Chapter 9: Chapter 9: You’re Also a Complete and Utter Waste
「The next morning.」
Led by Elder Ge, Chen Xuan finally entered the Red Sand Gang headquarters.
The Gang Leader was meeting with the elders early in the morning, so Chen Xuan was taken to a side hall to wait.
Several others, who had returned to report on their duties, were also waiting with him.
People were gathered in small groups, murmuring amongst themselves.
Many were surprised by the sudden appearance of this newcomer, Chen Xuan.
As Chen Xuan sat off to the side, nibbling on some pastries, a calm and polite voice suddenly sounded by his ear.
"You must be Chen Xuan."
Chen Xuan glanced over his shoulder to see a man with a scholarly appearance approaching him. The man smiled. "My name is Liu Zifeng. You can just call me Squad Leader Liu. There’s something I’d like to discuss with you."
"Don’t know you."
Chen Xuan ignored him and went back to eating his pastries.
Liu Zifeng was taken aback, but he forced a smile.
"Chen Xuan, the Red Sand Gang has seventy-two squads. The higher a squad’s rank, the higher its status. I imagine you don’t know that yet, do you?"
Liu Zifeng said lightly, "So, according to seniority and status, you should call me Brother Liu."
"Okay, Brother Liu," Chen Xuan said.
Liu Zifeng continued, "You went a bit overboard yesterday. It would have been one thing to simply defeat Fang Li, but why did you have to humiliate her like that?"
"So?"
Chen Xuan frowned.
Liu Zifeng said as calmly as he could, "So, I’d like to ask you to proactively apologize to Fang Li after the meeting today. It would be best to buy her a nice gift and be sincere. Don’t let her stay angry. And!"
He fixed his gaze on Chen Xuan and said lightly, "When we meet the Gang Leader, I hope you will take the initiative to explain that, for personal reasons, you’re willing to resign your post as Squad Leader and only wish to be a vice-squad leader..."
"Got it," Chen Xuan responded.
"You... you agreed?"
Liu Zifeng looked at Chen Xuan with suspicion.
’He clearly hadn’t expected Chen Xuan to be so agreeable.’
’Was he really this easy to push around?’
’If I’d known it would be this easy, why did Fang Li even bother to fight him?’
"Agree? My fucking ass!"
Chen Xuan held nothing back. "What kind of fucking idiot are you? Who do you think you’re talking to, your daddy?"
’Where the fuck did this guy crawl out from?’
’Did someone forget to tie their belt?’
[Excellent cursing. A direct confrontation. +100 retribution points!]
"You dare curse at me?"
Liu Zifeng’s expression froze. He couldn’t hold back any longer. His eyelid twitched uncontrollably, his face a mask of shock and fury. An icy aura emanated from his body as he said, "Do you have any idea what you’re saying?"
"I said, go fuck yourself! Are you deaf? Scram!"
Chen Xuan showed him no respect whatsoever, snapping at him.
’Are all the squad leaders in the Red Sand Gang such morons?’
[You refuse to tolerate the slightest grievance. +200 retribution points!]
"Fine, fine. I really did underestimate you!"
A vicious smile spread across Liu Zifeng’s face, his composure completely gone. He stared at Chen Xuan and chuckled darkly. "I’ve investigated you. You’re from Rat Alley in the Panshi City slums, aren’t you? And you’ve been close to those poor folk since you were a child, right? I’ll be sending you a little surprise later. I hope you don’t cry when you get it."
"Oh?"
Chen Xuan raised an eyebrow, sizing him up, and said nonchalantly, "You’re Liu Zifeng, right? I’ll send you a surprise in return. Go ahead and kill those slum dwellers, I don’t care. They’re not my blood relatives, after all. But as for whether your family’s bloodline will survive... well, I can’t say. You can ask around about the Tiger Gang. By the way, do you have any sons? Daughters? I’ll be sure to send them on a little ’trip’ soon."
"You!"
Fury and alarm seized Liu Zifeng’s heart, and a chill ran down his spine.
"You dare threaten me?"
’This Chen Xuan wants to kill my entire family?’
’How could he not know about the Tiger Gang?’
Just last night, they had done a thorough background check on Chen Xuan.
The results were clear: Chen Xuan was savage and vicious. He wouldn’t hesitate to slaughter entire families without a shred of mercy. He was a man with no bottom line, the most ruthless of individuals...
"Don’t you dare do anything rash!"
Liu Zifeng hissed, shocked and furious.
"Scared already?"
