Martial Arts Crossover: My Wife is the Top Scholar

Chapter 519 Assassination of Li Nanxing, Qin's Moon and Han's Pass

bathroom.

Tianxiang soaked her whole body in the water, with only her head sticking out, lazily and comfortably enjoying a petal bath.

Xing'er asked playfully, "Princess, is Young Master Li's embrace very strong and warm?"

Tianxiang rolled her eyes upon hearing this: "What? Seeing that he's handsome, skilled in martial arts, and has a high rank, you little slut can't wait to become his concubine?"

Xing'er, without the slightest embarrassment, laughed and said, "You are the princess and I am a maid. When the princess gets married, I will be part of the dowry. I can't run away even if I wanted to!"

"I can give you your freedom!"

“Princess, I was abandoned when I was a child. Where can I find my parents? You won’t just watch me wander the streets, will you? Don’t worry, when the situation gets serious, I will go to Young Master Li for help. Young Master Li is kind and gentle and won’t drive me away. At least he will give me a bowl of rice to eat.”

"You little hussy, you're trying to cling to him now."

"Princess, I am but a lowly maidservant, how dare I cling to Marquis Xiaoyun? As for who exactly is clinging to the Marquis, I cannot say, but some people know the answer in their hearts!"

"Hey! I've always heard that the maids in the Li family are even more capable than their masters. I never imagined that ours were the same!"

"This servant will familiarize herself with it beforehand..."

What are you familiar with?

"Familiar with the princess's life after her marriage."

"Get married? I really want to become a nun right now!"

"I am the princess's personal maid. When the princess went to a nunnery to become a nun, I also went to become a nun. I heard that some people have special tastes and like this kind of thing the most."

"Bring me my sugarcane!"

"Does the princess want to eat sugarcane?"

I'm going to whip your ass until it's rotten with sugarcane!

Tianxiang thought to herself, "If the little maid is causing such a ruckus, how can I manage the household if I can't even control my personal maid?"

Xing'er went off to find sugarcane, laughing and giggling.

It won't get beaten up.

Tianxiang doesn't like hitting people.

Apart from the leader of the Yuxian Gang.

Tianxiang genuinely dislikes that old bastard.

……

The headquarters of the Yuxian Gang.

Old Zamao is refining elixirs with his five disciples.

The Yuxian Gang excels in alchemy, illusion, and talismans. In addition to their direct lineage cultivation techniques, they also possess Five Elements Formation. Each gang leader personally trains five disciples, each of whom practices a different Five Elements cultivation technique, which together form the Five Elements Formation.

The Five Elements Formation is the most common, easiest to learn, and hardest to master. Among the sword formations named after the five elements, the most powerful is the Kunlun Chaos Sword Formation.

Kumārajīva once commented that the power of the Chaos Sword Formation was on par with the Six Meridians Divine Sword Formation and the Bodhidharma Sword Formation, increasing by a factor of five, and then by two. When the number of people expanded to fifty, the Great Five Elements Yin Yang Sword Formation was created, and the power of the sword formation surpassed that of the Shaolin 108 Arhats Formation.

Among the seven major sword sects, the Kunlun Sect is renowned for its lightness skills and sword formations, but its biggest weakness is one-on-one combat.

The Five Elements Formation of the Yuxian Gang is no less powerful than the Kunlun Chaos Sword Formation. The five disciples can freely move between the five elements and can use the Five Elements Escape Technique.

The combined power of the five was no less than that of the leader of the Yuxian Gang. However, the leader's martial arts were able to counter the Five Elements Formation, which was why he had to obey his sect's orders.

Judging from the original plot, the Five Elements Formation, the leader of the Yuxian Gang, and Feng Suzhen are tied for first place. The outcome depends entirely on the martial artists' performance on the spot.

In terms of ultimate combat power, Feng Suzhen is the strongest.

For ambushes, the Five Elements Formation is the strongest.

In skirmishes, the leader of the Yuxian Gang is the strongest.

The three, Fire, Water, and Earth, rarely show their faces. They spend most of their time cultivating in seclusion within the gang and have no public names. They are simply known as Fire Child, Water Child, and Earth Child, passed down through generations.

The Golden Boy often goes out on business, and is equivalent to the Double Flower Red Stick of the Encountering Immortals Gang, named "Kang Jinlong".

