Chapter 40: The Eighteen Torments That Penetrate the Bone

The aura surrounding Thunder Tiger grew ever sharper, like a fierce beast unleashed from its mountain lair. The other members of the Fierce Tiger Gang each surged with vitality, a crimson energy seething over their bodies.

"Kill him," Thunder Tiger roared, leaping from his chair like an enraged tiger, both claws slashing toward Lu Yan.

At the very instant Thunder Tiger pounced, the two deputy chiefs, who had been poised to strike, and three elite fighters behind them all lunged at Lu Yan, each unleashing their deadliest moves.

The first to arrive was, unexpectedly, the other deputy chief, Mountain Tiger Lei Cong, Thunder Tiger’s adopted son. Lei Cong specialized in leg techniques and was famed for his speed. As he closed in on Lu Yan, he flicked his wrist and a cloud of fiery red powder shot toward Lu Yan’s face.

Lu Yan didn’t need to look—he knew it was chili powder.

Chili powder to pave the way, followed by attacks from all sides—their coordination was flawless.

Lu Yan’s eyes sharpened, his energy surging. With a wave of his right hand, a fierce gust of wind scattered the chili powder. In the same instant, his palms danced, unleashing five strikes that collided with the attacks from Thunder Tiger and the two deputy chiefs.

As for the attacks from behind, Lu Yan ignored them completely.

His Vajra Body technique activated, rendering his back a golden hue, as if cast from steel. The three elite fighters’ blows landed but failed to move him even an inch. Instead, they were sent staggering backward, their fists and palms numb from the recoil.

Thunder Tiger and the two deputy chiefs were sent flying, crashing heavily to the ground. The two deputies’ hand bones were shattered, arms grotesquely twisted as cold sweat poured down from the pain.

Lu Yan turned to the deputy chief who’d thrown the chili powder. “Impressive technique,” he said, “a hero’s move.”

“But you shouldn’t have used it on me. That’s why you’ll die first.”

With a step, Lu Yan’s figure flashed before the man, his palm slicing down upon the man’s neck, ending his life instantly.

Thunder Tiger whirled and fled.

That single exchange made it clear—he was no match for Lu Yan. The gap was insurmountable.

Now he finally understood why Fang Xiong had vanished without a trace.

But he was no faster than Lu Yan; with just a few strides, Lu Yan closed the distance and struck.

Thunder Tiger spun to fight desperately.

Crack!

One move—his arm broke.

A second move—Lu Yan’s fist slammed into his chest, sending him flying, blood gushing from his mouth.

Lu Yan had held back; otherwise, Thunder Tiger would not have survived that blow.

Lu Yan then seized a table leg and hurled it at Cao Hu, who was trying to escape.

The leg exploded on impact, splinters flying, and Cao Hu’s leg twisted at a grotesque angle as he collapsed, howling in agony.

“Anyone who tries to escape dies.”

Lu Yan’s cold voice echoed through the hall.

The three elite fighters froze on the spot, utterly silent, not daring to move a muscle.

Lu Yan approached Thunder Tiger, looked down at him, and said, “Hand over the martial art you trained in, and I’ll spare your life.”

Thunder Tiger’s skills were, of course, of the second tier—a key reason Lu Yan had targeted the Fierce Tiger Gang, to acquire their martial arts.

“Fiery Tiger Claw is a Thunder family secret, never to be revealed. If you think you can force it from me, forget it,” Thunder Tiger growled, glaring defiantly.

“So, you wish to die.” Lu Yan’s voice was ice.

Thunder Tiger laughed bitterly. “Lu Shan, we’re both men of the underworld—don’t play these games. Even if I gave you Fiery Tiger Claw, would you really spare me? If you want full control of the Fierce Tiger Gang, you cannot let me live.”

Lu Yan fell silent.

Thunder Tiger had to die.

To let him live would mean never truly controlling the Fierce Tiger Gang. These old foxes were not so easily fooled.

“I’ll give you one more chance…” Lu Yan said.

“Kill me if you must.”

Bang!

Lu Yan’s foot came down—a spray of blood, and Thunder Tiger was dead.

Lu Yan turned to Cao Hu. “Do you know Fiery Tiger Claw? Write it out for me.”

“I do not, Chief Lu. I only know third-tier martial arts. Thunder Tiger kept his secrets close. I worked for him for decades, but he never taught me a single move,” Cao Hu replied.

“And he never taught it to anyone else?”

