The Demon with Holy Radiance-Chapter 87 - 82: A Warning and a Test, the Iron Tiger Gang Comes Knocking

Chapter 87: Chapter 82: A Warning and a Test, the Iron Tiger Gang Comes Knocking

’Sending my former subordinate to meet Pi Chu in the same way... Brother Pi Chu must be quite happy in the afterlife,’ Yang An thought.

With Jin Shou dead, the intense sense of danger he’d felt was gone, just as he’d expected.

But Yang An didn’t leave. He simply stood there, waiting quietly.

He knew the commotion would attract other members of the Blood Bat Gang.

Sure enough, only a few breaths later, the men who had just escorted away the two from the Demon Ban Association all hurried back.

The men who rushed over looked at Yang An, then at the ashes scattered across the ground. They froze, their faces masks of utter disbelief.

Jin Shou’s life aura had completely vanished. The implication was self-evident.

’The Gang Leader... is dead?!’

’Did the Lord Imperial Envoy kill him?!’

He had been perfectly fine a moment before, but in the blink of an eye, he was nothing but ashes on the ground. Not even a complete corpse remained.

This...

Every one of the Hall Masters present had been Jin Shou’s right-hand man for years. It would be a lie to say they didn’t know his temperament.

Therefore, almost everyone present had a crystal-clear idea of why Jin Shou had died.

What shocked and surprised them wasn’t Jin Shou’s death, but the power of this new Lord Imperial Envoy.

For a cultivator at the Middle Stage of the Fake Food Realm to instantly kill a cultivator at the Early Stage Primordial Feeding Realm in such a short time, there were only two possibilities.

Either he possessed a Magical Artifact powerful enough to instantly kill a cultivator at the Early Stage Primordial Feeding Realm...

...or he was hiding his true Cultivation Level.

But regardless of which it was, it meant this new Lord Imperial Envoy’s true power was far from what it seemed.

Thus, after seeing Jin Shou’s fate, they were all scared into silence. None of them dared to make a move, or even look at Yang An, terrified of being implicated.

Yang An took in their reactions, all of which were just as he had expected.

Perhaps these men had been fanatically loyal to Jin Shou, willing to follow his every command to their deaths. But with Jin Shou dead, only self-interest remained.

After all, Jin Shou’s death meant the position of the Blood Bat Gang’s leader was now vacant. Who wouldn’t covet such a prize?

This was precisely Yang An’s intention. Since Jin Shou was unfit to be the Gang Leader, he would simply replace him.

He scanned the group. Aside from one injured Hall Master, the other eight were all here.

Among them, the weakest was at the Middle Stage of Fake Food, while the strongest was at the Late Stage of Fake Food.

"What is your name?"

Yang An asked, his gaze falling upon the man with the highest Cultivation Level.

He was a man with unremarkable features and a rather burly build. Compared to the others, he also seemed to possess a calmer, more composed temperament.

"Replying to the Lord Imperial Envoy, this humble one is named Meng Wuchang."

Meng Wuchang replied, his voice trembling slightly.

It wasn’t fear that made his voice tremble, but excitement.

Although he had guessed what was about to happen, his heart still couldn’t help but pound when Yang An’s gaze fell on him.

It didn’t take a genius to figure out what would happen next.

Yang An nodded, then turned to look at the other men. After he singled out Meng Wuchang, the expressions on the others’ faces immediately soured.

’Looks like these guys need to be put in their place. Otherwise, they’ll never learn to behave.’

With this in mind, Yang An turned back to the crowd. "I’m looking for one more person," he announced. "This time, Cultivation Level doesn’t matter."

At his words, the men all raised their heads, looking at Yang An with a mixture of surprise and intense nervousness.

They were surprised because his statement had undoubtedly revealed his true power.

Being able to tell at a glance that Meng Wuchang had the highest Cultivation Level among them proved that his true power was at least in the Primordial Feeding Realm, not the Fake Food Realm!

And they were nervous because his words gave them hope—it wasn’t just the person with the highest Cultivation Level who could be chosen as the new Gang Leader of the Blood Bat Gang.

They had a chance, too. It all depended on how the Lord Imperial Envoy would choose.

Meeting their eager gazes, Yang An smiled faintly. "Who," he asked, "did the former Gang Leader Jin Shou value most?"

Hearing this question, almost everyone instinctively glanced toward one man in particular. An ecstatic expression immediately bloomed on his face.

He took a step forward, unable to hide his excitement as he announced his name.

