All the gods began by cultivating the Iron Shirt technique.

Inside the North Branch Hall, Yang Pan had just entered, preparing to seek instruction in martial arts techniques from the five disciples stationed there.

This had almost become a habit for Yang Pan; he would dedicate half his time each day to practicing Iron Shirt and the other half to refining his techniques. As for his task of guarding the docks, with Yang Pan's current strength and some reputation, the minor skirmishes at the docks wouldn't affect the Beggars' Sect's territory.

If it involves a large-scale battle that affects the Beggars' Sect, they will usually send out third-rate martial artists who have cultivated internal strength. In such cases, Yang Pan's strength alone is not enough to solve the problem.

Therefore, Yang Pan no longer goes to the docks much. Instead, because of the branch leader's high regard, Yang Pan has accompanied him to the outer city to perform many meritorious tasks in the past two years.

Although most of these missions were rescue missions or intelligence gathering missions against the Tartars, they still made Yang Pan's name familiar among the Five Bag Disciples.

Yang Pan's eagerness to carry out the outer city missions was naturally aimed at becoming a five-bag disciple as soon as possible, so as to obtain the internal cultivation techniques of the Beggars' Sect.

Although he now possesses the Iron Shirt internal energy cultivation method, the Iron Shirt technique is ultimately too ordinary. Once he condenses his internal energy, that is the end of it. If he wants to continue to strengthen his internal energy and even open up many meridians in his body, he must switch to a more advanced technique.

Although he hasn't developed internal strength yet, it's always good to plan ahead. You can't wait until you've developed internal strength to think about acquiring more advanced techniques.

"Brother Yang, Brother Yang, you're here!" As soon as he entered the branch hall, he saw Ma Wu running towards him with an anxious look on his face.

Two years have passed, and Ma Wu is still only a four-bag disciple. Although Ma Wu has followed the hall master on many missions over the years, they have all been missions with little contribution. After all, missions with greater contribution are also more dangerous.

Ma Wu was well-versed in the art of self-preservation. Although he was eager to become a five-bag disciple, the prospect of losing his life was clearly more tempting than the status of a five-bag disciple.

"Brother Ma, what's the matter that's so urgent?" Yang Pan asked, puzzled.

"It is indeed urgent, but it concerns you," Ma Wu said in a low voice, his tone serious.

"What does this have to do with me?" Yang Pan immediately recalled whether he had offended anyone recently, or whether he had gotten into any trouble.

He had spent most of the past two years practicing martial arts, and had also fought a few times at the docks. Although he was careful with his attacks, he inevitably sustained some injuries. Could it be that a member of some gang was trying to cause him trouble?

"Do you remember when you and Brother Ma were out suppressing bandits six months ago, and you personally killed the second-in-command of that bandit gang?"

The second-in-command of the bandits? Yang Pan pondered for a moment, then remembered that there was indeed such a thing.

Six months ago, he and several of his five-bag disciples carried out a bandit suppression mission. The bandits were entrenched in a mountain range twenty miles outside the city, and they usually robbed passing caravans or kidnapped young women.

Moreover, the leader and second-in-command of that band of bandits were both third-rate martial artists who had each made a name for themselves in the martial arts world. Even when the government sent troops to suppress the bandits several times, they were defeated by the bandits who took advantage of the terrain.

So the Beggars' Sect sent disciples to resolve the issue. Although Yang Pan had only just completed the Body Tempering stage of cultivation, his physical defense and strength were not much weaker than those of ordinary third-rate martial artists. In addition, with several five-bag disciples leading the way, Yang Pan followed along to earn contribution points.

On the mountain path, the ordinary bandits posed no threat to Yang Pan. He practically fought his way from the crossroads into the bandit stronghold.

However, when he entered the bandit stronghold, the leader had already been surrounded and killed by several five-bag disciples. Only the second-in-command was still alive, and the five-bag disciples offered him to Yang Pan, hoping he would earn more contribution points. Yang Pan naturally did not refuse, and personally dealt with the second-in-command.

