Liver into a martial arts legend: starting with Embroidered Spring Blade

Chapter 142 The World Society Emerges, Lin Pingzhi Severely Wounded and on the Verge of Death! [Two Chapters Combined]

"come in."

Jiang Xuan pushed open the door and led A Fei into the mansion.

It has to be said that having a woman in the house is ultimately much better.

Even when she's not home, everything at home is still kept in perfect order.

Outside the wall, the wind was biting cold, and the landscape was still somewhat desolate, but inside, birds sang and flowers bloomed, and various green plants and trees sprouted tender buds, creating a very quiet and beautiful scene.

Upon learning of Jiang Xuan's return, Qiu Moyan and Yang Huizhen, along with their servants and maids, were already waiting in the courtyard, their faces beaming with joy.

But when they saw Ah Fei behind them, the girls were all a little surprised.

"Young master, who is this?" Yang Huizhen glanced at A Fei, who was young and inexperienced but possessed an extraordinary aura, and asked curiously.

I found it along the way.

Jiang Xuan smiled faintly and said, "Let's go inside and talk."

Before long, all the core leaders of 'Netherworld' gathered in the mansion.

The group consists of King Xiyu of the Wheel of Reincarnation, King Cheng Shifei of Mount Tai, King Yan Shisan of Qin Guang, the Black and White Impermanence Qiu Moyan and Yang Huizhen, Meng Po Jin Xiangyu, the two judges 'One-Armed Judge' Li Ding'an and 'Cold-Faced Judge' Xiao Leixue, and Xia Xueyi who follows Yan Shisan.

These nine people are currently the core experts of 'Netherworld'.

Even the weakest among them, Jin Xiangyu, has reached the mid-stage of the Innate Realm, while the others are basically at the late stage of the Innate Realm, or even the Perfect Realm.

Currently, there are only four people at the Grandmaster level: Xi Yu, Cheng Shifei, Yan Shisan, and Xia Xueyi.

Among them, Xi Yu and Xia Xueyi had just broken through a few days ago, and both of them had comprehended the sword intent.

It can be described as an abundance of talents.

Jiang Xuan was very satisfied; this was the foundation he had built up over the past two years.

Even if something unexpected happens in the future and he can no longer stay in the imperial court, he can still establish himself in the martial arts world and quickly build a top-tier force based on the foundation of 'Youming'.

As Afei watched these experts arrive one after another, his whole body tensed up, and he was shocked.

He had already witnessed the masters of the Central Plains at Xingyun Manor and Shaolin Temple. Apart from Li Xunhuan and a few others from Shaolin Temple, no one else could give him a sense of danger.

This made him feel that, with his swordsmanship, even if he hadn't reached the top level in the Central Plains, there shouldn't be many who could threaten him.

Unexpectedly, so many experts were hidden in this mansion.

Several of them made him feel extremely dangerous.

Especially Yan Shisan.

Afei stared intently at Yan Shisan, feeling somewhat nervous.

"Practicing only swordsmanship, but not cultivating internal energy?"

Yan Shisan also noticed that A Fei was looking at him. After sensing it for a moment, he couldn't help but be a little surprised. He looked at Jiang Xuan and asked, "Where did you pick up this kid? With such high swordsmanship talent, how come his cultivation level is so low?"

"His name is Afei, and he comes from beyond the Great Wall."

Jiang Xuan did not reveal A Fei's true identity, but casually introduced him and said, "In the future, he will also enter the Netherworld. He can follow you for now. Find a suitable internal cultivation method for him to practice and improve his cultivation level as soon as possible."

Ah Fei also transitioned from the acquired to the innate realm, using his internal energy to open up his Ren and Du meridians on his own. However, he did not cultivate internal skills and did not know how to circulate his energy, so he is still stuck in the early stage of the innate realm. On the contrary, his swordsmanship has reached the sword momentum stage.

