The Great Martial Arts World: Hot Topics and Great Heroes

Wu Sangui simply accepted the situation, but he wasn't confident of victory and was worried about what would happen after he won, so he pinned his hopes on the "dragon vein" theory.

"So what do you think?" Chu Luren asked, staring at Wu Kang.

Wu Kang felt a tremor in his heart at his grandmaster's calm gaze. He swallowed hard, paused for a moment, and then said, "The Prince of Pingxi is, after all, a Han Chinese. Letting him rebel against the Qing Dynasty will not do anyone any harm."

Clearly, the "who" here does not refer to the Qing court.

Wu Kang's answer was not unexpected by Chu Luren. He had not expected Wu Kang to oppose Wu Sangui regardless of the consequences.

“Wu Sangui wants to fight the Qing Dynasty to the death, but that has nothing to do with me. You should know why I’m here…” After Chu Luren finished speaking, Wu Kang immediately nodded.

"Is it because of that demoness from the Divine Dragon Sect? I've heard about her too. That demoness actually dared to provoke my grandmaster! She's truly despicable! Grandmaster, rest assured, I will never let her go if I get the chance!" Wu Kang pretended to be ready to cooperate with Chu Luren at any time.

Rumors circulated in the martial arts world about the conflict between the Divine Dragon Sect and the Righteous Alliance.

"Is that demoness in Luoyang now?" Chu Luren asked.

"I don't know. They're acting all mysterious. I've only seen that demoness twice. But the Manchu dragon vein she's looking for seems to be related to some kind of scripture. She even took one of them from my father... Maybe she's in Manjing now? I'll inform my grandmaster as soon as I have any definite news." Wu Kang wasn't very sure either.

"Yes, keep a close eye on this matter... That's one thing. By the way, I have another small matter to tell you. Your fiancée might have a gift that Princess Yunluo of Song Dynasty exchanged with you back then. It's a luminous pearl, and the Iron-Blooded Marquis also wants what's inside. It's very likely that he already has people in Luoyang." Chu Luren told Wu Kang the reason he didn't know, as a "small matter."

"Rest assured, Grandmaster Uncle, as long as Princess Jianning comes to Luoyang, I will definitely get all the things that can glow that she brings for you!" Wu Kang immediately swore.

"Be careful," Chu Luren said abruptly.

"Thank you for your concern, Grandmaster!" Wu Kang also imagined it to be "Beware of the Qing court's experts."

Chu Luren was actually worried that if he went to take Jianning's jewelry, he might be castrated as a result...

However, upon closer reflection, given Wu Kang's current martial arts skills, even if he were careless, he wouldn't be castrated by a princess who doesn't know much about martial arts.

After giving Wu Kang his instructions, Chu Luren quietly left the Prince of Pingxi's residence.

As expected, Wu Kang was quite sensible—he couldn't possibly transform himself into a righteous man, with his heart set on the Han while serving the tortoise, and he might even harbor the thought, "If we succeed, I will be the crown prince." However, at the same time, he was willing to cooperate with the Chu Lu people's actions and wouldn't clash too much with the "kill the tortoise" faction... That was enough.

Compared to his previous playboy ways, Wu Kang is now much more shrewd. For example, he just subtly persuaded Chu Luren that the Prince of Pingxi's rebellion against the Qing would not harm anyone.

The main point is that it won't do any harm to the "Righteous Alliance"!

Before leaving, Chu Luren reminded Wu Kang that if he needed to contact him urgently during this time, he could hang a green lantern in the courtyard...

This strange way of contacting him made Wu Kang feel a little uneasy, but on the surface he accepted it without showing any abnormality.

Meanwhile, at the place where the wedding procession was stationed, Wei Xiaobao was kicked out of the princess's boudoir.

"You dog of a servant! You're a complete waste... Get out, get out! I never want to see you again!" Princess Jianning's scolding voice came from inside the tent.

The surrounding guards were mostly from the elite cavalry, and they all pretended not to see it.

Wei Xiaobao was on the verge of tears, his face also full of resentment—he had failed again!

Jianning had tried to seduce him before, but Wei Xiaobao avoided it like the plague, since it was a matter of life and death, and Xiao Xuanzi wouldn't let him off if he found out.

There are so many beautiful women in the world, why risk your life for a spoiled, willful, and perverted princess?

But after visiting Shaolin Temple once, things changed...

It wasn't that Jianning had become gentler, but rather that Wei Xiaobao had encountered a "big problem."

His inexplicable and sudden loss of composure drove Wei Xiaobao mad!

This also intensified Wei Xiaobao's possessiveness, and afterwards... whenever it manifested, he became even more calm and composed, forming a virtuous cycle (for the demonic energy cell).

