I Become a Martial Arts God in the Chaotic Demon World-Chapter 42 The Lonely City

After three rounds of drinks and a variety of dishes,

Song Tianqing and Lin Qing were taken away by Qian Songyuan and headed straight to the Cang Mountain Sword Sect overnight.

Traveling at night would be dangerous for others, but for Qian Songyuan, who had reached the Xuan Gang Realm in cultivation, there was no difference between night and day.

The others in Black Stone County also dispersed. Han Zheng had just turned a corner in a small alley when he saw Zhang Tianyang waiting for him.

"Did the old man Qian Songyuan give you a hard time today?

Actually, although talent and constitution are important, they aren't all that matters."

Zhang Tianyang pointed at himself: "Even my constitution was worse back then, and my teacher said it was almost impossible for me to break through to the Innate Realm.

So what happened? I still fought my way out in the army, eventually joined the Demon Cleansing Bureau, and now my cultivation is stronger than his.

Talent and constitution don't mean everything; there is more than one path in the Martial World."

"Thank you for your advice, Master Zhang, but I have long known that my talent and constitution are lacking. It hasn't affected me."

Han Zheng felt somewhat amused.

Li Jingzhong was afraid he would be discouraged, and now Zhang Tianyang had come to give him advice.

But in truth, Han Zheng really didn't care.

Joining the Cang Mountain Sword Sect would, of course, be good, and he was confident he could quickly advance his cultivation using the Taotie Furnace, even if he started as an outer disciple, to make it into the Inner Door.

Further, joining the Sect would grant him immediate access to a cultivation technique, which would facilitate breakthroughs with the Taotie Furnace.

But not being able to join was also fine; with the Taotie Furnace in his possession, he could fight his way through the Martial World and still obtain Hunger Level to ensure a bright future.

Zhang Tianyang nodded, "Good to hear. In recent years, top sects like the Cang Mountain Sword Sect have been scooping up disciples everywhere, taking almost all the talented youngsters.

The Demon Cleansing Bureau had to look for promising recruits in the military, and in recent years, they've started prioritizing strength and combat achievements over talent and constitution."

"By the way, Master Zhang, have you found out whether anyone in the Sanhe Gang is colluding with the Smell Fragrance Sect?"

Zhang Tianyang frowned, "Not yet, and it's not just the Sanhe Gang. In the last gang fight in the county, I took the opportunity to arrest members of the Black Tiger Gang and the Sky Eagle Gang, even at the risk of revealing some of my own strength, but still came up empty-handed. It's very strange.

But if it's not the Sanhe Gang, could it be the Shen Family or the Song Family?"

Earlier, Zhang Tianyang had speculated that these three gangs were the most likely to be colluding with the Smell Fragrance Sect in Black Stone County.

After all, such low-level gangs have never had much in terms of a bottom line.

But now that these three had been ruled out, only the Song Family and the Shen Family remained.

Han Zheng shook his head, "I don't think it's either of those families.

If the Song Family were colluding with the Smell Fragrance Sect, why would they bother sending Song Tianqing to the Cang Mountain Sword Sect?

The same goes for the Shen Family.

With Shen Congyun already being the top young representative of the Tiangang Sect, why would they stoop to collude with the Smell Fragrance Sect? That would just be dragging Shen Congyun down.

Moreover, Shen Chengshan also intended to send Shen Conghai to the Cang Mountain Sword Sect today.

If they were colluding with the Smell Fragrance Sect, then making this move would be as redundant as taking off one's trousers to fart."

Although the Song Family had not colluded with the Smell Fragrance Sect, they had indeed colluded with Demons, but Han Zheng had no intention of sharing this with Zhang Tianyang.

Firstly, as there was no direct trade with Demons and with Gao Kaiyuan dead, there would be no evidence.

Secondly, this matter involved himself, and there were many suspicions yet to be cleared; until then, Han Zheng did not want to act rashly.

