The City of Sin was home to seven major powers.
Jiang Chen had decided to visit them all one by one. It would be a good opportunity to get a feel for how the power structure of this city actually worked — and what hidden depths lay beneath the surface.
After making a general sweep through them all, Jiang Chen had gained at least a rough understanding of these seven forces. It was safe to say that not a single one of them was run by saints.
Each had carved out its own share of territory, and they all shared one common trait — formidable influence and abundant manpower.
Of the seven, three were family-based, two were gangs, and the remaining two were alliances like the Southern Sky Alliance.
Such alliances were more loosely organized compared to the family powers. Their advantage, however, lay in their larger numbers and greater overall strength.
The Southern Sky Alliance was, in truth, a trade consortium built around commerce.
It had started as a merchant's guild. As the guild grew, its leaders developed ambitions for status and influence, so they began recruiting and expanding their forces, eventually shaping themselves into the Southern Sky Alliance.
After completing his circuit, Jiang Chen had developed a solid grasp of these seven powers.
The Southern Sky Alliance was among the stronger of the lot. Their greatest advantage was sheer manpower — they had more people, more connections in the martial world, and a far wider network.
Most critically, the Southern Sky Alliance operated with more principle than the family or gang powers. At the very least, they conducted legitimate business and earned their money through genuine trade.
The other forces, particularly the family-based ones, had little patience for commerce. Their members were too few, and most of the younger generation couldn't be bothered to waste their prime years on something as tedious as doing business.
In the end, Jiang Chen chose one of the gang powers and purchased a guarantor quota.
The gang was called the Myriad Prosperity Gang.
At first glance, the name sounded like something from one of those lowlife outfits in the mundane world. But in the City of Sin, the Myriad Prosperity Gang was a force to be reckoned with. As one of the seven major powers, it was also among the darkest and most ruthless — the kind that played by no rules and resorted to the nastiest of methods.
Inside the Myriad Prosperity Gang's headquarters, Jiang Chen presented his residence seal and was in the process of purchasing a guarantor slot.
"Your surname is Jiang? Jiang Huang?" the gang official in charge of guarantor applications asked curiously.
"That's right — Jiang Huang." Jiang Chen naturally couldn't use his real name. Jiang Huang was a play on characters he and Huang'er shared.
"Not bad. Thirty thousand Heavenly Spirit Shi, paid upfront. Then we process the paperwork."
Without batting an eye, Jiang Chen produced thirty thousand Heavenly Spirit Shi and handed them over.
The official counted them, verified that every last Spirit Shi was genuine, and then raised his voice: "Jiang Huang — one guarantor qualification approved!"
Everyone who received a guarantor qualification was given an exclusive jade slip as proof.
Jiang Chen had dropped thirty thousand Heavenly Spirit Shi for nothing more than a small slip of jade.
"In three days, bring this jade slip to the selection grounds designated by the City Lord's Manor. The exact location is the Selection Sacred Ground within the City Lord's Manor."
Having collected the money, the Myriad Prosperity Gang handled the matter with a reasonable degree of courtesy. At the very least, they hadn't simply pocketed his Spirit Shi and left him high and dry.
With his competition qualification secured, Jiang Chen headed back to the inn.
What he didn't expect was to find a squad of city garrison soldiers standing at the inn's entrance. These were unmistakably the same group that had come looking for trouble yesterday.
That said, there were fewer of them this time, and not all of them had shown up. What was different, though, was that today they had a leader with them.
That leader wore a light set of battle armor over his robes, and he had the look of a man who had just stepped off some distant battlefield — a little rough around the edges, a little untamed.
From a distance, the garrison soldiers spotted Jiang Chen. Faces lit up with surprise, and they quickly pointed him out to their armored commander.
Jiang Chen's brow lifted slightly as a thread of killing intent flashed through his heart.
These clowns had slunk away with their tails between their legs just yesterday, and now they had the nerve to show their faces again? Had they really taken yesterday's warning as nothing more than wind passing by their ears?
Jiang Chen was getting irritated.
Was this city garrison's harassment going to be endless?
He was not a man who tolerated being pushed around. After being provoked time and again, his resolve hardened. Even if it meant giving up on the selection tournament, even if it meant leaving the City of Sin right then and there — today, he was going to slaughter every last one of these bastards.
He was truly angry now.
He didn't avoid them. He didn't take a detour. He walked straight toward them. He didn't put on any excessive show of force, but his stride — majestic as a dragon's tread, fierce as a tiger's pace — carried an aura of depth and presence that the soldiers couldn't begin to read.
When the garrison soldiers saw Jiang Chen approaching with that unkind expression on his face, their own composure began to crack. A few of them even showed flickers of fear in their eyes.
"It seems you've all forgotten yesterday's warning."