Having studied for a hundred years, why do you call me the Martial Saint?

Pei Shi'an broke out in a cold sweat, immediately knelt on one knee, clasped his hands in a fist and said:

"I will never forget my adoptive father's kindness in giving me a second chance at life!"

His entanglement with Yan Zhenjiang is too deep. Putting aside the debt of gratitude for his upbringing, the Dahe Gang was involved behind the scenes in all those arrests and major cases he solved.

Meanwhile, he used his position to suppress the rivals of the Dahe Gang, and when necessary, used his official status to legitimize the Dahe Gang's activities.

This constable is anything but clean.

Yan Zhenjiang did not let him stand up, but instead stood with his hands behind his back, quietly gazing into the distance.

"Don't forget, if others find out about the business we've been doing, we're both just pawns that can be discarded."

The court was corrupt and the people were suffering. In the heart of the Central Plains, displaced people rose up in rebellion, calling themselves the Tianshun Army. They gathered hundreds of thousands of people, swept through seven prefectures and twenty-eight counties, and advanced with unstoppable momentum, shaking the court and the country.

The feudal lords, acting on the orders of the Great Yan Emperor, were tasked with suppressing the rebels, and the lord of Wancheng was among them.

Yan Zhenjiang, on the surface, ran docks and warehouses, but secretly, he used the merchant ships of the Dahe Gang to disguise batches of weapons as farm tools, iron pots and other goods, and sold them at high prices to the Tianshun Army, which was in dire need of military equipment.

This alley is usually deserted and remote, and it happens to be next to a secret warehouse of the Big River Gang where such goods are stored.

coincidence?

Yan Zhenjiang did not believe it.

There aren't that many coincidences in the world.

This could be a warning, a test of suspicion, or even the prelude to extortion...

"Investigate this matter thoroughly."

Yan Zhenjiang spoke coldly.

"But don't alert them. Just handle it like a regular gang feud. Don't worry too much about appearances."

"But in private, you need to investigate thoroughly and find out who this Divine Halberd Hero is and what he wants to do."

Pei Shi'an lowered his head and said in a deep voice, "Your subordinate obeys."

Yan Zhenjiang stopped looking at him, turned around, and strode out of the alley, his black cloak quickly blending into the night.

……

It was 3:45 PM.

The training ground of the servants' quarters.

It was called a training ground, but it was just a patch of solid yellow earth with a few plum blossom stakes and a few stone locks lying around.

Practicing in a different place doesn't make much difference.

However, since the outer sect senior brothers give lectures here, it is a tacit understanding among the miscellaneous disciples to practice martial arts here on weekdays.

"Qi flows through Taichong, strength penetrates Qimen... Tap the gallbladder meridian in the morning, massage the liver meridian in the evening..."

While chanting the mental formula of Suishan Jin, Li Dashuan half-squatted on the ground, his body like a drawn bow, his back foot pushing off the ground to generate power, twisting his hips and waist, dropping his elbows and spiraling, which was exactly the Bengshan Zhuang stance skill recorded in the mental formula.

Beside him, Zhang Tieniu was practicing with stone weights in both hands, his face flushed and sweat pouring down his face. Wu Shuisheng, on the other hand, was more relaxed, simply stretching his muscles on the side.

"Sigh..." Zhang Tieniu put down the stone lock, panting heavily, and sighed.

"Shuxian hasn't come to see us anymore, and we rarely see him..."

"Heh, it's good that he's not contacting me. I'm afraid Senior Brother Zhao Kui will misunderstand," Li Dashuan sneered.

Seeing that the two were about to argue again, Wu Shuisheng quickly interjected:

"Speaking of which, should we ask Senior Brother Zhao how to practice the Suishan Strength? The weather is nice today, maybe Senior Brother Zhao is in a good mood."

Upon hearing this suggestion, the three exchanged glances, all somewhat tempted.

He then walked towards the east corner of the training ground.

The training ground is said to be where all the miscellaneous disciples practice, but it is subtly divided into two factions.

Most of the handyman disciples who had reached the Bone Forging stage gathered in the area to the east where there was more equipment.

As they approached, they saw Zhao Kui's tall figure standing under the locust tree, with Wang Biao talking to him beside him.

