The Great Martial Arts World: Hot Topics and Great Heroes

He just had some grandmaster's baggage, so he didn't make a move.

Even if you don't trust Chu Luren's character, you still have to trust his martial arts skills, so Shuang'er can only gamble on Chu Luren's reputation.

Chu Luren casually caught it and then said, "Exchange his life? I didn't agree to that. You can exchange your own life for his. Now you can leave."

"You..." Shuang'er panicked upon hearing this, and then tried to rush towards the sword of the Divine Dragon Sect disciple, but was stopped by Chu Luren pointing at her from a distance.

Chu Luren glanced at Wei Xiaobao, then at Shuang'er, and curled his lip...

Chapter 1026 Shaking People

"Aren't you worried that brat will cause you trouble later?" Long'er looked at Chu Luren with displeasure.

Chu Luren just released Wei Xiaobao and Shuang'er...

"Hehe." Chu Luren just smiled.

If Wei Xiaobao were to have any wicked thoughts, Chu Luren would notice them even faster than Wei Xiaobao himself.

Before releasing them, Chu Luren also made a three-point agreement with Shuang'er—from now on, Wei Xiaobao would be her man, and she would have to keep him strictly under her control. He was not allowed to get close to any other woman, nor could he return to the Qing court. He would only be allowed to serve her tea and water on ordinary days…

In short, Wei Xiaobao should repay Shuang'er for how she treated him in the past!

Moreover, he specifically made Wei Xiaobao swear on his own mother and future child, and Shuang'er swear on the widows of the Zhuang family, that she would definitely keep a close watch on Wei Xiaobao.

Of course, the oath itself isn't the point. What credibility can be found in the oaths Wei Xiaobao made?

The important thing is that this oath gives Wei Xiaobao a psychological suggestion: as long as he breaks the oath or does something to wrong Shuang'er, evil thoughts will inevitably arise first, and the Dao Embryo will naturally react!

Furthermore, if the Dao Embryo reacts now, it will no longer just recharge Chu Luren, but will also petrify Wei Xiaobao's entire body. Depending on the severity, the recovery time will vary, and in severe cases, it can cause immediate death...

Not worried about him causing trouble, Chu Luren simply treated it as a "gift" to repay Shuang'er for helping him find the sheepskin fragments. Incidentally... he also kept the demonic energy dry cell battery, even if it wasn't very useful, it could still be used for many experiments!

"What are you laughing at?" Long'er was clearly very unhappy that Wei Xiaobao had been released.

"It's nothing, I just thought that he didn't actually cause me any trouble." Chu Luren said, glancing at Long'er who had "gifted" him.

Long'er was stunned for a moment before realizing what Chu Luren was implying, which made her even angrier.

"Alright, he doesn't want to harm you. If anyone is going to kill someone, it's Ake. You insist on coveting Ake's divine beast inheritance, so who can you blame?" Chu Luren had no intention of comforting him.

The mention of this matter made Long'er even more indignant, but she was helpless. Just then, A'ke brought in the cooked bird's nest.

"Hero Chu, this is the top-quality bird's nest that Wei Xiaobao presented to the Divine Dragon Sect. I've cooked bird's nest porridge for you." Ake's face was flushed and full of joy.

She had clearly overheard Chu Luren speaking up for her and reprimanding the demoness...

Seeing this, Long'er snorted and said, "That kid must also have some kind of divine beast... hereditary traits, mainly manifested in his state of mind, otherwise he wouldn't have been able to fool us..."

Otherwise, they wouldn't have been able to deceive Chen Yuanyuan, who had already awakened some of her abilities!

Although Long'er disliked Ake, she didn't want to criticize her mother in front of her, saying that she had "proved the Dao through tea" and was just a genuine fox spirit... so she didn't speak so frankly.

"But it seems he really only managed to get four books." Chu Luren curled his lip.

Chu Luren had just tested Wei Xiaobao's reaction. With a Dao Embryo clone residing there, Wei Xiaobao's reaction should be genuine.

Long'er, on the other hand, thought that being able to get four books was already incredible enough...

"The only one left is the one about the Bordered Red Banner! If there are still spies within the Heaven and Earth Society, they should be able to send the message back to Beijing soon. Then we can prepare to make our move!"

Long'er was ready to break into the prison directly—or rather, to incite the Chu Lu people to break into the prison directly to rescue Mao Dongzhu, and then find out where the scriptures of the Bordered Red Banner were.

"It's not us... Can you make a move now? I'll call the others first, and then we'll meet up in Manjing... Besides, is it really necessary to specifically look for the eighth book?"

The puzzle is incomplete because it's missing an eighth of the piece, but you can still tell what it is. As long as you can determine where the picture is drawn and the area where the treasure is located is marked, you can find the treasure, right?

Five or six books might be enough...

