The world of martial arts, the immortal swordsman in the mortal realm.

Chapter 107, Section 122: Let's go to India! Being emperor there is awesome! [Requesting monthly votes!]

On the shore of Taihu Lake, there is a manor in the style of a Jiangnan garden.

Huang Rong, dressed in green, with her jet-black hair simply tied with a ribbon, moved gracefully among the flowers and trees in the garden, treading on water and gesturing with her fists and palms.

Her steps were graceful and elegant, and her fists and palms moved like a dance.

Against the backdrop of vibrant flowers, a young girl in a flowing blue dress, with skin as white as snow, resembled a graceful fairy from the forest, exquisitely beautiful and almost too stunning to look at directly.

However, if you look at her graceful posture and light, floating fists and palms and think that this is just an excited punch from a thug, then you would be very wrong.

She had many adventures with Lu Chen, and her skills were already at a top-tier level in the world of Legend of the Condor Heroes.

Now that he has mastered the basics of the "Xiao Wuxiang Gong" (a martial art), his internal strength has begun to advance rapidly once again.

In addition, she possesses a martial arts set that ordinary martial artists would envy but which she can freely choose from. If this were placed in the world of The Legend of the Condor Heroes, even if Mei Chaofeng regained her sight, she would not be her match.

This is because she is not diligent in practicing martial arts; she only gets up intermittently and lies down continuously.

If she had practiced martial arts with half the diligence of Lu Chen, given her talent, opportunities, and resources, after mastering the Lingbo Weibu and Xiaowuxiang Gong, she would have been able to rival Qiu Qianren, if not the Five Greats.

Now...

All I can say is that she should be able to hold her own against Qiu Qianren with her agility. Qiu Qianren's "water-skimming" lightness skill is no match for her "Lingbo Weibu" (a martial arts technique), but she can only maneuver around him. If she were to fight head-on, she probably still wouldn't be able to defeat Qiu Qianren's "Iron Palm".

Just as they were practicing, a strong wind suddenly rose in the flower forest, and a dark figure pounced over like a hungry tiger descending the mountain. Its hands, like tiger claws pouncing on a deer, fiercely seized Huang Rong.

Huang Rong took several steps, then suddenly turned sharply three times, instantly flashing three zhang away to avoid the dark figure's pounce. She then winked at the dark figure and gave it a playful smile.
"Brother Lu Chen, it won't be so easy to catch me now."

Lu Chen smiled slightly:
"Let's give it a try."

As he spoke, he moved swiftly, stealthily approaching Huang Rong like a shadow, while simultaneously conjuring countless palm shadows that blanketed Huang Rong.

Huang Rong roused herself, moving with the agility of a breeze, dodging and weaving while simultaneously unleashing punches and palm strikes to parry and counterattack.

She had already mastered the Lesser Formless Skill. Although her cultivation was still shallow, she could still activate various martial arts techniques and unleash five or six tenths of their power from the various skills that she had not practiced well and could not exert even three or five tenths of their power.

In an instant, her fists, palms, fingers, and claws changed at will, and she came up with one ingenious move after another.

The Peach Blossom Island martial arts include the Azure Wave Palm, Falling Flower Divine Sword Palm, Orchid Finger Flicking Technique, Finger Flicking Divine Skill, Splitting Palm Force, Whirlwind Sweeping Leaf Leg, Nine Yin Lower Scroll Great Subduing Demon Fist, Heart-Shattering Palm, Nine Yin Divine Claw, and other skills.

There are also the Seven Masters Sect's Free and Easy Fist, Copper Hammer Hand, Lotus Palm and many other martial arts, the Quanzhen Sect's Frost-Treading and Ice-Breaking Palm, and even the Sun Moon Sect's unique skills and techniques. They even occasionally use their fingers and palms as swords to perform the Five Mountains Sword Technique and the Dugu Nine Swords...

Huang Rong's extensive knowledge was probably comparable to that of Murong Fu.

Furthermore, she possesses exceptional comprehension and remarkable talent, wielding various martial arts techniques with ease and freedom, displaying a style reminiscent of Lu Chen's unrestrained and masterful swordsmanship.

Lu Chen tried his best to restrain himself in his fight with her, allowing Master Rong to fully demonstrate her skills and continuously improve her application of the Lesser Formless Skill. He also subtly guided her to integrate all her knowledge.

