Cao Biansheng looked at He Biao. "Are you guys looking for a fight, or what?"

"I should be the one asking you that," He Biao said in a low voice. If his leader hadn’t instructed them to avoid conflict with the other factions in the Gated Community whenever possible, he would never be this calm.

’This is a problem now. It’s gone beyond a personal squabble and now involves the honor of both our factions. If I back down, who knows what kind of rumors will start? They might even say our Alliance Association is scared of the Qin Alliance.’

"If you didn’t want trouble, why did you try to steal our things?" Cao Biansheng said.

He Biao frowned. He glanced at the man who had spoken up earlier, and from the man’s shifty eyes, he started to get an idea of what happened.

But he couldn’t back down now. He pointed to the curly-haired man beside him. "What do you mean, ’your things’? Tell you what. We won’t use our numbers to bully you. If any of you can beat Jiang Shan in a wrestling match, I’ll not only return all this dirt, but I’ll even throw in an extra hundred jin! You dare?"

Jiang Shan took a step forward, a provocative glint in his eyes.

Cao Biansheng shook his head and chuckled. "You should’ve just said it was that simple in the first place."

Jiang Shan took off his jacket, revealing lean, corded muscles. He bounced lightly on the balls of his feet, raring to go.

Seeing Cao Biansheng step forward without even removing his jacket, Jiang Shan felt slighted. "Not taking off your jacket? Don’t try to make excuses about not being in top form after I beat you."

"Let’s go. Enough with the pointless chatter."

The two men locked arms. With a low grunt, Jiang Shan engaged his core, preparing to flip the upstart before him.

But his opponent was like a tree that had taken root, his feet planted firmly on the ground.

The next second, an immense, irresistible force surged from the other arm. Jiang Shan was completely powerless to resist as he was hoisted into the air.

Before he could even react, the world spun, and he was slammed down onto a pile of dirt.

Lying on the pile of dirt, Jiang Shan stared blankly at the sky, unable to accept the harsh reality of what had just happened.

"Why... Why..."

Cao Biansheng looked at He Biao. "Captain He, don’t forget your promise."

He Biao’s expression was grim. He glanced at Jiang Shan on the ground. ’This brat is always bragging about how tough he is, calling himself number one in the Alliance Association, and he gets taken down in a single move. What a fucking embarrassment!’

"Don’t worry, I’ll have someone send it over later," he said before leaving in a hurry.

Many of the onlookers burst into laughter at the sight.

Amidst the laughter, He Biao’s pace quickened.

After muttering to himself for a long moment, Jiang Shan climbed to his feet. He looked at Cao Biansheng, his expression full of confusion. "You’re so powerful. Why would you join the Qin Alliance? Wouldn’t our Alliance Association be a better fit? We have more members, and we’re a larger organization."

"Because in the Qin Alliance, there are people even stronger than me." An image of Du Yu surfaced in Cao Biansheng’s mind.

Hearing this, Jiang Shan’s pupils contracted. ’Cao Biansheng is already this powerful,’ he thought. ’If there’s someone in the Qin Alliance who’s even stronger... just what level would they be at?’

Subconsciously, an image of Qin Ziwen formed in his mind.

He’d heard the Qin Alliance was originally founded on his reputation.

’Could the stronger person Cao Biansheng mentioned be the leader of the Qin Alliance?’

Returning to Wei Zhaohua’s side, Cao Biansheng asked with concern, "Old Wei, are you okay?"

Wei Zhaohua said gratefully, "Thank you for that."

"We’re in the same Alliance, no need to say all that." Cao Biansheng waved his hand dismissively, not giving the small matter a second thought.

To him, helping a fellow Alliance member was simply the right thing to do.

"Come in and have something to eat. I’ve got some fruit—fresh cherry tomatoes. They’re sweet and a little tart, I guarantee you’ll like them."

"Oh, I couldn’t possibly," Cao Biansheng said, even as he pulled Wei Zhaohua by the hand and headed into the house.

Watching their retreating figures, then glancing at his own deserted group, a flash of loneliness crossed Jiang Shan’s eyes.

"Hey, Jiang Shan, you’re not so tough after all, are you? Always bragging about how strong you are," someone in the crowd snickered.

Jiang Shan shot the man a look and suddenly strode toward him.

The man’s expression changed. Seeing the taller, more muscular Jiang Shan walking toward him, he stumbled backward. "What do you want?!"

A big man standing next to him, weighing nearly two hundred jin, sneered and reached out to grab Jiang Shan. "Couldn’t win a fight, so now you’re going to take it out on one of us?"

Jiang Shan glanced at him, caught his arm in a reverse grip, took half a step forward, and twisted his body. The sheer force of the move bent the two-hundred-jin man’s arm at an awkward angle, making him hiss in pain and beg for mercy.

Without a second glance at him, Jiang Shan walked right up to the man who had jeered. He loomed over him, head bowed, and asked in an icy tone, "Not so tough, am I?"

The man’s face went pale. It wasn’t just him; the entire crowd of onlookers now understood. The stark contrast made it clear: it wasn’t that Jiang Shan was weak, but that Cao Biansheng was on another level of strength!

’Then what kind of monster was the person in the Qin Alliance that Cao Biansheng had mentioned—the one who was even stronger than him?’

...

「Evening. The sparring ring.」

"Well now, Cao the Fierce Man, I hear you were showing off a little today."

Qin Ziwu teased him from atop the sparring ring.

A helpless look flashed in Cao Biansheng’s eyes. "Don’t even start. Others might not know any better, but you do. My strength is nothing special in this Alliance."

Never mind Du Yu, I’m not even close to the Alliance Leader.

The Alliance Leader’s physical conditioning is every bit as good as mine, and his Arrow Skill far surpasses my own.

And that’s not even counting our new Beaked Eagle. Its eight talons are like eight great scimitars, and it can dive from the sky at over a hundred kilometers per hour. How is a normal person supposed to defend against that?

News of what happened that afternoon had apparently already spread.