Martial Arts Crossover: My Wife is the Top Scholar

Chapter 513 The Primal Heavenly Demon, The Mystery of the Rise of the Yinshan Heavenly Venerable

"Wait, why am I imitating Tang Shiwu?"
There's no such thing as success or failure being unimportant. Success is success, and failure is failure! The purpose of taking action is to gain profit, not to cause mutual destruction!

In any situation, even if a traitor or expendable pawn must be eliminated, the gains should be made in return!
My thinking was flawed!

The Tang Clan and the Azure Dragon Society want to gain benefits!
The benefits far outweigh the cost!

What secrets does Dali hold?
Could it be for Changchun Valley?

Isn't it?

Can Changchun Valley really grant immortality?

Li Zhaoting muttered to himself, quickly analyzing the available intelligence. He then sighed, realizing that he was not suited to analyzing long-term plans, but rather to breaking through existing stalemates.

What is breaking the deadlock?

How to solve this mystery that has been in the works for years?

Of course, it's—kill!

Every puzzle requires a "person" to execute it.

If we kill people, the plan will be disrupted.

The Twelve Azure Dragons are not commonplace; these are masters of unparalleled skill who cannot be detected by gods or ghosts. They cannot be wasted so easily. The loss of the two of them was far too reckless.

It's not that the head of the Green Dragon Society has lost his mind.

This is a misjudgment caused by intelligence errors.

Who would have thought that the handsome and talented scholar, known as the "third-ranked scholar," was actually a master martial artist?

Without an omniscient perspective, judging from the information Li Xunhuan reveals to the outside world, he is just a scholar with some martial arts skills and a smattering of throwing knives, whose combat ability is negligible.

Li Xunhuan was famous throughout the world for his appearance.

Wherever he goes, beautiful women will throw themselves at him.

Every time he was sent on a diplomatic mission to another country, the other party wanted to recruit Li Xunhuan as their son-in-law. Li Xunhuan's appearance and knowledge completely overshadowed his martial arts skills. How could he have any flying knives?

—It's just a rich kid playing pitch-pot!

Looking at Li Xunhuan's record over the years, his last act was during his first mission to Dali, where he killed the Protector of the Power Clan with a flying knife at the Miao Conference.

Even with the wisdom of Zhuge Liang, it would be impossible to judge Li Xunhuan's martial arts skills from such superficial information.

In other words, according to the leader, the assassination attempt had at least a 70% success rate. If Li Xunhuan was killed without anyone noticing, what would happen next...?

Li Zhaoting continued his analysis along this line of thought.

Soon, they found themselves in a dead end again.

Martial arts can affect the brain.

The higher one's martial arts skills, the less one wants to use their brain. Brainpower is used to comprehend the martial arts and perceive the way of heaven. Where is the energy to analyze conspiracies and tricks? This can easily lead to insufficient blood supply to the brain.

The best example is none other than Linghu Chong!

Before learning the Dugu Nine Swords, Linghu Chong was a young swordsman full of ingenious schemes. After learning the Dugu Nine Swords, Linghu Chong became a reckless and brainless brute. He could be easily fooled with just a few words and only knew how to draw his sword and kill people!

Lan Fenghuang noticed Li Zhaoting's thoughts and said very considerately, "Li Lang, why think about such pointless things? Leave the brain work to Li Tanhua, we'll just focus on drawing our swords and killing people!"

"That makes me look like a brute!"

"So what if he's a brute? Where in the world is there a brute as handsome as him? Besides, no matter how many brilliant schemes the Azure Dragon Society has, if Li Lang kills them all, all their scheming will ultimately amount to nothing more than a pile of dust!"

Lan Fenghuang hugged Li Zhaoting's arm: "The Azure Dragon Society is doing so many things, perhaps just to interfere with Li Lang and make him overthink things, so they can fish in troubled waters!"

Lan Xiaodie chimed in, "Sister is right! Whatever their plans are, as long as we kill them and smash their heads into eight pieces, no plan matters!"

Bai Yunfei originally wanted to help analyze the intelligence, but after hearing what Lan Fenghuang and Lan Xiaodie said, he thought to himself, "You two are truly considerate little wives, so damn considerate!"

That's right. Although Lan Fenghuang joined the family early and should have been the "second sister" in theory, due to her personality, she was unanimously voted to become the leader of the concubines.

