The Great Martial Arts World: Hot Topics and Great Heroes

The historical timeline of the Great Jianghu is intricate and complex, and the history known to the Chu Lu people becomes only of reference value.

However, from these few "references," we can also deduce some signals about Kublai Khan's heavy reliance on the Golden Wheel Monk, and the possible implications behind it...

Although the Tibetan Empire was much stronger than the Dali Empire, it was not unified at present.

Phagpa, the historical figure upon whom the Golden Wheel Dharma King was based, was revered as a guru by Kublai Khan in the same year that Kublai Khan "borrowed" a route through Tibet and destroyed the Dali Kingdom!

However, in the original wuxia novel, the Golden Wheel Monk appears much earlier than the fall of the Dali Kingdom.

If we take the Song and Yuan dynasties as a reference, the "Tubo" at this time was already the "Tubo tribes", which meant that it was a disorganized mess and had never even reached the Song court.

Among the various Tibetan tribes, the Tantric Dharma King was far more important than the tribal chief. Therefore, after acknowledging a guru, Kublai Khan could easily maneuver freely in Tibet and eventually completely pacify the region.

In the vast world, Tibet was in a slightly better position. To the east, there was still a complete Tibetan kingdom, which was the part that bordered Western Xia to the north and Dali to the south.

Kumārajīva was the "National Preceptor" here. Besides him, there was another Dharma King in Tantra, Jinlun, who mainly operated in the west. To the west were the various Tibetan tribes, a scattered mess!

If Kublai Khan intended to bypass Tibet and attack Dali, it would be a dangerous situation for Dali and even for the Song Dynasty.

According to the original timeline, Möngke died in Xiangyang near the end of The Return of the Condor Heroes, which is nearly twenty years after Jinlun was given important positions. Dali was destroyed seven years before Möngke's death, but this was not described in the original work. So, there is a buffer period of more than ten years...

In the vast world of martial arts, the more crucial role of the Golden Wheel Monk lies in his martial arts skills and the influence he can have on the Central Plains martial arts world. Even looking at the map, the Western Xia is still holding out.

As a member of the martial arts world, Chu Luren doesn't need to worry about that for now. If Jinlun takes any action against the Han martial arts world, that's what's related to him, the "Red and White Grand Duke".

After all, the martial arts world was still in its early stages, and individual martial arts skills could not change the situation on the battlefield. Moreover, Chu Luren did not bring a hard drive with him when he traveled through time, and he knew nothing about mechanics or chemistry. He was just an ordinary martial arts person.

However, Huo Du's matter must be related to the Chu Lu people - if it really was "to worship the mountain", why would he have his men guard the way into the mountain?

In the original work, it was this simpleton who actually believed the rumors spread by Li Mochou, and for the sake of a peerless beauty, martial arts manuals, and gold and silver treasures as dowry, he went all the way to Zhongnan Mountain!

There were still two days until the Little Dragon Girl's birthday, and this guy had arrived quite early...

The reason for leaving people to guard the mountain path was naturally to block the "love rivals" behind, but unfortunately someone had already broken in. Chu Luren didn't know if it was a real love rival, or... Guo Jing? Guo the Great Hero?

In the original work, Guo Jing brought Yang Guo to Zhongnan Mountain at this time, but Zhao Zhijing, Zhen Zhibing and others regarded Guo Jing as a lecherous thief who wanted to marry Xiaolongnu. After all, Guo Jing was over thirty years old at this time, and it would be improper for him to come to a martial arts contest to find a wife. Moreover, the Quanzhen disciples regarded him as Huo Du's helper.

The Quanzhen Sect set up the Big Dipper Formation, composed of ninety-eight people, to fight Guo Jing. However, Guo Jing still managed to break through the formation. In addition, the previous sword-stealing incident deeply humiliated Zhao Zhijing, sowing the seeds for Yang Guo's future misfortunes.

Guo Jing clearly did not understand the wickedness of human nature. He thought that since Zhao Zhijing was a disciple of Quanzhen, he must be a noble person. He did not think that Zhao Zhijing would hold a grudge against him. In fact, because he had tested Zhao Zhijing's skills before, he thought that he was a reliable person to be Yang Guo's master!

