’Pah, what kind of ridiculous thought is this!?’
Zou Feng shot to his feet. ’While that outcome wouldn’t be bad, it’s definitely not part of my original plan.’
’Besides, what "king of kings" nonsense? The Government Office would be the first to disagree. They’d send the nearby Cheetah Camp to annihilate me the very next day, and my corpse would be hung on the city gates to bake in the sun for ten days and ten nights.’
Realizing this, Zou Feng nearly lost his footing again, swaying dizzily.
Fortunately, he hadn’t forgotten to keep Cultivating, so that feeling of growing excitement, of "floating," finally began to dissipate.
’So, is it because I wasn’t excited to the point of frenzy just now, and therefore didn’t completely transfer the side effects of the Evil Eye Wine?’
Regardless, it seemed his Drunken Immortal Moon Gazing Step had a chance of breaking through to Refined Skill soon.
Zou Feng immediately began to move around the room, practicing the steps of the Drunken Immortal Moon Gazing Step one by one.
He even used this "drunken buzz" to try and modify the Skill, making it better suited for himself.
To put it bluntly, he was researching smoother "combos."
The power boost from perfectly integrating a Body Skill into his original attack moves was, naturally, immense.
This wasn’t a simple combination of performing a Body Skill while executing an attack. It was a Big Move where the two were completely fused, even on a Mental Realm level.
While Zou Feng trained tirelessly, Fang Jingchuan, who was hiding in the outskirts of Yuan Guang County Town, was truly having the time of his life.
Just as Zou Feng had speculated, Fang Jingchuan had indeed been injured after fighting Shen Xuan for the Immortal Treasure.
He was supposed to be recuperating.
But for some unknown reason, he suddenly became inexplicably excited and completely lost his inhibitions.
He insisted on pulling his subordinates along to drink, feast, sing, and dance.
It might not have seemed like a big deal, but in reality, this was completely out of character for him.
His subordinates were completely bewildered the entire time.
And fortunately, since Fang Jingchuan was a Gang Qi Realm expert with formidable resistance, he didn’t do anything even more deranged...
"Drunken Immortal Moon Gazing Step (Integration and Mastery), Progress: 85%"
After finishing his Cultivation, Zou Feng was utterly astonished to see his progress.
Due to a constant lack of good Spirit Wine, his progress with the Drunken Immortal Moon Gazing Step had been moving at a snail’s pace ever since he reached the Realm of Synthesis and Mastery.
But just now, a single small cup of "Evil Eye Wine" had sent his progress soaring by dozens of percentage points. It felt truly absurd.
He figured that with a few more cups and one or two more Cultivation sessions, his Drunken Immortal Moon Gazing Step could advance to the Realm of Refining Fire.
But that wasn’t certain. ’Perhaps it’s just because I’ve never had such a potent medicinal wine before, so the effect was strongest the first time.’
Looking out the window, he saw that the sky had already darkened, and he was starving.
Even now, after his return, Deng Guangxin still hadn’t gathered the members of the Black Flood Dragon Gang to give a speech.
Nor did he show any intention of publicly dealing with the mess Song Sixing had created...
However, because of the recent chaos, the kitchen was certainly not operating. So, Zou Feng just ate an Elixir that could stave off hunger and headed toward Bian Yixia’s room.
But Bian Yixia wasn’t in her room.
’Ugh, she didn’t go to the Practice Room again, did she?’
Sure enough, when Zou Feng went to the Practice Room, it was clear that Bian Yixia had been training there for a long time. She was drenched in sweat.
"Miss!"
"You’re here?" Bian Yixia wiped the sweat from her forehead. "Then spar with me for a bit!"
This time, however, Zou Feng didn’t agree.
"Miss, you’ve been overtraining. It would be better to conserve some energy..."
Only then did Bian Yixia stop, nodding slightly. "You’re right!"
She knew that although Deng Guangxin hadn’t made a move yet, no one could guarantee he wouldn’t strike suddenly. They had to be on guard at all times.
"The Gang Leader... did he say anything after he returned?"
Bian Yixia said, "He just asked about my and Old Sixth’s Cultivation progress. He didn’t seem to care at all about Old Sixth’s rebellion."
After saying this, a bitter smile appeared on her face.
No matter how much she didn’t want to consider the worst-case scenario, Deng Guangxin’s words and actions kept confirming his scheme.
