Reborn as Murong Fu: This Time I'm the Protagonist

Chapter 538 Five Families
As he spoke, Murong Fu opened the small bundle he carried with him, inside which were dozens of neatly arranged booklets.

A captivating light flashed in Shenshan's eyes. He eagerly picked up a yellowed booklet, flipped through it to the end, and exclaimed, "The Doro Leaf Finger!"

He picked up another booklet, hurriedly flipped through it, and exclaimed, "Mighty Vajra Palm!"

Shenshan flipped through four booklets in a row, and then Murong Fu chuckled and said, "Master can keep them and read them slowly later, there's no rush. Even if Master has an exceptional memory and can remember everything he sees, I'm afraid it will be dark by the time Master finishes reading these."

Shenshan blushed and gave an embarrassed smile: "It was this humble monk who was too excited to try something and acted rashly. Please forgive me, Sect Leader Murong."

Murong Fu said, "As far as I know, Abbot Xuanci of Shaolin Temple is now proficient in four of the Seventy-Two Shaolin Arts. Master Shenshan's talent is no less than that of Abbot Xuanci, but he is limited by the martial arts foundation of Qingliang Temple and finds it difficult to make a breakthrough. Now that all seventy-two Shaolin Arts are here, given time, Master Shenshan's martial arts will surely reach the ranks of the top masters in the martial arts world. In a few decades, the martial arts status of Qingliang Temple will certainly be no less than that of Shaolin."

Shenshan naturally knew that these Shaolin skills were of dubious origin. However, just like the stolen money that notorious bandits in the martial arts world hide away after murder and robbery, which is clearly of dubious origin but still attracts many people, Shenshan, a martial artist who was extremely obsessed with martial arts and extremely enthusiastic about fame and fortune, could not resist the temptation of the Shaolin skills he dreamed of.

Shenshan said, "Does Sect Leader Murong mean to use this Shaolin skill, which has been obtained through dubious means, to exchange for 100,000 mu of land in my Wutai Mountain? It's not very ethical for Sect Leader to do something like this, using someone else's skills to gain something for someone else."

Murong Fu remained noncommittal: "Does Master Shenshan know who the Shaolin monk who has mastered the most Shaolin skills to date is?"

Without hesitation, Shenshan said, "If we don't count Bodhidharma, the one who has mastered the most Shaolin skills in the last hundred years is none other than Master Xuancheng of the Shaolin School, who is known as the Thirteen Great Monks. In his younger days, Master Xuancheng possessed all thirteen Shaolin skills and rose to fame in the martial arts world. We Buddhists all admired his former glory. It's just a pity that a few years later, for some reason, Master Xuancheng stopped caring about the affairs of the martial arts world and disappeared from the martial arts world."

Murong Fu said, "Master is right. Although the Seventy-Two Shaolin Arts bear the name of Shaolin, apart from a portion created by Bodhidharma when he came to the East, most of them were brought to Shaolin by various masters from different schools over the years and improved upon. Any one of these martial arts possesses immense power. Their training methods originate from hundreds of schools, some of which are completely unrelated. Outsiders who do not know the reasons behind this and try to master multiple styles will definitely cause big problems."

"Master Xuancheng was so eager for speed and quantity that he couldn't handle anything he didn't learn, so in the end he became a paralyzed person and naturally disappeared from the martial arts world."

Upon hearing this, Shenshan said, "Then does that mean that practicing the Shaolin School's unique skills must be extremely dangerous?"

Murong Fu shook his head and said, "No, my Murong family is known for using the enemy's own methods against them. We are thoroughly familiar with the martial arts of all schools and sects in the martial arts world. This knowledge has been passed down through generations, and no family head has ever had any problems because of practicing other martial arts."

Shenshan was overjoyed upon hearing this: "Is Sect Leader Murong willing to teach this humble monk the Murong family's unique skills?"

Murong Fu smiled slightly, got up and left: "Let's stop here for today. We'll discuss the rest with the abbot three years from now."

Shenshan was very anxious: "Master, please stop teasing this old monk. If there is anything you need me to do, just give the order. Don't mention a mere 100,000 mu of temple property, you can take away all of Qingliang Temple's properties as you please."

