The Great Martial Arts World: Hot Topics and Great Heroes

Seeing this, Chu Luren understood what Dongfang Bubai meant. She didn't want him to trick her out of the secret manual. So he nodded and said, "If you, Sister Leader, have such a wish... then when I see Master Zhang, I will tell you. If Master Zhang agrees, I will definitely give it to you."

That's right, if it were done openly and honestly, on behalf of Dongfang Bubai, to request an exchange with Zhang Zhenren, Chu Luren wouldn't have much of a problem with it!

Whether Master Zhang is willing or not, I will simply relay the message truthfully.

Of course, it wasn't just about relaying messages. If he himself made the request to Master Zhang, as Dongfang Bubai said, Master Zhang would definitely consider the relationship and connections between Chu Luren and Wudang, and even the endorsement of Chu Luren's character. This would make him more likely to agree.

And if we think about it the other way around...

If Zhang Zhenren is unwilling to hand over the secret manual to Dongfang Bubai because of her, then the martial arts that were originally meant to be passed on to Chu Luren may also be kept secret as a result!

It's true that Chu Luren took risks and used personal connections.

However, Dongfang Bubai also showed his "sincerity". Whether it is the "Sunflower Manual" or the "Mother Goddess Qi Gong", Chu Luren will not really cultivate them. He can use them to learn from or even integrate them. Isn't that wonderful?

More importantly, since this older sister has already accepted it, whether it's voluntary or not, Chu Luren still has to consider whether he can leave Plum Manor unscathed!

Otherwise, not only would he be buried alive, but what if he angered her to the point of keeping him as a hostage?

After agreeing to Dongfang Bubai's request, Chu Luren originally intended to leave immediately, since the important matters were probably already settled...

However, as soon as Chu Luren took his leave, he sensed that Dongfang Bubai's gaze had become dangerous.

"Sister put a lot of thought into preparing this dinner," Dongfang Bubai said as if she had cooked it herself.

Sensing the danger in her tone, Chu Luren immediately said, "I'm hungry too!"

Afterwards, Yan Sanxing, acting like a true old butler, hunched over and led the "master and mistress" to the dining room, which was different from the grand banquet Chu Luren had imagined...

The table was quite long, but as soon as Dongfang Bubai entered, he went to the head seat at the very back. Chu Luren wanted to sit far away on the other side, but Dongfang Bubai said in advance, "Come closer and sit down."

After taking his seat at the head of the table on the left, Chu Luren noticed that the dishes served were all exquisite, and quite particular about the small portions and the orderly serving process. After finishing one dish, he immediately moved on to the next.

The two of them occupied only a small corner of the table, with two rows of servants standing on either side, which seemed wasteful—but Chu Luren chose not to comment.

"Come, let me offer you a toast," said Dongfang Bubai, but made no move to pour the wine.

Chu Luren had no choice but to "voluntarily" pour two cups of wine and politely say, "It should be younger brother who toasts the sect leader sister."

Although the dishes were exquisite, Chu Luren felt they were still not as good as Rongrong's cooking.

Especially in terms of mood...

Even though Dongfang Bubai was very enthusiastic and even offered to serve him food, Chu Luren could hardly appreciate the deliciousness of the food.

After a few rounds of drinks, the atmosphere eased a bit, and Chu Luren decided to talk about something more important.

"Aren't you worried about Ren Woxing, Sister Sect Leader?" Chu Luren finally spoke after much consideration.

Although Chu Luren felt that Dongfang Bubai was just toying with him and didn't actually like him, or was just interested in him out of curiosity, and that his rashly bringing up the Sun Moon Sect was a bit too forward and that the other party might turn on him, Chu Luren felt that since Wudang needed him, his personal safety was basically guaranteed, and the atmosphere was quite good, so... he should do something for his friend Ren Yingying.

Contrary to Chu Luren's expectations, Dongfang Bubai showed no hesitation or hesitation when he mentioned Ren Woxing, as if he was not surprised at all.

“That man caused my sister a terrible ordeal back then, but it was precisely because of that that my sister has gained such clarity of mind and the opportunity to meet my brother… If he had behaved himself and found a place to live out his days peacefully, my sister wouldn’t have had time to argue with him now. But it seems that he is still resentful.” As Dongfang Bubai spoke, he drank another cup and then placed the empty cup near Chu Luren, signaling him to refill it.

The incident between Ren Woxing and Dongfang Bubai back then was nothing more than a matter of power within the Sun Moon Cult. They used all sorts of underhanded tactics against each other, and it's hard to say who was right and who was wrong.

After a pause, Dongfang Bubai looked at Chu Luren with a half-smile and said, "It's just a pity for my niece Yingying, who has to accompany her muddle-headed father in his reckless behavior."

Dongfang Bubai had no debt to Ren Yingying.

