The Great Martial Arts World: Hot Topics and Great Heroes

This is definitely not a skilled fighter that Wei Xiaobao could command...

Aside from Qiao Feng, the Qing court probably didn't have any other masters like him. Even Chen Jinnan of the Heaven and Earth Society wasn't as skilled. If Wei Xiaobao wanted to use someone else to do his dirty work, he would have had a hard time finding such a sharp weapon.

Moreover, Chu Luren felt that the person from before must have had his own purpose, and didn't seem to have been tricked by Wei Xiaobao.

Chu Luren muttered to himself: The missing persons are the young princess of the Mu family and Fang Yi. Could it be... people from the Divine Dragon Sect?

The leader of the Divine Dragon Cult in the movie version... or rather, the Holy Maiden of the Divine Dragon, is indeed a woman.

But isn't that the fake Empress Dowager herself?

Now Mao Dongzhu has been subdued by Chu Luren, and a lot of information about the Divine Dragon Sect has been obtained from her—the leader of the Divine Dragon Sect is indeed Hong Antong!

Surely there isn't a woman named "Hong Antong"?

Furthermore, Mao Dongzhu also stated that they were remnants of the former Song Dynasty navy who had occupied Shenlong Island...

If we think about it that way, then the origin of the Divine Dragon Cult is indeed the original version, and it has nothing to do with the movie version.

However, now that he thinks about it, Chu Luren feels that he still knows too little about the Divine Dragon Sect. So he decided that after meeting the people from the Mu Wang Mansion tomorrow, he would continue south to inquire at the Qunyu Academy in Lingbao.

Chu Lu stayed in his room, practicing his internal energy until noon, before finally heading to the tavern. As soon as he entered, he found Guo Xiang sitting at the same table as yesterday, having ordered quite a lot of food and drinks, mostly seafood, clearly not just for one person.

"Brother Jue, over here!" Guo Xiang called out as soon as she saw Chu Luren.

Chu Luren instinctively adjusted his straw hat again before walking over and saying, "What are you yelling about? Your eldest sister actually let you out?"

"Hehe, I left a letter saying that I went to Lingbao first, and told them not to worry. Once my eldest sister and third brother see it, they will definitely chase after me." Guo Xiang said with a smile.

Yes, if we want to continue south back to Xiangyang, then we will indeed have to go to Lingbao next—according to the Song court, it was called Guozhou, but after the Qing army marched south, it was renamed Lingbao County.

When Guo Fu and Guo Polu saw her letter, they must have assumed that she had gone with the Mu family or Chu Taisui, so they rushed to Lingbao and failed to notice the "blind spot under the lamp".

"Aren't you afraid your sister will beat you up?" Chu Luren sat down for the time being.

"I'm not afraid at all, and Big Sister just looks fierce." Guo Xiang said, staring intently at Chu Luren as if observing Chu Taisui's eating habits.

As for the nickname "Brother Jue," it was because Chu Luren told her yesterday not to reveal her identity, so Guo Xiang asked him to come up with a pseudonym himself.

So the Chu Lu people announced "the Ten Supreme Martial Saints"...

However, after a moment of silence, Guo Xiang began to address him as "Brother Jue".

"What is this?" Chu Luren looked at a plate of unidentified roasted meat that had been roasted until it was covered in white powder and could no longer be described as burnt.

If this is the tavern's food, Chu Luren is prepared to tear down his dilapidated shop.

"Roasted rabbit... Hmm, Jue-ge, do as you please." Guo Xiang said, her face turning red.

Sure enough, Chu Tai Sui's fondness for eating ashes didn't count—this rabbit was roasted by her own hands, and she deliberately roasted it over a high flame, so it was... crumbling.

Chu Luren looked at her, feeling that the roasted rabbit was full of malice.

Guo Xiang looked curiously at Chu Luren, who hadn't removed his straw hat and only occasionally lifted the burlap bandage from his mouth, and asked, "Do you usually eat like this? Or is it because you're trying to hide your identity lately?"

Chu Luren didn't answer—he was recuperating from his injuries!

"You really don't eat meat? Don't you get tired of eating only fish and crab?" Guo Xiang continued to ask curiously.

"This is a form of cultivation," Chu Luren explained this time.

"Cultivation? The kind of cultivation like a monk who doesn't eat meat?"

"No, I am practicing martial arts, not cultivating my mind and character..."

"Oh dear, I can't eat this roast chicken either. Look, there's a beggar outside. Should we give it to him?" Guo Xiang continued her research, which was probably the same tactic used during job interviews where there was waste paper outside the trash can.

