Chapter 103

Ren Woxing laughed heartily and said, “You should probably change your nickname, shouldn’t you?”

“That doesn’t need to be changed. Since Dongfang Bubai has been defeated, he will no longer live in this world.” Dongfang Bubai shook his head and said, “If it were a one-on-one fight, you couldn’t defeat me.”

Ren Woxing hesitated for a moment, then said, “That’s right, your martial arts are better than mine, I admire you very much.”

Dongfang Bubai turned to look at Nie Yun and said admiringly, “Your swordsmanship is extremely high, but you can only fight me to a draw. I was not defeated by you, but by myself.”

Nie Yun smiled slightly and remained silent.

Dongfang Bubai gave a bitter laugh and said, “Alas, what a tragedy! I practiced the Sunflower Manual, following its secret recipes, castrating myself to cultivate my inner energy, refining elixirs and taking medicine. Gradually, my beard disappeared, my voice changed, and my temperament changed too. From then on, I no longer loved women, and I killed all seven of my concubines, yet…yet I devoted all my attention to Yang Lianting, this man. If only I had been born a woman. Leader Ren, I…I am about to die. I beg you for one thing, please…please consider how well I have treated your young lady all these years…”

Upon hearing this, Nie Yun’s heart stirred. He turned and walked towards Wentian, saying as he went, “Brother Xiang, let me help you heal your injuries!”

Ren Woxing turned and glanced at Nie Yun, then asked Dongfang Bubai, “What is it?”

Dongfang Bubai said, “Please spare Yang Lianting’s life and banish him off Blackwood Cliff.”

Ren Woxing laughed and said, “I want to cut him into a thousand pieces and execute him by slow slicing over a hundred days. Today I’ll cut off a finger, tomorrow I’ll cut off half a toe.”

Dongfang Bubai roared, “You…you are so vicious!” With that, he leaped up and pounced on Ren Woxing.

Despite his severe injuries, his movements were far less agile than before, but his attack was still incredibly fierce.

Ren Woxing thrust his longsword straight through Ren Woxing’s chest and back. At that moment, Dongfang Bubai flicked his finger, and a needle flew out, piercing Ren Woxing’s right eye.

“Ah!” Ren Woxing cried out in pain, quickly withdrawing his sword and leaping backward.

“Father-in-law, what’s wrong?” Nie Yun heard the sound behind him, quickly turned around and came to Ren Woxing’s side, reaching out to support him.

Ren Woxing felt Nie Yun’s palms burning hot like flames, and a powerful and domineering palm force slammed into his body, shattering his internal organs in an instant.

“Ugh!” Ren Woxing spat out a mouthful of blood, which contained some small pieces of flesh. With his last bit of strength, he turned his head and stared intently at Nie Yun.

Nie Yun smiled slightly, but his voice was full of anxiety: “Father-in-law, what’s wrong? Are you alright?”

He feigned concern, but his right hand slammed into Ren Woxing’s chest, shattering his heart meridian.

Ren Woxing’s eyes were wide open, but he died before he could utter a single word.

“Father-in-law! Father-in-law!” Nie Yun put Ren Woxing down and lunged at Dongfang Bubai. “You are ruthless! I will avenge my father-in-law!”

“You…” Dongfang Bubai was about to speak when Nie Yun slapped him on the head with a palm. With a “smack,” Dongfang Bubai, who had dominated the martial arts world, had his head smashed into pieces by Nie Yun, just like smashing a watermelon.

This series of events happened in the blink of an eye; in a short moment, the two powerful figures, Ren Woxing and Dongfang Bubai, became two corpses.

Ren Yingying and Xiang Wentian were both unable to move, and upon hearing the noise from this side, they were extremely anxious.

Xiang Wentian forced himself to sit up and shouted, “Master, Brother Nie!”

Nie Yun walked over with a sorrowful expression and helped Xiang Wentian up from the ground.

Seeing the tears in his eyes, Xiang Wentian’s heart sank, and he said in a trembling voice, “Brother Nie, has something happened to the Sect Leader… has something happened to the Sect Leader?”

