The Great Martial Arts World: Hot Topics and Great Heroes

"The Holy Fire Sect doesn't have a leader yet, does it?" Chu Luren asked in return.

Upon hearing this, the Wise King did not offer any explanation. Instead, he nodded and said, "That's right. So... I also want to confirm once again whether Leader Han's background is... the daughter of Dai Qisi, who is her teacher?"

Upon hearing the title "instructor," Dai Qisi immediately understood what was going on—usually, among the three holy maidens, after one of them succeeds as the leader, the other two become "instructors."

The title "King of Wisdom" already hints that he wants to overlook Dai Qisi's loss of virginity as a saintess and redefine her as a teacher, making Xiao Zhao the rightful candidate for saintess. Add to that the "Great Shift of Heaven and Earth"...

“Not bad.” Dai Qisi nodded, showing no reaction.

Just as the Wise King was about to say something, Chu Luren interrupted again, saying, "If I'm not mistaken, besides the incomplete 'Great Shift of Heaven and Earth' on this Sacred Flame Token, there's another martial art, isn't there?"

Upon hearing this, the Wise King's expression turned somewhat grim. He had previously appeared to be a man of deep cunning, but... this other martial art symbolized "heresy," which was the root cause of the Holy Fire Sect's many upheavals. Upon hearing this for the first time, even he found it difficult to remain calm.

“Indeed, there is an evil technique that betrays the sacred flame!” the Wise King said viciously.

"Since the Holy Fire Sect despises this martial art so much, why not hand it over to our alliance to deal with!" Chu Luren said magnanimously.

Upon hearing this, the King of Cleavers and the King of Short Swords showed anger, but the King of Wisdom had a flash of insight: "If the misunderstanding between us can be resolved and Alliance Leader Chu can release the five fellow believers, then it is not unreasonable to hand over this evil scripture to Alliance Leader Chu for handling. After all, our Holy Fire Sect and the Ming Sect are originally one family."

"I also have a favor to ask. Since Leader Han is the daughter of Dai Qisi's instructor and has mastered the 'Great Shift of the Universe,' I would like to invite Leader Han to ascend to the leadership of the Holy Fire Sect. From then on, the Holy Fire Sect and the Ming Cult of the Central Plains will be even closer!"

The Wise King seemed unconcerned, teaching the heretical martial arts to Chu Luren, but he wanted to take Xiao Zhao to Persia.

"Hahaha..." Chu Luren laughed loudly, thinking to himself that this guy really thought I was stupid. Once we went to Persia, no matter who Xiao Zhao was on her side, wouldn't she still be your puppet?

"Hahaha..." King Wisdom chuckled as well, then asked, "Alliance Leader Chu, are you agreeing because you're laughing so heartily?"

"No, I'm laughing. I have eight prisoners now!"

Chapter 706 Hidden Talent

After friendly negotiations between the Chu Lu people and the Wise King, the number of prisoners taken by the Chu Lu people was increased to eight...

The King of Cleavers and the King of Short Swords were lying down, their weapons knocked away, and they were seriously injured. If the two of them wanted to spar again, it would be difficult to cause any trouble.

The Wise King, being pragmatic, refrained from making any rash moves. Although his martial arts skills were inferior to those of the Cleaver King and the Short Sword King, he still rebuked Chu Luren with a grim expression: "The Central Plains is a land of etiquette, and the leader of the Chu Alliance is the leader of the Righteous Alliance. Is this the behavior of a gentleman? Are you not afraid of being ridiculed by the world?"

Not to mention the Wise King, even Xie Xun felt a little uncomfortable—it's not quite right to detain someone who comes to negotiate, regardless of whether the negotiation is successful or not.

However, Xie Xun had been saved by Chu Luren earlier, so it was not appropriate for him to say anything at this time;

Huang Rong breathed a slight sigh of relief, knowing that Brother Chu had not been fooled; these Persians were truly wicked.

Dai Qisi's identity was sensitive, and she knew that Chu Luren didn't like her, so she didn't say anything. However, she looked at Xiao Zhao with some expectation, hoping that her daughter would speak up for her, but what she found was...

Xiao Zhao blushed and looked at Chu Luren, her embarrassment mixed with a little excitement—Brother Chu…could it be because of me, because he didn’t want me to go to Persia, that he was angry that he wanted to use me as a bargaining chip, and that’s why he turned against me?

