51: Sixteen years old, ninth rank! Fan Wujiu's past!

Chapter 51: Sixteen Years Old, Ninth-Rank! Fan Wujiu's Past!

Fan Wujiu's movement technique was extremely fast, but he was still surrounded by over twenty people, and among them was an Eighth-Rank expert.

Saber and sword lights flashed, and the sound of True Qi tearing through the air was frequent; two of the attackers died instantly.

In the original series, Fan Wujiu was an expert recruited by the Second Prince, dedicated to studying the classics of the sages. It seems he has a story now.

Fan Wujiu was skilled in both literary and martial arts and was very loyal, which Li Chang'an valued.

Loyal people are easier to win over. Making Fan Wujiu serve him would be easier than subduing Wang Qinian, who was full of schemes.

"Old Zhao, so the Life-Snatching Scholar Fan Wujiu is Fan Jin, the failed scholar from three years ago."

Whenever Li Chang'an arrived at a new place, the local Net would report all major events of recent years, making it easier for Li Chang'an to scout for talent.

Li Chang'an came to the vicinity of Suzhou partly to scout for talent and partly for Xia Qifei, the seventh young master of the Ming Family.

Currently, Xia Qifei was still called Ming Qingcheng and was evading the pursuit of Ming Qingda, the eldest young master of the Ming Family, about to join the underworld.

Discovering Fan Wujiu was a complete surprise.

Zhao Gao replied, "It should be correct. This man gathered candidates to cause trouble back then and was imprisoned, ruining his future."

A few years ago, there was a scandal during the Suzhou Autumn Examination. After the results were announced, the top two successful candidates were both sons of prominent salt merchants.

These two were usually idle and unlearned, notorious for being dissolute scions.

Anyone with discerning eyes could see that there was major cheating in this provincial examination; the salt merchants had bought the examination questions.

Large numbers of failed candidates gathered, causing a commotion in Suzhou City. They changed the plaque of the examination hall to "Sold Out" and even moved a clay statue of the God of Wealth to the entrance of the examination hall, satirizing the examiners for selling questions and cheating.

The Prefect of Suzhou acted swiftly, not to investigate the cheating immediately, but to imprison several leading scholars who caused trouble, including Fan Jin.

Because of his martial arts talent, Fan Jin already had a Seventh-Rank Cultivation, so he managed to escape.

However, with a criminal record, he could never participate in the imperial examinations again.

"Old Zhao, has the identity of that Prefect of Suzhou been clarified?"

Zhao Gao calmly said, "The Prefect of Suzhou is Guo Zheng, a distant relative of Guo Youzhi, the Minister of Rites. Because he had connections in the capital, he quickly suppressed the matter."

"Last year, Guo Zheng finished his external assignment and went to the Censorate in the capital to serve as a Fourth-Rank Censor. With his connections, he might be promoted to Vice Censor-in-Chief."

Li Chang'an could basically confirm that this Guo Zheng was precisely the Minister of Rites who succeeded Guo Youzhi in the original series.

If one successfully passed the provincial Autumn Examination, they could go to the capital to participate in the metropolitan Spring Examination, so Fan Wujiu had an obsession with the Spring Examination.

Logically, Fan Wujiu should not have died at this point, because he would later be recruited by the Second Prince and become one of the Eight Generals.

However, Fan Wujiu's situation was not optimistic; he had already sustained several injuries.

Zhao Gao bowed and said, "Young Master, should this old servant go and save him?"

Li Chang'an said, "I'll go myself. Engaging in more fights with people helps in comprehending the Martial Dao with half the effort, and progress will be faster."

Li Chang'an, now sixteen years old, had just Broken Through to Ninth-Rank, and he had personally engaged in quite a few battles along the way.

Name: Li Chang'an

World: Joy of Life

Age: 16 years old

Realm: Ninth-Rank Low

Cultivation Technique: Bei Ming True Energy (Major Achievement), Tianshan Plum Hand (Major Achievement), Tianshan Six Yang Palms (Minor Achievement), Six Meridian Divine Sword (Minor Achievement), Lingbo Microstep (Perfection)

Innate Abilities: Clairvoyant Eyes, Photographic Memory

Abilities: Poetry (Ninth-Rank), Painting (Ninth-Rank), Calligraphy (Ninth-Rank), Chess (Seventh-Rank), Palace Intrigue (Eighth-Rank), Social Skills (Eighth-Rank), Schemes (Eighth-Rank), Medical Skills (Eighth-Rank), Poison Skills (Eighth-Rank), Management (Seventh-Rank), Espionage (Ninth-Rank), Tracking (Seventh-Rank), Disguise (Seventh-Rank)... Mortal World: 1000 points (accumulated 30,000 points)

Ranking: Power 12, Wealth 18, Martial Prowess 18, Romantic Appeal 10,000+, Artistic Skill 4

Currently, Li Chang'an's Bei Ming True Energy had reached Major Achievement, allowing him to absorb others' True Qi and refine it for his own use.

