"This humble monk is willing to exchange it for the Flaming Blade, a unique skill from the Western Regions. Please take a look, benefactor." After saying this, Kumārajīva took out a bamboo tube from his bosom, and from it took out a thick incense stick that was half-burned. Then, he gathered his true energy at the edge of his palm and spat out a beam of flame.
Murong Bo's eyes lit up. "It really is a peerless skill. Then I will exchange it for the Shaolin Prajna Palm."
“You jest, benefactor. The Seventy-Two Shaolin Arts are a set. You are only offering one book in exchange. Are you trying to bully this humble monk?” Kumārajīva said with a smile.
“Master is joking. It is true that the Flaming Blade is a unique skill, but if you want to exchange it for the entire set of the Seventy-Two Ultimate Skills, you are far from being good enough.” Murong Bo said, then turned to leave.
“Please wait, benefactor. How can you possibly exchange the Seventy-Two Shaolin Arts for this humble monk?” Kumārajīva asked.
"Let's combine the Flaming Blade with the Twenty-Eight Subduing Dragon Palms or the Six Meridians Divine Sword," Murong Bo stated his terms.
“This humble monk can agree, but the benefactor must first complete the exchange of half of the Flaming Blade.” Kumārajīva maintained his smile.
“Alright. But I only have about twenty Shaolin martial arts manuals on hand right now. If you agree, come with me.” Seeing that the other party was so young yet possessed such strength, Murong Bo had the idea of winning him over.
This foreign monk is much more reliable than that cowardly man in the library; he might be of great help in the future restoration of the kingdom.
"This humble monk will respectfully comply." Kumārajīva already had a plan in mind. After obtaining the twenty-odd Shaolin Seventy-Two Arts manuals, he would go into seclusion to cultivate diligently. Once he had mastered the martial arts, he would go to Tianlong Temple to seize the Six Meridians Divine Sword and exchange it for the remaining Shaolin arts.
So Murong Bo took Kumārajīva back to Yanziwu in Gusu to copy the secret manual. The two discussed martial arts, and Murong Bo finally accepted Kumārajīva.
After Kumārajīva left, Master Xuanbei came to visit again. Murong Bo had no choice but to hide in the cellar once more, practicing his skills while also teaching his son Murong Bo. However, this time Xuanbei was clearly prepared, as if he had already determined that Murong Bo was hiding in the mansion.
However, due to his status as a Buddhist disciple, Xuanbei could not force his way into the Murong family, so he and his disciples set up a shed outside to stay, while sending someone to inform Abbot Xuanci.
Murong Bo realized that this matter could not be resolved peacefully, and Xuan Bei's patience could not be unlimited. After discussing the matter with his wife, he decided to fake his death and conceal his identity.
Prior to this, Duan Zhengchun's lover, Ruan Xingzhu, had given away both of his daughters, but both of them had met with accidents, leaving the two daughters missing.
Coincidentally, A'Zhu was sold to Yanziwu by human traffickers and became a maid in the Murong family.
Forty-seven years after Xiang Yu's time travel, Murong Bo faked his death, using the Turtle Breathing Technique to deceive Xuan Bei and everyone else, except for his wife who knew the truth.
Three years later, Duan Yanqing slaughtered all his enemies in the two lakes and became the number one villain. The other three villains also began to emerge.
Murong Bo's attempts to recruit him failed, so he changed his name to Yan Longyuan and started a jewelry business. He claimed to be a member of the Murong family and spread the word about the black-lettered Yan flag. He used his superb martial arts skills to subdue heroes of the martial arts world and expand his influence.
A few years later, the Western Xia frequently raided the Song Dynasty. Martial arts figures, led by the Beggars' Clan, also joined the battle to defend the Song Dynasty. Qiao Feng, with his superb martial arts and extraordinary courage, repeatedly made meritorious contributions. He passed Wang Jiantong's test, was taught two of the Beggars' Clan's ultimate skills, and succeeded as the clan leader.
Fifty-eight years after Xiang Yu's time travel, the twenty-five-year-old Murong Fu finally rose to prominence, becoming known as "Southern Murong and Northern Qiao Feng" alongside Qiao Feng, the leader of the Beggars' Sect.
Two years later, the main story of Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils begins. After experiencing a series of adventures, Duan Yu is trapped in Wanjie Valley by the Four Evils.