As for Yaoyue… inappropriate? What’s inappropriate about it? Who says you can’t be detained just because someone comes to negotiate? I, Yaoyue, have no need to explain myself to anyone in my life!

King Zhihui was very disappointed. In the great land of Zhongtu, no one questioned the behavior of Chu Taisui?

Faced with the King of Wisdom's questioning, Chu Luren smiled slightly: "To conquer the weak and attack the ignorant, to seize chaos and insult the dead, is precisely the way of the gentleman!"

The Wise King remained silent for a moment before speaking, "What do you mean?"

This was somewhat beyond the scope of a Persian who spoke fluent Chinese, so Chu Luren instructed: "That is to say, weak, ignorant, chaotic, and dying forces should be annexed and replaced... The Holy Fire Sect has been in turmoil many times, how chaotic it is! For the sake of doctrinal disputes, brothers kill each other, how foolish it is! You were captured by me so easily, how weak you are! Anyway, you are about to perish, so my Alliance Ming Sect will naturally save you for the Holy Fire Sect!"

King of Wisdom: ...

Is the Middle Kingdom really this unreasonable?

At this moment, whether it was because the old cold poison was really flaring up or because she was deliberately pretending to be pitiful, Dai Qisi coughed violently. Xiao Zhao quickly went over to pat her mother's back.

After catching her breath, Dai Qisi said, "Xiao Zhao certainly can't go back to Persia with them like this... King of Wisdom, you are smart, but don't treat others like fools. However... Alliance Leader Chu, since King of Wisdom and the others dared to come alone, they must have some sincerity."

“Dragon King, you have misunderstood me. In fact, our alliance is also very sincere. The Holy Fire Sect has repeatedly defied the Ming Cult, but it is very obedient to the Mongols. It can be seen that the kings of the Holy Fire Sect like this domineering style.” Chu Luren said very considerately.

Even the King of Machetes and the King of Short Swords could hear the sarcasm in Chu Luren's voice, and at this moment they angrily cursed, "Gibberish, gibberish!"

"I know that you heroes of the Central Plains are dissatisfied with the Mongol invasion of the south. The Ming Cult is also at odds with my Holy Fire Cult because of our cult's defection to the Mongols. To be honest, my Holy Fire Cult was forced to do so back then. When heretics in the cult were in power, they persecuted us Holy Fire disciples more and more, so we had no choice but to take advantage of the Mongol forces..."

"Now, my brothers and I are of one mind. As long as we have a leader, we will surely raise the banner of righteousness and reclaim everything from the Mongols!" King Wisdom said excitedly.

Chu Luren curled his lip upon hearing this—what do you mean by being forced to do something? Judging from your use of the Mongols' power, you are not even as good as those "heretics".

Moreover, compared to the previous incident more than forty years ago, although the seizure of power by heretics marked the beginning of a series of upheavals within the Holy Fire Sect, it caused the least direct harm. Otherwise, it would have been "corrected" in just ten years.

"Alliance Leader Chu, before I came here, I instructed the Great Sage King and the Ever-Victorious King that if I did not return, they should immediately set sail and return to the Persian headquarters... Although my Holy Fire Sect has suffered another setback today, there is a saying in the Central Plains: 'Where there's life, there's hope!' My Holy Fire Sect is rooted in Persia, and one day, we will overthrow the Mongol Khanate's enslavement. We will also remember our blood feud with the Ming Cult and the martial arts world of the Central Plains!" King Wisdom threatened, his bare arm bare.

While it was called a threat, it was actually a way of revealing to the Chu Lu people that he too was anti-Mongol...

The Great Sage King is the nominal leader of the Twelve Treasure Tree Kings and the son of the previous Great Sage King. The previous Great Sage King was the most virtuous and respected, but he was harmed by the cult leader whose temperament changed drastically. When the Wise King rectified the chaos, he also used the name of the previous Great Sage King and installed his son as the new Great Sage King.

As for Changsheng Wang, he is the most skilled among the Twelve Treasure Tree Kings, and the only Treasure Tree King whose martial arts surpass those of the Three Envoys of Wind, Cloud and Moon.

These three are the core of the Twelve Treasure Tree Kings.

Chu Luren curled his lip upon hearing this, completely disregarding his refusal to take responsibility.