Also, he didn't trust Zhang Tianyang enough to that extent.

Zhang Tianyang looked at Han Zheng with a hint of surprise; he had not expected Han Zheng to see things so clearly.

"My thoughts are similar to yours; today's observations made it clear that both families are unlikely suspects, but we still need to verify for sure."

"Do you need me to do anything, Master Zhang?"

Zhang Tianyang shook his head, "Not for now. Just wait for my message; however, I do indeed need to speed things up a bit."

With that said, Zhang Tianyang turned and walked into the shadows, disappearing from sight.

The county remained peaceful for the next few days, with even those arrested from the three gangs being released by Zhang Tianyang.

Since the three gangs such as the Sanhe Gang were only fighting each other and their crimes were not fatal, it would seem suspicious if Zhang Tianyang detained them for too long.

Moreover, by now, Zhang Tianyang was almost certain that there was no connection between the Smell Fragrance Sect and the three gangs in Black Stone County, so he couldn't be bothered to target them anymore.

That morning, Chen Baiqing came to the Martial Arts Hall and specifically called for Han Zheng.

Inside the hall, Chen Baiqing smiled at Han Zheng, "Young Master Han, my visit this time is actually to trouble you to escort a convoy for my Shenghe Hall again.

Shenghe Hall is currently short on a few special Spiritual Medicines. We can't go to Huainan Road but I have found a source in the Southern Mountain, and I need you to lead the convoy to bring back the Spiritual Medicine.

I plan to let you and Li Feng lead the team again this time, but since the quantity is smaller, just you alone will suffice.

When you return, I won't pay with Silver. Instead, I will personally prepare an Innate Transcendence Realm Medicine Bath for you. How does that sound?"

Li Jingzhong, standing by, laughed, "Manager Chen, my disciples are almost being used as escort masters by you."

Chen Baiqing laughed heartily, "I trust Young Master Han's work; those escort masters are too careless, and I fear they would ruin my Spiritual Medicine.

So, what do you say, Young Master Han? Are you willing to take on this job?"

Han Zheng replied directly, "Manager Chen, rest assured, we have cooperated before; I guarantee to bring back the Spiritual Medicine safely."

Having already experienced the benefits of a Medicine Bath, Han Zheng happily agreed now that Chen Baiqing was willing to make it his payment.

The next day, Han Zheng arrived at the entrance of Shenghe Hall to wait.

This time, it was much simpler than last time: there were only four attendants and two horse-drawn carriages.

Li Feng had become quite familiar with Han Zheng, so after exchanging brief courtesies, they set out on their journey.

This time, Li Feng didn't prepare any meat or vegetables.

With Han Zheng present, was there any need for that sort of thing?

When the caravan approached the city gate, they saw many merchants and commoners moving toward the inner city. Even a group from an escort agency returned with faces full of dismay.

Li Feng and Han Zheng exchanged a glance, both sensing something was amiss.

What could have happened outside that everyone was heading into the city?

Li Feng just so happened to recognize an escort master from the agency, someone who had come to him for medicine baths before.

"Escort Master Wu, what happened out there, why are you all returning?"

Escort Master Wu had a face full of gloom: "Don't even mention it. We can't go to Southern Mountain anymore; the soldiers have sealed all the roads.

They claim it's because of the rebellion led by the Smell Fragrance Sect in Huainan Road, and that devils from the sect have already infiltrated the area around Black Stone County.

Therefore, Jingzhou Prefecture has blocked the only route with checkpoints to prevent the Smell Fragrance Sect's devils from sneaking through.

The most uptodate nove𝙡s are published on frёewebnoѵel.ƈo๓.

Black Stone County and the two neighboring counties can't be passed through until the Smell Fragrance Sect is completely suppressed and the checkpoints are opened again.

Our escort agency had accepted several deals before, and now they're all falling through."

