27: The fifth level of Qi intake, the ruffian Feng Liu

“Official, please uphold justice for this commoner!”

At the yamen entrance, in front of the Dengwen drum, a burly middle-aged man held a drumstick, beating the drum while shouting loudly.

The brawny man’s arms were as thick as a normal person’s thigh, with bulging muscles, clearly indicating he was a Martial Artist.

Behind him were four yamen runners who were looking at each other, but dared not step forward.

“Who the hell is beating the drum outside the gate?”

At the main gate, a man dressed as a secretary stepped out, his expression unfriendly.

Behind him followed several yamen runners holding water-and-fire staffs.

“Official!” The brawny man saw someone come out, quickly put down the drumstick, and said to the secretary, “Official, please uphold justice for this commoner!”

“You?”

The secretary looked at the middle-aged brawny man’s physique, and the arrogance on his face lessened a bit. “Are you a Martial Artist?”

“This commoner is the owner of the Wu Family Boxing Gym, named Wu Yuan.”

The secretary again scrutinized the man’s bulging arms.

“An Entered Realm Martial Artist?”

“Skin Refinement Fourth Level.”

The secretary’s expression, which was originally impatient, immediately turned into a wide smile.

Don’t misunderstand, within the Demon Suppression Division, an Entered Realm Martial Artist isn’t worth much.

But throughout the entire Yan Capital City, Martial Artists who have entered a Realm are all prominent figures.

Even within this Chengtian Prefecture Yamen, there aren’t many Entered Realm Martial Artists.

After all, the Chengtian Prefecture and the Demon Suppression Division have different responsibilities; one manages people, the other manages demons, so having too many Martial Artists is useless.

“You beat the drum, do you have a grievance?”

The brawny man slightly composed himself.

“This commoner’s daughter is missing!”

“This… how many days has she been missing?”

“Two hours!”

Secretary: “…”

“Why are you beating the drum after two hours? Maybe she’s out for something and hasn’t had time to come home. Just go look for her, wouldn’t that be enough?”

The middle-aged man said anxiously:

“She was abducted by a hooligan!”

“Which hooligan? What’s his name?”

“Feng Liu!” The middle-aged man gritted his teeth, “It must be him! I’ve looked everywhere. My daughter usually doesn’t leave the house, so her going out this time must have been instigated by him!”

The secretary scanned the surroundings, then said:

“Come into the yamen to speak.”

With that, the group walked into the yamen entrance.

Seeing that there was no more excitement to watch, Jiang Lan also prepared to leave.

“Let’s go.”

He called out to Zhang Wen.

But Zhang Wen stood there motionless, somewhat lost in thought.

Jiang Lan patted him on the shoulder.

Zhang Wen finally reacted, swallowing a mouthful of saliva.

“Boss, this Feng Liu is the hooligan who’s been pestering my older sister recently.”

Jiang Lan frowned.

How could there be such a coincidence in this world?

Before he could speak, Zhang Wen hurriedly ran towards the ‘Wanfutang’ pharmacy.

Jiang Lan’s physical fitness was excellent, and he easily followed behind Zhang Wen.

A quarter of an hour later, the two arrived at the pharmacy entrance.

Walking into the pharmacy, they heard a clear voice from inside:

“Zhang Wen? Are you off duty?”

Hearing the familiar voice, Zhang Wen bent over, hands on his knees, panting for a moment, then looked up and let out a long breath.

“Phew… It’s good that you’re alright.”

Behind the pharmacy counter stood a rather sturdy woman, though her face was quite pretty.

This woman was Zhang Wen’s older sister, Zhang Cui.

Zhang Cui asked, somewhat puzzled:

“I’m perfectly fine, what could be wrong?”

“Never mind that for now, where’s Feng Liu? Did he come looking for you today?”

When Zhang Wen mentioned Feng Liu, a barely perceptible blush appeared on Zhang Cui’s face.

But she quickly hid this emotion.

“No, no… Why are you suddenly asking about this?”