Moreover, he must have studied it for a long time, and his swordsmanship is no less than that of Xi Yu and Xia Xueyi, and may even be better.

But apart from swordsmanship, this guy knows nothing else, not even the most basic pressure point techniques.

Of course, one cannot say he is eccentric or bizarre, after all, he lost his mother at a young age and lived alone in the borderlands, fighting and killing various wild beasts just to survive.

In such an environment, it is extremely rare to be able to develop such terrifying swordsmanship with just a piece of iron.

He was truly a born swordsman!

Moreover, without Lin Xian'er's interference and without having to endure two years of emotional trials, his future achievements will surely reach a higher level.

Jiang Xuan had high hopes for him.

Jiang Xuan explained the meaning of 'Netherworld' to A Fei, and then said, "From now on, you will be the third judge of my 'Netherworld'. When we need you to do something, you can go and do it. At other times, you can do whatever you want without delaying your cultivation. Also, you must keep it a secret from outsiders for the time being and not reveal the identity of the 'Netherworld' assassin."

Afei glanced at Yan Shisan and the others, then nodded in agreement.

With his mother gone, his only goal in life now is to become famous in China.

Then, they traced the footsteps of their father, Shen Lang.

He wanted to find that person himself and confront him about why he had abandoned him and his mother.

This was his only obsession.

But before that, it didn't matter to him where he went.

Jiang Xuan treated him well, so he didn't mind following Jiang Xuan for now.

Most importantly, after seeing top swordsmen like Yan Shisan and Xi Yu, he saw a new goal to pursue.

As for Jiang Xuan, the gap was too large, beyond his comprehension.

He has no intention of pursuing Jiang Xuan for the time being.

Then, Jiang Xuan tossed the Golden Serpent Sword and the Golden Serpent Cone to Xia Xueyi and said calmly, "From now on, you will be the 'King of Biancheng' of the Sixth Hall."

Although he disliked Xia Xueyi's ruthless pursuit of revenge and her deception of women's feelings, in this world, the feud between Xia Xueyi and the Wen family had changed with his intervention, and the ill-fated relationship between Xia Xueyi and He Hongyao of the Five Poisons Sect had not occurred.

Moreover, Xia Xueyi's personality has also changed during these days as she has been cultivating with Yan Shisan.

Based on this, Jiang Xuan was willing to give him a chance.

Xia Xueyi's talent and strength are not weak, but with the Golden Snake Sword and Golden Snake Cone, he is the true 'Golden Snake Gentleman'.

For now, a master-level swordsman is good enough to be one of the Ten Kings of Hell.

"Yes, Your subordinate obeys!" Xia Xueyi was overjoyed and couldn't put down the Golden Serpent Sword.

He had anticipated joining the Netherworld, so he naturally had no objections.

For him, the great revenge has now been achieved.

His only pursuit is the way of martial arts and the way of the sword.

All of this is most easily achieved in the Netherworld, where daily discussions and exchanges with Yan Shisan are of great help to him.

Jiang Xuan nodded.

He then inquired about the recent developments of the Netherworld and also learned some information about the martial arts world.

For example, the "Tianxia Hui" (World Society) emerged from the Tianshan Mountains in the Northwest. The three adopted sons of Xiong Ba, the leader of Tianxia Hui, and the three hall masters Feng, Yun, and Shuang were invincible. In just half a year, they conquered many forces in the Northwest region for Xiong Ba.

Apart from Wushuang City in Hezhou, all other martial arts forces in the northwest region now regard the World Alliance as the most respected.

However, something happened during this time that caught Jiang Xuan's attention—

Duan Lang, a member of the Tianxia Society, defected from the society due to his dissatisfaction with Xiong Ba's unfair treatment and favoritism towards his three disciples. He fled to Wushuang City and was adopted by Dugu Yifang, the city lord. In recent months, he has also made a name for himself in the northwest region.

