I have a martial arts panel.

afternoon.

Xu Ning returned to Taojiazhuang with the cut leopard pelt.

We walked to the outside of Taojiazhuang, but had not yet gotten close.

Xu Ning suddenly saw a group of people galloping out of Tao Family Village.

They were dressed in black armor and black clothes, with short swords and long knives at their waists.

From a distance, their movements were perfectly synchronized, and their warhorses moved at the same pace.

At first glance, it gives people a strong sense of oppression.

"These are... Black Armor Guards?"

Xu Ning looked puzzled.

When he accompanied Tao Yungang into the city to escort the carts last time, he had seen a group of black-armored guards.

Upon seeing him again, Xu Ning immediately recognized his identity.

"What are the Black-Armored Guards doing in Tao Family Village?"

The predecessor lived in Taojiazhuang for several years and never saw the Black Armor Guards come to his door.

"Has something big happened recently?"

Xu Ning pondered for a moment but couldn't come to any conclusion.

Soon, he arrived at the gate of Taojiazhuang.

There are guards from the manor patrolling and standing guard here.

"Xu Ning is back. What did she gain this time?"

As soon as Xu Ning walked over, a burly guard with a full beard greeted him with a smile.

Xu Ning left the manor and went into the mountains almost every other day, and had become familiar with the guards at the gate. In addition, the news of his assistance to Tao Yungang in defeating Zhan Sandao had spread, and more and more people in the manor had heard of and recognized him.

"I acquired a leopard skin."

Xu Ning replied with a smile, "It's just a pity that I shot a few holes in this leopard skin with my arrows, so its appearance is much worse."

"That's not bad either, much better than us standing guard."

The guard laughed loudly, his tone revealing envy for Xu Ning.

Most of the guards patrolling and standing guard in Taojiazhuang are ordinary people, with only a few having mastered both external and internal martial arts.

Their daily work mainly involves serving a vigilant role, so their income is relatively low.

"By the way, brother, I just saw a group of people coming out of the manor. They looked like the Black Armor Guards?"

Xu Ning inquired.

"That's right, it's the Black Armor Guards."

The guard said, "We were all startled when they arrived. We'd never seen Black Armor Guards come to our door before. They said they wanted to see the clan chief, so we didn't dare to be negligent. We informed them, and after receiving permission, we let them pass."

"What are the Black-Armored Guards doing in the manor?"

Xu Ning asked.

"I don't know about that..."

The guard shook his head, clearly unsure as well.

"Well……"

Upon hearing this, Xu Ning did not press the matter further.

After exchanging a few more casual words, Xu Ning went directly to the hunting shop in the village and sold the leopard skin.

……

Clan Elders' Hall.

At this time, there were nearly ten people sitting inside the hall.

They all looked quite old; the youngest even had half a head of silver hair.

Everyone exuded an aura of authority, clearly indicating they were all martial arts experts.

These people were the highest decision-makers in Taojiazhuang, the elders of the Tao clan.

"Is everyone here?"

The person sitting in the head seat was a sprightly old man.

Although it was early winter, he was still wearing a thin shirt, and the forearms peeking out from the cuffs showed obvious muscle contours.

He is Tao Jingxing, the current patriarch of Taojiazhuang.

"They're all here."

The elders sitting below sat upright, all their eyes fixed on Tao Jingxing.

"I've gathered you all here to inform you of something."

Tao Jingxing's voice wasn't loud, but it carried an imposing aura: "Just now, Xia Yuanxing, the Black Armor Guard Captain, came to the manor from Kangyun County and met with me."

"Xia Yuanxing, the Black-Armored Guard?"

Upon hearing this, some of the clan elders below were surprised, while others remained calm.

Clearly, some people already knew that the Black Armor Guards had been there, while others had not yet heard about it.

"Clan leader, what brings Xia Yuanxing here?"

The road leading to the entrance is Taojing Road.

He had previously bestowed upon Xu Ning and others the internal energy cultivation technique, the Spring Breeze Manual.

As soon as Tao Jinglu said this, everyone listened intently.

Although some clan elders knew that the Black Armor Guards had come, Xia Yuanxing only met with Tao Jingxing, and the specific content of their conversation has not yet been revealed.

Tao Jingxing did not answer immediately. He rubbed his fingers together, paused, and then said, "Xia Yuanxing said that the Black Armor Guards are going to select new recruits in my Tao Family Village."

Are they selecting new talent in Taojiazhuang?

"this……"

The elders were all taken aback when they heard this.

They exchanged a glance, then looked back at Tao Jingxing.