Shaolin knew that the Four Evils were going to deal with Dali, so they sent Master Xuanbei to Dali to help them. However, Murong Bo learned of this and secretly followed them, using the Star Shift technique to kill Xuanbei.
Xiang Yu and Li Canghai embarked on a gossip-watching journey, and rescued a dying lightning weasel. As for the poisonous toad, the two were not interested and let Duan Yu eat it.
After several orthopedic stunts, Duan Yu was in mortal danger because he had absorbed too much internal energy from others, so he went to Tianlong Temple for treatment.
After years of rigorous training in Shaolin martial arts, Kumārajīva arrived at Tianlong Temple and began a magical duel with the monks, including Kurō. Kurō publicly burned the manual for the Six Meridians Divine Sword.
Duan Yu had already learned the Six Meridian Divine Sword before this, but his Six Meridian Divine Sword was sometimes effective and sometimes not. In order to save people, he was captured by Kumārajīva, who wanted to use Duan Yu, the living sword manual, to exchange for the remaining seventy-two ultimate skills from the Murong family.
On the other hand, because Master Xuanbei died under his own ultimate skill, the Great Vajra Pestle, the Murong family's "Shifting Stars" technique was highly suspected. Therefore, Qiao Feng proposed to convene a Beggars' Sect meeting and invite Murong Fu, known as the Southern Murong, to come and explain.
At this point, Ma Dayuan was killed by Kang Min and Bai Shijing. Then, Madam Ma seduced Quan Guanqing and plotted to control the Beggars' Sect.
Kumārajīva took Duan Yu to Yanziwu, where they encountered Abi, a maid of the Murong family. Then, they were tricked by the beautiful and youthful Xiao Azhu. Finally, the two women took Duan Yu to escape to Mantuo Manor, where Duan Yu also met Wang Yuyan, the most beautiful woman in the Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils.
The four of them then escaped from Mantuo Manor to find Murong Fu, and poor Duan Yu was subsequently kicked out of the group by Murong Fu. While drowning his sorrows in a tavern, Duan Yu encountered Qiao Feng, and the two fought a drinking contest to a draw, after which they became sworn brothers.
Not long after, Bao Butong and Feng Bo'e of the Murong family caused a great disturbance at the Beggars' Sect branch but were defeated by Qiao Feng. However, several elders and branch leaders of the Beggars' Sect went missing. Quan Guanqing and the four elders of the Beggars' Sect led a group to surround Qiao Feng, accusing him of conspiring with Murong Fu to kill Ma Dayuan.
Qiao Feng argued his case forcefully, eventually convincing the elders. According to the gang rules, the four elders who had slandered the gang leader would be executed, and Qiao Feng would atone for their sins by shedding his own blood. But at this moment, Kang Min, Shan Zheng, Xu Chongxiao, Master Zhiguang, and others arrived, and Qiao Feng's identity as a Khitan was finally exposed. He began to investigate his own background and also resigned from his position as gang leader.
The live broadcast of Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils was very entertaining, but Hao Jiu was in no mood to appreciate it now, because he had already performed a full-dimensional scan according to his original plan, but he couldn't find the target system!
This is outrageous!
Chapter 439 Daughter-in-law
The system radar is malfunctioning again; it's probably run into a system mastermind who can turn invisible once more!
Is this still a lower plane?
This must be the retirement home for the system's top boss!
"God of Wine, what do we do next?" Xiang Yu frowned. Could it be that the target system escaped before they sealed off the dimension?
Hao Jiu was also at his wit's end. Had the target system really run ahead of schedule? And how could this time acceleration be explained?
Although this task is not timed and there is no penalty for not completing it, and multiple tasks can now be accepted at the same time without affecting others.
However, Hao Jiu felt like he had been tricked. This sense of defeat made him very unhappy. The key was that if he didn't find that target, the energy from the full-plane scanning would be wasted, resulting in a loss!
Waste is shameful, and losing money is despicable!
"Keep searching! I refuse to believe the target system escaped beforehand! I'm going to use the Shadow System to check them one by one. Even if the other party has the ability to become invisible, they will be exposed when they bind to the Shadow System," Hao Jiu said angrily.
"Alright, since the God of Wine wants to find him, then I, the King, will gladly accompany you. I will also hurry up and accumulate more chivalry points so that I can bind all the talents in this world to the Shadow System."
Xiang Yu has done good deeds over the years, and it's probably because this is a martial arts world, so chivalry points are much easier to earn than in other worlds.