The Duan family sword technique displayed remarkable power in his hands, and the name of Duan Shuai, the "Southern Lin Sword Master" who had disappeared for more than ten years, gradually spread throughout the martial arts world.

Duan Lang was the son of Commander Duan.

After that, Wushuang City no longer kept a low profile and retreated as before, and began to call on martial arts forces in other regions to fight against the Tianxia Association.

In just over a month, the two sides fought dozens of battles, large and small, with neither side gaining the upper hand.

With the rise of Wushuang City, it is beginning to show signs of rivaling the World Alliance.

“Duan Lang…” Jiang Xuan’s eyes flickered slightly as he carefully searched his mind for the plot of the 'Storm Riders' story.

Duan Lang defected from the World Society and joined Wushuang City. Next, Xiong Ba should secretly send Nie Feng to attack Wushuang City and launch a decisive battle.

Next, the Mud Bodhisattva once again divined the fate of Xiong Ba: "The dragon's roar in the nine heavens will shake the world, and the wind and clouds will meet in the shallow waters."

Success and failure are both due to the wind and clouds.

In order to change his fate, Xiong Ba tried to eliminate Feng Yun, which caused Feng Yun to defect one after another and turn against Xiong Ba.

Then, the old sword saint Dugu Jian emerged from seclusion at the foot of Tianshan Mountain. His divine soul left his sheath to kill Xiong Ba. Originally, there was no chance of success, but he was blocked by that idiot Bu Jingyun, allowing Xiong Ba to escape. The old sword saint exhausted his lifespan and died.

Subsequently, Wuming, Sanhuang, and others emerged from the mountains to assist and teach Feng and Yun respectively. In the end, Xiong Ba still succumbed to fate and died at the hands of Feng and Yun.

In other words, the most exciting plot twist in 'Storm Riders' is about to arrive!
Jiang Xuan pondered carefully, trying to see if he could gain any benefits from this plot.

For example, he could subdue Feng and Yun, the two chosen ones of destiny, and use them for his own purposes.

He was also quite interested in the unique skills of Xiong Ba, Wuming, the First Evil Emperor, the Second Blade Emperor, and others.

But after a moment's thought, Jiang Xuan gave up.

These are people I shouldn't mess with right now.

Even the weakest among them, Xiong Ba, was a renowned grandmaster in the Northwest region, not to mention Wuming, Xiehuang, and Daohuang.

These people are beyond the control of the imperial court's laws.

It's not just these people; in the martial arts world, once someone's martial arts surpasses that of a Grandmaster, the laws of the imperial court become very difficult to enforce.

These people dare not cause trouble in the capital because they are wary of the mysterious guardian in the palace, but they may not necessarily take him, a mere commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, seriously.

Therefore, there is no need to take the risk.

Another major event was that Zuo Lengchan, the leader of the Songshan Sect, invited the other four major sects to Songshan in February to hold the Five Mountains Sword Sects Merger Conference.

They also invited many top sects such as Shaolin and Wudang to witness the event.

This is a rare and grand event in the martial arts world, and it has been making headlines recently.

“Zuo Lengchan? This guy has quite the ambition…” Jiang Xuan murmured.

During the last internal strife at the Eastern Depot, Zhao Jingzhong, Liu Xi, and two other top officials competed for the position of supervisor.

Zuo Lengchan was then invited by Gu Jinfu, the second-in-command, with the intention of helping Gu Jinfu seize the position of supervisor and thereby establish a relationship with the imperial court.

But after Gu Jinfu was killed by his own blade, the guy didn't even dare to make a move and ran away in fear.

We had met once before.

However, because of this matter, Jiang Xuan could not simply lead his men to raze the Songshan Sect to the ground.

He had little interest in the Five Mountains Sword Sects' merger conference.

"Forget it, I should just focus on my cultivation."

After much deliberation, Jiang Xuan decided to abandon his plan to participate in these major martial arts events.

