All the gods began by cultivating the Iron Shirt technique.

As the leader of the heroes in the city, Guo Jing was naturally followed by the martial arts practitioners who came to help him.

Although the enemy was powerful and always led from the front when resisting the Mongols, they were overly lenient and even yielding towards the officials in the city.

In many instances, if Guo Jing had simply adopted a more assertive attitude, given his demonstrated strength and prestige, he could have mobilized the city's resources and resistance forces more quickly in the fight against the Mongols.

However, the other side always prioritized the prefect's orders, which, though unspoken by the martial artists in the city, was met with some discontent. Yu Dongshan was one of them; in his view, the prefect and his officials were utterly incompetent and useless.

When the Mongols attack, these guys will only hide in the rear and pray; it's the martial artists and soldiers who are truly fighting on the front lines. Instead of handing over power in the city to these officials, it's better to directly demonstrate our strength and let these officials be mere puppets.

Fortunately, yesterday's martial arts tournament was an opportunity for these martial artists to show off to these officials. Otherwise, Yu Dongshan, who usually disliked these people, would never have participated in such a grand competition to put on a show for those officials.

"To be honest, Brother Yu, I am also a member of the Beggars' Sect. Before coming here, I heard some information about you within the Beggars' Sect. That's when I learned that you were actually a member of the Iron Palm Clan in the past." Yang Pan slowly revealed the information he knew.

Upon hearing Yang Pan reveal his identity, Yu Dongshan was initially surprised, but after hearing that he was a disciple of the Beggars' Sect, Yu Dongshan, knowing the Beggars' Sect's vast intelligence network, understood.

Recalling that the Iron Palm Gang was once a powerful force in Jiangnan, and then thinking that the gang had long since disappeared from the martial arts world, a look of melancholy appeared on his face.

"Back in the day, my Iron Palm Clan was once glorious, resisting the Jurchens under the leadership of Chief Shangguan. Our disciples were considered righteous heroes by the martial arts world. It's just a pity that after Chief Qiu took power, he went astray and actually helped the Jurchens!"

Although I was an elder in the gang at the time, I was ultimately unable to dissuade the gang leader and could only watch him go his own way.

After his death, the remaining elders and I wanted to revive the gang's reputation, but we ultimately disagreed and had to leave in anger. Now, more than ten years have passed, and the Iron Palm Gang has long since disappeared from the martial arts world, utterly forgotten.

A long sigh escaped Yu Dongshan's lips. Looking at his dejected expression, it was easy to imagine that he still harbored many regrets about the demise of the Iron Palm Gang.

However, Yang Pan hadn't expected that the other party was once an elder of the Iron Palm Clan. But the profound skill the other party displayed yesterday, as well as the fierce palm technique that withstood the poisonous palm, did match the other party's identity.

Although Iron Palm Skill is the signature martial art of the Iron Palm Clan, it is not like the Beggar Clan's Dog-Beating Stick Technique, which is restricted to only the clan leader.

On the contrary, like the Eighteen Subduing Dragon Palms, any disciple within the sect can practice it. The only difference is the level of proficiency of the technique taught, depending on the disciple's status.

The Beggars' Sect's Eighteen Subduing Dragon Palms can only be practiced by a hall master at the very least, and Yu Dongshan, as a former elder of the Iron Palm Clan, must have a very deep understanding of the Iron Palm Technique.

With a thousand thoughts swirling in his mind, Yang Pan said, "Although the Iron Palm Gang has disbanded, there must still be quite a few members. Why did Brother Yu come to Xiangyang alone?"

Yang Pan knew that the Iron Palm Gang members had either died or scattered over the past ten years, and the only one still wandering the martial arts world whose identity could be confirmed was Wan Yanping.

Yang Pan thought that if the other party was still looking for former disciples or descendants of the Beggars' Sect, he would repay them with this information. Wanyan Ping had been plotting to assassinate Yelü Chucai to avenge her parents for years, and had likely been keeping her whereabouts secret; even the Beggars' Sect probably didn't know anything about her.