At first, it might have been just to appease the followers after Ren Woxing's "disappearance." However, later, partly because of his cultivation techniques, Dongfang Bubai greatly admired Ren Yingying, who was a young girl, and partly because they developed feelings for each other. Instead of harming this "niece," Dongfang Bubai entrusted her with important responsibilities.

Otherwise, Ren Yingying would only be eighteen now, but seven years ago she was already the Holy Maiden—without Dongfang Bubai's full support in secret, no matter how skillfully she pretended to be mature, she wouldn't be able to control the demons...

Chu Luren understood Dongfang Bubai's meaning and did not delve any further into the matter. After all, he had not been involved in Ren Woxing's plan to seize the throne, and he did not even know where Ren Woxing and Ren Yingying were, so he could not guarantee anything in this regard.

"I've already raised your sphere of influence within the Jade Hall to the highest level, above the Ten Elders. If you trust me, you don't need to worry about leaking anything. I'll also give you this token. If anyone from the Blackwood Cliff headquarters wants to use it, you can make them obey your orders. Even if... you want to help someone launch a sneak attack on Blackwood Cliff, you might be able to succeed!" Dongfang Bubai said, leaning closer.

Chu Luren chuckled dryly and said, "Sister Master is joking."

Are you going to get yourself killed?

Now Chu Luren increasingly felt that Ren Woxing was delusional. In terms of pure martial arts, Chu Luren was not entirely without confidence in facing Ren Woxing, but against Dongfang Bubai, Chu Luren felt that he could not last more than twenty moves!

Regarding his control over the Sun Moon Cult, Ren Woxing likely had a significant misunderstanding of the idea that "all the followers yearn for their leader, Ren."

Besides, Chu Luren didn't particularly like Ren Woxing either...

"If we're at Qunyu Courtyard, we can use the same code as before. Oh, right!" Dongfang Bubai suddenly seemed to remember something important, which made Chu Luren's heart skip a beat.

Then Dongfang Bubai leaned even closer and whispered in Chu Luren's ear, "By all accounts, my niece Yingying is almost eighteen..."

After retreating, Chu Luren saw her teasing look, clearly familiar with his code.

Chu Luren: ...

"The code word means tea..." Chu Luren explained.

Chapter 550 Hereditary Bad Luck

"Brother Chu! Are you alright?" Huang Rong waited for Chu Luren in his room all night.

As dawn broke, Chu Luren returned.

"You're not asleep yet, are you? Didn't I tell you not to wait for me... Go and rest!" Chu Luren saw that Huang Rong looked tired and immediately urged her to go back to sleep.

Last night, after countless rounds of drinks, especially in the latter half, Dongfang Bubai remarked that "the smell of alcohol around us is too strong"—hinting to Chu Luren not to use his internal energy to force the alcohol and spoil the mood.

Therefore, some of the drunken Chu Lu people stayed overnight at Plum Manor until morning.

"Is the person who asked you really... that person?" Huang Rong asked, while looking Chu Luren up and down, probably to make sure he wasn't missing any parts.

When Dongfang Bubai and Lianxing were facing off, Lianxing used her lightness skill to return first, so she was naturally much faster than Huang Rong.

"That's right, but fortunately she doesn't seem to have any ill intentions yet," Chu Luren said cautiously.

Although they claimed to be "sworn siblings" and "above the ten elders," Chu Luren dared not be careless. In some ways, he was even more wary of Yaoyue than he was of Yaoyue, who had not shown him much goodwill!

Although Yaoyue is cold and stubborn, and her thinking is sometimes unconventional, her thoughts are always traceable. However, Chu Luren has no idea what Dongfang Bubai is thinking now.

"Can Xiao Hong recognize maps that go further afield? For example, can we send it to Zhongnan Mountain or Leigu Mountain?" Huang Rong was clearly thinking about Chu Luren and how to remind the others that Qunyu Academy was no longer trustworthy.

However, Chu Luren said, "No need for now. I have already reminded everyone that when using Qunyu Academy to transmit messages, we must not reveal any important secrets or anything related to the Sun Moon Divine Cult. For now... there should be no danger. Suddenly leaving would be more likely to alert them."

Even if he didn't fully believe in Dongfang Bubai's goodwill, at least on the surface, the two were still a harmonious "siblings," and Chu Luren was unwilling to escalate the conflict.

"What exactly does that person want from you? Did you promise her something difficult?" Huang Rong keenly sensed something.

"Well, it's not that difficult. You go and rest first. I'll tell you everything when you wake up," Chu Luren said reassuringly before urging Huang Rong to rest.

"After practicing the Nine Yin Manual you taught me, I don't get sleepy so easily anymore!" Huang Rong said, pursing her lips, unconvinced.

In fact, with Huang Rong's current level of internal strength, not sleeping for a day is not a big deal, but the mental strain caused by "worry" is what makes her look tired.

"In the early stages of cultivating the Nine Yin Manual, it is even more important to follow the natural course of things! Go and rest."

