The Great Martial Arts World: Hot Topics and Great Heroes

In Xiao Guizi's opinion, the conditions were not worth it—kneeling wouldn't cost him anything, and it was actually quite deceptive. He should just be clear in his mind and remember that he was not a "lackey."

When Xiao Xuanzi heard these conditions, his face turned quite ugly. Xiao Guizi knelt for a long time just to relay them...

At this time, Chu Luren also discovered that most of the other experts who had surrounded and killed Ao Bai had already left, and only two groups, one open and one covert, were still in Manjing.

In the open, it's Duan Tianya who is still in contact with the Manchu court; clearly, the mission given to him by the Divine Marquis is not just to eliminate Ao Bai. In the shadows, it's Zong Weixia and Chang Jingzhi of the Kongtong Sect who are still lurking in the capital, seemingly searching for someone...

Chapter 458 Serious Matters

At this time, the Manchus had only recently entered the Central Plains, and their rule was direct and crude. Their control over the capital allowed people from the martial arts world, as well as a number of anti-Qing forces, to "thrive like fish in water"—provided they were willing to shave their heads in order to infiltrate the city!

Within the city, the Qing dynasty's control and surveillance capabilities were very poor. Previously, the young emperor had arranged for a group of experts to stay in a booked inn, yet Aobai, the de facto ruler of the Qing court, had not received any information about it...

Chu Luren originally thought that the young emperor had made some other arrangements, or that the people around him were his own people. Later he found out that he had simply asked Xiao Guizi to book an inn!

The extent of the control over the capital was thus evident...

If this happened in Lin'an, and a bunch of experts gathered in an inn, the Dragon Guard Manor would come to check for fire prevention and theft that very day!

Therefore, Chu Luren, with his keen interest, had already discovered that the two elders of Kongtong were acting suspiciously in the capital, seemingly investigating something, while the Qing court remained oblivious.

Of course, Chu Luren was only curious about the whereabouts of Zong Weixia and Chang Jingzhi. The main reason why Chu Luren was still staying in Manjing was Ao Bai!

Chu Luren was filled with doubt and covetousness regarding Ao Bai's martial arts skills.

At that time, Chu Luren was right next to Ao Bai, so he was absolutely certain that this was not the effect of any external object, but rather that Ao Bai's defense was truly astonishing.

Even when using the Stealing Pill Technique while still under the Dao Embryo stage, Chu Luren was initially worried that he would inhale fragments of his meridians, so he was extremely cautious when he made his move. However, once he actually did it, he found that his worries were unnecessary...

Ao Bai's meridians simply cannot be absorbed!

It should be known that Chu Luren's "Stealing Elixir Style" originated from the "Absorbing Power Technique," and it should only be able to withstand a protective divine skill at the level of "Indestructible Vajra Divine Skill."

Ao Bai wasn't completely able to resist. His internal energy was already flowing away uncontrollably under the "Return to the Void Force," and he had no power to resist under the "Stealing Elixir Style." However, the stability of his meridians had reached the level of the "Indestructible Vajra Divine Skill."

Before Liu Chengfeng left, Chu Luren specifically approached him and asked about the "Golden Bell Divine Shield" that Liu Chengfeng had mentioned before, as well as the "Pure Yang Limitless Skill" that Cheng Guan had talked about.

If it were anyone else, Liu Chengfeng wouldn't have wanted to say much, but Chu Luren had close ties with Wudang, so Liu Chengfeng still offered a few explanations...

When the Manchus first entered the Central Plains, the Shaolin Temple scripture seizure incident occurred. The Qing court, citing the Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang's fondness for Buddhist scriptures, forcibly demanded Buddhist scriptures from Shaolin. As a result, they confiscated many martial arts manuals. Fortunately, Shaolin had made preparations in advance, and the truly profound martial arts, especially the original martial arts, had already been transferred to the Southern Shaolin.

However, some omissions are inevitable, so there must have been quite a few Shaolin martial arts techniques within the Qing court.

