All the gods began by cultivating the Iron Shirt technique.

After leaving the inn, Yang Pan continued to walk around the city. There were many martial arts practitioners in the city, and many of them had just left the Xiangfeng Inn. Occasionally, as he passed by, he could hear a few people talking about the battle that had just taken place in the inn.

Yang Pan was also recalling the battle scene in his mind, but he mainly recalled the sword formation formed by the last two people.

Sword formations, something somewhat similar to Taoist Qimen formations, unexpectedly became so powerful when integrated into martial arts.

In Yang Pan's memory, there were many similar sword formations in this world. For example, the Jade Maiden Heart Sutra Sword Technique of the Ancient Tomb Sect was a combination of the Jade Maiden Sword Technique and the All-Suppressing Sword Technique.

There's also the Heavenly Dipper Sword Formation of the Quanzhen Sect's own lineage, and the Yin-Yang Reversal Blade Technique of the Valley of Heartbreak; the combination of swords and sabers likely also contains the wonders of formations.

In short, if one were to delve deeper, the number of powerful individuals in this period might not have been as large as in the Tianlong era, but there were certainly many extraordinary skills and techniques. However, although he was impressed by the power of the formations, he was ultimately only curious and had no intention of studying them in depth.

After all, any formation relies on the combined strength of many people. Whether it's the Big Dipper Formation or the Jade Maiden's Heart Formation, they all depend too much on the cooperation of others. Once the formation is broken, its power immediately drops to its lowest point. Rather than pursuing such external forces, Yang Pan prefers to enhance his personal strength.

Only when one is stronger will there be fewer external constraints, and even when faced with conspiracies and tricks, one can charge ahead recklessly and without restraint.

Of course, these are all Yang Pan's plans for his future path. At present, being at the bottom of the martial arts world, he still prioritizes caution.

......

Although Xiangyang City is not as grand as Jiaxing, it still has nine main streets and thirty-six market districts. Xiangyang City was usually quite lively, not to mention that due to the martial arts tournament in two days, even more martial artists have recently flocked to the city, and now the market districts are teeming with people.

Yang Pan wandered around the area several times, and during that time he also passed by the drill ground in the north of the city.

Unfortunately, since the martial arts tournament wouldn't start for another two days, the training ground was still closed to the city's residents, so Yang Pan naturally couldn't visit the fighting arena in advance.

After wandering around for a while, Yang Pan returned along Liuhong Ward. This ward was close to Xingsheng Temple in the city, and because the temple was solemn, the ward was relatively quiet.

"Oh dear, it's all your fault for walking so slowly, I missed a great show." A girl's voice, tinged with anger, drifted from afar.

"Sister Fu, fighting is forbidden in the city, and the martial arts tournament is in two days. There will be plenty of exciting shows then, so it's no big deal to miss this one."

"Yes, yes, Fu-mei, don't be angry."

Yang Pan looked in the direction of the sound and saw two young men in brocade robes surrounding a girl in a red dress at the end of the market road, their faces showing a fawning expression.

At such a young age, he has already grasped the essence of Boiling Sheep.

"Is it them?" Yang Pan's eyes lit up with realization as he watched the three figures getting closer.

Although he had never seen the two boys before, the girl in the red dress in the middle was none other than Guo Fu, whom he had met once at the Xiangfeng Inn. Since she was Guo Fu, it was obvious that the two boys surrounding her were the Wu brothers.

Although he recognized the three, Yang Pan had no intention of going to talk to them. After all, the age difference was too great. Even without considering his actual age, he looked to be about twenty-five or twenty-six, several years younger than Guo Jing.

The oldest of the three boys and girls was only thirteen or fourteen years old, and Yang Pan didn't think he would have anything in common with them.

However, he didn't want to pay attention to them, but Guo Fu recognized him the moment they passed each other.

"Big guy, it's you." The familiar tone made Yang Pan freeze for a moment, but thankfully this time the word "dark" wasn't added, which made Yang Pan feel much better.

When someone called out to him, Yang Pan looked at the girl in front of him and smiled, saying, "So it's Miss Guo. I didn't expect to meet you here. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Watching Yang Pan and Guo Fu talk, the Wu brothers quickly sized up Yang Pan, exchanged a knowing glance, and then clasped their hands in unison to greet him.

"My name is Wu Xiuwen (Wu Dunru). I have met this senior."

Yang Pan was taken aback by the two boys' formal greeting, but he instinctively returned the greeting with clasped hands. He wondered to himself, were these Wu brothers really that humble?

Little did he know that when people in the martial arts world judge an opponent's strength, they first look at their demeanor.

Yang Pan's physique was already hard to ignore, not to mention now that he was wearing a black silk outfit and had become even more composed after cultivating his internal strength. Just by looking at his appearance, people would think that he was an extraordinary person.

Just like how Qiu Qianzhang impersonated his brother Qiu Qianren and fooled most of the martial arts world back then, Qiu Qianren's reputation certainly played a part, but if Qiu Qianzhang hadn't had a similar masterly demeanor to Qiu Qianren, he probably wouldn't have been able to deceive everyone.

Of course, martial artists are naturally combative, and this kind of appearance has both advantages and disadvantages. For example, when he was mocked at the inn, besides the title of "great hero," it was probably also because of his appearance, which resembled that of a master.

In short, the Wu brothers called Yang Pan "senior," clearly because they were intimidated by his appearance.

