Martial Arts Crossover: My Wife is the Top Scholar

Zhao Keman and Hu Ying, Wu Goushuang Xueming.

The silver saddle illuminates the white horse, rustling like a meteor.

Kill ten people in ten steps, and stay in a thousand miles.

When the work is done, I will leave, hiding my body and name...

Li Bai's poem "The Ballad of the Knight-Errant" has twenty-four lines. There are twenty-four stone chambers on Knight-Errant Island. One line is inscribed in each of the first twenty-two chambers, and two lines are inscribed in the twenty-third chamber.

The last room is covered with dense tadpole-like characters. The two island lords, Long and Mu, secluded themselves in this stone chamber for decades and became inseparable from it.

The essence, blood, and lifelong martial arts essence of the two island masters, Long and Mu, were completely integrated into this stone chamber. This stone chamber was their domain and their life.

In addition to the poems, the walls of the stone chamber are covered with dense annotations and diagrams, ranging from seven or eight hundred words to three or four thousand words, carving the entire wall.

In recent decades, martial arts practitioners who have landed on the island, except for those who have died of old age, have been studying diligently day and night.

Longchengbi saw an acquaintance.

Wen Renhou, the leader of the Qilu Eight Immortals Sword Sect, is known in the martial arts world as Mr. Wen the Third. The Long family is a powerful local family in Jinan, and they have an excellent relationship with the Wen family, often exchanging martial arts techniques.

When Long Chengbi was young, he studied swordsmanship under Wen Renhou. Ten years ago, Wen Renhou went to Xia Ke Island to drink Laba porridge, and has not been seen since.

Long Chengbi came to Xia Ke Island for two reasons: first, to take back Wen Renhou's remains; and second, to fight the island's lord to the death and avenge Mr. Wen.

To my utter surprise, Mr. Wen is still alive.

Not only is he alive, but he is also very healthy, and his internal skills are becoming increasingly refined. However, his eyes look a little dull, and he has very deep dark circles under his eyes, as if he hasn't slept for several months.

“Mr. Wen, why...why didn’t you send a message home? Since you disappeared, the Eight Immortals Sword Sect has been declining and is about to disband.”

"Disband? That's a good thing!"

"Did you hear what I said? I said the Eight Immortals Sword Sect you've painstakingly built is about to disband!"

"What is the Eight Immortals Sword Sect? These stone carvings reach the very source of martial arts, no less than the Temple of War God. You must wholeheartedly comprehend them, how can you have the mind to care about anything else?"

Once I master the ultimate martial arts, rebuilding the Eight Immortals Sword Sect will be a piece of cake, won't it? Chengbi, you're quite clever, come and take a look at this annotation.

Zhao Ke Man Hu Ying!
The Hu people are from the Western Regions.

The Biography of Chengqian in the New Book of Tang states: "Several hundred people learned to sing like the Hu people, and wore their hair in a topknot and cut colorful clothes to make dance costumes..."

Take another look at the annotations for these two words.

Zhao Ke, a man of great generosity and tragic spirit from Yan and Zhao, is depicted in paintings as a scholar holding a fan in his left hand and making a flying palm with his right, with an elegant and unrestrained demeanor. Where is his heroic spirit?
The person in the picture is refined and elegant, representing femininity, but the annotation says: one should start from the aspect of power and strength.

It refers to the principle of femininity as the essence and masculinity as the application.

The Long family excels at the method of combining strength and gentleness. Can you help me figure out which is the essence and which is the application?

There's also the issue of punctuation.

Is it 'Manhu' or 'Huying'?
The meanings are completely different.

Are there any scholars among those who came this time?
"Have him come and translate the poem."

Mr. Wen San may seem normal, but he has actually fallen into a state of madness. No matter what the topic is, he will eventually steer the conversation toward the stone carvings and recite various annotations.

These annotations are written in a mess.

Some say "Hu" means "Hu people".

Some say that "Hu" is a variant of "Hu," meaning that when making a move, one is vague and confused, and if one is confused, how can the enemy perceive the sword path?
The same applies to the other stone chambers.

Xiao Feng saw several familiar faces, all of whom were senior martial arts masters he had sought instruction from more than ten years ago. These eccentric seniors were overjoyed to see Xiao Feng.

