"Uncle Jiang, you're too courteous," Huo Xiaoxia quickly replied, offering a bow.

Chen Ku also offered a slight bow in response, showing Jiang Shaoyou's father full propriety.

Clearly, the two representatives Tongwen House had sent to this small meeting were Jiang Shaoyou and his father.

After Jiang Mohua had greeted the three young people from Medicine King Hall, the five of them headed towards the riverside together.

The five by the river bowed to Kou Ming. "Young Shopkeeper Kou."

"Greetings, everyone." After returning their salute with a clasped fist, Kou Ming turned with a smile to Chen Ku and Huo Xiaoxia. "Junior Brother, Junior Sister, let me make some introductions."

He pointed to one of the five, a thirty-year-old man holding a spear. "This is Gao Lin, the young Owner of Heyuan Escort Agency. His father is the unparalleled 'Long Spear,' Mr. Gao Ruohai, one of the city's top ten masters."

A sense of solemnity emerged in Chen Ku's eyes.

The city's top ten masters held undeniable influence; even the one ranked tenth was a formidable expert in the Fourth Realm, the Meridian-Opening Realm.

It was said that this Long Spear Gao Ruohai was not originally from Baojiao County but a colonel in the Qiu Dragon Mansion's army who had made significant achievements on the battlefield. From his battlefield spear techniques, he had innovatively forged his own Ultimate Skill called 'Beacon Fire Eighteen Forms.'

To create one's own Ultimate Skill! Such talent and innate ability would be astounding wherever it was found.

However, it was rumored that he had suffered many chronic and unseen injuries in the army, which hindered his Cultivation Realm. He had been recuperating from these internal injuries for over a decade, which was why he was ranked tenth.

The Heyuan Escort Agency he founded had forcefully wrested a portion of the Land Transport business from the Fish and Dragon Association, which controlled waterway shipping—a testament to his capability and standing.

Kou Ming then pointed to a youth behind Gao Lin, saying, "This is Liu Angxing, apprentice to the great Chef Li Fugui of Hongyan Tower."

The youth, Liu Angxing, dressed in simple cloth robes, clasped his fists towards them, a sunny smile spreading across his face. "Young Shopkeeper Chen, Young Shopkeeper Huo. After today's riverside meeting concludes, if you have the time, please come to Hongyan Tower and try my humble cooking."

Chen Ku noticed that the boy seemed even younger than himself, probably only about fifteen or sixteen years old, and regarded him with slight seriousness. For someone so young to attend the 'small meeting' that would decide the business landscape of Baojiao County for the next four years, it was clear he was no ordinary person; he had to possess either outstanding talent or a superior Root Bone.

"So Hongyan Tower actually has a chef as young as you, Liu Angxing! This is the first I'm hearing of it. Wonderful!" Huo Xiaoxia, who seemed to be quite the foodie, readily agreed.

Kou Ming then continued, introducing the leader of the third group among the five:

"This is Xu Li, the young boss of Ding Hongji's Manure Gang."

Manure Gang? Huo Xiaoxia's face stiffened, and she unconsciously scrunched up her delicate nose.

Chen Ku, however, wore a resolute expression. The Manure Gang—now that was a truly profitable business. One had to understand that this world was still without chemical fertilizers; as a natural fertilizer, manure was quite valuable. In his previous life, the elders in his rural hometown had a habit of collecting manure early in the morning. Chen Ku also remembered watching the old version of *The Bund of Shanghai*, where Ding Li, played by Liu Dehua, started as a manure scooper. His biggest dream was to be in charge of collecting all of Shanghai's manure. Manure, while a disgusting substance to the cultured and educated, was still part of the natural cycle—the 'five grains' eventually 'returning to the earth,' as the saying went. Chen Ku, with his peasant roots in both his past and present lives, knew very well that the 'fertilizers' needed for farming were extremely expensive in any era. In other words, the Manure Gang's ability to monopolize all the manure in Baojiao City was tantamount to monopolizing the entire 'fertilizer' industry of Baojiao County. Moreover, the manure from the well-fed residents of the Inner City was particularly prized as fertilizer. One could only imagine how lucrative the Manure Gang's business was. It required no investment beyond the labor to collect manure free of charge from every household, turning it into immense profits. Chen Ku estimated that while Ding Hongji's Manure Gang surely couldn't match giants like Medicine King Hall in profits, as leaders in the fertilizer trade, they undoubtedly raked in vast amounts of silver from the large landowners each year. And with money and manpower came an easier path to cultivating experts. Therefore, Chen Ku didn't dare look down on this young boss, Xu Li.

This Young Boss Xu seemed accustomed to the looks his Manure Gang affiliation drew, especially from women, so he didn't mind Huo Xiaoxia's gaze. However, when he saw Chen Ku, the young shopkeeper of a major power, greet him with a respectful clasped-fist salute, a touch of warmth spread through him. He said:

"Young Shopkeeper Chen, when I have the chance, I shall pay you a visit."

