From breaking the limits of archery to achieving martial arts godhood

Compared to Ping'an Town, Changfeng County is much larger, and its population has increased several times over.

After entering Changfeng County, Chen Xun did not wander around, but first found a place to stay.

"This is it."

Chen Xun stood in front of an inn, the signboard of which read "Welcome Inn".

"Sir, are you looking for a meal or a place to stay?"

"打尖" means to have a meal.

Faced with the enthusiastic waiter, Chen Xun tossed over three coins and casually said, "I need a room."

"Alright, thank you for your kind offer."

The waiter became even more enthusiastic after receiving the tip.

Under his guidance, Chen Xun booked a superior room at the innkeeper's place and paid for three days' rent.

This inn has three floors and offers rooms of three different levels: upper, middle, and lower.

The upper room is on the third floor, and the lower room is in the backyard.

Following the waiter to the third floor, Chen Xun entered the upper room he rented and left the waiter there.

"Sir, what can I do for you?"

"I'm new to Changfeng County. Could you tell me about the county's layout, the major powers, the influential figures, and the recent major events?"

"If you speak well, this piece of silver is yours."

Chen Xun tossed out a silver coin the size of a bean, which landed precisely on the table.

Upon seeing the silver, the waiter's eyes immediately lit up.

"Sir, don't worry, I will tell you everything I know."

Then, the waiter began to talk at length about Changfeng County to Chen Xun.

This gradually gave him a certain understanding of the place.

Changfeng County is divided into two cities: the outer city is where ordinary people live, and the inner city is where wealthy and powerful families live.

The outer city is further divided into four districts: east, west, south, and north.

Each district has a large gang that governs the people of that district.

For example, the [Welcome Inn] is located in the South District and has to pay a protection fee to the Crimson Blood Gang every month.

The Crimson Blood Gang is the largest gang in the Southern District, with hundreds of martial artists. The strongest among them is their gang leader, who is said to possess the strength of the Dark Essence Realm.

In the entire southern district, besides the Crimson Blood Gang, there are several smaller gangs that exploit the poor people who don't have much to gain.

"What about the government offices? Aren't they going to do anything?"

Chen Xun couldn't help but ask.

Upon hearing this, the waiter gave Chen Xun a strange look and replied, "Why would the government concern itself with such matters?"

It turns out that the yamen (government office) was the biggest gang in Changfeng County.

But the protection money they collected was given a different name: taxes.

For example, the Yingbin Inn pays nearly twice as much in taxes as the protection money it pays to the Crimson Blood Gang every year.

Furthermore, the Crimson Blood Gang only collects protection fees from shops and vendors, but its taxes cover everyone in the city.

If they couldn't pay taxes, their property would be confiscated, the men would be forced into corvée labor, and the women would be forced into prostitution at government kilns.

Every year, a considerable number of people are ruined and killed by the government.

Therefore, in a sense, government offices and gangs are still in a competitive relationship.

"Then why don't the authorities wipe out these gangs?"

Chen Xun continued to ask.

"Sir, these gangs aren't without connections; they have powerful figures from the inner city behind them."

The waiter explained.

Within the inner city, there are four major powers, each wielding immense influence.

They are the Yang family of Golden Ginseng, the Bai family of Black Knife, the Divine Fist Sect, and the Weapon Forging Sect.

The emblem of the Yang family of Jin Shen is a "Seven-Aperture Golden Ginseng," a rare and high-grade Yellow-rank medicinal herb.

Legend has it that the Yang family ancestor obtained such a spiritual herb, which greatly increased his strength, eventually leading to the founding of the Yang family, which has been passed down to the present day after hundreds of years.

Along with the ginseng, many medical texts were also discovered.

Therefore, the Yang family now mainly deals in various medicinal herbs, selling various medicinal powders and pills, and the family has many alchemists.

It can be said that the Yang family may not be the strongest among the four major powers, but they are certainly the richest.

The Bai family, known for their black blades, are skilled in swordsmanship. Their swordsmanship is exceptionally sharp, and among martial artists of the same level in the county, the Bai family is the strongest in terms of combat power.

The family crest is a black scimitar, said to be the family's protective artifact, powerful enough to help the Bai family overcome several life-or-death crises.

The Bai family's main businesses are escort agencies and merchant caravans.

The Bai Family Escort Agency and the Bai Family Merchant Caravan are quite famous throughout Wanlin County.

The Divine Fist Sect was originally a martial arts school called the Divine Fist Martial Arts School.

Later, a genius emerged from the martial arts school, who not only mastered the school's martial arts to the highest level, but also innovated and created even more powerful martial arts.

Under the leadership of this genius, the Divine Fist Martial Arts School recruited many disciples and eventually developed into the Divine Fist School we know today.

The emblem of the Divine Fist Sect is a clenched fist, which symbolizes both the sect's name and its strongest martial art—the Divine Heart Fist.

