The Great Martial Arts World: Hot Topics and Great Heroes

"The Twelve Treasure Tree Kings are roughly equivalent to the Four Great Dharma Kings of our Ming Cult, except that their Treasure Tree Kings are not known for their martial arts skills, but are mostly chosen from those who are well-versed in the doctrines and scriptures," Xie Xun explained.

At the same time, it subtly points out the difference...

In contrast, the Ming Cult in the Central Plains was more pragmatic—the Left and Right Envoys were chosen by the leader, and were highly skilled in martial arts and exceptionally talented, while the Four Protectors were also chosen primarily based on their martial arts prowess.

In the generation of Zi Bai Jin Qing, apart from Dai Qisi, the White-browed Eagle King, the Golden-haired Lion King, and the Green-winged Bat King... were all latecomers to the Ming Cult. Xie Xun was the nephew of the leader's wife. The White-browed Eagle King and the Green-winged Bat King were also impressed by Yang Dingtian and joined the Ming Cult.

In contrast, the Holy Fire Cult is more like a sect, and those who study its scriptures hold a higher status than the Three Envoys. The Three Envoys, Wind, Cloud, and Moon, are more like the leaders of the sect's guards.

The idea of ​​protectors vying for the position of leader would never happen in the Holy Fire Church, because the leader is chosen from among the holy maidens, and even if there are no holy maidens, it wouldn't be the turn of the "protectors."

Chu Luren looked at the weapons of the two men and then said to Xie Xun with a strange expression, "Lion King, these two are using iron whips and octagonal hammers."

It's not that the Chu Lu people look down on heavy weapons, but...

These two don't seem like the type to be "experts in the arts" at all!

They look like two complete idiots...

Dai Qisi paused for a moment, then pondered, "Ah, what Brother Xie is talking about are things from the old days. In recent years... the Holy Fire Sect must have also undergone many changes."

Although it wasn't said directly, Chu Luren could still understand that the Holy Fire Sect's rules had also collapsed—the Treasure Tree King was all about fists!

If there hadn't been chaos, even the "Great Shift of Heaven and Earth" wouldn't have been lost.

"Alas, the Holy Fire Sect has fallen to such a state. How can our Ming Cult headquarters sit idly by?" Chu Luren said passionately.

However, Dai Qisi and the others just laughed awkwardly and didn't respond. Only Xiao Zhao looked at Brother Chu encouragingly, somewhat embarrassed, but still nodded. As a result... she was glanced at by Yao Yue.

King Baoshu, wielding an iron whip, angrily retorted, "Nonsense! Nonsense! My Holy Fire Sect is the true headquarters! Although there was turmoil before, we have already rectified the chaos. This time, we have come to preach to the Ming Cult..."

"Tsk tsk, preaching? This is all you've got?" Chu Luren said, tapping his head with the Sacred Flame Token. "Iron Whip King and Eight-Cornered King, you two are considered relatively weak among the Twelve Treasure Tree Kings, right? Why aren't you taking the big ship?"

"You, me, I am the King of Merit, not the King of Iron Whip!"

"A scholar may be humiliated, but not killed. I am the King of Fire..."

The two men were very excited about their new titles.

Sure enough, King Baoshu's cultural level is now mediocre, and his Chinese is not as good as that of the three envoys Fengyunyue.

Chu Luren smiled and began to probe the two, wanting to understand the current situation of the Holy Fire Sect...

If two Treasure Tree Kings are sitting on small boats, then... if all six small boats are presided over by Treasure Tree Kings, then who is on the large boat?

This is way too grand!

For the sake of a saintess who has lost her virginity, the Twelve Treasure Tree Kings and the Three Envoys of Wind, Cloud and Moon have all come out in full force?

Even for the sake of the Ming Cult in the Central Plains, isn't it a bit too much of a waste?

"Have you come here to pay your respects to the new leader of the Bright Peak headquarters?"

Chapter 704 The Turmoil of the Holy Fire Cult

After Chu Luren extracted a lot of information from them, Iron Whip King and Eight-Corner King were furious, but they didn't realize that they had already confessed most of what they had to say!

All twelve Treasure Tree Kings had indeed arrived. On the large ship at the head, six Treasure Tree Kings—Iron Whip King and Eight-Cornered King—firmly stated that they would take turns sitting on the small ship to oversee the situation.

