He achieved the pinnacle of martial arts starting with breaking through the limits of Tiger Fist.

Whether the Long family rebels or not is none of Jiang Lin's business, but the government can't just stand by and watch.

Now, due to the suppression of the rebels, the military forces of the prefectures and counties have been completely mobilized, and the Long family has taken the opportunity to expand. The government has few options on the surface, but they will certainly resort to underhanded tactics behind the scenes.

Besides, the Long family's control of the fish market and their crackdown on gangs also affects the county magistrate's ability to make money.

It's important to understand that many gangs are henchmen supported by the government, and these gangs are actually the power base of county magistrates—they're the black gloves for making money.

The recent gang warfare has intensified, but behind it lies a struggle between the Lung family and the government, though they haven't completely broken ties yet.

The Long family is currently in a dominant position. Logically, the county magistrate shouldn't be attending the banquet that Long Susu holds after her breakthrough, but unexpectedly he has come.

When the county magistrate arrived, many people went out to greet him, including Long Yan, the eldest son of the Long family.

However, Jiang Lin discovered that his master, Master Wei of Xingyiquan, was still sitting firmly on the sidelines.

Has it really come to this? People are even making no attempt to hide their stance.

"Look over there, that's Gu Yun, the young master of the Eagle Claw Sect. I've heard that he's meticulous and resourceful, but his martial arts aptitude is a bit lacking. He's been stuck at the Skin Refining Realm for several years and hasn't been able to break through to the Tendon Refining Realm."

At Jiang Lin's table, a knowledgeable senior student was introducing the place to everyone.

"The one in the red robe in front is the local county magistrate, named Liu Li. Although he looks unremarkable, he comes from a major sect and should not be underestimated."

As the introductions were being made, the banquet began, with various delicacies being served one after another.

Listening to his senior brothers at the table discussing the situation, Jiang Lin did not interrupt.

Because none of this mattered to him. He was completely indifferent to the imperial court and powerful families. He only knew that in this world, strength reigned supreme, and no amount of talk could compare to the power of fists.

He only needs to hone his martial arts skills, and then he can go anywhere in the world. When he reaches the top, even the emperor will have to bow down to him.

During the meal, Long Susu came over to this table and pointed to the plate of silver grouper, telling everyone that it was a congratulatory gift from Junior Brother Jiang, added to the banquet.

For a moment, everyone at the table looked at Jiang Lin with new respect. This gift was quite generous; they really hadn't realized this kid was so lavish.

Of course, some people scoffed, thinking that he had no shame in order to curry favor with the Long family.

Only Jiang Lin himself knew that giving away this gift could be a loss.

Putting aside the fact that they've known each other for so long and he has benefited greatly from Long Susu, just based on Long Susu's style of doing things, she wouldn't accept this gift from him for nothing.

With the panel in his possession, Jiang Lin's breakthrough to martial artist is just around the corner. At that time, his senior sister's return gift will surely be more generous.

The gift he gave contained both affection and some calculation; Jiang Lin would never do a losing deal.

Halfway through the meal, Magistrate Liu led his men out from the inner hall, his face full of displeasure as they passed the square. In contrast, Gu Yun, the young master of the Eagle Claw Sect, had a smile on his lips, revealing no emotion whatsoever.

This situation created a slightly tense atmosphere, giving everyone the feeling that a storm was brewing.

Many people sighed in their hearts, thinking that the peaceful days in Yuezhou were probably over.

"When are you going back to the martial arts school?"

The banquet had ended and most people had left, so Lin Zheng finally had a chance to catch up with Jiang Lin.

"It will take some time; I haven't earned enough money yet."

This statement was half true and half false. After buying clothes and shoes, Jiang Lin still had a little over two hundred taels left, which was indeed not much.

However, money is not the main reason. At his current rate of earning money, money basically no longer brings him any trouble. Ultimately, it is still the conditions for cultivating the "Water Dividing Technique" that are there.

"If you need money, I can lend you some."

"?"

Jiang Lin was taken aback. "Just how much money did you make on this job?"

"How did you know I pulled off another heist?" This time it was Lin Zheng's turn to be surprised.

"If you don't want others to know, then don't do it in the first place."

Jiang Lin feigned profundity, "Hey, wait a minute, how much wealth could the Water Snake Gang possibly have? Judging from your tone..."

Lin Zheng sighed, "That night, there was a martial artist in the Water Snake Gang who used Eagle Claw Kung Fu. In the end, he found a hundred taels of gold on his person."

Jiang Lin's eyes widened. "You dragged Senior Brother Zhou into this too?"

This is obvious; otherwise, Lin Zheng alone couldn't have accomplished such a large feat.

"Senior Sister is hosting a banquet, and Senior Brother Zhou owes her a favor. I'm poor too!" Lin Zheng spread his hands, looking rather helpless.

Jiang Lin took two steps back and gestured to show the distance between them.

"You'd better not say you know me in the future, I'm afraid of getting blood on myself, and the clothes I'm wearing are brand new."

"That's not a good way to put it."

"Interesting, very interesting."

Jiang Lin kept shaking his head, "You'd better not leave the martial arts school recently, because you never know when you might end up dead in the street."

I haven't seen him for a few days, and this kid has managed to cause such a huge mess.

Are the Eagle Claw Sect members easy to mess with?

With over a thousand members, including at least twenty or thirty martial artists, and backed by the government, they certainly can't compare to the main branch of the Long family, but they still have the strength to compete with the branch families in Changning County.

Seeing Lin Zheng deep in thought, Jiang Lin comforted him, "Actually, there's no need to worry too much. You'll be holding a position in the Long family anyway, and it's only a matter of time before you become enemies with the Eagle Claw Sect. Judging from today's situation, the two families are probably going to completely break off relations."

If it's the Eagle Claw Sect, then whose claws are they?

They were naturally the henchmen of the government. Back when the world wasn't so chaotic, the Eagle Claw Sect was notorious in Changning County, attracting the hatred of countless people.

If this court collapses, will they have a good outcome?

Therefore, at times like these, they will only cling even tighter to the government as their powerful backer.

How ironic! At the end of a dynasty, the most supportive of the court are actually the notorious gangsters.

After giving Lin Zheng his instructions, the two parted ways.

……

Jiang Lin returned to the stronghold under the cover of night. At his current pace, the ten or so miles would take him less than a quarter of an hour, and that was without him deliberately running.

The gang members inside the stronghold had already dispersed, and only Chen Sanlang was still practicing archery.

Jiang Lin greeted him and went to his bedroom to take out his practice bow and arrows, beginning his archery training.

He has now mastered the "Surprising String Score" and reached the level of proficiency in the "Water Dividing Technique". What he needs to do now is to improve these two skills to perfection as soon as possible so that he can focus all his attention on stance training and make the final breakthrough for a martial artist.

This is the downside of obsessive-compulsive disorder, but fortunately, the progress in these two skills is incredibly fast.

At his suggestion, Chen Sanlang spent a lot of money to purchase more than ten strong bows, and for a time the bowstrings in the stronghold vibrated constantly.

Jiang Lin even gave Chen Sanlang the arm guard with the mechanism for self-defense.

Chen Sanlang's biggest weakness is his poor martial arts skills, which he is aware of himself and has been practicing diligently ever since.

Chen Sanlang wasn't stupid; he knew that once this struggle became public, the first to suffer would be his subordinates' gang.

If the big shots at the top won't personally get involved in the life-or-death struggle, then who will be the first to risk their lives?