"Lord Imperial Envoy, my name is Hu Jin! When it comes to who Gang Leader Jin Shou valued most, no one can compare to me!"

He could barely contain his excitement, his words laced with pride and arrogance.

’To be valued by Jin Shou was proof of my outstanding ability,’ he thought. ’Even if my Cultivation Level is a little lacking, my management of the Blood Bat Gang is something no one else here can hope to match.’

At this thought, he even shot a sidelong glance at Meng Wuchang, a flash of contempt in his eyes.

’What good is a high Cultivation Level? Can *you* lead the Blood Bat Gang to greater prosperity?’

"Hu Jin. A fine name."

Yang An smiled and nodded, but then his gaze shifted to Meng Wuchang.

"Kill him, and I’ll make you the Gang Leader of the Blood Bat Gang."

Yang An’s words stunned everyone present.

Meng Wuchang was stunned as well, but only for an instant. He reacted with lightning speed, an ecstatic look spreading across his face as he charged toward Hu Jin.

Hu Jin remained frozen, completely unable to process what was happening, as if he still couldn’t believe his ears.

But Meng Wuchang was already upon him, his face a chilling mask of glee and murderous intent.

"Die!"

He spat a mouthful of fresh blood, which instantly congealed into a dark-red, thumb-thick chain.

The chain shot through Hu Jin’s abdomen, bursting out his back to coil tightly around his neck.

As terror finally registered in Hu Jin’s eyes, Meng Wuchang gripped the chain and pulled with all his might.

CRACK!

It was the sound of something snapping violently.

Hu Jin’s body bent into a grotesque angle, his upper torso folded completely backward against his legs.

The next second, Meng Wuchang yanked the chain again. A choked gurgle escaped Hu Jin’s throat as blood sprayed everywhere, and his head dropped to the ground with a heavy thud, like a split watermelon.

THUD!

As the head hit the ground, Hu Jin’s folded body went rigid before losing its balance and toppling over, dead on the spot.

Everything happened in a flash. From the moment Meng Wuchang reacted to Yang An’s command to the moment Hu Jin was killed without a chance to resist, it all took less than a single breath.

For a cultivator at the Late Stage of Fake Food like Meng Wuchang, dealing with someone merely at the Middle Stage of Fake Food was laughably easy.

With Hu Jin dead, the chain piercing his body disintegrated, collapsing into a thick spray of blood that splattered on the ground.

At the same time, black stripes began to appear on Meng Wuchang’s body, looking as if they were painfully growing right out of his flesh. A look of agony crossed his face, but he still scrambled over to Yang An and fell to his knees.

"Lord Imperial Envoy, I have executed Hu Jin!"

In that moment, even the pain couldn’t mask the excitement on his face as he looked up at Yang An in anticipation.

"Well done," Yang An said with a nod. "From now on, you are the new Gang Leader of the Blood Bat Gang."

He was very pleased with Meng Wuchang’s reaction.

If the man had shown the slightest hesitation, it would have proved he had ulterior motives. Even if he had still killed Hu Jin, Yang An would not have let him live.

This was both a warning and a test.

The warning, however, was for the others. The test was for Meng Wuchang.

As the leader of a Sacrificial Power under his command, Yang An needed someone obedient, not someone with a will of their own.

"Thank you, Lord Imperial Envoy! Thank you, Lord Imperial Envoy!"

Overwhelmed with excitement and gratitude, Meng Wuchang immediately began to kowtow, repeatedly knocking his head on the ground.

Only then did Yang An turn to the others. With Hu Jin dead, six Hall Masters remained, all of them deathly silent.

The moment they saw Yang An’s gaze fall upon them, they all dropped to their knees in unison and began begging for mercy.

"Spare us, Lord Imperial Envoy! We swear we have no disloyal intentions! We beg for your clear judgment!"

Even a blind man could see that Yang An was "killing the chicken to scare the monkeys." He had made an example of the person closest to Jin Shou; even an idiot could understand his message.

Looking at the men prostrating before him, Yang An saw that he had achieved his desired effect and couldn’t help but let out a faint smile.

"There’s no need to be nervous," he said. "I just wanted to ask if any of you have an opinion on the matter. If you do, feel free to speak up."

"We have no objections! We will follow all of the Lord Imperial Envoy’s commands!"

they all replied in perfect unison.

"Good."

Yang An smiled, then paid them no more mind and turned to return to his room.

But just then, a member of the Blood Bat Gang came running from a nearby corridor, his face a mask of panic.

"It’s terrible, Gang Leader! The Iron Tiger Gang is attacking!"