Nie Yun sighed deeply, saying nothing, but instead used his inner strength to heal Xiang Wentian. Only when Xiang Wentian was able to move on his own did he stand up and walk towards Ren Yingying without a word.

Xiang Wentian was anxious and limped back to his small house.

“Master!” A shrill voice reached Ren Yingying’s ears. She was startled as her pressure points were released. Without asking Nie Yun any further questions, she leaped towards the small house.

When Ren Yingying arrived at the scene, she saw two still-warm corpses and Xiang Wentian kneeling to one side, silently shedding tears.

“Father!” Ren Yingying let out a heart-wrenching cry. She felt everything go black before her eyes, and then she knew nothing more.

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“Brother Yun, take care on your journey!”

Ren Yingying was dressed in mourning clothes, with a white flower on her head, like a lily swaying gently in the wind.

She was much thinner than before, and her face had lost its former liveliness, making her all the more pitiful.

“Yingying, the past is the past, don’t be too sad!” Nie Yun held her hand, pulled the girl’s trembling body into his arms, and comforted her softly.

“Brother Yun…” Ren Yingying leaned against her beloved’s chest, tears streaming down her face again. Thinking of what had happened during this time, she felt a deep sense of gratitude towards Nie Yun.

After Ren Woxing’s death, the Sun Moon Sect fell into chaos, and the elders each harbored their own ulterior motives.

Ren Yingying was too heartbroken to take charge.

After discussing it with Xiang Wentian, Nie Yun swiftly launched an attack and killed all those who refused to submit.

In just a few days, Blackwood Cliff was littered with heads and rivers of blood. Nie Yun used his sword to help Ren Yingying establish absolute authority.

Of course, there was also the newly formulated Three Corpse Brain God Pill. Nie Yun was not a pedantic saint. If he had such a thing, why would he not use it? Was he going to leave it in a box to breed?

Now that everything is on track, Ren Yingying has taken over as the sect leader, with Xiang Wentian assisting her. All the disciples in the sect are convinced of her authority, and Nie Yun can finally leave with peace of mind.

“Brother Yun, don’t worry, once the situation stabilizes, I will pass the leadership to Uncle Xiang…” Ren Yingying said, her head bowed and her face burning.

She mustered her courage and said in a very soft voice, “I’ll be waiting for you then.”

Nie Yun gently kissed the top of her head and said softly, “If anything happens, send someone to tell me. Don’t bear it alone. I will come to marry you in three years.”

The two lingered tenderly for a long time before reluctantly parting.

As Ren Yingying watched Nie Yun’s figure gradually shrink and disappear, her eyes reddened again.

Xiang Wentian came up behind her and comforted her, “Master, don’t be sad. Brother Nie, as the head of the Huashan Sect, also has his own unavoidable difficulties.”

“I know he always thinks of me first.”

Ren Yingying nodded, a bright smile blooming on her face. “I will wait for him to come back. He promised me that he would let me stand proudly by his side and receive the blessings of the world!”

At this moment, a disciple of the cult stepped forward and said, “Reporting to the cult leader, Yang Lianting has already died after being tortured.”

Ren Yingying snorted coldly and said hatefully, “He got off too easy! Send down the order to leave his body exposed for three days, then throw him into the back mountain to be eaten by wild beasts!”

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After descending Blackwood Cliff, Nie Yun first found a place to restore his original appearance, and then rode swiftly towards Wudang Mountain.

With the Five Sacred Mountains Alliance in place, the Songshan Sect would inevitably push for a merger.

As for Zuo Lengchan, Nie Yun was naturally prepared to kill him in one fell swoop.

Although the Huashan Sect now has the support of the Hengshan, Taishan, and Hengshan Sects, Nie Yun feels it is still not enough.

To eliminate Zuo Lengchan without facing consequences, it is necessary to find allies.

In the original novel, Shaolin and Wudang fully supported Linghu Chong because both the Huashan Sect, from which he came, and the Hengshan Sect, which he led, had suffered from a decline in talent and were no longer a threat.

