All the gods began by cultivating the Iron Shirt technique.

Although they had accepted the tasks assigned by the Beggars' Sect, the young men guarding the docks were relatively idle, even free.

As long as no other gangs cause trouble on their territory at the docks, the gang members live in peace. But once a conflict breaks out, all the stationed members, no matter what they are doing, must immediately go to the docks to resist the invading gangs.

After spending half a month at the camp, Yang Pan had become somewhat familiar with the other Beggars' Sect disciples stationed there. Some of these disciples, like Yang Pan, were newly joined members with one bag of disciples, while others were members with two or three bags of disciples.

Regardless of how long they had been with the group, they all shared a common trait: their martial arts skills were not weak among the lower-ranking disciples. Perhaps this was why they were assigned to guard the dock.

......

In the training ground in the backyard of the Black Tiger Martial Arts School.

Bang!Bang!Bang!

The dull thuds of clubs colliding with flesh echoed from a corner of the training ground. Cao Bing, drenched in sweat, stared blankly at the burly figure standing before him. His arms were already turning red as he mechanically pounded the wooden club against Yang Pan's muscles.

As the personal disciple of the sect leader's junior brother, his Iron Shirt Kung Fu had already reached the second level of flesh forging many years. Therefore, he was more proficient in the training of this flesh forging level than any other disciple present.

But precisely because of this, since assisting the newly arrived Junior Brother Yang in his cultivation, he realized that he might have been somewhat lax in his Iron Shirt training, or rather, he might not have the aptitude to cultivate this external martial art.

Normally, he would have the disciples in the academy assist him in practicing martial arts, and an hour of practice would far surpass the training time of the other disciples. He even felt a sense of satisfaction whenever he saw the envious looks from the other disciples, knowing it was a symbol of his strength.

But now, he had been assisting this Junior Brother Yang in his cultivation for almost two hours. The staff in his hand struck the other party as if he felt nothing. Apart from the sweat and blood-like crimson on his body, the other party's face was expressionless.

Although it is said that excessive practice can be harmful, and exceeding one's own limit can damage the body, Cao Bing has not found any signs of bruises or swelling on his opponent so far. He even feels that he is not assisting in cultivation, but rather like he is hitting a piece of wood.

"Junior Brother Yang, take a rest for a while," Cao Bing said in a hoarse voice.

"Senior Brother Cao, go ahead and do it! I can handle it!"

Yang Pan's voice was also low and deep. Every time the other party's wooden stick hit him, in addition to the familiar numbness, he also felt pain.

However, the pain was slightly less than when Senior Brother Huang had sparred with him. He knew this wasn't because his opponent was weaker than Senior Brother Huang, but because his own physical strength had gradually increased significantly.

Yang Pan was delighted by this. He felt a sense of clearly becoming stronger little by little, which made him feel even more comfortable than playing games in his previous life.

"You can hold on, but I can't!" A voice filled with grief and indignation came from his mouth. Cao Bing could no longer hold onto the wooden stick in his hand, and his arm hung limply down.

Yang Pan: ......

Seeing the way Cao Bing looked at him as if he were a monster, Yang Pan felt a little embarrassed.

With the restorative power of the Longevity Fruit, he was not afraid of damaging his body by cultivating for a long time. In fact, the longer he cultivated, the faster his progress would be. However, this made him feel like he was using Cao Bing as livestock.

Indeed, it was still a bit too much of a strain on my senior brother...

"Junior Brother Yang, are you sure you're healthy? You know, the way of cultivation is about balance. Sometimes you can't see the effects of over-cultivation outwardly, but it can still cause hidden injuries to your body."

Feeling the soreness in his arm, Cao Bing couldn't help but offer some words of comfort.

He wasn't really that concerned about the other person, but since the other person had paid to learn martial arts at the school, if the other person really didn't know the importance of things and had been gritting their teeth and enduring these past few days, it would have a significant impact on the reputation of the school if they died there one day.

"Don't worry, senior brother, I know what's important. It's just that I've always been physically stronger than my peers, and my martial arts instructors have said that I have some talent in Iron Shirt training."

Yang Pan said as he applied the ointment.

He needed to reassure the other person and not let their worries affect his own cultivation progress.

Cao Bing nodded upon hearing this. There are always some people in the world with extraordinary talents. Junior Brother Yang in front of him might have physical talents that are beyond ordinary people, but unfortunately, even so, he is too old.

