In a certain forest in Jiangchun.
Zhou Jing and the others were resting here. There were some luggage boxes in the team, which stored the martial arts manuals they had plundered from the local sects in Jiangchun.
These secret manuals were freely read. Usually, when they were traveling and resting, everyone would take out the secret manuals from the box to take a look. From time to time, they would gesture a few times. Some were seriously studying martial arts, while others were purely reading it for fun.
Over the past few days, Zhou Jing had been wandering around the various sects in Jiangchun and plundered a large number of secret manuals. He was not stingy with spreading them, causing more people to follow him. Now, there were already more than a hundred people in the team, and there were more and more experts who managed to learn martial arts.
The Green Forest experts who were traveling with him basically found the sect martial arts they liked and began to practice them.
Guo Haishen had some impression when he fought with An Dafeng, so he practiced the martial arts of the Sea Whale Sect, mainly practicing martial combat arts. Fang Zhen practiced the martial arts of the Tiger Subduing Sect and specialized in staff techniques. Hong Dingxian practiced Lu Xilin’s saber technique and studied the martial arts of the Extreme Celestial Sect.
Many experts of the Green Forest had a foundation in martial arts, and they basically practiced what they were originally good at.
Zhou Jing had also found an internal art that was suitable for him. It was called the “Vanquishing Dragon, Subduing Tiger Force”. It came from the Tiger Subduing Sect, but it was part of the Sect Master’s private collection.
This Tiger Subduing Sect was a small sect, but it had quite a background. It was born from the Diamond Vajra Sect, one of the eight great sects in the martial world. The sect master was once the personal disciple of the previous sect master of the Diamond Vajra Sect. Later on, for some reason, he came out to establish his own sect.
The Tiger Subduing Sect Master’s martial arts all had the shadow of the Diamond Vajra Sect. This Vanquishing Dragon, Subduing Tiger Force was actually a high-tier internal art of the Diamond Vajra Sect.
This cultivation set had the martial arts of the Diamond Vajra within, and those who cultivated it would have domineering Inner Strength. It was the most powerful internal art among the martial arts he had plundered this time.
However, there were side effects, which was that when his internal strength was circulated, it would be released in a short period of time. Because it erupted too violently, it would cause ordinary people’s meridians to be unable to withstand it.
Each time they circulated their internal force, it would cause hidden injuries to accumulate, hurting others and himself. Those who learnt this had to pair this with the special body tempering formula of the Diamond Vajra Sect to barely cultivate, and they could not cultivate too much every day.
However, Zhou Jing’s physique far exceeded that of ordinary people, so he was not afraid of this small side effect at all. He was quite suitable for this martial arts technique, and he practiced it much faster than ordinary people. Therefore, he chose this internal art as the foundation cultivation technique of the second system, [Martial Arts Internal Force].
In addition, Zhou Jing also chose a “Mad Demon Staff Technique” from the secret manual and added it to the cultivation list.
This external technique was widespread and when used, would cause one to dance around like a madman, suitable for his combat style. Although he used a spear, the Coiling Dragon Spear was too heavy and was more useful to use as a staff at times.
The disadvantage of this set of moves was that it consumed a lot of strength and caused one to be easily exhausted. However, this was a small problem for Zhou Jing. He could practice this for an entire day without panting.
At this moment, the camp was bustling with activity. Everyone was practicing martial arts, learning words, chatting.
Zhou Jing finished his circulation of the Vanquishing Dragon, Subduing Tiger Force technique and stopped. White smoke rose from the top of his head, as if smoke was coming out.
He looked around at everyone and raised his voice to attract their attention,
“We’ve almost done with all the Jiangchun sects. It’s time to go to another territory.”
Everyone was surprised by his decision.
“Second Brother, are we leaving Jiangchun now?” Guo Haishen was surprised.
Zhou Jing nodded, “I’ve been in Jiangchun for a few months. It’s time for me to meet the experts from other places.”
Fang Zhen was curious, “Then Ning Tian Prefecture is famous all over the world. We’ve never been there before. Why haven’t we gone?”
“Ning Tian Prefecture is the auxiliary capital. We’ve committed so many crimes in the Jiangchun area, and our portraits have long spread there. How can we enter? It’s better not to delay our efforts.”
Zhou Jing shook his head in response.
