Chapter 153: Chapter 134: Hongxing or Heaven-Blasting?

Any one of these conditions alone would be enough to give an Independent Martial Artist not from a Major Sect a headache.

Fortunately, Zou Feng now had a relatively reliable plan that he could put into action in a short amount of time.

He would continue using his Fusion Skill method to advance his Great Universal Hand to the Peak Realm.

As for why he chose the Great Universal Hand instead of another Cultivation Skill at the Refined Skill level to break through…

The reason was simple: the quality of the Great Universal Hand was high enough that it already had the potential to reach the Peak of Perfection.

In contrast, for the other Cultivation Skills Zou Feng currently practiced, he would most likely hit a wall at 99% progress toward Refined Skill and be unable to advance further unless he first found a way to improve them.

This wasn’t just baseless speculation. Zou Feng’s current understanding of Evil Skills was definitely at the level where he could open his own martial arts school. Therefore, his intuition about his own Cultivation Skills was unlikely to be wrong.

After pondering this for a moment, just as Zou Feng was about to get up and leave, footsteps suddenly echoed in the Gathering Hall.

He looked up to see Bian Yixia, who was supposed to be digesting Deng Guangxin’s Inner Qi, striding in.

Perhaps the digestion of the Inner Qi was going smoothly, as Bian Yixia’s current state was somewhat similar to Deng Guangxin’s before. A faint black aura seemed to shroud her entire body.

Although Zou Feng had finished off Deng Guangxin, the process had been far from easy.

Since becoming a proficient Martial Artist, Deng Guangxin was the very first person to make Zou Feng cough up blood from his injuries.

Given time, this would have probably become the greatest honor of Deng Guangxin’s life.

This just went to show that the Six Harmonies Reincarnation Skill was truly something special. If Zou Feng had been a step too late and Deng Guangxin had already absorbed Bian Yixia, the outcome would have been hard to predict…

“Miss!”

Calling Bian Yixia “Miss” was no longer appropriate, as she was now the Gang Leader.

But both of them were used to it, so Bian Yixia didn’t bother to correct him.

“I heard you tied up Shi Yangming and brought him here?”

Zou Feng nodded. “That’s right. I don’t think Yuan Guang County needs any other gangs. Merging them will make many things more convenient.”

“Indeed. But after the merger, calling ourselves the Black Flood Dragon Gang wouldn’t be very fitting anymore.”

“What new name do you think would be good, Miss?”

Bian Yixia thought for a moment before shaking her head. “What do you think?”

“How about the Hongxing Gang?”

“…What kind of name is that? Oh well, as long as it’s not the Black Flood Dragon Gang, I don’t care.”

Zou Feng had just said it off the cuff. He was even tempted to ask if the “Heaven-Blasting Gang” would work, but since Bian Yixia had no objections, they settled on it.

The name wasn’t important anyway. They just couldn’t pick a proper Sect name; otherwise, Zou Feng would have definitely changed the Black Flood Dragon Gang to the Dragon Tiger Sect.

As for why he didn’t try for the Heaven-Blasting Gang…

’The “Blasting Heaven” part was a bit of a taboo. For example, Major Sects like the Celestial Essence Sword Sect started their names with the character for “heaven.”’

’If he really changed it to the Heaven-Blasting Gang and some powerful expert who liked to make a point found out, the Heaven-Blasting Gang itself would probably be blasted to smithereens the very next day…’

“By the way, I need to enter seclusion for a while!” Bian Yixia changed the subject.

Zou Feng immediately understood what Bian Yixia’s sudden need for seclusion meant. “Miss, are you about to break through to the Gang Qi Realm?”

“Yes. After absorbing… Deng Guangxin’s Inner Qi, I feel like I’m just one step away from advancing to the Gang Qi Realm. So, I need to find a quiet, undisturbed place to enter seclusion.”

“I’ll be heading to Qifeng Mountain alone and won’t return until I’ve successfully broken through.”

“During this time, I’ll have to trouble you with looking after the Hongxing Gang,” Bian Yixia said apologetically.

For Zou Feng, Bian Yixia advancing to the Gang Qi Realm in such a short time was a huge benefit.

With a Gang Qi Realm expert presiding over the gang, even if Fang Jingchuan fully recovered from his injuries, he likely wouldn’t dare make any rash moves.

Thus, Zou Feng said cheerfully, “Please focus on your seclusion without worry, Miss. As the General Leader of the Hongxing Gang, it’s my duty to handle these matters.”

“Good. All the brothers in the gang respect you now, so I don’t need to give them any special instructions.”

“Then I’ll be off!”

With that, without even preparing any luggage, Bian Yixia leaped out of the Gathering Hall window.

