Quickly conquer the martial arts world, and let your fists dominate the heavens!

Chapter 224 The Great Heroes of the North and South, the Master Swordsmith

Li Feiying, the second-in-command of the Poyang Gang, did not hesitate at all.

"The highest martial arts skill? The martial arts world in the South is complex, and most skills are passed down in secret. There are countless people with high martial arts skills, but if I had to choose one, it would naturally be Du Xinwu, the great hero of the North and South."

When Li Feiying spoke of the great heroes of the North and South, his face was filled with undisguised reverence.

Not only him, but also his disciples, including Ye Ningzhen, all agreed.

Chen Zhan naturally knew this man, a martial arts master who drew on the strengths of many, was skilled in both literature and martial arts, founded the Natural School, a rare chivalrous hero of his generation, and a Chinese hero.

From the late Qing Dynasty to the People's Republic of China, through several eras, his original intention remained unchanged. Back then, he joined the Tongmenghui (Revolutionary Alliance) and devoted himself to the anti-Qing revolutionary activities, and was assigned to serve as Mr. Sun's bodyguard.

He protected Mr. Sun from danger on multiple occasions.

He is called the Great Hero of the North and South because his martial arts skills combine elements from both the North and South, with a foundation in the South and techniques from the North.

Although Du Xinwu's "Natural School" is located in the south, it is not like some schools that are closed off from the past. Instead, it actively absorbs the essence of northern martial arts and forms a unique style that is "compatible with both the north and the south".

On the other hand, his life's footprints covered both the north and south.

In his early years, he traveled the south, eliminating bandits and protecting businesses in Hunan, Sichuan, Guizhou and other places, thus establishing his reputation as a chivalrous figure in the south.

In his middle age, he served as a protector of the revolution in the north, following Mr. Sun to Beiping and Tianjin to carry out revolutionary activities. He acted as a bodyguard and protected his master from attacks by northern warlords and Qing assassins on several occasions.

This is the basis for his recognition by both the martial arts world of the North and South.

Historically, the martial arts worlds of the North and South have always looked down on each other.

Northerners felt that Southern Fist was too soft, lacked lethality, and wasn't powerful enough; on the battlefield, opponents wouldn't stick to you slowly, and you'd be defeated with a single punch.

Southerners felt that Northern boxing techniques were too forceful and a waste of energy, and that many of the "hard skills" were just "clumsy" techniques that could break bricks but couldn't dodge sneak attacks.

Du Xinwu is one of the few masters who is well-regarded in both the northern and southern martial arts worlds.

"Is the Natural Gate located at Phoenix Mountain in Yuelu?" Chen Zhan asked.

“That’s right, Master Du’s Natural Sect is in Phoenix Mountain, but Master Du travels all over the country and may not be in the sect,” Li Feiying said truthfully.

Chen Zhan nodded.

"Your Poyang Gang doesn't look like some kind of chaotic sect, so why are you doing theft? How do you make a living?"

If it were just theft, Chen Zhan wouldn't even care; it's impossible to completely eliminate theft these days.

But just don't break the rules. Thieves don't steal from the elderly, weak, sick, or disabled, and they don't harm lives.

Lin San wanted to cut off his hand, so he went too far.

"Our Poyang Gang does all sorts of things, a bit of everything. We're involved in martial arts schools, security escort agencies, and cloth shops, among others."

"And there's theft and robbery too, right?"

"To be honest, we're not the only ones eyeing this train. If we don't act, there are many other shady characters who will try to take advantage of us. We're being relatively lenient."

Li Feiying wasn't lying. That's how the world is now. Martial arts schools all employ thugs, occupy territory, and collect protection money, not to mention bandits and robbers.

Chen Zhan also knew that he couldn't change this social reality.

It was easy to wipe out the Poyang Gang, but other gangs would take over the market the very next day. There was no way to solve the problem once and for all.

"Is it a rule in your sect that if someone is caught stealing, their hand will be chopped off?" Chen Zhan asked.

Lin San was not there; he had already been taken away for treatment.

"What do you mean by cutting off hands?" Li Feiying was a little confused, not understanding what cutting off hands meant, or who was cutting off whom.

