Martial Arts Crossover: My Wife is the Top Scholar

Chapter 416 If you want to kill me, let Li Zhaoting come! I'm waiting for him!
Li Zhaoting received a challenge letter.

A very unusual challenge letter, without red-background, gold-embossed stationery, or any wood carvings, tree branches, or corpses as markers, only a verbal message.

A mad, frenzied, ugly, and bloodthirsty monster stretched out its sharp claws and tore off most of its pursuer's face, an arm, and two legs.

Just as the pursuer closed his eyes and awaited death, the monster shouted out a sentence from its blood-stained mouth!

An extremely arrogant challenge!
Challenge Li Zhaoting, the leader of the Central Plains Heavenly Gang!
"If you want to kill me, let Li Zhaoting come!"
—I'll wait for him here for ten days!

After saying that, the monster picked up a stunningly beautiful girl of eighteen or nineteen years old and disappeared in a few leaps.

The monster is thousands of miles away in the Qing Dynasty, lurking in the dark jungle, the perfect place for wild beasts to ambush.

With just a casual remark, he was able to persuade Li Zhaoting to spare no effort, travel at breakneck speed day and night, and reach the dense forest within seven days, dragging his weary body to survive against wild beasts in the wilderness.

Favorable timing, advantageous location, and harmonious relationships!
Li Zhaoting did not meet any of the three conditions.

No one would believe this if I told them.

Chasing a wild beast from afar?
Who would do something so pointless?

Experts value their time highly.

They were busy comprehending the supreme Dao!

Most martial arts masters are homebodies.

Which expert travels all over the world all day?
Let alone a seasoned veteran like Li Zhaoting, even a greenhorn just starting out wouldn't accept such a bizarre challenge; they'd just treat it as a joke over dinner.

But this is, in fact, the truth.

The Mangshan Conference had just ended, and Li Zhaoting was planning to hold a debriefing meeting with his disciples to summarize the gains and losses when Gongsun Lan received a letter—a letter from the Sun family requesting assistance.

The two rushed to the Qing Dynasty overnight.

Qu Feiyan, Wu Shu, and Yuanbao all stayed at the Mangshan Sect. Only Li Zhaoting and Gongsun Lan went with them. Even with Lao Jiu's stamina, they were exhausted.

What kind of faith is so powerful?

It was, of course, a plea for help written in blood.

Seven days ago, the "One-Man Hall," the branch of the Sun family in charge of martial arts, suffered a great calamity. The most trusted confidant and beloved general of the head of the hall, Sun Jiang, known as "Mountain Owl" Tie Xiu, kidnapped Sun Jiang's only beloved daughter, Sun Yao Hong. Sun Jiang sent seven groups of experts to hunt down Tie Xiu, who was trapped in the deep mountains and forests.

Seven waves of experts, a total of seventy-eight people, were all top assassins carefully trained by Sun Jiang. They were all wiped out by Iron Rust in one day, with only one survivor.

The survivor had only half a face and one hand left. His mental consciousness had completely collapsed, leaving only a stubborn obsession. He kept shouting out rusty ravings in a hoarse voice.

"If you want to kill me, let Li Zhaoting come!"
—I'll wait for him here for ten days.

For Sun Jiang, this statement was utterly absurd. Had Li Zhaoting lost his mind and come to help?

First of all, Li Zhaoting and the Sun family had absolutely no connection whatsoever, and the two sides had never had any prior contact.

Secondly, the Sun family moved from Shandong to Northeast China and established themselves in the Manchu Qing Dynasty. Li Zhaoting's father was the Vice Minister of War of the Song Dynasty, so by any measure, they were enemies.

Finally, the six branches of the Sun family had their own conflicts. Some were upright and honest, and were in the business of medicinal herbs. They cooperated with Chu Liuxiang to some extent. Chu Liuxiang's most famous alias, Zhang Xiaolin, was created in cooperation with the Sun family. However, many more members were insidious, vicious, cruel and ruthless assassins. Sun Jiang turned the one-man hall into the number one assassin organization in the Qing Dynasty!
Analyzing from multiple perspectives, including friendship, family, personality, and character, Li Zhaoting should not have gone to the Qing Dynasty, but he went anyway, and with unusual determination.

