The First Sword of the Universe

Chapter 376 Across the land, opinions are divided!

On the night of the full moon, atop the imperial palace, heroes vie for supremacy, vying for the title of the greatest under heaven!

This grand event, which had been making headlines across the world for months, has finally come to an end.

Huang Yaoshi, the Eastern Heretic, created a peach blossom illusion with a song called "The Rising Tide of the Azure Sea," which bewitched everyone's minds.

Ouyang Feng, the Western Poison, was renowned throughout the world for his Toad Stance, and few could rival him.

Emperor Duan Zhixing of the South did not appear.
Hong Qigong, the Beggar King of the North, wielded the Eighteen Subduing Dragon Palms, a powerful and domineering technique unparalleled in the world.

Zhou Botong, the junior brother of Wang Chongyang, the Central Divine, can create four clones, which are mysterious and extraordinary.

Qiu Qianren, known as the Iron Palm Water-Floating Master, possesses a body as strong as steel and extraordinary palm techniques.

The Seven Masters of Quanzhen Sect, with their Heavenly Dipper Formation, are no less formidable than anyone else.

Among the figures appearing tonight, the Seven Masters of Quanzhen are one example. Each of them is a top-tier master in the world, each possesses remarkable martial arts skills, and each of them displayed unparalleled brilliance in tonight's chaotic battle.

But
All the glory was captured by a young man whose name was known but whose face was never seen.

Those were the "Cloud-Treading Immortal" and "Black and White Impermanence" who once wreaked havoc in the capital of the Jin Dynasty.

Oh, by the way, his name is Xu Xingchen!

The young man's appearance was extremely abrupt.

Its first appearance was in the capital of the Jin Dynasty, where it caused a great disturbance.

His next appearance was at this world-renowned grand event: "On the night of the full moon, at the top of the palace, heroes vie for supremacy, and the world's number one."

Moreover, to everyone's surprise, he won the title of number one in the world!
Those martial arts practitioners waiting outside the imperial city were unaware of the true situation, but the crowd watching from the city walls unanimously praised the man.

His martial arts skills were so high that they were unparalleled; his martial arts skills were so profound that they were unfathomable.

Anyone who has watched the Royal City Mayhem agrees that he is the number one master in the world.

Over the next ten days to two weeks...

After obtaining enough information, the group of martial arts practitioners gathered in Lin'an City couldn't wait to leave and spread the news of this grand event in the Song Dynasty capital to all corners of the country.

The five masters of the Central Plains have gathered once again.

Their fame spread throughout the world once again as these people passed on their word!
Xu Xingchen, the number one martial arts master in the world.

He was given the title "Immortal of Impermanence" by the people.

Whether those people were being lazy or couldn't think of any better names, they took two characters each from the names "Black and White Impermanence" and "Cloud-Treading Immortal" and combined them together.

However, his imposing presence was in no way inferior to that of Wang Chongyang, the number one martial arts master of his time, who was known as the "Central Divine."

then
The names of Huang Yaoshi (Eastern Heretic), Ouyang Feng (Western Poison), and Hong Qigong (Northern Beggar) remain unchanged.

Zhou Botong, the martial uncle of the Seven Immortals of Quanzhen, the former number one martial artist in the world, and the junior brother of Wang Chongyang, the Central Divine, replaced Emperor Duan Zhixing of the South and was respectfully called "Uncle Nan" by all martial artists in the world!
It takes the character "伯" from Zhou Botong's name and also indicates his age as "老伯" (old man).
Well, this is what those people in the martial arts world who spread the story said, and I don't know if there's any hint of mockery in it.

As the new Five Masters of the Central Plains gained widespread fame, their explosive final conversation in the Song Dynasty capital also began to circulate.

Although at that time, on the city walls of the imperial palace, Song Dynasty soldiers, generals, eunuchs, imperial guards, and others repeatedly requested that the martial arts masters watching the battle not spread the final words that slandered the Song emperor and his officials.
But why would those martial arts masters watching the fight listen to them?!
After it came out, he immediately spread the word.

As a result, all martial arts practitioners in the world knew that the Song emperor and all the princes and ministers in the Song court had been thoroughly humiliated and made to feel ashamed by the Five Great Masters of the Central Plains.

Among them, many rumors spread like wildfire, vividly depicting the events.

It is said that after hearing those words, the emperor of the Song Dynasty was so angry that he couldn't eat for three days and smashed many things.

Those corrupt officials and treacherous ministers in the imperial court.
Many were so angry that they spat blood; others fell ill and stayed at home in fear, afraid to go out, lest a chivalrous knight come looking for them and cut off their heads to appease the world!

These rumors were spread so vividly that it was as if someone had witnessed them firsthand.

As a result, the reputation of the Song Dynasty court dropped another notch throughout the world!
but
Among all the major dynasties in the world at that time, the Song Dynasty was the lowest-ranking one.

How much lower can it go?!

Besides this news, another piece of news shocked the world, causing the court of the Great Jin Kingdom to be in constant fear and uneasy!

The Immortal Wuchang, the greatest martial arts master in the world, made a pact with the other four masters to hold another world-shaking martial arts tournament in the imperial city of the Great Jin Kingdom on the night of the full moon next year!

Because of this news, many martial arts practitioners have begun heading towards the capital of the Great Jin Kingdom.

These men, who spent their lives wandering and enjoying excitement, went so far as to travel to the capital of the Great Jin Kingdom a year in advance to secure a good position. Many even vowed to diligently hone their martial arts skills during that year.

Only in this way can they rush onto the walls of the Great Jin Kingdom's imperial city during next year's grand martial arts competition and witness firsthand the stunning battle scenes of the Five Greats of the Central Plains.

