With his decision made, Zhang Fan began to make arrangements for what came next. He couldn't be sure how long he would be abroad, so his first priority was to ensure his loved ones would have someone to look after them during his absence.
However, Zhang Fan had already planned for this. His previous spar with the Blood Demon Flood Dragon had served not only as a test of his own strength but also as an assessment of the 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 advancing to the Core Formation realm.
With its formidable innate talent and physique, it would have the means to protect itself even if it couldn't defeat a true Core Formation realm cultivator. After all, its robust body would require considerable effort for a Core Formation realm cultivator to break through.
Furthermore, it had also cultivated some divine abilities and secret techniques of the Blood Dragon lineage. Although it had only mastered the rudiments, these had significantly enhanced its combat prowess.
With the Blood Dragon lineage's divine abilities, 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 his home to the Blood Demon Flood Dragon.
The Blood Demon Flood Dragon accepted Zhang Fan's assignment without hesitation, nodding repeatedly and assuring him that it would protect Zhang Fan's family's safety.
Having recently received significant benefits from Zhang Fan, the Blood Demon Flood Dragon was eager to prove itself and hoped for more rewards from its master in the future.
The next day, Zhang Fan brought Qin Luoshui from Yan Jing to Lakeside Island, asking her to stay there for a while.
After all, Bai Tianyi's death in the Bai family was somewhat related to Qin Luoshui. Zhang Fan was concerned that if the Bai family's Divine Realm expert couldn't find him, they might target Qin Luoshui.
Only when Qin Luoshui was on Lakeside Island could Zhang Fan rest easy. If the Bai family's Divine Realm expert dared to cause trouble on Lakeside Island, the Blood Demon Flood Dragon's strength should be more than enough to handle it.
From the trace of divine consciousness remnant from the Bai family's Divine Realm expert, Zhang Fan had a rough estimation of its strength, placing it around the peak Divine Realm, at most no higher than Half-Step Core Formation.
For the current Zhang Fan, as long as a cultivator hadn't achieved Core Formation, he was confident he could deal with them.
Conversely, the Pope of the Holy See felt more threatening to Zhang Fan. This was why, after breaking through his own strength, he decided to pursue the farther target first, resolving the threat of the Pope in the West before returning to deal with the Bai family at his leisure.
Qin Luoshui naturally had no objections to Zhang Fan's arrangements. Moreover, she was also preparing to cultivate diligently to advance to the Saint Domain realm as soon as possible, and Lakeside Island was the ideal place for her to train.
Hong Binglan also relayed the news of Zhang Fan leading the Black Tiger Gang to participate in the World Gang Competition back to the Hongmen.
Upon hearing this, Hong Tiancheng was surprised. He thought that Zhang Fan, at his level, would no longer deign to participate in such petty conflicts.
However, despite his initial bewilderment, the news still pleased Hong Tiancheng greatly.
In the past, only the Hongmen and Qingbang had the qualifications to participate in the World Gang Competition, and they virtually represented China's honor on that stage.
Yet, in previous competitions, the younger generations of the Hongmen and Qingbang had not performed particularly well, which naturally left Hong Tiancheng, who valued face, feeling somewhat unwilling.
Even with Hong Binglan, who had reached the strength of an Invincible Grandmaster at a young age, Hong Tiancheng was still not entirely at ease.
After all, in the previous World Gang Competition, several participants had reached the Invincible Grandmaster level. Even after three years, only a small portion had exceeded the age limit and were unable to participate in this session.
The remaining few, barring any unforeseen circumstances, would likely appear again in this World Gang Competition.
Moreover, Invincible Grandmaster was their strength three years ago. With the terrifying talent of those prodigies, three years was enough to significantly increase their power. It wasn't impossible for them to even break into the Saint Domain.
Originally, if not for Lin Haotian's protection, Hong Tiancheng wouldn't have sent Hong Binglan to participate. This competition was far from a gentle sparring match; accidents could happen, and lives could be lost.
As a future seed of the Saint Domain, with the potential to even challenge the Divine Realm, Hong Tiancheng was naturally reluctant to let her take such risks.
However, now that Zhang Fan would also be participating, Hong Tiancheng's previous worries vanished instantly. In fact, he could almost envision the outcome of this World Gang Competition.
He eagerly anticipated the expressions of his old rivals when they encountered Zhang Fan.
...
With all arrangements made, Yan Qianghu selected three elite cadres with the most talent from the Black Tiger Gang. They were all young men in their early twenties.
Under the full cultivation of the Black Tiger Gang, two of them had reached the peak of True Qi, and one had even condensed Innate True Qi, stepping into the Innate Grandmaster realm and reaching the mid-stage of Innate Grandmaster.
Their strength was comparable to that of Guangtou Qiang.
The fact that these three had achieved such accomplishments at their age was not only due to their own considerable cultivation talent but, more importantly, to the nurturing of the Black Tiger Gang.
Although Zhang Fan didn't interfere much with the Black Tiger Gang's affairs, he was never stingy with those who worked for him.
Since the development of the catalyst serum, which allowed for the mass cultivation of spiritual herbs, Zhang Fan had refined a large number of elixirs for Guangtou Qiang, instructing him to cultivate talented and persistent gang members.
With the resources currently possessed by the Black Tiger Gang, it might not be long before the number of Innate Grandmasters rivaled that of the Qingbang and Hongmen. If Yi Feicheng also broke into the Saint 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, this title seemed somewhat undeserved, given the significant gap in strength between them and the Qingbang and Hongmen.
"Brother Fan!"
"Brother Fan!"
This was the first time the three elite cadres, selected by Guangtou Qiang, had been brought to Lakeside Island. Upon seeing Zhang Fan, they were all incredibly excited and greeted him respectfully.
Although Zhang Fan held no official position in the Black Tiger Gang, his prestige within the gang was unparalleled. Even their leader, Yan Qianghu, was a subordinate of Zhang Fan.
All members of the Black Tiger Gang knew that without Brother Fan, there would be no Black Tiger Gang today, and without Brother Fan, they would not have access to 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 legendary figure within the Black Tiger Gang. Every member who joined felt immense pride in indirectly being a subordinate of Master Zhang, the number one figure in the Chinese martial arts world.
...