I Have Infinite Skill Points

At nightfall, the small towns of the Ancient City District gradually transformed into a dazzling, dreamy landscape.

In the Ancient City District, large commercial plazas were scarce, and many well-known markets didn't quite live up to their reputations. The streets and alleys of the Ancient City District still retained the stylistic features of the last century.

If you happened to stumble upon a noodle shop in a deep alley, don't be surprised; the shop might be older than you.

Following Zheng Ji, Wang Lan and Hu Qing walked along a narrow path paved with fine stones. Wang Lan and Hu Qing were currently wearing suits and black sunglasses. Wang Lan had even glued some stubble onto his upper lip and chin to appear more mature.

This alley, merely a meter wide, concealed bars, internet cafes, and even barbershops. Every time they passed an alley entrance, watchful eyes could be seen peeking from hidden spots.

After traversing the alley, Wang Lan followed Zheng Ji into a spacious courtyard where a round table was set in the center. Dozens of flamboyantly dressed ruffians stood around it.

Six or seven men were already seated by the round table. Lavishly adorned with gold and silver, these middle-aged figures all put on airs, their sitting postures increasingly exaggerated. Though it wasn't hot, one fanned himself incessantly.

Some rolled Buddha Beads in their hands, muttering ceaselessly, while others looked as if they wanted to prop their feet up on the table.

"HA HA HA... Lord Tian, Lord Fo, Lord Feng... you've arrived early..." Zheng Ji said, quickly walking over with a smile and pulling out a chair to sit down.

"Ji's here? Didn't you say you didn't want to come? What made you change your mind?"

"Not at all. I'm indeed not interested in being a gang leader, but it's been a long time since the brothers have gathered. Coming to have a meal with everyone shouldn't be a problem, right? Besides, my business has always thrived under the care of all the bosses here, so by sentiment and reason, I had to come show my support..."

"Support my ass! You think this is a birthday celebration? Putting on a grand show of Dragon and Phoenix, are we?"

"Danzi, don't you fucking disrespect your elders! When Ji was running things in the Ancient City District, you were still suckling milk. Ji, I heard business is booming for you. Some say you've wanted to retire and wash your hands of the underworld for a long time. When will that be?"

"Retire and wash my hands..." Zheng Ji chuckled. "You believe that? What era are we in to still talk about retiring and washing hands? If I do, will all the old grudges really be wiped clean? In this life, you can't always do as you please; retiring is just self-deception. I stepped onto this path at eighteen. If I want to wash my hands, I first have to repay the mountain of karmic debt I've accumulated. I owe too much; I can't pay it back."

Soon, four or five more mafia boss types arrived. Some brought a dozen underlings; others, just four or five. Once the round table was full, dishes from Arirang BBQ were served one after another.

"Didn't we agree that just the eight of us would meet this time? Why are there two extras?" someone asked, breaking the silence.

"Does Lord Fo have an issue with me? Still sore because I beat you back last time when you tried to step on me? If you're not convinced, we can go at it again today. You think I, Huang Mao, am afraid of you?"

"What's a little whelp like you yapping for? Actually think you're someone important? I wasn't even serious, and you thought you were a big shot?"

"Enough, Lord Fo. Don't lower yourself to argue with the younger generation. We didn't call everyone here today to bicker. Qiu's gone, but the business he left behind needs someone to take over. We've gathered everyone to discuss this seriously."

"Discuss my ass! Territory is won by fighting, not by talking. Why don't we just fight for it?"

"HA HA HA..." Zheng Ji suddenly burst into loud laughter.

"You old fart, what are you laughing at?"

"Fight? Sure, go ahead and fight. Try it. Back when Mr. Qi was around, and Li and Qiu hadn't fallen, none of us dared to fight. You dare to fight? Alright, go ahead and hit me. I guarantee I won't hit back."

"Just make sure you don't kill me. If you don't, I'll be watching you die tomorrow. Do you think Suzhou City is still what it was twenty years ago? Or the Suzhou City of your childhood? Forget the Ancient City District; in the entire Suzhou City, who's the biggest boss? The Police Commissioner!"

"Damn it, Zheng Ji! Have you fucking been bought by the Commissioner? Why else would you speak up for the police like that?"

"If you put it that way, I can only nod. Can't help it. The examples of Li and Qiu are right before us; some people are just too blind to see."

"Old Zheng, don't be angry. You know what kind Pao is, right? He just spouts shit. Don't stoop to his level."

"Fuck, Lord Feng, are you picking on me?"

"Shouldn't I? When Ji was the boss, you were just a lackey. What crap are you spouting? Besides, was Ji wrong? Li, Qiu, and even Hong are all in jail now. Today's Commissioner isn't the same as before; dealing with us is as simple as lifting a finger for him."

"The Commissioner has only one demand: no chaos, no fighting! No matter how displeased or eager to fight you are, no one can cross this line. Whoever does, we don't need the Commissioner to act; we'll take care of him ourselves."

"If anyone wants to die, they can go ram their car into the Commissioner's; just don't drag the rest of us down with you."

"Jian, so you're chickening out?"