Don't be fooled by the fact that the other party is only about twenty-five or twenty-six years old. Once a martial artist is over thirty, their overall strength will decline. In Cao Bing's opinion, even if the other party has an internal energy cultivation method, at most he can develop internal strength by the age of thirty, but it is almost impossible for him to become a master.

He was younger than his opponent, and with his master's guidance and instruction, developing internal energy and becoming a third-rate martial artist was merely the beginning. Thinking of this, Cao Bing's mood suddenly improved considerably.

Having finished his training for the day, Yang Pan bid farewell and left. Along the way, watching the disciples practicing other martial arts within the martial arts hall, Yang Pan felt calm.

Although the Black Tiger Martial Arts School teaches a wide variety of martial arts, without formal apprenticeship and the transmission of knowledge, one cannot ultimately learn the core techniques. Therefore, Yang Pan had no interest in learning other martial arts within the school, focusing solely on mastering the Iron Shirt technique. After all, being a jack-of-all-trades and master of none is a major taboo in martial arts.

After leaving the martial arts school, Yang Pan ate some food on the way to replenish his energy, and then went straight to Xiushui Wharf.

However, upon arriving at the dock, they found themselves surrounded by a crowd, from which came the sounds of shouting, cursing, punching, and kicking.

Sensing something was amiss, Yang Pan quickened his pace and walked ahead. The area where these people were watching was territory guarded by the Beggars' Sect; if a fight broke out, it was most likely due to a conflict between someone and a member of the sect.

As a Beggars' Sect member stationed in a territory, if a conflict occurs and the member fails to resolve it or report it in a timely manner, he or she will be held accountable and have his/her monthly salary deducted.

Pushing aside the crowd of onlookers, Yang Pan walked steadily toward the interior of the dock. Just as he approached the location of the conflict, a shout rang out.

"Chenzhou! You crossed the line first! This is Beggars' Sect territory, not your Canal Gang's!" On the outskirts of the conflict, a Beggars' Sect disciple pointed at a young man dressed in brown linen clothes and shouted.

"Of course I know this is your Beggars' Sect territory, but we didn't cause trouble here first! My Cao Gang disciples were just honestly moving goods here. It was your Beggars' Sect disciples who, relying on the prestige of Chief Hong, bullied us local gangs. You started it!"

The young man's voice was equally loud, but his tone was extremely calm, showing little anger.

"Bullshit! It's clearly your Canal Gang disciples who are overcharging here. They dare to ask for twenty copper coins for carrying a wooden box, completely disregarding my Beggar Gang."

.....

Listening to the two arguing from the crowd, Yang Pan roughly understood what had happened.

Although the dock area has been divided according to gangs, and the gangs are not allowed to interfere with each other's management fees, they are relatively lenient about their gang members working as laborers on the dock to earn extra money.

After all, this dock isn't particularly large, nor is it particularly small. If the gang members are all confined to their own territories to earn extra money, there won't be much to be made. Therefore, these members are allowed to move around in other territories, and as long as they don't cause trouble in other territories, the gangs will naturally coexist peacefully.

However, today, while unloading goods, some members of the Canal Gang demanded more money from the ship merchants under the guise of their gang. The ship merchants naturally refused, and since this was Beggar Gang territory, they informed the Beggar Gang members of the matter.

Since the Beggars' Sect had accepted protection money from the ship merchants, they naturally had to protect the interests of the ship merchants in their own territory, so a conflict inevitably occurred.

Seeing the two groups of disciples still locked in a chaotic battle, Yang Pan first glanced at all the disciples, and breathed a sigh of relief after not finding any experts.

The disciples of each gang stationed at the dock were actually guarded by third-rate martial artists who had cultivated internal strength. Under normal circumstances, these third-rate martial artists would not easily take action. Even if conflicts occurred between gangs, they were usually just minor skirmishes among the lower-level disciples, like the conflict today.

Since it's just a small-scale operation...

With this thought in mind, Yang Pan strode towards the center of the chaotic battle. Martial artists in the martial world are destined for conflict, and Yang Pan, too, couldn't remain hidden and never engage in combat while practicing martial arts.

The skills and techniques must be improved in battle. After the fierce battle in Tongjiang County that night, Yang Pan had some insights.