Liu Heihu's gaze was sharp, like a fierce tiger's, fixed on Lu Lin. "What did you just say? You can get rid of Li Zitian?"
"Yes!" Lu Lin returned his gaze, giving a candid nod.
"Oh?" Liu Heihu leaned forward slightly and sized him up with suspicion. "Who's backing you up? Which gang do you represent?"
This was the first possibility that came to his mind—some force was wanting to cooperate with them to deal with the increasingly cocky Blood Wolf Gang.
Lu Lin, however, shook his head, his tone flat yet firm. "Don't bother guessing. I'm alone."
"Just you?" To Liu Heihu's left, a massive man, nearly two meters tall and built like an iron pagoda, erupted in anger, thundering, "Kid, are you messing with us?"
Everyone knew that Li Zitian was not only at the Body Tempering Sixth Level but had also long reached Small Proficiency in the 'Demonic Ape Palm'.
In this Xuan-iron mine, unless several experts at the same Level set up an ambush, no one could take his life alone.
Bang!
Lu Lin knew that idle talk with these people was useless. Only tangible strength could win the right to be heard.
He suddenly pushed off the ground, shooting forward like an arrow from a bowstring, his fist aiming straight for the giant man's face, as a gust of wind rushed past!
"You're courting death!" the giant man roared. His Qi and Blood all over surged instantly. The muscles of his right arm coiled and bulged, gleaming with an iron-gray sheen. His palm, kicking up a fierce, whistling wind, came slapping hard toward Lu Lin's fist, powerful and heavy as if it could break stone.
Fist and palm collided violently!
Two torrents of robust Qi and Blood clashed fiercely, sending visible crimson waves rippling outward as air currents churned, stirring up dust from the ground.
The next moment!
A faint crack sounded. The pagoda of a man's face froze in disbelief. His entire arm trembled convulsively as he felt the bones could break at any moment, and his colossal frame staggered backward.
Having gained an upper hand, Lu Lin pressed on without mercy. With his shifting footwork, he pursued the man like a shadow following its owner. His right fist hadn't yet lost its momentum when his left fist, like a serpent emerging from its lair, went straight for the giant's throat!
To the side, Liu Heihu's expression twisted ugly. Letting out a low roar of shock, he lunged forward to intervene. His palms, large as a cattail-leaf fan, wrapped in a nearly tangible Qi and Blood, slapped toward Lu Lin's flanks, intending to rescue his lieutenant by forcing Lu Lin into defense.
Surprisingly, Lu Lin did not dodge. He still directed his right fist forward, while his left fist abruptly swung back, meeting Liu Heihu's twin palms head-on!
Boom!
Another muffled, terrifying explosion! The force of Qi and Blood erupted, then scattered!
All Liu Heihu felt was an overwhelming force coursing up his arm. The bones in his arm instantly went numb and ached sharply; his Qi and Blood was boiling.
He groaned, utterly unable to keep his footing. Thud, thud, thud...he was sent backing away over a dozen steps. Each step left a deep footprint in the hard ground until he barely managed to halt his movement.
One of his arms hung limp, trembling incessantly. His face was pale, and a trickle of blood even seeped from the corner of his mouth.
He jerked his head up, his eyes filled with shock and horror, fixed on Lu Lin, whose breathing remained calm. It was a long moment before he squeezed out a few words through clenched teeth, "S-so... so strong! W-ere you... born with immense strength?!"
He, Liu Heihu, broke through the Body Tempering Sixth Level five years ago. Now, he was at the very limit of the Sixth Level, just one step away from attempting the breakthrough to the Seventh.
Moreover, he had also reached Small Proficiency in the 'Demonic Ape Palm' and was now nearing the stage of Proficiency. He considered himself unmatched among the Body Tempering Sixth Level martial artists at this mine.
Yet, a single punch from Lu Lin had already left him hard-pressed. This man's power was simply terrifying. Li Heihu had been under such pressure only in front of those who had broken through the Body Tempering Seventh Level.
But he did not suspect Lu Lin had already reached the Seventh.
Because progressing from the Body Tempering Sixth Level to the Seventh required guiding Qi and Blood into bones, hammering a thousand times and forging a hundred times the bones, during which Qi and Blood was to bones what a sledgehammer was to a piece of iron, hardening them like refined steel.
This was extremely perilous. The slightest mistake could shatter one's bones, resulting in death. It absolutely required the protection of the precious 'Bone Protecting Pills'.
Furthermore, one pill was not enough. One had to take a pill every ten days continuously for half a year to complete the breakthrough.
But each Bone-Protecting Pill cost over a thousand silver coins. Moreover, even if you can afford it, you can hardly find it on the open market. Ordinary martial artists had little access to them. They could only apply for it to the Demonic Sect, which might give approval and issue it.
