The Great Martial Arts World: Hot Topics and Great Heroes

The Great Martial Arts World: Hot Topics and Heroes (Author: Gentleman Dong)

Summary:

Thirty-three years ago, Yang Dingtian, the leader of the Ming Cult, passed away, and the Ming Cult began to decline.

Thirty years ago, the Persian Holy Fire Cult entered the Central Plains, splitting the Ming Cult and establishing the Sun Moon Cult.

Twenty-eight years ago, the Zhenlong Chess Game at Leigushan was first established.

Twenty-five years ago, during the battle between the sword and qi factions of the Huashan Sect, Mu Renqing of the qi faction defeated more than ten masters of the sword faction and then went into seclusion.

Twenty years ago, the Iron-Blooded Marquis established the Number One Manor in the World and set up the "Heroic List".

Nineteen years ago, five young masters held their first sword competition at Mount Hua.

Fifteen years ago, Yan Nantian disappeared without a trace after entering the Valley of Villains.

Twelve years ago, the Liao Dynasty was destroyed.

Chapter One: The Great Jianghu

"Brother Chu, let's get going quickly. If we miss the appointed time, I'm worried that Yue Laosan might harm my friend."

Inside the tavern, a young man in a blue robe urged a fellow traveler dressed as a wandering swordsman to hurry up.

The passerby was not old either, about the same age as the young man in the blue robe. Hearing the young man in the blue robe urging him, he said with a somewhat worried look, "Old Duan, don't rush me! I... I had a little trouble with my cultivation and I'm recovering!" As he spoke, he stuffed a large piece of braised beef into his mouth and looked at the latest "Heroic List" of the month.

Seeing the other party's attitude, the young man in the green robe could only feel anxious. However, since the other party had saved him not long ago, and he still needed this Brother Chu's help in rescuing Miss Mu, he couldn't say anything more.

Remembering this man's hobby, the young man in the blue robe had a sudden inspiration: "Brother Chu, how about this? We'll hurry to rescue my friend, and afterwards I'll invite you to Dali City as a guest. I'll lend you the manual of 'One Finger Divine Skill' as a token of my gratitude, how about that?"

"I told you not to... What? One-Finger Divine Skill? You should have said so earlier, Old Duan, no, Your Highness, let's get going!" Passerby A, completely lacking any sense of decency, slammed the "Heroic List" onto the table.

This booklet was originally borrowed from a tavern—when traveling the martial arts world, even in a remote place like the southwest, every issue of the chivalrous list is a must-read, and taverns frequented by martial arts figures usually subscribe to several issues.

Twenty years ago, the "Heroic List" was founded by Zhao Wushi, the Iron-Blooded Marquis. Now it is operated by the Number One Manor in the World. It includes thirty-six heroes on the Heavenly List, seventy-two heroes on the Earthly List, and countless heroes on the Mysterious List and Yellow List. After twenty years of operation, it has become very influential in the martial arts world!

Especially for those who roam the martial arts world, each issue is an essential read...

The book on the table was open to the first page—the top ten of the Heavenly Ranking, which hadn't changed in a long time.

The number one spot belongs to Zhang Sanfeng, the grandmaster of Wudang. Although he has not ventured into the martial arts world for decades, he has been "dominant" at the top of the list since the magazine's inception.

The second position has been subject to much change over the years. Since Yan Nantian, who was ranked second on the Heavenly Ranking fifteen years ago, was defeated in the Valley of Villains, the position has changed hands several times. Now, the famous Qiao Feng of the North holds this position—the great hero who subdued Hong Qigong, the leader of the Northern Beggar Clan, four years ago, and reunited the Northern and Southern Beggar Clans at the age of thirty...

The third is Zhao Wushi himself, who has also remained unchanged for a long time.

Those who admire Hou believe that he was being modest and only ranked third, while those who criticize him think there's a lot of shady dealings involved—after all, the owner of the number one manor in the world is Hou's adopted son.

As for the fourth and fifth, they are the most "shady" cases, namely Abbot Fangzheng of the Northern Shaolin Temple and Abbot Xuannan of the Southern Shaolin Temple.

According to the official statement of the Number One Manor Under Heaven, the chivalry ranking is based on "chivalry," and martial arts are not the only standard. From this perspective, the two abbots have the added influence of the ancestral home of Zen Buddhism. If we also take into account Shaolin's role in the martial arts world, then ranking them here is not unreasonable!

