In early September of the ninth year of Jinghan, the spring was bright and beautiful. A huge ship sailed upstream slowly through the Yangtze River waterway. The trees on both sides were lush and green, and occasionally rice fields, farmhouses and villages flashed by in the field of vision.

Ye Zixun stood at the bow with his hands behind his back, admiring the scenery around him.

He came to the new world to relax, but until he discovered Ning Yi's existence, this relaxing trip turned into a classic case that can be recorded in the history of the alliance.

Now he and Li Yun and Zuo Yu have submitted their applications.

Boss Lin also passed the review and allowed indigenous time travelers like Ning Yi to join the alliance.

The troubles finally came to an end, and he could finally enjoy the leisurely life in the low-level martial arts world.

This building ship is the largest ship that can be found in inland waterways. Even when going up the Yangtze River, it is quite stable throughout the journey.

The boat was divided into two floors. Ning Yi, Ye Zixun and others were with the pregnant Su Tan'er, so they were arranged by the government to stay in the rooms on the first floor where they were least likely to feel the bumps.

Of course, Su Tan'er's pregnancy is just a more pleasant superficial reason.

What really mattered was Ning Yi's contributions and his connections in the court.

After everyone arrived in Huzhou, the then Right Prime Minister Qin Siyuan sent someone from the Secret Investigation Department to deliver a letter, praising Ning Yi's work in Hangzhou and once again sincerely inviting him to come to the capital to help.

This time, Ning Yi did not refuse, but said that he would go back to Jiangning first to take care of trivial matters before setting off for Beijing.

On the other side of the deck, Lu Hongti looked at Ning Yi's profile beside him and suddenly spoke.

"After I get off the boat this evening, I will head north and not enter the city."

Ning Yi was silent for a while, then said softly: "I know you are anxious to go back, but a few days won't make a difference, and I still have some ideas that I haven't sorted out yet. Why don't you stay here and leave in a few days?"

Lu Hongti smiled and shook his head, "No, I've seen what you packed, these are enough... I've been away from the village for too long this time, and I'm a little worried and concerned, so I'd better go back as soon as possible."

"...Okay." Ning Yi sighed, "I will hurry up and pack it tonight and try to give it to you before you get off the ship."

"Thank you very much."

Lu Hongti bowed.

Ning Yi smiled and waved his hands: "We are all children of the martial arts world, there is no need to say such hypocritical words."

Seeing Ning Yi's chivalrous and carefree attitude, Lu Hongti couldn't help laughing. "By the way, I also wrote a small book for you. It's not the secret book mentioned in those martial arts stories, but it should be useful to you. You started practicing martial arts too late, and your muscles and bones are already fixed. You probably won't become a top-notch master in the future, but if you keep practicing, you will be able to defend yourself in three to five years."

"...That's not necessarily true!" Ning Yi smiled mysteriously.

Now he no longer practices martial arts, but has switched to cultivating immortality!

With the training speed assisted by the Gray Mist Coin, after three to five years, he would at least be in the late stage of Qi training, or even in the stage of foundation building. By then, let alone self-defense, even the so-called grandmaster would only need a flying sword to defeat him.

Although Ning Yi no longer needed any martial arts secrets, he still accepted Lu Hong's kindness.

"Oh, right." Recalling the description of the realm in the book "Green Lotus Changchun Kung Fu", Ning Yi couldn't help but ask curiously, "You haven't told me yet, what exactly is the concept of the so-called first-class masters and martial arts masters in this world?"

Lu Hongti thought for a moment and said, "The leader of the Tyrant Blade Camp, Liu, the chief steward Liu Tiannan, Chen Fan, Fang Qifo, Li Tianrun and others are all first-rate masters. As for the Grandmaster, Iron-armed Zhou Tong should be considered a Grandmaster recognized by the world."

Having said that, Lu Hongti paused and glanced at Ye Zixun's back at the bow.

"...and then there are your three brothers."

"But I'm not sure if they can be considered grandmasters. After all, a young master is better than a young one. This is the first time I've heard of such a young grandmaster... I guess Zhou Tong is no match for them."

Ning Yi said with great interest: "So Zhou Tong is an acquired master, and my three brothers are innate masters!"

Lu Hongti was stunned for a moment and asked in confusion: "Innate or acquired?"

Ning Yi waved his hand and said with a smile: "Nothing, I'm thinking of defining the realm for all the martial arts masters in the world, and then compile a booklet with the ranking list of martial arts masters..."

Lu Hongti asked doubtfully: "What's the meaning of this...?"

“That means a lot!”

Ye Zixun's excited voice came from the side.

The two turned to look at Ye Zixun who was walking towards them from the bow.

"You were eavesdropping..."

Lu Hongti rolled his eyes at him, looking unhappy.

Ning Yi smiled and said, "Third brother, do you want to be the best in the world, or the third best?"

Ye Zixun said without hesitation: "Of course he is the best in the world!"

Lu Hongti asked doubtfully, "Can you beat Zuo Yu and Li Yun?"

Ye Zixun answered honestly: "I can't beat them... But I know they don't care about false reputation. When the time comes, you can arrange it as you like, and just let me be the number one in the world."

"……Yeah?"

Lu Hongti recalled Zuo Yu's appearance and couldn't help but doubt the comment "not caring about false reputation".

Ning Yi knew that Zuo Yu had an eccentric personality and he probably viewed this kind of thing as a game.

For him, it would be great to be the best in the world, but he wouldn't care if there was no ranking.

