The Great Martial Arts World: Hot Topics and Great Heroes

Indeed, the Iron Sword Sect and the Mount Tai Sect are related. The Iron Sword Sect's mountain gate is also on Mount Tai, just on another peak. Furthermore, the Mount Tai Sect's leader's token is an iron sword token, a rule set by the patriarch, Dongling Daoren—seeing the iron sword is like seeing Dongling.

The symbol of the Iron Sword Sect's leader is also an iron sword. This is not a coincidence, but rather because the two sects are considered to have originated from the same religious sect.

The Quanzhen School is a martial arts sect belonging to the Quanzhen Sect, while the Iron Sword Sect and the Taishan School are martial arts sects of the Taishan Sect. From the perspective of sect lineage, they are one branch. If we really want to rank them by seniority, Yu Zhenzi and his senior brother Mu Sang are indeed of the same generation as Yu Jizi and Yu Yinzi of the Taishan School.

However, sects are sects and religions are religions; the two are not one. Although the mountain gates are both on Mount Tai, the Iron Sword Sect's lineage has almost been severed. Daoist Mu Sang is as eccentric as Mu Renqing and has no disciples. As for Yu Zhenzi... he is a "traitor" despised by everyone in the Daoist community.

Yu Zhenzi was not only a womanizer and power-hungry man with no bottom line, but also, in the year when his senior brother Mu Sang became the sect leader, he went to Tibet in a fit of anger to learn a lot of evil Tantric and Tibetan Buddhist techniques.

When Master Musang had the opportunity to clean up his sect in his early years, he refrained from killing him out of consideration for his fellow disciples and his master's dying wish. Now, though he is powerless to do so, he has informed other Taoist sects of his expulsion from the Iron Sword Sect.

Therefore, Wang Chuyi's hostility towards him was obvious...

What surprised Chu Luren even more was that Yu Zhenzi had actually sided with the Prince of Pingxi? Should we say that Wu Sangui was powerful, or that the Qing court was too weak? This should be considered the upper limit of martial arts skills that the Manchus could recruit and serve in the original works, right?

Then Chu Luren thought of the Qing court's top expert—Ao Bai.

Indeed, given Ao Bai's personality, it's likely that Han Chinese masters wouldn't have held high positions in the Qing court while he was still in power. This was probably the main reason why the Qing court limited the quality of the masters it offered.

Take Yu Zhenzi, for example. Although he was of low character and greedy, he still had to be greedy for something. In the original work, he was the "Guardian of the Nation" appointed by Huang Taiji. He would not have looked down on the position of an ordinary lackey.

"Hmph! Who is your master? Does my Quanzhen Sect also have someone who deceives his master and betrays his ancestors?" Wang Chuyi ignored Yu Zhenzi and instead went to teach Wu Kang a lesson.

Yu Zhenzi's face turned ugly, while Wu Kang felt a little guilty—when he heard that this Taoist was his nominal senior uncle, he was worried that he would be falsely accused.

Given his master's temper, he would probably fly into a rage...

Although the Prince's mansion has many experts, if Qiu Chuji is truly determined to clean house, he will eventually get his hands dirty unless he never leaves the house again. Besides, the retainers his father found are not his personal bodyguards!

Moreover, his mother had already arrived and was sending a servant to call him over, presumably already suspecting that he had gotten into trouble outside.

Wu Kang's eyes lit up, and he had an idea: "Since you know my master, you must be an elder. Please come to my humble abode so that I may humbly receive your teachings... My mother is calling me, so I must take my leave now!"

Knowing Wang Chuyi's identity, he pretended not to recognize him for the time being, leaving room for discussion later. He then left under some pretext. If Wang Chuyi really dared to come to his door, it would not be so easy for him to come out. Even if he did not dare to come, it gave Wu Kang a chance to "settle" the Mu family.

More importantly, if Wu Kang is not around, and Wang Chuyi still dares to cause trouble, Yu Zhenzi and the other two can easily subdue him. On the contrary, Wu Kang is here, and in front of the young master, he is beating the young master's uncle, which is not in accordance with the rules of the martial arts world...

Chapter 177 Reunion

Wang Chu was even more annoyed when he saw Wu Kang immediately spur his horse and gallop through the bustling city after he finished speaking. However... just as Wu Kang had expected, with his "nephew" gone, he, Yu Zhenzi, and the other two servants of the Wang family had become江湖 (jianghu, the martial arts world) figures, and if they were to truly confront each other, they might not be able to handle the situation.

