I am a prince in Zhutian Films

Chapter 560 A Sword Slices Two Hundred Feet of River, Li Chungang Returns to His Peak
In this life, there will always be regrets of one kind or another.

For Li Chungang, his greatest regret in life was probably that his beloved died in his arms.

Under the night sky, Li Chungang was still rambling on and on, making self-deprecating remarks.

"When I was young, I aspired to be like Lu Zu, just like Qi Xuanzhen. However, I was drawn to Lu Zu's sword, while Qi Xuanzhen was drawn to Lu Zu's Dao. Therefore, I admire Lu Zu's flying sword that can take heads."

"Therefore, when I went up Longhu Mountain back then, I was scolded by Qi Xuanzhen. That old Taoist priest with a bull nose sat on the Demon-Slaying Platform and said that when two people fight, the upper one cuts off the neck and the lower one cuts the lungs. What if the sword is used to kill people and the flying sword can travel a thousand miles? This is a commoner's inferior sword, a trivial skill, no different from cockfighting. He who defeats others has strength, but he who defeats himself is the one who attains the Tao."

As Li Chungang spoke, he glanced at Xu Fengnian and Zhou Chengan.

"Listen to that, isn't that a lot of talk?"

Zhou Chengan chuckled, clearly disagreeing with Qi Xuanzhen's words.

Xu Fengnian nodded thoughtfully.

Li Chungang glanced at Zhou Chengan in surprise and continued, "At that time, I was disheartened and willingly admitted defeat. Moreover, after witnessing that fellow who was both an enemy and a friend ascend to heaven with white rainbow, I was truly speechless. At that time, I wondered if I had really made a mistake."

"Qi Xuanzhen comprehended the Dao of Longevity, and lotus flowers bloomed with every step. At that time, I was originally one foot in the Celestial Realm and the other in the Land Immortal Realm. My cultivation level was reduced by a thousand miles. After descending the mountain, I had an arm cut off and fell into the Finger Profound Realm. I dared not say any more of that arrogant nonsense about killing dragons."

"But over the years at Tingchao Pavilion, I've come to understand a simple truth: that old Taoist Qi Xuanzhen was deliberately misleading me."

Zhou Chengan nodded and patted Li Chungang on the shoulder: "There are countless paths, both the great and the small. Whether one can attain the path depends on talent and effort. Besides, the way of the sword is not a small path. It's not too late to understand now."

Li Chungang looked up at Zhou Chengan's otherworldly face, which seemed like that of an immortal, and said, "Sometimes, I think you are a bit like Qi Xuanzhen, but sometimes you are completely different from him."

Zhou Chengan smiled, stood up, put his hands behind his back and looked at the rolling eastward-flowing river, and slowly said: "Lu Dongxuan is indeed the number one person in the Heavenly Dao and Sword Dao in the past thousand years."

But that's all in the past, it happened before I was even born.

The world of martial arts has been turned over and over for a thousand years; it's time for a new legend to emerge.

Upon hearing this, both Li Chungang and Xu Fengnian were shocked.

Who was Lü Dongxuan?

For nearly a thousand years, martial arts masters have considered it the highest honor to be on par with Lu Zu.

Even Qi Xuanzhen back then, and Wang Xianzhi now, are the same.

But when it comes to Zhou Cheng'an, this guy actually wants to surpass Lü Zu?

Even though Xu Fengnian already knew that Zhou Chengan was arrogant, so arrogant that he even looked down on Wang Xianzhi, he was still shocked, let alone Li Chungang.

After the initial shock, Li Chungang gave a wry smile: "I thought I was arrogant enough when I was young, but I never expected that I would meet someone even more arrogant than me in my old age."

Zhou Chengan looked up at the starry sky and said slowly, "That's because you haven't seen a wider world."

Xu Fengnian and Li Chungang stood there stunned, speechless for a moment.

After a long while, Li Chungang laughed: "I was already quite good at pretending back then, but I didn't expect that Master Zhou could be even better at pretending than me. But what does 'a wider world' mean? Could it be that Master Zhou really came from that sky?"

Zhou Chengan shook his head: "It's getting late, you should get some rest."

……

The next day.

On the surface of the river.

Wu Liuding, who had previously fallen into the water and whose fate was unknown, reappeared.

It was still just a boat and a fishing rod, moored right in the middle of the river.