Murong Fu stopped and laughed heartily, "Master has already expressed this attitude, why did we need to go through all this roundabout ways?"

“However, I have not come here for your temple’s property. I only hope that your temple will waive the land rent for the tenant farmers at the foot of the mountain. I want nothing else. I will offer you the Seventy-Two Arts of Shaolin and the Murong family’s technique of using the enemy’s own methods against them. In addition, there is a very important matter that would greatly benefit Qingliang Temple and I would like to ask the abbot to do it together. I wonder what the abbot thinks?” Shenshan happily replied, “I would like to hear the details!”

Murong Fu said, "In the Central Plains martial arts world, Shaolin and the Beggars' Sect have always been the leading forces. In the last ten years, due to the strong rise of Qiao Feng of the Beggars' Sect, the Beggars' Sect has shown a tendency to surpass Shaolin in popularity. Hence the revelation of Qiao Feng's true identity at Xingzi Forest and his expulsion from the Beggars' Sect. I suppose Master Shenshan had already heard about this matter?"

Shenshan nodded and said, "This matter is known to everyone in the martial arts world. Could it be that the Shaolin Sect is behind it all?"

Murong Fu laughed and asked, "Does the master know who the ringleader who killed Qiao Feng's parents is?"

A look of shock flashed in Shenshan's eyes: "Could it be?"

Murong Fu nodded and said, "That's right! It is indeed the current abbot of the Shaolin Sect, Monk Xuanci!"

Murong Fu said, "Back then, the monk Xuanci led twenty masters from the Central Plains to ambush the innocent Xiao Yuanshan family at Yanmen Pass. Afterwards, he turned what was a shameful massacre of women and children into a glorious victory against the Khitan masters. Xuanci also used this achievement to defeat a group of his fellow Shaolin disciples and secure his position as the abbot of Shaolin."

"The monk Xuanci originally wanted to eliminate the root of the problem, but his companions were tormented by their conscience and were unwilling to continue to collude with Xuanci. Through the struggle between the parties, the life of the orphan of Yanmen Pass was saved, who later became Qiao Feng, the leader of the Beggars' Sect."

"Although the former leader of the Beggars' Sect, Wang Jiantong, valued Qiao Feng, he was always wary of him. Before his death, he left a secret letter to prevent Qiao Feng from betraying the Song Dynasty and returning to the Liao Dynasty. Seeing that the Beggars' Sect was thriving under Qiao Feng's leadership and was about to surpass Shaolin, Xuan Ci secretly fueled the flames and orchestrated the Xingzilin Incident."

"How laughable that the Beggars' Sect members, used as pawns by Monk Xuanci, still consider themselves loyal and righteous. How foolish and short-sighted they are! Not to mention Confucius's saying, 'When barbarians enter China, they become Chinese; when Chinese enter barbarians, they become barbarians.' Whether Qiao Feng will betray the Song Dynasty and join the Liao Dynasty in the future is still uncertain. How can a charlatan like Xuanci lead the number one sect in the martial arts world? How can a treacherous and cunning sect like Shaolin hold the reins of the Central Plains martial arts world?"

"If the Shaolin Sect continues to dominate, who knows how many similar incidents like the Yanmen Pass Incident and the Xingzi Forest Incident will occur in the future. Even I was suppressed by the Shaolin Sect in every way in the past two years. If it weren't for my family's academic background and a bit of luck, I would have almost fallen victim to the Shaolin Sect's poisonous hands."

"The martial arts world shouldn't have only one voice from Shaolin. Abbot, am I right?"

Shenshan asked in a trembling voice, "According to Sect Leader Murong's opinion, what should we do?"

Murong Fu held up one hand, making a "five" shape: "The five families will jointly decide all matters, large and small, in the Central Plains martial arts world from now on!"

Shenshan asked in a daze, "Which five families?"

Murong Fu said, "The Murong family of Gusu, the Xiaoyao Sect, the Shaolin Sect, the Beggars' Sect, and the Qingliang Temple! From now on, all major actions in the Central Plains martial arts world must be approved by at least three of these five families before they can be taken. Any family that acts without authorization will become the common enemy of the other four!"

(End of this chapter)