In the beginning, he was ranked alongside An Shigeng as a spoiled brat.

Once your identity is exposed, you won't even be able to leave the capital!

"Yes, elder!"

Li Hao is one of the best among the elites of Chiyou Village. At only thirty years old, he is already a top expert and one of the most likely successors to the elders!

After all, most of the elders of Chiyou Village were only at the peak of their cultivation.

A top-tier expert at the age of thirty, whose talent is second only to Chi Yuan!

However, the elder leading the team this time was somewhat special, a peerless master similar to a left or right protector, so Li Hao dared not be disrespectful.

"Elder, let me go!"

"No, your current status is special; you are the future hope of our Chiyou Village."

Although the trip to the capital city isn't a dangerous mission, it's teeming with powerful martial arts experts; even if you go, you might not leave alive.

The elder glanced at Chi Yuan. With the appearance of the Bad Commander and Zhang Xiaoshan, the Central Plains was no longer the Central Plains it used to be.

Even the chieftain who had completed eight blood refinements was far weaker than Zhang Xiaoshan and the Bad Commander, which shows how unfathomable the Central Plains is.

Especially after Dragon Ball, Zhang Xiaoshan created another dragon vein!

With the Xuanyuan Sword, which has been tempered nine times through blood refinement, who knows how many ancient treasures still exist in the Nine Provinces?

···

Seven days later, the Zhang family's fleet sailed down the river and arrived at Zhuxian Town!

At this moment, in Zhuxian Town, Magistrate Shen, who had been waiting for a long time, couldn't help but sigh as he looked at the Zhang family's returning fleet.

First the Song Dynasty, then the Tang Dynasty; the Zhang family has already clashed twice.

In his view, everything is driven by self-interest, which is why so many people are eyeing this place.

"Master! Young Master! Young Madam!"

"Uncle Shen!"

Zhang Xiaoshan nodded to Magistrate Shen and helped him up.

During their journey through Zhuxian Town, in addition to resupplying, Zhang Xiaoshan decided to use it as a temporary base for the Zhang family, settling the population of the original eight boats or more here.

The Zhang family brought too many people this time, and many of them were family members whose identities were uncertain.

Bad People, Plum Blossom Guards, or something else?

Therefore, Zhang Jiashang could not expose his overseas base to most people, so he planned to place all the suspicious people here.

Only the truly reliable people were brought to the sea base.

Moreover, given Zhuxian Town's strategic location, its status as a military fortress, and the Zhang family's influence, no empire would dare to launch a direct assault.

Ultimately, this is Zhang's territory, and it's just a distribution center for goods.

Whoever controls this place doesn't have absolute control!

The consequences of provoking the Zhang family are pretty clear; no empire can afford to suffer such a fate.

Chapter 544 Zhang Sanfeng's Discovery: Merit or Blessing?

Better to scheme against the emperor than to plot against the Zhang family!

As the Zhang family left the capital and traveled downstream along the Dragon River, the Wu Tang Empire could not cover it up at all, and did not even have the strength to stop the Zhang family.

After all, even a massive army is nothing more than a bunch of heads in front of those top masters.

Even the Xuanjia Iron Cavalry were lambs to the slaughter before the Bronze Armor Warriors.

Zhang Xiaoshan's display of muscles this time shocked the entire nation.

After all, by openly annihilating the Wu clan in the capital and blocking the support of various experts, he sent the Bad Commander to his death under absolute power.

The strength displayed by the Zhang family instilled fear in everyone.

Prince Jin, Heavenly Blade Song Que, Monk King Faming, and Eunuch Wei were all peerless masters, and even top masters like Prince Yan, Prince Qi, and Yuwen Shang still couldn't break through the Zhang family's defenses.

Moreover, there were the experts who wiped out the Zhang family, the controllers of the three Ghost Streets, the leader of a squad of Blood Droplets, Fire Cloud Evil God, the Grand Commander, the Venerable Master Xingyin, and the Twelve Zodiac Demon Buddha...

In addition, Zhang Xiaoshan's accompanying Japanese female warrior is also a peerless master no less than the Evil King and the Heavenly Blade.

The Zhang family almost single-handedly defeated the entire empire.

Unbeknownst to many, the Zhang family's strength had become terrifyingly formidable.

Let alone the Wu Tang Empire, even the Later Zhou Empire was nothing more than a slightly stronger ant in front of the Zhang family.

···

"Infinite Heavenly Lord!"

Wudang Mountain.

Looking at the message in his hand, Zhang Sanfeng couldn't help but show a look of compassion for humanity.

Although Zhang Xiaoshan has made a big fuss this time, ultimately, the Zhang family did not provoke trouble on their own initiative.

He mourned for the hundreds of diners who were poisoned, but who was there to feel sorrow for them?

Buddhism teaches cause and effect, and Taoism similarly seeks to bear the consequences of one's actions.

"More than a decade ago, he was a young boy who had just entered the world of martial arts. I never imagined that he would have grown to such a high level!"

The realm of shattering the void!

One punch shattered the innate protective energy that the Bad Commander had accumulated over hundreds of years!

At this moment, Zhang Xiaoshan had already stood at the pinnacle of the martial arts world, overlooking the entire land.

Even Zhang Sanfeng knew how difficult and profound the realm of breaking through the void was.

Moreover, the innate qi that could withstand the combined attack of Zhang Xiaoshan and the three bronze-armored warriors was incredibly powerful, yet it was ultimately broken by Zhang Xiaoshan's sheer force.

"Master is absolutely right. Back then, he was a spirited young man. Who among us could have imagined that Young Master Zhang's talent would be so terrifying and his fortune so profound!"

