Chapter 99: Homecoming

Chapter 99: Homecoming

At the entrance of Luoshui County, Jiang Ning stood before a wanted poster. After reading the poster, he memorized the name 'Tian Bu Yi' and the description of the man's appearance.

If he had the chance, he would be very interested in meeting this Tian Bu Yi. After all, the reward for capturing this man was a hundred taels of gold, an incredibly generous offer.

Moreover, Tian Bu Yi's Eighth Rank Martial Dao strength was within Jiang Ning's capabilities.

In a month's time, Jiang Ning's strength would further increase, and he could attempt to test his skills against an Eighth Rank Martial Dao practitioner.

【Name】: Jiang Ning

【Essence Energy】: 2.4

【Skills】:

Recognize Words and Characters (Secondary Break Limit 543/3000) (Characteristics: Memorize at a Glance, Extraordinary Senses)



Five Beasts Fist (Perfection 3/1000)



Firewood Cleaving Blade Technique (Tertiary Break Limit 697/4000) (Characteristics: Broad Understanding, Sword Like a Gale, Sword Handling Like a Deity)



Inner Alchemy Vitality Technique (Proficiency 308/2000)



River Wave Blade Technique (Proficiency 1/200)



Unyielding Body Technique (Entry 41/1000)



Jiang Ning glanced at his panel, which recorded his recent progress, and then closed it. After silently memorizing everything on the wanted poster, he headed into the county.

At the same time, Jiang Ning sensed numerous gazes upon him at the entrance, all focused on him.

Soon, sounds of movement came from behind him.

Someone turned and ran into an alley, clearly going to spread the news.

A pigeon took flight, its wings flapping loudly.

"Seems like they're all keeping a close eye on me!" Jiang Ning thought to himself, then smiled.

As the saying goes, 'After three days apart, one should be treated with new respect.'

It had been exactly twelve days since he left Luoshui County.

In other words, he should be treated with four times the respect.

Today, he was vastly different from before.

When he left the city, he had just achieved Qi and Blood Perfection, with strength coursing through his entire body.

His power was only seven to eight hundred jin.

Even then, he could single-handedly defeat four skilled pursuers.

Among them were two Ninth Rank Martial Dao practitioners, including Hong Chengtao, the deputy leader of the Cyan Gang, who had achieved Ninth Rank Minor Success and possessed skin as hard as stone.

However, even so, this man could only last three rounds against him before being slain.

If he was that powerful back then, he was even more so now.

Now, having entered the Ninth Rank Martial Dao, his single-arm strength exceeded a thousand jin.

Moreover, he had achieved a breakthrough in the Five Beasts Fist, reaching the level of perfection.

This meant that his mastery of the Five Beasts Fist was no less than that of Wang Jin.

With the Five Beasts Fist at perfection, his agility was exceptional, and few Eighth Rank Martial Dao practitioners could match his current agility.

Additionally, the Firewood Cleaving Blade Technique had undergone a third break limit, further enhancing the explosive power he wielded with the sword.

Furthermore, after condensing his skin membrane, his physique had significantly improved.

Yesterday, after his breakthrough, he had tested the first level of the River Wave Blade Technique, and the force it generated had no adverse effects on his body.

In other words, the first level of force had become a regular skill for him.

He had also tried the second level of force, which only caused a tear in the muscles of his right arm and a skin rupture.

Although there were some after-effects, they were bearable.

When it came to a life-or-death situation, he estimated that he could withstand at least five consecutive uses of the second level of force.

With enhancements in various aspects, Jiang Ning clearly felt that his strength had significantly improved compared to before he left the city, a difference as vast as heaven and earth.

Now, if he were to face himself from over ten days ago, he could defeat or even slay his past self within ten rounds.

Even knowing that many informants were notifying their backers, Jiang Ning remained calm.

His newfound strength gave him this confidence.

Following the main road outside the city, Jiang Ning soon arrived at the familiar courtyard enclosed by a bamboo fence.

Seeing the faint smoke rising from the courtyard, Jiang Ning felt a weight lift from his heart.

As it was approaching noon, the rising smoke indicated that his brother, sister-in-law, and their children were doing well, without any mishaps.

Although this was already within his expectations.

After all, with Shen Congyun's intervention, he had become the main target.

As long as nothing happened to him, no one would dare to harm his brother's family.

As Jiang Ning pushed open the gate of the small courtyard, he saw his niece playing with a wooden horse and his sister-in-law drawing water from the well.

Despite the months of drought, Luoshui County, being adjacent to the Luoshui River, still had an ample water supply.

This was why Luoshui County remained relatively peaceful.

At that moment, Jiang Li, hearing the gate open, immediately looked up after lifting the water halfway.

The next moment, her eyes shone with joy.

"Little Brother!!!"

Jiang Ning smiled, "Big Brother!"

On the other side, the little girl dropped the wooden horse and ran towards Jiang Ning with open arms.

"Dudu—"

"Dudu—"

She cheered with delight.

