A Misunderstanding

"Who dares to trespass into Taiping Temple! Ah--!"

"Who dares to be so insolent, you scoundrel! Ah--!"

"How dare you cause trouble in Taiping Temple! You have quite the nerve!"

Li Fan stepped into the neighborhood, and with a flick of his foot, kicked the servants blocking his way into the pond. Some oblivious stewards even brought out a dozen or so Foundation Establishment stage servants wielding knives and clubs to resist, but Li Fan easily snatched their clubs and beat them mercilessly, breaking their weapons. They lay on the ground groaning in pain. Thus, he stormed all the way to Taiping Temple, and no one dared to stop him anymore.

"Are you tired of living?! Do you know who lives here, yet you dare to act recklessly?!"

The head eunuch at the entrance of Taiping Temple, relying on the four Golden Core warriors with swords behind him, started cursing loudly.

Li Fan didn't bother with any more words. He leaped forward and slapped the foreman to the ground, knocking half his face crooked and paralyzed. His broken chin rested on his face, and he fainted on the spot, tears streaming down his face.

Upon seeing the opponent's nimble movements, the Golden Core warriors knew that a Nascent Soul Realm cultivator had come looking for trouble. None of them dared to fight to the death, but since they were paid, they didn't dare to run away. So they shrank back, gritted their teeth, and stood in front of Li Fan.

Li Fan glared at them, then kicked each of them into the wall, causing the guards to feign death while spitting blood.

After all this time, they finally entered Taiping Temple through the main gate, but they still didn't see the high-ranking officials and nobles fleeing. Even the music played by the musicians in the inner courtyard didn't stop or cause any panic, as if the nobles inside had all gone deaf and no one heard the noise outside.

Of course, it's not that I didn't hear it, but that I didn't care.

Because Li Fan didn't fall from the sky and kill people with his sword. He walked in through the main gate, and he didn't kill a single person.

This means he follows the rules.

Even the most formidable rule-abiding person is like a tiger with its teeth pulled; they can't actually hurt anyone.

As Li Fan entered the gate of Taiping Temple, he saw a beautiful female Daoist nun dressed in a thin silk robe, her skin revealing a hint of flesh, resembling a thin-skinned steamed dumpling. Behind her were two young boys with fair skin and red lips, also dressed in thin robes and light clothing, looking like dumplings. In front of them stood four military officers, armed from head to toe and dressed like the Iron Pagoda, already waiting in the courtyard.

The nun was not the Taiping Temple abbess Li Fan had met before, but she also had the cultivation of the Nascent Soul Realm. She was probably the temple's supervisor or a female official in charge of affairs.

She rolled her eyes, showing no intention of bowing or paying respects to this "Li Er" who had broken down the door and stormed in. She simply flicked her wrist with her orchid-like fingers, and waved her sleeve towards the four military officers beside her.

"Now that you've entered, very well, please pass through the three checkpoints."

This is a local custom in Li Country. The so-called "fighting three passes" was originally a local folk song. It tells the story of a general from an enemy country who broke through three passes and reached the Wang Jing, only to be subdued by the Li Country and later became an important minister in the court.

This, when taken out of context, actually represents a unique method of self-recommendation used by people from the mountains and countryside.

After all, there are always geniuses in the world who are proud of their talents and disdain the proper path of taking the Imperial Examination examinations and fighting on the battlefield. However, they possess both literary and martial skills and really want to serve the Wang Family and realize their self-worth, so they often resort to this kind of self-recommendation through letters.

In places like the Three Enclosures and Four Sects, similar self-recommendations have existed since ancient times. Generally, it involved submitting letters with political views and policy proposals. Of course, whether one could gain the appreciation of high-ranking officials in the court depended on one's true abilities, talent, luck, and whether the bribes given to the doormen were sufficient.

In the Li Country, the need for civil officials is not high, but the use of capable military generals is often required. In addition, the old story of Nangong Wubu winning people's hearts and recruiting henchmen has led to the practice of "fighting three passes" as a way for local people to recommend themselves for official positions. This practice has been passed down and has become a local custom of Li Country.

To put it simply, as long as you walk in through the main gate and pass through three checkpoints, you can be given a cup of wine and pay your respects to the head of the ward before taking office.

Of course, if one doesn't follow this rule and instead directly wields a sword and flies down from the sky to assassinate the king on his throne, that would be a different story.

Li Fan wasn't really there to wipe out the entire family. He was there to alert them, at most to be a little rough with his attacks and vent his anger, but he had no intention of actually annihilating the whole family. After all, if he started attacking people right away and scared away everyone in the Taiping Temple, there would be nowhere left to capture the remnants of the Black Lotus Sect.

