Chapter 79: Claiming the Mountain as King

"I..." Lin San glanced at Zhao Tianhong and Li Tianba, who were still locked in fierce combat, and hesitated.

Xin Lang said, "What is it? You think my brothers can't defeat your second and third leaders?"

"Uh... no... no..." Lin San suddenly snapped awake. Even the chief, Huang Tianqi, was no match for this young man before him—beaten to death with just two punches. If he wanted to kill Zhao Tianhong and Li Tianba, it would be as easy as snapping his fingers!

In his heart, Lin San thought, "Wealth and glory are right before my eyes. Opportunities like this come only a few times in a lifetime. I must seize it!"

Xin Lang, seeing the expressions flickering across Lin San's face, smiled and said, "Well? Have you decided?"

Hearing Xin Lang's words, Lin San immediately knelt on the ground and said, "I am willing to follow your orders, sir, and will not disappoint you as our new chief!"

Xin Lang laughed. "Good! The fight over there is about to end as well. Take your trusted men and gather everyone from Cangqiong Mountain here."

"Yes!" Lin San obeyed and hurried off with his confidants to carry out Xin Lang's command.

Just as Xin Lang had expected, less than a minute after he finished speaking, the outcome of the battle was decided!

Because Fatty Gu's opponent, Zhao Tianhong, was a level-four martial artist, while Qian Baidu's opponent, Li Tianba, was level five, Fatty Gu defeated his opponent first and thus won the wager with Qian Baidu.

Having taken Zhao Tianhong's life, Fatty Gu not only avenged his family elder, but also won the bet with Qian Baidu. Gleefully, he said to Qian Baidu, "You rascal, you can't argue that you lost this time, can you?"

Qian Baidu replied, "You dead fatty, don't get cocky. True, I lost to you! But my opponent was a level-five martial artist, and I only took a little longer than you. If we were to fight each other, you wouldn't stand a chance!"

"Who says so? Dare to try me?" Fatty Gu retorted indignantly.

"Enough!" Xin Lang stood up and called out, "If you two want to compete, you'll have plenty of time after our real business is done!"

By this time, Lin San had already gathered everyone from Cangqiong Mountain. Though they had witnessed Xin Lang and his companions kill Huang Tianqi and the others, not a single person stepped forward to avenge the three chiefs.

There was little loyalty among bandits; most of these underlings had become outlaws merely to survive, suffering under the tyranny of Huang Tianqi and his two lieutenants. Now that Xin Lang and his companions had killed them, no one sought revenge. In fact, some secretly rejoiced.

There was nothing unusual about Xin Lang's group taking over Cangqiong Mountain by force—after all, Huang Tianqi himself had seized the position by killing the previous chief. Some of these bandits had even served under three or four different leaders. Now that the tree had fallen and the monkeys scattered, none mourned the downfall of Huang Tianqi, Li Tianba, or Zhao Tianhong.

Having lived two lives, Xin Lang understood the minds of these lowly bandits very well. He shouted, "All of you became bandits just to survive. My brothers and I won't make things hard for you! Anyone who wishes to remain on Cangqiong Mountain is welcome! If anyone wants to leave, we won't stop you. The choice is yours!"

He paused and added, "Oh, and for those who stay, your pay will increase by fifty percent from now on!"

"Fifty percent more pay?"

As soon as Xin Lang's words fell, murmurs of excitement rippled through the crowd below.

Fatty Gu pulled Xin Lang into the council hall and said, "Boss, are you really planning to become the mountain king of Cangqiong?"

With a crooked smile, Xin Lang replied, "Why not?"

Fatty Gu, a little reluctant, said, "We could, but we still need to get to Xia Capital. Ouyang Yanran has already gone to the Martial Arts Academy there!"

"You pig, all you ever think about is breeding! Will you die without a woman?" Qian Baidu teased from the side.

"Damn it, it's your fault, you rascal! If you hadn't bullied me so much in Jiuyang City, would I have trained so hard?" Fatty Gu retorted with righteous indignation.

"Yeah, yeah," Qian Baidu rolled his eyes and sidled up to Xin Lang, asking, "Hey, classmate Xin, is being a bandit really that profitable? If it's good money, I'm staying here to work with you!"

"Rob from the rich and give to the poor, is it?" Fatty Gu mocked him from the side.

"Hmph, I've changed my ways—no more robbing the rich, I'll just rob dead fatties like you!" The two began to bicker and scuffle once more.

Xin Lang stood up and said to the wrestling pair, "You two go ahead and fight. I'm going to check the mountain's inventory! And take your time, the longer you fight, the better!"

Upon hearing this, Fatty Gu and Qian Baidu stopped fighting at once, stars shining in their eyes as they dashed to Xin Lang's side, grinning obsequiously. "Boss, it's time to split the loot! How could you do this without us?"

Xin Lang called for Lin San and ordered him to lead the three of them in tallying the mountain's treasures.

Lin San, now promoted to the fourth chief of Cangqiong Mountain by Xin Lang, was overjoyed and eager to please. Whatever Xin Lang wanted, he did without hesitation.

Lin San brought out all the valuables belonging to Huang Tianqi, Li Tianba, and Zhao Tianhong for Xin Lang and his companions.

Huang Tianqi alone possessed over twenty chests of gold coins, not to mention other jewels—the total value exceeded a million gold coins. Among Huang Tianqi's jewels, Xin Lang also recovered the three "Seven-Turn Rejuvenation Pills" he had crafted himself.

Li Tianba and Zhao Tianhong's wealth was not as great as Huang Tianqi's, but together they still had over a hundred thousand gold coins!

"Boss, with this much money, how are we going to split it?" Fatty Gu exclaimed in delight. Even though his family's fortune was greater, he had never seen so much money laid out before his eyes.

Qian Baidu, clutching fistfuls of gold coins, said, "Damn, who needs to go to the Martial Arts Academy? I say we stay here on Cangqiong Mountain and rob from the rich to help the poor!"

PS: Thanks to everyone for your generous rewards! Thanks for pushing our favorites past ten thousand. When the novel surpasses two hundred thousand words, I’ll add another chapter as a thank you! For now, as we're still a new book, votes and recommendations are always welcome!