His three offensive martial arts had made significant progress, and his various abilities could only be described as steadily developing, as his main focus in the past two years had been on Cultivation.

Due to the expansion of the Net, Li Chang'an's covert influence surged, coupled with the enforcement power granted by Emperor Qing's "Martial Suppression Edict," his power ranking rose to 12th place.

In terms of wealth, he also entered the top twenty, becoming one of the wealthiest individuals in this world.

Because Shen Wansan's assets were Li Chang'an's, his Net worth had already exceeded twenty million taels.

Although the Imperial Treasury monopolized the production of many lucrative products, the service industry, in which Shen Wansan excelled, still held great potential.

It could be said that all aspects were advancing by leaps and bounds, and Li Chang'an estimated that the System's next settlement was approaching.

The people attacking Fan Wujiu already felt victory was within their grasp; they thought Li Chang'an and his group were merely ordinary merchants.

"Fan Jin, you can't participate in the imperial examinations your whole life, yet you still incite candidates to complain to Prince Yong!"

"You really are tired of living; today, let's see where you can escape!"

"My Jiangnan Water Fortress has personally come to ensure you die without a burial place!"

Li Chang'an's Clone was in Suzhou City. It seemed Fan Jin was going to incite the failed candidates to complain to Prince Yong's Clone.

The Clone had encountered many complainants along the way but never accepted their cases because he did not have the authority to try cases.

However, Li Chang'an would have the local Net investigate all these cases, as they might uncover leverage against some high-ranking official in the imperial court.

In other words, because Li Chang'an traveled to Suzhou, Fan Wujiu incited candidates to complain, and the salt merchants spent a large sum to hire people to kill him.

Therefore, Fan Wujiu, who should have survived to join the Second Prince, might not make it.

Fan Wujiu's saber technique was superb, with every strike aimed at vital points. In a flash, he had decapitated three more Seventh-Rank experts.

However, there were simply too many opponents, and their moves were all deadly. Fan Wujiu, with two fists, could not contend with four hands, and his body was covered in blood.

He spat out a mouthful of blood and killed another Seventh-Rank expert, but his defeat was already evident.

"Damn it... it seems I really won't be able to participate in the Spring Examination in this life."

"Swish! Swish! Swish!"

Several dark projectiles shot through the air, barely a zhang (about 3.3 meters) from Fan Wujiu's back!

Fan Wujiu heard the wind but had no time to turn around and defend!

"Whoosh!"

Suddenly, a powerful, invisible Sword Qi shot out from an oblique angle, knocking all the projectiles away!

The Sword Qi was extremely powerful, with True Qi surging, and it consequently pierced through the bodies of two Seventh-Rank Martial Artists!

The two Seventh-Rank Martial Artists looked down at the large bloody holes in their chests, completely unable to believe that such a martial art existed in the world!

Without any weapons, only True Qi condensed into a sword, injuring people from dozens of feet away, and with such immense power!

"Ninth... Ninth-Rank!"

"It's actually a Ninth-Rank expert!"

"True Qi released externally, how is this possible!"

"How could there be such a young Ninth-Rank expert in Suzhou!"

The assassins were horrified to discover that a person was standing not far away, precisely the young merchant from the salt field earlier.

This was only the Minor Achievement of the Six Meridian Divine Sword; if it reached Perfection, it might be able to directly shatter half a person's body.

Li Chang'an tapped his toes on the ground and, in the blink of an eye, plunged into the crowd.

"Annoying brat, you seek death!"

"Go together, kill him!"

Although a Ninth-Rank was strong, a Ninth-Rank in this world could be ganged up on and killed.

In the assassins' view, since Li Chang'an was so young and had Cultivated long-range Sword Qi, he must be weak in close-quarters combat.

However, Li Chang'an's techniques were bizarre. The assassins felt palm shadows flying before their eyes, and several people's weapons were instantly knocked out of their hands!

Then, Li Chang'an struck one assassin after another, his heavy palms shattering their breastbones and crushing their hearts!

The disarming of weapons was the Tianshan Plum Hand, and the severe injury and killing was the Tianshan Six Yang Palms.

The strongest Eighth-Rank expert's vision blurred, seeing only the afterimage of Li Chang'an moving!

Lingbo Microstep, based on the trigrams of the I Ching, after reaching Perfection, was "unpredictable in movement, hard to anticipate in advance or retreat," making it impossible for enemies to foresee his movements or intentions.

Just like this Eighth-Rank expert, he only saw afterimages before his eyes, moving as fast as a Clone, unable to even touch Li Chang'an's clothes.

Immediately afterward, his long saber was nowhere to be seen, and a palm surging with True Qi had already pressed against his chest!

He took a palm strike, but it didn't hurt at all!

However, the True Qi within his body was frantically gushing out!