"Chieftain, the Black Armor Guards never recruit from our area, so why the sudden change of heart?"

The speaker was a bald old man with a white beard on his chin.

Upon hearing this, everyone followed the bald old man's lead and asked further questions.

After the fall of the previous dynasty, each prefecture fought its own battles, and there were conflicts between the prefectures, sects, and aristocratic families.

Finally, thirty years ago, the Yuansheng Sect rose rapidly, subdued the sects and families in Feiyun Prefecture, and became the true ruler of Feiyun Prefecture.

Subsequently, the Yuansheng Sect established the Black Armor Guard in Yunying City, the capital of the state, and dispatched them to various places in Feiyun State to control local jurisdiction through the military, thus becoming the de facto ruler.

During the thirty years that followed, the Black Armor Guards of Kangyun County were rotated, but the rotating members were all sent from outside the area, and no one from the local area entered the ranks.

Everyone knows the reason.

After ending the chaos in Feiyun Prefecture and achieving unification, the Black Armor Guards, in order to maintain their independence after entering various places and to avoid being infiltrated and wooed by local powerful families, drew a clear line between themselves and the local powerful families.

Taojiazhuang, as a long-established power in Kangyun County, had always been on guard against by the Black Armor Guards.

However, there is also a tacit understanding between the two: the Black Armor Guards never bully Tao Family Village, but if they give an order, Tao Family Village will do its best to obey.

Not only Taojiazhuang, but also Songjiazhuang and Tanjiazhuang, two other large villages in Kangyun County, are the same.

However, the balance between the two over the past thirty years has been broken by Tao Jingxing's words.

If someone from Tao Family Village joins the Black Armor Guard, the boundary between the two will become blurred, and the Black Armor Guard will officially merge with the local forces.

"When Xia Yuanxing informed me of this, I was also taken aback."

Faced with further questioning from the other clan elders, Tao Jingxing explained, "Xia Yuanxing didn't directly state the reason. He only said that the situation was unstable before, making it inconvenient to recruit Black Armor Guards locally. Now that the time is ripe, it's time to tap into our local talent pool."

"Chieftain, what are the selection criteria for the Black Armor Guards this time? And how many people will be selected?"

At this moment, an old woman with gray hair spoke up and asked.

Her face was full of wrinkles and she looked very old, but there was still a shrewd glint in her slightly narrowed eyes.

This old woman's name is Tao Jingfang. She is the oldest and only female elder in the Tao family clan.

She never married and dedicated her entire life to Taojiazhuang.

"Sister Jingfang."

Even the clan chief, Tao Jingxing, was very polite to Tao Jingfang: "Xia Yuanxing said that they want to select twenty people from Tao Family Village. The selection criteria are very broad; they want to recruit the most outstanding young people in our Tao Family Village who are between the ages of fourteen and eighteen into the Black Armor Guard."

"The most outstanding young people aged fourteen to eighteen?"

Tao Jingfang's expression changed slightly: "They're trying to poach all the young backbone members from our Tao Family Village."

"How can this be allowed?"

Tao Jinglu hurriedly said, "If we send our talents to the Black Armor Guards, what will happen to Tao Family Village? The future of Tao Family Village rests on these young people."

Tao Jinglu's words were met with support from all the elders present.

Faced with the agitated elders, Tao Jingxing frowned and his voice turned cold: "Silence!"

Instantly, the noisy elders of the clan fell silent.

Tao Jingxing's authority and power as the clan leader were fully displayed at this moment.

Seeing that everyone's emotions had calmed down a bit, Tao Jingxing's tone became calm again: "Everyone, I understand how you feel. When Xia Yuanxing first said those words, I was also angry."

"But then he made me a promise," Tao Jingxing continued. "Xia Yuanxing said that after the men of my Tao family enter the Black Armor Guard, they will have the right to reside permanently in Kangyun County; moreover, after the selected men turn forty, they can decide for themselves whether to stay in the Black Armor Guard or return to Tao Family Village."

"That would be a good idea!"

Upon hearing Tao Jingxing's subsequent explanation, all the clan elders' eyes lit up.

Although the young people in the village join the Black Armor Guard, they will not leave the local area due to transfers, and will remain in Kangyun County.

Moreover, after the age of forty, the selected individuals can decide for themselves whether to stay or leave. If someone leaves the Black Armor Guard and returns to Tao Family Village, they can still become the backbone of the village and lead Tao Family Village to develop and move forward.

From this perspective, the selection of Black Armor Guards in Taojiazhuang seems acceptable.