The Great Martial Arts World: Hot Topics and Great Heroes

Nominally, Chu Luren was "respecting his status"—since there was an appointment at the Heroes' Gathering in Xiangyang, he would not "ambush and kill" the Grand Preceptor. Instead, they would settle their differences in Xiangyang, in front of all the heroes!

You've gained both face and substance!

After all, if Jinlun really jumped down, not to mention whether he could come back up, it would definitely be a hidden danger for the Valley of Heartbreak—in the original work, Xiaolongnu lived for sixteen years after jumping down and was still fine...

Although Chu Luren felt that this was due to the compatibility between the Jade Maiden Heart Sutra and Jade Bee Jelly, and that even if it were the Golden Wheel Monk, he might not be able to survive for so long on honey alone, and more importantly, he didn't know how to raise bees, there would definitely be hidden dangers if there was a pool of water below. In fact, Chu Luren might not dare to jump down rashly at that time, lest he be ambushed.

As for the people of the Divine Dragon Sect, since they have Gongsun Zhi as a hostage, if Chu Luren forcibly stops them, the people of the Heartless Valley might turn against them.

Given the location and significance of the Valley of Heartbreak, the Chu Lu people have no reason to abandon the Valley of Heartbreak, which is already about to join the Righteous Alliance, just to keep the people of the Divine Dragon Sect.

Before leaving the Valley of Heartbreak, the Divine Dragon Saintess, as promised, threw Gongsun Zhi back...

Since he had already tacitly agreed, Chu Luren naturally respected his status and did not pursue the matter further.

"Gong, Sun, Zhi!" Qiu Qianchi looked at Gongsun Zhi with an indignant and cruel expression, her features contorted together.

"Father! Please beg Mother to forgive you... Mom, our family has finally been reunited..." Gongsun Lü'e, like all children, only hoped that her parents could be reunited at this moment, and did not have the idea of ​​acting as a judge or debating right and wrong.

"Master's wife..." Fan Yiweng had just called out when Qiu Qianchi glared at him angrily, so he quickly changed his words, "Madam Qiu, the Valley Master, he..."

"Shut up, all of you! Get out of here!" Qiu Qianchi knew that they wouldn't just watch her kill Gongsun Zhi now.

Fan Yiweng and the others were put on the spot, while the old man, who was not Gongsun Zhi's disciple and was still thinking about Qiu Qianchi, was now really going to leave.

Seeing her mother silently take out a date and put it in her mouth, Gongsun Lü'e quickly stepped in front of Gongsun Zhi, who was slumped on the ground...

"Mom! No!" Gongsun Lü'e cried out.

Chu Luren was already on guard. If Qiu Qianchi really wanted to make a move... he would definitely stop her.

"Get out of my way! You, you unfilial daughter, didn't you see what he did?" Qiu Qianchi roared.

Gongsun Lü'e knelt down, kowtowing repeatedly, saying, "Mother, if... if you can't stand it, then drive him away! Even... even if you sever his tendons in his hands and feet, that would be fine!"

Well, it's better than losing your life!

After all, Gongsun Zhi hadn't traveled much in the martial world, especially in the last twenty years.

I don't think I have any enemies...

But at that moment, Gongsun Zhi suddenly stood up and used his remaining sword to hold Gongsun Lü'e's neck—his knife had been taken away by the Divine Dragon Saintess.

Gongsun Lü'e exclaimed in surprise, then froze, seemingly not expecting that her father would kidnap her.

"Father...Father?"

"Shut up! You wretched servant, you're just as wretched as your mother! I raised you, and you actually let this old hag out of the crocodile pond to harm me?" Gongsun Zhi's tone was full of resentment and venom, which made Gongsun Lü'e feel a chill in her heart.

"Gongsun Zhi! Are you even human? Let go of E'er!" Qiu Qianchi was more concerned about Gongsun Lü'e.

Although she didn't care much about her daughter's thoughts, and even... she had just decided to kill Gongsun Zhi in front of Gongsun Lü'e, Qiu Qianchi ultimately cared about her daughter's life.

"Spit out the date pit from your mouth! And don't follow me here afterward." Gongsun Zhi had already decided to leave the Valley of Heartbreak first.

After all, he was no match for Qiu Qianchi in martial arts, and... he was quite certain that if he used Gongsun Lü'e as a hostage, it would be fine if he just wanted to leave, but if it meant Qiu Qianchi had to sacrifice herself, that old hag would never do it.

As for the Valley of Heartbreak, he will definitely come back once he has figured out how to take revenge!

Qiu Qianchi's expression changed several times, but she still twisted her face, turned her head to the side, and spat out the date pit, which was deeply embedded in the ground.

"Get out!" Qiu Qianchi shouted, deliberately avoiding looking at Gongsun Zhi, lest she regret letting him go if she saw him.

"Hehehe, as expected, a deep bond between mother and daughter." Gongsun Zhi sneered with a hint of satisfaction.

Seeing Qiu Qianchi's discomfiture, he felt the intense pain in his eyes subside somewhat.