This led to Yang Guo's later betrayal of Quanzhen Sect...

However, Chu Luren now thinks that Guo Jing has no reason to be here. Although he is the right age, that simpleton doesn't seem interested in the martial arts contest for marriage at all.

As for Guo Juxia...

They've been stationed in Xiangyang for ten years; they couldn't have come to the Quanzhen Sect without a reason, could they? Besides, Yang Kang is still alive; where did Yang Guo come from?

Chu Luren didn't think much of it and rode his horse along the mountain path. Before long, he heard a shout...

On a relatively flat mountain path halfway up the mountain, a large group of Taoist priests, their footsteps circling, were holding swords and forming a formation to trap a person.

One of them, dressed in simple cloth, looked older than Qiao Feng. With his composed appearance, he could easily be described as thirty-five or forty. Although he was trapped in the formation, he remained calm and collected.

If Qiao Feng's actions were like a tsunami rising hundreds of feet high, just waiting to crash down, then this man was like a mountain standing firm and an abyss still, unshakable.

When Chu Luren arrived, the man was still explaining something to the Quanzhen disciples...

“Fellow Daoists, please don’t be so aggressive. I do indeed have a past relationship with Master Ma, Master Qiu, and Master Wang, and I have come here to pay my respects. Your obstruction will only make the villains laugh at me!” the imposing man who was being besieged said calmly.

"You lecherous scoundrel! Do you think we Quanzhen disciples would believe what you say? If it weren't for marrying that woman surnamed Long, you would be calling her a little slut right now!" A Quanzhen Taoist priest who looked to be in his thirties or forties started spouting nonsense.

"I have never met this woman surnamed Long, how could you insult her without cause?"

However, the person trapped in the formation was still confused, while Chu Luren, who had just arrived, was already very dissatisfied. He stretched his legs and hips and used the momentum to leap off his horse!

"Who dares to insult my sect leader? Let me, Chu, take a look!"

At this moment, Chu Luren's internal strength was also quite abundant. After using "Kun Soaring in the Void", he moved like an eagle striking the moon or a celestial ape climbing the clouds, freely using force to twist and turn in the air, drifting and difficult to discern his whereabouts.

A gray-brown figure suddenly descended from the sky, startling all the Quanzhen disciples!

The Quanzhen disciple who had just made that boastful remark immediately blushed – he had intended to put this “lecherous thief” in his place, but unexpectedly, Chu Luren had overheard his words, and he was filled with anguish.

These Quanzhen disciples are spoiled rotten...

The reason why the Quanzhen Sect would stand up for Huo Du's mountain adventure was not only because of geographical reasons, which made it necessary to intervene, but also because Ma Yu and others knew that their master had a close relationship with the founder of the Ancient Tomb Sect.

It turns out that Xiaolongnü was originally abandoned in front of the Quanzhen Sect. However, since it was inconvenient for the sect to raise a baby girl, she was adopted by the then leader of the Ancient Tomb Sect, who was also Lin Chaoying's maid and disciple, and Xiaolongnü's master.

The Ancient Tomb Sect doesn't usually recruit disciples; there are only a handful, mostly "weak women." When something like this happens, the Quanzhen Sect naturally takes care of things and takes the initiative to resolve the conflict—this was also the consideration in the original work. Moreover, now the Quanzhen Sect and the Ancient Tomb Sect have an additional connection through Chu Luren.

Despite their good intentions, Ma Yu and his colleagues produced only simple-minded disciples.

Not only did they stop the wrong person, but their words were also quite sarcastic towards Xiaolongnu, probably because they were unhappy that there was such a sect next door and that they had to protect her all the time...

Chapter 228 The Chaos of Quanzhen

"So it's Brother Chu! Brother Chu's return is just in time. I wonder who has been spreading rumors about Master Long in the martial world..." Seeing that Chu Luren's tone was unfriendly, Zhen Zhibing immediately changed the subject.