Chen Zhan briefly explained, and Li Feiying listened with some annoyance: "This is absolutely not the rule of our Poyang Gang. Although we are a Jianghu sect, we cannot kill innocent people indiscriminately. Otherwise, they will not let us go, and we will not have a place in Nanchang City."

As he spoke, he pointed to the area outside the city to the north.

Chen Zhan understood what it meant; Nanchang was the place where the military flag was raised and the birthplace of the People's Army.

The place where the revolution began.

There might be people from all walks of life, but those who indiscriminately kill innocent people have probably been wiped out long ago.

"I'll let it go this time. You should discipline your men properly. I won't interfere with theft, but murder and dismemberment are absolutely unacceptable."

"Don't worry, I will discipline them properly and this will never happen again."

Chen Zhan nodded. "I need to go to Longquan County to get two horses for me."

"No problem, we have horses. Would you like them now?"

"Tomorrow."

Having agreed to come back to fetch the horse the next day, Li Feiying thanked Chen Zhan profusely as he saw him off, thinking to himself, "Finally, I've gotten rid of this troublemaker. Now I'll go settle accounts with Lin San."

The next day.

Chen Zhan and the little fox shared one horse, while Ye Ningzhen rode her own.

The little fox wanted to ride by itself. After riding a few times and getting faster, it became a bit unstable and almost fell off. Fortunately, its stance training over the past six months had been solid, and it gripped the horse's belly tightly, so it was alright.

Longquan County is not large and has not yet been upgraded to a city, so transportation is not very convenient.

It would take several days to ride a horse from Nanchang, but the map was very clear. Following the official road, we passed through several counties and arrived at Longquan County in three days.

Longquan County has two major industries.

One of them is Longquan celadon, which has been famous throughout history. Although the craftsmanship of Longquan celadon declined slightly in the Qing Dynasty, it still became the mainstream porcelain among the people because of its "durability and beauty".

The second is "sword forging".

It has the historical significance of the Longquan sword, known as the "Number One Sword Under Heaven".

The history of sword making in Longquan is even longer than that of celadon. As early as the Spring and Autumn Period, there was a legend that "Ou Yezi made swords in Longquan", making Longquan County synonymous with the production of famous swords.

Ou Yezi forged the "Longyuan Sword" in Qinxi Mountain, Longquan. Later, to avoid the taboo of Emperor Li Yuan's name, it was renamed "Longquan Sword," and it was known as one of the most famous swords in the world, along with the "Tai'a Sword." Later, "Longquan Sword" became a name, representing the precious swords produced by master swordsmiths in Longquan County, rather than a specific sword.

The Ming History, Treatise on Clothing and Carriages, stipulates that officials of the first rank may wear a Longquan sword.

Upon entering Longquan County, Chen Zhan asked, "Where does the sword-making master you mentioned last time live?"

Ye Ningzhen gave an awkward laugh, "My master did know a master swordsmith in his younger days, but I don't know if he's still alive, let alone where he lives."

Although I don't know the exact address, it's easy; I can just ask someone.

The old friend whom Master Ye Ningzhen knew was named Shen Tingquan, a native of Bihu Town, Lishui. His ancestor, Shen Chaoqing, owned the Shen family's blacksmith shop, which was very famous in Bihu.

In the 20th year of the Guangxu Emperor's reign, Shen Tingquan moved to West Street in Longquan Town and opened a blacksmith shop with the name "Ren".

In the autumn of the third year of the Republic of China, Yang Yuqi, the magistrate of Longquan County, presided over a grand sword-making competition among the elite swordsmiths of Longquan. Shen Tingquan's sword pierced through three copper plates with a single strike and cut his opponent's sword in two, winning first place and being named the "Sword Champion." Magistrate Yang Yuqi presented him with a horizontal plaque inscribed with "Shen Tingquan Sword Shop."

In 1915, while traveling north to Beijing, he encountered trouble when his car was hijacked by bandits. Li Guangpu, Ye Ningzhen's master, was also on the car at the time. Li Guangpu displayed great power, killing several bandits and saving Shen Tingquan in the process.