“No. He intended to pass it on to his son, but he never had children. Everyone in the Fierce Tiger Gang knows this—you can ask anyone.”

Lu Yan had heard the rumors: Thunder Tiger had taken more than a dozen concubines, worked tirelessly night and day, yet never sired a child.

The man was simply incapable.

It seemed second-tier martial arts were out of reach. Lu Yan felt some disappointment and turned his gaze to the remaining underlings.

“Each of you, write down the martial arts you’ve practiced. Anyone who refuses will join Thunder Tiger in death. Who refuses? Step forward.”

“I’ll do it, I will!”

“So will I!”

One by one, they nodded vigorously.

“One more thing. From now on, I am the leader of the Fierce Tiger Gang. You may keep your current positions. Anyone object?”

The elites dropped to their knees. “We pay our respects to the chief!”

Even Cao Hu, with his broken leg, struggled to bow.

As always, in the underworld, loyalty was to profit and pleasure—true devotion was rare.

It mattered little who led, as long as their interests were preserved.

“Don’t think about trying anything stupid, or running to the Scarlet Guards. Let me tell you: Liu’s clan may not be able to kill me, but killing you would be as easy as breathing.”

Lu Yan’s tone was frigid, the threat unmistakable.

“Yes, yes, yes—rest assured, Chief,” the elites replied, nodding in terror.

“That’s more like it. Follow me, and your lives will be grander than under Thunder Tiger. Wealth and glory await.”

Having established his authority, Lu Yan tossed them a promise.

He then summoned the other key members of the Fierce Tiger Gang to pay their respects.

Faced with Thunder Tiger’s corpse and the obedient Cao Hu and others, none dared utter a word of dissent.

Lu Yan ordered them to keep quiet, dispose of Thunder Tiger’s body, and hand over their martial arts manuals in three days.

Later, Lu Yan searched the residences of Thunder Tiger and his deputy, finding nearly two thousand taels of silver.

Three days later, he acquired two third-tier martial arts: Fierce Tiger Fist, the most commonly practiced technique in the gang, and Iron Sand Palm.

Lu Yan mastered both within five days, forming an avatar for each.

Fueled by more than twenty pounds of ordinary meat daily, his progress was rapid.

As for the two thousand taels, Lu Yan chose not to spend them on martial food just yet.

Money was hard to come by; it was too soon to waste it. He would wait until he trained in second-tier martial arts, or until his third-tier skills reached perfection, to invest wisely in both skills and resources.

A month passed in the blink of an eye.

One morning, just as Lu Yan entered the Scarlet Cloak Headquarters, he received a summons.

The next day, the fifth, sixth, and seventh squads would accompany Elder Liu to Qingyang City.

Qingyang City, neighboring Changfeng City, was controlled by the Zhou family, a martial marquis lineage.

Soon, Lu Yan learned the reason for the journey: to compete for one of the legendary Eighteen Bone-Infusing Delicacies—the Mutated Nine-Section Heart Meat.

The so-called Eighteen Bone-Infusing Delicacies were special martial foods.

Martial food came in many types—it wasn’t just for training and boosting energy.

There were foods for healing, for restoring foundations, for neutralizing poison, for boosting explosive power, and more.

The rarest, however, were those that helped warriors break through their limits.

Some martial foods could raise the chance of breaking the “sealed gate.”

Some increased the probability of “blood and energy entering the bone,” allowing one to achieve Bone Force.

For five thousand years, the martial world had classified all foods that could improve the chance of reaching Bone Force as the “Eighteen Bone-Infusing Delicacies.”

In other words, there were eighteen such martial foods.

The Mutated Nine-Section Heart Meat was one—it was said to raise the chance of success by thirty percent.

For a warrior who had undergone five limit-breakings and whose energy was overflowing, the next step was to infuse the bones with energy—to forge Bone Force.

But this was an extremely dangerous process.

The surge of energy could easily shatter one’s bones, resulting in death.

Even a minor failure could damage meridians and deplete vitality.

Without external aid, the odds of success were no more than twenty percent.

But the Mutated Nine-Section Heart Meat could add thirty percent to those odds—a prize beyond measure.

Yet the ingredients for the Eighteen Bone-Infusing Delicacies were exceedingly rare.

The main ingredient was always exotic beast meat.

However, the exotic beasts kept by most martial marquis clans were too low in grade and too limited in variety to serve as the main ingredient.

Still, there were exceptions.

Even low-ranked beasts could, on rare occasions, produce the necessary ingredient: the Mutated Heart Meat.