Quickly conquer the martial arts world, and let your fists dominate the heavens!

As for the whereabouts of the batch of gold that Zhao Mingyuan risked his life to hide, Shuanzi kept it in mind.

He told Liu Zhiming everything in detail.

That batch of gold was still buried in the Kuomintang-controlled area. Retrieving it and transporting it into the liberated area was an extremely important and dangerous task.

That guy surnamed Feng from the Central Bureau of Investigation and Statistics was still keeping a close eye on things.

Liu Zhiming noted this down and said that we should take a long-term view and wait for a safe opportunity and a reliable person.

This matter will be put on hold for now.

Chen Zhan settled down in the Soviet area. Li Qingsu needed to recover from his injuries, and Ye Ningzhen was about to advance to the next level. It was a good opportunity for him to take a break.

He finally had some free time.

The district provided a larger courtyard with three earthen houses and an old jujube tree in the yard.

Chen Zhan, Ye Ningzhen, and Li Qingsu settled in, while Chen Li came over every few days.

This peaceful and uneventful life was a first for him since he transmigrated to this Republican era.

The weather has turned cold, the first snow has fallen, and the end of the year is approaching.

At the foot of the wall, the militiamen carrying guns changed shifts, their footsteps crunching in the snow. In the distance, on the threshing ground, chants of drills echoed one after another.

Li Qingsu's injuries healed slowly, but he got better day by day.

Chen Zhan would massage her uterus every day to help clear the blood stasis and gradually disperse the old wounds that had accumulated in her internal organs.

For the first half month, she was extremely weak, and even a strong medicine like the Great Rejuvenation Pill couldn't suppress her condition. She only dared to take the Lesser Rejuvenation Pill to gently replenish her energy. After the New Year, when she recovered and her blood and energy returned to normal, Chen Zhan finally gave her a Great Rejuvenation Pill.

The Great Rejuvenating Pill was too potent, so Chen Zhan forcibly dissolved half of it in her so that she could withstand it.

Even so, once the medicine took effect, the fever subsided after three days. Most of the internal injuries from more than half a month of torture, along with the hidden injuries from years of hardship, were gone, and I felt much lighter.

Li Qingsu was able to get out of bed and walk around, and his complexion improved day by day.

She originally possessed the skills of the peak of the Transformation Realm. Once her injuries healed, her kung fu returned, and she became even more agile than before her misfortune.

Ye Ningzhen looked after her younger sister, and the two sisters had endless things to talk about.

Over the years, we've each been living on the edge, rarely seeing each other. Now, being able to sit peacefully on the kang (heated brick bed) sewing shoe soles and having a few intimate words is something I never dared to dream of before.

Sometimes, as we talked, we would think of those elderly people who didn't make it through, and our eyes would well up with tears.

When he couldn't stay idle, Chen Zhan would go to the threshing ground to watch the young men practice.

The district squads and militia were mostly made up of farmers. They were good at carrying guns and fighting, but when it came to bayonet fighting and close-quarters combat, they were not up to the task.

Chen Li was already teaching them martial arts, and Tan Yan, having recovered from his injury, also lent a hand, teaching them how to use a knife.

Chen Zhan would occasionally step in and offer some pointers.

His teaching style is unpretentious, without routines or airs. He only teaches a few basic things: how to stand in a stance to stabilize the lower body, how to twist the waist and hips to concentrate all the body's strength and unleash it, and how to take someone down with an elbow or a knee at close range.

The Three-Body Stance, the power generation of the Pi Quan and Beng Quan, are broken down, saving some training processes. You can directly practice the power generation. After only one or two months of practice, you can also unleash its power.

The old way of teaching boxing is no longer suitable for the military.

The army must master it quickly; it's impossible to learn from a master for five or eight years, by which time it will be too late.

At his level, he is fully capable of simplifying complex matters.

The simplified method of generating force in Xingyi Quan involves practicing only a few moves. After a few days of practice, the progress was surprisingly fast.