No one could stop Li Zhaoting's progress.

Even a shower of knives couldn't stop Li Zhaoting.

Gongsun Lan accompanied Li Zhaoting to the Sun family.

Gongsun Lan was born in Anle Hall of the Divine Gun Society. In terms of seniority, Sun Jiang was Gongsun Lan's uncle.

Gongsun Lan's aunt is Gongsun Xiaoniang, the beloved daughter of Gongsun Zishi, the head of Anle Hall, who "earns her own living".

Gongsun Xiaoniang was not only exceptionally beautiful, but also proficient in four unique skills: listening to sounds with a flick of the finger, identifying acupoints by sound, taking lives with a hairpin, and reviving with a silver needle. She was the jewel of the Divine Spear Society.

Twenty-five years ago, Gongsun Xiaoniang married Sun Jiang. Originally, the couple were loving and the family was harmonious. Later, something happened that caused Sun Jiang's personality to change drastically. He went from being generous and magnanimous to being greedy and violent, and would beat and scold his wife and daughters at the drop of a hat.

Gongsun Xiaoniang disappeared several months ago.

Seven days ago, Sun Yaohong was kidnapped by Tiexiu.

According to the information Gongsun Lan obtained, a Manchu prince accidentally saw Sun Yaohong, fell in love at first sight, and was determined to marry her.

Left with no other option, the prince had to personally propose marriage.

Sun Jiang accepted the betrothal gifts, and the two were scheduled to hold their wedding next month. Unexpectedly, this happened!

Gongsun Lan sensed something was amiss.

First of all, Gongsun Xiaoniang is not the type to passively accept her fate and never fight back; she would definitely resist.

Secondly, Gongsun Xiaoniang's father is the financial manager of the Divine Gun Society. How could he not care about his daughter's life or death?

Third, even if Sun Jiang were to disguise himself as An Jiahe, and Gongsun Zishi were to be subservient and prudent in protecting himself, as long as Gongsun Xiaoniang sought help from Gongsun Lan, Gongsun Lan would be able to kill Sun Jiang by taking the Red Shoes Sisters to the Manchu Qing.

Finally, even if we assume that Sun Jiang has a trump card that increases his power tenfold, and he can't defeat the Red Shoes, Gongsun Lan is a princess of the Demonic Sect, and he can spend some money to ask the Demonic Sect experts for help. How many times can Sun Jiang withstand a sneak attack?

Gongsun Lan could sense that Gongsun Xiaoniang and Sun Yaohong's letters seeking help were largely concealing things from her, and seemed to be more wary of her than Sun Jiang was of them.

The mother and daughter would never have asked Gongsun Lan for help unless their lives were in danger.

Gongsun Lan believed that she owed her aunt and cousin nothing, so why were they so wary of her?

What happened in the end?

How many demons and monsters are hidden in the Sun family?
A series of questions swirled in my mind.

Gongsun Lan traveled for five days and five nights, and pondered for five days and five nights, but still had no clue.

Instead of analyzing the case, Li Zhaoting advised Gongsun Lan to rest, saying that the prerequisite for analyzing the case was to have enough clues, at least a source.

Now that everything is in the dark and we know nothing, the more we analyze, the easier it is to get stuck on trivial details and be misled by all sorts of wild guesses, leading us astray.

Instead of wasting your brainpower, it's better to get some rest.

Investigations should not be based on preconceived notions!

Assumptions are the mother of failure!
Failure is the mother of success!
So, let's assume she's a successful grandmother!

Looking at the exhausted Gongsun Lan, Li Zhaoting gave her a hypothetical scenario: "The Sun family is creating a powerful weapon that is ruthless and cruel, and against the natural order. But once it succeeds, it will be able to sweep across the martial arts world. Gongsun Xiaoniang tried to stop Sun Jiang, but was cruelly killed by him. Gongsun Xiaoniang is wary of you because you are the princess of the Demonic Sect."

Gongsun Lan sneered disdainfully: "What kind of bullshit weapon is this that can sweep across the world? Can it defeat the sect leader? Can it defeat Zhang Zhenren of Wudang? What makes it so capable of sweeping across the world?"