The only female character is Mu Tongzi, a charming and beautiful woman who studied enchantment at the Heavenly Destiny School. She is skilled at using her beauty to complete tasks and is known as "Mu Qingxia".

At this moment, each of the five people had an alchemy furnace taller than a person in front of them. The gang leader changed out of his Taoist robe and put on a black brocade robe with gold patterns. He was completely hidden in the darkness from head to toe, with only his pair of dark eyes showing.

This brocade robe, which clearly belongs to a big boss, has only one slightly out of place: the headdress looks like a clothes hanger, which would be perfect for drying clothes.

The leader's hands moved swiftly, forming hand seals as streams of true energy flowed into the five alchemy furnaces. The five disciples, representing the five elements (metal, wood, water, fire, and earth), poured their own elemental power into the furnaces. The six of them worked together to refine the pills, and the furnaces quickly began to glow.

Green, yellow, red, white, and black correspond to the five elements: metal, wood, water, fire, and earth.

The five elements' power mingled, and the five disciples' faces turned a liverish color. The leader, shrouded in black robes, could not be seen, but judging from his bloodshot eyes, he had reached a critical moment in alchemy, and his true essence was rapidly depleting.

They held their breath and didn't even dare to breathe.

He was afraid that his breathing would disturb the alchemy process.

Suddenly.

A flash of five-colored light passed by.

The lids of the five alchemy furnaces opened simultaneously, sending out five clumps of crystal-clear medicinal liquid. The gang leader formed several hand seals to combine the liquid together.

The five disciples watched their master's every move intently.

Just as a pill was about to take shape, a loud explosion came from outside, followed by a tremendous earthquake. The ground trembled, and the hand seals slowed down for a moment.

"Clap!"

The pill vanished like a candle flame, leaving only a wisp of smoke rising and a few pieces of residue scattered on the ground.

After spending 30,000 taels of silver to purchase medicinal herbs, the "Five Elements Pill" that the master and his six disciples had worked together to refine turned into waste. The gang leader's face turned cold, but he did not take immediate action.

Alchemy is extremely taxing on one's vital energy and spirit.

The leader needs about an incense stick's time to recover.

The five disciples were almost completely ruined.

At this moment, the Yu Xian Gang may seem to be undefended and could be wiped out by a single surprise attack, but this is not the case at all. The structure of the Yu Xian Gang is obviously flawed. The five disciples who are nominally direct disciples are merely protectors and cannot inherit the lineage.

In other words, the leader of the Yuxian Gang has at least one personal disciple who inherits everything from the leader and will become the leader in the future, training new Five Elements Protectors.

This part is unknown to most people.

There were actually three people hiding.

A holy son, inheriting the lineage of the Yuxian Gang.

The two envoys, similar to Yang Xiao and Fan Yao, each cultivated Yin-Yang True Qi, but not the ultimate Yin or Yang, but rather the true fire of the sun, the essence of the moon, and the union of the sun and moon.

The leader of the Yuxian Gang sighed.

According to the notes left by our ancestors, the structure of the Encountering Immortals Gang should be more complex, from top to bottom as follows:

The leader, the holy son, the three gods of the sun, moon and stars, the great and small messengers of destiny, the five elements protectors, and the elder of the medicine hut.

Unfortunately, most of the inheritance of the Yuxian Gang was lost during its succession. Even the gang leader's direct lineage cultivation method was only 80% passed down. Later generations tried to supplement it, but their own talents were limited, and the more they supplemented it, the more awkward it felt.

The original progressive mental cultivation method, after being modified and perfected by predecessors of all generations, has become a hodgepodge, a haphazard mess. Some emphasize internal alchemy, others study external alchemy, and still others worship celestial feng shui. It's a chaotic mess, like a flower garden that hasn't been pruned for decades and is overgrown with weeds, with no main trunk to be found.

The current leader of the gang is a prodigy with a talent for metaphysics comparable to Jia Shifang. Even he can only barely break down these subjects, focusing on alchemy and also practicing illusion.

The Sun and Moon Messengers went out to investigate, and soon returned to report: "Chief, Li Yanbei and Du Tongxuan attacked Hong Kun together. Hong Kun was seriously injured by the two of them, and a guy who looks like a savage rescued Hong Kun."

The leader of the Yuxian Gang, who had been refining pills for three consecutive days and was completely unaware of the outside world, asked, "Why are those two attacking Hong Kun from both sides? Aren't they afraid of being targeted by the Six Doors?"

