All the gods began by cultivating the Iron Shirt technique.

"There's no use thinking too much. Let me see how effective this hard qigong really is." Yang Pan suppressed all his thoughts and tried to circulate his internal energy according to the hard qigong method.

This method of channeling internal energy is not difficult, nor does it require the circulation of energy through the meridians like other internal energy cultivation techniques. It can be said that any martial artist who has cultivated internal energy can channel it through the meridians and then permeate it into the flesh and bones.

The only difficulty lies in the degree of control over internal energy.

Yang Pan was about to open the fifth meridian, and his internal energy was still sufficient. At this time, he was very careful when circulating the energy, because according to the instructions, if he became distracted during the circulation, it would be very easy for his internal energy to surge violently and injure himself.

Whoosh~

Like a flowing stream, Yang Pan circulated his internal energy to the meridians of his right hand, which then flowed through his shoulder, elbow, and wrist, finally converging in his palm.

At this moment, Yang Pan focused his mind and, following the method, slowly dispersed the fluctuating internal energy within him, like mist or clouds, the internal energy gradually seeping into the bones and muscles of his palm.

As if performing an extremely delicate surgery, Yang Pan dared not breathe too hard. It wasn't until after the time it takes to drink a cup of tea that a slight smile finally appeared on Yang Pan's lips.

"It's done!"

His gaze was lowered, and he stared intently at the right hand resting on his knee. At this moment, the hand appeared normal, but when Yang Pan clenched his fingers...

Squeak squeak~

The friction between the fingers and palms produced a dull sound like the rubbing of old cowhide. At the same time, Yang Pan felt that there was not much tactile sensation when his fingers collided, as if he were wearing a leather glove that isolated him from the collision and friction of external objects.

"The hardness has indeed increased a lot, it feels like I'm kneading wood or stone." Yang Pan crossed his hands and exerted force at the same time. His left hand could clearly feel that his right hand was harder and thicker under the filling of internal force.

This shows that hard qigong can indeed enhance physical defense as described. However, at the same time, Yang Pan also felt that his already limited internal energy was being consumed at an extremely terrifying rate. At this rate, Yang Pan estimated that he could only maintain this state for a maximum of ten breaths, or half a minute. Once the time was up, his internal energy would be unable to continue, and the strength of the muscles in his palms would drop back to its original state.

Moreover, this duration is only under the condition of not being attacked; once attacked, the rate of internal energy consumption will accelerate.

"At present, this hard qigong can only be used as an emergency life-saving measure, and it cannot be easily used in ordinary combat."

Dispersing the internal energy filling his palms, Yang Pan sighed inwardly. He was somewhat disappointed that the hard qigong wasn't the kind of external, hard-body training he'd imagined; however, it was still a good option as a life-saving trump card.

With his current internal energy level, he still cannot easily unleash it. He also needs to practice diligently to improve the speed at which his internal energy fills his flesh and blood, striving to achieve the same instantaneous movement as the internal energy cultivation method, so that it can be applied in actual combat.

"We've been staying in Jingu County for a day and a night. Since it's still early, let's set off as soon as possible." Yang Pan got up and went to the window of his room. Looking at the pedestrians on the street below, he had the idea of ​​leaving.

With the Black Tiger Gang's stronghold destroyed, the remaining scattered members are no match for them. It's inevitable that the Black Tiger Gang's territory will be taken over by the other two gangs in the future. As for the remaining two gangs and the county government, they will probably be much more peaceful in the short term. This can be considered as Yang Pan's indirect help to the people of the county.

Leaving the guest room and arriving at the lobby on the first floor, Yang Pan found that the inn was temporarily closed for renovations, so there was no sign of the waiter. When he went to the horse pen in the backyard, he saw a woman tending to the horses.

"What are you doing here?" Yang Pan asked in surprise.

"Hero." Upon hearing the voice, the woman turned around instinctively, a hint of nervousness on her beautiful face. "I noticed this manger was a bit empty, and I was worried the horse was hungry, so I came to add some feed for it."

Yang Pan strolled over to the manger and patted the horse's head. The horse shook its head and snorted, seemingly annoyed that Yang Pan had disturbed its meal.

"What are your plans for the future?" Now that the Black Stone Gang's stronghold has been destroyed, this woman with an infant will have a hard time surviving in this world if she has nowhere to stay.

Hearing this, a hint of sadness flashed in the woman's eyes as she said, "Although Chu Ying forcibly took me away, he still left my father's clothing shop behind. Now the land deed for that shop is still in my hands, and I want to go back to the shop in the future to continue running it for my father."

Upon hearing this, Yang Pan gave the woman a meaningful look. The fact that she had kept the shop's land deed hidden on her person suggested she had planned this all along; it seemed that in her eyes, the destruction of the Black Stone Gang was only a matter of time.

However, Yang Pan did not intend to investigate further. Since the other party had somewhere to go, it would save him the trouble of helping again. After all, he was the one who brought him out of the Black Stone Gang. It would be inappropriate to leave without settling him in properly.

But now that the other party has found a way to make a living, Yang Pan breathed a sigh of relief.