Alright then, let's play three levels.

"Please!"

Then, in the main courtyard, four fully armed and ready-to-go Immortal Palace Nascent Soul General from the Immortal Palace, clad in armor and wielding double hammers, bronze whips, Crescent Moon Blade, and black iron rods, stepped out and stood guard like giant guard dogs.

These were clearly bodyguards and thugs who were paid to do people's bidding. Judging from their bright armor, they were clearly Nascent Soul Realm soldiers, and had been fierce generals who had fought on the battlefield for many years. It was a pity that they were enslaved in such a place. But their obedience showed that they had indeed earned a lot of money at Taiping Temple.

No need for further words, let's start fighting.

"Ha! The Eighteenfold Divine Fist!"

The vanguard, wielding twin hammers, stepped forward. This man was clearly a fierce general from the ranks of the army. He roared and charged forward with a powerful punch! Raising his twin hammers, he struck the legs, then the heart, and finally the head. Each strike was accompanied by the sound of wind and thunder, aimed directly at vital points!

The clone Li Fan is using now is only a newly deceased individual who has casually cultivated the Phoenix Profound Technique a few times before coming to test him. Its cultivation is extremely weak, only at the level of a typical Nascent Soul General of the Immortal Palace. If he were to fight them head-on, he might not even be able to defeat these three guards. Therefore, this time he will have to rely entirely on skill.

So Li Fan spread his arms, his palms striking out like the wind. He leaped and spun around, easily breaking the hammer general's attack with a block, a pull, and a deflection, while the hammer general was also enveloped in the palm wind, being tossed about. Li Fan's movements were even faster, like a bee or a butterfly, circling around the hammer general and striking him with a flurry of palm strikes.

Although he rubbed and punched the fierce general wildly more than ten times, he only managed to shift the general's center of gravity, making him spin around like a ball. However, the force of his palms could not cause any real serious injury to the armor. After all, the Xuan Fire of this clone was not refined, and it was not the orange quality of True Yang Dao Fire. Although it appeared to be surrounded by flames for protection, it could not melt and refine the Nascent Soul Stage level Ming Armor Treasure.

However, Li Fan didn't need to confront the enemy head-on. After a while of fighting, he found an opening, seized the opportunity, and stepped out, stomping and crushing the fierce general's ankle. The general let out a shrill scream, and then threw his double hammers backhand. In the instant Li Fan dodged, the hammers knocked down a section of pavilions, killing four or five maids who were watching the show on the pavilions.

Li Fan was also enraged. He raised his hand and struck the fierce general on the forehead, instantly causing his eyes to bulge and him to fall over and not get up.

The others immediately frowned, rushed over to take a look, and found that Chui Jiang's jawbone had been broken by a single palm strike, but he was still faintly alive, so they stopped. But Li Fan had just casually shown off his skills, so the others knew what was going on.

"His Xuanhuo Technique and White Crane Fist are merely superficial; they are not the direct descendants of the Nangong Family."

The female Daoist priest, who was steaming dumplings, snorted coldly and waved her hand. In the courtyard next door, warriors from the Taiping Temple, dressed in golden armor and wielding weapons, filed in and carried the hammer away to treat him.

Li Fan narrowed his eyes. His sudden attack, though intended as a test, immediately drew a large number of Golden Core Realm warriors from the ward. It seemed that hundreds of armored guards were always on standby, and now, more and more armored soldiers hidden in the wards were arriving from all directions, their numbers growing larger and larger, clearly all elite troops.

Goodness, were there this many people at Taiping Temple last time? You've really changed your tune in just three days; it seems you've made quite a bit of money.

Before he could recover, the next warrior wielding the copper whip stepped forward, bowed respectfully to Li Fan, and then unleashed a furious attack, shouting "Hah!" as he lashed out with the copper whip, smashing it down on Li Fan's head!

But this time, Li Fan didn't use his palm strike to block; instead, he lunged forward and poked his finger into the Mirror of Light on his chest.

The whip general's nose immediately bled profusely, his teeth turned bright red, and he roared angrily as he unleashed a set of whip techniques with both hands. These were clearly battle formation killing moves enhanced by the Body Domination Technique, capable of splitting mountains and shattering rocks, with boundless power and incomparable ferocity!

However, Li Fan did not back down. He made sword fingers with both hands, and his Xuanhuo Gong (a type of internal energy cultivation technique) was concentrated at his fingertips, like a pair of fire swords. He clashed with the whip general, and they fought fiercely for four or five moves. The whip general could not hold on and knelt on the ground, blood spurting from his mouth and nose. He bowed his head and admitted defeat.

The nun who made steamed dumplings frowned upon seeing this, and after seemingly thinking for a while, she offered her guidance.

