The Great Martial Arts World: Hot Topics and Great Heroes

It's like an adult whose strength is reduced to that of a six-year-old child; they can't even stand up...

If a peerless master is severely injured and loses all their internal energy, leaving only one or two tenths of their strength, even though this "one or two tenths" is equivalent to the internal energy of a second-rate or even first-rate master, it would be good enough if they could just keep their life.

In reality, as long as Tong Lao hasn't fully recovered her power, even after eighty-nine days, she can only exert about 70-80% of her strength!

This explains why, in the original story, Tong Lao dragged things out for more than two months but still couldn't defeat Li Qiushui. Could it be that her martial arts skills improved by leaps and bounds in the last few years?

Of course not. If it were me in my forties or fifties, I would have been far superior to Li Qiushui.

The gap between the two is more than just a few years, and it certainly can't be those few years between their eighties and nineties, when they're completely out of their developmental stage.

However, the current Tong Lao's skill level at twenty-six years old is truly that of a twenty-six-year-old, and her meridians are also commensurate with that.

Although she was no match for Li Qiushui, she was no longer as powerless as before.

However, for the time being, Tong Lao's skill has definitely declined significantly. Even though Chu Luren has combined the version of "Shenzhao Jing" and "Dragon Turtle Strength" with Tong Lao, it will still take at least ten years for Tong Lao to truly reach the level of being able to contend with Li Qiushui!

This is already terrifying, considering that ten years later... even the Child Granny will only be equivalent to eighteen years old.

As for the "True Eight Desolations and Six Harmonies Supreme Skill" that truly merges with the Dragon Turtle Force, it's not that Chu Luren is stingy, but for others, it's not only difficult to cultivate, but if they actually master it, it would be too manic, even to the point of affecting their temperament.

Unless someone else can simultaneously master the "Dao Embryo Release Calamity Scripture" to subdue the restless mind, it seems like it would have a negative effect no matter how you look at it!

There's also a minor side effect—the Child Granny's "Six Yang Palms of Tianshan" has been wiped out. Although her cultivation experience and insights are still there, her current level of skill is insufficient to unleash the "Life and Death Talisman"...

If the people of the Thirty-Six Caves and Seventy-Two Islands knew about this, they would be terrified!

After all, the so-called antidote that can alleviate the "Life and Death Talisman" can only be made by Tong Lao using the extreme yang palm power of the "Tianshan Six Yang Palm".

If the Child Granny is unable to remove the "Life and Death Talisman" afterward...

Of course, they didn't need to be scared to death, because the Child Granny had already taught the Chu Lu people this change of the "Life and Death Talisman".

For the Chu Lu people, this little trick was quickly mastered after a few tries, and they also learned how to counter it.

After returning to the age of eight, Tong Lao's temperament gradually changed. Although she didn't really become a child again, she was no longer fixated on her grudge against Li Qiushui.

She just speaks with the shrewishness of a shrew; it's become a habit.

"My master should come looking for me in a few days, right? I'll heal her face then, and after that, even if you two don't care about our fellow disciples, we'll never see each other again." Chu Luren finally breathed a sigh of relief.

The important task entrusted to him by his master, Wu Yazi, finally showed hope of completion.

However, the old woman said with a stern face, "I don't want to see that little...that wicked beast again, but are you sure that wretch will keep his promise? It will take me at least ten years to recover to the point where I can contend with her, and at least fifteen years to recover to the point where I can get rid of her!"

The old woman was still trying her best to be careful, after all, children should act like children.

"Beast" doesn't sound good either, but it's better than calling someone a "slut" or "whore" the moment they open their mouth.

"Well... since my senior uncle was able to let go of his hatred after Shen Ke's death, I think my junior uncle should be able to as well..."

Chu Luren was interrupted by Tong Lao halfway through his sentence: "Let... air out. Do you think that beast is as reasonable as your senior uncle? Besides..." Tong Lao paused at this point.

"Besides?" Chu Luren continued.

Although the old woman was a little embarrassed, she continued, "Besides, did you really think that I, your senior uncle, really agreed not to settle scores with her? It was just a pretense of agreement. I was just waiting to recover before I killed her. With your skills, you could stop her from killing me, but you couldn't stop me from killing her! Especially now that the Heavenly Gate has opened, if I break through once or twice more in the future, her hiding in the Western Xia Imperial Palace won't be of any use!"

Chu Luren: ...

Judging from their martial arts alone, the Xiaoyao Sect seems like a sect of reclusive masters, with a very poetic and artistic feel to it.

However, after getting to know these "experts" a little, you'll find that they're all incredibly low-class!

