I am Jinshan Youxia

Kang Guangling focused solely on this one thing, gritting his teeth and persevering. Soon, he was drenched in sweat, his clothes soaked through. As the heat took root and flowed into his internal organs, the swelling subsided, and the heat suddenly turned into coolness.

"Giggle~" He couldn't help but start shaking, his teeth chattering.

But after the alternation of hot and cold, the energy of the whole body flows freely, and the pores of the whole body seem to open in unison, making the mouth water instantly, like eating a piece of ice in the middle of summer, or like sitting around a stove in the cold snow.

Feeling light and airy, as if about to take flight on the wind.

"A little over four hundred, less than five hundred."

Zhang Chengyi's voice came, and the hand that had been holding Kang Guangling loosened. He fell backward and was about to hit the ground when he subconsciously pushed off with his toes, and his body lightly leaped up and slowly fell in the air.

"Activate your internal energy."

Kang Guangling opened his eyes, somewhat surprised. Grandpa Zhang across from him spoke again, and upon hearing this, he subconsciously allowed his internal energy to circulate naturally.

"laugh!"

His clothes, soaked with sweat, dried instantly. His masculine energy dissipated, and steam enveloped him like clouds and mist, drifting out the window in wisps.

"The correct practice is Yang, while the reverse practice is Yin. The balance of Yin and Yang is the true Qi of the Northern Darkness."

Zhang Chengyi tossed him the booklet of the Northern Darkness Divine Art. He had basically mastered the booklet thanks to the contributions of some guinea pigs. "You can familiarize yourself with it with them later. Tomorrow, you can come with me to the Heroes' Gathering."

According to Gyeongbokgung Temple, the Beggars' Sect and several famous temples have joined forces to hold a heroes' gathering to punish the Deaf-Mute Sect and a certain Zhang-surnamed demon.

He really had to go and join in the fun.

"Yes, Uncle Zhang." Kang Guangling's body reacted before his mind, calmly accepting the booklet and then bowing in response.

"It smelled strongly of sweat."

Zhang Chengyi held his breath in disgust. The swirling mist looked ethereal, but it was actually just sweat. Kang Guangling was a rough man, so what good could it possibly taste like?

He pushed open the door and walked out, asking, "Who's next?"

Transferring power to others is extremely taxing. He added points while transferring, always maintaining full strength, and his speed was incredibly fast. Kang Guangling's perception lasted for several days, but in reality, it was only the time it takes for an incense stick to burn. It wouldn't take the nine people combined to do it for very long.

Thus, apart from Xue Muhua, who had been waiting on the sidelines to save people in case something went wrong, the other members of the Eight Friends of Hangu received the transmission of skills one by one in order.

After Su Xinghe finished transferring his power, it was Xue Muhua's turn.

The Eight Friends of Hangu Pass generally had an internal strength level of around 400, but Kang Guangling, the first to receive the transmission of his skills, had the highest level.

Their talents were truly limited, far below the upper limit of Wu Yazi's internal energy.

Su Xinghe, on the contrary, was quite impressive. He looked short and thin, but his internal energy limit was over 600, only a little over 100 points less than Wu Yazi's. This proved that if he hadn't wasted time studying miscellaneous subjects, he might have had a real chance to clash with Ding Chunqiu.

Chapter 25 I don't believe you don't want anything

In an unnamed county town, in a wild temple, in a side room.

"Tap~"

It wasn't until the newcomer deliberately made footsteps that Xu Chongxiao turned around warily. A burly man in an old gray cloth robe came into view. His mind raced, but a hint of intimacy appeared on his face as he said, "Chief Qiao, you've arrived."

The visitor was none other than Qiao Feng, the leader of the Beggars' Sect, from the idiom "Southern Murong, Northern Qiao Feng".

"Elder Xu, are you well?"

Qiao Feng bowed respectfully, behaving like a junior. Ever since he was trained by his master Wang Jiantong as the leader of the Beggars' Clan, he had accompanied the elders to visit the reclusive elders of the Beggars' Clan every year.

Elder Xu, standing before us, was naturally one of them.

"You arrived early?" Xu Chongxiao suddenly realized something. The Beggars' Sect had sent a letter saying that the sect leader would arrive at Jingfu Temple tomorrow to participate in the Heroes' Gathering. How come he appeared in this county town this morning?

"So that Elder Xu may know, I arrived in the Central Plains five days ago."

Qiao Feng recounted his journey in detail.