Fortunately, Yu Dongshan's next words relieved Yang Pan: "Over the years, I have also investigated the whereabouts of those brothers. It's a pity that when the Jin Kingdom was destroyed, my Iron Palm Gang was implicated and suffered heavy casualties. Even if some of them are still alive, they must have long since gone into hiding."

Yu Dongshan was also filled with regret. He had left in anger, but hadn't taken a single brother with him. Now that the Iron Palm Gang had been destroyed, and its disciples could no longer be found, how could this not be a regret?

Yang Pan stood up and went to Yu Dongshan's side, saying, "Brother Yu, you've misunderstood."

"What do you mean?" Yu Dongshan looked at Yang Pan with a puzzled expression.

"On my way to Xiangyang, I encountered a young girl and saw her use her palm techniques. Although she only had a rudimentary understanding of them, the overall style was quite similar to your palm technique yesterday, Brother Yu. That girl is the reincarnation of Wanyan, so I think she might be connected to the Iron Palm Clan."

Yang Pan slowly revealed the existence of Wanyan Ping, and as for how they met, Yu Dongshan probably wouldn't care.

"Brother Yang, is what you say true? The surname Wanyan... Yes, back then, one of the leaders of our gang was a member of the Jin royal family. Since that young girl knows our gang's palm techniques and has the surname Wanyan, she must undoubtedly be a descendant of a disciple of our Iron Palm Gang!"

Yu Dongshan was overjoyed. He compared the information Yang Pan gave him with his own memories and became more and more convinced that what Yang Pan said was true. The girl was indeed a descendant of the Iron Palm Clan.

Now that the Iron Palm Clan has completely disappeared, in the vast martial arts world, he is like a forgotten ghost. How could Yu Dongshan not be lonely?

Even though he had many grievances against the Jin Dynasty, the Jin Dynasty had already perished. Now, upon hearing that there were still fellow disciples, he was extremely happy, regardless of their identities.

He even longed to set off immediately to find her, but the thought of the important task entrusted to him by Guo Jing made it impossible for him to leave. Furthermore, bringing the girl over would mean facing constant Mongol invasions, making Xiangyang far from safe.

Yu Dongshan looked at Yang Pan and said sincerely, "Brother Yang, I'd like to ask you a favor. I wonder if you can agree?"

"Brother Yu, please speak. I will do my best to help if it is within my power." Yang Pan's heart stirred, and he could roughly guess what the other party was thinking.

Yu Dongshan said, "I am currently unable to leave. Brother Yang, if you ever encounter that Wanyan girl again while traveling the world, could you please help take care of her? In that case, I will owe you a favor."

To this, Yang Pan waved his hand and said, "What are you talking about? If it weren't for you, Brother Yu, I wouldn't be alive to be here talking to you today. If we meet again in the martial world, I will never forget your request, Brother Yu!"

"Good! Hahaha, thank you very much, Brother Yang." Yu Dongshan was even more delighted to receive Yang Pan's promise.

Seemingly relieved of a worry, Yu Dongshan continued chatting with Yang Pan for a long time. During the conversation, he even promised Yang Pan that if he were still in Xiangyang, he could seek his guidance on his cultivation path in the future.

Yang Pan was naturally delighted by this.

In the path of cultivation, if one has a renowned teacher to guide them, the speed of progress is far greater than that of someone exploring alone.

Although Yang Pan had also sought out disciples from the branch to teach him cultivation techniques during this period, those people were far inferior to Yu Dongshan.

Yang Pan had originally decided to stay in Xiangyang for quite some time, and would only leave when the gall bladder of the Bodhi snake no longer had any effect on him.

If he could seek Yu Dongshan's guidance on martial arts techniques during this period, his cultivation level would likely be significantly different by the time he leaves Xiangyang and enters the martial world.

The two chatted non-stop until lunchtime, and Yang Pan finally said goodbye to Yu Dongshan and left in the afternoon.

