My daily cultivation progress is calculated.

Chapter 46 Introduction to "Iron Shirt"!

The Western Garden of the Great Zhou Imperial Palace.

Emperor Xuanwu was furious when he received Feng Xiu's memorial.

He had just asked the Imperial Observatory to select an auspicious day and time to offer sacrifices to the heavens with the lives of the White Lotus rebels before the new year, hoping for auspicious snowfall.

But today we received a report from the Ministry of Justice that the White Lotus rebels have been poisoned, one of them has died, and the other two are in critical condition.

This is clearly someone deliberately opposing him, not wanting his sacrificial ceremony to be as simple as it seems.

This was to force him to admit that natural disasters and man-made calamities were warnings from Heaven, making him appear incompetent and immoral, and thus prompting him to issue an edict of self-reproach and reflection.

How could Emperor Xuanwu not be furious?

Recalling the recent public rebuke of him by the Director of the Imperial Observatory, it was clear that this was also at someone's behest.

He said to Feng Xiu.

"Since these people are so useless, let's just cut them all down!"

After Feng Xiu left, Emperor Xuanwu immediately summoned Zheng Jun, the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

Zheng Jun knelt below the main hall, his expression respectful, like a loyal dog obeying orders.

"How's the investigation I asked you to do going?"

"Your Majesty, most of the rumors circulating in Bianjing recently are related to a man named Cao Zhen."

Emperor Xuanwu racked his brains for a moment, but couldn't recall any minister with the surname Cao, so he asked.

"Who is this person? Why are they spreading these rumors?"

Zheng Jun looked conflicted, but gritted his teeth and said, "This man is Cao Ang's cousin, and Cao Ang is the steward of the Crown Prince's residence."

"You mean the Crown Prince is the mastermind behind this?"

Emperor Xuanwu's tone was cold, yet it concealed his anger.

"Your humble servant dares not speak presumptuously, but this is the result of the investigation."

Zheng Jun remained kneeling on the ground, not daring to even lift his head.

"Do you know who killed the three traitors of the White Lotus Sect?"

"Your Majesty, the matter is still under investigation. The three prison guards who poisoned the prisoners and their families have all disappeared and should be dead."

"but……"

Zheng Jun paused, as if he dared not speak frankly.

Emperor Xuanwu grabbed a teacup and smashed it.

"What? Tell me quickly!"

"However, someone saw Cao Ang near the home of one of the prison guards, Wei Shitou."

Emperor Xuanwu slumped in his chair, staring at the roof of the West Garden, lost in thought.

Zheng Jun remained kneeling below, motionless.

for a long time.

Emperor Xuanwu sighed, appearing even older.

He waved his hand, signaling Zheng Jun to leave.

……

……

The news from the Ministry of Justice arrived very quickly.

Just as the jailers were still discussing in the office how their superiors would deal with them, the official documents arrived.

Qi Mingxuan arrived at the prison with documents from the Ministry of Justice.

Documents are like the Book of Life and Death of the King of Hell; a name on it means certain death.

Qi Mingxuan read out names one by one with a blank expression, and all those mentioned were thrown into the Heavenly Prison.

Simply open the cell door; it's incredibly convenient.

When Xu Shaogong's name was read, he clearly couldn't believe his ears.

Ding Anzhi, who usually took good care of him and praised him as a promising talent, failed to protect him at this crucial moment.

"Lord Qi, is there a mispronunciation? Why is my name on it?"

Qi Mingxuan glanced at him indifferently and said, "This document was drafted by Lord Ding and reviewed by the Minister. How could it be wrong?"

"Throw them all into the imperial prison, and deal with them after the case is solved."

The fact that nearly half of the prison guards were implicated in this incident surprised Shen Yan.

After Qi Mingxuan left, Shen Yan couldn't help but wonder why he wasn't there.

He was a jailer in Prison Number A; if something happened in Prison Number A, there was no way he could escape unscathed.

On the contrary, Xu Shaogong suffered a great misfortune.

Shen Yan's thoughts raced, and he immediately understood, thinking to himself, "It seems that I benefited from the Duke's influence; it must have been Yang Wanli who helped me."

It's no wonder he thought that way; in the Ministry of Justice, he only knew Yang Wanli, who was also related to the Duke by marriage.

