Martial Arts Crossover: My Wife is the Top Scholar

Chapter 523 "Li Zhaoting's Paradox: Reputation"

"Wang Wang Wang!"

Yuanbao wagged its tail at Li Zhaoting's feet, celebrating this glorious victory, while Tanghulu lowered its head and rubbed against Li Zhaoting's ear twice to show affection.

As a rare and intelligent bird, Tanghulu's intelligence is no less than Yuanbao's. In just one month, it completely submitted to Li Zhaoting's combination of kindness and severity.

Golden eagles are birds of prey.

To deal with birds of prey, you have to be even more ferocious than them.

Unfortunately, the candied hawthorn is a rare species of golden eagle, which grows relatively slowly. To ride the bird and soar through the sky, it would take at least a year and a half, or even two years.

its not right!
After being born, Tanghulu accompanied Master Damu through his final days for about four months.

If it takes another two years to grow...

The growth rate is far too slow.

This time...

I really didn't mean it!
Li Zhaoting stroked the feathers of the candied hawthorn, knowing that the little guy was a bit angry. As a bird, centipedes were a delicacy to it, and a large centipede was a feast fit for a Manchu Han Imperial Feast.

Just now, when Daoist Xizhen used the Soul Dragon Soaring Technique, Tanghulu wanted to rush down and enjoy the food, but unexpectedly, Li Zhaoting moved too fast and killed the giant centipede with a single sword strike.

Although the giant centipede was formed from true energy and couldn't be eaten even if it rushed down, no matter how clever the bird was, it was still just a bird, and all it knew was that the giant centipede had disappeared.

The battle between Li Zhaoting and Xizhen Daoren was so intense that the snakes and insects had long since fled. Li Zhaoting rode Xuan Yu for dozens of miles before finally finding the centipede's nest.

The candied hawthorns flew down, and everyone enjoyed them immensely.

Xuan Yu called out to Li Zhaoting twice. Li Zhaoting patted Xuan Yu's wings and comforted it, "Don't worry, the two envoys from the Yuxian Gang can't beat Bai Yunfei."

The Yuxian Gang inherited the Yin-Yang School's legacy. In addition to the gang leader and the Five Elements Formation, there should also be the Sun, Moon, and Star Gods and the Great and Small Fate Masters. However, the inheritance is incomplete, with only the Sun and Moon Gods remaining. Based on the Ming Cult's structure, the Sun and Moon Gods were turned into messengers responsible for external communication.

When Li Zhaoting breached the headquarters of the Yuxian Gang, he learned that the two men were responsible for contacting the Qinglong Society and Prince Yao. He guessed that the two men would immediately flee upon learning of the gang's destruction, so he arranged for Bai Yunfei and Lan Xiaodie to block the entrances and exits in advance.

Jiang Yuyan went to contact the Green Dragon Society.

The Green Dragon Society is adept at stabbing people in the back.

The details of the battle are self-evident.

How could the two of them, in their state of panic and despair, possibly stop Bai Yunfei and Lan Xiaodie from playing their duet?

When the song ended, both of them bled from their seven orifices.

not dead!

It's perfect timing to send it to the Ministry of Justice to close the case!

To prevent anyone from spreading rumors about Li Zhaoting, saying that he fabricated charges, distorted the truth, and maliciously harmed the disciples of the Yuxian Gang, and that he was an unpardonable corrupt official.

When Li Nanxing got home from get off work, the battle scene had already been cleaned up. Everyone who needed to be killed was killed, and no one who needed to be captured could escape. The underworld of Beijing was so frightened by Li Zhaoting that they all withdrew their hands.

Li Zhaoting is the most frustrating master.

Once a martial arts master reaches the Heavenly Gang Ranking level, they are qualified to establish their own sect and become its founder. They rarely travel around the martial arts world, especially those on the Heavenly Gang Ranking.

One immortal, two Buddhas, three demons, four supreme beings, and five evil spirits—which one of them isn't cultivating in seclusion at home? Who's just wandering around aimlessly with nothing to do?
However, this is not Li Zhaoting's fault.

The list is mostly made up of old men; on the list of Heavenly Stars, there are only two people under forty.

—Li Zhaoting, Xiao Feng!
Lang Fanyun was just over forty years old.

The only one under thirty years old is Li Zhaoting.

Confucius said: At thirty, one stands firm.

Li Zhaoting is not yet thirty years old. If he spends all his time at home in seclusion, wasting his best years of twenty in the training room, that would be truly cruel.

