Starting with the divine power of the Great Vajra, he traversed the heavens.

Chapter 173 Playing the Game (Seeking Monthly Tickets)

P.S.: Please vote for me, my godfathers! I'm just a little over a hundred or a thousand votes short!
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What a brilliant and swift technique!

This technique contains almost all the essence of grappling techniques in the world, and even top-tier martial arts masters might not be able to evade it.

But Hongxiu easily broke free with a flick of her wrist, put the throwing knife back into her sleeve, and said with a grin, "You took the wrong one, I didn't mean to."

The old man silently observed it for a while, then shook his head and said, "This throwing knife is the most treasured weapon of the 'Flying Knife Sect' of the Tang Dynasty. It is incomparably sharp and quite heavy." He sighed and said, "Indeed, everyone says that the Blood-Clad Man is ruthless in his dealings with enemies. I have witnessed it firsthand."

Hongxiu smiled slightly, her expression calm: "You didn't come here to avenge Gong Jiu and the others?"

The old man smiled slightly and said, "No, no! If Sister Hongxiu can kill happily and enjoyably, why would I be angry? And if I'm not angry, why would I seek revenge?"

As he spoke, the bleeding on his shoulder had stopped.

The old man turned to look at Ren Shaoyang and smiled, "Hello, my name is Wu Ming. Greetings, Sword God Ren."

Ren Shaoyang gestured with his hand: "Sit down."

"Thank you." The old man was very polite, and nodded to Ding An as he sat down. "Greetings, Senior Sword Emperor."

Ding An crossed his arms over his chest and remained silent.

The old man said in a friendly manner, "I haven't introduced myself yet. My surname is Wu, and my name is Wu Ming, which means 'mouth-sky' and 'sun-moon-bright'."

Just then, a servant came in carrying a food box.

The old man stood up, took out crystal wine bottles from the food box, and placed them in front of the three people one by one. He said apologetically, "I am a little late, so I will make amends with the grape wine I brought from Persia."

He stood up and poured wine for the three people in turn.

After he straightened up, he opened a flat-bottomed square jar containing a dark-colored sauce.

"These are butterfly shark eggs that I brought back from my last trip to Japan. North of Kunlun, many people call them 'Kavia,' which means sauce made from caviar. They are excellent for serving with alcohol."

Ren Shaoyang took a sip of wine and tasted the caviar, but found it too salty and fishy, ​​so he didn't eat a second bite.

Ding'an reacted the same way, spitting out the contents with a pained expression.

Surprisingly, the little beggar liked it and ate several bites. He smiled at the old man and said, "Not bad, not bad! At first, I wasn't used to it, but after a few more bites, besides the fishy and salty taste, there was an indescribable flavor, absolutely delicious."

The old man clapped his hands and laughed, "Sister Hongxiu really knows how to eat!" After saying that, he took out several more dishes of square wine and placed them in front of Hongxiu.

The little beggar accepted everything offered and ate with great pleasure.

The old man turned to look at Ren Shaoyang and said, "I heard from the honest monk that you wanted me to come see you?"

Ren Shaoyang said, "That's right."

The old man frowned: "But from what he said, it seems that you already knew about the Invisible Man, or even my existence?"

Ren Shaoyang looked at him calmly and said lightly, "There are stars on the scales, and waves on the lake. Although you are mysterious and unpredictable, you are not without traces."

"For example?" the old man asked earnestly, like a child eager for knowledge.

"For example, Horthy's wealth."

The little beggar's voice came through gritted teeth; she was getting angrier and angrier as she thought about it—it was all money!
"And then there is that all-knowing, all-encompassing wisdom."

The old man looked at the bright moon outside the window, his spirits low: "Invisible man, oh invisible man, as long as you have to deal with people, you can never be invisible."

"Is that so?" Ren Shaoyang said calmly, "Since you want to remain invisible and call yourself Wu Ming, and since you want to be 'nameless,' why didn't you wait until the Double Ninth Festival to deal with me, but instead jumped out now?"

"The reason is simple," the old man said wearily, "I'm just so bored."

Is that a reason?

Ding'an was puzzled and turned to ask the little beggar.

The little beggar looked at the old man's bright eyes and slowly said, "Of course it counts! If someone is smart enough, even the smartest person in the world, and treats everything in the world as a game that has already been played to its fullest extent, you will also find it boring."

"Hahaha! Well said!"

The old man gave a thumbs up, then clapped his hands and laughed loudly: "I consider myself to have a talent that is rare throughout the ages. However, the people of the world are clumsy and incompetent, and even the wisdom of our ancestors cannot compare to half of ours. I remain steadfast and set sail all the way, using the world's Go board to play games in the human world and find my own enjoyment."

"Fun?" Ren Shaoyang looked at him indifferently. "What fun?"

The old man thought for a moment, then chuckled and said, "Whether it succeeds or fails, it's all part of the fun."

What happened to the Murong family back then?

"My father was superstitious about the path to immortality. Hearing that Ren Jianshen's 'Dragon Capture' possessed the power of an ancient sword immortal, he searched for it in many places but could not find it. So he turned his attention to the Murong family. He heard that the Murong family's 'Divine Spider Sword' was a true inheritance from you. He casually fabricated a charge of treason and destroyed the Murong family."

Ren Shaoyang took a sip of wine: "So you are a prince of the Ming Dynasty."

"What's so special about being a prince?" the old man scoffed. "My father died a few years after I was born, so there's no doubt about my status as a prince."