The three envoys, Feng, Yun, and Yue, were merely a preliminary advance. The Twelve Treasure Tree Kings had come out in full force, specifically to deal with Dai Qisi and the Ming Cult in the Central Plains.

As for the Ming Cult, their main goal is the "Great Shift of the Universe," and it would be best if the Ming Cult were to submit again. If that's not possible, then they should remain as before, consolidating their nominal veneration of the Holy Fire Cult as their source. At the very least... they must find the "Great Shift of the Universe" again!

Just as Dai Qisi had predicted, the Holy Fire Cult had indeed encountered a series of changes.

Chu Luren knew beforehand that the loss of "The Great Shift of Heaven and Earth" involved a legitimate struggle within the Holy Fire Sect, but he didn't know that it was actually far more complicated than he imagined.

Over a hundred years ago, a member of the Holy Fire Cult with extraordinary talent interpreted the doctrine differently, contradicting the original core doctrine of the Holy Fire Cult and leading some followers astray. More than forty years ago, the descendants of that heretical branch seized the power of the cult and even destroyed the "Great Shift of Heaven and Earth," which was logically consistent with the core doctrine, and used the branch's martial arts as the treasure of the cult.

However, less than ten years later, the original mainstream sect of the Holy Fire Sect, taking advantage of the Mongol power, revived and slaughtered all its branches. However, the price was that it became dependent on the Mongols and assisted them in ruling Persia. Moreover, it could no longer find the complete "Great Shift of the Universe". So it began to plot a copy of the Ming Cult in the Central Plains.

During this period, a Persian merchant bought back the Sacred Flame Token lost by the Ming Cult from the Beggars' Sect and presented it to the Sacred Flame Cult. The Sacred Flame Cult then used this as leverage to order the Ming Cult leader to make a pilgrimage to the Sacred Flame Cult headquarters and retrieve the Sacred Flame Token after he had mastered the "Great Shift of Heaven and Earth".

Furthermore, he sent Dai Qisi, one of the three holy maidens at the time, to Bright Peak to secretly plot the "Great Shift of Heaven and Earth"...

These were things that Dai Qisi also knew, and in fact, even after she fell in love with and married Han Qianye, the Holy Fire Sect did not stop causing trouble.

The previous turmoil in the church had already damaged its sanctity. First, the church leader was mysteriously murdered. Then, two saintesses besides Dai Qisi each led their followers to fight for the position of church leader. After a fierce battle, several of the Treasure Tree Kings were killed, and the losing side was implicated in many other ways...

This marks the third major loss of strength for the Holy Fire Cult, following two previous upheavals.

Several years ago, the new leader who successfully ascended to the throne showed strange signs and his personality changed drastically. The Treasure Tree Kings discovered that the leader had secretly practiced that heretical martial art!

The manual "Great Shift of the Universe" could not be found, and internal strife within the sect left the leader feeling insecure, so he began to cultivate another peerless martial art...

However, for the Holy Flame Sect, the choice between "The Great Shift of Heaven and Earth" and that other martial art is not just about choosing between two peerless martial arts, but also represents the respective doctrines of the orthodox and the heretical!

If the cult leader practiced that martial art, was he orthodox or heretical?

Thus, eight of the twelve Treasure Tree Kings joined forces and sent the other four Treasure Tree Kings, along with the previous generation's three envoys of Wind, Cloud, and Moon, and the sect leader, all to their deaths in one fell swoop...

This marks the fourth upheaval for the Holy Fire Cult in less than fifty years.

Afterwards, the Treasure Tree Kings learned their lesson and used the remaining parts of the "Great Shift of Heaven and Earth" to "package" the heretical martial arts, so that the Holy Fire Sect would temporarily have a sect-protecting divine skill. At the same time, they actively searched for a copy of the "Great Shift of Heaven and Earth" in the Central Plains.

More importantly, in order to stabilize the situation within the church, they genuinely wanted to set things right and re-sanctify the position of the leader—otherwise, it would only lead to continued turmoil within the church!

So on one hand, they wanted to retrieve the "Great Shift of Heaven and Earth," and on the other hand, they wanted to capture Dai Qisi and burn her alive.

Moreover, Chu Luren also knew that... because the previous three Holy Maidens had also been turned by the sect leader and secretly practiced that martial art, they had been burned to death, and now the position of sect leader was vacant.

