Daily News: You promised yourself to be a fisherman, but you've become a martial arts god?

Shenyuan Village, Council Hall.

In the center of the village chief's seat sat a man.

This man was dressed in a black-trimmed, tight-fitting robe, covered with a heavy animal-hide cloak. A heavy iron blade hung at his waist, and a wide, solid jade belt with animal patterns was tied around his waist. He was tall and imposing, with broad shoulders and a thick back. His body was as solid as a mountain, exuding an aura of dominance.

His black hair was casually tied up, with a few strands hanging loosely. His brows were sharp as knives, and his eyes were deep and dark. His gaze swept over people with a threatening and fierce look, exuding an aura of authority without anger.

His face had strong, deep features, with a short, stiff beard that added to his unruly and fierce appearance.

This man was none other than the chief of Shenyuan Village—

Fan Pingbo!

Fan Pingbo seemed to be used to the way his three subordinates behaved, and instead of reprimanding them for their casualness, he said in a calm voice:

"You've all heard about Fifth Brother's crushing defeat, right? The Yi family has produced a boy even more monstrous than Yi Linchuan."

"This kid has only just unlocked his hidden strength, yet he was able to unleash a sword beam that completely crushed the fifth brother."

"If this child is allowed to grow up unchecked, he will definitely pose a great threat to our Shenyuan Village in the future!"

Jin Yuncao's face tightened, and he said:

"Boss, why don't we go ashore tonight and kill everyone, including that brat from the Yi family, to eliminate any future trouble!"

"hehe."

Guo Shanggang's narrowed eyes widened slightly, a venomous glint flashing within them, and he said:

"Old Jin, you don't seem like a naive newbie. Fifth Brother said there's only Yi Huan with internal strength on the island, and you really believed him?"

"Even though Fifth Brother was completely outmatched, he still managed to escape back here. Don't you suspect that the Yi family did this intentionally?"

"Perhaps the Yi family has already cleaned their knives and is waiting for us to come to the island tonight."

Fan Pingbo nodded in agreement and said:

"Fourth Brother's analysis makes sense. We'll consider it further once we receive news from Zhang's spies!"

"Brother, you don't need to worry."

Langlifeng raised his head, drank the wine in his cup, and said:

"Just hand Yi Huan over to me."

"Back then, Yi Linchuan, the exceptionally talented eldest son of the Yi family and the future head of the family, wasn't he completely at my mercy, ultimately forced to refine the Blood Pill?"

"That Yi Huan, the mere son of a collateral relative, has meager resources. He only managed to break through to the Dark Force realm and learn sword energy by sheer luck, yet he is still utterly vulnerable before me!"

As he spoke, Langlifeng murmured:

"You're getting a sore throat."

Having said that, he pushed the beautiful woman in his arms away, lifted his own clothes, reached out and grabbed her hair, pulling her closer...

Fan Pingbo and the others were used to this and continued their discussion as usual.

"I'll leave Crescent Moon Island for now and make further arrangements regarding Yi Huan's matter."

Fan Pingbo paused, his gaze turning serious, and said:

"The most important thing right now is to stock up on enough medicinal herbs."

"Once my Uncle Zhang achieves the Qi Refining Realm, Qianhu County will be under our control."

"Destroying the Yi family is merely a matter of whether or not we want to!"

Fan Pingbo made his conclusion, and no one objected.

Just as the meeting was about to adjourn, Jin Yuncao suddenly remembered something and said:

"Brother, we've lost several brothers this time. We need to choose some people to fill the vacant seats so that things can continue to operate as usual."

"I have already made arrangements for this matter."

Fan Pingbo picked up a wine jar from the side, took a swig, and said:

"Let the eighth brother take the sixth brother's place, and the remaining people will be chosen from among the Ming Jin members below."

"Where's the fifth one?"

"Hmph! Fifth Brother lost an arm, possessing only internal strength cultivation, and almost caused me to lose my Azure Scale Serpent Armor. Now he's sent to shovel manure and repair boats!"

"What about the fifth brother's position?"

"I already have someone in mind!"

"Who?"

"Yuan Guangbo!"

...

Ten days after Ge Xiong, the seventh leader of Shenyuan Village, died suddenly.

Lakeside open space.

bang bang bang-

Li Nian continued to practice the Golden Eagle Piercing the Sun Technique on the shore. As his moves were unleashed, a faint buzzing sound could be heard from the taut veins throughout his body.

This is a characteristic of breaking through the toughness barrier; when exerting force, the tendons vibrate and throb.

Its tendons are like steel strings, becoming more resilient the more they are stretched, and they will not break under stress!

call--

Li Nian stopped what she was doing and exhaled a long breath.

A few days ago, he took the remaining few Blood Essence Pills and barely managed to break through the second stage of the Tendon Refining Technique, the Tenacity Stage.

After these few days of cultivation, I have become familiar with my current cultivation level.

He looked at his hands and thought to himself:

"Without elixirs, relying solely on cultivation, even with the extraordinary Golden Eagle Piercing the Sun Technique, my physique would require far too much time to break through!"

"After returning, give the Qingyao Silver Carp and Qiankun Pheasant to Master so he can refine a batch of pills!"

"Normally, we should be able to go back in the next few days!"

After the great victory over Shenyuan Village that day, Yi Huan was worried about retaliation from Shenyuan Village, so he strengthened the island's defenses and contacted the Yi family government.

That night, two powerful retainers led over a hundred soldiers to the island.

Although many people came to the island, almost none of them were familiar with the situation there. As one of the inspectors, he was left on the island until these people became familiar with the situation before he could go back to rest.

Ten days should be enough!

rustling sounds—

Just then, the sound of a boat breaking through the reeds ahead came from ahead.

Immediately afterwards, a familiar voice rang out:

"Your Excellency, the Island Governor has sent word that you are to return to the city by ship at noon today!"

It was Ruan Hanzhou's voice.

Li Nian raised her eyebrows.

We can leave the island now!

Ruan Hanzhou brought the boat ashore, took out ten catties of salted fish wrapped in dried reeds, and said with a embarrassed look:

"Your Excellency, could you please deliver these salted fish to my sister?"

In Ruan Hanzhou's monthly allowance, there was ten catties of salted fish.

That kid!

Seeing Ruan Hanzhou's serious expression, Li Nian shook her head and smiled bitterly to herself.

He saw through Ruan Hanzhou's intentions at a glance.

Ruan Hanzhou's monthly allowance consisted of five taels of silver, three bowls of qi and blood medicinal cuisine, one blood-activating pill, and ten catties of salted fish...

A pound of salted fish costs less than fifty coins, and ten pounds of salted fish costs less than five hundred coins, which is less than half a tael of silver.

Qianhu County is located by the lake, so it has no shortage of fresh fish, and the salted fish in the county is even better.

It's better to spend half an ounce of silver than to carry ten pounds of salted fish from afar.

Clearly, Ruan Hanzhou wasn't asking him to take the fish back.

Instead.

Let him get to know Ruan Hanyuan better...

Give me the salted fish.

Li Nian took the salted fish.

Ruan Hanzhou is a shrewd and meticulous person who is also diligent in martial arts training and very ambitious, which suits his taste perfectly.

It's better to have one loyal subordinate than one resentful one.

Delivering fish is a simple matter.

Furthermore, this can be considered as repaying Ruan Hanyuan for giving him the sachet.

As for feelings...

Let nature take its course.

A woman's strength, her background, her looks...

He doesn't care.

As long as they remain loyal to him, he'll do as he pleases.

A truly powerful man will use his own abilities to enhance his woman's strength and elevate her status!

As Ruan Hanzhou watched Li Nian leave with the salted fish, her eyes darted around, and she secretly pondered:

"A friend's sister...a subordinate's relative, isn't that an intriguing connection?"

"Besides, my older sister is quite good-looking; otherwise, she wouldn't have been able to stay at the Qinyun Martial Arts School for so many years!"

...

noon.

Li Nian stood on the deck of the large ship, gazing in the direction of Qianhu County.

Sister-in-law, Duoduo, I'm back!