At the city gate of Luoshui County.
After reading the wanted poster, Jiang Ning memorized the name "River Dragon Tian Buyi" and the description of Tian Buyi's appearance on the poster.
If the opportunity arose in the future, he would be very interested in this Tian Buyi.
After all, capturing him would earn a reward of a hundred taels of gold, which was an incredibly generous bounty.
Moreover, Tian Buyi's strength as an eighth-rank martial artist was within Jiang Ning's acceptable range.
In a month, his strength would further improve, and he might even be able to test his skills against an eighth-rank martial artist.
[Name]: Jiang Ning
[Source Energy]: 2.4
[Skills]:
Literacy (Second Breakthrough 543/3000) (Traits: Photographic Memory, Enhanced Senses)
Five Animals Fist (Perfection 3/1000)
Woodchopping Saber Technique (Third Breakthrough 697/4000) (Traits: Versatility, Swift as the Wind, Divine Saber Wielding)
Inner Alchemy Cultivation (Proficient 308/2000)
Canglang Saber Technique (Proficient 1/200)
Indestructible Golden Body (Initiated 41/1000)
He glanced at his status panel, which recorded his progress over this period, then closed it.
After silently memorizing everything on the wanted poster, he walked into Luoshui County.
At the same time, Jiang Ning noticed that many eyes around the city gate had fallen on him as soon as he appeared.
Soon, there was movement behind him.
Someone turned into an alley and ran quickly, clearly going to report the news.
Someone released a carrier pigeon, and the sound of flapping wings suddenly filled the air.
"It seems I'm being closely watched!"
Noticing the commotion behind him, Jiang Ning thought to himself and smiled.
As the saying goes, "After three days apart, one should view a person with new eyes."
It had been a full twelve days since he left Luoshui County.
In other words, it was time to view him with new eyes four times over.
He was vastly different from before.
When he left the city, he was only at the level of perfect Qi and blood circulation, with a strength of around seven to eight hundred jin.
At that time, he had already been able to single-handedly kill four skilled pursuers.
Among them were two who had stepped into the ninth rank of martial arts, and the deputy leader of the Green Snake Gang, Hong Chengtao, had even achieved minor success in the ninth rank, with skin as hard as stone.
Yet even so, this man had lasted less than three rounds against Jiang Ning before being killed.
With such strength at that time, let alone now.
Now, not only had he stepped into the ninth rank of martial arts, with a single-arm strength of over a thousand jin, but he had also made a breakthrough in the Five Animals Fist, reaching the level of perfection.
Perfect mastery of the Five Animals Fist meant that his skill in it was no less than Wang Jin's.
With the Five Animals Fist perfected, his movement techniques were naturally exceptional. Even among eighth-rank martial artists, few could match his current agility.
Moreover, the Woodchopping Saber Technique had undergone a third breakthrough, making his explosive power even more formidable.
In addition, he had now tempered his skin membrane, greatly enhancing his physique.
Yesterday, after his breakthrough, he tested it. The strain on his body from a single burst of the Canglang Saber Technique's force was now negligible.
In other words, a single burst of force could now be used as a regular technique.
He had also tried a double burst of force, which only caused a slight tear in the muscles of his right arm and cracked his skin.
Although there were some side effects, they were manageable.
In a life-and-death situation, he estimated that he could sustain at least five bursts of double force.
With these multiple enhancements, Jiang Ning felt that his strength had improved dramatically compared to before he left the city, with a world of difference.
If he were to face his past self from over ten days ago, he could defeat or even kill him within ten rounds.
Therefore, even though he knew that many eyes were reporting his return to their superiors, Jiang Ning was not the least bit worried.
His strength gave him this confidence.
Following the main road of the outer city, it wasn't long before Jiang Ning arrived at the familiar courtyard surrounded by a fence.
Seeing the wisps of smoke rising from the courtyard, the stone that had been weighing on Jiang Ning's heart finally settled.
It was nearing noon, and the rising smoke indicated that his elder brother and sister-in-law's family were going about their day as usual, with no unexpected events.
Although this had already been within his expectations.
After all, since Shen Congyun had intervened on his behalf, he had become the main focus.
As long as he was safe, no one would normally target his elder brother, sister-in-law, or their children.
Pushing open the small courtyard gate, Jiang Ning immediately saw Little Doubao playing in the yard and Jiang Li drawing water from the well.
Despite the months of drought, Luoshui County, being adjacent to the Luo River, had not run out of water.
This was also why Luoshui County remained relatively peaceful.
At this moment, hearing the sound of the courtyard gate opening, Jiang Li, who was lifting water with one hand, immediately looked up.
In the next moment, his eyes lit up with joy.
"Little Brother!!"
Jiang Ning smiled, "Elder Brother!"
On the other side, Little Doubao immediately dropped the bamboo horse she was holding and ran toward Jiang Ning with open arms.