Most importantly, the area marked as containing the treasure must be in the scriptures of the Plain Yellow Banner or Plain White Banner, there's no reason for it to be in the scriptures of the Bordered Red Banner!

Chu Luren thought that all he needed to do was call Murong Jiu over and bring the other three pieces of sheepskin, then they could piece them together.

“No, the Manchu’s dragon vein treasure map was carefully designed by Nurhaci. If the eight scriptures are incomplete, there are more than one way to piece them together. Moreover, the pictures on it are very simple. If you don’t know the correct way to piece them together, it’s hard to determine where it is,” Long’er reminded her.

What Long'er is even more worried about is...

"And are you sure you can handle that ten-thousand-year-old ginseng dragon right now?" Long'er asked with some concern.

"Didn't you say that when Guiguzi obtained the Dragon Vein True Essence, it was five or six Tianmen experts working together? I called in the Eastern Sect Leader, the Palace Master of Yaoyue Palace... plus Yan Nantian and me, that makes four people. There are also my eldest brother, third brother, and fourth brother, plus Nan Murong... the lineup isn't bad either."

Chu Luren has decided to "call for help"—for ordinary matters, don't expect Yaoyue and Dongfang to come at a moment's notice, but if it concerns the true essence of the dragon vein, they should be interested.

Yan Nantian still owed him several lives, so Chu Luren felt it wouldn't be difficult to summon him.

Murong Jiu, needless to say, would immediately put aside her affairs in Lin'an as soon as the letter arrived. Previously, Chu Luren had wanted her to leave Lin'an, but she felt that her situation was excellent and that she could go toe-to-toe with the Divine Marquis, so she refused to leave at all!

Having learned about the Dragon Vein's true essence, she dreamed of going back to slay the dragon and then becoming the Valkyrie of Northeast China...

"Your older brother? Are you sure your older brother will help you slay the dragon?" Long'er chuckled.

She obviously knew who Chu Luren's "elder brother" was.

Although Qiao Feng had already kept a low profile when she came to the Central Plains to cause trouble, and had gone to the border region not long after, she had always heard of Qiao Feng's reputation.

Based on what she had heard, even if Qiao Feng had some grievances, he would never sever the Manchu dragon vein.

“No, we’re going to help my older brother slay the dragon,” Chu Luren said matter-of-factly.

Long'er was stunned for a moment after hearing this, and then almost jumped up: "What?"

"You, you..." Long'er was so angry that her heart was surging.

"You don't think I want to absorb the dragon vein's true essence myself, do you? Didn't you say... that the dragon vein's true essence becomes much less effective once it leaves its territory? I don't intend to stay there permanently," Chu Luren said matter-of-factly.

Although it may not become weaker, it is conceivable that once the owner of the dragon vein's true essence leaves the territory, it will inevitably become the "target" of countless people.

If one were to choose the person who would be most beneficial to Chu Luren and suitable for the world, Chu Luren would believe it is Qiao Feng…

After all, the area outside the Great Wall is now inhabited by Manchus. If Murong Jiu were to become a Valkyrie, she would certainly not be able to win over the people and would instead cause frequent internal strife. However, if it were Qiao Feng, he would have no problem restraining the Manchus, both in terms of his status and personal abilities.

Of course, Chu Luren also had other ideas about the specifics, and he wanted his elder brother to agree to some things, but it was still uncertain whether they could be accomplished.

For example, if the Northeastern Valkyrie knew Chu Luren's intentions, she would definitely fight him to the death...

Chapter 1027 Assassination

On the ninth day of the fifth month, the Chu Lu people had already arrived in Manjing.

Although Long'er really wanted to come along, her martial arts skills were greatly diminished, so she could only come slowly...

Judging from the speed of the Chu Lu people, they hadn't carried any burdens along the way.

Although the Qunyu Courtyard in Beijing was not shut down, it was strictly controlled, and court officials were forbidden from visiting prostitutes. The reason it was not shut down was probably because Emperor Kangxi had intentions to contact the Sun Moon Cult.

However, it's best to forget about hoping to obtain any confidential information from the entire Kyoto Imperial Palace.

Chu Luren, who had already received the news while on his way to Qunyu Courtyard, did not enter the Qunyu Courtyard in the capital.

Although it's not difficult to evade surveillance, why would Chu Luren go if he knew there was no useful information?

Even before, Qunyu Academy probably wouldn't have been able to find out such confidential information as "where Mao Dongzhu is being held." Chu Luren planned to wait for Murong Jiu, Yaoyue, and Sister Dongfang to reunite.

Through Qunyu Courtyard, Chu Luren had already begun to "call for people," and he had made appointments with Murong Jiu, Yaoyue, and Dongfang to meet in Manjing, while Duan Yu and Gou Zazhong had arranged to meet with their elder brother outside the pass.

Leaving aside Murong Jiu, as long as Yaoyue and Dongfang arrive, along with Chu Luren, they can easily "crash and shove" their way to Mao Dongzhu...