Therefore, the current Wei Xiaobao is different from the one in the original work. He is very sensitive about Princess Jianning's marriage to Wu Kang. After all, he didn't want it before, but now he wants it but can't have it!

With Luoyang on the horizon, he even considered giving it a try tonight...

However, the "big problem" still existed, and Jianning kicked him out in great disappointment.

Back in his tent, Wei Xiaobao found that Shuang'er had already prepared wolfberry chicken soup, as if she had expected it. She didn't dare to speak to him, and his heart grew even more agitated...

In fact, after the "big problem" arose, Wei Xiaobao's only few successes were when he was with Shuang'er!

He once suspected that the woman had drugged him and even investigated her secretly, but after that, he had fewer and fewer successful encounters with Shuang'er.

……

"Huh? Wei Xiaobao is so motivated today?" Chu Luren exclaimed in amazement, and took the opportunity to practice the demonic art part of the "Myriad Paths Diagram".

It seems he has successfully prevented his grand-nephew from being cheated on; he is truly a qualified elder—Chu Luren mentally awarded himself a medal.

Chapter One Thousand Lanterns

On April 30th, early in the morning, Wu Sangui, along with his officials from the Prince's Palace, all dressed in Qing Dynasty official robes and hats, made a grand entrance at the East Gate to welcome the wedding procession...

Although he was secretly planning an eastern expedition, Wu Sangui put on a good show. As soon as the wedding procession arrived, a large number of people knelt down.

Chu Luren stood on the city wall, quietly watching everything—using shadows and visual illusions, Chu Luren stood on the city wall, yet no one noticed him.

Wei Xiaobao was well-versed in the art of bluffing and knew that he must not show weakness at this time. In front of Prince Pingxi, he also put on the airs of an angel.

She even subtly mocked him with sharp words before finally joining forces with the Prince of Pingxi to enter Luoyang.

The entire wedding procession entered the city, with several hundred elite guards showing no intention of remaining outside.

On the wedding platform, Prince Pingxi burned incense again before formally kneeling to receive the imperial edict. Finally, he escorted the bride to the princess's residence, which had been built with extra effort.

At this time, the princess's residence was still guarded by the elite cavalry...

During this time, Wu Sangui also strictly adhered to the etiquette between ruler and subject towards his daughter-in-law, as if he truly admired the royal family, which made Wei Xiaobao feel inferior.

On the contrary, Wu Kang was lukewarm and acted like the heir of the Prince of Pingxi, showing little respect to the princess and himself, which made Wei Xiaobao even more unhappy.

Of course, Wu Kang didn't actually do anything special. He was also puzzled as to why Lord Wei seemed to be so angry with him for no reason.

He pretended to be frightened, but he didn't care much in his heart. Instead, he was thinking about what his grandmaster had told him!

Chu Luren planned to go to the princess's residence that night. Although he was confident he wouldn't be discovered if he went during the day, it was obviously more suitable to search for the luminous pearl at night. Otherwise, he didn't know how long it would take him to search through all those chests and chests of treasures and dowry.

Furthermore, Chu Luren believed that whether the old monkey sent his subordinates or came in person, he would choose to make his move at night!

After all, the old monkey was more worried about being exposed...

Even if Chu Luren is discovered, it doesn't matter; he can just fight his way out—Wu Sangui has known for a long time that Chu Luren is targeting him.

However, if the people of the Dragon Guard Manor were discovered, it would be a major event that would hinder the current situation!

Moreover, what Chu Luren really wanted was not "Heavenly Fragrance Cardamom", but to annoy the old monkey, and... to annoy the old monkey as little as possible without ruining his chance to get Heavenly Fragrance Cardamom!

After all, given their connection to the ancient three-way alliance, the Chu Lu people did not want Su Xin to perish.

Although Gu Santong didn't ask Chu Luren for anything, and Chu Luren didn't agree to anything, Chu Luren, like other great heroes, valued "gratitude" and "hatred" more than interests or the so-called big picture.

Of course, for Chu Luren, if he could secretly kill Zhao Wushi in Luoyang and then send Tianxiang Doukou back, that would be even better...

Coo-coo-coo-

As soon as it got dark, Chu Luren heard Xiao Hong's cry and immediately knew that the green lanterns had been hung up at his good grand-disciple's place!

That's right, there's no mystical connection involved; it mainly relies on Xiao Hong's recognition.

Chu Luren originally wanted to say red lanterns, which would look festive, but now the Prince of Pingxi's mansion already has quite a few red lanterns hanging, as well as many ordinary lanterns.

Chu Luren glanced at Wu Kang and immediately thought of "green"...

