The Return of the Condor Heroes: Starting with a Suicide Note and Conquering All Realms

Dasheng Pass. Lujiazhuang.

The midday sky was overcast. Thick, leaden clouds hung heavy over the manor. Hundreds of tables were set up for a banquet on the drill ground. Wealthy guests from all over the Central Plains were playing drinking games and making toasts. The sounds of clashing weapons and boisterous shouts mingled together, creating a lively atmosphere.

"Bang!"

A deafening explosion suddenly erupted.

The imposing stone lion guarding the gate of Lu Family Manor, weighing over a thousand pounds, was severed in half by a surge of violent, dark golden energy. The upper half of the stone lion flew three zhang (approximately 10 meters) and crashed heavily onto the open ground in the center of the training ground. The bluestone slabs shattered, and dirt flew everywhere.

The noise stopped abruptly.

Hundreds of martial arts practitioners put down their wine bowls, drew their swords and knives in unison, and stared intently at the gate.

Amidst the rubble and dust, four figures slowly walked in.

Lin Yuan walked at the front. His gray Taoist robe was spotless. He didn't deliberately release his true energy, but his dark golden vertical pupils coldly swept across the entire area, their gaze spreading outwards.

The dozens of martial arts practitioners in the front row felt a sudden weight on their shoulders, their breath caught in their throats, and their hands gripping their knives trembled uncontrollably. They unconsciously stepped back, creating a wide passage leading directly to the main hall in the crowded training ground.

Yang Guo lagged half a step behind Lin Yuan. He held Xiaolongnu's hand tightly with his right. The two, one in gray and one in white, did not dodge the probing and hostile stares coming from around them. Ouyang Feng followed at the back, scratching his head and muttering to himself.

On the steps of the main hall, Guo Jing and Huang Rong stood side by side.

Standing behind Huang Rong, Guo Fu saw Xiaolongnu's exquisitely beautiful face and her eyes surged with jealousy. She opened her mouth to mock her, but Huang Rong grabbed her wrist with tremendous force. Guo Fu cried out in pain, shutting her mouth and looking at her mother in horror.

Huang Rong stared intently at Lin Yuan's footsteps. With each step, extremely fine cracks appeared on the bluestone ground of the training ground. This level of control over internal energy was far beyond her comprehension.

"Guo'er," Guo Jing strode down the steps, his voice deep and authoritative, "Do you really intend to marry your master?"

Yang Guo stopped. He met Guo Jing's gaze, his back straight: "Yes."

Guo Jing's eyes widened, his chest heaving violently. His Dragon Subduing True Qi leaked out uncontrollably, causing a muffled booming sound in the surrounding air.

"Outrageous!" Guo Jing roared angrily. "Heaven, Earth, Ruler, Parents, and Teacher! A master and disciple marrying their master is utterly disrespectful! Where do you place the laws and regulations of the world? Where do you place your deceased father?!"

The roar, imbued with profound internal energy, made the eardrums of the assembled heroes in the training ground ache. Hundreds whispered among themselves, their eyes filled with disdain as they looked at Yang Guo and Xiaolongnu.

Yang Guo's face turned pale, but he gripped the clasped hands even tighter.

Lin Yuan sneered.

The laughter wasn't loud, but it easily pierced through Guo Jing's internal energy blockade. Lin Yuan stepped forward, his dark golden vertical pupils staring directly at Guo Jing.

"Propriety?" Lin Yuan spoke rapidly, each word like a knife. "Great Hero Guo, let me ask you. Six years ago on Peach Blossom Island, your daughter and her disciple trapped him in an iron net at the bottom of the sea, nearly killing him. Where was propriety then?"

Guo Jing's expression changed, and he turned to look at Guo Fu, who was hiding behind Huang Rong.

Lin Yuan pressed on without pausing: "Zhao Zhijing of the Quanzhen Sect murdered him to cover it up, framed him, and forced him to flee into the deadly back mountains. Where was the righteous path then?"