……

The random person sitting on the table is none other than "Chu Luren," a seasoned time traveler... How seasoned? Doesn't the job-hunting guide say that someone with three months of experience can definitely be considered a seasoned time traveler? And Chu Luren had already been in the time traveler for three months three days ago, making him absolutely a seasoned time traveler!

Unfortunately, Chu Luren searched the list again and again but still couldn't find himself—"I clearly defeated Zuo Zimu of the Wuliang Sword Sect a few days ago, this list updates so slowly..."

As for this young man in blue, he is no ordinary person. He is the heir of the Prince of Zhennan of the Dali Duan family. Considering that the Dali emperor has no son yet, this young man is probably the future emperor of Dali.

Moreover, from the perspective of the martial arts world, the Duan family of Dali, with its "two elders and eight brothers", should not be underestimated!

Back when the Heroic Deeds Ranking was first created and needed traffic and popularity the most, Zhao Wushi shamelessly ranked Duan Zhengchun, the Prince of Zhennan of Dali, and Jiang Feng, the Jade Gentleman, seventh and eighth respectively. He used their popularity to flirt with the young female fans in the martial arts world and make them attack each other all day long...

However, twenty years have passed, and the authority of the Heroic Deeds Ranking has increased considerably. Zhao Wushi has also developed some integrity, and it is now rare for someone to rise to the top based solely on looks. Nevertheless, the eighth position on the Heavenly Ranking still belongs to the Dali Duan family.

That is Duan Zhengming, the current emperor of Dali. Compared to the purely eccentric Duan Zhengchun, Duan Zhengming's martial arts skills are much more reliable.

Twenty-three years ago, the young Duan Zhengming fought against Hong Qigong, Huang Yaoshi, Ouyang Feng and Wang Chongyang at Mount Hua. Wang Chongyang, who won back then, has passed away, while the other four have all become masters of martial arts after more than twenty years of accumulation.

Of course, Duan Zhengming's ranking of eighth is obviously also closely related to his status as the emperor of Dali, after all, Dali and the Song court had good diplomatic relations!

The so-called "chivalry" of the number one manor under heaven is also the chivalry of the Song court. For example, Yang Xiao, the acting leader of the Ming Cult who has always been involved with the anti-Yuan rebels, is clearly considered to be a "demonic sect" in the martial arts world, but he is still ranked twenty-eighth on the Heavenly Ranking. Chen Jinnan, the leader of the Heaven and Earth Society who takes it as his mission to oppose the Qing Dynasty, is even ranked sixteenth on the Heavenly Ranking!

However, the difference is that after the protest, the Qing court still cared about the semi-cooperative relationship with the Song court. After all, the Mongols were the biggest enemy of both sides. Therefore, with mutual concessions, the Qing court pretended not to see the anti-Qing heroes on the list of chivalrous masters, and the number one manor in the world would also include Qing court masters.

The Mongol Yuan dynasty... did not recognize the chivalry rankings at all, and the number one manor in the world did not include Mongol masters.

Along with Yang Xiao's inclusion on the list, Abbess Miejue, the leader of the Emei Sect, who was strongly dissatisfied, was also removed from the list—after all, in the eyes of the Song court, the Ming Cult, which rebelled against the Mongol Yuan Dynasty, was much more chivalrous than the Emei Sect!

However, the number one sect in the world also took into account the reputation of the Ming Cult and its current predicament, so it ranked the Ming Cult's masters lower.

If the "Sun Moon Cult" hadn't been so incompetent as to not even rebel against the Qing Dynasty, Dongfang Bubai would probably have been ranked on the list of chivalrous heroes!

Thirty years ago, Yang Dingtian, the leader of the Ming Cult, died after going mad from internal energy. People from the Persian Zoroastrian Church came with the intention of controlling the Ming Cult, which resulted in the Ming Cult splitting into two. Under the leadership of Ren Woxing, one branch went to Blackwood Cliff and established the Sun Moon Cult.

Later, Ren Woxing, dissatisfied with being bossed around by the Persians, also turned against the Persian Zoroastrianism and expelled the Zoroastrian messengers. However, he disappeared ten years ago, and rumors in the martial arts world say that he was killed by the new leader, Dongfang Bubai...

Back then... when Chu Luren first transmigrated, he was stunned for a long time when he saw the character introductions on the Heroic Deeds List!

