Swords emerge from Mount Hua, sweeping across the heavens from the world of Swordsman.

"What a clever sophistry! To fabricate such lies about the Grand Supervisor is a crime deserving of death by a thousand cuts! Seize him!"

Liu Zhengfeng was unwilling to obey orders, but he still brought over a hundred agents, all of whom were skilled men selected from the Eastern Depot and the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

"Yes!"

The guards drew their swords and charged toward Yue Zhuoqun's location.

"You think you're worthy to capture my master!"

Yang Lin and the other Huashan disciples shouted coldly and swung their swords to meet the attack.

"This is not a place for you government lackeys to show off your power!"

Several masters from Hengshan and Taishan sects also joined the fray, with Yu Canghai leading the charge.

These bandits were quite powerful; any one of them would be considered third-rate in the martial arts world, and a considerable number of them even reached the second-rate level.

There were more than a dozen top-notch experts in the arena, and in the blink of an eye, most of them were defeated.

"A bunch of useless bastards!" Xu Jin roared angrily.

Unexpectedly, the battle against a group of martial arts practitioners turned out to be a one-sided affair.

With a single step on the steps, he leaped into the air, his bright red cloak unfurling behind him like a soaring eagle, swooping down towards Yue Zhuoqun, who stood in the center of the field.

Since my subordinates are unreliable, I will take matters into my own hands!

Xu Jin was able to become the third-in-command of the Eastern Depot, so his martial arts skills were naturally not weak. He learned martial arts collected in the palace, which were much more advanced than the signature martial arts of most sects in the martial arts world.

With three fingers forming a hook, a sharp and powerful force reached out to grab Yue Zhuoqun's crown.

This is a claw technique, extremely powerful for grappling. If you are caught, you will be left with a bloody mess at best, and broken bones and tendons at worst.

Yue Zhuoqun possessed the lofty spirit of a mountain and the profound wisdom of a deep pool, embodying the demeanor of a grandmaster of his generation.

Only when the claws were about two feet above his head did he suddenly thrust out a finger to meet them.

"You're far from being able to deal with me. Let Cao Zhengchun handle this himself!"

"Pfft~"

"Ah~"

Xu Jin fell to the ground, howling in pain. A bloody hole pierced through his palm, and his arm was crippled.

Chapter 43 Washing hands in a golden basin

"Yue Buqun, not only did you resist arrest, you also dared to hurt me. The Eastern Depot will never let you get away with this." Xu Jin hugged his arm, sweating profusely from the pain.

The One-Finger Divine Skill not only pierced his palm, but also tore apart the meridians of his entire arm. If he didn't take good care of it, his arm would be ruined.

"Your warnings are completely ineffective; let Cao Zhengchun say those words instead!"

"Fine, fine, you all just wait." Xu Jin's breath hitched, and she was too ashamed to stay any longer.

With the help of a servant, he got up in a disheveled state and left Liu Zhengfeng's residence.

After this incident, the atmosphere in the room became somber, and many people wore expressions of worry.

Although they joined forces to repel the Eastern Depot, it was, after all, an organization of the imperial court, and notorious.

After the ceremony to wash their hands of their past lives is over, they will all go home.

Without the help of fellow martial arts practitioners, they would not be able to withstand retaliation from the Eastern Depot.

Liu Zhengfeng sighed, his expression complicated: "Senior Brother Yue, we've really offended Cao Zhengchun this time. I wonder how he'll retaliate against us."

Yue Zhuoqun, however, was not so worried. He smiled and said loudly, "Everyone, there is no need to worry. Although the Eastern Depot is powerful, it is not without weaknesses."

Cao Zhengchun will soon be embroiled in trouble and won't be able to attend to matters concerning the martial arts world.

When Yue Zhuoqun left the capital, he handed over the evidence of Zhuanluo Wang's crimes of forming the Black Stone and assassinating people to amass wealth to Zhang Haiduan.

Although the Prince of Zhunlun did not follow Cao Zhengchun's orders, he was a palace eunuch and belonged to Cao Zhengchun's subordinates.

If a lowly ninth-rank eunuch from the Eastern Depot dared to wreak havoc on the world and clamor that "Black Stone is the cornerstone of the court," what audacious things could a higher-ranking eunuch possibly do?

Once this evidence is presented, the Emperor will inevitably have second thoughts, and this will be a crisis of trust for Cao Zhengchun.

His immense power was all built on the emperor's trust. Once he lost the emperor's trust, the people in the court would surely rise up against him, and the first to make a move would probably be the Iron-Blooded Marquis.

At that time, Cao Zhengchun was too busy taking care of himself to have any energy to deal with matters in the martial arts world.

"What inside information does Senior Brother Yue have?" Everyone looked at Yue Zhuoqun with curiosity in their eyes.

"It involves factional strife in the imperial court, so I can't say much. Let's just wait and see."

This matter concerns Zhang Haiduan's plan to return to officialdom, and given the large number of people and gossip in this area, it certainly cannot be leaked carelessly.

