All the gods began by cultivating the Iron Shirt technique.

After spending half an hour at Zuixianlou and parting ways with Ma Wu, Yang Pan returned to his courtyard and continued practicing his fist and sword techniques for another two hours. Just as Sun Xin had said that day, with Yang Pan's current martial arts prowess, the two of them could no longer offer him any guidance.

If Yang Pan wants to go further, he needs to practice diligently on his own, or they can guide him on some tricks for using internal energy after he develops it.

Yang Pan practiced until the afternoon before taking a short break and then heading to the branch hall to receive his mission.

Aside from some regular territorial defenses and intelligence trading, the Beggars' Sect's tasks are mostly entrusted to them by other martial arts factions or government agencies. After all, in terms of numbers and intelligence network, the Beggars' Sect is unparalleled.

Entering the main hall, ignoring the gazes directed at him, Yang Pan went straight to the counter where several Beggars' Sect disciples were stationed. They were responsible for recording and assigning tasks.

Upon seeing that the visitor was Yang Pan, the Beggars' Sect disciples smiled and asked, "Senior Brother Yang, are you here to check on the mission?"

"Hmm, are there any missions that require going out recently?"

Yang Pan nodded. He had carried out many missions with the other five disciples before, so he was quite familiar with the missions within the Beggars' Sect. Generally speaking, the missions undertaken by the Beggars' Sect were divided into two types: those inside the city and those outside the city.

The tasks within the city were mostly quite simple, such as accepting commissions from brothels or large work areas, sending disciples to guard their territory, or helping to deliver items to nearby counties. To Yang Pan, these delivery tasks were somewhat like food delivery in later times, but in this era, they were simply errands.

In fact, there are quite a few, if not many, people in various cities who run errands.

However, regardless of the mission, generally speaking, missions within the city are simple and safe, and correspondingly, they don't offer much contribution. Only missions outside the city offer contributions.

"Yes, Senior Brother Yang, take a look. These are all the missions recorded outside the city in the last few days." The Beggar Clan disciple inside the counter opened the booklet recording the missions and handed it to Yang Pan for review.

Looking down, Yang Pan noticed that there were indeed more mission records than before. Most of them were official orders to eliminate mountain bandits or individual notorious bandits in the martial arts world. Such missions were not only kept within the Beggars' Sect, but also by other gangs in the city.

Yang Pan glanced over the tasks for a moment, then continued browsing and finally settled on the last one.

"Qingliu Trading Company has commissioned the escort of a batch of goods to Xiangyang. The escort must be at least a third-rate martial artist." This is a newly registered task. The ink on it is not yet completely dry. Due to the previous pressing of the paper, the handwriting is now somewhat blurred.

Escorting a caravan to Xiangyang?

Yang Pan looked somewhat surprised. He had just heard about Xiangyang and Guo Jing that morning and was thinking about going to Xiangyang to obtain the gall of the Bodhi snake. He didn't expect to see a mission to go to Xiangyang in the afternoon. It was quite a coincidence.

So, should I accept it...?

The task was assigned to the Qingliu Trading Company, which Yang Pan knew somewhat about. It was a trading company that mainly operated in several prefectures in Jiangnan, dealing primarily in jade, porcelain, and grain.

The goods transported by the merchant guild were generally of high value. To ensure the safe arrival of the goods and to deal with bandits along the way, the guild would hire local martial arts masters to escort them on each trip, which was not unusual.

Jiaxing is far from Xiangyang, and the merchants must have hired many martial arts practitioners to transport their goods, so the dangers along the way can be largely eliminated.

Moreover, if one can accept this mission and go to Xiangyang, one might be able to directly condense internal energy by relying on the Pusiqu snake gall bladder Yang Pan outside the city. When one returns to Jiaxing, one will be a five-bag disciple, and at that time one can directly choose a more profound internal energy cultivation method.

After pondering for a moment, Yang Pan asked the Beggars' Sect disciple before him, "Are there many senior brothers who have taken on this mission?"

"Senior Brother Zhang accepted it as well. If you, Senior Brother Yang, also want to accept it, you need to inform the Hall Master."

The Beggars' Sect disciple reminded him. He didn't try to dissuade Yang Pan. Although the mission required at least a third-rate martial artist, the news of Yang Pan killing a third-rate martial artist a few days ago hadn't completely subsided yet. Therefore, the disciple had no doubt about Yang Pan's strength.

