Chapter 751: Chapter 40 Five Dragon Sect Church Chapter 751: Chapter 40 Five Dragon Sect Church A month ago.

The narrow oil table was crowded with men, four chipped sea bowls clinked together, raising a high froth of wine.

“Alas!”

One of the men with a square face wiped the corner of his mouth and sighed deeply, then continued the conversation from before, asking, “Feitongzai, since the official henchmen burned down your ancestral house and you have nowhere to go, what are you planning to do next?”

“I don’t know.”

Called Feitongzai, he was a man with hollow cheeks and droopy eyes. With a stern face, he silently gulped down his wine.

After thinking for a while, he said, “Brother Youfu, didn’t you say last time that over in Guangxi there’s a Five Dragon Sect that’s under the banner of Tianbao Dragon Head, dedicated to helping the poor, and they are now widely accepting believers? You joined too. Do you think I would fit in?”

“Have you thought it through?” The fat fool known as Youfu stared at him, “You haven’t had many days of peace.”

Feitongzai replied grimly, “That’s because Mr. Yang didn’t want to give me a way to live.”

“Good!” The big man slammed the table, “Tomorrow you come with me and I will take you to meet our Incense Master.”

“Count me in!” Across the table sat a man with a toothpick in his mouth and a nose red from drinking. He picked a piece of cake from the table, threw it into his mouth, and said indistinctly, “At least I’ll have a bowl of rice to eat.”

“Liangyu, how about you?”

The last person lifted his head. He had thick eyebrows and piercing eyes; his braid, thick as a black python, wrapped around his neck. Sitting like a tower in their midst, he seemed like an aura of death, demanding respect.

“I…”

“Liangyu, you come from the Gaoli ghost, you are an extraordinary talent and a raw gem. Moreover, you’ve received grace from Tianbao Dragon Head. If you return to his leadership, when the time comes to rise up, you might be able to stand alongside leaders like Xue and Zhao.”

The Gaoli ghosts were originally the secret subordinates closest to Madam Shi. However, after Tianbao took charge, there were no more internal divisions. They rewarded based on merit, with clear rewards and punishments. As long as anyone in the Red Flag fought bravely and achieved enough merit, they could undergo the Transformation to become a Gaoli ghost. These measures greatly won over the people’s hearts. Moreover, as Tianbao united the Five Flags and led the South Seas pirates to repel the Red-haired Men, he brought the Red Flag Gang to a level of blazing prestige unseen in a hundred years. This also explains why, over the years, despite his obsession with divination and embezzling a large amount of money from the accounts, loyalty to him within the Red Flag Gang remained unchanged.

However, these later Gaoli ghosts were refined at a mature age and had many injuries and illnesses, which made them rather inferior to the private soldiers like Xu Chaoyi, who had been refined from a young age. Hong Liangyu was one of them.

“The Tianbao Dragon Head indeed has a kindness to me as heavy as a mountain. But I promised my elder brother that I would be a man of goodwill and keep the peace, and no longer get involved in these dangerous enterprises. As the saying goes, an elder brother is like a father…”

“Liangyu, you’re now relying on others for shelter, how can your days be good? The officials burned down Feitongzai’s ancestral home, forcing him to flee for his life, what if one day…”

Hong Liangyu pondered for a while and did not continue the words of Sun Youfu, but instead turned to ask the one with a nose red from drinking, “Yao, when we left Lantau Island by boat, at least the Tianbao Dragon Head gave us more than ten taels of silver each, I remember you had several acres of land at home, even with eating, drinking, and gambling, you could last for half a year, right? Why would you also want to join the Five Dragon Sect? Did you spend it all?”

The man called Yao with the red nose pursed his lips, “I only found out when I went back that earlier this year, my mother contracted an acute illness. Not only did she not survive, but we also owed a huge debt to the Gospel Society, and all the land deeds had been turned over. They didn’t think that was enough, and they wanted to take my sister to work as an indentured servant. The officials didn’t dare to provoke the lackeys of the Gospel Society; there was no justice to be had. With no one left in my family, I just slaughtered the bastard who came to my door and made my escape. Now with a murder charge on my head, if I don’t join the Five Dragon Sect, where else can I go?”

