The Great Martial Arts World: Hot Topics and Great Heroes

Originally, I just wanted to teach them a lesson, but after discovering something "interesting," my mind was diverted.

"Brother Long, what's wrong?" — Chu Luren asked in ventriloquism.

"Hehe, this one is not bad." Yaoyue said, reaching out to grab Chu Luren's shoulder and throwing the immobile Chu Luren out of the cave.

As for the suction force that the Dao Embryo should exert, it was effective on Yaoyue at first, but in an instant, Yaoyue adjusted it and used the Shifting Flower Jade technique to move it away, throwing it out without any effect.

Outside the cave, Chu Luren also fell into deep thought—was Murong Bo's martial arts a bit too overpowered?

Although he had come up with various excuses beforehand, Chu Luren felt that he wouldn't lose so quickly if they fought again, but... why did he always feel that this person's martial arts were even stronger than his elder brother's?

Because I've never seen my older brother really go all out?

Soon, something even more troublesome awaited Chu Luren—after dawn, he would have to explain the matter of "Long Aotian" to Murong Jiu.

Chu Luren was also puzzled. Could it be that Murong Jiu didn't even recognize her own father?

However, Chu Luren only agreed to help Murong Bo cover things up for a while. If he slips up, then he can't be blamed.

The next morning, Murong Jiu woke up from her meditation state.

While secretly annoyed by Xiao Jiu Jiu's despicable actions, Murong Jiu checked her inner garments and found no trace of them being removed!

Logically speaking, such a "minor matter" shouldn't be noticeable to the other person, so... perhaps someone has been wrongly accused?

But seeing that Chu Luren was not in the cave, Murong Jiu instinctively felt that he was involved in this matter!

When Murong Jiu came out to look for Chu Luren, she found another person wearing a mask and a brown robe was also there...

"Brother Murong, let me introduce you. This is Long Aotian, who has been living in seclusion in the martial world for a long time. In terms of martial arts, he is one of the best in the world." Chu Luren took the initiative to say to Murong Jiu.

"So it's Brother Long, a pleasure to meet you." Murong Jiu originally wanted to ask Chu Luren some more questions, but seeing that there were other people present, he decided to put it aside for the time being.

"Hmm." Yaoyue simply nodded, her attitude even worse than towards Xiao Jiujiu, as if "Nan Murong" was just a passerby.

Murong Jiu was already in a bad mood lately, and having spent so much time with Chu Luren, she spoke in a sarcastic tone: "Chu Taisui truly lives up to his reputation as the second-ranked expert on the Heavenly Ranking. He really does know some reclusive masters wherever he goes!"

Chu Luren was taken aback upon hearing this. He hadn't expected that Murong Jiu didn't find this person familiar at all, but instead started to mock him.

"Not at all, it's all just your kind words," Chu Luren said modestly with a smile.

Seeing that Chu Luren was the first to respond, while the so-called "Dragon Pride" remained unmoved, Murong Jiu rolled her eyes, unfolded her fan, fanned herself, and remained silent.

After a long silence, Chu Luren, trying to liven things up, said with a smile, "Of course I can't compare to Yan Daxia, who was second on the Heavenly Ranking back then. But if it were really back then, in terms of looks, I could probably rank between Uncle Duan and Yulang Jiang Feng, right?"

For some reason, Chu Luren's spiritual senses tightened again, but he hadn't sensed any murderous intent yet. Perhaps... malice?

Seeing that Murong Bo was looking at him, Chu Luren secretly shuddered—could this old guy be a fan of Jiang Feng or Uncle Duan?

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 408 A Temporary Confidant

"The Heavenly Ranking? Heh, Yan Nantian back then was one thing, but what are Yu Lang Jiang Feng and Dali Duan Zhengchun? How come they're even in the top ten?" Long Aotian said disdainfully.

"Uncle Duan is a good person." Chu Luren politely praised Duan Zhengchun.

Furthermore, Chu Luren could understand Murong Bo's feelings. Back then, Murong Bo was also ranked ninth, which is the same as Murong Jiu's current ranking.

At that time, Duan Zhengchun and Jiang Feng, with their feminine charm and good looks, directly overshadowed him. If it were Chu Luren, rumors about them would have spread everywhere. It's normal for Murong Bo to hold a grudge!

However, Murong Jiu clearly did not understand his father's good intentions. Instead, he thought it was just sour grapes and sarcastically said, "Prince Duan is a nobleman of Dali. Jiang Feng was able to make the palace masters of Yihua Palace fall in love with him. I'm afraid Brother Long... hehe."

Yaoyue looked at Murong Jiu, her face radiating a jade-like aura, and a true fluorescent light shone from beneath her mask…

All thoughts of cherishing talent couldn't stop Yaoyue's killing intent at this moment. She even wanted to kill this guy and then beat up her sister when she got back. Look, there are even rumors in the martial arts world that he is the "big" and "small" palace master!

