The Great Martial Arts World: Hot Topics and Great Heroes

Upon hearing Chu Luren's words, the two old men suddenly realized something. "A rudimentary understanding of music" must just be a humble expression, right?

Who would have thought I'd run into someone with the same interests?

"I wonder if Young Master Chu has studied the qin or xiao?" Liu Zhengfeng asked gently.

"No, it's... a musical instrument that originated from the Western Regions," Chu Luren said truthfully.

The suona did indeed originate from the Western Regions, but it was quickly localized, and especially later... it rapidly became popular among the common people!

Especially in this vast world, it's hard to say what era it is. This year, according to the Song Dynasty's reign title, is the fourth year of the Tiansheng era. However, compared to the fourth year of the Tiansheng era in the Northern Song Dynasty, there are very few similarities.

In the world where the Chu Lu people live today, the suona has entered a stage of popularization. It can be said that... if the Chu Lu people did not have the golden finger of enlightenment, but had this skill from their previous life, they would not have starved to death!

"Erqin or Pipa?" Qu Yang mentioned two common ones.

"Suona".

Qu Yang: ...

Nonsense! Chu Luren came from the Qidian Orphanage, do you expect him to learn piano?

"Cough cough cough..." Liu Zhengfeng almost choked on his breath.

Qu Feiyan patted Liu Gonggong's back to help him catch his breath, while giving Chu Luren an unreasonable glare.

"Haha, a suona? Good, Young Master Chu might have something in common with my senior brother!" Liu Zhengfeng said with a smile.

"Not bad, although the suona is a bit too high-pitched, it's harmonized with the erhu..."

"Hehe, my senior brother's erhu playing is the most mournful... It's because when I hear his erhu, I feel the sorrow is too strong that I don't want to see him."

As Liu Zhengfeng was nearing his death, he began to complain about Mo Da, with whom he had only a casual relationship.

Chu Luren rolled his eyes – “Do you know this is bullying in the music industry?”

Why did Linghu Chong get the "Swordsman Song" and be able to play it with Miss Ren on the qin and xiao, while I, Chu Luren, was chosen to be paired with Mo Da?

Are you discriminating against us, the people of Chulu?

"Hahaha..." Liu Zhengfeng and Qu Yang, as if they had heard something extremely interesting, took out the sheet music, looked at each other and laughed heartily before passing away.

Laughter also dispelled much of the sorrow of parting and death.

Qu Feiyan was sobbing softly, as if worried that her crying would disturb her grandfather and Grandpa Liu's cheerful departure.

But just then, a mournful erhu melody rang out, as if bidding farewell to the two, but no one appeared, and the sound grew fainter and fainter!

"Could it be... Uncle Mo?" Linghu Chong vaguely guessed that Mo Da was likely nearby earlier.

If Chu Luren doesn't make a move, Mo Da will probably do so too!

However... Mo Da clearly had no intention of forming a couple with Chu Luren.

"Brother Linghu, Sister Qu, let's bury our two elders," Yilin said, unable to bear it any longer.

"You go and bury the two elders, I'll take care of him," Chu Luren said, grabbing Fei Bin's corpse.

Chu Luren was not Mo Da; he left no sword marks on the corpse, intending to warn Zuo Lengchan and completely destroy the evidence!

Fei Bin also found it very annoying that he didn't bring the manuals for the Great Songyang Palm and Songshan Sword Technique, adding another point of regret for Chu Luren.

Actually... very few people carry around a secret manual they've already memorized!

Linghu Chong, Yilin, and Qu Feiyan buried Liu Zhengfeng and Qu Yang, and also buried their qin and xiao with them.

The Chu Lu people also found a cliff and threw Fei Bin's body into the ravine.

After they reunited, Linghu Chong took the sheet music. As for Chu Luren... there was no rush, as Qu Feiyan had already memorized the sheet music.

The sheet music for this seven-stringed zither doesn't have a fixed and universally accepted writing format nowadays. Even Linghu Chong couldn't understand the sheet music written by Qu Yang, but Qu Feiyan could recognize the tune.

Afterwards, Linghu Chong and Yilin needed to find a reason to reunite with their respective sect members in a less "suspicious" way, and it wouldn't be appropriate to bring Qu Feiyan along at this time.