He immediately led the horse out, greeted Manager Yan, and to the manager's surprise, Yang Pan took out twenty taels of silver ingots from his bundle and threw them to him.

"Consider this money as my expenses for food, drink, and lodging over the past two days. Please accept it."

Manager Yan waved his hands repeatedly, pushing out the silver in his hand, saying, "How can this be? Lodging and food don't cost that much. Besides, you've rid us of a scourge, and you haven't even punished this old man for his mistakes. How can I possibly take more money from you?"

Seeing the other party's refusal, Yang Pan leaped onto his horse, a hint of impatience on his face, and said, "Alright, enough nonsense. Consider this compensation for the damage I caused to your inn. However, if I find you stealing again when I pass through Jingu County in the future, don't blame me for being ruthless."

Having said that, he ignored the other person, flicked the reins, and the horse neighed and trotted off towards the city gate. Behind him, at the entrance of the inn, two figures watched as the man and horse gradually disappeared from sight.

......

Jinzhou is located in the Qinling Mountains, where there are very few official roads and mostly rugged mountain paths. Merchants and pedestrians usually travel in groups of three or five to ensure their safety, helping and looking after each other.

At this moment, a caravan was traveling along the mountain path. The path was probably frequently trodden by people, as it was only about two people wide. The middle of the path exposed the yellow earth without any weeds, while the sides were covered with unknown plants, which attracted many mosquitoes in the hot weather.

"Hurry up, everyone. This damn weather is so stuffy I can hardly breathe. I reckon it's going to rain heavily soon, and we need to get to Jiuyuan County before then."

The caravan leader glanced at the sky. The clouds, which had been drifting with the wind, now seemed nailed to the ground, thick and low, as if they were about to collapse, creating a heavy atmosphere. Years of trading experience told him that this was a sign that rain was imminent.

He urged the others behind him to quicken their pace, but despite their best efforts, the mountain path was too rugged, and the carriage got stuck in potholes several times, delaying their journey. As dusk approached and rumbling thunder echoed from the clouds on the horizon, the group still hadn't made it out of the mountain path.

"Wei, it looks like it's going to rain. Why don't we spend the night on the mountain and set off again tomorrow? I've traveled this mountain path before. There's a local temple not far ahead where we can rest," suggested one of the caravan members who had traveled this mountain path.

Wei Hong wiped the sweat from his forehead, glanced at the increasingly heavy dark clouds in the sky, and could only nod in agreement despite his eagerness.

The mountain roads are already rugged at night, and if it rains, the roads become slippery and even more difficult to travel. Forcing your way through could even be life-threatening.

Having made their decision, the caravan temporarily changed course and headed down a side path beside the mountain road. After some time, a small earth god temple appeared at the end of the path. Although the temple was dilapidated and old, with half of its wooden door broken, it was still a place they could spend the night.

Wei Hong took the lead and headed towards the earth god temple. Upon entering, he found that it wasn't as cobweb-covered and dusty as he had imagined. Although the ground was littered with various items, it was easy to tidy up and find a place to stand.

However, when his gaze fell upon the dilapidated statue in the center of the earth god temple, he was stunned for a moment. There, on the offering table where the offerings had been placed, lay a beggar. If it weren't for the slight undulation of the beggar's body as he lay on his side, Wei Hong would have suspected that the beggar had died on it.

In those days, the Song and Mongol wars were incessant, especially in the Qinling Mountains, which were the border area between the Song and Mongol territories. Every time the Mongols marched south, many people would be displaced. This beggar might be a member of the Beggars' Sect, or he might be one of the refugees. Wei Hong didn't pay too much attention to him, as long as they kept to themselves tonight.

They walked out of the temple and called the caravan members inside. Together, they cleaned up a clean spot in a corner of the temple and then gathered some dry grass outside to spread on the ground before it rained.

After a flurry of activity, by the time the flames were lit, the sky outside the temple had completely darkened. The rumbling thunder in the sky sounded like giants taking steps as they approached from afar, and streaks of silver-white lightning danced and intertwined like dragons and snakes, signaling that a torrential downpour was imminent.

Da da da!

Just then, the sound of rapid hoofbeats rang out in the ears of everyone inside the temple.

"Someone's coming!"

Wei Hong murmured, his gaze peering through the broken window out of the temple. In the flickering flashes of lightning, he could vaguely see a man and a horse galloping toward the earth god temple.

Outside the temple, Yang Pan whipped the reins, almost wanting to pin the dead horse to the ground and beat it senseless.

After leaving Jingu County, Yang Pan found himself gradually leaving the plains and entering the mountains, with rugged and difficult mountain paths all along the way. However, these were not a problem for him; the key was his horse.

It was just an ordinary riding horse that he had bought for twenty taels of silver, yet it was quite delicate. Whenever it encountered a steep mountain path, it would stop and not move forward, and Yang Pan had to dismount and pull it along to get it onto the mountain path.

If it weren't for the dead horse delaying him, Yang Pan had originally estimated that he could have reached Jiuyuan County before dark. Now, however, he was stuck on the mountain road. Luckily, he found a local temple; otherwise, he might have had to spend the night in the rain.