Therefore, it is not wrong to say that Ao Bai practiced the "Golden Bell Cover" technique, and it also includes Iron Head Skill, Iron Shirt Skill, Iron Crotch Skill, Iron Arm Skill, Iron Palm Skill, Iron Leg Skill, Iron Foot Skill... Ao Bai practiced them all.

As for the section on "Pure Yang Limitless Skill"...

Several years ago, while Zhang Zhenren was in seclusion, Dongfang Bubai personally led several elders of the Demonic Sect to attack Wudang's hidden martial arts location!

Liu Chengfeng didn't elaborate on this...

In short, according to the rumors, some people said that when Zhang Zhenren came out of seclusion, he frightened Dongfang Bubai away, while others said that Dongfang Bubai had already fled before Zhang Zhenren came out of seclusion.

Although Wudang didn't suffer much loss, Dongfang Bubai must have managed to snatch something!

In the original novel "The Smiling, Proud Wanderer", before seizing the "Sunflower Manual", the Sun Moon Cult had already risked offending the world by seizing the "Tai Chi Boxing Manual" and "Tai Chi Sword Manual" from Wudang. However, that happened before Ren Woxing's time.

In the vast world of martial arts, Dongfang Bubai certainly didn't manage to snatch any complete top-tier martial arts techniques that time, but it's not impossible that a fragmented copy of the "Pure Yang Limitless Skill" ended up in his possession...

Because they discovered that some of Ao Bai's true qi properties were similar to those of the "Pure Yang Wuji Gong", Shaolin did not want to take the blame, so they insisted that Ao Bai had practiced the "Pure Yang Wuji Gong"!

As for what the Sun Moon Divine Society might have exchanged with the Qing court using the incomplete "Pure Yang Limitless Skill," there are too many possibilities.

In fact, neither of these claims can be taken seriously. Before Zhang Zhenren went into seclusion this time, he had also deduced that the Pure Yang Limitless Skill and the Golden Bell Cover could not produce such a dreamlike synergy.

Unless Ao Bai obtained an incomplete version of the "Pure Yang Limitless Skill" from the Sun Moon Sect and it underwent some kind of mutation, it should not have such an effect!

In contrast, Liu Chengfeng was more inclined to believe that Ao Bai had taken some kind of magic pill—after all, the ancestral homeland of the Qing Dynasty, the Changbai Mountains and the Heilongjiang River, was a place where ginseng, lingzhi and other similar products were abundant.

Caring about the political situation in the Qing court was just for fun; what Chu Luren cared about most was Ao Bai's martial arts skills!

Therefore, Chu Luren didn't even tell Qiao Feng, pretending to leave, but in reality, he was still lingering in Manjing...

Although having Qiao Feng's help might make things easier, the fact that Qiao Feng, who had just become the banner lord of the Plain White Banner, was already helping him inquire about the imprisoned Ao Bai would likely cause the young emperor to lose sleep.

It's easy to guess where Ao Bai was imprisoned—after being imprisoned, Ao Bai continued to shout and "slander" the royal family, so he wasn't imprisoned in the Ministry of Justice's prison, but in the Prince Kang's mansion!

Because he intended to wipe out the remaining rebels, the young emperor deliberately leaked this information, and now many people in the city are spreading this rumor.

However, barging in directly would be a poor strategy. After all, they are waiting for Ao Bai's remnants, and it would be foolish to walk straight into a trap. Especially since Ao Bai's remnants at least have Ao Bai's cooperation, while if Chu Luren goes down, Ao Bai will probably be the first to fight him to the death, and he won't be able to get any key information out of him in a short time!

Therefore, the Chu Lu people planned to find an "acquaintance" to help them...

Although he didn't practice the martial arts that Chu Luren wanted to teach him, which was "only those who have lost their roots can practice," Chu Luren felt that his intentions had been fulfilled.

If even "Little Guizi" wouldn't help with this, does he have a heart?

On the other hand, Wei Xiaobao is now certain that Chu Taisui was not joking with him—he has personally witnessed the kung fu that only those who have lost their genitals can practice!

However, it was precisely because of this that Wei Xiaobao became increasingly terrified of Chu Luren...