Jiang Ning witnessed this scene, and a genuine smile appeared on his face.

He squatted down and spread his arms wide.

Then, he firmly caught the little Doubao as he rushed over.

The five-year-old Doubao was like nothing in Jiang Ning's hands at this moment. With a slight exertion of force, he placed Doubao on his shoulder.

Then, he walked towards Jiang Li.

"Little brother is back!" Seeing Jiang Ning striding over, Jiang Li examined him up and down, and a heartfelt smile appeared on his face.

Jiang Ning also wore a faint smile at this moment, "I'm back!"

"Did you encounter any danger outside?" Jiang Li asked.

Jiang Ning shook his head, "No danger at all. I was just practicing in the mountains and forests! Big brother knows that the boxing technique I practice is the Five Beasts Fist, and to progress further, I need to observe the daily habits and fighting styles of tigers, apes, bears, and other animals in the wilderness."

Upon hearing Jiang Ning's words, Jiang Li suddenly realized, "So that's why you suddenly disappeared for so long. You went to practice boxing."

Jiang Ning smiled, "Yes!"

At this moment, Doubao sat on Jiang Ning's shoulder, happily swinging his little legs.

Jiang Li spoke again, "Little brother, do you want to have lunch here or go back to the Martial Academy?"

Jiang Ning replied, "Let's eat at home!"

"Yay!" Doubao, sitting on Jiang Ning's shoulder, cheered upon hearing Jiang Ning's response, his little legs swinging with excitement.

The smile on Jiang Li's face became even warmer.

He nodded, "Alright, I'll tell your sister-in-law that we're having a special lunch today. I'll go out and buy some roast chicken and duck right now."

Jiang Ning said, "Wait a moment!"

As he spoke, he hurriedly stopped Jiang Li's actions.

"What's wrong?" Jiang Li turned to look at him.

Jiang Ning walked over to the nearby stone table, placed the bundle on it, and opened it. Then, he took out a money bag and walked towards Jiang Li.

"Big brother, take these."

Jiang Li was surprised and looked at Jiang Ning in disbelief.

He took the money bag first, and his eyes widened in shock.

"So heavy?" He exclaimed.

Then, he untied the rope and took a look. Under the sunlight, the inside of the money bag shimmered with a silver-white glow.

"Where did you get so much silver?"

Jiang Ning said, "It's not much, just about twenty or so taels of silver. Big brother, take this for now."

Jiang Li shook his head, "No, you can't just give me money! For a man, silver is his confidence. You can't leave yourself without any money."

Jiang Ning smiled, "Big brother, this is just a small portion of what I have!"

Then, he took out four silver bills from his waist.

"There are also four hundred taels of silver here!"

He also took out two gold leaves from his waist.

The gold leaves, as soon as they were taken out, reflected dazzling golden light in the sunlight, immediately attracting Jiang Li's gaze.

"Gold leaves?" Jiang Li exclaimed in surprise.

"Yes!" Jiang Ning nodded and said, "So big brother, don't worry. I have a lot of money! This afternoon, let's go to the inner city, buy a courtyard, and then big brother and sister-in-law can move there with me."

Hearing this, Jiang Li was even more stunned, his eyes wide open, unable to speak for a long time.

After a while, he swallowed his saliva and looked at the gold leaves and silver bills in Jiang Ning's hand again.

"Where did you get so much money?"

Jiang Ning said, "The day I left the city, a few thieves followed me. So, I dealt with them in the mountains and forests of the wilderness, and after searching them, I obtained this unexpected gain."

Thieves?

Jiang Li: "..."

He was speechless for a moment.

He really wanted to say, how could thieves have two gold leaves and four hundred taels of silver bills on them?

He stared at Jiang Ning in disbelief.

"Little brother has truly grown up! I'm nowhere near as good as you!"

He then picked up the money bag Jiang Ning had just given him and continued, "Never mind! Since little brother is so wealthy, I'll take these twenty or so taels of silver!"

"I'll tell your sister-in-law, and then I'll go out to buy some roast chicken and roast goose!"

At this moment, Doubao couldn't help but get excited.

"Yay!"

"We'll have roast chicken to eat soon!!!"

On the other side, Liu Wanwan, who had come out early, watched the scene in the courtyard with a complex expression.

She had overheard their entire conversation.

Seeing everything Jiang Ning took out, she was also shocked.

Two gold leaves were worth two taels of gold.

Even before she eloped with Jiang Li, her monthly allowance was less than that.

For an ordinary family, this was an unimaginable fortune.

With her experience, she naturally knew that the person with such wealth couldn't be an ordinary thief.

They must have a certain level of strength or status.

For ordinary people, even if they obtained this wealth by chance, it would bring disaster upon them.

Undoubtedly, her little brother-in-law didn't kill ordinary thieves.

Instead, he killed skilled martial artists.

To defeat such skilled opponents, her little brother-in-law must have relied on some powerful external force.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end