Bang, bang, bang...
Just as those burly men were about to rush to the edge of the ring, a series of gunshots instantly halted their steps.
Ming Zhenglong made his move, dual pistols in hand, firing a round of shots at them.
Ming Tianfeng had repeatedly pushed his limits.
If he didn't act now, who would ever respect him as Third Master again?
Of the dozen or so men who charged forward, half died on the spot.
The remaining seven froze in place, not daring to move an inch.
Ming Zhenglong blew the smoke from his gun barrels and said calmly, "Anyone who takes a step forward, I'll kill them immediately."
"If you don't believe me, feel free to try taking a step now."
Hearing this, all the men wisely retreated.
They had heard of Ming Zhenglong's ruthlessness—his words were no joke.
"What do you mean, Third Brother?" Ming Tianfeng asked coldly, his face ashen.
"Nothing at all."
Ming Zhenglong shot back a crude reply, then announced that Liu Tiezhu had passed the third test.
Ming Tianfeng clenched his fists tightly, grinding his teeth in fury.
But now he was at a disadvantage; continuing to fight Ming Zhenglong would only lead to a worse loss.
"Third Brother, remember this—I won't let this debt go easily."
Ming Tianfeng issued a cold threat, then led his remaining men away from the viewing platform.
Ming Zhenglong looked disdainful, as if he hadn't heard Ming Tianfeng's words at all.
On the ring, Liu Tiezhu breathed a quiet sigh of relief, feigning exhaustion and collapsing.
Seeing this, Jiang He and the others quickly sent people over to protect him.
Dozens of men surrounded Liu Tiezhu, escorting him back to the barracks for a check-up.
After confirming he was fine, Jiang He had someone report to Ming Zhenglong.
Now that Liu Tiezhu had proven his worth, Ming Zhenglong took him seriously.
Being able to take down Ma Tengfei and the trio of Chen Gang was no small feat.
Such strength placed him at the top of the Ming family, worthy of focused cultivation.
After hearing the report from Jiang He's man, Ming Zhenglong directly ordered that Liu Tiezhu become Jiang He's assistant, responsible for task coordination and deployment.
This order shocked the entire camp.
Though he was just Jiang He's assistant, his authority was no less than Jiang He's.
Especially the power over personnel deployment.
It was not only lucrative but also a privilege reserved for the Ming family's top brass.
Even Jiang He would need Liu Tiezhu's approval to deploy personnel for missions.
Inside Jiang He's barracks, upon hearing this order, Zhang Zhiliang and the other two frowned.
"What does Third Master mean? Doesn't he trust us?"
"Or has he discovered our secret?"
They never expected Ming Zhenglong to appoint Liu Tiezhu as assistant.
Especially the power over personnel deployment, which made them uneasy.
If Liu Tiezhu remained loyal to Ming Zhenglong, their future personnel movements would face major obstacles.
Secretly moving people to handle shady business would also be exposed to Ming Zhenglong.
Jiang He thought for a moment and said, "Ming Zhenglong probably hasn't discovered our secret."
"Putting Liu Tiezhu in this position is likely an attempt to use him to check us."
Liu Zhigao chimed in, "Looks like Ming Zhenglong has never trusted us."
Jiang He said, "Zhigao, why do we seek a way out? Isn't it because the Ming family has never treated us like people?"
"In the eyes of the Ming family, we've always been pawns."
"Ming Zhenglong gives us power, but he doesn't trust us."
Zhang Zhiliang said, "Let's set Ming Zhenglong aside for now. We need to figure out how to handle the situation."
"Since Liu Tiezhu is now Brother Jiang's assistant, handling coordination and deployment."
"Should we hand over the personnel we manage, along with accounts, supplies, and station locations?"
Jiang He thought and nodded, "We have to, or it'll raise Ming Zhenglong's suspicion."
"But we can't expose our private personnel."
"Also, we can start assigning him tasks."
"If he's not on our side, we'll find a chance to quietly eliminate him."