Laying a solid foundation now will make it easier to integrate all your knowledge into the "Tianshan Plum Blossom Hand" technique when you practice it in the future.

Two figures, one in black and one in white, darted and weaved through the flower forest, the sounds of fists and palms colliding ringing out, occasionally unleashing a shockwave that made the trees tremble and petals flutter in the air.

After hundreds of exhilarating exchanges, a greeting suddenly came from outside the flower grove:
"Young Master Lu, Young Master Huang, Young Master Murong Fu from Canhe Manor has come to pay a visit!"

The person who greeted them was a middle-aged woman, the wife of the estate's steward.

This manor was certainly not bought by Lu Chen and Huang Rong.

Previously in Suzhou, they had rescued a scholar who was being forced to kill his wife by armed maids from Mantuo Manor. The scholar's father was an official in Bianjing and his family was quite wealthy. He was very grateful to Lu Chen and Huang Rong for rescuing him. When they learned that the two of them had no place to stay in Suzhou, they lent them this manor by Taihu Lake for temporary lodging.

The manor was quiet and elegant, with a full complement of butlers, servants, maids, and gardeners, and the service was quite attentive, making Lu Chen and Huang Rong very comfortable.

At that moment, upon hearing the housekeeper's call, the two stopped what they were doing, smiled at each other, and headed out of the flower grove.

"I never expected Murong Fu to come 'visit'... I thought he would attack directly. Brother Lu Chen, what do you think he means by this? Is he trying to be polite first and then resort to force?"

The two destroyed Mantuo Manor and killed Madam Wang, thus making an enemy of Murong Fu.

Master Rong then went on a rampage in the city, revealing all of Murong Bo's actions and the Murong family's ambition to restore their kingdom. She had long been prepared to face the questioning of the Murong Restoration Master.

Unexpectedly, Murong Fu did come, but it was only a polite "visit," which was somewhat unexpected for Master Rong.

"Who knows what he's thinking?"

Lu Chen couldn't guess what Murong Fu was thinking.

After all, the Murong family members are all a bit abnormal in their minds, and their actions are always unpredictable and eccentric, making them hard to fathom.

After leaving the flower grove, Huang Rong asked the stewardess who had come to report:
"Aunt Zhang, did Murong Fu come in person? How many people did he bring?"

The housekeeper said with a look of awe:

"Young Master Murong did indeed come in person, accompanied by four retainers and one maid. Two of the retainers carried two loads of gifts, all of which were valuable items such as brocade, goldware, jade, and fine wines."

They even brought the maids?
They even carried two loads of generous gifts?
This doesn't seem like a strategy of "courtesy first, then force."

Lu Chen and Huang Rong exchanged a glance, both finding it somewhat unbelievable. Huang Rong muttered to herself:
"He wouldn't be thinking of befriending or even recruiting us, would he? We have a grudge against him..."

Lu Chen also found it a bit unbelievable, but he was too lazy to guess further, and simply smiled and said:

"Let's go see Murong Fu first. Once we see him, we'll know what he's up to."

Inside the main hall of the manor house.

Murong Fu sat upright in the guest seat, quietly sipping the fragrant tea served by the manor's maids.

Abi stood beside him, like an elegant lotus flower. The four retainers sat below, quietly sipping their tea. Even Bao Butong patiently refrained from making any suggestive remarks.

There's no way around it, Huang Rong, the "White Dragon," knows all her secrets, which is really a bit scary.

This is more than just being well-informed.

To be able to uncover so many secrets, including those of Xiao Yuanshan, Murong Bo, Bai Shijing of the Beggars' Sect, and Xuan Ci of Shaolin, and to spread these secrets all over the streets without being killed, one must either possess extraordinary martial arts skills or have an incredibly powerful background.

In short, even someone with Bao Butong's temperament would not easily provoke such a person, not because he himself was afraid, but because he was worried about causing the young master a lot of trouble.

While we were waiting quietly, a deep, steady male voice suddenly came from inside:
"We apologize for not being able to welcome our distinguished guest properly, Young Master Murong."

Upon hearing this, Murong Fu and the others quickly stood up and saw a dashing young man in black robes and a beautiful young woman in a blue dress walking side by side into the hall.

