Chapter 159: Chapter 159: 159 What is a bottleneck? (Celebrating Taizhong 1/5)

Feng Jun paid no heed to Lang Zhen’s flattery and simply instructed indifferently, “In the coming days, I might still need a large amount of food. Old Lang, arrange for it.”

Having said that, he turned his head to glance at Tian Yangni and spoke emotionlessly, “If you think it’s not good for me to continue the investigation, we can stop here.”

How could Tian Yangni allow Feng Jun to stop the investigation? Despite the embarrassing incident with Tian Leqian, it was an excellent opportunity to probe within the clan and eliminate unstable elements.

However, the results of the investigation left him speechless.

By evening, the Tian Family had added some names to the roster, finally reaching a total of one thousand people.

Out of these one thousand people, Feng Jun identified twenty-six problematic individuals, an average of 2.6 per hundred.

Yet this was not the final number, as among those listed, more than ten had vanished outright.

Those who disappeared shared a common characteristic—they had been lurking nearby just moments before but had disappeared in the blink of an eye.

Without a doubt, they all knew about the Tian Family’s strict investigation and had fled because of it.

This meant that eight or nine out of ten of these people were likely problematic.

Lang Zhen, frustrated with this situation, complained, “I say, Seventh Master, can’t your Tian Family members keep their mouths shut?”

Feng Jun had once issued a gag order, and after the check-up, ordinary people didn’t dare to blabber.

But the Tian Family members did. Their own little matters, why couldn’t they speak of them?

Especially after the incident with Tian Leqian, there was much private discussion within the Tian Family. Some were dissatisfied with Tian Yangni, thinking him too soft-hearted. Others expressed willingness to support the elder, but still, more people wanted the clan mother to stay.

Of course, there were not a few who spoke ill of the Divine Doctor…

The Tian Family thought of internal communication as a trivial matter, but such private affairs, once leaked, who could control it?

Faced with Lone Wolf’s grievances, Tian Yangni seemed somewhat distracted; the staggering numbers had left him stunned, “Among a thousand people, there are actually forty-one spies… and the Divine Doctor said this isn’t all of them?”

“Is it that strange?” Lang Zhen glanced at him, dismissive, “The workings of fate can be calculated, but they are not all-powerful. It’s normal to miss some, plus the physical toll is enormous, as you’ve seen… It’s common sense, right?”

It was common sense, of course. How could one divine fate without paying a hefty price?

This time, Tian Yangni didn’t dwell on the other’s sarcasm and listlessly nodded in agreement, expressing his dejection, “I know all that you’ve mentioned, but what I don’t understand is… Is my Tian Family really that unpopular?”

Lang Zhen continued to wield his biting sarcasm, coldly stating, “Most people want to test the truth behind the Divine Doctor’s abilities… You’re overthinking.”

His words were indeed hurtful: Your Tian Family isn’t important enough to make people go out of their way to send spies.

But this was what Tian Yangni wanted to hear. He breathed a sigh of relief, “That’s good. I also think that it’s not about my Tian Family causing widespread anger.”

However, he then felt a twinge in his heart, “By that logic, does it mean that my opportunity has attracted the coveting of many?”

Lang Zhen seemed to see through his thoughts and added, “First take care of the matters entrusted by the Divine Doctor. As for the rest, it’s all up to fate now. Fortune is not something one can force… Understand?”

The next day, the results of interrogating the spies began to pour in.

As expected, the area around the courtyard had been infiltrated by various powers almost as if it were a sieve.

More importantly, there were indeed spies from the official government, not from Zhige County but from Dongmu Province—the young county lord who had arrived recently was continuously trying to suppress the local tyrants of Dongmu.

Until before yesterday, everyone was unaware of the Tian Family’s true intentions and was silently observing. Little did they expect that the intervention from Wonderful Hand Pavilion would raise the Tian Family’s alert to the highest level, triggering an investigation that uprooted a large number of spies like sweeping away fallen leaves.

Another day later, the Tian Family sent over a new Martial Cultivator Squad, a full hundred strong, bringing items to test bloodlines.

That afternoon, Tian Leqian, a prominent figure among the new generation of the Tian Family, fell into the river while drunk and was lifeless by the time everyone rescued him.

By then, the area surrounding the courtyard where Feng Jun resided had been completely cleared out, with no one lingering within thirty feet.

Anyone who wanted to approach had to go through rigorous checks by both the Tian Family and Lone Wolf.

To ensure safety, the Tian Family even considered cutting down all the trees within this thirty-foot radius, but Feng Jun persuaded them against it.

The Divine Doctor stated that trees are also living beings, and once cut down, they would not grow back quickly. It was better to leave them alone.

Feng Jun wasn’t an extreme environmentalist, but originating from Earth, he had some inclination to protect vegetation—the key was cutting down these trees was not of great importance to him.

However, others saw it differently; some thought he was being pretentious, and others thought he was acting foolish. Leaving these trees standing, wasn’t it just making it easier for spies to infiltrate and even assassinate?

Lang Zhen and Tian Yangni exchanged a glance: indeed worthy of an Immortal, not only emphasizing that all beings have spirits, but also knowing to respect the Heavenly Dao and show compassion for living beings. Such magnanimity is worth our learning.