Hong Liangyu felt a nameless anger rise within his heart. Just moments ago, he had spoken of doing good deeds and bringing peace to the people, and now he had cast those thoughts to the back of his mind. “Damn that Gospel Society, sooner or later, I’ll set their church ablaze! Your sister is only ten years old, and now that you’ve become a fugitive, what will become of her?”

Yao’s old face flushed with shame as he stammered, “I left some money behind. I can only hope that relatives, friends, and neighbors will show kindness. I can’t take care of her, so she’ll just have to fend for herself and pray for the best.”

The square-faced burly man asked again, “Liangyu, we’re all brothers here. What are you really thinking? All three of us have joined the Five Dragon Sect Church. Are you truly not coming? You are meticulous and talented; if you joined the Five Dragon Sect Church, you would surely make a name for yourself.”

Hong Liangyu heaved a sigh and asked, “Brother Youfu, let me be blunt. Is the Five Dragon Sect Church really called for by the Tianbao Dragon Head? Or could someone be using the Tianbao Dragon Head’s name to stir up trouble? If that’s the case, not only can I not join, but I must also seek out their misfortune.”

“I know you have concerns, let me tell you, there’s no falsehood!”

The big man declared decisively, “Our Tianbao Dragon Head has turned misfortune into a blessing and ascended to the Heavenly Mother Ashram, receiving the Divine Decree from Lord Heavenly Mother, to relieve suffering and save the world. His powers are even greater than before! Everyone in the church, old and young alike, has magical arts that endow them with boundless power.”

Hong Liangyu shook his head, “I’ve seen before how the fierce generals under the Demon Thief Zhang He have mastered several techniques from the Taiping Document after years of strenuous practice, which also require natural talent. It’s not something you can learn overnight.”

The big man smiled, “Liangyu, this room is too cramped. Come with me.”

The two of them stepped out into the courtyard, where the moon and stars were faint, a cold breeze hitting their faces.

Taking a deep breath, the big man’s tongue thundered like spring thunder, “Heavenly Mother averts calamity, Five Dragons reveal their sanctity!” Then, with a sudden turn of his head, he spat out a three-inch paper talisman from his mouth, which grew with the wind in his hand, and in the blink of an eye became the cold, grim Ghost Head Greatsword.

Taiping Document * Scissor Soldiers Scripture
“Liangyu, be careful.”

The greatsword chopped down from above, and Hong Liangyu casually grabbed a bench, attempting to block the big man’s Ghost Head Sword. To his astonishment, the moment it made contact, the bench crumbled like tofu carved from mud. Thankfully, Hong Liangyu’s quick reflexes saved him from losing a few fingers. The big man pursued relentlessly, and Hong Liangyu, unarmed, barely managed to fend him off. After more than twenty exchanges, Hong Liangyu took a big step back and gestured to stop.

The big man stabilized himself and caught his breath after a long while, wiping the sweat from his forehead. He laughed and said, “Liangyu, the Taiping arts of the Demon Thief require half a year or more of hard training to learn just one or two minor tricks. I’ve been with the Five Dragon Sect Church for just ten days, and I’ve surpassed the pains of three to five years of others.

Hong Liangyu nodded, “It’s indeed powerful, how can this be? Brother Youfu, do you have an exceptional talent?”

The big man laughed, “The Taiping Document has two methods of training: Divine Refinement and Human Refinement. The Demon Thief knew only the way of Divine Refinement, ignorant of the method of Human Refinement. In our Five Dragon Sect Church’s method of Human Refinement, all channels are interconnected; when one person advances, everyone advances; when one person comprehends the Way, everyone understands. The more people interconnected through the channels, the faster the cultivation and the stronger the power. Liangyu, with the body of a Gaoli ghost, joining our Five Dragon Sect Church would be like adding wings to a tiger. Your progress in the Taiping Document would probably be even faster than mine.”

Hong Liangyu frowned upon hearing this, “Is there really such a bizarre technique in this world?”

“What do you say?”

Hong Liangyu was silent for a while, then shook his head, “Brother Youfu, I’m sorry.”

The big man was somewhat disheartened but dismissed it with a wave of his hand, “It’s nothing. If you can live a peaceful life, we would be too happy for you.”

After discussing the matter of joining the church and drinking themselves into a stupor, the next morning Sun Youfu led Feitongzai and Tang Yao into the city to find the Incense Master of the Five Dragon Sect Church to pay homage. Hong Liangyu also returned to his elder brother’s home.