Li Zhaoting said, "Suppressive firepower!"

Most of the firearms in the martial arts world were produced by the Jiangnan Thunderbolt Hall, covering an area no less than that of iconic martial arts buildings such as the Yihong Courtyard and the Yuelai Inn.

Just as poison comes from the Western Regions or Miao territory, and hidden weapons come from the Tang Clan in Sichuan, when it comes to explosive firearms, one subconsciously thinks of the Thunderbolt Hall, the Lei family of the Thunderbolt Hall in Jiangnan!

However, in the world of Wen's martial arts novels, no matter how much emphasis is placed on the Lei family's super-powerful firearms, and no matter how many words are used to boast about the Thunderbolt Hall's firearms, the strongest firearm in the Wen system is definitely the Sun family's Tengtengteng!

What is “tengtengteng”?
"Tengtengteng" is the sound of firearms being fired.

From its appearance, it looks like an ancient zither. When disassembled, it becomes a peculiar hidden weapon that is long, curved, with dark tubes, a trigger, and a box strap with strange golden peanut-shaped projectiles.

The sound when activated is "thump thump thump," spewing out earth-shattering flames that can kill hundreds of people in the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, and can also blow Qi Shaoshang's arm apart.

In the original storyline, Sun Qingxia was forced to leave the Sun family due to rumors and gossip, taking Tengteng with her before leaving.

During her adventures in the martial arts world, Sun Qingxia falls in love with female constable Longshelan. However, Longshelan is accidentally captured by villains and disappears without a trace, her fate unknown, making it impossible for their love to continue.

Faced with over a hundred martial arts masters who had aided and abetted the evildoer and surrounded her, Sun Qingxia flew into a rage, wielding her halberd and unleashing a massacre, wiping out the entire opposing family.

How should I describe this thing?
In later generations, it was generally called... a machine gun!

If this thing can be mass-produced, the Divine Gun Society's Divine Gun might have to change its name. As for how this thing came about, sorry, I have absolutely no idea!

Even with a photographic memory and a martial arts library in hand, one cannot find the answer.

—Wen Jukeng never finished writing it!
—Only a beginning, no end!

Just like a game of mahjong, you arrange the tiles, draw the tiles, and play the tiles. Just when you get a good hand and are about to win with a straight flush, it all comes to an abrupt end!

Li Zhaoting's impression of the Sharpshooter Society was that of a group of honest businessmen and a group of tech fanatics. Also, because he read so fast, by the time his brain could process how disgusting and cruel the scenes were, his eyes were already glued to the screen.

Now, after five days and five nights of travel, Li Zhaoting and Gongsun Lan have arrived at the headquarters of "One-Man Show".

Gongsun Lan disguised Li Zhaoting as a disciple of the Demonic Sect, whose identity was Yan Beifei, the Demonic Sect's number one swordsman and number one hero, and who had accepted bribes to help him.

Li Zhaoting and Li Shengnan had fought countless times, and he was quite familiar with the Nine Great Techniques of Soul-Slaying. Unless Yan Beifei himself came, no one would recognize Li Zhaoting.

As a direct disciple of Lady Nanhai, Gongsun Lan had great confidence in her disguise skills and even more confidence in Li Zhaoting's swordsmanship, making it absolutely impossible for anyone to see through her disguise.

……

The atmosphere in the one-man show was extremely oppressive.

In the past two years, Sun Jiang's personality has become increasingly violent. He often maims people and kills them. The maids and servants are trembling with fear and dare not say a word. Now that Sun Yaohong has been tied up in the Black Forest by Tiexiu, Sun Jiang is furious and has to kill more than a dozen people every day before he can sleep peacefully.

Sun Yaohong's maids and nannies were all severely punished by Sun Jiang. Even Sun Yaohong's favorite flowers were destroyed by Sun Jiang, leaving only a desolate ruin.

When Gongsun Lan came to investigate the case, Sun Jiang was throwing a tantrum, smashing a teapot and beating and scolding his servants.

