Quickly conquer the martial arts world, and let your fists dominate the heavens!

"Bam—"

With a loud crash, he slammed heavily into the courtyard of Mantuo Manor, shattering several bluestone floorboards, and lost consciousness.

Chen Zhan's figure flickered, and he instantly teleported to Mantuo Manor.

By this time, Murong Fu and the old woman and others had already taken the opportunity to escape. He had anticipated this and did not pursue them.

His gaze swept over the scattered camellias and pebbles in the courtyard, then he turned to look at the lake.

Kumārajīva was darting across the lake on a wooden plank, not daring to look back, and didn't even have the courage to look in Chen Zhan's direction.

“Master, if you don’t help me, I, Chen, will go to the Mingwang Temple in Tibet to find you in the future. You’d better prepare yourself.”

Chen Zhan's voice was calm and even, yet it pierced through the waves on the lake and clearly reached Kumārajīva's ears.

Kumārajīva's body jerked violently, and the wooden plank beneath his feet cracked open, instantly soaking his monk's shoes with lake water.

He dared not linger, and with all his might, he activated his lightness skill, disappearing into the depths of the lake mist like an arrow released from a bow.

Chen Zhan landed right next to Ding Chunqiu.

With a sweep of his divine sense, he found that there was no sign of life in Mantuo Manor. The servants and guards of the Murong family must have either escaped in the chaos or been caught in the crossfire.

Ding Chunqiu on the ground was still frozen by the true energy and could not move.

His emerald green poison net had already backfired on him; fine green light wrapped around his body, and his originally rosy skin was turning bluish-purple and ulcerating at a visible speed.

The Huagong Dafa itself is not poisonous, but he has been using it in combination with various poisonous techniques for many years, and his true qi has long been infused with deadly poison.

At this moment, the poison took effect, causing him excruciating pain.

"Ah—! Kill me! Kill me now!"

A piercing scream escaped Ding Chunqiu's throat. His muscles were contorted, yellow pus seeped from beneath his festering skin, and his internal organs seemed to be gnawed by thousands of ants, every inch screaming in agony.

The horrific backlash from this poisonous attack even prompted Kumārajīva, who was fleeing in the distance, to quicken his pace upon hearing it.

Chen Zhan watched quietly, his expression unchanged.

He had helped Gu Yu earlier because he was worried that the old monster's poisonous skills would harm her.

A disciple trained with ten years of painstaking effort is fine with minor external injuries, but if this deadly poison ruins his appearance, that would be troublesome.

Now that Ding Chunqiu is a cripple, and we can't get any more useful information from him, keeping him around is pointless, so we let him end his remaining life with the deadly poison we concocted.

On the other side, on Taihu Lake.

Gu Yu's sword flashed fiercely as she engaged in a fierce battle with Murong Bo.

Her moves seemed ruthless, but in reality, they left room for maneuver. She found an opening and her Water-Splitting Sword slashed precisely. With a "whoosh," Murong Bo's left arm was severed.

The pain of losing his arm made Murong Bo's eyes bloodshot, and in this desperate situation, he unleashed even greater strength.

He endured the excruciating pain, activated the Star Shifting Technique, and redirected all the sword energy that Gu Yu was attacking him. With a light step, his figure darted away into the distance like a ghost.

Gu Yu feigned surprise as the redirected sword force grazed her shoulder, tearing a gash in her blue robe.

She paused, as if her blood and qi were churning from the force, before raising her sword and unleashing several sword energies, all of which landed on the water behind Murong Bo, splashing up sprays of water.

"Old man, you're lucky you ran fast!"

Gu Yu called out in the direction Murong Bo had fled, and only after he had completely disappeared did a sly smile appear on her lips.

Sheathed her sword, turned around, and nimbly returned to Mantuo Manor.

He hurried to Chen Zhan's side, his gaze sweeping over Ding Chunqiu, whose breath was fading on the ground, then looking at the ripples remaining on the lake, and asked:
"Master, are we just going to let them go like this?"

