Chapter 16: The Nine Lives Pagoda

Lu Ming pried open Futu’s mouth and let a drop of his own fresh blood fall in. The other three followed suit. Then, returning to the executive chair, he rummaged through a drawer, pulled out a box of Cuban cigars, and lit one up.

“Damn, this Huang Chao really knew how to live,” Lu Ming remarked, savoring the rich aroma as he took a drag from the cigar.

Time passed slowly, and the wounds on Futu and the others visibly began to heal at a remarkable rate.

After more than two hours, Futu was the first to regain consciousness. He looked around, bewildered, and saw Lu Ming sitting in the executive chair, legs crossed, cigar in hand.

He tried raising his arm and discovered, to his astonishment, that he could move. Even more incredibly, his wounds were almost completely healed. He sat up slowly; aside from a lingering weakness, he felt no discomfort.

“Wasn’t I already dead?” Futu’s last memory was of closing his eyes, but then he recalled that Lu Ming’s figure was the last thing he saw.

“Thank you, Mr. Lu, for saving my life,” Futu exclaimed, turning over and kneeling, kowtowing three times with the utmost respect. He had no idea how he survived, but apart from Mr. Lu’s intervention, he could think of no other explanation.

Lu Ming gave him a slight nod. “No need to thank me. You saved yourself.”

He was telling the truth; if it weren’t for Futu and his men’s unwavering loyalty, which reminded Lu Ming of his own brothers-in-arms from years past, he wouldn’t have lifted a finger, even if they died ten thousand times.

Futu couldn’t quite grasp Lu Ming’s meaning, but he was certain that Mr. Lu had saved him. The shock in his heart was indescribable. He knew exactly how grave his injuries had been—no international hospital could have saved him in that state. Yet now, not only had he survived, but he was healing at an extraordinary speed. Lu Ming truly seemed superhuman.

If only he knew that by ingesting Lu Ming’s blood, he would reap countless benefits in the future—he would have been even more astounded.

At a loss for words, Futu kowtowed three more times to express his respect and gratitude.

Lu Ming smiled. “You remind me of a friend of mine. He wasn’t much of a talker either, not good at expressing himself. But when we fought side by side, he’d always be the first to take a bullet for me. It’s a pity I didn’t have my current abilities back then, or he might still be alive.”

Lu Ming’s expression grew mournful for a moment, but he quickly recomposed himself. “Enough reminiscing. Go clean up the mess outside. Remember, from now on you’re one of mine. If anyone gives you trouble, just mention my name and let them come to me.”

With that, he picked up the box of cigars and strode toward the door. At the threshold, he paused as if something occurred to him and turned back. “Oh, and once you’ve finished here, tally up all of Huang Chao’s assets and businesses and report back to me.”

With those words, Lu Ming finally took his leave.

...

Not long after, a black Audi A8 rolled to a stop at the entrance of Nanshan Villa. Huang Zhanyi, accompanied by several core family members, stood at the door to greet their guest.

Half an hour later, Mu Weizhen departed.

Huang Chao’s death came as a shock to Mu Weizhen—she realized she had underestimated this so-called swindler, Lu Ming.

But it didn’t matter. She had plenty of ways to deal with him. Her purpose in coming to the Huang family estate was simply to prod Huang Zhanyi. She already knew all the sordid details of the Huang family’s affairs; what happened next would depend on the old man himself. If he handled things well, perhaps she’d let them scrape by in Xijing. If not, they could die for all she cared—the deaths of a few street scoundrels meant nothing to her.

After Mu Weizhen left, Huang Zhanyi and several family members gathered in the living room to deliberate.

Huang Zhanyi pondered for a long time before speaking slowly. “Everyone, this is a rare opportunity. If we manage this well, our Huang family could attain an exalted status in the Northwest Province. What do you all think?”

Everyone nodded in agreement. Building ties with such a person was no easy feat; everyone understood what Mu Weizhen’s identity represented. Truthfully, they also knew this was not an order they could refuse—very few in the Northwest would dare reject Mu Weizhen’s instructions.

Seeing everyone’s assent, Huang Zhanyi continued, “Very well. Have Huang Zhen come down from the mountain to meet this Lu Ming. We also need to prepare candidates to take over Huang Chao’s organization immediately. Our distinguished guest has tacitly approved this, so we must act swiftly.”

Someone spoke up, “Patriarch, if Lu Ming could kill Huang Chao, he must at least be at the peak of the acquired realm. Will Huang Zhen be able to handle him?”

