The Great Martial Arts World: Hot Topics and Great Heroes

Seeing Ren Yingying unconscious, the Six Immortals of Peach Valley chattered incessantly with questions. Qu Feiyan was equally worried, as Chu Luren hadn't had a chance to explain last night...

Now Chu Luren has recounted the whole story. The Six Immortals of Peach Valley cursed Shaolin, while Qu Feiyan asked Chu Luren if he had any ideas on how to save the situation.

"Don't worry, the worst that can happen is that I'll talk to Yingying for a few months and she'll be able to calm down. However, we have absolutely no clue about where Master Ren is," Chu Luren said truthfully.

"Ah! Months? Just lying here like this? Won't he starve to death?" Tao Genxian said worriedly.

"Blow? Blow where? The Holy Maiden's coma isn't deflated, you can't just blow her up!" Peach Immortal seemed rather ignorant.

Ignoring the latter, as for the former... Chu Luren took out two large porcelain vases from his package—about the size of small vases.

"This is a Lesser Rejuvenation Pill I got from Shaolin Temple, as part of the compensation. Just give Yingying one a day to ensure her health, and she only needs to bathe every few days," Chu Luren said, looking at Qu Feiyan.

This Lesser Rejuvenation Pill is quite miraculous. After taking it, it can not only calm one's internal energy and heal internal injuries, but also form a flawless body in a short time. If one lies still, even the evaporation of water will be greatly reduced.

The Nine-Flower Jade Dew Pill, Four Symbols Heaven-Mending Pill, Nine-Turn Bear-Snake Pill, Jade Maiden Pure Heart Pill, etc. that Chu Luren usually keeps on hand all have similar effects, but if they are used on Yingying who is in a coma, not only will she need to be hydrated every day, but she may also be unable to tolerate the supplements if she takes them for a long time. The Lesser Rejuvenation Pill, on the other hand, does not have this problem.

So before leaving, Chu Luren asked Fang Zheng to compensate him with two bottles—two hundred pills in each bottle, and he could come back for more if needed.

Furthermore, Chu Luren did not rush to leave Dengfeng, but wanted to wait for news from Xie Xun. According to Huang Rong's message, he should be heading to the Northern Shaolin Temple to find Yuanzhen.

It's a pity that Yuanzhen left first; otherwise, Chu Luren would have stopped him to prevent other troubles from arising.

The reason I left Shaolin was simply that I couldn't get used to living in the temple; the conditions weren't good, and I couldn't eat fish or crabs there!

Aside from Ren Yingying's room, Chu Luren, seeing that it was almost lunchtime, immediately said, "Manager, have the waiter go to the best restaurant in Dengfeng and prepare food for twenty people."

There was no food delivery available at the time, but the inn's waiters could run errands for you as long as you paid them enough.

Chu Luren was not extravagant; his house housed sixteen or seventeen men and women, so twenty people was not a lot.

The innkeeper recommended a vegetarian restaurant to Chu Luren, since it was located at the foot of Mount Song and was considered a local specialty. However, Chu Luren scolded him, "A vegetarian restaurant? I'll eat vegetarian food at Shaolin Temple, okay?"

The shopkeeper smiled obsequiously upon hearing this. He had also seen the two martial monks escorting people back with Chu Luren, and guessed that Chu Luren must be a person from the martial arts world.

Chu Luren slammed the suona on the table and said, "Good wine, good food, lots of fish and crabs. From now on, make sure to serve this for all three meals a day. This is a reward. Just ask Shaolin Temple to reimburse you for the meals! Say that I calculated it!"

Upon seeing the suona, the shopkeeper was greatly alarmed—even if one wasn't a member of the martial arts world, one would still know that it was ranked second on the Heavenly Ranking!

Even if people didn't know when Chu Luren was just ranked second on the Heavenly Ranking a few years ago, Chu Luren had already dominated the second place on the Heavenly Ranking for two years, which was already common knowledge among ordinary people.

Dengfeng is located at the foot of Mount Song, so it is naturally familiar with the Shaolin and Songshan sects. In comparison, the merchants prefer the Shaolin disciples.

After all, they are monks, and they stay in their own little world, so they don't cause trouble, while the disciples of Mount Song... have more of a江湖 (jianghu, a term referring to the world of martial arts and chivalry) spirit.