Chu Luren felt that Murong Bo was guilty and should be killed by Qiao Feng with one palm, rather than being subjected to such a human tragedy. So he spoke up to persuade him: "You can't say that. My Uncle Duan is a good person, but Jiang Feng... is indeed lacking."

Chu Luren was very protective of his own, so he didn't target Duan Zhengchun with his rebuttal, after all, Duan Zhengchun was his third brother's nominal father and the biological father of several of his friends.

Murong Jiu curled her lip upon hearing this: "Oh? The thing about your Uncle Duan being better than Jiang Feng is that he hasn't died at the hands of a woman yet?"

“It’s different. Although Uncle Duan’s relationships with women are a bit messy, at least he genuinely likes every aunt he’s ever been with…” Chu Luren made a declaration of Duan Zhengchun’s scumbag nature on his behalf.

He then continued to criticize Jiang Feng, saying, "Jiang Feng is different. In my opinion, he likes himself the most!" Chu Luren said this very unfairly. If Xiaoyuer heard this, she would fight him to the death.

"Hehe, Brother Chu is truly selfless when he evaluates others." Murong Jiu's sarcasm was obvious. Then, worried that Chu Luren might actually take it as a compliment, he added, "Who in the martial world doesn't know that Jiang Feng ignored the love confessions of the two palace masters of Yihua Palace and was killed by the Twelve Constellations when he fled Yihua Palace? Are you trying to say that the Prince of Zhennan is more infatuated than Jiang Feng? Hehe."

Yaoyue seems to be plotting revenge against the martial world—what kind of bullshit rumor is this? Is it really that accurate? And did Lianxing really confess her love to him? After returning...

“It’s normal to refuse a declaration of love, but I always find this reason strange… I remember when Jiang Feng talked about Yao Yue, he said, ‘She is a ball of fire, a piece of ice, a sword. She can even be described as a ghost, a god, but definitely not a human.’…” Chu Luren said the lines from the original work, which were also the reasons Jiang Feng gave to Lian Xing before his death, explaining why he couldn’t accept Yao Yue.

Murong Jiu, Yaoyue: ? ? ?

"This...is also a rumor from the martial arts world?" Murong Jiu said, indicating that she had never heard such a specific version before.

Yaoyue fell into deep thought. Logically speaking, besides the dead and the baby, only Lianxing and herself, who were in the shadows at the time, could have heard these words. In other words...

When I get back, I really need to have a good talk with Lianxing!

Indeed, Jiang Feng said something similar back then, but he wasn't this sentimental, still thinking about parallelism even on his deathbed...

"Whether it's a rumor or not is unimportant. Don't you think this is contradictory?" Chu Luren retorted.

"What conflict?" Murong Jiu didn't quite understand.

"He thinks Yaoyue isn't human, yet he feels that his true love is different from Yaoyue, and doesn't just like his face... He actually thinks that Yaoyue, who isn't even human, would like his face? How narcissistic is he?" Chu Luren analyzed logically.

Upon hearing this, "Long Aotian" suddenly stopped his attack.

Although she was jokingly told that he was "not even human," Chu Luren's words truly touched her heart.

When Yaoyue came to her senses, she found that Chu Luren was performing a funny little skit—pretending to look in the mirror, and then he murmured, "Ah, I'm so beautiful."

Murong Jiu looked unwilling to acknowledge him, but Yao Yue gave a cold "humph" and turned around, saying, "Let's go see what kind of scoundrels have come to Emei!"

Chu Luren knew this was a hint that he should introduce "Long Aotian" to others...

However, what Chu Luren didn't know was that if any other passerby had tried to prank Jiang Feng for fun and was seen by "Brother Long," they would have ended up dead in the street, even if that passerby was ranked second on the Heavenly Ranking.

If she could be so forgiving, she wouldn't be Yaoyue, and she wouldn't still have such complicated feelings for Hua Wuque after more than ten years. On one hand, she has the love for the child she raised, and on the other hand, she still hopes that he will perish together with his own brother.

In the original ending, after Yaoyue had fully mastered the Mingyu Gong, the only human emotion she had left was the hope that Xiaoyuer would kill Hua Wuque in the duel—at least in this way, Hua Wuque would not know the crueler reality. This was a symbol of the last bit of emotion she had left after raising Hua Wuque for more than ten years.

Yaoyue is a true madwoman and a demon, but she is definitely not love-struck. If anyone thinks that simply scolding Jiang Feng in front of Yaoyue will increase his favorability, they are not far from death. If they praise him, they will die even faster.

However, hearing such fair comments from someone while keeping my identity hidden today made me feel like I had found a kindred spirit.

Of course, it was just a feeling "for a moment".

Afterwards, Chu Luren, as agreed, brought "Murong Bo" and helped him establish the persona of "Dragon Aotian," which served as a prelude to the identity of the Copper Mask Man.

After all, at this time, Mount Emei was a place where good and evil people were mixed together. When Chu Luren "responded with a song", he could easily reveal his identity as "Brother Long" to others.

