The Great Martial Arts World: Hot Topics and Great Heroes

Actually, there wasn't much of a plan—it was just to bring up the fact that "Cheng Kun's signature move was the Phantom Yin Finger." After all, thirty years had passed, and many people had forgotten about it, so Yu Lianzhou was reminding them of it.

Qiao Feng's affairs are mainly related to the Southern Shaolin Temple, but the affairs of the Ming Cult and Wudang are mainly related to the Northern Shaolin Temple. Moreover, Yuanzhen was thinking of sowing discord between Shaolin and Wudang, so he naturally took the initiative to speak up.

But at that moment, the answer he received was not from Yu Lianzhou, but from... Chu Luren's sword!

No one expected that Chu Luren would suddenly attack without warning. Unlike his previous "sparring" with Gui Jia, Chu Luren unleashed his full power right from the start, his entire body exploding with golden flames. The longsword in his hand, imbued with golden true energy, seemed to have become a short, thick stick...

With a move called "Mountains and Waters Surrounding," he swept away the surrounding bystanders. Then, he leaped forward and unleashed a powerful "Five Mountains Overturning" attack, aiming directly at killing Yuanzhen!

While shocked by Chu Luren's sudden attack, even more shocked... Could it be that he colluded with Wudang? Is Wudang truly prepared for a life-or-death battle with Shaolin?

However, Xuan Nan and Xuan Ji, who were standing nearby, immediately realized what was happening and wanted to help.

However, at that moment, Yu Lianzhou and Zhang Songxi also made their move, disregarding the matter between Chu Luren and Yuanzhen, and completely blocking the other masters of the Shaolin School.

Other Shaolin disciples were no match for the masters from the various branches of Wudang—they were far inferior in both quantity and quality. After all, Shaolin had not prepared to fight anyone to the death; they only wanted to "denounce" Qiao Feng and establish Qiao Feng's crimes in front of the heroes so that they could take action later.

Even Qiao Feng's arrival was unexpected, and the conflict with the Wudang Sect was completely unforeseen. The only experts they could be considered were Xuan Nan, Xuan Ji, and Yuan Zhen, who was currently being thoroughly beaten...

There may be other martial arts practitioners who can't stand Wudang's sudden sneak attack and want to join in under the guise of persuasion. However, Wudang has more than ten top-notch masters, so who can get close to them in a short time?

Chapter 208 Identity Exposed

In Juxianzhuang,

Qiao Feng...

Senseless.

Completely baffled as to why his second brother was fighting with others first, Qiao Feng couldn't care less. He knew that his second brother had probably come for his sake. At this moment, Shaolin and Wudang were fighting in front of him, so Qiao Feng also surging his internal energy, and faint dragon scale-like internal energy phantoms appeared around him, first raising his momentum.

Just by turning around... almost everyone in the back half of the courtyard, who were already hesitant about whether to rush forward and stop the fight between Wudang and Shaolin, took a half step back.

You Ji, You Ju, and Xue Muhua were even more upset. They originally wanted to take advantage of this popularity to greatly enhance their status and influence in the martial arts world. How did they become the fuse for the war between Shaolin and Wudang?

Aside from Wudang... no, it should be said that apart from Yu Er and Zhang Si, even the experts from the collateral branches who were helping Wudang were unaware of what was going on. In any case, as soon as Yu Lianzhou and Zhang Songxi made their move, they naturally followed suit.

His subordinates also showed restraint, guessing that there must be a deeper meaning to this move, and there should be an opportunity to explain later. No one was really hurt. The strongest, Xuan Nan and Xuan Ji, were suppressed by Yu Lianzhou and Zhang Songxi. When facing others, such as Shi Qing and his wife, and Daoist Shuiyun, there was a lot of room for them to show mercy.

Just as they suspected, Yu Lianzhou and Zhang Songxi were waiting for an opportunity to explain themselves!

Within twenty moves of Chu Luren and Yuan Zhen, a sudden change occurred...

Although Chu Luren and Yu Lianzhou had deliberately kept their conversations brief to avoid alerting Yuanzhen, Cheng Kun, the moment Chu Luren made his move, Cheng Kun realized that his identity had been exposed!