The Divine Fist Sect mainly operates martial arts schools, grain shops, cloth shops, and other businesses.

His estate encompassed tens of thousands of acres of fertile land, thousands of acres of mulberry groves, and thousands of acres of various cash crops such as jute.

The Divine Fist Sect can be considered the largest landlord group in the entire Changfeng County.

The reason there is so much land is that when the Divine Fist Sect rose to power, it wiped out an old and powerful family in Changfeng County and took over all of their land and property.

These industries have supported the Divine Fist Sect in growing to its current size step by step.

The martial arts schools of the Divine Fist Sect are located throughout the inner and outer cities, and also have branches in other counties.

If you demonstrate enough talent, the Divine Fist School will invest heavily in cultivating you.

Therefore, this force, which has only risen to prominence in the last few decades, now possesses strength that has already subtly placed it first among the four major forces.

Last month, its sect leader had a one-on-one duel with the strongest member of the Bai family.

The results were not reported, but the Bai family withdrew its forces, while the Divine Fist Sect expanded its influence.

Anyone with eyes could see that the Bai family member definitely didn't fare well in that battle.

In a short time, even more people joined the Divine Fist Martial Arts School.

Only those disciples who excel in the martial arts school can enter the Divine Fist Sect.

Therefore, although the number of people in the Divine Fist Sect is small, they are all elites.

This matter has become a major topic of discussion in Changfeng County recently.

Besides this major event, there is another one, which concerns the casting gate.

That was a divine weapon forged by the sect leader of the Weapon Forging Sect, which was stolen by a disciple of the sect, prompting the sect leader to issue a kill order in the martial arts world.

Anyone who informs others of the whereabouts of the traitorous disciple will be rewarded with a thousand taels of silver.

If anyone captures and helps the Weapon Forging Sect retrieve the divine weapon, they will be rewarded with five thousand taels of silver and will be given a free divine weapon for forging.

Of course, you have to provide the materials yourself.

This divine weapon, also known as the Qi and Blood Divine Weapon, is incredibly sturdy and exceptionally sharp. Most importantly, it can be infused with Qi and blood to enhance its power.

For martial artists at the Physical Realm, until they reach the Divine Treasure Realm, their Qi and blood cannot leave their bodies, but divine weapons can break this rule.

Therefore, many martial artists desire a powerful weapon that enhances their qi and blood.

Unfortunately, this item is produced in very small quantities. Currently, in the entire Changfeng County, only the Forging Sect can reliably produce three Qi and Blood Divine Weapons every year.

Each time, it attracts competition from various forces.

The recent manhunt issued by the Forging Sect has caused quite a stir.

Not only did major forces in Changfeng County send people to search for the whereabouts of the traitorous disciple, but forces from neighboring counties also sent people to join in.

Of course, their purpose was not for those few thousand taels of silver.

It was for the divine weapon of life and energy in the hands of that traitorous disciple.

Something that can be personally crafted by the sect leader of the weapon-forging sect must be a good item, certainly not comparable to ordinary blood and qi divine weapons.

Upon hearing this, Chen Xun couldn't help but recall the people he had seen on the official road.

They were in a hurry, their eyes darting around, clearly the team sent out by these forces to search for someone.

Besides these two major events, there are some minor events that are also quite interesting to talk about.

For example, Bai Zizai of the Bai family, known as the Black Knife, challenged young masters from various forces without ever being defeated, earning the title of the strongest young master in Changfeng County.

Yang Wanli of the Yang family, despite his young age, has already officially become a registered alchemist of the imperial court and is known as the number one alchemy genius of the Yang family. He has gone to the alchemy hall in the prefecture for further study.

The Dan Hall was a department established by the imperial court's alchemists, which gathered alchemy geniuses from all over the country.

Li Chenzhou, the senior disciple of the Divine Fist Sect, broke through the bottleneck of the Inner Marrow Realm and successfully advanced to the Divine Treasury Realm.

At only thirty-six years old, he became the youngest Divine Realm expert in Changfeng County in the past century.

Qi Changfa, one of the sect leader's closed-door disciples, became a registered weapon refiner with the imperial court and was the sect's second-best weapon-refining genius.

No, it's number one now.

The original number one was named Wan Zhenping, but he did something big: he stole the Qi and Blood Divine Weapon that his master had refined and defected.

No one knows why he did this, ruining his once glamorous and enviable life.

After listening to the waiter's story, Chen Xun thought to himself, "Indeed, this is a place where outstanding people emerge in great numbers."

"You're right, here's a silver coin for you."

Chen Xun waved his hand.

"Thank you, sir."

The waiter was overjoyed and kept saying thank you and compliments.

Only when Chen Xun showed signs of impatience did he tactfully take his leave.

Shortly after he left, Chen Xun also came out of the room.

After leaving the inn, he asked for directions as he hurried toward Xingwu Street.