The monstrous bulk of Jiang Dao's body seemed to deflate, air hissing from an invisible puncture until he stood before them, no larger than a normal man. He turned, his gaze sweeping across the terrified faces of the Raging Flame Gang.
"The Gang Leader is dead," he announced, his voice a shard of ice in the sudden silence. "That makes me the new boss. Any objections?"
The question hung in the air, heavy and absolute. Fear, stark and primal, was the only answer. As one, the crowd collapsed to their knees, foreheads pressed to the stone floor.
"We greet the new Gang Leader!" The roar was thunderous, a wave of submission crashing through the hall.
Jiang Dao ignored them, his attention fixed on the Right Protector. He stalked towards the trembling man, who crumpled at his approach, a pool of sweat forming around him on the floor.
"Spare me, Boss, please!" the man shrieked, his voice cracking. "I'm loyal! I'll serve you, I swear, just don't kill me…"
"Get up." Jiang Dao hauled him to his feet by the collar of his robes and dragged him toward the main throne room. "The gang's ultimate technique, the Raging Flame Divine Art. Where is it?"
"The… the ultimate technique?" the Right Protector stammered. "I don't know! Truly, I don't! Only the leader ever knows! It's passed down directly; no one else is ever allowed to see it! Please, I'm telling you the truth!"
Jiang Dao's face hardened. Dammit. He'd been too impulsive.
He shoved the man aside and strode back to Fang Tianba's broken corpse. He searched the body methodically, patting down every inch of the dead man's robes, but found nothing. No hidden scroll, no secret manual.
"Idiot," Jiang Dao cursed himself. He should have questioned him first, gotten the information he needed, before crushing his skull. In the heat of his rage, he hadn't been thinking clearly.
He waved the Right Protector over. "You. What's your name?"
The portly man scurried to his side. "Xiang An, Boss. At your service."
"Good. Xiang An, is anyone missing from this little gathering?" Jiang Dao asked. "Round them all up. Tell them their leader was killed by an evil spirit, and that I'm in charge now. I want every last member here to pay their respects."
It was an empty command, and he knew it. Fang Tianba had already summoned every expert in the gang to face him. Between the Left Protector's men and Fang Tianba's, everyone who mattered had seen him kill their leaders with his bare hands. There would be no dissent. In their eyes, Jiang Dao wasn't a man. He was a monster.
"Right away, Boss," Xiang An said, bowing and scurrying off.
Jiang Dao turned his attention back to the great hall. The throne, once so imposing and shadowed in dim light, now seemed… small. He walked the length of the hall, his footsteps echoing, and settled into the massive chair. A slow smile spread across his face.
They're right about power, he thought, feeling the weight of the position settle over him. You can't understand it until you feel it under you.
Suddenly, he pulled up his internal interface. Killing Fang Tianba had awarded him two more modification points. He decided he'd use one on an internal art and one on a hard art. For now, it was time to upgrade his body.
He focused his intent on his [Vajra Human Demon Body].
Modify.
[Vajra Human Demon Body] > [Unmodifiable]
A flood of information poured into his mind as a searing heat ignited in his flesh. He felt his muscles and meridians groan, stretching and expanding before compressing again, becoming impossibly dense. It felt like his very blood was boiling.
He exhaled, and a plume of shimmering heat blasted from his lips, instantly raising the temperature in the hall.
Strength and speed have increased again. He checked the panel.
Strength: 6.8
Speed: 5.8
His body now felt like a walking furnace. He had the distinct feeling that if he spat on the floor, it would burn a hole straight through the wood—a sign that his internal Yang energy was off the charts. That much raw power, however, could easily burn him out from the inside.
He closed his eyes and began circulating his Life-Nourishing Formula. With each cycle, a cooling stream flowed through his meridians, taming the raging inferno within. Soon, the frantic heat subsided, leaving him feeling clear-headed and incredibly powerful.
It's not enough, he thought. I need to kill more evil spirits. He wondered, could he use the Raging Flame Gang to hunt them for him? They had been rooted in Qian Yuan City for decades; they had to know where the monsters hid.
Just then, the remaining hall masters, deacons, and managers filed back into the hall, their faces a mixture of fear and uncertainty.
