Martial Arts Crossover: My Wife is the Top Scholar

Chapter 212 The Shaowu True Scripture, Slaying Zhu Datianwang with a Sword!
A body double isn't something you can just do casually.

Zhu Shunshui served as a stand-in for over twenty years, overseeing the twelve interconnected docks of the Three Gorges of the Yangtze River. No one dared to disobey him, including the Three Evils, Four Sticks, Five Swords, Six Palms, Two Divine Lords, and Seven Elders.

Even the Power Gang, which has been its enemy for many years, did not know that Zhu Shunshui was a stand-in, which shows that Zhu Shunshui was no ordinary person and his martial arts skills were among the best on the blacklist.

He is in no way inferior to the Black List masters such as "Poisonous Hand" Qian Luo and "Thief King" Chi Zunxin.

As for Tan Yingshou and Mo Yixian, who are just there to make up the numbers on the blacklist, even if the two of them team up, they are no match for Zhu Shunshui and would likely be killed by him instantly.

Zhu Shunshui's specialty is instant kills.

A single, decisive blow is essential; the battle must be swift and decisive, decided within three or four moves. If the fight drags on, and someone discovers the depth of one's martial arts skills, Zhu Xiawu may silence the victim.

Zhu Xiawu possesses a level of forbearance comparable to Blackbeard. He will either achieve great success and become a powerful figure in the martial arts world, or he will willingly serve as a constable in the Six Doors, with an iron face, iron clothes, and iron net.

In other words, if the Blackwater Gang cannot eliminate the Power Gang, Money Gang, Golden Wind and Drizzle Tower, and Angry Dragon Gang, Zhu Shunshui will forever remain the Great King Zhu.

From this perspective, if Zhu Shunshui had any rebellious intentions, he would have suppressed the expansion of the Blackwater Channel.

This time, the trouble in Jiangling may well be a pretext to use the Qinglong Society's mission as a pretext to eliminate the Blackwater Gang leader and weaken the Blackwater Gang.

Stand-ins often cause trouble.

What is there to say?

Oh no, I've become a stand-in!
To maintain secrecy, fewer than a handful of people know Zhu Xiawu's true identity, which makes Zhu Shunshui extremely prestigious in the Blackwater Underworld. Once he seizes an opportunity to kill Zhu Xiawu or a few people who know the truth, Zhu Shunshui will transform from a stand-in into the real Zhu Datianwang. The game between master and stand-in will never end.

Even if Zhu Xiawu used the techniques of an animal tamer to continuously destroy Zhu Shunshui's self-esteem, or gave Zhu Shunshui poison, it would all be meaningless.

The logic of a double is inherently contradictory.

In order to make Zhu Shunshui's act more convincing, he must be taught advanced martial arts, given ample power, and cultivated with the temperament of a superior so as to control the Blackwater Gang.

In order to keep "Zhu Xiawu" from revealing his true identity and to keep the number of people who know his true identity as small as possible, the Blackwater Channel can only be managed indirectly through a few managers.

Those who have long held positions of power are unwilling to become mere substitutes.

Those who are willing to be substitutes lack the qualities of someone in a position of power.

The more secretive the behavior, the less control one has.

Once vigilance is relaxed, one's identity can be easily exposed.

This contradiction can never be eliminated.

Only when one side completely eliminates the other, leaving only Zhu the Great King, can they truly feel at ease.

So, who set up this scheme?

Did Zhu Shunshui take this opportunity to eliminate Zhu Xiawu's confidants?

Did Zhu Xiawu take this opportunity to eliminate Zhu Shunshui's power?

Li Zhaoting found it somewhat laughable. Did you all think I had a good temper? Did you think it was easy to use someone else to do your dirty work? Did you think that by teetering on the brink of death, you could escape the clutches of Yama?

"Your eyes look a little lost."

"I'm analyzing something."

"what's up?"

"Who's borrowing a knife?"

“Is this question important?”

"It doesn't matter. For me, my goal is to eliminate the river bandits near Jiangling. Whether it's a schemer using someone else to do the dirty work or me actively taking action, the effect is the same. There's no point in digging into the details."

"If that's the case, why overthink it?"

"Your subconscious, unrestrained imagination is also telling you something: if you weren't the one using someone else's knife, you can speak your mind before you die."

"Li Zhaoting, you are too arrogant!"

"This is confidence, absolute confidence. I will win this battle. You may not know, but it was not Gongsun Ce who invited me to search for the water fortress, but Master Zhang."

"so what?"