Although theoretically, with Fei Bin dead, the other members of the Five Mountains Sword Sects wouldn't know about the relationship between Qu Feiyan and Qu Yang, the two are disciples of the Five Mountains after all, and if it were discovered in the future, it might cause some difficulties.

If there were no one else around, the two of them would not be afraid to take on any difficulties, but since Chu Luren is here, they will temporarily entrust Qu Feiyan to him.

Although Qu Yang's death will likely cause him to be forgotten within the Sun Moon Cult, the Holy Maiden was raised under Qu Yang's care, and she was also very close to Qu Feiyan. As long as they reunite with the Holy Maiden, they will be safe.

Moreover, given Qu Feiyan's cleverness, she wouldn't suffer any major losses in the martial arts world. If Qu Yang and Liu Zhengfeng hadn't been on the verge of death, even if Fei Bin wanted to kill her, he might not have succeeded!

Afterwards, Qu Feiyan read the score to Chu Luren, who then recorded it using the number notation system for the suona.

After returning to Hengshan City, I even bought a suona (a traditional Chinese wind instrument) – it wouldn't be so easy to find a seven-stringed zither or something similar…

Seeing Chu Luren so serious, seemingly really going to learn the "Swordsman Song" on his own, Qu Feiyan couldn't help but feel happy, but... looking at the suona tucked into Chu Luren's waist, she felt a little disgusted!

After paying respects to her grandfather, Qu Feiyan quickly adjusted her emotions, or rather... she quickly concealed her grief.

"The prototype of the suona was introduced to the Central Plains from Persia. Its tone is majestic and its sound is high-pitched... It is wrong to discriminate against musical instruments!" Chu Luren said with his head held high.

"Oh, actually I didn't say anything." Qu Feiyan pouted upon hearing this.

Actually, the suona is not bad either. Compared to the seven-stringed zither and pipa, it is more convenient to carry. The main thing is that Chu Luren doesn't want to practice anything else, since he doesn't have much musical talent to begin with!

Why make things difficult for yourself?

state of mind...

Music isn't necessarily the only way to get started, but since Chu Luren already knows one method, he certainly won't miss it!

"Are you sure no one in the righteous sects recognizes you? Then I'll take you to the Liu residence." Chu Luren made sure to confirm one last time.

"Eunuch Liu's two disciples have met me twice, so they might be able to guess some things. As for the others... actually, not to mention those hypocrites from the righteous path, very few people in the sect know me. We'll part ways in Hengshan City, and I can go find the Holy Maiden myself." Qu Feiyan was quite confident, after all, navigating the martial world isn't all about martial arts skills.

"No, I can take you around the neighborhood to look for them. Actually, I encountered people from the Sun Moon Cult before. They were probably also there for your grandfather and Senior Liu. I just don't know if the leader is the Holy Maiden." Chu Luren was still a little worried, after all, he was still a child.

"Huh? Who did you run into?" Qu Feiyan asked immediately.

"Yan Sanxing, and five others I don't recognize, are also dead," Chu Luren answered honestly.

"They're from the outer sect of the Holy Cult... It must have been the Holy Maiden who sent them to rescue Grandpa! Did they die at the hands of the Songshan Sect?"

"No, die by my hand."

Qu Feiyan: ...

Chu Luren told Qu Feiyan about his previous act of bravery, not caring that they were practically "fellow disciples" with Qu Feiyan.

As expected, Qu Feiyan sighed upon hearing this: "He deserves to be killed! He deserves to be killed!"

"But you did it all to save a strange woman? Is it pretty?" Qu Feiyan asked curiously.

"It should be quite beautiful, but I didn't look closely." Chu Luren had only seen it once, and hadn't even heard its voice, so he only remembered the general idea.

"Then why did you save me and Grandpa?" Qu Feiyan couldn't help but ask.

"I saved that woman because I was innocent, and I saved you because I was innocent. Is that a contradiction?" Chu Luren looked at Qu Feiyan with a puzzled expression.

“It’s not contradictory…” Even the usually quick-witted Qu Feiyan was momentarily speechless.

He also understood that Chu Luren was different from the hypocrites of the righteous path, and also quite different from those so-called free-spirited people in the Holy Sect!

Chapter Fifty Exposure

"If you follow the Holy Maiden from now on, you won't go astray, will you? Or should I introduce you to Master Shui?" Chu Luren seemed a little worried.

