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

Chapter 511 Five Hundred Murong Fus, Are You Afraid?

When Yang Xu was carried back to Bright Peak, fifty Beiwei soldiers were scattered throughout the Ming Cult's secret passage. The passage was extremely large, making it incredibly spacious for a mere fifty people.

Those Five Elements Flag soldiers who died at the foot of the mountain were also quite powerful. If it were Beggar Clan members, they would have suffered heavy casualties. However, only a few members of the Beiwei Army were slightly injured and were silently bandaging their wounds.

Their military formations can connect their internal energies, and their tactics are more suitable for skirmishes. Unless they are outnumbered, they will not be injured at all.

The Beiwei Army followed Wu Chengyu and immediately hid in the Ming Cult's secret passage. After killing the members of the Five Elements Banner, they collectively used the Crane Shadow Flowing Light technique to retreat. They returned to the secret passage in no time, and Wu Du's men could not catch up with them or find any trace of them.

Li Geda sat silently in the corner, wiping the long knife in his hand with chamois leather bit by bit. It was a Miao knife, thick and sharp, forged from fine steel by the blacksmith under Madam Wen. It had three blood grooves on each side, and countless heads had been chopped off in Li Geda's hands.

However, with frequent use, the blade inevitably suffers some wear and tear. Li Geda, though cold-hearted and ruthless, cherishes his precious sword dearly.

Sitting opposite Li Geda was not a member of the Beiwei Army, but an old man with a ruddy complexion and eyes full of admiration. He kept looking at the Beiwei Army around him, and he didn't mind Li Geda's cold and indifferent attitude and silence.

This person was none other than Jiang Ruocheng, the leader of the Flood Flag. With advance notice from Wu Chengyu, he immediately feigned illness and avoided the fierce battle beneath the Mengka Heavenly Pool.

However, the old man was shrewd and had spies around. According to the spies' reports, these young men were like divine soldiers descending from the sky, killing those people without any chance to fight back.

A group of teenagers, not even twenty years old, who would have thought they would have such fighting power even in the Five Elements Camp.

With his discerning eye, he could easily see that the lowest level of skill among these people was second-rate, and half of them had already reached first-rate skill. There were very few first-rate skills among the Five Elements Flags.

The young man at the head of the group, who had been silent all along, with an icy face and an aura of murderous intent, single-handedly killed the other three flag leaders who were about the same level as Jiang Ruocheng. His martial arts skills were clearly top-notch. The old man couldn't help but sigh, but he was also very envious.

"Come, come, once the wounds are healed, let's eat. I've had the best food prepared in the Western Regions, including hand-pulled mutton, mutton soup, and freshly baked sesame flatbread. There's plenty to go around. You've accomplished such a great feat, so we must reward you properly."

And you, kid, the longsword in the hand of the leader of the Ruijin Banner is not made of ordinary iron. The forging technology of the Ruijin Banner is unparalleled in the world.

Your knife is not bad, but you will definitely be at a disadvantage in a fight against it. Judging from your distressed look, there must be a lot of nicks and chips on the blade.

This is a minor matter. The real forging masters in Ruijin Banner are all our own people. I'll find an opportunity to have them take charge and use the best materials to make you a real treasured sword that will definitely surpass the one you have now.

"Put the knife down first, and eat this leg of lamb. I'm too old to eat much, but I love watching you young men eat so heartily."

Upon hearing Jiang Ruocheng mention forging a new sword for him, Li Geda's expression finally softened. However, instead of reaching for the lamb leg, he abruptly stood up and saluted. The other Beiwei Army soldiers did the same, because Wu Chengyu had arrived.

This time, Wu Chengyu finally no longer has to wear Teacher Guo's face and an afro. He has regained his true appearance and vowed never to use such a look again in his life. This is enough for Teacher Guo's image. He is feeling extremely ashamed.

"Senior Jiang has the leisure to bring food, but this time you killed so many flag leaders and elites of the Five Elements Flag. Doesn't it hurt your heart?"

Jiang Ruocheng laughed heartily: "What's there to feel sorry for? I'm overjoyed. These flag leaders and deputy flag leaders are all sent down by the Ming Cult."

For years, they have been suppressing and monitoring us on behalf of the Ming Cult. Those elites are actually scum mixed in with the Ming Cult; they only have the Ming Cult in their hearts, and they are not our own people at all.

This time, your move was absolutely brilliant. You transformed yourself into Yang Xu, severely injuring him, and at the same time, you sent people to help us eliminate all these flag leaders and their henchmen.

