quieting the villagers of Teng Family Village.
“Second-in-Command.” The thirteen swordsmen shamefacedly walked to the side of the Second-in-Command and bowed their heads low. The Second-in-Command’s expression was grim, and he hissed, “Aren’t you going to remount? Are you trying to humiliate us further by standing here?” The thirteen immediately retreated to the side, while the Second-in-Command looked at Teng Qingshan and burst into laughter. “Good, very good, excellent spear work.”
“In that case, what happened to my men is settled.” The Second-in-Command, still mounted on the Crimson Fire Horse, looked down and laughed. “Your Teng Family Village will pay our Iron Mountain Gang an annual levy, and then we will depart immediately.”
“Annual levy?” Teng Qingshan asked. Having heard the thirteen swordsmen address him as ‘Second-in-Command,’ Qingshan now knew this visitor was one of the three leaders of the Iron Mountain Gang. Legend held that the Chief Bandit was the strongest of the three.
“Two taels of silver per person,” the Second-in-Command announced loudly.
“Two taels of silver! This… isn’t this outright extortion!”
“How can it be so high?”
“They won’t let us live!”
The villagers of Teng Family Village burst into an uproar. Even Teng Yunlong and Teng Yongfan’s faces changed drastically; two taels per person for an annual levy was an outrageously high proportion. Recall that the White Horse Gang only collected half a tael per person.
“Second-in-Command,” Teng Qingshan’s face darkened, “Two taels of silver per person, isn't that excessively high?”
“High?” the Second-in-Command sneered. “Your Teng Family Village is known as a wealthy settlement in the area. A village your size should have over two thousand people. However, I will calculate based on two thousand. Two taels each means you need to produce four thousand taels of silver—surely not a difficult task for you.” He continued coldly, “For poorer villages like Great Li Village, we charge two taels per person as well. Today, I am showing Brother Qingshan deference by only charging two taels apiece.”
Teng Qingshan finally understood why Black Wood Village had refused payment, leading to their massacre.
It was because the Iron Mountain Gang was too greedy.
He knew that…
The surplus funds in the Teng Family Village treasury were likely only around twenty thousand taels, perhaps a little more. Not to mention the sable furs and the Wolf King pelt. But without Teng Qingshan, there would be no sable or Wolf King pelts, and perhaps even the ten thousand taels profit from the Yangzhou salt merchant deal would have been swallowed up.
The villagers of Teng Family Village enjoyed a decent standard of living, but their daily consumption was high, meaning their savings weren't vast.
Demanding four thousand taels all at once meant that after a few years, the Teng Family Village would be forced to tighten its belt severely. They wouldn't dare eat meat anymore, having to sell most of the game they hunted. They wouldn't dare buy new cloth for clothes; everything would be for saving money.
“Second-in-Command,” Teng Qingshan spoke clearly, “You must also know that we mountain folk earn meager silver throughout the year. A single household typically earns only a dozen taels annually, even if they’re doing quite well. But normal food and daily necessities consume half of that. And a household usually has four or five mouths to feed. If your Iron Mountain Gang demands two taels per person, that’s nearly ten taels for one family! If we also pay the White Horse Gang’s levy, how much will be left for us? Second-in-Command, how do you expect our clansmen to survive?”
Teng Qingshan was the head of the clan’s hunting team; his monthly stipend from the clan was ten taels, amounting to one hundred and twenty taels a year. This was the highest salary in the entire village. The Hunting Team Leader, the Master Craftsman of Spear Arts, and the Foremost Blacksmith shared the highest stipends.
A common strong man in the clan received only one tael per month, twelve taels a year. This was considered quite decent among commoners.
In a family, a strong man had to support a wife, children, and elders. The wife, working the fields, could only manage to keep two or three taels of silver after contributing enough food for the household. A family’s total annual income wasn’t high. In the past, just paying the White Horse Gang’s fee allowed the Teng Family Village members to live comfortably.
But if they had to pay the exorbitant annual levy of the Iron Mountain Gang, their basic food and drink would become a problem in the future.
“Stop spouting nonsense here.” The Second-in-Command, seated high on his horse, darkened his expression. “Great Li Village can afford two taels per person; you people cannot?”
“Qingshan.” Teng Yunlong reached out and pulled Qingshan’s arm, leaning close to whisper quietly, “This Second-in-Command is too powerful. He smashed our main gate with one strike; he definitely possesses strength of ten thousand jin. He’s not someone to provoke. Four thousand taels—let’s just endure it for now and pay. The White Horse Gang and the Iron Mountain Gang are bound to clash someday.”
“That elder speaks the truth!” The Second-in-Command laughed loudly. “Our Iron Mountain Gang and the White Horse Gang will definitely sort out who is superior. Once the White Horse Gang is finished, our Iron Mountain Gang will naturally lower the levy. We understand the principle of careful, long-term harvesting, too.”
Teng Yunlong’s face shifted. He had spoken quietly, assuming the Second-in-Command wouldn't hear. To his surprise, the man had heard every word clearly.
“Lower the levy after the White Horse Gang is finished?” A surge of anger rose within Teng Qingshan.
Who knew how long it would take for the two gangs to determine a victor? Historically, gang conflicts lasting over a decade were not uncommon.
“Second-in-Command, this time, we can bear it, we can scrape together this sum of silver, but what about the next time our village faces this?” Internal Strength suddenly surged from Teng Qingshan’s legs into the earth, rocketing toward the bandits.
Instantly, the ground began to shake violently.
Rumble~~~
From beneath Teng Qingshan’s feet, the earth cracked open, the fissures extending toward the bandits. The warhorses reared up in fright, neighing wildly (“Lü Lü~~”), and many bandits were thrown headlong from their saddles. Chaos erupted among the horsemen, while the Second-in-Command’s expression subtly changed. He muttered internally, “This kid has formidable Internal Strength.”
The curved cracks on the training ground looked particularly menacing.
Teng Qingshan stared at the Second-in-Command, his gaze sharp, his voice low: “Second-in-Command, I implore you to leave a path for the survival of our Teng Family Village!”