The 18th year of the Da Yong reign: The beginning of the story involves rescuing revolutionaries.

After achieving a certain level of proficiency, the phrase "swift as a galloping horse" was added to his description.

Wang Zhi jogged a few steps in the courtyard and felt that he was indeed faster than before.

However, due to limited space, he was unable to run freely.

After a brief moment of practice, Wang Zhi resumed practicing the Mourning Gate Saber Technique.

Unlike light footwork, the experience points for swordsmanship increase very slowly when you practice alone.

Not to mention comparing it to a life-or-death battle, it's far less than sparring with Afu.

The only good news is that this sword technique, unlike martial arts techniques, doesn't have a daily time limit for practice.

Wang Zhi practiced diligently until late at night, probably past midnight, before finally mastering the Mourning Blade technique.

The Mourning Blade (Great Success): A white-quality martial art, a common sword technique with five moves. It follows a fierce offensive path, possessing a trace of bloodthirsty energy. When wielded, it is like a murderous star who has slaughtered many people and wiped out entire families over the years. It has the effect of intimidating enemies. Experience points: 100/500.

Once martial arts skills have reached a high level, no matter how much one practices alone, experience points will not continue to increase. One must practice with others, or even fight to the death, in order to break through to the perfect realm.

However, Wang Zhi felt that the Great Completion Realm was enough, and he was just waiting for Lord Jue to return so that he could comprehend the Hell Sealing Blade Technique.

It was a very fulfilling day. Wang Zhi was physically exhausted, but mentally he was quite tired. He asked a servant to boil water, took a long and refreshing bath, and then went to bed, pulled up the soft quilt, and lay down.

He slept very soundly and even had a dream. In the dream, he was wielding a sword and charging into the vast ocean. On that boundless sea, foreign warships were lined up in rows. He hacked at them one by one, until the sky darkened and the foreigners were terrified. Just as he was enjoying the exhilaration, a blinding ray of light shone in, and Wang Zhi suddenly opened his eyes and woke up.

The dazzling sunlight streaming through the window shone on his bed, almost blinding him.

It's a pity I didn't see the ending in my dream. Wang Zhi sighed inwardly, but quickly composed himself. After all, it was just a dream, but in the reality after waking up, he had to step by step move towards the end.

He hadn't even had a chance to beat this game, which was known among players in his previous life as having no "S" key.

Wang Zhi turned and walked to the window, stared at the weeping willow in the courtyard for a while, and grinned.

Even when he was sleeping, he did not shed all his pretenses and still maintained the image of gang leader Wang Luoyun.

The same thing happened for the next few days.

This courtyard seemed to have been forgotten by the entire Earl's mansion, and just as the lady said, no one came to disturb Wang Zhi.

Fortunately, Wang Zhi was happy to have some peace and quiet and could cultivate in the courtyard.

I practiced the Golden Essence Technique for two hours every day without fail. Two days passed like this. My experience points in the Golden Essence Technique were 50/22/100, and I opened 50 meridians!

More than half of the hundred has been reached.

In addition, he asked the servants in the Earl's mansion to inquire about other meridian-opening elixirs besides the Meridian-Opening Pill.

Those people did agree, but two days have passed and there's still no news.

Indeed, the Meridian Opening Pill is a hard currency, but other Meridian Opening Medicines are rare indeed.

He hadn't expected to find it so quickly.

But he was starting to feel anxious; there were only three days left until the county government's ten-day deadline for him to hand over the person.

No, that's not right. It's been these last two days. The newspapers are all on the front page. Wu Yibo should be back by now.

Wang Zhi sat cross-legged under the weeping willow, amidst the fallen leaves, pondering deeply.

If the Duke still hasn't returned by today, Wang Zhi plans to go to the yamen gate to find out who the provincial government officials sent to the prefecture and county to investigate the rebels are.

He originally intended to inquire directly with the Duke, since the Duke had done him a favor by saving his daughter; perhaps the matter of the rebels could be leniently addressed.

But if we can't even get a glimpse of the lord, then we'll have to make other plans.

Wang Zhi was anxious, but someone was even more anxious than him.

In the west wing where the Third Master lived, his son Wang Guangyou's injuries had already mostly healed, thanks to the potent medicines that the Third Family had treasured for many years.

At this moment, the father and son were in the study. Wang Guangyou was sitting and watching his father walk back and forth in front of him.

Muttering to myself:

"Fifth Brother is coming back, he's very close. He's injured, but not fatally."

"He is dead, and his daughter is wandering outside. We have failed to accomplish either of these things. You have no hope of inheriting the Earl's mansion, my son."

He suddenly stopped, turned around, and said with a face full of resentment, his fists clenched tightly behind his back.

On the contrary, his son Wang Guangyou remained calm and even said very calmly: "I am not sure how much the mistress has investigated these days, but I am certain that she will not be able to obtain any evidence that the foreigners' shooting was related to our third branch of the family. She will not be able to obtain even the slightest bit of evidence."

His father lowered his voice and said, "But if you want to target your own sister, my niece, that's a done deal."

"What did you say before you left? You were 100% sure of success, those were your exact words. But on the train, how did you fail? You were severely injured by that gang leader from the countryside, and you were dragged back like a dead dog. You made me, your father, lose face, and the entire third branch of the family suffered the same disgrace as you!"

His father's words were like a thorn piercing his already wounded heart.

Not only did he prick her, but he also pushed her in hard. He had always been the pride of the third branch of the family.

