The Great Martial Arts World: Hot Topics and Great Heroes

Although she was dressed in night clothes, Chu Luren could easily recognize her from her lightness skill, movement technique, and body outline.

It seems that Shangguan Haitang has fully grasped the old monkey's self-inflicted injury ploy...

At this moment, Shangguan Haitang plunged into the storeroom, searching for the mermaid pearl. Because of the firelight and thick smoke all around, the pearl's light was barely visible. However, Shangguan Haitang clearly understood the rules of palace storage and did not rummage around randomly, but focused on searching through several boxes.

Chu Luren kept an eye on Shangguan Haitang while also keeping an eye on Princess Jianning's bedroom.

Shangguan Haitang is just a small fish, and a rather clumsy one at that. There's not much use in catching her. All we need to do is keep an eye on her and prevent her from taking away the Mermaid Pearl.

Besides the warehouse, Little Pearl the Mermaid might also be kept by Jianning's side—if she likes her!

Therefore, Chu Luren only kept an eye on these two places, as for Yang Yizhi and the others, he would let Wu Kang find them himself...

In fact, if Yang Yizhi had fallen into Wei Xiaobao's hands, he would have been "sent away" and freed. The main reason Wu Kang searched for him was because of Lu Yifeng, the prison officer who had disappeared along with Yang Yizhi.

Wu Kang's explanation of this matter was actually quite superficial. The reason he informed his grandmaster was partly because he was worried that the Iron-Blooded Marquis might cause unforeseen changes, and partly for his grandmaster's own purposes.

Chu Luren didn't care whether his explanation was clear or not. Wu Kang's subtle reminder when Sister Dongfang was ambushed by Wu Sangui was enough to prove that his attitude was more inclined towards the Righteous Alliance.

Lu Yifeng was also a military officer under Wu Sangui. He not only knew that Wu Sangui was going to rebel, but also knew the general plan of the advance!

At the same time that Yang Yizhi was broken out of prison, Lu Yifeng also went missing...

Yang Yizhi is most likely dead, and Chu Luren doesn't know what Lu Yifeng looks like, nor has he made a special effort to find him.

The power struggle between Wu Kang and the wedding procession was no longer of much concern to the Chu Lu people; the key now lay with the mermaid Xiao Mingzhu and the potentially appearing old monkey.

Just then, Shangguan Haitang walked out of the storeroom carrying seven or eight luminous pearls.

Others might not notice anything, but Chu Luren clearly saw that her breasts... were very shiny; someone who didn't know better would think she'd had implants...

It seems that Shangguan Haitang didn't know what the Little Mermaid Pearl looked like either, so she could only take away all the luminous pearls of suitable size.

Chu Luren didn't want her to leave, but he also didn't want to expose himself, so...

Chu Luren then made a series of feints with his palms, sending plumes of thick smoke into the air!

Shangguan Haitang didn't understand why the fire was burning so strangely—it was smoking no matter where she ran!

Shangguan Haitang noticed that Wu Sangui had deliberately set the fire.

At first, she was worried that Wu Sangui had discovered something and was deliberately trying to lure her.

However, it was later discovered that Wu Sangui was looking for something else, but in order to prevent accidents from happening in the fire, Shangguan Haitang still took advantage of the chaos to sneak in.

Actually, this trip to Luoyang was originally her godfather's insistence on coming in person. Only after Shangguan Haitang persuaded him did he stay in the still unstable capital and come on his behalf.

The Dragon Guardian Manor must not get involved with the Qing court and the Prince of Pingxi. However, Shangguan Haitang has already understood her adoptive father's feelings for Suxin, and they must not let them be lost under any circumstances!

Smoke billowed everywhere, making Shangguan Haitang even suspect that Wu Sangui had used some kind of smoke-generating agent...

Even though Shangguan Haitang was no pushover, she couldn't hold her breath under the smog and had to retreat to a place with less smoke. Little did she know that she had fallen into Chu Luren's trap. With the help of the smoke, Chu Luren had misled her sense of direction.

Just as Shangguan Haitang thought she had reached the outer wall, she leaped up, only to be struck on the head with a palm strike!

Shangguan Haitang reacted quickly, immediately striking out with her palm, but was still knocked back...

A tall, middle-aged man with a white shirt, a high nose, deep-set eyes, and a brownish-yellow beard was standing on the wall!

This middle-aged man had eyes like knives and swords, and he was clearly a master who had cultivated both internal and external skills. Moreover, his clothes and facial features made him look unlike an ordinary person from the Central Plains.

Ouyang Feng? — Shangguan Haitang recognized the person at a glance.

Although she had never met him, as the head of the number one manor in the world, Shangguan Haitang knew the masters of both the righteous and the evil paths of the world like the back of her hand.

