The Great Martial Arts World: Hot Topics and Great Heroes

“When I passed by Master Tie’s place before, I heard that your poison wound hadn’t fully healed, so you left on your own… How could you be so careless about your health? During the Qixi Festival, I was talking to your master about how you seem honest and obedient, but actually you have a stubborn streak in your bones…”

Chu Luren cared for Hua Wuque with the kindness and gentleness of an old father.

There was no other way; the lackeys of the Xingxiu Sect were too pragmatic. They couldn't be singled out and beaten up to ease the conflict, so Chu Luren had to find another way.

Showing your affection for Hua Wuque and winning the love and respect of the sisters in Yihua Palace... perhaps that's possible?

"Alliance Leader Chu, please have some self-respect." Hua Wuque couldn't help but purse his lips, feeling a slight ache in his already healed poison wound.

“Why call me ‘Alliance Leader’? We’re all family… cough cough, we are all family in the Righteous Alliance, so why be so formal?” Chu Luren patted him a little harder.

"Brother Chu! They don't even acknowledge us as comrades of the Righteous Alliance!" Azi said, not wanting to miss out on stirring things up.

Chu Luren said with a stern face, "Yaoyue has been busy lately! I only saw her once during the Qixi Festival, and she left in a hurry before dawn... She hasn't even told the disciples of Yihua Palace yet, isn't that normal? You are an elder of our Righteous Alliance, don't be so harsh on our comrades!"

Then Chu Luren turned around with a smile and said, "Don't worry, everyone. Joining our Righteous Alliance won't affect your normal lives. On the contrary, if you have any difficulties, you can tell me..."

But what greeted him were only faces filled with sorrow and despair...

Chapter 938 Duel

Both sides were equally important to Chu Luren, who tried to smooth things over while simultaneously breaking up the planned fight between the Xingxiu Sect and the Yihua Palace.

After being glared at by her brother Chu, A Zi simply stuck out her tongue behind her back and stopped fooling around. The women of Yihua Palace became even more disheartened.

After greeting Wang Yuyan and Mu Wanqing, Chu Luren first pulled Hua Wuque aside.

"Que'er..."

Chu Luren had just opened his mouth when he saw Hua Wuque looking at him resentfully, so he had no choice but to soften his tone and change his words, saying, "Wuque..."

Well, if Chu Luren had called him that before, Hua Wuque would have felt very uncomfortable, but now... he feels it's acceptable!

"Wuque, your master sent you here, is there something he wants to say to me?" Chu Luren said, putting on airs.

"No," Hua Wuque said succinctly.

Upon hearing this, Chu Luren's eyes widened, and he said, "No? How could there be no? Then why did you travel all the way to Leizhou?"

This is definitely meant for me!

Hua Wuque said with even more resentment, "The Yihua Palace is in Yazhou..."

If it weren't for the education he received from childhood that forbade him from doing anything impolite, Hua Wuque would definitely grab Chu Luren by the collar and ask him properly—what does my return to Yihua Palace have to do with you? Why do I have to be ordered to tell you something when I return to Yihua Palace?

Chu Luren: ...

Chu Luren was speechless for a moment, having forgotten about this matter.

However, Hua Wuque hesitated for a moment before saying, "My master told me to come back... to retrieve 'Azure Blood Illuminates the Blue Sky' as my weapon for the life-or-death duel with Xiaoyuer in Changsha on April 20th next year."

Chu Luren paused upon hearing this, then remembered that April 20th... that should be Jiang Feng's death anniversary!

The location where the Twelve Constellations intercepted Jiang Feng back then was also near Changsha.

As for "Azure Blood Illuminates the Blue Sky," it is a precious sword collected by Yihua Palace. It is said to be an ominous sword that brings misfortune to its master. Yaoyue usually does not use the sword, so it is kept in Yihua Palace.

"Did your master find Little Fish?" Chu Luren couldn't help but ask.

After entering Leizhou territory, there was no longer a Qunyu Courtyard, and there wasn't even a brothel openly—because the people of Yihua Palace didn't approve of it.

Therefore, the Chu Lu people's information channels were suddenly restricted, and they did not hear any relevant intelligence.

Hua Wuque nodded upon hearing this and said, "Half a month ago, I met Master Yan in Changsha. Master Yan tested my martial arts skills. Xiao Yu'er also came and cleared up the misunderstanding... However, at this moment, Master suddenly appeared and seriously injured Master Yan. Xiao Yu'er tried his best to save him, but how could he stop him?"

I...I couldn't hold back, so I pleaded with the master. The master then used this as leverage to force Xiaoyuer to swear on his parents' oath that he would keep his promise on April 20th next year.

Chu Luren also realized that this "Hero Yan" was most likely an imposter—that is, Lu Zhongyuan, who was entrusted by Yan Nantian to impersonate him and intimidate the Ten Evils!

Lu Zhongyuan must have heard about the successor of Yihua Palace "chasing and killing" Xiaoyuer, so he took action to teach Hua Wuque a lesson after seeing him.