Gongsun Lan coldly stopped Sun Jiang: "Killing people will not help you find Iron Rust. Sun Jiang, I am here to help you investigate the case. Let me introduce you. This is Yan Beifei, the number one swordsman of the Holy Sect. He can definitely defeat Iron Rust!"

Sun Jiang's furious expression quickly turned into a smile.

"We're all family, so let's not stand on ceremony. I'm more than happy that my niece is willing to help, but this is ultimately a matter for the Sun family. Isn't it inappropriate to involve outsiders?"

Li Zhaoting said coolly, "There are countless swordsmen in the world. Li Zhaoting has a great reputation, but he may not be the strongest swordsman. If Tiexiu wants to challenge Li Zhaoting, I also want to challenge him. Why don't we use Tiexiu's head as a challenge? I can't be bothered with other people's business. I only care about myself!"

Sun Jiang asked, "Venerable Yan, you hold a high position and great power in the Western Regions Demonic Sect. Although my niece is a princess, she has no right to order you around. How much benefit has she given you?"
Sun hereby guarantees that as long as Venerable Yan brings back the rust, I am willing to pay double the reward!
If I cannot capture Rust alive, at least let me see Rust's corpse, or at least his head.

Venerable Yan, I don't like empty talk and nonsense. I prefer practical benefits. I will pay a 50% deposit!

Someone, take Venerable Yan to investigate the case!

Venerable Yan, the scene was very well protected!

Absolutely no damage whatsoever!

Sun Jiang made a "please" gesture.

Li Zhaoting and the others went to Sun Yaohong's room, looking around as they went to make sure they didn't miss any clues.

People like Sun Jiang are the most terrifying!
Some people are incorruptible, like Bao Zheng.

Some people are upright and incorruptible, like Tie Shou.

Some people are hypocritical, like Xianyu Tong.

Some people are treacherous and cunning, like Yuan Suiyun.

These kinds of people are all guarded against, but people like Sun Jiang are the hardest to guard against. Half of his face is gloomy, and the other half is sunny. When he turns around, he will choose someone to devour, but in front of you, he is happy as if he wants to hug you and kiss you. He is not tyrannical or violent at all.

Li Zhaoting couldn't help but praise it.

"The mountain king is truly remarkable."

"Mountain Lord" is Sun Jiang's nickname.

When Sun Jiang first started out, his nickname was "Crush Bones and Smoke Ashes." After he became famous, his nickname vanished into thin air. Since becoming the head of the hall, his power and prestige have become increasingly fierce, and he is respectfully called "Mountain Lord."

A short, stocky young man with sharp eyebrows and bright eyes, calm and composed, with a stern face and an air of sinister charm, asked, "Master Sun has many remarkable qualities, but I wonder which one you are referring to?"

Li Zhaoting said, "To kill someone from behind and then laugh, is something not everyone can do; it's quite remarkable."

The wicked young man said calmly, "Even the most beautiful words can be barbed and sarcastic. Not everyone can say them so eloquently. Venerable Yan, you are truly skilled!"

Gongsun Lan scoffed, "That's called hypocrisy!"

Li Zhaoting seemed oblivious to the fact that Gongsun Lan was criticizing him, and directly turned the question on Sun Jiang: "Hypocrisy is also a skill. To be as thorough as Hall Master Sun is a remarkable person. I certainly couldn't do it!"

The wicked young man retorted calmly, "Perhaps the Mountain Lord is always kind and gentle, and acts with integrity. You've simply mistaken him for being irritable. You've misunderstood!"

Li Zhaoting said, "It's not a misunderstanding!"

The wicked young man said, "All misunderstandings in the world stem from the belief that one has no misunderstandings or is not misunderstanding, which is why one can be so self-righteous and misunderstand others."

Li Zhaoting gave a thumbs up: "Rumor has it that Sun Jiang has three trump cards under his command. One is Sun Jiang's own nephew, Sun Zihui; another is the beast-like Tiexiu; and the last one is named Xixie, who is said to be the least capable."

It now appears that the rumors were incorrect.

Xi Xie is not only not the weakest, but very likely the strongest. Tsk~ In a family like the Divine Spear Society, which uses bloodline as the standard for inheritance, it is incredible that an outsider can become the head of the shogunate, second only to the leader.

