The Great Martial Arts World: Hot Topics and Great Heroes

It doesn't matter who planted the inner demon; how strong Duan Yu ultimately becomes depends on his own "talent and effort."

Fortunately, Duan Yu is gradually overcoming his inner demons, especially after using the chess game to initially understand them. However, going too far is as bad as not going far enough; trying to achieve everything in one fell swoop will inevitably backfire. Therefore, his subsequent "brainstorming" is an instinctive act of self-preservation...

If Chu Luren knew, he would understand why I appeared—it must be because my third brother's instincts told him that I was very reliable, so it was most appropriate for me to be the one to wake him up!

After Duan Yu, many others who didn't believe in superstitions stepped forward to try.

Chu Luren didn't hold a grudge against Wang Xiaofeng. He stepped forward and made a few gestures, then coughed up blood and returned. After that, he became increasingly sensitive and suspicious...

Yang Guo and Yin Zhiping learned some of the rules and went up to try it out. Because their chess skills were too weak, they could only last a short time. After failing, they were not mentally damaged, but they were a little disappointed.

After adjusting himself, he recovered completely and even encouraged his master, Yin Zhiping, to try it... but to no avail.

Finally, Song Qingshu, who came with Mo Shenggu and Yin Liting, confidently stepped forward to try, and then...

"Yin Liting and Mo Shenggu! Why don't you bow to me, the sect leader!"

Yin Liting, Mo Shenggu: ...

Mo Shenggu knocked the guy unconscious, then bowed to all sides and said, "Please excuse me, please excuse me." He was thinking that when he got back, he would definitely ask his senior brother to discipline Qingshu strictly. He would first send him to the back mountain to accompany Snake Master and Turtle Master for three to five years to temper his character!

I don't know when it started, but people gradually stopped expecting anyone to solve the game; they just hoped someone would make a fool of themselves... cough cough! No, they hoped someone wouldn't make a fool of themselves—as long as they didn't make a fool of themselves, it was considered a success!

Just as everyone was beginning to believe in the superstition, at least the young heroes, and the rest were worried about making a fool of themselves and not very eager to step forward, it was the older generation of chess masters who stepped forward to compete...

"The Starry Sky Immortal possesses boundless magical power and great supernatural abilities, and his divine authority extends throughout the Central Plains!"

May you be invincible in battle, accomplished in both literature and martial arts, enjoy eternal bliss, and live as long as the heavens!

"May your blessings extend to all living beings, may your good fortune be boundless, may your reign last for a thousand autumns, and may you unify the martial world!"

The Xingxiu faction not only made sycophantic remarks, but also accused others of plagiarism...

Upon hearing the name of the Old Monster Xingxiu, the righteous people present became somewhat nervous and wary. In terms of martial arts, the highest among the guests present was undoubtedly Kumārajīva, but he was not considered a righteous person. Next were Yin Liting and Mo Shenggu... none of them were as good as Su Xinghe, the host.

It was a chess tournament, not a gathering of heroes, so most of the attendees were young people.

Ding Chunqiu has a terrible reputation, but his fame is definitely not small. His martial arts skills are already quite high, especially since he has many unorthodox methods—enough to leave the crippled Wuyazi helpless and make him think that he has no hope of passing on his skills to his eldest disciple. This in itself demonstrates Ding Chunqiu's strength.

Moreover, this poison technique is, to some extent, also "adept at group battles"!

"Hahaha...Wonderful, wonderful! Senior Brother, you've broken your vow today and are no longer deaf or mute. You must have something to say to your junior brother, right?" Ding Chunqiu's first words upon seeing Su Xinghe astonished everyone present.

The Old Monster of Xingxiu and Mr. Congbian are actually fellow disciples? Indeed, Ding Chunqiu is extremely famous, but no one knows his lineage...

Just then, a strange, distorted suona melody began to play—many people were startled for a moment, then realized what was happening…

Has that man arrived?

Chapter 431 The Strange Kumārajīva

To match the exquisite chess game today, Chu Luren specially played a piece called "Our Adventure" on his flute...

Accompanied by a melody that sounded somewhat strange to others, Chu Luren walked briskly to Leigu Mountain, the location of the Zhenlong Chess Game!

His imposing manner made it seem as if he were a true Go master, making it impossible to guess that he rarely won at Gomoku.