Moreover, this person's palm strike was already exceptionally powerful, and given that he was under Wu Sangui's command, his identity wasn't hard to guess...

“Your Excellency has sneaked into the Princess’s residence. Could it be that you have ulterior motives? Please stay and explain yourself to the Prince!” Ouyang Feng spoke fluent Mandarin, but pauses could still be heard. Coupled with his voice, it was clear and resonant, like the sound of metal and stone.

Ouyang Feng was somewhat surprised to see Shangguan Haitang dressed in night clothes. He had originally thought that she would be a hidden expert in the Qing court's wedding procession, but judging from her appearance, she was obviously an outsider taking advantage of the chaos.

Upon hearing this, Shangguan Haitang felt anxious. Even if she were to fight Ouyang Feng head-on, she wouldn't have much of a chance of winning. Besides, she was currently in the enemy camp and dared not linger.

However, Shangguan Haitang had a solution. She slashed her waist, then threw herself to the ground, yelling, "Baka!"

Immediately, smoke billowed out, accompanied by a series of explosions, and several four-cornered darts shot out from the smoke.

Ouyang Feng quickly swung his snake staff to knock the dart away. The dart was quite powerful and clearly not something that had been used temporarily.

But where was the man in black?

"Japanese?" Ouyang Feng frowned in puzzlement, glancing at his snake staff.

The two strange snakes above each held a dart in their mouths.

This method of concealing fireworks does indeed seem to be the work of the Japanese, and the four-cornered shuriken also resemble the hidden weapons of the Japanese ninjas, but... Ouyang Feng felt as if he had just heard the sound of a mechanism!

Shangguan Haitang was also hiding under the roof not far away, not daring to make a sound, for fear that she would be discovered if she made a move.

Chapter 1002 The Big Fish Takes the Bait

Shangguan Haitang had a plan in mind. Because she needed to hide her identity, she had planned before coming that if she encountered any experts, she would pretend to be a Japanese!

To this end, she even modified a unique hidden weapon mechanism taught to her by her master into a design for launching shurikens.

If Ouyang Feng hadn't been exceptionally perceptive, any ordinary top-tier expert would have believed it by now!

Shangguan Haitang was hiding well, and seeing the sounds of arguing between the wedding procession and Wu Sangui's personal guards coming from afar, she was still hoping that Ouyang Feng would leave quickly...

However, at that very moment, the roof ridge where Shangguan Haitang was located was unfortunately burned through!

Shangguan Haitang was also stunned for a moment—the house was definitely not on fire when she hid there...

"Where do you think you're going!" Ouyang Feng swung his staff, unleashing two snake-like shadows of true energy.

Seeing Shangguan Haitang fall to the ground, though she was not seriously injured, but the snake staff attacked again, Chu Luren, who was secretly using the power of the Flaming Blade Palm, smiled slightly.

It wasn't that they were mocking Shangguan Haitang's disheveled state, but rather that they had finally discovered who was behind it all!

Seeing that Shangguan Haitang had "unjustly" fallen into Ouyang Feng's pursuit again, and that escape seemed unlikely, the old monkey, who had been hiding in the shadows, finally couldn't help but make his move...

Just then, a strong sense of crisis struck Ouyang Feng. The two venomous snakes on the snake staff seemed to be greatly frightened. They opened their mouths wide while shrinking back and intertwining with each other, trying to retreat!

Two snake-like shadows of true energy also began to dance wildly, seemingly a method of dual cultivation with venomous snakes, similar to the Ice Silkworm version of the "Divine Foot Scripture".

Ouyang Feng had just experienced this sense of crisis half a year ago—when the Prince of Pingxi joined forces with the Holy Maiden of the Divine Dragon Sect to set up a banquet to ambush Dongfang Bubai.

However, even with numerous experts from the Prince of Pingxi's side present, the support of traitors from the Sun Moon Cult, and even the fact that Dongfang Bubai had been poisoned as planned, yet...

In the end, Dongfang Bubai suppressed the poison and killed him. Most of the traitors of the Sun Moon Sect present were killed by Dongfang Bubai. Yu Zhenzi was killed on the spot because he was the first to make a move. Ouyang Feng and his giant snake were also severely injured by Dongfang Bubai!

Ouyang Feng's injuries have healed, but the giant snake, being much larger than a human, is more difficult to heal and is currently asleep.

In extreme tension, Ouyang Feng felt that even turning his head became slow, but he gradually saw a black-robed figure approaching him from behind with a strange movement, completely different from his own "slowness".

Upon noticing the opponent's palm pressing against his back, Ouyang Feng immediately activated his "Toad Stance" to its fullest extent, simultaneously using the Thousand-Pound Drop technique to quickly lie down!

The martial arts master's instincts saved Ouyang Feng for a moment. The instant the toad phantom appeared, a "hole" that looked like a black hole appeared in the black-robed man's hand, but fortunately it was blocked by the toad phantom.