At this moment, he had no shortage of cultivation techniques and his goal was clear.

As long as you cultivate step by step, breaking through to the Grandmaster level, comprehending the third realm of intent, and entering the second step of the realm of intent is a sure thing.

There's no need to go out and take risks.

Finally, Jiang Xuan inquired about the situation of the others and learned of an unexpected incident.

"You've taken a fancy to Princess Yunluo?"

Jiang Xuan looked at Cheng Shifei with some surprise.

In this world, Princess Yunluo is not the emperor's daughter, but the second daughter of Prince Gui, Zhu Changying, and a cousin of Zhu Youjian. After Zhu Youjian ascended the throne, Prince Gui brought his daughter to the capital to offer his congratulations. Zhu Youjian was very fond of this clever and mischievous cousin and let her stay in the capital for a period of time.

Unexpectedly, just like in the original drama, she ended up with Cheng Shifei.

Could this be the will of Heaven?
"Well... actually, she was the one who pursued me. I couldn't shake her off no matter what I did. She has already mentioned this to the Emperor, hoping that the Emperor can persuade her father, Prince Gui, to recruit me as the Prince Gui's son-in-law. The Emperor asked me to come and ask for your opinion, Master."

Cheng Shifei was a little embarrassed.

"Does the Emperor know about our relationship?" Jiang Xuan raised an eyebrow.

"It was Yunluo who said it!"

Cheng Shifei quickly explained, "She was worried that my status was not good enough for her and that her father would object, so I told her that you are my master. I didn't expect her to tell the emperor directly."

Jiang Xuan asked somewhat helplessly, "So what do you think? Do you want to be a prince consort?"

Cheng Shifei scratched his head and said, "I don't know either, but I think Yunluo is different from other members of the royal family. She has a good heart, and I am very happy to be with her."

"That's it."

Jiang Xuan nodded: "Next time I enter the palace, I will report this matter to the Emperor and ask him to issue an edict to propose marriage at the Prince Gui's residence on a chosen date."

"Huh? So fast?" Cheng Shifei was a little dumbfounded.

"Otherwise, how long do you intend to wait?" Jiang Xuan glanced at him sideways.

Cheng Shifei hesitated for a moment and said, "Master, I want to wait until I find the Heavenly Fragrance Bean and save my mother before we get married."

Jiang Xuan fell silent.

He kept dragging his feet on the matter because he didn't want to get involved with Zhu Wushi.

After all, Su Xin was Zhu Wushi's beloved, and Cheng Shifei was his disciple.

Once Su Xin is saved, Zhu Wushi will definitely not give up and will want to be with her.

How will the two sides handle this situation?

Zhu Wusheng is ambitious and will certainly not give up his struggle for the throne.

He really didn't want to get involved in this mess.

The last palace coup, with its powerful auras erupting from within the palace, had already left him with lingering fear.

If it happened again, as the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, he would definitely be the first to be targeted.

At that point, there will only be two choices—

They could either uphold their duty and suppress the rebellion against Zhu Wushi, or they could help Zhu Wushi rebel and deal with the mysterious figure in the palace.

Both of these options are too risky; his small frame simply can't handle them.

Looking at the desolation and urgency in Cheng Shifei's eyes, Jiang Xuan couldn't help but sigh and said, "I've recently found some clues. The remaining two Heavenly Fragrance Cardamoms might be in the palace. I'll have someone secretly investigate. As long as there's any news, take the Heavenly Fragrance Cardamoms to Tianchi to save your mother."

Cheng Shifei was overjoyed: "That's wonderful, thank you, Master!"

Jiang Xuan sighed helplessly, deciding to take it one step at a time.

Moreover, Tianxiang Doukou also has a time limit. Suxin has been dormant for twenty years, and should be nearing its limit.

Over time, problems might arise.

