I am Jinshan Youxia

Huang Yaoshi slowly exhaled, glanced at the steamed rice cake still stuck to the stone lock before stepping down from the stage, and then looked at the seniors who were standing miserably in a row with spiritual energy locks on them, and gently shook his head.

A group of oddballs.

"Next up, Ouyang Feng..."

-------------------------------------

In the twenty-second year of Shaowu, in Suzhou City, at the Martial Arts Academy and the Women's Academy.

"I heard that the newly appointed prefect of Suzhou is coming to inspect the courtyard."

"Let me tell you, I've heard that the new prefect doesn't have any relatives by marriage yet. He's said to be obsessed with martial arts, comes from the Huang family of Zhejiang West Road, and recently got into a fight with his own father."

"The one who ranked third on last year's list?"

"I saw the portrait, he's quite handsome, could it be..."

Mei Ruohua lay on the table, listening listlessly to her classmates' chatter.

The martial arts academy originally consisted of only one courtyard. Even though martial arts were not divided by gender, old ideas had not been completely changed, and there were still many prejudices against girls in the community.

It was established as a women's college a few years ago, separate from the men's college.

Mei Ruohua has no interest in gossip; her idol is Lin Chaoying, who ranked seventh on the Heavenly Ranking last year.

"Knock, knock, knock!" The female instructor knocked on the door and said, "Come out, everyone."

It must be that Prefect Huang.

"Hey, Ruohua, do you think the prefect will be as handsome as in the portrait?" Feng Heng (Heng was changed because it was the same character as the name of the country) asked Mei Ruohua, linking arms with her.

Mei Ruohua said with a stern face, "How would I know? You shouldn't be thinking about men all the time. If I had your photographic memory—"

"Stop making noise!" the instructor said, turning his head. "When the prefect comes to inspect later, all of you better keep quiet. Mei Ruohua, come to the front."

Feng Heng stuck out her tongue apologetically and let go of his hand.

The group quickly met up with the other students and arrived at the training ground.

Chen Xuanfeng, the instructor of Suzhou Martial Arts Academy, was smiling broadly as he followed beside a man dressed in blue, saying:

"Lord Huang, I heard that a golden statue of the Martial Ancestor, weighing over 100,000 jin, was unearthed during a mountain excavation in Changzhou County. It may be a manifestation of the Martial Ancestor's spirit. Should we report this to the imperial court...?"

"Let them find a place to enshrine it," Huang Yaoshi said, suppressing the urge to scold them. "What era are we living in? They're still making up all sorts of fancy miracles and divine interventions."

A few years ago, a minor official named Duan Tiande tried to pull off the whole "Martial Ancestor's Manifestation" thing, but he was eventually found to be a fraud, his martial arts were crippled, and he was exiled overseas.

This kind of thing is nothing new. There are always people who think that since the Daheng Dynasty worships the Martial Ancestor, they want to make something out of the Martial Ancestor who is rumored to be a deity descended to earth. Every single one of them ends up in a bad way.

“But…” Chen Xuanfeng tried to explain. He had seen it, and the golden statue was incredibly heavy, not at all like a fake. Where in Changzhou County could there be so much gold to make such a heavy and lifelike golden statue? Moreover, the golden statue was exactly the same as the Martial Ancestor in the portrait. If it was the real Martial Ancestor manifesting his power, he might be able to ascend.

Huang Yaoshi glanced at him, and Chen Xuanfeng, burdened by the weight of being ranked third on the Earthly Ranking and holding the position of Prefect, immediately fell silent.

The two began to examine the students of the martial arts academy as usual.

"Mei Ruohua is the most outstanding student in our Women's College..." The dean of the Women's College did not hold back her praise.

"Where is she from?" Huang Yaoshi nodded.

The women's college has received the most attention in recent years. The separation of the original martial arts college into men's and women's colleges has been a controversial issue, with many ministers in the court getting into fights on the spot due to differing opinions. Two artificial mountains near Chang'an were even blown up.