How could someone like that be a bean sprout?

Even if we were to compare Chief Steward Xi Xie to a dish, it would be a gourmet dish like Orchid Bear Paw, Stewed Flying Dragon, or Buddha Jumps Over the Wall. How could an ordinary pretty boy be qualified to be called a dish!
"Chief Steward Xi Xie, what kind of dish are you?"

Li Zhaoting was blatantly trying to alert the enemy.

Xi Xie asked calmly, "It is said that Venerable Yan is taciturn, so why is he so talkative now? Could it be that with a beautiful woman by your side, you can't help but show off your abilities?"

Li Zhaoting looked at the sword at Xi Xie's waist: "I want to provoke you into drawing your sword, and then kill you with one stroke!"

"Where have I offended Venerable Yan?"

"Your sword intent is utterly repulsive! Put away that nauseating smile of yours. You think your disguise is flawless, but little do you know that your sword intent has betrayed you!"

"Does Venerable Yan intend to slay demons and eliminate evil?"

"Don't get me wrong, I just want to kill you! Don't give me a chance, Xi Xie. In the next few days, as long as you are alone and no one is around, I will kill you without hesitation. Even the Heavenly King himself can't protect you!"

Li Zhaoting coldly looked at Xi Xie: "You have the time it takes to brew a cup of tea to escape. If you are still in front of me after that time, you will be turned into a pile of flesh and blood!"

Xi Xie ran away without hesitation.

A gentleman can be deceived.

However, Li Zhaoting is not a gentleman. Li Zhaoting is now Yan Beifei, the Right Envoy of the Demonic Sect. He is a demon second only to Yu Luosha. He is a "Demon Sword Madman" who fought his way up from the bottom and stepped on mountains of corpses and seas of blood!
Yan Beifei's sword is a "sword of affection," but Yan Beifei himself has nothing to do with being a "good person." He acts recklessly, and it is common for him to draw his sword and kill people at the slightest disagreement. However, after getting married, he was influenced by his wife and became more restrained and his temper became much more peaceful.

Li Zhaoting is well-suited to impersonate Yan Beifei.

Simply release the killing intent, and even if Yan Beifei himself sees it, he won't doubt its authenticity; instead, he'll feel like he's looking in a mirror, recognizing a twin brother.

Where does the murderous intent come from?
It comes from the entire one-man show.

From the moment he entered the hall of authority, the Purple Rose Soft Sword hidden at his waist and the Green Rope Sword hidden in his saddle were constantly releasing killing intent, wanting to slay demons and eliminate evil.

The killing intent was so intense.

Just like when we encountered those wicked and bloodthirsty beasts like Qiu Batian, Ye Erniang, and the Japanese pirates, everyone in the One-Man Hall deserves to be torn to pieces.

Especially Xi Xie and Sun Jiang.

Slicing them ten times would be considered a lenient punishment!
Li Zhaoting had a vague idea in his mind and guessed why this was the case. He vaguely remembered that the Divine Gun Society was researching firearms and biological weapons, and was trying to train orc warriors.

The only finished firearm was "Tengtengteng".

The only finished product of the orc warriors is "rust".

Failure to manufacture firearms results in the loss of resources.

The creation of orc warriors failed... Every experiment resulted in the massacre of countless innocent people. The more such experiments were conducted, the more one's heart would be corrupted by evil.

Just like the name "Xi Xie"!
The entire hall of one-man rule was surrounded by bloodlust, resentment, hatred, murderous intent, malevolent energy, depression, and demonic energy, condensing into an extremely pure, poisonous, and evil evil energy!

To put it dramatically, if this one-man show were moved to a cultivation world, this evil energy, once it gained consciousness, might become an evil sword immortal, possessing the power to destroy the world.

"laugh!"

Li Zhaoting suddenly drew his sword!
Blood gushed from the throats of the three men who were keeping watch.

Li Zhaoting looked at the position of the hidden sentry: "Remove all the visible and hidden sentries. In the next few days, if I find anyone watching me, I will kill them!"

(End of this chapter)