After the martial arts competition ended, Yang Pan's life in Xiangyang returned to normal, with his days mainly focused on cultivation. As for his internal injuries, with the help of the Bodhi snake gall, he fully recovered in just one week.

......

Time flies like a galloping horse, and years pass like falling petals on flowing water. It's proven that time flies when someone is fully engaged in something.

Inside Xiangyang City, three months have passed since the martial arts competition.

In an ordinary courtyard with green walls in the north of the city, two tall figures were engaged in a fierce battle.

Whoosh!

As the air currents surged forth, one of them spread his five fingers wide, his palm extending out like a fan towards the opposite side. It was clearly just an ordinary palm strike, yet it contained immense power capable of easily splitting stone tablets and shattering rocks.

Facing the restrained palm strike, the man opposite him gleamed with a sharp light in his eyes. He flicked his wrist, and a dazzling blade of light, like a bolt of lightning, poured towards his opponent.

The sharp blade collided with the ordinary palm, and a dull thud resounded between the two. As their robes fluttered, the figure holding the blade staggered back three steps, leaving several shallow footprints on the ground before finally coming to a steady stop.

"Excellent! Brother Yang has made remarkable progress in the past three months!" Yu Dongshan exclaimed, noticing that Yang Pan's breathing remained steady even after he stopped moving.

Yang Pan sheathed his sword and stood there, feeling the internal energy in his dantian that was much stronger than it had been three months ago, and a smile appeared on his lips.

Three months is neither a long nor a short time, but for Yang Pan, who possesses such a rare treasure as the gallbladder of the Bodhi snake, three months is enough time for his strength to increase like a rocket.

In terms of internal strength, Yang Pan has now fully opened up four meridians: the Foot Jueyin Liver Meridian and the Foot Shaoyin Kidney Meridian.

These two meridians correspond exactly to the positions of the legs. After opening these two meridians, even if Yang Pan has not yet cultivated movement techniques, he can easily take a step of two or three zhang after infusing his internal energy into his legs.

Moreover, through these two meridians, internal energy flows through the liver and kidneys.

The liver belongs to the element of wood. Nourishing the liver with internal energy can increase the body's self-healing ability. The kidneys are the foundation of essence. After being nourished by internal energy, Yang Pan felt that his energy was much stronger than it was three months ago, and his physical strength also seemed to have increased a lot.

Secondly, in terms of swordsmanship, after three months of diligent practice, Yang Pan's Gale Sword Technique can now unleash ninety-nine variations in an instant, and now it truly has the feel of a whirlwind when he uses it.

However, swordsmanship is different from internal energy. While accumulating internal energy is a gradual process, it can still grow rapidly in a short period of time with the help of external aids.

Besides diligent practice, swordsmanship, a martial art, also requires comprehension.

According to Yu Dongshan, to master any martial arts technique, one must comprehend it to the point of subtlety. If one can achieve this subtlety, the martial arts will become extraordinary, and even a fraction of force can unleash the power of tenfold force.

But Yu Dongshan didn't know exactly what constituted "entering the subtle realm," because his Iron Palm skill hadn't reached a high level either.

After three months of sparring and guidance, Yang Pan had a complete understanding of Yu Dongshan's strength. Just as he had guessed, Yu Dongshan was indeed a first-rate expert.

Yang Pan originally thought that although there were masters like the Five Greats in this era, there shouldn't be too many first-rate martial artists. But he didn't expect to see more than one first-rate master in just one martial arts competition in Xiangyang City.

However, this does not mean that top-notch martial artists are common. On the contrary, every top-notch martial artist is definitely a pillar of the sect.

Moreover, even among top-tier martial artists, there are different levels and grades.

A martial artist in the martial arts world who has mastered all twelve meridians is considered a top-tier second-rate martial artist.

At that time, if a martial artist continues to cultivate, they will need to open up the eight extraordinary meridians. If any one of the eight meridians is opened, the total amount of internal energy will increase by at least 30% compared to when the twelve regular meridians are opened. At that time, they will be considered a first-class martial artist.