The Smiling, Proud Wanderer, becoming a disciple of Yue Buqun.

Zuo Lengchan then sat down in the main seat without saying another word, his eyes seemingly deep in thought.

Upon seeing this scene, Fei Bin and the others exchanged glances and silently left the tent without disturbing Zuo Lengchan.

……

"This leader of the Left Alliance is probably getting impatient."

Chongxu spoke as soon as he sat down.

"hehe."

Fang Zheng, sitting opposite him, smiled and shook his head without saying anything.

Even Fang Zheng had to admit that Zuo Lengchan was indeed a powerful leader. If he really succeeded in merging the Five Mountains Sword Sects, then a sect even more powerful than Shaolin and Wudang would definitely emerge in the righteous path. In particular, Zuo Lengchan was not a peaceful person. Merging the Five Mountains Sword Sects was only the first step. He would definitely cause great chaos in the martial arts world afterward, which Fang Zheng would absolutely not allow.

The current state of affairs is fine; there's no need for ambitious people.

However, despite thinking this, Fang Zheng looked quite troubled.

Seeing him like this, Chongxu knew that Fangzheng was also having a headache, but still said, "We still need to stop him as soon as possible."

Fang Zheng nodded, but his brows remained furrowed.

Chongxu suggested, "Why don't we support someone within the Five Mountains Sword Sect to oppose Zuo Lengchan?"

Upon hearing this, Fang Zheng looked at him and asked, "Whom should we support?"

Chongxu thought for a moment and said, "Yue Buqun?"

He had his reasons for thinking this way. Among the Five Mountains Sword Sects, apart from Zuo Lengchan, Hengshan Dingxian was a woman, Tianmen Daoren was hot-tempered and pedantic, and Mo Da was nowhere to be seen. That left only the Huashan Sect and Yue Buqun.

The Huashan Sect has not recovered from the sword qi dispute and has fallen to the bottom. But no matter what, they were once the leader of the Five Mountains Sword Sect. With their past glory, how could they agree to be merged by their former subordinate?

Moreover, Yue Buqun has an excellent reputation in the martial arts world and a very solid mass base. If he does not agree to the merger of the sects, then there is a chance for maneuver. As long as they support the Huashan Sect and Yue Buqun, the difficulty for Zuo Lengchan to merge the sects will be even greater.

"This……"

Fang Zheng hesitated.

After a while.

"To be honest, Daoist Master, I did consider Sect Leader Yue before. However, Yue Buqun is a very shrewd and calculating person. He is very good at hiding his true intentions. If we were to make a rash move, I'm afraid we might end up raising someone even more ambitious than Zuo Lengchan."

Fang Zheng used the word "extreme" three times in a row to express his fear of Yue Buqun. He did not explicitly refuse, but Chongxu already understood his attitude.

Although Fang Zheng said so, Chongxu knew what he was wary of.

It's because they're afraid Yue Buqun is hard to control.

Since Fang Zheng had already said so, Chongxu stopped mentioning Yue Buqun. After all, Yue Buqun was indeed somewhat unpredictable and might very well be the next Zuo Lengchan.

After thinking it over, Chongxu suggested another candidate.

"How is Jiangning?"

"Jiangning?"

Fang Zheng looked somewhat surprised.

"Ah."

Chongxu offered his opinion: "This person became famous at a young age. He already has such martial arts skills at such a young age. If we can subdue him and support him to take control of the Huashan Sect and contend with Zuo Lengchan, it may not be a bad way."

Although there was no reaction from the martial arts world to Jiang Ning's sudden appearance, Shaolin and Wudang were already keeping a close eye on him.

Such an outstanding second-generation disciple of the Five Mountains Alliance is the best candidate besides Yue Buqun.

Being young means being easy to control; being skilled in martial arts means having great potential.

"This……"

Fang Zheng frowned: "What you said makes sense, but how do we persuade him?"

"Given his talent and strength, Yue Buqun probably wouldn't have any other choice when selecting a successor to the sect leader. He could have easily inherited the Huashan Sect anyway, so how could he have managed to navigate the situation?"

Chongxu smiled and said, "That may be true, but things can't always go as planned. Until things are accomplished, there will always be variables."

"Although Jiang Ning is highly talented, there is another person from the Huashan Sect who is not entirely without a chance."

"Linghu Chong?"

Fang Zheng immediately thought of this name.

"good."

Chongxu nodded.

Fang Zheng frowned: "Although this child is quite talented, he is still somewhat inferior to Jiang Ning. As long as Yue Buqun is not... he will inevitably choose Jiang Ning as his successor. What chance does he have?"