Hearing Chu Luren say this, the innkeeper was no longer worried about being tricked. Chu Luren also specifically instructed, "Get the best wine and food, don't skimp on Shaolin's money!"

That's right, this is the difference between staying at Shaolin Temple and coming down the mountain—neither costs money, but it's more comfortable down the mountain.

"Big brother, you're treating me to dinner again, you're so kind," the bastard said gratefully.

The bastard only felt that his older brother was the third kindest person to him after his mother and Uncle Xie. As for Ah Xiu, his older brother said not to compare her with others.

"Brother, how are you feeling about Miss Ren's injury?" Chu Luren asked specifically.

Upon hearing this, the bastard said somewhat embarrassedly, "Brother Chu and the Shaolin masters couldn't do anything, and I... couldn't figure it out either."

Chu Luren didn't ask any more questions. After all, the dog's cultivation was very unsystematic, and even his internal energy foundation was messed up. He relied entirely on enlightenment, so he was indeed lacking in many other aspects. Chu Luren even suspected that he still didn't know how to press or release acupoints.

Seeing this, the bastard felt a little guilty. He thought to himself that his older brother had been so good to him, so he should try his best to help his brother's friend in need...

Or... how about practicing more Buddhist kung fu?

Chu Lu stayed in Dengfeng for half a month, thinking that if Xie Xun didn't come soon, he would take Yingying to Manjing first, and then make further plans.

However, what appeared even before Xie Xun was the imperial envoy's entourage, and... bad news.

That day, Chu Luren went to Qunyu Academy as usual to see if there was any news circulating in the martial arts world, and sure enough, there was!

The news that a 500-strong elite cavalry unit, with its ceremonial procession, had set off from Manjing and was heading towards Shaolin was known to many in the martial arts world from the very beginning.

Especially after learning that this imperial envoy was actually there to confer titles upon Shaolin Temple, and that the corrupt emperor had even sent people to Shaolin to become monks, many people in the martial arts world scoffed at it.

The main sentiment was one of disdain for the Qing Dynasty, but there was also some disdain for Shaolin in their words – after all, in recent years, an anonymous passerby has been consistently and bluntly criticizing Shaolin, even producing some unsubstantiated "evidence," which has influenced people's attitudes.

The reason it wasn't outwardly disdainful was because... there were too many lay disciples of Shaolin in the martial arts world!

There was also some bad news for the Chu Lu people—Xie Xun had been captured by the Southern Shaolin Temple in the Huainan area and taken back to the temple.

Legend has it that Yuanzhen sought out Xie Xun to settle their score. He had killed Xie Xun's entire family of thirteen years ago and had been punched thirteen times by Xie Xun. However, he encountered the Three Great Monks of the Southern Shaolin Temple, who captured Xie Xun and took him back!

Xie Xun has many enemies, and the Dragon-Slaying Saber is highly coveted. It is estimated that soon the people of the martial arts world will flock to the Southern Shaolin Temple to prevent them from "monopolizing" the Dragon-Slaying Saber and Xie Xun indefinitely.

There's also a rumor circulating in the martial arts world—someone spotted Guihai Yidao (Guihai the One-Sword) in the back mountains of the Southern Shaolin Temple…

When combined with previous news, the Southern Shaolin Temple found itself even more at the forefront of the times!

Chapter 743 Forcibly Abducting a Woman

Chu Luren waited in Dengfeng until the fifth day of the second month—Kongxing said that in the first half of each month, the mysterious wandering old monk would be on duty at Damo Cave.

However, on the thirteenth of last month, Chu Luren took Yingying away, but the old monk was no longer on the mountain at that time.

But at that time, there were only two or three days left. The old monk wasn't a clock-in/clock-out worker, so it was normal for him to leave two days early during the first month of the lunar calendar.

Chu Luren originally wanted to wait and see. If he returned at the beginning of the month, then he would most likely be an old monk visiting a lonely widow...

But now it's already the fifth day of the lunar new year and he still hasn't shown up. Chu Luren began to suspect that he was involved in the matter of the Bodhidharma Cave, and that the person sweeping the floor might really be the "Sweeping Monk"!