"I dare not presume to visit and disturb you. Please forgive me, Young Master Lu and Young Master Huang."

Murong Fu was very polite and bowed with a smile. To be fair, Murong Fu was indeed very good-looking, with a appearance and demeanor that could captivate anyone at first sight. No wonder Wang Yuyan was so infatuated with Murong Fu and treated Duan Yu, that impetuous young man, with disdain.

After exchanging a few pleasantries, Murong Fu introduced his four powerful retainers.

After the guests and hosts were seated, Lu Chen didn't waste any words and went straight to the point:
"Since we are all martial artists, I, Lu, will not waste any more words. May I ask what brings Young Master Murong here?"

"I dare not presume to teach you." Murong Fu said sincerely, bowing respectfully. "Since Young Hero Lu and Miss Huang are already aware of the Murong family's aspirations, I, Murong Fu, would like to ask what your views are on the Murong family's ambitions?"

The matter of restoring a kingdom should not be discussed with someone you have just met.

But Murong Fu had no choice. Huang Rong had already spread the word all over the streets about the Murong family's ambition to restore the country. Hiding things from Lu Chen and Huang Rong was pointless. It was better to be honest and perhaps he could make a good impression.

"view……"

Since Murong Fu was so polite, never mentioning the Mantuo Manor, and even gave a generous gift, Lu Chen couldn't be too direct and gave Huang Rong a discreet glance.

Huang Rong understood and said with a smile:
"May I ask, Young Master Murong, how many years ago did the Yan Kingdom exist?"

"This……"

Murong Fu was taken aback. The Yan Kingdom was several hundred years old, and there were the Sui, Tang and Five Dynasties in between. This era was indeed quite ancient.

Huang Rong then said:

"Taihu Lake is located in the heart of the Song Dynasty. It is absolutely unacceptable to use this place as the base for our uprising. May I ask, Young Master Murong, besides Canhe Manor, where else have you established your base?"
"How many soldiers have you trained? How much money and food have you prepared? How many suits of armor? How many crossbows? How many arrows have you stockpiled?"

"Are there generals capable of leading tens of thousands of troops and marching three hundred miles without collapsing? Do they know how to deploy troops in the field? Do they understand how to attack cities and capture strongholds? Are there military advisors and strategists skilled in governing the country, securing the people's livelihood, raising funds and supplies, and transporting provisions?"

Murong Fu was speechless.

The four retainers were also completely bewildered—they each managed a manor, and each manor could muster several hundred able-bodied men. They had also selected some loyal manor men and taught them martial arts, but what about battle formations, iron armor, the divine crossbow, and generals, strategists, and so on…

Is restoring a kingdom really that complicated?

Isn't it enough to make friends with martial arts practitioners and recruit masters?
Huang Rong continued her relentless attacks:

"May I ask, Young Master Murong, have the Song and Liao dynasties reached a point where the people are suffering and resentment is boiling over? Besides the slogan 'Reviving the Great Yan,' which no one cares about, does the Murong family have any vision that can truly inspire the common people to follow, or even attract scholars to serve? Besides gold, silver, wealth, and promises of riches, is there any righteous cause that can make martial arts practitioners swear to follow them to the death? Besides…"

As Huang Rong questioned them one by one, Murong Fu and his four retainers were no longer completely bewildered; their faces gradually turned pale, and cold sweat broke out on their foreheads.

Even Abi had a tense expression, with worry in her eyes.

Seeing the changes in the expressions of Murong Fu and the four powerful ministers, Lu Chen was about to burst into laughter.

The Murong family has indeed amassed a considerable fortune. Murong Bo, who faked his death and went into seclusion, also committed murder and robbery. It seems that he also recruited and subdued some bandits and outlaws in various places.

Murong Fu's strategy was simply to make friends widely among martial arts practitioners...

Fang La, after all, was the leader of the Ming Cult, with a sect that had a doctrine and guidelines, a large number of well-organized and devout followers, and the ability to mobilize good people who could not make a living. Even so, he still failed to conquer the world. The Murong family, relying on a ridiculous slogan of restoring the Yan Kingdom and recruiting a group of undisciplined rabble, dared to dream of restoring the country.

By the way, none of the Murong family's retainers are fit to restore the kingdom.