Whoever dares to be so cruel to Li Zhaoting, Li Zhaoting will definitely go to his house for the New Year and let him try out the passive skill of Jiazi Tai Sui. He will be more careful with his words and deeds in his next life!

The gangs in the martial arts world were quite helpless about this.

Fight, can't beat!
I dare not curse!
There's no escaping it!
How do I deal with this bug?

That is to trap Li Zhaoting in his reputation.

They constantly publicized Li Zhaoting's chivalrous deeds, claiming that Li Zhaoting was the number one hero in the martial arts world.

Even heroes and great men are bound to have some constraints in their actions!
Unfortunately, some scoundrel kept talking bad about Li Zhaoting in teahouses and taverns, fabricating a whole bunch of conspiracy theories about him. As a result, Li Zhaoting's reputation was not that of a chivalrous hero like Guo Jing, but rather more like Yang Guo. He could be described as a swordsman or a "mad hero".

A great hero has constraints in his actions, but a wild hero has fewer constraints; he does whatever he wants, however he feels!
Li Zhaoting's enemies, the evil heretics who hate him the most and wish he would be struck by lightning, constantly promote Li Zhaoting's good reputation. Li Zhaoting himself needs to spread rumors from time to time to ask Tianji Pavilion to smear him.

This is the "Li Zhaoting Paradox".

With the full support of the Azure Dragon Society, this paradox will not be broken anytime soon. This time, the destruction of the Yuxian Gang will undoubtedly spark countless conspiracy theories in the martial arts world.

Li Zhaoting has high expectations for this.

Li Nanxing was a veteran of the battlefield and didn't care much about the fighting in the martial world. He casually gave a few instructions, stretched, and went back to his room to rest. Zhao Zhen was quite considerate and, out of compassion for Li Nanxing's hard work, granted him five days off.

Heaven have mercy, Li Nanxing is exhausted.

The five-day holiday cannot be wasted even for a moment.

All I do is sleep. Anyone who dares disturb my sleep, I'll close the door—and let my son out!

Bai Yunfei and Lan Xiaodie came over to ask for a reward.

Lan Xiaodie coaxed sweetly, "Master! That Moon Goddess Messenger from the Encountering Immortals Gang is so powerful! I was almost injured by her. I work so hard~"

Bai Yunfei rolled his eyes, thinking to himself, "We just casually played a duet and made those two stray dogs bleed from their seven orifices. Do you have to exaggerate like that?"

What's the point of emphasizing hard work?

Do you want your husband to have an even harder time than you?
My husband, you've worked so hard. Can we handle it?
With Wang Shenglan not around, Bai Yunfei had to be extremely careful when asking for rewards. Helpless, he closed his eyes and thought, "Destroy it all! I'm done! I'm completely done!"
Being a seductive vixen is quite nice.

At least there won't be any unnecessary worries.

There are no things much ado about.

People like Wang Shenglan, Lan Fenghuang, Gongsun Lan, and Lan Xiaodie, who possess "great wisdom," never have worries and eat well, sleep well, and are in excellent health every day!

Li Zhaoting saw through the two women's thoughts, smiled, and hugged them in his arms, rewarding them handsomely.

...Reward dividing line...

The next morning.

Li Zhaoting is practicing Tai Chi in the back garden.

Bai Yunfei and Lan Xiaodie usually stay in bed late.

Lan Xiaodie had long been accustomed to the life of a concubine, spending her days lying flat and sleeping until late morning.

Bai Yunfei has a good biological clock, but unfortunately, she was rewarded too much last night and is too tired to move a single finger. Even if Li Zhaoting wrote ten sunset songs for her, she still wouldn't be able to sing them.

Another person also chose to lie down.

That is—Jiang Yuyan!

Jiang Yuyan once wanted to climb the social ladder and do everything in her power to crush Li Zhaoting under her feet.

After years of hard work, Jiang Yuyan successfully completed the last task, literally stepping on Li Zhaoting's feet. Li Zhaoting's favorite massage was back massage.

Even if he practiced martial arts, he could never beat Li Zhaoting, no matter how hard he tried.

No amount of scheming could have predicted Li Zhaoting.

If you're no good at anything, you might as well just lie down and relax.

Every day, she would use Li Zhaoting's intelligence to swindle and deceive people at the Qinglong Society's branch and the Tianji Pavilion, and her savings in her private treasury grew rapidly, making her a little rich woman.

It's perfectly fine to be a contented little rich woman.

At least I don't have to worry about being chopped up by Li Zhaoting.

Li Zhaoting's swordsmanship... Jiang Yuyan couldn't think of a suitable adjective. She only knew that no matter how much she overestimated Li Zhaoting, the final result was always an underestimation.