This was still within the martial arts world. After three months of investigation, Chu Luren also knew about the current political situation in the imperial court—ten years ago, the Liao Dynasty was destroyed, the Mongols occupied Guanzhong, and the Jurchens occupied the Central Plains…

Of the three great powers, the Song and Qing dynasties are now locked in a standoff in Luzhou, the Qing dynasty is locked in a standoff with the Mongol Yuan dynasty in Hebei, and the Song and Yuan dynasties are locked in a standoff in Xiangfan!

In contrast, relations between the Song and Qing dynasties were somewhat more amicable. The Qing court also benefited from Sinicization, and although the Central Plains were occupied by the Manchus, the Jingdong Circuit, the peninsula east of Mount Tai, remained in the hands of the Song court. While the Mongols were strong, the Empress Dowager was now interfering in politics, the court was in chaos, and rebellions were breaking out everywhere in their territory.

Besides the three major powers, other kingdoms such as Dali in the southwest, Western Xia in Longyou, and Tubo in the western desert also still exist... What a mess!

Fortunately, Chu Luren's transmigration had some "benefits." He defeated Zuo Zimu of the Wuliang Sword Sect within three months of transmigrating, which was precisely due to this.

Chapter Two: Mind, Body, Qi, Techniques, and Posture

"Brother Chu, that Yue Laosan is highly skilled in martial arts. When we see him, as long as you hold him off for a while, I will take Miss Mu and run away quickly. You must not fight him head-on." Duan Yu continued to nag on the way.

Chu Luren pretended to be shocked as he looked at him, which made Duan Yu feel uneasy.

"So I have to deal with him? Wasn't I in charge of carrying the luggage?" Chu Luren's tone was like that of someone who had discovered a prehistoric behemoth.

Duan Yu almost fell off his horse: "Brother Chu, don't joke around. Only you could stop him, right? Although I have a family tradition of martial arts, I have never liked martial arts since I was a child... You know that!"

After spending more than half a month together, Duan Yu had come to understand Chu's unconventional nature.

"Whoa..." Chu Luren stopped the horse.

Seeing this, Duan Yu had no choice but to pull his horse back: "Brother Chu, what's wrong?"

“Then I feel it’s still necessary to consider this carefully…” Chu Luren had been bewitched by the One-Finger Divine Skill before, and now he was in a bit of a bind.

"Brother Chu, actually Yue Laosan isn't that strong. When you saved me before, didn't you defeat Zuo Zimu? Although Master Zuo's character is questionable, he is still the leader of a sect with hundreds of disciples. I suppose Brother Chu's martial arts..."

Chu Luren looked on incredulously, never expecting Duan Yu to be so clueless about matters of the martial world: "Brother Duan, you must be mistaken. What does the level of martial arts have to do with the number of people under one's command? According to your logic, wouldn't the emperors of the Song Dynasty be able to fly on swords, the emperors of the Qing Dynasty be able to astral projection, and the emperors of the Mongol Yuan Dynasty be able to move mountains and fill seas? Moreover, Yue Laosan is known as the Crocodile God of the South China Sea, and he is a patriarch-level figure in the South China Sea, much stronger than the Wuliang Sword Sect!"

Zuo Zimu is unknown on the list of chivalrous heroes. After all, the Wuliang Sword Sect is located in the southwest, on the border between the Song Dynasty and Dali, which is a relatively remote place in the martial arts world. In terms of martial arts skills, unless Zuo Zimu has more "explosive" moments and stands at the forefront of some hot topic, he will have a chance to be listed on the list.

According to the rules of the Heroic List, the Heaven and Earth Lists are for martial arts masters, the Mysterious List is for those specially supplied by the imperial court, and the Yellow List, also known as the Human List, is for young heroes who are just starting out. Therefore, someone like Zuo Zimu, who is neither high nor low and has no popularity, was not even on the list.

And Yue Laosan, the Crocodile God of the South China Sea...

This guy has a bad reputation in the martial arts world and even sided with the Western Xia. The number one manor in the world naturally doesn't exclude him, but if we really talk about martial arts, he is a whole level stronger than Zuo Zimu!

Duan Yu actually wants Chu Luren to deal with Yue Laosan, tsk tsk, what a young prince.

"Is Yue Laosan really that powerful? Even comparable to my father? What... what should we do?" After Chu Luren's explanation, Duan Yu finally realized Yue Laosan's status in the martial arts world.

"Brother Duan, don't worry, I have three plans, the best, the middle, and the worst, to save Miss Mu!" Chu Luren was channeling Zhuge Liang at this moment.

