Yes!
He must have learned it before?
The atmosphere froze.
The people around understood the meaning behind Instructor Sun's words.
They silently spread out behind Tang Wen, forming a semi-encirclement with tacit understanding.
Tang Wen directly revealed his waist token: "I am the Commander under Elder Li, personally appointed by Vice Leader Zhao after completing a task assigned by the Gang Lord himself."
He held the Commander's waist token and scanned the room.
The people behind him, who had come quickly, dispersed even faster, breaking the encirclement.
As if nothing had just happened.
Instructor Sun frowned: "What about your Dark Night Divine Fist?"
Tang Wen interrupted: "A Transcendent once gave me some guidance. Today, it all fell into place."
"So that's how it is. Hahaha, Instructor, it was all a misunderstanding."
Someone tried to smooth things over.
Instructor Sun lowered his head, pondering the names: Elder Li, Gang Lord, Vice Leader Zhao, a Transcendent.
He reluctantly nodded and glanced at Tang Wen.
The latter also offered a lukewarm smile.
Both took the opportunity to step back and went their separate ways.
But the story spread like wildfire.
The incident of the stern-faced Instructor Sun, Sun Sanliang, being bested by a talented newcomer, Tang Wen, spread throughout the gang overnight.
With limited entertainment options, everyone loved hearing fresh gossip.
And besides the most scandalous affairs, stories of reversals and face-slapping were also quite popular.
That evening, as everyone gathered for their usual drinking session.
With the girls in their arms, someone brought up the matter of Sun Sanliang and Tang Wen, instantly making it the focus of the entire table.
The news spread faster than expected.
The next morning.
The Martial Practitioners from the previous night were at the Martial Arts Academy in the main hall.
They were surprised to see Elder Li there.
They secretly felt relieved that they hadn't caused trouble for Tang Wen the night before.
Was Elder Li here to back Tang Wen up?
Could he be his illegitimate son?
Looking at Tang Wen's age.
And his sallow complexion.
Hiss!
Come to think of it, they did look somewhat alike.
Considering Elder Li's usual behavior, those who speculated felt they had grasped the truth.
Tang Wen arrived neither early nor late.
He stepped through the gate five minutes before the scheduled time.
As soon as he entered and saw Elder Li, he was also taken aback.
Others might not know, but he was well aware.
His relationship with Elder Li was nothing special.
There was no way Elder Li was here to support him.
At that moment, Instructor Sun also arrived. Seeing Elder Li, his expression turned uncertain.
He was aligned with another Vice Leader, not Elder Li's faction.
Elder Li smiled at Tang Wen, then turned to Instructor Sun:
"I'm taking young Tang here to carry out a task."
Instructor Sun was displeased. He had been itching to teach Tang Wen a lesson.
Of course, he didn't want Tang Wen to slip away so easily.
He grumbled: "Then he'll miss the chance to learn the fist technique. He can't make it up later."
Elder Li's eyes deepened: "This is the Gang Lord's order! If you have a problem with it, take it up with the Gang Lord!"
Instructor Sun didn't believe it for a second.
Tang Wen, a mere Martial Practitioner, being summoned by the Gang Lord?
And assigned a task? Yeah, right!
But Elder Li was a Transcendent, so he didn't dare to argue. He simply turned his head away, pretending not to hear.
After leaving the Martial Arts Academy.
Elder Li looked at Tang Wen with a kind expression: "The Martial Arts Academy isn't just their faction. I'll find a peak Martial Master to teach you later. Don't worry, it won't hinder your Martial Arts."
Tang Wen roughly understood what was going on.
He immediately pledged his loyalty: "I've long heard that this guy doesn't get along with us!"
Elder Li smiled, "The incident where you embarrassed him yesterday has already spread far and wide."
Tang Wen clasped his fists, "It was all thanks to you for helping me out."
"You little rascal, you stood up for me, so of course, I had to back you up."
Stood up for you?
For you?
I didn't know you had any grievances with him.
Yesterday, I just wanted to show off a bit.
I didn't expect there would be an unexpected gain.
In a flash, Tang Wen understood and naturally laughed, "Well, he brought it upon himself by coming to me!"
"Hahahaha!"
Elder Li laughed heartily.
After laughing, he told Tang Wen that coincidentally, the Gang Lord really had something to discuss with him.
Tang Wen's heart immediately tensed up.
Recently, he had changed his disguise.
