All the gods began by cultivating the Iron Shirt technique.

The sun sets over which peak in the southwest? A thousand miles of broken bridge are stained with the last traces of crimson.

About a hundred miles west of Xiangyang lies a county town called Jingu County. It was already late afternoon, and the setting sun was gradually disappearing into the mountains and sea. The last rays of sunlight stubbornly shone on the city walls, casting long shadows.

The soldiers stationed on both sides of the city gate, holding long spears, looked listless at the people coming and going, and were too lazy to even step forward to check their identities.

They were just ordinary civilians, what could they possibly do after entering the city? If the other side could turn the world upside down, then it was not something these ordinary soldiers could stop them.

Besides, the gate will be closing in half an hour. It's too much trouble to talk to them. Wouldn't it be better to finish my last shift and go home to my wife, kids, and a warm bed?

Da da da!

Suddenly, the sound of horses' hooves approached from afar. The rapid sound attracted the attention of many people at the city gate. Looking back, they saw dust billowing dozens of meters away, and a horse carrying a person was galloping towards the county town.

The soldiers guarding the city exchanged glances as the rider approached the city gate, unsure whether to intervene. As the man and horse drew closer, they could clearly see the rider's features.

He was a burly man with a long sword on his back; he was clearly a江湖人 (jianghu person, a person of the martial arts world).

These days, which martial arts master who dares to travel alone doesn't possess martial arts skills?

Moreover, judging from the man's dusty and travel-worn appearance as he galloped along, he had clearly traveled a considerable distance. It was said that a band of bandits roamed the mountain road east of Jingu County; if this man came from there, they, as soldiers, could not possibly stop him.

As the Chinese characters were about to reach the city gate, the soldiers remained focused on their own thoughts, making no attempt to stop him. Even the civilians queuing to enter the city dispersed, making way for the man to enter.

Unexpectedly, the man suddenly pulled on the reins five meters outside the city. The horse neighed in pain, its front hooves rising high as if to throw the man off. But it didn't work for a moment, and then its hooves slammed back onto the ground with a loud snort.

Yang Pan dismounted and looked at the county town he had finally arrived in before dark, and finally breathed a sigh of relief.

He took the reins and walked into the county, amidst the fearful gazes of the surrounding people and the deliberate disregard of the soldiers at the gate.

Although it was getting dark, the streets of the county were not deserted; in fact, there were more pedestrians than during the day. Because it was summer, the daytime temperature was high, and most people stayed indoors to cool off. Only when the temperature dropped at night were they willing to come out and walk on the streets.

Yang Pan was tall and imposing, and the fact that he was leading a horse from outside the city made him quite conspicuous in everyone's eyes.

Leading his horse along the street, Yang Pan's eyes darted back and forth between the shops on both sides. It was already late, and he couldn't travel under the cover of night; he needed to find an inn in the city to rest for the night before continuing his journey the next day.

After leaving Xiangyang City during the day, Yang Pan rode his horse at a slow pace. Jinzhou was a thousand miles away from Xiangyang, and it wouldn't be a short time to get there. He could take advantage of the journey to slowly refine the pills he had taken in the city.

The pill refined by Huang Rong was extremely potent, and he was unable to convert it all into internal energy in just two days.

However, during the refining process, he overlooked the distance between cities. By the time he realized it, it was already getting late, and he was still riding on a mountain road with no village or shop in sight. Yang Pan didn't want to feed mosquitoes by the roadside at night, so he spurred his horse and galloped at full speed, finally arriving at Jingu County before the city gates closed, which led to the scene at the beginning.

They led their horses slowly until they reached Yangpan in the center of the county town, where they chose a decent-looking inn and entered.

The waiter was quick-witted. Seeing Yang Pan walking towards the inn, he went to meet him from afar and led the horse to the stable in the backyard as Yang Pan had instructed.

"Sir... please come in. Are you here for a meal or to stay the night?"

As Yang Pan entered the inn, another waiter immediately came to greet him. The waiter had originally intended to call him "guest," but upon seeing Yang Pan's imposing physique and the long knife he was carrying, he quickly changed his mind.

Noticing the change in how the waiter was addressed, Yang Pan didn't bother to correct it.

So be it, a chivalrous hero. Once you enter the martial world, you can't avoid fighting and strife. If anyone can't stand it, let them come find me. If I can beat them, Yang Pan will show no mercy; if I can't, I'll just run for my life.

"I'd like to stay at the hotel. First, give me two plates of braised pork and red-braised pork, and then a few plates of stir-fried vegetables."

Yang Pan followed the waiter's directions and sat down at a table. He then named the dishes he wanted to eat and waited for the waiter to leave.

