All the gods began by cultivating the Iron Shirt technique.

Judging from his appearance and attire, he was the shopkeeper who sat at the counter during the day. Hearing the noise outside the door, the shopkeeper hesitated and struggled for a moment. Suddenly, he puffed out his teeth and tiptoed to the door, gently removing the latch.

With a soft creak, several young men in hemp clothing carrying swords slipped in through the crack in the two wooden doors.

"Manager Yan, you're a bit slow today. What's wrong? After cooperating for so many days, are you still hesitant to take action?" The young man in the lead, with an ordinary face but a rather ferocious-looking gap between his lips, spoke to the manager.

Ignoring the young man's taunts, Manager Yan gently closed the wooden door but did not bolt it. He then turned to the young man and said coldly:

"The same rules apply. You can take the people upstairs' belongings, but you can't kill them. Otherwise, my inn will go out of business, and you can forget about collecting any more fees."

"Hehe, we brothers can tell the difference between being full at one meal and being full at another. Actually, Manager Yan, why are you so worried? These guys are just wandering people from all over the country, and they don't stay in this county. There's no need to worry about being exposed."

As Li Laosan spoke, he directed several of his men to head upstairs, while he waited downstairs to provide backup, in case anything went wrong and any of them escaped.

Manager Yan didn't reply. He watched the group of people going up to the guest rooms on the second floor. Although he had done this kind of thing countless times, he still couldn't help but feel uneasy.

These people were all members of the Black Stone Gang in the county. Of the six streets and eight wards in Jingu County, the Black Stone Gang occupied two streets and two wards. The people in the county who made a living in the Black Stone Gang's territory had to pay a monthly fee to the gang. Manager Yan's inn was located within the Black Stone Gang's territory.

The small amount of tax collected was originally nothing to Manager Yan's inn. However, starting a few months ago, the Black Stone Gang suddenly increased the tax collected from the people. This increase immediately forced many vendors to close their businesses, and some people, dissatisfied, even appealed to the county magistrate.

But it was no use. Without exception, all the rebellious people disappeared the next day, and the county government remained completely silent.

The increased fees at Manager Yan's Inn have led to a significant drop in business, and with even more fees to be paid each month, the inn is almost on the verge of collapse.

Later, it was Li Laosan of the Black Stone Gang who took the initiative to approach him, asking him to cooperate in making money from the traveling martial arts world, so that he could reduce the amount of money he had to pay. Although Manager Yan was unwilling, he eventually agreed in order to keep the inn running.

"Nothing tough has come up these past few days, has it?"

Li Laosan casually sat down on the table and asked. These days, most people who roam the martial arts world have some skills, and he didn't want to provoke any tough guys.

Manager Yan pondered for a moment and reminded him, "A martial arts expert has arrived today. Judging from his imposing presence and the way he carries a sword, he is likely a skilled martial artist."

Li Laosan laughed and said, "Hey, what kind of expert can you, an innkeeper, distinguish? But who cares about his background? With Sanmeng San here, even Guo Jing would have to fall down."

The two chatted downstairs. On the second-floor corridor, the Black Stone Gang members moved stealthily, listening intently for a moment each time they passed a guest room. Only after confirming that there was no noise inside would they push open the door and approach the person sleeping on the bed.

He held the bamboo tube filled with the dream-dispelling powder to the person's mouth and nose and blew it out. In no time, the person's head tilted to the side, and with even heavier breathing, he fell into a deep sleep.

In the guest room, Yang Pan stopped circulating his internal energy, opened his eyes, and a cold glint flashed in them.

I never expected to encounter a shady shop on my very first step into this world. What bad luck!

However, Yang Pan was not flustered. Judging from the commotion next door, these people were probably afraid of making a scene and getting into trouble. It seemed that they were not experts. In that case, he would stretch his muscles tonight.

In the corridor, a member of the Black Stone Gang emerged from a guest room again, waved to several people behind him who were already carrying large and small bags, and the others quietly entered the room to begin searching.

They've done this kind of thing dozens of times before, and they even have a clear division of labor among themselves: who will sneak into the room to put out the sleeping pills and who will collect the valuables.

Seeing his companions begin searching, the gang member who had administered the drug continued towards the next room. Following the same method, he first listened and observed at the door, and only after confirming that there was nothing unusual behind the door did he slowly push the door open and enter.

But when the person arrived at the bed in the guest room, their pupils contracted, because there was no one on the bed at that moment.

How could that be? According to the plan, each of the guest rooms that had been occupied was marked, and it was by following these marks that they were able to accurately store valuables.

But this room was clearly marked, so why is no one here? Could it be that Old Man Yan made a mistake?

"Looking for me?" Suddenly, a voice rang out from behind.

The sound was so sudden that in an instant, the hairs on the Black Stone Gang members stood on end. They felt a sense of foreboding and their bodies twisted rapidly as they raised the bamboo tube filled with Dream-Dispelling Powder and blew it behind them.

Instantly, the white powder turned into a white mist that enveloped them.