He had originally planned to take advantage of Chu Taisui's interest in the person who taught him martial arts to incite Taisui to fight the old tortoise, but now he dared not think about it at all.

He even suspected that the cassock was left there by Chu Luren. Because of his preconceived notions, he had taken the time to observe carefully and found that Chu Luren had indeed sealed the pressure points of the disciple and his wife. He even had a wicked grin on his face when he saw the horrifying scene.

Of course, this ensured the smooth execution of the plan to eliminate Ao Bai, and Wei Xiaobao dared not ask any further questions...

Moreover, Wei Xiaobao has no mind to think about how terrifying Chu Luren is right now; he feels he might not be able to get through this hurdle!

Chapter 459 Old Blind Eye

Inside the Imperial Palace in Beijing, in the Imperial Kitchen, Hai Dafu, under Xiao Guizi's care, finished his meal tonight. Instead of practicing his internal energy cultivation as usual, he started chatting with Xiao Guizi...

"Boy, who else is in your family?" Hai Dafu entered the palace after he came of age, which did not affect the development of his vocal cords. His voice was not high-pitched, but his tone was full of coldness.

His opening remarks were like a cold wind blowing into one's bones.

Upon hearing this, Wei Xiaobao's heart clenched instinctively. After all, he wasn't the real "Xiao Gui Zi," and he didn't know how much Hai Dafu actually knew about that deadbeat Xiao Gui Zi. If he said something wrong, he might lose his life!

"Young man, I only have my mother at home. As for the rest of you... let's not talk about it," Wei Xiaobao cleverly glossed over the matter with a quick remark.

In this way, if Hai Dafu really mentions someone else, he can find another explanation in "it's better not to mention it".

Unfortunately, his quick wit was not enough this time.

"Heh, you little rascal, you're not being honest... Do you think I'm blind and deaf too? Are you Xiao Guizi? Heh, then tell me, how do you say 'only the old mother at home' in Zhili dialect?" Eunuch Hai sneered.

"Eunuch Hai...Isn't what I'm saying always Zhili dialect?" Wei Xiaobao's teeth chattered.

"In the past two years, you've really picked up the Beijing accent quite well. If you had been like this from the beginning, I really wouldn't have been able to tell that you had a Henan accent!" Eunuch Hai had obviously seen through Wei Xiaobao's substitution from the very beginning.

However, because he had an important mission, he had to use Xiao Guizi first and pretend to be friendly with her.

What Wei Xiaobao was more worried about was that Eunuch Hai had now revealed the truth, which meant that... he might have already made up his mind to kill him?

While Wei Xiaobao was trying to deceive Eunuch Hai, Eunuch Hai confessed that he had put a slow-acting poison in the soup Wei Xiaobao usually drank.

Just as Wei Xiaobao was in despair, wanting to get through this immediate crisis first, he made up some nonsense and used his voice to conceal the fact that he had just pulled out the divine dagger from his boot. Suddenly, he saw...

Chu Luren had already gracefully entered the room at some point and was standing steadily behind Hai Dafu!

Because Chu Luren's appearance was so bizarre, Wei Xiaobao was stunned for a moment, his actions and words both pausing.

Hai Dafu immediately noticed Wei Xiaobao's strange behavior, deduced that he had seen something behind him, and without thinking, turned around and struck him with a palm...

"Hey!" Wei Xiaobao exclaimed instinctively, which made Hai Dafu even more certain that someone was behind him.

However, not only did his palm strike miss, but Hai Dafu also didn't hear any other sound!

Hai Dafu paused awkwardly for a moment, then sneered with a hint of emotion, "Hahaha, well, you're getting more and more clever."

Indeed, Wei Xiaobao is who he is today, and this is inseparable from Hai Dafu's earnest teachings. Although he was only taught the basics of martial arts, Wei Xiaobao's "survival philosophy" in the palace was personally passed down by Hai Dafu.

He also said that Wei Xiaobao was pretending to be someone he knew, and that he had fooled him, hence his sigh.

