Chapter 374 Chiba Gang!
However, Xin Zhen did not treat Duan Yanqing unfairly.

For Duan Yanqing, his martial arts skills had been stagnant for a long time, and every small step of progress was worth celebrating.

Xin Zhen improved the Duan family swordsmanship for Duan Yanqing, which increased the power of the Duan family swordsmanship by two levels. This was more than just a small step forward, it was a huge step forward!

It is generally recognized that the ranking of martial arts in Tian Long is: one monk, two hangers, three old men, and four unique ones.

The one monk naturally refers to the Sweeping Monk, the two hangers refer to the two hangers, Xu Zhu and Duan Yu, and the three elders are the Three Carefree Elders, Wuyazi, Tianshan Tonglao, and Li Qiushui.

The Four Supremes refers to Xiao Feng, Jiumozhi, Xiao Yuanshan and Murong Bo, who have similar skills and can be classified into the same level.

This is recognized.

There are still many controversies later, for example, the top five, sixth dan, seven heroes, eight heroes, nine heroes and ten talents. In Xin Zhen's opinion, there are quite controversial ones, some of which are even far-fetched, but some of them do make sense.

For example, the top five refer to Ku Rong, Xuan Ci, Ding Chunqiu, You Tanzhi, and Master Shenshan. Leaving aside the other four, Master Shenshan has no battle record and only a reputation as famous as Xuan Ci. How can he be ranked alongside them?

The Six Duans refers to the Five Bens plus Duan Yanqing. They have similar strengths and are all from the Duan family of Dali. This is actually reasonable.

As for the rotten fish and crabs that come after that, there is no need to say more.

There are controversies, but overall, there are probably no major problems with this ranking.

Duan Yanqing's previous strength was only at the same level as the other Duan family members, one level lower than Ding Chunqiu, Xuan Ci and others. However, with the blessing of the new Duan family swordsmanship adapted by Xin Zhen, he may not be able to reach this level.

However, it is still difficult to match the Four Great Masters of Tianlong with just one set of swordsmanship.

Of course Xin Zhen had a way to help Duan Yanqing improve his martial arts and become one of the Four Great Masters of Tianlong, but Xin Zhen was not a philanthropist. He accepted Duan Yanqing for the Six-Meridian Divine Sword, but the matter at hand was also very important, and he had to rely on Duan Yanqing to help him take Pingjiang Prefecture into his hands.

If Duan Yanqing's martial arts could catch up with the Four Great Masters of Tianlong so quickly, would Duan Yanqing still be willing to stay by his side and help him?
It's impossible to think about it.

So this matter has to be done slowly, teaching him bit by bit, until Duan Yanqing is no longer needed here, and then let him improve his martial arts so that he can compete for the Duan family's throne.

After that night, Duan Yanqing's admiration for Xin Zhen reached a new level, and he had no regrets about helping Xin Zhen. Three days later, Duan Yanqing came to meet Xin Zhen.

"Sir, everything is basically ready, we can start now. In a few days, the Chiba Gang will hold its twelfth month year-end banquet. Basically, all the high-level officials above the helmsman will attend the banquet. We can catch them all at once. Sir, do you want to go?"

Duan Yanqing asked for instructions.

Xin Zhen nodded and said, "It's time to go over there, but tell me what you plan to do."

Duan Yanqing said: "I have already reached a consensus with Qianye Gang leader Hao Boyan. Qianye Gang needs a backer and we need Qianye Gang. It is a mutual need.

Hao Boyan also reached a consensus with the law enforcement elders of his faction, as well as the two elders Jin and Yu, and even the leaders of the two branch offices in Wu County and Changzhou County.

However, the other elders who passed on the skills, as well as the two elders Di and Song, and the four leaders of Kunshan County, Changshu County, Wujiang County and Jiading County disagreed with Hao Boyan.

Therefore, Gang Leader Hao hopes to have a good discussion with the three elders and the four helmsmen before the year-end banquet, so that everyone can reach a consensus to abandon the Beggars' Sect and join us. "

Xin Zhen frowned and said, "This leader Hao Boyan is too cowardly. Only three of the six elders support him. Only two of the six branches support him?"

Duan Yanqing said with a smile: "This Hao Boyan is just a second-generation gang leader. If it weren't for his father Hao Qianye's great prestige, how could he have been the gang leader?
The three elders and two helmsmen who supported him still supported him because they thought they could control Hao Boyan.

The rest of the elders and helmsmen either want to continue to rely on the Beggars' Sect or join Swallow's Nest. They just don't trust our strength."

Xin Zhen also laughed when he heard this and said, "That's good. Then we don't have to rush to change the leader."

