Chapter 4: Chapter 3: An Opportunity in the Newbie Village
The Celestial Wolf Gang’s Instructor Hall was located in the backyard of the main headquarters. It had a thousand-zhang-wide Martial Arts Arena for the gang members to practice.
All new recruits to the Celestial Wolf Gang had to train in the Instructor Hall for half a year to a year, after which they would be assigned to various halls based on their performance and strength.
It was during his training in the Instructor Hall that Chen Yuan had been noticed by Jiang Kaitai and taken in as his adopted son.
The Instructor Hall actually only had a dozen or so people. Aside from Chen Yuan’s trusted followers, there were some retired, veteran Celestial Wolf Gang members who served as Instructors.
Seeing Chen Yuan return, these old Instructors all bowed respectfully and greeted him, addressing him as Hall Master.
In the Martial Dao, proficiency came first. Despite Chen Yuan’s young age, his understanding of the Celestial Wolf Gang’s Martial Arts was much deeper than theirs.
Moreover, Chen Yuan was very generous and never stingy with sharing his insights and experiences, which had earned him the respect of these old Instructors.
Nowadays, Chen Yuan no longer needed to personally teach the new recruits; he could leave it to the old Instructors. As the Hall Master, he usually had a lot of free time.
Returning to his room, Chen Yuan took out a notebook filled with all sorts of obscure and unintelligible words and symbols.
These were records he had made in the first few days after he transmigrated, noting down all the opportunities he remembered from Lianshan City and even other places.
He couldn’t be sure if he would forget them over time, so he immediately recorded them in a way only he could understand.
After staring at the notebook in contemplation for a long while, Chen Yuan put it away, his mind racing.
What he had to do now was not only gain Jiang Kaitai’s trust but, more importantly, increase his strength.
Without strength, no matter how much he schemed, it would all be in vain.
In this Jianghu, the strong were always respected. Power was the foundation of everything.
Of the Nine Realms of Martial Dao, Chen Yuan was currently only in the First Realm, Body Tempering.
This Realm was simply about toughening the flesh and tempering the body’s strength.
One could say that ninety percent of the Martial Artists in the Jianghu who hadn’t cultivated Inner Power were in the Body Tempering Realm.
The next Realm, the Meridian Passage Realm, required an Inner Power Heart Method to gather Inner Strength, which was needed to open the Eight Extraordinary Meridians and use the power of the Meridians to further enhance one’s strength.
Chen Yuan did have an Inner Power technique—the Cyan Wood Heart Method, which Jiang Kaitai had taught him.
Qin Yuancheng, Zhu Zhiping, and many other Hall Masters in the Celestial Wolf Gang also cultivated this Inner Power technique.
But this Inner Power technique had almost no advantages. Cultivation progress was extremely slow, and the growth of Inner Strength was as slow as a turtle’s crawl. One could only increase it by a tiny sliver by grinding away over a long period.
If one had to point out a merit, it would be that it was moderate and stable, with no risk of qi deviation.
In *Jianghu 2*, Cultivation Techniques were divided into four levels: Heaven, Earth, Profound, and Yellow. Each level was further divided into Upper, Middle, and Lower Three Grades.
This Cyan Wood Heart Method was a Yellow Level Lower Grade technique, complete and utter garbage.
As for Martial Techniques, the only one Chen Yuan knew was the Celestial Wolf Saber Technique, a Yellow Level Middle Grade Saber Technique that everyone in the Celestial Wolf Gang knew.
However, Chen Yuan had good talent and had cultivated it to an extremely profound level, enough to instantly kill most Martial Artists in the same Body Tempering Realm.
The Celestial Wolf Gang did have higher-level Cultivation Techniques. What Jiang Kaitai cultivated was not the Cyan Wood Heart Method, but a Yellow Level Upper Grade Inner Power technique, the Black Death Technique.
There was also Jiang Kaitai’s signature ultimate technique, the Beichen Celestial Wolf Slash, which was an advanced version of the Celestial Wolf Saber Technique and ranked as a Profound Level Lower Grade technique.
However, Jiang Kaitai was cautious and suspicious by nature. He hadn’t taught the Black Death Technique or the Beichen Celestial Wolf Slash to anyone, keeping them firmly in his own hands.
If Chen Yuan wanted to obtain higher-level Cultivation and Martial Techniques, he would have to find a way within Lianshan City.
As one of the Newbie Villages in *Jianghu 2*, Lianshan City’s level of Martial Power wasn’t considered very high.
The strongest in the city were Jiang Kaitai and the Black Water Gang’s Leader, Yuan Dongtian. Both had reached the Fourth Realm of the Martial Dao, the Qi Casting Realm, and could release their True Qi externally.
But just because Lianshan City’s level was low didn’t mean there weren’t good things to be found there.
It was just that these good things were hidden very deeply, like easter eggs waiting for players to discover them.
’And now, all these good things belong to me.’
Locking the notebook in a cabinet, Chen Yuan closed his eyes and began to meditate and cultivate.
Although the cultivation progress of the Cyan Wood Heart Method was pitiful, Chen Yuan didn’t want to waste time when he had no alternative. Any sliver of progress was better than none.
After all, time waited for no one. There were now less than three months until Jiang Kaitai’s blood sacrifice to the Divine Artifact.
Early the next morning, after eating breakfast, Chen Yuan called for his trusted follower, Zhang Xiaoyi, to drive the carriage and head out.
Zhang Xiaoyi was only eighteen this year. He was simple-minded and naive-looking, still a bit green.
His parents had died early, forcing him to join a gang to make a living.
Because he was so young, he was bullied by other gang members while training in the Instructor Hall. He was once almost beaten to death, but Chen Yuan saved him and made him his follower.
From then on, Zhang Xiaoyi became fiercely loyal to Chen Yuan. Although his strength was mediocre, his redeeming quality was his steadfastness in his work.
That was why Chen Yuan had kept him around after transmigrating.
"Young Master, where are we going?"
"Wuyi Lane."
Zhang Xiaoyi drove the carriage all the way to Wuyi Lane. Just as they reached the corner at the lane’s entrance, Chen Yuan suddenly said, "Stop here and wait for me."
Chen Yuan got out of the carriage, walked up to the beggar he had given money to yesterday, and gave him another small piece of broken silver.
But this time, Chen Yuan didn’t leave. He stood before the beggar, seemingly waiting for a response.
This disheveled and filthy beggar, paralyzed on the ground, was one of Lianshan City’s hidden opportunities.
This beggar was once Duan Mubai, the heir to Lianshan City’s top martial arts hall, the Zhen Shan Martial Arts Hall.
He had been handsome, dashing, and debonair—quite a well-known figure in Lianshan City a few years ago.
Back when his father, Duan Zhenshan, was alive, Duan Mubai was a playboy who didn’t take his Martial Dao cultivation seriously and paid little attention to the affairs of the martial arts hall.
Once, Duan Zhenshan went out to repay a favor. He was fine when he left, but he returned as a corpse.
With the hall master’s unexpected death, Duan Mubai had no choice but to take over the Zhen Shan Martial Arts Hall, hastily becoming its new master.
But Duan Zhenshan’s eldest disciple, Lin Jingqi, openly challenged Duan Mubai, claiming he was unfit to be the master. He said that Duan Mubai couldn’t even properly use the Zhen Shan Martial Arts Hall’s secret technique, the Great Silk Binding Hand, so what right did he have to be the master?
Lin Jingqi rallied a portion of the disciples to cause trouble, provoking Duan Mubai into accepting a duel. They even signed a life-and-death waiver stating that if Duan Mubai lost, the Zhen Shan Martial Arts Hall would be handed over to Lin Jingqi.
Although Duan Mubai had been a playboy, his Martial Dao Talent was quite good.
Even though he didn’t put much heart into his cultivation, he still had the strength of a late-stage Body Tempering Realm practitioner.
Furthermore, because he had been secretly taught by his own father, his strength was a notch above Lin Jingqi’s.
But Lin Jingqi had long been having an affair with Duan Mubai’s junior apprentice-sister, who was also his childhood sweetheart and fiancée. He had her give Duan Mubai a light dose of Soft Bone Powder the day before the duel.
During the duel, Lin Jingqi not only defeated Duan Mubai but also viciously used the Duan Family’s ancestral Great Silk Binding Hand to shatter the bones in his hands and feet, turning him into a cripple.
However, to show his "magnanimity," Lin Jingqi didn’t kill Duan Mubai. He merely drove him out of the Zhen Shan Martial Arts Hall, leaving him to become a crippled beggar.
In the original storyline, a player took pity on Duan Mubai, who couldn’t even compete with other beggars for alms, and so began giving him one cent every day.
Some players were like that, doing random things in the game that were completely unrelated to the main quest.
On the tenth day, Duan Mubai, who had been unresponsive until then, would thank the player by teaching them the Zhen Shan Martial Arts Hall’s true ultimate technique: the *Silk Binding Jade Hand*.
The Zhen Shan Martial Arts Hall’s Great Silk Binding Hand was just an ordinary Grappling Technique, at the level of Yellow Level Lower Grade.
But the *Silk Binding Jade Hand* was a Profound Level Upper Grade Martial Technique. It combined hardness and softness, cultivating both the Silk Binding Strength and the Shattering Jade Strength simultaneously. The integration of hard and soft made its power infinite.
Afterward, Duan Mubai would ask the player to kill Lin Jingqi and avenge him once they mastered the technique. After killing Lin Jingqi, the player would receive an achievement.