Xiao Feng was born with the body of a war god, and any move he made could unleash tremendous power. Many martial artists whose moves were more exquisite and whose skills were more profound than his were inexplicably defeated when they fought him, but they all had to admit defeat.

These senior scholars had devoted themselves to studying stone carvings for ten years, becoming obsessed with it. Upon seeing Xiao Feng, they immediately pulled him aside to study the stone carving diagrams and asked him to answer their questions.

Xiao Feng felt like his head was about to explode.

When it comes to discussing martial arts and competing in combat, Xiao Feng is an expert among experts. However, when it comes to things like explaining characters and annotating poems, Xiao Feng can't understand a single word.

Just as he was about to leave the stone chamber, he suddenly heard a woman in her forties say, "The Wu hook is the precious sword of King Helu of Wu. What is the difference between King Helu's precious sword and other people's precious swords? How should this be explained?"

Her husband said, "Historical records show that King Helü of Wu summoned craftsmen to forge precious swords, and whoever could present him with a sword that satisfied him would be rewarded with one hundred taels of gold."

Some people, coveting gold, cruelly murdered their children, using their own sons' blood to forge a precious sword, which was then cast into a Wu hook.

This story is extremely cruel. It seems the name "Wu Gou" in Wu Gou Shuang Xue Ming (吴钩霜雪明) is inherently cruel; a single thrust of the sword, even if it's one's own son, will not be spared. Only in this way can one truly understand its meaning.

The woman nodded in agreement and began to demonstrate swordsmanship with her husband. She swung her sword and thrust it straight at him, fast and ruthless, the blade aimed directly at his chest, showing no mercy whatsoever.
The two had been on the island for at least ten years, relying on each other and developing a deep bond. Yet, for the sake of a mere sword technique, they ended up fighting each other with their swords drawn.

Unable to bear witnessing such a tragic scene, Xiao Feng grabbed the woman's sword with his left hand and lifted the man by the collar with his right, hoisting them both up and slamming them against the corner of the stone chamber.

You've misunderstood!

"How did we misunderstand?"

"This is a supreme and profound martial art. If you understood it correctly, how could you have been defeated by me in one move?"

Xiao Feng snorted coldly and left the stone chamber.

Looking through the stone chambers, one could see that most of them housed a group of madmen. They were not human; they lacked the thoughts, desires, and reason of normal humans.

For a single sword move, a single punch or kick, or even a question of who is better in a debate, they will not hesitate to draw their swords and fight. When loving couples or brothers fight, where is there any affection left?
Xiao Feng, Long Chengbi, Tang Zhuquan, Chu Liuxiang and others are all heroes who value loyalty and righteousness. Even the assassin Sima Xue is a man of unyielding integrity.

Seeing these martial arts practitioners in such a grotesque and inhuman state, I felt that Xia Ke Island was a hundred times more terrifying than a tiger's den, a dragon's pool, or the underworld.

With the courage of Xiao Feng, Long Chengbi, Chu Liuxiang, and Tang Zhuquan, even if they faced a thousand troops alone, withstood a hail of arrows with a single sword, or even if the sky collapsed and the earth shattered, they would not flinch and would bravely meet the challenge.

If hundreds or thousands of evil demons and heretics rush over, we can use the Eighteen Subduing Dragon Palms to kill them, use the Wind and Snow Blade to cut them in two, or use the Five Ultimate Soul-Chasing Finger Technique to create a bloody hole in them. What can we do now?
Xiao Feng felt a chill run down his spine.

This is not a martial arts manual, this is a demon.

Tang Zhuquan rushed to find Li Zhaoting and grabbed him, saying, "Damn it, I thought the Second Island Master of Longmu was some kind of enlightened master!"
I really didn’t expect that!

They actually used martial arts manuals to harm people, imprisoning so many martial arts masters for decades!

Li Zhaoting, let's join forces and demolish those twenty-four stone chambers, damn it..."

Li Zhaoting interrupted Tang Zhuquan: "The two island masters of Longmu Island did not harm anyone. These martial arts practitioners stayed willingly. If you want to destroy the stone chamber, they will definitely stop you and will resent you greatly!"