Linghu Chong himself is irresponsible and undisciplined, so even if he became the leader of the Five Mountains Alliance or the leader of the martial arts world, he would pose no threat whatsoever.

However, under his leadership, the Huashan Sect is now far stronger than in the original story, and it would be easy for them to even surpass the Songshan Sect.

Faced with such a powerful Huashan Sect, Nie Yun did not believe that Fang Zheng and Chongxu would stand idly by.

In Nie Yun’s mind, the Shaolin Sect had always been an object that needed to be carefully guarded against. According to his guess, the “Sunflower Manual” that caused a bloodbath in the martial arts world was deliberately released by the Shaolin Sect.

Back then, the Huashan Sect was full of talented people and had great strength. Moreover, it had formed an alliance with the Four Sacred Mountains, including Songshan, and had long held the position of leader of the alliance. It seemed that it was about to challenge the Shaolin Sect for the position of leader of the martial arts world.

As soon as news of the “Sunflower Manual” spread, Yue Su and Cai Zifeng of the Huashan Sect immediately took the bait and copied the manual from the Shaolin Temple’s Sutra Pavilion.

The Sutra Repository is such an important place, yet outsiders can enter and leave at will, and they even happen to see a peerless secret manual, and then have time to copy it down and take it away… Nie Yun felt that these two patriarchs were far too stupid.

Afterwards, rumors began to circulate in the martial arts world that the disciples of Mount Hua had secretly peeked at the Sunflower Manual. When the Sun Moon Sect learned of this, they sent ten elders to Mount Hua to seize the manual.

Yue Su and Cai Zifeng both died in this battle, and the incomplete copy of the Sunflower Manual that they had transcribed was also taken away.

Five years later, the Ten Elders, who had already deciphered the Five Mountains Sword Techniques, returned with a vengeance. The Five Mountains Sword Sects united to fight back, and both sides suffered heavy losses. The Ten Elders of the Sun Moon Sect were trapped and died on the Cliff of Repentance, and many masters and elders of the Five Mountains Sword Sects were killed or wounded, and all their exquisite sword techniques were lost.

It should be noted that only the Shaolin Sect and the two individuals involved knew about Yue Su and Cai Zifeng’s spying on the “Sunflower Manual.” Naturally, Yue and Cai would not publicize this matter, so the source of this information is quite obvious.

Using a relatively unimportant secret manual to incite a fierce battle between two rising forces, while remaining unscathed oneself.

Although Yue Su and Cai Zifeng died tragically, they had explained in detail to their disciples the differences in martial arts regarding whether to emphasize internal energy or swordsmanship. Naturally, their disciples took sides, forming two distinct factions.

After the two died, the secret manual was stolen, and no one in the Huashan Sect knew the source of the disagreement, let alone learn any of the martial arts in the Sunflower Manual. However, the rift between them was now difficult to overcome.

Soon after, Mount Hua split into the Sword and Qi factions. Each faction held its own views and refused to yield to the other. The differences in martial arts eventually escalated into a feud.

In the end, a fierce battle took place at Jade Maiden Peak. The Sword Sect was defeated and went into seclusion, while the Qi Sect suffered heavy losses. Mount Hua’s strength was greatly diminished, and it no longer posed a threat to the Shaolin Sect.

The origin of the Evil-Repelling Sword Manual is even more bizarre. Shaolin Temple sent Zen Master Duyuan to Mount Hua to persuade Yue and Cai not to practice the martial arts in the manual. This is like a lion telling a hungry wolf not to eat the meat that was stolen from it. It is simply the most ridiculous thing in the world.

Even more amazing things happened next. Originally, Master Duyuan was only responsible for persuading others, but he actually created the Evil-Repelling Sword Manual from memory and established a great reputation in the martial arts world.

Putting aside how unreasonable it is that a monk with such outstanding talent as Master Duyuan was only responsible for relaying messages at the Shaolin Temple, this guy had been a monk for more than ten years and was in his prime, yet he was able to resist the temptation of women and castrate himself without hesitation…

Ruthless person, amazing person…

If even a random disciple responsible for relaying messages is this skilled, then Shaolin Temple would be a place where experts are as rare as dogs and grandmasters are everywhere.