"Junior Brother Liu, I've dragged you down so badly that you can't even keep your official position anymore. Now that you've lost your identity to make a living, are you still going to retire from the criminal world?"

Liu Zhengfeng gritted his teeth and nodded: "I'm tired of the martial world and determined to retire, but I still need to go through the process of washing my hands of this life."

There are three main reasons why he retired from his criminal activities.

First, he loves music and dislikes fighting and killing; he is already tired of the struggle between good and evil in the martial arts world.

Secondly, he befriended Qu Yang, an elder of the Sun Moon Sect. The two became close friends because they shared similar interests and had compatible personalities. However, one was a follower of the demonic path and the other of the righteous path, and as long as they remained in the martial world, they would be rejected by the world.

Thirdly, it was for the safety of his family. If his friendship with Qu Yang were exposed, Zuo Lengchan, the leader of the Five Mountains Sword Alliance, would be the first to not let him go. Only by retiring from the martial world could he avoid being bound by his identity and avoid implicating his family.

For these three reasons, he had to retire from his criminal activities.

Seeing that he had made up his mind, Yue Zhuoqun and the others stopped trying to persuade him and turned around to sit down again.

Liu Zhengfeng climbed onto the platform and clapped his hands three times.

Several Hengshan disciples slowly walked out and carried a table covered with a red cloth, on which was placed a golden basin filled with clear water.

Once everything was ready, Liu Zhengfeng, with a smile on his face, bowed to the assembled martial arts heroes:

"I am truly grateful and honored that my fellow martial arts friends have traveled so far to attend Liu Zhengfeng's retirement ceremony today."

With all of you as witnesses, Liu Zhengfeng formally withdraws from the martial arts world, and from this day forward, he will no longer concern himself with its affairs; the grudges and conflicts of the martial arts world will no longer concern him.

After saying that, he stepped forward, rolled up his sleeves, and reached into the golden basin with both hands.

"Wait a minute!"

Suddenly a sharp shout came from outside the gate, and then a group of men dressed in yellow robes and carrying swords walked into the courtyard. The man at the head of the group held a five-colored command flag in his hand.

Some people in the arena had already recognized the man's identity: Shi Dengda, a disciple of Zuo Lengchan of the Songshan Sect, known in the martial arts world as Thousand-Foot Pine.

The five-colored command flag in his hand was the command flag of the leader of the Five Mountains Sword Sect Alliance.

Zuo Dengda walked up to Liu Zhengfeng, raised the command flag and said, "Uncle Liu, this is the command from the Left Alliance Leader of the Five Mountains Sword Sect, requesting that the matter of retiring from the martial arts world be suspended."

Liu Zhengfeng's heart sank immediately. He narrowed his eyes and asked, "I wonder what the meaning of this order is, Alliance Leader Zuo?"

“I am acting under orders. The alliance leader did not inform me of the specific reasons. Please forgive me, Uncle Liu.”

"Hmph! All the heroes of the martial arts world are watching, yet your intentions remain unclear. I, Liu Zhengfeng, cannot comply."

He already had a vague suspicion that Zuo Lengchan probably knew about his friendship with Qu Yang.

Now that the arrow is on the bowstring and must be released, there's no time to worry about the command flag; he simply raises his hand and puts it into the basin.

"call out!"

Just then, a strong gust of wind suddenly arose, and a beam of silver light shot from the left side of the roof, hitting the edge of the golden basin.

The basin full of water was knocked high into the air, splashing water everywhere.

Following closely behind the silver dart was a tall, thin middle-aged man who, while in mid-air, suddenly kicked the bottom of the golden basin with his right foot.

Bang!

With a muffled thud, the golden basin landed flat on the ground.

The crowd was horrified. The kick was so fast and fierce that it must have been incredibly powerful. If it had just cracked the basin, that would have been one thing, but it had been turned into a flat plate, which showed how high his martial arts skills and how strong his internal energy were.

"Junior Brother Liu will absolutely not be able to wash his hands today." The tall, thin man landed and shouted arrogantly.

"What an overbearing Fei Bin of the Songyang School! What a powerful Songshan Sect!"

Liu Zhengfeng felt heavy-hearted, but his resolve remained unchanged:

"Although I come from the Hengshan Sect and am a member of the Five Mountains Sword Sect, my retirement from the martial world is my private matter, and your Songshan Sect probably has no say in it."

Even if you destroy the golden basin, it won't change the fact that I'm retiring from the martial world.

The act of washing one's hands of martial arts is merely symbolic; the presence of so many fellow martial artists at the ceremony is the true proof.

"is it?"

Fei Bin's lips curled up slightly, and the next moment a soft cry rang out from the backyard.

"What are you doing? I was talking to Sister Liu. Why have you brought us here?"

"Qinger!"

Liu Zhengfeng's composure immediately crumbled, and he glared angrily at Fei Bin:

"I never expected that a master from the prestigious Songshan Sect would resort to bullying the weak and vulnerable. Since so many people have come, why be so sneaky? Just call them all out!"

"They dare not bully the weak and vulnerable; it was merely a measure to stop Junior Brother Liu from washing his hands."