The Legend of Returning Wind Dancing Willow

The entire staff of the Dream-Eating Marquis Manor gathered in Jingxiang, and their first task was to gain control of the local government.

The local government offices here will immediately put on a smiling face if you pay them.

The Dream-Eating Marquis Manor certainly has a lot of money.

The problem is, if you start by spending money and are overly friendly, then even if you spend money like water, you don't know how many gluttons you'll have to fill before the money actually reaches where it's needed.

If you don't want to waste money, resorting to violence against the government is not a good approach either.

The situation in the Great Xuan was completely different from that in the Great Yuan.

Even if local government offices have become indifferent to people's livelihoods and habitually procrastinate, the personal connections accumulated by the grassroots staff within these offices remain deeply entrenched and extensive.

In every small government office, the lower-level officials who want to make money always have to promote their relatives and friends.

These relatives also held a certain prestige in the countryside, and it's hard to say that all of them were evil people in their daily lives.

Therefore, when they speak among ordinary people, many are still willing to listen.

If violence is used against government offices, even if the measures are implemented from the prefecture down to the county level, and every key figure in each county is intimidated, there's still a chance that some people will think they can get away with anything and cause trouble at the grassroots level.

They incited the people to secretly sabotage the project, hoping to delay progress and extort benefits from it.

Never think that just because you're strong enough, you'll be foolish enough not to do anything stupid.

In fact, this kind of clever fool who is not afraid of being beheaded has been everywhere in history, and countless things have been ruined by these people.

It's often impossible to tell what kind of people these are beforehand, so even if you kill them all afterward...

The losses incurred and the opportunities missed during the process are difficult to make up for.

Chu Tianshu aims to command the winds and rains, sweep across the land, and establish a massive influence in this region.

We cannot tolerate that kind of trashy behavior spreading everywhere.

Therefore, he also brought two other types of people with him.

Hanyang Prefecture and Xiangyang in Jingzhou are not too far apart.

The Laoming Temple sect in Hanyang Prefecture, after all, was once a branch of Shaolin Temple, and has a long history. With a top-notch master as its abbot, it has a certain reputation in the Jingxiang region.

Chu Tianshu brought Daoben so that he could contact the established Jingxiang arts sects in Jingxiang and arrange a feast.

The reason for bringing along Lieutenant General Wu Bo was to have him contact the Divine Machine Battalion in Jingxiang.

The foundation of these two forces is primarily military force. Although they also have aspirations for profit, in some ways they are more purely driven by power than local government offices.

With Chu Tianshu and Dream-Eating Marquis around, getting them to submit for a while is a piece of cake.

After taking down these two local bullies, they also had the Dream-Eating Marquis Manor's Mansion, a powerful force crossing the river.

This has a completely different level of deterrence and oversight power for local government offices compared to before.

Once a fool jumps out, he won't be able to stir up any trouble and will be killed to establish authority.

If we then lay out a large sum of money to create some competition among the local government, the Divine Machine Battalion, and the martial arts sects, things will be much easier to handle.

Chu Tianshu traveled through various worlds, always enjoying causing trouble, and he also gained plenty of experience back in his hometown.

With his martial arts skills, mental strength, and keen insight, he applies the martial arts attitude to his daily life and has already gained a deep understanding of some essential things between different eras.

If each world and each stage of life is a game, then his experience in playing these games is becoming increasingly rich, and he uses his methods flawlessly, with complete confidence.

Each time, his experience of expanding his own power was smoother than the last, and the feedback he received was also more pleasant.

It can successfully bypass some obstacles and hurdles that have been encountered or seen before.

Fill in the pits when you encounter them, and build bridges when you encounter water.

It was only the fifth day.

The three thousand Dream-Gathering Sect were assigned to various local government offices, and together with the officials, they went to the countryside.

In Second Willow Tree Township, the daughter of the Ding family is holding a martial arts contest to find a husband.

The daughter of the Ding family was not ugly; she had regular features, wore a red outfit, and wielded a long sword, making her look quite heroic and dashing.

Not to mention the people in the surrounding villages who admired her, even wealthy families in neighboring counties had people ask matchmakers to arrange marriages for her.

However, Ding Wanhua was very much loved by her parents and three sons. The girl was proud and unwilling to marry outside the family as arranged by a matchmaker.

As Ding Wanhua grew older, and since she herself was fond of martial arts, her family arranged a martial arts contest to find her a husband.

A row of large willow trees lined the riverbank, their countless tendrils swaying in the wind.

The arena was built by the river, and anyone with able hands and feet and under the age of forty could go up and try their luck.

A huge crowd had already gathered below the arena, and as Ding Wanhua kicked the seventh person off the stage, cheers and laughter erupted.

