The Smiling, Proud Wanderer, becoming a disciple of Yue Buqun.

Hu Anyu looked at his dashing son and chuckled as he spoke.

"hehe."

Yue Buqun simply chuckled and did not respond.

"Brother Jiang, please enlighten me."

Upon arriving at the center of the training ground, Hu Shi extended his left hand to Jiang Ning with great poise.

"Oh."

Jiang Ning smiled and said, "Swords have no eyes, Young Master Hu, please be careful."

As soon as he finished speaking, Jiang Ning released the scabbard, grabbed the hilt the moment the longsword fell, leaned forward slightly, and rushed forward with a light touch of his toes. The scabbard slid off, and the cold-looking blade was exposed to the air, emitting a clanging sound.

Clang!

The moment the scabbard hit the ground, Jiang Ning was already in front of Hu Shi, the tip of his sword aimed at Hu Shi's face.

Hu Shi's expression changed, and he hurriedly retreated, but the sword tip remained right in front of him, not moving away as he retreated.

There was a large tree behind him, leaving him nowhere to retreat. Hu Shi glanced back and chose to turn sideways.

puff!

The long sword pierced straight into the tree.

"This move is called 'The Phoenix Arrives.'"

Jiang Ning's voice came from the other side.

Hu Shi's face was gloomy.

Chapter 44: Night Stroll

Before he could retaliate, with a whoosh, Jiang Ning pulled the sword from the tree and swept it horizontally. Hu Shi was shocked and hurriedly leaned back, the tip of the sword drawing an arc in front of him.

"This move is called 'White Clouds Emerging from the Mountain'."

At this point, Hu Shi was already losing his balance, and then Jiang Ning kicked him in the stomach, causing him to fall backward.

"This move is called Leopard Tail Kick."

Jiang Ning said expressionlessly.

Hu Shi's face was already very ugly. He scrambled up from the ground and slapped Jiang Ning with his palm while shouting.

"This move is called Plum Blossom Palm!"

A gust of wind swept by, but Jiang Ning just watched expressionlessly. The next second, he stretched out his left hand and struck Hu Shi's wrist, causing Hu Shi to raise his hand and miss his target.

Just as he was about to continue, he suddenly stopped, cold sweat pouring down his forehead.

Jiang Ning's sword was pressed against his throat.

"I appreciate your concession."

Jiang Ning smiled and then sheathed his sword.

Hu Shi's face was extremely pale.

From beginning to end, he never gained the upper hand. He was constantly suppressed by his opponent, who made the first move, putting him in a very passive position and preventing him from using his martial arts skills at all.

This speed, this martial arts skill, piercing a tree with a single sword strike, is this what you call low-level martial arts?

"This unworthy disciple's skills are lacking, and I apologize for making Master Hu laugh at me."

Upon seeing the results of the martial arts competition, Yue Buqun opened his folding fan, shook it a few times, and chuckled softly.

Hu Anyu still had the same smile as before, but it seemed a little stiff at the moment. However, he quickly recovered and said with a smile, "The Huashan Sect's swordsmanship is indeed unfathomable, and the disciples within the sect are truly outstanding individuals."

The martial arts competition had ended, and Hu Anyu led Yue Buqun and Ning Zhongze back to the main hall. Jiang Ning and Hu Shi followed behind, but Jiang Ning's expression remained unchanged, while Hu Shi's face was grim.

"I wonder if Sect Leader Yue has come to Xiangyang on some important business?"

Hu Anyu asked as soon as he sat down.

Upon hearing this, Yue Buqun closed his folding fan and said with a serious expression, "It's nothing. It's just that the disciples in the sect have been practicing hard lately, and I heard that there will be a lantern festival in Xiangyang on the 15th of this month, so I brought them out to have some fun."

Hu Anyu smiled upon hearing this.

"Sect Leader Yue is in high spirits."

After chatting for a while, Yue Buqun took his leave. Hu Anyu only tried to persuade him to stay briefly before seeing Yue Buqun, Jiang Ning, and the other two to the door and then went back home.

"Master, something's not right."

As soon as they stepped out the door, Jiang Ning said to Yue Buqun.

Something's not right.

Yue Buqun asked.

Jiang Ning said, "Several maids came up when we were in the main hall just now, and one of them was very strange."

He was referring to the maid who served him tea.

Is something wrong?

Ning Zhongze frowned and asked, something she hadn't noticed before.

Jiang Ning thought about it carefully and said, "The maid's tea-serving technique was very clumsy, a bit worse than the other maids. Moreover, when Hu Anyu waved for the other maids to leave, the maid was noticeably slower, as if she hadn't been trained and was just imitating what the other maids did."

