The Great Martial Arts World: Hot Topics and Great Heroes

Bai Shijing had been waiting impatiently for a long time—rebellion was a top-priority crime in any sect or gang, and it wasn't something that could be forgiven simply by bowing one's head.

Bai Shijing immediately drew his magic sword, intending to execute all four elders of the "evil leader," along with Chen Youliang and Quan Guanqing!

Even Qiao Feng's pleas were to no avail...

Wu Changfeng did not beg for mercy, but said, "Chief Qiao! It is I, Wu Changfeng, who have wronged you. I hope you will know that I was confused and forgive me after I die!" After saying this, he snapped the cowhide rope and stepped forward to grab the magic knife to commit suicide.

However, as soon as Qiao Feng let out a roar of tiger and a cry of dragon, he forcefully shook Wu Changfeng away and used his Dragon-Capturing True Qi to take the magic knife.

Upon seeing this, Wu Changfeng's face turned pale, and he said in a hoarse voice, "My crimes are too great. Does the gang leader not want me to commit suicide?"

After all, according to the Beggars' Sect's rules, suicide and execution are treated differently.

If Wu Changfeng were to die at the hands of the law enforcement disciples today, everyone in the martial arts world would know that they were traitors to the Beggars' Sect and villains who had committed treason.

If they were able to commit suicide, the Beggars' Sect would cover up their crimes and even treat them as if they were still members of the sect. In the future, if there were any rumors circulating in the martial arts world that were detrimental to them, the Beggars' Sect would also stop them...

Qiao Feng gripped his magic knife without saying a word, then swung it backhand and plunged it into his own shoulder!

Whether they were Beggar Clan disciples or Duan Yu and others outside the arena, they were all either shocked or pale. Chu Luren also sighed silently in his heart.

“Disciples of this gang who break the rules shall not be pardoned lightly. If the gang leader wishes to grant them leniency, he must wash away their sins with his own blood… Isn’t that also a gang rule?” Qiao Feng looked at Bai Shijing.

Bai Shijing's expression was stiff, but he still nodded and said, "That is indeed the case... However, the leader should consider carefully whether it is worthwhile!"

Although Qiao Feng was also a mortal, with veins bulging on his forehead, clearly in pain, he still smiled at Bai Shijing and said in a relaxed manner, "That's good then."

Then, one by one, they recounted the past contributions of Xi Sanqi and Song Qingxi to the country and the gang, and with a "plop plop" they stabbed themselves twice more.

Although the magic knife was short, its back was wide, and even a single hole caused blood to gush out, let alone three. Qiao Feng's blood was flowing freely at his feet, forming a small pool...

Unable to withstand provocation, Chen Guyan unleashed his Tongbei Fist, his arms moving with incredible speed. Though bound by the ox-tendon rope, he raised his hands from behind his back, around his head, and swiftly grabbed a magic knife, declaring, "I, Chen Guyan, have no connection with you. I don't want you to bleed for me!"

His movements were fluid and effortless, and it seemed he was about to commit suicide—Chu Luren had previously suspected that this fellow might be deliberately provoking Qiao Feng to atone for his sins, but seeing his swift movements now, it didn't seem like it...

After all, Qiao Feng was already riddled with three swords, and it was quite possible that he was a step too slow.

However, Qiao Feng did not slow down. Despite his hasty movements and the aggravation of his wounds, he still managed to capture Chen Guyan's magic knife with his Dragon-Capturing True Qi. Whether it was from the pain or from excessive blood loss, his face was as pale as paper.

"Elder Chen, you are mistaken... I, Qiao Feng, am a rough man who enjoys drinking and eating heartily, and I get along well with the lower-level disciples. However, if Elder Chen thinks that I am dissatisfied with you and Vice Chief Ma and want to get rid of you, then you are sorely mistaken!"

Back then, when the Mongol Yuan dynasty decisively defeated the rebel army on Wangjing Road and was poised to seize Jingzhou and Xiangyang, it was Elder Chen who, in hiding and concealing his identity, took advantage of Guo Juxia's distraction to assassinate the Mongol Yuan deputy commander transporting supplies, thus relieving the siege of Xiangyang… Others may not know this now, but I do. How could such a feat go unrewarded?”

As Qiao Feng spoke, he plunged the knife into himself again!

Even now, Qiao Feng still thinks that everyone is turning against him because they have been instigated to pin the blame for the murder of Deputy Chief Ma on him. He is also using Chen Guyan's words to clarify the situation.

