Forging Immortality: The Undying Blacksmith

Chapter 28: Seven Kills

The Righteousness Gang’s headquarters was located in the northern district of Obsidian City, an area that had always been a breeding ground for chaos and danger—the city’s most impoverished slum.

Brawls erupted daily on its streets, often sparked by nothing more than a handful of Black Wheat Mushrooms. Old grudges would resurface, and the violence would spiral out of control. The Righteousness Gang, the supposed rulers of the street, made no effort to maintain order. They seemed to revel in the chaos, letting it fester.

As a bound Li Qing was carried toward the main hall, he witnessed a grim spectacle. A short, rail-thin youth, drenched in blood, knelt before the entrance, begging Tian Long to let him join the gang.

To Li Qing’s surprise, Tian Long drew his blade. A single, brutal slash sent the sinister-faced youth flying, spraying blood across the dirt.

“Hahaha! If you live through that, I’ll let you in,” Tian Long roared, sheathing his blade. “Want to join my Righteousness Gang? You’d better be hard to kill!”

What truly shocked Li Qing was the look in the youth’s eyes. There was no resentment—only pure, unadulterated joy and gratitude.

The question lingered in Li Qing’s mind as he was thrown into a cell deep within the gang’s headquarters.

Once the guards left, Tian Long entered with Wei Tian and immediately began to untie him.

“Brother Li, my apologies for the rough treatment.” Tian Long’s tone was completely different now. He spoke to Li Qing as an equal, the arrogant air of a gang leader gone. After their brief clash earlier, he was certain of one thing: the young man before him was nearly his match in strength. Putting on airs now would just be pathetic.

“Leader Tian Long, you’re too kind,” Li Qing said with a smile. “This was my plan, after all. There’s no need for apologies.”

“So, what’s next?” Tian Long asked eagerly. “Should I invent a reason to hand you over to the Yan Family?”

Li Qing shook his head. “Too obvious. The Yan Family pushed you to attack me; they’ll come to you demanding I be handed over within a few days. I imagine they’d love nothing more than to lock me away and force me to forge for them for the rest of my life.”

“So next, we…”

“We do nothing. We wait for the Yan Family to make the first move.”

As he spoke, the corner of his mouth curled into a dangerous smirk.

“Excellent!” Tian Long exclaimed, his eyes alight with excitement. “If you’re right, we’ll strike together and take down one of their retainers first. The other two will be no threat after that!” He sounded as if he could already see the Yan Family’s downfall.

Li Qing, however, wasn’t so optimistic. He always planned for the worst-case scenario—it was the only way to be sure.

“Don’t celebrate just yet, Leader Tian Long. That’s the best-case scenario. What if we fail to kill one of their Outer Force experts quickly? What if they have *more* than we know of? What then?”

“After all, it’s still just the two of us. Two against three is a losing fight. Can you take on two at once? Or does the Righteousness Gang have another Outer Force expert hidden away?”

Hearing this, Tian Long just laughed, clapping Li Qing on the shoulder. “Hahaha! Don’t you worry about that, Brother Li. I wouldn’t have invited you to take on the Yan Family if I didn’t have an ace up my sleeve!”

His expression turned conspiratorial. “Wei Tian,” he ordered, “bring in the Seven Kills Squad.”

“As you command, Leader!” Wei Tian responded immediately.

After Wei Tian departed, Tian Long spoke with a hint of pride. “The Yan Family has lorded over Obsidian City for years, ruining countless families, leaving a trail of death in their wake.”

“To be honest, Brother Li, for the last ten years, I’ve been secretly recruiting those who have a blood feud with the Yan Family!”

“I faked their deaths—plausible accidents that would never draw the Yan Family’s suspicion.”

“And now…”

As Tian Long’s low voice trailed off, footsteps echoed from outside the cell.

Thirteen figures appeared before the bars. They entered and stood in formation, their voices a single, sharp cry: “Leader!”

Li Qing’s gaze swept over them, a flicker of astonishment in his eyes.

The thirteen of them were a mix of ages, the youngest barely a teenager, the oldest nearly thirty. But they all shared one thing: a chilling emptiness in their eyes, the look of men who no longer feared death. Revenge was the only thing keeping them alive.

Tian Long had forged them into a squad of loyal death-seekers, men who would follow his every order without question and gladly throw away their lives for him.

Li Qing noted the thick, hard calluses on their hands. They were all trained martial artists. While none had reached the realm of Outer Force, they were masters of lethal techniques. Fighting as one, their lives might just be enough to trade for an Outer Force expert’s.

Seeing the understanding in Li Qing’s eyes, Tian Long’s mood soared. “I only ever planned for seven,” he said, practically beaming with pride. “But the Yan Family never learned restraint. They just got worse. So my Seven Kills Squad grew to thirteen.”

“So, Brother Li, if you hadn’t shown up, I’d probably have twenty or thirty of them by now!”

“Now, do you still have any concerns?”

Li Qing nodded, his expression serious. “I have no more concerns. You’ve shared your greatest secret with me, Leader Tian Long. To hesitate now would be cowardly.”

“Hahahaha, well said!” Tian Long boomed. “A martial artist must be cautious, yes, but if you’re too afraid to act, what’s the point of training at all!”

With a wave of his hand, Tian Long dismissed the thirteen members of the Seven Kills Squad.

As Li Qing watched the squad file out in silence, a sense of calm settled over him. With his strength, Tian Long’s power, and these thirteen death-seekers, they had a real chance of destroying the Yan Family.

Even if they couldn’t kill a retainer early, their odds were good. And if the entire plan went up in flames? He was confident he could still escape with his life.