The Great Martial Arts World: Hot Topics and Great Heroes

"What's wrong?" Chu Luren asked Xiao Zhao, trying to ease the tension.

"We'll be at Ling Snake Island in one more day. Sister Rongrong asked me to ask Brother Chu if there's anything else you need..." Xiao Zhao said, sounding a little embarrassed.

Chu Luren was already used to it, and Rongrong had long since been thinking along the same lines as him—they were about to disembark, so they shouldn't forget to take anything useful, otherwise Shen Wanqian might think that their politeness was a sign of disrespect...

Chapter 698 Perfect Debut

As they approached Ling Snake Island, Xiao Zhao suddenly noticed something, her expression changed, and she tugged at Chu Luren's sleeve.

“Brother Chu, something’s not right. That ship… it’s not from Ling Snake Island. It has the totem of the Persian Holy Fire Cult painted on it! My mother showed it to me!” Xiao Zhao said in a low voice, her tone filled with panic.

Upon hearing Xiao Zhao's words, Chu Luren also noticed that at the small ferry crossing on the island, besides the few small boats from Ling Snake Island, there was another boat with a slightly different style, which looked quite flamboyant. It wasn't very big, but it was decorated with eerie flame totems.

Upon hearing this, Chu Luren squeezed Xiao Zhao's hand that was tugging at his sleeve and said, "Don't worry! Whatever they came here for, since they haven't left yet, it means they haven't succeeded. Let's go over there..."

Afterwards, Chu Luren turned around and clasped his hands in a fist salute to the manager of the merchant guild and the captain, saying, "Thank you both for seeing me off. I have matters to attend to on the island today, so I will not disturb your journey any longer. In the future, if any of the Wanqian Merchant Guilds have any matters in the martial world, you are welcome to come to my Righteous Alliance for help."

Chu Luren wasn't really sincere—the Wanqian Chamber of Commerce was backed by the Dragon Guard Manor, so they wouldn't bother coming to the Righteous Alliance for any matters of the martial world.

Of course, if Shen Wanqian truly wants to abandon darkness and embrace the light, the people of Chulu would welcome him.

After speaking, Chu Luren had the other party disembark in a small sampan, then transformed into a Kun (a mythical fish) and sailed away with the three women. Their speed astonished everyone on the boat, and...

"Steward Shen, look closely, isn't there a white shadow on the ship?" The captain suddenly noticed something and picked up his binoculars to take a closer look.

The steward of the Shen family also felt a chill run down his spine and hurriedly said, "What white shadow! There's no white shadow!" He then turned his head away, pretending not to see it.

Upon hearing this, the captain said no more—but in his heart, he was already convinced that Chu Taisui must be raising something that ordinary people couldn't see...

Unexpectedly, the rumors circulating in the martial arts world are actually true!

Chu Luren was unaware that Yaoyue's sudden appearance on the boat would cause others to misunderstand him. At this moment, he quickly "swam" to the ferry and then darted ashore.

"Which direction is the villa in? I want to go take a look. You guys follow behind!"

After Xiao Zhao pointed out the direction, Chu Luren went ahead on his own—since there was a Persian Holy Fire Cult ship here, there was probably already an envoy.

Although the ship was still there, proving that the other party had definitely not achieved their goal, Chu Luren was still anxious to rush over first, lest Dai Qisi and Xie Xun suffer any misfortune.

Ling Snake Island is much larger than the deserted island they were stranded on before, and its own ecosystem is very complete, allowing them to farm. Even if they stayed on the island, they would not have to worry about food and clothing. Moreover, Ling Snake Island frequently interacts with the outside world and is not an isolated island.

Chu Luren arrived at the manor, and before he even reached the gate, he heard arguing and shouting coming from inside...

"Ming Cult members, seeing the Sacred Flame Token is like seeing the Cult Leader. Golden-haired Lion King, are you also going to betray the Cult?"

"Hahaha, Xie has been blind for over twenty years, how could he possibly have seen the Sacred Flame Token? I, the Golden Lion King, roam the martial world, and though I kill without blinking an eye, I do not kill my fellow disciples. Besides, I swore brotherhood with the Dragon King and her three siblings back then. Even if she is ruthless towards me, I cannot be ungrateful!"