"Last night on Zhongnan Mountain, Yin Zhiping took advantage of someone's vulnerability and attempted to commit adultery. Where is the reputation of the Quanzhen Sect?!"

The last sentence resonated deeply. A clamor erupted throughout the drill ground.

The assembled heroes exchanged bewildered glances. The Quanzhen Sect was the orthodox school of Taoism, and Yin Zhiping was the designated successor to its leadership. If this scandal were true, the entire Central Plains martial arts world would be utterly disgraced.

Huang Rong stepped forward, blocking Guo Jing's side: "Lin Yuan, the Quanzhen Sect has a profound foundation. Don't make false accusations. Master Wang's letter only says that you forcibly destroyed the mountain and forced the Quanzhen Sect to disperse."

Lin Yuan flicked his wrist. A roll of cloth stained with blood was casually tossed out by him, landing precisely at Huang Rong's feet.

"A Quanzhen disciple gave a written confession, with his bloody handprint on it." Lin Yuan's tone was cold. "I have already crippled Yin Zhiping's fifth limb. The Beggar Clan has eyes and ears all over the world, and there are Taoists who have fled from Zhongnan Mountain everywhere. You are welcome to investigate."

Several Beggar Clan elders strode over, looked down at the blood-written letter, and nodded to Huang Rong with grim faces.

Guo Jing took a half step back, his fists clenched tightly. He was furious at Yang Guo for defying etiquette, but even more heartbroken that the Quanzhen Sect had degenerated to such a state. The lineage of his former master had actually concealed such sordid affairs.

"I will investigate the Quanzhen Sect's mistakes myself." Guo Jing took a deep breath, suppressing his turbulent emotions. His gaze refocused on Yang Guo, his unwavering bottom line brooking no compromise. "But one thing at a time. A master and disciple in love is intolerable by Heaven. If you remain obstinate, I will cleanse the sect today on behalf of your father!"

Guo Jing slightly bent his knees, assuming a fighting stance. Golden true energy circulated between his palms.

Lin Yuan flashed forward and stood directly in front of Yang Guo.

"I can disband the Quanzhen Sect, and I can crush your rules as well." Lin Yuan said with one hand behind his back and a disdainful look in his eyes, "If you want to clean house, you'll have to get past me first."

Guo Jing looked at Lin Yuan with a solemn expression.

Six years ago, this boy was someone who couldn't practice martial arts, but now the aura emanating from him is even more unfathomable.

"Lin Yuan, you destroyed the foundation of Quanzhen Sect, and I should have punished you," Guo Jing said in a deep voice. "If you can withstand one of my palm strikes without retreating, I will not abide by the rules today."

"If you can make me back even half a step," Lin Yuan said calmly, "I'll listen to your rules."

As soon as he finished speaking, Guo Jing stepped forward.

The bluestone slabs turned to dust beneath his feet. His right palm thrust out horizontally. The Eighteen Subduing Dragon Palms, the Dragon's Regret.

Guo Jing held nothing back with this palm strike. His pure, yang energy tore through the air, producing a deep, booming sound. The golden palm shadow, accompanied by a gust of wind, overturned tables along its path. The air was compressed to an extreme degree, forming a visible wall of air that hurtled straight towards Lin Yuan's face.

The assembled heroes scrambled their internal energy to withstand the aftershocks, their faces filled with horror. Few in the world could withstand the force of Guo Jing's palm strike.

Lin Yuan stood still. He did not try to pull out the fragment of the Demon-Suppressing Sword from his dantian.

The dark golden true essence crystal spun violently in his dantian. A power at the level of shattering the void, as seen in the Legend of the Twin Dragons of the Tang Dynasty, surged wildly through his meridians to his right arm. Lin Yuan raised his right hand, fingers spread, without any change in technique, directly meeting the golden palm shadow.

"boom!"

The two forces collided violently in mid-air.