Now that's settled, I'm the only one left of the five flag leaders of the Five Elements Flag. My deputy flag leader is also one of our own. The only other one is you, Zhou Dao, the deputy flag leader of the Thick Earth Flag.

Besides, there are no other banner lords or deputy banner lords in the entire Five Elements Banner. They can only be temporarily managed by the generals below them, who are basically the direct subordinates of our Five Elements Camp.

Although each of the Five Elements Camp's direct subordinates only has a little over five hundred men, without those elite henchmen, the other Five Elements Banner disciples who are not from the Five Elements Camp are not particularly loyal to the Ming Cult, and their combat strength is also insufficient. Now, the power of the Five Elements Banner is completely under the control of my Five Elements Camp.

As for the positions of these flag leaders and deputy flag leaders, the positions of Right Envoy of Light and the Four Great Dharma Kings are still vacant. I wonder what good candidates Yang Xu can find.

Even if they are temporarily assigned, they have no foundation in the Five Elements Flag and can be easily sidelined by us, making it impossible for them to control real power.

"Young Master Wu, you're absolutely amazing! You can turn the world upside down with a flick of your wrist! You did a fantastic job!"

This was Wu Chengyu's second purpose in challenging Yang Xu. He knew that if he came to challenge Yang Xu, Yang Xu would definitely have an ambush, and the most suitable ambush would be the elite of Yang Xu's Five Elements Flags, especially the group most loyal to him.

Before issuing a challenge to Yang Xu, Wu Chengyu had already informed Jiang Ruocheng, ordering all the core members of the Five Elements Camp to avoid battle. Jiang Ruocheng even feigned illness beforehand and ordered Li Geda to lead the Beiwei Army to wipe out these guys in one fell swoop.

What he needs is to cleanse and purify the Five Elements Banner, killing most of the loyal non-Five Elements Camp disciples who are currently in charge, so that while the Five Elements Banner suffers a severe blow on the surface, it regains its autonomy.

The Five Elements Flags were deployed around Bright Peak to defend against foreign invasion. Only by eliminating these spies could they be able to advance unimpeded when Red Lady led her army to attack.

At that time, not only will there be no one blocking the way or defending, but the Five Elements Camp will simply lead the way. By the time the army approaches Bright Peak, the Ming Cult's high-ranking officials will probably be completely unaware.

"I've certainly broadened my horizons today. Brother Wu, it's one thing for you to have unparalleled martial arts skills, but every era produces a few exceptionally talented geniuses. However, it's incredibly difficult to cultivate these fifty-odd elite subordinates. Even if my Five Elements Camp combined, we couldn't gather such experts. Moreover, although they are all young, they are rich in combat experience and decisive in their actions, which is truly rare."

Wu Chengyu patted Li Geda's head. In the whole world, only he and Xiao Lu could touch the little wolf cub's head; even Hong Niangzi couldn't.

"Sit down, everyone, and eat your fill. Don't let Old Banner Chief Jiang's kindness go to waste; we'll need you again sometime."

"Senior Jiang, let's have some too. Beating Yang Xu just now wasn't enough; he's nowhere near as good as his master. This hand-pulled mutton is much more to my liking."

However, you're wrong about one thing. I have more than fifty men under my command, over five hundred. Their combat strength is roughly equal, but they all have other duties to perform, so this is the only number I could temporarily bring in.”

This time, Jiang Ruocheng was completely stunned. His lips moved a few times, but he couldn't make a sound.

His gaze toward Wu Chengyu had completely changed. To be able to train fifty such combatants, possessing both the superb martial arts skills of martial arts masters and the discipline and tactics of elite soldiers on the battlefield, was, in his view, an achievement that was as difficult as ascending to heaven.

Even in an ordinary local gang, the leader might not have top-notch skills. The Quanzhen Sect is known as the number one sect in the world, but its top-notch masters are only the Seven Masters of Quanzhen.

Of these fifty people alone, half are top-tier, and the rest, though second-tier, are all young and will undoubtedly rise to the top tier in the future.

But Wu Chengyu said he had more than 500 such people, with roughly equal combat strength. What does that mean? It means there are at least 200 top-tier experts, which is terrifying.

It should be noted that the leader of the Five Elements Flags was only a first-rate cultivator. The key point is that Jiang Ruocheng was an experienced and discerning man. He could tell that Wu Chengyu was not boasting, but stating the facts.