"The ' Returning Wind Dancing Willow Sword Technique ' that Miss Ding learned, combined with the Drunken Reclining Flowing Clouds Seven Killing Hands and the Primordial Qi Gong, although they are all old-fashioned martial arts from two hundred years ago, are quite powerful."

"Look at what you're saying! The Returning Wind Dancing Willow Sword Technique has been improved over the past two hundred years, you know."

"Indeed, I've heard that there's a Daoist priest surnamed Gu in the martial arts world today, a first-rate master who became famous for his Returning Wind Dancing Willow Sword Technique."

"Yes, back then, the swordsmen of the Fusang Tenshin Meikyo-ryu crossed the sea, and I heard that Master Gu was going to meet them. However, the Fusang dogs encountered Dream Marquis and left dejectedly, thus avoiding a good fight between swordsmen."

"Luckily I didn't go. I heard that before Master Gu became a top-tier master, he was undefeated in every battle. After becoming a top-tier master, he was always slightly inferior to anyone who challenged him."

As the crowd was discussing the matter, they suddenly saw several hundred people walking towards them from a distance.

There were already visitors from several villages gathered around the arena, so the arrival of a new group of people shouldn't be surprising.

But someone took a closer look and drew his sword with a thud.

Someone even roared like Lion's Roar, shouting, "The Great Willow Tree Township are here!"

The Second Willow Tree Township and Great Willow Tree Township, have a long-standing feud over the operating rights to an iron mine in the mountains.

What started as a dispute between two wealthy households in two villages escalated into a bitter feud, with both sides bringing their friends and associates, resulting in the deaths of many people between the two villages.

Anyone from the surrounding villages can participate in the marriage proposal, except for those from Great Willow Tree Township; this is a consensus among the villagers.

However, among the crowd in Great Willow Tree Township today, there are still a few people dressed in official robes.

There was also a young man in black, with a crystal gourd hanging from his waist and a long iron flute in his hand.

Seeing that the crowd was about to become agitated, there was no time to speak properly before tensions were about to rise.

The young man in black waved his flute.

The wind blew through the flute, creating a sharp whistle that drowned out all other noises.

The official spoke up, "Listen up, all of you. There will be absolutely no village feuds today. There is an important matter that requires the cooperation of several villages."

"People from several nearby villages are here, so we brought people from Great Willow Tree Township along as well."

Upon hearing this, Ding Wanhua on the stage spoke in a sweet voice.

"So it's some big event for the government. There are big events every spring, and big events every autumn. What new tax has been added this time? Could it be that the county magistrate's watchdogs have had a litter of newborns, and he wants everyone to pay some tax to make things a bit more lively?"

The crowd burst into laughter.

Ding Wanhua's martial arts skills surpassed her master's, and she had a fiery personality. Her prestige also surpassed that of her parents, otherwise so many people wouldn't have been willing to go up on stage to compete to become her son-in-law.

The official said indifferently, "Miss Ding, I am a fellow villager brought by the magistrate. Isn't it inappropriate for you to say this to my face?"

The local magistrate was a member of the Tang Sect, and there was a Tang Family Township nearby, which was said to have been established by a branch of the Tang Sect that had migrated there.

The official's words made the people from Tang Family Township in the crowd feel somewhat uneasy.

"Brother, you don't look old at all. A real man speaks frankly, fights alone, and doesn't drag others into it."

Ding Wanhua showed no fear and laughed, "Why don't you come up on stage and we'll have a contest?"

As she spoke, she flicked the long sword in her hand to her side.

The sword was forged from cold iron and weighed over seven pounds. When it was swung, it produced a faint sound like a willow branch piercing the air.

The sound was delicate, even more harmonious and gentle than the sound of willow branches rustling in the air.

With his flute in hand, Yan Shisansheng felt a slight stirring in his heart.

The Returning Wind Dancing Willow Sword Sect is also a unique phenomenon in the martial arts world.

Because in those days, the three generations after the founder of the sect all had sword masters who upheld the sect's reputation, but they were all overshadowed by the heroes of the martial arts world at that time.

When the Heavenly Ranking was established, Daoist Gu of that generation was also on the list.

However, due to the stereotypes people have about this sword sect, the successive leaders of the Returning Wind Dancing Willow Sect have all found themselves in an awkward situation.

The power of the Heavenly Ranking can help them become top-tier masters more quickly, but it can also limit them from reaching the top -Heavenly Ranking tier level.

Moreover, it's at the bottom of the top-tier universities.

In the martial arts world, any young master who understands the secrets behind it is eager to challenge Daoist Gu when they are close to the first-class level.

Winning might allow you to break through to a higher level, while losing would give you a greater chance of escaping from the bottom of the top ranks.