"Wudang is not far from Jiangling. It took me four whole days to get here. Even if I traveled by donkey cart, I could make two or three round trips. Why don't you guess where Master Zhang is and how many Wudang masters have come?"

"Li Zhaoting, you..."

“This is not bullying the weak. You just used the direct lineage of Wudang Zixiao Palace’s internal energy cultivation method. Stealing martial arts is a major taboo in the martial arts world. Master Zhang has the right to take back the secret technique.”

Li Zhaoting revealed a gloating smile.

Zhu Shunshui's forehead was covered in cold sweat.

Every conspiracy has its limits. In Zhang Sanfeng's eyes, neither the Blackwater Gang nor the Green Dragon Society were worth mentioning.

As long as Zhang Sanfeng arrives, all conspiracies and schemes will vanish like a dream. Zhu Shunshui's three years of planning and five years of preparation could not withstand Zhang Sanfeng's casual palm strike.

"Whoosh!"

Li Zhaoting rushed towards Zhu Shunshui.

"I forgot to tell you, the seniors of prestigious sects like to train the younger generation, so Master Zhang probably won't make a move until you knock me to the ground."

Zhu Shunshui, for your life, for your ambition, muster your courage, fight with all your might, and attack me! This is your last chance.

The victor will be decided within three moves!

Li Zhaoting's voice transformed into rolling thunder.

If all five leaders of the Azure Dragon Society rushed at him, Li Zhaoting would summon Zhang Sanfeng without hesitation. If it was only Zhu Shunshui, Li Zhaoting would want to see the "Shaowu Zhenjing" that Zhu Xiawu had gleaned from Yan Kuangtu's notes.

Yan Kuangtu was obsessed with martial arts and possessed extraordinary talent. He created his own unique skills at the age of ten, founded his own sect at the age of thirteen, became a legend in the martial arts world at the age of twenty, and became the leader of the Black List at the age of twenty-five. He challenged masters everywhere, making himself an enemy of the world.

Yan Kuangtu doesn't care about power, status, money, beauty, or fame; he only cares about the inheritance of martial arts.

In Yan Kuangtu's view, Wudang Kung Fu emphasizes internal cultivation and follows a more yin-soft approach, although it also has external pure yang power cultivation. Shaolin focuses on external martial arts and follows a yang-hard approach. Although it has internal martial arts breathing and meditation, it still does not deviate from the yang routine. If the martial arts of Shaolin and Wudang were integrated, they would surely be able to create an amazing martial art.

Yan Kuangtu challenged top masters from Shaolin and Wudang to duels, learning unique skills in the process. He then privately studied and researched how to integrate the two schools.

Fifteen years ago, during the Battle of Wuyi Mountain, Yan Kuangtu was besieged by more than three hundred martial arts masters. The battle was fierce and blood flowed like a river. He fought with all his might to break through the encirclement.

During the chaotic battle, Yan Kuangtu's training notes were stolen by Zhu Xiawu. Taking advantage of his position in the government, Zhu Xiawu interrogated the traitorous disciples of Shaolin and Wudang, tricked them into revealing their secret techniques, and combined them with Yan Kuangtu's training notes. After ten years of study, he created the "Shaolin Martial Arts Manual".

In order to give Zhu Shunshui control of the Blackwater Path, Zhu Xiawu passed on the Shaowu True Scripture to Zhu Shunshui. Under the threat of death, Zhu Shunshui unleashed his full power without reservation.

Li Zhaoting formed a mudra with his hands, radiating a brilliant Buddhist light.

With the index and middle fingers of his left hand joined together, he formed a sword, which manifested as countless sword shadows, elusive and hazy, yet magnificent and unparalleled. With his right hand, he drew an arc with his sword fingers, and the purest and most refined divine light of the Tathagata cleaved out from the arc like lightning, as if the Milky Way of the Nine Heavens had collapsed from mid-air, and a single sword strike chilled fourteen provinces!

The Buddha's divine light shines everywhere!

Hundreds of sword beams hurtled towards Zhu Shunshui. Li Zhaoting brought his palms together in front of his chest, his face solemn and dignified. Then, with a swift and fierce thrust, as his sword finger pointed out, a gust of wind swirled up, causing mountains to collapse and seas to tsunami, divine winds to howl, and cracks to appear in the water, where plum blossoms braved the snow to face the wind! Tathagata's Divine Light - Boundless Buddhist Dharma!

In an instant, the two powerful moves merged into one, transforming into forty-nine sword beams that shot towards forty-nine vital points around Zhu Shunshui's body, sealing off his escape route.