"No, I wouldn't stoop so low as to abduct women! Speaking of which... why would an ordinary woman be bathing in the middle of nowhere while wearing red clothes?" Qu Feiyan noticed the blind spot.

"That's making me a little scared... There must be some other estate nearby," Chu Luren offered a more scientific answer.

"By the way... do Senior Liu and Grandpa Qu have anything else they want to entrust to me?" Chu Luren asked, his voice filled with a desire to perform a heroic act.

Qu Feiyan looked at Chu Luren warily: "What do you want to be entrusted with?"

"Martial arts! What do you think?" Chu Luren always loved secret manuals.

Don't be fooled by Chu Luren's reluctance to provoke Zuo Lengchan. If beating him could unleash the Frost Palm technique, Chu Luren would now... diligently practice martial arts, preparing to crush Zuo Lengchan in the future.

"No! And would you dare to learn the martial arts of the Sun Moon Sect?" Qu Feiyan retorted.

“What’s there to be afraid of learning? Bring me the Sunflower Manual and the Star Absorbing Technique, and I’ll just… learn from their strengths and make them my own!” Chu Luren said, sticking out his neck.

Qu Feiyan curled her lip upon hearing this: "You wish!"

At this time, she was unaware of the prerequisites for cultivating the "Sunflower Manual," so she didn't complain much.

Chu Luren also sighed, "How wonderful this world would be if everyone carried a secret formula like a high school senior carrying a vocabulary book."

“But if you really want it… I do have a skill that’s not important, it’s a secret passed down by the leader of the Five Immortals Sect!” Qu Feiyan said, her eyes darting around.

"The cult leader's secret teachings? Are you being so generous?" Chu Luren was also taken aback.

The Five Immortals Sect mainly operates in the southwest, with its headquarters on the border between the Song Kingdom and Dali. It has many disciples among the various ethnic groups in Dali. In fact, it is also known as the "Five Poisons Sect," which uses Gu and poison as its skills, and is therefore feared by people in the martial arts world. However, it is now considered a subordinate of the Sun Moon Divine Sect, and its leader is called "Blue Phoenix."

"Isn't that a bit inappropriate? How about... you do a dictation test, and I'll steal it tonight?" Chu Luren said with a strong sense of justice.

"No, although this skill is profound, once you learn it, even if you encounter Sister Lan in the future, I will dare to speak up for you," Qu Feiyan said confidently.

Seeing that the other party was so sincere, Chu Luren naturally had no reason not to learn!

Qu Feiyan's memory was truly remarkable. Chu Luren suspected that she possessed some kind of photographic memory. After clearing her throat, she recited a cultivation manual of over two thousand words to Chu Luren.

"Have you memorized everything? Do you want me to write it down for you?" Qu Feiyan asked with a smile.

Not to mention that it would be impossible to remember it normally, Qu Feiyan also believed that Chu Luren at least understood what kind of skill it was.

To put it bluntly, it's just to tease Chu Luren...

This skill is nothing more than a practice method used in conjunction with the "Five Poison Iron Hands" technique, which doesn't even have a formal name.

Chu Luren now understands that although the leader of the Five Immortals Sect is Lan Fenghuang, he miraculously shares some of the character traits of He Tieshou, the leader of the Five Poisons Sect in "The Sword Stained with Royal Blood".

In order to practice the Five Poisons Sect's ultimate technique, her left hand was cut off by her father when she was young, and replaced with an iron hook.

However, losing one of the five brothers is a minor matter; the loss of a section of meridians in internal martial arts practice is a significant hindrance.

The "Five Poisons Iron Hand" technique is most effective when this meridian is absent and a golden hook tempered by the five poisons is used instead during meditation.

But you can't just stop practicing the "Five Poison Iron Hands" and nothing else...

This is where this nameless skill comes in handy. It has no other function than to "block" the meridians in the hands when practicing and circulating the energy!

Similar to Duan Yanqing's "Missing Meridian Circulation Technique"—"Missing Meridian Circulation Technique" is mainly used in conjunction with the Soul-Chasing Staff to ensure that the energy is circulated and processed around the meridians of the legs... Later, these two martial arts were also merged by Chu Luren, who had a sudden enlightenment, into the "Earthly Deficiency Circulation Technique," which is usually used to add color to the sword energy.

It's actually quite useless. When you run out of equipment slots for "skills", it will probably have to be replaced.