……

In a dock ten miles outside Gusu City, there is the headquarters of the Qianye Gang. There has been a busy flow of ships these days, and the ships are filled with agile and fierce-looking men from the martial arts world.

Those who make a living on the water, especially those who make a living on the water in the south of the Yangtze River, would have been sucked into the vast water system long ago if they were not fierce enough.

Jiangnan is a prosperous area with dense water systems. All materials are transported via the water systems. It can be said that the water flowing in this area is gold.

Except for some small-time river dwellers who made a living on the water, the rest of those involved in cargo transportation were all swallowed up by gangs. Those who wanted to make money in the river were all thrown into the river.

However, there are exceptions. Back then, Hao Qianye relied on a few brothers to bite off a piece of meat in this golden river and withstood the attacks from other gangs.

This is of course because many of the gang's lower-level members are unaware of the fact. If Hao Qianye had not relied on the support of the Beggars' Sect, he would have been buried in the lotus pond by Yanziwu long ago.

Among the boats coming and going, there was a small boat that looked no different from the others, heading towards the dock. A young man on the boat lowered his head, trying to hide his nervous expression.

"Hey, big brother, are you the one taking passengers?" At this time, a young man on the shore was waving.

The young man looked at the boy in astonishment. The boy smiled at him and said, "Yes, let me ask you, do you want to do business?"

The young man then remembered that his black-sailed boat was specially used to carry passengers. It was normal for people to ask him this question, but he was going to sneak into Donglinwu to carry out the assassination, so how could he carry passengers? If he died, he would die, but he didn't want to drag others down.

The young man was about to refuse, but he saw the strong men nearby looking at him.

The young man was from the south of the Yangtze River, so he naturally knew that someone was stopping passengers on his boat. There was no reason for him to refuse. If he refused, he would be suspected.

The young man had no choice but to steer the boat towards the shore, but the young man jumped on board without even asking the price and said with a smile, "Boatman, do you want to go to Donglinwu?"

The young man was shocked and asked, "You want to go to Donglinwu?"

The young man nodded and said, "Yes, let's go to Donglinwu."

The young man whispered, "That's the headquarters of the Qianye Gang. Are you related to the Qianye Gang?"

The young man shook his head and said, "It doesn't matter. I just heard that the scenery there is very beautiful, so I went to take a look."

The young man groaned and said, "You can't go there. The people from the Qianye Gang are very fierce. If you barge in without any reason, you won't be able to survive. You can't take this risk!"

The young man smiled and said, "It's okay. Donglinwu is big. Isn't it better for us not to go to their headquarters?"

The young man smiled bitterly and said, "Donglinwu is under their control. No one can go there."

The young man smiled and said, "This waterway goes to Donglinwu. If you don't go to Donglinwu, where are you going?" "This..." The young man was speechless for a moment.

The young man saw the boy's half-smile and felt a little angry. He thought to himself, "It's hard to persuade a damned ghost with kind words. Since you are determined to die, don't blame me."

At this time, the young man suddenly asked: "What's your name?"

The young man said casually: "My name is Shen Liqiu..." He suddenly became alert and quickly looked at the boy. Seeing that the boy's expression did not change, he felt relieved.

The young man smiled and said, "Shen Liqiu, a good name, but it doesn't sound like the name of a boatman."

Shen Liqiu was startled and whispered, "My father was a boatman. He caught a big fish and asked the old man to give me a name. Everyone said that my name is too fancy and doesn't sound like a boatman's."

The young man continued, "You walk so agilely and are as steady as a rock on the boat. I'm afraid you are also good at martial arts. You are not a boatman, right?"

Shen Liqiu almost got angry, but he heard the young man say: "So you are from the Qianye Gang. I know that the Qianye Gang is holding its year-end banquet these days, and all the masters of the gang are here. You are one of them, right?"

Shen Liqiu restrained himself in time, and then showed a proud look on his face, and said: "Who are you, and what do you want to do in Qianye Gang?"

The young man smiled and said, "I am Xin Zhen. I came to Qianye Gang to retrieve my family's goods. You Qianye Gang are too unethical. My cargo ship is worth millions of gold, and you just robbed it. I came to your gang leader to reason with you."

Shen Liqiu thought to himself, it turns out that he was here to seek revenge as well. The Qianye Gang has done so many evil things, why haven't they been punished by God yet?

Shen Liqiu advised: "You'd better get off the boat. You're a young man, and if you go to Qianye to pick a fight, you won't even know how you died. Get off quickly."

Xin Zhen snorted and said, "Just go when I tell you to. Why are you talking so much? I'll throw you into the water first."