Today, these fifty young men annihilated three flag leaders and four hundred elite soldiers of the Five Elements Flag in a short period of time. Judging from their combat strength, it would probably take the entire Five Elements Battalion to be able to compete with them.

If the enemy's numbers really reached five hundred, then unless the Five Elements Camp occupied advantageous terrain beforehand, laid traps, and used boulders, logs, and gunpowder, they would have no chance against them.

Thinking of this, Jiang Ruocheng's attitude towards Wu Chengyu completely changed. Previously, he regarded Wu Chengyu as a collaborator to fight against the Ming Cult together, but Wu Chengyu was alone after all, and he always held back in order to preserve his strength.

But now it seems that Wu Chengyu's power far exceeds his imagination. The cooperation between the Five Elements Camp and Wu Chengyu clearly shows the difference in their status. If any unpleasantness arises, the Five Elements Camp will probably face destruction like the Ming Cult.

Jiang Ruocheng began to consider that he would probably have to completely adjust his attitude and cooperation with Wu Chengyu, which was also Wu Chengyu's goal.

Today's battle not only achieved its goal of destabilizing the Ming Cult and purifying the Five Elements Flag, but also demonstrated its capabilities to the Five Elements Camp. Circumstances are beyond human control, and given the prevailing trend, there's no need for it to take any initiative. The Five Elements Camp should know how to conduct itself afterward.

As for the fighting strength of the Beiwei Army, he was very satisfied. When he left Qianlong Cave, most of these teenagers were second- or third-rate, and only the leaders, Xiao Lu, Song Mu, and Li Geda, had just entered the first-rate.

Several years have passed, and the children's martial arts skills have entered a period of rapid growth. To this day, Li Geda and Song Mu are both top-tier, and Xiao Lu is about to break through.

The lowest-ranking members of the Beiwei Army were second-rate, while more than half possessed first-rate skills. This situation was indeed unbelievable and somewhat frightening to hear.

But look at Wu Chengyu's training methods. These children have all suffered the most hardships in the world since childhood. It was Wu Chengyu who saved them from dire straits. They are extremely loyal and needless to say how hard they cultivate.

Then, all kinds of medicinal baths were based on the best formulas derived from bamboo slips. Next, they raised Bodhi snakes in Ziwu Ridge. These children had all eaten the snake gallbladders, which were considered a rare and precious ingredient, and they had eaten quite a lot of them.

Needless to say, they had mastered martial arts. Wu Chengyu combined various martial arts techniques with bamboo slips to create the Heaven-Mending Technique, which not only strengthened their foundations but also greatly improved their aptitude. Any one of them would be trained as a true disciple in any other sect.

Next came the Dragon City Heart Sutra, the Hengjiang Saber Technique, the Gale Leg Technique, the Crane Shadow Flowing Light, and later Qiu Qianren's Mountain-Suppressing Iron Palm. These martial arts were all divine skills, enough to be considered the ultimate techniques of other sects, but they were standard martial arts in the Beiwei Army.

Finally, he even led these young men to practice killing bandits, served as spies in Western Xia, confronted Jin Dynasty spies alongside Hong Niangzi, and followed Wu Chengyu's group to sweep through various martial arts forces in Jiangnan, even wiping out the Iron Palm Clan.

With top-tier resources, advanced martial arts skills, and social experience, it's no surprise that these kids have achieved their current level of martial arts prowess.

Even more so, their martial arts skills vary in level now, but with a few more years of training, they will all eventually become top-tier masters. Among them, those with extraordinary talent will reach the level of top masters. Except for the absolute masters who need opportunity and enlightenment, they all have a chance to become masters below the absolute level.

After all, they are practicing the martial arts inherited from the Murong family, which has a high minimum standard and an even higher maximum standard. Just like the fantasy that Wu Chengyu had when he trained them, five hundred Murong Fus who have undergone rigorous military training, are more hardworking and focused. Are you scared yet?

When Wu Chengyu brought out his elite Beiwei Army, in this martial arts world, there was no force he was not afraid of, and the Five Elements Camp was no exception.

Both sides fell silent, using food and drink as a cover-up. After a while, Jiang Ruocheng spoke.

"Brother Xiao Wu, what are you going to do next?"

"The Ming Cult is on the verge of falling apart. Ambitious people will definitely be restless. What we lack is the first person to step forward. What do you think of our Ming Cult's Holy Maiden, Fang Yaning?"

(End of this chapter)