Steam-powered martial arts: My virginity cultivation technique has been broken.

In this situation where someone else was taking the blame, Ouyang Xi did not defend himself but admitted his guilt, which made Ku Ning look at him with higher regard.

Ku Ning asked him, "Is this really a plan you made alone, or something the four of you discussed together?"

Despite his physical limitations, Ouyang Xi faced his questions head-on and frankly admitted, "My plan was to drug all three of them at the same time, clearing them of suspicion. I would then take the Heavenly Wood and deliver it to the buyer, completing my mission."

Ku Ning nodded in agreement, having protected the reputation of his other siblings by acting alone, thus living up to the word "righteousness."

Ouyang Xi retorted, "And when did you begin to doubt our motives?"

Ku Ning said, "I found out in Anlu County that Xu Zhengwei was someone we arranged to be by your side."

Ouyang Xi chuckled self-deprecatingly, recalling their secretive behavior along the way, and felt like a clown: "Fine, since you've caught us red-handed, do with me as you please."

Ku Ning waved his hand: "You're not guilty of that. I could tell you were genuinely poor, which is why you were so eager to earn more and made the wrong choice." He then walked to Jiang Xiaoya's side and gently stroked her cheek: "Besides, you didn't succeed; at most, it was attempted crime. You're practically my brothers-in-law, what's so unforgivable about that?"

Hearing this, Ouyang Xi felt relieved and leaned weakly against the table, her eyes sharp as she looked at the wailing villagers on the ground: "What will happen to these people? They spend their days hunting birds, and now they'll be pecked by the birds. They harm others, and in the end, they harm themselves."

Ku Ning sensed the remorse and lament in his words and suggested, "Heaven cherishes life, and killing is too cruel. Don't they like to pretend to be innocent and then harm people? Then break one of their arms and legs, gouge out one of their eyes, and carve the word 'thief' on their faces so that they will look fierce. Then merchants will not be fooled in the future."

Ouyang Xi's lips twitched. This was more cruel than murder? He secretly glanced at Ku Ning's mechanical right eye. Was this kid psychologically twisted? He'd lost an eye himself, so he liked gouging out other people's eyes too. But he didn't stop him; Ku Ning's method was one solution.

"Before dealing with them, let's wake up the rest of them first. Even the antidote I took beforehand couldn't stop the effects of such a large dose of sleeping potion, let alone them. If it goes on for too long, it might damage their health. Unfortunately, I don't have the antidote anymore. Go ask these people."

"No need for that. I have a solution."

Ku Ning used the Vajra Palm again, his movements surprisingly slow, possessing a blend of strength and gentleness. Black true energy seeped from his palm along with the movement, entering the unconscious man's body and circulating throughout his body. It then drifted out from between his eyebrows and gathered in his palm. Although the advanced level of the Reverse Virginity Skill had not reached the level of indestructibility, the black true energy unexpectedly activated the property of being immune to all poisons. To be precise, the primordial yang true energy dissolves toxins, while the black true energy devours them.

"Liquid True Qi, you're a second-grade martial artist!"

Ouyang Xi thought that Ku Ning was only a little taller than them, but he didn't expect him to be so much taller, like a stream facing a river.

Ku Ning's lips curled into a playful smile as he said, "Keep it a secret for me."

Ouyang Xi felt as if a kitchen condiment jar had been overturned, a mixture of all five flavors: sour, sweet, bitter, spicy, and salty. This young man's background was definitely not simple. To reach the second rank at such a young age was something only a core disciple of a first-rate sect could achieve, and even then, it had to be a sect with a well-established lineage, great prosperity, and near-super-first-rate status.

Such sects are few and far between in Dachen, and they are Buddhist sects. So there are only Baige Temple and Jiangshan Temple in the capital, one is a royal temple and the other is a thousand-year-old temple with incense burning continuously.

He loves money so much, he must be a disciple of Jiangshan Temple.

Ouyang Xi made the wrong choice between the two options, but that did not prevent him from feeling an overwhelming sense of awe towards it.

Ku Ning had only cleared the sleeping potion from their main meridians and blood, and it had already been absorbed and remained untouched. He couldn't manipulate it to penetrate the capillaries. After a long while, the remaining toxins were digested by their bodies, and they gradually regained consciousness. Seeing the villagers lying on the ground, missing limbs and unable to get up, they felt confusion, surprise, and fear. They were even more curious about why Ouyang Xi and Ku Ning were unharmed, and why Ouyang Xi had so much blood on his hands.

Ke Moxiong seemed to have guessed what Ouyang Xi had done, and was about to pat his chest and take responsibility.

Ku Ning raised his hand to stop Ke Moxiong's foolish act of self-destruction: "Alright, the gang of thieves who drugged and robbed us have already been punished. Let's continue on our way."

He chose not to break off relations, preferring to leave room for future encounters.

On the way, Ouyang Xi confessed his plan to Ke Moxiong, admitting his failure. At the same time, he was glad that he had acted in advance. If he had really followed Ke Moxiong's suggestion to impersonate someone else and secretly ambush and rob, he would definitely not have been able to take the Tianyuan Wood from Ku Ning. Instead, Ku Ning would have used this as an excuse to give him a good beating. Along the way, everyone could see how cunning and ruthless he was.

"This kid is so hypocritical. He doesn't take the initiative, he just waits for you to make a mistake, then he punishes you, standing on the moral high ground to settle the matter. This approach sounds so familiar, doesn't it? Isn't this the style of those so-called righteous sects? They appear magnanimous on the surface, but stab you in the back."

Ke Moxiong broke out in a cold sweat. Over the years, they had suffered many such losses. He recalled that when they first came down from the mountain, they did not know the rules and acted arrogantly.

Once, while on a mission, he encountered a disciple of a great sword sect who initially stole some of his credit. He outwardly remained polite and courteous, but later spent the entire mission pointing out their mistakes, ultimately leaving them without any reward. The key was that he was always right in pointing them out, leaving them no room for argument.

These disciples from major sects control cultivation resources, connections, and information resources... They look down on those weaker than them from the bottom of their hearts.

Ke Moxiong's thoughts became somewhat reactive and extreme. Ouyang Xi didn't dare reveal his guess about Ku Ning's identity, and could only nod and say perfunctorily, "It does seem a bit like him, but given how much the Great Chen values ​​martial artists, I've never seen a formal disciple of a prestigious sect become a bodyguard; at most, it's an outsider."

Ke Moxiong was also confused: "Forget it, since we've failed, let's give up. We'll send the Heavenly Fate Wood to Fengcheng and find some more commissions. We're still short more than 10,000 Dragon Dollars in contribution this month."

With this matter settled, the Four Heroes of Hedong noticeably quickened their pace, urging Ku Ning to hurry on his way, and they actually arrived in Fengcheng a day ahead of schedule.

The Windy City and the Phoenix City are like Metropolis and Gotham City—same place, different fates.

The two cities are nestled in a mountain valley, surrounded by mountains on all sides, resembling a giant bird's nest or a red and green yin-yang symbol. The boundary between the cities is very clear, with distinct divisions.

As Ku Ning and his companions descended the mountain path, the first thing that caught their eye was the red Phoenix City, with its grand mansions, festive and ostentatious, and flags adorned with phoenixes fluttering everywhere. On the other side of the Phoenix City were rows of ordinary wooden houses, haphazardly arranged, and the faint chirping of insects could be heard.

"Chief镖师 An, are you sure you're not mistaken? We're supposed to deliver the Heavenly Fate Wood to Wind City, not Phoenix City? Is it possible you misheard?"