East River Port, Yuan Guang County, on the outskirts of the shantytown.
Over a dozen large warehouses were lined up neatly along a small hill.
The area was enclosed by towering stone walls.
Just three days ago, Zou Feng had taken up his new post: warehouse manager, a position befitting his rank as an Incense Master.
The position seemed to lack prestige, offering almost no opportunity to earn significant merit within the gang, yet Zou Feng was quite satisfied.
The environment here was simply too perfect for lying low and intensely practicing his new Evil Skills.
The only thing that annoyed Zou Feng was that there was another warehouse manager at this location—one he absolutely did not get along with.
The other manager was named Ma Pingchuan, who, like Zou Feng, was also an Incense Master.
Furthermore, he was already on the Transferred God Sealing List.
If Zou Feng hadn’t interfered, Ma Pingchuan would have had sole control over the warehouses.
This was no small matter. While a warehouse manager couldn’t earn official merit, they could certainly skim a lot off the top.
After all, many items stored in the warehouses were subject to spoilage and loss due to factors like weather and time.
And the art of manipulating these "losses" to transform them into "reasonable" write-offs—and personal profits the gang couldn’t fault—was a skill in itself.
But now there were two managers, each reporting to one of two rival Hall Masters within the gang...
In a situation like this, it was no longer a simple matter of the profits being split in two.
Instead, with the two of them at odds and watching each other’s every move, neither could hope to "reasonably" skim any profits.
The well had run dry for them both.
Thus, from Ma Pingchuan’s perspective, Zou Feng’s sudden appearance made him utterly and completely detestable.
But for Chen Jingsheng, Zou Feng, this unaffiliated cultivator who had reached Entering Grade, had appeared at the perfect time.
Otherwise, even as a Hall Master, he couldn’t have just casually assigned someone who hadn’t reached Entering Grade to the post.
"Time to eat!"
Zou Feng called out as he walked out of the makeshift kitchen.
He was actually cooking himself.
Zhao Tianhu was the first to arrive, followed by the two gang members currently under Zou Feng’s command.
The shorter one, who had a hideous scar across his face, was named Liu Chun.
The one with the unusually large head, who looked exceptionally sleazy, was Xiong Datian.
These two members had been best friends since childhood and had joined the Black Flood Dragon Gang together to make a name for themselves.
But they’d never imagined they’d be assigned to a place like this, with absolutely no opportunity to earn merit, claim rewards, and climb the ranks.
Their frustration was easy to imagine.
For lunch, Zou Feng had prepared four dishes and a soup. It wasn’t a huge variety, but the portions were generous.
"Zou Incense Master, perhaps you shouldn’t cook yourself from now on..."
"That’s right. I’ll head to the shantytown later and hire a cook," the other added.
Although Liu Chun and Xiong Datian were inwardly reluctant to be here, they didn’t dare show the slightest disrespect to Zou Feng on the surface.
After all, they had seen what it was like when Zou Feng practiced his skills.
It was so brutal that the two of them had nearly pissed themselves on the spot.
"I’ve told you it’s not necessary. Now eat!"
Just from the way they were devouring their food, Zou Feng knew his cooking skills hadn’t gotten rusty.
In fact, if he circulated his Five Poison Skill, which had reached the Refined Skill stage, while cooking, he could even "spike" the food.
That’s right—not poisoning it, but controlling the toxicity. By combining it with the toxins from his Chaos Finger, he could make anyone who ate his food feel it was exceptionally delicious.
This extraordinary flavor would even induce a state of euphoria, making it more and more addictive with every bite.
They would become hopelessly addicted to Zou Feng’s cooking.
This ability would likely grow even more terrifying as his Five Poison Skill advanced in the future...
The phrase "so delicious your clothes explode" might just become a reality.
’Looks like when I’m cooking, I can call these hands the Hand of Poisoning,’ he thought.
Zhao Tianhu spoke as he ate. "If only Brother Luo were willing to come over..."
The first thing Zou Feng did after settling in was to invite his master and his family to join him.
However, Luo Yong was a stubborn man. He refused, genuinely not wanting to be a burden to Zou Feng.
He said he would wait until Zou Feng had truly made a name for himself; it wouldn’t be too late to leave the Yang Mansion then.
Zou Feng had no choice but to helplessly accept Luo Yong’s decision.
’But what exactly does "making a name for himself" mean?’
’This current title of Incense Master—in name only—certainly doesn’t count.’
’What about becoming a Hall Master? Or... the Gang Leader?’
"Sigh, if only we could eat Spirit Beast Meat like those guys over there..." Xiong Datian lamented mid-bite.
Liu Chun quickly kicked him under the table. "Just eat your damn food! You’re always the one running your fucking mouth!"
After his outburst, Liu Chun cautiously glanced up at Zou Feng. Seeing that he wasn’t angry, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Of course, Zou Feng already knew about the issue.
The Black Flood Dragon Gang regularly distributed fresh Spirit Beast Meat to the gang members stationed at the warehouses.
But ever since Zou Feng arrived, he and his men had received no allocation of Spirit Beast Meat whatsoever.
And yet, Ma Pingchuan and his men had a meal of Spirit Beast Meat almost every day.
It was a clear case of them bullying Zou Feng for being the new Incense Master.
Zou Feng was all too aware of these kinds of provocations.
He could have mentioned it to Wang Xingjian, which might have led to Chen Jingsheng stepping in to mediate.
But if he did that, even if he ultimately got his share of Spirit Beast Meat, it would be the same as branding the word "incompetent" on his own forehead.
Ma Pingchuan and his faction would just immediately switch to other tactics, likely even more aggressive than before.
"Don’t be anxious. We’ll get what’s rightfully ours," Zou Feng said casually, then went back to eating.
Of course he wasn’t anxious. By now, all three Evil Skills had been logged into his status panel.
"Tribulation-Indestructible Body (Initial Glimpse), Progress: 5%"
"Karmic Fire Red Lotus Palm (Initial Glimpse), Progress: 2%"
"Black Tortoise Sea-Suppressing Force (Initial Glimpse), Progress: 1%"
Though the progress seemed slow for now, as long as the skills were logged in the panel, their advancement would skyrocket. Given the rapid-growth nature of Evil Skills, it was only a matter of time.
However, the target Zou Feng had chosen to transfer his cultivation’s side effects to was not Ma Pingchuan, who was nearby.
After all, if every time he cultivated, it was Ma Pingchuan screaming and shouting nearby, word would get out, and it would definitely seem strange.
’Besides, people’s first suspicion would be that I’d used some kind of Odd Gu on Ma Pingchuan...’
So, the one currently bearing the burden for Zou Feng was Ma Pingchuan’s direct superior, Hall Master Qian Kun.
Qian Kun was an Eighth Grade master; he could certainly take the punishment.
And with the three Evil Skills only at their initial stages, the side effects weren’t too severe yet.
For now, he wouldn’t feel anything too obvious. At most, he’d feel inexplicably unwell, with an ache here or a pain there.
But as Zou Feng’s cultivation progressed, Qian Kun’s sudden death was only a matter of time.
After dinner, Zou Feng began his cultivation.
Zhao Tianhu, meanwhile, seemed to have become addicted to his role as a Skill Transmission Instructor, and once again took it upon himself to guide Liu Chun and Xiong Datian.
Life at the warehouses was indeed peaceful, as long as no incidents occurred.
The only real way to pass the time was by practicing martial arts.
As they were training, Liu Chun and Xiong Datian suddenly saw Zou Feng drag out a large bag of coarse iron sand from somewhere.
Then, he poured the iron sand into a large washbasin.
Uh, was he going to...