In a single room near the hall entrance,Su Xin sat in a chair,sipping tea.Shortly after,Huang Bingcheng entered with Li Huai.
"Boss."
"Boss Su."
It was Li Huai who called him"Boss,"which surprised Huang Bingcheng for a moment.Initially,Li Huai was quite arrogant,openly declaring he wouldn't follow Su Xin's orders.Now,why was he addressing Su Xin as"Boss"?
However,Huang Bingcheng didn't dwell on it.He knew their boss was quite skilled in managing people,and it wasn't surprising that he had won over Li Huai.
"Take a seat,don't stand.I called you both here to discuss something,"Su Xin said,gesturing for them to sit.
Once they were seated,Su Xin asked,"How do you think my current group of people is?"
Li Huai,uninterested in such matters,remained silent.Huang Bingcheng,on the other hand,excitedly said,"In simple terms,they have good morale!"
Su Xin scolded with a laugh,"Don't use idioms carelessly.If the officials hear that,they might throw you in jail."
Huang Bingcheng chuckled,"Well,that's the gist of it.Boss,your generosity has made the earnings for our brothers more than those in the Zhan Tang.Even if you order them to attack Yongle Alley,they'd do it without hesitation."
Su Xin tapped the table with his fingers and said,"Yes,the morale is good,but it's not enough."
Huang Bingcheng was puzzled.In his view,Su Xin's group was already outstanding.Unlike the henchmen of other small leaders,most of them were daring young individuals.They were ready to fight and not afraid to face real danger.
"Now,I thought it was fine too,but when I visited the headquarters last time,you saw the Zhan Tang disciples at the entrance.With less than two hundred of my men,they could handle all of them with just ten people,"Su Xin explained.
Huang Bingcheng was dumbfounded,"Isn't that an exaggeration?Twenty people against one,and they still can't win?"
He knew the Zhan Tang disciples were formidable,but he never thought they could be that powerful.
Su Xin shook his head,"You haven't practiced martial arts.You can't feel the strong vitality and fierce killing intent emanating from them.Frankly speaking,those kids I trained who haven't shed blood are like rubbish compared to them."
Li Huai,who had been silent,spoke up,"Boss Su is right.Zhan Tang disciples are strong.I can handle one,maybe even three,but not more."
Huang Bingcheng widened his eyes.He had never seen how strong the Zhan Tang disciples were,but he knew Li Huai's capabilities.Even he couldn't defeat three of them?
Li Huai calmly continued,"Zhan Tang disciples are carefully selected by the Flying Eagle Gang.They are robust from an early age,fed with beef and eggs,and eat five meals a day.At night,they soak their bodies in herbal baths to strengthen their vitality.They don't have to patrol territories daily;their only duty is to practice martial arts.Moreover,Zhan Tang's leader,Lin Fuhu,personally guides them,and sometimes even the gang leader instructs them.But that's not even the real Zhan Tang disciple;only those who kill more than ten people in gang battles without dying can become true Zhan Tang disciples."
Huang Bingcheng asked in surprise,"How do you know all this?"
"Because I once wanted to join Zhan Tang,but I was rejected in the end."
"With your skills,you were rejected?"
"When my parents died,and my uncle seized our family property,I suffered for a year.By the time I escaped and wanted to join Zhan Tang,I was emaciated and weak.Of course,I was rejected."
Huang Bingcheng couldn't believe it,"What happened to the uncle who seized your family property?"
"Dead."
Huang Bingcheng shrank his neck,silently scolding himself for asking.He should have known what the outcome would be.
Su Xin knocked on the table,bringing the focus back to the topic,"Enough gossip.Today,I called you here to discuss a solution,to enhance the strength of our brothers.My people should not lose to Zhan Tang!"
"It's difficult,"Li Huai shook his head.
Huang Bingcheng,still unwilling to accept it,said,"Isn't it just eating meat?We have plenty of money now.We can expand the martial arts field in the backyard,and you can personally teach them."
