All the gods began by cultivating the Iron Shirt technique.

In Tongjiang County, the sun was setting and the sky was gradually darkening.

Even without a curfew, the streets and alleys of Tongjiang County were nearly deserted, with no sign of the usual bustling vendors. The people seemed to have reached a tacit understanding: as darkness fell, everyone stayed indoors, with only a few scattered lights peeking through windows to barely dispel the darkness at street corners.

At this moment, the Qin family's vast mansion was already brightly lit. Guards dressed in gray robes, carrying torches, patrolled back and forth at each entrance and exit. With so many guards, the entire Qin residence was effectively surrounded and protected like an iron fortress.

"Today, Instructor Zhao suddenly canceled two shifts of duty and ordered all the guards to join the patrol at night. Senior brother, have you heard any news?" Yang Pan stood at the side gate of the backyard, the torch he held high illuminating the patrol team in front of him.

Zhao Lei stood casually, glancing at the departing group of people. He smirked and said, "Who knows what these big shots are thinking? We're just doing our jobs for money. But I just finished my shift during the day, and now I have to patrol tonight. I'm exhausted."

Zhao Lei was also a disciple of the Iron River Martial Arts School, but he was previously assigned to patrol during the day while Yang Pan patrolled at night, so the two rarely had the chance to meet. Now that Instructor Zhao had ordered all the guards to patrol at night, the two of them were assigned to guard the side gate together.

Although he hadn't obtained any useful information from the other party, Yang Pan felt a vague unease. The job of a guard was to protect the Qin residence, and the sudden increase in nighttime manpower could only mean that Master Qin might have received some information. Perhaps the battle situation in Anqing Prefecture was worsening, and Tongjiang County was becoming even more dangerous.

Thinking of this, Yang Pan felt an even stronger sense of urgency. His training in the second level of Iron Shirt Cultivation had been progressing steadily over the past two days. With Senior Brother Huang's assistance and the unique properties of the Longevity Fruit, Yang Pan could clearly feel his body gradually becoming stronger. Based on this situation, Yang Pan originally estimated that he would definitely be able to complete the Body Tempering stage in no more than two years.

But now it seems, can Tongjiang County hold out for this long?

"Quickly! Send two teams to the main gate, and leave one team to patrol the backyard!" Suddenly, a guard rushed in from the front yard carrying a torch.

Upon hearing the other party's shout, two of the patrol teams that were originally guarding the backyard turned around and followed the guards to the front yard.

"What's wrong? What happened?"

"Could it be that the Mongols have invaded?"

......

Whispers arose among the remaining guards, and gradually a sense of panic spread among them.

"Silence! There's just some unrest in the streets of the county, so Instructor Zhao has sent a few extra men to keep watch, just in case. If you keep gossiping, get out of here!"

Shi Yingfeng raised his torch high and shouted sternly. He was a burly man, and his shadow appeared even larger in the firelight.

Seeing that the noise in the courtyard had subsided, Shi Yingfeng slowly walked to the side gate.

"My two junior brothers, don't panic. It's probably just those local gangs causing trouble again. I'm sure soldiers will come and quell the chaos soon."

Upon hearing this, both Yang Pan and Zhao Lei nodded, their expressions softening considerably. Indeed, over the past year, there had been numerous disturbances like tonight's.

As the saying goes, "dragons and snakes mingle," and Tongjiang County has always had its own gangs. It's just that the situation wasn't as chaotic a few years ago. Although these gangs also collected protection money from the people because of their numbers, they didn't actually disrupt public order. Therefore, the government turned a blind eye, since only the lower-class peasants suffered, and it didn't affect the wealthy families and officials in the county.

However, Anqing Prefecture is now in a precarious situation, and its control over the surrounding counties has weakened considerably. Coupled with the people's fear of the Mongols, these gangs have seized the opportunity to create chaos and profit from it.

Fortunately, whenever there was chaos, the county government would send troops to suppress it, and there were not many casualties.

However, the chaos seems to be happening more and more frequently lately...

"Senior brother, let me go take a look ahead too. We are better at martial arts than the other brothers, so we can deal with any emergencies in time." Yang Pan said in time as Shi Yingfeng was about to leave.

Shi Yingfeng did not refuse, but only gave instructions to Zhao Lei before leaving with Yang Pan.

......

"Grandpa, Grandpa! This is all the food we have left! You can't take it away, what will we eat if you take it away?" On the street, a group of young people dressed in plain clothes but with ruddy complexions surrounded an old man.

The old man was kicked to the ground, but he was still clutching a cloth bundle tightly in his hands, which contained the only food his family of three had.

Due to the political situation, grain prices in the county had already skyrocketed. Ordinary people could not afford to buy grain and could only rely on their surplus grain to make ends meet.

"You selfish old man! There's a food shortage in the county right now. Don't you see how many families are starving? I'm going to collect all this food and distribute it to everyone. It's for everyone's good, understand?" The tall, thin young man in the lead kicked the old man again, his droopy eyebrows now looking ferocious.