"More importantly, when the maid was serving tea to Hu Anyu, I saw Hu Anyu's hand tremble slightly. Although it was not a big one, I was standing at the time and I thought the maid was a bit strange, so I took another look and that's when I noticed this scene."

"When I was sparring with Hu Shi in the training ground, I caught a glimpse of that maid hiding behind the wall, looking in our direction."

"I always felt that something was wrong with her."

After hearing what Jiang Ning said, Yue Buqun fell into deep thought.

Ning Zhongze asked, "Senior brother, does Sect Leader Hu have a daughter?"

Yue Buqun nodded, then shook his head, and said, "There is one. Twelve years ago, Hu Anyu gave birth to a daughter. I even came to Xiangyang to congratulate him then. However, the maid we saw today looks to be sixteen or seventeen years old, so she can't be his daughter."

"Could it be his niece?"

Ning Zhongze asked again.

Yue Buqun frowned and said, "I don't know, maybe."

However, Yue Buqun immediately said, "No matter who that woman is, that's her family matter. We've already come out, so it's not appropriate for us to interfere anymore. Let's go back to the inn first, and then return to Mount Hua after watching the lantern festival in a couple of days."

"Ah."

Ning Zhongze nodded, then seemed to remember something.

"By the way, senior brother, I heard that Liu Zhengfeng of the Hengshan Sect is going to retire from the martial arts world?"

"good."

Yue Buqun said, "Liu Zhengfeng had already revealed his intention to retire from the martial arts world a few days ago, but he hasn't officially announced that he will hold a ceremony to wash his hands of the martial arts world."

Ning Zhongze frowned and asked, "Why would Senior Brother Liu suddenly withdraw from the martial world? Was he threatened in some way?"

Yue Buqun shook his head and said, "I don't know about that. Since he wants to retire from the martial world, he has already made up his mind. No matter what happens, we will go to his Golden Basin Assembly, which can be considered as an alliance of our Five Mountains Sword Sect."

Ning Zhongze nodded.

Jiang Ning then fell into deep thought.

He remembered that the opening plot of The Smiling, Proud Wanderer was that Liu Zhengfeng of the Hengshan Sect was going to retire from the martial arts world.

So, does this mean the main event is about to begin?

Upon returning to the inn, Yue Buqun discovered that Linghu Chong had disappeared. He didn't bother to check, simply instructing his disciples not to cause trouble in Xiangyang before heading back to his room.

It was only noon, and Jiang Ning had nothing to do, so he planned to go back to his room to continue practicing his martial arts. He didn't stop practicing until Ying Bailuo knocked on the door in the evening.

Judging from his training progress over this period, his internal energy will be fully purified in a few months. At that time, even if he doesn't reach the level of a first-class master, he will at least be several levels higher than he is now.

"Junior Brother Jiang Ning, I heard that Xiangyang City is very lively at night. How about we go out for a stroll after dinner?"

During the meal, Ying Bailuo came over and said something.

He had already discussed it with the other Huashan disciples and planned to go out for a stroll together; the female disciples were also going to join in.

Jiang Ning thought for a moment and nodded.

"it is good."

Since it's a rare opportunity to get out, we should still have fun. It's part of the cultivation process, as long as it doesn't interfere with our training.

After finishing their meal, the Huashan disciples left the inn in a large group.

The city of Xiangyang was indeed more lively at night than during the day, with more people. Jiang Ning and his fellow disciples walked in large numbers down the street, attracting a lot of attention. Later, Lu Dayou wanted to see how others made lanterns, so he parted ways with some of his fellow disciples. Then, some of his fellow disciples also parted ways because they wanted to wander around. In the end, only Jiang Ning, Liang Fa, and a few other disciples remained. Among the female disciples, there was Du Lanyin and a girl named Qiaojun.

"Young master, come in and have some fun."

"Young master, look this way!"

A voice came from the building next door. Jiang Ning turned his head and realized that they had somehow ended up in the brothel street.

Chapter 45: Check if this person exists, and ask if this matter is true.

"Senior Brother Liang, how did you lead us here?"

Watching the prostitutes sway their hips and dress provocatively, Qiaojun blushed and glared at Liang Fa.

"Um... I came with you."

Liang Fa scratched his head, looking completely honest.

"Let's hurry up and leave."

Du Lanyin, her face flushed, urged him on.

Several Huashan disciples felt embarrassed and quickened their pace, while Jiang Ning looked left and right, walking quite leisurely.

"Sigh, these women could do anything, even weaving or embroidery would be a decent way to make a living, but they insist on becoming prostitutes."