“The Prince of Pingxi is eager to find talented people. If a dragon among men like Young Hero Chu is willing to come to his door, I believe the Prince will certainly welcome him with open arms.” Yu Zhenzi said, flicking his whisk, displaying an air of self-importance as the “First Guest of the Prince’s Palace.”

Yu Zhenzi was indeed somewhat wary of the Chu Lu people, but only "somewhat".

After all, Chu Luren's "confirmed" strength was only at the upper-middle level of the Earth Ranking.

The battle at the ruined temple had only taken place a few days ago. Although there were many people from various factions present, and the news must have come from places like Luoyang and the Prince of Pingxi's Mansion, which had a lot of informants, it was still too exaggerated and its credibility was questionable!

This unsubstantiated rumor made Yu Zhenzi, who recognized the suona, take Chu Luren's presence seriously.

However, Yu Zhenzi had doubts about Chu Luren's ability to defeat the Seven Great Protectors of Songshan and fight to a standstill with the Divine Mountain Master in a palm strike. Even for him, achieving such a feat would not be easy.

Based on current observations, Yu Zhenzi did not realize that Chu Luren possessed such profound internal martial arts skills.

Needless to say, Wang Chuyi was not as well-informed as the Prince of Pingxi's mansion, so he probably hadn't heard about this matter yet. Secondly, he had just met Chu Luren in Zhongnan Mountain two months ago, and he had a firsthand assessment of Chu Luren's strength.

"Nobody in the martial world is worth the attention of the Prince of Pingxi, and the Prince of Pingxi is not worth the attention of nobody in the martial world. Let's forget about visiting him." Chu Luren looked disdainful, but he didn't directly call him a "traitor," after all, they were still on the other side's territory.

Visiting in person is out of the question. What if I encounter someone who does embroidery?

Seeing that Wang Chuyi and Chu Luren had no intention of making a move, and with the Queen present, Yu Zhenzi, Lingzhi Shangren, and Liang Ziweng knew that making a move in front of the Queen, who was a vegetarian and chanting Buddhist scriptures, would certainly not be well-received. Therefore, after the Queen reprimanded the Crown Prince and prepared to leave, they all intended to retreat.

Just then, Mu Yi suddenly exclaimed in surprise, his face filled with disbelief. Fortunately, his adopted daughter Mu Nianci supported him, preventing him from collapsing on the spot.

Chu Luren guessed a bit; it was probably when the princess was disciplining her son that Yang Tiexin recognized his wife because she lifted the sedan curtain!

The servants of the Prince's mansion paid no attention to the down-on-his-luck appearance of this江湖人 (jianghu ren, a person from a martial arts world), at most Yu Zhenzi cursed inwardly: "How dare you covet the Princess Consort? Tsk tsk... Even I, this Daoist master, wouldn't dare to lay a hand on her..."

"Godfather, Godfather? What's wrong?" Mu Nianci asked worriedly.

Mu Yi forced himself to believe that "it couldn't be her," and then reluctantly said, "It's alright, let's go and thank the Taoist priest and the other young heroes first."

However, Mu Yi couldn't help but recall the image of "Wu Kang" from before, and thinking about it, he felt that "he looked familiar".

"Life is full of unexpected encounters, and the kingly way leads to peace and prosperity."

"I'm just an old man, nothing's wrong with me. It's thanks to Young Master Chu that I'm here today, otherwise Yu Zhenzi would probably have suddenly attacked me without giving me a chance to explain."

Chu Luren and Wang Chuyi exchanged pleasantries, and at this moment Mu Nianci also came over to express her gratitude.

"Haha, if we're going to say thank you, I should thank this young brother... Young brother, who taught you your martial arts?" Wang Chuyi asked Guo Jing with a friendly smile.

Guo Jing was only taught Quanzhen internal skills by Ma Yu. His external skills were mainly a hodgepodge of techniques taught by the Seven Freaks of Jiangnan. Wang Chuyi recognized some of the Seven Freaks of Jiangnan's martial arts, but he could only vaguely see the specific internal skills.

Guo Jing naturally had no intention of hiding anything and truthfully revealed his identity. After hearing that his senior brother Ma Yu had also taught him martial arts, Wang Chuyi was greatly pleased.

Although it's unclear why Senior Brother Qiu accepted the Prince of Pingxi's son as his disciple, at least Guo Jing now has Quanzhen's support, which has restored some face for Quanzhen.

Upon discovering several dark scratches on Guo Jing's arm, with the muscles almost torn open, Wang Chuyi quickly took out the Quanzhen Sect's external injury medicine.