Of course, it was also necessary to prevent Emperor Kangxi from killing Mao Dongzhu to silence him in order to completely expose the secret of the dragon vein, and to simply erase the location of the Bordered Red Banner scriptures.

Chu Luren had been lying in wait in the capital for several days, but before he could meet Yaoyue and Dongfang, he noticed a disturbance in the palace.

Sensing something amiss, Chu Luren quietly went to the palace to see what was happening.

Then I saw a few familiar faces—the Turtle Son family of three, who were teaming up to run the Qing Dynasty dungeon!

It wasn't that old tortoise Wu Sangui, but the three idiots of the Gui Xinshu family...

At this moment, Gui Xinshu's family, for some reason, set their sights on a phoenix sedan chair, convinced that Emperor Kangxi was inside. Gui Xinshu endured having his back turned to Zhang Zhaozhong and being slashed across his back by Zhang Zhaozhong's sword, and from ten steps away, he punched the phoenix sedan chair, shattering it into pieces!

"You're asking for death!" Zhang Zhaozhong roared angrily, his eyes turning red instantly.

Seeing the golden fist strike, Zhang Zhaozhong increased the force of his attack, but he was still a step too late...

Originally, after Zhang Zhaozhong discovered their assassination attempt, he only tried his best to stop it, but did not try to intercept it.

After all, Gui Xinshu was nominally an elder of the Huashan Sect. After Lin Pingzhi became the head of the Huashan Sect, he was not a member of the Huashan Sect and had no burden of the sword qi dispute. He quickly set things right and invited Mu Qingren and Feng Qingyang back.

Zhang Zhaozhong's defection to the Qing court did not nominally violate the sect's rules; at least Wudang did not prohibit "lay disciples" from defecting to any dynasty.

To protect the emperor, stopping Gui Xinshu or even capturing him outright wouldn't be a big deal, but Zhang Zhaozhong hesitated and wanted to force him to retreat...

Zhang Zhaozhong had not expected that Gui Xinshu would be so ungrateful. After seeing him hesitate to make a move, Gui Xinshu thought that he was afraid of him and risked his minor injury to attack the phoenix sedan chair with all his might.

Zhang Zhaozhong also recognized the sedan chair—although it wasn't the emperor inside, it was still the phoenix sedan chair of the imperial concubine. Now that it had been beaten to death in front of him, wasn't that also a dereliction of duty?

Upon realizing this, Zhang Zhaozhong immediately became ruthless. After severely injuring Gui Xinshu with the Ningbi Sword, he made every move even more deadly, and his scorching internal energy formed sword energy like flames on the sword.

Unlike before when he held back a little, Zhang Zhaozhong is now starting to trade injuries for injuries.

Gui Xinshu's martial arts skills were already superior to Gui Xinshu and Gui Erniang's. Only when the two of them joined forces could they contend with Zhang Zhaozhong. Their foolish son, Gui Zhong, was merely an extra...

Moreover, being in the Forbidden City, surrounded by imperial guards, Zhang Zhaozhong was fighting desperately, and they would have difficulty even stopping him, let alone escaping.

Zhang Zhaozhong was also using a self-inflicted injury tactic, thinking that by suffering some injuries and exaggerating the assassin's strength, he could reduce the responsibility later.

Seeing this, Chu Luren recalled his past relationship with Elder Mu...

Although he found these three unlikable and had even clashed with Chu Luren before, Chu Luren still secretly took action against them.

Just as Zhang Zhaozhong was about to finish off Gui Erniang with a single sword strike, his knee buckled under the sudden force, causing his swordsmanship to falter, and Gui Erniang seized the opportunity to escape.

Chu Luren originally thought that the three of them would take the opportunity to leave and that would be the end of it. However, he did not expect that Gui Erniang would take a step back. Then, her expression hardened, and she immediately returned to attack the staggering Zhang Zhaozhong, wanting to take advantage of his illness and kill him!

However, Chu Luren had only used his strength without exerting much of his finger power. Zhang Zhaozhong staggered slightly but recovered quickly and pierced Chu Luren's heart with his sword!

This time, Chu Luren did not make a move again...

Zhang Zhaozhong was a lay disciple of Wudang and had once obeyed Qiao Feng. Moreover, he had yielded the order first. More importantly, Chu Luren, considering himself a grandmaster, would not secretly intervene a second time since he was not someone who absolutely needed to be saved.

"mom!"

As Chu Luren curled his lip, Gui Zhong, shocked by his mother's death, rushed forward without regard for Zhang Zhaozhong's presence. As a result, he was cut in half at the waist by Zhang Zhaozhong, and blood splattered everywhere. Zhang Zhaozhong was clearly in a bloodthirsty rage.

"Zhong'er! You... deserve to die!" Gui Xinshu was furious when he saw his wife and son die tragically. He tried to fight back but failed and was also killed by Zhang Zhaozhong.