Moreover, regardless of whether it is true or not, Chu Luren will go south to the Southern Shaolin Temple afterward—whether the Sweeper Monk is in the Southern Shaolin Temple or not, the Lion King will always be there.

There's still no news about the "Lion Slaying Ceremony," but it'll happen sooner or later...

However, on the fifth day of the month, the imperial envoy's entourage arrived in Dengfeng. Chu Luren also planned to meet with Wei Xiaobao before leaving. After all, he had asked Wei Xiaobao to ask for people before, but now that the people had been rescued, he didn't need to do anything extra.

As an imperial envoy, Wei Xiaobao and his entourage were extremely arrogant. Moreover, before going up the mountain, Wei Xiaobao wanted to stay at the foot of the mountain for a couple more days, since he didn't know how long it would be before he could return to secular life after going up the mountain.

Before returning to secular life, no matter how "fake" a monk may be, he still has to respect the rules of Shaolin!

The imperial edict was for the eighth day of the second month, so Wei Xiaobao could still delay a bit longer, gamble with his brothers in the cavalry, and enjoy some wine and women...

However, Wei Xiaobao did not expect that staying for two days would lead to disaster!

Meanwhile, Chu Luren arrived at the inn where the imperial envoy was staying. He silently and quietly made his way around inside and out without disturbing anyone, but he couldn't find Wei Xiaobao anywhere. He figured that Wei Xiaobao was probably out having some fun, so he decided to come back later that night...

However, at that moment, a commotion suddenly broke out among the people in the bustling city. Listening briefly, it seemed that soldiers from the neighboring market were forcibly abducting women and fighting with female martial arts heroes, resulting in many deaths and injuries.

After a moment's thought, Chu Luren realized that he knew far too many female warriors in Dengfeng City. He immediately took a step and transformed into a white shadow on the street, weaving through the crowd.

Aside from the occasional person whose vision blurred and thought they had bumped into something unclean, it didn't cause much of a ripple in the crowd.

At this moment, in the neighboring market, one could see quite a few officers and soldiers of the Plain Yellow Banner of the Vanguard Cavalry. Some were drawing their swords and brandishing their spears, while others were climbing onto the rooftops—this was for the convenience of using crossbows. The formation was quite impressive!

Apart from two of the "commoner women," the others who were harassed by the soldiers were completely fearless...

Chu Luren's prediction was correct; apart from the two "commoner girls," the other three female warriors were indeed people he knew!

The person in the lead was none other than the goddess Wang Yuyan of Taiwei—Ziwei, Taiwei, and Tianshi are the "Three Enclosures".

In modern astronomical naming terms, the Twenty-Eight Mansions are similar to "constellations," while the "Three Enclosures" are three celestial regions.

Azi then thought of using the names of the three goddesses of the Starry Sky Sect to distinguish them.

The Three Enclosures are headed by "Ziwei Enclosure". Although Azi's martial arts skills are not as good as Wang Yuyan's, she takes advantage of her young age and calls her "elder sister" repeatedly. She also says that her name has "Zi" in it and insists on occupying "Ziwei Enclosure". Wang Yuyan and Mu Wanqing give in to her and satisfy their little sister's vanity.

After that, Wang Yuyan naturally became the Goddess of Taiwei, and Mu Wanqing became the Goddess of Tianshi. However... it wasn't until the battle at Mount Song not long ago that the three goddesses made their names known and became someone that people in the martial arts world dared not underestimate.

Of course, what people in the martial arts world don't know is that the other two goddesses are quite different from Wang Yuyan in terms of martial arts skills...

At this point, Wang Yuyan's martial arts skills were already at the peak of the first-class level—five years ago, this level would have been considered unparalleled and worthy of being praised by future generations. However, in the past two years, the overall strength of people in the martial arts world has also improved significantly, so it is a bit of a stretch to call her unparalleled.

First-rate means first-rate in one's own time; peerless means that even decades or centuries after one's death, there will still be legends about this person in the martial arts world.

Naturally, the standards for both have risen along with their overall strength.

However, in any case, Wang Yuyan has little hope of directly confronting an army. That applies to facing an army in formation or charging cavalry on a plain. In this market town, which is essentially street fighting, the effectiveness of sheer numbers is greatly reduced, and it's impossible to form a battle formation.

