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

The commotion on this side and the appearance of Wu Yihang finally made the high-ranking Prefect Ge Man restless.

He arrived in a sedan chair, and struggled to alight. His large shoulders were wedged against the door, and it took him a while to finally emerge. Knowing the answer already, he asked, "General Wu, what is the meaning of this? Why have the constables of my prefectural government been disarmed?"

The Great Chen Dynasty implemented a provincial, prefectural, and county system. According to the official system, the local general was a third-rank military officer, and the prefect was a fourth-rank officer. However, civil officials controlled the military generals.

The situation in Wuzhou was complex. The local religious leaders' power had not been eliminated, and its geographical location at the intersection of three provinces made it extremely chaotic. The prefect of Wuzhou, as the person in charge, nominally held all the power and could supervise the general, but he did not have the authority to deploy troops.

Since Wu Yihang took office, he has shown him no respect whatsoever. He refuses to send troops to suppress bandits, refuses to send anyone to assist in investigations, and when asked, he replies that he has not received any orders from the Ministry of War.

He once pointed at Ge Man's nose and cursed, "Local armies are meant to prevent rebellions. If everything requires the army's efforts, what's the point of the imperial court setting up militias and government offices?"

Ge Man had long heard that Wu Yixing had been a martial monk before leaving secular life to join the army. He had risen through the ranks to the position of general thanks to family connections and his own abilities, and was known for his stubborn and unruly temperament. However, Wu Yixing's words and actions were both correct. Since taking office, he had strictly disciplined his soldiers, forbidding them from entering the city to disturb the people. They ate, drank, relieved themselves, and slept entirely within the military camp, refusing to collude with local officials. His daily focus was solely on training. The army's strength improved rapidly, almost rivaling that of the border troops.

The Wuzhou region was given a general command and garrisoned with 15,000 troops to prevent a rebellion by the priest's forces. If they were to deal with the local population daily, they risked being infiltrated.

Faced with Ge Man's questioning, Wu Yixing first dismounted and performed the proper courtesies, then pointed to the wounded and dead around him and retorted, "Prefect Ge, open your eyes and see! Is this the kind of investigation you've been conducting?"

Ge Man didn't look at him, but tilted his big head and stared at him slowly, saying, "These people have ulterior motives and resisted the search by force. They deserve to die. I have the permission of Xingwu Division to use surveying equipment to find the notorious bandit Black Wolf. Even if these warriors don't give me face, they should at least give Xingwu Division face. If they don't give face to either side, then they want to rebel."

"General Wu, what is your plan for dealing with those who rebel?"

Wu Yihang frowned deeply. Such distorted and unfounded statements were utter nonsense; to believe them was tantamount to eating shit.

He summoned a pedestrian who was hiding: "I ask you, where did the incident begin?"

The pedestrian pointed to the inn where Ku Ning was. Wu Yixing walked straight over and saw the constables and militiamen frozen in place at the entrance. His face darkened as he asked, "Who did this?"

Ke Moxiong shielded Ouyang Xi behind him, saying, "I did it!"

Wu Yihang glanced at the Four Heroes of Hedong, his gaze lingering on Ouyang Xi and the fan in his hand. With a single move of his Crane-Controlling Dragon-Capturing Skill, he drew the Free and Easy Fan towards him. Everyone was astonished by this feat; a third-rank martial artist, and his control over true qi had reached the level of telekinesis.

Wu Yihang said coldly, "I'm not here to interrogate you, I just want to find out the truth. If you continue to deceive and lie, you can imagine what will happen to you. No one can save you!"

Ouyang Xi stepped forward: "I was the one who made the move, but they opened fire randomly first, killing those two martial artists. We had no choice but to fight back."

Wu Yixing nodded, then used his inner energy to remove the fine needles from the constable's body. After being freed, the constable collapsed to the ground due to long-term poor blood circulation.

Without waiting for them to recover, he dragged one of them to his feet and asked, "Is what they said true?"

The man who had mistakenly slashed at the burly man because of Ku Ning's small action, intimidated by Wu Yihang's imposing presence and the seemingly miraculous skills he had just displayed, honestly confessed: "Yes, yes, but they didn't accept our test first..."

Upon hearing the preceding events, Wu Yihang lost interest in listening further and turned to Prefect Ge Man: "Prefect Ge, the facts are clear. Your subordinates' chaotic enforcement of the law and their excessively brutal methods have led to the current situation. I suggest that this farce be stopped immediately."

Ge Man's face was as cold as ice: "General Wu, are you determined to oppose me?"

Wu Yihang shook his head: "It's not that I want to oppose you, but Prefect Ge, you've gone too far. The imperial court has entrusted you with the peace and prosperity of this prefecture. The local land is barren, and grain production is insufficient. Only with stable trade and merchants can the local people generate income, allowing them to live and work in peace."

Ge Man scoffed, "General Wu has a heart for saving the world and bringing peace to the people, and I will certainly petition the court. However, today we must capture the notorious thief Black Wolf. Do you know what he stole? It was a tribute that the Qian family was preparing to present to the Empress Dowager to celebrate her birthday. General Wu, what is your intention in showing such favoritism towards martial artists and obstructing the search?"

Wu Yihang's eyes darkened instantly. Although he didn't know if Ge Man was just putting on airs, given the current state of the court struggles, if this matter were used against him, he would really suffer a lot.

"Alright, didn't Prefect Ge send someone to deliver a notice of assistance in the investigation this morning? Today, our army will help you investigate thoroughly, so you won't say I'm not taking the Empress Dowager's affairs seriously."

Wu Yihang raised his riding whip: "Deputy General! Have our soldiers take over the surveying instruments from the prefectural government office and the militia brothers, and deploy 5,000 troops to block the roads in and out of the city. Not even a fly can get out!" Then, he said to Ge Man: "Prefect Ge, since our army is conducting an investigation, we also have the right to know. Please bring the Qian family who reported the case here. I want to ask them about the situation myself."

Ge Man's face flushed with anger. This guy had actually turned the tables on him! This wasn't the kind of cooperation he wanted! He pointed at Wu Yihang, his obese body trembling uncontrollably: "What do you want?"

Wu Yihang said, "Since it's a search, what makes you so sure that the notorious thief Black Wolf is hiding in the inn? These thieves are extremely cunning, and Black Wolf is even more so; he hasn't been caught for over thirty years. Do you think he'd be waiting for you to catch him in the inn? To avoid losses, I will complete the city-wide search as quickly as possible."

Ge Man was speechless for a moment. He didn't really want to catch the so-called Black Wolf; it was just an excuse from the Qian family. He couldn't say it out loud, or he would surely be exposed.

Qian Zhuang, hidden in the shadows, crushed his valuable jade ring in his hand, sweating profusely as he watched the soldiers take action. He really did have Black Wolf by his side! He had originally intended to use him to capture the man from last night, but unexpectedly, he had brought trouble upon himself.

Black Wolf was already a first-grade cultivator, and after extensive mechanical modifications, he could contend with a Martial King. Even if he couldn't win, he could hold them off. Even if he was captured, he could cover up the lie of this search and later get him out of prison. The reason for searching the inn was that Song Zhiyuan's last known location last night was on the street where the inn was located.

Wu Yihang suddenly appeared, disrupting the plan. Given his forces, he could easily search the entire city quickly; his Black Wolf might be captured before he even had a chance to make a move against that person!