Shen Liqiu was already very nervous, and seeing that the young man refused to listen and was unreasonable, he became angry and was unwilling to persuade him anymore, so he started to steer the boat.

But after walking about half a mile, Shen Liqiu began to regret: Shen Liqiu, Shen Liqiu, this is a living life, and you ruined it just because of a little anger. Where have you read all the books of sages? Your chivalrous heart has been eaten by dogs again, right?

Thinking of this, Shen Liqiu immediately turned the rudder and moved towards the shore. Xin Zhen asked in surprise, "What's wrong?"

Shen Liqiu said firmly in a low voice: "I can't watch you go to die, hurry up and get ashore!"

Xin Zhen laughed and said, "Why, you, a member of the Qianye Gang, are you going to release my enemy privately?"

Shen Liqiu smiled bitterly and said, "I am not from the Qianye Gang, I am also here to seek revenge.

My father was going to Xuzhou to be a private school teacher. He took my mother and two brothers with him. When they passed through Wujiang, they were robbed by the Qianye Gang.

My parents and younger brother were all killed. I was lucky enough to learn martial arts for a few years and jumped into the water to escape. This time, I came here to seek revenge."

Xin Zhen was surprised and said, "What a coincidence! I'm here for revenge, and you're here for revenge too. You dare to come here alone, so your martial arts must be very good, right?"

Shen Liqiu shook his head and said, "My martial arts skills are very low. The boxing and kicking I learned were just low-level kung fu taught to me by a guard in the courtyard. I just did it to keep fit after studying."

Xin Zhen was surprised and asked, "Why don't you report to the authorities? Aren't you just asking for death by coming here?"

Shen Liqiu sighed and said, "I have reported it, but it's no use. They just asked me to wait. But I have been waiting for half a year, and my money has been used up a long time ago. How can I continue to wait?

It would be better to sneak in and kill Hao Boyan if I can. If I can't, let them kill me. Anyway, my parents and brothers are all dead, and there is no point in me being the only one alive."

Xin Zhen understood very well and said, "Okay, let's go together!"

Shen Liqiu shook his head and said, "You can't go. I have no desire to live. You just lost the goods. Money is only a thing outside of the body. Staying alive is the most important thing. Get off the boat quickly."

Xin Zhen nodded secretly in his heart, thinking that this trip had given him an unexpected gain. Shen Liqiu was kind-hearted, well-educated, and had even learned martial arts. He was a very good candidate for a disciple.

However, we still have to keep watching to see what his character is like.

Xin Zhen shook his head and said, "My father borrowed money to buy the goods. If we don't get them back, my family will never be able to get back on their feet. I must get them back. It's fine if they are reasonable, but if they are unreasonable, then I do know some martial arts."

Shen Liqiu looked at Xin Zhen and felt that he looked weak and frail, not like a master at all. He thought that he was probably just a naive boy, so he advised him, "Don't go, don't waste your life."

Xin Zhen sneered and said, "I advise you not to go, can you not go?"

Shen Liqiu shook his head and said, "No."

Xin Zhen laughed and said, "Then why are you trying to persuade me?"

Shen Liqiu gritted his teeth and said, "Okay, since you are not afraid of death, then let's go together. If we really die, then we won't be lonely."

Xin Zhen smiled and said, "Let's go!"

Shen Liqiu rowed vigorously, and the black-sailed boat quickly headed towards Donglinwu.

The closer they got to Donglinwu, the more powerful the men on the boats became. Their eyes were so sharp when they glanced over, that Shen Liqiu felt like needles on his back.

When they arrived at a sluice gate, there was a Qianye Gang member guarding it. The guard asked, "Which branch are you two from? Where are your ID cards?"

Shen Liqiu was feeling anxious, but he saw the young man named Xin Zhen take out an invitation from his arms and gently push it. The invitation flew far above the sluice gate. Shen Liqiu was immediately surprised. This was not an easy move!

The guard did not dare to neglect it. He took it and looked at it, then said quickly, "It turns out to be Master Xin. The leader has told you to go in directly when you come."

Shen Liqiu looked at Xin Zhen and whispered, "You lied to me!"

Xin Zhen extended his index finger and shushed, "Before coming here, someone handed over the invitation. He is willing to meet and talk with me."

Shen Liqiu asked: "You want to take me with you?"

Xin Zhen smiled and said, "Yes, let's go and meet him. If he refuses to return my goods, we can go together and kill him to vent our anger!"

Shen Liqiu: “…”

You are so unreliable!
However, Shen Liqiu agreed immediately. As long as there was a chance to get close to Boss Hao, he would not give up!

(End of this chapter)