"We greet the Gang Leader!" they shouted in unison.
Jiang Dao's eyes scanned the room. Their numbers had been cut by more than half.
"Rise," he said, his voice flat.
Among the crowd, he spotted Yang Xu, the manager from the Faraway Prestige Dock. The man was staring at him, his expression one of pure shock. Jiang Dao had noticed him from the start. He thought he'd latched onto a rising star, a powerful ally. He didn't find an ally, Jiang Dao thought with a smirk. He found a mountain.
Jiang Dao also saw his old crew from the Flying Eagle Hall—Guo Dutian, Du Feng, and the others. Their eyes were bright with excitement and hope.
"Gentlemen," Jiang Dao began, his voice carrying easily through the cavernous hall. "Our gang has suffered a great loss. It's time to restructure. Any objections?"
Silence. No one dared to even breathe too loudly. With the former leader, the Left Protector, and half the hall masters dead, no one was stupid enough to challenge him.
"Excellent," Jiang Dao said. "Then I'll be making some new appointments."
He immediately began promoting his own loyalists. Guo Dutian, Du Feng, and Wang Liang were all made deacons. Yang Xu was given command of the entire Flying Eagle Hall. He filled the other empty positions by promoting whoever was left, picking the tallest among the short.
It was a new era for the Raging Flame Gang.
"Your halls have been assigned," Jiang Dao concluded. "Get back to work, recruit new men, and make sure our businesses continue to run smoothly. Understood?"
"Yes, Gang Leader!" they roared back, a new energy in their voices. They had expected a tyrant, a reign of terror. Instead, he had given them promotions and a path forward. For the first time in a long time, they saw a future.
"One last thing," Jiang Dao added, his voice dropping, becoming cold and hard once more. "I've been feeling… restless. I want you to find me evil spirits. Vicious monsters. Bring me every rumor, every whisper you hear. The more, the better."
A chill went through the room. Hunt for monsters? Normal people ran from such things. But then they looked at their new leader, a man who felt more monstrous than any spirit, and they understood.
He wasn't hunting for sport. He was hunting for rivals.
The Right Protector, Xiang An, stepped forward. "Boss, there are… places. Forbidden zones within our territory, full of evil spirits. The old leader forbade anyone from ever going near them."
Jiang Dao's eyes lit up. "Is that so? Where are they?"
"There's a register, a logbook of all the strange encounters," Xiang An said eagerly. "I'll get it for you right now!"
A few minutes later, Xiang An returned, panting, and respectfully handed Jiang Dao a yellowed, leather-bound book.
Jiang Dao opened it. Inside, decades of the Raging Flame Gang's encounters with the supernatural were meticulously recorded. The incidents that were never resolved were marked with a stark red X. He quickly found what he was looking for: three active, unresolved locations.
Li Family Village.
Xinfeng Dock.
Yinshan Ancient Temple.
The notes for all three were maddeningly vague, listing the threat simply as "unknown." The gang had never figured out if they were dealing with evil spirits or vicious monsters.
To Jiang Dao, it didn't matter. As long as they gave him modification points, they were all just prey.
"Xiang An," Jiang Dao said, closing the book. "I'm going into seclusion for a few days. While I'm gone, you and Guo Dutian are in charge."
"Boss, there is one more thing," Xiang An said, hesitating. "The old leader, Fang Tianba… he made contact with a group of Spirit Exorcists. The Xie Family of Anyang. He was supposed to meet them at the Falling Rain Villa in three days. Now that he's… gone… what should we do?"
"Spirit Exorcists?" Jiang Dao frowned. "Why was he meeting with them?"
"You made an enemy of the Spirit Child Palace," Xiang An explained nervously. "Fang Tianba was afraid they'd retaliate, so he was trying to hire the Xie Family for protection."
"I see," Jiang Dao mused. A faint smile touched his lips. "Fine. I'll go. It's about time I met these so-called masters."
"Yes, Boss!"
With a wave of his hand, Jiang Dao dismissed them. He took the register and walked back to the small home he had set up for his family. He spent some time with them, reassuring them that everything was fine, before preparing to enter his private training chamber.
