The Great Martial Arts World: Hot Topics and Great Heroes

At the same time, there is also an active trigger effect—after playing a piece, not only will the bonus to oneself be greatly increased, but also... just like the duet of Liu Zhengfeng and Qu Yang, it can also inspire other listeners.

It seems that the Chu Lu people can carry their suonas with them more often... which is more convenient than the seven-stringed zither!

As the music faded, the surrounding forest suddenly rustled. Chu Luren quickly climbed down from the small cliff and rushed to Qu Feiyan's side.

"Who's playing tricks!" Chu Luren shouted, his Swordsman buff activated at the moment.

The response to Chu Luren came from a very mature female voice: "Pretending to be a god? Playing tricks? You killed members of my Holy Sect, so what kind of hero are you pretending to be?"

What surprised Chu Luren even more was that the sound was not only ethereal, obviously like the "ventriloquism," which had the effect of concealing the source of the sound, but also... at this moment, the moonlight shone through the swaying branches and leaves in the nearby forest, forming a semi-transparent light and shadow more than ten steps in front of Chu Luren!

The figure in the shadow only showed the upper body, and was wearing a cloak and veil, so the face and figure were not clearly visible...

Chu Luren: ? ? ?

In the TV series "The Smiling, Proud Wanderer," Ren Yingying did indeed possess such an extraordinary skill.

Although her fighting skills in the original series were not as high as in the later 13 versions, and her character design was not as unique, Ren Yingying still had some "supernatural" abilities, such as the ability to leave a photo in front of her from a distance.

However, Chu Luren thought about it and realized that those strange and eccentric characters in "The Legendary Twins" were all in this martial arts world, so it wasn't so strange that they would leave their mark from afar.

Coach, I want to learn this! It's way more sophisticated than ventriloquism...

Of course, Chu Luren wasn't so rash as to blurt out his true thoughts. Instead, he said honestly, "Don't emphasize 'playing tricks' when you're talking about it. I'm not surnamed Ning..."

Ren Yingying: ? ? ?

This world is filled with Tang and Song poems that the people of Chu and Lu know, and even those that "Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio" cannot copy.

Ren Yingying was also rebuffed by Chu Luren—I clearly wanted to test your strength and show you some power, but in your mouth it sounds like I'm telling you dirty jokes.

"Holy Maiden!" Qu Feiyan quickly called out to Ren Yingying.

"Oh? This must be Miss Ren from the Sun Moon Cult." Chu Luren pretended to have just guessed.

As for that mature, older woman's voice, Chu Luren estimated that it was most likely an act, or perhaps it was the result of long-term imitation that made the voice sound real. As for her age... she should indeed be quite young.

Otherwise, they wouldn't have gotten stuck on the "ghostly" joke!

Of course, this was mainly because the Chu people had a preconceived notion, and no one else would want to use this method to test the "Holy Maiden's" age.

“Holy Maiden, those evil clowns, Yan Sanxing and his gang, made you lose face. Young Master Chu couldn’t stand it and killed a few of them.” Qu Feiyan actually knew that the Holy Maiden didn’t really hold a grudge against Chu Luren, otherwise she wouldn’t be acting like this. It’s just that… usually, for the sake of her authority, she still had to save face in front of her subordinates.

Qu Feiyan's words made it sound as if Chu Luren was trying to save face for the Holy Maiden.

"Go ten miles east and meet me! As for Young Master Chu... I owe you a favor! In the future..." Ren Yingying gave Qu Feiyan a very stern command.

In reality, the two are more like sisters who get along well. It's just that with Chu Luren, an outsider, there are some formalities between them. After all, if Ren Yingying's identity is exposed, her journey in the martial arts world will be much more dangerous.

Chu Luren wasn't necessarily going to reveal the secret; he was more concerned about the "favor" from the Holy Maiden. Moreover, Chu Luren had no other intentions regarding this favor—just casually kill me with the secret manual!

“No need for later!” Chu Luren quickly interrupted.

Ren Yingying: ? ? ?

Thinking of Chu Luren's previous "tricks," Ren Yingying was so angry that she almost blurred. If Chu Luren were to defend himself in the "future," then she would show him right now what "demonic cult tactics" really meant.

Of course, Chu Luren didn't think much of it and said directly, "I admire the martial arts of the Sun Moon Divine Sect, but... I don't want to become an apprentice yet. Does the Holy Maiden have any ideas?"

Chu Luren uttered a resounding statement that echoed the sentiment, "I don't want to sleep with you, but I want to spend your money..."

Chapter 53 A Born Powerhouse

"Ten miles to the east, if you want martial arts manuals, you can come along." After saying that, the Holy Maiden cut off the signal.

"Honestly... The Holy Maiden leads the outer sect of the Sun Moon Sect, with tens of thousands of martial artists. There are probably few things in this martial world that she can't do, and you only want martial arts manuals? This is the Sun Moon Sect, not Wudang or Shaolin." Qu Feiyan complained that Chu Luren couldn't do the math.

