The Great Martial Arts World: Hot Topics and Great Heroes

"Wait!" Chu Luren said at this moment.

Everyone thought he was about to make a scene, and the atmosphere became tense for a moment...

"Ahem, Sect Leader Zhou should stay. If Young Master Murong tries to coerce him, I, Chu, cannot pretend I didn't see it!" Chu Luren emphasized.

Murong Jiu glared at him fiercely—well, because there were so many people around, Murong Jiu didn't have a chance to say goodbye to Chu Luren or exchange any intimate words. Murong Jiu was very determined in this regard!

However, this "fierce" tone now seems to have some genuine feeling...

What do you want to do by asking Zhou Zhiruo to stay?

[Nonsense! If Zhou Zhiruo leaves with you, won't the martial arts world say I've been cheated on twice?]

The two exchanged glances...

Sensing the murderous intent in the eyes of the two men, everyone fell silent, some even gripping their weapons tightly, fearing that a fight might break out at any moment.

Fortunately, just then, Zhou Zhiruo blushed and said, "Perfect timing... I also have something I want to say to Brother Chu..."

She wasn't familiar with "Murong Fu" to begin with, and was completely coerced into it. However, she killed Li Si not long ago, and was particularly embarrassed when facing Chu Luren, so she wanted to leave Xia Ke Island as soon as possible.

However, since Chu Luren has brought it up himself, she naturally goes along with it...

"Hmph! Brother Chu, you'd better watch yourself!"

Murong Jiu turned and left. The others were not surprised by the threat that "he" had made to Chu Luren.

Chapter 968 Swords and Blades

At night, Chu Luren couldn't hold back any longer in her room...

"What is Zhiruo doing outside the door?" Chu Luren also felt awkward, but Zhou Zhiruo had been outside the door for quite some time.

With Chu Luren's perception, how could he not notice Zhou Zhiruo entering his courtyard?

At first, Chu Luren pretended not to know, and Zhou Zhiruo herself had concerns and hesitated outside, so Chu Luren just waited for her to leave on her own.

At the banquet earlier, Zhou Zhiruo had intentionally kept her distance from Chu Luren, and even avoided eye contact, so Chu Luren thought she probably wouldn't actually knock on the door.

But an hour passed in the blink of an eye, and Zhou Zhiruo was still hesitating outside. Sometimes she would pretend to knock on the door, but she wouldn't; sometimes she would want to leave, but would turn back; sometimes she would want to put the sword with the Heaven Sword hidden outside the door, but would always pick it up again...

Chu Luren finally couldn't help but speak up!

Since she was always out and about, Chu Luren couldn't really settle down and ponder the "One Heart Sutra" and other gains.

"Ah! Brother Chu... I..." Zhou Zhiruo panicked upon hearing this.

After all, when Chu Luren was "clearing out" the area, he seemed to have said something surprising—everyone wasn't suffering from amnesia, so naturally they all remembered.

However, based on the principle that "everyone is already dead, so it's best not to mention it too much," apart from the occasional glances exchanged, no one showed anything, and no one brought it up.

As for what happens next?

Yes, it's easy to imagine that after everyone returns to the Central Plains, news of what happened on Xia Ke Island will definitely spread, but... there will definitely be all sorts of different versions circulating!

In short, everyone can just deny the parts that are unfavorable to them...

However, Zhou Zhiruo felt somewhat embarrassed when facing the "person in question".

"Come in first," Chu Luren said, ushering her inside.

After all, it was already late, and things were different now than usual—everyone was resting in their own quarters, and no one was competing all night in the stone chamber!

Xia Ke Island is quite particular about this. Even though many people never go back to their own rooms to rest, hundreds of rooms and courtyards are added to Xia Ke Island every year, and they are kept so that, while not spotless, they are at least habitable at any time.

In this way, Chu Luren still had to consider the impact. It would be bad if people saw the Emei Sect Leader outside his gate, especially with the groundwork laid before!

Zhou Zhiruo obediently entered the house, but then just stood at the door with her head down and didn't say a word.

"Does Sister Zhiruo wish to borrow the Dragon-Slaying Saber?" Seeing that she was too embarrassed, Chu Luren took the initiative to bring up the topic.

However, this topic was obviously not very clever. Chu Luren only thought that Zhou Zhiruo was likely related to the theft of the Dragon-Slaying Saber, so he just said it casually.

"No! I..." Zhou Zhiruo quickly denied it, then hesitated for a long time before gritting her teeth and saying, "I... came to give you the Heaven-Slaying Sword!"