Thinking about it this way, Chu Luren could understand why, in the original work, the Twelve Treasure Tree Kings so easily accepted Dai Qisi's explanation and decided to invite Xiao Zhao back to be the leader.

Firstly, Xiao Zhao is the daughter of Dai Qisi. Ignoring the fact that her mother violated the religious rules, she is eligible to be a saintess in terms of bloodline. According to the rules of the Holy Fire Sect, after a saintess becomes the sect leader, she will select three new saintesses from those whose bloodlines match. The other two saintesses can get married and start families, and their daughters also meet the criteria.

Secondly... Dai Qisi and Xiao Zhao did indeed bring back "The Great Shift of Heaven and Earth," and the Holy Fire Cult is now even more eager for the return of "The Great Shift of Heaven and Earth" than it was thirty years ago.

Despite his high position, great power, and advanced age, the Twelve Treasure Tree King treated Xiao Zhao with utmost respect and courtesy, much like Cao Cao had when he welcomed back Emperor Xian of Han. He actively restored ancient rituals and showed the emperor the utmost respect, even having the imperial guards hold a knife to his neck when meeting the emperor—not to show respect to the leader, but to restore order and make others respect the leader as well.

Chu Luren finally understood why the martial arts techniques on the Sacred Flame Token were such a mess...

So this is another martial art, which has other meanings for the Holy Flame Sect, so it must not be practiced directly. That's why it was pieced together and packaged using the incomplete "Great Shift of Heaven and Earth".

Unfortunately, both the Iron Whip King and the Eight-Cornered King had only recently risen to power to fill the four vacant positions of the Treasure Tree King, and they were unaware of the full extent of the heretical martial arts.

As expected, Chu Luren only obtained a Frankenstein's monster version from the other four Sacred Flame Tokens. Even when combined, it was still incomplete and unable to touch the martial arts will.

However, Chu Luren, with his profound martial arts skills, still managed to discern some of the secrets involved...

The martial arts techniques on the six sacred flame tokens correspond to each other in pairs: one is hard and the other is soft; one is steady and the other is hot; one is clear and the other is turbid. At the same time, in terms of yin and yang, all three are ambiguous and neither yin nor yang.

Chu Luren privately consulted Dai Qisi about the core doctrines of the Holy Fire Sect. He understood that the so-called orthodox doctrines were based on the so-called dualism—the yin-yang relativity and transformation of the "Great Shift of Heaven and Earth"—which, on a philosophical level, conformed to the core doctrines.

Therefore, Chu Luren speculated that this heretical martial art should focus on the indistinguishability of Yin and Yang, the absence of relativity or transformation, and the fact that Yin itself is Yang and Yang itself is Yin. This is why the Treasure Tree Kings, who consider themselves orthodox, are so secretive about this martial art.

The most crucial part of the technique was not engraved on the Sacred Flame Token; it was packaged with an incomplete version of the "Great Shift of Heaven and Earth," making it appear messy and losing its true meaning.

……

Chu Lusheng captured the three envoys Fengyunyue, as well as the Iron Whip King and the Eight-Corner King. The Holy Fire Sect's fleet naturally wouldn't leave just like that, but instead lingered at a distance that was "vaguely visible" between itself and Ling Snake Island.

The next day, Xiao Hong cooed again as a warning.

A small boat was lowered from the fleet, carrying three people who approached while waving, clearly indicating that they meant no harm and wanted to negotiate with the Chu Lu people...

Chapter 705 Negotiation

"Who are you three?" Chu Luren saw that the other party's small boat was coming and they clearly wanted to negotiate, so he did not stop them.

Although two of them were carrying weapons, Chu Luren didn't care. Since the three of them dared to come ashore alone, whether they were armed or not was just a matter of momentum...

Upon hearing Chu Luren's question, the leader, who was also the only one without a weapon, stepped forward and replied, "I am the Wise King of the Holy Fire Cult of Persia, and I have met the esteemed people of the Central Plains."

"I am King Qixin!" The burly man with a fierce face and a large cleaver on the left puffed out his chest.

"I am the King of Suppressing Evil!" The middle-aged man on the right, wielding two short swords and looking furtive, stepped forward.

"So you are the Clever King, the Machete King, and the Short Sword King. It's an honor to meet you." Chu Luren cupped his hands in greeting.

King Qixin and King Zhen'e glared at each other. No matter how poor their Chinese was, they could tell that the Chu Lu people had changed their titles!