"From Shangyu."

"Shangyu? Why would students from the western region come to Suzhou to study?"

"Lord Huang, it's like this. Mei Ruohua's family has outdated views and favors sons over daughters. They absolutely do not approve of her learning martial arts and even want to marry her off to..."

Mei Ruohua kept her eyes fixed ahead, her posture upright and unmoved. From the moment she ran away from home, she had no intention of acknowledging her parents again.

Not far behind, Feng Heng's murmured voice rang out:

"How come someone so handsome isn't married?"

Chapter 144 Little Li Flying Dagger

"I've heard you're the Swift Wind Sword Zhuge Lei?"

"It's all thanks to the kindness of my brothers in the martial arts world. May I ask who you are?"

“I’m just a nobody. I’ve come to take something from you, something you brought from beyond the Great Wall.”

Zhuge Lei, the Swift Wind Sword, had a drastic change in expression. He took three steps forward, and Zhao Lao Er, the bodyguard beside him, drew his longsword with a clang to show his loyalty.

They all knew that what they brought from beyond the Great Wall was something that couldn't be seen in the light of day and couldn't be spread outside.

"You should think this through." The boy slowly twirled the tassel on his sword without looking up.

"Those who point their swords at me have never seen the sun rise the next day."

Zhao Lao Er's face turned red with anger. He stepped forward with his sword, as if to make a move. Zhuge Lei also half-raised his sword.

The next second, Zhao Lao Er froze on the spot, while Zhuge Lei could barely see what had happened. He felt a sweet and bitter taste rise in his throat and asked.

"What kind of swordsmanship is that?"

The young man coughed lightly, looked up to reveal a slightly pale face, and said, "It doesn't really matter what I'm called. For dealing with weaklings, a basic attack is enough."

Zhuge Lei was somewhat confused, but he roughly understood that the other party was saying that he had become much weaker. He gave a sad smile, fell backward, and his blood splattered in a half-circle.

After the two men died, the bodyguards and guards stood frozen in place, fear plastered on their faces, not daring to utter a word, awaiting the young man's judgment.

The young man stepped forward and took a yellow cloth bundle from Zhuge Lei's arms. When he unfolded it, a golden armor was revealed.

"Golden Silk Armor!"

Immediately, someone recognized the name of this treasured armor: the most coveted item in the martial arts world. Obtaining it would allow one to kill the infamous Plum Blossom Bandit, who had roamed the world for decades, and obtain countless bounties and the Plum Blossom Bandit's wealth accumulated over decades.

There was even the most beautiful woman in the world, Lin Xian'er!

"You can go now." The young man looked the new gold-threaded armor up and down, admiring it for a moment, but then casually stuffed it into a gray cloth bag next to his cloak.

"By the way, I am Zhang Chengyi, the Wandering Swordsman of Jinshan. My sword is the Holy Spirit Sword Technique, and the Golden Silk Armor is in my hands."

The boy shouted with great interest.

"Excellent sword! Excellent swordsmanship!"

A carriage that was about to drive into the inn had its curtains suddenly lifted, revealing a weathered yet handsome face. After glancing at Zhang Chengyi and the corpse on the ground, the man couldn't help but cheer.

Zhang Chengyi smiled calmly, "You flatter me. No matter how good the sword or how good the swordsmanship, it can't compare to the famous Little Li Flying Dagger."

Li Xunhuan's coachman peeked out and his face showed horror. If it were just Zhuge Lei, even if ten or eight of them died, Tie Chuanjia would not take them seriously. But this young man in front of him was overflowing with sword energy, and the ground about three zhang under his feet was plowed into countless ravines by the crisscrossing sword energy.

"Even Little Li's Flying Dagger is absolutely impossible."

"Whoosh, whoosh"

Two figures rushed past, interrupting their conversation. Two soft swords, one black and one white, silently swung towards Zhang Chengyi's neck.

