"Brother Fan, Li Tianlang just greeted me, saying he'll be patronizing my underground boxing ring tonight. Looks like he's preparing to bring his black boxing expert to sweep my place again," came Guangtou Qiang's deep voice from the other end of the phone.
"Finally arriving?" Zhang Fan found the class somewhat boring and the news from Guangtou Qiang brought some excitement.
"Send me the address and time of the venue, I'll come directly this afternoon," Zhang Fan replied, then asked, "Anything else?"
"No," Hearing Zhang Fan agree, Guangtou Qiang quickly said, his voice filled with undisguised excitement.
Before Zhang Fan appeared, his venue was already suffocated by the expert brought by Li Tianlang. Even with business, he couldn't make money, but he had no way to deal with the situation, only managing to hold on.
Although his Black Tiger Gang and the Heavenly Wolf Gang were both among the three major gangs in the northern district of Donghai City, and his strength was even a notch above Li Tianlang's, compared to the other two major gangs, Yan Qianghu's biggest weakness was his lack of connections.
Both the Heavenly Wolf Gang and the Dark Whale Gang had powerful families in Donghai City backing them, which allowed them to develop to their current state. Guangtou Qiang even suspected that the black boxing expert Li Tianlang found was provided by Li Tianlang's backer family, as with Li Tianlang's strength and capabilities, it would be difficult for him to find such an expert's assistance.
As for his Black Tiger Gang, it was purely built by his own hands. Although he received some indirect help from his master Lin Dahai, it was also very limited.
This was because Lin Dahai had once said he would not interfere in the gang disputes between the Black Tiger Gang and other forces. Thus, the Black Tiger Gang was entirely supported by Guangtou Qiang alone. Fortunately, his own strength was formidable, and he had managed to develop the Black Tiger Gang into one of the three major gangs in the northern district.
However, facing such suppression now, his weakness was exposed. Fortunately, he had met Zhang Fan. That was why Guangtou Qiang unhesitatingly agreed to Zhang Fan and even actively sought to become Zhang Fan's subordinate.
He understood clearly what a Xiantian Grandmaster represented – a powerhouse capable of suppressing more than half of Donghai with brute force.
Following such a strong individual was not a disgrace but the greatest opportunity of his life. Thinking of Zhang Fan's strength, Guangtou Qiang couldn't help but feel excited. After being suppressed by Li Tianlang for so long, today, he could finally vent his frustrations.
...
The dismissal bell rang. After having lunch with Zhuo Tairan, Zhang Fan said he had something to attend to and parted ways with Zhuo Tairan, as he didn't plan to go to class in the afternoon.
As soon as he stepped out of the school gate, Zhang Fan faintly felt a sense of being watched. Although the other party was very discreet, Zhang Fan's mental power was incredibly strong! He was only a step away from mental power transforming into divine sense, so he could easily detect even a fleeting glance from someone in the crowd.
Facing this situation, Zhang Fan chuckled inwardly and ignored it, as he already had a guess. Since the other party was so focused on his movements, they would surely make a move sooner or later.
After leaving the school, Zhang Fan first went to a nearby ATM to withdraw ten thousand in cash. After all, after several days of spending, his few hundred yuan had been nearly used up. In this era, it was indeed inconvenient to be without money. He couldn't just not pay for meals or taxis, could he?
Although Zhang Fan was domineering, he wouldn't be so rude.
Taking out his phone, he checked the time. There was still some time before the venue opened. After some consideration, he remembered the 'Half Moon Phoenix Jade' in his pocket and decided to visit the Jade Street in the northern district, hoping to strike it lucky and find one or two pieces of top-quality jade.
Jade, by its nature, was nurtured by the essence of heaven and earth. Some top-quality jades could even contain a wisp of Xiantian Qi. This wisp of Xiantian Qi was extremely beneficial to cultivators. Even for ordinary people, carrying it could ward off evil spirits, prevent illness, and prolong life.
He hailed a taxi and Zhang Fan went directly to the Jade Street in the northern district.
Jade Street was an older district in the northern district. It lacked the modern prosperity of the city center. There were rows of bungalows from the 1970s and 1980s, and the street looked a bit run-down. Because the street was not wide, and stalls selling antiques and jade filled both sides, no vehicles passed through Jade Street.
Although it was the scorching heat of September, Jade Street did not feel as deserted as the harsh weather might suggest. Instead, groups of elderly men holding various fans gathered around the street stalls, leisurely fanning themselves and chatting.
Many of them were enthusiasts of antiques and jade. Even if they didn't buy anything, they enjoyed gathering and chatting about antiques and jade.
Although Zhang Fan was not entirely familiar with Jade Street, he understood the general layout. There were mainly two types of sellers on Jade Street.
The first type were those who set up stalls by the roadside. The antiques and jade sold by these sellers were relatively cheap, as the vast majority of them were fakes. Finding genuine items from these shrewd old fellows was harder than winning the lottery. After all, they had dealt with antiques and jade their entire lives, and it was rare for them to make a mistake.
The second type was more formal, with stalls set up inside shops. The prices for antiques and jade purchased here were relatively higher, but most were genuine, and the business operations and procedures were more formal and complete.
Zhang Fan didn't have much leisure today to hunt for treasures at the roadside stalls. So, after understanding the general situation of Jade Street, he headed towards a shop named 'Bao Yu Ge'.
According to Zhang Fan's understanding, although 'Bao Yu Ge' was not the largest shop on Jade Street, its reputation was second to none in the entire street. This was because 'Bao Yu Ge' had a wide range of sources for its goods, possessing many treasures. Moreover, the antiques and jade sold by 'Bao Yu Ge' rarely had fakes, thus maintaining good credibility.
However, there was one drawback that made its shop seem a bit deserted: the prices were very high, about thirty percent more expensive than items of similar quality. This was something many treasure-hunting enthusiasts found unacceptable.
But Zhang Fan didn't care about this at all. As long as there were good things, he wasn't too concerned about the price.
After finding out the location of 'Bao Yu Ge', Zhang Fan walked directly towards it. He arrived at a shop with an antique-style decoration in a few minutes without any detours. On the plaque in front of the door, the name 'Bao Yu Ge' was inscribed in cursive script.
Zhang Fan glanced around and, without hesitation, walked inside.
ps: Regarding the updates for the past two days, the timing has not been very stable, but the author guarantees at least three updates daily.
Hehe, don't get too excited seeing this. Although it's at least three updates, if nothing unexpected happens, it will likely be three updates. As the new book is launched, please support it.
The first update of the day is here.