Two methods, two paths.
Just a mere Zhou Quan.
Zhang Fusheng looked at his chubby, round-faced master, who wore an expression of compassion like the Buddha himself, and couldn't fathom hearing such words coming from him.
'Thousands of people slaughtered, leaving neither old nor young, all relatives implicated.'
There are tens of thousands of members in the Chai Gate, and if you include their relatives...
'Gulp.'
Zhang Fusheng swallowed hard and looked again at his master, yet all he saw was compassion on his face.
After a moment.
Hong Tianbao spoke gently:
"These two methods each have their pros and cons, and you should weigh and choose for yourself, but since this is your first lesson after joining, I will choose for you, okay?"
Zhang Fusheng snapped back to reality, his lips trembled, and suddenly he realized.
The White Bone Observation, in the previous life, the Buddhist Sect also had this technique, using the image of white bones to break one's ego, seemingly evil yet not.
But what he learned here is the Grim White Bone Observation, which is somewhat similar yet fundamentally different from the Buddhist Family's White Bone Observation, going in opposite directions.
This is not a good technique.
How can one who practices this technique be a person of great compassion?
"Which path have you chosen for me?" he asked.
Hong Tianbao calmly said:
"Fight without breaking."
Zhang Fusheng unconsciously let out a sigh of relief.
"And then, kill without leaving any behind," the old man said.
He lowered his eyes, looking compassionate:
"Hongji is not only in the Third District, but also has interests in the Lower Three Districts."
Zhang Fusheng's lips trembled as he listened attentively.
Hong Tianbao spoke gently:
"Upon entering my sect, I will provide you with resources, but not for free. My Hongji Martial Arts Dojo has over two hundred students, with tuition fees exceeding twenty million each term."
"Your three senior brothers and sisters teach on my behalf, and each receives a share of the profits—you should do the same after entering."
"So, every term of three months, you can earn two million."
Zhang Fusheng listened quietly and couldn't help but ask:
"Over two hundred students? Yet daily, I see in the Martial Arts Dojo that..."
Hong Tianbao waved:
"About thirty people come to classes daily, sixty to seventy people occasionally, and the remaining over a hundred are some wealthy merchants and ordinary nobles from the Central and Upper Three Districts."
"They pay tuition and have their names hung in the Martial Arts Dojo, so if there's a dispute with someone, they can call themselves a student of mine, Hong Tianbao."
Zhang Fusheng understood.
The old dojo master gazed at him:
"An income of around two million per term, seventy to eighty thousand per month, is not little, but for cultivation? It's not enough, far from enough."
"Poverty for literature, richness for martial arts!"
Listening to his master, Zhang Fusheng nodded:
"So, the Martial Arts Dojo has businesses in the Lower Three Districts as well..."
"Mm."
Hong Tianbao smiled:
"There are some businesses, your three senior brothers and sisters each manage one business, earning seventy percent and handing over thirty percent."
"As for the amount, it's not too much; in bad years, it's estimated to be thirty to fifty million a month, like your eldest brother and second sister, just barely enough to support cultivation."
Zhang Fusheng was stunned.
Thirty to fifty million a month?
Even in bad years??
And barely enough for cultivation???
He couldn't help but ask:
"Thirty to fifty million, so each person is getting around ten million, and that's just barely enough?"
Hong Tianbao gave him a strange look:
"Each person receives thirty to fifty million... your third sister Lin Dongxi manages a smaller business, so the money is less, but having entered for only half a year, now merely at the Second Refinement, it's naturally sufficient for her."
Zhang Fusheng swallowed hard:
"Then, what about the eldest brother and second sister?"
"Your eldest brother Niu Dali is at the Perfection of the Twelfth Refinement and only needs to achieve great success in the Contemplation Technique to become a Martial Arts Master; your second sister Chen Yuque has only just entered the Twelfth Refinement."
Twelve Refinements!
All are at Twelve Refinements!
But Zhang Fusheng still found it hard to imagine:
"For martial artists at the Twelfth Refinement, is the resource consumption really that exorbitant?"
Hong Tianbao shook his head:
"Normally, it shouldn't be, but here in Jiangzhou City, which isn't prosperous, the resources that cost a hundred million in a large city need to be spent several times or even ten times more here."
"And some resources from giant core cities can't be bought with money in Jiangzhou City."
Zhang Fusheng became silent.
Even in Jiangzhou City, there is a hierarchy, with the Upper Three Districts and Lower Three Districts being worlds apart, and within the Federation, there is naturally a hierarchy as well.