When Chu Luren first made his move, Yuanzhen pretended to be "just an ordinary old monk of the Yuan generation," and even endured a "stick" from Chu Luren, his arm bleeding profusely from the sword energy, without revealing his own martial arts skills.

After all, Cheng Kun thought that since the other party was trying to force him to reveal his true colors, there must be no other evidence. As long as he held back, Wudang would not really kill him. If they stopped halfway, it would make his background even clearer, and... he could also take the opportunity to make some noise and further sow discord between Shaolin and Wudang.

however……

Unfortunately, it wasn't the Wudang heroes who made the move, but Chu Luren!

This is a complete "I'll kill you if you don't make a move" attitude, with absolutely no intention of "holding back to avoid mistaking someone and stopping at the last moment".

Cheng Kun couldn’t help but think, “The great cause of destroying the Ming Cult is not yet complete. How can I die here?”

How can I rest in peace until I see the Ming Cult wiped out? How can I die in peace after killing my wife and children?

Besides, even if his identity is exposed, he is currently the only relatively important figure in the Northern Shaolin Temple, so he has plenty of room to argue!

then……

Just then, Chu Luren's final killing move was blocked by Yuanzhen's finger.

But then Yuanzhen, facing Chu Luren's "Five Mountains Overturning", extended his right index and middle fingers, one finger as black as ink and the other shimmering with various colors.

With two fingers extended simultaneously, a dark aura of internal energy enveloped him, blocking Chu Luren's golden, short-staff-sized sword outside the aura, creating a stalemate...

Cheng Kun, a master of the same generation as Yang Dingtian, was no younger than the Kong or Du generations.

Thirty years ago, his disciple was able to become the Dharma King of the Ming Cult, and his disciple Xie Xun had not yet learned his true skills.

After joining Shaolin Temple, as a "Yuanzhen," he also practiced the Shaolin Nine Yang Skill, further enhancing his internal strength...

In the original work, Fan Yao, who volunteered to infiltrate the Prince of Ruyang's mansion, said that he tried to assassinate Cheng Kun three times. Once, he even launched a sneak attack, but he was unable to do anything to him. Fortunately, he ran away quickly and did not expose his identity.

Similar to Chu Luren under the enlightenment of the Dream God, they are both top-tier among the top-tier. Chu Luren is unwilling to provoke such opponents easily, because it is difficult to determine the winner in a short time. Moreover, the other party uses their own internal strength, while Chu Luren wants to "burn" the fragments of enlightenment!

However, the Chu Lu people don't need to win right now; their current stalemate with Cheng Kun is already attracting enough attention...

Yu Lianzhou and Zhang Songxi already suppressed Xuan Nan and Xuan Ji, especially the former, who could easily take on both of them if they fought.

Therefore, they were still distracted by Chu Luren. When they saw that Yuanzhen's left hand was seriously injured by Chu Luren and blood was flowing down his sleeve, the two of them were a little nervous, but now they have completely relaxed.

Instead, they used some dismantling techniques, retreating to show the Shaolin monks what to do!

When they were discussing the plan on the road, Yu Lianzhou wanted to test Yuanzhen himself, but Chu Luren insisted on opposing it.

Yu Lianzhou's intervention demonstrates the courage and responsibility of the Second Hero Yu, but Chu Luren is uneasy about him—after all, even if Yu Lianzhou is 70-80% certain, he certainly wouldn't risk everything...

Given Cheng Kun's meticulous nature, it's very likely that he could fool you, and it would be even more difficult to expose him later!

Chu Luren was worried about him, and Yu Lianzhou didn't insist. It should have been Chu Luren who took action in the first place, so that even if Chu Luren presented false information, Wudang would have room to maneuver. It was just that Yu Lianzhou wanted to be more responsible, so he said he would take action himself.

Now... the heroes and Shaolin monks present were all stunned by the stalemate between Chu Luren and "Yuanzhen".

Many people were paying attention to Yuanzhen because they saw that he was about to die, but then Yuanzhen suddenly erupted.