Li Huai sneered,"Martial arts can't be mastered in a day.If you keep practicing like this,what you'll develop is just a showy display,not the kind of experts in the Zhan Tang who can take on dozens of opponents."
Before Huang Bingcheng could say anything,Su Xin waved his hand and said,"Li Huai is right.The people in Zhan Tang were cultivated by the Flying Eagle Gang for several years.Trying to elevate ourselves to the level of Zhan Tang in a short time with this method is simply impossible."
"Li Huai,have you ever studied internal skills?"Su Xin changed the topic suddenly and asked.
"Of course not."
Despite being the top enforcer under Hu San,Li Huai didn't even have the qualification to learn Hu San's internal skills,let alone from Hu San's adopted son,Chen Dao.
"If I teach you a set of internal skills now,how much do you think your strength could increase?"Su Xin asked.
"At least tenfold!"Li Huai's eyes lit up.
Li Huai had reached a limit in his current strength.Having been in the Flying Eagle Gang for several years and being the top enforcer under Hu San,his physique and vitality were already very strong.However,for him,it was a limit.He wasn't naturally gifted with extraordinary strength like Dai Chong.His current strength had reached a point where further improvement seemed impossible,no matter how hard he trained.Unless he cultivated internal skills to nourish his vitality and open up his acupoints,there would be no progress.
"If your strength can increase tenfold,then ordinary gang members,even if not as strong as you initially,could increase their combat power several times after practicing internal skills.So,my plan is to let my people learn internal skills!"
Su Xin took out the transcript of"Basic Internal Skills of the Quanzhen Sect"that he copied last night and tossed it onto the table.
"Internal skills!"
Li Huai stood up from his chair in surprise,startling Huang Bingcheng beside him,who had never seen this lord so excited.
"Is this for us to practice?"Li Huai asked.
Su Xin nodded.He seemed to detect a hint of tremor in Li Huai's voice.
However,Li Huai indeed had a reason to be excited.Internal skills were something he had always dreamed of.Without internal skills,Li Huai had already reached the limit of what he could achieve in his life.He was just a gang member,a slightly more capable one.Although he knew that the gang leader and the three hall masters understood internal skills,even Hu San,the boss of the gang,knew them,Li Huai never expected that they would teach him.
For people in the martial world,internal skills were a closely guarded secret,let alone in their small gang.Even Hu San's adopted son,Chen Dao,had never been taught internal skills by Hu San.What qualification did Li Huai have to be taught?
Later,when he went with Su Xin to assassinate Dai Chong,he knew Su Xin must also have internal skills,but he had never expected Su Xin to teach him.
"Why,is there something wrong?"Seeing Li Huai's reaction,Su Xin asked with a smile.
Li Huai raised his head and said in a deep voice,"Internal skills are a closely guarded secret.Even in martial arts sects,one must have a master before learning them.In our Flying Eagle Gang,no ordinary gang member has ever been taught internal skills."
"Do you know why?"Su Xin asked.
Li Huai said,"Because internal skills are precious?"
Su Xin sneered,"Precious my ass!Even if this thing is precious,it's not a consumable.Learning one won't prevent you from learning another.The reason the gang leader and the big heads don't teach internal skills to their subordinates is because they are afraid!"
Both Huang Bingcheng and Li Huai were stunned.Afraid?What were they afraid of?
"What is internal skill?It is a watershed between ordinary people and martial artists.Only by learning internal skills can your future have endless possibilities.Otherwise,you can spend your whole life crawling around this corner of Changning Prefecture.Hu San has been practicing internal skills for more than ten years and hasn't even opened all thirty-six acupoints.What if someone under him learns internal skills and becomes stronger than him?Shouldn't he step down?"
"Although the boss and the three hall masters are stronger,they fear the same thing.With strength comes a wild heart,and it becomes more challenging to control."
Astonished,Li Huai asked,"Aren't you afraid?"
Huang Bingcheng glanced at him.This lord dared to ask anything.
Su Xin smiled,"I'm not afraid."
"Why?"
"Because I will go further than you all."