However, just as the two were about to speak, the Wise King slightly raised his hand and stopped them.

It is clear that among the three, the King of Wisdom holds the highest position, which aligns with the information that Chu Luren had previously gleaned from the Iron Whip King and the Eight-Horned King.

Although the two kings have always declared that the Twelve Treasure Tree Kings are equal, they have also mentioned that the one who spearheaded the plot to overthrow the previous leader was the Wisdom King.

"My Persian Holy Fire Cult and the Ming Cult of the Central Plains are of the same origin. I have great respect for Alliance Leader Chu. There have been many misunderstandings before, and I hope Alliance Leader Chu will not take offense." The Wise King adopted a very humble posture.

However, these Chu Lu people only heard about it briefly...

These Persian fire-worshipping followers do indeed place great importance on the "remaining" high-ranking members.

After all, in the past forty years, there have been four bloody upheavals, and the Holy Fire Sect's experts have died one after another, and it is clear that there is a shortage of capable successors. This is evident from the fact that quite a few simpletons have been mixed in among the Twelve Treasure Tree Kings, which are symbols of wisdom.

It is important to know that for hundreds of years, the Holy Fire Cult has been the only dominant force in Persia. It is not only the only martial arts holy land in Persia, but also the state religion of the Persian Empire.

Although the Central Plains are a land of outstanding people and abundant resources, no family or faction has ever held such a position, not even for a single day…

Although the Holy Fire Cult is a single sect, it is comparable to the entire Central Plains—while overall it is far from being a match, its strength is unprecedented when compared to any other sect in terms of its overall scale…

It is precisely because of its size that it has been able to withstand four upheavals. If it were Shaolin, it would have had to close its mountain for ten years to recover from such an event. If it were a mountain like Huashan, its foundation would be shaken in one event, and it would take generations to recover!

Even so, the Holy Fire Cult is now in unprecedented decline, especially since this branch of the cult only regained power by allying with the Mongols, which means helping foreigners oppress their own people. Their prestige in Persia has greatly diminished, and they cannot withstand any further turmoil.

In the original work, after Zhang Wuji captured the three envoys, the Treasure Tree Kings were very easy to talk to. They even stopped capturing Dai Qisi and gave the boat to Zhang Wuji so that he could leave.

Of course, they immediately sent men to sabotage Zhang Wuji's ship and hid explosives at the stern. After Zhang Wuji's ship sank, they returned to surround it. In the end, Dai Qisi had no choice but to reveal Xiao Zhao's background and exchange Dai Qisi and Xiao Zhao for their return to Persia in exchange for Zhang Wuji and the others' safe departure.

Therefore, Chu Luren did not believe a single word of what the King of Wisdom said!

On the contrary, Dai Qisi and Xie Xun were slightly surprised when they heard that the King of Wisdom Trees had indirectly admitted that the Ming Cult and the Holy Fire Cult were only "of the same origin" and not master and servant.

This was actually what the Ming Cult had been pursuing before. As for Chu Luren's claim of "turning the tables," they simply thought it was an exorbitant price.

"It's alright, it's alright. Since the Holy Flame Sect has realized its mistake and even had the three envoys return the Holy Flame Token, Sect Leader Han, considering that we are all citizens of the Holy Flame, will naturally not make things difficult for his followers." Chu Luren still had a provocative look on his face.

The Wise King wasn't angry, but the Cleaver King and the Short Sword King... probably hadn't realized what was happening yet and were questioning their Chinese proficiency.

"The Sacred Flame Token was originally a treasure bestowed upon the Ming Cult by the Sacred Flame Sect's headquarters. However, the Ming Cult unfortunately lost it. After our sect recovered this sacred object, we only had to put the Ming Cult through a test before returning it. Now that the Ming Cult has chosen its leader and Alliance Leader Chu has mastered the 'Great Shift of Heaven and Earth,' it is only right that it be returned to the Ming Cult."

The Wise King speaks quite well in Chinese and seems easy to talk to, but he subtly points out that the Holy Fire Cult "bestowed" treasures upon the Ming Cult, and that the Ming Cult cannot protect the treasures...

At the same time, it also recognized Xiao Zhao's position as leader—in the past, the Persian Holy Fire Cult had always wanted to interfere with the Ming Cult's leader position...of course, they rarely succeeded.