I'm already invincible, and you're telling me I just logged in?

After Cui Dao's death.

The main force was delayed by the mountain road and had not yet arrived, and there was no one around to help.

Left with no other choice, Shen Shuangning had to let Xu Yan treat the injury on her back.

She swallowed a healing pill, sat down on the ground, took off her clothes, revealing a hideous knife wound on her back.

Noticing Xu Yan's clumsy movements, she couldn't help but let out a soft snort.

"Stop dawdling! Are you even a man?"

Upon hearing this, Xu Yan immediately poured out the medicine powder and carefully applied it to her wound.

The medicine powder was applied to the wound, and an excruciating pain instantly struck.

Shen Shuangning gritted her teeth and held back the slightest sound.

Just then, Xu Yan suddenly heard Shen Shuangning's icy voice.

"If you keep looking around like that, believe me, I'll gouge your eyes out!"

Xu Yan glanced at the strips of cloth on her back that had been cleaved by the long sword, then looked away.

The back is impossible to cover, no wonder it needs to be tied up.

Not long after, the first person to arrive was not Chen Xuan, but a yamen runner who was familiar with Xu Yan.

He saw three corpses lying on the ground, two of which he recognized, and was momentarily stunned.

After a while, Chen Xuan arrived in a hurry, covered in sweat.

Upon learning that Huang Gui had conspired with fugitives to ambush and kill Xu Yan in order to seek revenge, he was so angry that he was speechless.

But the person is already dead, so he can't just get angry at the corpse, can he?

Are you injured?

Chen Xuan's first concern was Xu Yan.

He glanced at Xu Yan and saw that although Xu Yan's clothes were torn, he had no injuries. He then turned to look at Shen Shuangning, who looked haggard.

"Senior brother, I'm fine. Let's go down the mountain first."

After returning to the city, Xu Yan reported the truth about Huang Gui and the other man's collusion with the fugitives to higher authorities.

The two families quickly severed ties, claiming that the two individuals acted on their own and had nothing to do with the martial arts school or clan. The authorities had no further evidence and could not continue the investigation, so they had to close the case, leaving the death case closed.

Of the three hundred taels of silver reward, Xu Yan gave half to Shen Shuangning, with the merits divided in a 70/30 ratio.

After escorting Shen Shuangning back to the inn and settling her in, Xu Yan returned home and saw that Dongfang Canghai was still in seclusion, so he did not disturb him and decided to continue staying at Chen Xuanwu's residence for the night.

During that time, he went to ask around.

They learned that Zhang Zhengze was the governor of Dingzhou Prefecture.

In this world, the prefectural governor wields immense power, even able to command the commanders, making him a highly influential figure in the region.

The fiefdom of Prince Rui was also Dingzhou.

Xu Yan decided not to use the secret document until he learned more about it.

Back at the martial arts school, Xu Yan began to tally up his gains from the trip.

Huang Gui and the other person did not carry any martial arts manuals with them; he only found a little silver.

As for the reward for killing Cui Dao, it is an internal martial arts technique and 500 experience points.

There is one more pill.

[Supreme Meridian Opening Pill]

[After consumption, increases character experience gain efficiency by 200% (lasts for 15 days); efficiency is halved for characters level 20 and above.]

As expected of a product from the system, it is always of the highest quality, and its effects are far superior to those of the pills sold in pharmacies.

We currently have five internal martial arts techniques, but we are still missing three.

[Internal Strength: Iron Mountain Strength]

[Learning]

[After learning, internal strength +50]

[Inner Skill Effect: Gain 2% External Defense and 5% External Damage Reduction (increases with Inner Skill level)]

No wonder Cui Dao was more resilient than the other two; it seems he had cultivated this internal energy technique.

After learning, Xu Yan opened the panel.

[ID: Xu Yan]

[Title: Unparalleled in the World]

[Level: LV17 (210/450)]

[Qi and Blood Value: 520/520 (+104)]

[Internal Force Value: 360/360 (+60)]

External Attack: 90 (+21)

[Internal Attack: 32 (+6)]

External Defense: 37 (+8)

[Internal Defense: 5 (+2)]

[Critical hit rate: 0%]

Block rate: 0%

【...】

External martial arts: "Wind-Splitting Saber", "Seven Injury Fist", "Breaking Mountains and Rivers (Fragment)" (2/300)

【内功武学：《破山河》（残）LV：1（2/300）、《铁山劲》LV：1（0/100）】

The defensive bonus provided by "Iron Mountain Strength" is barely worth mentioning.

However, the fact that internal energy could be superimposed by cultivating two external martial arts simultaneously was something Xu Yan hadn't expected.