……

After seeing Yan Shisan and the others off, Jiang Xuan went to the backyard alone. He quickly washed off the dust and changed into clean clothes, preparing to go into seclusion for a while to first master the third realm of intent.

At the rate of increase in arrow momentum, it should take at most two or three months to reach the required progress and achieve the essence of arrows.

[Martial Arts: Overlord Blade Intent (Mindset), Mad Sword Intent (Mindset)]

[Progress: 62%]

With the practice and refinement of the Overlord Blade Intent and Mad Sword Intent over the past six months, they are nearing their limits.

To further improve, you either need to develop a third level of artistic conception, share the same artistic conception panel, increase the progress, and then perform fusion deduction.

Alternatively, one could continue practicing other sword and saber techniques to enhance one's understanding of the essence of swordsmanship and saber techniques, and further strengthen these two kinds of essence.

Like scooping water into a vat.

The artistic conception is represented by these two vats, while the newly added knife and sword techniques are like the newly scooped water.

However, most knife and sword techniques share similarities with these two states of mind, offering limited improvement, and it is impossible to cultivate a second identical sword or knife intent.

In other words, it is difficult to fill these two vats with the newly scooped water.

A few days ago, Jiang Xuan also took some time to practice several knife and sword techniques, such as the Pine Breeze Sword Technique of the Qingcheng School and Yan Shisan's Thirteen Deadly Swords.

With the experience gained from mastering the essence of swordsmanship, Jiang Xuan only spent a little over half a month mastering even the Thirteen Deadly Swords, a technique at the Grandmaster level.

However, this sword technique, which is in harmony with the essence of the Mad Sword, has its limit once it is unleashed. Any further progress is integrated into the essence panel.

Even when a master-level sword technique is practiced to its limit, the progress only increases by 10%.

The first-rate Pine Breeze Sword Technique only increased by 2%.

The same type of martial arts improves one's artistic conception extremely slowly.

This is also the main reason why Yan Shisan has only reached the first step in understanding the essence of the art for so many years and has not yet taken the second step.

Therefore, it is more reliable and faster to cultivate a third, different state of mind and then perform superposition and deduction.

"I hope that after mastering the essence of archery, I can reach the required level of artistic conception and advance to the second stage."

Jiang Xuan sighed, found the Dragon Bow, and began practicing in the spacious courtyard.

Until late at night.

Jiang Xuan put away his bow, took a bath, and went back to his room to rest.

As expected, the room was already occupied.

After just over a month apart, Jin Xiangyu clung to him like glue, wanting to light Jiang Xuan's candles.

"Why is your addiction getting stronger and stronger?" Jiang Xuan said helplessly. They say that women in their thirties are like wolves and women in their forties are like tigers, but this woman is only in her twenties.

"You still have to say that? You've been gone for so long, and when you went to Baoding, you even brought those two little fox spirits from the Sun Moon Sect. Have you forgotten your old love because you have a new one?" Jin Xiangyu said resentfully, lying on Jiang Xuan and demanding more from him.

Outside the window, two figures eavesdropping on the wall were blushing.

"That slut, I knew she was up to no good by staying here. The East and West cities are so far apart, yet she keeps running here every few days, like she can't live without a man!" Qiu Moyan cursed in a low voice, her voice filled with resentment and anger.

Yang Huizhen whispered, "Senior sister, the young master has less and less time to spend with us now. If you don't seize this opportunity now, you'll never have another chance."

"I..." A hint of shyness flashed in Qiu Moyan's eyes, but she did not refuse. She said in a low voice, "What can I do if this slut just stays here and won't leave?"

"If she's not afraid, what are you afraid of?"

Yang Huizhen pushed her directly to the door, gritted her teeth, pushed open the door, and then pushed Qiu Moyan inside.

Unexpectedly, Qiu Moyan got nervous and pulled Yang Huizhen in as well.

"Senior sister, you..." Yang Huizhen was startled and looked up to meet the two gazes on the bed. She froze instantly.