Chu Luren looked up and saw a beggar at the window... and a member of the Beggars' Sect at that. He then shouted, "I hate beggars the most... Get out! Look again and I'll gouge your eyes out!"

Guo Xiang: ...

The man was disabled, with one eye rotten, but judging from his joints and muscles, he was rudimentary in martial arts and possessed some basic internal martial arts skills, making him undoubtedly a member of the Beggars' Sect.

Chu Luren even suspected that the other party was there to keep an eye on Guo Xiang, after all, Guo Xiang and Hong Laobangzhu were close friends despite their age difference, and in recent years the Beggars' Clan had been strongly supporting Xiangyang's resistance against the Yuan Dynasty.

However, Chu Luren, who had never been fond of the Beggars' Sect, would always scold beggars whenever he saw them, without needing any reason.

"You're even fiercer than my eldest sister..." Guo Xiang whispered.

He was just short of taking out his notebook to write down this "Observation Record of the Grand Duke of Chu".

Not long after, people from the Mu family arrived. When they saw Chu Luren and the little girl from last night sitting together, Liu Yizhou's mouth practically turned up in disbelief.

Although Chu Luren had already finished eating, the Mu family still ordered a private room—after all, it was best not to spread what they were going to talk about later.

Chapter 900 The Origin of the Divine Dragon Sect

On the very night that he met with everyone from the Mu family, Chu Luren was already in Lingbao County.

With the first day of the tenth month already approaching, the Chu Lu people naturally did not want to waste any more time. They had already spent most of the day at Fenglingdu, so now they had to travel through the night.

Although the city gates are closed at night, how could they possibly defeat the Chu Lu people?

"Brother Jue, are we going to wait outside until dawn?" Guo Xiang asked, also riding her horse.

Guo Xiang was an innocent young girl, quite clever, and unlike her older sister, she not only spoke well but also had a good eye for people. However, it was ultimately not appropriate for her to travel alone. So Chu Luren made some concessions and sent her to Lingbao to find her older sister and younger brother.

"Do you still want your horse? Let's go straight into the city." Chu Luren looked up.

Guo Xiang immediately understood that the Chu Lu people wanted to use their lightness skills to get in—it wasn't a matter of whether lightness skills could climb such a high place, but rather that they had to do it silently, otherwise they would definitely cause a misunderstanding with the local garrison.

However, given Chu Luren's lightness skill, there was naturally no problem, and Guo Xiang also realized... he felt that it wouldn't be a problem to bring her along?

"My Dudu has been with me since she was little. I can just let her graze outside the city and then find her," Guo Xiang said proudly.

At the same time, Guo Xiang moved her lips again, hoping that Chu Luren would carry her up—holding her seemed too intimate.

But what if carrying it on your back would hinder your movement?

Guo Xiang suddenly realized that being alone outside had many inconveniences...

However, Chu Luren then dismounted and gestured, saying, "Then you ride my horse."

"Huh?" Guo Xiang was taken aback, not understanding what he meant.

"I need to bring the horse into the city as well... This is a horse from Qunyu Academy." Chu Luren indicated that he would return the horse in most cases.

Guo Xiang opened her mouth slightly in surprise upon hearing this. So, not only could she bring herself, but she could also bring a horse?

At the same time, she blushed a little, realizing that her previous thought was actually nonexistent.

Noticing that Guo Xiang seemed a little embarrassed, Chu Luren couldn't help but explain, "What I mean is, I need to return the horse to Qunyu Courtyard, not because I'm worried that the horse might do something to your Dudu since it came from Qunyu Courtyard... Do you understand?"

During the dozen or so hours they spent together, Chu Luren realized that she was a girl with "a lot of ideas".

"Huh?" Guo Xiang didn't react at all this time, obviously Chu Luren was overthinking it.

"Ahem, it's nothing." Chu Luren coughed lightly and urged Guo Xiang to sit down.

After mounting the horse, Guo Xiang blushed slightly—she knew what Qunyu Academy was, after all, her older sister had explained it to her.

Then, Chu Luren lifted himself up from the horse's belly and flew onto the city wall. Without pausing, he immediately floated back down into the city.

Even carrying a man and a horse, they remained completely silent, using shadows and corners to conceal themselves from the guards!

Afterwards, Chu Luren first took Guo Xiang to an inn and knocked hard on the door. It was the middle of the night, and the inn was already closed. Chu Luren kept knocking until the door was opened. The innkeeper was a little reluctant, but... seeing Chu Luren like this, the innkeeper immediately put on a warm smile.

"Sir, are you staying at the inn? Let me help you with your horse..." The waiter was extremely enthusiastic.