Gongsun Lan and Lan Xiaodie are under his command!

Her main responsibilities were to play musical instruments and sing for Li Zhaoting, and to dance for him to relieve his boredom. She was the joy of the Li family!

With such a considerate concubine, Li Zhaoting naturally wouldn't continue the internal strife. He dug a pit and buried the body, and everyone returned to their respective homes, leaving the problem to Li Xunhuan.

Li Xunhuan felt an urge to flip the table.

Duan Yu calmed Li Xunhuan down with a single sentence.

“Brother Li, analyzing cases is always easier than dealing with those young ladies from prominent families. Of course, if you wish to become the Prince Consort of Dali, I will immediately arrange the formal betrothal.”

"Brother Duan, bring me the case file, and prepare three pots of strong tea. I need to work overtime to analyze the case!"

Li Xunhuan gripped the hem of his clothes tightly, his face serious.

Li Zhaoting took his beautiful wives and concubines to the bathhouse of the Prince of Zhennan's mansion to enjoy the service of his concubines.

Wang Yuyan and Lan Fenghuang are physically unable to move around.

Lan Xiaodie and Bai Yunfei were raised by Yu Luosha as her granddaughters-in-law from a young age, and their seductive skills were superb. Lan Xiaodie, in particular, could be described as a born fox spirit.

Li Zhaoting closed his eyes and enjoyed the pleasure.

The head of the Green Dragon Society was not in a good mood.

He overturned the desk.

Books were scattered all over the floor in a mess.

Everything in the study was smashed to pieces.

Clearly, the big boss is in a bad mood.

It's more than just being in a bad mood.
He was in a terrible mood.

The big boss is now extremely eager to kill someone.

Kill Li Xunhuan!
Kill Li Zhaoting!
Tear Li Xunhuan and Li Zhaoting to pieces!

Even tearing them apart alive wouldn't quell his hatred.

Li Zhaoting's analysis went astray. It wasn't that Li Zhaoting had lost his mind, but rather that the plan had indeed been blocked. And the one who blocked the plan was none other than—Li Xunhuan!

Her martial arts skills, which are undetectable to gods and ghosts, are even superior to Xue Xiaoren's. How could a master of this level be used as cannon fodder so easily? Even if she is used as cannon fodder, she must still make a difference and at least take down a Grandmaster.

Unexpectedly, due to the information gap, the deaths of the two top assassins were utterly meaningless, failing to even cause a ripple or create any chaos.

The big dragon head is looking for something.

A legendary "demon".

Some time ago, the Great Dragon Head accidentally learned a very secret: when the Yinshan Heavenly Venerable, one of the "Three Demon Lords," was young, he encountered the "Demon among Demons."

The two made a bet in Dali.

Gambling on stones.

To gamble on the value of a piece of jade.

The agreement was for a best-of-three series. Yinshan Tianzun, relying on his mysterious luck, won all three games and obtained the inheritance of the Demon of Demons, which is why he has his current status. The jade embryo left over from the bet happened to stay in Dali!
The dragon head came to find jade blanks.

This jade blank is related to the Heavenly Venerable of Yinshan.

What kind of jade blank is worth this kind of gamble?

What kind of person could cultivate a disciple like Yinshan Tianzun, who might even surpass Zhang Sanfeng!

The big boss really wanted to meet the other party.

The leading companies urgently need to enhance their capabilities.

As more and more new masters emerge in the martial arts world, the older generation gradually retires, and many demons and monsters who have lived in seclusion for decades have become stepping stones.

The once majestic, mysterious, and powerful Azure Dragon Society has gradually become a training ground for young disciples of prestigious sects. Those who wish to gain fame throughout the world challenge Azure Dragon branches. As a result, the Azure Dragon Society's prestige has declined, and the twelve Azure Dragons have become increasingly disaffected and are on the verge of collapse.

How can we change the situation of the Azure Dragon Society?
A: Kill the chicken to scare the monkey, and wipe out the martial world in blood!
As long as the leader publicly challenges Li Zhaoting and kills him in front of thousands of spectators, the Azure Dragon Society will immediately rise to prominence and soar to great heights.

The question is, does he have that ability?
There was a chance before, but absolutely not now!