Guo Juxia is not an honorific title; it's just his name. However, since the name itself sounds like an honorific, there's no need to specifically address him as "Great Hero"...

Guo Juxia, ranked tenth on the Heavenly Ranking, was a member of the martial arts world. His entire family had been stationed in Xiangyang for many years without pay. He had a past relationship with the elders of the previous Northern Beggars' Clan and was also proficient in the Eighteen Subduing Dragon Palms. He was one of the three masters of this palm technique, along with Qiao Feng and Hong Qigong.

When Chen Guyan saw Qiao Feng mention this matter, he also looked deeply moved. However, Chu Luren secretly scoffed at him from the side—the Beggar Clan members… take them one by one, just watch.

At the same time, Chu Luren glanced at A'Zhu... Sure enough, she was looking at Qiao Feng with adoration and admiration.

Chu Luren couldn't help but sigh inwardly: What a heavy taste!

"Chen Youliang incited the elders to rebel, a crime deserving of no forgiveness! Where are the enforcement disciples?!" Bai Shijing quickly winked at the disciple beside him, signaling him to act immediately.

Firstly, Qiao Feng was almost out of space. Secondly... Bai Shijing didn't know how much the other elders had been misled or how many conspiracies were involved, but he knew that Chen Youliang was definitely the culprit!

However, at that moment, Chen Youliang, who had been silently working on his acupoints for a long time, desperately used the force of the rebound to forcibly open the acupoints...

"Qiao Feng! I rebelled against you for the sake of my Han dynasty and for the centuries-old reputation of the Beggars' Sect... It's easy for me, Chen Youliang, to die, but can you guarantee that you haven't done anything to betray the Beggars' Sect?" Chen Youliang shouted righteously, even as he was being held up by the disciples of the Enforcement Bureau.

Upon hearing this, Qiao Feng retorted angrily, "What is there to be afraid of?"

Just then, the sound of horses' hooves approached. An old man and a young man, followed by two women, rode up, calling out from afar, "Friends of the Beggars' Sect, please show mercy..."

The middle-aged man who spoke had a calm and dignified appearance. When Chu Luren saw him, he thought of Yue Buqun, but he was even more elegant than Yue Buqun. The other boy looked to be about fifteen or sixteen years old, with sword-like eyebrows and a gentle and refined temperament. He was incredibly handsome. The two women were also very beautiful, but they seemed more like the boy's maids...

Chapter Eighty: Arrival of One After Another

"Friends of the Beggars' Sect, please show mercy..."

When the Beggars' Sect members saw the elegant man galloping towards them on horseback, they slowed down their attacks by a third, except for Bai Shijing, who frowned secretly.

"So it's Master Jiang! Hahaha, I forgot to inform you, Master Jiang. The Beggars' Clan has other important matters to attend to today, so let's postpone the testimony!" Qiao Feng greeted him, somewhat awkwardly but warmly.

That's right, this person is none other than Jiang Biehe, the great swordsman of Jiangnan!

Sixth on the Heavenly Ranking, one place higher than Murong Fu now...

This person seems to be trying to adopt the persona of Tie Wushuang, but there are some differences between them. First, unlike Tie Wushuang who has connections in both the legitimate and criminal worlds, Jiang Biehe keeps his distance from people with bad reputations. Second, Jiang Biehe is not affiliated with any sect or faction, and he has also established a persona of being diligent, frugal and simple. His manor is very simple and cannot be as grand as Tie Wushuang's.

Like Tie Wushuang, he enjoys acting as a notary in his daily life, and he is willing to step forward whenever something happens in the Jiangnan martial arts world.

It can be described as a hybrid character design of "Tie Wushuang + Yue Buqun"!

Compared to the elderly and semi-reclusive Tie Wushuang, Jiang Biehe is extremely active and can be considered a hot topic today.

However... even so, it is hard for many people to believe that he, who is unaffiliated with any sect and whose martial arts are not top-notch, is ranked sixth on the Heavenly Ranking. This is why the rumor arose that "he has a good relationship with the imperial court".

Of course, within the righteous path of the martial arts world, the "Great Hero of Jiangnan" still holds a significant position!

Qiao Feng still had a knife stuck in his body, and Jiang Biehe was not someone he had invited. He had most likely realized that there was discord within the Beggars' Sect, which had caused the sect to lose face in front of their fellow martial artists, and he felt quite ashamed.

