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

Chapter 463 Before the Yellow Crane Tower
There are only a few martial arts similar to "Shifting Stars" in wuxia novels. After that, they all became fantasy. Martial arts like "Shifting Stars" that control the direction of force within a short distance are no longer useful. People can open the gate to heaven with a single sword and exchange one for one with immortals. Try shifting your force and see what happens.

Zhang Sanfeng is still far from being born. Even if he is born, he will live to be a hundred years old before creating Tai Chi.

Unless another transmigrator comes to this world with Tai Chi skills, there is absolutely no way that one can use four ounces to deflect a thousand pounds.

It could be the "Flower Shifting Jade" technique from the Yihua Palace in Gu Long's novels, or the "Undying Seal" technique of the Evil King in Huang Yi's world. Otherwise, Wu Chengyu could not think of any other martial art that could achieve such an effect.

Considering that the possibility of the worlds of Gu Long and Huang Yi suddenly overlapping with the world of The Legend of the Condor Heroes and becoming a crossover martial arts world is almost nonexistent, then only one option remains: the Ming Cult's supreme martial art, the Great Shift of Heaven and Earth.

The Ming Cult certainly has the qualifications to challenge the number one sect in the world. Compared with the Quanzhen Cult, the Ming Cult is the real number one sect in the world.

The Ming Cult must have existed in this world, at least until the late Yuan and early Ming dynasties. However, it suffered two severe blows during the Northern Song Dynasty and has been in a dormant state ever since.

One of the blows was Song Jiang's campaign against Fang La, who was the leader of the Ming Cult from an unknown generation. The Ming Cult was known for its rebellions, and Fang La's rebellion during the Northern Song Dynasty was a massive peasant uprising that was later suppressed by Song Jiang after he was granted amnesty.

So here's the question: whether Song Jiang's campaign against Fang La was a historical fact is debatable. Everyone knows this story because of the Water Margin.

After Wu Chengyu traveled through time, he gained some understanding of the previous history, at least confirming that Song Jiang's campaign against Fang La did indeed occur in this world, and that the battle was extremely fierce.

However, the Water Margin is a novel. Historically, there was indeed a rebellion led by Song Jiang, but there was no Liangshan stronghold. Song Jiang was simply a bandit who fought everywhere.

Song Jiang did not have 108 heroes under his command, but only 36 core leaders. The "Records of the Xuanhe Era of the Great Song Dynasty" also lists the names of some of them, such as Song Jiang, Chao Gai, Wu Yong, Lu Junyi, Wu Song, and Li Kui. These people did exist.

As for other popular characters, such as Lin Chong, Lu Zhishen, and Yan Qing, they are fictional characters that do not exist.

Don't forget, this world has Yanqing Fist, the signature skill of the Wu family of Wujiapo.

Further analysis of the origins of the Guo and Yang families reveals that the Yang family are descendants of Yang Zaixing. Wu Chengyu also encountered Lu Zhiyi, a descendant of Lu Wenlong; He Zhiyu, a descendant of He Yuanqing; Niu Wanrou, a descendant of Niu Gao; Yu Xiaowu, a descendant of Yu Hualong; and his wife, Yan Chunyu, a descendant of Yan Chengfang.

Of these people, only Niu Gao is a real person; Lu Wenlong, He Yuanqing, and others are fictional, which shows that this world is a fusion of the complete story of Yue Fei.

Guo Xiaotian is a descendant of Guo Sheng, the second Rengui. This is not something fabricated by others; it is what Lao Jin wrote. Unless Guo Xiaotian is lying and trying to embellish his own image.

However, this Sai Rengui Guo Sheng is also fictional. He is not among Song Jiang's thirty-six core leaders and does not exist at all. Therefore, Wu Chengyu can conclude that this world also incorporates elements of the Water Margin, and there really is a Water Margin story of 108 Liangshan heroes.

In general, it is a martial arts novel that combines elements of two classic historical novels, Yue Fei's Biography and Water Margin. Note that it is a novel, not historical fact, but it is a reflection of the reality of the world we live in.

The second blow came from the story Zhou Botong told Guo Jing in The Legend of the Condor Heroes: Huang Shang, the founder of the Nine Yin Manual, was the mortal enemy of the Ming Cult.