Hearing this, Fang Zhen was a little disappointed. He sighed and said, “I thought I could go and see what Perfected Master Windwalker is like.”
Hong Dingxian frowned and said, “It’s said that this person cozied up to the Emperor some time ago and obtained some kind of title. I think he’s also a fawning person, not a true enlightened person.”
“This person usually doesn’t do anything evil, nor has he come to provoke us. Whether it’s true or not, there’s no need to care about him.”
Zhou Jing replied casually.
Chen Feng’s identity could be said to be “notorious”. It was not easy to meet up with Bill, and there was no need to meet him since there was nothing important to do at the moment. Therefore, he did not plan to go to Ning Tian Prefecture specifically to look for Bill.
At this moment, Duan Yunfeng interrupted in a deep voice,
“There are many corrupt officials in the Ning Tian Prefecture, and that dog Emperor is also in Ning Tian now. Brother Chen, with your good martial arts, why don’t we kill that fatuous ruler and return the world to its former glory?”
When everyone heard this, they looked at him with subtle expressions.
During this period of time, the news of the Emperor’s assassination had already spread everywhere. The government had issued an arrest warrant. Although they did not know the appearance of the murderer, it was marked that the assassin used two swords. It was difficult for everyone not to think of Duan Yunfeng.
However, Duan Yunfeng had never admitted this, so everyone could only put their doubts to rest.
Zhou Jing looked at Duan Yunfeng, but finally shook his head.
“Brother, you’re wrong. The calamity in the world has never been the emperor’s business alone. Killing a fatuous ruler is just a drop in the bucket. The various aristocratic families with roots in various territories and the royal court, as well as the traitorous officials of the local government who are wantonly swallowing the resources of the country have jointly established such a world. If you want to kill them, you have to kill them all. It’s just that now is not the time. The time will naturally come in the future.”
Duan Yunfeng was silent for a while before nodding slowly, “Brother Chen’s goal is far-reaching. I can’t compare.”
After interacting with him for the past few days, he had already confirmed that Chen Feng was a violent person who was extremely hostile to corrupt officials. However, while he was rash, he remained meticulous. The more he learned, the more respected and obeyed Chen Feng, and the more he decided to travel with him for the long term. He wanted to see what else Chen Feng would do.
Fang Zhen scratched his head and changed the topic,
“Let’s not talk about this for now. Second Brother, after we leave Jiangchun, where should we go next? Do you want to return to the Lu River to take a look? I heard that the brothers of Red Cloud Mountain used a scheme to repel the soldiers a few days ago and even captured a few Imperial Court generals. They’re famous in the Green Forest now.”
“I’m not going back to the Lu River.” Zhou Jing shook his head. Then, he rubbed his chin and pondered, “As for where I’m going, I haven’t thought about it yet… Where has the most experts in this vicinity?”
Guo Haishen thought for a moment and said, “In the south, the martial arts world in Huyang should be the most prosperous. That place is close to the Central Plains, and there are many experts there. Moreover, there are many famous martial arts sects. The Southern Hua Sect, one of the eight major sects, is there.”
“Then let’s go there.”
Zhou Jing thought about the map of the Great Xia Dynasty and nodded.
The trouble he brewed up in Jiangchun was getting bigger and bigger. It was time to cause trouble elsewhere.
…
Huyang Region, Fan Prefecture, Mount Yunxia.
The Southern Hua Sect, one of the eight great sects of the martial world, was located here. At the same time, it was also one of the five famous worldly sects.
At this moment, in the sect hall, the Sect Master was talking to the elders about Chen Feng.
“This Chen Feng treats the rules of the martial world as nothing. He caused trouble in Jiangchun, but no one can cure it. How ridiculous.”
The Sect Master frowned and said unhappily.
This person’s name was Luo Zhen. He had a thin appearance and was about 40 to 50 years old. He was the 12th Sect Master of the Southern Hua Sect.
The Southern Hua Sect had the true inheritance of spells and profound martial arts, but the two were separated, forming a lineage of secular and hidden sect.
The secular faction did not know any spells and only learned martial arts. According to the rules of the Southern Hua Sect, the sect master was often taken over by the secular faction and managed the sect’s matters every day.