"Reporting to the leader, at noon today, Hong Kun went to Fanlou to see Li Shishi, but unexpectedly Li Zhaoting was also there. In the ensuing jealousy, Li Zhaoting severely injured Hong Kun with a sword."

Prince Yao asked the imperial physician Shu Dafeng to treat Hong Kun, who said that Hong Kun needed to rest for three months.

Li Zhaoting has returned from his mission and is in the capital... engaging in promiscuous activities and will not be leaving anytime soon.

Li Zhaoting has a close personal relationship with Princess Tianxiang. Princess Tianxiang dislikes the Yuxian Gang. If she whispers in his ear, Li Zhaoting will take action, and we will surely suffer heavy losses.

Please give me instructions, sir!

Upon hearing this, the leader of the Yuxian Gang was so angry he wanted to bite Li Zhaoting to death. The two had no grudges against each other, but for some reason, Li Zhaoting just couldn't stand him and kept chasing after him to beat him up.

They blocked the gate to provoke him, swung their swords wildly, and beat up the leader of the Yuxian Gang in front of thousands of people, turning the dignified old immortal into a mud donkey.

The gang leader hated Li Zhaoting to the core, but he couldn't beat him in martial arts. Li Zhaoting had unlimited potential and was improving every moment. His swordsmanship was getting stronger and stronger. The gang leader was an old geezer who was half buried in the yellow earth. What potential did he have?
If there were even the slightest room for improvement, they wouldn't have risked coming to the capital of the Song Dynasty to gamble for a sliver of hope.

The gang leader sneered, "Li Zhaoting! I may not be able to defeat Li Zhaoting, but do you think I can't outmaneuver Li Nanxing? As long as Li Nanxing is in the capital, Li Zhaoting will never have a moment's peace!"

Kang Jinlong laughed loudly, "Master! I'll go and cut off Li Nanxing's head. The dead cannot be brought back to life, so that I can leave an eternal shadow in Li Zhaoting's heart."

Whenever he picks up a sword, he is reminded that his biological father died because of him, and his swordsmanship is no longer pure!

It's even possible that they might—put down their swords!
Li Nanxing is a weak scholar who knows no martial arts!

There's no need for us to hide anything!
Kill Li Nanxing, declare war on Li Zhaoting, and then we'll swarm in and break this 'Heavenly Sword'.

Master, your disciple is not a mindless brute. It's just that Li Zhaoting is too young and has too much good fortune. Every time he goes out, he encounters opportunities, and his swordsmanship improves every moment. The longer he stays, the stronger his Heavenly Sword becomes.

They either have to kneel down and beg for peace with Li Zhaoting.

Either take a desperate gamble, risk your life, and break the Heavenly Sword before it reaches its ultimate potential.

Junior brothers and sisters, am I right? This is our best opportunity.

In a few days, Li Zhaoting will return to Jinling with Wang Shenglan, Li Shengnan, and Cheng Huaixiu by his side, easily bridging the gap in numbers. We will have no chance of escaping.

Master, whether to fight or make peace is up to you!

Your disciple fully supports Master's decision!

Kang Jinlong has a rough and rugged appearance, but he is by no means a brainless brute. His words may be rough, but his reasoning is sound. The Yuxian Gang is currently engaged in a fierce battle with Li Zhaoting and has a 30-40% chance of winning.

Given Li Zhaoting's growth rate, if given two or three years, he would likely become a terrestrial sword immortal, just one step away from breaking through the void. At that time, even ten Yuxian Gangs would be easily wiped out.

Kang Jinlong had studied Li Zhaoting's files. With Li Zhaoting's swordsmanship, which could break through the armor of more than 800 people with a single sword strike, experts below the level of grandmaster were no different from being sent to their deaths.

What terrified Kang Jinlong the most was that Li Zhaoting's progress was too fast. Half a year had passed since the Liaodong Martial Arts Tournament, and Li Zhaoting had gone to the Western Regions and Dali to train. Just how advanced had his martial arts become?
For ordinary people, martial arts training becomes increasingly difficult as they progress. When they reach their own bottleneck, even the slightest progress is a source of immense joy. However, Li Zhaoting could not see any bottlenecks at all, soaring to new heights with courage, diligence, and rapid advancement.

What terrifying martial arts potential!

The Encountering Immortals Gang has encountered such an opponent, truly living up to its name. A sword immortal is still an immortal, and the consequences of encountering one depend on the choices the gang leader makes.