Escort Master Wu trudged off dejectedly, while Li Feng also wore a troubled expression.

"Brother Han, it looks like there's no point in our trip; I better report back to the Store Manager."

Han Zheng nodded, and Li Feng, along with the employees of Shenghe Hall, headed back.

Gazing at the chaotic scene at the city gate, Han Zheng frowned slightly.

The Court has sealed off the roads, doesn't that mean Black Stone County and its neighboring counties have become isolated?

This was definitely not good news.

Upon returning to Zhenwei Martial Arts Academy, the townsfolk were already abuzz with the news, which sparked a frenzy of soaring grain prices.

Black Stone County couldn't sustain itself with its own grain supply; it had always relied on caravans from Huainan.

Despite the Smell Fragrance Sect disturbances in Huainan, the caravans could still bring in grain from Jingzhou Prefecture, albeit at a higher price.

But now that the roads to Jingzhou Prefecture had been sealed, grain prices skyrocketed overnight, and fights even broke out in front of the granaries.

Apart from being the richest man in the town, Guo Kai probably had more money than all the major merchants of Black Stone County combined.

Just then, Han Zheng suddenly sensed something unusual, feeling like there was a thorn in his back.

Turning around, he saw Zhang Tianyang standing in a corner, gesturing for him to come over.

Without attracting attention, Han Zheng followed Zhang Tianyang through twists and turns until they reached a deserted alleyway.

"Have you heard about the commotion outside?"

Han Zheng nodded. "They've sealed off the roads at Jingzhou Prefecture; has Black Stone County truly become an isolated city?"

Zhang Tianyang shook his head. "Isolated, not quite. Jingzhou Prefecture seeks stability and certainly doesn't want the Smell Fragrance Sect to spread to their level.

But Black Stone County won't be abandoned either, at least the Demon Cleansing Bureau won't give up on it.

Originally, I wanted to carefully investigate and weed out spies within, one by one, in Black Stone County.

But the Smell Fragrance Sect's movements are too swift, and I'm running out of time.

I'm here to ask for your help one last time, and when Black Stone County's issues are resolved, the Demon Cleansing Bureau will not forget your service."

"What's the plan, Director Zhang?"

"We can't afford to investigate slowly, so we might as well resort to the crudest method—put the whole town on alert and turn everything upside down!"

A chilling glint flashed in Zhang Tianyang's eyes.

Han Zheng puzzled, "But what about manpower? You came to me before precisely because you lacked sufficient force.

Relying on those worthless constables from the County Government, they'd struggle even to turn themselves around, let alone the whole Black Stone County."

"Of course, we can't use them; they are hardly useful for much."

The corners of Zhang Tianyang's mouth revealed a slightly cruel smile: "A bunch of insatiable corrupt officials, good for nothing but extortion and graft.

In the past few days, I've disposed of them using various pretexts and squeezed quite a lot of oil out of them.

Just enough to fund the hiring of a new batch of temporary officials to assist me."

Han Zheng immediately understood: "Are you planning to have the students from the Martial Arts Hall act as constables?"

Zhang Tianyang's idea was indeed not bad.

Apart from the two families and three gangs, the only place in Black Stone County where a large number of martial artists could be found was the Zhenwei Martial Arts Academy.

Although these young students from the academy might not have much real combat experience, their foundations were solid, and nearly all were from respectable families, which made them reliable.

Moreover, only a few of Zhenwei Martial Arts Academy's students were from noble origins; most were from commoner backgrounds.

As long as Zhang Tianyang offered enough monthly salary, they would certainly be willing to serve as temporary constables.

After all, a constable had some prestige—definitely better than being an escort master or protector.

"Exactly, but we'll need the teacher's consent for this.

He is a good man, dedicated to teaching his students wholeheartedly.

If there's only one issue, it's that he's somewhat indecisive and overly cautious.

You're now his favorite student and he'll listen to you, so I need you to also play your part in persuading him."