The Great Martial Arts World: Hot Topics and Great Heroes

Compared to the "Northern Darkness Divine Skill," which uses thirty-six major acupoints as the "Northern Darkness" to gather all rivers and relies on the reverse flow of meridians to form "tides" for efficient breathing, this "Star Absorbing Technique" is the truly practical method for absorbing people!

However, compared to the "Star Absorbing Technique," its flaws are also obvious, and normal cultivation is far inferior to the "Northern Darkness Divine Art." It only has the ability to absorb people, but if Chu Luren really wanted to cultivate it diligently, he would definitely choose the Northern Darkness Divine Art...

Moreover, it is precisely because of the special nature of the "Star Absorbing Technique" that if a void is to be formed in the dantian, it means that it cannot coexist with normal internal energy cultivation—normal internal energy cultivation accumulates internal force or true qi in the dantian.

Even switching from the "Star Absorbing Technique" to other internal skills is very difficult, unless it is an internal skill with special effects. And if you want to switch from other internal skills to the "Star Absorbing Technique", you can only ruin most of your foundation and start over.

Of course, this is only the "qi" aspect. In terms of "technique," the Star Absorbing Technique is also a highly skilled defensive skill that can deflect the enemy's internal energy and true qi, and even convert it into one's own.

Xiang Wentian clearly had no intention of abandoning his martial arts and relearning the "Star Absorbing Skill," and Chu Luren estimated that, given Ren Woxing's temperament, he would not teach him the complete version.

This "Star Absorption Technique" is actually an application of the "Star Absorption Technique" in terms of parrying!

Compared to the true Star Absorbing Technique, since it did not cultivate the special Star Absorbing True Qi, it naturally did not have the effect of actively absorbing people or objects, and was merely a "technique".

However, when the enemy attacks, this technique can be used to forcibly "borrow" the enemy's internal energy.

Similar to Chu Luren's "Kun Swimming in the Void," it caught them off guard and they felt their internal energy being drained. That's why they were all startled when they fought Yan Sanxing.

In fact, as long as you calm your mind and don't exert force recklessly, it's quite easy to break free.

Furthermore, the enemy's internal force or true energy that has been channeled into one's meridians cannot return to the dantian like the "Star Absorbing Technique." Otherwise, an ordinary dantian that is not in a state of "returning to nothingness" would be more prone to going into qi deviation than the original version of the Star Absorbing Technique.

Xiang Wentian's solution was to use the meridians to release the stagnation into the meridians of the legs, and then completely expel it through the Yongquan acupoint!

However, this creates a vulnerability—when using the "Star Absorbing and Earth Penetrating Technique" to deflect force, not only are the meridians in the legs blocked, preventing the use of light footwork and body movements, but under the suppression of external true energy, one will feel as if filled with lead...

Basically, you can only stand still!

Therefore, it was named "Entering the Earth," giving the impression that it guides the enemy's true energy into the ground, making it difficult for the enemy to detect its weakness of being unable to move.

“To defend against… the Sun Moon Cult…” Chu Luren pondered for a moment, then thought of the origins of the Sun Moon Cult.

In fact, in the original work, the Sun Moon Cult and the Ming Cult have nothing to do with each other. Mr. Jin Yong himself also said that the Ming Cult originated from Manichaeism in Persia, while the Sun Moon Cult has no religious nature.

However, in this vast world of martial arts, the Sun Moon Cult must have split off from the Ming Cult—this event is mentioned in the "Chronicle of Major Events in the Martial Arts World," published and updated annually by the Number One Manor under Heaven, though the details are unclear!

It is said that the Ming Cult's split was due to the interference of its origin, the Persian Sacred Fire Cult, also known as Manichaeism.

After all, during Yang Dingtian's time, the Ming Cult had flourished and surpassed the "main trunk," and it paid little attention to the Persian headquarters. On the contrary, the Persian headquarters showed signs of decline, which inevitably made it wary of them.