"Three groups still missing? They're quite late." Having finished the introductions, Kou Ming turned to look at the path along the riverbank.

Chen Ku did the math. Besides Medicine King Hall, there were only four major powers left unaccounted for: the Firewood Iron Shop, Hunter's Forest, the Fish and Dragon Association, and the Row Gang. Among them, Hunter's Forest was a subsidiary guild of the Fish and Dragon Association. The Row Gang, on the other hand, was connected to the Firewood Iron Shop.

The Row Gang, as an industry, existed in both the south and the north.

'Floating rafts' involved logging in the forests and using the felled trees to construct massive rafts, also called 'paizi.' Since logging areas were often high in the mountains, these rafts could simply be floated downstream. The rafts served as both transport and cargo—killing two birds with one stone.

Firewood cut by the Firewood Iron Shop was transported by the Row Gang.

Baojiao County was on the border of Ji Country, and the Dragon River flowed swiftly downwards. The Row Gang's massive wooden rafts, lacking any propulsion, relied entirely on the river's current. When facing rapids, treacherous shoals, or extreme weather, the raftsmen were often in grave personal danger.

Thus, the Row Gang members had a rather tragic rafting song:

"Chop the big trees, make wooden rafts, let them float down the Dragon River's draft.

Turn eight winding bends, pass eighteen twisting trends.

For survival, not for gold, cliffs await, stories untold.

Let raging waves rush for a thousand li, where death finds us, there we'll be."

This song revealed that the men of the Row Gang were all daredevils, serving as the vanguard for the Firewood Iron Shop.

Just then, Jiang Shaoyou called out, "People from Firewood Iron Shop and the Row Gang are here!"

Chen Ku had made a dockside challenge wager with Qu Feng of the Firewood Iron Shop only last year. Now he saw him again, but this time, Xie Qingfeng was not with him; instead, there was a young man about Kou Ming's age.

A voice from the Firewood Iron Shop group called out, "Hong Yin, Qu Feng, and Young Master Luo of Firewood Iron Shop. Greetings, everyone."

Then another, "Ao Yu of the Row Gang! Greetings, everyone."

Four people had arrived at once.

Chen Ku's gaze met Qu Feng's. He offered a slight bow with clasped fists and said, "Brother Qu, we meet again."

Qu Feng's expression remained unchanged as he replied, "Brother Chen, it is indeed fitting that you replace Zhang Renfeng."

Chen Ku was about to speak.

Another voice announced, "The people from the Fish and Dragon Association and Hunter's Forest have arrived too."

Chen Ku looked in the direction of the voice and saw four people approaching the riverbank. Two were clad in the embroidered robes of the Fish and Dragon Association, and two wore the robust attire of Hunter's Forest.

He instantly recognized a young man among them, clad in the embroidered robes of the Fish and Dragon Association. With every flicker of the young man's eyes, an intimidating, almost magical aura emanated.

Is that Ma Mingfeng, the one Senior Brother warned me to be careful of? The top young-generation expert who has mastered the formidable Spirit Witness technique?

The moment Chen Ku's gaze fell upon him, the young man sensed it.

In an instant, the young man's gaze, sharp as a knife, swept towards Chen Ku.

It made Chen Ku feel as if a blade were pressed against him, his skin crawling with goosebumps.

Fortunately, Chen Ku wasn't the only one Ma Mingfeng had targeted; his knife-like gaze swept over everyone by the river.

When the pressure of that gaze lifted, Chen Ku realized that, with the exception of his Senior Brother Kou Ming, everyone present from the seven powers—including himself—had shown a flicker of terror in their eyes at that instant.

Jiang Shaoyou shuddered where he stood, murmuring softly, "Ma Mingfeng's Spirit Witness skill is truly becoming more profound and harder to guard against. A mere sweep of his gaze is enough to terrify someone. It's frightening to imagine what would happen if one were to fight him and be subjected to his Spirit Witness. Would they instantly lose their mind?"

Chen Ku happened to overhear him.

But Chen Ku's thoughts were focused on Kou Ming: Why is Senior Brother unaffected? Is his spiritual cultivation higher? Or... is he wearing a horn of the Dust-Avoiding Rhinoceros? Or perhaps he consumed a Spirit Awakening Pill?

While Chen Ku was mulling this over, Kou Ming, facing the approaching Ma Mingfeng, subtly shifted to shield Chen Ku and Huo Xiaoxia. He then spoke lightly:

"Giving everyone such a show of force the moment you arrive—are you perhaps looking to start the fight immediately?"

At these words, not only did the three individuals behind Ma Mingfeng tense up, but so did everyone from the other seven powers by the river. According to custom, they were to first hold the small meeting, where each group would openly declare their plans and interests for the next four years.

A confrontation would only occur if their interests clashed irreconcilably.

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