"Murong Bo's escape will expose more of the Murong family's hidden forces."

Chen Zhan looked down at the still-sleeping baby in his arms, gently brushing his fingertips across the child's cheek, and said softly, "As for Kumārajīva, he is still useful. There is no war between Tibet and the Song Dynasty for the time being, keeping him around can help stabilize the situation on the southwestern border."

This was his plan.

Even if all the martial arts masters of the Song Dynasty were to come out, they could only deal with both the Western Xia and the Liao Dynasty at the same time. Moreover, Dali and Tibet had to be stabilized, otherwise, if they were attacked from all sides, he would be unable to spare any attention.

In terms of military strength, although the Song Dynasty ranked second among all the states, it was still inferior to the Liao Dynasty's elite forces.

With his assistance, even though the Liao Dynasty had top-notch martial arts masters, the Song Dynasty's martial arts community was able to contend with them.

However, before starting the war, we must first eliminate internal and external troubles.

The internal troubles stemmed from the martial arts forces within the Song Dynasty.

The Beggars' Sect, the Murong family, and other major sects in the martial arts world, though entrenched in the territory of the Song Dynasty, each ruled their own territory, established private branches, recruited disciples, and paid no taxes to the imperial court.

This is completely different from the later Ming Dynasty. The Song Dynasty's control over the martial arts world was too weak. Even the Beggars' Sect dared to open a branch near Kaifeng Prefecture, but the imperial court was helpless.

The name "weak Song" is indeed well-deserved.

Chen Zhan sighed inwardly, but he had to admit that although the Song Dynasty was militarily weak, its commerce had developed to its peak, making it a celestial empire.

Even if the annual tribute of tens of thousands of taels of silver to Liao and Western Xia was paid, it would not be a significant blow to the Song Dynasty.

The Tea Horse Road, which traded with Dali alone, brought the imperial court more than 100,000 taels of silver in revenue every year.

Ding Chunqiu on the ground finally fell silent, his body completely rotting into a pool of pus, even his clothes were corroded away by the deadly poison.

Chen Zhan stopped looking; these poisonous and evil arts were useless against him.
The Song Dynasty faced external threats from its four neighboring countries.

Although the Western Xia and Liao dynasties are currently maintaining peace with the Song dynasty, they will inevitably be interdependent if war breaks out.

If the Song Dynasty were to send troops to attack one of the parties, the other party would surely break the alliance and launch a surprise attack from the south, making it impossible for the Song Dynasty to defeat them one by one.

He and Zhao Qingtan had already seen this clearly and were prepared to fight two against one.

However, before the war begins, Tibet and Dali must remain stable, as these two countries are key to containing Western Xia and Liao.

The key to the stability of Tibet lay with Kumārajīva.

The reason I let him go earlier was to keep this pawn; it will be useful in the future.

Meanwhile, in Dali, the Frost's Descent solar term should be arriving soon. With her in charge, the unrest in Dali should be easily quelled.

After clearing out the remaining forces of the Murong family in Jiangnan, Chen Zhan's next plan is to travel to Dali and Tibet, and finally return to the Central Plains to visit Shaolin Temple, the so-called pinnacle of martial arts. This is Chen Zhan's overall plan.

Gu Yu, unaware of her master's far-reaching plan, stared at the puddle of pus on the ground and said with great interest, "His poison skills were truly powerful. Sister Shuang has always been fond of studying poisons; if she saw this, she would definitely be very interested. It's a pity that he's gone just like that."

Chen Zhan smiled upon hearing this, turned around and strode forward: "It's no pity. There are even more poisonous creatures in Dali, and the types are even more exotic. She can certainly have a good time there. Let's go and take a look at the Langhuan Jade Cave. The martial arts manuals stored by the Murong family and the Xiaoyao Sect might come in handy."

Gu Yu responded and quickly followed behind.