Huang Rong nudged Xiao Zhao, who immediately understood what Huang Rong meant and stepped forward to agree, saying, "Good! I didn't expect the Treasure Tree King of the Holy Fire Sect to have such ambition... Well, this sect leader is very pleased." She was a little embarrassed as she spoke, but she still said it under Huang Rong's encouraging gaze.

In this way, the tense situation eased somewhat.

"Thank you for the compliment, Master Han." The fact that the Wise King addressed Xiao Zhao as "Master Han" instead of simply "Master" clearly indicates that he has not yet acknowledged Xiao Zhao as their leader... unless he returns to Persia to assume his post!

"The Ming Cult and the Holy Fire Cult are originally one family, but now Bright Peak is the place where the Holy Fire resides, and I, the leader of the cult, will also reside here temporarily." Xiao Zhao indirectly indicated that she would not be going to Persia for the time being.

If they're going to Persia, it must mean that Xiao Zhao has already dealt with most of the Treasure Tree King and the three envoys, and is going to inspect the work at the Holy Fire Sect's Persian branch...

Chu Luren wanted to say something, but Huang Rong quietly pulled him back—but when Huang Rong pulled Chu Luren back, Yao Yue glanced at her.

The Chu Lu people have done enough in terms of deterrence.

Then it was up to Xiao Zhao to clarify the terms with the other party. After all, killing the five Treasure Tree Kings and the three envoys of Fengyunyue here would not benefit the Chu Lu people. Now the Holy Fire Sect was indeed at odds with the Mongol Khanate. Leaving them in the Central Plains would only benefit the Mongols.

Originally, the Wisdom King's bottom line was the "Great Shift of Heaven and Earth," but after Chu Luren's previous unreasonable demands, he had no choice but to accept Xiao Zhao's suggestion—that the Persian Holy Fire Sect headquarters select ten candidates for Holy Maidens and send them to Bright Peak. Xiao Zhao would then select three Holy Maidens and teach them the "Great Shift of Heaven and Earth"!

Firstly, it would bring them closer to the Holy Flame Cult; secondly, nominally, it would undoubtedly acknowledge "Cult Leader Han" as the leader of the Holy Flame Cult, since the Holy Maidens were chosen by them; and thirdly, since these three Holy Maidens were chosen by Xiao Zhao, they would naturally be courted by her...

"Did you come up with this idea?" Chu Luren asked Huang Rong in a low voice.

Unexpectedly, Huang Rong also looked at Xiao Zhao with surprise and said, "No, I do have a similar idea, but I haven't told Xiao Zhao about it yet..."

Huang Rong couldn't help but take a closer look at Xiao Zhao. She hadn't realized before that Xiao Zhao, who had no air of a sect leader and seemed more like Brother Chu's maid, was actually quite cunning.

Of course, Xiao Zhao didn't forget to ask for the heretical martial arts manual that Brother Chu had been longing for.

The absurd martial arts techniques on the Sacred Flame Token were compiled by the Wise King, the Ever-Victorious King, and the All-Encompassing King. Each of the three of them had read a portion of these heretical martial arts, and all three swore never to practice them or share them with each other...

Chapter 707 The Great Brightness Ceremony

"Great Light Canon"!

After exchanging ideas with King Juming and King Pingdeng, King Zhihui wrote down one-third of the secret manual for Chu Luren, and they then pieced it together to form this "heretical martial arts".

The name is very characteristic of the Holy Fire Cult, no wonder it came from the hands of a heretic within the Holy Fire Cult.

Chu Luren originally thought that what was heresy to the Holy Fire Cult wouldn't matter to him...

To everyone's surprise, after watching it, Chu Luren also exclaimed, "Good heavens!" and "This is just outrageous!"

It is indeed quite bizarre, not only in terms of the doctrines of the Holy Fire Cult, but also in its underlying logic of using yin as yang and yang as yin, which has developed to the point of turning its own yin and yang upside down!

Its founder may have been a being of both yin and yang, thus having a different perspective on the dualism of the Holy Fire Cult, and thus creating the Great Bright Hall—whose highest goal is to reverse one's innate gender.

Of course, apart from the founder who was originally of the same yin and yang nature, no one has cultivated to this level. However, it will also produce various strange phenomena. No wonder the previous leader was noticed after cultivating.

Moreover, it shares a similar drawback with the "Sunflower Manual," namely, that one's practice is done passively for the sake of cultivation, which can lead to great conflicts due to a mismatch between mindset and the practitioner's state of mind, and consequently, a drastic change in personality.