Of course, Chu Luren believed that Lu Zhongyuan, whose personality was also similar to Yan Nantian's, probably didn't really want to do anything to a junior like Hua Wuque, especially since Xiaoyuer was also in the Changsha area at this time, which also explained the "misunderstanding".

Unexpectedly, Yaoyue launched a surprise attack, still keeping an eye on the other side, and seriously injured Lu Zhongyuan. At the same time, by sparing Lu Zhongyuan this time, she got Xiaoyuer to agree to the challenge.

Although Xiaoyuer comes from the Valley of Villains, he swore an oath in the name of his deceased parents and in front of "Hero Yan," so he probably won't break his promise!

Chu Luren nodded upon hearing this and said, "Wuque, you don't need to feel too much pressure. Since your master asked you to tell me about this, I will definitely help you mediate between us!"

Hua Wuque didn't refute anything—firstly, he did need Chu Luren to "stir up trouble" in this regard, and secondly... actually, Hua Wuque had also felt strange before... was it necessary to specifically ask him to return to Yihua Palace to retrieve the sword?

Not only is swordsmanship not my forte, but even if I wanted to use that divine sword, I could just ask someone to fetch it for me.

After hearing Chu Luren's explanation, even Hua Wuque himself began to believe it...

My master specifically asked me to return to Yihua Palace, and he also knows that the Chu Lu people are going to set sail from Leizhou. Could it be that he was indirectly informing him of this matter?

After comforting Hua Wuque, Chu Luren turned to see Wang Yuyan and her group, and first gave Azi a verbal reprimand—it was obvious that she was the one who caused the trouble!

Not to be outdone, Azi said with teary eyes, "Brother Chu is right. It's all Azi's fault. It has nothing to do with the two older sisters. Don't be angry with the two older sisters just because the sisters of Yihua Palace have been wronged."

Upon hearing this, Wang Yuyan looked helplessly at Azi, naturally recognizing her younger sister's instigation. However, Mu Wanqing immediately retorted, "Azi, what did you do wrong? If anyone in Yihua Palace is wronged, it's someone who's been flirting around, and their own palace master who's been so easily hooked!"

Seeing Mu Wanqing glare at him, Chu Luren sighed, "Alas, in about twenty days, I'll be setting sail. I don't even know if I'll be able to come back..."

Upon hearing this, Mu Wanqing rolled her eyes and said, "You think you can't come back? Then your god-sister and the good palace master will have to come and pick you up themselves?"

Upon hearing this, Chu Luren's face flushed red, and he retorted, "After Master Zhang left, didn't he only manage to return alone? He couldn't even save Master Yu Cha, the disciple of Master Yi Tou!"

Mu Wanqing instinctively wanted to refute, but she opened her mouth and didn't say anything. Instead, Wang Yuyan quickly asked, "Brother Chu, didn't you tell Master Zhang about this and that you were going to go after everything was prepared?"

"Well... who can say for sure? According to Master Zhang, I might even surpass him and obtain unimaginable opportunities on Xia Ke Island, but what if..."

Before Chu Luren could finish his performance, Mu Wanqing raised her voice three octaves and exclaimed, "What? You... Zhang Sanfeng is right, you can surpass him? You..."

Are you sure this isn't just polite talk? Those old Taoist priests are causing all sorts of trouble! Mu Wanqing was already itching to curse.

"Does that mean we have to surpass Master Zhang to have a chance to return from Xia Ke Island?" Wang Yuyan asked hurriedly.

"Not exactly, this thing... is rather mysterious." Chu Luren tried to smooth things over.

“Let’s not go! Even if you feel sorry for Murong Jiu, Zhou Zhiruo, and that Lin Pingzhi, we’ll just not go! Anyway, Xia Ke Island can’t do anything to us!” Mu Wanqing said immediately.

Chu Luren felt there was a very strange person mixed in there—when did I feel sorry for Zhou Zhiruo?

At this point, Azi, never one to shy away from stirring things up, said, "Why don't we go to the ferry normally, and then, without further ado, take down those two envoys who are supposed to reward good and punish evil..." She then made a mock cutting gesture.

Sure enough, everyone stopped dwelling on Chu Luren's "favoritism" towards Yihua Palace.

Instead, Chu Luren comforted him, saying, "It's not that bad. I reckon that no matter how dangerous it is, we're still confident we'll be able to come back."

Chapter 939 Yagyu Tajima-no-kami's Wit

With the incident involving Xia Ke Island as a shield, Chu Luren was finally able to escape his predicament temporarily.

Even Mu Wanqing spoke softly to Chu Luren in the days that followed, accompanying him all the way to Xuwen County in southern Leizhou.

Along the way, they also met Huang Rong—who had been dealing with the "killing the turtle" matter recently, making the Righteous Alliance quite prominent in the martial arts world of the Central Plains regarding the matter of Wu Sangui.