Just then, Yu Lianzhou also shouted in a cold voice, enunciating each word clearly: "Illusion, Yin, Finger!"

Some people had already noticed this, and hearing Yu Lianzhou's words now only fueled the discussion...

"Phantom Yin Finger? Isn't that Cheng Kun's signature move?"

"Cheng Kun... could he be...?"

“Indeed, Yuanzhen is not young, and thinking about it, he is a Shaolin monk who only appeared after Cheng Kun disappeared thirty years ago!”

Chu Luren retreated and sheathed his sword—there was no need to make another move. Cheng Kun immediately raised his palms and chanted Buddhist mantras, showing no intention of pursuing Chu Luren.

If he dares to make a move now, Yu Lianzhou and other Wudang masters will definitely seize the opportunity to capture him. If they cannot capture him alive, they will most likely kill him on the spot!

Not to mention the other martial arts practitioners present, even Xuan Nan, Xuan Ji, and the Northern Shaolin monks of the Cheng generation who came with Yuan Zhen were all dumbfounded.

"Yuanzhen... no, Chengkun, and your Shaolin, shouldn't Wudang give me an explanation?" Yu Lianzhou asked frankly.

Back when Shaolin led all the major sects to attack Wudang, weren't they very confident? Now Yu Lianzhou is even more confident!

“This… Senior Brother Yuanzhen.” Xuan Nan was naturally at a loss for words; he had no idea what had happened and could only look at Yuanzhen himself.

"Amitabha! That's right. Before my master ordained me, my secular name was... Cheng Kun! What a tragedy!" Cheng Kun's expression of deep regret was very convincing.

Chapter 209 Debate

"...Thus, feeling deeply guilty, I went to Shaolin Temple to repent for my past sins. I was enlightened by my master, Master Kongjian, and was ordained as a monk. Later, my master even tried to mediate the feud between me and Xie Xun, but unexpectedly, Xie Xun... This is all my fault!"

Yuanzhen vividly recounted to everyone his process of repenting for his past sins, joining Shaolin Temple, and receiving enlightenment from Kongjian.

For a moment, it was impossible to detect any flaws, because... it was genuine!

Even Kongjian was deceived by him...

In the original work, before Kongjian died, he mentioned to Xie Xun that Chengkun would come, but when the time came, he said with disappointment that Chengkun would not come—it can be seen that Kongjian should know Yuanzhen's identity.

He accepted Yuanzhen because he genuinely believed that the disciple had repented, and indeed, for this reason, he wanted to further resolve the conflict between Cheng Kun and Xie Xun.

However, Cheng Kun stood him up. Perhaps it was because what he said to Kong Jian was not all true, and he was worried that it would be exposed when they confronted each other, or perhaps it was for some other reason.

In short, before his death, Kongjian knew that his disciple was not sincerely repenting, but it was too late.

In fact, the one who truly enlightened Kongjian was Xie Xun. Before his death, Kongjian advised Xie Xun to abandon his foolish plan of continuing to kill and force Cheng Kun out.

Furthermore, since Kongjian knew that Xie Xun was no match for Cheng Kun, he even instructed him to find the Dragon-Slaying Saber—it is very likely that Kongjian also knew the secret of the Dragon-Slaying Saber, otherwise it is hard to imagine that a master like Kongjian would believe in a simple "precious saber".

Now that Yuanzhen has reiterated this idea, with some modifications but without fabrication, it's not entirely unreasonable.

Of course... his motive for killing Xie Xun's entire family was glossed over by his shrewd writing.

He always emphasized that all his mistakes were his own doing, but in reality, it made people feel that he had other unspeakable difficulties.

This is also why Yuanzhen finally decided to expose himself – indeed, once his identity is exposed, he will definitely be targeted and will no longer be the “harmless Master Yuanzhen”, but he can still be the “Master Yuanzhen who has laid down his butcher’s knife”, so he cannot be exposed until he is dead.