Upon hearing of Elder Xu's accident, he immediately set off on horseback, traveling day and night, killing two horses in the process, and arrived in the Central Plains six days ahead of schedule. However, he neither went to Jingfu Temple to meet with the masters and heroes nor directly confronted Zhang Chengyi and his group, shouting threats of violence.

On the contrary, he concealed his identity and chased back along the way.

First, they learned that Zhang Chengyi and his entourage did not harm the people in the slightest, were generous, and would give generously to beggars they encountered on the road.

Then, after finding out the identities of the Eight Friends of Hangu Pass and Su Xinghe, he went to the inn where the conflict with Qin Family Village had broken out that day. He even went to great lengths to catch up with the singing girl and the bandits from Qin Family Village who were returning to Shanxi by carriage, and asked them about what had happened.

Finally arriving in the county town, he silently observed the group for two days and two nights. Even with his unparalleled martial arts skills, he looked tired and his eyes were bloodshot.

“I observed that the Jinshan wandering knight called himself a ‘knight’ and his actions were quite like those of ancient wandering knights. Perhaps this is just a misunderstanding.”

Qiao Feng didn't give a definitive answer; there was still one thing he didn't understand after investigating for so long.

Why did Elder Xu, who lived far away at Qingliang Temple, appear at Jingfu Temple? Why did he meet with the Iron-Faced Judge Shan Zheng? And what was the purpose of the letters he mailed to Master Tan, Master Zhiguang, and Grandmother Tan?

When Xu Chongxiao saw that the Khitan dog was actually pleading for the kidnappers, a wisp of evil fire inexplicably rose in his heart. However, he was extremely good at controlling his temper, and the anger did not even show on the surface before he suppressed it in his heart.

"When the Duke of Zhou feared rumors, and when Wang Mang was humble before his usurpation," he said slowly. "So, Chief Qiao, you hastily concluded that they weren't evil people?"

Steve Jobs was speechless.

The Eight Friends of Hangu Pass all have a good reputation in the martial arts world, especially the eldest brother Kang Guangling and the fifth brother Xue Muhua. Their character is widely praised. The Deaf-Mute Master Su Xinghe has always stayed away from worldly affairs and guarded Leigu Mountain. He has a small reputation in the nearby villages and towns, and he himself is a recluse with a refined reputation.

He couldn't find the nickname of Jinshan Wanderer, but since Zhang Chengyi made a name for himself, he had done three things: first, he helped a singing girl avenge bandits when he saw injustice on the road; second, he kidnapped Elder Xu and injured six members of the Shan family; and third, he drove the penniless Bao Qianling to solve the predicament faced by Monk Huiming.

Two of the three incidents were full of chivalry, but the kidnapping of Elder Xu was particularly strange. Not only did it happen suddenly without any prior cause or effect, but their appearance at Jingfu Temple was also very suspicious.

Moreover, given Zhang Chengyi's demonstrated strength, if he harbored malicious intentions, he didn't think anyone at Jingfu Temple would survive.

Recently, the Western Xia has been frequently raiding the border, and there are many suspicious points surrounding the death of Ma Dayuan. At this critical juncture, it would be best to turn hostility into friendship. Even if action is taken, he does not think it would be a good thing to find a pretext to incite the heroes.

People are always prone to blindly following others.

Xu Chongxiao quickly realized the problem. At this critical juncture, he shouldn't have appeared at Jingfu Temple with Shan Zheng, allowing this bold and meticulous Khitan dog to notice the problem and conclude that there was more to Zhang Chengyi's abduction of him than met the eye.

But he really was kidnapped for no reason.

In Su Xinghe's words, "Some people are just here to play around in this world."

Look how harsh those words sound.

He felt a bit aggrieved, and at this moment, he even began to wonder if the Khitan dog in front of him had ordered Zhang Chengyi to kidnap him.

After a few seconds of silence, Xu Chongxiao relented and said, "Since Chief Qiao already has a plan, why tell this old man like me?"

His words were clearly meant to stab the other person in the back.

"I wouldn't dare." Qiao Feng had been very well-trained and still thought about keeping things private with his family. He didn't expose the problem and bowed, saying, "Zhang Chengyi and the others left the county this morning. Elder Xu, please leave here first to let the brothers in the gang know that you are safe."

Xu Chongxiao's pupils dilated. What? He noticed the guard was gone this morning and thought it was Zhang Chengyi's doing. After all, Zhang had a history of killing Yao Bodang, so he stayed in the room obediently and didn't dare to go out.