Tang Zhuquan rubbed his large, fat belly: "We can't just do nothing! I'm not feeling right about it!"

Li Zhaoting laughed and said, "Of course we can't just sit around doing nothing. We can go to the stone chamber and see if we can unlock the secrets of the stone carvings. To be honest, from the moment I entered Xia Ke Island, I felt a lofty, arrogant, and extraordinary sword intent, which clearly came from the stone carvings."

Tang Zhuquan's eyes widened: "You mean, these stone carvings are real, and there really is a secret manual behind them?"

Li Zhaoting nodded: "Of course."

"Second Island Masters, Longmu and the others..."

"You just said that drawing a circle around oneself is a prison, but you forgot that the person who was imprisoned for the longest time was the second island master of Longmu Island, who went from a young and vigorous knight to an old man with white hair!"

Who can write your masterpiece, the Tai Xuan Jing, even in your old age?
The White-Haired Tai Xuan Jing... Hahahaha...

Have you not seen the Yellow River's waters come from the sky, rushing to the sea never to return? Have you not seen the bright mirror in the high hall reflecting white hair, black as silk in the morning, turning to snow by evening? When life is good, enjoy it to the fullest; don't let the golden goblet stand empty before the moon. Heaven has endowed me with talents, which will surely be put to use...

"...A dappled horse, a thousand pieces of gold, call the boy to exchange them for fine wine, to drink with you...eternal sorrow!" Li Zhaoting held the wine pot and loudly recited another famous poem by Li Bai, "Bring in the Wine." Tang Zhuquan seemed to sense something, picked up the wine jar, and gulped down the wine.

On the other hand, Xiao Feng and the others deciphered the stone carvings in their own ways. Directly destroying the stone carvings would make them the target of everyone's hostility, which would be equivalent to offending half of the martial arts world.

To dispel the demons that bind these heroes, one must personally immerse oneself in the demonic realm and decipher the secrets of the stone carvings. Once the secrets are revealed, all demonic obstacles will vanish.

In fact, the greatest advantage of the Tai Xuan Jing is that there is no absolutely correct interpretation. It is all-encompassing, and no matter how you practice it, you can receive some blessings.

There is no right or wrong practice, nor is there correct or incorrect practice. As long as you stick to your original intention and are not misled by the stone carvings, you can enter the enlightenment of martial arts.

Dog Brother couldn't read, but he derived sword techniques, palm techniques, and light-body skills from the shapes of characters, and he finished looking through seven or eight stone chambers in one day.

Xiao Feng, a man of great ambition and heroic spirit, was a generous and tragic hero from the land of Yan and Zhao. He grasped the heroic spirit, chivalry, and passion contained in the verses, and his actions were bold and decisive, with ten victories and ten defeats.

Chu Liuxiang was dashing and unrestrained, and successfully mastered the "Leaving No Trace for a Thousand Miles" movement technique.

Hua Manlou remained calm and composed, tracing the patterns on the stone wall with his fingers, and combining this with the phrase "swift as a shooting star," he grasped the fleeting light in the dark environment.

Long Chengbi, Wei Kongkong, and Sima Xue all gained some understanding, and Tang Zhuquan was no exception.

Tang Zhuquan's understanding was about "wine"!
Li Bai's poetry is inseparable from "wine"!
Wine was Tang Zhuquan's favorite food.

Rather than trying to comprehend the "Tai Xuan Jing," it's more like using the stone carvings to understand "Jiang Jin Jiu" (a poem by the moon), drinking a cup of wine and reciting a line of poetry—a kind of indescribable elegance.

Chu Liuxiang, Hua Manlou, and others could also comprehend the Tai Xuan Jing in this way. Li Bai has so many famous works that there must be one that resonates with them.

Chu Liuxiang chose "Drinking Alone Under the Moon," Long Chengbi chose "A Farewell to Tianmu Mountain in a Dream," and Hua Manlou was the most surprising, as he chose:

—A Gift to Wang Lun

Compared to famous poems that have been passed down through the ages, such as "Ode to a Knight-Errant," "Drinking Alone Under the Moon," "Dreaming of Mount Tianmu," and "The Road to Shu is Hard," this poem is very, very ordinary.