"Which three strategies?" Duan Yu asked, as if grasping at a straw.

"Let me start with the best plan: I'll take care of the luggage, and you go directly to see Yue Laosan. Use the Lingbo Weibu (a martial arts technique) to confuse him. With Yue Laosan's intelligence, I'm 30% confident that you can take him as your apprentice!"

"What about the other 70%?"

"You and Miss Mu had your necks snapped with two cracking sounds."

Duan Yu felt completely disoriented: "The best plan is too treacherous. Isn't the worst plan the safest option?"

“That’s right, setting up the plan is no problem at all. I’ll take care of the luggage. You go directly to see Yue Laosan, bow down without saying a word, and become his apprentice in the South China Sea. I will take care of Miss Mu for you.”

"..."

"Look, you think the best plan is too risky, and you're still picky about the worst plan, so you can only fall into the trap."

"What does 'falling into a trap' mean?"

"Actually, I just messed up my internal energy cultivation. Now I need to comprehend a completely new martial art. If I succeed, I'll definitely be able to exchange a few blows with Yue Laosan. But if I fail, I'll be just like Zuo Zimu, understand?"

Duan Yu then realized that Brother Chu was not intentionally making excuses, but was comprehending superior martial arts. He felt ashamed and also a little confused. Why was Brother Chu neither in seclusion nor meditating, but just looking at him with a bitter face, as if he was hesitating about something... Is this what it means to comprehend martial arts?

Duan Yu was unaware that Chu Luren's so-called "mishap in using his internal energy" was actually a major mishap!

After three months of exploration, Chu Luren roughly understood his special characteristics as a transmigrator—when meditating, a diagram of his body's meridians would appear in his mind, and... he had five equipment slots: "Mind, Body, Qi, Technique, and Power".

Apart from "Technique" and "Body", the other three equipment slots each have only one slot. The "Technique" category has five slots, two of which are "Lightness Skill" and "Sports Technique", and the other three are "Moves".

The "Body" column has no number of items, but is instead an empty column for human body shapes. Although no martial arts skills are currently equipped, Chu Luren speculates that the corresponding hard skills for each part should be filled in.

However, the problem is that what can be equipped is not ordinary martial arts!

Chu Luren can instantly comprehend martial arts to a proficient level after reading the manual, but... he can only talk about it. The martial arts he comprehends will form a badge in his meditation space, but he cannot equip it, and Chu Luren cannot circulate his internal energy normally.

The martial arts that can be equipped must be badges that have been "fused". This is another ability of Chu Luren's meditation space - to fuse martial arts that have been fully comprehended!

Because of this chaotic world, the martial arts industry is very "developed". During the three months that Chu Luren transmigrated, he obtained several common sword techniques. When he fused them, he even got a "critical hit" and obtained the "Supreme Sword Manual" which sounded very powerful!

It was precisely because of this that Chu Luren, despite having far less combat experience and even weaker internal strength than his opponent, managed to defeat Zuo Zimu by half a move thanks to his exquisite swordsmanship...

However, just as Chu Luren was feeling triumphant and was about to undergo a second fusion, he ended up spitting out a mouthful of blood.

In the three months since his transmigration, Chu Luren has also collected martial arts such as Taizu Changquan and Shaolin Changquan, which are widely circulated. As a result, he merged with the Supreme Sword Manual and became "Taizu's Vitality"—a kind of calisthenics similar to "Youthful Vitality" in his previous life!

It can be equipped on both "Technique" and "Qi" at the same time, but the effect is extremely weak.

Chu Luren then realized that the Supreme Fusion System was based on luck, and the result of fusion might not be anything good.

At that moment, Chu Luren regretted it so much he wanted to chop off his hands. Not only had he wasted three months, but he had also lost the "Supreme Sword Manual"—after the fusion, the badges used as raw materials were not refundable, making them as unscrupulous as the trashy game companies in his previous life.

However... fusion is a must, because Chu Luren's "comprehension proficiency" is only a theoretical understanding. He can use the martial arts equipped with "qi" to cultivate internal energy, but whether it is due to his aptitude or something else, his cultivation efficiency is very low!

Additionally, fusion fragments will drop only when martial arts are fused together. These fragments can be "thrown" into the space between the eyebrows on the meridian chart to gain an "enlightenment" state, at which point internal energy will increase much faster.

Chu Luren's current predicament is that he lacks suitable martial arts techniques, but...