Although Mu Yi was in a daze, he still heard a few words. Upon hearing this, he stepped forward and grabbed Guo Jing, startling the boy.

"Senior Mu, what's wrong?" Guo Jing didn't know what was wrong with him either.

"You...is your mother's surname Li, and her given name Ping? Are you Brother Guo's child?" Mu Yi asked, his eyes reddening.

"Ah! Senior Mu, you recognize my mother and my father?" Guo Jing asked in surprise.

"Alas... I'm ashamed! My surname isn't actually Mu..."

Upon meeting his sworn brother's son, Yang Tiexin immediately revealed his identity. The two families had lived as neighbors inside Shanhaiguan. Sixteen years ago, Wu Sangui allowed the Qing army to enter the pass. The soldiers were like bandits. Although Yang Tiexin and Guo Xiaotian were skilled in martial arts, they could not change the general trend and were separated in the chaos.

Over the years, Yang Tiexin traveled all over the country with his adopted daughter, already knowing that his wife and adopted brother had perished. He only hoped that Heaven would have eyes and allow his adopted brother's bloodline to survive.

Over the years, Yang Tiexin saw that his adopted daughter had grown up, so he came up with the idea of ​​holding a martial arts contest to find a husband. Everywhere he went, he would display the name "Mu Yi" and hang a banner with a spear and a halberd for the "martial arts contest to find a husband." He hoped that if his sister-in-law heard about it or saw it, she would recognize his identity. If Guo's descendant was a man, he could marry his adopted daughter and fulfill the promise they made years ago.

However, more than a year had passed, and Mu Yi was increasingly accepting of reality, suspecting that his sister-in-law had also perished. At this moment, he thought about finding a good man of honest character and decent martial arts skills for his daughter, so that he could rest in peace...

Unexpectedly, the series of events that happened today left Yang Tiexin's mind in utter turmoil.

Upon hearing that the man was actually the righteous Yang Tiexin, Wang Chuji was greatly pleased. He took Guo Jing and Yang Tiexin back to the inn to reminisce, and also sent someone to look for his senior brother Qiu. However, Qiu Chuji was always traveling around, so he might not be able to find him.

Chu Luren then realized that Wang Chuyi's inn was actually the same one as his own; however, he hadn't run into it because he had been going to Green Bamboo Lane during the day for the previous three days.

Guo Jing glanced at Huang Rong several times along the way, but hesitated to speak each time. Finally, as they reached the inn, Guo Jing couldn't help but ask, "This... young lady, where did you get your clothes? Ah! I apologize for asking so abruptly, but... but..."

That's right, Huang Rong didn't change her fur coat.

"Maybe some little beggar gave it to me?" Huang Rong said deliberately.

"I see! Then... how is that young man now?" Guo Jing, not understanding anything, quickly asked.

"Good...or not good..." Huang Rong, holding Guo Jing by the arm, couldn't help but smile as she saw how anxious he was.

However, Yang Tiexin suddenly grabbed Guo Jing and said, "Jing'er, I can die in peace knowing that we have met today. Your father and I made a pact that if both families had boys or girls, they would be called brothers and sisters; if one was a boy and the other a girl, they would be betrothed since birth..."

Chapter 178 Not Going

“…Nianci, although I adopted her, has been like a daughter to me for many years. From now on, I will entrust her to you!” Yang Tiexin said, holding Guo Jing’s hand.

Yang Tiexin didn't interrupt Guo Jing on purpose because he saw Guo Jing talking to a woman. Judging from Chu Luren's observation, he seemed absent-minded the whole way, so he probably didn't observe very carefully.

At this point, most people would probably want to entrust their daughter to an honest man so they could then go to the Prince of Pingxi's mansion without any worries to find out if "she" really is "she" and "he" really is...

“Hey! What does what you and his father agreed to have to do with him and your daughter?” Mu Wanqing said bluntly.

Originally, she noticed that Huang Rong seemed to treat this honest man with some special regard. Firstly, she hoped that her good sister, who was in the same boat as her, would find an honest man. Secondly... it was also to prevent Huang Rong from being blind and falling for some scoundrels.

Of course, most importantly, Mu Wanqing was rebellious by nature. She used to listen to her master, but since her master became her mother, she doesn't even listen to Qin Hongmian. How could she possibly tolerate Yang Tiexin's ways?

Yang Tiexin didn't actually mean anything by it. If the two of them really weren't suitable, he wouldn't force them. He hadn't intentionally interrupted anything earlier either. It was just that hearing Mu Wanqing's blunt "reprimand" inevitably made him feel dissatisfied...