If it weren't for the fact that the author was Li Bai, this poem would most likely have been lost in obscurity and obscurity in the Complete Tang Poems.

However, this poem, which lacks both boundless imagination and elegant, eloquent writing, is the most suitable for Hua Manlou, and it truly reflects Hua Manlou's true nature.

Hua Manlou only needs to replace Wang Lun with Lu Xiaofeng and Li Zhaoting to understand the true meaning of poetry.

The newly arrived martial arts practitioners were "assimilated" within just two or three days, becoming "walking corpses" no different from the long-term tenants who had been there for two or three decades.

Only then did Lan Xiaodie and Bai Yunfei realize what the real trap on Xia Ke Island was: these stone carvings leading directly to the Heavenly Avenue were the most powerful trap.

Neither of them had any interest in martial arts; what was more fun than fighting and jealousy? They voluntarily left the stone chamber to travel around and enjoy the beautiful scenery of Xia Ke Island.

I'd also like to ask about methods for training whales.

Bai Yunfei has a great talent for "beast taming" and wants to tame a few whales to pull his boat across the vast ocean and experience the scenery of the world.

Wang Shenglan devoted herself to accompanying Li Zhaoting.

A romantic mindset suppresses all negative emotions.

Wang Shenglan was only captivated by Li Zhaoting's handsome face and warm chest, never by the cold stone carvings. Occasionally, she would glance at them and think they were crooked and twisted, like a group of little people dancing with swords.

Li Zhaoting looked through each stone wall one by one.

The "curse of knowledge" is no exaggeration.

Once you've learned it, it's hard to forget.

Li Zhaoting knows these characters and can recite the poems backwards. It's impossible for him to become a clueless illiterate and be able to observe the core of the stone carvings from another perspective, like Brother Gou.

What Li Zhaoting wants to do is—take on the challenge!
Using his own sword intent, he drew upon the sword intent left behind by the master craftsman when he carved the stone wall. The two clashed with each other, and the formless, shapeless, and intangible sword energies clashed wildly in mid-air.

Although I don't know what your secret is, I'll slap you across the face. I don't believe you can hold back from retaliating. If you can, I'll kick you after I slap you, until you can't take it anymore!

We arrived at Xia Ke Island on the seventh day of the twelfth lunar month.

On the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, a Laba banquet was held. That evening, after seeing the inscriptions on the stone tablet, I began to study the secret manual.

On the ninth day of the twelfth lunar month, after Dog Brother finished looking at the sixteen stone chambers, Li Zhaoting and the others fell into a deep state of enlightenment.

On the tenth day of the twelfth lunar month, after visiting the twenty-three stone chambers inscribed with poems, Brother Gou decided to visit the last stone chamber with tadpole-shaped carvings before returning to find Ah Xiu.

In the past three days, Brother Dog has made great progress, gleaning several unparalleled martial arts techniques from the characters carved in the stone.

"Kill one man in ten steps," "Sword drawn and knees crossed," "Save Zhao by wielding a golden hammer"—each line is a set of sword techniques.
"Leaving no trace for a thousand miles, accomplishing the deed and leaving without a trace, concealing one's identity and name"—each phrase is a set of light-footed skills.
Leisurely drinking at Xinling, the Five Sacred Mountains are light as a feather, even in death, the chivalrous spirit remains fragrant—each line is a set of martial arts techniques.
Three cups of wine and a promise made, spirits soaring like rainbows, a magnificent presence in Daliang City—each line is a set of inner strength.
After having lunch, Dog Brother went to the stone chamber, where he saw the two island lords, Dragon and Wood, sitting on a high platform. In front of them were countless tadpoles, which looked very interesting.

When he was young, Brother Gou lived alone in the desolate mountains. Every spring, he would catch tadpoles in the stream and raise them in the pools formed by rainwater on the peaks. He would watch them grow legs and tails and turn into frogs, making the croaking of the frogs echo throughout the mountains.

This was one of the few joys that Dog Brother experienced during his childhood.