Nearly half of the guards in Prison A had been arrested and imprisoned. Shen Yan arrived outside the cell and saw his former colleagues.

A thought struck him: "It seems that this jailer's final destination is indeed the imperial prison."

Shen Yan said to Chen Xiaoshuan, "We're colleagues, so if they have any needs, try your best to meet them."

"Yes, Chief Shen, I will tell the others."

Arriving outside Xu Shaogong's cell, they looked at Xu Shaogong, who had been imprisoned.

He seemed to have lost his soul, staring blankly ahead.

Shen Yan said softly, "Lord Xu, is there any unfulfilled wish?"

Xu Shaogong seemed not to have heard him at all, still staring blankly ahead.

Shen Yan called out several times, and Xu Shaogong finally came to his senses. He seemed to remember something, and his face lit up with joy as he rushed to the prison door.

"Shen Yan, please deliver a letter to Lord Ding and ask him to save my life."

"Alright, give me the letter and have someone deliver it to Lord Ding."

Shen Yan asked Chen Xiaoshuan to bring paper and pen and handed them to Xu Shaogong.

He didn't wait there; instead, he chose to leave.

Shen Yan didn't think Xu Shaogong's letter would be of any use. If it were, he wouldn't have been imprisoned in the Heavenly Prison.

It's like a person clutching a straw before they die, always thinking it can save their life, but it's just wishful thinking.

After the palace officials verified Qin Tieyi's identity, they took his body away.

Han Shantong and Liu Zhixie were also taken away.

This was good news for Shen Yan and the prison guards.

The usually noisy office became quiet.

After Shen Yan entered, everyone's eyes turned to him.

The prison warden was imprisoned, while Shen Yan was still outside, which made everyone look at him with admiration.

With the prison now leaderless, they couldn't help but wonder if Shen Yan would become the new prison warden.

Even Sun Fugui, who usually joked and played around with him, became serious and dared not joke around casually.

Upon seeing Shen Yan, he imitated others by bowing, but his manner was utterly ridiculous.

"Greetings, Lord Shen!"

Shen Yan patted his shoulder and laughed, "Brother Sun, I'm not some kind of adult. Adults never end up well."

Upon hearing Shen Yan's words, Sun Fugui's face lit up with joy; he also felt that the way he addressed him was awkward.

Shen Yan was not enthusiastic about becoming an official. What did it matter how high the official position was? The prison had imprisoned many high-ranking officials.

However, there are few martial artists of the third rank or above, which shows that one's own strength is fundamental.

Otherwise, no matter how powerful you are, you can be imprisoned with just a word from Emperor Xuanwu.

After the value is set.

Shen Yan returned home.

So much has happened these past few days that he's quite exhausted.

He kept "Iron Shirt" in his arms all day without ever taking it out to look at it.

This is the signature technique of the Ironclad Hall, considered top-tier even in Bianjing.

Now that I'm home, I can finally start watching in peace.

External training methods are largely similar, all involving striking the body and then combining it with medicinal baths to activate the body's potential.

However, starting from the middle three grades, external training methods can stimulate the body's acupoints and nourish qi and blood.

This is also the most crucial step in breaking through to the third rank through external training.

"Iron Shirt" primarily uses stance training combined with breathing techniques, supplemented by medicinal baths.

After reading the entire text, Shen Yan began practicing in the courtyard.

The six forms of Iron Shirt Stance Kung Fu, combined with six sets of breathing techniques, allow one to master the basics by controlling and circulating Qi and blood, thus tempering the physical body.

Mastering each stance represents a step forward in martial arts.

He already possessed considerable external martial arts skills, so his training was naturally twice as effective.

In just one night, he was already able to circulate his qi and blood to temper his physical body.

"You've mastered the basics so quickly, I wonder if that counts?"

His consciousness sank into his mind, and he saw that a small figure in black had indeed appeared on the golden, sun-like Dao Fruit.

It stood motionless, in the same stance that Shen Yan had just practiced.

Seeing this scene, Shen Yan was overjoyed.

"I didn't expect it to be so simple. It seems that this mid-grade third-level cultivation technique isn't too difficult."

However, the little figure was still black, unlike the little figure of the nameless martial arts technique.