All the gods began by cultivating the Iron Shirt technique.

The day after the conflict, Yang Pan was summoned to the branch of the Beggars' Sect.

"Junior Brother Yang, congratulations! You really made a name for yourselves in yesterday's battle, giving the Canal Gang a real slap in the face!"

As Yang Pan entered the branch hall, he saw Ma Wu walking towards him. Hearing the envy mixed in Ma Wu's congratulatory words, Yang Pan's heart stirred slightly.

"Brother Ma Wu, what brings you here this time?" Within the Beggars' Sect, Yang Pan was still more familiar with Ma Wu, and the latter seemed to have been in charge of the task allocation for the Beggars' Sect disciples in this branch, so he must be much more well-informed.

"Haha, of course it's a good thing! You don't know that this time the head of the gang will personally see you." Ma Wu walked closer and said in a low voice.

"The Hall Master is looking for me?" Yang Pan was also somewhat surprised upon hearing this. The Beggars' Sect has a clear division of ranks. In addition to requiring the Beggars' Sect disciple to be a sixth-generation disciple, the position of Hall Master also requires the disciple to be at least a third-rate martial artist who has cultivated internal energy.

Yang Pan had heard that the head of the Jiaxing branch had been in office for many years and that his strength was probably among the top of the third-rate martial artists. Given his status, he was a mid-to-high-level figure in the Beggars' Sect. Why would such a person suddenly summon him, a newly joined low-level disciple? Was it because he had brought glory to the Beggars' Sect in yesterday's conflict?

With this thought in mind, Yang Pan kept walking and followed Ma Wu into the branch hall.

The main hall in front of the Beggars' Sect branch is a spacious hall where disciples are gathered in case of emergencies or tasks are assigned. The meeting hall for some of the Beggars' Sect's five-bag disciples and hall masters is located at the back.

Upon entering the council hall, Yang Pan found the interior to be elegantly furnished, lacking the rough and unruly atmosphere he had imagined. Instead, it resembled the furnishings of the Qin family in Tongjiang County.

At this moment, only a middle-aged man was sitting in the main chair in the council hall. Yang Pan recognized him at a glance. This man was the same person from the side room in the ancestral hall of Sanhezhuang. He never expected that the other party would be the head of the Jiaxing branch.

"Disciple Ma Wu (Yang Pan) greets the Hall Master!" Yang Pan imitated Ma Wu's gesture of bowing to the other party.

Wang Yue looked at the two disciples standing below, his gaze mainly lingering on the robust young man.

He had naturally heard about yesterday's conflict, and considering that one of his newly recruited junior disciples possessed rather impressive external martial arts skills, Wang Yue naturally wanted to meet him. Of course, his main reason was to see if this disciple was qualified to be trained.

He has been sitting in this position of hall master for seven or eight years. When he was young, he was quite ambitious and thought that he could break through to the second-rate martial artist level with his own efforts. At that time, he could also sit in the position of deputy leader.

However, as he gets older, although his internal strength cultivation has reached the peak of a third-rate martial artist, he has been unable to break through to the second-rate level.

He knew that the older he got, the slimmer his chances became, and he was afraid that he could not become the deputy leader by his own strength. So he could only focus his energy on gang contributions and try to advance one level by accumulating gang contributions.

Therefore, although Anqing Prefecture was dangerous at the time, he still led several of his five-bag disciples, who had also cultivated internal strength, to rescue the surviving people. After returning from Anqing Prefecture, he did indeed receive a lot of contributions from the gang.

However, besides him, several other rising stars were also eyeing the position of deputy leader of the Jiaxing branch. They were younger, but their cultivation was comparable to his. These people might break through to the second-rate realm one day and take over the position.

Therefore, in the past two years, Wang Yue has been working even harder to carry out his missions, killing some of the notorious bandits recorded by the Beggars' Sect, hoping to accumulate merit quickly.

However, these villains in the martial arts world are not weak, and those who have made a name for themselves are even more powerful. Wang Yue himself is only a third-rate martial artist, and he has only a handful of disciples who have cultivated internal energy.

The speed at which these people accumulate contributions is ultimately limited. Therefore, recruiting martial artists or cultivating some promising talents has become Wang Yue's favorite thing. After all, only when the strength of his subordinates is strong can he take the position of deputy leader sooner.

