He Tiantian figured out a way to obtain Yijinjing and had Song Qingyun cultivate Inner Strength.
After another month, Song Qingyun achieved modest success. With his current skill, dealing with second- or third-rate masters like Gongsun He was no challenge at all.
He Tiantian then planned to take Song Qingyun out for training. However, Gongsun He, under the guise of "New Beggar Gang," widely distributed a Heroic Invitation, proposing a Martial Arts Conference and the selection of the Martial Arts Alliance Hierarch.
The climax of the whole story is here. With such excitement, how could she, the honorable Beggar Gang Leader, not join in?
"I am going to Jade Villa to attend the Martial Arts Conference!"
He Tiantian summoned three elders and immediately made her stance clear.
"Sect Leader He, our Beggar Gang and Jade Villa are both famously reputable sects in the Itinerant World, and our Old Sect Leader Guo even once took Hero Pei, the master of Jade Villa, as his disciple—"
The three elders thought He Tiantian, like Gongsun He, intended to trouble Jade Villa and quickly spoke up to dissuade her.
However, hearing their address for He Tiantian change from the past "Heroine He" to the current "Sect Leader He" was enough to show that they had acknowledged He Tiantian’s standing.
Perhaps initially, submitting to a woman caused them a brief discomfort.
But over the past two or three months, He Tiantian’s reforms and development of the Beggar Gang had given the elders and some squad leaders hope for the gang’s rejuvenation.
All old members of the Beggar Gang, they had personally witnessed its former prosperity and also experienced the gang’s tribulations—the previous Gang Leader had passed away without an heir, nearly ending the Beggar Gang’s legacy.
Therefore, seeing the Beggar Gang revitalized under Sect Leader He’s leadership, where the disciples no longer seemed lost but began actively training and gathering intelligence... The rejuvenation of the Beggar Gang was imminent!
The three elders and squad leaders truly accepted He Tiantian as their Gang Leader and actively cooperated with her plans.
But going to Jade Villa to contest against Hero Pei Jinghou for the title of Martial Arts Alliance Hierarch was, well—
"Right, Sect Leader He, we’ve always had a good relationship with Jade Villa. Suddenly competing with them for the Alliance leader could hurt our harmony."
"Exactly, Sect Leader He, please reconsider!"
The elders advised collectively, discussing rather than expressing strong dissatisfaction.
He Tiantian curled the corners of her lips, "Elders, I have never intended to become the Martial Arts Alliance Hierarch, nor do I want to compete with Jade Villa."
"I am going to Jade Villa primarily for two reasons."
"First, Gongsun He led a group of brothers to leave the Beggar Gang; they’ve formed what they called the ’New Beggar Gang’."
As He Tiantian spoke, she slowly scanned the faces of those present, trying to detect any hint of reaction.
For these older members, although Gongsun He was cunning and largely self-serving, he had, after all, been a brother of the Beggar Gang for many years.
His departure with his trusted aids was also a considerable loss for the Beggar Gang.
This matter was essentially internal strife within the gang.
As veterans of the Beggar Gang, they preferred to see the gang united and thriving.
They abhorred internal strife.
The reason Gongsun He had given for leaving was that he "couldn’t stomach being under a woman."
That "woman" was naturally "He Yutian."
"He Yutian" wasn’t as deeply rooted in the Beggar Gang as Gongsun He, who had made significant contributions to the gang and had even been the Vice Gang Leader.
"He Yutian", on the other hand, previously had little to do with the Beggar Gang and wasn’t even a disciple of the gang.
Gongsun He vs. "He Yutian"
He Tiantian felt it was reasonable for the Beggar Gang to favor the former.
Though understanding this, He Tiantian didn’t wish for the elders to direct their resentment towards her because of Gongsun He’s departure.
"Ah, that Gongsun He, always so opportunistic; his departure is for the best!" the three elders sighed helplessly.
Previously unnoticed, but after Gongsun He led people away from the Beggar Gang, the elders remembered something amiss during the incident when Old Sect Leader Guo was attacked and injured.
After the day of the big conference, some elders secretly set people to investigate Ghost Doctor Valley.
The Beggar Gang disciples managed to find a couple of surviving attendants, who revealed that Gongsun He frequently visited Ghost Doctor Valley.
But whether Gongsun He had colluded with the Ghost Doctor to poison and kill the old Gang Leader or the Vice Gang Leader remained unproven.