Guo Fu's beautiful eyes also scanned Yang Pan, and she felt that this tall man was indeed very different from before, appearing to be a master. Her eyes darted around, and she said:

"Hey big guy, are you going to participate in the martial arts tournament in two days?"

Yang Pan felt he had nothing to say to the teenagers and just wanted to end the conversation quickly and leave, so he replied perfunctorily:

"We'll see, maybe I'll participate."

Upon hearing this, Guo Fu recalled the questions she had asked Grandpa Ke after returning home that day, and kindly reminded him:

"Grandpa Ke said you're new to the martial arts world, so your skills probably aren't very good yet. If you're going to participate in the competition, you'd better be careful not to run into any experts."

Yang Pan naturally understood the girl's good intentions, but his eyelids still twitched a few times. "Don't be so blunt, girl," he thought, "it's easy to offend people by speaking so directly."

Having his strength questioned, Yang Pan completely lost the will to continue the conversation. He quickly said goodbye to the three young men and women and left, then went straight back to his courtyard to cultivate.

After Yang Pan left, the two Wu brothers asked Guo Fu about Yang Pan's identity. Upon learning that Yang Pan was also a newcomer to the martial arts world, they felt they had been taken advantage of and had called him "senior" for nothing.

......

Two days passed quickly. As usual, Yang Pan would spend his days searching for the Pusiqu Snake in the mountains outside the city. However, perhaps because he had already caught most of the snakes in the outer areas, Yang Pan had not caught anything in the past two days.

Without the help of snake gall, Yang Pan could clearly sense that the speed at which his internal energy was condensing had slowed down.

Yang Pan remained unperturbed. Since the outer edges of this vast mountain range were already narrowing, he would simply continue venturing deeper. In any case, his strength was now several times greater than it had been half a month ago, so he wasn't afraid of any dangers along the way.

However, today was the start of the martial arts tournament, and Yang Pan was prepared to prove his strength there. So after breakfast, he set off for the training ground in the north of the city.

After Yang Pan entered the training ground, he found that there were already many martial arts practitioners there. At the outermost edge of the training ground, there was a group of soldiers wearing lamellar armor and holding long spears.

The drill ground was originally used for soldiers' daily training. Now it was just a borrowed venue for a competition, and these soldiers were obviously assigned here to manage order today.

In the center of the training ground is a platform about five meters square, where martial artists will compete. In front of the arena is another platform three to five meters above the ground, with several seats already set up for Master Guo and the city's prefect to watch.

There was still half an hour before the start of the conference. Yang Pan stood in the middle of the crowd, silently assessing the strength of the people around him.

It is difficult to judge the strength of a martial artist by appearance alone. For example, if he had not revealed his inner strength at the Xiangfeng Inn, Ke Zhen'e would not have known how strong his inner strength was.

Even so, the other party only judged him as a novice based on his internal strength. Little did they know that Yang Pan possessed exceptional physical strength and had already killed third-rate martial artists before even reaching the third-rate level. His true strength could not be judged by the strength of his internal energy.

However, after learning the martial arts experience from his senior brother Zhang, Yang Pan wanted to use the Beggars' Sect's intelligence network to understand the martial arts forces. So, in the past half month, he has gained some understanding of the characteristics of the martial arts techniques of some well-known sects in the martial arts world.

Just as Yang Pan was secretly judging the martial arts skills of the people around him by their appearance and behavior, more and more people entered the training ground and gradually formed a circle around the arena as if by unspoken agreement.

Unbeknownst to many, numerous figures had already appeared on the high platform. The person in the lead, dressed in purple official robes, was none other than Lu Wende, the prefect of the city. Behind him were the other officials of the city, and a little further away on either side sat two middle-aged men and women in brocade robes.

When these two appeared, the crowd of martial arts practitioners below the stage instantly became restless.

"It's Master Guo! It's Master Guo!"

"That lady next to her must be Chief Huang, known as the Female Zhuge Liang. She truly is remarkable!"

......

"So those are Guo Jing and Huang Rong?"

Listening to the discussions around him, Yang Pan stared intently at the two men and women in brocade robes on the stage, and for a moment he was also somewhat confused.

The man was tall and imposing, his face exuding an undeniable air of authority. The woman was exceptionally beautiful, her movements graceful and poised, displaying the grace and charm of a chivalrous heroine.

Yang Pan felt as if he had met a legendary figure he had long admired, and his heart was filled with an indescribable joy.

"Gentlemen, gentlemen!" Guo Jing stood up and walked to the edge of the platform. He raised his hands high, and with just two shouts, he silenced the restless martial arts practitioners below.

"I am deeply grateful to Prefect Lü for personally overseeing the event, and to all the civil and military officials and heroes from all directions for attending. At this time, with the enemy eyeing our city with hostility, the safety of Xiangyang rests on the shoulders of the nation. Today's martial arts gathering aims to bring together heroes from across the land to demonstrate their strength in defending the city. The focus is not on fighting, but on mutual exchange. I hope everyone will display their talents and unite through martial arts!"

"Well then, without further ado, let the martial arts tournament begin immediately!"

As Guo Jing finished speaking, the crowd below the stage remained silent for a moment before erupting into even louder cheers.

The crowd spun, their gazes flickering with uncertainty as they faced the central dueling platform. Yang Pan, squeezed in the middle of the crowd, wondered what the strength of the first person to step onto the platform would be.