As the four large ships drew closer to him, the people on board gradually came to see his face clearly.

His appearance was not remarkable, but the aura he exuded seemed to clearly display the word "old-fashioned," suggesting an aloof and unapproachable nature.

The new generation of sword crown from the Wu family's sword tomb was tall and slender. Standing on the small boat, he cupped his hands towards Zhou Chengan and Li Chungang on the large ship, and then called out.

"Xu Fengnian!"

"So they really came for me."

Xu Fengnian muttered to himself, walked to the ship's side, looked down at Wu Liuding, and asked, "What?"

“Your mother rebelled against the Wu family back then, damaging the reputation of the Sword Tomb. This humiliation must be repaid.”

Xu Fengnian said calmly, "The sins of the mother must be paid by the son. I will bear the consequences of my mother's misfortune."

A hint of appreciation for Xu Fengnian flashed in Wu Liuding's eyes, and he was about to make a move when Zhou Chengan said calmly, "Stubborn. The rules of the Wu family's Sword Tomb should have been changed long ago."

"Zhou Yichui, I'm not here to see you today. Besides, what business is it of yours what the Wu family's affairs are?"

“How can it not be related? My mother is also a member of the Wu family. You should call my mother ‘aunt’.”

If you really want to count, his mother Wu Ning was much closer to Wu Liuding than Wu Su, they were still within the fifth degree of kinship.

Wu Liuding was somewhat stunned, probably because he hadn't expected Zhou Chengan to be related to the Wu family.

Zhou Cheng'an looked at him, a faint smile still on his face, and continued, "Besides, even if I didn't make a move, you couldn't do anything to Xu Fengnian today, so why bother making things difficult for yourself?"

Wu Liuding snapped out of his daze and looked directly at Li Chungang, who was standing next to Zhou Chengan.

"Dare I ask you, senior?"

Li Chungang did not answer, but laughed loudly and said, "Yesterday, Master Zhou saw you off, and today I will see you off."

Immediately afterwards, he turned his head and stretched out his one arm to Xu Fengnian on the boat behind him.

"Young Xu, lend me your sword."

Upon hearing this, Xu Fengnian paused slightly, drew the Northern Liang Blade from his waist, and tossed it towards the surface of the river, more like tossing it to Wu Liuding on the small boat.

Li Chungang glanced at Jiang Ni, smiled, and then floated backwards out of the bow of the boat, laughing heartily.

"Little green-robed brat, watch how this old man's sword works!"

As he spoke, the knife was already in his hand.

"With furrowed brows and thunderous words, a vicious dragon grows fat in the Yanzi River."

He brandished his sword and went forth with a single strike; he left me at the first watch and returned at the second!

Using a knife as a sword, a single strike cuts through the air.

At first, the river was completely silent, as if he had cut through thin air with his sword.

But Wu Liuding, who was on the small boat, changed his expression drastically and hurriedly abandoned the boat and fled far away.

In the blink of an eye, the great river roared and split open, reaching a depth of two hundred feet. Even if there were dragons in the river, they would likely be killed on the spot by this sword.

Li Chungang watched Wu Liuding flee into the distance and laughed loudly, "Wu Liuding, if you want to get revenge in the future, you must go to Qingcheng Mountain to find the Daoist Master Zhou Cheng'an of the Nine Pecks of Rice Sect."

Zhou Cheng'an, who was standing with his hands behind his back at the bow of the boat, couldn't help but shake his head and smile when he heard Li Chungang's loud words.

This old guy had been holding back his anger since last night, and now that he's unleashed this sword strike, he's finally severing his inner turmoil.

With a single sword strike, I shatter the heavens and return to my peak!
Li Chungang returned to the bow of the boat, tossed the Northern Liang Blade to Xu Fengnian, and went back to Zhou Chengan's side, asking casually, "How was my sword strike?"

Zhou Chengan gave a thumbs up: "Awesome!"

After saying this, the two looked at each other and burst into laughter.

At this moment, the onlookers on the other ships all stared wide-eyed.

Lu Qiantang, who was just stunned by the sight of Zhou Chengan's flying sword splitting the river yesterday, was startled again by Li Chungang's sword today.

Fortunately, having witnessed yesterday's flying sword cleaving the river, we were able to withstand some of the damage today.