"You're Yang Pan? You do have a well-built physique." Wang Yue said gently as he stood up and approached Yang Pan.

"With the increasing volume of shipping at Xiushui Wharf, the canal gangs have become increasingly unscrupulous in recent years. Your victory over Chenzhou has curbed their arrogance to some extent, which is commendable! Our Beggars' Sect has always been fair in its rewards and punishments, and you deserve a reward for your meritorious service this time."

As Wang Yue spoke, his gaze fell on Ma Wu beside him.

"Ma Wu, later take ten taels of silver from the hall and give it to Yang Pan, and at the same time promote him to a second-class disciple."

Wang Yue spoke casually, but Ma Wu was extremely shocked.

You should know that he had previously risked his life to go to Anqing Prefecture with the hall master to provide rescue, and upon his return, he only received a reward of six taels of silver. Now, this Junior Brother Yang has suddenly become famous, and he has been rewarded with ten taels of silver, and even promoted by a whole bag. It seems that the hall master values ​​this Junior Brother Yang very much.

Suppressing his many thoughts, Ma Wu agreed and decided to get closer to Junior Brother Yang in the future.

This was Yang Pan's first time receiving a reward from the hall master, and he wasn't quite sure how much it amounted to, only that the silver given was indeed quite a lot.

You should know that a bottle of external medicine for his flesh-forging level costs two taels of silver, and these ten taels of silver are enough for him to buy five bottles and maintain his cultivation for half a year.

Yang Pan immediately cupped his hands in thanks and said, "Thank you for the reward, Hall Master."

"Yes, Iron Shirt is a good external training technique, but don't neglect fist, palm, and sword techniques as well. These can increase your strength several times over. The dock duties are relatively easy, so you can come to the hall more often to ask your senior brothers for guidance."

Wang Yue pointed out the details, having already learned about yesterday's battle in detail. He felt that if Yang Pan's skills had been even stronger, Chen Zhou would have been defeated even faster.

As for Iron Shirt, this disciple is quite proficient in this technique. If he can complete the cultivation of the Flesh Forging level as soon as possible, the Beggar Clan also has the third level of the mental cultivation method, and I can teach it to him then.

Faced with the other party's guidance, Yang Pan nodded in agreement, feeling that this hall master was quite approachable, at least that seemed to be the case for now.

Having accepted the hall master's reward, Yang Pan listened to some trivial words of encouragement before leaving the council hall with Ma Wu.

After leaving the council hall, Yang Pan noticed that Ma Wu seemed much more enthusiastic towards him along the way. Not only did he hand over ten taels of silver directly to him, but he also told him that he could come to him if he encountered any difficulties during his missions.

Yang Pan had some guesses about this. He figured the hall master probably rewarded him more than the other disciples, meaning the hall master valued him more.

But what does the other party value about me? My strength is nothing more than that of a low-level martial artist who hasn't even cultivated internal energy. I probably can't help the other party much.

Yang Pan couldn't figure it out, so he simply stopped thinking about it. Anyway, the ten taels of silver he had received were real money, and he could be quite generous with his cultivation again.

......

In the east of Jiaxing, Yang Pan did not go to the Black Tiger Martial Arts School this time, but instead went to a market town that was far away from the school.

The market was bustling with people, and customers were constantly coming and going in the shops selling various jewelry, jade, clothing and fabrics. Smoke was rising from the stalls around the market, making it look exceptionally lively.

Yang Pan walked through the bustling city streets and stopped in front of a two-story building without a sign at a corner.

"Junior brother, what are you standing there for? Come in quickly." A voice suddenly came from the second floor. Looking up, Yang Pan saw Huang Hui standing by the railing, calling out to him. Yang Pan walked straight into the building and went up to the second floor.

Now, more than half a month has passed since he entered Jiaxing City, and Huang Hui's back injury has almost healed, so he no longer stays in the Beggars' Sect branch.

After leaving the branch, Senior Brother Huang bought an empty inn in this market town. According to the other party, he would settle here and run the inn business.

Yang Pan wasn't surprised by this, but he was amazed at how wealthy the other party was. Could it be that opening a martial arts school is really that profitable?

This two-story inn occupies a considerable area, not to mention its location in this bustling market town. It's practically like opening a restaurant on a commercial street in later generations—it's bound to be incredibly profitable.