That hatred, naturally, could never be extinguished from Lin Yanyu's heart.
The seeds of vengeance planted in childhood, smoldering for so many years—just how fiercely that blaze of revenge burned was可想而知.
"What do you think would be a reasonable way to dig them out?"
Lin Yanyu thought for a moment, then sighed. "The most satisfying approach would naturally be for Master to reveal his identity openly and march straight into Pill Fire City to challenge their establishment. It's the most direct and domineering method. But in your disciple's opinion, while this would certainly be gratifying and impressively bold, the risk is far too great. Pill Fire City operates without scruples. If Master were to challenge them in such a fashion, it would be extremely difficult to extricate yourself afterward. Unless..."
"Unless what?" Jiang Chen asked cheerfully.
"Unless His Majesty the Peacock Emperor personally accompanied you. If the Peacock Emperor were there to back you up, even Pill Fire City wouldn't be able to lay a finger on you."
Jiang Chen shook his head. "His Majesty has countless affairs to attend to and far more important matters to handle. He certainly cannot tag along with me on some childish escapade."
Challenging and smashing up another city's establishment was unquestionably the most satisfying approach—but also the quickest way to make mortal enemies. If Jiang Chen were a lone wanderer with no ties, he wouldn't care.
But this trip was meant to rescue
So Jiang Chen would definitely not choose that method.
Lin Yanyu nodded and continued, "Your disciple also feels that approach is inappropriate. If force won't work, then we must rely on cunning. For a scheme, Master—you have so many methods at your disposal. Once we arrive at Pill Fire City and play it by ear, your disciple believes the chances of success are quite high."
"Mm, play it by ear—those are the four words. But before that, I need to learn more about Pill Fire City from you."
Lin Yanyu said, "Your disciple is most familiar with Pill Fire City's affairs."
On this point, Jiang Chen did not doubt Lin Yanyu's knowledge one bit. Setting aside the fact that Lin Yanyu himself came from a traditional powerhouse family of Pill Fire City—even without that background, his personal vendetta alone would have driven him to exhaust every possible avenue for gathering intelligence on Pill Fire City.
So seeking information from Lin Yanyu was, in truth, an exceedingly wise choice.
Sure enough, Lin Yanyu's knowledge of Pill Fire City was extensive and highly detailed. He laid out everything—the city's power structure, its major figures, the formidable aristocratic factions—in a comprehensive narrative.
Lin Yanyu's family had once been a genuinely remarkable existence in Pill Fire City—comparable to a Ninth-Grade clan like the Wei family in the Glazed King City.
In Pill Fire City, they had stood at the very apex of the pyramid.
Aside from the Emperor-level forces, only the great noble houses exceeded the Lin family in prestige.
But those great noble houses were more widely distributed across Pill Fire City, which meant that in terms of name recognition and depth of heritage, the Lin family actually surpassed the Wei family's standing in the Glazed King City.
"Tell me first—what level of faction is the one that purchased the Innate Wood Spirit Body?" Jiang Chen was more concerned with the specifics.
"That faction... is called the Star-Plucking Gang. In Pill Fire City, they're unquestionably a first-rate force. Even my Lin family once didn't dare to offend the Star-Plucking Gang lightly. In terms of deep heritage, the Star-Plucking Gang may not necessarily have surpassed my family. But as far as actual strength and influence within Pill Fire City goes, they might even exceed the Lin family."
"Oh? So what exactly is this Star-Plucking Gang?"
"The Star-Plucking Gang is a gang—roughly similar to a sect in nature. But their organization is looser than a sect's, and their membership is more motley. At the same time, the bounds of what they're willing to do are certainly less constrained than a sect's. Rumor has it that the Star-Plucking Gang has committed no shortage of heinous acts."
A gang was similar in nature to a sect, but the composition of a gang lacked a sect's tight-knit structure. A sect typically possessed a core legacy—a central tradition of inherited techniques.
Most of a sect's members revolved around that core legacy. A gang was different. Members of a gang did not necessarily share any inherited bond. Their relationships were more worldly, more rooted in a sense of brotherhood and the currency of mutual benefit.
Most gangs existed under the banner of "loyalty and brotherhood" while actually sharing—and often carving up—profits among themselves.
Generally speaking, members of a gang shared a common financial interest.
It was precisely this bond of shared interest that held the gang together as a cohesive force. In many cases, for the sake of their mutual profit, a gang could mobilize fighting power even more ferocious than a sect's.
Of course, the same kind of internal scheming and backstabbing found in sects also existed within gangs.
But on the whole, dealing with a gang was more straightforward than dealing with a sect. Many sect members had their noses in the clouds—some were even ignorant of worldly affairs and extremely difficult to approach.
Gang members, by contrast, had been immersed in the secular world from the start. They understood the ins and outs of social dealings and the ways of the marketplace.
Between such people, you could perhaps sit down and negotiate openly.
From a gang, if you had enough money, you could even buy away one of its geniuses.
But from a sect? Try using money to buy away one of their prodigies, and everyone would think you had gone insane.