Huang Zhanyi laughed. “Huang Zhen is the genius of our family. He broke into the innate realm just last year, and I sent him to the back mountain with the family heirloom to cultivate. Even among the innate, Zhen’er is formidable. Why would he fear someone still in the acquired realm?”

“That’s good to hear. Huang Zhen truly is a prodigy, attaining the innate realm at such a young age. He may even achieve the rank of grandmaster.”

“Haha, it’s finally our Huang family’s time to shine. This time, the martial clans of the Northwest will see that the Huang family is about to produce a grandmaster.”

Huang Zhanyi’s face was full of pride. With Huang Zhen’s talent and the prospect of reaching the grandmaster realm, Huang Zhanyi, as patriarch, had every reason to be proud. This time, he was determined to let Huang Zhen make a name for himself before all their peers.

And Lu Ming would be the stepping stone.

...

Lu Ming lay sprawled on the sofa in the general store, idly playing with a beast fang in his hand.

This fang had been brought by Futu. After a single resounding victory, Futu had subdued all of Huang Chao’s former forces by the next day, securing his place as the underground overlord of Xijing City.

People had even given him a nickname: Nine Lives Futu.

Despite his newfound notoriety and the fear he inspired throughout Xijing’s underworld, Futu remained deferential in Lu Ming’s presence. No sooner had he finished cleaning up the aftermath than he came to report to Lu Ming, bringing with him a few items from Huang Chao’s personal collection, knowing Lu Ming’s fondness for antiquities.

Not knowing which items might be of use, he brought them all, but Lu Ming kept only the beast fang.

After hearing the report, Lu Ming sent him away. Apart from a few real estate properties, he had no interest in Huang Chao’s former business dealings. Aside from legitimate entertainment venues, Huang Chao had dabbled in far darker, unspeakable crimes—Lu Ming warned Futu to stay clear of such things, lest disaster befall him. In China, some lines must never be crossed.

Besides, Huang Chao had been little more than a lackey for the Huang family and had left behind almost no wealth—just a handful of entertainment venues. According to Futu, after expenses, those establishments would net less than two million yuan a month.

Lu Ming told him to keep running them and hold onto the money; if he ever needed it, he’d let Futu know.

After Futu left, Lu Ming couldn’t help but find the situation amusing. Futu was now the undisputed king of Xijing’s underworld, while he himself had, for no apparent reason, become the boss of a crime boss.

“Damn, when did I start running with the underworld?” he muttered, shaking his head.

Turning to the second floor, he activated the Dragon God Altar and offered up the beast fang.

Who knew where Huang Chao had acquired that fang—it contained a power on par with the Yun family’s jade sword.

This time, Lu Ming used all his divine favor to exchange for Body-Tempering Pills, potent elixirs to strengthen his constitution.

After the ritual, he swallowed one of the pills in his room. The moment it entered his mouth, a surge of scorching energy spread from his lower abdomen to every fiber of his being. His face turned crimson as though he were drunk. Yawning, he staggered to the window, lay down, and fell into a deep sleep, his snoring soon echoing through the room.

He slept straight through to the next morning, awakening refreshed and reinvigorated.

Stretching, Lu Ming suddenly noticed something had changed within him. He sensed a new presence in his dantian. Focusing his spiritual power inward, he discovered a ping-pong ball-sized, seven-colored inner core spinning gently at his center, pulsating with mysterious energy.

Lu Ming was elated. “A Dragon Crystal!”

This was the sign of having reached the second stage of the Dragon Ascension Technique—it meant his magical power had been refined enough to form a dragon crystal. This crystal acted as a reservoir, storing the power cultivated during practice for use in critical moments. Before forming the dragon crystal, any excess power would dissipate once it exceeded the body’s limit—this was a qualitative leap.

Moreover, with the dragon crystal’s appearance, Lu Ming gained an additional ability: “Dragon’s Flame!”

This was the innate gift of true dragons, a power every dragon possessed from birth. According to his inherited memories, a mature dragon’s breath could dry up rivers and shatter mountains. At higher levels, dragons could evaporate seas and rend the heavens.

“Damn, I always wondered why such a badass cultivation method didn’t come with matching spells. So that’s the secret,” Lu Ming thought. The cultivation arts of the Dragon Ascension World always came with powerful spells, and his memories were filled with an endless array of mystical techniques. But the Dragon Ascension Technique was unique to the dragon race and couldn’t harness the spells of human cultivators—otherwise, he would truly be invincible.

Now he understood—the Dragon Ascension Technique would naturally evolve new magical abilities as he advanced, albeit differently from traditional cultivators.

Eager to test his newfound power, Lu Ming looked around, took a deep breath, and gently exhaled a thread of fire as thin as a little finger toward the wall.