The Legend of the Condor Heroes states that Huang Chang saw Wan Shou Daozang practice martial arts and was later ordered to attack the Ming Cult. He killed many of the Ming Cult's masters. The Ming Cult members couldn't do anything about him and couldn't afford to play along, so they assassinated Huang Chang's family.

Huang Shang spent decades creating the Nine Yin Manual to seek revenge. However, after emerging from seclusion, he discovered that only one of his former enemies remained: a little girl from his memories. The little girl was now very old, and the others had all died of old age.

Combining the origins of Water Margin and the Nine Yin Manual, we can know that the Ming Cult's rebellion during the Northern Song Dynasty was suppressed by Song Jiang, resulting in a significant loss of power. Most of the top masters were killed by Huang Shang, which is why the Ming Cult did not appear at all in The Legend of the Condor Heroes.

It must have been during the late Yuan Dynasty, a time of great suffering for the people, that the Ming Cult, after many years of rebuilding its strength, began to rebel, which led to the later story of the Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber.

So what exactly caused the Ming Cult, which had been lying low, to suddenly emerge and cause trouble? That's what Wu Chengyu wanted to know. Surely it wasn't his butterfly flapping its wings that blew the Ming Cult out of Bright Peak.

Wu Chengyu strongly suspected it was also because of him, but he still couldn't figure out the reason.

As for the organizational structure of the Ming Cult, it consisted of the Left and Right Bright Envoys under the leader, as well as the so-called Four Great Protectors.

The Left and Right Bright Envoys are top-tier experts no less than Qiu Qianren, and the Four Great Dharma Kings should be first-class experts.

The guy who attacked Hong Qigong and used the Great Shift of the Universe, but had to transfer Hong Qigong's palm force to the ground, was using the so-called minor technique of absorbing energy into the ground, which is very likely equivalent to the role of Yang Xiao.

Wu Chengyu suspected that the leader of the Ming Cult had not actually appeared. If he knew Hong Qigong's strength and still dared to fight the Beggars' Clan, then the leader's martial arts skills must have been even higher.

Wu Chengyu was glad he had come along. Assuming the sect leader's martial arts were indeed top-notch, and he could hold off Hong Qigong by himself, then the other two top-level martial arts masters would be enough to take down Aku and the other elders.

Of course, all of this is just speculation. There are too many characters who did not appear in the original work since he transmigrated to this point. Bai Yuchan and Zhen Xiang are definitely innate, but they do not care about worldly affairs and will not participate in martial arts battles.

The old monster is a pseudo-innate being; all he seeks is to prolong his lifespan. The only other one who can truly be called a master is Guihua.

Apart from that, there are no other noteworthy characters who did not appear in the original work. Hopefully, this suddenly appearing Ming Cult does not have any truly top-tier masters.

But at this moment, Wu Chengyu was excited. He was bored on Xishan Island and had originally planned to settle scores with Huang Yaoshi, but he hadn't figured out how to bring Huang Yaoshi the biggest setback of his life, which was why he hadn't acted yet. Now, having the Ming Cult as an appetizer was not bad, enough in quantity and enough in excitement. Thinking of this, the corners of Wu Chengyu's mouth curled up slightly, which immediately caught Hong Qigong's attention.

"You little rascal, have you figured something out? I've never been able to figure out your skills, especially since you've inexplicably developed such amazing martial arts skills after not seeing you for several years."

Wu Chengyu shook his head: "It's just a guess, and it's not the right time to talk about it now. But I'm warning you, the people who attacked you before probably weren't the strongest in this gang."

"You really do know something. I hate people like you who like to keep everything a secret. It's really annoying."

However, if what you say is true, these people are indeed not to be underestimated. The key is that I still don't understand why they suddenly attacked my Beggars' Sect.

After chatting for a while, a rich aroma of meat wafted over, and Ah Ku's dog meat hot pot was finally cooked.

Hong Qigong, that glutton, immediately shifted his attention, no longer trying to extract any information from Wu Chengyu, and his mouth watered.

"My good apprentice's skills are really good. I've eaten dog meat my whole life, and her skills are the best."

The other beggars nodded in agreement, and then A-Ku and Lu Youjiao brought over a huge clay pot.