After practicing martial arts, Yang Pan's appetite increased significantly, especially after he mastered external physical training and began cultivating internal energy. Martial artists refine the essence of the human body to cultivate internal energy; to steadily increase internal energy without harming the body, consuming large amounts of food is unavoidable.

However, Yang Pan is now able to cultivate with the help of pills, so his appetite is not very large and he only needs to eat normally every day.

While waiting, Yang Pan listened to the conversations of the diners around him.

In this era of limited entertainment, those seeking information, whether江湖人士 (jianghu figures, martial arts practitioners) or ordinary people, relied on official announcements or frequent exchanges in crowded places like inns or brothels. However, due to the inconvenient transportation, news was often received much slower than expected.

For example, Yang Pan was listening to the conversation between the two people next to him. The two men wore blue cloth headscarves, brown short shirts, and hemp leggings, and looked travel-worn. Yang Pan had seen many people dressed similarly in Xiangyang City and knew that the two men were traveling merchants.

"I heard that half a month ago, the Divine Fist Sect in Gucheng County was defeated by the Red Scorpion Gang in the county. The old sect leader was said to have been killed on the spot, and only the eldest disciple escaped."

"The Divine Fist Sect has disbanded? What a pity. I visited Gucheng County two years ago, and the old sect leader was still in good health then. And what about the Red Scorpion Gang? Is it some major gang in the martial arts world?"

"What big gang? It's just a bunch of thugs in the county who've learned a few kung fu tricks, bullying the old sect leader because he's old and frail. It's only because the disciples of the Divine Fist Sect are dying out, otherwise how could they be bullied by a bunch of thugs?"

......

Listening to their conversation, Yang Pan recalled the intelligence he had seen at the Beggars' Sect branch before setting off. It had happened half a month ago, but judging from their expressions, they seemed to have only recently learned of it.

Yang Pan remembered that the first person to step onto the stage at the martial arts tournament was from the Divine Fist Sect, and the sect leader was known as "Divine Fist Shakes All Directions." He never imagined that the sect would be destroyed by a few thugs; it seemed the old sect leader's strength couldn't live up to the name.

However, Yang Pan didn't feel much about this. During his two years in Jiaxing, Yang Pan had already understood the essence of this martial arts world, which was full of grudges and affections that were hard to unravel.

Today, the Divine Fist Sect has been shattered. Perhaps one day, the escaped eldest disciple will have the opportunity to take revenge and rebuild the Divine Fist Sect.

Thinking this, the food he ordered arrived.

Yang Pan ate and drank fruit wine while listening to the various news being discussed by more and more diners.

After finishing his meal, Yang Pan went upstairs to the second-floor room where the waiter had prepared for him.

Closing the door to block out the noise from downstairs, Yang Pan sat cross-legged on the bed, circulating his internal energy. Now that the four main meridians of his limbs had been fully expanded, his plan was to open the fifth meridian, the Stomach Meridian of Foot Yangming.

This meridian runs through the area below the eyes, face, neck, chest, and abdomen. Although the meridian does not circulate in the limbs, Yang Pan chose to expand this meridian because it passes through the stomach.

The stomach is responsible for digestion. Whether a person in the martial arts world eats a meal or ingests various rare and precious herbs, the food inevitably ends up in their stomach. If the stomach has a strong enough digestive capacity, it can break down the food or rare and precious herbs more quickly, turning them into energy that the body can absorb, thereby further accelerating the condensation of internal energy.

Once this path is properly opened, it will undoubtedly enhance Yang Pan's digestive abilities, greatly aiding his future cultivation.

The internal energy in the dantian flowed rapidly through the four already expanded meridians, but when it entered the Stomach Meridian of Foot Yangming, the flow suddenly slowed down. It was as if a galloping horse on the road had its reins pulled, turning from a run into a slow walk.

This is a necessary process for expanding the meridians. Internal energy flows through them, washing them back and forth repeatedly. As the internal energy is consumed, it will stretch the meridians to both sides again and again until the meridians no longer shrink back and the internal energy flows freely within them. This is when the expansion is complete.

Yang Pan was immersed in cultivation, ignoring the noise outside. Time passed slowly until the night was deep and the moon was high in the sky, and the inn fell into complete silence.

It was already past midnight, and the streets of the county were deserted. The once bustling inns had been cleaned up and the wooden doors were firmly shut from the inside to prevent anyone from disturbing them.

Knock knock knock!

A rhythmic knocking sound, one short and one long, rang out outside the inn. The sound was muffled and faint, but it seemed extremely abrupt in the quiet inn.

As the knocking sounded, the curtain leading directly to the innkeeper's room in the back courtyard was lifted, and a figure walked out.