"You audacious scoundrels! How dare you kill an official and cause chaos! Surrender immediately, or we will unleash a hail of arrows and leave you without a burial place!" shouted a military officer who appeared to be a leader.

"Brother Zhang, please don't really hurt them..." Wei Xiaobao was standing to the side at this time, also wearing the armor of a commander, but because of his short stature and appearance that did not match that of a military general, he looked rather like a monkey wearing a crown.

"Commander Wei, don't worry! I know what I'm doing. Besides, this is right under Shaolin's nose. We'll just finish this quickly and it won't escalate." The man surnamed Zhang whispered to Wei Xiaobao.

"But what kind of auspicious place is Mount Song? How can two such fairy-like people appear at the same time?" Wei Xiaobao stared blankly at the woman hiding behind Wang Yuyan and the other two, and occasionally glanced at the three heroines who had come to his door.

Well, judging by her appearance, calling her "commoner girl A" is a bit of an understatement. She is... stunningly beautiful, with beauty that could make fish sink and geese fall from the sky, and the moon hide its face in shame!

Unlike Wang Yuyan, whose ethereal beauty carries an unworldly purity; unlike Yaoyue, whose stunning beauty carries a coldness that makes ordinary people dare not even look her in the eye; and unlike Xiaolongnu, whose dazzling beauty carries an elegance reminiscent of a fairy maiden...

In terms of appearance alone, this "commoner girl A" is on the same level as these three, only... slightly inferior to Dongfang Bubai, whose divine skills are about to be perfected!

Dongfang Bubai's Heavenly Mother Body can be said to be modeled after himself as the innate Yang, sculpted according to the standard of "beauty". In terms of appearance alone, he is indeed the most powerful, and his personal temperament is also very... outstanding.

However, apart from her appearance, this "commoner girl A" had nothing to offer. If the Chu Lu people saw her, they would surely sigh: "She's got no soul..."

It's not that she's dull-witted, but rather that her own energy and spirit simply couldn't sustain her classic beauty, which can only be described as "beauty that could make fish sink and geese fall from the sky, beauty that could make the moon hide and flowers blush."

That's right, it was none other than Chen Yuanyuan's daughter, Ake.

Today, Ake got into trouble...

When Wei Xiaobao happened to see her, he secretly vowed that he would marry her in this life. It was just that he didn't practice internal energy cultivation, otherwise, no matter what kind of cultivation method he practiced, he would definitely suffer from qi deviation!

For a moment, Wei Xiaobao forgot that he had come to become a monk and wanted to stop people on the road to chat. His good brothers Zhang Kangnian and Zhao Qixian, who were the guards commanders and now actually commanded the 500-man Xiaoji Battalion, understood what their good brothers meant and were about to stage a scene of forcibly taking a woman.

Ake was actually a martial arts practitioner, but...

Her kung fu skills were really rudimentary, which is why she seemed like a "commoner" standing behind the three goddesses.

She and her senior sister Aqi, having been influenced by their master, already harbored a deep aversion to the Qing soldiers. They immediately took action, and although they severely injured two soldiers, they were no match for the other guards and experts.

Even without experts, if there were more ordinary soldiers, they wouldn't be able to hold out...

Fortunately, just then, Wang Yuyan and her two companions passed by. Upon seeing that some soldiers dared to forcibly abduct a woman in the street, they immediately intervened and crippled several skilled fighters who stepped forward. In the Qing Dynasty, disregarding Prince Feng's words, even the strongest martial arts expert, Zhang Zhaozhong, was probably no match for her.

Wei Xiaobao had never seen the three of them in the capital, which led to the current situation!

Chapter 744 Stand Firm

Chu Luren rushed to the neighboring market and found that the Qing soldiers had all fallen to the ground. Although they were still breathing, their arms were bent at strange angles...

With Wang Yuyan's current martial arts prowess, she could casually flick her sleeves, and the silk ribbons would carry the skillful power of the "Tianshan Plum Blossom Hand," twisting the arms of those holding weapons several feet apart with a single twist!

As for the arrows shot from the rooftops, she simply shook her silk ribbons and swept them all away, preventing the hundreds of elite soldiers from getting close in the street fighting.