Mu Qingxia chimed in, "Master, I think Senior Brother is right. Either don't do it at all, or do it decisively and cleanly. We must not procrastinate."

The Sun and Moon Envoys nodded, indicating their agreement with Kang Jinlong's suggestion. The gang leader removed his mask, looking at the seven people with a slightly weary expression, and gritted his teeth: "Since you have made your decision, I will use the capital of the Great Song Dynasty as a chessboard to play against Li Zhaoting. I will make sure he dies a horrible death!"

From God's perspective, Kang Jinlong's plan was incredibly stupid; based on the intelligence they possessed, it was as perfect as could be.

Kang Jinlong keenly grasped the essence of the matter.

First, Li Zhaoting has immense potential;

Second, the gang leader's own potential was exhausted;

Third, a decision on whether to fight or make peace should be made as soon as possible;

In fact, the leader of the Yuxian Gang had no choice.

When the two fought last time, the leader of the Yuxian Gang sensed Li Zhaoting's murderous intent and fought desperately. If he had shown the slightest weakness, he would have been torn to pieces by a flurry of swords. The two have been enemies from beginning to end. The gang leader wanted to use the fortune of the Song Dynasty to cultivate evil arts and attain immortality. Regardless of Li Zhaoting's status in or out of the court, he should have been killed.

To put it bluntly, the position of "national advisor" has always been dominated by villains; there are hardly any good guys in it.

The leader of the Yuxian Gang instructed: "Sun Envoy, go and contact the Azure Dragon Society. Moon Envoy, go and contact Prince Yao and Hong Kun. Qingxia, go and contact the Eighth King. Li Zhaoting has many friends in the martial arts world, but he also has quite a few enemies. Since we are going to take action, we must gather all our forces."

Kang Jinlong's eyes flashed with a fierce light: "Master, we can hire assassins to kill Li Nanxing. The martial world is never short of desperate people who would rather die than spend money. I know a group of elite assassins, but their prices are a bit high."

"You may use the money as you wish."

"Thank you Master!"

"Get to work!"

The leader of the Yuxian Gang waved his hand wearily.

……

"Is an assassin trying to kill my father?"

As soon as Li Zhaoting returned home, he received a message from the Azure Dragon Society that Jiang Yuyan had inquired about some secrets while selling intelligence at the Azure Dragon Society's branch.

"Are these guys risking their lives for money? Which assassin organization is this arrogant? Azure Dragon Twelve Months?"

"I've inquired and found out that this assassin organization's headquarters are in the Qing Dynasty. They recently opened a branch in the capital and stole the business from the Green Dragon Society, which is why I'm sabotaging them."

"what is it call?"

"The moon of Qin and the pass of Han."

"That's an interesting name. Judging from the name, it's probably an affiliated force of the Sticky Rod Office. Which Qing emperor loved writing poetry the most? No, I mean, he loved stamping his seal!"

Emperor Qianlong, nicknamed "Qing Zhangzong," or simply "Zhangzong" with a homonym, had a great hobby of stamping his seals on antiques, calligraphy, and paintings, or writing poems on famous historical sites, thus ruining countless scenic spots.

It is said that Emperor Qianlong wrote 40,000 poems in his lifetime, more than all the poems in the Tang Dynasty combined. The biggest advantage of this was that they were not included in textbooks, so there was no need to memorize the full texts.

Emperor Qianlong's penchant for refined pursuits, using poetry to name the various departments of the Sticky Rod Office, is quite fitting for his character. It's just a mystery who the current head of the Sticky Rod Office is.

With Wu Sidao's passing, who is qualified to be the leader?
Several figures flashed through Li Zhaoting's mind.

"What else did the Azure Dragon Society say?"

"They told me that there were nine assassins in the Qin Dynasty and Han Dynasty, two of whom were in the capital, known as Ox-Head and Horse-Face, and both had some unusual hobbies..."

Jiang Yuyan sniffed in disgust.

"What hobby?"

"Horse-face likes the smell of excrement. He needs to go to the latrine before doing anything. When killing someone, he likes to torture them until they are covered in excrement and urine before he feels satisfied."

Niu Tou likes to disguise himself as a cow and hide in the cowshed. It is said that he is as strong as a cow and does not need any disguise. As long as he puts on a cowhide, he will be a big yellow cow.

The two of them were responsible for carrying out the killings.

Therefore, neither of them was in charge.