Looking at his own panel, Xu Yan suddenly realized a problem.

Although he leveled up by grinding dungeons and eliminating evil spirits.

However, his proficiency in martial arts has remained almost stagnant.

It seems that after collecting all five internal skills, I'll need to spend some time properly upgrading the level of "Breaking Mountains and Rivers".

I wonder what changes will occur after the Earth-rank fist technique is upgraded to minor mastery.

Returning to reality, Xu Yan arrived outside the martial arts school.

"Breaking the Mountains and Rivers" is different from "Iron Mountain Strength".

It is necessary to combine external martial arts training with simultaneous practice for greater efficiency.

Time flew by and the sun began to set.

Xu Yan slowly withdrew his fist and finished adjusting his breathing. He opened the panel and took a look, and was immediately taken aback.

External martial arts: "Wind-Splitting Saber", "Seven Injury Fist", "Breaking Mountains and Rivers (Fragment)" (8/300)

【内功武学：《破山河》（残）LV：1（8/300）、《铁山劲》LV：1（0/100）】

In just two hours, the experience points of both external and internal skills of "Breaking Mountains and Rivers" increased by 6 points.

Most importantly, he did not use any elixirs to aid his cultivation throughout the entire process.

No wonder those from aristocratic families generally cultivate faster than those from lower classes.

Resources are one thing, but the difference in martial arts skills is the key.

"What kind of boxing style do you practice?" Shen Shuangning's voice came from the side, tinged with curiosity.

She stood with her arms crossed over her chest under the corridor of the martial arts school, seemingly having been observing for quite some time.

Shen Shuangning's complexion had improved considerably. Since she had nothing to do at the inn, she came to the martial arts school left by Chen Xuan to relax and watched Xu Yan practice his boxing for a full hour.

Xu Yan snapped out of his daze and rambled on, "Tai Chi."

"Tai Chi?" Shen Shuangning frowned, recalling the martial arts she had seen in her sect's books and the police station, but found that she had never heard of this style of boxing before.

Chen Xuan happened to walk out. He looked at Shen Shuangning and then at Xu Yan.

He waved to Xu Yan, "Xu Yan? You're done practicing your boxing? Why don't you grab something to eat here?"

Xu Yan responded with a nod and walked into the room.

Xiao Qi and many martial arts school disciples were inside.

It seems everyone was waiting for him.

There were plenty of meat dishes on the table, all made by Chen Xuan. They looked good, and the aroma wafted into the nose. Xu Yan felt his appetite was whetted at just one glance.

Those who practice martial arts need to eat meat to replenish their qi and blood so that they can progress faster.

However, most of these disciples came from poor families, and it was not easy for them to eat meat on a regular basis. All of these dishes were paid for by Chen Xuan himself.

He was all alone, with no ties to anyone, and had been unable to start a family due to an injury he sustained in his early years.

My biggest hope now is to train a disciple as outstanding as Xu Yan.

After dinner, feeling bored, Shen Shuangning casually asked Chen Xuan where the most lively places in Qing Shi Town were at night.

After hearing this, Chen Xuan turned his gaze to Xu Yan: "Xu Yan, you're familiar with the night market, why don't you take your junior sister for a stroll?"

Shen Shuangning instinctively wanted to refuse, but Chen Xuan insisted that Xu Yan lead the way.

Although he didn't know what exactly had happened between the two, he still hoped that this would help them ease the tension.

Besides, my junior sister is not young anymore.

Chen Xuan also had his own ideas.

Xu Yan took Xiao Qi and Shen Shuangning to stroll through the night market. It was still early, and there weren't many pedestrians on the street.

As soon as he entered the street, Xu Yan saw a familiar figure.

"Osmanthus cake, cloud cake, if it's not sweet, you don't have to pay!"

Bao Ting was still the same as always, carrying a wooden tray and shouting his wares on the street.

As soon as he turned around, he saw several people walking towards him.

Bao Ting's gaze fell on the strikingly beautiful Shen Shuangning, and he chuckled as he moved closer.

"Lord Xu, who is this gentleman?"

Before Xu Yan could explain, Bao Ting handed Shen Shuangning a piece of pastry, "Miss, it's freshly steamed, have a taste!"

Shen Shuangning took it and casually asked, "How much?"

Bao Ting waved his hand: "You're too kind, young lady. You're a friend of Lord Xu, why would you need money?"

Upon hearing this, Shen Shuangning glanced sideways at Xu Yan.

Fees and such are unavoidable in almost every region.

It seems that Xu Yan used to freeload a lot when he was a yamen runner.

"He never pays for his food?"