Geniuses are seen when they look up, while scoundrels are seen when they look down.

If you have that kind of strength, why bother with any planning? Just go for it with a basic attack.

However, if Master Duyuan was a highly skilled individual specially selected by the Shaolin School to carry out a special mission, then it makes sense.

His rambling speech on Mount Hua not only failed to persuade Yue Su, but also greatly deepened the rift between Yue Su and Cai Zifeng.

Prior to this, the two only had differences in understanding of certain things, but there was no deep estrangement between them.

However, after Zen Master Duyuan’s visit, the differences between the two grew larger and larger, and the atmosphere became increasingly tense. This directly affected the disciples of both sides, foreshadowing the later split between the Sword Qi Sect and the Sword Qi Sect.

Master Duyuan, using the alias Lin Yuantu, castrated himself to practice swordsmanship. He founded the Fuwei Escort Agency with his Seventy-Two Styles of Evil-Repelling Sword Technique, becoming invincible in the underworld. Even a grandmaster like Changqingzi was defeated by him.

Everyone knows that the Evil-Repelling Sword Manual comes from the Sunflower Manual, so they are even more eager to acquire this secret manual. It was precisely because the Sun Moon Sect had witnessed the power of the Evil-Repelling Sword Manual that they sent people to attack Mount Hua.

Fuwei Escort Agency was thriving, making a fortune every day; presumably, the majority of that money went to the Shaolin Sect.

At the same time, taking advantage of their escorting business, the Shaolin sect also established an intelligence network throughout the country, and no matter what happened in the martial arts world, it could not be kept from these bald men.

The Shaolin School also used this arrangement to maintain its reputation as a leader in the martial arts world.

More than a decade later, the Songshan Sect has emerged as a dark horse, seemingly showing the same momentum as the Huashan Sect in challenging the Shaolin Sect back then.

Just then, news of the Evil-Repelling Sword Manual began to spread throughout the martial arts world, and thus the story of “The Smiling, Proud Wanderer” began.

In the original novel’s finale, the Songshan Sect was completely wiped out, all the masters of the Huashan Sect were killed, the Hengshan and Taishan Sects suffered heavy losses, all three members of the Hengshan Sect were eliminated, and a group of women were no longer a threat.

The Sun Moon Cult suffered an even more tragic fate. Both of its two generations of leaders, who had dominated the martial arts world, perished. The remaining leader, Xiang Wentian, claimed to have no ambition to annex the various orthodox sects, but in reality, he lacked the strength to be truly ambitious.

Linghu Chong, the only one with exceptional strength, happens to be a complete idiot who cares about nothing but drinking, making him the most useful weapon for the Shaolin Sect.

Perhaps this is why Fang Zheng took such good care of this guy in the original work, not only protecting him but also carefully teaching him the Yi Jin Jing. Only a fool would believe there was nothing fishy about it.

After figuring out the whole story, Nie Yun felt a chill run down his spine.

With such insidious and vicious schemes, and such methods of killing without leaving a trace, it’s no wonder that despite its thousand-year history, the Shaolin School’s position as the leader of the martial arts world has never been fundamentally shaken.

Connecting this with the stories of the Shaolin Sect in the novels Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils and Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber, Nie Yun felt more and more that the Shaolin Sect was the biggest boss in Jin Yong’s novel universe.

As Nie Yun traveled, he secretly plotted in his mind. This big BOSS was not a person, but a famous sect that had stood for thousands of years. It was impossible to defeat it with his own strength alone.

A great man once said: Politics is about increasing our own numbers and decreasing the enemy’s numbers.

Now that he had determined that the Shaolin Sect was his mortal enemy, Nie Yun needed to find a powerful ally, and the Wudang Sect was one of his targets.

“Chongxu, you’ve been second to none for a long time. I don’t believe you have no thoughts about it at all!”

