Chương 211: The Ink Scale Tiger

Black Iron Stronghold. Seeing his beloved general bring back such a grand gift, Old Master Song happily stepped down from the platform to greet them. He truly is my lucky star. This gift perfectly suits my taste.

"Young Master!"

"Mm, well done!" Master Song did not skimp on his praise.

"Hehe!" Boom! Hearing the praise, Xiong Ba happily tossed the Ink Scale Tiger from his shoulder to the side. The weight of thousands of catties naturally caused the ground to tremble violently. Rubbing his bald head, the foolish bear then gleefully opened his mouth: "Young Master, I want to ride it." Hearing this, Master Song stiffened all over, his smile freezing on his face. Damn it! So this guy caught it for his own use.

Thinking about how in the future, he would be riding Wu Yun Da Xue down the street, while the foolish bear beside him rode the incredibly majestic Ink Scale Tiger, it just felt completely awkward. He would inherently be a head shorter! Who is the master and who is the servant here?! Song Que's face streamed with imaginary tears. Looking at the honest and simple face of the guy in front of him, Old Master Song felt mentally exhausted. Whatever, you can't force these things.

Since this foolish bear had found his true love, he would just let him be.

"Alright, when we get home, I'll help you train it." With his interest completely drained, Master Song no longer cared much for that giant 'black cat'. He patted Xiong Ba's shoulder in praise, then ordered the stronghold's men to bring the prisoners to the drill ground, returning to the main business of the day........

Sitting high on the platform, looking down at the more than ten tightly bound criminals below, Old Master Song, wearing the Impermanence mask, spoke coldly:"Everyone, last night, because of these people, two of our brothers lost their lives in vain. Now, we will avenge our fallen brothers. Bring the blades!" A row of men carrying executioner's blades stepped out of the ranks, standing wordlessly behind the prisoners.

Seeing the blades glinting with a cold light under the sun, the group of sinners were completely terrified out of their wits and continuously begged:"My Lord, it was all Zhang Tai's idea! He was the one who killed them! We were only lured by him!"

"That's right, My Lord, please see clearly! Our original intention was just to take the opportunity to escape, we had no intention of harming anyone. It was all Zhang Tai and his group's doing!"

"My Lord..." Being the focus of thousands of eyes, Zhang Tai's expression remained cold and unchanged. Meeting everyone's gaze, he finally opened his mouth and shouted:"Song Que, don't think that just because you wear a mask, no one recognizes you! Everyone listen carefully, he is— ah... cough, cough..." Before he could finish his sentence, the burly man holding the blade behind him mercilessly kicked him hard in the waist. Zhang Tai couldn't help but scream miserably, curling up on the ground like a boiled shrimp.

Nie Feng also quickly darted forward, tightly gripping the man's throat so he couldn't speak another word. Seeing the crowd below start to stir, Song Que smiled faintly and raised his hand, signaling for silence. If Zhang Tai thought that exposing his identity would make him panic, he was dead wrong. With the power he currently possessed, even if everyone knew he controlled the Black Iron Stronghold, it wouldn't affect him much. In fact, Master Song's prestige might even grow greater.

It could only be said that Zhang Tai had been away from the city for too long and didn't understand how the times had changed. Looking around at the bandits of the Black Iron Stronghold, Song Que spoke up:"Everyone, there is no need to try and dig into This Chief's identity. When the time is right, I will naturally reveal it to you all. Since I took over as Chief, looking at what I've done, many of you probably already have your guesses. There is no need to be curious.

I can reveal a secret to you all right now: by the end of this year at the latest, I will clear the criminal records for everyone in this stronghold, just like my brother Knife beside me." Knife immediately stepped forward, pulling a notice from his robes and passing it to the men in front to read. At the same time, he shouted loudly:"Brothers, many of you in the stronghold probably know my situation.

Thanks to the Chief's grace, my criminal record in Qinghe County has been officially wiped clean, and my vengeance has been taken. The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. Over the past few days, I went into the city to pay respects to my grandfather and settle old scores. I could walk freely on the streets—I'm sure you all understand that feeling. Achieving this was entirely a gift from the Chief!

As long as everyone works with absolute loyalty, it won't be long before you all can be like me!" These words naturally caused a massive uproar below. Who among them didn't carry a criminal record? Living like a normal person was the ultimate pursuit in their hearts. Gradually, the gazes they directed at Chief Impermanence high on the platform began to burn with fervent passion.

Seeing that the people below had almost digested this news, Song Que continued:"Brothers, you only need to remember one thing: work honestly for me, and This Chief promises to help wipe your records clean! I will let you walk freely under the bright sun like normal people, without needing to scurry and hide like rats as you do now. But to achieve this, the prerequisite is that I need you to obey orders and work dutifully. Can you do that?!" The temptation of freedom was simply too massive.

The bandits immediately let out an earth-shattering roar of excitement:"Chief, we can do it!"

"Very good!" Satisfied with the attitude of the crowd below, Old Master Song returned to the main topic. He coldly looked at the twelve kneeling criminals in the courtyard:"You may not have intended to harm anyone in your hearts, but it's undeniable that your actions caused the stronghold to lose two innocent brothers. If you make a mistake, you must bear the consequences. Men!"

"Present!" The twelve executioners behind them shouted in unison.

"Execute them!" Ignoring their screams and pleas, the blades flashed. Twelve heads were sent flying high into the sky, and twelve geysers of hot blood sprayed across the courtyard, pooling everywhere. The thick stench of blood permeated the air, causing many onlookers' stomachs to churn. They had to endure with all their might to stop themselves from vomiting on the spot. Song Que's mood wasn't much better. In his heart, he silently offered an apology to the newly deceased.