After Yang Dingtian died from internal strife, the Holy Fire Cult took advantage of the Ming Cult's internal turmoil to cause trouble.

In the original work, the "Star Absorbing Technique" was a modified version of the "Northern Darkness Divine Skill". However, in Chu Luren's opinion, apart from the Northern Darkness Divine Skill, its ability to "parry" is very likely to originate from the Ming Cult's ultimate skill, "The Great Shift of Heaven and Earth"!

It was through "parrying" that the "passive attraction" of the Northern Darkness Divine Art was transformed into "active absorption," but... the flaws were too great.

It's more like combining two incomplete peerless martial arts manuals into a flawed peerless martial arts manual.

In the original work, the "Star Absorbing Technique" had such severe side effects that it was unbearable. Linghu Chong relied on the protagonist's halo to switch to practicing the "Yi Jin Jing" to save his life, while Ren Woxing, who thought he had the "Fusion Technique" method, ultimately died from the conflict of internal energy.

Whether this is true or not remains to be seen until Chu Luren obtains the real "Great Shift of Heaven and Earth" in the future. As for the "Minor Technique of Absorbing Stars and Entering the Earth," Chu Luren has not yet made any moves on it.

From the perspective of seemingly absorbing internal energy, it seems to match "Kun swimming in the void," but from the perspective of its essence of parrying and borrowing force, it seems to be more in line with "Peacock spreading its tail feathers"...

However, in reality, it would be somewhat inappropriate to combine it with either of them. "Kun Swimming in the Void" is a movement technique. Wouldn't it be a disaster to combine it with a technique that has the negative effect of making the legs feel like lead?

As for the peacock displaying its tail feathers...

After all, it is a "power" in itself. Although it can be integrated across different categories, and perhaps after integration it can manifest as both "technique" and "power", Chu Luren still felt that it was somewhat unsafe.

Fortunately, the integration has not been carried out for the time being, and we are looking forward to the trip to the Mantuo Mountain Villa in Suzhou.

The next morning, Chu Luren bid farewell to the Liu family. Although Liu Mo tried to persuade him to stay, Chu Luren did not disturb him further.

However, Liu Mo and Liu Jing were determined to give a precious sword, which Liu Zhengfeng had left behind and which he himself had not used much, to the Chu Lu people.

"Brother Chu naturally bestows kindness without expecting anything in return, and this sword can hardly repay Brother Chu's kindness. If it weren't for Brother Chu, the Liu family would be in dire straits by now. If you wouldn't even accept a sword, how could my brother and I live with ourselves? If my father knew, he would definitely punish my younger brother!" Liu Mo insisted on giving it away.

Unable to refuse such hospitality, Chu Luren had no choice but to accept it—the sword was named "Gentle Breeze Accompanying the Moon," and among swords, it was considered to have a relatively flexible blade, making it very suitable for practicing the Hengshan sword technique.

It may not be some peerless sword, but it's at least better than the common sword in Chu Luren's possession.

After leaving Hengshan City, the Chu Lu people headed east...

In early June, when it was scorching hot, we finally arrived in Suzhou!

Chapter Fifty-Five: Mantuo Manor

“Manor? Are you crazy? Young man, there are beauties everywhere, don’t be so pessimistic… It’s not about the money, I’m not going, I’m not going!” The boatman shook his head repeatedly.

Chu Luren was also helpless. He had already arrived at the Taihu ferry crossing in Suzhou, but no boatman dared to go to that awful place, Mantuo Villa...

It is said that this "Madam Wang" disliked men very much. Unless they had a good relationship, if an ordinary man went there... he would most likely become fertilizer for the flowers!

They even often do some perplexing things, such as sending a few ruthless old women to deliver justice to the original wife—that's right, when there is a disagreement in the relationship caused by a mistress, they must stand with the mistress and force the man to divorce or even kill the original wife before they will stop.

However, Mantuo Manor has been behaving itself lately, since Hua Wuque of Yihua Palace has been active in the Jiangnan area.