Jiang Biehe, however, showed no sign of mockery. Looking at Qiao Feng's expression, he quickly stepped forward with concern and asked, "What is wrong, Chief Qiao?"

As he spoke, he patted Qiao Feng on the back. Given Jiang Biehe's reputation, Qiao Feng was not on guard. Chu Luren was somewhat on guard, but it was too late to stop him.

However, Jiang Biehe obviously did not use his reputation to plot against Qiao Feng at this time.

After a couple of slaps, Jiang Biehe skillfully deflected all four magic knives. He then immediately took out a medicinal ointment from his robes, saying, "This is a miraculous external medicine for external injuries that Doctor Xue, the enemy of Yama, gave me last year..."

Xue Muhua is one of the four great doctors of today, and he has the most ordinary temperament among them.

After all, the other three... Butterfly Valley Physician Hu Qingniu only treats Ming Cult disciples, the murderous Physician Ping Yizhi saves one but kills another, and the Poison Hand Medicine King Master Wuchen has an unpredictable temperament, and his medical skills are high, but his poison skills are even higher. He has not appeared for a long time recently, and it is said that he is dead.

Xue Muhua's temper, though not small, is considered "normal" among the legendary doctors.

However, what was the value of the miraculous external medicine that Xue Muhua gave him? No one believed that this was a simple "gift"; Jiang Biehe must have done him some favor.

However, Jiang Biehe used it without any hesitation. Before Qiao Feng could refuse, he scooped out a large piece of ointment and flicked it onto Qiao Feng's wound. After three or four swipes, more than half of the ointment had been used. Only then did Jiang Biehe carefully put away the rest.

Qiao Feng's wound stopped bleeding immediately, and he could no longer feel the wound being pulled when he moved. Although it had not yet fully healed, the wound was sealed up!

Chu Luren was sweating bullets. Even though he knew that Jiang Biehe had no reason to poison Qiao Feng and expose his true character, he certainly wouldn't feel comfortable letting him apply the medicine if it were him!

After all, among the "Peerless Twins," this hypocrite, whose martial arts skills were not top-notch but whose intellect was first-rate and whose patience was unparalleled in the martial arts world, was one of the biggest villains.

Fifteen years ago, when Yu Lang Jiang Feng eloped with a female disciple of Yi Hua Palace, it was Jiang Biehe, who was then a pageboy, who revealed his whereabouts to the notorious thief "Twelve Constellations"!

Jiang Feng, the richest man in Jiangnan, sent his most trusted "Jiang Qin" to Yan Nantian for help, since the one chasing him was Yaoyue, the master of Yihua Palace.

However, Jiang Qin was greedy for money, coveted the Jiang family's martial arts collection, and... Jiang Qin thought to herself that as long as Jiang Feng didn't die, he would always just be a pageboy, a shadow!

Jiang Qin is none other than Jiang Biehe today.

This person is incredibly patient. Even though he had already taken the Jiang family's wealth into his own hands before he had completely achieved his goal, he still lived a "poor" life in order to maintain his public image.

Unfortunately, apart from the two from Yihua Palace and a few others from the Twelve Constellations who had cooperated with him, only Chu Luren knew that Jiang Biehe was Jiang Qin.

The two from Yihua Palace wanted to use him. The Twelve Constellations were notorious, and they had never thought much of a treacherous pageboy. They hadn't left any evidence, so naturally they couldn't accuse Jiang Biehe...

At this moment, everyone present, even Qiao Feng, was deeply moved by Jiang Biehe's generosity in giving them medicine.

Jiang Biehe looked around, his eyes immediately reddening, and he said in a mournful voice, "I came here at the invitation of Chief Chen to clear up some misunderstandings, how... how could it have come to this... alas! How did it come to this!"

Judging from Jiang Biehe's performance alone, it seems that he was heartbroken by the internal strife within the Beggars' Sect, and even felt guilty because he was a "witness".

Qiao Feng quickly comforted him, saying, "This matter has nothing to do with Hero Jiang. It was Qiao Feng's unruly behavior that caused the misunderstanding between his brothers. Hero Jiang, there is no need to blame yourself."

“That’s right! Chen Youliang has plotted all sorts of schemes to use Master Jiang. Please, Master Jiang, stand aside for now. Once our Beggars’ Sect has resolved its internal affairs, I will apologize to you!” Bai Shijing was already impatient, fearing that delay might lead to unforeseen changes.