Especially after Dongfang and Wu Sangui turned against each other...

According to Huang Rong, the Sun Moon Cult is now particularly targeting Wu Sangui. Although she has not met Dongfang himself, elders of the Sun Moon Cult have already contacted him and begun to cooperate with the alliance's "kill the turtle" operation.

The key point is not whether there was actual "killing," but rather the level of participation and influence.

A newly formed martial arts alliance needs to accomplish some major events to gain fame, but a mature martial arts alliance is important not only for what it accomplishes, but also for its influence in all aspects and on all major issues.

In addition, Huang Rong told Chu Luren something...

"What? Yagyu Tajima-no-kami is suspected of having a collaboration with Murong Jiu and Sister Dongfang? I didn't know that." Chu Luren said in a daze.

Huang Rong gave a knowing look and then said, "Murong Jiu didn't dare to contact me first, but Piaoxu from Palace Master Lianxing said that her father expressed his intention to cooperate through her... and that he has already gained 'Murong Fu's' trust."

Seeing Chu Luren's still fair eyelids fluttering and his big eyes blinking, Huang Rong added, "In other words, Yagyu Tajima-no-kami doesn't know about Murong Jiu's relationship with us. While cooperating with 'him' in private, he also wants to curry favor with us and betray Murong Jiu!"

After drifting away, they wanted to use the Kunyu-in Temple to send a message, but this also alerted the Eastern Cult Leader, who sent someone to contact Yagyu Tajima-no-kami first…

Not a single one is easy to deal with!

Chu Luren spent a great deal of effort to figure out the logic—in Yagyu Tajima-no-kami's mind, he was playing both sides. As for "Murong Fu," Yagyu Tajima-no-kami only sensed that "he" had great ambitions, so he joined forces with "him" under the command of Shenhou to "profit at the expense of the monkey."

Meanwhile, Yagyu Tajima-no-kami also wanted to make contact with the Righteous Alliance...

If the former was merely forming cliques, then the latter was blatant betrayal. This was the prelude left by Chu Luren at the Southern Shaolin Temple, and the subtle sowing of discord by Chu Luren when rescuing Wang Chongyang, which had an effect.

Yagyu Tajima-no-kami was clearly unaware that the "Wang Chongyang incident" that led to Shenhou's suspicion of him was actually information about Wang Chongyang given to Chu Luren by "Murong Fu"—but in their eyes, "Murong Fu" and Chu Luren had completely fallen out and could not possibly fabricate information, so Shenhou naturally turned his suspicions to Yagyu Tajima-no-kami.

As for cooperating with the Sun Moon Cult again, it's certain that there were conditions from the East that persuaded Yagyu Tajima-no-kami, but Chu Shiren doesn't know the specifics.

Although the Sun Moon Cult had snatched the prize from him, Yagyu Tajima-no-kami was still nominally a member of the Righteous Alliance, so he wasn't afraid of offending the Righteous Alliance and immediately colluded with the Sun Moon Cult.

……

As Chu Luren has always known, neither Murong Jiu nor Sister Dongfang are "easy to deal with." Feelings are feelings, and relationships are relationships; ultimately, they all have their own ideals and ambitions.

Therefore, Murong Jiu did not reveal her full plan, nor did she mention to Chu Luren that she was cooperating with Yagyu Tajima no Kami. Furthermore, Sister Dongfang intercepted the plan midway and snatched Yagyu Tajima no Kami away first!

Although the Sun Moon Cult has joined the Righteous Alliance, the struggle must still continue...

However, Sister Dongfang was more considerate; at least she didn't keep this a secret. As for Murong Jiu... well, she was already being lenient by not saying "the harem must not interfere in politics"!

At the same time, to show his sincerity, Yagyu Tajima-no-kami also gave the Righteous Alliance some leverage about "Murong Fu"—Guo Juxia might not be dead, but was hidden by "Murong Fu".

This relieved the Chu Lu people...

I'm about to set sail, and everyone is still so unreliable!

……

At this time, the bustling inns in Xuwen County were already fully booked.

To prevent some members of the martial arts world from acting unreasonably and harming innocent people, the Righteous Alliance has taken on the responsibility of maintaining order and protecting merchants!

All the inns and taverns in the city had been "contracted" by the Righteous Alliance long ago—at twice the usual price, until December.

In this way, those martial arts practitioners who seek out inns and taverns are essentially doing business with the Righteous Alliance.

Even if there are no seats available, everyone should honestly find their own place and let the highest bidder win, in order to avoid some rude people who might smash up the store or injure others!

……

"Ten taels of silver a day? And that's for a superior room?" The leader of Tiger Head Village stared wide-eyed at the inn.

"It's not for one day, it's for the first half of the night. I'll tell you the price for the second half at midnight, or you can deposit thirty taels and I guarantee you'll sleep until tomorrow," the disciple from the Righteous Alliance who stayed at the inn replied, pushing aside the waiter and squinting at him.