"No need, make arrangements for this young lady," Chu Luren said hoarsely.

Looking at the well-behaved young girl, the waiter cursed inwardly at these江湖人 (jianghu people) for trying to seduce young girls.

"Brother Jue, should I open a room for you too?" Guo Xiang asked with concern.

"No need, I'll stay at Qunyu Courtyard tonight." Chu Luren thought for a moment, it was already so late, there was no need to come to the inn.

"Oh." Guo Xiang tried her best to pretend that she didn't know what Qunyu Courtyard was.

The guy, on the other hand, was rolling his eyes to the heavens in his mind, feeling extremely envious and jealous... cough cough, extremely critical!

Chu Luren turned around and led his horse to the market. Although there was a curfew outside the market, Chu Luren's江湖 (jianghu, a term referring to the world of martial arts and chivalry) and intimidating appearance meant that the patrol would pretend not to see him.

Upon arriving at Qunyu Courtyard, Chu Luren first had the pimp lead the horse away, then gave the secret signal and showed his token to the manager who came over. He was then politely invited to a private room away from the other rooms.

"I need information about the Divine Dragon Cult, including recent intelligence and records of its origins," Chu Luren said directly.

"Yes, Your Excellency, please wait a moment." The steward did not recognize Chu Luren, only the nameplate, and assumed he was a confidant of the leader from Blackwood Cliff.

The time they were away was much longer than Chu Luren had imagined.

It wasn't until Chu Luren became somewhat puzzled and anxious that the steward returned, carrying two scrolls. One was clearly an old item, while the other was very new and had a red embossed mark on it—this was the highest level of encrypted intelligence, which the steward here had not even examined.

This is probably why she arrived late; she must have hesitated for a while.

Chu Luren even suspected that the scroll had appeared here so that he might be able to access it...

Although it was classified information, Chu Luren was not in a hurry to read it, but instead started reading another old scroll.

Because of the confidential information, there was no one accompanying them this time, and the manager also left.

Upon opening the scroll recording the history of the Divine Dragon Cult, Chu Luren immediately felt a chill run down his spine—he thought Mao Dongzhu had deceived him. That woman was far too terrifying; perhaps she was plotting something. However, as he read on, Chu Luren breathed a sigh of relief and began to have some guesses about the identity of the person impersonating him…

The opening chapter states that the Divine Dragon Sect is an overseas sect with a history of three to four hundred years. Its signature techniques are the internal martial art "Divine Dragon Maiden Skill" and the sound skill "Heavenly Dragon Eight Sounds". It is said that the sect is led by the Divine Dragon Saintess for generations, and the martial arts are passed down from generation to generation. The sect consists entirely of female disciples. Although it is not a large sect and has a small number of members, it is still a powerful force in the East China Sea.

However, about twenty years ago, on the eve of the fall of the Former Song Dynasty, the naval commander who was in charge of checking the Qing army was executed for treason, and the navy scattered like birds and beasts. His general, Hong Antong, who was also a martial arts master, led a group of his remaining troops and first temporarily stationed them on Shenlong Island. Then, they turned the tables and occupied the island.

Although it was still called the "Divine Dragon Cult", the Divine Dragon Cult disciples who traveled to the Central Plains afterward were all subordinates of Hong Antong.

The previous Holy Maiden of the Divine Dragon Sect had no choice but to submit, and even the Holy Maiden who was about to succeed her married Hong Antong...

In the past decade or so, the Divine Dragon Cult has also been determined to overthrow the Qing Dynasty. However, Hong Antong's ambitions have grown day by day, and he has become increasingly alienated from his old brothers, gradually degenerating into a situation where he has to be controlled by poison.

This volume on the origins of history records these things.

What Mao Dongzhu said was almost identical. As for why she didn't mention the history of the Divine Dragon Cult to him, Chu Luren could guess the reason—firstly, it was not a glorious thing to begin with, and secondly, Mao Dongzhu was only a teenager at the time, and as Mao Wenlong's daughter, Hong Antong should have treated her with great respect at first. She wouldn't get involved in these disgraceful things, nor would she have a deep impression of them.

After reading this volume, Chu Luren only had a guess about the identity of the person impersonating him, but after reading the next volume, "Confidential," he was basically certain...

Chapter 901 The Secrets of the Sun Moon Cult

After reading about the history of the Divine Dragon Sect, Chu Luren vaguely realized that this was yet another "integration".

The Dragon Cult of twenty years ago was closer to the movie version, while the current Dragon Cult is basically the original version, except that the identity of the cult leader's wife is very different!