All the gods began by cultivating the Iron Shirt technique.

Yang Pan only remembered that Guo Jing had led a heroes' gathering at Lu Family Village in Dasheng Pass, but that was two or three years later. How come the other party had also held a gathering in the city during this period?

Although he had doubts, Yang Pan knew that the many events in his memory were only fragments. In this real world, the other party was not a robot and could not possibly act according to the description in the book.

However, the purpose of the Heroes' Gathering was to select a leader of the martial arts world to lead the heroes in resisting the Mongols. Perhaps there are other deeper meanings behind this martial arts competition.

"Shopkeeper, when will this martial arts tournament begin?"

"Two days from now, at the training ground in the north of the city, all martial artists are welcome to go and watch the battle."

Having learned the start time and location of the gathering, Yang Pan let the innkeeper leave. While waiting for the food and drinks to be served, Yang Pan wondered whether he should also join in the fun.

According to the shopkeeper, anyone who wants to watch the martial arts competition can go up on stage and try their luck.

Since developing his internal energy, Yang Pan had never fought anyone and didn't know how his current strength fared in the martial arts world. He knew, of course, that he was still at the bottom of the martial arts hierarchy, but he still wanted to spar with someone to prove himself.

Besides, it's not a life-or-death battle; if we can't win, we can just admit defeat.

With this in mind, Yang Pan had already made his decision.

After waiting for about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the food and drinks he ordered were slowly served.

Although there were no chili peppers in this era, there was actually a fairly complete range of seasonings available.

The food here has everything: salty, sweet, sour, spicy, and fragrant. He himself isn't someone who can't live without spicy food, so he quite likes the dishes here.

Yang Pan was enjoying a meal on the second floor, unaware that the atmosphere on the first floor had once again become tense.

Still at the same window seat on the first floor, the two youths who had mocked Yang Pan earlier were now standing up, swords in hand.

Opposite these two stood a young man and a middle-aged man, but compared to the two young men in brocade robes, these two were rather inferior in appearance.

The two men, one wielding a knife and the other a Wu hook, were dressed in ordinary, close-fitting clothes, with animal skins wrapped around their waists, making them look more like hunters from the mountains.

At this moment, the middle-aged man wielding the Wu hook roared angrily at the handsome young man:

"You pretty boy, you've been eating too much shit, look how arrogant you are!"

The handsome young man, upon hearing this, remained unperturbed and retorted:

"I certainly won't eat shit, but I wonder which remote mountain village you came from, a hunter, and you dare call yourself a hero here!"

The two exchanged verbal sparring, and gradually their companions joined in.

The innkeeper at the counter was sweating profusely with anxiety. He hadn't expected that after escaping Brother Yang's ordeal, he would face a second one. Was his inn destined to be smashed up today?

The shopkeeper's gaze fell on the handsome young man arguing, his eyes filled with hatred.

This damn young man, I don't know if he has some grudge against the word "hero" or what, the two hunters were dressed together, but the young man with the knife arrived first. When the middle-aged man with the Wu hook arrived, the young man with the knife called out "hero", which unexpectedly provoked the handsome young man to mock him.

This middle-aged man with the Wu hook had a fiery temper. Provoked by someone's words, he immediately started arguing with the other party, which led to the confrontation at the beginning.

Bang!

"Pretty boy, I'll tear your mouth apart!"

Suddenly, the middle-aged man seemed to have lost his composure after being scolded. He roared and, with a collision of his sword and hook, sent sparks flying. He lunged at the handsome young man.

The handsome young man had been on guard against the other party. When he saw the other party attacking, he hooked his foot, and the long bench behind him whistled and crashed into the other party.

Bang! Crash!

How could the wooden bench withstand the middle-aged man's hook? It was pulled in two by his hooks, which were crossed, and fell to the ground. His momentum continued as he attacked the young man.

Clang!

Just as the hook was about to strike the young man, a sword rang out. The surrounding crowd saw a flash of sword light as the young man's longsword was drawn and blocked the middle-aged man's hook at just the right moment.

The middle-aged man, however, was experienced and shrewd. When Wu Gou was restrained, he flicked his right hand, and the hook handle sprang up and spun around the young man's longsword, striking him on the head.

"Haha, this pretty boy's hand-to-hand combat skills aren't good!"

The middle-aged man, having succeeded in his move, laughed heartily as he bent his right knee, preparing to strike the young man in the abdomen.

His kick was extremely vicious; the moment he raised his knee, his inner strength was already channeled into his right leg. If the impact landed, the young man would surely cough up blood, which would serve as a lesson for him.

But just as he had planned, the young man's companion did not let him have his way. Just as his knee was about to hit the young man's abdomen, a sword tip suddenly flicked towards his knee, intending to cripple him outright!

"You despicable scoundrel, die!"

The middle-aged man also had a companion. Just as the sword tip was about to touch his knee, the young man with the knife had already slashed at the young man who had drawn the sword. Faced with this situation, the young man who had drawn the sword could only parry with his own sword.

when!

The sound of metal clashing reverberated, and it was the threat posed by the young man wielding the sword that caused Wu Gou, the middle-aged man, to slow his movements, allowing the handsome young man to retreat.

In an instant, the group clashed together, the sounds of weapons clashing echoing everywhere, and tables, chairs, and benches were smashed to pieces in the collision.

