Rebellion?

Just as Zhang Yongfeng and the Yang City County Magistrate reached an agreement.

Inside a residence somewhere in Yang City.

"Boss, what do we do now?"

A burly man in a constable's uniform anxiously asked the Boss at their head.

The Boss at their head was likewise dressed in official robes. Though he was not a constable, his rank within the county yamen surpassed everyone else's.

At that moment, the Boss's expression was grim. But after looking at the brothers gathered in the residence, he steadied his emotions.

"Don't panic. Things haven't reached their worst point yet. Don't forget, we're officials."

"Zhang Ming can forcibly kill those commoners, but would he dare forcibly kill us?"

The skin of office was their greatest safeguard and the capital behind their arrogance.

"Boss is right. We're officials, officials. He wouldn't dare. He wouldn't dare."

The panic in their hearts receded somewhat. Thinking of the Gangs and gray-market businesses that had regularly paid them tribute—and that they themselves had often meddled in—being swept clean by Zhang Ming, fury surged endlessly within them.

"Damn the Zhang Family, damn Zhang Ming! Boss, we can't let this matter end like this. Without those people's tribute, how are we brothers supposed to eat well and drink fine liquor from now on?"

"We have to strike back. We can't let the Zhang Family look down on us."

The Boss at their head pondered briefly and felt that if others came knocking and they did not retaliate, it would be far too weak.

"Third Brother, what are you planning to do?"

"Boss, I know a group of Mountain Bandits. The three chiefs leading them are all Postnatal Martial Artists, and I heard their Big Chief is even a powerhouse among Postnatal Martial Artists. He once personally slew several Postnatal Martial Artists."

"We'll find them and sound them out, then have them wipe out the Zhang Family!"

"Anyway, the Zhang Family has amassed countless riches over the years. It's only natural for people to covet them."

"Maybe we can even get a share of the spoils."

"Good. We'll do it this way!"

Everyone cheered, as though they could already see the Mountain Bandits breaching the Zhang Family, plundering immense wealth, and giving them a share of the spoils.

And after the Zhang Family's destruction, these deeply rooted "officials" of Yang City would step in, take over the Zhang Family's many businesses, and from then on walk the road of wealth and prosperity.

Just then.

Bang—

"What are you all so happy about? What is there worth celebrating? Why not tell me about it, so I can be happy too?"

Several Armored Soldiers clad in refined iron armor and wielding sharp weapons flooded in, with Zhang Ming appearing behind them.

"Zhang, Zhang, Zhang Ming!"

Everyone was terrified, unable to believe how Zhang Ming had discovered this residence or known that they would gather here.

In an instant, they all looked at the friends beside them, suspecting that the other had betrayed them and revealed the existence of this residence.

"Stop looking. Yang City is only so large. Surely you all know how many employees my Zhang Family Merchant Guild has?"

"As long as we pay the slightest attention, every move you make is as clear to the Zhang Family as the palm of our hand."

"As for this little courtyard?"

Zhang Ming looked at them with disdain.

"The first time you came and went here, I already knew this residence existed."

At those words, everyone's faces turned deathly pale.

They had thought this was a secret hideout, only to discover that it had been exposed from the very beginning. At that moment, they felt as though they had stripped naked and run through the streets.

Shame and resentment filled the air.

"Zhang Ming, what do you want?"

The man at their head put on a fierce front despite his inner weakness, looking at the dozen or so Armored Soldiers around him.

"We're officials, and you're civilians. What are you planning to do by bringing so many people, with weapons and armor besides? Are you trying to rebel?"

"Tch."

Zhang Ming looked coldly at them and pronounced their sentence.

"In May of the 1,134th year of Great Zhou, a residence somewhere in Yang City, Xinhe Commandery, caught fire. Several high-ranking county yamen officials accidentally perished in the sea of flames."

"Kill!"

Shing—

Cold light burst forth as the sound of blades leaving their sheaths filled the room.

Blood descended in an instant.

A moment later.

Outside the residence.

Zhang Ming lowered his head and wiped the blood from his hands.

"Young Master, this subordinate was incompetent and made you act personally."

At his side, Wang Song, the armored captain of the guards, knelt and saluted.

"It's fine. Those few were not weak. It's normal that you couldn't take them down quickly."

The several yamen clerks in the residence were nearly all Warriors who had sensed Vital Energy. Though their strength was not particularly high,

they were still somewhat stronger than the Zhang Family's ordinary guards.

If not for the advantage of armor and weapons, it truly would not have been easy for more than a dozen men to take them down.

Thinking of this,

Zhang Ming looked at Wang Song, who had been utterly loyal and served as a Zhang Family guard for more than ten years, then spoke.

"Tomorrow, select ten guards from among the hundred guards. I have a use for them."

"Alright."

Wang Song raised his head and asked, "May I ask what requirements Young Master has?"

"Requirements?"

"They must have served the Zhang Family for over five years, be utterly loyal, honest, and steadfast."

"Oh, right." Before leaving, facing the raging fire that had suddenly flared up within the residence, Zhang Ming added.

"Include yourself among those ten. You'll come as well."

Night.

The Zhang Family study.

"Father, did everything go smoothly?"

"Smoothly. It only cost some extra silver."

"Mm. It's good that the County Magistrate knows the greater picture. It saves me from having to act."

Zhang Yongfeng was startled. "Wait, son, did you intend to kill the County Magistrate too?"

Zhang Ming looked at his somewhat frightened father in confusion and shifted into a more comfortable sitting position.

"What? Is there a problem with killing him?"

"A problem?"

Zhang Yongfeng could no longer sit still. He abruptly rose to his feet, his voice jumping an octave.

"Of course there's a problem! That's killing an official, killing an official! The County Magistrate is an eighth-rank official!"

More than ten years ago, Zhang Yongfeng had merely been the owner of an ordinary little shop.

Even though more than a decade had passed, and the Zhang Family was now more than a hundred times wealthier and stronger than before, enough to be considered a local powerhouse,

a change in one's mindset was ultimately not something that could be accomplished overnight.

Faced with his father's agitation, Zhang Ming merely said calmly,

"Right. It's only killing an official."

"We already killed those clerks. What difference does it make if we kill an official one rank above them?"

Zhang Ming's calmness eventually caused Zhang Yongfeng to gradually settle down.

Over the years, no matter what they encountered, Zhang Ming's unhurried composure seemed to have influenced Zhang Yongfeng as well.

"But this, this, this."

Zhang Yongfeng still found it somewhat impossible to accept.

Zhang Ming smiled faintly. "Father, don't be nervous. I only have such a plan."

"If things truly become impossible, perhaps I might do so. But definitely not now."

At the very least, after I become an Innate Martial Artist, Zhang Ming thought to himself.

"Hoo—" Zhang Yongfeng let out a long breath. "Alright, I was too agitated."

"But..."

Staring intently at his son, Zhang Yongfeng's expression turned solemn, his face grave.

"Son, tell me honestly."

"Our family has more than a hundred guards, with Armor and Weapons fully equipped."

"Outside the city, we have over a hundred thousand mu of fertile fields, countless businesses, and nearly ten thousand employees across every trade."

"Are you thinking of rebelling?"

Zhang Ming was speechless.

Rebellion?

Perhaps he had once entertained that thought.

But after learning that this was a Martial Arts World, a Martial Arts Empire, that thought had faded.

There was no other reason. Simply developing an ordinary power did not give one the capital to rebel.

But now...

[Ignite Comprehension] seemed to have given him a different kind of confidence, and the situation had changed.

After thinking it over, Zhang Ming neither nodded nor shook his head.