The Great Martial Arts World: Hot Topics and Great Heroes

Chu Luren was not using any other sword technique, but the sword of Mount Song, which was even more exquisite and had already acquired the essence of swordsmanship. If someone else were to use it, and it was said to be the work of a senior master from Mount Song who had been immersed in swordsmanship for many years, they would believe it!

Chapter 376 Using Their Own Methods Against Them

In the battle between Chu Luren and Songshan, there were many onlookers in the shadows, some of whom were from the evil sects, and others who were righteous people who did not want to reveal their identities...

Upon first seeing Chu Luren, who had actually charged into the Songshan disciples, everyone was amazed – what a reckless fool!

However, what Chu Luren and the disciples of Songshan did next surprised everyone watching.

Logically speaking, Chu Luren was at least second on the Heavenly Ranking. Although everyone knew that his martial arts skills were often exaggerated, he was still a top expert on the Heavenly Ranking before, and even rose to prominence by virtue of Mount Song's reputation. Therefore, even if Chu Luren made a move with a burst of golden light that instantly wiped out a group of people, they wouldn't be too surprised...

However, seeing Chu Luren charge into the Songshan disciples with such swift and powerful swordplay, each move like a clash of swords and a charge on a battlefield, while the Songshan disciples seemed hesitant and restrained, as if they were just acting in a play for Chu Luren?

It's not that outsiders have wild imaginations, but these disciples from Mount Song really do seem to be faking their fight!

Especially the younger disciples; if you look closely, sometimes Chu Luren had already moved far away before these disciples' swords even reached the empty space.

And upon closer inspection, it became even more astonishing when they faced Zhong Zhen and his group…

Lu Bai used the move "Jade Well Heavenly Pool" and Chu Luren countered with the same move. Ding Mian used the move "Eternal Dragon" and Chu Luren countered with "Eternal Dragon" as well!

Not only are their moves more refined, but their internal strength is also far superior, so naturally none of them can match them!

Before making his move, Chu Luren said he was acting on behalf of the Songshan Patriarch. Others thought he was taking advantage of the situation. The Songshan Sect had more dealings with Chu Luren and knew his words well, so they treated it as utter nonsense.

However, seeing the imposing presence of the Chu Lu people, many people secretly understood the meaning of what had just been said.

But the doubts only grew...

How could Chu Luren know the Songshan Sword Technique?

Moreover, judging from the current battle situation, it's clear that it's not as simple as just accidentally seeing the sword manual from Mount Song.

It looked like Chu Luren had charged into the midst of dozens of Songshan disciples, but to those who didn't know better, it seemed more like Chu Luren was sparring with them...

For the Chu Lu people, there were absolutely no secrets about the various moves and strategies of Mount Song.

Even if several disciples joined forces to block the gap when Chu Luren was about to land, it was useless. As soon as they moved, Chu Luren already knew what kind of trick they were going to use!

The Songshan Sect has some connection with Shaolin in terms of its origins. More than a hundred years ago, during a time of great chaos, the Shaolin Temple closed its doors to the public. However, a group of heroes, some of whom were laymen and others who had left the temple on the spot, went out to serve in various places and wanted to support a wise ruler. Later, some of these people died or scattered, and the remaining ones banded together to form the Songshan Sect.

Therefore, the swordsmanship has a strong battlefield feel, and also includes many expansive and powerful hand techniques...

In this way, the Songshan sword technique is also suitable for battlefield combat from the root. It is convenient for Songshan disciples to cooperate with each other. Although it is not like the Tiangang Big Dipper Seven Star Sword Formation, Zhenwu Seven Intercept Formation, Hundred and Eight Arhat Formation and other famous formations, which can achieve "1+1" greater than "2", it is more like the team coordination on the battlefield. However, at least it can prevent each other from being a burden in group battles.

So, the Songshan Sect is currently outnumbered and should have the advantage?

Not entirely!