"Today, I am chickening out. If I weren't, I wouldn't be sitting here. If any of you are tough enough, go ahead, take your brothers out and stir up trouble. But come tomorrow, don't blame us for being impolite."

At these words, all the bosses fell silent.

"With Qiu's death, the ensuing upheaval will be huge, and we don't have much time. Tonight, right here, we need to elect a spokesperson. Whoever it is must immediately stabilize all the brothers in the Ancient City District, and everyone else must cooperate fully."

"How the turf is divided, how it's taken—the new spokesperson will have the final say. There's one goal, and no time to dawdle: calm the unrest immediately."

"Jian, what exactly is going on? You look so serious—you must know something. If you don't tell us, I'm afraid the brothers won't be convinced. Even as bosses, we might not be able to hold them down."

"You all know the provincial martial arts competition is coming up, right?"

The provincial martial arts competition was an annual event for third-year high school students, considered even more important than the college entrance examination; even ordinary citizens knew about it.

"Yeah, it's in about a month, isn't it? What about it?"

"This year, Suzhou City is bidding to host the provincial competition, and several other cities are competing. The provincial committee selects the host city based on public security, environment, facilities, and so on."

"In our Suzhou City, the facilities, environment, and public security are top-notch. Apart from Jin City, no one else can compete. But imagine what would happen if trouble erupts now and Suzhou City loses this bid."

"Guess what the mayor will do when he finds out? You all have an idea of how formidable the Suzhou City Police Commissioner is. Even someone as ruthless as Crow was taken down. Among those at this table, how many could withstand a purge by that cop Hu Qing?"

With these words, all the mafia bosses understood. It was indeed a critical juncture; no wonder the higher-ups were so tense. Moreover, with the Suzhou City Police Commissioner's power being so potent, they had surprisingly been left to maintain peace themselves without any widespread crackdown.

However, this was just the mafia bosses' own speculation. Was the Suzhou City Police Commissioner really that strong? Of course not.

Mainly, Hu Qing's reputation had spread. Underworld ruffians loved to exaggerate, blowing a hundred up to a thousand, even ten thousand. Besides, in their world, does one rely solely on strength? Sometimes, reputation is more important.

Take Hu Qing, for example. Even if he's incredibly powerful, he's still just one person. Could one person catch so many? Clearly impossible. But Hu Qing's notorious reputation alone could make these underworld ruffians freeze in fear at the mere mention of his name.

Mafia bosses might act invincible and bluster in front of their minions, putting on a fearless facade, but who knew how panicked they were deep down? By choosing this path, they had already stepped one foot into the Ghost Gate.

After Qiu's death, these bosses had been terrified, barely sleeping for days, even abstaining from worldly pleasures for two days.

In the midst of the crowd, Wang Lan's eyes gleamed. Suddenly, he seemed to realize a possibility.

Wang Mingling's purpose in causing trouble in Suzhou City... it might not necessarily be to target Suzhou City itself, but to sabotage its qualification to host the provincial competition!

The moment this guess crossed his mind, many of the problems and doubts he'd considered before gradually began to make sense.

The intelligence Duan Ziqi received indicated the Demon Clan planned to assassinate Eld Di. Eld Di would appear as the guest of honor at the final match of the Jiang Province's provincial competition. Therefore, the tournament's venue would dictate Eld Di's location.

When Wang Mingling was first discovered in Suzhou City, it was likely a distraction. What was the state of the Demon Clan's power in Suzhou City now? Even Lu Zhao wouldn't believe Demon Clan spies in Suzhou City could still be active.

Therefore, the actual assassination plan for Eld Di might not even be in Suzhou City. All the trouble Wang Mingling caused in Suzhou City was probably just to push the provincial competition's hosting rights elsewhere!

Having figured this out, Wang Lan grew impatient to report to Wang Qianfeng.

"Alright, enough talk. Since we're here tonight to choose a leader, and everyone here is qualified, let's follow the rules of the underworld. We'll settle it with a fight and elect an alliance head."

"I have no objections to fighting, but you lot are old bones. Can you still move?" Danzi, one of the bosses, tightened his fists and sneered.

"We're all bosses; it would be undignified for us to get involved personally. We can each choose one of our men to fight in a direct one-on-one battle. The last one standing will be the leader. We'll delineate the turf tonight, fix everything by tomorrow, and by the day after, the Ancient City District will be completely stable."

"Agreed."

"No problem for me."

"Can I join in?"

"You can. We're old; we can't fight anymore. If it were twenty years ago, we would have fought ourselves."

"HA HA HA... I won't join. I have no interest in being the spokesperson anyway. You all choose. Once it's decided, I'll just listen," Zheng Ji quickly said with a laugh.

"Ji, with your financial resources and seniority, you'd have no problem competing for spokesperson. And though you brought few people today, the two young men with you seem extraordinary. They've been standing there for so long without moving a muscle."

"HA HA HA... They're security guards I hired. Security guards! They're ex-military, so of course, their presence is different. I just want to do business peacefully and hope people forget I'm from the mafia. Why would I want to be a spokesperson? You all choose, go ahead."

"Alright, stop dawdling. I'm up first. Come on, who wants to fight me? I still need to eat after this..." Danzi stood up, took off his jacket, revealing his solid muscles underneath.