The left and right protectors and other high-ranking figures hesitated for a moment, then looked at the sect leader. Chen Longhai then spoke:

This time, our Qingfeng Gang branch is holding a martial arts competition, which is a contest between young inner disciples, with a total of more than seventy young inner disciples.

Since Patriarch Zhang wants to bring people to watch, that's perfect.

Zhang Shuhu nodded, thought for a moment, and said:

What are the rules of your gang's martial arts competitions?

"More than seventy young disciples will compete, but only the top three disciples will receive rewards. Therefore, in order to be as fair as possible, a best-of-three strategy will be adopted for the martial arts competition. Each time a disciple defeats two people in a row, they can proceed to the next round of the competition until the last two disciples fight to determine the winner. Whoever wins will be the champion of the martial arts competition."

What do you think of these martial arts competition rules, Patriarch Zhang?

"Excellent!"

Zhang Shuhu said with a smile.

"Alright, since the Zhang family wants to bring people to watch the martial arts competition, they can bring their people over first thing tomorrow morning."

The martial arts competition will last for three days. The Right Protector will oversee and arrange the first two days until the three strongest fighters are selected. On the third day, I will preside over the judging to determine the top three young disciples.

"Master Chen said."

Then, the group, along with Zhang Shuhu and Chen Longhai, arrived at the entrance of Qingfeng Restaurant, which was run by the Qingfeng Gang branch.

The manager and others of Qingfeng Restaurant had been waiting at the door for a long time. Even Liu Shaoneng, the head steward whom they hadn't seen in a long time, came and greeted them with respect and enthusiasm, arranging for the high-ranking figures to go upstairs to a large private room.

As for the inner disciples, they all sat in the elegant rooms on the second and third floors.

However, since Lin Xiaofei, Guo Zishan, Zhu San, Qin Hong and other inner disciples had extraordinary status, they all sat in the private rooms on the fourth floor, on the same floor as the high-ranking figures.

Soon, everyone at the table began to talk animatedly, toasting each other, and the atmosphere was filled with laughter.

As the drinking session drew to a close, Zhang Shuhu suddenly smiled and said:

"Sect Leader Chen, and all the brothers of the Qingfeng Gang, I have many matters to attend to upon my return to Qingshan Town. There is one thing I'd like to discuss with you; perhaps you, Sect Leader Chen, will find it interesting?"

Everyone was stunned and turned to look at Zhang Shuhu.

Everyone knew that Zhang Hushu owned a security escort agency in Qingshan Town, but this agency often clashed with the bandits of Black Wind Village. Now that Zhang Hushu was about to tell them something, they were all quite curious.

"You can pique my interest? Then I'd like to hear your story."

Upon hearing this, Chen Longhai smiled and said.

When Zhang Shuhu asked him to come drink with him, he knew that the other party must have something to ask him. Now that everyone had drunk enough, Zhang Shuhu finally spoke up, and he naturally wanted to hear what he had to say.

Zhang Shuhu glanced at everyone and said:

Many years ago, a powerful and strange beast appeared in the shady ditch of Xiaonanshan Mountain in Qingshan Town. You're probably all aware of this.

Upon hearing this, Lin Xiaofei was startled.

He had been to the place Zhang Shuhu mentioned once, and had even killed a person and several rat-like beasts there. He was actually a little curious about that place. Last time he asked the old man Wang Qingliang about it, but the old man avoided the topic.

At this moment, Zhang Shuhu asked a question, and he wondered if a strange beast had appeared in the ditch pool of Xiaonanshan.

"Of course I know."

However, could what the Zhang family mainly wanted to talk about be related to the Yingou Pond in Xiaonanshan?

Chen Longhai asked calmly.

"It is indeed related. The strange snake in the ditch was not killed by the government, but was only seriously injured."

Zhang Shuhu spoke softly, which surprised some people.

“That’s not right. The town’s government said that the strange snake died in the pool. Later, a cultivator from the government went there and confirmed it.”

Some high-ranking figures made a few comments.

Chen Longhai and the other managers, including the left and right protectors, remained expressionless, seemingly unsurprised.

Seeing that some people were starting to talk, Zhang Shuhu continued, "

Actually, I didn't know about this at first. It's just that I've been doing business in Xiagu County for many years and have some connections with the local government. One of the government officials told me about it. He said that the strange snake was very powerful and had already transformed into a low-level demon snake. Because the cultivators sent to the area had limited strength, they could only seriously injure the demon snake and set up a low-level formation to suppress it under the water of the ditch, preventing it from leaving the pool.

The serpent is still in the pool.

I only found out about this because that government official told me.

"So, what do you mean, Patriarch Zhang?"

Chen Longhai asked.

“I brought back a group of men, ready to kill that demonic serpent and obtain its demonic bones.”

The Zhang family head said:

After some mythical beasts transform into demons, their bones also undergo a transformation. The transformed bones are exceptionally strong and can be forged into top-tier weapons.

Once I have someone forge the demon bone into a top-tier weapon, my combat power will likely increase by 20%.

I hope that Sect Leader Chen can join me in slaying the demon. Of course, after we kill the demon serpent, Sect Leader Chen will not be left with empty help; you will all also receive many benefits.

I know that Sect Leader Chen's strength has been at the mid-third-rate level for many years. Once we successfully slay the demon serpent, as a reward, I will give him three Qi-boosting pills. These three pills will help Sect Leader Chen reach the late-third-rate level sooner."

Let me think about it.

Aside from the three Qi-boosting pills, the snake demon's inner core and flesh are all ours. As for the snake scales, we'll divide them equally, and the rest will also be divided equally.

After a moment's thought, Chen Longhai realized that once the snake demon was killed and Zhang Shuhu took away the most precious demon bones, he naturally didn't want to suffer a loss. So he decided to ask for more of the other parts of the snake demon and spoke up.

"Alright, I only have one goal: to obtain the serpent's bones. As for the rest, you can take them all."

Zhang Shuhu smiled and nodded, then said something.

Upon hearing this, Chen Longhai smiled broadly.

Upon hearing this, the others thought of the Qi-Boosting Pill, a rare and precious pill that could greatly increase one's internal energy. Unfortunately, they could not obtain such a pill.

Fortunately, Sect Leader Chen managed to obtain all the demon snake's flesh and blood, which meant they were in for a treat. Moreover, the demon snake's flesh and blood contained a trace of spiritual energy, making it a highly nourishing food that could enhance their own strength.

After leaving Qingfeng Restaurant, Lin Xiaofei walked slowly down the street towards the direction where the gang was located.

His gaze swept across the area and he suddenly saw a person wearing a straw hat that covered their face walking out of the brothel. With the help of his externalized mental perception, he found the face under the straw hat to be somewhat familiar. Startled, he quickly looked over again.

The face of that person was the portrait that was posted on the wall at the city gate. It was the person who killed Zhang Shulong of the Zhang family. This person was Ding Baiyu, the third leader of Black Wind Stronghold.

At this moment, Ding Baiyu appeared in the town, and he came out of a brothel. It is known that bandit leaders rarely appear in the town, so there must be something going on.

Lin Xiaofei's eyes flickered. He thought for a while, but couldn't come up with a solution, so he simply stopped thinking about it.

The first round of competition among the inner disciples was held early the next morning in the training ground, and it didn't end until noon. Half of them advanced to the second round, which will be tomorrow.

Next, most of the inner disciples of the Qingfeng Gang branch received their missions and set off together for Xiaonanshan Yingoutan.