The Great Martial Arts World: Hot Topics and Great Heroes

"Madam, please don't cry. I...I...this matter has nothing to do with Qingluo..."

"You still call her Qingluo?"

……

Chu Luren saw that there was a fire in the room and left it to Duan Zhengchun to handle.

After all, unlike the handsome Jiang Feng who relies solely on his looks, Duan Zhengchun is a skilled technician, and it's believed he can handle this kind of situation.

Moreover... Chu Luren was indeed three parts doing it on purpose!

Upon returning to Dali City, Chu Lu learned that Mu Wanqing was no longer in the palace. It was said that Qin Hongmian had appeared a few days ago and taken her daughter away.

Chu Luren was initially puzzled as to why Mu Wanqing would leave with Qin Hongmian—although she now knew that Qin Hongmian was her biological mother, she had just reunited with her father, and didn't she have any resentment towards her mother who hadn't been with her as a mother and daughter for more than ten years?

Besides, Mu Wanqing's inner conflict caused by Duan Yu should have been resolved by now, and... Chu Luren felt that she should at least wait a few days and say goodbye before leaving, right?

However, Chu Luren later learned the real reason from the few words spoken by Zhu Danchen and others...

It was clear that Duan Zhengchun and Gan Baobao from Wanchou Valley had rekindled their old flame, which resulted in Zhong Ling's identity being exposed, and a major family conflict erupted in the Prince's Mansion. Dao Baifeng also argued and cried with Duan Zhengchun every day because of the unclear condition of Duan Yu's treatment.

Even if it wasn't directed at Mu Wanqing, her awkward status meant she was bound to be implicated in the argument, and thus, unable to bear the disturbance, she left with her mother as soon as Qin Hongmian appeared.

Thinking that Mu Wanqing had only been reunited with her father for a few days before being disturbed to the point of wanting to leave, Chu Luren was also intentionally seeking "revenge".

Chu Luren came out for tea, and the four guards dared not interfere in Duan Zhengchun's family affairs at this time. So, when they found an opportunity, Chu Luren asked Zhu Danchen about Wu Santong...

This confirmed that Wu Santong was the "Geng" in the previous generation of fishermen, woodcutters, farmers, and scholars, while the current "Geng" was Fu Sigui.

Zhu Danchen didn't know much about the situation of this "senior" Wu Santong, but he could confirm that Wu Santong hadn't returned to Dali for a long time.

Chu Luren became increasingly convinced that the matter entrusted to him by the Prime Minister must be about Li Mochou!

After Duan Zhengchun "put out the fire," he secretly met with Chu Luren behind Dao Baifeng's back and gave him a letter. He said somewhat awkwardly, "I did a lot of wrong things back then. Indeed... I also know Madam Li of Mantuo Manor. If you give this letter to her, I think Qingluo won't make things difficult for you."

"Really, it won't be difficult for you?" Chu Luren frowned and hesitated for a moment.

The rules at Li Qingluo's place are basically the same as those at Wanchou Valley; if you don't have the surname Duan, you might have a chance to survive...

Chu Luren certainly didn't want things to go wrong because of Duan Zhengchun's letter!

Seeing that he was being questioned on this matter, Duan Zhengchun said somewhat indignantly, "Don't worry! Madam Li will definitely assist you fully from now on!"

Looking at Duan Zhengchun, Chu Luren thought about it carefully again... Indeed, among this guy's women, it seems that apart from Kang Min, who is a menace, the others are all blinded by greed, and their ruthlessness is directed at other rivals in love. No one wants to stab Duan Zhengchun in the back.

Moreover, at the end of the Tianlong storyline, when Murong Fu wiped out all of Duan Zhengchun's women, Li Qingluo clearly cared about Duan Zhengchun. She even stopped wanting to kill her other rivals when she saw Duan Zhengchun feigning hatred.

Chu Luren then believed it to some extent and accepted the letter.

Now that she has the "Mother's Hand-Drawn Secret Manual" and "Duan Lang's Letter," Chu Luren feels more confident.

There weren't many experts at Mantuo Manor, and Chu Luren was confident he could leave. However, his true purpose was the many secret manuals originally collected in Langhuan Paradise, and he didn't want Li Qingluo to turn against him!

Before Chu Luren left, Duan Zhengchun, besides mentioning Duan Yu, also specifically instructed: "Wanqing has suffered a lot of grievances since she was a child, and I, as her father, have truly failed her..."

Seeing Chu Luren nodding repeatedly, Duan Zhengchun paused awkwardly for a moment, but continued, "This child and her mother left a few days ago. If you happen to meet her, please remember to take good care of her for me, her father, and I hope she can have a warm home in the future."

Chu Luren felt somewhat bewildered: "Uncle Duan, don't worry, Wanqing and I are good friends. If we meet, I will persuade her to return to the Prince's Mansion. But as for you, Uncle Duan... next time you must give Miss Mu a warm home!"

Duan Zhengchun: ...

Duan Zhengchun felt that Chu Luren had somehow misinterpreted his meaning, but seeing Chu Luren's upright expression, he couldn't say anything more... Let the children and grandchildren have their own blessings!