Twenty years ago, the Central Plains, Guanzhong, and Hebei were also under the rule of the Han dynasty, now often referred to as the "Former Song." At that time, a trend of thought similar to Neo-Confucianism emerged in the north. Later, the Manchus moved south, and a branch of the imperial family established a new dynasty, "Song," in the south. While confronting each other in Huainan, the Mongol Yuan dynasty rose and occupied Guanzhong and Hanzhong. The Song court then established itself in Sichuan, Xiangfan, Jingnan, Huainan, Jiangnan, and the Shandong Peninsula, which it preserved by relying on its maritime advantage.

Because of its reliance on the ocean and its relatively developed commodity economy, the Song Dynasty, located in the south, saw the Neo-Confucianism trend suppressed, leading to the current situation where the Han Chinese areas in the north are more influenced by Neo-Confucianism.

Yang Tiexin was originally from the north, so naturally she was more accepting of Neo-Confucianism. However... since the other party had stood up for her before and also saw that she was a woman, Yang Tiexin was embarrassed by the rebuttal, but she did not retaliate.

Instead, Guo Jing quickly said, "Uncle Yang, Nianci will be like my sister from now on, but... but I am already engaged."

Chu Luren noticed that Mu Nianci and Huang Rong both froze upon hearing Guo Jing's words.

Mu Nianci's guess was easy to guess—just when she was being humiliated, a decent man with good martial arts skills, impeccable character, and, more importantly, a vague "marriage agreement" with her appeared. In Mu Nianci's value system, this was basically a perfect match for naming her child...

Without the forced shoes and the father-son reunion, Wu Kang was still just an ordinary lecher in her heart.

This also shows that Guo Jing didn't find Mu Nianci attractive, otherwise... in the original novel, Guo Jing never mentioned his engagement to Huang Rong!

Guo Jing's words at this moment inevitably made Mu Nianci feel abandoned—it would be better in the south where Neo-Confucianism was not very popular, but Mu Nianci, who was raised by Yang Tiexin, would most likely feel awkward.

As for Huang Rong...

Chu Luren could never guess what such a clever person was thinking.

However, these things were not relevant to Chu Luren; what he was more curious about was...

"May I ask who Brother Guo's fiancée is?" Chu Luren asked directly.

Yang Tiexin and Wang Chuyi both found it strange—why would you ask someone's fiancée when you first meet them?

Guo Jing was honest and straightforward, and without much thought, he answered Chu Luren directly.

When the Qing army first entered the pass, although the Mongols also raided the border, it was not as tense as it is now. Even now, most of the Han Chinese lands occupied by the Mongols were taken from the Qing army. Only Xingyuan Prefecture, which is the Hanzhong area north of Sichuan, was taken by taking advantage of the turmoil in the Han Chinese region.

Therefore, when the Qing army first entered the pass, Li Ping was pregnant. In order to avoid the enemy's advance, she fled north and was eventually taken in by a small Mongolian tribe in the desert beyond the Great Wall.

The Mongol rule over Han territories was blatantly brutal, as evidenced by the sheer number of rebel armies under Mongol rule. In contrast, in the vast desert beyond the Great Wall, some small tribes did not yet harbor the same deep-seated contempt for the Han people that they had shown after their southward migration. They remained simple and honest, and even took in Li Ping, who was pregnant at the time.

Guo Jing, because of his martial arts skills, had rendered meritorious service to the "Khan" of that small tribe and was also engaged to a noblewoman from that tribe.

"What are the opinions of your six masters regarding this marriage?" Chu Luren asked again, making a point of asking.

Upon hearing this, Guo Jing blushed slightly and said, "My masters said... I'm still young, I don't need to think about these things."

Only Guo Jing thought so. Chu Luren and the others could tell that the Seven Freaks of Jiangnan were definitely not happy about Guo Jing's engagement to a Mongolian noblewoman.

Even if they acted relatively friendly, it would be difficult to change the fact that the Mongols and Han Chinese were hostile to each other. However, they did not vehemently oppose it, perhaps because they felt that Guo Jing would definitely return to the Central Plains in the future and that there was no need to pay much attention to him?

Seeing this, a passerby who spoke frankly said, "That's right. You're still young. You don't need to make these decisions so early. You should think things through carefully!"

In fact, Chu Luren's words were somewhat unorthodox, whether in the south or the north, but... Yang Tiexin and Wang Chuyi, who were present, just remained silent.

After all, their identities are different, and they are both indebted to Chu Luren, so it's not appropriate to say too much. At most, they can only think to themselves, "That's why you're called 'Red and White Tai Sui'!"