Devoting Himself V

The night was hazy.

In a vegetable market near Mu Chi Prefecture.

One after another, figures silently slipped through the shadows, like fish swimming in water, leaping lightly from the ground to the surrounding walls.

The market was muddy at night, but Kong Wu, a far cry from its daytime bustle.

Among the figures, a tall man with a white headscarf was gazing into the distance towards Mu Chi Prefecture.

"Is that where the newly appointed Gentleman's Young Dragon is located?" The man's eyes gleamed, and he held a gold and iron folding fan in his hand.

"That's right. What the eldest young master means is that since they are all members of the sect, there's no need to go too far. Just cripple that child's meridians so that he can't practice martial arts."

A short Black-Clad Man on one side said softly.

"Among the many estates in the Righteous Lineage, it was originally thought that this position would fall to Xu Chengxuan and the other two, but no one could have predicted that not competing is the best way." The man with the iron fan sighed.

"A mere borderland disciple, whose strength is only at the Super Grade, has managed to use various means to enter the Academy and become a third-generation disciple. He must be quite cunning."

"Senior brother, let's get started quickly, lest things get complicated," the short man urged.

"Alright."

Without another word, the two waved their hands, and instantly, figures around them soared into the air, as fast as birds, and pounced on Mu Chi Prefecture from various angles.

The group of fifteen people had just approached the wall of the Mansion, and before they could even enter, several of the lanterns hanging on the wall suddenly went out.

"Who goes there!?" At the same time, inside the Mansion, a figure in white robes spread his arms, leaped into the air, and pounced towards the top of the wall.

"I saw someone doing the right thing!" The man from Tieshan said casually, his figure flashed, and he suddenly crossed more than ten meters, striking the other person in the chest with a fan.

Bang!

The man in white robes tried to defend himself, but he hadn't expected his opponent to be so fast that he had no time to react.

No, it wasn't fast! He simply couldn't perceive how the other party attacked! The voice came from the left, but the attack came from the right.

As a respected elder and Sixth Grade expert, he couldn't even withstand a single move from his opponent! His white robe fell to the ground, and he quickly vomited blood and fell unconscious.

"Find someone," the man from Tieshan said in a deep voice, his expression unchanged.

A series of figures swept past him and rushed into the ranks of guards patrolling near the Mansion.

Within seconds, First Squad soldiers fell to the ground, and strangely enough, even though their opponents were in front of them, the group was shouting and waving their weapons to the side.

All fifteen Black-Clad Man arrived at the courtyard where Zhang Rongyu and his son Zhang Huanqing were.

The two men with iron fans landed lightly and looked into the darkened inner room.

Inside the window frame carved with plum blossoms, behind the gray window paper, all was quiet, as if no one was there.

"I apologize for coming without prior notice and for my lack of manners," the man with the iron fan said, clasping his hands in a fist salute. "This is just a small gift, nothing more."

He reached out and took a silver object from the Black-Clad Man beside him, then tossed it away.

With a hissing sound, a dense barrage of steel needles, as fine as cow's hair, shot out and struck the room.

Just then, a figure suddenly darted out of the house. He held a black cloth in his hand, and with a sudden flick, he scattered the steel needles, which fell to the ground.

"The Meng Family's Silver Frost Needles?"

The man landed and stood firm, then looked up at the man with the iron fan and the others.

"So you already have Protecting the Dao?" the man with the iron fan sneered. "Take them down!" He waved his hand and charged forward first.

In an instant, the two attacked simultaneously and became entangled in combat.

Deep inside the room, in a corner, Zhang Rongyu carefully held her son and sat down in a hemispherical protective seat surrounded by metal partitions.

Standing opposite her was a tall woman with gray hair, a thick waist, and strong legs.

"They're here again. Do you know whose side they are this time?" Zhang Rongyu took a deep breath and asked softly.

"Only those three families are Righteous Lineage to compete for the position of Gentleman. Regardless of whether these people reveal their identities or not, you can't go wrong by putting the score on their heads," the strong woman replied.

She glanced at the child Zhang Rongyu was holding, little Zhang Huanqing, who was sleeping soundly and had no idea what was happening around him.

"Your aptitude is poor. You've only cultivated a little bit of the Illusory Spirit Bewitching Sound Technique. Even with the protection of the Law Manifestation Pill Book, you can only deceive others temporarily. If this goes on for too long, you'll definitely be discovered. So remember, never show yourself casually."

"Yes." Zhang Rongyu nodded.

She had this in mind when she was working to get her son to compete for the position of gentleman.

As a disciple from a remote border region with no one to rely on, she had only herself to depend on.

He had previously saved someone by accident and received help from a Confucian master.

She then contacted her parents' old friends and seniors, which became her entire network of connections.

By leveraging these two points, along with the additional efforts of her and her husband, they distinguished themselves and became the beneficiaries of the Confucian Sect Righteous Lineage.

Then, by leveraging the covert influence of the Confucian Sect, she strengthened the power of her husband's Clan Head. Through this mutual promotion, she finally succeeded in securing the right of her son to inherit the throne.

"Senior, how many more times will this happen?" Zhang Rongyu asked softly.

"The position of a gentleman in the Righteous Lineage is not only determined by talent, but also by the strength of the Protecting the Dao behind him."

"From the moment you decided to vie for the position, you had to rely on yourself to overcome these obstacles," the strong woman replied. "You should understand, 'As heaven maintains vigor through movement, a gentleman should constantly strive for self-improvement.'"