Wei Xiaobao didn't say anything, he just stared blankly—just now when Hai Dafu made his move, Chu Luren didn't even move his feet, he just stood still like a roly-poly toy, his whole body leaning back, without making a sound, not even the sound of his clothes shaking.

Hearing that Wei Xiaobao was silent, but his breathing seemed to be in surprise and disordered, and then he forced himself to calm down, Hai Dafu judged again that there was someone in front of him, so he struck three more times... but still did not touch anything!

Hai Dafu appeared to breathe a sigh of relief, but as soon as he turned around, he immediately bent down and swept his leg across the ground, followed by a flurry of punches and kicks from all sides.

However, they still didn't encounter anything, and they couldn't even hear the breathing of the third person in the room.

"Cough cough cough, who is this expert who makes fun of this old servant?" Hai Dafu coughed twice, the trembling in his heart and lungs indicating that he was already seriously ill and his condition was beyond repair.

Although he didn't actually bump into anyone, Hai Dafu could hear the changes in the fake Xiao Guizi's breathing. He then deduced that someone was indeed in front of him, and began to dodge slightly. This explained why the fake Xiao Guizi was sometimes holding his breath and sometimes breathing rapidly out of surprise...

If there wasn't a real person involved, this kid shouldn't be able to fake it so "lifelike".

However, Chu Luren remained silent.

This was the first time Wei Xiaobao had seen Hai Dafu like this. Even though Hai Dafu was blind, he still gave Wei Xiaobao a strong sense of oppression.

However, Chu Luren was right next to him, and occasionally even "playfully" got so close that their faces were almost touching, but Hai Dafu could only feel uneasy and nervous.

Wei Xiaobao imagined what it would be like if someone was right next to him, and he knew it, but he just couldn't detect their presence... Just thinking about it made him break out in a cold sweat.

But before Wei Xiaobao could even sympathize with Hai Dafu, the old eunuch, while coughing, suddenly attacked him!

"Ah!" Wei Xiaobao exclaimed in surprise, instinctively raising his hand and thrusting the divine weapon dagger into Hai Dafu's palm.

Chu Luren's expression shifted as he realized that his dagger, like the Heaven-Slaying Sword, was also somewhat special. The Heaven-Slaying Sword could enhance sword energy, while this dagger... had just ignored, or rather pierced through, Hai Dafu's released true energy before directly stabbing into Hai Dafu's palm.

Hai Dafu was a ruthless man. With just a muffled groan, he used his right palm to deflect the dagger, and his left hand was about to deliver a follow-up blow to Hai Dafu's chest!

But just then, Hai Dafu suddenly heard a noise, and withdrew seven or eight tenths of his strength. His palm strike didn't land properly, but even the invisible force of the palm pushed Wei Xiaobao backward...

Chu Luren had also discovered that Wei Xiaobao was indeed still wearing the treasure robe. Otherwise, a kid like him with no internal strength and no hard skills would have had his lungs and internal organs explode from Hai Dafu's palm strike. Instead, he had only taken a few steps back!

After raiding Ao Bai's house, Wei Xiaobao was indeed upgraded, gaining more tricks and ways to save his life.

Wearing this protective garment underneath, it doesn't seem particularly special, but it not only protects against external injuries, it can even reduce damage from internal energy...

Of course, it's just a weakening, and it's no longer of any use to Ao Bai now, otherwise Wei Xiaobao wouldn't have gotten it.

Meanwhile, Wei Xiaobao watched as Eunuch Hai seemed to have gone mad, attacking indiscriminately from inside the house to outside, as if some unseen enemy was fighting him!

At the same time, Wei Xiaobao also noticed that although Chu Luren did not seem to make a sound, his mouth was trembling slightly, as if he was muttering something. Anyone who did not know would think he was chanting a spell, which made people feel uneasy.

Hai Dafu fought for half a day without getting to the point of exhaustion before forcing himself to stop. However, he still couldn't help but occasionally make blocking motions, as if some unseen attack was constantly coming his way...

"Cough cough cough... But... cough cough... But is it Lord Chu? You, ranked second on the Heavenly Ranking, are you not ashamed to be making fun of a blind, tuberculous old servant? Cough..."