The Prodigies War

Black Widow didn’t come for revenge; on the contrary, she came to pass them a message.

“I heard that Old Tiger Lu will send a group of subordinates to deal with you two tonight. If you believe me, please leave here as soon as possible.”

Black Widow left in a hurry after saying those two sentences.

Her appearance surprised Lin Xun. He closed the door and said emotionally, “This woman knows how to repay a favor. It’s a shame that she became an assassin.”

Xia Zhi said seriously, “It seems that their failure yesterday didn’t make them exercise some restraint, but instead made them more determined to eradicate us.”

Lin Xun’s expression turned serious, and he frowned. “I’m curious who this Old Tiger Lu is?”

“I know.”

Xia Zhi said casually, “He’s one of the few Spirit Dipper cultivators in the slums and also the leader of Black Tiger Gang, the largest gang in the slums. He has thousands of gang members under his command and among them, there are over three hundred cultivators.”

She took a sip of tea before she continued, “I originally planned to swallow up the Black Tiger Gang. I didn’t expect them to come to my door on their own initiative.”

Lin Xun raised his eyebrows. “I see. In order to deal with us, the Wu Clan has hired a gang leader who is also at the Spirit Dipper Stage. They think so highly of us.”

Xia Zhi said disdainfully, “Old Lu Tiger is nothing, I heard that he only broke through to the Spirit Dipper Stage in his fifties, which clearly shows his poor aptitude in cultivation. He is known to only care about money and not his life so it’s not unexpected that the Wu Clan hired him.”

For the first time, Lin Xun realized that Xia Zhi’s decision to establish the Chopstick Gang and swallow up two nearby gangs wasn’t a mistake. She had not only obtained abundant loot but also gained access to various related information.

The information made Lin Xun learn about the specific forces of the Wu Clan in the shortest time and also provided background information on Old Tiger Lu.

“Do you believe in Black Widow’s intel?” Lin Xun asked.

Xia Zhi stood up and said, “I’ll send someone to check on Old Tiger Lu’s area, and we’ll know whether she told the truth or not.” She was already walking out of the courtyard as she spoke.

After just the time it took to burn one stick of incense, Xia Zhi had returned. The news was confirmed to be true. Old Tiger Lu was mobilizing and gathering people. Clearly, he was going to carry out a huge operation. Anyone who wasn’t blind could tell.

When Lin Xun learned about that, he urged, “It seems that it’s best to leave this place soon. There will be a fierce battle here tonight.”

Xia Zhi asked, “Are you scared?”

Murderous intent flashed in Lin Xun’s dark eyes. “They’ve come one after another. If I don’t strike back, I'll be seen as too useless!”

Xia Zhi nodded. “I think so too.”

……

That evening, Lin Xun was fully prepared.

He was still dressed in a coarse hemp garment, but it was another story inside!

Under his outer garment, he wore a pair of dark gray shoulder guards called Cloud Mountain, which were engraved with an earth guarding rune and had incredible defensive power.

A pair of azure wristbands called Ton Breaker were attached to his wrists. They were engraved with a water current rune, which not only protected the wrists but also allowed a person to mobilize the aeth power in their body much more effectively when used with a suitable weapon. Additionally, it increased the aeth power released.

A flexible armor called Stacked Scales protected his upper body. The layers of fine iron fully covered him, and coupled with the thousand whirlpool rune, he could easily absorb and neutralize an opponent’s attack. It was also a defense aeth tool.

On his feet were the Flying Spirit Boots, which were engraved with the swift wind rune. They could greatly improve a person’s flexibility and speed.

Additionally, Lin Xun was carrying a huge bow. Its entire body was jet-black and rough. It was made from more than ten kinds of metals, while the bowstring was constructed from the backbone of a thorn-tailed mammoth.

This bow was called Spirit Arm and was engraved with a gold splitting rune!

In addition, Lin Xun had thirty Blazing Sun Arrows engraved with the Explosive Flame Rune hidden in his storage ring.

Finally, strapped at his waist was the Flame Blade!

These pieces of equipment were all standard aeth tools that were commonly found on the market, but since they were aeth tools, they naturally were valuable.

However, Lin Xun had made all those aeth tools himself in the past ten days and so he didn’t need to spend much money for them. He only had to consume a large quantity of aeth tools and rune ink.

It was worth mentioning that Lin Xun only failed once in making those tools, and the reason for the failure was that a mouse suddenly ran into the room and distracted him. That resulted in a little mistake in the rune engraving.

If other rune masters knew about his near-perfect success rate, they would likely go crazy.

But Lin Xun was used to it and wasn’t surprised by the result.

The sun was beginning to set, and Lin Xun was ready to set off. He had armed himself from head to toe.

Xia Zhi was dressed much simpler. She carried a bone spear as always and was wearing a black wind-proof robe and a hat that covered her stunning face.

“Let's go.” Lin Xun took a deep breath and walked outside.

“Wait a minute, someone is coming,” Xia Zhi said, frowning. Her ethereal voice was filled with killing intent.

……

Gu Liang walked along the narrow and dark alley, feeling a little annoyed.