Ren Shaoyang's eyes flashed with divine light as he said in a deep voice, "So you plotted to use us to throw the world into chaos and then help Gong Jiu assassinate the emperor and usurp the throne?"

The old man nodded: "Yes!"

He actually admitted it as a matter of course.

"Sword God, Blood-Clad Man, Blade Emperor! You legendary invincible masters have returned to the martial world. If you are just wandering around aimlessly, it would be a waste and a terrible disservice to your talents."

The old man smiled kindly.

"So when that idiot Huo Xiu found out your identities, I gave the Divine Spider Sword to Gong Jiu and asked him to give things a push." ​​"And then everything fell into place."

At this point, the old man paused, then sighed, "I just didn't expect that the three of you would be so skilled in martial arts. The power of the Divine Sword, the Demon Blade, and the Blazing Fire that Burns the City far exceeded my imagination. Even the donkey pulling the cart was more powerful than most people in the martial arts world."

He seemed somewhat frustrated as he raised his glass and gulped down his drink.

Ding An stared at him intently, then asked, "Gong Jiu is dead, why do you say it was a good thing he was killed?"

The old man put down his wine cup, still smiling, and said, "Emperor Li Dao, as I once said, everything in the world is just a game in my eyes. Success and failure are games, and life and death are games too."

"Gong Jiu succeeded, and I'm so happy! Even if he dies, I'm still so happy."

Ding'an was puzzled: "You're not human anymore."

The old man laughed heartily: "That's right! Now my divinity outweighs my humanity, and nothing lingers in my heart."

Ren Shaoyang and the little beggar exchanged a glance and then fell silent.

But as the three of them sat there, a vast aura, as strong as the Great Wall, suddenly rose from their bodies and pressed down in all directions.

Wow!
It was as if a raging storm was brewing around them, pushing the tables and chairs several feet away, and causing the bowls and chopsticks on the table to fall to the ground and shatter into pieces.

The old man, who was in the eye of the storm, suddenly changed his expression.

His pupils gradually contracted, eventually forming two needle-like beams that stared at the faces of Ren Shaoyang and the other two.

A strange aura gradually rose from his body, blocking the three people's imposing presence.

A stalemate ensued.

An expression of amazement rose in the old man's eyes: "Old man, I really didn't expect that you would also have the skill of influencing the outside world with divine will!"

He suddenly slammed his hand on the table and shouted, "Aren't you going to let the little beggar eat?" He then swung his prosthetic arm across the table.

But the old man's palm moved only slightly, yet it brought out several extremely strange forces, such as lifting, swinging, circling, pointing, and inching, making it seem like it was about to rise but then stopped.

The prosthetic arm that touched Ding'an was withdrawn immediately.

With a loud "bang," the old man floated backward and stood at the window.

Ren Shaoyang crossed his arms over his chest and said calmly, "This skill is called Refining the Spirit. You've figured it out on your own, which is quite impressive."

"Refining the spirit?" The old man muttered to himself a few times, gazing at the moon with his eyes, and sighed softly, "I thought I was the only one in the martial world with this kind of supernatural ability, but I didn't expect that you all had already comprehended this path and gone even further."

"Wu, Wu your grandma's leg!" Ding'an suddenly flew into a rage, and with a "clang," a sea of ​​fire spread out!

The old man frowned slightly, but his withered hands spread out like blooming orchids, full of a strange and beautiful meaning.

Ding ding ding ding~!

In his rage, Ding'an's blade flashed again, becoming like a dragon, a tiger, and a falcon! Flames and lightning surged down, growing ever more fierce and powerful.

Suddenly, a terrible explosion rang out!

At that very moment, a strange change occurred.

The old man flicked his finger, and his curled fingernail suddenly straightened, becoming crystal clear, white, and gleaming. It clashed with Ding'an's short knife, sparks flying and energy surging.

Hongxiu said coldly, "I've seen those two martial arts techniques of his in the Stone Forest of Wudang."

Ren Shaoyang said, "It was all passed down to those people by the old man."

Hongxiu nodded and said, "But the same martial arts in his hands are a thousand times more terrifying."

“This is the difference in natural talent,” Ren Shaoyang said. “Wu Ming’s talent and aptitude are indeed the highest among all the people we have met.”

Bang!
Another golden sound rang out.

But Wu Ming didn't stop walking and drifted away from the window.

"Gentlemen, today is not the best time for a fight to the death. Let this old man see the difference between life and death on the Double Ninth Festival!"

Ding An stayed put and shouted, "Don't you dare run away then!"

Ren Shaoyang stepped forward and asked, "What's wrong, Ding'an?"

Hongxiu skipped forward and asked curiously, "Yeah, why did you suddenly get so angry?"

Ding An turned around, his face flushed, and without saying much, simply raised his prosthetic hand.

The scales on the tree were shattered, and the lightning-struck jujube wood was cracked. Fortunately, the spider silk and the midge tongue were still intact.

But Ding'an was very sad and angrily muttered to himself. He really cherished his prosthetic hand!

"My hand, my hand!"

Ren Shaoyang frowned, feeling as if he had heard this sentence before at the beginning.
The little beggar quickly stroked his head and said softly, "Ding'an, Ding'an! The spider silk and midge tongues are intact. We just need to exchange them for wood and scales with Boss Zhu."

But the Double Ninth Festival is almost here.

Ren Shaoyang laughed and said, "The blood-stained donkey cart can travel a thousand miles a day, that's plenty of time to get you a new one!"

Ding An nodded and said, "That's true!" Then his face darkened. "On the Double Ninth Festival, I will not let him go!"

(End of this chapter)