The Black Stone gang member's eyebrows arched, and a smug, maniacal laugh spread across his face beneath his mask. This Dream-Dispelling Powder was so potent it could instantly incapacitate two large oxen, let alone a single person.

However, after the white fog persisted for a while, no sound of a person falling to the ground was heard.

Just as the group was wondering what was going on, a large hand suddenly emerged from the darkness, blocking their view. The hand moved extremely fast, and the strong wind it generated scattered the remaining powder in all directions.

In a flash, he grabbed the Black Stone gang member by the neck and lifted him up like a chick.

Goooo!

With his neck gripped, his trachea and blood vessels felt as if they were blocked, and the Black Stone Gang member felt suffocated. Even the veins on his forehead throbbed instantly due to blood stasis, but his eyes still showed disbelief.

"Despicable tactics."

Yang Pan frowned slightly, but he could guess what the powder the other party had blown out was. These people searched through the rooms without making a sound, presumably because of this powder. Fortunately, he was immune to all poisons and was not affected.

Meanwhile, in the inn's corridor, several other people who had been looting had already come out of their rooms.

However, after waiting for a while, the brother who had administered the sleeping potion still didn't appear. Suspicious, the group exchanged glances. One of them quickly left and went downstairs, while the others drew their swords and knives and approached the guest room ahead step by step.

On the first floor, Li Laosan saw a brother running down from the second floor. Just as he was about to ask what had happened, a noise suddenly came from upstairs.

Bang!

The wooden door to the guest room was smashed, and amidst the flying splinters, a figure flew backward like a tattered sack, crashing into the crowd in the corridor. Several people tumbled backward like gourds, and in an instant, screams and the sounds of bodies colliding filled the air.

Immediately afterwards, a burly figure stepped out of the guest room.

"It's him!" Manager Yan downstairs exclaimed in surprise the moment he saw Yang Pan walk out.

Li Laosan turned his head and growled, "Old Man Yan, you know him? Why didn't you say so earlier if there was a master among them!"

Li Laosan roared in fury. He had thought that taking the money tonight was a sure thing, but he never expected it to go wrong. And to make matters worse, this old man Yan hadn't even informed him beforehand that a powerful expert was staying at his inn—he deserved to die!

He didn't realize that Manager Yan had already warned him at the beginning, but Li Laosan was so convinced of the potency of the medicine that he hadn't taken it seriously.

However, despite the unexpected turn of events, Li Laosan forced himself to remain calm, clasped his hands in a fist and said to the upstairs, "Brother, tonight we were blind to your greatness and provoked you. Look, my brother has been injured by you. How about we each take a step back and pretend nothing happened?"

As he finished speaking, Li Laosan gradually calmed down. Scenes like tonight weren't uncommon in their dozens of previous operations, but they had always managed to defuse them. Some were sensible enough to back down, while others were stubborn fools, whom the Black Stone Gang ultimately dealt with.

Now, it remains to be seen whether the man upstairs is a smart man or a fool.

Yang Pan glanced down at the person speaking downstairs, then turned and continued walking down the corridor.

A compromise? Ridiculous!

If he were just an ordinary person, wouldn't he have to accept it tonight? Moreover, these people are all carrying knives and swords; it's not hard to imagine that if anyone dares to resist, these guys will definitely kill them mercilessly.

Having just gained considerable strength during this period, Yang Pan wanted to test his abilities against this group. Although he often sparred with Yu Dongshan in Xiangyang City, Yu Dongshan was far too strong for Yang Pan to handle.

After playing too many high-level matches, Yang Pan was starting to lose confidence in his own abilities. Now, playing some low-level matches can help him relax.

Seeing that Yang Pan ignored him, Li Laosan's forehead veins bulged, clearly indicating that the other party was prepared to act like a fool.

Damn it, after causing such a commotion tonight, I'm afraid 90% of my money will be confiscated when I get back. It's all that damned idiot's fault!

Thinking this, Li Laosan roared, "All of you, attack! Kill him!"

Apart from the Black Stone Gang member who had been thrown out at the beginning, everyone else in the corridor had stood up again. Upon hearing Li Laosan's words, the group exchanged glances, then brandished their weapons and swarmed towards Yang Pan.

Crunch!

Seeing the large, dark group of people rushing towards him, Yang Pan reached out and ripped down the wooden door of the nearby guest room. At this moment, his physical strength combined with his internal energy was nearly a thousand pounds, and the wooden door was used as a shield in his hand to block in front of him.

Yang Pan bowed slightly, then pushed off the wooden door with both legs and rammed into the crowd.

Bang!

Like a bowling ball hitting a home run, two or three of the seven or eight Black Stone gang members were immediately sent flying by Yang Pan's impact, while the rest were also knocked off balance by the impact.

Yang Pan threw down the wooden door and clenched his fist, piercing through the chest of the nearest person.

Click!

The fist landed on the man's chest, instantly breaking bones and piercing his lungs. The man died while still flying backward in the air.

With a single punch, Yang Pan continued his relentless barrage of blows. He moved like a black bear through the crowd, charging left and right. The weapons of those around him couldn't even reach him; they were quickly and brutally crushed by Yang Pan's fists.