The Great Martial Arts World: Hot Topics and Great Heroes

And... is this an attempt to win me over? They have quite the eye for talent!

Chapter 560 Fusion of Evil Techniques

The Marquis summoned Murong Jiu, first revealing the origins of the Murong clan of Gusu, then trying to win her over as his adopted son, and even... hinting to Murong Jiu that his other three adopted sons were unaware of his true grand ambitions!

It seemed as if they intended to make Murong Jiu their heir.

"After I adopt you as my son, I will appoint you as the top secret agent of the Yellow Division at the meeting. I will also arrange a marriage between you and Princess Yunluo. After all, the Emperor is the legitimate successor established by the late Emperor. If you marry Yunluo and are my adopted son, you will naturally be qualified to inherit the throne when the great events begin!" The Divine Marquis made up some random promises.

As for how to "carry out a great undertaking," the Marquis did not tell Murong Jiu the details.

"It seems that the Divine Marquis has some misunderstanding with my good brother Chu Luren?" Murong Jiu said after pondering for a moment.

“This man has indeed been misled by Gu Santong and has many misunderstandings about me. I don’t want to do anything to him, but Princess Yunluo must not be misled by him again, otherwise it will cause endless harm… From now on, you should also keep an eye on his movements for me!” Shenhou said in a serious tone.

"Chu Luren is my best friend, and the Marquis wants me to do something that would betray him..." Murong Jiu adopted a bargaining stance.

"This is the Ryukyu Kingdom's official document. With it, you will be a prince of the Ryukyu Kingdom who has been separated from the main branch of the kingdom. With this, I can immediately arrange your marriage with Yunluo. In the future... you will become my adopted son and work with me to accomplish great things." Seeing that Murong Fu was not going to act without seeing the benefits, Shenhou also offered some tangible "benefits."

Murong Jiu accepted the letter of state and, after a few glances, understood that Ryukyu had been completely subdued by Zhao Wushi.

After thinking for a moment, Murong Jiu knelt down on one knee and said, "Father, please accept my bow!"

"Good! With you and I, father and son, joining forces, what in this world can't we accomplish? Hahaha..." The Marquis looked very pleased.

"May my godfather achieve his great ambition soon," Murong Jiu said, flattering him with his eloquent words.

For a moment, the basement was filled with a scene of "filial piety and parental love".

However, after Murong Jiu left, both Zhao Wushi in the basement and Murong Jiu who had left had serious expressions, clearly not as enthusiastic as they had just shown.

And just then, a mechanism in the underground chamber opened, and a middle-aged man with a rather plump appearance, who did not look like a martial artist, but whose aura was quite imposing, emerged from behind the wall.

"Brother Wan, do you think this person is trustworthy?" Zhao Wushi asked in a friendly manner.

This man is none other than Wan Sanqian, the richest man in Jiangnan after Jiang Feng!

“The Marquis knows what he's doing, why ask me?” Wan Sanqian said modestly.

"Then... is this person 'untrustworthy' enough?" Zhao Wushi changed his question.

"Judging from the news from the Dragon Guard Manor, Nan Murong appears to be elegant and humble, but in reality, he is opportunistic and ungrateful. Especially since several generations ago, the Murong clan has valued the restoration of their kingdom more than their own lives. This person... is untrustworthy!" Wan Sanqian concluded after his analysis.

"That's enough, isn't it?"

"That's good, that's enough."

The two old foxes looked at each other and smiled – compared to any adopted sons or daughters, or imperial spies, the Marquis's only "partner" was actually only Wan Sanqian.

In the original work, Wan Sanqian knew about Shenhou's ambition from the very beginning and believed that he knew his true nature. He secretly helped Shenhou raise military funds and weapons in the hope that after the "upheaval", he would be able to suppress the world and stabilize the throne.

However, Wan Sanqian did not expect that Shenhou was even more inhuman than he had imagined...

He considered himself to be a close confidant and best friend of Shenhou, but Shenhou not only ordered Liusheng Piaoxu to kill Haitang, but also killed Wan Sanqian after Wan Sanqian turned against him because of this.

Wan Sanqian still cares about Shenhou. As for Murong Fu, both of them think that they don't need him to be very reliable. As long as he is unreliable to the Chu Lu people, that's enough!

Does the Divine Marquis really need an adopted son to inherit the throne?

Just kidding, Shenhou feels his body is in superb shape. As long as Su Xin wakes up, he could have a few more children without any problem...

The purpose of winning over Nan Murong was merely to separate Chu Luren, this variable, from the royal family, and to work with Liu Sheng Piaoxu to disrupt Chu Luren's network of connections in the martial arts world... and incidentally, to use him to attract Cao Zhengchun's attention.

With Liu Sheng Piaoxu, who has already gained the trust of the Chu Lu people, inside, and Nan Murong, his good brother, outside, what can the Chu Lu people do?