A deafening roar drowned out all other sounds. The shockwave radiated outwards in a ring from the two figures. The two red-lacquered pillars in front of the main hall creaked and snapped under the strain. Splinters flew everywhere.

A layer of the hard ground of the training ground was scraped away. Soil mixed with gravel flew everywhere.

Guo Jing felt a terrifying force, completely foreign to this world, surge through his arm and into his body. He groaned, his protective inner energy violently vibrating. His feet dug two two-inch deep furrows in the ground, and he staggered back three steps before barely managing to dissipate the force of the recoil.

The smoke and dust cleared.

Lin Yuan stood still. His gray Taoist robe remained perfectly intact, without even a crack. The bluestone slab beneath his feet was perfectly fine.

High judgment.

The entire room was deathly silent. You could hear a pin drop.

Huang Rong gripped the Dog-Beating Stick tightly, her palms covered in cold sweat.

I gave him the poison that prevented him from learning martial arts back then, but now...

Guo Jing's cultivation had reached a transcendent level, yet he was forcefully repelled by this young man using only his physical body and internal energy. What was most terrifying was that the floor tiles beneath Lin Yuan's feet did not break, indicating that he did not need to channel his power into the ground at all.

Guo Jing suppressed his surging blood and qi.

He looked at Lin Yuan, his eyes filled with disbelief.

He realized that the other party had held back in that palm strike.

If Lin Yuan had pressed his advantage, he would not be standing safely at this moment.

Lin Yuan ignored Guo Jing's shock.

He turned his head and looked at Yang Guo behind him.

"See that?" Lin Yuan's voice was cold and hard. "If you want to marry her, then you have to bear the judgment of the world. No one can do it for you forever. Rules are made by people; if you don't agree, then beat them until they do."

Yang Guo's chest heaved violently. He looked at Lin Yuan's retreating figure, the confusion and timidity in his eyes completely burned away. He took Xiaolongnu's hand and strode to Lin Yuan's side.

Yang Guo looked at Guo Jing and bowed deeply.

"Uncle Guo, I will always remember your kindness." Yang Guo straightened up and said in a loud voice, "But my life was given to me by Brother Lin. My wife can only be my aunt."

Looking into Yang Guo's resolute eyes, Guo Jing's lips moved, but ultimately he let out a long sigh. Having lost by half a move, he could no longer use his seniority to intimidate Yang Guo.

The atmosphere was tense.

Suddenly, a long and deep Buddhist chant came from outside the village.

The Buddhist chant was extremely penetrating, shattering the remaining residual energy within the training ground.

"Amitabha."

The two dilapidated vermilion gates of Lu Family Manor were violently kicked open from the outside. Wooden planks shattered and flew in all directions.

A group of Mongolian warriors dressed in exotic costumes strode into the training ground.

Walking in the center was a tall, thin Tibetan monk draped in a red and yellow robe. His forehead was slightly sunken, and his eyes shone brightly with every blink. In his hands he held five wheels made of gold, silver, copper, iron, and lead. The Golden Wheel Dharma King.

On the left is a young nobleman with a delicate, effeminate face, holding a folding fan. Huo Du.

On the right is a giant man wielding a thick golden pestle. Darba.

Huo Du waved his folding fan, his gaze sweeping over the chaotic training ground, a mocking smile playing on his lips.

"The Central Plains Heroes' Gathering hasn't even discussed how to resist my Great Mongol Empire, yet they've already started fighting amongst themselves." Huo Du sneered loudly, his voice echoing throughout the entire arena. "Brilliant, truly brilliant. It seems my master is destined for the position of martial arts alliance leader today."

Upon hearing this, the heroes of the Central Plains glared angrily and drew their swords.

Lin Yuan turned around. His dark golden vertical pupils fell on the Golden Wheel Monk.

He had burned through the Tang Dynasty's national treasury's coffers, so these few foreign targets delivered to his doorstep were perfect for paving the way for Yang Guo.