His face flushed red as he looked at his father's furious, somewhat ferocious expression and said, "How should I know? I'm a prodigy who opened eight meridians as soon as I entered the Commoner Realm, and eleven meridians in a few months. I cultivate the Nine Tribulations Undying Scripture and practice the Bone-Shattering Fist. You're just a mere gang leader who luckily acquired some inferior techniques. You practiced haphazardly without a master, and you're only forty years old, your qi and blood are already declining. How could you possibly defeat me? How could you possibly defeat me?"

He kept repeating it in disbelief.

"There's only one possibility: he had already opened twenty-two meridians, but he wasted his life force until he was thirty-five and failed to break through, thus exhausting his energy to defeat you," the Third Master concluded with certainty.

"Forget it, there's no point in saying more. A loss is a loss. The important thing now is that Fifth Brother is back. Use your brain to think of a way to make your punishment lighter."

"I only kept that girl away from Lidu. I never intended to kill her. She's back safely now, isn't she? I don't think the Duke will punish me too severely." Wang Guangyou's confidence waned by the end.

"Who knows?" The Third Master stared intently out the study window, his gaze as fixed as if it were solid.

Time passed anxiously among them, and it was just past noon, when the sun was at its strongest.

A large blue flag fluttered in the wind toward the city gate of the capital. Embroidered on the flag was a large eagle with a big "武" (martial) character on it, exuding a powerful aura.

This is the exclusive flag of General Wu Yibo, and the flag bearer is his personal guard Wang Qi, a master of the third realm of martial arts, the Cage Realm.

Not long after.

The triumphant procession of Marquis Wuyi Wang Donglai, led by gongs and drums and followed by a display of captured, blood-stained weapons, entered the gates of the capital in a grand procession.

Pedestrians, horse-drawn carriages, automobiles, and people carrying loads and pushing carts all gave way without exception, and people from all directions flocked to the scene to welcome them.

The news of their triumphant return had already been published in the newspapers and spread like wildfire throughout the streets and alleys of the capital.

With rebels rising up everywhere and the people's livelihood in the surrounding areas in ruins, the people of the Great Yong Dynasty desperately need such a victory to satisfy their inner desire for security.

In the middle of the procession, inside a carriage pulled by four fine horses, Wang Donglai, stripped of his armor, sat upright in the center, his upper body completely naked. His thick arms were covered with herbs and wrapped in white cloth, and an old man with a white beard was sitting beside him, unwrapping the bandages one by one.

The white-bearded old man frowned and looked at the wound for a couple of seconds. Then he pressed around the wound with his hand before taking out a few gold needles from the medicine box beside him and pressing them on the acupoints. He said, "Your Excellency is very lucky and has great strength. Your meridians have improved a bit. I will change your dressing again, and you will be fully recovered in less than three days."

There was a third person in the carriage, the provincial governor Zhang Cheng, who wore a sapphire-encrusted official hat and had a peacock embroidered on his belly. He clasped his hands slightly and said, "Congratulations on your triumphant return, Your Excellency, for your new achievements and for surviving such a calamity."

Not to mention the current chaotic war period, where the status of military officers has risen sharply, even in ordinary times, he, a third-rank official, could not compare with Wang Donglai, who was both an earl and a second-rank general. He spoke politely, and when he learned that Wang Donglai was injured, he hurriedly brought the chief physician of Taihe Medical Hall in Lidu to treat him.

Wang Donglai had a face resembling Zhang Fei from traditional operas, making it hard to imagine that such a man could have such a beautiful daughter. He coldly cursed, "You bastard foreigner, that foreign gun fired at me from hundreds of meters away without any warning. I wonder which is better, this kind of foreign gun or the Heavenly Sword Pavilion's ultimate sword control technique?"

Neither of them could get a word in edgewise.

Now that the Heavenly Sword Pavilion has entered the world, many counties and cities in the entire Tianxi Province have suffered great disasters, such as floods and banditry. The imperial court was unable to provide disaster relief, but the Heavenly Sword Pavilion took over, providing disaster relief where needed and suppressing bandits where needed. Afterwards, these counties and cities became the outer forces of the Heavenly Sword Pavilion.

Taxes were paid to the imperial court, but the court had no power to manage other matters.

Before long, they might not even pay taxes anymore.

As an official of the Dayong Dynasty, the Provincial Governor had previously regarded the reclusive high sects such as the Heavenly Sword Pavilion as enemies.

But the provincial governor had brought an old man to treat the nobleman on this occasion, and there was another matter. He hesitated for a moment before speaking: "The nobleman is away on a campaign and may not know that some minor matters have occurred at home."

"What's the big deal?" Wang Donglai asked casually. His family had always been peaceful. His daughter was talented and had good physique, and his wife was even more outstanding. His other brothers and relatives were all obedient.

So he really thought that Lord Zhang was going to talk about some trivial matter.

However, after the time it takes to drink a cup of tea...

Wang Donglai growled, "Fine, very well indeed." His eyes were as cold as unyielding ice.

"This humble official does not know the full details. I am merely informing Your Excellency in advance. Your Excellency will need to inquire further upon returning to your residence."

"Thank you for informing me, Lord Zhang."

At this moment, the triumphant procession swept through several main streets and arrived at the gate of the Earl's Mansion.

The Earl's mansion rarely opens its main gate, but today it was naturally wide open.

The golden door studs, arranged in a nine-by-seven pattern, gleamed brightly under the midday sun.