The reason Qu Feiyan emphasized the latter sentence was to imply to Chu Luren that he might not get what he wanted!

Does the Sun Moon Cult possess any superior martial arts techniques? No!

The Star Absorbing Technique? That belongs to Ren Woxing.

The Sunflower Manual? That belongs to Dongfang Bubai.

These cannot be considered martial arts techniques of the Sun Moon Cult...

As Qu Feiyan said, the Sun Moon Sect is not Shaolin or Wudang; the former is a "gang" while the latter two are "sects".

Each sect has its own lineage, and is a group that is united around the "master-disciple" relationship. They also attach great importance to the inheritance of martial arts.

Gangs, on the other hand, are groups that come together purely for interests or other common goals, and the inheritance of martial arts is not essential for them!

Just like the Sun Moon Cult, most of its high-ranking members joined with prior martial arts skills... As for teaching martial arts?

For large gangs, of course, there are as well.

For example, Dongfang Bubai was rewarded with the "Sunflower Manual" by Ren Woxing because of his high merit. In addition to the reward, because the Sun Moon Sect was large enough, it would absorb some idle people in the martial arts world. Therefore, the sect also summarized some kung fu such as "Heavenly Saint Saber Technique" and "Sun Moon Divine Fist" and would pass them on to the lower-level members.

While it may be better than mainstream products, and even comparable to the heritage of some minor sects, it is definitely not comparable to the truly prestigious sects.

Similar to the Ming Cult, the only true "inherited skill within the cult" is the "Great Shift of Heaven and Earth" exclusive to the cult leader. As for learning martial arts from masters like Yang Xiao, Wei Yixiao, and the Five Wanderers, one needs to find a master and seek instruction from them; it has nothing to do with the Ming Cult.

The Beggars' Sect only has two martial arts techniques: the Dog-Beating Stick Technique and the Eighteen Subduing Dragon Palms. Firstly, the sect leader must learn them, and secondly, they break them down and teach them to other meritorious members.

Although the Beggars' Sect has "Elders Who Transmit Skills," they only teach the lower-ranking members some basic skills, such as Lotus Fist and Iron Broom Kick. The real elders and leaders, each with eight or nine bags of martial arts, are primarily skilled in their own family's techniques... Want to learn? You'll have to find a master yourself!

As for gangs like the Chang Le Gang, they are even worse...

"What if you can learn the Star Absorbing Technique or the Sunflower Manual? The most important thing in life is to have dreams! What are your dreams?" Chu Luren was quite reassuring.

Qu Feiyan wrinkled her nose, seemingly thinking for a moment, before saying, "May it last for a thousand years, and unify the martial world?"

Chu Luren: ...

In fact, Chu Luren thought that Ren Yingying should know some profound kung fu, especially since she may have mastered more than one state of mind through the way of music. For example, in the original work, she used the zither music "Qingxin Pushan Mantra" to relieve Linghu Chong's internal injuries. This is not something that can be done by the "Lion's Roar" which is a simple sound attack that combines true qi with sound!

The two lightly leaped and traveled two or three miles when Chu Luren suddenly asked, "Do you think the Holy Maiden might have been not far from us before, and now... she's running frantically ahead of us?"

That's right, Chu Luren didn't believe that such miraculous methods could be used from ten miles away!

Even one mile is an overestimation...

The reason for saying "ten miles" is probably because the Holy Maiden deliberately wanted to create a persona; simply put, she was putting on airs.

At first, I only said it to Qu Feiyan, but since Chu Luren asked for the secret manual, I couldn't change my mind!

"What do you think?" Qu Feiyan asked, seemingly serious but actually feigning, which made Chu Luren waver somewhat.

Meanwhile, the Holy Maiden, that's right... just over a mile away from Chu Luren, was riding eastward, seemingly determined to save face at all costs.

Chu Luren didn't abandon Qu Feiyan and unleash his full speed to verify it. Instead, he made do with Qu Feiyan's lightness skill and "leisurely" arrived in front of the Holy Maiden who was already at her best.

Upon seeing Chu Luren, the Holy Maiden said nothing and simply tossed him a parchment scroll.

They used a clever trick; the parchment scroll flew over very slowly, as if it were being pulled by some invisible force, making it appear quite imposing.

After all, the Holy Maiden's martial arts skills were not low, but they were not high either... It was not necessarily enough to intimidate Chu Luren. If she really threw it with all her might, Chu Luren would probably see through her disguise.

The Holy Maiden knows many of these kinds of flashy martial arts techniques.

Of course, because of the preconceived notion of "Ren Yingying", the Chu Lu people's positioning of "Holy Maiden" was actually close to accurate!

