With the decision made, Zhang Fan began to arrange subsequent matters. He couldn't be sure how long he would be abroad this time, so his first priority was to ensure his loved ones had someone to look after them during his absence.
However, Zhang Fan had already made plans for this. His previous spar with the Blood Demon Flood Dragon was not only a test of his own strength but also an assessment of the Blood Demon Flood Dragon's capabilities.
Even without going all out, Zhang Fan had a rough understanding of the Blood Demon Flood Dragon's power.
The Blood Demon Flood Dragon had now reached the Half-step Core Formation realm, just one step away from condensing its inner core and breaking through to the Core Formation realm.
With its formidable innate talent and physical body, even if it couldn't defeat a true Core Formation realm cultivator, it had the means to protect itself. After all, its robust physique would likely require considerable effort for a Core Formation realm cultivator to breach.
Moreover, it had also cultivated some divine abilities and secret arts of the Blood Dragon clan. Although it had only mastered the superficial aspects, its combat effectiveness had seen a significant improvement.
With the divine abilities of the Blood Dragon clan, it might even be possible to contend with a Core Formation realm cultivator for a short period.
Therefore, Zhang Fan naturally entrusted the task of guarding their home to the Blood Demon Flood Dragon.
The Blood Demon Flood Dragon did not hesitate in accepting the mission from Zhang Fan, nodding repeatedly and assuring him that it would protect Zhang Fan's family's safety.
Having received immense benefits from Zhang Fan, the Blood Demon Flood Dragon naturally wished to perform exceptionally well, hoping its master would provide more benefits in the future.
The next day, Zhang Fan brought Qin Luoshui from Yan Jing to the island, asking her to stay for a while.
After all, the death of Bai Tianyi from the Bai family was more or less related to Qin Luoshui. Zhang Fan was worried that if the Bai family's Divine realm expert couldn't find Zhang Fan, they might target Qin Luoshui.
Zhang Fan would only feel at ease if Qin Luoshui stayed on the island. If that Bai family Divine realm expert dared to cause trouble on the island, the Blood Demon Flood Dragon's strength should be more than capable of handling it easily.
From the trace of divine sense remnant from that Bai family Divine realm expert, Zhang Fan had a rough estimate of their strength, likely at the peak of the Divine realm, and at most not exceeding the Half-step Core Formation realm.
For the current Zhang Fan, as long as they hadn't achieved Core Formation, he was confident of resolving them.
Conversely, the Pope of the Holy See felt more threatening to Zhang Fan. That's why he decided, after his own strength breakthrough, to travel far to deal with the Pope in the West first, before returning to slowly handle the Bai family.
Qin Luoshui naturally had no objections to Zhang Fan's arrangements. Moreover, she was planning to cultivate diligently to enter the Sacred Domain realm as soon as possible, and practicing on the island was the best choice.
The news that Zhang Fan would lead the Black Tiger Gang to participate in the World Gang Competition was relayed back to the Hongmen by Hong Binglan.
Upon hearing this news, Hong Tiancheng was surprised. He felt that at Zhang Fan's level, he should no longer be bothered with such low-level conflicts.
However, despite his doubts, the news still made Hong Tiancheng very happy.
In the past, the gangs and factions qualified to participate in the World Gang Competition from China were only the Hongmen and Qingbang. In that competition, they almost represented China's image.
But in previous competitions, their younger generation from Hongmen and Qingbang had not performed well, which naturally made Hong Tiancheng, who cared deeply about face, somewhat resentful.
Even with the emergence of Hong Binglan this time, who had reached the level of an Invincible Grandmaster at such a young age, Hong Tiancheng was still uneasy.
After all, in the previous World Gang Competition, several participants had reached the level of Invincible Grandmaster. Even after three years, only a small portion had exceeded the age limit and couldn't participate in the current competition.
And those remaining, if nothing unexpected happened, would likely appear in this World Gang Competition as well.
Furthermore, Invincible Grandmaster was their strength from three years ago. With the terrifying talent of those monstrous prodigies, three years was enough time to significantly improve their strength, and it was not impossible for them to break through to the Sacred Domain.
Originally, if not for Lin Haotian's protection, Hong Tiancheng wouldn't have planned to send Hong Binglan to the competition. After all, this competition was not a gentle spar; accidents could be fatal.
As a future seed for the Sacred Domain, with the potential to even challenge the Divine realm, Hong Tiancheng was naturally reluctant to let her take such risks.
However, with Zhang Fan's participation this time, Hong Tiancheng, who was slightly worried, immediately felt completely at ease. In fact, he could almost envision the outcome of this World Gang Competition...
He eagerly anticipated the expressions of those old rivals when they encountered Zhang Fan.
...
With all arrangements settled, Yan Qianghu selected three of the most talented elite members from the Black Tiger Gang, all young men in their early twenties.
Under the dedicated cultivation of the Black Tiger Gang, two of them had reached the peak of True Qi, and one had even condensed Innate True Qi, breaking through to the Innate Grandmaster realm, reaching the mid-Innate Grandmaster level.
This level of strength was comparable to that of Guangtou Qiang.
The fact that these three individuals achieved such accomplishments in their twenties, besides their own considerable cultivation talent, was primarily due to the Black Tiger Gang's nurturing.
Although Zhang Fan rarely involved himself in the Black Tiger Gang's affairs, he was never stingy with those who worked for him.
Since developing the Catalytic Solution, which enabled large-scale cultivation of spirit herbs, Zhang Fan had refined a vast number of spirit pills for Guangtou Qiang, instructing him to fully cultivate talented and determined gang members.
With the resources the Black Tiger Gang currently possessed, it might not be long before their number of Innate Grandmasters caught up with the Qingbang and Hongmen. If Yi Feicheng also broke through to the Sacred Domain realm, then the Black Tiger Gang's strength would truly be worthy of the title of China's third-largest gang.
As it stood now, this title was somewhat undeserved, as the gap in strength with the Qingbang and Hongmen was still considerable.
"Brother Fan!"
"Brother Fan!"
The three elite members selected by Guangtou Qiang were visiting the island for the first time. Upon seeing Zhang Fan, they were all incredibly excited and respectfully called out.
Although Zhang Fan had never held any official position in the Black Tiger Gang, his prestige within the gang was unmatched. Even their gang leader, Yan Qianghu, was considered Zhang Fan's subordinate.
All members of the Black Tiger Gang knew that without Brother Fan, the Black Tiger Gang would not be where it was today, and without Brother Fan, they would not enjoy any cultivation resources.
It was precisely because of Zhang Fan's existence that major Chinese forces like the Qingbang and Hongmen treated the Black Tiger Gang with great friendliness.
Therefore, Zhang Fan was now a mythical figure in the Black Tiger Gang, and it was a source of immense pride for every member who joined the gang to indirectly be a subordinate of Master Zhang, the number one figure in China's martial arts world.
...