Zhu Shunshui knew that the moment of life and death had arrived. Just by looking at Li Zhaoting's imposing presence, there was no need for Zhang Sanfeng to take action; the continuous sword beams would be enough to shatter Zhu Shunshui.

Zhu Shunshui formed hand seals, one hand seal to the other, using the Daoist Nine True Words hand seals to quickly enter a state of oneness with heaven and man. His life's power was fused into a single palm, his palm as soft as cotton yet as strong as iron, clearly the Tai Chi Cotton Palm.

Shaowu Zhenjing: Wudang Palm!
The enormous Yin-Yang Taiji diagram soared into the air, colliding head-on with the dazzling golden light, the falling flowers, and the golden lotuses emerging from the ground. The water surface rippled with waves five zhang high, the warships were swept away by the current, and the dock beneath their feet shattered with a deafening roar.

The sword light, extremely yang and strong, scattered and shot out in all directions, while the palm force, extremely yin and soft, shattered everything. The two internal energies surged in all directions, and the gate of the water village was smashed by the internal energy. The water bandits guarding the gate were squeezed into minced meat by the internal energy.

A huge water sphere shot into the sky, and the two dodged and weaved among more than a dozen wildly flying water dragons. Zhu Shunshui guided his Qi back to its origin, went with the flow, and activated the unique mental technique of the Shaowu True Scripture, turning Tai Chi Cotton Palm into a heavy punch.

The Great Vajra Fist.

The most powerful and fierce fist technique in Shaolin, bar none.

Apart from the "Great Bright Fist," which has been removed from the list of the Seventy-Two Arts by the Bodhidharma Academy due to its extremely demanding entry requirements and high cultivation difficulty, the Great Vajra Fist is the essence of Shaolin Yang-style boxing.

There were no fancy changes.

A massive, powerful punch slammed into Li Zhaoting.

Li Zhaoting held the ball with both hands, as if sealing it off.

If you understand one method, you understand all methods.

Yang Yuqian once said that Tai Chi is everywhere.

It lies in the sword, in the fist, in the spear and halberd.

When Li Zhaoting comprehends the profound mysteries of Tai Chi sword from the perspective of "artistic conception," he can apply this knowledge to other situations and use Tai Chi in fist and foot grappling, as well as swords, spears, axes, whips, maces, and hammers.

Sit back and hook your feet, turn right and separate your hands, turn left and hook your feet, turn right and retract your feet and extend your arms, and use a move called Cloud Hands.

Zhu Shunshui's powerful and forceful punch was neutralized by Li Zhaoting's borrowed force, which was deflected by the Wild Horse Parting Mane. Li Zhaoting smoothly raised his right knee to block, preventing Zhu Shunshui from tripping. He then followed up with the Silk-Entwining Cross Hand and the Knee-Hugging and Twisting Step, using the unique Tai Chi method of borrowing and neutralizing force. At the same time, he raised his hand to neutralize Zhu Shunshui's powerful momentum, while his right fist accumulated tremendous force.

Zhu Shunshui was very familiar with Wudang's unique skills, so he knew that Li Zhaoting's next move was "Banlan Chui" (a type of punch), and with Li Zhaoting's foundation, this punch could shatter the city gate.

The most powerful move in Tai Chi.

His fists were like cannons, comparable to the hammers used to beat drums.

What horrified Zhu Shunshui even more was that Li Zhaoting's left hand was clenched into a hook and slightly curved downwards. If the Banlan Chui failed to kill Zhu Shunshui, his left hand would follow the momentum and turn into Yun Shou (Cloud Hand), while his right hand would use the force to turn into Dan Bian (Single Whip). Then came the most terrifying, most shameless, most unsolvable, and most smooth cycle of Tai Chi: Dan Bian → Yun Shou → Dan Bian.

With hands like an ox pushing a millstone, his internal energy, like a millstone, constantly wears down the enemy's spirit and energy. He can go on for ages before the enemy is crushed into tofu dregs by the millstone.

Once caught by the Cloud Hands, you'll fall into Li Zhaoting's rhythm and endure his endless combos. Even if you're made of bronze or iron, you'll be crushed into pieces.

The most terrifying aspect of Tai Chi is not its ability to borrow or deflect force, but rather that as long as the rhythm is mastered, the enemy will be forced to retreat in an endless series of combos.

Especially for a master like Li Zhaoting, whose body's Yin and Yang energies intertwine and change, and whose essence, energy, and spirit are unified, with Yin and Yang merging both inside and outside, he can either withstand the advancing blocking punch that shatters the city gate or endure endless combos.

