The Great Martial Arts World: Hot Topics and Great Heroes

If it were a martial arts master in his prime, Chu Luren would have easily fixed the problem for him. However, the Empress Dowager's old arms and legs, which had never practiced martial arts, could not be fixed with a simple "snap".

"Ah! Watch out behind you!" The Empress Dowager warned as Chu Luren stepped forward to help her, and then another man dressed as a Japanese samurai entered from behind.

Chu Luren did not rush to turn around—the reason he broke the jar without any hesitation and ignored the loud noise was because he had already sensed the unbridled sword intent of Yagyu Tajima-no-kami and knew that there was no way to avoid it!

Knowing that Liu Sheng was standing right behind him, Chu Luren did not turn around. Instead, he said to the Empress Dowager, "Excuse me, old lady!" Then he took out the rope he had prepared at his waist and tied the Empress Dowager, who was unable to move on her own, to himself with her limbs curled up and back to back.

After Chu Luren finished tying the knot, Liu Sheng finally spoke up, saying, "Young Master Hua? Ha, your acting skills are amazing!"

Chu Luren didn't answer, and went straight to draw the Japanese sword he had just taken from the other ronin. Although it was a thin blade, Chu Luren was still a little unaccustomed to it. After all, for swordsmanship in the Central Plains, a double-edged longsword was more convenient. But there was nothing to complain about now.

Seeing Chu Luren draw his sword, Yagyu also solemnly drew his sword. Unlike the swordsmen of the Central Plains, as a master of Japanese swordsmanship, Yagyu clearly bent down when he drew his sword, and after drawing it, he held the sword with both hands. Before drawing the sword, he pointed the tip of the sword at Chu Luren. Compared with Chu Luren's standard posture of holding the sword horizontally at his side with it slightly lowered, he appeared more aggressive.

The two hadn't actually exchanged blows yet, but their invisible sword intent was already clashing. In the small courtyard, leaves were constantly breaking apart along their veins, and cracks were appearing in the water vat...

This is not an outward release of internal energy, but a pure clash of sword intent!

However, as the sword intent reached a stalemate, Chu Luren's forehead began to sweat, and he appeared less composed than Liu Sheng. If Chu Luren had fully mastered the "True Understanding of the Five Mountains" and comprehended the Five Mountains Sword Technique, he might have been able to rival Liu Sheng in terms of sword intent. But now... it was clear that Liu Sheng, who had fully comprehended the "One Slash to Kill the God," was stronger.

Chu Luren had seen Ren Woxing go all out before, but firstly, Ren Woxing was still recovering from his injuries, and secondly, when Ren Woxing went all out, he wasn't targeting Chu Luren. On the contrary, the pressure wasn't as great as it was now.

Just as a bead of sweat trickled down Chu Luren's forehead and briefly obscured his vision, a dazzling sword light instantly filled his field of vision...

This is the kind of treatment that enemies usually receive when the Chu Lu people use "flirting glances."

Yagyu Tajima-no-kami has made his move!

Under the blinding sword light, Chu Luren instinctively squinted. If it weren't for the defensive effect of the "Golden Immortal" against external forces, Chu Luren would probably have been dazzled for a while.

At this moment, Chu Luren was still able to instinctively parry the sword strike!

Liu Sheng had already changed to a two-handed slashing stance. After approaching Chu Luren, he swung his sword left and right repeatedly. The killing intent of his sword moves was so strong that the faint and outward sword energy mixed together to form a phantom like a demon from hell, baring its fangs and claws and grabbing at Chu Luren from the left and right.

Chu Luren parried repeatedly, and under the pressure, he quickly retreated, taking more than ten steps back...

Along the way, apart from the places where the two of them had walked, the ground on both sides was full of potholes, as if it had been plowed by an old ox. Anyone who didn't know better would think that there were explosives buried there before!

After Liu Sheng launched more than ten attacks in a row, he changed his stance from slashing to a double-handed thrust, which was blocked by Chu Luren with the back of his sword.

At this moment, Chu Luren also braced his left hand on the sword, and with all his might, his whole body flashed with golden light—unlike Cheng Shifei's transformation, his whole body seemed to be burning with golden flames, but he did not actually change color. It was also different from the previous state of the Immortal Ape True Qi burst. At this moment, Chu Luren's hair, which he raised, had truly turned into gold!

Even so, while blocking the thrust, he was still being pushed back by Yagyu, unable to stop being slashed backward. The two marks on the ground were the two plow marks made by Chu Luren's feet and the footprints made by Yagyu's heavy steps, while the surrounding area was flat.

After sliding for another dozen steps, Chu Luren was about to crash into the outer pillar of the building behind him. He had no choice but to bend his left knee and lift his foot to brace himself. If he didn't brace himself, the Empress Dowager would be "PIA" into the pillar!

Even so, the old lady was startled, and Liu Sheng sneered. Taking advantage of Chu Luren's unsteady stance, he reached into his robe with his left hand, pulled out a short blade, and slashed Chu Luren's leg hard.

