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

With the local military intervening in the investigation, coupled with Wu Yihang's previous actions in standing up for martial artists and his own superior martial arts skills, no martial artist refused to cooperate. Wu Yihang also ordered that the older ones be prioritized over the younger ones, and those who were clearly underage be spared. Thus, the martial artists in each inn began to be tested in an orderly manner. Ku Ning thus escaped unscathed.

In less than an hour, the screening of the visiting martial artists was basically completed, with the strongest being the Four Heroes of Hedong. High-level martial artists were a rare sight in such a remote and impoverished place.

His soldiers compiled the results and handed them to Wu Yihang, who then showed them to Ge Man: "There are no suspicious individuals resembling Black Wolf in the inn. Is Prefect Ge satisfied?"

Ge Man felt like he was slapping himself in the face. If he couldn't complete the Qian family's matter, how could he pocket the subsequent bribes? He cried out anxiously, "The inn has been searched, and so have the restaurants and all the major shops! Anyway, I have reliable intelligence that Black Wolf is on these streets!"

His words really put Qian Zhuang in a terrible position.

When Qian Zhuang heard this in the restaurant, he almost vomited blood. He told Black Wolf to stay and quickly got up and went to the door: "Oh my! Your Excellency the Prefect! Please don't be angry. Seeing how much you care about upholding justice for us small merchants, my heart is truly warmed."

Wu Yihang sneered. He knew Qian Zhuang. The Qian family were small merchants? They were a large merchant guild that sold elixirs of immortality alongside the local priest.

Ge Man was pleased with Qian Zhuang's kind words. He took Qian Zhuang's hand and firmly assured him, "So Brother Qian is here too. Don't worry, an official who doesn't serve the people might as well go home and sell sweet potatoes. I will definitely find the notorious thief Black Wolf and give you an explanation." As he spoke, he hooked his little finger around Qian Zhuang's palm and winked at him subtly, as if to say, "I understand, money talks."

Qian Zhuang, suppressing his nausea, slowly withdrew his hand. Being overweight, he was prone to sweating, and Ge Man's slippery hands were incredibly unpleasant. He said, "Your Excellency, since General Wu didn't find Black Wolf at the inn, he's probably already escaped. Let's just let it go. The shareholders behind the shops on these streets are all members of our Wuzhou Chamber of Commerce. We see each other all the time; making a scene would only disrupt their business, and I feel terrible about that."

Wu Yihang narrowed his eyes, sensing something was amiss.

Since taking office, he has been diligent and conscientious, closely monitoring the behavior of those priests. The Qian family, who became the richest family in Wuzhou by distributing elixirs of immortality, are usually extremely high-profile; even losing a dog would cause a city-wide uproar. Has he changed his ways today?

Originally, the task of suppressing the power of the priests was mainly the responsibility of the prefectural government, and the method was to constantly instigate infighting among the priests in order to find fault and weaken them. However, since taking office, Ge Man has only cared about embezzlement and bribery, and is so close to the merchant priests that they are practically inseparable, completely disregarding the court's mission.

Under heaven, all land belongs to the king. How could the existence of a priest, an unstable element akin to slavery, be tolerated?

The priests of Wuzhou are shrouded in mystery because many people don't know their origins.

In fact, they were a group of humanoid demon leaders who followed Emperor Taizu in conquering the world during the founding of the dynasty and rendered meritorious service. After the establishment of the Great Chen Dynasty, Emperor Taizu, in order to reward their achievements, established a system of priests in various places unsuitable for human habitation, with hereditary succession. They were stipulated to only operate within their own territories and were not allowed to enter human lands without imperial decree. Furthermore, the regions they governed only needed to pay tribute to the court annually, without having to pay taxes.

Later emperors, feeling uneasy, wanted to implement a prefecture-county system in the region where the priest resided. Through negotiations, the two sides agreed to retain some of the priest's privileges, while the administrative power of the region was entirely vested in the imperial court. Tax revenue was split 40/60, with the imperial court receiving 40% and the priest receiving 60%, thus the priest became a spiritual symbol.