They had heard the martial arts masters who were watching the battle from the top of the Song Dynasty's imperial city walls recount the scene of the battle between the Five Great Masters of the Central Plains to them again and again in vivid detail.
How magnificent and dazzling!
What a feast for the eyes!
How unbelievable!
How breathtaking!
Those martial arts masters who watched the battle even declared that if they could witness the spectacular fighting of the Five Greats of the Central Plains, their lives would not have been in vain.
Such supreme praise caused those who had not witnessed the battle of the Five Greats of the Central Plains to beat their chests in regret.

The reason these people believed the almost unbelievable exaggerated descriptions of the martial arts masters who had witnessed the battle was because they had personally experienced some of the aftershocks of the battle while waiting outside the imperial city.

After hearing the flute music of Huang Yaoshi, the Eastern Heretic, they saw scattered peach blossoms and the faint figure of the Peach Blossom Fairy, among other magical illusions!
They were so far from the battlefield inside the imperial city, yet they could have such exaggerated feelings, so naturally they believed everything that those martial arts masters described to them.

Apart from these major and exciting events, other news items were relegated to the sidelines.

However, even the smallest bits of information are carefully inquired about by countless people and spread widely.

The most interesting case is that Hong Qigong and Xu Xingchen, the number one person in the world, both took in a simple-looking young man as their apprentices.

I wonder what merits or abilities that young man possesses?!
Then there is Huang Rong, the daughter of Huang Yaoshi, the Eastern Heretic.

When people from the martial arts world sit in a tavern, drinking and boasting with their fellow practitioners, their topics invariably revolve around martial arts, fine wine, divine weapons, heroes, and beautiful women.

The description of Huang Yaoshi's daughter, Huang Rong, has been artificially enriched with many added elements in the process of being passed down orally!
Examples include: beautiful and generous, gentle and intelligent, virtuous and kind.
Then there's Xiao Yi, whose martial arts skills are superb, and whose lightness skills are exceptional. He has inherited these skills and his mastery is unparalleled, in no way inferior to his father, Huang Yaoshi.
They added all these values ​​to Huang Rong based entirely on their own imagination and conjecture.

Little did they know that although Huang Rong was exceptionally intelligent and learned, she had not been able to learn her father's "Blue Sea Tide Song".

Similarly, because of her father's doting on her, although her martial arts skills far surpassed those of ordinary martial artists, in her father's eyes, they were nothing special.

Then, there was the story of the Seven Masters of Quanzhen's Heavenly Dipper Formation.

Wonderful and mysterious, profound and boundless!
With this formation, they were able to fight the Five Great Masters of the Central Plains to a standstill, persisting until they broke through to the fourth realm before finally being defeated.

In the eyes of many martial arts practitioners, such abilities are not something that ordinary people can possess!

Finally, what intrigued everyone the most was the whereabouts of the Iron Palm Water-Walking Seeker.

At that time, all the martial arts masters watching the battle from the city wall saw that in the final battle after breaking through the fourth level of power transformation, Qiu Qianren, who was the first to be eliminated, was subdued by an old eunuch in the imperial city and then taken away.

Everyone thought that the Song Dynasty court, in order to save face, would bring Qiu Qianren to justice as a warning to others.

At the same time, it proves that they still have the power to maintain their rule and authority.

But the martial arts community waited and waited, but no news of Qiu Qianren's punishment came.

The Song Dynasty court seemed to have forgotten about that person's existence and never mentioned him again!
Let's ignore the uproar this has caused around the world for now.
After the chaotic battle ended, the Five Greats of the Central Plains, along with the Seven Immortals of Quanzhen, Guo Jing, Huang Rong, Ouyang Ke and his group who arrived later, and the Seven Freaks of Jiangnan, left Lin'an City that very night.

They found a valley in the mountains outside the city, lit dozens of bonfires, and ate some wine and meat they had brought from the city while gathering together to talk.

The Five Greats of the Central Plains sat together, exchanging martial arts insights and sharing their gains from the chaotic battle.

Xu Xingchen took a book from the package that Guo Jing handed over and gave it to Ouyang Feng.

Having freshened up and put on a brand-new white robe, Ouyang Feng, whose face was still as black as charcoal, seemed to have thought of something and eagerly took the book.

Upon seeing the four large characters "Nine Yin Manual" above, he was overjoyed.

This extraordinary book, which he had longed for for over twenty years, finally came into his hands tonight.

For a moment, he was filled with emotion and sighs!

He then eagerly turned the pages and, by the light of the moon and the campfire, began to read it carefully.

To make it easier for him to read, Xu Xingchen directly translated the Sanskrit outline of the Nine Yin Manual into Chinese.
The next morning, everyone parted ways and went their separate ways!

Guo Jing first returned to Jiaxing with Xu Xingchen and the Seven Freaks of Jiangnan, where he stayed with his mother for a while.

Afterwards, they joined forces with Hong Qigong and traveled the world while searching for "Rong'er," who had returned to Peach Blossom Island with her father.

In order to avoid causing trouble for the Seven Freaks of Jiangnan, Xu Xingchen made his interactions with them even more secretive.

He moved to a new location from his secluded retreat outside Jiaxing City.

Without the Seven Freaks of Jiangnan leading the way, it would be difficult for others to find it.

While waiting for the grand finale at the "Night of the Full Moon, at the Top of the Imperial Palace" to finally calm down, Xu Xingchen would take some time to instruct the Seven Freaks of Jiangnan in martial arts.

Although the seven of them were old and their bodies were fully developed, the Nine Yin Manual contained a chapter on the Yi Jing and Marrow Cleansing, which could allow them to undergo a second development and elevate their martial arts to a higher level.

Once the turmoil subsided, Xu Xingchen quietly left her secluded place.
(End of this chapter)