Sword from Songshan

Chapter 116: The Art of Proportion, Driving the Tiger to Devour the Wolf

On April 17, Lu Nanxing led his people back to Songshan.

Le Hou had returned the day before and did not go with him.

In the Songyang Hall, Lu Nanxing reported to Zuo Lengchan about the raid on the White Tiger Altar and the fight for the treasure of Tianning Temple.

It was no secret that five factions were involved in these two incidents, and many people were involved. I believe Zuo Lengchan had already obtained detailed information.

Lu Nanxing took the initiative to report it, thereby showing that he had nothing to hide from Zuo Lengchan.

"Well, you did a good job."

Zuo Lengchan nodded. Although the mission failed, the responsibility was not on Lu Nanxing.

He paused slightly and suddenly smiled.

"I heard before that you like to play with poisons. I was worried that you would go astray. I didn't expect that you would save the people from the five sects and make another great contribution after the one in Hengshan City."

"It was just a coincidence. I don't dare to take credit for it."

Lu Nanxing continued with a humble look on his face.

"Besides, everyone in the world knows that I am a disciple of Songshan Sect and your disciple, Master. They should naturally be grateful to Songshan Sect and you, Master, for the things I have done."

"Humph."

Zuo Lengchan snorted softly and looked at Lu Nanxing with narrowed eyes. He really has a clever tongue.

His expression suddenly became serious and he spoke in a deep voice.

"As for the death of San Taibao Fei Bin, I will also send someone to investigate thoroughly."

"Speaking of this matter..."

Lu Nanxing hesitated for a moment, without any fear on his face. Instead, he raised his head and looked at Zuo Lengchan.

“Whether it’s Fei Bin, Le Hou, or Ding Mian, they are just my uncles, and you are my master. No matter what happens, I will stand by you.”

"I am very pleased that you have such filial piety."

Zuo Lengchan nodded, but there was no joy on his face.

After saying everything that should and shouldn’t be said, Zuo Lengchan waved his hand, signaling Lu Nanxing to leave.

Lu Nanxing turned and left. As soon as he stepped over the threshold of the hall, his face suddenly became gloomy.

This time when he went down the mountain, he was ambushed by Fei Bin and Le Hou. Although it was Ding Mian's faction that did this to Lu Nanxing, just imagine that Fei Bin and Le Hou were Ding Mian's right-hand men, how could Zuo Lengchan not know their movements?
But Fei Bin and Le Hou managed to get down the mountain safely, and Lu Nanxing did not receive any alarm alerts.

It can be seen that even if Zuo Lengchan did not support this matter, he was the one who deliberately indulged in it!

In other words, not only Ding Mian, Zuo Lengchan also wants Lu Nanxing to die.

Or to be more precise, he wanted Lu Nanxing and Ding Mian to fight to the death.

"This is trouble."

Seeing through Zuo Lengchan's intentions, although he was angry and resentful, with Lu Nanxing's current strength, it was not the time to break off with Zuo Lengchan.

So he wanted to compromise and pretend to be loyal to paralyze Zuo Lengchan.

But obviously, Zuo Lengchan, as a great hero, was not so easy to fool.

Lu Nanxing frowned, fearing that the days ahead would be difficult.

"Bright words!"

With a light shout, Zuo Feiying walked out from the back of the hall.

He heard clearly everything Lu Nanxing said just now.

At this time, his face was full of sneers, and he immediately said to Zuo Lengchan.

"Father, don't be fooled by that boy's sweet words!"

"Don't worry, I know what's going on."

Zuo Lengchan's expression was gloomy, and a hint of coldness flashed in his eyes.

Although Ding Mian is a serious concern at the moment, Lu Nanxing has risen too fast. Whether in terms of martial arts or prestige, he has already posed a threat to Zuo Lengchan. This is not just a minor concern.

If this continues, there is no need to wait until Zuo Feiying takes over as the head. I am afraid that in just a few years, Lu Nanxing will become the next Ding Mian, or even worse!

After all, when Ding Mian was his age, he was just an ordinary and inconspicuous disciple.

It is better to take precautionary measures before it happens. Instead of waiting for Lu Nanxing to grow up, it is better to kill him now with the help of Ding Mian, which can also consume Ding Mian's strength.

Another thing is, only if Lu Nanxing dies, will Lin Pingzhi have the possibility to switch to Zuo Feiying's sect, and Zuo Lengchan will be able to take the opportunity to acquire the Sword of Exorcism!

"I didn't expect that."

It was for this reason that Zuo Lengchan turned a blind eye to Fei Bin and Le Hou going down the mountain.

But unexpectedly, the person who died was not Lu Nanxing, but Fei Bin.

Fei Bin was one of Ding Mian's most powerful men, and his death was undoubtedly a heavy blow to Ding Mian.

It was a pleasant surprise.

But while he was happy, Zuo Lengchan couldn't help but become more wary of Lu Nanxing.

After a slight hesitation, Zuo Lengchan suddenly smiled again.

"Now is the perfect time."

"What time."

Zuo Feiying looked at Zuo Lengchan, but was confused.

"Send my order!"