Li Nanxing took a five-day vacation and lay down to sleep.

Lan Xiaodie, Bai Yunfei, and Jiang Yuyan, due to various experiences, decided to lie down one after another.

The only thing the Li family is striving for is...

—Candied hawthorn!

A fledgling bird that is just over six months old.

The candied hawthorn skewer spreads its wings and flies in mid-air.

Yuanbao was originally playing with frisbees with Li Zhaoting, but unfortunately, his stamina was far inferior to that of the greyhound. After running a few laps, he lay down at Li Zhaoting's feet, waiting for his owner to feed him.

Just as Li Zhaoting was feeling bored and thinking of brewing a pot of tea to simulate old age, there was a loud knocking at the back door: "Li Zhaoting! Open the door! I know you're home! Don't hide inside and stay silent!"

In the capital, only the Stinky Hero dared to tease Li Zhaoting in such a tone. Li Zhaoting waved and opened the door. Tianxiang was about to knock when the door opened, and she leaned forward instinctively.

"Oh dear! You dare to scheme against me!"

Tianxiang climbed out of the flower bushes, looked at Li Zhaoting who was smiling with his eyes narrowed, and thought of the theories of the martial arts world that Li Zhaoting had talked about with his arm around her shoulder a long time ago.

——People with squinty eyes are monsters!

—It can be traced back to the God of War, Xing Tian!

"Li Zhaoting, you're really not a good friend! You know I hate those old bastards from the Yuxian Gang the most, so why didn't you call me when you led your troops to deal with them?"

"Speed ​​is of the essence in war, there's no time to lose!"

"You have time to send a letter to my father, to have him write a memorial requesting permission to join the Immortal Gang, but you don't have time to notify me?"

"At that time, you had just finished showering and were lying in bed asleep. Are you sure you want me to inform you? I would have stepped into the room and been beaten to death by the Eighth Prince!"

"It's alright, my dad can't beat you!"

"Hehe! Hehe! Hehe!"

Li Zhaoting laughed awkwardly three times.

Is this a matter of whether or not we can win?
Tianxiang seemed to have thought of something, her face turning red to the roots of her ears. After a while, looking at Li Zhaoting's ambiguous smile, she reverted to her usual sullen and stinky personality, took out an invitation, and casually stuffed it into Li Zhaoting's hand.

"Come with me to the banquet the day after tomorrow."

"A birthday banquet for the Little God of Wealth? That's quite an honor! To actually get the 'Stinky Hero' to condescend to attend!"

"If there's a chance to get a free meal, I'll definitely go. And that jade doll, my dad said it's carved with a secret martial arts manual. I want to play with it for a few days."

"And while we're at it, shall we practice the martial arts techniques mentioned above?"

"Why not?" "The martial arts techniques on the jade dolls are incredibly powerful if you can collect the whole set. If you only collect a few, your meridians and acupoints will be severely damaged. If you want to learn martial arts, I can teach you a few fun ones!"

"What's fun? Heavenly Sword?"

"The Sword of the Yue Maiden, shall we learn it?"

"Don't think I don't know. The Yue Maiden Sword is a common item in Jiangnan. All female swordsmen know how to use it. I was already proficient in it when I was nine years old. You're not being sincere at all."

"The female swordsmen of Jiangnan are truly formidable. Each of them can pierce through the armor of over eight hundred people with a single sword strike. Back in the Qing Dynasty, when I used this sword strike, half of their meridians and acupoints exploded."

"Are you using the Yue Maiden Sword?"

"Haven't you read the Jianghu Monthly Report? This is my sudden enlightenment in battle, based on the true meaning of the Bamboo Shadow Sword Technique, which allowed me to break through the boundaries of heaven and man and pierce through more than 800 people's armor with a single sword strike."

"Bamboo Shadow Swaying Sword Technique?"

"It evolved from the Yue Maiden Sword."

Teach me! Teach me quickly! Teach me quickly!

"I heard that when Hero Wen Chou was nine years old, he was already proficient in using the Yue Maiden Sword. If I teach you the Yue Maiden Sword, it would be neither sincere nor a good friend of mine. I won't teach you! You have no sincerity at all, and I have no interest in teaching swordsmanship."

Li Zhaoting shook his head and made a show of it.

Tianxiang looked around, coughed lightly, and Xing'er pulled Jiang Yuyan away. Tianxiang mustered her courage and leaned slowly against Li Zhaoting's chest: "You little thief! There's no one worse than you in the world! Can't you just give in to me?"