"Where! Where! Where exactly is it! Where is the jade embryo? Where is the demonic sect's legacy? I have the heart to become a demon, why won't you let me become a demon..."

The dragon head erupted with true energy and roared to the sky.

Roaring is pointless.

Impotent rage only makes people laugh.

The leader quickly perked up and ordered his men to investigate jade shops in Dali to see if they could find any clues.

……

"Master, I've found a clue!"

Jiang Yuyan leaned against Li Zhaoting's chest, looked at the jade bracelet on her wrist, her face full of joy, her big eyes blinking as she waited for Li Zhaoting's reward.

Li Zhaoting kissed her deeply, then his right hand slid down her waistline, removing her shoes and socks, and gently caressing Jiang Yuyan's delicate feet in his palm.

Jiang Yuyan comfortably squinted her eyes, like a dozing kitten, not wanting to move a single finger.

"Yu Yan, what clues have you found?"

“Master, about my background… Ke Baisui was murdered, but my contact with the Azure Dragon Society has never been severed. I saw a few familiar faces.”

"Bring them back and torture them severely?"

"No, that's not it. The elite of the Azure Dragon Society were almost all killed by the master. The remaining ones are sloppy in their work. I followed them for a while and found that they kept going in and out of the Dali jade shop, wanting to buy some kind of precious jade."

"Jade? Do you want to buy the Imperial Seal of the State?" "It's not the Imperial Seal of the State, sir. Our family is in the jade business. You should know that there are two ways to sell jade: finished jade pieces and unprocessed jade blanks. They are selecting jade blanks."

"You mean, the Azure Dragon Society is going through all this fancy stuff to deceive everyone and find a jade blank, a very precious jade blank?"

Li Zhaoting gasped.

If it's a small piece of jade, it might be a jade plaque carved with mountains and rivers; if it's a large piece of jade blank, the most precious jade blank in Dali happens to be in the Li family's possession.

Originally in Yi Jifeng's possession, Yi Jifeng gave the jade blank to Li Nanxing so that Li Zhaoting could focus on practicing martial arts without distraction. Li Nanxing carved the scraps into jade pendants and opened a jade shop. The most precious part was carved into bracelets and given to his daughter-in-law.

Li Zhaoting has a female confidante for every woman.

This is a common practice in the martial arts world.

First, it was imitated by countless romantics who used jade bracelets as tokens of love. As its influence grew, jade bracelets became almost equivalent to diamond rings in later generations.

When disciples of prestigious sects get engaged, they use jade bracelets as tokens of their betrothal. If they have many tokens, the most precious one is always a pair of exquisite jade bracelets.

The customs and traditions of the martial arts world need no further explanation.

Li Zhaoting clicked his tongue in surprise. The Azure Dragon Society had caused so much trouble, resulting in bloodshed and even plotting to assassinate the king, all in an attempt to find the jade bracelet he had given to his lover during his carefree and philandering days.
Is the big boss joking?
What's so special about this thing that's worth looking for?
Li Zhaoting examined it carefully and found that it was a fine jade blank. The jade bracelet was very exquisite and belonged to the category of fine jade artifacts. There were no traces of martial arts, and it was even less likely to contain a treasure map. What use would it be for finding this thing?

Could it be made of the same material as the He Shi Bi jade?

Li Zhaoting looked down at Jiang Yuyan's wrist, feeling it briefly, revealing absolutely nothing secret.

It contains no He Shi Bi jade, no treasure map, no martial arts mark, and no sacred or divine inheritance. It is an exquisite jade bracelet, not an adamantium alloy bracelet.

"Yu Yan, what do you think?"

"This servant feels there must be something fishy about this."

"What's weird?"

"do not know!"

"Yu Yan is getting more and more naughty!"

"Master, the Dragon Head has gone mad. He has no clues whatsoever except for looking for the jade blank. What's the point of coming to Dali looking for the jade blank? Go to Bagan and dig for stones!"

"Any clues from the Tang Sect?"

“This servant is not familiar with the Tang Clan. Master should ask Madam Cheng for clarification. If we’re talking about understanding the Tang Clan, who can compare to Madam Cheng? They’re neighbors!”

"Give me a random guess."

"Invade the south, declare ourselves emperors, and establish a nation!"

