Immortal Refiner

The banquet wasn’t particularly large, with only seven or eight tables filling the City Lord’s Manor’s front courtyard.

The Gang Leaders present, representing various factions, mostly knew each other. Even if they weren’t close, they were all aware of each other’s presence in the city.

Koloda shared a table with the Gang Leaders of smaller gangs like the Fist Mountain Gang. In fact, most gangs in the city, much like the Sand Crocodile Gang, only had a single External Strength Expert.

”Sand Crocodile, it’s been a while. I hope you’ve been well,” Wan Yan, the Fist Mountain Gang Leader, said with a sly smile, turning to Koloda.

Li Qing and his confidant, who were following behind Koloda, were completely ignored by everyone present. After all, the City Lord had invited only the prominent Gang Leaders of the city. Common gang members like them, who lacked any notable reputation and weren’t even External Strength Experts, naturally wouldn’t attract much attention.

Li Qing was perfectly content with this. He kept his presence as low as possible, cautiously observing everyone in attendance from the corner of his eye.

Koloda had always maintained a law-abiding and neutral stance in the city. In response to Wan Yan’s greeting, he simply smiled and clasped his hands in a salute.

”I’m doing well, Gang Leader Wan. Your martial arts have clearly reached new heights. It seems you’re on the verge of breaking through to the Inner Strength realm!”

”Hahaha, if Inner Strength were that easy to cultivate, Giant Rock City wouldn’t have only two Inner Strength Martial Artists,” Wan Yan said with a wave of his hand, chuckling.

Koloda silently added in his mind, ’Make that three, counting the young man beside me.’

As time passed, the leaders of nearly all the city’s gangs had arrived.

Gangs like the Great River Gang and the True Martial Gang, boasting the strength of two External Strength Experts, were considered first-rate powers in the city.

While Li Qing was still observing, a frail, aged voice echoed from outside the manor’s courtyard.

”Hahaha, City Lord Qin truly remains as vigorous as ever. I suspect you’re on the verge of reaching the Transformed Strength level!”

As the words faded, an elderly man in a green robe strode into the courtyard. His hair was completely white, yet he exuded vitality. What stood out most was his ruddy nose.

The newcomer was none other than Ge Wen, the Guild Master of the Red Fish Merchant Guild!

The moment this Inner Strength expert appeared, he drew the attention of everyone present.

Even Li Qing couldn’t help but stare at him for a long moment, curious to see what kind of person this renowned Inner Strength expert was.

Soon, another slightly hoarse voice echoed from within the manor.

”Hmph, Old Ge, if you hadn’t stirred up this mess recently, poisoning the relations between the city’s Gang Leaders, would I have had to come out and show my face at my age?”

The City Lord, Qin Xiu, then appeared.

Dressed in a white robe, he exuded an ethereal aura, resembling not a Martial Artist but a recluse who had retreated from the mundane world.

Qin Xiu leaned on a cane, slowly stepping forward.

With this, both of Giant Rock City’s publicly known Inner Strength experts had revealed themselves!

Li Qing instinctively suppressed his Vital Energy, minimizing his presence as much as possible.

Between Martial Artists, unless one deliberately flaunted their cultivation level, it was difficult to detect another’s Martial Path realm if they were actively concealing it.

Of course, this wasn’t absolute; there were always exceptions.

For instance, Yang Xing, one of the Sheng Tian Liangzhou Heroes, practiced an Internal Energy Skill with a peculiar ability: it could sense and perceive others’ Vital Energy, allowing him to estimate their approximate Martial Path cultivation level.

Against such a person, concealing one’s Martial Path cultivation was an incredibly difficult task.

Inner Strength experts can briefly control their Vital Energy, but not for long. Only at the level of Transformed Strength Grandmaster can one achieve perfect and complete control over their Vital Energy.

As Qin Xiu and Ge Wen appeared and took their seats, the hall fell silent. Everyone turned to the City Lord, waiting for him to speak.

”Thank you all for attending. At my age, it’s truly an honor that you Gang Leaders would grace me with your presence!”

”But let’s be honest, while I invited you here today for my birthday banquet, I suspect you all know the real reason.”

As the City Lord finished speaking, Jia Dachun, the Gang Leader of the Great River Gang, let out a soft, cold snort.

”Hmph!”

Qin Xiu ignored the sound, simply smiling as he continued, ”When I first took power in Giant Rock City, I declared that order must be maintained within the city. Harmony leads to prosperity, and there should be no talk of violence at every turn. Any issues can be resolved through peaceful discussion.”

”For many years, things were manageable. Despite occasional friction, we managed to coexist.”

”But now, it’s all about wiping out entire gangs at the drop of a hat. It truly fills this old man with unease!”

As soon as Qin Xiu spoke, many in the crowd inwardly scoffed.

This old fox still feels uneasy? When he first took office, his hands were far from clean.

In other words, Qin Xiu had clawed his way to the City Lord’s seat through bloodshed.

But precisely because of this, everyone genuinely respected him.

”Sigh, if everyone were like Gang Leader Ko of the Sand Crocodile Gang, I wouldn’t have to worry so much,” City Lord Qin Xiu continued, lost in his own thoughts.

Many people exchanged amused glances at Koloda, the Sand Crocodile. He was somewhat famous in the city for his aversion to trouble.

This surprised Li Qing. He hadn’t expected Koloda’s approach to life to be so similar to his own.

Koloda, whose name had been called, felt his heart skip a beat. He forced a smile and bowed to the people around him.

Qin Xiu sighed and said, ”Jia Dachun, you’ve been the most restless lately. How about you give me some face and let this matter drop?”

With an unknown source of confidence, Jia Dachun, facing a City Lord whose martial arts were a level higher than his own, stood his ground:

”City Lord Qin, it’s not that I don’t want to give you face, but three of our gang members truly died. If we just let this go, how can I maintain the loyalty of my men?”

The atmosphere around them immediately grew heavy, so oppressive that the sound of a pin dropping could be heard.

Li Qing’s eyebrows twitched almost imperceptibly, a flicker of curiosity in his eyes. Where did this Great River Gang Leader get such confidence?

Could it be that he had also reached the Inner Strength realm?

This was getting interesting. How would City Lord Qin handle this situation?

Li Qing settled in to watch the drama unfold with relish, his attitude one of ”the more chaos, the better.”

As expected, City Lord Qin’s expression darkened slightly. He tapped his fingertips lightly on the table, as if deep in thought.

”Gang Leader Jia, I won’t allow you to provoke a gang war.”

”However, I will have my men investigate this matter thoroughly. When we find the culprit, I will hand them over to you. How does that sound?”

(End of the Chapter)

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