While the three were plotting, Liu Tiezhu was also scheming.
Through this thunderous fight, he understood the brutal reality of survival in the Ming family.
In short, without showing enough value, he was just a disposable pawn in the Ming family.
Even after proving his worth, he was still a pawn in the hands of the higher-ups, just with different value.
To protect himself, he needed to find another way out.
He absolutely couldn't entrust his life to the Ming family's top brass, nor could he be loyal to them.
From Ming Tianfeng's actions, he saw that loyalty only led to death.
Ming Zhenglong's gunfire to save him wasn't entirely about valuing his strength.
It was because Ming Zhenglong felt his dignity was challenged by Ming Tianfeng and wanted to assert his authority—saving him was just incidental.
As for Jiang He and the other two, Liu Tiezhu could easily see that their so-called regard was a joke.
If they truly valued him, they could have stepped in when Chen Gang and his men attacked.
But Jiang He and the others chose to stand by.
This showed that the three still saw him as a pawn, testing his usefulness.
If he hadn't taken down Chen Gang and the others, his fate would have been death, with no one stepping in to save him.
So, for now, he couldn't trust anyone in the Ming family.
"It's time to have a serious talk with Guo Qixing," Liu Tiezhu thought to himself, just as he was about to get up, he heard Guo Qixing's voice.
"Brother Tiezhu, are you okay?"
Guo Qixing walked in carrying two roast chickens and two jugs of apricot blossom wine.
Liu Tiezhu's performance in the ring had truly stunned him.
He had thoroughly investigated Ma Tengfei and Chen Gang's backgrounds—they were top-tier fighters in the Ming family.
Liu Tiezhu had taken down Ma Tengfei, then faced Chen Gang and two others, killing them all.
Such formidable strength was unmatched in the Guo family.
And he had noticed that Liu Tiezhu hadn't gone all out when fighting Chen Gang and the others.
Such a powerful fighter, if recruited by someone else, would be a huge loss for the Guo family.
After some thought, Guo Qixing decided to up the ante and pull Liu Tiezhu to his side.
"Brother Qixing, what brings you here?" Liu Tiezhu asked knowingly.
In truth, it was obvious why Guo Qixing was here now.
But that suited Liu Tiezhu's plans.
Given his current situation, cooperating with the Guo family was the safest and most reliable option.
But the offer had to come from Guo Qixing, so Liu Tiezhu could strengthen his bargaining position.
"Brother Tiezhu, didn't you say you'd give me an answer after passing the third test?"
"Now that your status has changed, I've decided to raise the offer from 3,500 a month to 5,000."
"I mean mutual cooperation, not asking you to join the Guo family. What do you think?"
Guo Qixing didn't beat around the bush, laying the matter out directly.
Five thousand a month was indeed a very generous offer.
But since Guo Qixing hadn't clarified the cooperation details, Liu Tiezhu hesitated to agree immediately.
After a moment's thought, Liu Tiezhu asked, "Brother Qixing, how would we cooperate?"
Hearing this, Guo Qixing grinned, knowing there was hope for a deal.
Without wasting words, he laid out all the cooperation terms.
The terms were simple: Liu Tiezhu would provide the Guo family with intelligence on the Ming family and ensure Guo Qixing's personal safety.
In return, the Guo family would provide all the resources Liu Tiezhu needed.
In short, mutual benefit.
Good things would be shared equally, and problems would be solved together.
After hearing Guo Qixing's terms, Liu Tiezhu didn't hesitate further and nodded in agreement.
Just as they sealed the deal, Jiang He sent someone to summon Liu Tiezhu for a talk.
"Brother Tiezhu, here comes the one looking to negotiate with you."
Guo Qixing's tone carried a hint of sarcasm.
Liu Tiezhu didn't respond. Even without Guo Qixing's reminder, he knew exactly why Jiang He was calling him now.
He smiled and followed the man to Jiang He's barracks.