Each and every one of them possesses considerable martial arts skills, yet lacks any sense of decorum!

He's even more stubborn than the average person, and he has absolutely no airs of a master...

"Hehe, but don't worry, your senior uncle really doesn't want to argue with her now," Granny Tong said with a grin.

On the one hand, after truly becoming young again, Tong Lao's temperament did change; on the other hand... she is now no match for Li Qiushui.

Judging from her own experience, Tong Lao was quite certain that Li Qiushui would never let her go!

"Among the twelve constellations, there is one that is the head of the four spirits. Do you know that, Uncle Master?" Chu Luren asked somewhat nervously.

"I know, he even came looking for Lingjiu Palace a few years ago, ha! In the end, he managed to escape." Granny Tong said dismissively, then asked in confusion, "What happened?"

"He's not from the Free and Unfettered Sect, is he?"

"Of course not! What nonsense are you talking about?" Granny Tong said, displeased.

Chu Luren finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Otherwise, thinking about it now, that old bastard had quite the air of a carefree wanderer.

“But when you put it that way…” Granny Tong suddenly frowned.

Suddenly, Tong Lao realized that if her martial arts skills could not be restored for the time being, it was not just Li Qiushui's problem, but the Lingjiu Palace itself was very dangerous!

After all, they were all women. If it weren't for Tong Lao, even the most skilled Yu Po Po would only be a first-rate or at the peak of second-rate. The leaders of the other eight tribes were only second-rate. In a typical sect, they wouldn't be considered "weak." Even someone like Fu Minyi wouldn't be afraid of Yue Buqun before he castrated himself.

In the original work, Granny Yu was able to cause Xuan Ci to suffer a setback due to his carelessness...

However, considering that she was surrounded by women, had offended many people, and had a lot of martial arts treasures from the Xiaoyao Sect, as well as "tribute" from the thirty-six caves and seventy-two islands... Thinking about this, Tong Lao couldn't help but feel uneasy!

Putting everything else aside, if another villain like the leader of the Four Spirits were to appear, the current Lingjiu Palace probably wouldn't be able to withstand it.

Before Chu Luren could ask, the Old Woman Tong spoke up: "Didn't you say before that Lingjiu Palace was your home?"

Chu Luren: ? ? ?

Chapter 590 The New Tool Master

"No, no, no, I'm not being modest, but I can't be a sovereign or anything like that," Chu Luren repeatedly declined.

Just now, Granny Yu, Fu Minyi, and the leaders of the Nine Heavens and Nine Departments, along with the Four Sword Attendants, were all present—the Child Granny suddenly announced that Chu Luren would become the Venerable Master of Lingjiu Palace!

After realizing the problems of Lingjiu Palace, Tonglao prepared to pass on the position of Venerable Master to Chu Luren, but Chu Luren naturally refused.

As a lone wolf, Chu Luren rarely acts truly "alone" in the narrow sense, but he also dislikes being constrained. The leader of the Xiaoyao Sect is alright—after all, there are only a few people in the sect, so he doesn't really need to manage anything—but the Lingjiu Palace…

There are several hundred people in the Nine Heavens and Nine Departments, and they are all women. Just thinking about it gives Chu Luren a headache!

"Since you are the leader of the Free and Unfettered Sect, you should be in charge of the Lingjiu Palace. If you feel that they have disgraced you as the leader, then just disband them on the spot and drive them away!" Granny Tong said without any hesitation.

"My lord! This servant will not leave! My lord, please do not send us away!"

"If you want to leave, this servant will commit suicide on this Misty Peak."

"Back then, when I saw that person marrying someone else, I couldn't think straight... It was Your Majesty who saved me, and my life is now here!"

Upon hearing what Granny Tong said, Granny Yu and the others knelt down and begged her to stop.

The Old Woman Tong, however, said with a stern face, "How dare you! I have already said that from now on, he is your Lord. What do you call me?"

"Grandma, since the new master is unwilling, then how about we servants follow you?"

“That’s right. If Grandma is worried, we can leave Lingjiu Palace and find another place…”

"There are so many small islands overseas, but the place where Grandma lives is the true Lingjiu Palace!"

……

Chu Luren was speechless. How could this be? It was as if he had stolen their Lingjiu Palace.

"Foolish! Can't you see that I'm helping you find a pillar of support? At worst, I'll become the master again in ten years!" The old woman's temperament had indeed improved, and she even offered an explanation.

only……

"Uncle-Master, I'm still here," Chu Luren said expressionlessly.

If you're going to cross the river and then discard the bridge, can you at least do it behind my back?