Since it is a battlefield atmosphere, it is not only suitable for fighting the enemy on the battlefield, but also for breaking the enemy on the battlefield—that is, fighting against many enemies with one.

After all, martial arts practitioners wouldn't be content to just play the role of a common soldier on the battlefield...

Just like Guo Jing, who has been in Xiangyang for so many years, his martial arts routines have gradually become more battlefield-oriented, making them suitable for fighting multiple opponents at once!

These two characteristics of the Songshan sword technique are being displayed to the fullest extent right now outside Fuzhou City.

Seeing these disciples from Songshan attacking in groups of three, five, or seven, either thrusting their swords in one direction or blocking each other's space to escape.

Anyone with a discerning eye, upon witnessing this scene, would break out in a cold sweat if they imagined themselves in it, feeling as if enemies were attacking from all sides, each move deadly and each step fraught with danger.

But when Chu Luren was among them, it was as if he had eyes in the back of his head, or even eyes in the sky. He seemed to know exactly how the Songshan disciples around him drew their swords and moved around.

The disciples of Songshan were in a terrible state. Anyone who didn't know better would think that Zuo Lengchan was giving them a training session—as the leader of the Songshan Sect, Zuo Lengchan often did this, summoning dozens or even hundreds of disciples to "clear the game in one life"...

Firstly, it helps to build closer relationships with grassroots disciples and increase the sect leader's presence among them; secondly, it provides an opportunity to establish authority and build an invincible image for the sect leader; and thirdly, it allows the sect leader to guide disciples, easily mentoring hundreds at a time.

After all, there's not much difference between dozens and hundreds of people. Even if the number doubles, the people at the back won't be able to contribute much; it's just a matter of delaying the process and wasting energy.

But Zuo Lengchan is the leader of the Songshan Sect, and the most powerful and talented leader of Songshan in recent generations!

And what about the Chu Lu people?

Even if you have absolutely no connection with the Songshan Sect, if you insist on having a "fight," then it must be a feud!

To use their own methods against them?

It is true that the Southern Murong clan has recently been getting close to the Chu Lu people, but even if it is the Gusu Murong clan, they would not do this kind of "returning the favor" thing, right?

Although it has not been fully exposed, the nature of Murong of Gusu's "Shifting Stars" has always been a subject of speculation in the martial arts world. After all, "Shifting Flowers and Jade" is a skill that uses the opponent's strength to strike back and shift the direction of the opponent's movement. The Yihua Palace has never tried to hide it, which naturally leads people to make connections.

But now, even when facing Chu Luren, these Songshan disciples, including the seven bodyguards, are completely at a disadvantage in every move.

It wasn't a case of using someone else's strength against them; Chu Luren was genuinely using the Songshan Sword Technique!

The bodyguards were more skilled in martial arts, but when they faced Chu Luren, they were all taught a lesson by him using the Songshan Sword Technique...

It seems that even someone like Ding Mian would be disarmed by Chu Luren in just a few moves, and Chu Luren would break his sword using the same move!

This was not unusual for the Chu Lu people.

Although the "Dao Embryo" cannot fight, and Chu Luren should not be able to use the Songshan Sword Technique or equip the "Five Sacred Mountains True Understanding", Chu Luren did not waste a single night on his journey south!

During this period, the "Dao Embryo" mainly focused on comprehending the "True Explanation of the Five Sacred Mountains"—a sword technique that Chu Luren himself could not comprehend at all.

Because it is so complex, the sword intent it contains is all-encompassing. Not to mention that the sword styles of the Five Mountains Sword Sects are completely different, even the sword styles of the same sect have many different schools...

If one can thoroughly understand the "True Explanation of the Five Sacred Mountains" and comprehend a final sword intent, one can be considered to have achieved great success in the way of the sword.

Chu Luren has not yet reached that level, nor has he been so ambitious. He has begun to break down the "True Explanation of the Five Sacred Mountains" step by step, starting from the basics to comprehend it.

Especially in the last half month, Chu Luren felt that the Songshan Sect was up to something, so he focused on comprehending the Songshan Sword Technique!