But why is Ma Wu bringing this up again? Could it be that the second-in-command can come back to life?

Seeing Yang Pan's question, Ma Wu didn't keep him in suspense and said directly, "That bandit's second leader was once a disciple of a small sect, but when the Tartars invaded his prefecture, the sect was wiped out. However, although the sect was destroyed, many disciples escaped, including one of the bandit's second leader's brothers."

Recently, some members of the Beggars' Sect learned that someone was inquiring about who killed the second-in-command of the bandits, so we investigated it ourselves, and unexpectedly…”

Ma Wu's voice trailed off as he spoke, but Yang Pan could still tell what he meant: the bandit leader's brother had come to seek revenge.

Damn it! Sure enough, after beating the young one, the old one comes along. A bandit leader can actually pull out a radish and bring out the mud. He really thinks he's the main character!

Yang Pan was somewhat speechless. If you don't nip the problem in the bud, that's often how grudges and feuds in the martial arts world arise.

However, Yang Pan wasn't too worried about this. The bandit suppression operation was already known to everyone in the city. If the other party came, they would definitely know that the second leader was killed by the Beggar Clan disciples. Since the other party didn't dare to directly retaliate against those Beggar Clan disciples, their strength probably wasn't much stronger than those five-bag disciples.

That being the case...

Yang Pan narrowed his eyes slightly. There's no such thing as someone who's always on guard against thieves. Since they dared to come, Yang Pan decided to eliminate them completely.

Thinking of this, Yang Pan's heart stirred, and he looked at Ma Wu and asked, "Brother Ma Wu, I wonder if the second-in-command's brothers have any other sects behind them, or any brothers they've risked their lives for?"

"No, that's not the case. After that sect was destroyed, the disciples scattered in all directions and had no contact with each other. This person only recently came to Jiaxing City."

Ma Wu recalled the information his disciples had gathered and then looked at Yang Pan with surprise, reminding him:

"Brother Yang, you're not going to go looking for that person on your own initiative, are you? Although that person doesn't have much of a reputation in the martial arts world, he should be a third-rate martial artist. I think it would be best to report this to the hall master, or at the very least ask some of the senior brothers in the hall for help."

Over the past two years, almost all the Beggars' Sect disciples have been aware of how much the sect leader values ​​Yang Pan; otherwise, Yang Pan wouldn't have had the chance to behead the second-in-command during the bandit suppression that day.

Yang Pan nodded without speaking; ultimately, this was his own business. Moreover, the hall master's high regard for him was based on his future strength. If he relied on the Beggars' Sect for everything, what strength could he possibly have?

Yang Pan was unwilling to remain forever under the protection of others or any particular force, and strength could only be increased through combat. Fortunately, although he had diligently practiced martial arts for the past two years, he still lacked experience in life-or-death battles with internal energy martial artists, so this was a good opportunity to try.

Having made up his mind, Yang Pan had no intention of continuing his martial arts practice. He needed to prepare for the person who came to seek revenge.

……

The city of Jiaxing, bathed in the hustle and bustle of the day, was shrouded in utter silence in the dead of night. The October autumn wind carried a subtle air of dread, stirring the drifting clouds with the scent of border warfare. The clouds shifted, obscuring the bright moon that appeared and disappeared in the sky…

It was past midnight, a time when everyone was tired and weary, yet a faint sound of rattling could be heard coming from a room in the inn in the north of the city. The window was half-open, and a dark figure nimbly slipped through the eaves, landing lightly on the street.

The figure was completely covered in black cloth, with only a pair of unremarkable eyes showing. The figure quickly glanced around the street, and after confirming that there was nothing unusual around, stared into the void in front of it.

It seemed as if I had pierced through layers of buildings to see a small courtyard with two sections. Then, I started walking, like a raccoon dog, along the street-side houses and inns, hiding myself in the shadows, and headed towards that courtyard.