However, it was only for a moment. The golden toad phantom suddenly dimmed and trembled violently, as if it was about to shatter at any moment!

Shangguan Haitang looked surprised and doubtful. How could she not recognize the person?

Although she was dressed in a black robe and wore a hood, she still imagined her godfather's gloomy face beneath the hood.

Ouyang Feng's face turned a bright orange-red. He braced himself on all fours, like a toad exerting its strength, and unleashed the Toad Qi Blast with all his might. Seven Toad Qi blasts exploded out at the same time. When he first met Chu Luren, he could only use three Toad Qi blasts at most at a time, but now... he could only use five at most. The seven blasts that were released at the same time were a self-destructive burst!

However, the effect was indeed remarkable. The golden toad phantom trembled, deflecting Zhao Wushi's hand and causing him to take a half-step back unexpectedly, his hood flipping open...

Ouyang Feng, on the other hand, was propelled a considerable distance forward by the force of the impact.

Chu Luren thought to himself, "What a pity." He had originally planned to take advantage of Zhao Wushi's weakened state after "swallowing the toad alive," but unfortunately, Ouyang Feng still managed to escape.

However, upon closer reflection, Zhao Wushi might not have been so reckless at that moment; he was probably just casually taking a drag.

As Ouyang Feng was trying to escape while letting out a long howl to warn others, just then, a huge dragon shadow made of flames shot out from the room that had just caught fire and attacked the man in black robes!

Zhao Wushi's expression changed, and he shouted at Shangguan Haitang, "Go!"

He then met the attack with a palm strike, his hand resembling a black hole or a black sun, which struck the dragon's head, which was several times larger than himself. Instantly, the entire "fire dragon" turned into scattered sparks that drifted in all directions.

At the same time, Chu Luren, who was about to strike with his palm, was revealed!

"Reincarnation without spirit?" Zhao Wushi's face grew increasingly gloomy, realizing that Chu Luren had also stepped into the Heavenly Gate Realm.

Chu Luren hadn't expected that the old monkey had become so much stronger...

"You actually broke through?" Chu Luren was also somewhat surprised.

Even the legendary swordsman of Tianchi couldn't overcome the side effects of the "Absorption Technique" back then...

It seems that the Eight Extremes Method is indeed feasible, and... who exactly is the last unlucky one? Chu Luren still hasn't figured it out.

Zhao Wushi remained silent, probably thinking something like, "It would be strange if someone like you could break through." At the same time, his skills were not slow. His movements were elusive and unpredictable as he flashed around before suddenly charging towards Chu Luren!

However, at this moment, Chu Luren, who was guarding Mingyutai inside, kept a close eye on him and discovered his cunning.

Chu Luren could "see" clearly that the figure rushing towards him was none other than the black robe he wore, controlled by "Spiritless Reincarnation," and filled with extremely dark true energy...

As for Zhao Wushi himself, he had already taken the opportunity to drift away.

His confidence in breaking free from the opponent's aura lock during a duel with masters was thanks to the "Phantom Divine Skill"—of course, it was only in its embryonic form. He selected seventy-two of the best spies from the hundreds trained by the Four Ghosts of Xiangxi, absorbed their skills, and pieced together the embryonic form...

Since Chu Luren had already seen through his disguise, he naturally wouldn't be polite. He leaped high into the air and instantly manifested the "Law of Heaven and Earth".

It wasn't his most proficient Dragon Turtle Dharma Form, but rather... a human figure wearing a flat-topped crown and general's armor!

The illusory figure delivered a steady punch, shattering the black-robed avatar and sending the force straight towards the direction Zhao Wushi had fled.

Zhao Wushi: !!!

The fact that Chu Luren could see through this feint only surprised Zhao Wushi, but his actions infuriated Zhao Wushi.

Indeed, what Chu Luren used was the manifestation of the imperial mindset cultivated through the "Emperor Taizu Long Fist." The punch delivered by the Dharma Image was also a genuine "Charging into Battle and Slaying Generals"...

It is said that the "Taizu Changquan" circulating in the martial arts world is just a rudimentary external martial art, and it is impossible to cultivate it to such a level.

However, Chu Luren's "Ten Thousand Paths Diagram" has taken it to this level, and "Ten Thousand Paths Diagram" is also good at imitation. It can be seen as an enhanced version of "Xiao Wuxiang Gong", and it is not limited to "Qi", but is an all-round "imitation" of "mind, body, Qi, technique and momentum".

This punch wasn't about how strong it was, but about exposing Zhao Wushi's true identity!

Is he afraid to expose himself?

Then Chu Luren used the Song Dynasty's secret technique on his behalf!

Although it's not the original, it's already quite similar, about 60-70% like it...