It's a pity that the Returning Wind Dancing Willow, hailed as one of the three great sword techniques of the Xuanmen sects, has produced first-rate masters in every generation, but has never produced anyone above first-rate.

However, the potential and philosophy of this sword technique have actually been pushed to a very ingenious and far-reaching level by the top masters who have consistently emerged in each generation.

In all martial arts, Divine Intent is paramount.

Divine Intent is an ethereal and elusive thing, so to cultivate Divine Intent, one can only start with its manifestations. The paths of different schools and sects are all different.

Most martial arts prioritize resemblance in form.

The Returning Wind Dancing Willow Sword Technique requires first achieving a similar sound.

Ding Wanhua's swordsmanship clearly shows she has inherited the true essence of the art.

"A seed secretly cultivated outside the door by the Returning Wind Dancing Willow?"

Yan Shisansheng knew that the Returning Wind Dancing Willow Sword Sect had a plan to train some disciples to cultivate outside the sect, without being included in the sect's register, and they would definitely have to learn martial arts other than swordsmanship.

Such people receive the same resources as the true disciples of the sect. If they can reach the top tier, they will be the sect's best ally.

"The private duels in Jingxiang are too fierce; it's truly a place where hidden talents abound. Even with this girl, I might not be able to defeat her easily."

Yan Shisansheng raised his hand, stopping the official who was embarrassed and was about to go on stage.

"We're not here to collect taxes today; we've brought money with us."

As soon as he finished speaking, two burly men carried the boxes forward and placed them down.

The wooden box was opened, revealing it to be filled with brand-new, snow-white silver ingots.

Many of those present were martial arts practitioners; a single glance at the luster was enough to tell them the weight of the box of silver.

Not satisfied with that, Yan Shisansheng stomped his foot, and the box full of silver ingots was instantly thrown into disarray, with one flying out at random.

He grabbed it with his hands, squeezing the silver ingot until it oozed out between his fingers like mud, kneading and rubbing it.

As you can see, it's made entirely of genuine, high-quality silver, inside and out.

"Many roads in this county are located in the mountains, and have suffered from numerous landslides over the decades. They are also constantly battered by wind and rain, resulting in either overgrown weeds and crooked roads, or they are completely buried and blocked, making it difficult for vehicles and horses to travel."

Yan Shisansheng said, "Our Dream-Eating Marquis Manor wants to create a good dream for this area. We are willing to contribute gold and silver, conscript labor from several villages, repair roads, and attract merchants."

"The county government has decided to provide full support. Each township can also send its elders to jointly record the daily contributions of the villagers to the repairs."

"As long as your section of the road is completed on schedule, this money is yours."

The Dream-Eating Marquis Manor wants to create a wonderful dream, so they specifically came to deliver money?

This sounds a bit outrageous, but he's a big shot ranked seventh on the Heavenly Ranking.

What's so strange about such outrageous things happening to those seemingly divine beings?

The crowd discussed it animatedly, but all remained somewhat hesitant.

None of them had any experience in road repair, and with several people from different villages working together, it's easy to imagine the potential for conflict.

Some roads don't become curved for no reason; they become more and more winding and narrower, bypassing the villages, because they have been encroached upon by villagers.

Will other villages retaliate when these roads need repair?

I'm talking about you, Great Willow Tree Township!

"From the day construction begins, all personnel from our county government will be dispatched, with someone accompanying you daily. If you have any criminal disputes, we will have someone present to witness them. If you are unable to contact us even once, the county government will impose a fine as compensation on you."

The official, with a stern face, then released a message.

"This matter was ordered by the prefectural government, and it was witnessed by the leaders of the Divine Machine Battalion, the head of the Mysterious True Temple, and Mr. Yan from the Marquis's residence. Even the county magistrate cannot disobey it."

"People of Tang Family Township, hurry up and get out here and get involved in this matter!"

Suddenly, the official shouted, "Are you trying to bring shame upon us, the Tang family members who work in the county government?"

A group immediately separated from the vast crowd.

Yan Shisansheng didn't say much, he just pointed to the flute.

The second box was placed on the ground, followed by the third, and the fourth.

When the fifth box of silver was placed on the ground, the sheer amount of gleaming silver, reflecting the sunlight, was dazzling and made over 90% of the people present breathe heavily.

Some people even touched the hilt of their knives and gave those around them malicious winks.

But Yan Shisansheng waved his flute again, and the sharp whistle startled them awake.

This silver came from the Dream-Eating Marquis Manor's mansion.

Ding Wanhua's eyes showed doubt, but she sheathed her sword, clasped her hands, and said loudly, "As long as all the promises are true, how can our Second Willow Tree Township lag behind others when it comes to making money?"

The audience immediately responded in unison.

"That's right!!" "We'll do it!"