Dog Brother naturally didn't understand "tadpole script," but based on his childhood memories, he compared each tadpole with the others, and his meridians and acupoints pulsated accordingly, his true energy flowing like the Yangtze River.

Dog Brother learned "Flaming Skill" from a young age and accidentally mastered a unique internal skill that combined Yin and Yang. Later, he accidentally mastered the Arhat Subduing Demon Skill and mastered the highest Buddhist Qi cultivation method. When he was in the Snow Mountain Sect, he received guidance from Li Zhaoting and learned Shaolin Arhat Fist.

His profound skill and solid foundation are in no way inferior to the head of the Shaolin Arhat Hall or the Bodhidharma Academy.

Originally, this power was stored in the body and was difficult to unleash unless faced with a life-threatening crisis. Now, with the guidance of the Tai Xuan Jing, the true energy in the eight extraordinary meridians has merged into one and is impacting all the acupoints in the body.

"Ah~~"

Dog Brother felt a surge of heat throughout his body and roared to the sky.

Just then, another roar came from outside.

It wasn't a roar, but the sound of swords.

The melodious sound of swords echoed through the night sky.

Following closely behind, the thousands of martial artists on Xia Ke Island, whether they were disciples of the two island masters, Long and Mu, or mad and deranged martial artists, all of whom carried swords, and all of whom held swords in their hands, caused their swords to tremble.

All the swords were bowing towards the heart of the island.

Li Zhaoting floated in mid-air, his fingers forming a sword. He swept across the night sky, sending hundreds of swords flying into the air, forming a long river of sword energy. His entire body was filled with sword energy.

Dog Brother's cultivation broke through, and his true energy surged like a spring. Since he had nowhere to vent it, he felt the power of Li Zhaoting's "Ten Thousand Swords Bowing Down" and casually unleashed a palm strike.

The Five Sacred Mountains are considered insignificant!
Li Zhaoting sensed the pull of the energy and swung his hand to strike Dog Brother. Immediately afterward, a series of dragon roars and tiger howls echoed across Xia Ke Island. Xiao Feng, Long Chengbi, Hua Manlou, and others awoke from their enlightenment one after another, their bodies brimming with inexhaustible strength. They instinctively engaged in combat, their internal energy scattering across the island, and sword energy enveloping half of the island.

Everyone fought purely on instinct. One moment Xiao Feng was battling Long Chengbi, the next Long Chengbi was battling Hua Manlou, then Wang Shenglan swung her spear at Xiao Feng, then Li Zhaoting clashed with Gou Ge, then Tang Zhuquan launched a sneak attack with a flick of his finger. Everyone was aroused by the fighting spirit, even the over-ninety-year-old Dragon and Wood Island Masters were—"An old man suddenly feels the madness of youth."

The most intense battle was the super melee between Li Zhaoting, Xiao Feng, and Gou Ge, which even the two island masters of Longmu Island, who had cultivated for sixty years, could not get involved in.

The three of them had no fixed method. Li Zhaoting's sword energy was ever-changing, and it could be a single sword strike or a myriad of sword strikes. With a flick of his finger, he could unleash hundreds of sword beams.

Xiao Feng's moves were powerful and heavy, extremely yang and strong. He brought the two unique skills, the Eighteen Subduing Dragon Palms and the Thirty-Six Extraordinary Techniques of Heaven-Turning, to their limits. Every move was like the Three Waves of the Dragon Gate. Even someone as strong as Li Zhaoting dared not let Xiao Feng gather his strength.

Dog Brother repeatedly used the "Tai Xuan Jing" he had just learned, mixing it with the routines of the Golden Crow Saber Technique and the Arhat Fist, making it impossible for anyone to tell whether it was a palm strike or a sword strike.

"Excellent! Excellent!"

Li Zhaoting roared to the sky, and with a single stroke of his sword, the rampant sword energy on Xia Ke Island was completely obliterated by Li Zhaoting's effortless sword strike.

The two island masters, Long and Mu, shouted in unison: "Sect Master Shi is a genius, Prince Consort Xiao has the body of a war god, and Hero Li is the supreme Heavenly Sword. Please accept our bow."

Fifty years of long-cherished wish, fulfilled today!

Many thanks to the three heroes for their help! (End of Chapter)