The Great Martial Arts World: Hot Topics and Great Heroes

Chapter 389 Could it be that I, Azi, am the chosen one?

"Junior Sister, are you confused? You stole Master's Divine Wood King Cauldron. You know what kind of punishment Master will give you when you go back to see him, don't you? Don't say that your senior brother doesn't care about you. Just kill yourself now! So you won't suffer when you go back." Zhaixingzi didn't seem to buy into Azi's act.

Ah Zi was clearly not going to give up so easily, and quickly said, "Wait! Senior Brother, Master usually dotes on me the most. If you kill me now, he might not reward you when we get back."

Upon hearing this, Zhaixingzi hesitated for a moment. After all, Azi was indeed most skilled at flattery and making people happy, and Ding Chunqiu loved listening to others boast...

Although it sounds unreasonable to take out one's anger on the eldest disciple who was being pursued and protected because of a traitor who stole the treasure, Ding Chunqiu is indeed not a reasonable person, and the Xingxiu Sect is not a place where reason prevails!

Zhaixingzi thought for a moment, then changed his mind and said, "Alright, then I will not punish you for stealing the sect's treasure for now, and we will wait for Master to decide..."

Upon hearing this, Azi was secretly delighted—although being taken back would certainly be worse than death, there was still hope as long as they didn't act now.

For example, if Xiaohong could call for help in time, her "brother-in-law" would likely come to her rescue!

Azi even secretly made up her mind that as long as Chu Luren came to save her, he would be her...brother! All those others would be her sisters-in-law!

However, the story didn't move to the next stage. Zhaixingzi continued, "Then, according to the rules of our sect, you will challenge your senior brother... If you win, you will become the senior sister of the Xingxiu Sect. Apart from Master, everyone in the Xingxiu Sect will respect you. If you lose, hehe, you understand, right?"

Azi's face turned pale. So, Zhaixingzi didn't want to use the crime of stealing the King's Cauldron to judge her, but instead wanted to kill her "reasonably" through a "skill competition among fellow disciples."

Indeed, if it were a contest between fellow disciples, Ding Chunqiu would not care who lived or died, even if one of them was a disciple he usually liked.

The Starry Sky Sect has few rules, and doesn't even emphasize respect for teachers, but its most important corporate culture is "the successful come first"...

This is why the disciples of the Starry Constellation Sect are so "strong" overall.

Of course, this strength is only temporary. If an outsider defeats Ding Chunqiu, the entire Xingxiu Sect will either turn against him or disband on the spot.

This is no longer a sect in essence. Even the most unruly gang wouldn't act like this. The Chang Le Gang doesn't even allow infighting among its members...

Even Chu Luren couldn't quite discern Ding Chunqiu's true intentions—what use was such a star-manipulation sect?

Just to hear people flatter and fawn?

Wouldn't it be better not to teach martial arts at all? What's the point of training a group of potential enemies?

To send disciples to find poisonous insects?

Perhaps that's one reason, but Chu Luren vaguely felt that wasn't entirely true.

Watching the star-picking bird chirp and whimper a few times, six pale green fireballs floated around it, circling in circles.

Chu Luren estimated that, considering his poison skills, if he encountered someone without special means of avoiding poison, even someone of Yue Buqun's level, the outcome would be uncertain.

Of course, if there were any means of avoiding poison, they would be roughly at the level of Mu Gaofeng and Yue Laosan.

"Junior Sister, you should make the first move! Don't say I didn't give you a chance," Zhaixingzi said confidently.

In his mind, all he needed to do now was to use his junior sister to re-establish his authority and ensure that the other disciples would not dare to defy him!

"Senior Brother...you're joking. How could I possibly be your match? Besides, I've never thought of competing with you for anything." Azi said aggrievedly, while gently swaying her shoulder, signaling Little Red on her shoulder to fly out and meet the enemy.

Seeing that it had no effect, she secretly reached out and tapped Xiao Hong's back—she knew that Chu Luren usually did this.

but……

Little Red flew away in disgust and landed on a tree branch, then seemed to be pretending not to see Azi!

Chu Tai Sui's bird is completely unreliable! —Azi was starting to despair…

"Alas, if it weren't for the grave mistake you made, junior sister, I wouldn't have been so ruthless towards you. Since you're unwilling to make the first move, then I'll take the initiative!"

As Zhaixingzi spoke, he flicked his sleeve, and two pale green fireballs, each the size of a human head, arced towards Azi from the left and right.

Upon seeing this, Azi hurriedly scrambled to avoid it in a disheveled manner...

