Chu Qiguang pulled Chen Gang into a sitting position, then squeezed his chin to force his mouth open while using his other hand to pour a bowl of blood down his throat.

“Swallow it! Don’t spit it out!”

Chen Gang forced himself to gulp down the nauseating dog fiend blood, while Chu Qiguang had already begun to administer palm strikes all over his body under Qiao Zhi’s guidance.

Over the past few days, Chu Qiguang had been learning the Heavenly Fiend Foundation Establishment Technique from Qiao Zhi, and Chen Gang was the perfect test subject. However, his technique and explosive power were far inferior to Qiao Zhi’s, so more palm strikes were required, and each palm strike had a greater chance of injuring the subject.

Fortunately, the procedure was completed safely under Qiao Zhi’s constant supervision and guidance.

Chen Gang felt as if a flame had been ignited inside his body, and the sensation was much more painful than last time. With each palm strike from Chu Qiguang, he felt like he was going to die.

However, the enhancement effects from the dog fiend blood were much more potent than from ordinary dog blood, and he figured this was why this procedure was so much more painful than last time.

Finally, the storm passed, and Chu Qiguang collapsed to his knees, gasping for air.

Chu Qiguang looked down at him as he instructed, “Make sure to carefully familiarize yourself with the changes that have taken place in your body, and continue your daily martial arts practice. Your objective is to make a breakthrough as soon as possible.”

Chen Gang was too stunned to speak as he stared at his own hands, and the overwhelming strength coursing through his veins felt like a dream that he never wanted to wake from.

***

Ten days passed in the blink of an eye. Jin Fugui and Lu Ming’s treatments were finally completed. Even as they said their farewells to Chu Qiguang, they urged him to inform them immediately he got his hands on more brain platinum.

Over the past ten days, Chu Qiguang had cultivated his Heavenly Spirit Body Refinement Fist Techniques in Wise Hero Academy during the day to strengthen his foundation, while his nights were spent meditating and cultivating the Yaksha King Fist Techniques with the help of Hundred Refinement Ointment. His progress was rapid, and he was already able to throw one hundred and twenty consecutive audible punches.

However, his expenses were mounting quickly. He had to cover the food costs for Chen Gang, Qiao Zhi, the dog fiends, and himself, and he had rented a new place. On top of that, he was using Hundred Refinement Ointment every day, and his wealth had quickly dwindled to just over nine hundred taels of silver.

It seems like I can never get enough silver. I need to find some new ways to make money.

Following the departure of Jin Fugui and Lu Ming, Chu Qiguang returned to the courtyard, where Wang Cailiang was cultivating the Iron Mountain Fist Techniques that he had learned at Wise Hero Academy.

Chu Qiguang approached him and said, “I’ve found a new place, and I’ll be moving in a few days.”

“What’s the hurry, Brother Chu? I’m really going to miss having you around,” Wang Cailiang said in a forlorn manner.

The feeling is not mutual! Chu Qiguang scoffed inwardly.

However, on the surface, he put on an earnest facade as he said, “I’m going to miss you too, Brother Wang, but I can’t just keep living here and freeloading off you. My new place isn’t far away from here, so you can come visit me whenever you have time.”

“Alright, I’ll be sure to make regular visits!” Wang Cailiang replied with a smile.

After chatting with Wang Cailiang a little longer, Chu Qiguang returned to his room.

On the way there, he spotted Granny Sun whipping her grandson’s backside with a cane.

“This is what you get, you greedy little rascal! How could you eat the offerings I prepared for the Daoist temple? You’re going to anger the gods and get us both killed!”

Feeling disgruntled, Chu Qiguang spoke up and stopped Granny Sun from continuing the beating before returning to his room.

He could still hear the poor boy crying outside. Chu Qiguang shook his head and let out a faint sigh.

On the bed, Qiao Zhi stretched lazily and said, “We’ve found the leader of the cat fiends.”

“Oh? Where?” 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

***

The next morning.

“Fresh steamed meat buns straight out of the steamer! Only three copper coins a bun!”