Wuzhou had seven high priests. Over the past century, most of them had become part of the human race, possessing only some special abilities. They no longer practiced demonic arts, and those who did were cultivating martial arts and true qi. However, their power was far too great, even more outrageous than that of ordinary noble families. They enslaved countless demons and conducted illegal research into medicine and magic. The elixir of immortality was one of the products of their illegal research.

Since the Mechanical Revolution, the world has faced a reshuffling, with widening gaps between the rich and poor and increasing ideological confusion. People seem to have lost empathy. Any difference is magnified infinitely, and behavior patterns have shifted from seeking similarities to seeking differences. Once exploited by those with ulterior motives, this can lead to irreparable tragedies. These high-ranking priests, secretly colluding with rebellious forces, are also beginning to stir.

Wu Yixing entered Baige Temple at a young age, where he heard the concept of equality for all beings most often, even though his background and what he saw and heard clearly told him that all beings were not equal. But he still hoped that the world of equality described by the Buddha could be realized.

This is not hypocrisy, but a conviction: to love oneself, to love others, and to love all beings. How can someone who doesn't even love themselves love others? How can someone who doesn't even love their own kind love all beings? This love is not narrow romantic love, but compassion. And vice versa. Can someone who doesn't love all beings love others? Can someone who doesn't even know how to shape their own living environment truly love themselves?

Ideals aside, in reality, he was a general of the Great Chen Empire, and maintaining national stability was his responsibility. Only when the country was stable and peaceful could all people be happy and healthy. In times of chaos, it was the common people who suffered the most.

He knew the helplessness of being down on his luck. Especially after he was assassinated by the Imperial Guards, he fell from the illusory pedestal of genius. His family's high hopes for him to advance to the Martial King realm were dashed, and despite the ridicule and sarcasm from his clansmen, he never gave up.

Even though his cultivation progressed slowly, he focused on controlling his true energy and comprehending martial arts techniques. While Ku Ning only achieved mastery of the Five Phases due to his third spiritual vision, he, through sheer perseverance, also achieved mastery of two martial arts techniques and perfection of one, making him no less capable than Ku Ning! That perfection technique was the Flower-Picking Finger Technique, a divine skill that allowed him to pluck leaves and send flowers flying, and to sever the flow of energy through the void. Originally, his true energy was at the third rank, but his true strength was comparable to the upper second rank, and he could even escape unscathed from an opponent at the lower first rank.

Wu Yixing served as the garrison commander of Wuzhou for four years. When he first arrived, the Wuzhou garrison was utterly demoralized, its discipline was poor, its people were decadent, and extortion of civilians and bullying of men and women were commonplace. After he arrived, he swiftly rectified military discipline, purging most of the bad elements from the army.

Since this involves the Qian family, it inevitably implicates the high priests behind them. Either the stolen items by Black Wolf are very important, but it's impossible that they concern the Empress Dowager. These high priests are ostensibly aligned with the Regent, but in reality, they remain neutral. Of course, they have no right to interfere in court affairs. Alternatively, it must involve rebellious forces, which explains their tense and awkward demeanor. Neither the Empress Dowager nor the Regent will tolerate any connection between them and rebellious forces.

The chaos in the Great Chen court was surprisingly unified. After all, the struggle for power and profit was a matter of unequal distribution of internal interests, while rebellion would cost them their lives.

Qian Zhuang's unusually low profile aroused Wu Yihang's suspicion: "Master Qian, you are mistaken. Black Wolf is a notorious bandit who has plagued Da Chen for more than forty years. Countless good families have been destroyed by him. It is not just your Qian family's fault."

Qian Zhuang's hands trembled, and to avoid arousing suspicion, he could only clench the hem of his clothes to slow his movements. He hadn't considered that Black Wolf was a repeat offender, and if someone took it seriously, the situation would be beyond his control. Black Wolf had become his plaything ten years ago, secretly transformed into a puppet by the Mechanical Holy Society to eliminate dissidents for him.