The Legend of the Condor Heroes: From Being Expelled from Peach Blossom Island

Chapter 427 Teaching Apprentices

Guo Jing didn't recognize any of these martial arts figures. The people around Temujin had close relationships with him. Apart from Jebe, who taught him archery, others such as Muqali and Chilaun had also taught him a lot.

Therefore, these people must have only recently joined Temujin's ranks. In other words, these people were martial arts practitioners actively recruited by Temujin.

Speaking of which, like the upper echelons of the Jin Dynasty court, Temujin was also provoked by Wu Chengyu. In the original work, the Four Demons of the Yellow River charged into the formation, which seemed dangerous, but they did not manage to kill him. He was then rescued by Guo Jing and the Seven Freaks of Jiangnan.

In this life, Yang Kang's martial arts skills far surpassed those of the Four Devils of the Yellow River, but in the end, he returned empty-handed. Since Temujin himself was not under any real threat, how could he possibly value true martial arts masters?

The fact that Wu Chengyu had taken away his helmet in an instant was both a humiliation and a direct deterrent to Temujin. He prided himself on his military prowess, so how could he accept someone who could take his head off at any time staying on the Mongolian steppe?

After leaving Guo Jing's house that day, Temujin sent people everywhere to search for martial arts masters, promising them high-ranking positions and generous salaries to serve as his guards or henchmen.

The agreement was for a year, but if he could recruit a master who was better than Wu Chengyu, he would probably take action against Wu Chengyu immediately, or at the very least drive him out of the grasslands.

This may be the first time that the Mongol leadership has realized the importance of raising a group of martial arts masters. Even the most skilled masters have weaknesses and can be exploited. What they fear most is someone like Wu Chengyu, who has extremely high martial arts skills but no weaknesses that can be used.

Although Temujin was the master of the Mongolian steppe, his power was not yet fully established. It was not easy for him to recruit these experts in three months. Today, it seemed that Hua Zheng and Tolui had brought them to provoke him, but wasn't it also another test by Temujin against Wu Chengyu?

Wu Chengyu looked at the people behind Hua Zheng. There were only a dozen or so people, most of whom were a rabble. They were the kind of people that the Seven Heroes of Jiangnan could easily deal with before they arrived in the desert more than ten years ago, let alone after they had cultivated hard in the desert for many years.

In Wu Chengyu's opinion, there were four people in front of him who were worth paying attention to. Judging from their aura, presence, and killing intent, they were clearly a level above the other rabble.

But since they didn't make a move, Wu Chengyu couldn't tell what level they were at; he could only say they looked good.

Without Wu Chengyu even needing to guess, Hua Zheng couldn't wait to introduce the experts, giving the impression that the ones she brought were the real masters, while Wu Chengyu was just a pretty face with no substance.

She pointed to a man riding a white horse, dressed in a white sheepskin coat—the kind of sheepskin coat that people in northern Shaanxi love to wear with the wool turned outwards. He was only missing a white headscarf, commonly known as a sheepskin belly scarf.

This man's age was hard to guess. He was short and stocky, and his skin was no different from that of the old farmers in northern Shaanxi who had toiled in the fields all their lives, like withered tree bark. His eyes were half-open, half-closed. He looked very rustic, but his demeanor was arrogant.

Hua Zheng said, "This is the King of the Northern Desert Blades. His blade is as fast as lightning. He has been unchallenged in the Northern Desert for more than ten years. It is said that he once chopped off three heads with one stroke. Are you scared?"

Having spent so many years on the Mongolian grasslands, the Seven Heroes of Jiangnan had a good understanding of the surrounding area. Zhu Cong leaned close to Wu Chengyu and whispered.

"I know this man. He's a bandit leader from the northern desert. He's a ruthless bandit who burns, kills, and plunders. He loves to massacre villages. I've heard that his blade is indeed very fast, and everyone who has seen it is dead."

Wu Chengyu then looked at the long sword on the back of the Quick Blade King. His eyes narrowed slightly. It was a long sword with a thick back made of steel, and it looked quite heavy.

Historically, most bandits were swordsmen who rode on horseback and used long swords to slash and hack. This person must have some skill to be able to roam freely in the northern desert.