Many people were indeed surprised to see Chu Luren arrive, and Ding Chunqiu's face darkened. At this moment, A Zi walked behind Chu Luren with a proud and imposing air, even giving off the impression that "this Go master is clearing the way for me"...

Ding Chunqiu hadn't immediately guessed that this was a trap set for him, but he understood that judging from the situation, Chu Luren would definitely make things difficult for him!

If it were a different occasion, Ding Chunqiu wouldn't mind sparring with this powerful Chu Taisui, but... the timing is really unfortunate.

That old bastard Su Xinghe, I don't know what he's up to, he's brought out that old scoundrel's entire scheme—Ding Chunqiu was originally determined to deal with Su Xinghe first, but if Chu Luren gets involved now and joins forces with Su Xinghe, I'm afraid…

As for Chu Luren, upon arriving at Leigu Mountain, he first looked around and found many familiar faces!

After confirming that Yin Liting and Mo Shenggu were indeed present, he understood that Master Zhang... should have completely emerged from seclusion.

Leigu Mountain is located in Henan Province, not far from Songshan Mountain. The appearance of two of the Seven Heroes of Wudang at Leigu Mountain at this time is probably not only for the Zhenlong Chess Game, but also to ask further questions about the unclear "explanation" given by Shaolin earlier!

"Second Brother!" Duan Yu's first reaction upon seeing Chu Luren was the joy of a long-awaited reunion, but then... remembering what had just happened, his expression became complicated.

Looking again behind Chu Luren...

Well, thankfully, they only brought my younger sister... but who is the other girl?

When Chu Luren appeared, he was much more popular than Ding Chunqiu. This shows the contrast. "Red and White Tai Sui" was at least second on the Heavenly Ranking. At most, he was "eccentric in his actions". He could not even be considered "both righteous and evil". Compared with Xingxiu Laoguai, he was undoubtedly the most righteous!

Familiar friends addressed him as "Brother Chu," while unfamiliar figures in the martial arts world called him "Hero Chu" or "Lord Chu." Even the somewhat timid Wang Xiaofeng called him "Young Master Chu"...

As for those who didn't address him and pretended not to see him, they were either people he had drunk a farewell drink with at Juxian Manor, or people like Kumārajīva who had a prior conflict, or people like the Shaolin monks who were not on the same page as Chu Luren!

The most outrageous one was Yang Guo. As soon as he saw Chu Luren, his eyes lit up, and before Yin Zhiping could stop him, he rushed out and bowed deeply to Chu Luren, saying, "Disciple Yang Guo greets Grandmaster Uncle."

Everyone was taken aback when they saw this – this young man's previous performance was quite remarkable, after all, he was one of the very few young people who didn't embarrass himself, and he was also quite young!

As everyone knows, this is a third-generation disciple of the Quanzhen School and a disciple of Yin Zhiping. If he is of the "Grandmaster Uncle" generation... then wouldn't that be counting down to Patriarch Chongyang?

Many people immediately looked at Yin Zhiping, who was also feeling helpless, guessing that this brat was doing it on purpose...

Chu Luren was kind. With a wave of his hand, he effortlessly used a gentle palm strike to help Yang Guo up from a distance. At the same time, he said with emotion, "Although your grandmaster uncle accepted me as a disciple on behalf of your master, I am not considered to have entered the Quanzhen Sect. You don't need to discuss seniority with me. Otherwise, would your sect leader still welcome me to visit in the future?"

Chu Luren could also see that although Zhou Botong didn't care on the surface, and probably didn't really care in his heart, he had at least communicated with the Quanzhen Sect and let them know that Wang Chongyang had a junior brother.

Yin Zhiping rolled his eyes and walked over to say, "Grandmaster Uncle is wrong. Since it was Grandmaster Uncle Zhou who accepted the disciple on behalf of the master, his seniority is still there regardless of whether he joins the Quanzhen Sect or not... This is what the sect leader said."

"Brother Yin, what are you doing? Let's each talk our own thing!" Chu Luren said politely.

"Oh, Brother Chu, how are you?" Yin Zhiping quickly finalized the matter, which surprised Chu Luren.

At this moment, Kumārajīva suddenly let out a "cold laugh" and interjected, "Hehe... Hahaha, Amitabha, it feels like only yesterday that we parted, yet Young Master Chu is now enjoying boundless glory!"