This brief moment of pleasure stirred up Gongsun Zhi's lust again. He lewdly sniffed his daughter's hair and said, "E'er, come with your father to the valley entrance." He then turned around, intending to grope her...

Gongsun Lü'e vaguely sensed something, and her hair stood on end. Thinking of the other senior brothers around her, and even the eldest brother of the Ten Greats, she felt ashamed and humiliated.

Just then, Chu Luren frowned and directly activated the true energy he had previously left on Gongsun Lü'e...

Suddenly, Gongsun Lü'e felt the true energy of the Ten Great Brothers surge into her body, filling her meridians to the brim. The familiar feeling appeared, and she felt no resistance at all, so she instinctively moved along with it.

Suddenly, a palm strike erupted from Gongsun Lü'e's back—almost the limit that Gongsun Lü'e's meridians could withstand!

"Ouch!" Gongsun Zhi exclaimed in surprise, as he was sent flying and bounced right in front of Qiu Qianchi.

Gongsun Zhi looked up and found Qiu Qianchi pouting at him with a look of "surprise"...

Chapter 920 The Storm Is Brewing

After being fatally pouted by Qiu Qianchi, Gongsun Zhi's brow twitched, and he completely and forever lost consciousness...

Chu Luren never expected that Qiu Qianchi actually had a jujube pit hidden in her tooth socket—it didn't affect her speech at all!

Of course, this was also because Chu Luren didn't pay close attention to distinguish whether there was a date pit in her mouth, since it wasn't a pleasant thing to try to tell if there was one.

Afterwards, Gongsun Lü'e became somewhat withdrawn and locked herself in her room, refusing to come out. Only a few disciples, including Fan Yiweng, buried Gongsun Zhi.

Only Fan Yiweng and Qiu Qianchi took their leave and departed from the Valley of Heartbreak.

The other disciples, on the contrary, were more accustomed to life in the Valley of Heartbreak, and... although their master was dead, their mistress was still alive, so staying behind would be the same as before, only with a different valley master.

Although Fan Yiweng respected his teacher's wife, he still felt awkward. After Qiu Qianchi made some sarcastic remarks, she did not stop him.

Qiu Qianchi was very irritated by her daughter's behavior of locking herself in her room for a whole day. The next day, she couldn't help but drag her daughter out and give her a good talking-to about what it means to be "ambitious".

However, they were stopped by Chu Luren halfway through. Qiu Qianchi was already impatient and hot-tempered, and after being imprisoned in the underground pool for so many years, she was full of prejudice and was no longer suitable to educate her daughter.

Before leaving, Chu Luren went to offer some words of advice to Gongsun Lü'e...

Afterwards, although Gongsun Lü'e was still immersed in the fact that her mother killed her father and that her father had committed despicable acts before his death, she was encouraged by Chu Luren to leave her room and begin to command the disciples in the valley as the "Valley Master of Heartbreak Valley".

This was promised to Brother Shi Jue...

Even if I'm not in the mood right now, if it's for my brother Shi Jue...

"Brother Shi Jue, don't worry! When you come back to the Valley of Heartbreak, you'll see a completely new look!" Gongsun Lü'e said confidently.

Chu Luren originally wanted to tell Gongsun Lü'e that there was no need to push herself too hard—but then he thought that Gongsun Lü'e also needed something else to distract her, so he didn't stop her.

Meanwhile, Chu Luren led Guo Fu and Guo Xiang, the sisters, to Xiangyang overnight—tomorrow was the tenth day of the tenth month, the day of the Xiangyang Heroes' Gathering!

……

On the tenth day of the tenth month, in Xiangyang City.

Inside the residence of the great hero Guo, Madam Guo's face was filled with worry.

Two days ago, Guo Polu, seriously injured, was carried back to Xiangyang City by Guo Xiang's beloved horse, Dudu. This horse was already intelligent and even though Guo Polu had fainted at the time, it still delivered Guo Polu to the door of the Guo family. The first thing Guo Polu said when he woke up was, "My eldest sister and second sister have been captured by the disciples of the Golden Wheel Monk."

To appease the public, Guo Juxia did not publicize the matter, but silently bore all the blame himself.

Madam Guo is usually resourceful and can be considered Guo Juxia's virtuous wife. Guo Juxia's "medal" should be half attributed to her, but when her beloved daughter was kidnapped by the enemy, Madam Guo still showed even more anxiety.

However, Madam Guo was a sensible person and never showed it in public...

However, in the past two days, Guo Juxia claimed that he had reached a bottleneck and went into seclusion one after another before the Heroes' Gathering. Although Madam Guo could understand, she couldn't help but feel some resentment.

Guo Juxia did not emerge from seclusion until just before the Heroes' Gathering. Indeed, Madam Guo could vaguely sense that his internal energy was somewhat disordered.

"Husband, there is still no news of Fu'er and Xiang'er..." Madam Guo hurriedly stepped forward and said.

“I know, leave it to me. Madam, go and check on Po Lu.” Guo Juxia patted Madam Guo’s shoulder, then walked out the door with a determined look on his face.