The identity of the most important 'agent' is unknown.

It wasn't that the Azure Dragon Society didn't want to sabotage them, but rather that they themselves didn't know that the Azure Dragon Society branch in Beijing was established by Ke Baisui. After Ke Baisui's death, the Azure Dragon spies' abilities deteriorated, and they were simply wasting their lives.

"Sir, shall we take the initiative?"

Jiang Yuyan complained about the Green Dragon Society with considerable dissatisfaction.

Ke Baisui is very capable in some aspects.

Ke Baisui established the branches of the Azure Dragon Society in the capital, Nanjing, and Guanzhong. Unfortunately, due to someone's ambition to climb the social ladder, Ke Baisui could only "die of illness."

In important cities like the capital and Nanjing, Ke Baisui invested a huge amount of resources. Even if he only wanted to live a life of leisure, he at least had a solid foundation and gathered a lot of intelligence.

In fact, the main task of these spies was not to gather intelligence, but to keep an eye on Li Nanxing and his son.

Jiang Yuyan and Mei Zhu pocketed 70% of their activity funds, while the remaining 30% was spent on lavish spending.

They are the happiest Azure Dragon scouts.

Both sides understood each other without saying a word.

They live a life of luxury and extravagance, and are top sales performers year after year.

Jiang Yuyan took out two portraits.

Portrait of a bull's head and horse's face.

Shen Qixuan, the "Horse-Faced Ghost";

"Bull-Headed Demon" Yuan Jianzha;

Those two are dead; they won't live much longer.

Li Zhaoting patted Yuanbao's head.

Shen Qixuan's peculiar taste could not be masked even after being soaked in a wine vat for ten years.

The two creatures, Ox-Head and Horse-Face, are inseparable. Their scents have a unique and distinctive characteristic. By combining these two characteristics, Yuanbao can track down the target.

The most powerful tracking technique in the world is not chasing life.

—It's Li Zhaoting holding a dog!
Yuanbao whimpered softly, "Master, is our family starving? Why are we looking for a toilet?"

Li Zhaoting said in a low voice, "Hard stuff, track down the corresponding target based on the scent I gave you."

"Awoooooo~~"

Yuanbao had difficulty finding other places, but finding Shen Qixuan was his specialty. He sniffed around from house to house and soon stopped in front of a large house, where the lights were on.

From the outside, this looks like an ordinary luxury mansion.

No one would have guessed that this was a branch of the Manchu assassin organization "Qin Shi Ming Yue Han Shi Guan".

Ox-Head and Horse-Face have just received their mission.

A mission that guarantees certain death!
Target: Li Nanxing
Identity: Marquis of Jingyuan, Vice Minister of War

Relatives: Unmarried, has one son, Li Zhaoting

Shen Qixuan flipped the table over: "Pah! A mission to my death! I'm not going! Damn it! That bitch doesn't like me and has been trying to kill me!"

Yuan Jianzha rubbed his head: "It might work to deal with other high-ranking officials, but to deal with Li Nanxing, even if you gave me a million taels, I'd need to be alive to spend it."

The man in black who delivered the mission plan coldly looked at Ox-Head and Horse-Face: "This is a pre-determined plan. There is no room for negotiation. You can only execute it."

Shen Qixuan sneered: "Go to hell with your execution! You think I'm a fool? Look who the target is! Li Zhaoting's father, how many heads do you have!"

Yuan Jianzha sneered, "Go do your mission! You go do your mission first. You're just babbling on here, making us brothers go to our deaths. Do you believe I'll kill you?"

The man in black spoke in utterly calm voice: "If killing me will allow you two to carry out a mission, then you may proceed. I don't care if you're torn to pieces!"

Shen Qixuan demanded sharply, "The reason!"

The man in black explained, "Killing Li Nanxing will shatter Li Zhaoting's Dao heart, and he may even suffer a qi deviation, causing chaos in both the Han Chinese court and the martial arts world."

"The two of us can't do it!"

Yuan Jianzha pointed to his head: "Even a hundred ox-headed and horse-faced demons couldn't stop Li Zhaoting's sword. The two of us are just throwing our lives away on this mission!"

The man in black remained expressionless: "With three assassins cooperating with you, you have a 70% success rate and a 60% chance of escape. After the mission is accomplished, each of you will be rewarded with 500,000 taels of silver and promoted to head steward of the Sticky Rod Office."

(End of this chapter)