Chu Luren was even more baffled—what was Old Duan thinking? The world is so vast, what are the chances that I'll just happen to run into Wanqing again... and be asked to persuade her to go home? If there really is a chance, I hope you, as her father, will do a better job!

Chapter Twenty-Nine: The Tower of Heaven

Chu Luren left Dali for more than half a month, traveling alone on horseback. He didn't need to avoid bandits or river pirates, and if he encountered a small group, he could even rob them.

Although the martial world is dangerous, and there are even professional bandits like the Twelve Constellations whose martial arts are close to first-rate, Chu Luren figured that those big thieves and bandits wouldn't even look at him, a lone swordsman...

A month later, they had already left the southwest, passed through western Hunan, and arrived near Changsha—which was under the jurisdiction of Jinghu South Road and Tanzhou of the Song Dynasty.

The Murong clan, after leaving Suzhou, would continue eastward, passing through Jiangnan West Road and Jiangnan East Road, to Liangzhe Road...

This is the official explanation. For a casual observer like Chu Luren, a more reliable explanation is that he is currently in the territory of the Hunan martial arts world and will be heading to the Jiangnan martial arts world later.

However, Chu Luren planned to take a break in Changsha, mainly because there was a branch of Tianxialou, a subsidiary of "Tianxia No. 1 Manor", in Changsha, and the latest chivalry list would be released soon!

The Heroic Deeds Ranking is updated every three months, specifically on the first day of the first month, the first day of the fourth month, the first day of the seventh month, and the first day of the tenth month. April is almost here...

Chu Luren felt that with the support of his friends in Dali and his own achievements, he should be able to rank on the local leaderboard.

Of course, Chu Luren would prefer to be ranked on the Human Ranking, because that is the Young Heroes Ranking, and if he could be on the list, his ranking should be very high!

Moreover, the top ranks of the Human Ranking and the Heaven Ranking receive the most attention, since the Earth Ranking gives people the feeling of being second-rate.

On the day Xinbang arrived in Changsha, Chu Luren made a point of washing up and tidying himself up at the inn.

Chu Luren verbally condemns the unscrupulous marketing of the "Number One Manor Under Heaven" and "Iron-Blooded Marquis" every day, but deep down... he still has a sense of vanity!

The Changsha Tianxia Tower, located on the most bustling street in the city, is now extremely crowded. Countless martial arts enthusiasts are buying chivalry lists on the first floor, showing how lively the martial arts world is...

However, true masters can go to the second floor, where a spacious passage has been left near the stairs—even if they lack manners, these martial arts practitioners at least understand that those who go to the second floor are not to be trifled with!

Chu Luren didn't rush to queue up, but instead started searching on the list hanging outside.

Although no detailed information was provided, the lists of the Heavenly Ranking and the Earthly Ranking would be displayed outside...

Since there were no changes among the top players on the Heavenly Ranking, Chu Luren didn't pay much attention to them and immediately focused his attention on the Earthly Ranking.

Moreover, before Chu Luren could even find his name with his eyes, he had already heard people talking about it!

"Chu Luren? Who is that?"

"Never heard of it, never seen this name before, this must be the first time it's on the list!"

"If you've never been on the list, you must be quite young, right?"

"Could it be the leader of one of the sects that's been making headlines lately?"

"Who cares! Seventy-one on the Earth Ranking, they're probably not a big sect. Once the hype dies down, they'll probably be gone."

Chu Luren: ...

It ranks seventy-first on the list, second to last.

How could its ranking be so low?

With his record of defeating the Four Fiends and going toe-to-toe with the Blood Blade Ancestor, Chu Luren originally thought he could at least rank in the top fifty, or even the top forty.

However, when Chu Luren saw that he was seventy-two, which was the last place, he felt somewhat relieved.

At the very bottom of the Earthly Ranking was written Hua Wuque—this was the first time Chu Luren had seen Hua Wuque's name in this world!

There was also a lot of discussion about Hua Wuque among the same group of people...

However, compared to Chu Luren, Hua Wuque is obviously more popular and more familiar to everyone!

The disciple of Yihua Palace who has not appeared in public for a long time, and... he is the only known male disciple so far. Just the identity of "male disciple of Yihua Palace" is enough to make him a hot topic. Moreover, although Hua Wuque is still young, his martial arts are extremely high.

Since leaving the mountain, he has been dedicated to bringing "justice from heaven" to unfaithful men. Fortunately, he heard that Hua Wuque mainly operates in Jiangnan. Otherwise, the Chu Lu people would have to consider whether to return the way they came and remind Lao Duan to lay low for a while.

Hua Wuque's assessment of "unfaithful men" is indeed somewhat biased, and he has a unique understanding of feminism. Basically, if a woman says you are unfaithful, then you must be an unfaithful man. These things make him a highly topical and controversial figure!