Judging from Nan Murong's previous actions, he would definitely know what choice to make. Moreover, there is Liu Sheng Piaoxu. If he wanted to join forces with Chu Luren to trick him, Shenhou would know immediately!

Meanwhile, Chu Luren was once again imprisoned in the palace...

They had already allowed time to leave the palace before the gates closed, but they were delayed because of Hong Qigong and Guo Jing!

The old man and the young boy approached Chu Luren on their own initiative—they had already discovered the location of the "Martial Arts Manual of Yue Fei," which was in a secret passage behind a rockery in the Imperial Garden. However, after Ouyang Feng and his group alerted the enemy once, the Imperial Garden was under tight security.

So they approached Chu Luren, intending to ask him to ask the princess for help in creating an opportunity to retrieve the "Wumu Legacy".

However, Chu Luren thought for a moment, what reason should he use if he wanted Yunluo to clean up the Imperial Garden?

Playing by himself, not wanting to be seen by the guards?

It doesn't seem quite right...

Therefore, Chu Luren volunteered to retrieve the "Wumu's Legacy" by himself.

Although Hong Qigong was not entirely at ease, he thought that given Chu Luren's identity, it wouldn't matter much even if he were discovered, so he didn't stop him.

Chu Luren wasn't blindly confident. Recently, he completed two more fusions—one was the fusion of the "Evil-Repelling Sword Technique" and the "Sunflower Manual," and the other was the fusion of the "Mother Goddess Qigong" with "Turtle Walking Step," "Illusion Sword," as well as "Soul Transfer Technique," "Nine Yin Bone Shrinking Technique," "Nine Netherworld Sound Soul Technique," and so on...

The result of the fusion of the two schools of thought is "The True Explanation of the Sunflower Manual", which is close to the original "Sunflower Manual" created by the legendary Sunflower Ancestor. It also incorporates in-depth analysis of the two schools of thought.

However, like the "Sunflower Manual" and the "Evil-Repelling Sword Technique," Chu Luren cannot directly cultivate them. He can only use "Chaotic True Qi" to simulate "Sunflower True Qi" and obtain an experience where his movement speed and attack speed are extremely fast.

The reason why "Mother Goddess Qigong" is integrated with seemingly unrelated martial arts such as "Illusion Sword", "Turtle Walking Step" and "Soul Transfer Technique" and "Bone Shrinking Technique" from the Nine Yin Manual is mainly because "Mother Goddess Qigong" is not only an internal skill, but also has branch abilities such as "Illusion Technique", "Strange Body Technique", "Mental Illusion Technique", and "Sound Skill".

Chu Luren had already realized that this was the martial art that the fake Li Xiu had practiced.

In Japan, it was a martial art that leaned towards ninja training. Chu Luren guided the integration of this part with techniques such as "Phantom Sword," "Turtle Walking Step," "Soul Transfer Technique," and "Nine Yin Bone Shrinking Skill," emphasizing miscellaneous skills over mental cultivation. As a result, they created "The Secret Essentials of the Ninja Sect"...

Although the internal cultivation techniques are gone, we can still draw on their strengths in terms of stealth, bone shrinking, mental disturbance, and other unorthodox methods.

Of course, this also made Chu Luren even more certain of one thing—the reason why Dongfang Bubai was so powerful was because of her own enlightenment. In fact, even if Chu Luren combined the "Secret Essentials of the Ninja Sect" and the "Sunflower Manual", it would be impossible for her to create Dongfang Bubai's martial arts.

Dongfang Bubai had not yet summarized his own cultivation method, only having cultivation notes, which Chu Luren also looked at as a reference.

Clearly, like Yaoyue, her strength cannot be measured solely by the progress of her martial arts training.

The "Secret Essentials of the Ren Sect" was precisely the source of Chu Luren's confidence in volunteering—Chu Luren genuinely intended to quietly retrieve the "Wumu Legacy" without alerting the Divine Marquis, rather than attempting to stealthily obtain it...

Chapter 561 Methods

In the heavily guarded Imperial Garden, Chu Luren moved without a sound, and wherever he went, his true energy formed a thin shadow around him that was similar in color to the surroundings...

With the help of moonlight and lamplight, and by playing some visual "pranks," Chu Luren even brushed past the patrolling imperial guards without any of them noticing!

However, from a distance, one can see through Chu Luren's tricks, such as Hong Qigong and Guo Jing clinging to the rooftop...

At this moment, Chu Luren seemed like an invisible and intangible ghost messenger walking among the people, without attracting any attention from the living!

It is precisely the combination of body techniques and illusion techniques from the "Secret Essentials of Ninja Sect"...

Back then, the fake Li Xiu could even use "bone shrinking skills" and "illusion techniques" to turn people into living beings right in front of Chu Luren. Now, Chu Luren has incorporated many unorthodox techniques from the "Nine Yin Manual," as well as the "Illusion Sword," which combines spirit and swordsmanship, and the "Turtle Walking Step," a movement technique known for its stealth, making the effect even more bizarre.