As for the hidden sect, they were the true core inheritance of the Nanhua Faction. They usually cultivated in the mountains, and every generation’s sect master had to pass an examination before they could take office. Their status was extraordinary. The Hidden Sect usually did not have to listen to the orders of the sect master, but they could not casually interfere in the management of the sect.
“That’s right. This Chen Feng is really an evildoer. If we sit back and watch him commit evil, the martial world will definitely be in a foul state.”
An elder echoed.
Luo Zhen stroked his beard and said in a deep voice, “Since ancient times, good and evil have never coexisted. We famous sects can’t let this demon run wild.”
“But the Wu Mountain Sect is a lesson learned from our mistakes. If we get involved in this mess, I’m afraid we’ll also cause trouble.”
The other elder voiced his worries.
Hearing this, Luo Zhen said seriously,
“He might break through the Wu Mountain Sect today, but how do you know that he won’t attack others tomorrow? As the saying goes, when the lips die, the teeth will turn cold. This is not a matter of one family or sect. Everyone in the world is in danger. Now is not the time to only care about ourselves. I want to contact the various martial arts sects in the martial arts world to hold a martial arts conference. We’ll temporarily form an alliance to deal with this demon.”
“Martial Arts Conference? Sect Master, why do you care? Could it be that the various sects would actually work together to kill this demon?”
“No.” Luo Zhen waved his hand and pondered for a moment before saying, “Chen Feng claims to want to challenge all the experts in the world. He even set a rule that as long as we can defeat him in one or two moves, he will return all the martial arts secret manuals. Then, we’ll start from here and mobilize the various sects to find many experts.
Then, in the name of the Martial Arts Conference, we’ll invite Chen Feng to participate and set a bet according to his rules. With Chen Feng’s personality, he most likely won’t be afraid to fight. If we win, we’ll let him return all the secret manuals and not casually impart martial arts.”
Many elders agreed after hearing this.
“That’s good. Everyone, use your martial arts to fight for supremacy and determine the outcome. Use this method to resolve this calamity of the martial world. There’s no need to kill until blood flows like a river.”
“Yes, that’s what I think. This demon is brave and outstanding. If we forcefully kill him, the various sects will probably suffer heavy losses, causing them to be afraid and might not be willing to participate. Now that we’ve left a line, it’s not a life and death battle. It’s just a gamble. The various sects shouldn’t refuse to join forces. The experts of the world will also be less afraid and willing to help.”
Luo Zhen explained solemnly.
He had recently heard a lot of rumors about Chen Feng and knew that this person’s martial arts attainments were rarely seen. He was actually not confident, but he was unwilling to wait passively and let Chen Feng do whatever he wanted.
Under Luo Zhen’s management, the Southern Hua Sect had a very high status in the martial world. It would not be appropriate for them to not respond to this matter at all.
Luo Zhen thought that since his fellow martial artists in the martial world did not want to see Chen Feng succeed in his actions, he might as well take the lead and call for an alliance. If this succeeded, he could also establish his own faction within the sect.
At this moment, an elder narrowed his eyes as he spoke,
“If Chen Feng really dares to come, why don’t we secretly set up a trap? If we lose the battle, we’ll immediately attack and get rid of this person once and for all. This is also to resolve a huge problem for the Imperial Court. There will definitely be a reward after this. Perhaps we can obtain the favor of the Holy Emperor again. It’s beneficial to the disciples of our Imperial Astronomer Bureau.”
Luo Zhen had long thought of this strategy, so he was not surprised. He only replied,
“That Chen Feng can repeatedly kill and chase down the officials and generals, which shows that he’s not an easy person to deal with. We have to consider this matter at length.”
“That’s true. If we want to set up an ambush, we have to be foolproof and not leak the news. Perhaps we can contact the government and attack together… We can even ask the Hidden Sect to attack and use a spell technique to secretly harm this person.”
The elder pondered in a low voice.
Luo Zhen waved his hand to interrupt,
“Alright, let’s not talk about this for the time being. The most important thing now is to send our disciples to contact our fellow martial artists from all over the world and invite them to discuss the matter. Especially the large martial arts sects other than us, we have to persuade them to form an alliance. Only then will we have a chance of winning.
In addition, we have to try our best to find some experts to help. For example, the Dao Protectors of Mt Qingliang are all top martial artists.”
“Understood, Sect Master.”
The elders replied solemnly.