Once they succeeded in the breakthrough, they would be selected by Immortal Masters either to become a personal guard or enlist in the "Martial Army." Staying here and mining was out of the question.
Without Bone Protecting Pills, attempting a breakthrough was tantamount to suicide. Therefore, the strongest at the Xuan-iron mine were only at the Body Tempering Sixth Level.
But Lu Lin possessed a strength absolutely overwhelming that of a Body Tempering Sixth Level man. Apart from the "natural immense strength" as in the legends, Liu Heihu couldn't think of any other explanation.
"Now, do I have the qualifications?" Lu Lin retracted his fist, his tone still flat.
"... Certainly!" Liu Heihu took a deep breath, wiped the blood from his lips, and gave Lu Lin a complicated gaze. Yet, shortly after, doubt arose in him again, " To kill Li Zitian, you alone are more than enough. Why seek out our Black Tiger Gang?"
"Cooperation." Lu Lin uttered only one word.
"Cooperation?"
"I want the rich mining area controlled by the Blood Wolf Gang."
A sharp glint flashed in Liu Heihu's eyes as he instantly understood. "I see! You want to use our Black Tiger Gang to occupy that rich mining area behind the scenes? Hmph, clever scheme! But there's no such thing as a free lunch. Why should we help you? And what's in it for us?" He was truly worthy of being a gang leader, immediately grasping the key point.
"After it's done, the rich mining area of the Blood Wolf Gang will be split equally between your gang and me." Lu Lin stated his terms straightforwardly.
With his current strength, it wasn't difficult to wipe out the Blood Wolf Gang. The difficulty lay in how to rightfully occupy that rich mining area afterward.
He couldn't occupy it alone for long without raising suspicion, especially since the superintendents behind the Blood Wolf Gang would definitely not let it go and investigate thoroughly.
He needed the Black Tiger Gang as a "cover" to divert attention and hide the truth.
"Half?" Liu Heihu and the rest of the Black Tiger Gang brass exchanged glances, their eyes flickering, their breathing slightly quickening.
Half the proceeds from a rich mining area meant a continuous stream of shoddy spiritual stones and even rare low-grade spiritual stones. This represented bountiful rewards from the Sect, which would move just anyone.
Liu Heihu pondered for a moment, a flash of ruthlessness and resolve in his eyes, clearly having made a decision. "To take over the Blood Wolf Gang's rich mining area, I'm afraid that killing Li Zitian alone isn't enough."
"Oh?" Lu Lin raised his eyebrow slightly. "Who else needs to be killed? The Blood Wolf Gang leader, Huang Lang?"
"Correct!" Liu Heihu nodded heavily. "We must eliminate their core experts along the way, completely dismantling the Blood Wolf Gang, before we can take over."
Lu Lin thought briefly, then asked, "Killing several Body Tempering Sixth Level experts in succession will definitely cause a stir. You... are you truly confident you can keep it down? Are you sure that the superintendents behind them won't step in and dig deep into it?"
"Superintendents?" Upon hearing this, Liu Heihu's face showed a trace of self-mockery. "To those high-and-mighty superintendents, it doesn't matter at all who controls the rich mining areas. What's important is that the monthly 'tribute' is paid to them in full and on time."
He paused, then, in a hushed voice, went on, "After killing them, we just need to make it a clean job by throwing them deep into the 'Toxic Mining Zone,' making it look like they were greedy and ventured into the Toxic Mining Zone to search for treasures, and encountered misfortune... Then, with the superintendents on our side pulling strings, this matter will most likely quietly go by."
"The Toxic Mining Zone..." Lu Lin's gaze sharpened.
Within this vast Xuan-iron mine, even during daylight, it wasn't absolutely safe.
Some mine tunnels, in which extremely eerie and sinister things had been unearthed, were designated as forbidden zones, called "Toxic Mining Zones."
Some had dug up pools of pitch-black, foul-smelling blood; touching it caused immediate body-wide festering, turning one into bloody mud.
Some had gouged out half a rusty ancient sword that autonomously unleashed sword energy, mincing nearby individuals into paste.
Others had seen half an indescribable-looking corpse, from which the poisonous fog instantly filled several tunnels, killing all the martial artists...
But danger always coexisted with opportunity. Within the boundaries of the Toxic Zones were also the places with the highest probability of finding shoddy spiritual stones, even low-grade ones. Occasionally, some bizarre items had been brought from inside, for which the Demonic Sect had rewarded handsomely.
Therefore, there had been many a desperate individual taking the risk and sneaking into the Toxic Mining Zones to gamble for riches, though most never returned.
"Good!" A cold glint flashed in Lu Lin's eyes as he immediately decided. "That's the plan. Your Black Tiger Gang is responsible for pinpointing the exact whereabouts of Li Zitian and Huang Lang. I'll handle the action."
He paused, his tone cold and resolute. "The sooner, the better. There's no time to waste."