"Burn immediately after reading, and do not circulate outside the territory, otherwise... you will be killed." The Holy Maiden said with great authority.

Chu Luren felt that Ren Yingying's attitude towards him seemed too cold. In the original work, Linghu Chong was inexplicably "favored," while he was, after all, a time traveler...

Think about how Linghu Chong first attracted Ren Yingying in the original work... it seems that after hearing the music, he started to play the victim? He cried about being "abandoned" by his junior sister and his tragic experience of being wronged? Then Ren Yingying began to look at him differently! She even took the initiative to teach Linghu Chong to play the zither and went to play the xiao herself.

From this perspective, Ren Yingying seems to have a lot of potential to be a judge in a major competition...

Maybe musicians just enjoy hearing people play the victim?

Chu Luren composed himself for a moment, then cleared his throat: "Actually... I'm a lonely boy, I grew up in the Qidian Orphanage..."

Ren Yingying: ? ? ?

"Come here now!" Ren Yingying was clearly speaking to Qu Feiyan, but she subtly interrupted Chu Luren.

In fact, Ren Yingying and Qu Feiyan's relationship is much closer than it appears. However, the Holy Maiden's persona cannot be ruined, so she pretends to be stern and bossy, while also showing some complaints about Qu Yang. She has a good grasp of the psychology of a "senior master of the Holy Sect" and has shown it very well.

Chu Luren: ? ? ?

Don't they teach the "Pure Heart and Universal Benevolence Mantra"?

I have a better musical foundation than Linghu Chong! I don't need to start learning from the zither; I can just learn the suona version!

Seeing that Ren Yingying completely ignored his attempt to play the victim and was about to leave with Qu Feiyan, Chu Luren felt helpless—this was clearly not the script for Linghu Chong's attempt to play the victim.

The subsequent developments are not included; the main point is that Chu Luren wanted to learn the "Pure Heart and Universal Benevolence Mantra".

Before leaving, Qu Feiyan winked at Chu Luren and whispered, "The green hills remain unchanged, the green waters flow forever... We'll meet again, Great Martial Arts Fanatic!" While saying goodbye, she didn't forget to pretend to be young, pitiful, and afraid to speak loudly in front of the Holy Maiden.

Thinking about Linghu Chong's appearance, Chu Luren considered it and concluded that it was clearly not that reason...

Finally, Chu Luren looked up at the night sky at a 45-degree angle and said, "As expected, I'm still more suited to being a powerhouse!" He attributed this to the fact that he wasn't suited to playing the victim.

Meanwhile, Qu Feiyan, who had already walked some distance away, asked the Holy Maiden with a grin, "Yingying, what kind of martial arts did you give him? It wasn't the Heavenly Saint Saber Technique or the Sun and Moon Divine Fist, was it?"

"What? You're standing up for outsiders now? I'm not that stingy. What I gave him was the 'minor technique' that Uncle Xiang comprehended from the 'Star Absorbing Technique'... Also, call me Sister Yingying!" The Holy Maiden's voice was noticeably younger.

"What did you mean when he said he was a lonely boy at the end? Did you realize that you, Yingying, are cold on the outside but warm on the inside, and you came here seeking warmth?"

At this moment, with no outsiders around, Qu Feiyan, who was feared by the leaders of major sects in the martial arts world and was considered unapproachable by the outer sect demons of the Sun Moon Divine Sect, had no taboos in front of her.

"Pah! You little brat, I'll teach you a lesson!"

Ren Yingying was in a good mood because she had "saved" Qu Feiyan, but she also realized that Qu Feiyan was just deliberately avoiding mentioning her grandfather, so she went along with her and made a fuss...

Chapter Fifty-Four: The Minor Technique of Absorbing Stars and Entering the Earth

Chu Luren had already quietly returned to the Liu residence, took out the parchment scroll that Ren Yingying had thrown over, and began to examine it carefully.

"The Star Absorbing Earth Minor Technique? This seems to be... a degraded version of the Star Absorbing Great Technique?" Chu Luren secretly rolled his eyes.

If playing the victim successfully, will we get the official version of "Star Absorbing Technique"?

Indeed, playing the victim is an essential skill for navigating the world; there's so much to learn...

This "Star Absorbing and Earth Penetrating Minor Technique" was taught to Xiang Wentian by Ren Woxing as part of the "Star Absorbing Great Technique." However, whether due to insufficient comprehension or Ren Woxing's withholding of knowledge, he failed to fully master it. Therefore, he combined his own understanding to create a "degraded" minor technique.

After reading the entire text, Chu Luren roughly understood the meaning behind it!

The true "Star Absorbing Technique" involves creating a "void" in the dantian that is completely different from other internal martial arts, like the "Return to the Void" at the end of the sea in legend. The Star Absorbing True Qi cultivated in this way can exert a suction force—a suction force that affects both physical objects and true qi.