Jiang Lan narrowed his eyes.

Zhang Wen couldn’t tell, but he could.

Zhang Cui seemed a little off.

Of course, it might also be him overthinking.

Perhaps this girl was genuinely smitten and had fallen for the hooligan named Feng Liu, it’s not impossible.

“Really not?” Zhang Wen was still a bit unconvinced.

“Oh, I said no, so it’s no. Would your sister lie to you?”

Saying this, Zhang Cui looked up and finally saw Jiang Lan, who had come with Zhang Wen.

She quickly greeted him: “Officer, you’re here too, please sit down quickly!”

As she spoke, she gave Zhang Wen a somewhat reproachful look, seemingly blaming him for not giving her a heads-up.

“No need to sit.” Jiang Lan also looked at Zhang Wen, “Since he didn’t come, let’s wait until tomorrow.”

Zhang Wen felt a bit embarrassed upon hearing this, “Look at the trouble this caused… and you, Boss, made a trip for nothing.”

“It’s no big deal.” Jiang Lan waved his hand, “I’ll be leaving now.”

Since no one was there, he had no reason to stay any longer.

“I’ll see you out!”

Zhang Wen quickly said.

As the two walked out of the pharmacy entrance, Jiang Lan glanced at him sideways and said softly:

“Tomorrow, you and Zhao Wu don’t need to come to the Demon Suppression Division. Keep an eye on your sister, and if anything happens, let me know.”

“It’s nothing.” Zhang Wen smiled, “That Feng Liu abducted someone else’s daughter, so he definitely wouldn’t dare to show up.”

“I told you to keep an eye on her, so keep an eye on her.”

Zhang Wen thought for a moment, then nodded in agreement.

“Alright then.”

Jiang Lan said no more and walked off into the distance.

Whether something would happen, he didn’t know.

However, caution is always best. Zhang Wen and Zhao Wu didn’t have much to do even at the Demon Suppression Division, so it was better to take a few days to watch over Zhang Cui.

It would be best if nothing happened, but if an accident truly occurred, he would be informed immediately.

While deep in thought, Jiang Lan walked into a noodle shop.

He ordered a bowl of plain noodles, ate it in a few mouthfuls, and then returned to his small courtyard.

Currently, his Lifespan still had one hundred and seven years remaining.

As for Martial Skills, those that needed improvement had already been improved sufficiently.

At least, at his current stage, they were absolutely enough.

So next, it was time to improve his Martial Dao Realm.

Returning to his room, Jiang Lan sat cross-legged on the wooden bed.

“Three Yuan True Nurturing Skill, one hundred years.”

The text on the screen scrolled.

“In the forty-ninth year, your cultivation became increasingly refined, and your Martial Dao Realm broke through to Qi Gathering Fourth Level.”

“In the one hundredth year, your Realm had already advanced to Qi Gathering Fourth Level Peak, just one step away from another Breakthrough, but there was still a lack of time, so you were unable to successfully Breakthrough.”

Jiang Lan fell silent for a moment.

“Another five years.”

“In the third year, you accumulated strength and finally achieved a Breakthrough, raising your Martial Dao Realm to Qi Gathering Fifth Level.”

Jiang Lan’s entire body surged with Qi and blood like a Dragon, and True Qi circulated through his various acupoints, emitting sounds like crashing waves against the shore.

Not only that, but his physical fitness also reached a completely new level.

Qi Gathering Fifth Level was already Qi Gathering Middle Stage.

The Martial Dao Realm, with nine small Realms in each major stage, can generally be categorized into three stages: Early Stage, Middle Stage, and Late Stage.

Among these, breaking through each major stage would bring about earth-shattering changes in a Martial Artist’s strength.

Normally, it wasn’t that difficult for a Qi Gathering Second Level practitioner to defeat a Third Level one.

But if a Qi Gathering Third Level practitioner faced a Qi Gathering Fourth Level one… to say it was like a chasm would be an exaggeration, but the difference was absolutely enormous.