All the gods began by cultivating the Iron Shirt technique.

Yang Pan spoke calmly, and as he did so, he reached into his pocket and took out two taels of silver, placing them on the stone table beside him.

Huang Hui put down his teacup, reached into his pocket and put the silver coins into his pocket. When his gaze fell on Yang Pan again, he couldn't help but feel a little wistful.

"In just one year, you've gone from a skinny waiter to a master of skin smoothing. Junior Brother Yang, I must say, you're a bit insane."

Thinking back to how pale and thin Junior Brother Yang looked a year ago, he was completely different from his current energetic and robust appearance. However, as a martial artist who had mastered the Iron Shirt technique to the third level, no one understood the essentials of cultivating this technique better than Huang Hui.

Just as Yang Pan said when he first entered the academy, one must not be too hasty in cultivating hard skills. Excessive cultivation and pushing oneself to the limit may bring temporary strength, but in the end, it is nothing more than overdrawing one's life force.

But now it seems the other party hasn't listened at all. Compared to the other disciples in the martial arts school, Yang Pan's progress is too fast, and he's pushing himself too hard.

However, the Mongol army is growing stronger every day. The entire Anqing Prefecture is in grave danger, and whether one can survive is another matter entirely. Squeezing one's body in exchange for strength seems like a good deal.

"The first layer of Iron Shirt is skin tempering, and the second layer is flesh tempering. There are no special tricks or secrets to this flesh tempering realm. I suppose you've already heard about it from Junior Brother Shi." Huang Hui stood up, his tone calm.

Yang Pan remained calm. The Iron Shirt training method had never been prohibited from being passed on among its disciples at the Iron River Martial Arts School. The reason, as Huang Hui had said, was that there were no secrets; it was simply about skin-grinding and striking. However, the most crucial external medicine aid was controlled by the martial arts school, which was why they were so confident.

While the key to the first layer of skin resurfacing lies in the external medicine, the key to the second layer of muscle forging lies in this row of blows.

The second level of Iron Shirt requires initial training with wooden sticks until one becomes immune to wooden stick attacks. Then, one switches to iron sticks until one can withstand even iron stick attacks. Only then is the training considered complete.

But whether it's a wooden stick or an iron stick, there are certain techniques involved in striking. It's not about letting just anyone take a stick and hit you; the person striking needs to master a certain kind of force.

It is this force that is tempering the flesh and blood during the hammering, making it thicker and harder.

Of all the people in the entire martial arts school, only Senior Brother Huang Hui had mastered this level of striking power. This was why Yang Pan was still rushing to pay the martial arts school even after he already knew the second level of cultivation method. Moreover, it wasn't just him; other disciples in the martial arts school, including Shi Yingfeng, still needed Huang Hui's assistance in their cultivation.

......

In the center of the martial arts hall, Yang Pan had already removed the robes of the Qin family guards, leaving him in only a pair of shorts. The complete retouching had brought about a qualitative change in Yang Pan, both inside and out. At this moment, his body lines were clearly defined, and his full muscles filled his body, making him appear much larger than he had a year ago.

The healthy tan skin, bathed in sunlight, reflected a gel-like texture.

"Junior Brother Yang, next I will use a wooden stick to beat your entire body except for your groin. During the beating, a force will penetrate your body. You must carefully sense this force, and let me know when you feel your muscles go numb. I will remember the force of the beating at that time. The rest of the training will be like this, until you no longer feel numbness when the wooden stick is used. At that time, you can switch to an iron stick."

Huang Hui stood beside Yang Pan, holding a wooden stick, and said in a serious tone.

"I understand." Yang Pan nodded, then gestured to Huang Hui that they could begin.

boom!

Upon receiving the prompt, Huang Hui did not hesitate and placed the wooden stick in his hand directly on Yang Pan's muscular back.

Well!

Instantly, Yang Pan felt a sharp, heavy pain shooting through his back. However, he didn't feel any numbness. Seeing this, Huang Hui wasn't surprised. Everyone's constitution is different, and the amount of force they can withstand varies. Huang Hui, who assisted many disciples in their cultivation, was well aware of this.

So he continued to pound Yang Pan's body with the wooden stick, pausing for a few seconds after each strike to wait for Yang Pan's response. Yang Pan endured the waves of pain with his muscles until the seventh blow.

"Senior Brother Huang, I'm feeling that numbness!" Yang Pan said through gritted teeth. At this moment, he could clearly feel the numbness coming from his chest, as if something was drilling into his flesh.