Looking at Li Chungang, who had been laughing loudly on the river, Lü Qiantang finally remembered the carefree senior who had once walked on the crest of the Guangling River long ago.

Not to mention swordsmen like Lü Qiantang, even Wu Lingsu, who specializes in alchemy, couldn't help but have her eyes light up and her hair fly. After all, what young person in the world wouldn't want to emulate the dashing swordsman Li Jianshen and roam the martial world with such style?

He was young once too!
Deng Tai'a is indeed a new generation of sword god, but he is far less impressive and convincing than Li Chungang. Deng Tai'a is too much of a half-immortal and half-demon, like a celestial being millions of miles away from the ground. After his debut, he rarely made a move, only exchanging blows with Wang Xianzhi and Cao Guanzi. Only afterward did some fragmented rumors circulate, leaving people to ponder and digest the information.

But Li Chungang, a sword master of the older generation, earned his immense reputation in the martial arts world by slaying one sword at a time.

His love-hate entanglements with various women, in particular, have inspired countless younger generations to dream and yearn for such stories.

To this day, Wu Lingsu still remembers that during Li Chungang's peak, a female poet who admired his otherworldly charm wrote countless poems in his adoration, praising Li Chungang's flying sword for shattering the first peak of Zhongnan Mountain, saying that his green snake in his sleeve was bold and unrestrained, and that his three-foot-long sword was as imposing as Lu Zu's, standing up for the heavens and righting wrongs. All of that is in the past now. She has long since grown old and faded, her beauty has turned white, and she has long since been buried in a lonely grave. Before her death, she did not forget to ask her descendants to burn all her poems.

In the martial world where that Sword God Li still exists, there are countless women, like the three thousand rivers flowing into the sea, yet he never takes a single sip. Many people and events in the martial world back then, like them, have lost their former glory.

Shu Xiu watched as the river closed up again and the boat gradually stopped swaying. She turned to look at Lü Qiantang beside her and asked in a trembling voice, "It's one thing for Master Zhou to split the river with his flying sword yesterday, after all, he is a master who can guide the Yellow Array Diagram to comprehend the Sword Ten, but this one-armed old man can also split the river two hundred feet with one sword. So he is really a senior who can compete with Immortal Qi?"

Even though Qi Xuanzhen had been an immortal for decades, and even though he was not a Taoist from Longhu Mountain, all his descendants dared not call him by his name directly, but instead respectfully addressed him as Immortal Qi. This was a level of strength above the Celestial Phenomenon realm.

Having just come to his senses, Lü Qiantang said in a deep voice, "You still don't know who he is?"

Although Shu Xiu was nearly thirty, whether it was because of her mastery of seductive arts or her nature, she still had some innocent and romantic girlish details. She habitually pouted coquettishly and said, "How would I know? It can't be Deng Tai'a, can it?"

Lu Qiantang was annoyed that today's sword strike was also very mysterious, and he had not been able to see any clues. In addition, he had always disliked Shu Xiu's pretentious attitude, so his tone became a bit harsher.

"A mere southern barbarian, nothing more than a frog in a well."

Shu Xiu reached out and brushed a strand of hair behind her ear, then turned her head and smiled charmingly, "Oh, so Dongyue isn't a barbarian land anymore? Is that old senior so remarkable that he can be so highly regarded by our Sword God Lü?"

Lu Qiantang turned his head with a gloomy expression, wondering what kind of sword god he was.

Is this woman who ran away from the barbarian southern frontier perhaps eager to test the sharpness of the Crimson Cloud Sword?!
On another ship, Xu Fengnian hung the Northern Liang Blade at his waist, teased the white cat Wu Meiniang in Yu Youwei's arms, and asked, "Do you think Old Man Li's sword strike just now was a Xuan or a celestial phenomenon?"

Yu Youwei rolled her eyes: "How could I possibly see that? Besides, someone like Sword God Li is not someone a woman like me can presume to speak of."

Xu Fengnian watched Li Chungang and Zhou Chengan's retreating figures and laughed, "Then who do you think would be stronger if old man Li and my brother Chengan fought?"

Yu Youwei was both amused and exasperated: "You'll probably have to ask Old Sword God Li and Master Zhou about that."

……

The four large ships are still sailing down the river.

After Li Chungang returns to his peak, he needs to find Xu Fengnian to guide him in sword practice.

