You promised steampunk martial arts, but you've got an internal combustion engine in your chest

On the deck, dozens of shipwrights had already begun cleaning up the battlefield.

The bodies of the Chaosheng Society guards were carefully moved aside, their eyes closed, and their clothes and armor straightened.

As for the corpse of the rootless red-robed cultivator, it did not receive such treatment; the boatmen disgustedly threw it into the sea to feed the fish.

Not far away, the three friends of Xuanji dragged Wu Yan'an into the shadows. The three of them formed a circle, squatted on the ground, and were whispering and interrogating each other about something.

Baili Jing leaned alone against the side of the ship.

The sea breeze howled past, carrying away the lingering scalding heat from his body.

He was shirtless, stroking the internal combustion engine on his chest, feeling the pulling sensation at the seams of his skin, his eyes filled with complex emotions.

After all this fuss, he ultimately became a jigsaw puzzle monster.

This thing is truly powerful. It was demonstrated perfectly in the battle just now. Although Wu Yan'an was injured while fighting me, he was still a Qi Xin Realm Level 3 cultivator, and I managed to defeat him. This is an amazing achievement no matter where you look at it.

However, Baili Jing felt a mix of emotions.

This time, the Canal Gang, through the connections of the Chao Sheng Association, saved his life. This favor was very important, and he would definitely be tied to the Canal Gang's big ship from now on.

The organization responsible for reforming and treating him is the mysterious Chao Sheng Society, which means he will definitely have to go to the Chao Sheng Society on behalf of the Cao Gang.

He was no longer a free man, but a man under constraints.

"But... is this really a bad thing?"

Baili Jing gazed at the undulating sea and a slight smile appeared on his lips.

Not necessarily.

Chao Sheng Society is a behemoth with endless tricks up its sleeve.

Once he goes in, he'll likely learn a lot, and when he returns, he'll be the next successor of the Canal Gang.

At that point, it won't just be "he working for the canal gang," but "the entire canal gang will have to obey him."

How did I, a dockworker, suddenly become such a big shot through all these unexpected twists and turns?

Of course, the risks behind this are also enormous.

This road is bound to be fraught with danger. Just looking at today's battle, it's clear that Wugendu and Chaosheng Society are already locked in a life-or-death struggle, and they'll definitely be fighting every day from now on...

"Brother, have some water."

While he was deep in thought, Baili Jie came over and handed a bowl of water to Baili Jing.

Baili Jing snapped out of his daze, smiled, took the bowl of water, and drank it all in one gulp.

"How's Sister Hua doing?" he asked.

Bailijie sat down on the wooden box beside him and replied:

"She wasn't seriously injured. She even woke up for a while and saw that the fighting outside was over, so she weakly fell back asleep. She's not in any danger."

At this point, the boy's eyes dimmed slightly, and his voice became extremely low:

"But the guards on this ship... Brother Pei and Brother Song, who are still alive... are also very badly injured. The boatmen said that there will be a doctor in Chaosheng who can take a look at them, but whether they can be saved... no one can say for sure."

Baili Jing sighed and silently nodded:

"Although I don't know these heroes, they were able to withstand an enemy several times their size for so long, and they didn't retreat a single step until the very end. They are all upright and honorable men."

The two brothers were silent for a moment. Baili Jie raised his head and asked softly:

"Brother, you've become so amazing... What are your thoughts now?"

Baili Jing raised his head and laughed heartily:

"I was just thinking about this too... Actually, if we think about it carefully, it might not be a bad thing for us to get involved. If we join the Canal Gang, establish ourselves in the Chao Sheng Society, and become big shots that no one can touch, then no one will dare to bully us brothers so easily anymore."

He turned his head and looked intently into his younger brother's eyes:

"When the time comes, I can earn you countless sums of money and send you to the best academy in the capital. You can take the imperial examinations and pursue your studies however you want. Although this path is dangerous, it's better than spending your whole life at the bottom, dependent on others."

"Before, I always thought about opening a small shop and living a peaceful life. But now it seems that in this world, without ability, the so-called good life is just a dream. Those high and mighty people can easily shatter it with a single finger."

"Brother, I think the same way you do."

Baili Jie smiled as he listened to his brother's words:

"We brothers aren't talking about how high we'll climb, but now that we're involved in this, let's do as you said, stand firm, and climb high until no one can bully us anymore!"

The two brothers exchanged a glance, both seeing the resolve in each other's eyes, and smiled at each other.

Then, Baili Jie leaned forward and lowered his voice:

"Brother, now that we've made up our minds to move forward, the affairs of the Canal Gang and the Chao Sheng Society will be our own business from now on. There are some potential problems... we need to plan ahead."

Baili Jing raised an eyebrow slightly:

"What? Planning to talk about... you killing that mole?"

Previously in the workshop, with a crisis looming, the three friends of Xuanji were in a hurry to help Baili Jing weld and fine-tune the internal combustion engine, and also had to be distracted by starting the mechanism. Time was of the essence, like putting out a fire. The two brothers did not have time to explain in detail how Baili Jie saw through and killed the traitor.