"Give it to me?" Chu Luren was taken aback when he saw her holding the container horizontally with both hands.

"Although you can't use these weapons, but... but as long as the swords clash, you can obtain the martial arts manuals and unparalleled military strategies inside!" Zhou Zhiruo still said it.

Seeing that Chu Luren was still stunned, Zhou Zhiruo hurriedly explained, "This time it's true! Before... before I stole the Dragon-Slaying Saber, that's true, because at the time I didn't know what to do... I couldn't see any hope of bringing glory to Emei or avenging my master, so..."

Zhou Zhiruo's voice grew softer and softer as she spoke.

Although Chu Luren was a bit slow to realize the matter of the Dragon-Slaying Saber, he had already guessed it, and on the contrary...

"The Heaven-Slaying Sword wasn't lost?" Chu Luren asked in surprise.

Zhou Zhiruo: ...

Zhou Zhiruo bit her lip and remained silent. At that time, she couldn't say she was very familiar with Chu Luren.

Although there was a bond formed at the ancestral tomb, after the death of Miejue, the Emei Sect had offended many people and lacked strength, forcing her to rely more on Chu Luren.

Otherwise, what Miejue left behind would undoubtedly be a mess—they had just attacked Bright Peak, and after Miejue's death, the Eagle Sect alone, which was also in Sichuan, would be enough to give them a hard time. Although the Heaven-Slaying Sword had a great reputation, in the hands of the Emei Sect at that time, it could only be said to be "to guard against gentlemen but not villains."

Later, during the Southern Shaolin Conference, Zhou Zhiruo deliberately accompanied Chu Luren at every turn...

As the leader of the Emei Sect, Zhou Zhiruo was under immense pressure to the point of having to rely on spreading rumors to avoid being bullied.

Chu Luren realized that his reaction was a bit silly, so he coughed and changed the subject: "Ahem, actually you don't have to. If you had given it to me before, I would have shared it with you."

Indeed, Chu Luren wasn't very angry. After all, Zhou Zhiruo... well, she had cooperated with him to leave letters for Zhang Zhenren and the Emei Patriarch, and he had intentionally or unintentionally helped her a few times afterward. There wasn't any other substantial relationship between them. Although the theft of the Dragon-Slaying Saber was unpleasant, it didn't cause any consequences and wasn't a big deal.

It wasn't that Chu Luren gave Hu Guinan any special treatment just because she was pretty and a woman—even if Hu Guinan had stolen the Dragon-Slaying Saber, Chu Luren would at most have broken his legs…

"Alright! I'll accept the Heaven-Slaying Sword. It's a secret manual left by the person who forged the sword to the founder of Emei. I can share it with you from now on." Chu Luren didn't say anything more, nor did he address her as "Sister Zhiruo" again.

Zhou Zhiruo was taken aback upon hearing this, then bit her lip and raised her hand several times to try to untie her sash...

Chu Luren: ? ? ?

This time, without needing to say much, Chu Luren already guessed what was going on!

"Stop! What exactly did Rongrong say to you?" The character "井" (well) appeared above Chu Luren's head.

"Ah? Sister Rongrong said..." Zhou Zhiruo blushed upon seeing this. Looking at Chu Luren's expression, she realized that she had been tricked by Huang Rong!

Huang Rong told Zhou Zhiruo that Chu Luren was the easiest person to talk to. As long as she served him well, he would give her the Dragon-Slaying Saber. If she offered the Heaven-Reliant Sword, Chu Luren would definitely offer to share the secret manual. However, she would have to "perform well" afterward before he would honor her promise!

Zhou Zhiruo realized that she had already untied half of her sash, so she stomped her foot and fled as fast as she could.

Just as Chu Luren was about to chase after him, he suddenly heard several faint sounds of windows being closed tightly coming from outside!

Chu Luren: ...

Obviously, bringing Zhou Zhiruo back now would only make things more complicated. Chu Luren looked helplessly at the Heaven Sword wrapped in a "fake sword" on the coffee table, as well as the Dragon Slayer Saber that he had previously kept on the bed.

After a moment's hesitation, Chu Luren decided to put them away for now and openly unleash the swords after returning to the Central Plains.

Firstly, it eliminated any other people's ideas; secondly...

Zhou Zhiruo's disheveled escape from her room was already suspicious enough, but then the Heaven-Slaying Sword appeared...

So, Master Zhou used the Heaven-Slaying Sword to "redeem himself"?