"Yu Yan, do you want to try the family discipline?"

“Master, I’m not talking nonsense! Li Chenzhou wants to rule the world, but doesn’t the Tang Clan want to as well? Take that Tang Shiwu for example, he’s a hundred times more arrogant than Li Chenzhou.”

"The Tang Clan is located in Sichuan!"

"Sichuan and Yunnan are neighbors!"

"Hmm? Hiss~~"

Li Zhaoting took several deep breaths.

If you're not very familiar with maps, you might subconsciously think that Sichuan is inland and Yunnan is in the south, with thousands of miles between them.

In fact, Yunnan, Guizhou and Sichuan are neighbors.

The place where the three provinces meet is the Wumeng Mountains!

The Wumeng Mountains connect to the mountains beyond the Wumeng Mountains, and at the same time, the Wumeng Mountains are as vast and majestic as mud balls.

The core area was later called Zhaotong!
“昭” means that light has come out of the dark night.

The word "通" signifies that the misty mountains surrounding this area now have a path leading to the outside world.

The Tang Clan is located in the Sichuan region, at the intersection of Chengdu Fulu and Zizhoulu. Heading south, they arrive in Dali without any distant mountains blocking their way; the roads are wide, flat, and sunny – a truly unexpected turn of events!
Li Zhaoting had someone bring him a map.

As early as the Later Han and Three Kingdoms period, mathematician and cartographer Pei Xiu summarized the standards for map making: there are six principles of map making, and one cannot be considered accurate without any one of them.

In short: if the map has a set scale, then the entire universe can be drawn on a single foot.

Over hundreds of years of inheritance and development, countless masters and martial artists have traversed mountains and valleys, observed the terrain, and drawn maps to form a complete discipline. The maps are not much different from those of later generations. Li Zhaoting can understand them, and so can Li Xunhuan.

Among Li Zhaoting's friends, the one who knows maps best is probably Tang Bohu, who is very good at drawing maps.

Li Xunhuan and Duan Yu nervously analyzed the map.

Li Zhaoting analyzed, "Using a borrowed knife to kill someone, by taking advantage of the power of the Gang and Dali, we can eliminate those impetuous people within the Tang Clan to prevent them from causing trouble."

Duan Yu sighed, "We're all family. Old Madam Tang's actions are rather ruthless."

Li Xunhuan shook his head: "That's not right. The decision was made by Old Madam Tang, but at least 70% of the senior managers supported her decision!"

Li Zhaoting followed up, saying, "Given Tang Shiwu's arrogance and domineering nature, he could easily provoke top-tier experts or even bring about his own annihilation. If he were to suddenly decide to assassinate the emperor in the palace, that would be a crime punishable by the extermination of his entire family!"

Li Xunhuan said, "There are many experts in the Song Dynasty. If you cause trouble in the Song Dynasty, you are likely to offend people you shouldn't provoke. It is much safer to cause trouble in Dali."

Duan Yu smiled wryly and said, "Second Brother, Brother Li, isn't it a bit inappropriate to say this to my face?"

Li Zhaoting patted Duan Yu on the shoulder: "Just consider it royal education! Third brother will have to go through this sooner or later."

Xiao Feng added, "Third brother, when dealing with these troublemakers, don't be soft-hearted. You must bravely fight back and use blood to deter them."

Wang Yuyan said softly, "Punch them down, make them bleed, let them know the pain, and let these bastards understand that Dali is not a pushover!"

"Third brother, I can help you."

Li Zhaoting smiled crookedly, revealing his tiger teeth.

Duan Yu felt a chill.

Duan Yu, who was hiding deep within the palace, had heard of his sworn brother, who was not as gentle as he appeared.

Countless notorious bandits and demons became stepping stones for Li Zhaoting, who climbed to the pinnacle of martial arts by stepping on countless bloody corpses.

Master martial artists are forged through battle!
How can one comprehend the Dao of martial arts without experiencing battle?

Duan Yu disliked practicing martial arts and had no understanding of it.

Xiao Feng had a deep understanding of this.

Top masters are all forged through countless battles.

After discussing the battle plan, Li Zhaoting went deep into the mountains to find Yi Jifeng and ask about the jade embryo.