"Master, this is a superb hot pot of fragrant pork. I got some different seasonings from my brother, and it's absolutely amazing this time. You should try it."

A group of beggars were feasting around the casserole, including Ah Ku, while Wu Chengyu's eyes twitched. This guy didn't eat dog meat, and Ah Ku didn't eat it either, but now he had been completely corrupted by Hong Qigong.

"Ah Ku, you and Qi Gong eat first. It's not easy to come to Hankou, I'm going out for a stroll."

Ah Ku is now just like Hong Qigong, forgetting his brother when he gets something delicious. He keeps eating, waving his hand casually, and staring intently at the casserole, afraid that he will miss out on a piece if he is too slow.

Left with no other choice, Wu Chengyu left the warehouse alone, gazing into the distance aimlessly. But since he had come here, he suddenly wanted to see the Yellow Crane Tower of this era.

The Yellow Crane Tower has been rebuilt countless times. When he visited the Yellow Crane Tower in his previous life, although it was said to have been rebuilt according to the original blueprints, he still saw too many traces of modern industry. It was still a four-sided octagonal shape, but it was a reinforced concrete imitation wood structure.

The Yellow Crane Tower is in Wuchang, not far from Hankou. At this moment, when I'm bored, I might as well go and pay my respects.

However, when Wu Chengyu found the place, he discovered that only ruins remained. Upon inquiry, he learned that the Yellow Crane Tower had already collapsed in the early Southern Song Dynasty.

There was no Baidu Encyclopedia at that time, and he didn't know that the Yellow Crane Tower was only rebuilt in the fourth year of the Hongwu reign of the Ming Dynasty, and he wouldn't be able to see it again for a hundred years.

However, Wu Chengyu had indeed practiced Taoist divine skills, so if he tried his best to live, there might still be a day when they could meet again.

Slightly disappointed, Wu Chengyu casually found a small restaurant next to the Yellow Crane Tower ruins. Hot dry noodles didn't exist in this era, but the shumai in Wuhan was really good. Hong Qigong, if nothing else, was definitely qualified to be a food connoisseur.

He casually ordered a plate of shumai. It was soft and chewy with a meaty aroma. Before he could think of a suitable word to praise it, he saw a group of martial arts practitioners arrive nearby.

The leader was an old man with a thin and frail appearance. He coughed occasionally. They were only two or three zhang away from Wu Chengyu. With Wu Chengyu's sense of smell, he immediately smelled blood on the old man.

But the old man's imposing presence was absolutely extraordinary. He looked quite ill, but his back was ramrod straight, and his every move and gaze exuded the air of a superior, giving the impression that he was in charge of tens of thousands of people.

At least the top leader of the state-owned enterprise where Wu Chengyu worked in his previous life would never have such an aura. Hong Qigong also managed tens of thousands of people, but he had too much of a beggar's demeanor. No matter how many people a beggar leader manages, he is still a beggar. In terms of bearing, he is definitely not as good as this old man.

Aside from his appearance, this old man's kung fu was definitely extraordinary. We'd only know how high it was after we fought him, but Wu Chengyu could still tell that the old man had a solid foundation in kung fu; at least a top-tier expert wouldn't be able to defeat him.

These people looked travel-worn, so they must have just arrived.

In these turbulent times, the sudden appearance of such a mysterious figure in Wuchang naturally drew Wu Chengyu's attention.

He was followed by more than a dozen men, all dressed in tight-fitting clothes and carrying weapons.

In addition, there was a young man next to the old man. When the old man coughed, he helped him up with concern and looked at him with concern. When Wu Chengyu saw him for the first time, two words came to mind: sissy.

However, Wu Chengyu immediately realized at a glance that this was not a sissy, but a girl dressed as a man.

This makeup artistry is a bit too trendy, but there are too many flaws all over the body. The pectoral muscles are a bit too big, and the Adam's apple is not visible. They must have used something to make the face a little darker, but forgot to apply it to the neck. In comparison, the skin on the neck is frighteningly white.

In his past life, when watching TV dramas, the women in the shows would dress up as men, thinking that no one would recognize them and that everyone around them was blind. Only the viewers in front of the TV could recognize them at a glance. Wu Chengyu felt the same way now.

(End of this chapter)