To be honest, Azi is quite clever. She doesn't usually show any special skills when practicing, but this tumbling and crawling is somewhat like the "snake-walking and fox-flipping technique".

Although it was a close call, we managed to dodge the two green flames.

However, the two green flames swept past from the left and right. One of them struck a thick ancient tree and burned it off in two breaths. The other landed on a rock and burned a deep, uneven pit into it!

At the same time, the strange smell wafting around, as well as the color of the broken tree stumps and the melted rocks, all indicated that this was not because Zhaixingzi could truly cultivate his internal energy to the point of melting metal and iron, but rather that this green fire was actually poisonous fire.

The temperature is probably even lower than that of ordinary torches and campfires, and is only used to accelerate the corrosive toxicity. What is truly terrifying is the poison in it!

Zhaixingzi's technique is a typical example of poisonous martial arts. Not only is his internal energy poisonous, but he also uses special props to enhance his skills. Moreover, the higher one's skill level, the greater the possibility of being trapped by one's own poison.

Zhaixingzi was slightly surprised that Azi had dodged his attack. He had originally intended to control the burning of Azi's face and clothes, along with her flesh, causing her pain but not death, so that he could increase his "prestige".

Therefore, although Zhaixingzi was surprised that his less-than-serious move had failed, it was not unacceptable.

"Hehe, Junior Sister has been hiding her true abilities all along!" Zhaixingzi mocked.

The surrounding Xingxiu disciples also fawned over him, saying, "You little wretch, hurry up and die, don't waste your senior brother's time," "Senior brother's divine skills are unparalleled, even a firefly dares to compete with the bright moon," and "Senior brother, let your junior brothers open their eyes!"

At this moment, Azi had no time to criticize others; she was staring intently at Zhaixingzi...

When Zhaixingzi made his move again, six streaks of fire shot towards him simultaneously, blocking all of Azi's possible escape routes.

In a panic, Azi dodged haphazardly, only to find her wrist about to collide with one of the lumps.

Even if it lands on your sleeve, the poisonous fire could burn your arm and ruin it.

But at that moment, Azi suddenly felt a seemingly inexhaustible surge of internal energy emanating from her dantian, jianggong, and niwan points...

At this moment, Azi felt that perhaps she was the true protagonist? She was the destined founder of the Starry Sky Sect... no, the queen of the entire martial arts world!

But in the next moment, Azi vaguely saw that on the endless ocean, on a sacred mountain that was the "ancestral vein of the ten continents and the origin of the three paths", there was a divine stone. At this moment, the divine stone broke open, and a towering figure was revealed. Upon closer inspection... it was none other than Chu Luren.

Chapter 390 Overcoming Tribulation

Azi felt she must be going crazy. She had inexplicably seen Chu Luren emerge from a stone, radiating brilliant light.

Moreover, he had to admit that it was precisely at the moment the divine stone shattered that a vast and boundless internal force surged within his body!

At the same time, Azi felt that her spiritual senses had become extremely sensitive, and this sensitive intuition seemed to be receiving some kind of guidance.

Faced with the inevitable poison fire, Azi raised her hand and struck out with a palm, instantly extinguishing the helpless poison fire with overwhelming force...

In Zhaixingzi's eyes, Azi in front of him seemed to have suddenly become a different person. Not only had her "style" changed slightly, but her appearance had also changed significantly. She was shining with golden light all over!

Unlike Cheng Shifei's transformation, it was more like Chu Luren before he fused with the "Fossil Divine Skill"—his whole body radiated a golden light like flames, and his long hair turned golden.

Seeing this turn of events, Zhaixingzi panicked and quickly summoned back five more balls of poisonous fire to attack Ajin (ZI). At the same time, he shook his palms and created another ball of poisonous fire, making a total of six...

The other disciples of Xingxiu instinctively fell silent for a moment, then spoke in much quieter voices, saying things like, "Azi actually still has the power to resist," "She must have been plotting something bad and hiding her true strength," and "Junior Sister, you are no match for Senior Brother, beg for mercy."

Facing the onslaught of poisonous fire, Azi countered with solid punches and kicks. Although she couldn't extinguish the poisonous fire with her initial powerful palm strike, she managed to push the fireballs away with her punches and kicks, and the poisonous flames couldn't harm her body at all.

After practicing for a while, Azi seemed to be getting more and more used to it. With a turn of her palm, a dragon's roar resounded from Azi's body...

With a dazzling golden light, Azi's left palm was round and her right palm was straight. After the palm force was pushed out, a dragon-shaped true energy surged out along with the palm force, circled around herself, and swallowed four of the six poisonous fires around her. The other two that wanted to take the opportunity to attack were blocked by the dragon's belly and dragon scales!