When Chu Luren looked at Kumārajīva, he frowned slightly. It wasn't that he was surprised that Kumārajīva would target him, after all, there was an old grudge between them.

Chu Luren frowned for two reasons. First, he thought to himself, "Unfortunately, Kumārajīva's presence here has brought about a change in the elimination of Ding Chunqiu." Second, Chu Luren felt "uncomfortable" with Kumārajīva himself.

The Kumārajīva before him was indeed a bit strange. If Chu Luren hadn't misheard, when he opened his mouth, this guy was "sneer".

This is very strange...

It should be noted that no matter how obsessed Kumārajīva was with martial arts or how unscrupulous he was in his methods, he was still a master in terms of demeanor and carried the burden of being the Tibetan national teacher.

Moreover, just as he sneered, Chu Luren's Dao Embryo Spiritual Senses felt somewhat "uncomfortable." However, it was only for a moment before Kumārajīva recovered and forcibly used a "gentle" laugh to cover up the lewd sneer that had just been spoken.

"Well, I'm relieved to see that National Preceptor Kumārajīva is in good health... Back then, National Preceptor Kumārajīva tried to exchange martial arts with Tianlong Temple in Dali using the Seventy-Two Shaolin Arts, but he failed. I wonder how many of these Seventy-Two Arts have National Preceptor Kumārajīva mastered now?" Chu Luren seemed to be reminiscing, but in reality, he was revealing some inside information about Shaolin.

“Benefactor Chu! You can’t say such things carelessly. When did the Seventy-Two Shaolin Arts fall into the hands of National Preceptor Kumārajīva?” Xuan Nan immediately retorted.

Xuan Nan, the head of the Bodhidharma Academy, had met Chu Luren before at the Heroes' Gathering at Juxian Manor. He hadn't bothered to talk to Chu Luren just now, but he immediately stood up, unable to sit still.

He wasn't shocked that Kumārajīva possessed the Seventy-Two Arts; instead, he thought that Chu Luren was going to frame Shaolin again!

"Hehe, I don't know. I just think that a dignified Tibetan national preceptor wouldn't lie and deceive people, using fake Shaolin martial arts to trick other schools into giving away their secret manuals, would he?" Chu Luren said, looking at Kumārajīva, without arguing with Xuannan any further.

For Chu Luren, the best scenario would naturally be to let Kumārajīva and Shaolin fight each other, while he could work with Brother Qiao in the shadows to kill Ding Chunqiu and eliminate any remaining threats.

Kumārajīva remained calm and smiled slightly, saying, "I have indeed studied the seventy-two Shaolin arts to some extent... Oh, right, it's only in recent years that I've delved into them. And twenty years ago, I was still studying Buddhism and martial arts in Tibet, and had never set foot in the Central Plains."

The second half of the sentence was addressed to Yin Liting and Mo Shenggu—Kumārajīva was planning to use Shaolin to establish his authority, but there were some unfortunate things he couldn't and dared not take the blame for…

Chapter 432 Duan Yu fell into thought

"Of the seventy-two unique skills of our sect, even the eminent monks of the past generations in the temple have only learned one or two. Those with exceptional martial arts talent have only learned three or five skills, which is considered a great number. Moreover, none of them have flowed into the Tibetan Kingdom. The National Preceptor is a master, so why does he speak such nonsense?" Xuan Nan looked at Kumārajīva with resentment.

Before Kumārajīva could speak, Chu Luren chimed in, "I wonder if the Imperial Preceptor taught the Seventy-Two Arts to the Tibetan soldiers? Shaolin Temple has always felt that if other countries learn their kung fu, the Song Dynasty will perish... Duan, don't forget to give them a warning when you return to Lin'an."

Xuan Nan knew that Chu Luren wanted to talk about things from thirty years ago. After chanting a Buddhist prayer, he continued to stare at Kumārajīva and did not respond to Chu Luren's words.

Duan Tianya would definitely not get involved in this matter...

"This humble monk is of limited talent and knowledge, and dares not offend the esteemed masters of the Central Plains. I am merely acquainted with a few martial arts techniques, but I would not lie about such things," Kumārajīva said earnestly.

"Does the Grand Preceptor mean that he is also somewhat proficient in the Maha Finger, the Tara Finger, and the Formless Kalpa Finger?" Xuan Nan asked with a dark expression.