Upon seeing the striking green, Xiao Hong immediately came to inform Chu Luren.

Wu Kang lit the green lanterns, and then felt a little uneasy. Fortunately, since his mother passed away, he had taken the initiative to live in his mother's old courtyard. It was in a corner of the Prince of Pingxi's mansion, inconspicuous, and no one was worried about discovering him.

Just as Wu Kang was wondering why lighting such an eerie lantern could summon his grandmaster, he suddenly heard a voice from inside the house behind him: "What's wrong? Come in and tell me."

Wu Kang felt a chill run down his spine, but he pretended to be calm and stepped forward to take down the lantern first, so as not to make the whole courtyard look gloomy green.

"Grandmaster Uncle, something's happened... One of my father's generals, surnamed Yang, was unhappy with my father's uprising. To stabilize morale, my father turned him into a human pig. I knew him and was just about to give him a quick death when I discovered he had been rescued, most likely by the people who escorted the marriage envoys," Wu Kang reported to Chu Luren.

Upon hearing the word "human pig," Chu Luren frowned. These people from the imperial court were even more ruthless than the martial arts heroes. In the martial arts world, only the most vicious demons would do such a thing.

"Is it just dissatisfaction with the Prince of Pingxi raising an army?" Chu Luren had also noticed that Wu Kang probably felt that he had tacitly agreed not to touch Wu Sangui for the time being, and had begun to tentatively call him "father" in front of him.

"This man knows a lot of military secrets, and he's on good terms with Commander Wei who came this time... Alas, this punishment is indeed cruel. I only heard about it today. I originally wanted to send him on his way," Wu Kang said with a sigh.

When Wu Kang went to Manjing before, Yang Yizhi also went with him. However, given Wu Kang's martial arts skills at the time, it was naturally not Yang Yizhi's turn to protect him.

Chu Luren didn't recognize Yang Yizhi either, and... ultimately it was a feud between a major traitor and his traitorous subordinates. He didn't want to discuss the matter further, but asked with some doubt, "Why are you telling me this?" His face showed an expression that seemed to say, "Do you still want this grandmaster uncle to help you find someone?"

Wu Kang quickly said, "Oh! My grand-disciple hasn't finished yet. I've already come up with a plan. Tonight, we'll set fire to the princess's residence and find everything that Yang guy wanted, including the things my grand-uncle wanted! If the Iron-Blooded Marquis's men are also here, they definitely won't be able to sit still after tonight's commotion. That's why I thought of reporting it to my grand-uncle."

Wu Kang was more capable than before, and he was still thinking about Chu Luren's affairs. Moreover, he did not take credit for himself. He deliberately mentioned Yang Yizhi's affairs first, so that Chu Luren would not feel uncomfortable if he found out later.

"Okay, just send people to search and look for it. I'll keep an eye on things from the shadows. But be careful not to burn the bead too," Chu Luren warned.

"I understand, grand-disciple!" Wu Kang quickly replied.

……

Of course, the princess's residence caught fire...

It was described as a major fire, but in reality, it was just smoke coming from the west wing where the guards lived.

The princess's residence was very large, with enough room for hundreds of people, and it did not affect the princess's bedroom.

However, Wu Kang immediately led his men in—and under the pretext of putting out a fire, so the cavalry had no excuse to stop them!

Before Wei Xiaobao could even react, Wu Sangui's soldiers were already everywhere in the princess's mansion!

Wei Xiaobao was also terrified, thinking that after Brother Yang was rescued, Wu Sangui knew that the rebellion had been exposed and was going to kill him without hesitation. But when he realized that Wu Sangui's men didn't seem to intend to kill him, but were just looking around for something, he forced himself to remain calm and started chatting with Wu Kang...

Chapter 1001 Fishing in the Fire

Chu Luren walked through the fire, unaffected by the heat and smoke...

Chu Luren gently waved his hand, the invisible force of which was vast and gentle, causing the thick smoke to be blown towards the storeroom where the princess's dowry was stored.

Where the thick smoke went, chaos followed.

Immediately, the guards there were also choked by the smoke, and the personal guards of the Prince of Pingxi who came to "put out the fire" also surrounded and took control of the place.

However, Chu Luren simply nodded and looked on, neither showing himself nor searching, but waiting for the rabbit to run into the tree stump!

If there were already people belonging to the old monkey in Luoyang, or even the old monkey himself, he would certainly be restless by now...

Even if one knows there is a trap, one must still consider the possibility that someone else will get there first, or that the Little Mermaid Pearl will be burned.

Sure enough, Chu Luren waited for a short while before seeing a silly creature named Shangguan Haitang sneak out.