"Ha!" Chu Luren exhaled and shouted, using the force of hitting a cow across a mountain to shake the pillar behind him and collapse the wall, retreating into the house!

Even so, he was unable to dodge in time and was left with a wound on the outside of his right hip by Yagyu.

If it weren't for the fusion of the "Indestructible Vajra Divine Skill" and the enhancement of the Golden Immortal Body, this cut would probably have gone several degrees deeper, damaging the major tendons. Fortunately, it doesn't affect his movements too much at the moment.

Seeing Liu Sheng chasing after him, Chu Luren quickly leaped up, his body enveloped in a pale golden Kun fish, smashing through the tiles on his head and landing on the roof. As Liu Sheng chased after him through the hole in the roof, Chu Luren unleashed a move called "Thousand Mountains Birds Fly Away," sweeping his sword energy across the roof. Instantly, countless tiles wrapped in golden flames flew towards Liu Sheng from the fan-shaped surface!

Although Yagyu wielded his sword with both hands, he remained incredibly agile, deflecting the tiles aimed at him, while Chu Luren seized the opportunity to turn and leap onto another rooftop...

Chapter 262 Backup Plan

Yagyu Tajima-no-kami pursued him closely, but Chu Shika only fled and did not attack, and almost escaped from the residential area controlled by the Japanese samurai!

Just as he was about to exit the outer wall, seven black-clad ninjas suddenly jumped out and threw a handful of shurikens at Chu Luren, and also dropped what appeared to be poison gas bombs...

In the vast world of Japan, there seems to be no clear distinction between samurai and ninja. In the original work, Duan Tianya earned the title of "Jonin" while studying at the Iga school in Japan, and Yagyu Tajima-no-kami was also called "Jonin"!

Some of the shuriken were blocked by Chu Luren's sword energy, but he dared not try to use the poisonous smoke. If it were just him, he could rely on his poison resistance and hold his breath to endure it, but now he was carrying an old lady who did not know martial arts, and Chu Luren dared not take the risk.

Forced to stop, Chu Luren used the move "Wind and Clouds in Chaos" to blow away the poison gas with the wind of his sword, but Yagyu Tajima no Kami caught up at this moment!

“Mr. Hua… no, I should say Mr. Chu, right? Do you think you can still escape?” Liu Sheng had clearly seen through Chu Luren’s identity.

Chu Luren wasn't sure whether the other party already knew or if he had revealed it when he made his move—after all, the "Great Sage True Qi" and the previous "Immortal Ape True Qi" looked similar when they were unleashed, so it wasn't surprising that they were recognized.

"Does Patriarch Liu Sheng still want to pursue this? The princess has already gone to the palace to ask for help, and the Divine Marquis will probably be arriving soon, right?" Chu Luren asked in return.

"Is that so?" a voice came from outside the wall.

"Mmm..." Princess Yunluo, whose mouth was tied with a strip of cloth, was brought in by a man in black.

Although the other person had covered his face, Chu Luren still keenly sensed that this person should be the leader of the assassins from that night!

Why didn't he go to the palace to meet the emperor, but instead happened to come here?

Chu Luren's face turned ugly—indeed, Chu Luren and Yun Luo had only estimated that Wuhuan was most likely to be in the palace at this time!

Who knew that the worst possible outcome would occur...

"Hahaha... I never expected that Lord Chu and Princess Yunluo would have such a relationship? They acted very convincingly the other day, didn't they?" Liu Sheng sneered.

"Put down the Empress Dowager, and you can leave. You may inform others if you wish," said the black-clad man, who appeared to be from the Wuhuan tribe.

Regardless of whether Chu Luren leaves or not, after causing a commotion, these Japanese ronin will inevitably move to another place!

And the Chu Lu people...

If they truly didn't care about the hostages, Yagyu Tajima-no-kami and Karasuma joining forces would surely win, but they might not be able to keep him.

"Young man, put me down and take Yunluo back first... I want to see what these people from a small overseas country are up to?" The Empress Dowager said, trying to remain calm.

“Old woman! We said that Chu Tai Sui could leave, but we didn’t say that your daughter could leave. Wasn’t the acting very realistic before? This time, let’s take the lead and see if we can make it real… What does the princess think?” the man in black said deliberately.

Obviously...

He didn't want Chu Luren to leave either!

Chu Luren was confident that these Japanese people would not really harm the Empress Dowager, but... whether they would tarnish Princess Yunluo's reputation was another matter!

After all, when I was acting before, these people didn't stop me.

For Zhao Wushi, the fact that Princess Yunluo was defiled was nothing compared to the Empress Dowager being killed.

Moreover, the royal family will definitely do their best to cover it up afterwards, and the common people... at most there will be rumors, but it will not seriously damage the reputation of the Dragon Guard Manor.

Chu Luren even roughly thought that if the Eastern Depot was responsible for suppressing rumors among the people, the Divine Marquis could take the opportunity to cause trouble!

"What? Is Chu Taisui suddenly showing mercy to women? Didn't he do it himself the other day?" Liu Sheng still couldn't get over it, feeling completely fooled—this guy even faked the whole scene!