Most of these people were formerly the One-Eyed Dragon's subordinates. After beheading the most treacherous and wicked ones, and recruiting a group that still had some conscience and loyalty to serve the Black Iron Stronghold, these were the ones left. Their crimes hadn't warranted the death penalty, which was why they were merely exiled to the mines for hard labor to atone for their sins. Among these people, there were likely some who truly didn't know the plan beforehand, just as they claimed.

They had simply been egged on and impulsively tried to escape. The real culprits were still Zhang Tai and his three accomplices. But this was the nature of the world; he had no choice but to harden his heart. What kind of place was this? It was a bandit stronghold. The vast majority of the people here had lives on their hands and had been forced to flee up here. If he showed any weakness or misplaced mercy, there was no guarantee these people wouldn't start thinking their Chief was soft and easy to bully.

It might be fine now, but later on, when these people followed him to wash their records clean and return to society, if he didn't establish absolute authority from the beginning, disaster was bound to strike one day. Therefore, brothers, I'm truly sorry! Song Que sighed heavily and stopped worrying about it. He simply ordered someone to send a message to the Rooster Stronghold, then headed up to the mountain villa to rest. Once night fell, his group would secretly head back to Plum Manor........

Plum Manor, Song Que's small courtyard. Looking at the mountain of meat that was the Ink Scale Tiger in front of them, Master Song's group couldn't help but be shocked once again by its massive size. It was as tall as Xiong Ba, over seven meters long including the tail, and weighed at least 1, 200 catties. It was a true behemoth.

Seeing its pitch-black fur, its golden pupils glowing like headlights, and the patch of white fur accentuating those cold, sharp eyes, anyone looking at it couldn't help but feel an overwhelming sense of domineering aura. Master Song once again couldn't help but envy this foolish bear's luck. Consequently, he began to feel that his own prized horse, Dark Cloud, was lacking in comparison. He was the classic scumbag who loved the new and loathed the old.

If Dark Cloud knew what its master was thinking, it wouldn't mind kicking this guy to death on the spot.

"It's huge! It's several times bigger than that Green-Eyed Tiger Big Brother caught before. It's so beautiful!" Li Xin, who only dared to observe from a distance, exclaimed in awe. When the Ink Scale Tiger glared at him, he immediately shrank his neck and took a few steps back, though his mouth didn't stop:"Xiong Ba, to think you could actually catch this monster! You're really too amazing!"

"Hmph, do we need you to praise him? Ah Xiong can at least rival a Fifth-Grade martial artist. Look at yourself! You're still dragging your feet at the Second-Grade. You little brat, you're just too playful. If you don't put in the effort, you'll be looking up at everyone else for the rest of your life!" Feeling the frustration of iron failing to become steel towards this guy, Master Song immediately stepped up to lecture him with dissatisfaction.

"I know, Big Brother!" Li Xin lowered his head dejectedly.

"Don't just say it, do it! Your aptitude isn't much worse than Xiong Ba's, and you're smarter than him. As long as you work a little harder, you can catch up to him. Then, you can also go catch a majestic mount like that for yourself. But the prerequisite is that you absolutely cannot be lazy!" Song Que had always used this routine to motivate the kid. The foolish Li Xin still hadn't realized the massive gap in aptitude between him and Xiong Ba, fully believing these words to be the absolute truth.

Therefore, seeing the motivation in front of him, his inner cosmos immediately ignited. With stars in his eyes, he nodded frantically:"Don't worry, Big Brother, I will definitely work hard this time! Remember to help me tame my pet later on!"

"Rest assured, leave that to me." Watching these two brothers encourage each other, Nie Feng, Knife, and Qin Yu had to suppress the urge to complain. All three looked at Li Xin with eyes full of pity. They wondered if his Dao heart would crumble in the future when he realized the harder he chased, the further behind he fell. Having successfully stimulated that lazy brat, Master Song rubbed his hands together.

Switching his sub-profession to Beast Tamer and receiving a 100% buff to pet taming, he prepared to start his work.

"Young Master, what do we need to do now?" Having been curious for a long time about their master's beast-taming skills, and seeing that Master Song hadn't chased them away, the group's eyes lit up as they asked.

"To tame a beast, you must first use body language to communicate and bond with it. Only when it acknowledges you can you begin to use spiritual connection to instruct and train it." So that was how it worked! The group felt they had learned a great deal.

"Xiong Ba, untie it."

"Understood, Young Master!" Witnessing this familiar scene, Mengmeng, who was lying on the table, couldn't bear it and covered her eyes with her paws. She didn't want to witness the ensuing tragedy of a 'bonding session' between two men.

"ROARRRRRRRR!" Granted its freedom, the Ink Scale Tiger instantly sprang up and let out an earth-shattering roar. Boom!.....

"Roarrr..." Boom!......

"Grrrr....."..... Boom!....

"Huff... huff..."

"Whimper... whimper..." In the end, looking at the Ink Scale Tiger curled up in the courtyard, whimpering with streams of tears running down its face, the group felt their hearts tremble violently. Only the foolish kid Xiong Ba had his eyes wide open, watching closely as his Young Master "communicated" with the pet beast. He wanted to memorize this lesson so he could bond with the Black Tiger later. So this is how you communicate!

A flash of insight passed through the foolish bear's mind as he instantly entered a state of enlightenment.