Small cities, medium-sized cities, large cities.
Moreover, giant core cities.
To travel between them, one needs to obtain a special 'pass,' and for people from smaller cities, such as Jiangzhou City,
obtaining a pass to a large city is more difficult than moving from the Lower Three Districts to the Upper Three Districts.
Zhang Fusheng has never understood why this is the case; the Federation is not only the Federation of Blue Star,
though there is little news about outer space, it can be concluded that the Federation's 'territorial scope' includes what is within sight.
At night, the stars visible in the sky are all under the Federation's jurisdiction.
And Blue Star is the mother planet of the Federation.
In such a situation, why is there still a need to differentiate levels and restrict the activity areas of different classes?
He seldom pondered over it before, but now that he thinks about it carefully, he feels a bit apprehensive... The [Central Federation], which considers everything within sight as its territory,
why can't it even eradicate the cultists on its mother planet?
He doesn't understand.
His thoughts were interrupted when he heard his master speak softly:
"You should have a share of what your three senior brothers and sisters have."
"The Chai Gate is a good choice; although its territory and 'business scope' will shrink significantly after a cleanup, it can still support your cultivation."
Zhang Fusheng snapped back to reality:
"So, the choice you made for me is to kill and not to spare."
"Indeed."
Hong Tianbao nodded slightly:
"There was already a conflict between me and that old thing from the Chai Gate, and now it's a good time to settle it together. Of course, this process won't be short, but you currently don't need that many resources."
He pondered for a moment:
"Your first senior brother can't share resources with you at this critical time, and as for your third senior sister, the business she currently manages isn't large, and she doesn't earn much herself."
"Thus."
Hong Tianbao made a decision:
"Before swallowing the Chai Gate, do some work under the second. In the three-tenths that she submits, I will allocate one-tenth to you. How about that?"
Zhang Fusheng nodded vigorously.
The 'business' in the second senior sister's area brings in tens of millions alone each month, and taking one-tenth would still mean several million!
This was a number he dared not even imagine.
Star Beast meat can seemingly be 'freely' obtained now.
"Master, what is Second Senior Sister's business?" Zhang Fusheng cautiously asked.
"Lending." Chen Yuque entered with a smile: "The little junior sister is asleep... I was just worrying about the recent bills to collect; with you helping, it'll be much easier."
Huh?
Lending?
Zhang Fusheng blinked, wondering what kind of lending takes place in a place like the Lower Three Districts, where even in bad years, you could earn tens of millions every month?
He realized that although the Hongji Martial Arts Dojo was located in the Upper Three Districts, it was probably a 'colossal entity' underground in the Lower Three Districts, right?
How high must the interest be?
"Alright." Hong Tianbao nodded slightly: "I am going to rest now. Tomorrow, after the tea ceremony and learning the Cultivation Technique, we will discuss other matters, including the issue of the Chai Gate. I need to think it over carefully."
"Oh?"
Chen Yuque asked curiously:
"Are you going to make a move against the Chai Gate?"
She had just arrived and did not know about the previous conversation.
"Your junior brother lacks a share of resources." Hong Tianbao smiled as he left the room, saying before leaving: "Give him a few small tasks first to let him familiarize himself."
"Yes, Master."
After watching the elder leave, Chen Yuque plopped down across from Zhang Fusheng and yawned:
"Well, I'm not as long-winded as Master. Here's the deal, I'll send you a list of people who owe debts, you choose one to start with... What's your Flysignal?"
Zhang Fusheng quickly added his second senior sister as a friend, and soon, a document was sent over.
"I'm off to rest too, little freak, see you tomorrow."
Chen Yuque flipped her red hair back and left nonchalantly, leaving Zhang Fusheng alone in the quiet room.
He exhaled, still feeling a bit surreal.
The influence of Hongji in the Lower Three Districts could at least be compared to the Chai Gate.
The Chai Gate is one of the 'Five Giants' in the Lower Three Districts... What about Hongji?
Which one of those is it?
He couldn't help but smile wryly, wondering how he was going to explain this to his parents.
Learning martial arts, only to become an underground boss?
What a headache.
Shaking his head, Zhang Fusheng opened the document on his phone, and a long list of names appeared before his eyes.
He quickly scanned it, his heart skipping a beat at the 'debt amounts' following the names... Huh?
Zhang Fusheng's expression tightened, rubbing his eyes, and looking again.
He hadn't seen wrong.
He stared at two familiar names.
One was Zhu Dashan... Zhu Xiaoming's father.
And the other name was 'Chen Nuanyu.'
"Whoa!"