The two men who attacked with a series of clanging sounds were instantly reduced to dozens of pieces. The one in black was forced to retreat dozens of steps, vomited a pool of blood, and collapsed to the ground.

Li Xunhuan looked reluctant, shook his head, and went into the inn. He had intended to invite Zhang Chengyi for a drink, but he never expected that they were not on the same path.

Having spent over ten years with Li Xunhuan, Tie Chuanjia understood his master's thoughts early on. He stopped paying attention to the trivial matters outside the inn and drove his carriage into the inn.

"Spare my life! I'm willing to be your slave." Bai looked up at Zhang Chengyi, who was walking towards him step by step, and pleaded.

Zhang Chengyi smiled and said softly, "The Azure Blood Twin Serpents, with such a resounding reputation, are still not as good as Zhuge Lei, who has been living a life of luxury for many years. You are such a waste. What good would it do to spare your life?"

"Besides, I don't need an assassin to be my slave."

Sword energy burst forth.

"Pfft!"

-------------------------------------

Inside the inn, Li Xunhuan drank the contents of his cup in one gulp, while Tie Chuanjia stood silently by his side.

Seeing Zhang Chengyi slowly walk into the inn, Li Xunhuan sighed, "Trouble is coming."

Tie Chuanjia tensed his muscles, ready to act at any moment.

Zhang Chengyi looked up and saw Li Xunhuan sitting by the stove, the flames crackling and reflecting an eerie red hue onto his face, which had just been drinking.

"Cough cough cough~" The only sound in the entire inn was this sickly cough.

Before they could say anything, the inn door creaked open again, and this time another cold-looking young man walked in. He had a sword made of iron nails at his waist. His name was A Fei, and he had just met Li Xunhuan.

Ah Fei looked around, pursing his thin lips, "Shopkeeper, give me a bowl of hot water."

"Here you go!" Li Xunhuan raised his hand and tossed a jar of wine over.

“I have no money.” A-Fei stared at Li Xunhuan.

"It's my treat."

"I owe you a jar of wine, and I'm willing to kill someone for you."

Li Xunhuan picked up his wine cup again and sighed, "I don't want you to kill anyone; in fact, I'd rather you didn't kill anyone at all."

"Alright, if we meet again, I'll spare your life," A-Fei said earnestly.

Tie Chuanjia seemed amused. How could the mighty Little Li Flying Dagger be threatened by someone playing with a toy sword?

“That’s more than the price of one jar of wine,” Li Xunhuan said, seemingly quite seriously.

Ah Fei didn't say anything more. Perhaps he was thirsty, or perhaps he was cold. He tilted his head back and gulped down half a jar of wine, and a blush immediately appeared on his face.

Zhang Chengyi took off his cloak, revealing a gray-white long robe, and found a seat by the window. The waiter walked over timidly.

"Half a roasted chicken, a pot of hot tea, and a side dish," he said, lining up a row of coins.

The shop assistant trembled as he accepted the coins and fled from Zhang Chengyi's side as if he were running away.

Li Xunhuan chuckled to himself, thinking to himself, "I never expected that you, a murderous genius, would have such a worldly side."

Before long, the roast chicken, hot tea, and side dishes were ready.

Zhang Chengyi stretched out his chopsticks, tore off a piece of chicken, and put it in his mouth. While chewing, he tapped the table with his slender fingers, lost in thought about martial arts.

After logging into this world's body, he tentatively practiced the Holy Spirit Sword Technique, a supreme sword technique from another world, but encountered a minor mishap.

The martial arts he practiced before were mostly those that didn't require a mental or spiritual level, and his body was fine even with the mod. Later, he discovered that if he wanted to advance his martial arts to a higher level, it seemed that he had to involve some messy mental will and soul.

This applies not only to martial arts, but also to the power systems of many worlds.