Shaolin always kept a close eye on the Five Mountains Sword Sects. They knew about Linghu Chong, who was talented but rather lazy. Although he was the top disciple of Mount Hua, he wasn't very reliable. They had heard that Yue Buqun often punished him, so it was hard to believe that Yue Buqun would choose him.

"hehe."

Chongxu smiled and said, "His talent is indeed inferior to Jiang Ning's, but he has an advantage that Jiang Ning does not have. He and Yue Buqun's daughter grew up together as childhood sweethearts, and if nothing unexpected happens, he will become Yue Buqun's son-in-law in the future. In addition, he is the senior disciple of the Huashan Sect, so he may not be without competitiveness."

Fang Zheng pondered for a moment without speaking, then shook his head.

Even so, Yue Buqun might not necessarily choose Linghu Chong to abandon Jiang Ning.

Chongxu laughed and said, "We don't need to know who Yue Buqun has chosen. We just need to let Jiang Ning know."

Fang Zheng was taken aback, but then he understood what Chongxu meant.

"As long as he knows these things, he will not go to Yue Buqun to verify them, and he will inevitably waver. The master and disciple will then have a rift. Then tell him that Shaolin and Wudang will fully support him. I believe he will know how to choose."

Chongxu said again.

Fang Zheng frowned and remained silent.

After a long while.

"I'll think about it some more."

Fang Zheng still hasn't given his consent. This kind of thing needs to be handled carefully, otherwise we might end up raising another tiger, which would be troublesome.

Seeing his expression, Chongxu nodded and said nothing more.

He has given his advice; now it's up to Fang Zheng to decide.

Chongxu rose to take his leave.

Fang Zheng nodded and watched him leave.

After Chongxu left, Fangzheng pondered for a long time but still had no clue, so he could only sigh.

"These are turbulent times."

After a while, a monk came in.

"Master."

The monk bowed to Fang Zheng.

"Ah."

Fang Zheng nodded, then asked, "How is your martial uncle doing?"

The monk said, "Uncle-Master Fang Sheng has still not seen Senior Feng."

Fang Zheng hesitated for a moment, then said, "It's alright, just keep waiting."

He had already told Feng Qingyang through Fang Sheng several years ago about Zuo Lengchan's intention to merge the factions, and he didn't believe Feng Qingyang would remain indifferent.

"Yes."

After the disciple left, Fang Zheng was lost in thought again.

After a while.

Fang Zheng sighed deeply.

"Master, raising a tiger will only bring trouble upon yourself."

Chapter 217 This world shouldn't be like this

Hanzhong Prefecture.

It was several days later when Jiang Ning arrived in Hanzhong Prefecture.

At this time, the streets of Hanzhong Prefecture were deserted, and the shops on both sides of the road were closed. Only a few inns and rice and flour shops were still open, making the huge Hanzhong Prefecture quite desolate.

This is different from the two times Jiang Ning came before.

When Jiang Ning first came to Hanzhong Prefecture, the people were afraid and apprehensive because of Tian Boguang's evil deeds. Few people walked on the streets. Although it was deserted, the shops on the main street were still able to operate normally.

The second time I came here was right after I returned from Sichuan. Nothing was happening here, and it was very lively. The third time is now.

Jiang Ning walked down the street, looking around. He planned to visit the residence of the prefect of Hanzhong first.

The prefect of Hanzhong is surnamed Chen. The last time Jiang Ning came here to arrest Tian Boguang, he encountered the prefect's daughter being violated by Tian Boguang and attempting suicide. Jiang Ning intervened and saved his daughter's life.

Jiang Ning planned to ask the prefect to help him find out if Zhang Daoshi and the others were still in Hanzhong Prefecture, as it would be time-consuming and laborious for him to search the vast Hanzhong Prefecture by himself.

Prefect Chen's residence was on West Street. Jiang Ning entered Hanzhong Prefecture from the north of the city, passing through Chenghua Avenue, which was where Liang Fa and others besieged Tian Boguang. Jiang Ning chased Tian Boguang all the way to the south of the city from there.

It's deserted here now, there aren't many people.

"How dare you!"

"In broad daylight, under the clear sky, how dare you come to my Hanzhong Prefecture to cause trouble!"

A voice suddenly came from around the corner ahead.

Jiang Ning raised an eyebrow and walked over, where he found a young constable shouting at several people in a small street.

These men didn't look like locals; they had a rough, unrefined air about them. They reeked of alcohol, and their eyes were glazed over, suggesting they were drunk.

A man lay not far away, his face bruised and swollen, dressed like a waiter.

"Oh? Where did this constable come from? Here we go, trying to catch a mouse?"

One of them watched as the young constable slightly opened his eyes.

The young constable shouted at him.