This also serves as a reminder to Chu Luren that they were fighting with others here because of the matter of Sect Leader Long.

Chu Luren glanced at the Taoist priest who had just been making sarcastic remarks, but the latter dared not meet Chu Luren's gaze. Then Chu Luren looked at Zhen Zhibing and said, "I came here for this very reason. Who is this person you have stopped?"

"This person is an accomplice of the lecherous thief who came to cause trouble!" Zhen Zhibing breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that Chu Luren was not pressing the matter, and immediately wanted to confirm the identity of the newcomer to show that they were really helping.

"No, fellow Daoist, you misunderstand, I am..."

Just as the man in plain clothes was about to explain, he was interrupted by Chu Luren.

"The lecherous thief who came to cause trouble, isn't it mainly that Mongolian Khodu? This person doesn't seem to be a Mongolian." Chu Luren confirmed again.

“That’s right, it’s that sorcerer! This person must be his accomplice, his outpost… There are quite a few Han traitors who have now defected to the Mongols!” Zhen Zhibing said earnestly.

The man who had been explaining felt a surge of frustration upon hearing this.

"May I ask your name, sir... Did you manage to get rid of the Mongolians down the mountain?" Chu Luren asked, bowing to the man in plain clothes.

"Exactly! I saw Mongols blocking the road at the foot of the mountain and thought the Mongol Yuan dynasty was going to harm Quanzhen, which is why I was in such a hurry to go up the mountain!" the man quickly explained, but did not answer who he was.

Zhen Zhibing and the others were embarrassed upon hearing this. If it were true, wouldn't they be...?

"Then they must be other lecherous thieves who came here to compete with Huo Du!"

"That's right, Senior Brother Zhen, don't be fooled by him."

"This guy looks older than Huo Du, and he's still having such lustful thoughts, tsk tsk..."

Some Quanzhen disciples immediately began to "deduce" the reasoning.

The man in plain clothes had an angry expression on his face, clearly starting to get really angry—before, the misunderstanding was just that he was stupid, but now he was calling him a lecherous thief from one side to the other, as if he wanted to prove that the man was a real lecherous thief...

"Wait, Zhen Zhibing, you said he's an 'outpost'? Could it be that you haven't seen Huo Du yet? The Mongols down the mountain said that Huo Du has already gone up!" Chu Luren didn't say who he believed at first, but pointed out a bug.

Zhen Zhibing: !!!

Zhen Zhibing then feigned surprise: "Could it be... Oh no! We've missed our enemy; they might have reached Chongyang Palace!"

"The important thing is to go and take a look first. This man... I don't think he looks bad. I'll keep an eye on him." Chu Luren said, looking at the man in plain clothes.

The latter cupped his hands and said, "Thank you for your trust, brother. I really have come to visit you masters. If the Quanzhen Sect has any problems, I may see if I can lend a hand."

Seeing that even Chu Luren, who was practically the "real deal," had said so, Zhen Zhibing naturally didn't stop him anymore. Instead, he hurriedly withdrew the formation and headed up the mountain with his disciples.

The man in plain clothes looked around, examining the rocks and climbing the trees, before exclaiming with a hint of urgency, "Oh no! One of the boys I brought with me is missing!"

"Hmm? We didn't see any teenagers when we went up the mountain either." Chu Luren also shook his head.

"Could it be that during the confrontation just now, he was attacked by the disciples of the Quanzhen Sect... Oh well! The Quanzhen Sect has always been known for its chivalry and righteousness. Even if there was a slight misunderstanding, they wouldn't make things difficult for a child." The man in plain clothes comforted himself.

"You even brought a half-grown boy? So, it seems you really didn't come here just because of a rumor." Chu Luren looked even more convinced.

The man in plain clothes forced a smile and said, "Thank you for your trust. I just heard the Quanzhen Sect's fellow Daoist address you as 'Brother Daoist,' so you must be Chu Luren, the Red and White Tai Sui of the Ancient Tomb Sect?"

As he spoke, he glanced at Chu Luren's waist... He wasn't carrying anything, but looking at the horses behind him, he saw several jars and a suona hanging there.