In Temujin's eyes, anyone who could be of use to him could be forgiven for any heinous crimes they had committed. This guy probably saw that Temujin was about to unify Mongolia and took the initiative to serve him.

Then, Hua Zheng pointed to the second person: "This is the Great Monk Tianzhu from the Central Plains. I heard he comes from Shaolin Temple. It is said that there are many masters in Shaolin Temple. However, he is very strong. He can smash a stone with one slap. Pretty boy, let's see how many slaps you can take."

Another Shaolin monk with a bald head. Wu Chengyu suddenly remembered the dilapidated temple where he met Yue Fei's army. There were two Shaolin monks there, one of whom was a lecherous monk. It has to be said that this has almost become a Shaolin tradition.

The one in front of me was no exception. He was strong and robust, but he had dark circles under his eyes and flushed cheeks. Shaolin Temple is a Zen Buddhist school, and its internal martial arts emphasize meditation.

This monk from Tianzhu clearly had mastered internal energy cultivation, yet his breathing was already disordered after merely riding a horse from a distance of over ten miles.

It's obvious that this monk is also a broken monk. He has completely broken the precept against lust, resulting in severe kidney deficiency and internal problems. He is definitely all bark and no bite. He can demonstrate his fierce palm technique in a few moves, but if the battle goes on for a while, he will be exhausted.

Wu Chengyu simply couldn't be bothered with such people. If he hadn't remembered Tian Shi and Tian Yang, whom he had met in the dilapidated temple years ago, he wouldn't have even given them a second glance.

But Shaolin Temple's reputation in the martial arts world was so great that even after years of seclusion, the Seven Heroes of Jiangnan would secretly be on guard whenever they heard that a Shaolin master was involved.

Next, Hua Zheng pointed to an old man dressed entirely in Mongolian attire. His hair was gray, and the way he lay on his horse was hardly majestic. The wrinkles on his face were even deeper than those of the previous Quick-Knife King, but he looked no different from an ordinary Mongolian herdsman.

“This is an old hero of our Mongolia. He can kill a bull with a single blow. My father Khan specially invited him to help us.”

The old man's cloudy eyes held a hint of curiosity as he sized up Wu Chengyu. Wu Chengyu was also sizing him up. The old man's aura was the most stable, surpassing all of them, but it was also the most deeply hidden.

Finally, Hua Zheng pointed to a man dressed in white, holding a folding fan, who was somewhat handsome but had a lewd look in his eyes. "This one is also from the Central Plains, called Butterfly Gentleman. He's incredibly fast; he can disappear from someone's sight in the blink of an eye, just like you did last time. This time, Butterfly Gentleman is here. Let's see how arrogant you can be now."

As soon as she finished speaking, the Butterfly Gentleman smiled arrogantly, unfolded his folding fan, which was painted with several budding flowers and a pink butterfly fluttering about. His voice was a little shrill.

"It seems your lightness skill is quite good, but when it comes to lightness skill, I, Butterfly Gentleman, am the best in Jiangnan. Today I will show you what a true master of lightness skill is."

Upon hearing the words "Butterfly Gentleman," Wu Chengyu shook his head. He did not respond to the other party but instead turned to the Seven Heroes of Jiangnan.

"My seven older brothers and sisters have been living on the grasslands for the past few years and probably haven't heard of this Butterfly Gentleman. He also has a nickname, Pink Butterfly, and is a flower thief who emerged in the Jiangnan area a few years ago."

It is said that he committed several major crimes in the Hangzhou area, killing many young girls. Later, he was besieged by the martial arts world of Jiangnan. This guy was indeed good at lightness skills and finally escaped and was never heard from again. I never expected that he would escape to this grassland.

At the time, I was still in Suzhou, too far away to reach him, so I didn't have a chance to look for him. I never expected to run into him today.

The Seven Heroes of Jiangnan were known for their chivalry and could not tolerate wicked people like the flower thief. Upon hearing Wu Chengyu's words, they all glared angrily. Ke Zhen'e even immediately pulled out his poisoned dart, and if Wu Chengyu had not stopped him, he would have attacked on the spot.