Baili Jie nodded:

"Brother, to be honest, before I took action, Huanhuan, in order to beg for my mercy, intermittently revealed some things..."

The boy's expression was somewhat solemn:

"She said... the reason why our whereabouts were so accurately reported to Wugendu this time was all because of Ding Yan."

"Ding Yan?"

Baili Jing's brows furrowed instantly, and his eyes turned icy.

"right."

Baili Jie nodded:

"Huanhuan confessed that Ding Yan failed to obtain your organs, and his son Ding Sinan... ultimately did not survive and died."

"After losing his only son, Ding Yan gave up all hope. Unable to get the benefits from Chaosheng Association, he conspired with Huanhuan to sell the business to Wugendu."

Baili Jing narrowed his eyes and let out a cold laugh:

"Give up all hope? That's not like Ding Yan at all. He's so shrewd, he doesn't seem like the kind of person who would do something like that. Selling the Canal Gang to Wugendu, how could he possibly earn as much as following Chaosheng? Besides, he said yesterday that we shouldn't fight now. I don't think that's right."

"I don't know. Huanhuan said she had a private affair with Ding Sinan, so she also hates you. That's why she listened to Ding Yan and became the mole."

Baili Jie hesitated for a moment: "But... I know too little about these things in the canal gang, so it's hard for me to judge whether it's true or false."

"Whether it's true or false, it's none of your business, you greenhorns."

Suddenly, a deep, hoarse laugh rang out.

The Baili brothers were startled and turned their heads sharply to look.

Old Man Jia had somehow wandered over, his hands tucked into his wide sleeves, and squatted down in front of the two men.

Baili Jing curled his lip: "You guys finished asking so quickly?"

"What's so difficult about that? Once it falls into our hands, even a stone will have to speak."

Old Man Jia tugged at his mask and gave a smug snort:

"Wugen Ferry is currently at war with our Chaosheng Society on an unnamed island more than a hundred miles away, and the fighting is so fierce that blood is flowing like a river."

He chuckled, his small eyes filled with disdain:

"Their situation on the front lines is critical. The leader of Wugen Ferry knows that the three of us siblings are here, so he sent Wu Yan'an with men to kidnap us and take us to the front lines to force the Chaosheng Association to retreat... What a bunch of brainless pirates."

Baili Jie blinked and couldn't help but interject, asking:

"Then...Grandpa, what exactly happened with the series of explosions on their ship? What did Master Hua hit with his steam crossbow?"

Old Man Jia winked mysteriously and lowered his voice:

"Hey, they stole some secret weapons from us the other day... Too bad, without the three of us siblings, they couldn't operate those things at all. They could only be stored in the hold like inanimate objects. Now you understand?"

Baili Jie nodded thoughtfully.

It's clear now. Wu Yan'an, carrying a bunch of stolen secret weapons, wanted to kidnap the Three Friends of Xuanji, force them to activate those weapons, and catch Chao Sheng off guard at the front lines.

Baili Jing scratched his head:

"Now that all those secret weapons have been blown to smithereens, isn't that terrible for the Chao Sheng Society?"

"It's alright, it's not a big deal. We can build it again later. Anyway, the blueprints are all in our heads."

Old Man Jia didn't think much of it and casually reached into his pocket:

"Alright, you two kids shouldn't ask about these things for now... Here, little brother, take this."

As he spoke, Old Man Jia handed a notebook to Baili Jing.

Baili Jing was slightly taken aback, and took it with some confusion: "What is this? Your account book?"

"You big idiot!"

Old Man Jia rolled his eyes in annoyance:

"You've got an internal combustion engine crammed into your chest. Logically, you should be a steam cultivator at the first level of the Forging Realm. But its internal structure, energy circuit, and combustion method are completely different from a gas furnace. Your previous cultivation methods are useless for you."

The old man spoke smugly:

"Based on the data from your fight on the deck just now, we've temporarily put together a brand new cultivation technique. Let's call it 'The Internal Combustion Engine Furnace Forging Technique' for now. Take your time to figure it out; it can guide your cultivation."

Baili Jing was filled with gratitude. Although these three monsters were crazy, they were indeed capable in doing things.

However, before he could be happy for long, Old Man Jia picked his nose and added:

"But let's make this clear first: this cultivation technique is only enough for you to reach the ninth level of the Forging Furnace Realm at most. When you reach that level, if you want to step into the Qi Heart Realm, you'll have to come to us obediently."

Baili Jing's heart skipped a beat, and he stammered, "..."

"Go...go to the workshop to find you? Then when that happens, won't we still have to..."

"Isn't that obvious?!"

Old Man Jia burst into smug laughter, hands on his hips:

"We have limited materials on hand this time, and the parts we've pieced together for this machine are too rough. Once you reach the heart of the engine, we'll have to cut open your chest cavity again and replace it with a new internal combustion engine!"

Baili Jing's face turned from white to green.

Old Man Jia was extremely pleased with himself, and his smile was incredibly eerie:

"Hehehe... Kid, you'll never escape our clutches in this lifetime!"

Not far away, the woman and the man seemed to sense something and turned their heads in unison.

The two men shrugged at Baili Jing, simultaneously letting out eerie, grotesque laughs.