That night, while resting, Chu Luren, out of caution, did not enter the Dao Embryo state, but instead continued to regulate his breathing normally, secretly watching "Murong Bo" as he pondered his schemes...

After Xiao Jiu Jiu began cultivating, "Murong Bo" walked up to Chu Lu Ren. Chu Lu Ren opened his eyes with a puzzled look, as if he had just woken up.

"Hmph, you don't need to pretend to be cultivating, and you don't need to worry about her. The true self and the real self are both 'me,' and neither can replace the other." Yaoyue snorted disdainfully, then offered a brief explanation.

"So, Brother Long, you came here solely for your daughter?" Chu Luren asked in return.

"Why I'm here is none of your business. I'll listen to what you said during the day, but whether you remember it or not is up to you!" Yaoyue said coldly.

Chu Luren automatically interpreted "what he said during the day" as what he had said to outsiders when she was helping him create his persona...

After that, the Copper-Masked Man ignored Chu Luren's words and began to talk about the martial arts principles involved in the Dao Embryo, as well as "his" speculation about the Ice Toad True Qi!

Chapter 409 Guidance

The Murong clan of Gusu truly lives up to its reputation! — Chu Luren thought to himself.

Although he was not a good person and his so-called "schemes" were completely nonsensical, Murong Bo's martial arts skills were far superior to what Chu Luren had imagined.

Chu Luren was even somewhat relieved that he hadn't dragged Brother Qiao directly to the Shaolin Temple to block the entrance...

By daybreak, "Brother Dragon" had already left. When Murong Jiu woke up, she found that Chu Luren was also cultivating, and... his whole body was covered in icy mist, looking very cool.

Murong Jiu blushed as she recalled her previous misunderstanding and speculation, but she quickly concealed it.

Chu Luren opened his eyes shortly afterward, finished his practice, raised his hand, looked at his palm as if sensing something, and finally showed a "satisfied" expression.

That's right. Before, when "Brother Long" saw him trying out the Ice Toad True Qi and sometimes taking out the Ice Toad for "dual cultivation," he wasn't hiding it from anyone. Naturally, the Crimson-Eyed Ice Toad was also seen. Before "Brother Long" left, he gave him some pointers and pointed out the crux of why his "Ice Toad True Qi" seemed to have no effect!

The Crimson-Eyed Ice Toad wasn't originally a beast that relied on cold air to harm people. In fact, its direct combat ability was extremely weak, not much stronger than that of an ordinary toad. What was amazing was its ability to detoxify and heal.

Chu Luren had not been able to "activate" his healing ability because his method of cultivation was incorrect!

Think about Zhu Jingbingchan herself; she didn't heal herself with true qi. When she was "cultivating" with Xiao Hong, the true qi buff she cultivated made her extremely resistant to high temperatures when her true qi protected her body. Rather, it was her body itself that became resistant to high temperatures...

Therefore, it is not that the "Ice Toad True Qi" itself has a strong healing ability, but that after using the Ice Toad True Qi to train the body, the body will have a stronger self-healing ability!

Furthermore... Chu Luren estimated that if one cultivates to a profound level, one will become a small ice toad, capable of healing the sick and saving lives.

However, this requires not only personal effort, but Bingbing also needs to go further.

As for the ability to detoxify, Chu Luren already possesses it, but he simply didn't know how to do it when he tried before.

The Ice Toad True Qi itself seems to perform only moderately well in terms of detoxification and repelling poison. However, if one first drinks strong liquor, one can use the Ice Toad True Qi to force the toxins into the liquor's fumes and then expel them together...

"Brother Long" didn't really understand the Crimson-Eyed Ice Toad; rather, after inquiring about the toad's effects, he gradually revealed its wondrous aspects.

Regarding the Dao Embryo, "Brother Dragon" also gave Chu Luren some pointers and even put forward some ideas, which made Chu Luren feel enlightened.

In particular, Chu Luren took a risk and roughly hinted at the process of "relieving calamity," but the other party actually had quite a bit of knowledge about such ethereal matters.

Brother Long attributed the "calamity energy" to a special kind of energy...

If the universe has a great meridian, then each person's small meridian is only a part of it. "Calamity Qi" is a side path in the circulation of the universe, which manifests in an individual's small meridian. Although it cannot be perceived, it exists naturally.

If it were someone else, or even Chu Luren from a year ago, they probably wouldn't be able to understand such a mysterious and profound statement.

However, after hearing this, Chu Luren felt that it could corroborate what Gu Santong said: "One's own heart moves the heart of heaven and earth, one's own power merges with the power of heaven and earth, one's own body breaks the body of heaven and earth, and one's own skills become the skills of heaven and earth."

and so……

In internal martial arts, knocking on the Heavenly Gate should be about "one's own Qi merging with the Qi of Heaven and Earth".

How can one's own meridians connect with the meridians of heaven and earth?

From this perspective, the "Dao Tai Shi E Jing" can be seen as the process of connecting one's own minor meridians with the major meridians of heaven and earth.

This is... a martial art that directly targets the Heavenly Gate?