Playing with fantasy beasts in the martial arts world

Chapter 20 Eight-Armed Divine Sword
The gaunt old man caught up and, about twenty-three steps away, saw the four men turn to look at him from the backs of the two wolves, as if they were waiting for him to catch up.

The old man was initially delighted, but then his joy turned into burning anger.

"How arrogant! I must kill them all to quell the hatred in my heart!" The withered old man slightly raised his long sword, released his inner force, and the sword energy flew out sharply.

Even the most skilled swordsmen in the martial world, when they unleash their sword energy, only manage to keep it a few feet away from the blade. But this old man's sword energy was fast, fierce, and far-reaching. It was already launched when Cha Nan and the others were still about ten meters away. Even after leaving the blade and gradually weakening in flight, its power was still considerable when it reached them.

With such swordsmanship and profound inner strength, he is already among the best of the best, and is probably not far from the innate realm.

At the same time, both wolves turned their heads and used the mud-throwing skill!
The two clumps of yellowish-brown mud collided with the sword energy. As the sword energy exploded in the mud, a large number of yellowish-brown mud droplets splattered in all directions, centered on the old man.

Many drops of mud fell on the old man, causing no real harm, but it was still quite insulting.

It was like watering an old man with a bucket of flying water.

If we had a recording tool at hand right now, it wouldn't be difficult to create a masterpiece.

After the mud was thrown, the two wolves retreated backwards at the same time, retreating seven or eight meters at a time. Then they turned around in mid-air and charged straight forward, running for hundreds of meters before their speed gradually slowed down.

The wolf hunter is indeed fast, but its weakness is its lack of stamina; it cannot run long distances in one go.

This is the real reason why everyone is 'waiting' for the old man, not because they are deliberately being presumptuous.

After another several kilometers of pursuit, the gaunt old man finally caught up with Cha Nan and his three companions at the foot of a low hill.

"The children of the esteemed Hero Guo and Chief Huang, do they only know how to run away and lack the courage to face this old man head-on?" The old man's voice came before the person even caught up.

This old guy is shrewd. He doesn't need to be pulled around repeatedly. Just one experience made him realize that as long as Cha Nan and the others maintain a certain distance from him, even if they stop to 'wait' in the middle, the actual distance between them will not be shortened. It will be extremely difficult to kill the Guo siblings.

As you venture deeper into the mountains and forests, the winding mountain roads further amplify the distance difference.

Some mountain paths may be difficult for horses, but for wolves, they are like flat ground.

Therefore, he planned to provoke and provoke the young man with words. If the young man couldn't restrain himself and valued his reputation too much, he would suffer a great loss.

Guo Polu was about to speak when Guo Xiang interrupted him: "If my father and mother knew that there was a shameless old man bullying us, they certainly wouldn't let us stand there and take the beating."

"It's the old man, so old, who comes out to bully us juniors, but doesn't even dare to give his name. How can he be considered a hero?"

Upon hearing this, the gaunt old man laughed heartily: "Sharp-tongued, indeed worthy of your reputation... Well then! I will not hide anything. My original name is Fang Dongbai, and I was once known in the martial arts world as 'Eight-Armed Divine Sword,' but I suppose you have never heard of it."

"Now that you can die by my sword, even in the underworld, you will have face to speak of it."

As he spoke, he simultaneously swung his sword, sweeping it across the ground and sending up a barrage of rubble and dirt that shot towards the group like scattered bullets. The wolf brothers simultaneously unleashed air cannons, knocking away the large amounts of rubble and dirt. The few remaining fragments that occasionally hit them did not cause significant damage.

Such a troublesome beast made Fang Dongbai's eyelids twitch. He thought to himself, "I wonder how such a strange wolf was bred. It can actually cultivate internal energy and release its internal force externally."

"Oh it's you!"

“Although we are not from the same Jianghu, you were once the head of the four elders of the Beggars’ Sect. Even if you later surrendered to the Mongols, you should not forget the slightest bit of past ties and now turn against the Beggars’ Sect to hunt down Chief Huang’s children!” Cha Nan suddenly remembered who Fang Dongbai was.

This person originally appeared in The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber, when Zhao Min, disguised as Zhang Wuji, led a group of her masters to attack Wudang.

He was called "A-Da" by Zhao Min. His swordsmanship was so outstanding that he received praise from the grandmaster Zhang Sanfeng. Later, he was defeated by Zhang Wuji's Tai Chi swordsmanship, which he had just learned.

Fang Dongbai did not expect that there would still be people who knew who he was in this world. However, as more and more interdimensional gates opened and exchanges between different realms became more frequent, it was not too surprising that some people had heard of his name.

"The Beggars' Clan started with its first leader, Zhuang Yifang, and then grew stronger under the leadership of the ninth and eighteenth leaders. Historically, the position of leader was not based on background, but on talent and virtue. However, starting with the nineteenth leader, Huang Rong, the Beggars' Clan was regarded as private property. After the death of the twentieth leader, Lu Youjiao, the position was passed to his son-in-law, Yelü Qi. This practice continued for generations, and the succession of the leader was also based on kinship."

"The once mighty Beggars' Sect has become a one-man show, leading to the exodus of talented individuals and its gradual decline."

"The Beggars' Sect's subsequent calamities all stemmed from this!"

"I do not know what this gate to the realm is, that it can transcend the past and present and change the world. But now that I am fortunate enough to be here, I am here to set things right and eliminate the source of your chaos. Only in this way can we maintain the traditions of my Beggars' Sect!" Fang Dongbai's words were righteous and awe-inspiring, as if everyone was the source of chaos and unforgivable sins if they did not immediately submit to their fate.

Guo Xiang was still young and lacked experience in the martial arts world. Upon hearing this, she subconsciously asked, "My brother-in-law was killed by a mysterious swordsman three years ago. Before his death, he suffered 122 sword wounds, none of which were fatal. The coroner said that he died from blood loss. Was this your doing?"

Guo Fu then realized what was happening, her eyes filled with hatred: "You old thief! You killed my brother Qi, and today I will avenge him!"

After saying that, he slapped the wolf's head and was about to rush towards Fang Dongbai's location.

Fortunately, the wolf was intelligent, possessing an IQ no less than that of an ordinary person, and it only listened to Cha Nan's words, not rushing towards Fang Dongbai.

Just as Guo Fu was about to jump off the wolf's back, draw her sword, and kill Fang Dongbai, seeking her own death, Cha Nan spoke first: "Since when did the Beggars' Sect start valuing talent above all else?"

"As far as I know, the tenth generation leader, You Tanzhi, was a puppet who was fooled and manipulated. He had martial prowess but no talent or virtue. Even the ninth generation leader, Qiao Feng, whom you praised, was an adopted Khitan. Although he did not betray the Beggars' Sect, after the Beggars' Sect members learned of his identity, they disregarded past favors and turned their backs on him, greatly losing the support of the people."

"Moreover, everything should be viewed dialectically. Chief Huang firmly holds the position of chief, even at the cost of his family's legacy, with the intention of better uniting people's hearts and minds, fighting against the Mongol army in Xiangyang City, and guarding the gateway to the country. He may be letting down the Beggar Clan brothers, but he is absolutely worthy of the people of the world!"

Cha Nan's rebuttal was forceful and directly refuted Fang Dongbai's so-called 'morality'.

(End of this chapter)