Zuo Lengchan didn't explain, but just shouted in a deep voice.

"After the Mid-Autumn Festival, the Songshan Sect will have the power to redefine the criminal law, and one of them will be chosen between Ding Mian and Lu Nanxing."

"The power to redefine criminal law?"

Zuo Feiying was slightly stunned, then he understood and couldn't help showing excitement.

It’s really a good idea!
"What? Re-select the person to be punished!"

As soon as the order was conveyed, there was an uproar in the Songshan Sect.

The Songshan Sect is similar to most sects, with its leader being high above everyone else and having the power of life and death.

However, a sect has many complicated affairs, and the leader has limited energy after all, so how can he take care of every detail?

Especially for a large sect like the Songshan Sect, there are thousands of people including the main branch, branches, direct disciples, peripheral disciples, and some vassals, covering many provinces.

Therefore, under the leadership of the leader, others will be appointed to be responsible for various affairs.

The Thirteen Protectors serve as the sect's chief's arms, supporting the sect's masters, and are also endowed with various powers.

Especially the top six Taibao, almost all of them hold great power.

For example, the second Taibao is responsible for money and finance, the third Taibao is responsible for intelligence, and the sixth Taibao is responsible for assisting the head of the sect. This is why the status of the top six Taibao is far higher than that of the next seven.

The most important power is punishment, which is held by the Grand Protector.

Now Zuo Lengchan has ordered the re-selection of the person in charge of the execution, and specifically named Ding Mian and Lu Nanxing as the choice. How could this not cause an uproar?

"As expected of Senior Brother Lu!"

Upon hearing the news, Lu Nanxing's followers were extremely excited.

Regardless of whether he has obtained the right to punish people, it at least shows that Lu Nanxing's current status and position has reached a level comparable to Ding Mian.

In this case, wouldn’t he be the second or third most important figure in the Songshan Sect?

With such a strong support, their future in Songshan Sect will be bright.

"Who the hell is Lu Nanxing! How can he be compared with Master Ding?"

In contrast, the Ding Mian faction was very excited.

Ding Mian elevated Lu Nanxing, and correspondingly, Lu Nanxing pulled Ding Mian down.

These people did not dare to question Zuo Lengchan, and could only vent their anger by insulting Lu Nanxing. They even provoked and stirred up trouble for Lu Nanxing's men without any scruples.

"He is indeed a cunning old man."

In the small courtyard, Lu Nanxing frowned.

He originally wanted to keep a low profile, but now it seems that the wind is not stopping even though the tree wants to be quiet. He didn't want to compete with Ding Mian, but Zuo Lengchan pushed him onto the stage.

The purpose was obvious, which was to make him and Ding Mian fight to the death. No matter who won or lost, it would be a relief for Zuo Lengchan.

As a superior, what matters is the balance.

But if this happens, Lu Nanxing will be in danger.

Right now, there are only two paths before him.

One is to fight with Ding Mian desperately. Whether in personal martial arts or power, Ding Mian is not much inferior. Even if Lu Nanxing wins in the end, it is probably a miserable victory.

Moreover, if Ding Mian falls, the next person Zuo Lengchan will have to deal with will definitely be Lu Nanxing!
With Lu Nanxing's current strength, he is definitely no match for Zuo Lengchan, not to mention that he has to be exhausted by Ding Mian first.

There will be only death and no life.

As for the second way, it is to avoid fighting and avoid conflict with Ding Mian.

But doing so would inevitably affect Lu Nanxing's prestige in the Songshan Sect, and his followers would also be lost.

This brings two problems. First, the collection of poison will be slowed down, affecting the lighting process of the small wooden tripod graphic.

Second, his power is gradually weakening. If Ding Mian or Zuo Lengchan takes the opportunity to kill him, it would be difficult for him to deal with.

"It can only be this way."

After some hesitation, Lu Nanxing chose the second path.

Now he has to weigh the two evils and he can only choose the lesser one.

If he fought Ding Mian head-on, regardless of whether he won or lost, he would immediately fall into an irretrievable situation.

But even if giving in would cost him some power, it would at least buy him some buffer time.

As for the so-called third way, which is to join forces with Ding Mian to kill Zuo Lengchan, it is simply impossible.

For those in a higher position, the art of balancing power is not as simple as letting two forces fight against each other. They also need the ability to suppress both parties, otherwise it is easy to get out of hand.

Now even if Ding Mian and Lu Nanxing joined forces, they would still be no match for Zuo Lengchan.

Speaking of which, we have to thank Lu Nanxing for this. It was because he killed Fei Bin and greatly weakened Ding Mian's strength that Zuo Lengchan became even more unscrupulous.

"Brother! Are we just going to endure this?"

Lu Nanxing chose to back off, but Ding Mian pressed on.

Lu Nanxing didn't have to fight for the right to punish because it didn't belong to him in the first place.

But as the Grand Tutor, if Ding Mian tolerates others to interfere with his power, how can he gain a foothold in the Songshan Sect?

So even though he knew Zuo Lengchan's intention, he still wanted to make things difficult for Lu Nanxing.