“Brother Chen, how could you… Alas! Even though I am certain that the matter concerning your gang’s Vice Chief Ma was not the work of Young Master Hua, it doesn’t necessarily mean that it was done by the Murong family. Furthermore, you cannot make such a big suspicion just because Chief Qiao is a bit cautious!” Jiang Biehe rebuked Chen Youliang indignantly.

However, to Chu Luren, this fellow clearly still wanted to attribute Chen Youliang's rebellion to "suspecting that Qiao Feng had done something wrong to the Beggars' Sect," rather than it stemming from his own ambition.

Whether Chen Youliang understood or had already planned it, upon hearing Jiang Biehe's words, he stiffened his neck and said, "Hero Jiang, there's no need to say more! If you're so inclined, after I die, keep a close eye on Qiao Feng. Even if he hasn't done anything to betray the Song Dynasty or the Beggars' Sect yet, he will inevitably do so in the future!"

Qiao Feng was furious—what kind of utter nonsense was this? And… he had used this very nonsense to turn the four elders against him before? Was I really that unlike a good person?

"Nonsense! Why would I possibly let everyone down?" Qiao Feng asked angrily.

"Ha, what a pity... what a pity that you've already destroyed the evidence. What's the use of me saying it now?" Chen Youliang said, as if to say, "You're just being arrogant and fearless."

Just then, the sound of horses' hooves came again, and it was a Beggars' Sect disciple shouting, "Urgent report! Urgent report!"

The Beggar Clan disciple was so exhausted from running that he stumbled and fell off his horse. Upon hearing this, Qiao Feng immediately stepped forward and took the wax pill from his hand. Inside was a secret letter.

But before they could even open it, there was another sound of horses' hooves, and someone shouted, "Wait! Qiao Feng, you can't look!"

This time, the visitor was an elderly man with white eyebrows and beard, and a somewhat hunched back.

Bai Shijing's face grew increasingly gloomy, while Qiao Feng, upon seeing the old man, immediately went to greet him respectfully.

"Elder Xu, what brings you here?" Qiao Feng stepped forward and asked the old man to help him down.

However, the old man seemed somewhat wary of Qiao Feng, so he dismounted himself and reached out his hand, saying, "Qiao Feng, give me the letter first."

Qiao Feng was furious. He hadn't done anything wrong, so why were they all treating him like this?

However, Elder Xu Chongxiao was not only very old, but also of extremely high seniority. Even the previous leader of the Southern Beggars' Gang, Wang Jiantong, had to call him "Uncle-Master." Therefore, Qiao Feng politely handed over the secret letter.

"Elder Bai, let's not enforce the gang rules yet... Brothers, I've invited Kang Min, the widow of Brother Ma Dayuan. She has some things to say and some discoveries she wants to share with everyone. I've also found a few friends from the martial arts world who might be witnesses. It would be even better if... Hero Jiang and Young Master Hua were here as well." Elder Xu stepped forward to stop Bai Shijing, then announced to himself, his eyes full of wariness as he looked at Qiao Feng.

Chu Luren was observing carefully, so he noticed that Bai Shijing had seemed impatient before, but when he heard the name "Kang Min," his expression froze for a moment. He then looked anxiously at the still bewildered Qiao Feng, but ultimately remained silent with a cold face.

"If it's something urgent, then of course we can wait," Qiao Feng said magnanimously.

"Of course it's something urgent..." Elder Xu continued to look at him with suspicion.

Qiao Feng: ...

Before long, the sound of horses' hooves could be heard, and an old man came first, followed by two middle-aged men, then two young men, and finally a servant driving the carriage.

Qiao Feng was already feeling very uneasy—how many people had the Beggars' Sect secretly invited today? Chen Youliang was one, and Elder Xu was another…

Chu Luren initially thought they were from the Shan family, only slightly curious about the large age gap between the Shan family's sons. However, at that moment, Wu Changfeng revealed their identities: "So it's the Golden Knife from Luoyang. What wind has stirred up Old Master Wang's grandson?"

Wu Changfeng and the others were genuinely unaware of this turn of events, and Wu Changfeng's shift in his belief in Qiao Feng also carried a hint of sarcasm towards "Old Master Wang."

"Hahaha, Elder Xu came to me saying he had something of utmost importance for the Beggars' Sect. How could I possibly shirk my duty? I also brought Madam Ma here on the side," said the head of the group, Old Master Wang.

At the same time, servants helped the woman in plain clothes down from the carriage.