Chen Xuan, seemingly determined to taunt the man to death, mocked him relentlessly. "And here I thought you were some kind of tough guy. You’re just trash. Utter and complete trash. A guy like you runs around the martial world and actually dares to start a family? Let me tell you something: if anything happens to a single person in those slums, I’ll send your entire family on that ’trip’.
And another thing: from now on, if you see me, you stay the hell away. Don’t let me catch sight of you. Because if I do, there’s no telling what I might do!"
"You’re absolutely lawless!"
Liu Zifeng cried, aghast.
"So?"
Chen Xuan’s tone was light. "Believe it or not, I can make you kneel right now."
"You! Fine! Just fine!"
Liu Zifeng trembled with rage, his face ashen. He spun around and stalked away, not daring to stay a moment longer.
’He was genuinely afraid that Chen Xuan was capable of anything.’
’What if he really did go after his family?’
’What could he possibly do then?’
’Even if he managed to kill Chen Xuan later, it wouldn’t bring his family back.’
"Garbage. You’re nothing but pure garbage!"
Chen Xuan added mockingly.
[Liu Zifeng detected on the verge of snapping. You gave him no quarter and seized the initiative, turning a passive situation into an active one. +400 retribution points!]
Another line of text appeared.
Heh.
Chen Xuan laughed out loud.
’These retribution points were coming almost too easily.’
’It felt amazing! Like watching a mob drop a pile of gold coins.’
Liu Zifeng was so angry he nearly spat blood.
’He was going to lose his mind!’
’This Chen Xuan hadn’t left him a single shred of dignity!’
Every word struck him like a dagger, yet he didn’t dare utter another peep in response. The suffocating frustration nearly made him roar.
The others were all stunned, gathering in groups to discuss what had just happened.
They had never seen Liu Zifeng come out on the losing end like this before.
’Is this really the same Liu Zifeng they knew?’
’This isn’t right!’
A few of the squad leaders loyal to Fang Tingyun were even more incensed and were about to rush forward.
But Liu Zifeng immediately stopped them, his face ashen as he gritted his teeth.
’Words were useless at this point.’
’Anything more they said would be pointless.’
’In fact, it would probably just give Chen Xuan another reason to provoke them!’
’He had already been shut down; he didn’t want to see anyone else go over and lose face as well.’
"We’ll find another chance later. Don’t rush it. Everyone, calm down!"
He suppressed his rage, signaling to the others.
...
「An hour later.」
Finally, the bell summoning them to the Gang Leader’s presence rang out.
Everyone present rose to their feet and walked toward the main hall.
Inside the towering grand hall, numerous figures stood, their auras filling the air.
A dozen or so elders turned to look at Chen Xuan in unison. Their gazes were sharp and piercing. Some were filled with scrutiny, while others held thinly veiled hostility.
"Chen Xuan, come and pay your respects to the Gang Leader!"
Ge Xuan said with a smile, motioning for Chen Xuan to step forward.
"Your subordinate, Chen Xuan, greets the Gang Leader!"
Chen Xuan stepped forward and cupped his fists.
"At ease."
An old man in a gold-trimmed black robe sat upon the main throne at the front of the hall. His face was wreathed in smiles as he looked toward Chen Xuan.
"Truly, heroes are born from the young. Did you all see? This is the new young genius we have recruited."
As the Gang Leader of the Red Sand Gang, Hong Wentong had already received a detailed report on everything that had transpired the day before.
This included the matter of Chen Xuan’s Innate Divine Strength and his astonishing comprehension.
He found all these displays of talent to be quite remarkable.
He considered himself a man of vast experience in the martial world, someone who had seen it all, but he had never before encountered someone born with Innate Divine Strength.
Hong Wentong continued with a smile, "The Red Sand Gang has achieved its current standing by recruiting talent from all walks of life, without sticking to convention. We value any talented individual, regardless of their background. As long as they are loyal, the Red Sand Gang will treat them as one of our own. Law Enforcement Elder, read him the gang rules!"
"Yes, Gang Leader!"
An elder in a red robe stepped out from the side, produced a booklet, and read aloud, "The rules of the Red Sand Gang. Rule one: Betrayal is forbidden. Rule two: Harming your own brothers is forbidden. Rule three..."
He read out the rules one by one, eighteen in all.
He quickly finished reading them all.
"Chen Xuan, did you hear everything clearly?"
Gang Leader Hong Wentong smiled. "From this day forward, you are one of the seventy-two Squad Leaders of the Red Sand Gang, responsible for the affairs of the Qingshui Sect. All who join our gang may select two martial arts manuals free of charge and will receive a monthly stipend of three hundred silver..."
"Thank you, Gang Leader!"
Chen Xuan cupped his fists once more.