Mrs. Guo always felt that her husband's reaction was a bit strange. She couldn't quite put her finger on what was wrong, but... it was just an instinctive feeling that something was off. After all, they had been married for twenty years and there was bound to be some unspoken understanding between them.

However, considering recent events, especially the arrest of their daughter, the husband must be feeling troubled.

Madam Guo composed herself and tried not to affect the upcoming Heroes' Gathering. After visiting Guo Polu, she also rushed to the venue of the Heroes' Gathering.

The martial arts world that came to participate in the Heroes' Gathering was a mixed bag, and Guo Juxia was not at ease with them, so he let them all into the city. Therefore, the gathering was held at a manor outside Xiangyang City.

By this time, most of the martial arts practitioners who had come had arrived, numbering over a thousand. Including those who came with their elders and leaders from the outer perimeter, there were two to three thousand who hadn't yet entered. In addition, there were also two to three thousand disciples of the Northern Beggars' Gang who had arrived earlier—Old Chief Hong was determined to defend Xiangyang to the death!

Well, this number isn't small. Excluding the Beggars' Sect, it's slightly more than the number at Juxianzhuang, and about the same as the number at Liu Zhengfeng's retirement ceremony and the Southern Shaolin Lion-Slaying Assembly.

However, considering the scope of dissemination, the proportion was actually much smaller—after all, Liu Zhengfeng mainly invited martial arts practitioners from Hunan, as well as allies and friends of the Five Mountains Sword Sect. There were also many people at the Lion Slaying Assembly who had nothing to do with the Ming Cult and did not want the Dragon Slaying Saber, so they pretended that it didn't happen...

Considering this, there aren't actually that many people coming to Xiangyang.

After all, the Heroes' Gathering at Juxian Manor was just a gathering for eating, drinking, cursing Qiao Feng, and building rapport with Doctor Xue. With a wealthy man like Gou hosting, many were willing to go. Even though time was tight, most of the attendees were from the Central Plains and Shandong, which still made up a large number. As for Liu Zhengfeng retiring from the martial arts world, it goes without saying that everyone thought they were just going to join in the fun and bid farewell to the old master. No one expected such an unexpected turn of events. In addition, Liu Zhengfeng was well-liked, and many people from Hunan alone went.

However, coming to the Heroes' Gathering in Xiangyang means that it is foreseeable and very likely that they will fight the Mongols to the death.

Even if you don't stay in Xiangyang or join the Xiangyang heroes afterward, you should at least promise to provide support, right?

Thinking about it that way, there are already quite a few people, and they all brought their own food...

However, some people were saying strange things, such as that the certain Tai Sui who had been in charge of this matter had not yet shown up in Xiangyang.

If it weren't for the presence of many members of the Righteous Alliance in the city, who persuaded everyone not to spread or believe rumors, rumors would have already been rampant, mocking the Chu Lu people for being cowardly and afraid of trouble.

And behind the scenes, some people are spreading sinister rumors—that Master Guo has recently run into trouble…

Not only is there trouble on the Song court's side, but no one has seen Guo Juxia's children for a long time. There are rumors that two nights ago, someone saw Guo Polu being carried back on horseback, seriously injured and unconscious. However, Guo Juxia has not mentioned this matter to the outside world since then!

Moreover, the fact that Guo Juxia did not arrive in advance has made many people even more convinced of the truth.

Meanwhile, unbeknownst to others, Duan Tianya and Shangguan Haitang, disguised and concealing their identities, were also present at the scene.

"Brother, it turns out that besides the Righteous Alliance, there were also chivalrous people from Xiangyang spreading rumors in the city that our godfather was targeting Guo Juxia... What about you?" Haitang asked with a worried expression.

Duan Tianya also said with a serious expression, "An old servant of the Guo family left the city after Guo Polu was wounded and has not returned since..."

Chapter 921 Strange Phenomenon

At 9:00 AM, the Heroes' Gathering was about to officially begin, but Guo Juxia, the organizer, arrived late.

However, upon seeing Guo Juxia, everyone still felt certain...

"Thank you, esteemed heroes, for gathering here today in Xiangyang, not for yourselves or your families, to discuss the Mongol invasion of the south!" As soon as Guo Juxia stepped onto the stage, he bowed to the crowd.

The martial arts practitioners below the stage hurriedly returned the greeting, and some were even so excited that they wanted to kowtow back on the spot.

But Guo Jing instinctively frowned and looked at Yang Guo beside him. The latter also looked over, both of them with doubt in their eyes.

Something seems off about Master/Uncle Guo today?

Just after Guo Juxia finished his impassioned speech, Li Zhenghao, the leader of the Giant Whale Gang, suddenly stood up and said, "Guo Juxia puts others before himself, which we all admire... However, we heard that Guo Juxia's daughter was kidnapped by the Mongolian National Preceptor. We should work together to find a solution. Why should Guo Juxia keep it to himself?"

Li Zhenghao is the new leader of the Giant Whale Gang. The previous leader, Li Zhengkai, was killed by Yagyu Tajima-no-Kami not long after Duan Tianya and Haitang found out the truth and regained power.