"Uncle"
"Uncle"
She cheered excitedly.
Seeing this, Jiang Ning's face broke into a heartfelt smile.
He crouched down and opened his arms.
Then he firmly caught Little Doubao as she leaped into his arms.
Little Doubao, only five years old, was almost weightless in Jiang Ning's hands. With a slight effort, he lifted her onto his shoulders.
Then he walked toward Jiang Li.
"Little Brother is back!!" Looking at Jiang Ning striding over, Jiang Li's face lit up with genuine joy after giving him a once-over.
Jiang Ning, with a faint smile on his face, said, "I'm back!"
"Did you encounter any danger outside?" Jiang Li asked.
Jiang Ning shook his head, "No danger. I was just practicing in the mountains. Elder Brother knows that the Five Animals Fist I practice requires observing tigers, apes, bears, and other animals in the wild to understand their habits and fighting techniques."
Hearing this, Jiang Li's face showed a look of realization, "So that's why you disappeared for so long. You were practicing your fist techniques."
Jiang Ning smiled, "Exactly!"
At this moment, Little Doubao sat on Jiang Ning's shoulders, happily swinging her legs.
Jiang Li then asked, "Will you have lunch here, or are you heading back to the martial arts hall?"
Jiang Ning replied, "I'll eat at home."
"Yay," Hearing Jiang Ning's answer, Little Doubao on his shoulders cheered and swung her short legs.
Jiang Li's smile widened.
He nodded, "Alright, I'll let your sister-in-law know. We'll have a feast today. I'll go out and buy some roast chicken and duck."
Jiang Ning said, "Wait a moment!"
He quickly stopped Jiang Li.
"What's wrong?" Jiang Li turned to look at him.
Jiang Ning walked over to the stone table nearby, placed his bundle on it, and opened it. He then took out a money pouch and handed it to Jiang Li.
"Elder Brother, take this."
Jiang Li looked at Jiang Ning in surprise.
He took the money pouch and was even more shocked.
"It's so heavy?" he exclaimed.
He then loosened the drawstring and glanced inside. Under the sunlight, the pouch gleamed with a silvery-white light.
"Where did you get so much silver?"
Jiang Ning said, "It's not much, just over twenty taels. Elder Brother, take this for now."
Jiang Li immediately shook his head, "No, you can't just give me all your money. A man needs money when he's out in the world. You can't leave yourself with nothing."
Jiang Ning smiled, "Elder Brother, this is just a small part of what I have!"
He then took out four silver notes from his waist.
"Here's another four hundred taels of silver!"
Then he pulled out two gold leaves from his waist.
As soon as the gold leaves were revealed, they reflected the sunlight, casting a dazzling golden light that immediately caught Jiang Li's attention.
"Is this... gold leaves?" Jiang Li's mouth hung open.
"Yes," Jiang Ning nodded, then said, "So Elder Brother, don't worry. I still have plenty of money. This afternoon, come with me to the inner city. We'll buy a house, and you and Sister-in-law can move there with me."
"This... this..." Hearing this, Jiang Li's eyes widened even more, and he was momentarily speechless.
After a long while, he swallowed hard and looked again at the gold leaves and four silver notes in Jiang Ning's hand.
"Where did you get so much money?"
Jiang Ning said, "On the day I left the city, a few thieves followed me. So, in the wilderness, I dealt with them and found this unexpected windfall."
"Thieves?"
Jiang Li: "..."
He was at a loss for words.
He wanted to retort, what kind of thieves carry two gold leaves and four hundred taels of silver?
Staring at Jiang Ning for a moment, Jiang Li suddenly sighed deeply.
"Little Brother, you've grown up! I'm no match for you anymore!"
He then took the money pouch Jiang Ning had given him and said, "Fine! Since you're so wealthy now, I'll take these twenty-something taels of silver!"
"I'll let your sister-in-law know, then go out and buy some roast chicken and duck!"
At this moment, Little Doubao cheered excitedly.
"Yay"
"We're having roast chicken for lunch!!!"
On the other side, hearing the commotion in the yard, Liu Wanwan, who had come out earlier, looked at the scene with a complex expression.
She had overheard their conversation.
Seeing everything Jiang Ning had brought out; she was also deeply shocked.
Two gold leaves were equivalent to two taels of gold.
Even before she eloped with Jiang Li, her monthly allowance had been about this much.
For an ordinary family, this was an unimaginable fortune.
With her insight, she naturally understood that someone who could possess two taels of gold was no ordinary thief.
They must be a martial artist of significant rank.
Without considerable strength or status, it was impossible to possess such wealth.
For ordinary people, even if they stumbled upon such wealth, it would likely bring disaster.
Therefore, there was no doubt that her brother-in-law had not killed mere thieves.
He had killed martial artists of significant rank.
To kill such experts, her brother-in-law must have had some powerful external tool at his disposal.
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