Now, Chu Luren has already mastered the sword intent of the Songshan School's seventeen sets of sword techniques, including the inner eight and outer nine, and can use the Songshan sword techniques without equipment.

Furthermore, the Songshan sword technique obtained from the sword wall in the stone cave is already more advanced than the one currently circulating in Songshan. How could it not be easy for him to defeat the disciples of Songshan?

Chu Luren, at this moment, was partly establishing his authority and partly provoking others, deliberately using the Songshan sword technique against the people of Songshan...

Chapter 377 One Against Seven

Chu Luren moved with lightning speed, darting back and forth across the "battlefield," unleashing a series of divine and perfectly executed moves of the Songshan swordsmanship. The Songshan disciples were utterly bewildered and cried out in despair...

Even those bodyguards seemed like junior disciples being instructed!

While he may seem to be of the same caliber as Ding Mian, his hand skills are actually stronger than his swordsmanship. However, given what Chu Luren said earlier, Ding Mian was too embarrassed to abandon his sword and use his palms instead. Otherwise, wouldn't that confirm his lack of skill and disgrace the founder of the Songshan School?

However, Ding Mian soon had no time to worry about these things—the Chu Lu people's "guidance" was utterly merciless.

After completely disrupting the combined attack of everyone, Chu Luren's attack became even more ferocious!

Ordinary disciples, under the influence of Chu Luren's sword energy, were slashed a few times and screamed in pain—but they didn't lose their lives. Although Chu Luren was often called "Tai Sui" (a derogatory term for a powerful figure), he was not actually that ruthless.

However, his right thumb was severed at the palm!

Even for someone with some martial arts skills, losing a thumb might not be a problem for daily life, since the other four fingers are also strong. However, it would be extremely inconvenient for practicing martial arts, especially for those who practice swordsmanship. It would essentially mean losing the ability to wield a sword altogether...

"Stop!" Several thugs' eyes turned red upon seeing this.

A few days ago, they were finally able to empathize with the feelings of Abbess Dingjing of the Hengshan School!

The Songshan Sect has no shortage of disciples. The Hengshan Sect itself has hundreds of disciples. The Songshan Sect, which reached its peak during Zuo Lengchan's time, naturally had even more disciples, not fewer.

If it weren't for its proximity to Shaolin Temple, the scale would probably be even larger, and Zuo Lengchan wouldn't have to constantly worry about becoming a fat man overnight.

However, there are great differences between disciples. Whether it's going to Hengshan Sect to kill Liu Zhengfeng's entire family, or going to Huashan Sect to advocate for the Sword Sect and incite the sword qi to fight again, or now coming all the way to Fuzhou to "protect" the Lin family's sword manual...

The disciples who can follow at this time must be the elite of the sect. If dozens of them are ruined, the Songshan Sect will feel sorry for them!

But what's the use of them shouting "Stop!"?

Even more powerless than Liu Zhengfeng's cry of "Stop!", Chu Luren's sword swept across, and amidst screams, swords fell to the ground...

Ding Mian, the most skilled martial artist among the bodyguards, didn't care about saving face. He abandoned his sword and launched a sneak attack on Chu Luren from behind with his palm. However, his palm struck Chu Luren's back as intended, but the latter only staggered slightly. Instead, Ding Mian's palms seemed to be stuck to Chu Luren's back.

"He's using the Star-Absorbing Evil Technique! Attack him together!" Zhong Zhen shouted upon seeing this.

After the Huashan Sword Qi competition, which resulted in a sharp decline in strength, Zuo Lengchan's plan was to unite the Five Sacred Mountains to directly help Songshan overcome its biggest bottleneck—with Shaolin Temple nearby, Songshan has now basically reached its limit.

If successful, the Five Mountains Sword Sect, while not comparable to Shaolin, will reach a level that Shaolin will find difficult to control. In addition, with four more "branch sects," they can evade Shaolin's suppression...