At Chu Luren's insistence, Huang Rong had no choice but to go back to her room first. Just as Chu Luren put Huang Rong to bed and closed the door, a door next to her "automatically" opened.

This is Lianxing's room.

Chu Luren obediently entered. Lianxing may not have slept all night either, but with her martial arts skills, it had no effect whatsoever. Her energy was beyond the reach of sleep.

"Should I inform my sister?" Lianxing asked directly.

"Maybe... we shouldn't do it for now." Chu Luren said somewhat hesitantly.

Although Chu Luren was more wary of Dongfang Bubai, if Yaoyue came, there would be no need to be wary, and no matter how you looked at it, she wouldn't have much goodwill towards him!

"What does she want you to do?" Lianxing had obviously also heard the conversation between Chu Luren and Huang Rong.

"You want me to go to Wudang to find Master Zhang and ask him for two martial arts manuals... I really mean to ask him for them, not to fool Master Zhang, so don't worry too much. At most, he just won't give them to me." Chu Luren said casually.

However, Chu Luren's heart was bleeding - he felt that his favorability towards Wudang was about to be greatly reduced!

After the Empress Dowager's birthday celebration, Chu Luren will indeed go to Wudang. Even if he only has the "Tiger Claw Absolute Guardian Hand", it's better than nothing, isn't it?

"What does she want Wudang's martial arts techniques for?" Lianxing asked in a tone that suggested, "Even Dongfang Bubai is so greedy."

"Perhaps it's to make connections and draw inferences." Chu Luren had already guessed Dongfang Bubai's thoughts.

On the way back, Chu Luren couldn't help but glance at the Sunflower Manual and Mother Goddess Qi Gong a few times—although he hadn't read them all or formally added the badges to his consciousness, Chu Luren's martial arts skills made it clear that Dongfang Bubai's current state was definitely not something that could be achieved simply by cultivating these two techniques!

It seems that Dongfang Bubai has some entirely new ideas, and these are just her references and materials.

Afterwards, Chu Luren made a special trip to find Cheng Shifei.

"Brother Lu, I heard you didn't go back to Lin'an City last night?" Cheng Shifei said with a wink.

At this time, the city gates of Lin'an were under strict curfew, so Cheng Shifei naturally knew when Chu Luren had returned.

Chu Luren glared at him, then cautioned, "Are you alright? Don't go around talking about what happened yesterday!"

"Don't worry, my mouth, Cheng Shifei's, is the tightest!" Cheng Shifei assured him.

Although there may be misunderstandings, it is indeed possible to guess the truth: Chu Luren certainly doesn't want yesterday's events to be spread.

"But who exactly is that lady? No wonder you're Lu-ge!" Cheng Shifei said, touching his chest again.

"Don't ask me that... she's my sworn sister!" Chu Luren explained, though it wasn't exactly a lie.

"Is it that exciting?" Cheng Shifei exclaimed in surprise.

Upon noticing Chu Luren glaring at him, Cheng Shifei grinned and laughed it off.

"I'm leaving now. Remember to let me know when the birthday gift from the Southern Shaolin arrives," Chu Luren reminded him.

Brother Qiao Feng's current identity is sensitive; he is no longer just an ordinary martial arts figure, so naturally he cannot come to Lin'an in person.

However, he had already shown Chu Luren the letter from the "Big Brother," and Chu Luren would then make a comparison on his behalf—and Chu Luren's purpose was very clear: to compare it with Xuan Ci's!

As long as there is some consistency, the Chu Lu people can claim to have evidence of the identity of the "leader".

In addition, last night, Dongfang Bubai also took the opportunity of "flirting" to tell Chu Luren the identity of "that girl", and deliberately said something like, "If you regret it, those Japanese sisters can take care of it for you now and snatch that girl back."

Chu Luren naturally refused firmly. Meanwhile, Dongfang Bubai only knew that she was from Japan, while Chu Luren had already guessed most of her background.

However, after learning that she had come specifically to assassinate him, only to have her plans disrupted by Dongfang Bubai, Chu Luren silently mourned for her, thinking, "Is there anyone more unlucky than this?" At the same time, he was momentarily confused about what these Japanese... or rather, the Divine Marquis, were trying to do.

Chu Luren didn't need to be puzzled for long. He guessed that Huang Rong had already woken up and was on her way back to the inn when she encountered the Japanese girl again.

Looking at Liu Sheng Piaoxu, who hesitated after stopping him, biting her lip and lowering her head, Chu Luren asked in confusion, "You are..."

"You...come with me quickly! My father has kidnapped Nongyue, I...I'll help you rescue her, and then you should leave Lin'an as soon as possible!"

Liu Sheng Piaoxu was clearly trained in micro-expressions. In just one sentence, she expressed her conflicted emotions, including wanting to "repay the kindness of not killing him," "a little bit of goodwill," while also "being bothered by his previous indecent behavior" and "feeling sorry for her father."