The previous leader, in order to improve his martial arts, secretly practiced the Great Bright Hall technique after the Great Shift of Heaven and Earth was lost. As a result, not only did his voice become deeper and his frame grow larger, but his temperament also became cruel and bloodthirsty...

As for the effects, the "Great Brightness Canon" and the "Great Shift of Heaven and Earth" are very similar, but their martial arts principles are completely different. In the Holy Fire Sect, this means that the core doctrines they project are completely different.

The founder must have held a high position of power within the Holy Fire Cult back then, and must have been familiar with the "Great Shift of Heaven and Earth"...

The wise king was very clever. He did nothing unnecessary and directly handed over the three complete and authentic copies of the "Great Brightness Canon" to Chu Luren.

Perhaps... he was even hoping that Chu Luren would actually cultivate and then suffer a qi deviation?

He's completely blinded by greed!

If he knew how many profound martial arts Chu Luren had mastered, especially those including the "Sunflower Manual" and the "Evil-Repelling Sword Technique," he would understand that Chu Luren could not possibly cultivate them directly.

Chu Luren then recalled the scene from the day before, when the Treasure Tree Kings and the Sect Leader Han Zhao had their final discussion...

At that time, the Treasure Tree Kings also put forward a condition—the leader of the Holy Fire Sect must be a Holy Maiden!

At first, Chu Luren didn't understand and thought they wanted Xiao Zhao to become an apprentice saintess. He almost hit her, but Huang Rong stopped him and whispered to Brother Chu—these Persians were reminding Xiao Zhao not to lose her chastity…

Chu Luren was furious when he heard this.

This shows that the Holy Fire Cult is still up to its old tricks and wants to control its leader!

This is a provocation against the Ming Cult of the Central Plains and the Righteous Alliance!

This is a distortion of human nature—and the target is Chu Luren's sister!

Before Chu Luren was about to attack him, Xiao Zhao briefly touched on their demands—after all, the Treasure Tree Kings hadn't explicitly stated, or even acknowledged, that Xiao Zhao was their leader; they had only mentioned the rules for succeeding the leader.

However, the Holy Flame Sect clearly did not give up. They specially kept the three envoys, Wind, Cloud and Moon, to serve as Xiao Zhao's guards, especially the Radiant Moon Envoy, who, being a woman herself, could stay with Xiao Zhao at all times!

Huang Rong and Chu Luren had said that they suspected the Persians were trying to influence the Ming Cult through Xiao Zhao, and at the same time, to observe Xiao Zhao's status within the Ming Cult.

Once it is discovered that the Ming Cult does not particularly respect Xiao Zhao, the Sacred Flame Cult will definitely take the initiative to become a strong ally. However, since Xiao Zhao has no confidantes in the Ming Cult, if they rely on the power of the Three Envoys, they will inevitably be influenced by the Sacred Flame Cult, and the Sacred Flame Cult may even influence the Ming Cult.

After all, Xiao Zhao also has Persian blood, and in the eyes of the Holy Fire Cult's Treasure Tree King, she is someone who can be won over.

If Xiao Zhao ultimately sides with the Sacred Flame, wouldn't her becoming the joint leader of the Ming Cult and the Sacred Flame Cult in the Central Plains fulfill the Sacred Flame Cult's wish?

Of course, the prerequisite for achieving this is that Master Han Zhao will not be "abducted" by villains...

This is also the main task of the three envoys of Fengyunyue!

However, if the wicked person were to cultivate the "Great Brightness Canon" on their own, then it would be much less of a worry.

Unfortunately, a mere peerless martial art was not enough to attract Chu Luren to make such a great sacrifice. In fact, just knowing that it was incompatible with his state of mind and could lead to qi deviation was enough to make Chu Luren give up this martial art.

Of course, it should still be used as a reference!

The founder was indeed a genius of unparalleled talent. After fully mastering the fundamental principles of the "Great Brightness Canon" and the "Great Shift of Heaven and Earth," Chu Luren could understand that he must have thoroughly understood the "Great Shift of Heaven and Earth" before he began to change his approach...

This is why the Holy Fire Church refers to his branch as heresy, not as heretics.

The core of the Great Bright Scripture is that Yin is Yang and Yang is Yin—different from the opposition and transformation in the Great Shift of Heaven and Earth, and also different from the Yin-Yang balance of Tai Chi, where Yin reaches its extreme and Yang gives rise to Yin...