Neither of these paths is a dead end.

Every path offers a chance to escape.

As Zhang Sanfeng said, one should not be too ruthless in one's conduct and actions, leaving no room for maneuver. If Tai Chi is used to its extreme, the cycle of Yin and Yang will inevitably be broken.

This would give the enemy the opportunity to perish together with them.

Li Zhaoting's moves were not fully utilized, and Zhu Shunshui discovered the flaw. His face turned red, and he activated the desperate technique of "Remnant Yuan Killing Life". His hair turned white visibly, his left hand was held upright like a knife, and his right hand was clenched into a fist.

One punch, one palm strike!
The fist is Shaolin Fist, and the palm is Wudang Palm.

Fist and Palm Combination: The True Scripture of Shaowu!

Li Zhaoting twisted his waist, and the Purple Rose Soft Sword roared as it sprang from his waist, stabbing towards Zhu Shunshui's chest. At that moment, Li Zhaoting's right hand reached out and precisely grasped the hilt of the Purple Rose Soft Sword. He released all the sword intent he had accumulated until now. The sword energy was like a lotus flower, a white dragon emerging from the water, and the water condensing into a white lotus.

Lotus flowers were everywhere, each one formed from gathered sword energy. As the petals bloomed, streaks of sword energy shot out, covering an area of ​​twenty feet in radius.

In Zhu Shunshui's eyes, the entire world had become a sea of ​​sword energy, with sword energy all around him and all 365 acupoints on his body within his attack range.

Where did Zhu Xiawu go?

Where did the Green Dragon Society's henchmen go?
Before the war began, Zhu Shunshui reached an agreement with several leaders of the Qinglong Society. The September leader, Lao Daobazi, and the October leader, Yan Longyuan, all agreed to help. In addition, Zhu Xiawu, the May leader, and the elite assassins provided by the December leader, Li Zhaoting had no chance of survival.

The plan to ambush Li Zhaoting was not designed by Zhu Shunshui, but by Zhu Xiawu. The "borrowing a knife to kill" mentioned by Li Zhaoting was a supplementary plan that Zhu Shunshui added after learning about the original plan, in order to turn the double into the real person.

In retrospect, it was all a scheme.

Zhu Xiawu has never appeared.

There was no sign of either the leader or the assassin.

The only one who resisted Li Zhaoting was Zhu Shunshui.

How could Zhu Shunshui possibly withstand such a powerful attack?

At the critical moment of life and death, Zhu Shunshui thought of what Li Zhaoting had just said, and his mind became more and more chaotic. He missed the last chance to escape. By the time he reacted, 365 sword energies had already sealed all the acupoints in his body.

"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"

The sword energy entered the eight extraordinary meridians through the acupoints, invaded the internal organs, and destroyed muscles and bones. Zhu Shunshui's skin was cracked like a piece of Ge kiln porcelain, with traces of fishing nets.

"boom!"

The sword energy entered his body from the outside in and then shot out from the inside out. In just a moment, Zhu Shunshui was reduced to dust in front of the heroes of the Blackwater Path.

Very few stewards knew Zhu Xiawu's true identity.

In the hearts of 99.99% of the members, Zhu Shunshui was the Great King Zhu. With Zhu Shunshui's death, the spirit and will of the Blackwater Gang members completely collapsed.

"Gentle Water God" Yong Xiyu's movement range was restricted by Feng Suzhen's Holy King Sword Technique, and Lan Fenghuang took the opportunity to release the Golden Silkworm Gu, which bit hard on his neck.

Unwilling to endure the torment, Yong Xiyu deliberately opened the poison spray nozzle and died from his own poison.

The Five Swordsmen were surrounded and kicked by dozens of experts. Terrified by the intense scene, they were powerless to resist. They barely managed to withstand a few dozen moves before being hacked to pieces by the crowd.

The three villains and four thugs were captured by Li Zhaoting.

Apart from Elders Zhang Canjin and Wan Suiyu, who guarded the Twelve Linked Forts, Cai Qishen, the God of Fiery Fire, and the five stewards Yu Sha in red, Su Sha in brocade, Gong Sha in white, Ao Sha in black, and Wu Sha in gray, all the high-ranking figures of the Twelve Linked Forts were captured by Li Zhaoting.

Is this over?

Of course, the matter is not over.

If the Twelve Linked Forts had not been disbanded, it meant there was still a Zhu the Great King, whose identity would inevitably be exposed.

Without "King Zhu," the surrounding forces would have swarmed in and swallowed up the twelve water fortresses.

(End of this chapter)