"Jing'er, come here. Do you see this Butterfly Gentleman?"

Guo Jing nodded. He didn't really understand what a flower thief was, but seeing the behavior of his seven masters, he knew they were definitely not good people.

Wu Chengyu patted the head of this future hero and pointed at Butterfly Gentleman.

"I'll teach you something today. You may not know what a flower thief is, but you'll understand later."

Just remember this: wherever you encounter a womanizer in the future, strike immediately and show no mercy. It's a mistake for such a person to live another moment, and you can be as ruthless as you want, just like I am.

The Butterfly Gentleman, who was still posing as a master, was furious upon hearing this. He pointed his folding fan at Wu Chengyu and was about to speak when his expression changed drastically.

Because Wu Chengyu suddenly disappeared, even with his keen eyesight as a master of lightness skill, he couldn't find any trace of him, not even the usual charging movements that should have been made before using lightness skill.

The next second he felt someone pat his shoulder. He turned around abruptly and found Wu Chengyu standing right behind him, leisurely squatting on the horse's rump.

The Butterfly Gentleman reacted extremely quickly, immediately leaving the stirrups and leaping into the air. He turned around in mid-air, only to find that Wu Chengyu on the horse's rump had disappeared again. Wu Chengyu reappeared beside him as if by a shadow, also in mid-air.

He immediately brandished his folding fan and struck several acupoints on Wu Chengyu's chest. Given the distance between them, Wu Chengyu was certain to hit him if he stretched out his arm and added the length of the fan. His folding fan was also made of steel, and if it hit him with full force, he would surely be injured.

However, Wu Chengyu, who was clearly in mid-air with no leverage, saw the Butterfly Gentleman's folding fan coming at him and actually took a step back. He was only a fist's distance from the Butterfly Gentleman's fully extended folding fan, and just barely avoided the attack.

Although the Butterfly Gentleman was shocked by Wu Chengyu's superhuman lightness skill, which allowed him to change positions at will in mid-air, he knew that masters cannot afford to be distracted when fighting. He suddenly pulled the mechanism on his folding fan, and three green-tinged cold lights flew out from the top of the fan.

It seems that since ancient times, those who played with folding fans have had hidden mechanisms in their fans, and these were all poisoned hidden weapons. Huo Du was like this, and later, Xianyu Tong, the leader of the Huashan Sect, was even more so.

The folding fan was only a fist's distance from Wu Chengyu's chest. The three cold lights were extremely fast, seemingly too fast to react. Butterfly Gentleman's eyes were full of smugness, and his face was full of malice. He admitted that Wu Chengyu's lightness skill was superior to his own, but he had really underestimated his opponent.

The next second, disbelief filled Butterfly Gentleman's face. The mechanism in the folding fan had great elasticity, and the folding fan was extremely close to Wu Chengyu. In his view, Wu Chengyu had no way to avoid it.

Unexpectedly, as if a rope was pulling him from behind, Wu Chengyu retreated rapidly the instant the hidden weapons from his folding fan were launched. No matter how fast the three hidden weapons flew, the distance between them and Wu Chengyu's chest remained constant, about a fist's width.

But before the three beams of cold light could finish their attack, Wu Chengyu disappeared from his sight once again. At this moment, Butterfly Gentleman had already landed. This time, he knew that he had encountered a true master of lightness skill, a skill he had never dared to imagine before.

At that moment, he dared not stay there any longer. Just as he landed and was about to gather his strength to escape, a hand appeared on the back of his neck. Before he could react, his body went limp and he had no strength left.

At this moment, in everyone's eyes, it was Wu Chengyu who grabbed Butterfly Gentleman's neck with one hand, and Butterfly Gentleman had no power to fight back.

"There are many people in this world who are good at lightness skills, but even if the Eastern Heretic and the Western Poison were here, they would not dare to compete with me in lightness skills. So what are you?"

"Jing'er, what your master is teaching you today is that to deal with a womanizer like this, you must be ruthless and unpredictable."

　Everyone says that one million words is a hurdle, and it's true. Lately, I've felt mentally numb and lack the motivation to write. I need to overcome this mental fatigue. The second chapter will be a little later.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)