Nodding, Yang Pan registered here and then headed to the branch council hall.

At this moment, inside the branch hall's council chamber, Wang Yue sat on a grand chair, with all the five-bag disciples seated on either side of him. When Yang Pan stepped into the council chamber, he saw this scene and also sensed the somewhat solemn atmosphere within.

"Yang Pan is here. Find a seat." Wang Yue's serious face relaxed slightly upon seeing Yang Pan. The other five-bag disciples around him also looked at Yang Pan with friendly eyes, after all, no one would have any ill feelings towards a fellow disciple who was both strong and wealthy.

Nodding, Yang Pan found a seat. The atmosphere in the council hall was serious, obviously there was something important going on. Compared to that, his mission could be postponed.

"Master, now that the female demon is about to return to Jiaxing, should we make some preparations?" After a moment of silence in the council hall, a disciple with five bags spoke up and asked.

Yang Pan turned to look at the man. He recognized the five-bag disciple; he remembered that the man's surname was Lei, and that the man had participated in the bandit suppression operation outside the city six months ago. However, he wasn't familiar with the man, but he was curious about the female demon the man had mentioned.

Who is the female demon?

Yang Pan was puzzled, but his expression remained unchanged as he listened quietly to the discussion.

"What are you preparing for? Even if that she-devil is strong, can she wipe out another entire family? Three years ago, when she destroyed the Lu Family Manor, it already aroused suspicion from all sides in the city. If she makes any further moves, it will trigger a united attack from all the gangs!"

Wang Yue's voice was firm, but his face still showed great fear, clearly indicating that he was somewhat afraid of the female demon he was talking about.

Hearing their conversation, Yang Pan already knew who the female demon they were talking about was.

There are many large and small Jianghu gangs in Jiaxing City, but if we talk about power, the Beggars' Gang is undoubtedly number one.

However, when it comes to strength, all the gangs in Jiaxing City are actually tacitly ignoring one place: the Crimson Cloud Manor founded by the Crimson Fairy Li Mochou.

Although there is a branch of the Beggars' Sect in Jiaxing City, and the leader of that branch is a top-notch expert in the martial arts world, he is still slightly lacking when facing Li Mochou.

After all, Li Mochou single-handedly wiped out the entire Lu Family Manor three years ago, and even defeated Wu Santong, a disciple of Emperor Yideng of the South. Her strength was already among the top masters below the Five Greats in the martial arts world. Now, three years later, her strength has probably increased.

Yang Pan was surprised that the other party would actually return to Jiaxing. After all, according to the original trajectory, the other party should have been mainly near Zhongnan Mountain, trying every means to get the Jade Maiden Heart Sutra from Xiaolongnu. Why would they think of leaving now?

Then, thinking of the other party's ruthless, capricious, and murderous methods, Yang Pan felt uneasy.

If Li Mochou really returns to Jiaxing, Yang Pan is afraid that he might run into her one day when she's in a bad mood and kill him with a single blow.

"Since I've taken on the mission of escorting the caravan, why don't I stay in Xiangyang for a while?"

While Yang Pan was pondering this, the discussion in the council hall had concluded, and the five-bag disciples on either side had taken their leave. After everyone had left, Yang Pan rose and bowed to Wang Yue, saying:

"Master, I have taken on the task of transporting goods for the Green Willow Trading Company, and I have come to report to you."

"Oh? The commission that Boss Jin issued? I remember it was to go to Xiangyang. But that's fine, your strength is no worse than that of an ordinary third-rate martial artist. This time, after returning from Xiangyang, you can become a five-bag disciple based on your contributions." Wang Yue smiled, he was very optimistic about Yang Pan's potential.

He was still thinking that after Yang Pan returned this time and became a five-bag disciple, he should be able to officially become a third-rate martial artist soon after practicing the internal energy cultivation method. At that time, he would have another powerful helper under his command.

Yang Pan was delighted to see the other party readily agree. However, considering he wanted to avoid Li Mochou, Yang Pan made an excuse that he needed to stay in Xiangyang for a while longer. Wang Yue didn't object to this; Yang Pan didn't have any urgent mission here anyway, and Xiangyang was currently the front line against the Mongols, so it was normal for his return to be delayed due to the war.