Moreover, Chu Luren himself believed that even though Hua Wuque, who had just emerged from the mountain, was only fifteen or sixteen years old, he should still be stronger than himself. The reason why he was not at the top of the Human Ranking and was directly pushed to the Earth Ranking, ranking as the last seventy-second, was mainly because the number one manor in the world was not interested in the female rights of the Yihua Palace...

"Young hero, the rooms upstairs are private and require reservations."

Chu Luren strolled leisurely to the second-floor staircase, but was stopped. The other person spoke politely, but was subtly reminding Chu Luren that he was "not qualified."

"Ahem, my martial arts skills are meager, yet I have been mistakenly favored by your esteemed estate and ranked seventy-first on the Earthly Ranking. I fear that others may misunderstand, so I would like to request a new ranking first, to see if your estate has made any mistakes. I hope this kind brother will be lenient." Chu Luren adopted the persona of a humble gentleman.

Upon hearing this, the two guards on the stairs revealed surprise, much to Chu Luren's delight: "So it's Master Chu? Master Chu, you flatter me. A master of the Earth Ranking should be invited upstairs..."

Because he wasn't on the Human Ranking, even though Chu Lu was very young, he was still called a "great hero" rather than a "young hero" by the people of the Number One Manor in the World.

Chu Luren politely declined for a moment, then deliberately walked very slowly, garnering envious glances from downstairs before finally going up.

This staircase was also quite special; when Chu Luren stepped onto it, it made a rather loud creaking sound—you should know that with Chu Luren's agility, even without paying special attention, his steps were much lighter than those of ordinary people...

However, after Chu Luren made a slight adjustment, the sound of his footsteps became quieter.

There are a few people on the second floor now. Firstly, Changsha is still very lively, and it is considered a big city on Jinghu South Road. Secondly... not all of these people are on the list!

In fact, anyone who has ever been on the Heroic List can go up to the second floor. As Chu Luren knew before, the Heavenly List and the Earthly List are based on whoever is more popular. In reality, if you include both the righteous and evil factions and the court's henchmen, there are probably one or two hundred masters who are "comparable" to the Heavenly List. How could it be that only thirty-six people can be ranked?

In each work alone, if we only consider the top ten martial arts masters regardless of good or evil, there are already over a hundred people, not to mention those on the Heavenly Ranking who don't even make it into the top ten of their respective series...

Those who fall from the Heavenly Ranking will not be demoted to the Earthly Ranking, but will simply disappear. It can be said that the Heavenly Ranking and the Earthly Ranking are just the difference between first-class and second-class!

Moreover, if one wants to go to the second floor, even if one is not on the list, one should be able to test the depth by using the "noisy staircase"...

Chu Luren, a complete stranger, exchanged pleasantries with the others, whose accents came from all over the country. Afterward, he received a thick, free chivalrous list from Tianxialou, a subsidiary of the number one manor in the world.

In addition to the rankings, there are also detailed accounts of how they made the list...

After defeating Yun Zhonghe, one of the Four Fiends of Western Xia, betting against Yue Laosan, fighting with Blood Saber Ancestor, and joining forces with the Prince of Dali to defeat him, Chu Luren secretly curled his lips and thought to himself: The intelligence capabilities of the Number One Manor in the World are quite good; my boasting was actually filtered out!

Of course, Chu Luren flipped through the previous pages and still didn't think that his martial arts skills ranked seventy-first.

It wasn't that Chu Luren thought that apart from those on the Heavenly Ranking, there were only fifty or sixty people on the righteous path who could surpass him; rather, he felt that among those on the ranking, Chu Luren believed that ranking forty or fifty on the Earthly Ranking would be more reasonable.

Perhaps sensing Chu Luren's dissatisfaction, a young voice came: "If Young Hero Chu had defeated a Mongolian master, or even a true master of the evil sect, his ranking would have been higher. Of course... if Young Hero Chu were willing to join the Number One Manor in the World, he would have made great achievements on the Xuan Ranking."

Chu Luren turned around and saw a young man in white walking up. He was not as handsome as Duan Yu, but he was more refined. More importantly, he walked on the stairs with almost no sound!

Chapter Thirty: I'm a passerby, but I can't stand it.

"So you are Master Shangguan, it's an honor to meet you." Chu Luren politely clasped his hands in greeting to the young man in white.

At this moment, the other party did not deliberately hide his identity. The person who came was none other than Shangguan Haitang, the owner of "Number One Manor in the World" and the "adopted son" of Iron-Blooded Marquis!

That's right, she didn't even change her name; she's just that straightforward—a woman disguised as a man.

Of course, it's really hard to tell anything from the name alone. Chu Luren only had a preconceived notion that this "Master Shangguan" was a bit too handsome.

"Master Chu has earned a reputation for chivalry in Dali. I wonder if you would be willing to take it a step further and serve the imperial court, or join the number one manor in the world?" Shangguan Haitang asked with a very sincere look in her eyes.

but……

The fact that they invited me outright shows they weren't sincere; they were just casually testing the waters.

Nominally, the owner of the number one manor in the world is Shangguan Haitang, but everyone knows that the Iron-Blooded Marquis is the real mastermind behind the scenes, and Shangguan Haitang is just his subordinate.