She then jumped down from the Dragon Gate Boat, sprinted across the river’s surface, and quickly vanished into the night.

Zou Feng walked out of the Gathering Hall and watched Bian Yixia depart.

Staring at the river for a while, he remembered that the original Black Flood Dragon Gang’s Fishing Team had effectively been disbanded after Deng Guangxin persecuted several of his own disciples.

Although he could transfer some experts from the former Mountain and River Association and Danxin Alliance to join the Fishing Team after the merger, Zou Feng was tempted to try it out himself. If he happened to catch some poisonous Spirit Fish, the benefits would be self-evident.

’With my current strength, as long as I don’t venture into the waters where even the Fishing Team dares not go, it shouldn’t be a problem…’

「Two days later.」

The Hongxing Gang had completed its initial merger, and Shi Yangming was appointed Vice Gang Leader.

However, Zou Feng naturally engaged in some nepotism, directly promoting Wang Xingjian to the position of Sub-Branch Leader.

In truth, there was nothing wrong with Wang Xingjian’s appointment as a Sub-Branch Leader; his abilities were quite good in all respects, and he was by no means someone who was only obsessed with Beast Taming.

Zhao Tianhu, Liu Chun, Xiong Datian, and the other subordinates who had followed Zou Feng from the very beginning were all promoted as well.

It was worth mentioning that, with the improved access to cultivation resources, Zhao Tianhu was about to fulfill his wish of becoming an Entering Grade Martial Artist.

Zou Feng left the numerous miscellaneous tasks of merging the three gangs to his subordinates, while he himself continued to train diligently in his Evil Skills.

He recalled how he had once envied Yang Qianqian of the Yang Mansion, who took a Pure Qi Blood Pill every single day—a luxury that had been utterly unattainable for him.

But now, as the General Leader of the Hongxing Gang, he could casually pop one or two Pure Qi Blood Pills for breakfast, lunch, and dinner without any pressure, and even munch on Essence Strengthening Pills like they were sunflower seeds.

Zou Feng no longer lived in the pharmacy; instead, he had chosen a larger room on the top floor of the Dragon Gate Boat.

At this moment, dozens of True Skill Secret Manuals were laid out on the large wooden table in his room, waiting for Zou Feng to choose from them.

This was one of the benefits of unifying the gangs. The precious Cultivation Skills once held by the Mountain and River Association and the Danxin Alliance could now be brought to him with a single word.

And they were all guaranteed to be True Skills.

But Zou Feng wouldn’t just practice any random Cultivation Skill.

As the saying goes, the time for cultivation each day is limited. He could only selectively practice the Evil Skills that were most suitable for him and would benefit him the most.

Zou Feng spent half a day carefully screening them, finally settling on three Evil Skills.

The first was the *Dragon Scale Iron Armor*. As its name suggested, it was another Body Refining Skill.

Zou Feng wanted to use this skill to improve the quality of his Tribulation-Indestructible Body, allowing for a smoother advancement to the Realm of Refining Fire.

Cultivating this skill required applying various ointments that could corrode the skin and flesh, allowing them to be constantly reshaped as the skill was activated, gradually becoming indestructible.

But the side effect was that it was easy to become completely disfigured during practice, taking on a terrifying, monstrous appearance.

The second Cultivation Skill Zou Feng chose was a Heart Skill called the *Enchanting Heart and Soul Stealing Technique*.

This skill focused on using all sorts of loud shouts and yells during combat to instantly strengthen one’s Inner Qi while also unsettling the enemy, even making their hearts tremble with fear.

In fact, many Cultivation Skills included Sonic Attack techniques. Whoever was louder could overwhelm their opponent with sheer presence, not to mention substantive attacks like the Lion Roar Skill.

Zou Feng planned to cultivate this skill so he could fuse it into his Great Universal Hand.

Any Cultivation Skill that could affect an opponent’s emotions was generally compatible with the Great Universal Hand.

The side effect of this skill was simple and clear: it was highly likely that before he could master it, he would ruin his own throat and become mute.

Moreover, constantly bursting into sudden, loud shouts all day long could easily lead to mental problems over time.

For the last one, Zou Feng selected the *Blood Coagulation Claw*.

Once mastered, a scratch on an opponent could, if they lacked an effective counter, obstruct local blood flow. It was an extremely vicious technique.

Furthermore, the stances of this skill were cunning and exquisite, perfect for compensating for the lackluster stances of the Great Universal Hand.

As for the side effects…

Naturally, when cultivating it, there was a high risk of problems with the practitioner’s own blood flow. Prolonged practice could even lead to a risk of stroke.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep