Chapter 1

“What hellish weather…”

Outside Nanliang City, several soldiers shivered in the wind and snow.

“Chief Wang, come on, drink some hot soup to warm up.”

A vendor near the city gate came over with hot soup and handed it to the soldiers.

“Hoo!”

After a mouthful of hot soup, the soldiers finally breathed a sigh of relief. “This damn weather, no matter how much we wear, the wind and snow still seep into our bones. It's deadly…”

The squad leader, a middle-aged man in his forties, rubbed his red face.

Just as he was about to say something, he saw snow flying in the distance, and a man riding a horse was galloping towards them.

“Someone's out in this weather?”

The soldiers muttered, put down their soup bowls, and prepared to stop the approaching person as usual.

“Don't move!”

Only Chief Wang watched for a long time. It wasn't until the horseman got closer that his expression changed.

“Everyone, get out of the way!”

Whoosh!

Amidst the splashing snow, a man and a horse swept past, and the gust of wind blew the soldiers to the ground.

The rider didn't stop, heading straight through the city gate, galloping along the long street. The few pedestrians and vendors scattered on the ground, causing a commotion.

“Stop!”

The soldiers angrily got up, wanting to curse, but Chief Wang stopped them.

“Shut your mouths, do you want to die!”

Chief Wang scolded, watching the receding figure, and shook his head:

“That's Zhao Qiandu, the eldest son of the Zhao family. It is said that he joined the Twelve Linked Fortresses to learn martial arts in his early years. Now that he's back, he's probably here to attend his father's funeral. You dare to stop him?”

“Zhao Qiandu? The eldest son of Old Master Zhao?”

The faces of the other soldiers changed.

The Zhao family was the leading gentry in Nanliang City, wealthy and powerful, and they were not people that mere soldiers like them could afford to offend.

“Old Master Zhao has been dead for three months, and he's only coming back now, is it…”

One of the soldiers was a little puzzled.

“The Twelve Linked Fortresses is a major sect in the north, probably tens of thousands of miles away from here. It's already very fast that he received the message and rushed back now.”

Chief Wang shook his head and picked up the hot soup bowl again:

“However, this has nothing to do with us.

As long as we have good eyes, any young hero or grand hero won’t lower themselves to argue with us. You still have to learn this from me.”

“That's right, that's right.”

…

“Drive! Drive!”

Zhao Qiandu's face was gloomy as he galloped past, his heart burning with anger.

Since receiving the news of his father's death, he had asked to leave the Twelve Linked Fortresses and had ridden several fast horses to death along the way, returning as quickly as possible.

Although he had not returned to Nanliang City for ten years, all his silver and medicinal supplies in the Twelve Linked Fortresses came from Nanliang City. Nanliang City could be said to be his foundation.

It must not be lost.

“Hee lulu~”

Seeing the Zhao family mansion in the distance, Zhao Qiandu shook his shoulders, stepped on the horse's back, and jumped, landing in front of the Zhao family gate.

“Who's there?”

“M-Master! You're finally back!”

“It's the young master, the young master is back!”

The gatekeepers exclaimed.

“Where is my father's body?”

Zhao Qiandu hadn't spoken for a long time, and his voice was a little hoarse.

“Don't worry, young master. Master's body is placed in an ice coffin, without any damage.”

One of the servants said.

“Have the people from the Six Doors been here?”

Zhao Qiandu flicked his sleeves and walked into the mansion.

Several servants followed behind him and whispered:

“Two months ago, Constable Tieshan came to check Master's body…”

“Tieshan? What rank constable?”

Zhao Qiandu's face was indifferent.

“Fifth-rank constable.”

“Fifth-rank?”

Zhao Qiandu paused and turned his face: “The letter didn't explain it clearly. What exactly happened in Nanliang County? A fifth-rank constable in the Six Doors is not considered low.”

“Several famous experts in Nanliang County have been killed, and it's not just Nanliang County. There have been murders in several nearby counties as well.”

The old butler, who had rushed over, replied:

“Except for Taoist Wang Quan, the experts in Nanliang County who stepped into the inner refinement threshold have all been killed.”

“Hmm?”

Zhao Qiandu raised his eyebrows slightly, his eyes flickering: “Only he didn't die?”

The old butler nodded:

“Yes, but Constable Tieshan went to investigate, and he also suffered severe internal injuries and is dying.”

“Where is he?”

“South of the city, Anyi Alley.”

Whoosh~

Before the old butler could finish speaking, Zhao Qiandu had already turned around and disappeared into the long street in a few steps.

“Young master, where are you going…”

…

South of Nanliang City, Anyi Alley.

Hey!

Ha!

In a small courtyard, in the thick snow, two little guys were practicing boxing in a serious manner.

At the doorway, An Qisheng sat on a deck chair, stroking his white beard with one hand and holding a cup of hot tea with the other.

“The strength must be sufficient, and the mind must be relaxed.”

An Qisheng said softly, pointing out.

After two months of teaching, An Qisheng had to admit that his two disciples had very ordinary aptitudes. It couldn't be said that they were very bad, but they were far from good.

His modified Boy Exercise was a bit complicated, so the two little guys hadn't cultivated any internal force in two months.

However, normally speaking, it usually takes a month to a year for ordinary martial artists to cultivate internal force, so there's no need to worry too much.

Geniuses often achieve it in a day to half a month.

Like him, who produced Qi on the first try, Wang Quan's memories didn't have such a thing.

“Humph!”

“Ha!”

The two little guys raised their fists and kicked their legs in the snow, their expressions serious and earnest.

The thick snow had long been flattened, and An Qisheng had poured cold water on it, so the ground was very slippery. If their lower body wasn't stable, they would fall.

After watching for a while, An Qisheng closed his eyes slightly.

Gurgle~

As soon as he closed his eyes, inner sounds that only he could hear, like cats and tigers snoring, rang in his ears.

This was the tiger and leopard thunder sound (a cultivation technique).

On the Xuan Star (Earth), internal martial arts had long been developed to a very high degree. This degree was not an increase in destructive power.

But the dissection of some terms and tricks.

For example, the tiger and leopard thunder sound that An Qisheng was running at this time.

The essence of the tiger and leopard thunder sound was that the muscles vibrated at a high frequency under subjective control, penetrating the force into the internal organs and bones.

So as to achieve the effect of refining the organs and marrow.

The sound in his ears was not the sound of bone friction, but the vibration of the eardrum caused by the force running through the spine's three passes.

This sound could only be heard when the tiger and leopard thunder sound was mastered to perfection.

Jiu Fu Realm (another world) did not have a special method for washing the bone marrow and internal organs. Perhaps it was unnecessary, or perhaps he had not been exposed to it.

However, after An Qisheng tried it, he found that the tiger and leopard thunder sound was greatly enhanced after possessing internal force.

Under the vibration of the muscles and bones, the internal force washed the internal organs and bone marrow at a faster rate.

During this period, in addition to his daily internal force exercises, he had been using the tiger and leopard thunder sound to wash his internal organs and bone marrow.

Moreover, washing the organs and marrow with the tiger and leopard thunder sound could eliminate the residue of elixirs and allow him to swallow more elixirs.

Therefore, over the past two months, while his physique had gradually strengthened, his physical strength and internal force had become more profound.

“Huh?”

At a certain moment, An Qisheng's heart moved, and he opened his eyes:

“That's it for today, you go back to your rooms first.”

“Oh!”

The two little guys finished their stances in a decent manner and obediently returned to the house.

Bang!

Not long after the two children left, the courtyard door was suddenly kicked open.

The two solid wood doors spun up, making a 'woo woo' wailing sound, and slammed towards An Qisheng, who was sitting at the door, like cannonballs!

“People from Snake King Mountain? They're attacking in broad daylight?”

An Qisheng's eyes narrowed slightly.

He didn't move, still having time to put down the teacup in his hand, and then stretched his arms, stirring up currents of air, grabbing the two wooden doors that were flying towards him.

The huge force dissipated without a trace, as if a mud ox had entered the sea, without causing the slightest ripple.

Bang!

Almost at the same time as the door flew out, a figure wrapped in snow and air rushed towards him with a roar!

Clang!

Amidst the sound of metal clashing, the attacker swiped his waist, and a sharp and decisive saber light slashed out like a training!

The airflow roared past, and the snow flew all over the sky. The fierce saber light tore through the airflow like lightning, crossing several feet!

The attacker seized the opportunity, and the ruthlessness of his attack far exceeded those bandits before!

The deterrent power of this saber was ten times more fierce than the seven of them attacking together!

“This saber is a bit interesting.”

An Qisheng moved his body and stood up straight. The muscles on his arms erupted, and the two solid wood doors he held in his hands stirred up a roaring wind.

He heavily slapped them towards the attacker!

Boom!

Amidst the surge of air currents, the snow-white saber light instantly disappeared into the sky of sawdust.

Zhao Qiandu's body shook, and he took two steps back. The long saber drooped down, his face solemn:

“Seriously injured? The Six Doors are indeed a bunch of trash. They call this seriously injured?”

He was a little surprised.

Not only was this old Taoist not injured, but he seemed to be much stronger than he was more than ten years ago. In this collision, he had suffered a slight loss.

“The saber technique is good, but the person is not.”

An Qisheng dropped the half of the wooden door in his hand and glanced at the attacker indifferently:

“Who are you?”

“Twelve Linked Fortresses, Zhao Qiandu.”

Zhao Qiandu's expression was solemn, the long saber drooping ‘humming’ as if it would gather momentum at any time:

“You are obviously seriously injured, but secretly you are unharmed. What does that mean?

“Injuries have to be healed eventually.”

An Qisheng responded with a cold expression.

Although he recognized that the attacker was not from Snake King Mountain, he did not like his ruthless attack without asking the reason.

“As far as I know, you are not well-known in Nanliang County and the surrounding counties, and your martial arts don't seem to be very good…”

Zhao Qiandu's eyes did not leave An Qisheng, his expression extremely gloomy:

“Then why did you survive and greatly improve your skills when so many experts, including my father, died? And why did you pretend to be seriously injured to deceive the constables of the Six Doors?

What do you want to hide? Or…”

Speaking of this, Zhao Qiandu took a step forward, his stern shout like thunder:

“Are you the murderer?!”

“…”

An Qisheng was shocked by his peculiar thinking and was silent for a moment, his eyes also turned cold:

“For the sake of you having just lost your father, compensate me for my door, and then get out. I won't bother with you.”

Zhao Qiandu's face sank, and the killing intent in his heart could no longer be suppressed. The long saber drooping ‘hummed’ and burst out with a cold saber light:

“Old thing, you are looking for death!”