This was not unexpected for Zou Feng. He had long since realized that Deng Guangxin’s mind was completely occupied with how to achieve a perfect breakthrough with the Six Harmonies Reincarnation Skill, allowing him to advance to the Gang Qi Realm with even greater power.
For the time being, he couldn’t care less about anything else.
"Miss, if it really comes to a fight with the Gang Leader... what are your chances?" Zou Feng asked in a low voice.
Bian Yixia spread her hands. "Not even ten percent. My Six Harmonies Reincarnation Skill was taught to me by my adoptive father, and the Cultivation Skill is flawed."
"If we really fight, I can’t break through any of my adoptive father’s moves, but he can easily break through mine... Also, you should be able to see that he is already very close to the Gang Qi Realm..."
"Then why not strike first? Find a chance to completely drain Song Sixing, and Old Third and Old Fourth, too."
Hearing this, Bian Yixia froze for a moment, then shook her head. "Old Sixth deserves to die. I was already planning to drain his Inner Qi."
"But Old Third, Old Fourth... I can’t do it!"
Zou Feng heard the crucial point. "Don’t tell me... when the Six Harmonies Reincarnation Skill drains Inner Qi, the person... dies?"
"That’s right. If my adoptive father hadn’t arrived in time before, Old Sixth would have surely died."
’The Six Harmonies Reincarnation Skill really is sinister.’
’Normally, just having your Inner Qi drained would at most cause a serious illness. It wouldn’t kill you.’
’But the Six Harmonies Reincarnation Skill must be absorbing something else along with the Inner Qi, right?’
Bian Yixia continued, "But that method is worth a try. I’ll look for an opportunity to absorb Old Sixth’s Inner Qi first, to put an end to my adoptive father’s ambitions..."
Just from these words, Zou Feng knew that even though Deng Guangxin had practically shown his hand, Bian Yixia still had no intention of truly turning against him and fighting to the death.
Instead, she just wanted to make Deng Guangxin back down after seeing the difficulty.
After all, he had raised her. It was understandable that Bian Yixia didn’t want to take that final, worst step.
But that was obviously unrealistic...
"Miss, I’m afraid that won’t make the Gang Leader back down. When the time comes, if he absorbs your Inner Qi, wouldn’t that be the same as absorbing Song Sixing’s as well?"
"It’s even possible that he’s holding back now precisely to give you the chance to make a move!"
Bian Yixia frowned. "That can’t be right. If my adoptive father was intentionally trying to get me to absorb Old Sixth’s Inner Qi, why did he show up in time to stop me before?"
"Because it’s possible he wasn’t sure which absorption method was better. That’s why he let you absorb only half before suddenly appearing to stop you."
"If the Gang Leader determines that it’s more beneficial for him after you do the absorbing, he will definitely give you this chance again..." Zou Feng analyzed.
Although this was just Zou Feng’s speculation, when Bian Yixia thought about how Deng Guangxin had previously asked for such detailed information about her and Old Sixth’s cultivation progress, and had even personally inspected their Inner Qi, it really said a lot...
"Mm, I’ll keep an eye on it!"
Zou Feng continued, "If the Gang Leader really does give you this opportunity, Miss, don’t hesitate. Notify me immediately. Then, we’ll turn his own plan against him. Absorb Song Sixing’s qi, and then we can persuade the old Gang Leader together to abdicate peacefully and live out his golden years!"
He didn’t say they should just kill Deng Guangxin, because he knew Bian Yixia wouldn’t have the heart to do it.
’But when the time comes, I can catch him off guard and send him to live out his golden years in the next world.’
’After all, failing to pull out the weed by its roots is a huge taboo.’
Bian Yixia pondered for a moment before gritting her teeth. "Fine!"
In truth, Zou Feng’s persuasion wasn’t entirely for Bian Yixia’s sake.
Deng Guangxin’s sudden return had completely upended Zou Feng’s original plans.
He much preferred the old Black Flood Dragon Gang and the cultivation environment it had provided him.
But now, with a madman like Deng Guangxin around, he really couldn’t stay in the Black Flood Dragon Gang any longer.
Leaving the Practice Room, Zou Feng hurried toward the Guangfa Gambling House.
Now that it was his turn to plot a rebellion with Bian Yixia, he had to make sure his master’s family was settled somewhere more secure.
PS: I haven’t been feeling well lately, so updates have been a bit slower. I’ll post more Chapters once I’m back on my feet.