"What about your reputation in the martial arts world?" Ning Yi asked with a smile.

Ye Zixun thought for a moment and said, "I don't really like Thunder Bomb. I'll change it to Shadowless Hand. Or you can give me a name that's a bit weird and mysterious... but it can't be the Shocking Sword!"

Ning Yi smiled and nodded, agreeing.

At this moment, the waves hit the hull and several human-shaped black shadows flashed across the water.

Ye Zixun caught the movement under the water and immediately raised his eyebrows. A silver light flashed in his right hand, and he took out a flying knife as if out of thin air.

The next second, Ye Zixun threw the flying knife under the surprised gazes of Ning Yi and Lu Hongti.

The flying knife cut through the air and penetrated into the water without causing the slightest splash.

The sunlight shining on the water allowed Lu Hongti to keenly catch a glimpse of silver light. It was not the light refracted by the water, but a thin silver thread connected to the base of the knife.

"Come up!"

Ye Zixun laughed loudly and pulled the silver thread hard with his right hand.

"thump!"

Water splashed everywhere, and a figure was pulled up by Ye Zixun, covered in water, and fell heavily on the deck.

Ning Yi frowned and quietly placed his right hand on the handle of the gun in his arms.

Lu Hongti's face turned cold, he drew the sword from his waist and put it on the man's shoulder.

"……Who are you?!"

The man was naked except for a pair of tight shorts, and his limbs were tightly bound with the silver wire. Every time he moved, the silver wire would cut his skin and sink into his flesh.

It is late autumn and the weather is getting colder.

It was fine when I was underwater, but once I got ashore, I was shivering from the cold.

Coupled with the pain caused by the silver wire cutting his skin, the man turned pale and his teeth chattered.

But even so, he didn't make a sound, even when facing swords, he didn't say a word. Instead, a look of determination flashed across his face.

Lu Hongti's face changed slightly, and he immediately turned the sword and hit the opponent's temple horizontally.

“Pah—”

With a crisp sound, the naked man's eyes rolled back and he fell into coma.

Lu Hongti quickly stepped forward, pinched the man's cheek, and with a little force, removed his jaw.

Ning Yi frowned and asked, "What's wrong?"

“…He wants to commit suicide.”

Lu Hongti pried out a back tooth from the man's mouth, and without caring whether it was clean or not, he lifted it up and sniffed it.

"It is a poison mixed with the sap of the curare tree. It is extremely toxic and is known as 'blood-killing' in the underworld."

"..." Ning Yi looked at the man in surprise, "He's a death warrior."

"Finally, it's interesting!"

Ye Zixun smiled and shook his wrist. The silver thread and flying knife wrapped around the man began to rotate on their own and returned to Ye Zixun's hand in a way that Lu Hongti could not understand.

The next second, Ye Zixun threw the flying knife into the water again, and lifted it up suddenly, and a figure flew out again.

This time, before Lu Hong raised his hand, Ye Zixun grabbed the other person's chin and exerted force with his fingertips. The back molar containing the poison flew out of the other person's mouth and fell into Lu Hongti's palm.

Such exquisite control of strength amazed Lu Hongti.

But Ning Yi knew that this guy had the ability to control objects and was actually a swordsman in essence.

"Bang!"

Ye Zixun threw the **man in his hand onto the boat, and then attacked again, grabbing several people underwater and doing the same thing.

Unfortunately, they seemed to have realized that there was an expert on the boat, and the two people they captured had already swallowed the poison, leaving only Ning Yi and Ye Zixun alive.

"What do they want to do?"

"Of course it's the ship!"

Ye Zixun answered with a smile, and with a flip of his right hand, a chisel appeared in his palm.

Ning Yi raised his hand to take it, played with it for a while, and suddenly said: "Third brother, someone wants to kill someone on this ship."

"Oh?" Ye Zixun asked excitedly, "Who is so unlucky that someone is targeting him?"

Ning Yi looked at him and said, "Although I don't want to admit it, I always feel that... it might be me."

"ah?"

Ye Zixun blinked and asked curiously, "Who wants your life? Is it the Chen family in Beijing?"

Ning Yi thought about it and shook his head calmly: "No, Brother Wenren will not betray me, nor dare to betray me."

Ye Zixun frowned and said, "Who else could it be? We went through the Tang family's route and boarded a government ship. If he dared to attack you here, he must not only have a grudge against you, but he must also have known the itinerary of the government ship and have the courage to attack you..."

"You killed Captain Chen of the Six Gates. The Chen family in the capital is also quite powerful. They best fit these characteristics."

"Except for the Chen family..."

Having said this, Ye Zixun's words stopped abruptly.

Ning Yi seemed to remember something as well. The two looked at each other with complicated expressions.

"…It shouldn't be him, right?"

"If it was him, it would be too much of a joke to just send a few assassins to scuttle the boat."

Ye Zixun frowned and looked a little ugly.

Ning Yi shook his head: "Don't make any hasty judgments. Let's arrest them first. Once we get ashore, I'll ask the Jiangning Secret Investigation Department to interrogate them and see if we can find out anything..."

At this point, Ning Yi paused, looked at Ye Zixun and said, "If it is really him..."

Ye Zixun frowned and was about to speak when his expression suddenly changed and he turned to look at the river.

Dozens of sailboats appeared on the river on both sides of the building ship, and the boats were filled with people holding weapons.

He looks aggressive and has no good intentions.

"I knew it..."

Ning Yi sighed and took out the platinum-colored pistol from his arms.