Yi Jifeng was a wanderer, living a nomadic life. He would be in the east one day and the west the next. Whenever he was in a bad mood, he would go to Kunlun to cause trouble and beat up those martial arts practitioners in seclusion.

Li Zhaoting was quite lucky. When he arrived at the cabin, Yi Jifeng happened to be home. Yi Jifeng looked at Li Zhaoting in surprise: "You've come to Dali? Go prepare some food and drinks for me, I'm starving..."

"Master, you should go to Wudang to find Master Zhang..."

"—Go and show off to him! Hehehe! My disciple is the Supreme Heavenly Sword, the number one genius, far surpassing Zhang Sanfeng's disciple. I will finally be able to defeat him once!"

"What did Master Zhang say?"

"Zhang the Sloppy One resorts to violence when he can't win an argument. This over 100-year-old bastard still has such a violent temper! Judging by his appearance, the old man won't live for many more years!"

Yi Jifeng wasn't cursing Zhang Sanfeng, but rather he realized that Zhang Sanfeng's martial arts cultivation had long since reached the limits of the world. For Zhang Sanfeng, opening the gates of immortality and shattering the void, which ordinary martial artists dream of, was as simple as eating and drinking; he could open the gates of heaven with a wave of his hand.

At his 100th birthday banquet, Zhang Cuishan returned to the Central Plains. With no more worries, Zhang Sanfeng's mindset improved, and his martial arts cultivation increased day by day. However, the world continued to reject him.

Meng Chixing and Ba Shiba's tactics eventually had some impact. Zhang Sanfeng had been suppressing his cultivation and his desire to shatter the void, resisting the rejection of heaven and earth. In two or three years at most, Zhang Sanfeng would surely ascend to heaven.

Thinking of this, Li Zhaoting remembered something.

After returning from the Western Regions, Li Zhaoting asked about Cheng Huaixiu. Li Nanxing gave the answer: Yan Jing'an had previously sought out Zhang Sanfeng, and Zhang Sanfeng paid a great price, a price that made Yan Jing'an unable to continue speaking.

Is there a possibility.

The price Zhang Sanfeng paid was—his lifespan!
Zhang Sanfeng suppressed the shattering of the void, firstly to protect the Wudang Sect, and secondly to fulfill Yan Jing'an's entrustment to suppress a peerless demon.
If you look at it this way, many things vaguely connect, and Li Zhaoting subconsciously asked, "The jade blank you gave back then, from which demon did it come?"

"The Heavenly Venerable of Yinshan!"

Yi Jifeng's eyes widened: "You guessed it? As expected of the Heavenly Sword, there are some things that are hard to hide from you."

Can I find out the truth?

"You certainly deserve it now!"

In terms of martial arts skills, Yi Jifeng is slightly better than Li Zhaoting. However, in a life-or-death struggle, Li Zhaoting has a greater chance of winning. Youth has an advantage in fighting, and Yi Jifeng's body, which is over a hundred years old, cannot withstand prolonged wear and tear.

The damage I suffered when I was young was too severe.

The brain has not been cured to this day.

Yi Jifeng sighed, "That jade blank was snatched from Yinshan Tianzun when I was traveling in Tengchong. It was just an ordinary jade blank. Apart from the fact that the jade quality was relatively good and could be sold for a high price, it had nothing mysterious about it."

Why would the Heavenly Venerable of Yinshan want to buy jade blanks?

"Humans suffer three calamities and six tribulations, while gods experience the five signs of decay. Yinshan Tianzun happened to be in a period of decline. He was originally a member of the Manchu Eight Banners and a descendant of Dorgon. He fled all the way to Tengchong, thousands of miles away, and disguised himself as a jade merchant to avoid disaster. When things reach their extreme, they will turn around and the disaster will pass, bringing good fortune and an opportunity to rise to prominence!"

Could you elaborate?

"You should know that there is a mysterious ancient demonic sect in the martial arts world. Every once in a while, a few successors will emerge. The leader of the ancient demonic sect is called something like Demon Among Demons, Primordial Heavenly Demon, or Origin of Ten Thousand Demons. He made a bet with the Heavenly Venerable of Yin Mountain, and the bet was on this jade blank!"

"Is this the secret of the jade blank?"

"not completely!"

"What other secrets are there?"

"It has some connection with Ling Donglai!"

(End of this chapter)