Chu Qiguang watched the steamed bun shop from a distance. The shopkeeper was a very physically imposing man, but despite his fearsome appearance, there was currently a fawning smile on his face as he loudly advertised his steamed buns.

The man wiped the sweat on his forehead with a rag, then carried out another steamer full of steamed buns.

“You said that almost all the cat fiends in Azure Sun County come to this shop with the rats and mice that they catch?” Chu Qiguang asked.

Over the past few days, Qiao Zhi and the dog fiends had been tracking the cat fiends in the county town. They quickly discovered that almost all the cat fiends in the county town would come to this steamed bun shop every night with rats and mice.

“Is he getting cats to catch rats and mice for him, then using them to make his meat buns?” Chu Qiguang asked.

Qiao Zhi nodded in confirmation, then said, “The problem is that I can’t detect any fiendish energy from him. That means he’s either a human, or he’s a fiend in human form who’s very good at disguising himself. In that case, I won't be able to sense his fiendish energy unless I see him in battle.

“As you can tell from his build, he’s ridiculously strong, and his senses are very sharp. He’s already noticed that the dog fiends and I have been observing him. He’s definitely cultivated some kind of powerful martial arts, but I can’t tell his exact cultivation base. In any case, I’m certain that he’s going to be much more difficult to deal with than that black dog. What are you planning to do?”

Chu Qiguang thought about it for a moment before replying, “For starters, let’s confirm if he’s a fiend or not.”

“Are you going to send the dog fiends to attack him? If you do that, they’ll most likely end up being made into meat buns as well,” Qiao Zhi scoffed.

“Of course I’m not going to do that,” Chu Qiguang replied with a smile. “He’s either a human or pretending to be one, so I’ll get other humans to deal with him.”

With a plan forming in his mind, Chu Qiguang returned to the courtyard and asked Wang Cailiang for a favor.

After hearing that Chu Qiguang wanted the shopkeeper of a steamed bun shop dealt with, Wang Cailiang said confidently, “You can count on me, Brother Chu! If it’s just a steamed bun vendor, then I can crush him like an ant!”

***

The next day, around noon, Chu Qiguang and a middle-aged man arrived in a small alley not far from the steamed bun shop.

The middle-aged man’s name was Du Litian, and he was the warden who had previously come to Zhou Ergou’s house to demand the payment of their grain tax. However, at this moment, he was wearing an official uniform, having recently secured a job as an attendant in the county office. That was why Wang Cailiang had called on him for help.

Du Litian was looking at Chu Qiguang with a fawning expression as he asked, “This is the steamed bun shop, right, Young Master Chu? I questioned the shopkeeper earlier, and he told me that his name is Lin Nan. He’s the only one in his family, and he rented a storefront to open this steamed bun shop.”

Du Litian had only become an attendant at the county office through the Wang Clan, so he was naturally obliged to comply with any request from Wang Cailiang.

“Does he have any backers?” Chu Qiguang asked.

“Not at all,” Du Litian replied confidently. “A steamed bun vendor like him definitely won’t have any solid backing.”

Chu Qiguang smiled as he slipped a qian of scrap silver into Du Litian’s hand, then said, “That man barged into me a few days ago, so I want to teach him a lesson. I hope you can help me out, Brother Du.”

Initially, Du Litian had come here reluctantly. He couldn’t afford to offend Wang Cailiang, so he essentially had no choice.

However, now that he was being compensated, he felt much more motivated to do a good job.

“You’re far too kind, Young Master Chu,” Du Litian said with a wide smile as he tucked the piece of scrap silver into his pocket. “What would you like me to do to him?”

“Brother Wang has already spoken to Accountant Li at the county office, so feel free to extort him all you like,” Chu Qiguang replied with a smile.

The accountants at the county office were responsible for calculating taxation, and they could essentially choose to give anyone tax exemption, or increase the tax that they owed by severalfold. With the backing of the accountants, the servants of the county office could extort the people as they pleased.

Du Litian was ecstatic to hear this. Chu Qiguang had just provided him with payment and the backing required to extort the shopkeeper of a steamed bun shop! This was like a blessing from the heavens!