"The county magistrate didn't notify us! He didn't notify us at all!"

"Hahaha, a notice? Do you think the county magistrate cares about the life or death of a peasant like you? Only our Green Mountain Gang will pity you!" the young man shouted, while the old man cried out in anguish. Meanwhile, the lights that had been on in the streets and alleys went out in unison.

Boom boom boom!

Just as the young man was about to continue, a series of orderly footsteps approached from afar.

"Ma San! It's you again! This is Tongjiang County, not your Green Mountain Gang's territory. The county government is just three miles away. Are you trying to rebel?!" A middle-aged man with a black and blue round-necked, narrow-sleeved robe, a crown, and a thick beard shouted.

Upon hearing this, the young man from the Green Mountain Gang named Ma San withdrew his foot, which was about to kick the old man, and then calmly said to the middle-aged man:

"So it's Chief Wang. What, do you have dogs' noses? You got here so fast."

"Haha, I think it definitely is."

Ma San's words elicited a burst of laughter from the gang members behind him, while Wang Dutou's face turned ashen. He remained silent, but suddenly raised his right hand. In an instant, the numerous archers standing behind him drew their bows and nocked arrows, the arrowheads pointing directly at the laughing Green Mountain Gang members.

Gah!

Like a duck being choked, the laughter of the crowd abruptly stopped. Seeing this, Ma San also put away his calm expression, and his gaze swept over the group of archers behind Wang Dutou.

"Ha, Chief Wang, why be so serious? We're doing this for the good of these peasants. Distributing the food uniformly can save many lives, can't it?"

"The distribution of grain is managed by the county magistrate, and it's not your place, Green Mountain Gang, to interfere. Do you think you can replace the county magistrate and the government?" Chief Wang stood firm, leaving Ma San speechless.

Although the county's security is not as good as before, the strongest military force is still controlled by the county government. If Ma San dares to defy him, it would be tantamount to rebellion, and the county government could easily eliminate him.

"Alright, Chief Wang is in a tough spot today, I, Ma San, can't afford to mess with him. Brothers, let's go back."

Ma San waved goodbye, then actually turned and left. Wang Dutou watched the retreating figures of the Green Mountain Gang members, his brows furrowing slightly. He felt that the Green Mountain Gang's farce today had ended rather anticlimactically, as if it had been deliberately lured out of the scene.

The key question is... what's the point?

......

"Alright, alright, those thugs from the Green Mountain Gang are gone, everyone should go back now."

"Poor old man Li, he got beaten up for no reason."

Inside the Qin residence, the guards, hearing the commotion in the county subside, finally felt a weight lifted from their hearts. The Green Mountain Gang had been a local tyrant in the county for many years. A few years ago, things were alright; their numbers weren't many. Only in the last two years had the Green Mountain Gang grown significantly, expanding from an insignificant group to sixty or seventy members, all of whom were young.

If these people were to cause trouble and storm the Qin residence, even though the Qin family's guards were armed and Instructor Zhao was there to keep things under control, casualties would still be inevitable.

"Alright, junior brother, you should go back too. These next few days might be a bit tough." Shi Yingfeng handed Yang Pan a torch. By now it was completely dark, and patrolling in the latter half of the night required even more caution.

"Hmm." Taking the torch, Yang Pan walked towards the side gate of the backyard.

Yang Pan had watched the previous farce with bated breath. Especially the sight of the twenty or thirty archers behind the head of the capital simultaneously drawing their bows and nocking arrows—what if those arrows were aimed at him...?

Just thinking about it sent chills down Yang Pan's spine. Although he had now achieved perfect skin smoothing, making his skin several times tougher than the average person, he would probably still end up being riddled with arrows.

"I wonder if Senior Brother Huang can withstand these arrow attacks now," Yang Pan thought to himself.

Iron Shirt is, after all, a form of external martial arts, and even if it's just a common skill in the martial arts world, it's still a martial art. If you truly master it to its limit, it might unleash extraordinary effects, especially since Yang Pan has deeply experienced the changes in himself after practicing this skill.

The first level of perfection is already enough to make him immune to some friction and bumps. It is conceivable that after the second level of perfection, the punches and kicks of ordinary people will not hurt him. The third level will even allow him to cultivate internal energy. At that time, his physical strength will definitely be a level higher, not to mention the support of internal energy.

In the martial arts world, masters with profound internal energy can use it for defense and protection. Therefore, even if the internal energy cultivated in the third level of Iron Shirt is weak, it will definitely have some effect on the strength of the physical body. With such a combination, it might actually be able to defend against some arrow attacks.

"It's just the third level of the technique..." Thinking of the rule that it was only passed down to the disciple who inherited the mantle, Yang Pan felt helpless and for the first time felt a little disgusted with this self-cherished rule.