"The people of the Central Plains are indeed unreasonable. They are so hesitant to kill a traitor. No wonder they have become more and more heretical since the Holy Flame was spread to the East!"

"Even if you don't kill her today, we will still kill her..."

"Moreover, anyone who disobeys the Sacred Flame Order will be killed without mercy. Since the Lion King is also going to betray the religion, we have no choice but to carry out the order and kill him!"

"What a joke! The Dragon King and I are the Dharma Kings who protect the sect. Even if the sect leader wanted to kill us, he would have to open an altar to report to Heaven and Earth and inform the brothers in the sect of the reason. The first thing the three of you did after arriving in the Central Plains was to force me to kill the Purple-Robed Dragon King. Is this to establish your authority and intimidate people?"

"Ha, though your eyes are blind, your mind is clear! My Holy Fire Sect will sweep away the rebels and regain control of the Ming Cult in the Central Plains right now!"

Chu Luren quietly leaped forward and saw the scene before him. He saw Xie Xun, who was blind, standing with his sword, confronting three people dressed in Persian Holy Fire Cult robes. Dai Qisi, still disguised as an old woman, appeared to be injured to the side...

The three members of the Persian Holy Fire Cult consisted of a bearded man with blue eyes, a blond man with an aquiline nose, and a woman who looked most like a person from the Central Plains, with yellow skin and black hair, but whose eyes were lighter in color.

The three people were of different races, and they all seemed to look down on the Ming Cult in China. However, although they had accents, they spoke fluent Chinese and could even use idioms, which showed that they had some knowledge of Chinese culture.

The three Persian envoys held strange weapons that resembled tokens and flames, but were neither gold nor jade—the "Sacred Fire Tokens," the tokens used when the Persian Holy Fire Religion was introduced to China!

Back then, the Ming Cult's leader, Shi, was ambushed and killed by the Beggars' Sect, and the Sacred Flame Token was also obtained by the Beggars' Sect. Later, it was bought by a Persian merchant and eventually returned to the Sacred Flame Cult...

Seeing that the negotiations between the two sides had broken down, the three envoys did not hold back and attacked together. Xie Xun had been blind for a long time and was already used to locating people by sound. Moreover, the Dragon Slayer Saber in his hands was much more powerful than the Heaven Sword in the hands of Extinction.

After all, Xie Xun's martial arts skills were far superior to Miejue's!

The powerful and fierce aura of the sword was so strong that Chu Luren guessed that the reason why the Heaven-Slaying Sword and the Dragon-Slaying Saber had the ability to enhance their sword and saber aura was because the "Eight Swords" used as forging materials were the treasures of the Famous Sword Manor, which had been used by masters for a long time and were imbued with sword aura...

Although it is called "Eight Swords", the style of some of them is that of heavy swords from the pre-Qin period. In actual use, the moves are closer to those of a knife.

Even so, Xie Xun only managed to block three of the opponent's aggressive attacks before he was immediately overwhelmed and on the verge of being defeated by the three envoys.

After all, if you take the martial arts of the three envoys individually, even excluding external factors, they are evenly matched with the blind Xie Xun, let alone when all three of them attack at the same time!

Xie Xun possessed the sharpness of a treasured sword, but the three envoys also had the Sacred Flame Token, and their martial arts style was extremely strange, resembling the "Great Shift of the Universe," yet its essence was completely different from the "Great Shift of the Universe"...

Just as the woman, the Radiant Moon Envoy, launched a peculiar flanking attack, striking Xie Xun's knee, and the hook-nosed, wondrous Wind Envoy was about to strike him on the head, a sudden finger strike deflected his Sacred Flame Token, nearly injuring the bearded Flowing Cloud Envoy.

"Who!" the Cloud Envoy shouted.

But what answered him was a...

Tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tick-tock—

The suona version of the background music that Chu Luren had prepared beforehand for Xiong Ba's appearance was "played".

At this moment, Chu Luren soared into the sky like an eagle, leaping and flying straight up to the heavens. With the "Secret Essentials of the Ninja Sect" at his side, the three envoys had not noticed him even though he was already in the sky. Now, it was as if Chu Luren appeared out of thin air and slowly floated down from the sky.