Although Hua Wuque would not lay a hand on women, Mantuo Manor could not push its luck and do things contrary to the "correctness of Yihua Palace".

"How about this? Just take me to a place where I can see Mantuo Manor from afar. If you agree, you can have these ten taels of silver." Chu Luren had no choice but to use more of his Robin Hood-style fund.

The boatman saw that Chu Luren was generous and carried a sword. Although the suona at his waist seemed out of place, he knew that Chu Luren must be a wandering swordsman. He figured that seeing him from a distance was not a problem, since Mantuo Manor was not some kind of den of demons and they wouldn't chase after him. Most importantly... he was giving so much!

"Young master, have you ever been on the list of heroes before?" the boatman asked through gritted teeth.

“Yes, yes, it’s still on the list, look…” Chu Luren said, taking out the page of the Earthly Ranking number seventy-one directly from his bosom.

Yes, the top seventy-one section is torn a bit.

Seeing that Chu Luren was indeed on the list of chivalrous heroes, the boatman decided to take the risk—since he was on the list, he was unlikely to be a bandit leader; the risk was simply to get close to Mantuo Manor.

After Chu Luren boarded the ship, there was no need to wait for anyone else, since very few people would dare to court death.

The boatman rowed him alone, and after half a day, they could see a small island where a villa was located in the distance, with the words "Mantuo Villa" written on the plaque above the gate.

"Young master, it's just ahead... Take a look, that's enough. I can wait for you to look around some more, but we have to go back before dark." The boatman was unwilling to get too close, especially seeing the female guards in front of the manor, and that they were still about twenty or thirty feet away from the island!

Chu Luren calculated the distance and then said to the boatman, "No need, boatman, you've worked hard. You can just go back."

Then, Chu Luren used his lightness skill to leap and jump, using the water's surface to gain momentum and tap a few times, covering a distance of more than twenty zhang and arriving in front of Mantuo Manor!

Kun's ability to roam the void relies heavily on its movement techniques, and in terms of lightness skill, it is also among the "superior" levels.

If it were Yun Zhonghe instead, his movements would be even more agile, but... Chu Luren definitely has the advantage in terms of looks!

Unfortunately, most of the women at Mantuo Manor were misogynists. They didn't appreciate Chu Luren's beauty and instead surrounded him!

"How dare you! Where did this wild man come from? Doesn't he know where he is? Does he want to stay here and be used as fertilizer? Ha, these boatmen have forgotten the prestige of our Mantuo Manor... Liu'er, go to the fast boat and bring him back!" An old woman shouted at Chu Luren in a shrill voice.

"Grandma Yan, the boatman hasn't come over..." The woman beside her seemed to have some martial arts skills, but she was very afraid of Grandma Yan.

"kindness?"

Grandma Yan glared at her, and the woman had no choice but to take a few steps toward the bow of her own boat.

The boatman didn't really need to be taught; as soon as Chu Luren displayed his lightness skill, he quickly rowed the boat away...

Chu Luren frowned upon seeing this: "Insolence! Slap him!" he said, casually pointing his finger.

Granny Yan seemed to have some martial arts skills, or perhaps some kind of iron claw technique, but firstly, she was far inferior to Chu Luren in his current state, and secondly, she was caught off guard by Chu Luren's unexpected finger strike from several feet away, and was directly hit!

At first, there wasn't much of a reaction, but before Granny Yan could yell that Chu Luren was weak, she suddenly felt the internal force surging wildly in the meridians of her right arm, causing her entire arm to jump, and an awkward slap landed on her face.

Having had previous experience, Chu Luren was now more skilled than ever, and this time the "slap" was very successful and solid.

When they saw that Chu Luren had only said "slap her," Granny Yan was indeed hit. The women around her were also horrified and dared not make a move. The women who had gone to board the ship earlier also stood in place on guard.