Just this morning, two more of his subordinates were beaten by Ding Mian's men. Zhao Guangjin found Lu Nanxing, his face full of indignation, hoping that Lu Nanxing could stand up for them.

"Tell everyone below to stay away from Ding Mian if they see him. If you can't avoid him, then you'll have bad luck!"

Lu Nanxing snorted coldly and waved his hand.

Zhao Guangjin opened his mouth, but knowing Lu Nanxing's temper, he swallowed his words and left in frustration.

"How should I practice..."

Having already made plans in his mind, Lu Nanxing completely ignored the matter.

At this moment, I was looking at the tea in the cup on the table, thinking in my heart.

What is water?

There are eight major sword styles: Heaven, Earth, Water, Fire, Wind, Thunder, Mountain and Swamp. Originally, I wanted to practice Mountain and Swamp first, then practice Wind and Thunder step by step.

Unexpectedly, after comprehending the free and easy wind-controlling sword style, he comprehended the wind sword style before he mastered the ze sword style.

Now that Zuo Lengchan won't tolerate him and Ding Mian is forcing him, Lu Nanxing has no other choice but to improve his martial arts as much as possible.

If his martial arts skills were better than Zuo Lengchan's, everything would be solved.

But now, let alone Zuo Lengchan, even for Ding Mian, he was not completely sure.

He endured it silently, no matter how others complained, and used the buffer time he had finally gained to devote himself to cultivation.

Now that I have mastered the Wind Sword Style, I might as well go one step further and temporarily give up the Swamp Sword Style and practice the Water Sword Style instead!
In fact, both "shui" and "ze" in the Eight Trigrams refer to water, but the difference is that "ze" is tangible water, such as lakes and rivers, but "shui" is intangible water.

It is not easy to comprehend the intangible if you have not yet mastered the tangible.

"invisible."

After pouring the tea in the cup out and looking at the splashes all over the sky, Lu Nanxing pondered again.

It is not easy to comprehend the power of water sword.

While Lu Nanxing focused on practicing sword skills, the friction between his men and Ding Mian's faction became increasingly greater.

As the leader, Lu Nanxing never showed up, and strictly controlled his subordinates, always avoiding them.

In this way, although there were constant conflicts, nothing major happened.

Of course, due to Lu Nanxing's weakness and concession, rumors spread among the sect that he was afraid of Ding Mian, so many of his subordinates changed sides and joined Ding Mian's side.

Some of them who had good abilities were even recruited by Zuo Feiying.

In just one month, Lu Nanxing had lost nearly 30% of his men!
If he continues at this rate, he will be alone before Mid-Autumn Festival.

Zhao Guangjin was extremely anxious about this, but Lu Nanxing still ignored him and just practiced sword every day.

"I underestimated him again."

Two months passed and Lu Nanxing did not have a fight with Ding Mian.

Zuo Lengchan frowned slightly, his eyes gloomy.

I originally thought that although Lu Nanxing's martial arts skills improved rapidly, he was still young after all, and young people are bound to be hot-tempered. Who knew that Lu Nanxing was so tolerant.

"Hmph~!"

But the more this happened, the more it proved Lu Nanxing's threat, and the stronger Zuo Lengchan's determination to get rid of him became.

"Notify them both!"

After a brief hesitation, Zuo Lengchan gave the order.

"The person who will be in charge of the execution will be re-elected based on his or her personal prestige!"

"prestige?"

Upon receiving the news, Lu Nanxing frowned instantly.

He is only a second-generation disciple and has only been a disciple for two or three years. Logically speaking, his qualifications and prestige cannot be compared with Ding Mian, who has been through life and death for the Songshan Sect for decades.

But he has been too popular recently!
First he rescued people in Hengshan City, then he defeated Le Hou at the Cliff of Repentance, and recently he saved everyone from the Five Mountains Sword Sect. He is truly the talk of the town!
If he were chosen based on prestige, he might really be able to surpass Ding Mian.

In fact, the final judgment lies in Zuo Lengchan's hands, and he will definitely rule that Lu Nanxing wins.

Zuo Lengchan's purpose in doing this was very simple, which was to force Ding Mian to take action against Lu Nanxing!

“I’ve been forced into a dead end.”

Originally, he wanted to keep things peaceful, even though it would result in some loss of power.

But Lu Nanxing's rapid rise was not a good thing for him.

The departure of those wavering people can be seen as a way of removing the dross and retaining the essence within the organization, which is not a bad thing.

But now, in order to maintain the power of punishment and to save his reputation, Ding Mian had to take action against him.

"We can only postpone it for one day at a time."

Lu Nanxing sighed, fortunately there were still two months until Mid-Autumn Festival.

I just hope that my martial arts skills can be improved during these days.

In this way, even if Zuo Lengchan gave him the power of criminal law later and forced Ding Mian to take action against him, he would have a better chance of winning.

"It's difficult."

But two months is too short a time to master the Water Sword Style.

Lu Nanxing frowned and could only intensify his training.

Fortunately, with the nourishment of his inner strength, he is full of energy every day and it doesn't matter if he doesn't sleep.

What is two months for an ordinary person is equivalent to four months for him.

(End of this chapter)