Looking up, not only did the sunlight make Chu Luren appear radiant, but there was also a faint aura of true energy resembling that of a roc surrounding him, and the distortion of the air was particularly noticeable in the sunlight...

Seeing this, Huiyue Envoy decisively launched a preemptive attack on Xie Xun—he knew that the other side had strong reinforcements arriving and wanted to subdue Xie Xun first to prevent the other side from joining forces!

However, Chu Luren remained motionless, maintaining his graceful descent, while the phantom of the roc around him released feathers, each feather representing a finger strike.

The finger strike aimed at the three envoys from a distance, forcing them to focus solely on defending with the "Sacred Flame Token." Meanwhile, Chu Luren, taking advantage of the moment, gracefully floated down from the sky, accompanied by background music and maintaining his pose...

At the same time, he also added a note to his mind about Huiyue Envoy—the Persians really have no manners; if he had been just a little bit off, he wouldn't have been able to make a perfect entrance!

Chapter 699 The Three Envoys

"Who are you? Are you a fellow disciple?" Xie Xun heard the voice and knew that someone had saved him.

However, amidst the sound of the suona, he was somewhat unsure of the other party's current location, thinking to himself: This person is truly a match for me!

"Rest assured, Lion King, although I am not a member of the Ming Cult, I am the leader of the Righteous Alliance. The Ming Cult, under the leadership of Leader Han Zhao, has now joined our Righteous Alliance," Chu Luren said softly.

Xie Xun: ...

Leader Han Zhao? Righteous Alliance?

Could it be that Fourth Sister wasn't just making things up to trick me out of the Dragon Slayer Saber?

Chu Luren then looked at the three envoys, Feng Yunyue, and said in a deep voice: "I have long heard that the Persian Holy Fire Sect is a branch of the Ming Cult in our alliance, yet it has betrayed the Holy Fire, stolen the Holy Fire Token, a sacred object of our Ming Cult, disobeyed the decree of the sect leader, colluded with the Mongols, and acted arrogantly. Today, our alliance will give you a chance..."

"Have you come to return the Sacred Flame Token and pay your respects to the new leader?"

Messenger of the Wondrous Wind, Messenger of the Flowing Clouds, Messenger of the Radiant Moon: ? ? ?

For a moment, the three of them were a little confused—could it be that our understanding of Chinese was not deep enough, and there was still some kind of subject-object inversion that we did not understand?

After a long while, seeing Chu Luren's accusing expression, the three of them finally realized—this guy is shameless!

"Gibberish, gibberish..." Eagle-nosed Wonderful Wind cursed angrily.

They were so angry that they spoke in their native language, so naturally the Chu Lu people didn't know what he was cursing.

The Radiant Moon Envoy, having caught his breath, said coldly, "You must be Chu Taisui, the second-best righteous expert in the Central Plains? I thought the Central Plains was a land of propriety, but I never expected you to be so shameless! The Ming Cult is descended from the Holy Fire Cult of Persia, as everyone knows, yet you claim that my Holy Fire Cult is a branch. Aren't you afraid of being ridiculed?"

Xie Xun was also puzzled. He hadn't been in the martial world for over twenty years, yet the times had changed so quickly.

A righteous master actually calls himself "Tai Sui"? Is this the latest trend?

Previously, Fourth Sister only told him that the Ming Cult had joined the Righteous Alliance, but she didn't mention the leader of the Righteous Alliance. It turns out... he's so young!

As for how the "Second Righteous Path" was ranked, the Lion King didn't know either—when he went overseas, the Heroic Deeds Ranking was still in the works.

Chu Luren sneered, "That's right, we, the land of etiquette, have a saying you probably haven't heard—'In learning, there is no distinction between young and old, the accomplished come first!' Your Persian Holy Fire Sect can't even protect its sect's martial arts, and instead of protecting its people in the face of the Mongol cavalry, you surrender as a whole and become their lackeys..."

On the contrary, our Ming Cult is thriving, responding to the sacred flame above and protecting the common people below. The superiority of one over the other is obvious. Now that Leader Han Zhao has ascended to the throne, you should quickly come and join us; you might as well become heroes for a time. Otherwise, when our Ming Cult seeks to rectify its past, we will surely settle accounts with you one by one!”