"That's not good fortune for him, it's merit!"

Merit?

The Seven Heroes of Wudang looked at Zhang Sanfeng with a puzzled expression. They naturally knew about merit, but what was the difference between fortune and merit?

At most, one is a blessing and the other is good fortune!

"Do you all remember the Mysterious Iron Sacred Fire Token?"

"The Xuan Tie Sacred Flame Token in Xiao Zhao's hand?"

Song Yuanqiao, Zhang Cuishan, and the others all had gleaming expressions; that was a treasure.

It was something that Master Mingchen secretly gave to Xiao Zhao for self-defense. Although Xiao Zhao rarely took it out, they still knew about it.

Moreover, it also contains the Zoroastrian's unparalleled martial art—the Sacred Flame Token Miraculous Skill.

The methods are bizarre and unpredictable, and it has always been Xiao Zhao and her daughter Yin Susu who cultivate.

However, this is an evil art. Only those who possess the Sacred Flame Token can maintain a shred of rationality; otherwise, once used, they will inevitably fall into demonic possession.

Therefore, two of the Sacred Flame Tokens were in Yin Susu's possession.

"That's right, the Sacred Flame Token is commonly known as having been blessed by Buddhist monks and has the effect of suppressing inner demons!"

In fact, you can all guess that those monks have no such ability; all their methods are the magic of the Zhang family.

After years of research, I finally understood the principle behind the Sacred Flame Token—

Merit!

"Merit? Master, are you saying that the Zhang family infused the Sacred Flame Token with their merit?"

Buddhist temples do not have the means of consecration, so does the Zhang family have the means of using merit?

After all, merit is ephemeral and illusory.

Just like feng shui, in their view, it's more of a psychological effect.

At least they've seen too many examples of good people not getting good rewards and bad people causing harm for thousands of years. Merit, like 'good people get good rewards,' is just an excuse to comfort people!

"Indeed, you may find this somewhat unbelievable!"

But once you reach the Grandmaster realm, especially when you condense your primordial spirit, you will see many things that you do not know.

The higher you climb, the different the scenery you see.

Merit, like the concepts of feng shui and fortune, may seem ethereal, but it truly exists. The Zhang family, in particular, has accumulated countless merits over the years, and their good fortune stems from these merits.

The Xiao Zhao Sacred Flame Token, blessed with merit, is an unparalleled divine artifact that can bring good fortune.

Moreover, the Zhang family likely possesses more than one such divine artifact, since the Zhang family has no shortage of merit points!

Hiss...

Hearing Zhang Sanfeng talk about such vague and ethereal things...

If it weren't for the fact that Zhang Sanfeng still looked like a sage with a clear and serene expression, they would have thought that Zhang Sanfeng had truly gone mad.

"But Master, how could the Zhang family infuse their merits into the Sacred Flame Token?"

Merit is ephemeral!

It's like something intangible condensing into something tangible—something they consider impossible.

"It must be related to a divine artifact—the Dragon Balls!"

It is impossible for mortals to condense such ethereal things as merit into a physical form, but the power of the Dragon Ball is mysterious and unpredictable, possessing the ability to create, and perhaps it can transform the merit power of the Zhang family.

Moreover, the Zhang family is a family of great benevolence. Although they act somewhat domineeringly, their merits are immeasurable outside the martial arts world!

"Dragon Ball!"

Song Yuanqiao and the others suddenly realized that the mysterious Dragon Ball was rumored to have the power to bring the dead back to life.

Moreover, after the Zhang family rose to prominence, Zhang Xiaoshan's rise to power was even more meteoric after obtaining the Dragon Ball.

"However, this also has its drawbacks!"

Merit is originally an intangible thing, like a person's fortune. Now, by dispersing these intangible merits, the merit itself will diminish.

"Master, are you saying that the Zhang family has suffered so many misfortunes because they have scattered their merits?"

Not necessarily. Good people don't always get good rewards, and bad people don't always get bad consequences.

The Zhang family's misfortunes were multifaceted, involving conflicts of interest, conspiracies, and the concept of karma as understood in Buddhism...

However, I still need to go to the Zhang family about this matter. If Benefactor Zhang knows about it, that's fine; if he doesn't, perhaps I can still make it in time!

Upon hearing Zhang Sanfeng's words, everyone immediately felt as if they had entered a new world!

I never imagined that the power of merit truly existed in this world.

And it's right in their hands.

They were initially curious about how the Sacred Flame Token could suppress the demonic possession caused by its martial arts, but they never expected the root cause to be—

Merit!

"Master, the Zhang family has now left the capital and stopped at Zhuxian Town. I think we should continue downstream next!"

"Ok!"

·········Requesting flowers·· 0

Wudang owes the Zhang family a lot of favors, so it's impossible for him to hide this discovery from them.

Moreover, he sensed that Zhang Xiaoshan had most likely discovered these things long ago, which was why he kept accumulating merit so that the Dragon Ball could have infinite potential.

However, the Zhang family had accumulated good deeds long before the Dragon Ball was discovered, so Zhang Sanfeng was unsure whether Zhang Xiaoshan had discovered the secret.

Although Zhang Xiaoshan's realm was far above his, it was only in terms of martial arts realm and strength.

Taoist philosophy emphasizes the relationship between humanity and nature, and that the Tao follows the natural way.

Knowledge is inexhaustible, and the more you learn, the more you realize how poor and insignificant your knowledge becomes.

This is precisely Zhang Sanfeng's realm, a realm that has no end!

Zhang Xiaoshan, however, had reached a point where he could not progress any further. What appeared to be the peak was actually just a bottleneck at a 'skylight'.