"Oh? I thought you two were going to be single for the rest of your lives. Is this what you finally couldn't resist? You call me a vixen every day, but you two aren't much better than me." Jin Xiangyu's eyes darted around, and she could see right through the two women's thoughts. She teased them while continuing to move provocatively, completely disregarding the presence of the two women.

The two women blushed deeply at the sight of the indecent scene.

"I...I'm leaving now!" Yang Huizhen opened her mouth, then turned and ran outside.

Before they even reached the door, it was slammed shut by an invisible gust of air.

Then the two women were also carried over by this airflow.

"Since we're already here, why run away?"

Jiang Xuan reached out and pulled the two women into the battlefield as well.

Having been together for so long, how could he not see through the two women's intentions?

Choosing a day is not as good as going by chance.

……

In the days that followed, Jiang Xuan worked tirelessly day and night, practicing diligently without ceasing.

Not only did Qiu Moyan and the other two women's complexions become increasingly rosy and full, but their archery skills also improved at a visible rate.

At this rate, it may not take more than three months to comprehend the third realm of meaning.

Jiang Xuan was very satisfied.

During this period, he would occasionally go to the yamen to take a look, and if there were any cases, he would hand them over to his subordinates to handle, and everything was running smoothly.

The only event he participated in was the marriage alliance ceremony between Izumo and the Ming Dynasty.

The marriage ceremony went very smoothly. Princess Lixiu was made a Noble Consort and moved into the palace. This also meant that after Zhu Youjian ascended the throne, the Ming Dynasty finally had its first tributary state.

However, the court is still discussing whether to send troops to assist Izumo in its campaign against Japan, and no decision has been reached yet.

Jiang Xuan was too lazy to worry about this matter; anyway, even if troops were to be dispatched, it wouldn't be his turn.

However, something happened at the Eastern Depot that caught Jiang Xuan's attention.

Iron Claw Eagle was assassinated and died in the Eastern Depot's prison. Cao Zhengchun personally tried to stop the assassin, but was seriously injured by the assassin in one move and almost had to retire early.

The Imperial Guards also stepped in to help investigate, but found nothing.

Jiang Xuan was naturally aware of this situation; it was Zhu Wushi who had made the move.

It seems he was still worried that Iron Claw Eagle would expose him and cause trouble, so he didn't hesitate to kill him to silence him.

Otherwise, it would have been impossible for anyone else to infiltrate the heavily guarded Eastern Depot prison so easily and kill Iron Claw Eagle; even Cao Zhengchun was no match for him.

After all, Eunuch Cao's martial arts skills were quite good; he was a ninth-rank Grandmaster, only a hair's breadth away from becoming a Grandmaster.

Jiang Xuan pretended to be unaware of this, only sending someone to visit Cao Zhengchun and bring him some medicine for healing, and then paid no further attention.

The most urgent task is still to focus on self-cultivation.

Just when he thought he could successfully master the art of archery and then leave the pass to do other things, another accident occurred.

A month later, Lin Pingzhi returned from his trip to Hengshan.

However, of the two groups that went, only Lin Pingzhi and Yue Mingke returned.

Moreover, both of them were seriously injured and nearly died. They were escorted back by another team of Imperial Guards who were also on duty outside.

Upon learning of this, Jiang Xuan immediately left the pass and went to the government office.

Inside the yamen, a group of doctors were gathered, examining the injuries of Lin Pingzhi and Yue Mingke.

The two lay on stretchers, covered in injuries, looking utterly miserable.

Yue Mingke, in particular, seemed to be frozen in ice, emanating a chilling aura, and had already fainted.

Seeing the two men's terrible condition, Jiang Xuan's face darkened. He stepped forward and looked at Lin Pingzhi, who was still conscious, and asked, "Who did this?"

“It’s… Songshan Sect, Zuo Lengchan!” Lin Pingzhi said with difficulty.

(End of this chapter)