I'll write a manual called the Sunflower Manual, and the entire martial arts world will turn in

The main entrance of the martial arts school.

Liu Jiang, Pang Tong, Mai Qiuyan, Wei Dian, and Ma Tie had just returned from lunch at a restaurant outside, chatting and laughing all the way.

Especially Pang Tong, who was walking at the very front, was holding a toothpick in his hand and picking his teeth from time to time, showing off his big brother demeanor.

"Junior Brother Wei Dian has been doing very well as a low-level servant in the yamen these past few days. Once, while on patrol, he even caught two petty thieves on his own. All the constables in the yamen praised him for his bravery and competence. If this trend continues, he will be promoted to a regular official position and receive a government salary in less than two years."

Wei Dian didn't forget to express his gratitude, "Thank you for your guidance, Senior Brother Pang Tong."

Liu Jiang, standing to the side, echoed, "We owe a debt of gratitude to Senior Brother Pang Tong for recognizing our talent. However, Junior Brother Ma Tie is also quite gifted. He went on a delivery mission with the escort agency these past few days and has already picked up the work of a deliveryman quite well. Given time, becoming a master escort will be a piece of cake."

Ma Tie, who was mentioned, also expressed his gratitude.

Pang Tong looked at Mai Qiuyan, who hadn't spoken, and suddenly changed the subject, "Junior Sister Mai, how is Wu Wei, whom you've been sponsoring, doing?"

Mai Qiuyan forced a smile, "Wu Wei is quite talented, but his family isn't exactly short of money. He came to our canal guild to take a position mainly to find a better way out. A few days ago, he went on a trip with a nearby merchant ship. Apart from having some of the airs of a rich young master, he's otherwise impeccable."

Pang Tong offered polite words of comfort: "Wu Wei's family only has a little money. As he progresses further in his martial arts training, his expenses will increase. When he runs out of money, he'll naturally know to be more frugal. It's alright."

Mai Qiuyan nodded. "Mm."

Ma Tie paused for a moment, then asked, "Why is the training ground so lively up there? Could it be that someone is sparring?"

Pang Tong laughed and said, "I think so. Let's go over and see which two apprentices they are. We can treat it as an impromptu entertainment during our leisure time."

The group chatted and laughed as they squeezed into the crowd, only to be completely stunned.

Listening to the crowd's discussion and seeing Wu Wei lying on the ground vomiting blood, he immediately understood the reason.

Ma Tie exclaimed in surprise, "Xie An actually succeeded in training his skin? He made Wu Wei vomit blood with just one punch? How is that possible..."

He had fought Wu Wei before, but he couldn't beat him.

That's why they were so surprised.

Liu Jiang, who was standing to the side, immediately glared at Ma Tie. Ma Tie then saw Mai Qiuyan's unpleasant expression and immediately covered his mouth and remained silent.

Mai Qiuyan had spent a lot of money to help Wu Wei, so she was naturally embarrassed at this moment.

Especially just two days ago, Zhan Ping had approached her, asking her to take care of Xie Yu while Xie An was in seclusion. At that time, Mai Qiuyan felt that Xie An had no hope of breaking through his seclusion, so she refused in public.

Who would have thought... Xie An broke through his cultivation in just two days. He even punched Wu Wei, whom he had been sponsoring, so hard that Wu Wei vomited blood.

That's just... way too exaggerated.

puff.

Wu Wei, who had just been thrown to the ground, suddenly coughed up blood. When he looked at Xie An again, he was not only shocked but also filled with fear.

Outsiders only knew that Xie An's punch was powerful, but Wu Wei, who personally took the blow, knew... Xie An had held back a significant amount of force at the crucial moment. If Xie An had unleashed his full power, he feared...

Just then, Wu Wei saw Mai Qiuyan at the front of the crowd and noticed her liver-colored face.

In an instant, Wu Wei knew... Mai Qiuyan, his backer, was probably disappointed in him.

If I can't save face today, I'm afraid Mai Qiuyan won't be so willing to support me in the future.

The fear of losing the resources he had already acquired caused Wu Wei extreme panic.

Thinking of this, Wu Wei's eyes hardened, he gritted his teeth, rolled over and got up, wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth, his chest heaving violently.

"I was careless and underestimated you, which allowed you to succeed in your sneak attack." His voice trembled, whether from pain or anger, it was hard to tell. "Again!"

After saying this, Wu Wei slightly bent his knees, lowered his waist and hips, and his whole body was like a taut bow. His fists were clenched until they turned white, and his knuckles cracked as he mustered all his strength.

"drink!"