Besides their martial arts skills and decent character, Deng Baichuan, Gongye Qian, Bao Butong, and Feng Bo'e are considered heroes. What else do they have?
Oh, and Bao Butong's extreme foul mouth, and Feng Bo'e's extreme belligerence.

In short, given the Murong family's level of competence, the fact that they have been plotting to restore their kingdom generation after generation can only be described as that this family has truly gone mad.

Despite his elegant and refined demeanor, Murong Fu's extremely distorted family education since childhood has completely driven him to madness and obsession.

Having become completely obsessed and insane, even if he goes completely mad and becomes a madman immersed in the dream of restoring his kingdom to the throne, Murong Fu will not wake up from Huang Rong's analysis.

He sat there, pale and drenched in cold sweat, stunned for a long while. Suddenly, as if jolted awake from a nightmare, he stood up, walked to Lu Chen and Huang Rong, and bowed deeply.
"A single conversation with you is worth more than ten years of study. Lady Huang's advice has been like a revelation to Murong Fu! Murong Fu earnestly requests that Young Master Lu and Lady Huang assist the Murong family in their planning. If the great undertaking succeeds, we will surely reward them with land and titles!"

"Murong Fu hereby swears that as long as Young Hero Lu and Heroine Huang are willing to help my Murong family, they may choose any of the royal titles of Qin, Chu, Qi, Zhao, and Wei, which will be hereditary and never be replaced. If they break this oath, may they be struck by lightning!"

Well, this guy not only didn't realize it, but instead thought he had met Zhuge Liang and was going to visit him three times.

Lu Chen felt a mixture of sneer and pity in his heart.

If Murong Fu hadn't been obsessed with the dream of restoring his kingdom, with his looks, family background, and martial arts skills, he could have lived a very carefree life—his martial arts skills were so poor because the matter of restoring his kingdom distracted him too much.

Even so, at only twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old, he was already famous throughout the world. He had also shown his brilliance when facing Ding Chunqiu and at the foot of Misty Peak, which is enough to prove that his martial arts talent was quite remarkable.

Unfortunately, their talents were wasted.

Lu Chen thought to himself as he looked at Murong Fu, who remained motionless, maintaining a bowing posture.

The four retainers also stepped forward at this moment, lined up behind Murong Fu, and bowed deeply to the ground.

Abi knelt on the ground and bowed deeply.

Unfortunately, neither Lu Chen nor Huang Rong were moved.

Huang Rong can ask questions, and if she takes it seriously and studies more, she is capable of solving many problems, but why should she?

If Brother Lu Chen wants to become emperor, she can still try her best, and she can even get her father to help her. Who do you think you are, Murong Fu?

Looking at the motionless, statue-like Murong Fu and the others, Huang Rong's lips curled up, ready to cruelly refuse, when Lu Chen suddenly said:

“If you are not pursuing the restoration of your kingdom in the Central Plains and its surrounding areas, I do have a path that I can point out to Young Master Murong.”

Murong Fu suddenly raised his head, his eyes gleaming with a strange light as he looked at Lu Chen:

"Young Master Lu, please enlighten me!"

"Does Young Master Murong know about India?"

"Master Tripitaka, did you visit India on your pilgrimage to India?"

"That's right. There's a Ganges River there, the Ganges mentioned in Buddhist scriptures as 'as numerous as the sands of the Ganges,' and a group of people who are very willing to accept the rule of the strong..."

Once you enter the Ganges, it's like entering a deep sea; from then on, integrity becomes a thing of the past.

The Murong family is so eccentric, yet they seem to get along quite well with Third Brother?
Lu Chen felt that this was truly a glorious path for the Murong family.

Anyway, Murong Fu was only obsessed with becoming emperor. In the end, he even went so far as to acknowledge Duan Yanqing as his father. So what difference does it make where he became emperor?
The land under Third Brother is dotted with numerous local states, large and small. With Murong Fu's martial arts skills, leading his retainers and thousands of men, he could easily conquer a small state and establish himself there.

With his looks and complexion, he might not even need to fight. Just standing there with Wang Yuyan would be enough for the three brothers to venerate him as a celestial being descended to earth.

[This chapter has 4K words, please vote with monthly tickets!]

(End of this chapter)