Just a bit sallow, some spots, a bit dark.
He hoped the Gang Lord wouldn't notice anything amiss.
"Is it still about taming beasts?" Tang Wen guessed.
"Yes, an urgent matter."
It really was about taming beasts.
Speaking of beast taming, Tang Wen remembered something and curiously asked, "What are the Beast Taming Masters in the city busy with? They haven't returned yet."
Elder Li suddenly turned his head, his expression serious, "Don't ask around! Don't ask what you shouldn't, understand?"
"Understood, understood."
"Those two Water Sprites from last time weren't quite enough."
"Got a few more?"
"More than that, you'll see when you get there."
It was still early.
The two first went to Elder Li's home for breakfast.
After the meal, Tang Wen already knew that he was to tame over a dozen aquatic Mutated Beasts.
More importantly, he needed to find a way to evolve the previous male Water Sprite into a Superior Exotic Beast.
Tang Wen's heart stirred, and he casually said, "It seems the sunken ship we're salvaging this time is quite significant. We must get a Superior Exotic Beast out of it."
Elder Li nodded but said nothing.
When Tang Wen arrived at the Blackwater Gang's headquarters.
He saw a row of cages.
Water Sprites, white otters, water elephants...
All aquatic Mutated Beasts.
Tang Wen's heart again stirred with doubt: something's not right.
What exactly are we salvaging?
Why so many water-type Mutated Beasts?
Is it just to speed up the salvage?
No, the Blackwater Gang seems to have Martial Masters, even Transcendents, who specialize in water-based Cultivation Methods.
If speed is the goal, why not just send the experts down?
Tang Wen examined the Mutated Beasts.
In the meeting hall.
The Gang Lord of the Blackwater Gang said, "Time is tight, use resources to push, within fifteen days. These Mutated Beasts must all be tamed, and then we'll head to the Emerald Pool together."
After speaking, he didn't linger and left directly.
Only then did Tang Wen, led by Elder Li, arrive at the meeting hall.
He paid his respects to Vice Leader Zhao and Vice Leader Lin.
Vice Leader Zhao waved his hand, sitting in a large chair, leaning forward with a sense of pressure, "Tame them all, you only have fourteen days!"
Tang Wen frowned, blinking his eyes, looking like a leader asking too much and he was in a difficult position.
Vice Leader Lin: "What? Having trouble? Vice Leader Zhao has already made a military pledge in front of the Gang Lord for you."
"This?"
Tang Wen glanced at him, knowing this Vice Leader who was stirring up trouble must not get along with Vice Leader Zhao.
Vice Leader Zhao: "Take whatever you need from the warehouse!"
Vice Leader Lin was displeased: "Old Zhao, this is against the rules!"
Vice Leader Zhao sneered: "I remember your grandson also learned beast taming, why not let him do it? He can take whatever he needs from the warehouse!"
"You! Hmph, fourteen days it is, dare you agree?" Vice Leader Lin suddenly stood up.
Tang Wen wore a troubled expression, like an overworked office drone whose boss insists on overtime on his girlfriend's birthday.
Gritting his teeth, he said:
"If the supplies are sufficient, I am willing to give it my all! I will not fail the task."
Vice Leader Lin's eyes were sharp as swords: "You don't know the immensity of heaven and earth!"
Vice Leader Zhao stood up and affirmed: "Good! Confidence is good."
Vice Leader Lin left in a huff.
With the door closed, only Li, Zhao, and Tang Wen remained.
At this moment, the two higher-ups no longer smiled.
"Kid, tell the truth, how confident are you really?"
Tang Wen wanted to fish for information and took the opportunity to ask: "That depends, what exactly do we plan to do with these Mutated Beasts?"
"Is there a connection between the two?"
"Yes," Tang Wen bluffed: "After all, quick methods are inevitably prone to oversights."
The two higher-ups exchanged glances.
Vice Leader Zhao spoke up: "We need them to go to an extremely dangerous place to retrieve something."
Tang Wen immediately wanted to ask what that something was.
But his lingering worker's intuition stopped him from asking.
Sometimes, knowing certain things means big trouble.
For example, asking your boss why they haven't left yet when you're off work?
You might suddenly find yourself with a pile of extra tasks.
He thought for a moment and changed his approach: "Is the evolution of the Water Sprite into a Superior Exotic Beast the key?"
Vice Leaders Zhao and Li smiled faintly.
This kid is quite clever.
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