He stomped his right foot on the ground, and a section of the blue brick cracked with a "crack." He shot towards Xie An like an arrow released from a bow.

The fist, carrying a sharp gust of wind, aimed straight for Xie An's face.

When Wu Wei's fist was only half a foot away from his face, Xie An suddenly turned to the side, effortlessly dodging Wu Wei's fist. At the same time, he reached out with his right hand, his five fingers gripping Wu Wei's right wrist like an iron clamp.

Wu Wei tried to pull his hand away, but he couldn't budge it.

Xie An's fingers gripped his wrist bone, as if welded shut, remaining completely still.

Wu Wei sensed something was wrong. Xie An then pulled forward, causing Wu Wei to lose his balance and fall forward. Before he could react, Xie An's knee was already striking him—

"Bang!"

The knee slammed solidly into Wu Wei's lower abdomen.

Wu Wei screamed and bent over, like a boiled shrimp, with veins bulging on his forehead.

Xie An did not stop. He moved his palm up along the other man's wrist, grabbed Wu Wei's head, and slammed it hard against the ground.

"boom!"

Wu Wei was slammed to the ground like a basketball in a slam dunk. His face hit the ground hard, shattering a patch of blue brick and sending dust flying.

"Heh~"

"Hehe~"

Wu Wei was so drunk that he was dizzy and seeing stars, and blood kept spitting out of his mouth.

His limbs convulsed, his fingers scratching white marks on the ground, then he let out a terrified cry, "Ah!! I surrender, I surrender!!!"

"You're too kind."

Xie Ansong straightened up, dusted off non-existent dust from his clothes, his expression calm, as if he had just done something perfectly ordinary.

"Senior Brother Wu Wei is right. Even though they are all at the Skin Membrane Realm, there are still differences between them." Xie An bent down to pick up the bundle on the ground, dusted it off, and draped it over his shoulder.

"Let's go," he said to Lin Chong.

Lin Chong stared wide-eyed, his jaw nearly dropping to the ground.

He stared at Wu Wei, who was lying on the ground vomiting blood, then looked at Xie An's calm face, swallowed hard, and quickly followed.

As the two walked through the crowd, a gasp of surprise erupted behind them.

"Is...is this even human?"

"Wu Wei didn't even have a chance to fight back! He was beaten down from start to finish!"

"Xie An's skill is nothing compared to someone who has just broken through to the Skin Mesh Realm! Even a fully accomplished Skin Mesh Realm cultivator wouldn't be this good!"

"His moves just now were clean and precise, without a single unnecessary movement. How many times must he have practiced to achieve that kind of reaction?"

"..."

Pang Tong didn't even notice when the toothpick in his hand fell. Watching Xie An's departing figure, his brows furrowed deeply, he thought to himself: "I was so blind back then. He's definitely a descendant of the Xie family. I wonder if Wei Dian, whom I've sponsored, is any better than Xie An."

Liu Jiang glanced at Xie An's retreating figure, then at Ma Tie beside him, feeling a deep sense of unease.

Ma Tie couldn't even beat Wu Wei, let alone Xie An.

This funding... is a bit of a loss.

Mai Qiuyan stood at the front of the crowd, her expression shifting from shock to complexity, carrying something indescribable.

She recalled how she had publicly refused Zhan Ping's offer to take care of Xie An's sister two days earlier.

Looking at Wu Wei lying on the ground like a dead dog, and then at the back of the figure helping Lin Chongyuan away... a sense of regret arose in her heart.

Standing behind Pang Tong, Wei Dian's face was ashen. He clenched his fists so tightly that his knuckles turned white, feeling extremely agitated and uneasy.

The training ground was in complete chaos. Some people ran over to help Wu Wei, some were still discussing what had just happened, and some were craning their necks to look in the direction Xie An had left.

Xie An had already walked far away, his figure disappearing at the end of the corridor.

All that remained was the shattered brick pit in the training ground and a wooden stake broken in two.

……

Xie An took Lin Chong to the martial arts school's pharmacy, where they applied wound medicine and bandaged him up.

As soon as the two stepped out of the pharmacy, they heard a familiar voice.

"Junior Brother Xie An, please wait."

Xie An turned around and saw Pang Tong, Liu Jiang, and Mai Qiuyan hurrying over. Compared to their previous cold attitude, all three of them were now wearing warm smiles.

Pang Tong spoke first, "Junior Brother Xie An's hammer strike just now amazed everyone. If you continue on this path, your future will be very bright. However, martial arts requires not only talent but also resources and medicine. To stand out in this world, you also need connections and a stage. It just so happens that our small government office is short of a few low-ranking officials. Why don't you come and take a temporary position in my office?"