What they didn’t realize was that Feng Jun believed that not cutting down these trees actually helped him identify infiltrators.

As for the reason? Quite simple. This individual from the Earth Realm had not only infrared binoculars but could also acquire infrared surveillance and infrared alarm systems.

After Feng Jun had given his instructions, he entered a small house and did not come out. Brother Bao, Yu Family’s Second Young Master, and a newly arrived martial master from the Tian Family who wanted to pay him a visit, were all turned away by Lang Zhen and others.

In the past, Brother Bao and the Second Young Master would not have cared about a mere martial master at all. They would have barged in if they wanted.

But the results of Feng Jun’s examination of those thousand people had given everyone a very real shock.

So, it wasn’t just Lang Zhen they were respectful towards; these haughty folks also treated the Deng Family Brothers with courtesy.

Feng Jun stayed inside the house for three days, and the Tian Family members were not idle. They took a census of everyone within a five-mile radius, compiling a list of over six thousand individuals.

The people who were counted could enjoy free lighting and set up stalls at night. The Tian Family did not charge any fees, but among them, only a handful could get within half a mile of the courtyard.

Naturally, there were some who weren’t satisfied, claiming that the Tian Family was overstepping their bounds but were bluntly told by Tian Family members that even Tian Family Disciples couldn’t enter that range.

Tian Yangni saw the light: rather than asking the Divine Doctor to check those six thousand people, which would probably exhaust him to the point of spitting blood, it was better to create an isolation zone which made patrolling by Tian Family Disciples more convenient.

In this chaos, three days passed in a blink, and on the fourth day, Feng Jun came out of his room.

Compared to three days ago, there was no change in his appearance, hairstyle, or clothes, but for some reason, Deng Tianrui felt something was off the moment he saw him.

He was responsible for guarding the room, and it was near the end of Chen watch when Tian Lewen came to inspect. They were chatting across the courtyard gate.

By now, Tian Lewen had also guessed some truth; otherwise, there would be no need for him, given his status as the top individual of the new generation in the Tian Family with intermediate level martial mastery, to be courteous to Deng Lao Er.

Yet, he immediately noticed something amiss and couldn’t help exclaiming, “Divine Doctor, have you…advanced in rank?”

Their cultivation levels had been equal before, but now that his counterpart had advanced to a High-Rank Martial Master, he felt it right away.

“Hmm,” Feng Jun nodded his head, “After three days of seclusion, it wasn’t in vain.”

“It’s more than just ‘not in vain’,” Deng Lao Er called out resentfully, “In just three days, to advance from an intermediate level martial master to a high-rank, you’re shattering our cultivators’ confidence!”

Even Tian Lewen, who was usually arrogant, couldn’t help but voice his question, “How did you… advance in rank?”

“Cultivation,” Feng Jun looked at him oddly, as if he were looking at a fool, “Don’t you cultivate?”

Tian Lewen awkwardly touched his forehead, “Of course I know about cultivation. What I want to learn is how you broke through the barriers…or the bottlenecks?”

Feng Jun blinked a few times and repeated blandly, “Barriers…bottlenecks?”

“Yes,” Tian Lewen nodded, then bowed respectfully, saying, “Please, don’t withhold your teachings. I am willing to offer you a disciple’s respect.”

“I don’t take disciples,” Feng Jun first outright refused, then raised his hand to his chin, a look of puzzlement on his face, “and this matter of barriers and bottlenecks… I didn’t feel any.”

Pfft… Tian Lewen nearly spat out blood, “Are you saying you naturally progressed from an intermediate level martial master to a high-rank without encountering any?”

“Exactly,” Feng Jun nodded and looked at him blankly, “Isn’t that how it should be? Focus on cultivation, and then…advance in rank?”

Tian Lewen felt like spitting blood again. Advanced in rank just by focusing on cultivation? Is that a joke?

But Deng Lao Er, who had witnessed Feng Jun’s rapid advancement, spoke with a smile, “The Divine Doctor has always cultivated like this. You’ll get used to it. His methods are not something we can learn.”

“Always like this?” Tian Lewen was even more dumbfounded. Although he knew to not inquire too much into the mysterious identity of the other, he couldn’t help but ask again, “How long did it take you, Divine Doctor, to advance to a high-rank martial master?”

At this question, not just Feng Jun, even the usually blabbermouth Deng Lao Er fell silent, only giving him a mysteriously amused smile.

The first thing Feng Jun did upon leaving seclusion was to eat. He wolfed down food for half an hour before he finally put his bowl down contentedly.

Lang Zhen also arrived at that time and reported the situation of the past few days with respect.

After listening, Feng Jun stroked his chin and pondered, “Let’s do this. I have some equipment here; find a few people to install it. In the next few days, I’ll also walk around nearby to see if I can find any more spies.”

(First update, congratulations to Yinxiong Meng for “Prime Minister’s Broad Belly, Chen Taizhong”, currently at 1/5 progress. Recommending a new book “The Glory of an Old Soldier” by a friend, a modern military type, quite good. Wind Laugh has bookmarked and is following it. Lastly, the usual call for monthly votes.)