Fortunately, at this moment, neither Yunluo nor the Empress Dowager seemed to notice anything about "doing it themselves"...

"How dare you!" The Empress Dowager tried her best to make her voice more authoritative, but unfortunately, she was already exhausted.

She was previously kept in a jar, her joints were dislocated, and she was constantly worried and afraid. Moreover, Chu Luren carried her all the way while they fought.

"Since we dared to invite the Empress Dowager here, we must be quite bold," the man in black said disdainfully.

"Good! I didn't expect you to have some ability. Then we'll just have to reveal that it's the Divine Marquis behind us..." Chu Luren suddenly shouted "Good!"

When Chu Luren said, "It's Shenhou behind it," the expressions of the man in black and Liu Sheng changed visibly.

However, Chu Luren continued, "It was Shenhou behind the scenes... who instructed me to come here!"

The man in black and Liu Sheng breathed a sigh of relief, then hesitated for a moment—was this person talking nonsense, or was he really trying to remind them of something?

Consider Zhao Wushi's personality...

Although the agreement was that Zhao Wushi would have Duan Tianya or Guihai Yidao rescue the Empress Dowager, and they would release her by creating an opening, as for anyone else who came to rescue her, they would all be killed without mercy...

However, if you think about that old schemer's character carefully, it's entirely possible that he secretly found someone who was not related to the Dragon Guard Manor to rescue them in order to make the performance more realistic!

Who knows, after today, Chu Tai Sui might "join" the Dragon Guard Manor?

Neither the Empress Dowager nor Yunlu understood Chu Luren's intention. After all, at this juncture, it was obvious that they could not possibly frighten the other party by simply mentioning the name of the Divine Marquis.

Just then, Chu Luren shouted, "Absorption Technique!"

Then, silently using the elixir-stealing technique from the "Great Sage's Elixir-Stealing Scripture," he formed a claw with his left hand, and a suction force was generated out of thin air!

Indeed, it is nine-tenths similar to the Absorption Technique, after all, it is an ability fused from the Absorption Technique. However, compared with the Divine Marquis, its absorption power is much weaker.

The target of their drug use was none other than Princess Yunluo, who had been kidnapped...

The man in black could normally handle the suction force, but what he felt was more than just suction!

His meridians and internal energy swayed under the suction... He hesitated for a moment, then pretended to give up.

As soon as he let go, Yunluo flew towards Chu Luren. After grabbing Yunluo, Chu Luren immediately stopped circulating his energy. However, even so, Yunluo felt weak all over due to the turbulence of his internal energy!

Then Chu Luren picked her up and left.

Although he was carrying one on his back and another on his shoulder, Chu Luren's agility and lightness skills were not slow at all, and more importantly...

When the man in black hesitated and looked at Yagyu, Yagyu whispered, "Slowly...chase after him!" Only the last word was shouted out!

The two of them were hanging behind, not really putting in much effort to chase.

That's right, this is Chu Luren's backup plan—if things don't go smoothly, he will use something like the "Power Absorption Technique" to impersonate the successor of the Divine Marquis and imply that the other party will cooperate with him!

The reason it's called a "backup plan" is because this move is too risky; it will definitely attract the attention of the Divine Marquis afterward...

Chapter 263 The Emperor

Chu Luren carried Princess Yunluo on his back and the Empress Dowager on his shoulder, speeding along the way...

These Japanese ronin acted very realistically, and quite a few of them did chase after them and block their way, but they were all kept to a level that Chu Luren could handle.

Of course, these passersby might not be acting, but rather they themselves might not know that they have been betrayed by the head of the Yagyu family and Lord Karasuma!

Everything seemed to be going smoothly, but Chu Luren sighed inwardly—he had one more person to be careful of from now on, and the most troublesome of all the people he had made enemies with so far!

Having been pushed to that point, Chu Luren had no choice but to take a desperate gamble.

Liu Sheng and Shen Hou had been secretly in contact, and it wasn't that the matter was over after Chu Lu Ren tricked him.

If Chu Luren had used the "Absorption Technique" directly and openly gained Liu Sheng's trust, he might have succeeded. However, from now on, Chu Luren will be the number one person on Shen Hou's kill list—you know too much!

Therefore, Chu Luren's words were shrouded in mystery. Even if Liu Sheng and Shenhou discussed this matter, they could not be certain that Chu Luren knew Shenhou's true identity based solely on his words.

The only definitive proof from Chu Luren's words is that "Chu Luren knew that Shenhou was skilled in the Absorption Technique," so he used this to borrow Shenhou's reputation to intimidate the kidnappers.

As for Liu Sheng's association? That was his own misunderstanding; Chu Luren didn't say anything.

While the matter of the Divine Marquis Society's "Absorption Technique" was highly confidential, it was not entirely without trace.

After all, in the original work, when Shenhou was being tested by Luo Jusheng, he deliberately exposed his "Absorption Technique," which shows that it wasn't to the point where he absolutely couldn't expose it.