The two walked through the camellia bushes of Mantuo Villa. The courtyard, which should have been bustling with maids and servants, was now deserted.

The turmoil had already terrified the servants of the manor, who scattered and fled. Li Qingluo, the actual owner of Mantuo Manor, and the famous Wang Yuyan, had not shown their faces from beginning to end.

Mantuo Villa occupies a small island in Taihu Lake. The two passed through the front and middle courtyards and finally found a hidden cave entrance behind an artificial hill in the back courtyard. The cave entrance was covered by vines, and it would have been difficult for an ordinary person to find it if Chen Zhan had not used his divine sense to probe it.

Following the dark passage deeper into the cave, which stretched for dozens of feet, a breathtaking view suddenly appeared before us – the legendary Langhuan Jade Cave.

The interior of the cave is exactly the same as the legendary Langhuan Paradise, with bookshelves on all four walls, but the books on the shelves have not been moved.

Chen Zhan and Gu Yu glanced at them and knew that these were just basic martial arts from various schools and sects; the true core techniques of the Xiaoyao Sect had long since disappeared.

Murong Fu was seriously injured and fled, and Kumārajīva fled in panic. Neither of them had time to pay attention to this place, so it was obviously not taken by them.

These basic martial arts techniques were useless to the two of them, so Chen Zhan didn't use them.

He simply instructed, "Once Zhao Qingtan's men arrive, send someone to collect these books. Perhaps they can serve as a reference for the soldiers."

After leaving the Langhuan Jade Cave, the two took a boat across Taihu Lake and headed straight for Canhe Village.

Compared to the mess at Mantuo Villa, Canhe Villa was much cleaner, with its pavilions and towers intact, but it was deserted.

All the gold, silver, and martial arts manuals in the mansion were cleared out, leaving not a single extra item behind.

Chen Zhan's gaze swept across the empty hall, and he understood: the Murong family was about to completely abandon Yanziwu.

He wasn't too worried.

If Murong Bo and his son escaped to the border regions or overseas, they would indeed be difficult to find.

But the Murong family's century-old foundation is all in Jiangnan, with its industries, connections, and secret strongholds all rooted there. How could they easily give it up?
As a result, there aren't many places we can go!

Gu Yu stood at the dock of Canhe Village, gazing at the thin mist over Taihu Lake: "Master, will they return to Suzhou?"

"will not."

“Suzhou has become a place of trouble. If they stay in the city, it will be tantamount to walking into a trap. Although Murong Fu is a bit naive, Murong Bo is an old hand.”

Chen Zhan held the child in his arms, his fingertips lightly tapping the gunwale as the small boat sailed toward the shore.

With the winds on Taihu Lake calmed, Chen Zhan took Gu Yu by boat back to Suzhou. It was nearly afternoon by then.

He first took the baby in his arms to the government office, which was already under the control of the Dragon God Guard. The original officials were detained in a side courtyard and, after interrogation, confessed to everything.

Colluding with the Murong family and covering up missing persons cases are all serious crimes.

But when asked about specifics, such as where the people were sent or their purpose, they couldn't give any answers.

Chen Zhan instructed the Dragon God Guards to post notices to find the baby's biological parents, and then waited quietly for reinforcements inside the yamen.

Not long after he arrived at the yamen, secret agents from the Dragon God Guards of the surrounding counties began to arrive one after another, and the military strength gradually became abundant.

Chen Zhan did not immediately issue orders, but instead had his spies organize the intelligence they had on the Murong family, while he closed his eyes to rest and sort out the follow-up plan.

Three days later, a figure in cyan robes arrived swiftly; it was Zhao Qingtan.

Dressed in a sporty outfit and looking travel-worn, she quickly stepped forward upon seeing Chen Zhan: "Brother Zhan, I'm here."

"Come so fast?"

Chen Zhan opened his eyes, slightly surprised.