Suddenly.

Snapped!

With a sharp crack, Zhao Kui raised his hand and slapped Wang Biao across the face, sending him flying halfway around before he landed hard on his backside.

Wang Biao, however, showed no anger. Instead, he smiled apologetically and said something.

The three looked at each other, then turned around in unison and returned to their original positions.

It seems... Zhao Kui isn't in a very good mood.

Wang Biao was Zhao Kui's number one follower.

Zhao Kui usually only practices his skills and doesn't consider the daily quota for the firewood yard, so Wang Biao completes it for him.

Even Wang Biao's refusal to let anyone else take his job was something Zhao Kui tacitly approved of.

If Zhao Kui is this awful to Wang Biao today, he will only treat them worse.

They practiced for another half an hour.

The three of them stopped and sat down to rest for a while.

Suddenly a figure blocked my way.

Half of his face was swollen, yet he was arrogant and haughty—it was none other than Wang Biao!

He crossed his arms, glanced sideways, and looked down at Li Dashuan and the other two, saying:

"You guys, are you quite familiar with that kid surnamed Gu?"

Li Dashuan's throat went dry, and he subconsciously swallowed, saying:

"Irrelevant."

Wang Biao glanced around and saw that Zhang Tieniu and Wu Shuisheng were both looking down and dared not reply, so he laughed triumphantly.

After leaving behind a meaningful, cold laugh, he walked away with his hands behind his back.

……

As Zhao Kui's closest fellow villager, no one knew his cultivation progress better than Wang Biao.

In a few days at the earliest, or more than ten days at the latest, Zhao Kui will definitely enter the Inner Breath Realm.

Upon hearing this news, Wang Biao was not overjoyed.

Instead, they were filled with fear.

Zhao Kui's entry into the Inner Breath Realm means that he will leave Room 9 and move to the outer disciples' residence, making it difficult for him to have any further interaction with the servants' quarters.

Wang Biao, taking advantage of Zhao Kui's influence, offended countless people in the servants' quarters; he couldn't even remember how many.

Once Zhao Kui is gone, and without his biggest backer, only heaven knows what his life will be like.

Just now, he mustered up the courage to beg Zhao Kui to wait for him until he had achieved success in his cultivation before he could join the outer sect.

Before he could finish speaking, he was slapped.

He could only force a smile and slink away.

Wang Biao felt that things couldn't continue like this. After Zhao Kui left, he needed to have his own people and his own power base.

Even if we can't act like this anymore, at least we can't let people ride roughshod over us.

Who to look for?

He made a mental assessment.

Gu Shuxian.

The kid who came to room number 9, Jia, only half a month ago.

He's young and doesn't fit in. He used to hang out with Li Dashuan and his two friends, but now I don't know why they've fallen out.

Being alone is the easiest thing to handle.

Besides, what opinions can a teenager have?

Give him a few warnings first, let him know how powerful he is, then give him some incentives, and he'll be completely submissive!

Once you've recruited him as a follower, you can gradually win over the others.

As long as he has people under his control, Wang Biao can still have a say!

We need to get this done quickly while Zhao Kui is still around.

……

Meanwhile, in the old forests of Suishan.

"There's a trick to harvesting mountain produce... Mushrooms thrive best in semi-shaded, soft soil..."

"Take a closer look at the rotten wood, especially oak and linden..."

"Wild bamboo shoots are out of season now, but if you're lucky, you might still find a few..."

"Wild berries like hawthorn and wild grapes don't fetch a good price, so if you come across them, just eat them yourself..."

As Qian Le walked ahead, he shared his experience in picking mountain products with Gu Shuxian beside him.

Deng Shifan was also there, but he followed a little further behind and didn't say much.

Although they would pretend not to know each other when they were outside, they would meet up once they entered the woods and saw that no one was around.

"Let's go a little deeper this time, but not too deep. Be careful of wild animal droppings, footprints, or anything like that. If we stray into the territory of ferocious beasts, we'll be in trouble..."

Qian Le parted a side branch and said casually.

Gu Shuxian casually agreed, but his eyes were fixed on an inconspicuous little purple flower at his feet.

Focus intently.