"What a commotion! Why are they fighting?"

By this time, the rest of the people on the first floor had already retreated to the outside of the inn to watch, and the stairwell on the second floor was also crowded with people. Yang Pan stood in the crowd; he was tall and large, and managed to find a spot to watch.

Seeing the miserable state of the lobby on the first floor, he was filled with doubt.

However, when Yang Pan saw that one of the two sides fighting was the young man who had mocked him earlier, and that the young man didn't seem to have gained any advantage, Yang Pan raised an eyebrow and felt a little smug.

Despite his secret satisfaction, Yang Pan's gaze remained primarily fixed on the moment the group clashed.

This was the first time he had ever seen martial artists with internal energy fighting at such close range. The reason he was sure that they were all martial artists with internal energy was that the aftershocks emitted when their weapons clashed always caused their hair and sleeves to swing violently.

That's a sight that only occurs when internal energy is transmitted into weapons and they collide, causing the internal energy to radiate outwards.

"I wonder how many meridians these people have opened. They don't seem very strong."

As Yang Pan watched the battle, he pondered in his heart, because by now the others should have been giving it their all, but Yang Pan could still clearly catch their movements.

Although the others all used their techniques quite skillfully, Yang Pan secretly compared them and vaguely felt that he was probably no worse than any of them.

The battle was gradually coming to an end. Tables and chairs in the hall were scattered all over the floor. The shopkeeper, hiding under the counter, was utterly despondent, wondering how much money he would have to pay after these plagues left.

"Junior brother, sword formation!"

Suddenly, a shout rang out from the fighting crowd. The two sword-wielding youths made a feint and then withdrew from the battlefield. Under the puzzled gazes of the crowd, the two youths stood back to back, their long swords pointing forward, the cold tips locked onto the two hunters dressed as martial artists.

"Stop pretending! Get down on your knees!"

The young man with the knife and the middle-aged man with the hook exchanged a glance. They had already gained the upper hand in the previous battle, and now they naturally wanted to press their advantage.

However, when they rushed in front of the two youths, their expressions changed drastically.

The two youths thrust their longswords out again, but just as the sword tips were about to strike them, the two swords multiplied into four, then four into eight... In an instant, the two longswords transformed into a forest of swords that enveloped the two attackers.

Clang!

In an instant, the sounds of weapons clashing and colliding became even more piercing and rapid, and the two martial arts practitioners dressed as hunters felt a sense of foreboding.

They felt as if they were facing not just two people, but four or eight.

The force from the longsword opposite grew stronger with each collision, and it was continuous.

Stab it!

Finally, after another flash of sword light, the air seemed to be torn apart by lightning, and the two martial arts practitioners dressed as hunters screamed and flew backward.

Bang!Bang!

Two consecutive thuds signaled the complete end of the battle.

After glancing at the two martial artists who had fallen to the ground and were screaming in agony, Yang Pan refocused his gaze on the two sword-wielding youths and thought to himself: The martial world is vast, and indeed, one should not underestimate anyone.

After mentally simulating the situation, Yang Pan felt that he was no weaker than the four people, and even stronger. He never expected that the two sword-wielding youths would have such a trump card as a sword formation.

If he were facing the combined sword strikes of the two, Yang Pan figured that even if he used his full power of the Gale Blade Technique, he could probably only manage to escape unscathed.

As expected, none of those who venture into the martial world are simple characters; they all possess one or two hidden tricks. However, in Yang Pan's view, these two martial artists disguised as hunters had only themselves to blame.

He had already discerned the advantage the two had gained during the earlier fight, and if he had gone all out then, he could have easily defeated the two sword-wielding youths. However, the two seemed to be toying with him, which gave his opponent the opportunity to turn the tables.

Yang Pan was secretly reminded of this, and that in the future, when fighting with others, he must go all out from the very beginning and not give the opponent a chance to reveal their trump cards and counterattack!

The battle ended there, and the onlookers, seeing that there was no more excitement to watch, gradually dispersed, but naturally, they couldn't help but comment on the battle.

The two martial arts practitioners dressed as hunters were injured, but not fatally. After all, this was Xiangyang City, and with Master Guo in charge, no one would dare to kill anyone in the city. However, the martial arts competition two days later was out of the question.

After everyone had left, Yang Pan prepared to leave the inn.

Looking at the shopkeeper's utterly dejected expression, Yang Pan secretly shook his head. This was the nature of the martial world; when martial artists fought, it often affected ordinary people.

Within the city, things are better; these people are more cautious and will at least stop short of causing serious harm. However, in more remote areas, if they encounter a fight between martial arts practitioners, ordinary people are more likely to be caught in the crossfire and die.

"Shopkeeper, if you report this to the Beggars' Sect now, they might be able to help you recover some of your losses," Yang Pan suggested, thinking that he and the shopkeeper were acquaintances.

Although there are soldiers patrolling the city, they are no match for ordinary soldiers dealing with martial artists. Therefore, Beggar Clan disciples have been maintaining order in the city these days to prevent martial artists from causing trouble. In the fight just now, if the Beggar Clan had intervened, they could have helped the other side recover some compensation.

Upon hearing this, the shopkeeper realized what was happening and thanked Yang Pan repeatedly before abandoning the dilapidated shop and running towards the branch headquarters.