“Body Refining Fifth Stage!”
Feeling the powerful strength coursing through him, Li Feng nodded in satisfaction. Breaking through from the Fourth to the Fifth Stage in just three days pleased him greatly.
“One thousand jin?”
Punching the strength-testing machine, Li Feng’s face showed disbelief at the number displayed. At the Fourth Stage, he had only five hundred jin of strength; now, at the Fifth Stage, it had doubled to a thousand jin. Was this still human strength?
What would his strength be at the Tenth Stage?
Li Feng was filled with anticipation. In terms of raw power, he had already surpassed his previous life’s peak. Without true qi, he was still stronger than before. With his past life’s combat experience, he estimated he could wield seventy to eighty percent of his former battle prowess.
“No more holding back,” Li Feng’s eyes gleamed. At the Fifth Stage, he had enough power to protect himself. Though only at seventy to eighty percent of his past life’s strength, he no longer needed to hide behind his predecessor’s timid persona. The past month of restraint had been suffocating.
He believed that, with his strength restored, the world would tremble because of him.
“Li Quan, you’ll be the first to go, and the Black Stone Gang, hmph, if you dare scheme against me, you have no right to exist.”
Li Quan, that venomous snake, was someone Li Feng had long wanted to eliminate. But earlier, lacking strength and wary of Li Quan’s backers, he held back. Now, with his power restored, he had no intention of keeping this snake by his side.
However, Li Feng didn’t plan to kill Li Quan immediately. He had laid a larger trap, and Li Quan still had some use.
“First step, establish a security company and build my own force.”
A glint flashed in Li Feng’s eyes. The training base in the suburbs would be ready in a few days, and the security company could be officially launched. But setting it up wasn’t easy, mainly due to the issue of personnel.
In Li Feng’s plan, this wasn’t an ordinary security company but a combat team. Strength was secondary; loyalty was paramount.
His first thought was to recruit from the military. In his past life, he was a soldier, deeply tied to the army. With his status, recruiting a few soldiers wouldn’t be hard, especially in peacetime when many retired each year.
But after consideration, Li Feng abandoned the idea. Soldiers were conditioned by military discipline, and direct recruitment wouldn’t guarantee loyalty. Earning their trust would take time, and time was what Li Feng lacked.
He understood that one person’s strength was limited. To take down the Black Stone Gang, he couldn’t do it alone. The purpose of forming a team now was to confront them.
One month—he had to build the team within a month.
In Tianhai City, two groups were viable. First, security guards. As Huaxia’s economic hub, Tianhai had many security firms, often staffed by ex-soldiers. They were good candidates, but the city’s allure dulled their edge over time, making them unsuitable.
The second group was street thugs. These people lived dangerously, fierce and aggressive, but lacked discipline and had bad habits. Li Feng disliked them.
“Can’t find anyone?” Li Feng felt helpless. Building a security company and team was proving difficult. Just then, his phone rang.
“Liu Shichao?” Seeing the caller ID, Li Feng was puzzled. Over the past three days, Liu Shichao had reported via text. Why call now?
After a moment’s thought, Li Feng answered, “Liu Shichao, what’s up?”
“Young Master Feng, someone wants me to invite you to Tianya Pavilion,” Liu Shichao’s voice came, tinged with fear.
“Tianya Pavilion? For what?” Li Feng asked coldly.
“They want you to watch an underground boxing match,” Liu Shichao said, explaining fully.
Apparently, some young masters from Nanling had come to Tianhai City and wanted to invite Li Feng to watch an underground boxing match at Tianya Pavilion. Not knowing his whereabouts, they contacted Liu Shichao.
“How do they know me?” Li Feng’s voice grew colder. Damn Liu Shichao, causing him trouble. He needed a lesson.
“Young Master Feng, they said they’re your friends,” Liu Shichao said quickly, sensing trouble.
“My friends?” Li Feng’s frown deepened. He had no friends in his memory. But Liu Shichao wouldn’t lie, so these Nanling young masters must be significant.
“Yes,” Liu Shichao said nervously. “One of them is Song Zhiyuan.”
“Song Zhiyuan?” Li Feng’s face darkened as he recalled the name.
“Young Master Feng…”
“Tell him I’ll be there soon,” Li Feng said gravely.
“Alright,” Liu Shichao hung up, relieved. If Song Zhiyuan wasn’t someone he couldn’t afford to offend and connected to Li Feng, he wouldn’t have made the call.
“Song Zhiyuan.”
Li Feng’s expression turned icy. He finally recalled Song Zhiyuan—a man he loathed with every fibre of his being.
Song Zhiyuan, the second son of the Nanling Song family, had taken pleasure in bullying Li Feng since childhood. Back then, they lived in the same compound at the Yanjing Military District. Li Feng was timid and quiet, while Song Zhiyuan was bold, aggressive, and the leader among the kids, delighting in tormenting others. Li Feng had been his target countless times.
As they grew, Song Zhiyuan only got worse. If not for Li Feng’s status, he might have killed him.
Li Feng’s hatred stemmed from university. He had fallen for a girl, but when Song Zhiyuan found out, he used his wealth to steal her away. Not content, he kidnapped Li Feng and staged a humiliating show in front of him, driving Li Feng to vomit blood in rage.
The incident shattered Li Feng, taking nearly a year to recover, and cemented his deep hatred for Song Zhiyuan.
Li Feng hadn’t expected Song Zhiyuan to show up in Tianhai City, specifically asking for him. His intentions were obvious.
But…
“Song Zhiyuan, you think I’m still the old Li Feng? What you did to me, I’ll repay slowly,” Li Feng sneered. He hadn’t realised Song Zhiyuan’s impact on his predecessor was so profound that it nearly affected his own mind.
Without hesitation, Li Feng prepared to head to Tianya Pavilion.
At the door, he paused, made a call, “Li Quan, meet me at Tianya Pavilion’s entrance now. We’re going to see an old friend.” Hanging up, a cold smile curved Li Feng’s lips.