In the manor, Granny Yan usually only obeyed "Madam Wang," also known as Li Qingluo. In her eyes, everyone else was nothing more than ants. In the original work, she even dared to lay a hand on Wang Yuyan.

After all, these "mothers-in-law" were trained by Li Qiushui to take care of Li Qingluo. They were all young people who had suffered heartbreak, and their "obedience" to Li Qingluo was partly due to their guidance that led Li Qingluo to become more and more skewed.

Now, suddenly being lectured by outsiders, he felt half angry and half terrified—Chu Luren's "Pulse Summoning" was quite frightening if one did not understand its principles!

"Tell Madam Li that an old friend has come to visit!" Chu Luren said, tossing the silk scroll of "The Northern Darkness Divine Art" with the words "Li Qiushui's Welfare Hand-drawn Version" to Granny Yan.

Of course, it was wrapped up to avoid misunderstandings.

Upon hearing Chu Luren address Madam Wang by her family name, Granny Yan's expression became uncertain. However, given her overestimation of Chu Luren, and the fact that Chu Luren had indeed presented the token, Granny Yan did not dare to ignore him.

In fact, Chu Luren also had a "token" on him, which was a letter from Duan Zhengchun.

Chu Luren didn't know if that unreliable guy would mess things up, so he used Li Qiushui's "last will" to deal with it for now, and whether or not to take Duan Zhengchun's letter depended on the situation.

"I'll go inform Madam, you all keep an eye on him!" Granny Yan said as she walked back, leaving several young maids behind to "keep an eye on" Chu Luren.

Chu Luren simply smiled dismissively at this...

He didn't make things difficult for anyone else, but instead asked the woman who had just tried to stop Granny Yan from chasing the boatman, "What's your name?"

The other party didn't dare to speak, and Chu Luren didn't press the matter, instead asking, "Have any people from Murong Manor come here recently?"

The other party remained silent, seemingly wary and unwilling to reveal anything, so Chu Luren had to change his approach: "I have a friend who was with a maid from Murong Manor, a man... Has he been here?"

“Apart from the young master, no other man has come for a long time,” the young maid replied softly.

Chu Luren nodded upon hearing this. "Young Master Biao" must be referring to Murong Fu... He was also somewhat worried, wondering if Duan Yu had escaped.

Soon after, accompanied by a series of rapid footsteps, a group of women walked out through the main gate, with a woman in palace attire surrounded by a crowd of admirers.

Although there was a mature charm between her brows, her facial features looked three times younger than Dao Baifeng's, and... she looked seven or eight parts like the jade statue and the "model" of the Beiming Divine Skill!

Chu Luren immediately became certain that this person must be Li Qingluo.

"Madam, it's this boy..."

"Shut up." Li Qingluo rudely interrupted Granny Yan.

Li Qingluo initially felt a bit of male-phobia towards Chu Luren, but she still forced herself to ask, "Where did this young master get this... letter? Do you have any news about the letter's master?" Her expression was a mix of three parts male-phobia, six parts expectation, and one part shyness.

Chu Luren immediately realized that Li Qingluo probably still missed her mother, who had disappeared without a trace.

As for shyness, needless to say—that Northern Darkness Divine Skill was modeled by Li Qiushui herself, even less than the Heart of the Ocean, and it had thirty-six poses…

Ironically, Li Qingluo and Li Qiushui look remarkably alike!

Of course, Chu Luren didn't have so many complicated thoughts; he had only been learning the Beiming Divine Art in a very ordinary way.

Chapter Fifty-Six: Chop him up and use him as fertilizer!

Chu Luren could probably tell that Li Qingluo still missed her mother.

Li Qingluo was the daughter of Li Qiushui and Wuyazi, the leader of the Xiaoyao Sect. However, due to a series of events, including Wuyazi falling in love with his sister-in-law, Li Qiushui seducing her nephew Ding Chunqiu, and Ding Chunqiu ambushing Wuyazi, Li Qiushui left Langhuan Paradise with her daughter.