Now everyone's gone?

So what is he anyway? Could it be that these people have already accomplished their goal without anyone knowing?

Seeing the man's uncertain expression, Qiao Feng cupped his hands in greeting, turned and left. Before he had gone far, he saw the man squatting on the courtyard wall, and a smile appeared on his face, which had been tense for many days. "Brother Bao, it's been years. How have you been?"

Bao Qianling landed lightly, laughing heartily, "All my belongings are here." He paused, his smile fading, and asked, "Brother Qiao, are you here to deal with Master Zhang?"

"What a coincidence, Brother Bao, are you working for that old man Zhang?" Qiao Feng asked in return.

"It's a long story..." Bao Qianling shook her head helplessly.

"Let's drink and chat to our hearts' content," Qiao Feng laughed. "I wonder if Brother Bao's drinking capacity has improved?"

The two men strode away, heading straight for a restaurant in the city.

Xu Chongxiao walked out of the room where he was imprisoned, into the courtyard, and looked up at the sun, which he found very dazzling.

In the first few days after being kidnapped, he wanted to escape all the time, but later he wanted to find out what Zhang Chengyi was up to.

For some reason, he had a premonition that the man who had kidnapped him was someone who was completely out of step with the rest of the martial arts world and was capable of doing anything. Would his plan to force Qiao Feng away and regain control of the Beggars' Sect be ruined?

Based on this, he racked his brains to spy on each of the Eight Friends of Hangu and Su Xinghe, constantly communicating secretly with the monks sent by Qingliang Temple, refusing the rescue plan, and willingly risking his life to find out what Zhang Chengyi was really after.

But what happened today was as if someone had slapped him across the face and loudly mocked him when he was trying his best and racking his brains.

See, you've done something useless.

They're just playing the game as they please. They arrested you on a whim, and letting you go is none of your business.

It was as if he had punched empty air with all his might; he felt a tightness in his chest and his internal energy was running wildly.

"Pfft!" Xu Chongxiao spat out a mouthful of blood. His scattered inner energy ripped his hair bun open, revealing his full head of white hair. The wrinkles on his face deepened. He muttered to himself, "I don't believe you don't want anything..."

Chapter 26 Invitation

The carriage swayed and rocked on the way back to Gyeongbokgung Temple.

"Uncle Zhang, are we just going to release Xu Chongxiao like this?"

Xue Muhua rode alongside, asking curiously.

He had recently become familiar with the head of the family after spending a lot of time with him assisting with the training of martial arts.

Especially after discovering that the head of the family was a very easy-going person with a good temper, they became a little more casual in their speech.

"Why keep him around?" Zhang Chengyi asked in surprise.

"Uh..." Xue Muhua was speechless for a moment. To be honest, he still didn't understand why the head of the family wanted to arrest Xu Chongxiao for no reason.

But it doesn't seem to be about personal grudges or love affairs, so it must be a conflict of interest? Or does Xu Chongxiao have something valuable? A martial arts manual or a rare treasure?

Zhang Chengyi said matter-of-factly, "Keeping that old guy around will only drive up the price of rice. Besides, Qiao Feng is coming soon, so of course we have to go and meet the great hero Qiao Feng."

His capture of Xu Chongxiao was purely impulsive; he had no ulterior motives whatsoever. He simply wanted to make a big scene, to liven up the martial arts world, to make his reputation as a chivalrous knight of Jinshan resound, and to satisfy his past life's fantasy of being a great hero.

Of course, most importantly, with Qiao Feng watching over us, what's the point of having an old guy as a burden?

Xu Chongxiao is quite old, and apart from his high seniority, his martial arts skills are terrible. He spends all his time on power struggles and women.

There's definitely no place for him in the future martial arts training program at Leigushan, so he might as well stay on the sidelines.

Such nonchalance is truly enviable. But if she can so suddenly abandon Xu Chongxiao and leave today, will she one day abandon us too?

Xue Muhua looked at Zhang Chengyi, who was leaning against the carriage window, casually flipping through a martial arts manual, and a subtle feeling rose in his heart.

The head of the family will one day abandon them to find more interesting people or things.

Even with a clear goal, you move towards it at a leisurely pace, encountering interesting people and things along the way, enjoying beautiful scenery, and savoring delicious food...

This must be true freedom.

"Uncle Zhang, are you really not going to inform Bao Qianling?" Kang Guangling moved closer and asked.