As he turned to leave, he saw Qin Qingqing standing silently in the doorway, watching him.
He smiled softly and walked over, ruffling her hair. "Hey, what's on your mind?"
"I want to learn martial arts," she said, her young face serious.
Jiang Dao paused. "You can," he said gently. "But your family's internal art is too powerful for you right now. Your body is still growing, and it could permanently damage you. Let me teach you something else first, something to keep you safe. How does that sound?"
She nodded vigorously. "Okay!"
He led her into the courtyard and began teaching her the basics of the Hundred Miles Like a Dragon movement technique. It was a lightness skill, perfect for a beginner. It wouldn't make her a fighter, but it would make her fast—fast enough to escape if she were ever in danger again.
He spent the entire afternoon with her, patiently guiding her through the steps. As night fell, he finally stopped.
"Practice this every day," he told her, "and in six months, you'll be faster than anyone you know. When you're older, I'll teach you everything else—your family's art, how to use a sword, a saber, anything you want."
"Okay," she said, breathless and sweaty but determined.
He gave her head one last affectionate rub and then walked away. The truth was, even if she was a once-in-a-generation genius, she could never reach his level. The human body was simply too fragile, too limited. In this world, humans were not the predators. They were the prey.
He entered a sealed stone chamber, the heavy door grinding shut behind him. It was time to forge a new power. He sat on the stone bed and focused inward, drawing on the essence of the three internal arts he possessed: the [Innate Grand Saint Formula], the [Poison Dragon Heart Technique], and the [Blazing Fire Astral Qi].
He was going to merge them.
Instantly, he knew this was infinitely more difficult than merging his external arts. It was a battle fought within his own mind and body. The three distinct energies clashed inside him, threatening to tear his meridians apart. His mind worked furiously, trying to weave the disparate threads of power into a single, coherent whole.
The chamber grew hotter and hotter, transforming into a raging furnace.
For three days, there was nothing. No sound, no movement.
Outside, the city was in an uproar. News of the bloody coup at the Raging Flame Gang had spread like wildfire. The city's underworld was buzzing. The great beast that had dominated them for so long was wounded, with more than half its masters dead. Every small-time gang and ambitious thug smelled blood in the water.
Outside the stone chamber, Xiang An was practically wearing a trench in the floor from his anxious pacing. Today was the day of the meeting with the Xie Family, and his new boss showed no sign of emerging. He'd already sent two hall masters ahead to the villa to make their apologies, but he knew it wouldn't be enough. A Spirit Exorcist faction like the Xie Family would see it as an insult. They saw all mortals as ants; being stood up by one was unthinkable.
"Please don't let them get angry," he muttered, praying to any god that might be listening.
Two more days passed.
Then, on the afternoon of the fifth day, a low groan echoed from within the chamber.
Rumble.
The heavy stone door scraped open. Jiang Dao staggered out, his clothes burned to rags. A wave of suffocating heat rolled off him. His skin was cracked and peeling, his lips were blackened, and his eyes were a terrifying, bloodshot red. He looked like a man who had spent a week walking through hell.
"Boss, you—!" Xiang An cried out, rushing forward, only to be thrown back by the sheer heat radiating from Jiang Dao's body.
"Water…" Jiang Dao rasped, his voice a dry, inhuman croak.
Suddenly, his head snapped up. He had smelled it. In a blur of motion that seemed to defy space itself, he vanished.
Horrified, Xiang An ran after him.
He found Jiang Dao in a nearby courtyard, holding a massive stone water vat high above his head, dumping gallons of ice-cold water directly into his mouth. The sound was primal, a desperate, greedy gulping. As the water hit his superheated skin, it exploded into clouds of hissing steam.
He drained the entire vat, then threw it aside with a crash. He stood there for a long moment, eyes closed, as the terrifying inferno within him finally subsided. The turbulent waves of power roiling under his skin slowly calmed.
When he opened his eyes, they were clear. He looked into the air before him, where a line of text only he could see had appeared.
[Innate Fire Demon Astral Qi] > [Unmodifiable]
Abilities: Indestructible, Qi Net Restraint, Fire Poison Aura, Fire Poison Domain.