Xu Fengnian had always wanted to learn swordsmanship, and now that he had witnessed Li Chungang cleave a two-hundred-foot river with a single sword strike, he naturally began to learn it quickly.

Of course, he never put down his knife, and would occasionally seek guidance from Zhou Chengan.

Not only in knife skills, but he also wanted Zhou Chengan to give him some pointers on swordsmanship.

However, Zhou Chengan did not agree.

As the saying goes, "Don't bite off more than you can chew." With Xu Fengnian's current cultivation level, it's simply impossible for him to absorb both of Li Chungang's two different sword styles at the same time.

More importantly, he didn't have any extra time.

After Li Chungang went to Xu Fengnian for guidance, Zhou Chengan also began his cultivation.

He practiced swordsmanship in the river during the day and meditated to cultivate his inner energy at night.

Back then, Lü Dongxuan rode a crane into Wudang Mountain and founded the Wudang Sect.

If he wants the Nine Pecks of Rice sect to become the new leader of Taoism, then he naturally has to be more powerful than Lü Dongxuan.

A few more days passed.

Four large ships sailed from the river into the lake, arriving at the 800-li Chunshen Lake.

Spring God Lake is vast and misty, encompassing all waterways and swallowing up great rivers, and has always been a battleground for military strategists.

Xu Fengnian stood at the bow of the boat, explaining the geographical advantages of Chun Shen Lake to Yu Youwei and Jiang Ni, and also sharing many military insights that Li Yishan had instilled in him back then.

"Before the Spring and Autumn Period, the North and South were in a standoff, and both sides fought for this place as a stronghold. By controlling the Spring God, one could set sail eastward, take a commanding position, and seize the world with the ferocity of a lion hunting a rabbit. In the past, if the North wanted to drink water in the Southeast, or if the South wanted to launch a northern expedition, they had to pass through the eight hundred li Spring God Lake, with its three cities, three passes, and three mountains, which has always been the focus of military strategists."

"Among them, three cities are of utmost importance: Xiangfan, Xingyang, and Wuling. In terms of the whole country, Xiangfan is of utmost importance; in terms of the southeast, Xingyang is of utmost importance; and in terms of this prefecture, Wuling is of utmost importance."

"Xiangfan has always been known as the waist and spine of the world. When the Three Kingdoms fought here, Wang Mingyang, a former official of Western Chu, was appointed as the governor of Xiangfan in a time of crisis. He resisted Xu Xiao's 100,000 troops and held out for three years. Later, Western Chu was destroyed and Western Shu was destroyed. This scholar from Jixia Academy, who came from Shangyin, still vowed to never surrender and even resorted to cannibalism in the city."

"Wang Mingyang even personally cooked and killed his wife and children. Three years later, the city fell. Of the 200,000 people in Xiangfan, less than 10,000 remained, turning it into a ghost town. It is said that ten years after the city fell, there were still hundreds of thousands of lonely ghosts who refused to leave the city and howled every night. The dynasty had no choice but to send the headmaster of Longhu Mountain to Xiangfan to set up the Zhou Tian Grand Ritual. The number of ritual positions reached a staggering 36,500, which was an unprecedented feat."

"This battle of offense and defense earned Wang Mingyang the title of the best defensive general of the Spring and Autumn Period. Even Xu Xiao admired him. However, he achieved great success but dragged 200,000 people down with him. Wang Mingyang will be a controversial figure even a thousand years from now."

Yu Youwei was terrified and asked timidly, "We're not going to Xiangfan, are we?"

Because Li Chungang gave Xu Fengnian some pointers, he has recently developed a habit of flicking his fingers, doing so countless times throughout the day.

At this moment, he flicked his fingers lightly and said with a soft laugh, "I originally wanted to go, but if you don't dare, then we'll head straight for Wuling."

Just then, two yellow dragon tower ships sailed towards their fleet.

The ships behind arrived even faster. The leader was a former member of the Northern Liang army. He had not distinguished himself in the army, but unexpectedly, he became rich and powerful after going into business. He was so wealthy that even the powerful families of Qingzhou could not compare to him. He once competed with a person in the state who had a background as a royal merchant in terms of wealth, which attracted a lot of criticism. He jokingly said that his saliva was comparable to half of the Spring God Lake.

He is one of Xu Fengnian's future fathers-in-law.

Wang Chudong's father is Wang Linquan.

(End of this chapter)