A few days ago, his father Gu Yanping had instructed him to find the young master who sold them the Flame Blade. He thought it would be an easy task but he hadn’t made much progress despite traveling all over the prosperous areas of Donglin City.

Gu Liang didn’t dare to ask anyone for help because he knew that all major businesses in Donglin City were watching movements from Golden Jade Hall. Even Xiao Yuanzhong, the owner of Boundless Treasure Pavilion, had said that he was willing to spend a huge amount of money to find the mysterious rune master!

Under those circumstances, Gu Liang was certain that many spies in the city had fixed their eyes on Golden Jade Hall because only they knew who the Flame Blade came from!

Therefore, Gu Liang was extremely careful to avoid being followed whenever he went out. But it was only today that he realized that he used the wrong searching approach!

This was thanks to his father’s reminder. According to Gu Yanping, Lin Xun was clad in the most ordinary hemp garments and clearly wasn’t from a wealthy family.

Moreover, as a cultivator, Lin Xun showed no hesitation when he sold the Flame Blade, which suggested his living must be somewhat difficult.

Those little details indicated that Lin Xun wasn’t residing in a prosperous area but the slums!

Sure enough, based on his father’s deduction, Gu Liang soon found out that a new tenant, also a youngster, had recently moved into Courtyard No. 49 deep in a certain alley in the slums!

This confirmed Gu Liang’s speculation but it was also the reason why he was annoyed. If he had paid more attention to little details, he wouldn’t have had to work so hard for nothing these days.

Very quickly, Gu Liang expelled the annoyance in his heart. He came to Courtyard No. 49 and immediately knocked on the door.

The door was opened and a familiar face made Gu Liang lit up with joy and excitement. It’s indeed right!

“I am Gu Liang, the owner of Golden Jade Hall is my father. I pay respects to Young Master.” Gul Liang bowed respectfully.

Lin Xun looked at him blankly. He never thought the son of the owner of Golden Jade Hall would come looking for him at such a time.

He immediately understood what Gu Liang had in mind and said, “You must be here to buy aeth tools, right?”

Gu Liang was a little taken aback by Lin Xun’s directness. He immediately smiled. “Young Master,

You have sharp eyes. My father has entrusted me to come here regarding that matter.”

Lin Xun said after a thought, “I’m not free now. I have an urgent matter to deal with today. How about I pay your Golden Jade Hall a visit another day?”

It wasn’t easy for Gu Liang to find Lin Xun, so how would he be willing to leave? “Oh, why don't I just stay here and wait for Young Master to return?”

Lin Xun frowned. “I advise you to quickly leave. It won’t be long before many changes happen at this place. There are likely going to be fatal disasters here.”

Gu Liang’s heart trembled. Lin Xun didn’t seem to be joking from his expression so he finally nodded after a long thought. “If that’s the case, then I’ll come back tomorrow.”

He turned around and left.

The moment he left, Lin Xun closed the door and leaped over the backyard wall with Xia Zhi. They sped along an alley and quickly disappeared.

It was dusk and the setting sun was red as blood like the sky was ablaze. A murder of crows was cawing in the air, their voices piercing and chilling.

As night was about to fall, the area around Courtyard No. 49 became completely deserted. Not even the barking of wild dogs could be heard.

Only the biting cold wind that was as cold as a blade whimpered like it was complaining.

Before long, the sound of footsteps broke the deathly silence. If one looked down from above, one would see a dense crowd of people rushing towards Courtyard No. 49 from all directions like a tide.

There were a lot of people, and every single one of them was in armor and wore fierce expressions. There were around five to six hundred people and among them many were cultivators!

There was no need to guess to know that those people were members of the Black Tiger Gang!

As night fell and darkness shrouded Courtyard No. 49, Old Tiger Lu also appeared.

Although Old Tiger Lu was in his sixties, he was tall and burly. His long gray hair was neatly combed but the numerous scars on his face made him look extremely ferocious and his hazel eyes were as fierce and cunning as a wolf’s.

The Black Tiger Gang was the most powerful among the underground forces in the slums. Old Tiger Lu had the highest status within the Black Tiger Gang and he could even be called the king of the underground forces in many people’s eyes!

Old Tiger Lu clasped his hands behind his back as he surveyed the closed door of Courtyard No. 49. The corners of his lips curled in a cold and cruel smile.

Someone had offered him the finest aeth tool and a thousand silver coins to kill a young man called Lin Xun.

Old Tiger Lu readily agreed, but he wasn’t stupid so he knew that the target was no doubt difficult to deal with given the remarkable price.

Therefore, he didn’t come alone, but brought five hundred gang members with him!

Old Tiger Lu believed that he could demolish the entire slums with such force, and so it had to be more than enough to deal with a teenager.

“Gang Leader, the brothers who are watching nearby have reported that the target hasn’t left the house today. He must still be at home.” A scout came forward and quickly reported.

Old Tiger Lu nodded and motioned his hand, “Let’s act!”

His chilling and cruel voice was like a signal that lifted the curtain of the battle on this dark night.