In a small city like Lianshan City, a Profound Level Upper Grade technique like the *Silk Binding Jade Hand* was an exceptionally rare and superior Martial Technique, enough to give a player a massive advantage in the early stages.
Chen Yuan stood before Duan Mubai for a long while, but the man remained paralyzed on the ground, not moving at all.
’What’s the meaning of this?’
’That player gave you one cent a day, and you eagerly handed over the *Silk Binding Jade Hand*.’
’I’m giving you a piece of silver every day, and now you’re playing dead with me?’
Chen Yuan waited for a moment. Seeing no reaction, he had to clear his throat and say in a low voice, "Duan Mubai, are you really content to be a beggar for the rest of your life, to sit by and watch as your father’s life’s work is stolen and occupied by someone else?"
This time, Duan Mubai finally moved.
He struggled to lift his head and look at Chen Yuan, his voice hoarse. "What else can I do? I’m a cripple. With what can I take revenge? With what can I take back the Zhen Shan Martial Arts Hall?"
"With the Duan Family’s hidden foundation, of course!"
Chen Yuan squatted in front of Duan Mubai and said in a low voice, "Teach me your Duan Family’s *Silk Binding Jade Hand*. I will kill Lin Jingqi for you and take back the Zhen Shan Martial Arts Hall!"
A sharp glint flashed in Duan Mubai’s eyes. He stared intently at Chen Yuan, seemingly wondering why he knew about the *Silk Binding Jade Hand*.
His father, Duan Zhenshan, had never taught this ultimate technique to any other disciple, nor had he ever used it in public.
Although Duan Mubai had learned it, he couldn’t execute it completely because his mastery was poor, so he had never revealed it either.
Taking a deep breath, Duan Mubai asked, "Are you Chen Yuan, the Instructor Hall Master, one of the Three Heroes of the Celestial Wolf Gang?"
Chen Yuan nodded.
It wasn’t strange that Duan Mubai knew who he was.
Chen Yuan had kept a low profile before, but recently, in order to curry favor with Jiang Kaitai, he had made a move several times.
Especially after he publicly killed Hu the Third in the Forget Sorrow Building, his reputation had already spread throughout Lianshan City.
Although Duan Mubai was now a beggar, even beggars discussed the latest Jianghu gossip.
"Fine! As long as you bring me Lin Jingqi’s head, I’ll give you the *Silk Binding Jade Hand*!"
Duan Mubai’s eyes were bloodshot. Just mentioning Lin Jingqi’s name made him seem as if he were about to grind his teeth to dust.
"You’re not giving me the *Silk Binding Jade Hand* first? You’ll only give me the technique after I bring you his head?"
Chen Yuan was suddenly frustrated.
’That player gave you one cent a day, and you eagerly handed over the technique and begged him to avenge you.’
’I give you a piece of silver every day and offer to avenge you, but you don’t trust me? You need to see the head before you hand over the technique? Isn’t this differential treatment a bit much?’
Duan Mubai said bluntly, "You’re a gang member. I don’t trust you. If you take the technique and don’t help me get revenge, there’s nothing I can do to you.
Of course, you could also capture me now and torture me to force the technique out of me. But I believe that in the end, I will definitely take my Duan Family’s ancestral secret technique with me to the Underworld."
Chen Yuan was speechless for a moment. Finally, he could only say, "Deal. A head for the technique."
Torturing Duan Mubai was unrealistic.
His body was severely weakened now; he might die from the slightest touch.
The incident with Duan Mubai also taught Chen Yuan a lesson.
’This isn’t a real game, after all. The characters don’t all run on a fixed script. In the original storyline, the one who gave Duan Mubai money was just an ordinary player, an impoverished, low-level Jianghu Person on the outside. Charity from someone also at the bottom is obviously more moving. It’s like how you wouldn’t think twice if the richest person donates a few hundred million, but you’d be moved if an old scrap collector donates a few hundred. Besides, my identity as a gang member really doesn’t inspire trust. The two gangs that control Lianshan City are not good people. They have terrible reputations. Exploiting merchants and commoners and dominating the markets are common occurrences. Another reason is the difference in timing. The original storyline took place later than the present. By that time, Duan Mubai was probably on his last legs. That’s why he chose to take a gamble before he died, picking someone he felt he could trust to pass on the technique and get revenge for him. Right now, Duan Mubai still has some time. It’s only normal for him to be wary and on guard against me, someone who actively approached him.’
Chen Yuan stood up and instructed Zhang Xiaoyi, "Go find a few gang members to keep an eye on him. Buy him some food and make sure nothing happens to him.
Then go to the Instructor Hall and gather a dozen or so of the members with the most advanced cultivation progress. Come with me to the Zhen Shan Martial Arts Hall."
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