"As for the matter of Yu Sanxia... it was indeed caused by this humble monk. If Yu Erxia wants revenge, this humble monk has nothing to say. I only ask that Wudang not misunderstand Shaolin or my master because of this. I hope this feud will end here." Yuanzhen said, hanging his badly injured left arm, and walked up to Yu Lianzhou with his palm raised.

"Wait! Since Senior Brother Yuanzhen is truly repenting, Second Hero Yu... what you did was also related to Third Hero Yu being crippled. What does this have to do with Senior Brother Yuanzhen?" Xuan Nan interrupted.

"When Yu Sanxia was killed back then, were you near Wudang?" Chu Luren pressed directly.

It was certainly very impolite, but... since the question was asked at this point, Yuanzhen had no choice but to answer.

Back then, Yu Daiyan was sent by the escort agency to the vicinity of Wudang Mountain, where he was taken away by Cheng Kun, who was impersonating a Wudang person.

"This...is indeed nearby." Yuanzhen seemed unwilling to explain further.

"Senior Brother Yuanzhen, have you ever practiced the 'Great Vajra Finger'?" Xuanji immediately followed up with a question.

"That's not true. I feel deeply guilty and have not learned any more killing techniques," Yuanzhen said, shaking his head with compassion.

"Everyone knows that Yu Sanxia was injured by the Vajra Finger, and this matter is related to Senior Brother Yuanzhen..."

Xuan Nan was interrupted by Chu Luren halfway through his speech: "That's right, that's right! It's just a coincidence! But... how could it be such a coincidence that Yang Dingtian died suddenly when he was still alive and the Ming Cult was at its peak, and that he later became infamous because of Xie Xun's affair? The person behind this was a master from Shaolin."

More than a decade ago, Yu Sanxia was crippled, and this Shaolin master was present again. Moreover, Yu Sanxia was injured by the Vajra Finger!

Seven years ago, at the 100th birthday banquet of Master Zhang of Wudang, he created the "Pure Yang Wuji Gong". The Seven Heroes gathered again, and it was the Shaolin master who led the way to Wudang. Righteously and righteously, they forced the Fifth Hero Zhang to his death on behalf of the justice of the martial arts world.

Three years ago, the Northern and Southern Beggars' Sects were reunited under my elder brother's leadership. Just when they were about to establish themselves as the number one sect in the world, the Apricot Grove incident happened again? And this Apricot Grove incident...

As a passerby, though I am but a nobody, I must ask: My elder brother's adoptive parents were tenants of the Southern Shaolin Temple, and his mentor was Master Xuanku of Shaolin. The one who took him away back then was the "leader." Does your Shaolin dare to pat your chest and say, in front of Master Tan, Granny Tan, and Zhao Qiansun, that this "leader" was not one of your Shaolin people?

As a mere passerby, I find this strange. Is it possible that Shaolin and the second largest sect in the world are destined to be incompatible? What a coincidence!

Chu Luren began unleashing a barrage of attacks.

As he spoke, he looked at Tan Gong, Tan Po, and Zhao Qiansun, who was clutching his chest—this fellow had tried to interfere in the brief exchange between Shaolin and Wudang, but was slapped back by Qiao Feng with a single move.

Zhao Qiansun's lead almost caused the heroes to rush forward, but the Chu Lu people quickly came to a conclusion, and they all backed down.

"Come here! Tan Gong, Tan Po, and Zhao Qian Sun Li, do you dare to promise one thing... if the leader is a Shaolin person, and if he has done something wrong back then, then I will make sure he dies without a burial place, and I will also be a despicable and shameless villain!" Chu Luren stared at the eyewitnesses of that year and spoke out.

"You...I..." Zhao Qiansun's face flushed red as he was spoken to, and finally, taking advantage of his internal injuries, he vomited blood and fainted.

"It seems no one is willing to swear an oath that the 'leader' isn't from Shaolin? Let's set aside which monk it is for now, I'll say this... regarding my brother's murder, it's possible that the thieving monk is trying to silence him! None of you have personally witnessed my brother committing murder, so why do you believe he's from Shaolin?" Chu Luren said openly, seeing that he had laid enough groundwork.