Even the Lion King blushed a little when he heard what Chu Luren said!

Has the "right path" been redefined in the martial arts world?

The three envoys, Feng, Yun, and Yue, were now enraged. After uttering the harsh words "You're courting death," they charged at the Chu Lu people as a unified force.

All three were wielding two Sacred Flame Tokens. When they attacked, Chu Luren initially thought that their martial arts styles seemed to be fighting independently, and he was surprised—it should be that if they had been cooperating for a long time, even if they practiced martial arts specifically designed for coordination, they shouldn't be so uncoordinated.

However, Chu Luren gradually felt more and more awkward. Although the three of them gave him a very discordant feeling, they did not interfere with each other!

This sacred flame token is neither gold nor jade; combined with their special martial arts, it strikes the body with a balance of strength and gentleness.

Chu Luren initially tried his luck, exchanging a few blows with the three of them...

However, the martial arts of these three envoys were not only strange and unpredictable, but their internal energy and power generation were also unconventional. It was hard to say whether they were hard or soft, yin or yang, which gave Chu Luren a very awkward feeling.

Moreover, this Sacred Flame Token, like the Heaven-Slaying Sword and the Dragon-Slaying Saber, is not only hard, but also has other magical properties in battle. Although it cannot freely unleash sword and saber energy like the Heaven-Slaying Sword and the Dragon-Slaying Saber, it is amazing that it can absorb the energy of Chu Luren's attack!

With the three envoys' skill, if they were wielding ordinary swords, even those made of black iron, Chu Luren's palm strike would not break them but would cause them to slip from their hands, and the hidden force within would even injure them.

But when Chu Luren struck the Sacred Flame Token with his palm, Miao Fengshi only staggered backward...

Moreover, just like in the original work, the martial arts of the three envoys also contain profound methods of deflecting force.

If Zhang Zhenren's "Tai Chi" is the way of "complementarity" and the "Qiankun" in "The Great Shift of Heaven and Earth" is the way of "relativity", then this strange Sacred Flame Token is "fuzzy unity" - taking yin as yang and yang as yin!

This, in turn, makes his techniques bizarre and his energy strange...

Chu Luren wasn't taking it too seriously at first. After exchanging forty or fifty moves with the three, he found himself at a disadvantage. However, it was also difficult for the opponents to break through his defenses. This was not surprising. If it were three of the four Dharma Kings of the Ming Cult besieging Chu Luren, without using the Tathagata Palm, the Qiankun Wuji, or the Tianchi True Qi, Chu Luren would not be able to withstand it either.

To Chu Luren's surprise, after taking a few hits, he became serious and used the Qiankun Wuji Force to fight the three envoys, and he was still neither able to win or lose!

It is said that the "Boundless Force of Heaven and Earth" is a powerful weapon in group battles, enabling Chu Luren to face three equally matched masters at the same time... and still be evenly matched!

However, none of the three envoys, Feng, Yun, and Yue, individually should be a match for the Chu Lu people.

Dai Qisi saw it clearly at this moment: when the three envoys attacked Chu Taisui with the Sacred Flame Token, the invisible energy around him was drawing the three envoys together, causing them to deplete each other's strength, but...

The three envoys wielded six sacred flame tokens, subtly forming a larger cycle—from the perspective of the besieged, they seemed completely out of sync and their cooperation awkward; however, from a third-party perspective, the three envoys were working in perfect harmony at a higher level.

Chu Luren seemed to be guiding the three people's internal energy to fight, and it was indeed effective, but in reality, Chu Luren was being consumed in this great cycle.

"Alliance Leader Chu, be careful! The Sacred Flame Token Divine Skill of the Three Envoys originates from the Great Shift of Heaven and Earth. It will be pointless for you to use the Great Shift of Heaven and Earth to guide them to consume each other!" Dai Qisi hurriedly reminded her.

Although she had the face of Granny Jin Hua, her voice at this moment was full of the magnetism of a mature woman...

Originally, Dai Qisi had reservations about Chu Luren's plan, but since the three envoys wanted to kill her right away, Dai Qisi had no other choice.

"Too late..."