"Alright! Junior Brother Yang, I will now use this force to pound you. Remember, this numbness will spread as you pound. When you feel this numbness throughout your body, let me know and I will stop. Otherwise, you will hurt yourself."

Upon hearing this, Yang Pan nodded silently.

However, he had his own plans. With the Longevity Fruit, he could repair his hidden injuries at any time. As long as Senior Brother Huang didn't kill him outright with a single blow, even if the blow was smoking, he could hold on.

But... wouldn't this be too much of a burden on my senior brother?

Yang Pan's thoughts were racing. At this moment, Huang Hui had already started wielding a wooden stick and pounding every muscle on Yang Pan's body. Back, shoulders, upper arms, forearms, chest, thighs... these were all areas that needed to be pounded.

Bang bang bang!

The dull sound echoed throughout the martial arts hall as the sun gradually rose from the east to its zenith.

While Yang Pan was immersed in cultivation, at this time in the Tongjiang County government office.

Bang!

"Xu Zhengqing, the official documents from the prefectural city are urgently needed, and the city walls are cracking in many places. Your Xu family controls the brick kilns in the county. I'm asking you, where are the bricks?! Where have the bricks gone?!"

Magistrate Zheng Mingshan slammed his teacup to the ground, splashing tea everywhere, but nothing could extinguish the anger in his heart. From the moment the Mongol hordes invaded Anqing Prefecture, the brick kilns in Tongjiang County never stopped, continuously supplying bricks to the prefectural city to repair the city walls and defend against the Mongols.

There hadn't been any problems until now, when the prefectural city urgently urged them to deliver bricks, the Xu family, who controlled the brick kilns, suddenly claimed they were out of bricks. Without a brick supply, Anqing Prefecture, though precariously positioned, was still holding out on the front lines. If the prefectural city discovered that Tongjiang County hadn't delivered enough bricks, the magistrate might face execution the very next day, even before the city fell.

"Magistrate Zheng, please calm your anger! The past few days have been filled with continuous rain, making the soil damp and cold. The new clay pieces would burst as soon as they were put into the kiln, rendering them unusable. It was only because the weather has turned around today that I ordered the kiln to fire them urgently. However, although we are rushing to complete them, we simply cannot deliver them in the short term."

Xu Zhengqing frowned, his voice filled with a deep sigh.

"Three days. I'll give you three more days. If there are still no bricks after three days, then we'll both wait to die." Zheng Mingshan's tone was icy. Even though he wished he could kill the other party right now, he knew that the only chance of survival lay with this person.

As the Mongols marched south, Anqing Prefecture, though attempting to resist, suffered more defeats than victories. It was clear to anyone with discerning eyes that Anqing Prefecture wouldn't last long. Zheng Mingshan had long been maneuvering in the imperial court, applying for a transfer countless times, but despite spending a considerable amount of money, it was all in vain, with not a single word coming back.

If it weren't for the equally dangerous conditions outside the county, he would have abandoned his post and fled long ago; why would he be willing to wait to die in this county?

......

Xu Zhengqing bowed and withdrew. A carriage was already waiting outside the county government office. Upon entering the carriage, he found that someone was already sitting inside.

"Brother, how did it go? Did Zheng Mingshan say anything?" Xu Zhengshan asked, stepping aside.

"Hmph! That fool even gave me three days to keep working. Now that Anqing Prefecture has fallen, this man still can't see the situation clearly and is struggling in vain!" Xu Zhengqing's eyes were cold and his tone was icy.

"Three days? But brother, Dumuha told us to delay for at least seven more days. That might not be enough time."

"What are you afraid of? Don't you have a few gangs under your command? Let them cause some trouble these few days, and then the county will be in chaos, and we'll have more time to deal with it," Xu Zhengqing said calmly.

"So that's why you had me gather those peasants back then, brother! Brilliant! Absolutely brilliant! You really have foresight, brother. Let's take this opportunity to deal with that old bastard Qin Ming and his entire family."

Xu Zhengshan had a sinister look in his eyes. The Qin family, the Xu family, and the original Liu family were all prominent families in Tongjiang County. Friction was inevitable in the business dealings between the three families, with the Qin family and the Xu family having the deepest conflict, even fighting over interests on several occasions.

Now that the Mongols have invaded the south, the Xu family has long since surrendered to them. With Anqing Prefecture on the verge of falling, the Xu family is seizing this opportunity to wipe out the Qin family in one fell swoop.