A clueless young man twisted his waist and exerted force as Chen Zhan had instructed, punching the earthen wall of the threshing ground. Half of the adobe brick shattered with a crack, and he stood there stunned, unable to recover for a long time.

Chen Li watched from the side, fully aware of the situation.

The master's two casual remarks were something that others might not be able to grasp even after a lifetime of practice.

Tan Yan, leaning on his cane, squatted on the sidelines watching Chen Zhan teach boxing, completely absorbed in the spectacle.

The veteran bodyguard, who had been practicing martial arts for decades, was now observing a move and pondering it for a long time, just like a novice apprentice.

He had lived most of his life and had never seen anyone teach boxing like this, nor had he ever seen anyone with such high-level kung fu skills.

At night, Chen Zhan helped Ye Ningzhen reach the threshold of the elixir-embracing stage.

Ye Ningzhen has the foundation of a peak Transformation Realm cultivator. In recent years, her skills have not progressed. She has enough talent, but she has spent all her energy on various matters and has no time to calm down and hone her skills.

Now that she has settled down, Chen Zhan uses the method of harmonizing qi to gradually guide her qi and replenish her deficiencies, restoring her foundation that has been depleted for many years.

One night during the first month of the lunar calendar, her skill reached its final stage.

That night, Ye Ningzhen's blood and qi surged, and the transforming energy in her meridians flowed faster and heavier. In the end, something in her dantian became more and more rounded, fell heavily, and condensed into a point.

Qi and blood embrace the elixir.

She opened her eyes, feeling light and refreshed. Her blood and energy circulated freely throughout her body, sweeping away all her fatigue.

"It's done," Chen Zhan said.

Ye Ningzhen has entered the Core Formation stage.

There are fewer than ten realms in the martial arts world, but once you take this step, the world opens up before you.

She clenched her fist, then relaxed it, and looked back at Chen Zhan. What needed to be said, they both understood.

The snow has melted, and spring has arrived.

The 36th year of the Republic of China, 1947.

The fighting outside is getting bigger and bigger.

Newspapers and reports from the district indicated that the Kuomintang had mobilized a large force to launch a fierce attack on several liberated areas in Shandong and northern Shaanxi, displaying an attitude of wanting to achieve victory in one fell swoop.

Those below could see that the Kuomintang's resources were dwindling with each battle, and public support was waning day by day.

The scales of victory are gradually tipping in this direction.

Chen Zhan spent the winter in the Soviet area.

This winter was the most peaceful period he had experienced since he crossed over into this world.

But as he remained peaceful, something else slowly began to stir in his heart.

Ever since he arrived in the Republican era, he has never had a moment of peace.

He opened his eyes in Hong Kong, first rescuing Ruan Zhi, then clearing Hong Kong and going to Shanghai to rescue Ye Ningzhen, fighting desperately on the isolated island, then heading to Beiping to rescue Li Qingsu, being chased, blocked, and ambushed all the way.

Every single incident involved his own family members suffering misfortune, and he went to their rescue.

From beginning to end, he was on the passive side.

When someone tried to kill him, he stopped them; when someone captured him, he took them back.

Chen Zhan stood in the courtyard, watching the water dripping from the melting snow under the eaves, drop by drop.

He is the best in the world.

He was the best in the world, yet he was constantly being chased, plotted against, and ambushed, and he had to run all over most of North China.

The anger in my heart is hard to vent.

That evening, Chen Zhan told Ye Ningzhen, "I need to go out for a bit."

Ye Ningzhen paused for a moment as she was refilling Li Qingsu's medicine under the lamplight.

"Where to?"

"Nanjing."

Ye Ningzhen didn't ask him what he was going to Nanjing for. Over the years, she had come to understand this man all too well. If he said he was going to Nanjing, then Nanjing was about to change.

“I’ll go with you.” “You’ve just entered the Core Formation stage, you need to solidify your foundation.” Chen Zhan shook his head. “Qing Su’s injuries haven’t fully healed, and my little sister is still in Hong Kong. This family business needs someone to look after it.”