It is the "Dragon Appearing in the Field" move from the Eighteen Subduing Dragon Palms, which focuses on defense!

Upon seeing this, Zhaixingzi was greatly surprised—when did Azi become so powerful? Could it be that her master was biased and taught her some amazing skills?

but……

This doesn't seem like the Xingxiu School's kung fu!

If you say you learned it in China, how long has it been?

The martial arts of the Xingxiu Sect are known for their "rapid results," especially during the first ten years after joining the sect, when progress is much faster than with ordinary martial arts. This has fostered an arrogant and disdainful attitude among the disciples.

However, regardless of how dangerous it actually is, in the mid-to-late stages, the Starry Sky Sect's martial arts, like all poisonous techniques, become weak and unsustainable.

Chu Luren, standing to the side, wasn't just watching the spectacle; his eyes were completely glazed over...

Did you learn this after coming to China?

of course not!

It's obvious that the Eighteen Subduing Dragon Palms is not suitable for Ah Zi, so how could Chu Luren possibly teach it?

The reason why Azi was able to make a seemingly impressive move was because Chu Luren's spiritual sense was guiding Azi's spiritual sense; she was simply following her instincts.

As for why Azi possesses true qi similar to a "Dao embryo" and is able to have her own spiritual senses and connect with Chu Luren's spiritual senses?

This stems from the Chu Lu people's previous discovery of "crossing the calamity"...

While in Fuzhou, Chu Luren sensed that his skill was approaching the "first calamity," but he still did not know how to overcome it.

After a period of cultivation, when Chu Luren entered Sanxiang, he had completely reached the perfect state before the "first calamity". At this time, Chu Luren had a deeper understanding of the "Dao Embryo Crossing Calamity Scripture" and was able to understand more from the badge. The key to "crossing calamity" was revealed!

Upon reaching perfection, one enters the period of tribulation. At this time, a portion of the "Dao Embryo" will be released, and it is not entirely incapable of being actively mobilized...

The key to "overcoming calamity" is just as the two characters themselves suggest—to overcome disaster.

The "Dao Embryo Crossing Calamity Scripture" requires this ethereal energy—the energy that arises when death ends and life begins to flourish—to achieve a breakthrough.

If an ordinary person were to cultivate this "Dao Embryo Relief Scripture", it would be quite troublesome. After all, what kind of calamity could such a tiny, liberated "small Dao Embryo" possibly overcome?

This little calamity is no match for the Dao Embryo, is it?

However, Chu Luren came up with a solution: to use his own Northern Darkness internal energy to transplant this part of the "small Dao embryo" out...

Chu Luren wasn't sure if helping others "overcome their calamities" counted.

In short, there were no problems with the theoretical deduction, so Chu Luren decided to give it a try.

Just then, the Xingxiu Sect people started following them, and they were looking for trouble with Azi. Chu Luren was the target of their "test," so why should he hesitate?

You're allowed to stay up late and touch me, but I'm not allowed to leave you with some little things at night?

Even Azi herself was unaware that she already possessed the "Dao Embryo" of the Chu Lu people.

Naturally, Chu Luren wouldn't tell her, otherwise there probably wouldn't be the energy of "death energy extinguished, life energy reborn".

Because it was originally only a small part of the "Dao Embryo" of the Chu Lu people, similar to an avatar, and it was on A Zi's body, the effect it could exert was even more limited.

Essentially, it's not Chu Luren fighting now, but rather Chu Luren providing A Zi with some internal energy through the Dao Embryo clone within her body. At the same time, through the smaller Dao Embryo, he guides her "instinct" to act by using the mutual influence between spiritual senses!

Chu Lu's choice of target was just right. With the help of the Dao Embryo, A Zi was a step and a half stronger than Zhai Xingzi, but she was inevitably a step weaker when she made a move!

Especially when she has the upper hand, A Zi will immediately start to "play hard to get" and even want to torment Zhai Xingzi to show off her senior sister's power.

However, by doing so, she refused to trust her intuition, resulting in her being like a child wielding a great sword, unable to control her power any further, and being evenly matched by Zhaixingzi...

She managed to put him in a very dangerous situation, almost burning his face with Zhaixingzi's flames. Only then did he obediently back down and carefully follow Chu Luren's arrangements, obediently forcing Zhaixingzi into a corner. Finally, he found an opportunity to force her to fight him.

The internal energy that Xiao Daotian could unleash within A Zi far surpassed that of Zhai Xingzi. In such a direct clash of palm strikes, Zhai Xingzi was immediately unable to withstand it...