The Smiling, Proud Wanderer: From the Moment He Picked Up Qu Feiyan

Chapter 132 What can't you tell your master?

A few cold stars, sparsely scattered in the sky.

Shen An walked alone on the mountain path back to Mount Song.

His steps were steady and powerful, but his heart was far less calm than his strides suggested.

He could understand why his master did this.

The Songshan Sect's strength, thanks to Master Zuo Lengchan's decades of painstaking efforts, is now far superior to the other four sects.

But beneath this glory lies an unspeakable predicament—the Songshan Sect has reached its theoretical limit.

To take it a step further is incredibly difficult, as difficult as ascending to heaven.

What the master wanted to do was not just maintain the status quo; he wanted Songshan, Shaolin, and Wudang to stand as a triumvirate.

That is why he recruits heroes from all over the world, regardless of their background or past; as long as they have a skill, he will bring them under his command.

Recruiting these unorthodox sects is undoubtedly a shortcut to quickly enhance the nominal strength of the Songshan Sect.

Master is too hasty.

The image of Zuo Lengchan's imposing face, though not angry, appeared in Shen An's mind.

He thought of his master, a man of extraordinary talent and brilliance.

With his Songshan internal energy and swordsmanship, which were by no means top-notch martial arts, he managed to cultivate them to a level that was on par with Fang Zheng, Chong Xu, and others, becoming one of the top three masters in the righteous martial arts world of his time.

His record of one draw and one win against Ren Woxing is enough to prove how outstanding his martial arts talent is.

Yet, this unparalleled genius was severely hampered by the relatively meager martial arts resources of the Songshan Sect.

This not only limited the upper limit of his personal martial arts skills, but also restricted the level of the entire sect.

How could he not be anxious?

From the perspective of geographical distance and public opinion, forcibly merging the Five Sacred Mountains would be fraught with hidden dangers, and could even be considered a losing proposition.

But for Zuo Lengchan, this was perhaps the only path he could think of that could break through the bottleneck and allow the Songshan Sect to acquire sufficient martial arts foundation and accumulation.

After the Five Sacred Mountains were merged, Mount Hua's "Purple Cloud Divine Skill," Mount Heng's sword formation, and Mount Heng's varied sword techniques emerged—

By combining the essence of the five schools of martial arts into one, and with his master's unparalleled integration and teaching abilities, Shen An had no doubt that given a few years, he could integrate a top-tier school whose heritage and martial arts level were no less than those of Shaolin and Wudang!

By then, Zuo Lengchan would be a grandmaster who founded his own school of thought, and his name would be etched in history.

The master's vision was undeniably grand.

To achieve this goal, he had already begun his planning. At Hengshan, he won over Elder Lu Lianrong and prepared to exploit Liu Zhengfeng's retirement from the martial arts world. At Huashan, he sent his senior brother Lao Denuo as an undercover agent to gather Feng Buping and others from the Sword Sect, sowing the seeds of division. At Taishan, he also secretly won over several Daoist masters of the "Jade" generation, sowing discord within the Taishan Sect.

Of the Five Sacred Mountains, only the Hengshan Sect is the most united, making it difficult to scheme from within. However, once the momentum is established, it can be directly suppressed by force.

That's a great idea, and the plan is quite meticulous.

But—if we want to unite the Five Sacred Mountains, are we really only going to have to deal with the other four?

Let's leave aside the menacing Sun Moon Sect and the seemingly neutral Wudang Sect, which is actually closely linked to Shaolin.

Just considering the Shaolin Temple, which has dominated the martial arts world for hundreds of years, do they really want to see a unified, powerful "Five Mountains Sword Sect" led by a great leader like Zuo Lengchan appear beside their bed?

Absolutely impossible!

At that time, before the great cause of unifying the Five Mountains Sects was stable, the Songshan Sect would have to face hostility and pressure from the entire martial arts world. Those unorthodox people who were recruited would not only fail to become allies, but would also become the best handle for other sects to attack the Songshan Sect for "harboring filth" and "being no different from the demonic sect".

By then, before the Songshan Sect has become a "third force" comparable to Shaolin and Wudang, it will likely be labeled as a "public enemy of the martial arts world" and become a "little Sun Moon Cult" that everyone hates.

But does it really have the unbridled power of the Sun Moon Cult?

However, if it is impossible to unite the Five Mountains Alliance, then trying to win over these unorthodox individuals would be a foolish thing that would outweigh any benefits and result in negative returns.

Aside from tarnishing the reputation of the Songshan Sect, providing other sects with ammunition for their attacks, and wasting the sect's money and supplies, it serves no other purpose whatsoever!

As Shen An pondered, his footsteps unconsciously led him to the last stone step leading to Junji Zen Temple.

He gazed at the Zen temple, which appeared even more solemn and dignified in the night, and took a deep breath.

He decided to tell his master about what happened today and find out his master's attitude.

Even though it was late at night, the study at Junji Zen Temple was still brightly lit.

Zuo Lengchan was deep in thought, staring at a huge map of the Central Plains. The map was covered with dense markings in vermilion ink, indicating the territories of various sects, as well as some important passes and cities.

His gaze shifted back and forth between the four mountains: Huashan, Hengshan, Taishan, and Hengshan, his eyes gleaming with a sharp light, clearly indicating that he was...

He was mentally deducing something.

"Knock knock knock".

A steady knock on the door interrupted his thoughts.

"Come in," Zuo Lengchan said without turning his head.

Shen An pushed open the door and entered, bowing respectfully: "Disciple Shen An greets Master."

Zuo Lengchan turned around and saw it was him. His cold expression remained unchanged: "Have you gained anything from the drills these past two days?"

"Master, I have gained a great deal. My two uncles have taught me everything they know, which has enlightened me greatly."

Shen An answered respectfully, then changed the subject: "However—I encountered something while descending the mountain today, and I have come to report it to my master."

"Oh?" Zuo Lengchan gestured for him to sit down and talk. "What is it?"

Shen An sat down, collected his thoughts, and then slowly spoke: "Today, this disciple killed a lecherous thief at the foot of the mountain."

He briefly recounted his encounter with the two sisters-in-law and the villain who had pursued him, omitting the details about Di Xiu and Fang Jue, and focusing only on describing the villain's martial arts skills.

"That lecherous thief's swordsmanship was extremely skillful. I only managed to succeed because of the advantage of my weapon. I heard from the two women who were victimized that he has accomplices who are gathered around Mount Song. I am worried that they might cause trouble again, so I came to report to my master."

Zuo Lengchan listened quietly.

When Shen An mentioned that "their swordsmanship is extremely superb" and that "they are gathered near Mount Song," he was taken aback at first, but then he immediately understood the implied meaning behind Shen An's words.

A sense of astonishment welled up in his heart first.

Cong Buqi is dead?

He actually died at Shen An's hands?

How could this be! Just two days ago, I tested this kid's martial arts. Although he had a solid foundation and strong internal energy, his swordsmanship was crude and full of flaws.

In just two short days, he has already managed to kill Cong Buqi, a master who has been famous for many years.

How exactly did those two old guys, Fei Bin and Tang Ying'e, teach me? Why don't they teach me too?