Ye Ningzhen was silent for a while, then nodded. She couldn't argue with him, and she knew that what he said made sense.

"When are you leaving?"

"Leave once the snow has completely melted."

Ye Ningzhen looked at him. Back then, when he went to Japan, he said the same thing lightly before leaving: he would be back soon. But he was gone for fifteen years.

Come back soon.

"Okay," Chen Zhan said. "I'll be back soon this time."

When the snow had completely melted, Chen Zhan prepared to set off.

On the morning of his departure, Ye Ningzhen saw him off at the village entrance. Li Qingsu, whose injuries had mostly healed, also came to see him off. Zhao Shuanzi followed beside Liu Zhiming, watching from afar.

There's nothing much to tell you.

Ye Ningzhen stuffed a cloth bag into his arms, inside which were a few changes of clothes, some loose silver, and a wooden plaque.

Chen Zhan said, "I'll be back in a month at most."

Ye Ningzhen nodded; she had already said everything that needed to be said.

The night before his departure, Liu Zhiming talked with Chen Zhan for half the night, revealing the most important details about the thread he had.

The Commissioner Feng who robbed gold in Beiping was a member of the Central Bureau of Investigation and Statistics (Zhongtong), but he was connected to a complex and intricate network of connections.

Over the years, this network of embezzlement through "receiving" has stretched from local areas all the way to Nanjing.

The gold that Commissioner Feng extracted in Beiping was passed down through the ranks, and the final recipient was a man named Shao Dingchen in Nanjing.

Shao Dingchen, a favorite of the Central Bureau of Investigation and Statistics (Zhongtong) in Nanjing, was given the official position of receiving the Japanese. Under the guise of inventorying enemy and puppet assets, he embezzled gold, houses, and factories left behind by the Japanese, one by one, and put them into his own pocket.

He had a mansion and a business in Nanjing, and he kept a group of thugs. He was openly and secretly connected with the Military Intelligence Bureau and the Green Coat Society.

“This Shao Dingchen is like a vine that keeps climbing upwards,” Liu Zhiming said. “By following him, you can reach even higher people in Nanjing.”

He wanted to assign two people from the underground network to assist Chen Zhan, but Chen Zhan shook his head.

His trip will shake up Nanjing; anyone he touches will lose their head.

The underground agents were enduring hardship in that den of wolves, risking their lives for intelligence. He couldn't use these people to fill the gaps. Liu Zhiming understood his meaning and didn't insist further, only telling him about a last resort contact method in Nanjing.

From the liberated areas to Nanjing, there was a distance of more than half of China.

The guerrilla team escorted Chen Zhan across the blockade line.

It's the same dry ditch as last time, the same group of people, only this time they're sending people out. Once they cross the line, it's the Kuomintang-controlled area's territory.

Chen Zhan was dressed in coarse cloth shorts and carried an old bundle. He had disguised himself and was an ordinary-looking, travel-worn middle-aged man.

He carried a perfectly fabricated good citizen certificate in his pocket, with the name "Zhou Ping" clearly written on it, along with his place of origin and occupation: a boxer from out of town.

To get to Nanjing, he first had to head to the Jinpu Railway.

Trains these days are a nightmare.

The Jinpu Railway was constantly under attack, with tracks being torn up and bombed every few days, causing trains to stop and start frequently, with no fixed schedule.

When a train finally comes, the carriage is so crowded that there's barely room to stand. People are clinging to the roof, the doors, and even the train's hooks.

Refugees, soldiers, traders, and those hiding from conscription huddled together, the stench of sweat, smoke, and excrement making it hard to open one's eyes.

Chen Zhan squeezed into a corner of the carriage, coldly observing the journey.

After the train passed one stop, a group of soldiers boarded and checked everyone's travel permits and good citizen certificates.

If they found anyone without a license, or anyone who looked young and strong, they would tie them up with ropes and drag them off the vehicle without explanation—conscripts to fill the gaps at the front lines.