"... This is a profound finger technique. It can not only withstand external martial arts attacks, but also gather qi and penetrate force to strike acupoints from a distance and seal a person's meridians. It is specifically designed to counter armored soldiers."

Li Fan couldn't help but think more highly of this woman; she did have some discernment.

He had just tried out a set of White Crane Fist and felt that this kind of martial arts palm style wasn't very effective against heavily armored immortal soldiers. After all, armored soldiers with the Overlord Body could fight against Golden Core Realm cultivators, armored elite soldiers with the Martial God Divine Essence Body could fight against the Nascent Soul Realm cultivators, and armored fierce generals with the Divine Transformation Body could even beat down gods and demons in the Divine Transformation Realm. In terms of destructive power in direct combat, these armored warriors trained by the Three Great Sects were extremely powerful.

Therefore, although Li Fan used the profound palm techniques of the White Crane Fist, he could not unleash its power because he did not know the secret Qi cultivation of the Hotong Mountain sect, and the internal energy of the Xuan Huo Gong was not compatible with this technique. On the contrary, he tried to use the Dalu Jing Tian Finger and found its benefits.

As the leader of the Immortal Army, Luo Feng Patriarch's finger technique was clearly very effective against generals who wore heavy armor, possessed overwhelming momentum, and fought head-on with their vital energy concentrated in one point. By concentrating his power into one point, he could not only deliver armor-piercing attacks but also seal acupoints and meridians, exhausting their strength and weakening their muscles, making it extremely effective against techniques that relied on the Body Domination Technique.

The two warriors, one wielding the tungsten iron rod and the other the Crescent Moon Blade, exchanged a glance and shook their heads.

They weren't stupid. Seeing the opponent's exquisite Internal Martial Arts skills, they realized he was clearly a martial arts master, someone they, as soldiers, couldn't possibly deal with just their strength, power, and superior armor.

Unexpectedly, the Daoist nun who made steamed dumplings laughed.

"Don't be shy, just use all your best moves and let them see what the Southern soldiers are capable of!"

The two immediately obeyed, separating themselves to the left and right. The one on the left dragged his Crescent Moon Blade on the ground, his eyes fixed on Li Fan's waist. The one on the right raised his black iron rod, his hand and rod aligned in a straight line, aiming directly at Li Fan's heart. They assumed this stance, their entire bodies surging with internal energy! Their momentum was overwhelming! These were clearly the killing moves of the Ancient Immortal Palace's Dou Department military tactics! For a moment, they seemed like two giant beasts hidden within humanoid armor, ready to pounce and tear them apart!

Li Fan could also sense the power of the moves these two had prepared; they were like super-powerful finishing moves, capable of killing or severely injuring anyone who used them.

The Daoist nun who made steamed dumplings also noticed Li Fan's apprehension and said smugly,

"You've come from afar, why bother with so many troublesome matters? Why not come and sit at my Linchun Pavilion, and drink away your worries with a good drink?"

"Ha! Blazing Sky Soar!!"

Li Fan took a deep breath, suddenly leaped up, and his body erupted with Samadhi Bright Flame Phoenix Mystic Fire! It transformed into a phoenix spreading its wings, heavenly fire soaring through the sky! It looked as if it was about to pounce down and fight to the death!

The nun who made steamed dumplings was also caught off guard. She had tried to coerce and entice him, but she never expected that he would be so stubborn and even reveal the Nangong Family's ultimate move to fight to the death. For a moment, she didn't know who this person was and was a little flustered.

"Stop! Tingwei, please wait a moment. Why make such a fuss!"

Upon hearing the order, the two guards immediately ceased their attacks. Just then, a Daoist nun dressed in pink silk, resembling a shrimp dumpling, emerged from the courtyard, smiling obsequiously and scolding them.

"It's all because that wretched woman, Linchun, is so ignorant! The Tingwei came to our door, and she still wanted to go through all three trials? No wonder she angered you. Guards, slap her!"

The steamed dumpling nun was shocked and tried to escape, but suddenly a dark figure flashed out from behind the shrimp dumpling nun. It was a young eunuch with white eyebrows and golden eyes. He rushed in front of her and glared at her. She was so frightened that she dared not move. The eunuch raised his hand and slapped her to the ground.

The blow caused the Daoist nun from Linchun to lose her hair and her lips to bleed. She fell sideways to the ground, her white Daoist robe torn open, looking pitiful and wretched.

"Alright, if the Tingwei's anger is still not appeased, I'll send this wretched woman to you tonight, so you can do whatever you want with her. What do you say? Please calm down and don't make things difficult for us servants."