To achieve the unification of the Five Sacred Mountains, there must be a pretext, and a ready-made target is the "Sun Moon Sect." The two sides have been enemies for a long time. If he can unite the Five Sacred Mountains and defeat the Sun Moon Sect, then with his great prestige, the unification of the Five Sacred Mountains will be a natural consequence.

Therefore, Zuo Lengchan always regarded Ren Woxing as a major enemy and often analyzed the "Star Absorbing Technique"!

Zuo Lengchan has cultivated his own Frost Qi. If Ren Woxing were to absorb it, he might be tricked. As for the other junior brothers...

The "absorption" in the Star Absorbing Technique has its limits!

According to their understanding, even Ren Woxing would be at risk of going into qi deviation if he absorbed too much internal energy at once.

Seeing Chu Luren use the "Star Absorbing Technique" on Ding Mian, Zhong Zhen immediately reacted. Before he could finish speaking, Lu Bai had already appeared behind Ding Mian and placed his hands on Ding Mian's back...

Behind them were Deng Jiugong and Gao Kexin, while Zhong Zhen and Zhang Cheng held off Deng Jiugong, and the Sun brothers held off Gao Kexin... One after another, the seven bodyguards added their own weight!

As for Chu Luren... he simply remained motionless, with his back to the group!

The last movement was a slight raising of the hand.

Little Red, who had originally been kept by Lin Pingzhi, flew over somewhat reluctantly, yet with a mixture of reluctance and welcome, and landed in Chu Luren's hands.

Lin Pingzhi was anxious, but he couldn't intervene. After all, the contest of internal strength was very dangerous. Simply ambushing one side might not be advantageous to the other. Moreover, at this moment, the energy around the eight people was surging and bubbling, and the fallen leaves and dust around them were blown into a circle. If an ordinary expert walked within ten steps, he would probably be injured by the aftershocks of the energy!

The "Star Absorbing Technique" has its limits. What Chu Luren used to absorb Ding Mian was not the "Star Absorbing Technique," but the Returning to Emptiness Force, a technique for deflecting force. However, it also has its limits.

But when Chu Luren became completely still, this was no longer the Returning to Emptiness Force, but the Dao Embryo Releasing Calamity Scripture—the Vajra Indestructible Divine Skill, the Fossilizing Divine Skill, the Absorption Technique, the Divine Foot Scripture…

It's both firm and absorbent!

Moreover, this "absorption" is different from the "Star Absorbing Technique"; it is essentially a form of dual cultivation...

The poor Songshan Sect's bodyguards thought they had found a chance to defeat the enemy. Seeing that Chu Luren was so careless and dared to fight seven people at once after learning the "Star Absorbing Technique", they all put their full effort into attacking!

Chu Luren remained calm and composed. After entering the "Dao Embryo" state, Chu Luren's internal and external defenses were extremely high. Unlike when he used the "Star Absorbing Technique" to absorb massive internal energy, where his meridians were under immense pressure and he was on the verge of collapse, he did not need to be too careful, and naturally, he had much more room to maneuver.

The reason for bringing Xiao Hong here was to place the absorbed internal energy... and even her meridians!

The "absorption" in the "Dao Embryo" state is not simply a matter of removing something, nor can it be removed on the spot. Moreover, Chu Luren does not want to bear the side effects of increasing the bottleneck, so at this time, he usually directly pours it into Xiao Hong—now Xiao Hong has also adapted to Chu Luren's meridian output.

Along the way, Chu Luren had already tested the magic on many wicked people from evil sects who didn't believe in it and came to seize the treasure map.

Moreover, Xiao Hong is ultimately just a bird, and its meridians are completely different from those of humans. Whether it's internal energy being poured in or its meridians being stuffed in, for Xiao Hong, it's just "washing" its meridians and body, and it can't stay for long.

Every time Xiao Hong darted out with internal energy, it was Chu Luren replenishing her mana on the spot; in reality, Xiao Hong didn't actually possess internal energy herself.