“That’s right. This time, someone spread rumors in the Guanzhong area, saying that our sect leader held a martial arts contest to find a husband, and that there were countless martial arts manuals and rare treasures as dowry. The Quanzhen Sect helped to refute the rumors, and although most people believed them, it aroused the evil intentions of villains who wanted to make the charade real… If you didn’t come here for this reason, then you have truly suffered an undeserved disaster because of our sect’s affairs.” Chu Luren said, cupping his hands in greeting.

Upon seeing this, the man in plain clothes quickly returned the greeting, appearing very polite: "I'm glad Brother Chu trusts me!"

At the same time, the man in plain clothes thought to himself—rumors in the martial arts world really shouldn't be believed blindly. Who doesn't know the name of the Chu Lu people, the "Red and White Tai Sui" these days? It is said that his temperament is unpredictable and his moods are fickle. Although he is righteous, he is also disrespectful and arrogant, making him extremely difficult to get along with...

However, upon seeing it now...

Isn't this much more reasonable than the Quanzhen disciples?

With the Quanzhen disciples as a comparison, Chu Luren's first impression of this plain-clothed man inexplicably improved a bit.

"So, the Quanzhen Sect might really be in danger? Brother Chu, shall we hurry up and leave?" the man in plain clothes said worriedly.

Although he had just been angered by the Quanzhen disciples, this man in plain clothes was clearly still worried about the Quanzhen masters.

"Alright," Chu Luren said, and together with the man in plain clothes, they practiced their internal energy.

The man in plain clothes had seen Chu Luren's lightness skill before, but this man's lightness skill was something Chu Luren was seeing for the first time...

Although not as elusive and graceful as Kun swimming in the void, it still kept up with Chu Luren, leaping several feet high in a single bound, and was extremely skilled at traversing the void in mid-air!

The Chu Luren's Kun swims through the void, and he is particularly adept at using light-footed skills to travel. He only needs to use a little force when he is thirty or forty feet away. This man in plain clothes is the same.

Of course, Chu Luren also sensed that this person was not skilled in lightness skills, but rather that his internal strength was superior to his own!

As Zhen Zhibing and the others were overtaken by Chu Luren and the man in plain clothes, they all showed signs of anxiety. While the ordinary disciples were still suspicious of the man in plain clothes, and even Chu Luren, some of the core disciples, including Zhen Zhibing, had already noticed that the man in plain clothes's lightness skill clearly showed traces of the Quanzhen martial arts' ultimate lightness skill, "Golden Goose Skill"!

What they're worried about is... could it be that they've really made a mistake?

Soon Chu Luren and the man in plain clothes arrived outside Chongyang Palace. They saw that some houses and shrines were already on fire, but fortunately they all looked like small houses and courtyards, and the fire had not reached the main hall.

Inside the main hall, chaos reigned!

In front of the hall, there were forty-nine elite disciples, who had formed a battle formation and were fighting against a large group of martial arts experts of all shapes and sizes, including monks, Taoists, scholars, and laymen.

Before the man in plain clothes could even react, he saw that in the main hall, the Seven Masters of Quanzhen were each pressing their palms against their backs, using each other for leverage, as they faced off against a dozen or so Tibetan masters dressed as Tantric lamas...

It turns out that they are all relying on the similar nature of their own internal energy to form a group and compete in internal energy?

Chu Luren was stunned for a moment, realizing that something must have happened just now. Otherwise, if the Seven Masters of Quanzhen had simply used the "Big Dipper Formation" to fight them, these dozen or so Tantric lamas would have been no match for them without the advantage of some formation.

However, engaging in a contest of internal strength would be using one's own weakness to attack the enemy's strength.

Not to mention that some of the Seven Masters of Quanzhen have weak internal energy, and considering that competing in internal energy is a skillless activity, unless one side knows martial arts like the "Great Shift of the Universe" or the "Star Absorbing Technique," numerical superiority is still very important...

Unless there are special circumstances, the Seven Masters of Quanzhen, who have been through countless battles, would not be so unwise!