Chu Luren carefully wrapped up the swords and returned to bed—having wasted most of the night, he hadn't even had a chance to properly study the *One Heart Sutra*, and he was already impatient to get back to work…

Chapter 969 The Threefold Return to Origin!

The One Heart Sutra is the core technique of the senior master who broke through the void. He believed that all martial arts in the world begin with "one" and should also end with "one".

Through that senior, a portion of the essence of "martial arts" was extracted, capable of unifying the unseen martial will into one...

Chu Luren understood this all too well; his unique "fusion" ability in his sea of ​​consciousness originated from this.

However, the cultivation of the One Heart Sutra is different from Chu Luren's previous "golden finger". The previous special sea of ​​consciousness was a manifestation of the part of "martial arts" that was intercepted, while the One Heart Sutra is a method that intercepts the essence of this part.

Although referring to other martial arts during practice can increase the accumulation of the "One Heart Sutra", it is not essentially a martial art that "integrates" other martial arts.

The integration of martial arts can be seen as the process of proving the core theory of the "One Heart Sutra". The "One Heart Sutra" itself does not exhaust the integration of martial arts in the world, but rather focuses on the unity of the five elements - mind, body, qi, technique and momentum.

After reaching the highest level of cultivation, one can freely visualize the flow of internal energy, which is the most advanced internal skill; a casual punch or kick is the most profound technique; a single thought is the most sublime state of mind; a casually imitated posture is the state of oneness with heaven and man; one's own body is the ultimate goal of physical training...

It begins with one and ends with one; it represents only "one".

It's like connecting the two ends of an equation; the process in the middle is where the mystery of "fusion" lies.

Chu Luren is currently unable to comprehend such a realm, and his sea of ​​consciousness cannot directly access the "One Heart Sutra".

Previously, Chu Luren was able to perform a "fusion" maneuver due to the effects of martial arts essence...

The reason why Chu Luren was able to instantly grasp the essence of martial arts, read the creator's will, form a badge, and transform the fused fragments of will into "universal" enlightenment consumption... is because the "One Heart Sutra" was hidden in his sea of ​​consciousness and gave him these effects!

That senior master must have experienced countless trials before creating the "One Heart Sutra," and it's impossible that he created it in a daydream when his martial arts skills were not profound.

For Chu Luren, this realm was clearly too profound, and after spending the rest of the night, Chu Luren had not gained much.

Early the next morning, Xia Ke Dao had already prepared several large ships...

The Chu Lu people also plan to return to the Central Plains today, as many people are eager to go home, and yesterday was just a chance to ease everyone's long-term fatigue.

The two island masters, Long and Mu, sent Chu Luren to the ship. There were a total of three hundred yellow-robed and green-robed disciples on several ships. They would stay in the Central Plains as part of the Righteous Alliance.

After that, there were seven days of smooth sailing, without strong winds or torrential rain, so Chu Luren didn't have a chance to show off his Sea King skills.

However, in this way, Chu Luren was able to cultivate peacefully for seven days.

The Heart Sutra was too advanced for Chu Luren to comprehend, so he gave up on the third day.

It's not about giving up completely, but rather about changing our approach...

Let's temporarily abandon "finally one" and focus on "beginning with one"—in this way, we can temporarily correspond to one of the three extremes of "returning to the origin of Qi".

However, the "beginning of one" in the Heart Sutra is clearly different from the "beginning of the three-part return to the original energy" constructed by the Chu Lu people.

Originally, one of the three extremes of the Chu Lu people's "Three-Part Returning to Origin Qi" was the beginning of growth and development, similar to a seed, while the "beginning from one" in the "One Heart Sutra" is more like the concept of the beginning of the universe or the primordial beginning.

If we take the phrase "beginning with one" from the One Heart Sutra, then the "Heavenly Pool Kun-nurturing Skill" would be insufficient to represent the other extreme. Instead, we should take the concept of end or end, or even, in the case of the One Heart Sutra, "ending with one."

On the fifth day, the Chu deer finally found another path...

First, the Chu Lu people used the "Xia Ke Xing" (侠客行), which was formed by the fusion of twenty-four stone chambers, as the foundation, and then reorganized and integrated their own "Mind, Body, Qi, Technique, and Power" into it.

This "Wandering Swordsman" is itself a kind of constraint on the Dao patterns of heaven and earth on the island by Li Taibai, the Three Supreme Sword Immortals, which reveals the mysteries within and has already weakened the Dao patterns of heaven and earth...