Because of the guiding principle, the internal energy aspect of the "Mother God Qi Gong" in the "Secret Essentials of the Ninja Sect" has been completely wasted, but Chu Luren doesn't feel it's a great pity.

After all, while the "Mother Goddess Qigong" appears to be bizarre and powerful, its weaknesses are actually quite obvious...

Although it doesn't require castration to master like the "Sunflower Manual," once mastered, the genitals become the biggest weakness!

Even if one can retract the penis into the abdomen normally, it is not a long-term solution, not to mention the potential harm to one's mental state.

On the contrary, the various strange techniques in its application are the real essence for the Chu Lu people.

In reality, both the Sunflower Manual and the Mother Goddess Qi Gong can only be considered flawed martial arts techniques, or even "evil techniques." Compared to the Nine Yin Manual, the Yi Jin Jing, and the Bei Ming Divine Skill, they are still somewhat inferior.

It's just that Dongfang Bubai combined them and took them to a completely new direction...

If Chu Luren could fully comprehend Dongfang Bubai's notes and, guided by her philosophy, integrate these two martial arts, he might be able to recreate the martial arts that Dongfang Bubai practiced.

However, this was meaningless to Chu Luren, since... Chu Luren didn't want to cultivate the "Heavenly Mother Body".

Therefore, the Chu Lu people only used them as a supplement to their "means".

Now, Chu Luren is merely testing the waters with the "Secret Essentials of the Ninja Sect," yet he's already displaying the demeanor of a "ghost messenger on the road."

Even when they reached the secret passage behind the artificial hill, the Chu deer suddenly began to imitate the call of a cuckoo...

"I won't return, I won't return..."

The sounds that evoked homesickness resounded in the ears of the imperial guards who were "drifters in Lin'an".

At the same time, it forcibly "set a trend" in their minds!

While the guards were engrossed in the act, Chu Luren opened the secret passage directly—Hong Qigong and Guo Jing watched from afar, breaking out in a cold sweat.

After all, this is a stone mechanism, so the friction sound is quite loud!

However, they soon discovered that the imperial guards seemed to have gone deaf, and none of them were looking in the direction of the artificial hill...

Little did they know that at that moment, the noise of the mechanism being activated sounded like the call of a cuckoo to them!

Soon, Chu Luren emerged from behind the artificial hill and quietly left the Imperial Garden.

Hong Qigong and Guo Jing immediately came forward, looking curiously at the stone box in Chu Luren's hand...

"Little Tai Sui, is this the 'Martial Arts Manual of Yue Fei'?" Hong Qigong asked with interest.

Of course, what Hong Qigong was interested in was not the "Wumu's Legacy" itself, but the fact that "the "Wumu's Legacy" had been found, because this would mean that the "Wumu's Legacy" would not fall into the hands of villains.

As for the "Martial Arts Manual" itself, Hong Qigong didn't actually want it.

This is a common problem in the world of martial arts—often only the bad guys have goals, while the only goal of the good guys is to prevent the bad guys from achieving their goals.

“No, there’s only this inside, but… I think it’s empty.” Chu Luren said, shaking the stone box in his hand.

"Empty? Could someone have gotten there first?" Hong Qigong nervously asked Chu Luren to open the stone box.

There was still a seal on it, but after Chu Luren peeled it off and opened the stone box, he found... nothing inside!

Even when the Chu Lu people crushed the stone box, they couldn't find any hidden compartments.

"Where did you get this information?" Chu Luren asked Hong Qigong and Guo Jing.

“We found the secret message left by Marshal Han in the palace archives. After deciphering it using Marshal Yue’s ‘Man Jiang Hong’ poem, it said that Marshal Han left the ‘Wu Mu’s Legacy’ there,” Hong Qigong explained.

"That shouldn't be wrong... Wait! Did you see any secrets like palace thefts in the files?" Chu Luren remembered the reason and began to remind Hong Qigong and Guo Jing.

Sure enough, Guo Jing suddenly remembered and said, "That's right! I saw it written above that ten years ago, a man with a leg disability entered the palace and stole treasures, including many from the Imperial Garden. According to the record, he was surrounded and attacked by the palace's experts. Although he escaped, he should have been seriously injured."

Guo Jing wasn't very smart in many ways, but when he got serious, his memory was quite good.

"After that incident, the Dragon Guard Manor also began training top-tier imperial guards, and the palace was no longer solely protected by the Eastern Depot," Guo Jing added.

Chu Luren wasn't surprised—back then, when the late emperor was still in power, a cripple stole his things and even let the thief escape… Cao Zhengchun must have been heavily criticized at the time!

Chu Luren even suspected that Qu Lingfeng's ability to escape the pursuit of the imperial guards might be due to the secret intervention of the Divine Marquis.