Among the 72 Shaolin Arts, martial arts such as Arhat Fist and Monument-Smashing Hand, which are studied by the Arhat Hall, are usually passed on to lay disciples. However, martial arts studied by the Prajna Hall are rarely passed on to lay disciples, except in some special circumstances, when they are passed on to lay disciples who have passed the test.

As for the martial arts techniques researched at the Bodhidharma Academy, they will not be passed on to outsiders...

It's common for non-Shaolin disciples to know the Seventy-Two Arts; it's not a secret. However, the three finger techniques that Xuan Nan just mentioned are martial arts that the Bodhidharma Academy has been researching among the Seventy-Two Arts!

“Amitabha Buddha, Master Xuannan is the head of the Bodhidharma Academy. Why don’t you see how well this humble monk uses the Formless Calamity Finger?” Kumārajīva said, clasping his hands together in front of his chest and extending his index finger.

The "formlessness" in the "Formless Calamity" and the "formlessness" in the "Lesser Formless Skill" are two different things. The former is the formlessness of Buddhism, which transcends all forms and is therefore called formlessness. The latter is the formlessness of Taoism, which is boundless and cannot be named, returning to nothingness. It is called the formless form and the imageless image, which is called elusive.

As soon as Kumārajīva made his grasp, a surge of pure yang heat immediately arose. Those martial artists standing around him, even before he had made his move, felt a stifling heat.

Xuan Nan was momentarily dazed. As the head of the Bodhidharma Academy of the Southern Shaolin Temple, Xuan Nan knew all too well that this familiar heat was indeed the force of the Formless Finger!

At this moment, Xuan Nan was puzzled as to why a Tibetan monk would know the martial arts studied at the Bodhidharma Academy, while also being amazed by Kumārajīva's martial arts prowess.

“Master Xuannan, please enlighten me!” Kumārajīva said, twisting his palm and pointing it directly at Xuannan, then extending his arm and pushing forward.

Suddenly, a surge of heat, like a fire dragon, rushed towards Xuan Nan along with Kumārajīva's finger force.

Xuan Nan also came to his senses at this moment and met the attack with the same "Formless Finger" – as the head of the Bodhidharma Academy, Xuan Nan could not convince himself to use any other technique at this time.

However, if Kumārajīva's Formless Finger Technique was a fire dragon, then Xuan Nan's finger was merely a small fire snake, easily destroyed upon contact and thrown back. A cloud of black ash drifted by, revealing that Xuan Nan's sleeves had been charred and turned into black ash...

His bare arms, though protected by internal energy, were noticeably red, even though Kumārajīva hadn't used his full strength and had held back at the end.

After a moment of confusion, Xuan Nan asked with difficulty, "Amitabha, where did the National Preceptor learn the 'Formless Finger of Calamity' from?"

Kumārajīva calmly replied, "The martial arts of Shaolin in China were originally transmitted to the East by Bodhidharma. Tibet is closer to India than China."

This statement is complete nonsense. Most of the Shaolin Seventy-Two Arts were created by later eminent monks and martial arts prodigies. The martial arts transmitted to the East by Bodhidharma have also become quite different over the generations.

However, at this moment, Xuan Nan and Kumārajīva exchanged a move of the Formless Finger, and Xuan Nan suffered a crushing defeat. Therefore, he could not think of any rebuttal for a moment. Xuan Nan himself was even thinking - could it be that the martial arts of the Tibetan Tantric sect are closer to the source and therefore more profound?

Just as everyone was astonished that this foreign monk had actually "subdued" Master Xuannan of Shaolin, a muffled thud was suddenly heard, and everyone looked in the direction of the sound...

Ding Chunqiu was seen taking several steps back when Chu Taisui appeared in front of one of the women in purple who had come with him!

Judging from the looks of it, it seems that Ding Chunqiu had just attacked this girl, but was stopped by Chu Luren.

Chu Luren's popularity is just so-so, and he's gotten used to it. After all, he's a "backbone of the martial arts world." If everyone can accept it, then he's still a backbone.

However, compared to the Starry Night Old Monster, everyone still hopes that the Red and White Tai Sui will rid the people of harm!

Especially seeing that Old Monster Ding was so shameless as to secretly attack a little girl, they felt even more contemptuous.

"Ding Chunqiu, instead of being a coward in Xingxiu Sea, you attacked my third brother's sister. Do you look down on us brothers?" Chu Luren said righteously.

Duan Yu: ? ? ?