"When there's an opportunity to profit, even if the King of Heaven himself came to plead for me, I wouldn't budge an inch!"

"Haven't you ever given way to others?"

Does Lu Xiaofeng count?

"Huh? You..."

"I let Lu Xiaofeng off the hook once."

"Sigh~~"

Tianxiang gasped.

"Let him treat us!"

Li Zhaoting grabbed Tianxiang by the back of the neck, as if he were grabbing a kitten: "What have you been thinking about?"

"Teach me swordsmanship quickly!"

Tianxiang waved the sugarcane vigorously.

The most suitable weapon for the Yue Maiden Sword is a bamboo staff. Tianxiang likes to use sugarcane as a weapon, which is quite suitable in terms of shape. Analyzing from the perspective of martial arts characteristics...

For the first time in his life, Li Zhaoting began to doubt his own teaching abilities; Tianxiang was not suitable for Yue Nujian.

The Yue Maiden Sword requires spirituality, intelligence, and agility.

Tianxiang has practiced mace techniques since childhood. Her martial arts using sugarcane are whip-mace techniques. To put it simply, she is good at swinging a big iron rod around and has a high strength attribute.

In short: A mini-version of Wang Shenglan!
While weaker than Wang Shenglan in strength, Li Zhaoting was superior in agility and speed, so the Yue Maiden Sword technique was out of the question. After racking his brains, Li Zhaoting decided to create his own sword technique.

Tailor-made, a perfect fit.

In the afternoon, Li Zhaoting went to the palace to meet the emperor.

This was Li Zhaoting's first visit to Zhao Zhen since returning from Dali, and Tianxiang accompanied him.

Fortunately, it was Emperor Renzong of Song, Zhao Zhen.

If it were any other emperor, Li Nanxing would have gone to Lingnan to eat lychees or to Hainan to grill oysters long ago.

……

"Minister Li, you've been very busy lately!"

"No rush! No rush! It's just about killing...killing a few evil spirits and heretics! I'm not making up charges against you. Those old bastards from the Yuxian Gang want to become the Imperial Advisor and control the Emperor..."

"How does he control me?"

"To refine the elixir of immortality."

"Show me the prescription."

"Destroy everything, not even a trace!"

"Minister Li is indeed very cautious!"

"What's the use of being cautious? As long as there are people in the world who want to live forever, even if I kill ten thousand old bastards, it won't make a difference. Sooner or later, someone will take their place."

“What you say makes sense, I will keep it in mind.”

Zhao Zhen raised his head, looked at Tianxiang, then at Li Zhaoting, and teased, "Tianxiang, I can never see you when I want to, why did you come here today? Could it be that you've taken a fancy to some young master and want me to bestow a marriage upon you?"

Tianxiang stood tall and proud, saying confidently, "He's just a petty thief who likes to flirt, what's there to care about! A marriage decree? I don't need a marriage decree!"

If anyone dares to force me to marry, I will become a nun.

I've already thought of a Dharma name!
Let her be called—Master of Vows!
Make a grand vow to Buddha.

Kill all the faithless people in the world.

"I will not become a Buddha until I have eradicated the lustful demon!"

Tianxiang glared fiercely at Li Zhaoting.

Zhao Zhen's gaze was even more intense than Tianxiang's.

Putting aside matters like "marriage alliances," from the perspective of siblings, as the older brother, Zhao Zhen hoped that Tianxiang would find a good match. Li Zhaoting was good in every way, except that he had too many wives at home. If the emperor were to bestow a marriage upon the princess and marry her off to a Jianghu person as a concubine, he would be criticized relentlessly.

Li Zhaoting really wanted to find a crack in the ground to crawl into.

Life in the capital is unbearable.

Hurry up and finish this business. Go back to Jinling for a vacation. After a while, take Li Shengnan to Tianshan. Li Shengnan wants to challenge Tang Xiaolan, the leader of Tianshan, to a sword duel. She will use the martial arts techniques left by Qiao Beiming's lineage to challenge the Tianshan sword technique.

From the perspective of passing on her skills, if it were just a challenge against Tang Xiaolan, Li Shengnan would have at least an 80% chance of winning.

However, this is a world of martial arts.

Zhang Danfeng's successor is—Xiao Qiushui!

Just go and cause trouble for Tang Xiaolan.

Anyway, Tang Xiaolan isn't afraid of trouble.

Li Zhaoting let the insults dry, closed his eyes, and thought about his next plans, lamenting that even as one of the top masters in the martial arts world, he didn't even have a holiday.

The schedule is even tighter than Li Nanxing's.