As the shrimp dumpling-wearing nun spoke, she smiled obsequiously like a servant, kneeling and prostrating herself on the ground in gratitude.

The Daoist nun who made steamed dumplings glared angrily at the shrimp dumplings, then covered her cheeks and knelt on the ground begging for mercy.

Li Fan squinted and glanced around.

Good heavens, not counting these two dumplings who are clearly from the alchemy school, including the four Nascent Soul General and the eunuch in front of us, there are twenty-four genuine Nascent Soul Realm experts. At least half of them seem to be cultivators from the Xuanmen Immortal Path in the north. And there are already more than five hundred fully armed armored elite soldiers with Golden Core Divine Essence Body.

How much of this is actually the evil practice of the Black Lotus Sect...?

So Li Fan stopped his attack and landed on the ground. After all, he didn't actually know anything about Blazing Sky Soaring. He had just seen Nangong Wushuang use this move before, and it seemed to be a powerful move. He just imitated it to bluff his opponent...

"Li Er, the Left and Right Supervisors of the Tingwei, has been ordered to apprehend the Black Lotus Sect's evil cultists! We have heard that thieves are hiding in the Taiping Temple. We request that the Master of Taiping hand over these treacherous immortals!"

The shrimp dumpling-wearing nun burst into laughter, "Tingwei, please don't joke. How could my Taiping Temple harbor demonic cultivators? It must be a misunderstanding."

Li Fan sneered, "Who misunderstood you? Tell your master to come out and see me!"

The Daoist nun, who made shrimp dumplings, smiled and said, "It is only right that the Tingwei has come from afar and wishes to pay his respects to my master, but unfortunately, my master is not staying at the temple today. Perhaps we should do it another day..."

"Enough with the nonsense! If your master won't show up, then I'll search him myself!"

Li Fan strode towards the inner courtyard, but the white-browed, golden-eyed eunuch stepped forward and stopped him.

"Oh! You're resisting arrest?" Li Fan was overjoyed.

The white-browed eunuch chuckled, "How dare I? The Tingwei is here to arrest thieves, isn't he? Here, they are all immortal thieves from the Black Lotus Sect. Please take them."

Then he turned to the side and saw several armored soldiers enter the courtyard, throwing out the maids who had been crushed to death by falling from the collapsed building. They even tore off the silk on their backs, revealing black lotus tattoos, which were clearly freshly applied.

"Are you fucking asking for it?!"

Li Fan flew into a rage, raised his hand and slapped the eunuch's head, almost crushing his skull.

He said "almost" because his elbow was pinned down by the eunuch's finger, and his hand was sealed by sword energy, leaving him powerless. Meanwhile, hundreds of armored soldiers outside the courtyard also climbed over the wall, knelt on the eaves, drew their bows and crossbows, and aimed at Li Fan's brow.

Seeing that they were about to fight, the steamed dumplings and shrimp dumplings covered their heads and scrambled to hide against the wall.

The eunuch, his head held captive, gritted his teeth and cursed, "What! You're not going to take them to the Six Doors for a soul search?! I guarantee every single one of them will admit to being a member of the Black Lotus Sect! If that's not enough, how about I find you a few more alive? There are several thousand like them in this mansion; I guarantee you'll be satisfied with the interrogation!"

"Damn it!"

Li Fan wouldn't let go, staring intently at him, his fingers still digging into the eunuch's skull with a crackling sound, blood gushing from between his fingers.

The eunuch stared at Li Fan with wide eyes, his breath hot and his blood and sweat dripping onto the bluestone slab. Hundreds of archers around him drew their bows and crossbows, the air filled with the taut hum of bowstrings, which seemed about to snap.

Then Li Kun's voice came through the earpiece, "Hey, target spotted. Three people, escaping west of the city via the waterway."

Yes, could he really find the Black Lotus Sect through divination and reasoning? Li Fan brought the legion's drones directly, wouldn't it be the fastest way to search Changsi City for the target with the highest 'deviation value'? However, the communication range and signal strength of the clone's independent system are limited, so Li Fan needs to personally enter Taiping Temple, cause a ruckus for a while, and also attract the guards' attention so that the system can control the drones to search.

Li Fan stared at the head in his hand for a while, then suddenly smiled, let go, and patted the eunuch's cheek.

"Heh, you've got guts. Looks like I was wrong this time. How could there be a thief in Taiping Temple? It's all a misunderstanding."

The eunuch hissed as he straightened up, dusted off his sleeves, and gasped for breath.

"Since it's a misunderstanding, Tingwei still has a case to investigate, I cannot see you off any further."

Without saying a word, Li Fan turned and left.

You just wait, when I'm free, I'll come back and kill all of you scum who treat human life like dirt.