However, fifteen years have passed, and who knows if "Shen Tingquan Sword Shop" is still there.

Chen Zhan and Ye Ningzhen inquired many times, until they asked the elderly man, and learned that "Shen Tingquan Sword Shop" had been closed for ten years and Shen Tingquan's whereabouts were unknown.

After inquiring about the original location of the sword shop, the two went to check it out. Over the past ten years, the streets had changed.

Only after asking the neighbors around the original site did I learn the reason.

Ten years ago, Shen Tingquan went out to forge swords but encountered danger and lost his right arm, so he could no longer forge swords and had to close down.

Following the directions given by the other party, Chen Zhan and Ye Ningzhen crossed two streets and found the courtyard where Shen Tingquan lived.

Ye Ningzhen stepped forward and knocked on the door, "Knock knock knock~"

The person who opened the door was a young man in his twenties or thirties, dressed in coarse linen clothes, but very strong, with a square face.

Who are you looking for?

Is this Shen Tingquan's house?

The young man was silent for a moment, then said, "Yes, what do you want with my father?"

"Forging swords".

"Forehead"

The young man was taken aback, as if he hadn't expected the visitor to have this purpose, because his father hadn't forged swords for ten years, and few people knew about it.

"I'm sorry, my father hasn't forged swords for many years."

“Your father should know Li Guangpu. I am his apprentice. Please allow me to meet him.” Chen Zhan hadn’t wanted to insist, but Ye Ningzhen took the initiative to speak.

The young man hesitated for a moment, then said, "You guys come in first."

Leading the three inside, the young man called out, "Father, an old friend has come."

Soon a man came out of the house. He was about fifty or sixty years old, missing his right arm, with a dark and aged face, clearly someone who worked outdoors all year round.

After sizing up the three men, Shen Tingquan stepped forward and asked, "And you three are?"

Ye Ningzhen said, "Li Guangpu, do you still remember him?"

Shen Tingquan frowned and thought for a moment, then, remembering who Li Guangpu was, he asked in surprise, "You're Mr. Li's daughter? His apprentice?"

"Disciple, I have come here because of your reputation, and I would like to ask you to forge a sword."

Shen Tingquan looked troubled and sighed:
"Well, Mr. Li saved my life, so I shouldn't refuse. But I haven't forged swords for many years, as you can see from my condition."

Forging swords is both physically demanding and requires meticulous work.

With one arm missing, there's insufficient physical strength and control over the heat, making it difficult to forge good swords.

The two men didn't say anything and were just about to leave when Shen Tingquan's son whispered something to his father. They were talking in a hushed tone, but Chen Zhan's hearing was too sharp, and he heard it.

"Father, why don't we ask Mr. Li for help to avenge you?"

'Shut up, don't say any more about this.'

Chen Zhan stopped and turned around, asking, "Master Shen's arm was broken ten years ago?"

Shen Tingquan nodded. "That's right. On the way to Yingtan, we were intercepted by bandits. We handed over all our valuables and were left with a disability."

Chen Zhan looked at Shen Tingquan's son; the two of them had just exchanged words that clearly had another meaning behind them.

In this era, let alone bandits, many warlords couldn't even last ten years!

Logically speaking, ten years have passed. If the bandits from that time were not all dead, they would have either fallen apart and disappeared without a trace.

How can I get revenge?

"Ten years have passed, and the bandits still haven't been wiped out?"

When Chen Zhan asked, the father and son exchanged a glance and immediately realized that their conversation had been overheard.

Somewhat embarrassed, he said, "Sigh, it's been ten years, don't even mention it."

Chen Zhan shook his head, took the two demon swords off his back, wrapped them in cloth, but it was clear from the hilts that they were not Chinese swords.

"Let's make a deal: you forge two knives for me, and I'll kill someone for you, how about it?"

Chen Zhan's words struck a chord with both father and son.

The young man's eyes lit up with excitement. He looked at his father, then at Chen Zhan, and felt that Chen Zhan looked somewhat familiar.

However, having lived in the town for a long time and not being martial arts practitioners, they had only seen a report about Chen Zhan by chance and did not remember what he looked like.

(End of this chapter)