"If those people outside break through your defenses, could you possibly stop them, senior?" Zhang Rongyu asked again.

"They can't break in. But this is just the beginning. We can hold them off now, but more and more people will come, and they will become stronger and stronger. At that point, we alone won't be able to protect them all. You'll have to find another way," the strong woman replied.

"Rongyu understands." A dark glint flashed in Zhang Rongyu's eyes.

Soon, the commotion in the courtyard outside gradually subsided.

The fan in the man's hand broke into several pieces. He looked grim and stared intently at the old man who had made the move.

Yes, the person who fought with him was an old man who was on his deathbed.

And they are both practitioners of the Confucian Sect Martial Cultivator.

"Go!" The man with the iron fan gave the order, and the people around him retreated, leaping up and leaving the courtyard in the blink of an eye.

Neither of them noticed that in a nearby alley, a dark red figure was quietly leaning against the wall, waiting in place.

From the location of the dark red figure, smashing through the wall, one can rush straight into the inner room where Zhang Rongyu is at top speed.

He and Zhang Rongyu were separated only by two walls.

Once it was confirmed that the man with the iron fan and his companions had left, the dark red figure slowly shrank into the shadows and disappeared, as if it had never appeared in the first place.

***Inside a dilapidated temple in the mountains.

A campfire was burning brightly, releasing light and heat.

A man was lying on his side by the fire, wearing a dark Human Immortal Temple, fast asleep.

On the ground of the dilapidated temple beside him, a dozen or so bandits lay sprawled about, dressed in rags and wielding broken weapons.

Judging from their breathing, these people were already ice-cold and beyond dead.

Judging from its appearance, the corpse's skin and flesh were dry and sunken, as if all the blood had dried up after dehydration.

Zhang Rongfang landed lightly outside the dilapidated temple and looked inside.

One of the red threads he was tracking was connected to this place, right on the forehead of the sleeping Daoist.

'As expected, this talent allows me to find all my Blood Descendant at any time.'

Zhang Rongfang slowly approached the Daoist priest.

Seemingly sensing his presence, the Daoist priest trembled violently, opened his eyes from the ground, and stood up.

As soon as he got up, he saw Zhang Rongfang approaching.

"The Abbot?!" He was astonished. He had fled at least three thousand miles away! How could he still see the Abbot here? Was he dreaming?!

"You have violated my prohibition." Zhang Rongfang, dressed in a blood-red robe, stood in the shadows, staring at the other party.

"No!!" the Daoist priest hurriedly replied, "These people are courting death! They wanted to attack me! Abbot, please understand! Throughout my travels, I have never once launched a preemptive attack on anyone!"

He was right, and he meant it sincerely. He genuinely did not attack anyone intentionally.

However, he would often take out the gold, silver, and Gold Notes from his bag and count them one by one.

Zhang Rongfang carefully felt his heartbeat and his breath.

This person is most likely not lying.

After taking one last look at the bandits on the ground in the dilapidated temple, Zhang Rongfang touched the ground with his toes and suddenly disappeared into the shade of the trees behind him.

Overnight, he relentlessly followed the red line, tracking everyone at its end.

After consulting with more than ten people, Zhang Rongfang finally confirmed the efficacy of the talent he had acquired.

When I returned to the Human Immortal Platform, it was already dawn.

Zhang Rongfang reorganized the findings of this study.

'Not only can it track the location of Blood Descendant, but it can also be used in this way.'

Standing on the high platform, he closed his eyes, sensing the position of the Xiao Hong Bird in the air, then reached out and took it down, put it to his mouth, and gently took a bite.

As soon as Zhang Rongfang made his thought, the Xiao Hong Bird seemed to sense something, its whole body stiffened, too frightened to move.

Zhang Rongfang released the dog after a little blood seeped out from the bite and more blood seeped into its body.

The Xiao Hong Bird chirped and flapped its wings restlessly, taking off and flying around in the air.

A short while later, its entire plumage became darker, like blood, purer, and all the other feathers fell off.

Even its eyes had turned completely blood red.

For Zhang Rongfang, a new red thread emerged in the darkness after he closed his eyes, precisely linking to the Xiao Hong Bird.

"From today onwards, you will be different from before." Zhang Rongfang opened his eyes, looked at the Xiao Hong Bird, and smiled with satisfaction.

"Guanzhu."

Just then, a figure caught up from behind the Human Immortal Platform.

"Last night, Mu Chi Prefecture was attacked by mysterious people who attacked Zhang Rongyu's courtyard. They were also repelled by another group of mysterious people."

"Who is guarding the temple?" Zhang Rongfang frowned.

"It's the Shadow Daoist."

Zhang Rongfang, the "Shadow Daoist," paused, then remembered who this person was.

Of the three Blood Descendant of the Three Voids Bloodline who are still willing to remain at the Human Immortal Temple, three remain. Shadow Daoist is one of them.

The rest either sought out places to break through to the Grandmaster level or went to fulfill regrets from their youth, fleeing to distant lands.

Zhang Rongfang didn't care. No matter how these people acted, they were just like him, destined to be enemies that the Gods and Buddhas forces would eliminate in the future.

They were testing their own attitude towards the Gods and Buddhas.

Now, the Great Way who remained were secretly sent by him to live near Mu Chi Prefecture to protect the safety of his sister, nephew, and others.

"How many times has this happened recently?" Zhang Rongfang asked.

"This is the fourth time," the Daoist priest replied.