Nie Yun touched the package behind him, a cold smile appearing on his face. “With this generous gift and the humiliation from back then, even if you are truly a Taoist who is indifferent to fame and fortune, I can still make you move.”

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“Sect Leader Nie’s presence is truly an honor for our Wudang Sect!” In the main hall, an old Taoist with white eyebrows said to Nie Yun with a smile.

“I dare not accept such praise. I have come without prior notice. Please forgive my rudeness, Daoist Master.” Nie Yun smiled and bowed.

After exchanging a few polite words, the two sat down. Chongxu smiled and said, “Sect Leader Nie, what brings you here today?”

To be honest, this was the first time Chongxu had ever met Nie Yun.

On the day Nie Yun became famous in Hengshan City, Chongxu, the leader of Wudang Sect, naturally took notice of this young leader.

However, Nie Yun continued to act in secret and did not do anything earth-shattering, so Chongxu gradually stopped paying attention to him.

Every day, extraordinary talents emerge in the world of martial arts, but very few can make it to the end.

Hearing from his disciple today that the head of the Huashan Sect had come to visit was quite unexpected for Chongxu.

However, he was easygoing and did not turn Nie Yun away just because Nie Yun had not sent a formal invitation.

Now that they had exchanged a few pleasantries, it was time to get down to business.

Nie Yun didn’t speak, but only glanced at the two Wudang disciples serving in the main hall.

Seeing this, Chongxu smiled and said, “They are all my personal disciples, so Sect Leader Nie doesn’t need to worry about them.”

Nie Yun smiled, reached for the package beside him, and said, “I have come to visit you today to present you with a great gift.”

“Oh?” Chongxu was full of doubt. “This is the first time I’ve met Sect Leader Nie. I wonder what brings this grand gift to you?”

Nie Yun smiled slightly and said, “It is called a grand gift, but it can also be said to be returning the item to its rightful owner. You will know this at a glance, Daoist.”

After pondering for a moment, Chongxu gestured to his disciple to hand over the package.

The package was long and narrow, and judging by its length, it appeared to be a sword. Chongxu opened it and gasped in shock, completely stunned.

The disciple beside him found it strange, so he peeked out and saw a long sword in the package. The scabbard was covered with a patina of copper and had two seal characters inlaid with copper wire: “Zhenwu”.

Beneath the sword lay a handwritten booklet, its paper long since yellowed, the cover bearing the four characters “Tai Chi Classics”.

The disciple was shocked when he saw the two items and quickly turned to look at Nie Yun.

Nie Yun raised his cup, took a small sip, and said, “I wonder if the Master is satisfied with this generous gift?”

Chongxu’s hands trembled as he picked up the longsword. He gripped the hilt with his right hand and gently drew half of it out, immediately feeling a chill rush towards him.

His expression grew increasingly agitated, and he murmured, “The Zhenwu Sword, it really is the Zhenwu Sword!” After saying that, he reached out and opened the “Tai Chi Classics” again, and tears immediately streamed down his face.

He quickly placed the two items on the table, knelt down, and the two disciples behind him also knelt down. The three of them kowtowed eight times to Yi Jing and Yi Jian before standing up.

Chongxu took a few steps to stand in front of Nie Yun, who had already stood up when the three knelt down and was now standing there with a smile.

Overwhelmed with emotion, Chongxu tightly grasped Nie Yun’s hand and said, “Chongxu, along with the patriarchs of Wudang and all the disciples, thank you, Master Nie, for this righteous act. Your kindness and virtue are beyond repayment.” He then prepared to kneel down.

Nie Yun caught him and shook his head, saying, “Returning things to their rightful owner is only right and proper. Besides, Master Sanfeng’s martial arts skills are astonishing, and his character is even more admirable. Whenever I think of how he single-handedly founded the Wudang Sect, rivaled Shaolin, and became the leader of the righteous path, I wish I had been born a few decades earlier so I could hear his teachings in person.”

Upon hearing this, Chongxu admired Nie Yun even more.

After some polite refusals, the two finally took their seats.