So, when something happens, Lingjiu Palace is my home, but when nothing happens... "Do you think Lingjiu Palace is your home?"

"So what? It's not that you can't be the Lord, but that you want them to call you 'Master'?" Granny Tong asked curiously.

Chu Luren immediately received several resentful and mocking glances.

"No, if Master Uncle is only worried about the safety of Lingjiu Palace, I actually have another idea! I believe Master Uncle also knows that the Heavenly Gate is now wide open, and in less than a year, two experts who knocked on the Heavenly Gate have emerged. The situation in the martial world may change drastically in the future. I would like to take the lead in establishing a Righteous and Heroic Alliance..."

puff-

Chu Luren looked expressionlessly in the direction from which the laughter came, but the four sword servants looked at him innocently.

"We can establish a Righteous and Heroic Alliance, with Lingjiu Palace as one of the founders. At that time, the major righteous figures in the alliance will watch over each other, both for self-preservation and for the stability of the martial world and harmony in the martial arts community!" Chu Luren said with great enthusiasm.

"The Righteous Alliance? Besides Lingjiu Palace... there are those useless people from the Thirty-Six Caves and Seventy-Two Islands. Is there anyone else?" Tong Lao said disdainfully.

"I only have this idea, but I believe that with my connections, at least the Sun Moon Sect and the Flower Shifting Palace will not refuse... Including those sects that are affiliated with the Sun Moon Sect, they will also flock to me. Oh, right, the Murong family in Jiangnan is also very likely to join." Chu Luren said confidently.

Whether the Murong family will join depends on how far Murong Jiu intends to deceive the Divine Marquis.

As for sects like the Ancient Tomb Sect, Tong Lao probably wouldn't even look at them.

Upon hearing this, Tong Lao's expression turned somewhat strange. Chu Luren, thinking it wasn't enough, added, "This time, Emei intends to overturn the harmonious situation in the martial arts world. Ming Cult will probably have a hard time dealing with it. If we can lend a helping hand, I believe Ming Cult will also join in!"

Well, you really have to admit, just hearing these names gives off a strong sense of righteousness.

“Then you should become the Lord of Lingjiu Palace! Otherwise, what use is the Xiaoyao Sect with its few big and small members? As the leader of the Righteous and Heroic Alliance, if you don’t have your own people, will they be convinced?” Tong Lao agreed with Chu Luren’s statement, but she had other plans.

"No, no, no, my junior brother is not very talented and has little ability to become the leader of the alliance. My junior brother plans to go to Wudang to ask Master Zhang to take charge of the situation," Chu Luren said quickly.

"You... mentioned it to Master Zhang?" Granny Tong was still very polite when she mentioned Master Zhang. After all, in terms of age, she was just born when Master Zhang became famous at a young age, and she had only recently joined the sect when Master Zhang defeated the Carefree King.

"Not yet. I want to coordinate with the various factions first to get a general framework in place before inviting Master Zhang." Chu Luren is quite reliable; he can't let someone do all the work for free before things are even settled.

The old woman twitched the corner of her mouth and said, "I think... Master Zhang probably won't agree."

Not to mention that Master Zhang is getting old and doesn't want to get involved in these kinds of things, and... look at the people you've chosen!

Upon hearing this, Chu Luren also considered this possibility and felt somewhat troubled.

If Master Zhang is unwilling to come out of seclusion, then the Righteous Alliance may never be established, or it may be better not to establish it at all.

After all, besides Master Zhang, Chu Luren couldn't think of a second person who could be called "highly respected" in front of the Sun Moon Sect, the Flower Palace, the Ming Cult, the Murong Family, and so on, and who wouldn't be suspected by others too much!

If Master Zhang doesn't become the leader of the alliance, who else will be convinced of whom? He can't even calm down the sect leader and Yaoyue when they fight!

Although the sect leader and he were sworn siblings, and Yaoyue secretly harbored feelings for him, Chu Luren felt that given their personalities, they wouldn't give in too much because of this. Not to mention that even if they couldn't beat the Ming Cult or Murong Jiu, they would still be unwilling to accept it.

Seeing Chu Luren's troubled expression, Tong Lao forcibly suppressed the urge to jump up and hit him on the head, and reminded him, "Aren't you still here?"

"No, no, no, I'm not qualified to be the leader of the alliance. I can only handle my own affairs." Chu Luren shook his head repeatedly. After all, he had never even been a group leader in his life.

"Being the leader of the alliance doesn't require you to do anything; as long as everyone is convinced of your abilities, that's enough!" Old Lady Tong seemed very experienced.