Even riding a top-notch fast horse and changing horses along the way, it would take at least five or six days to travel from Suzhou to Kaifeng. This speed is obviously achieved by using light-footed skills to travel.

Zhao Qingtan wiped the thin layer of sweat from her forehead and said firmly, "With something like this happening, we naturally dared not delay. We used our light-footed skills to get here, so we should still make it in time."

Chen Zhan nodded, stood up and walked to the map: "There's still time. The Murong family reacted quickly, abandoning Yanziwu, but they can't hide forever. Their century-old foundation is all in the south, they can't hide it."

"Does Brother Zhan know about the Murong family's other strongholds?"

Zhao Qingtan pressed for details, her gaze falling on the Jiangnan region on the map.

In recent days, the Dragon God Guard spies have reported a great deal to her, and she suspects that Chen Zhan should have a deeper understanding of the situation.

Chen Zhan shook his head: "I may not know more than you. I haven't inquired about the intelligence from the spies these past two days, so you probably know more than I do."

"So what do we do next?" Zhao Qingtan asked.

As a second-rank official and a regent, she held a position second only to the emperor and was usually decisive in making decisions. However, in front of Chen Zhan, she habitually sought his opinion, as if it had become an instinct.

"Have your people investigate along the route from Suzhou downwards."

Chen Zhan pointed his finger at the coastal and lakeside areas on the map: "Focus on thoroughly investigating the coastal and lakeside areas, starting with missing persons cases, and gather all the missing persons files from the past few decades." "The Murong family has been operating for a century, and the martial arts masters they recruit are unreliable. They are more adept at training assassins from a young age, and there must be traces hidden in these clues."

"it is good!"

Without hesitation, Zhao Qingtan immediately turned around and instructed the Dragon God Guard commander beside her to relay the order down the chain of command.

Chen Zhan added, "Also, if you encounter any sects obstructing you, just kill them. Anyone who dares to obstruct the government's handling of cases is, in this southern region, most likely connected to the Murong family. Don't show them any mercy."

Zhao Qingtan was slightly taken aback upon hearing this, and after a moment's hesitation, she replied, "Okay."

She knew that Chen Zhan never spoke without reason. Back then, he could even imprison the Empress Dowager. Dealing with a few Jianghu sects that colluded with rebels was nothing to him.

Gu Yu, who was standing to the side, was filled with excitement, her eyes flashing with joy: "Where are we going, Master?"

"Mount Putuo".

Chen Zhan spoke succinctly, and then strode out.

Zhao Qingtan's eyes lit up, and she quickly caught up with him, saying with a smile, "It's been more than ten years since I've traveled the world with Brother Zhan. Anyway, I'm going south to oversee some affairs, could you give me a ride?"

Chen Zhan did not stop walking, nor did he refuse.

The three of them left Suzhou and headed straight for the Zhoushan Islands.

During their journey, Zhao Qingtan couldn't help but ask, "Brother Zhan, are you going to Putuo Temple?"

"Yes."

Chen Zhan didn't even turn his head: "Are you sure you want to come? Once we get there, I might go on a killing spree."

"Brother Zhan, what makes you say that?"

Zhao Qingtan chuckled lightly, her tone firm: "Qingtan has long since severed ties with Putuo Temple. The grudges of the past have long been settled, and if there is any crime of collusion between the temple and the Murong family, I will not tolerate it."

"That's good."

Upon hearing this, Chen Zhan said no more. This time, instead of taking a carriage, the three of them rode on fine horses and galloped away.

Zhao Qingtan and Gu Yu exchanged a glance, then quickly gathered their strength and followed.

The three figures sped along the official road, kicking up clouds of dust.

Along the way, Dragon God Guard spies could be seen operating in the shadows from time to time, which clearly showed that Zhao Qingtan's orders had been fully implemented.

"Why does Brother Zhan suspect that the Murong family and Putuo Temple are colluding?" Zhao Qingtan asked, voicing her doubts. (End of Chapter)