I've traveled all over the country, covering countless miles.

Zhao Zhen and Tianxiang stared at each other, wide-eyed.

Li Zhaoting's mind went blank, and he started thinking all sorts of random thoughts.

Time passed by unknowingly.

Having failed to get a meal at Empress Liu's place the previous time, Emperor Zhao Zhen was quite generous and didn't send Li Zhaoting away before mealtime. He invited Li Zhaoting to stay for dinner and asked the imperial kitchen to work overtime and cook a couple more dishes. This was no joke; Emperor Zhao Zhen was indeed too easy to talk to in some ways!

It was possible to order takeout during the Song Dynasty.

It is said that one night, Emperor Zhao Zhen was hungry and wanted to order takeout, but didn't want to bother anyone, so he went to bed hungry. Good heavens! Everyone in the world can go hungry, how could an emperor go hungry?
Those claims that "it'll be fine after a few days of hunger" don't count!

Normally, which emperor goes hungry?

The imperial chef's skills were impeccable.

The biggest complaint of his beautiful wives and concubines was that none of his dozen or so sisters were skilled in cooking.

Mei Zhu can only make some pickles, cook porridge and noodles, and is good at making breakfast. Those who come from wealthy families, let alone stir-frying or cooking, are lucky if they are not picky eaters.

Li Zhaoting ate while his mind wandered, plotting how to abduct the imperial chef. Zhao Zhen was exasperated. "Can you please not smile so lewdly while you're eating? How can such a handsome face smile like that?"

After dinner, Tianxiang went to find Liu E and stayed in the Empress Dowager's palace that night. Li Zhaoting and Zhao Zhen discussed some state affairs haphazardly and came up with a few crooked ideas. He then stole Zhao Zhen's white jade paperweight and left the palace with a toothpick in his mouth.

The next morning, I went to visit my father-in-law.

Do not misunderstand.

The person I was visiting was Feng Shaoqing.

Thanks to Li Zhaoting's frequent merits, Feng Shaoqing was promoted very quickly. Although Li Zhaoting was a womanizer with many wives and concubines, Feng Suzhen was his first wife, and neither the Holy Maiden of the Demonic Sect nor the Fairy of Jingzhai could cause any trouble.

Feng Shaoqing was quite satisfied with his son-in-law Li Zhaoting, except for one thing: Feng Suzhen was pregnant but stayed at the ancestral home in Jinling.

Feng Shaoqing wanted Feng Suzhen to come to the capital to recuperate. Anyway, Li Zhaoting was away from home for a long time, and the time he spent in the capital was about the same as that in Jinling. The two places were not far apart. If he fed Laojiu some more fine food, there would be no problem with traveling.

After a few rounds of drinks, Feng Shaoqing brought up the matter.

Li Zhaoting laughed and said, "Father-in-law, Suzhen makes all the decisions at home. If Suzhen is unwilling, no matter how much I plead, it will be of no use. You should write a letter to ask Suzhen."

Feng Shaoqing said with a bitter face, "Suzhen said that this is against etiquette. What kind of girl is pregnant at her parents' home? If word gets out, people will laugh at her. She also said that the Marquis of Xiaoyun's mansion in Jinling should have a principal wife, so that when distinguished guests come to visit, the family will be full of concubines and they will not be able to make decisions, which will make people laugh."

Li Zhaoting rubbed his chin: "Father-in-law, how about I speak with His Majesty and transfer you to Jinling? You can then consider the official position and see which one would be more suitable."

Feng Shaoqing almost crawled under the table.

Is this something you can just say casually?
How can the appointment and removal of officials be so easy and arbitrary?
Besides, Feng Shaoqing has worked his way up to become a Beijing official after twenty years of hard work, so it's impossible for him to be sent to a post outside the capital.

"Father-in-law, I have a question for you. Has anyone given you a gift? Don't misunderstand, I'm just asking!"

"Welcoming and seeing off guests is unavoidable!"

"It's alright, just accept everything that's due."

"You brat, do you even care about your reputation? I'm your father-in-law! Do you want a corrupt official as your father-in-law?"

"You...are an honest official?"

"You brat, how dare you insult me!"

Feng Shaoqing was furious, but he was too fat and collapsed after running a few steps. Li Zhaoting could only run back to calm Feng Shaoqing down and soothe him, so as not to drive his father-in-law crazy.

"Commoner, do you want to sully your own reputation?"

"Self-defilement? No need, absolutely unnecessary!"

"What does this mean?"

"I'm afraid I'll make you lose weight from exhaustion!"

(End of this chapter)