Bai Pu was shocked and looked at the box again. The gold and silver were still there, but they appeared dull, as if they had lost their "spiritual qi."

These gold and silver pieces were now no different from the ordinary gold and silver of the real world on Earth.

"As expected, there is no such good fortune..."

Bai Pu sighed inwardly and then left Yu Wang Mountain, accompanied by his "disciple" Qin and Princess Zhao Chuanzhu.

...

In a manor on the outskirts of Bianjing City, belonging to Vice Minister Li Gang,

the heroes of the Hebei Martial Arts world gathered here.

"Dog, He Li, brings calamity to the country and its people. Were it not for his misplaced trust in a demon, how could the Golden Dogs have breached the tall walls of Bianjing?"

"This might not have been just misplaced trust! Perhaps He Li was colluding with the Jin People?"

"You’re right. And that traitor Zhang Bangchang, isn’t he also a civil servant? Now the Golden Dogs have made him Emperor of Great Chu! No good can come from civil servants!"

"That’s a bit too much, Minister Li is still a good one."

"Indeed, indeed."

Inside.

Vice Minister Li Gang heard the discussions outside, glanced at Bai Pu, and showed an awkward smile.

"Are you truly the teacher of Ms. Hongyi?"

"Minister Li, what do you mean by this? Could I deceive my teacher and ancestors, falsely claiming my lineage?" Qin raised an eyebrow and said.

"I wouldn’t dare suggest so, it’s just that this... distinguished person appears to be quite young."

Li Gang clearly didn’t believe in those tales of Immortals and cautiously asked, "May I know how to address you?"

"My surname is Bai... my taoist name, Bai Yujing." Bai Pu made up a fitting alias for himself.

"Bai Yujing in the heavens, with twelve towers and five cities. An immortal touched my crown, offering longevity. You use Bai Yujing as your name, do you possess any mystical arts of the Immortal Family?" Li Gang continued probing.

No wonder Li Gang was cautious; the previous Prime Minister, He Li, misplaced his trust in a demon and lost Bianjing, surely to be infamous for eternity. Li Gang had no interest in becoming a pair of legendary dragons like He Li.

Bai Pu raised his hand, and the magic sand transformed into a Sword of Sand, slicing the Yellow Flower Pear Wood Table in half.

Then the magic sand swirled in Bai Pu’s palm, forming a small sandstorm, and disappeared without a trace.

Seeing this, Li Gang was invigorated and said, "What a skill! Even if you are not an immortal, you must be a top expert in the martial arts world."

After some discussions, Li Gang led Bai Pu to the hall where the heroes were gathered, introducing Bai Pu’s background to everyone.

The heroes were skeptical, but no one dared to speak out.

The reason was simple: a few days ago, Qin had already demonstrated skill, comparable to the first-class expert Iron Beggar Luo Qianhui.

Qin, in front of this mysterious white-robed youth "Bai Yujing," acted with the respect of a disciple, indicating that the other party should not be trifled with. Even if they had doubts, no one dared to gamble their life on it.

"We are all gathered here to save Great Song. The situation is dire, and the state is hanging by a thread. We must first storm the Imperial Palace and rescue the Imperial Family’s bloodline!"

Li Gang said loudly, "The traitor Zhang Bangchang, now placed as Emperor of Great Chu by the Golden Dogs, controls the Imperial Palace. He usually likes to attract martial arts experts and has many capable subordinates. The likes of the West Hua Five Tigers and the Four Evils of Xiangjiang are not to be underestimated..."

Before he could finish, the heroes were already clamoring.

The Iron Staff Gang leader "Iron Beggar" Luo Qianhui stood up, signaling everyone to quiet down. This man cared for face, and the heroes immediately fell silent, listening to Luo Qianhui’s esteemed opinions.

Luo Qianhui, tall and thin, with dark skin and messy hair, even with patches on his clothes, spoke loudly, "Minister Li, these petty villains do not need to be mentioned. The heroes present here don’t even regard them!"

Luo Qianhui’s opening words earned him a round of applause.

Such is the way of the Jianghu, where one’s skills may be mediocre but their boasting is tenfold. Yet, true masters know there is always someone better, remaining humble and cautious.

Li Gang nodded and said, "Since that is the case, I won’t say more about these Jianghu people. But Zhang Bangchang still has a thousand Jin Soldiers under him, what should we do about them?"

Luo Qianhui asked, "Do those thousand Golden Dogs have Breaking Air Crossbows?"

"The Golden Dogs value warfare highly and always equip themselves exceptionally well. With a thousand Golden Dogs, there are definitely strong bows and crossbows."

Luo Qianhui frowned, realizing this was somewhat troublesome. 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

Bai Pu had already used [Strong Enemy Detection] to observe Luo Qianhui.

Golden, representing the Enhanced Leader template; Power 94, Agility 77, Endurance 58, Spirit 54—these were his precise attribute values.

After staring for five seconds, Strong Enemy Detection gave Luo Qianhui’s comprehensive combat power value: 2165.

This was a new "comprehensive combat power" value, formed by considering all combat skills, attributes, and Mystical Arts bonuses on top of the Total Attributes. It was different from the original [Strong Enemy Detection] combat power calculation standard.

Bai Pu couldn’t see his own combat power value, but he had Qin for reference.

Qin’s Total Attributes were 284 points, about the same as Luo Qianhui, with a comprehensive combat power value of 2104. Qin’s advantage lay in specialty level, while Luo Qianhui’s advantage lay in the True Qi Body Protection ability granted by the World Waymark.

Looking around the entire hall, barely anyone had a combat power reaching two thousand. Most of the pale golden names (Leader template) had combat power values fluctuating around 1500 points.

Just as Bai Pu was silently gathering information, someone suddenly rushed in with a report.

"It’s not good! Sect Leader Shao of the Golden Saber Sect has led a few disciples to the Imperial Palace!"

"Shao Yong? Why did he not inform us and act on his own?" Luo Qianhui was still contemplating a proper strategy, and upon hearing this news, his vision darkened.

Immediately, disciples of the Iron Staff Gang questioned the Golden Saber Sect: "What is your Sect Leader doing? In matters of national military significance, acting unilaterally like this!"

The chief disciple of the Golden Saber Sect, Shao Jifei, responded indifferently, "So what?"

Beside him, an elderly person tugged at Shao Jifei’s sleeve, smilingly cupped his fists toward everyone: "Ladies and gentlemen, the fewer skilled hands, the better when rescuing someone from the Imperial Palace. Our Sect Leader figured that too many people would attract too much attention..."

"Hmph!"

Someone snorted, and everyone could guess Shao Yong’s intentions.

As everyone was racking their brains to rescue the prince, Shao Yong had already taken action. When the time comes, standing here, he would make all the martial arts heroes his stepping stones!

Li Gang furrowed his brows and said, "Elder Bai, Master Luo... it’s best to dispatch skilled personnel to provide support quickly. If Sect Leader Shao makes a mistake, it would directly expose the Twenty-Eighth Prince under the Golden Dogs’ noses!"

The crowd erupted immediately. The people from the Golden Saber Sect, however, wore smug smiles, clearly confident in their Sect Leader, just waiting for Shao Yong to return with the rescued, to slap these people’s faces hard.

No matter how it ends, after this event, the reputation of the Golden Saber Sect is sure to soar; even catching up to the Iron Staff Gang is possible!