A teenager was dragged away, and his mother cried her heart out on the platform, chasing after the train until she fell on the platform, and no one helped her up.

Chen Zhan's good citizen certificate was well-made; the soldier glanced at it, then walked past.

Prices have skyrocketed along the way.

The money for one sesame seed cake on the first day couldn't even buy half a cake on the second day.

The legal tender was so worthless that you had to buy things by the bundle of bills. Eventually, shops stopped accepting it altogether and only accepted silver dollars, or large denominations.

The few pieces of silver in Chen Zhan's arms were more useful than bundles of paper bills.

The further south you go, the farther you get from the front lines, and the more "peaceful" the ground seems. But beneath this peace lies a deeper decay. While fighting and death are taking place at the front, people continue their revelry and debauchery at the rear.

When the train arrived at Pukou, there was no road ahead; the Yangtze River stretched out in front of it.

The Jinpu Railway line ends at Pukou. To cross the river, one must change to a ferry. Chen Zhan got off the train with the crowd and squeezed onto the ferry.

The river was so wide that the opposite bank was invisible. The muddy water rolled with waves, and the ferry sputtered and puffed out black smoke as it headed towards the south bank.

Through the fog, the outline of Nanjing gradually came closer.

We've arrived at Shimonoseki Wharf.

Once inside the city, Chen Zhan finally saw the true face of this old capital.

On Zhongshan Road, the asphalt road is wide and flat, with cars and American-aided jeeps running along it.

Along the roadside are newly built Western-style buildings, bright hotels, and dance halls, with cars parked in front and men and women coming and going, dressed in silk suits, with a fragrant breeze blowing.

Several American soldiers, arm in arm, staggered out of the dance hall, humming foreign tunes.

Turning into the backstreets and alleys, a whole new world unfolds.

At the foot of the wall, refugees huddled together on tattered mats, one family after another. Begging children chased after passersby, reaching out their hands. Long queues formed outside rice shops, with people fighting tooth and nail for a few cheap rice.

The walls were covered with colorful slogans: "Implement the Constitution," "National Assembly," "Suppress Rebellion and Build a Nation," red and green, layer upon layer. The newspapers were filled with speeches by important figures and factional infighting. It was quite a lively scene.

On one side, there's a life of debauchery; on the other, people are selling their children.

As Chen Zhan walked down the street, the words in his mind became clearer and clearer.

This machine, from top to bottom, is rotten to the core.

Chen Zhan found a low-class inn in the Confucius Temple area in the south of the city to stay in.

The inn was frequented by all sorts of people: itinerant travelers, street performers, and the down-on-their-luck.

Chen Zhan gave the name "Zhou Ping," saying he was a boxer who had fled the war in the north and wanted to find a job as a guard in Nanjing to make a living.

The shopkeeper had seen it all before, so he didn't ask any more questions.

In Nanjing, there are many such martial arts masters. In this chaotic world, the rich and powerful like to keep a few martial artists to guard their homes, act as bodyguards, and maintain their prestige.

Martial arts schools and boxing rooms openly teach boxing, but secretly also recommend thugs for others.

Using Zhou Ping's identity, Chen Zhan ventured into these areas and overheard some gossip.

In casual conversation, the waters of Nanjing's Wulin area are neither shallow nor clear.

After taking a break, Chen Zhan followed the line given by Liu Zhiming to check Shao Dingchen's location.

The Shao Mansion is located in a prime location in the city. It is a three-story Western-style building that was originally the property of a Japanese trading company. After being "taken over", it became Shao Dingchen's private residence.

Iron gate, high wall, broken glass stuck in the top of the wall, two guards with guns at the gate, and cars coming and going one after another.

Several burly men were squatting by the gatehouse, clearly hired thugs. Chen Zhan glanced at them from a distance and noticed that two or three of them had martial arts skills; they were boxers hired from the martial arts world.

He didn't approach; instead, he sat at a tea stall across the street, ordered a bowl of tea, and waited quietly.

After observing for two days, I've figured out a few things. (End of Chapter)