"Yes, that's the plan. I won't accumulate chivalry points or upgrade the Shadow System. I'll use them all to create basic Shadow Systems. I reckon that even if the target system chooses an obscure character as its host, it's unlikely to be an ordinary person. It'll probably be someone from the martial arts world," Hao Jiu analyzed.
"Good idea. Oh, someone's drowning. I'll go save him." With a thought, Xiang Yu conjured several powerful energy spheres dozens of miles away into a board, lifting the drowning person up.
Xiang Yu hasn't officially entered the Earthly Realm of Overlordship yet, but he's not far off. This method has proven to be feasible, and the area he can precisely control is getting larger and larger. He's truly experiencing what it's like to be a god.
The key is that in this state, it's incredibly easy to accumulate chivalry points. After all, there are so many people in this world who need help. Even small acts like helping an old lady can accumulate into a considerable income.
This was an unexpected bonus for Xiang Yu and Hao Jiu when they arrived in the Tian Long Ba Bu world. When Hao Jiu first discovered that the special energy was chivalry value, he never expected to have such benefits in the martial arts world.
Of course, with Xiang Yu's current abilities, even if he went to other planes, the speed at which he collects chivalry points wouldn't be slow, unless it's a world where no one needs help or to do chivalrous deeds.
The main story of Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils continued as usual, without any unexpected events. Xiao Yuanshan went and killed Qiao Sanhuai and his wife.
However, this is only what they, as mortals, see. With Shou Jun's abilities, it is not difficult for him to do this. Moreover, Hao Jiu is secretly helping through the Shadow System. Even if Xiao Yuanshan and Xiao Feng have strong wills, they can easily be led astray by a single bewitching pill.
In short, Xiang Yu and Hao Jiu have reached an agreement to rescue everyone closely related to Xiao Feng, and they must not let anyone else know about it.
No matter what world it is, people of Xiao Feng's character are extremely rare. There are many ways to improve one's strength, but it is the human heart that is too difficult to control.
While there are many ways to control people's hearts with the power of a system, when facing an enemy who also has a system, controlling people's hearts through crooked means will become a weakness.
Anyone who knew they had been under someone else's spell would probably feel resentful and might even rebel.
Therefore, Hao Jiu prefers to make good use of those virtuous people who are trustworthy, and then equip them with magical artifacts or antidotes to prevent them from being controlled by others.
To be honest, there probably isn't any great hero like Xiao Feng in the real world. After the Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils, it will be difficult to find someone like Xiao Feng again.
Several days later, Xiao Feng arrived at Shaolin Temple, intending to ask Master Xuanku about the leader of the gang. However, Xiao Yuanshan beat him to it and killed Xuanku with a single palm strike.
Xuan Ku wasn't actually that weak; he just didn't resist and willingly went to his death.
And so, another old monk appeared in Xiang Yu's alternate dimension.
However, what Xuan Ku didn't expect was that the young novice monk who delivered the medicine saw Xiao Yuanshan's face. After Xiao Feng arrived at Shaolin, the young novice monk insisted that it was Xiao Feng who did it.
Why do Xiao Yuanshan and Xiao Feng, father and son, look so alike?
Xuan Ci ordered the capture of Xiao Feng. During his escape, Xiao Feng encountered A Zhu, who had stolen the Yi Jin Jing. Later, A Zhu was injured, and Xiao Feng went to the martial arts gathering at Juxian Manor to find Doctor Xue in order to save her.
Then, in a great battle at Juxianzhuang, Xiao Feng fought against a group of heroes alone, but because of A'Zhu, Xiao Feng was no match for them. Fortunately, Xiao Yuanshan appeared and rescued Xiao Feng. A'Zhu also received treatment from Doctor Xue because of the favor Xiao Feng had asked Bai Shijing for.
After A'Zhu recovered from her injuries, she disguised herself as Doctor Xue and escaped from Juxian Manor. Then she went to Yanmen Pass to wait for Xiao Feng. The two met at the place where Xiao Yuanshan had carved the words, but unfortunately the words had been destroyed.
In order to find out the identity of the ringleader, Xiao Feng and A'Zhu disguised themselves and went to find Elder Xu. However, Xu Chongxiao had already died. No one knew what Xiao Yuanshan was thinking, but he kept following Xiao Feng to commit crimes. Tan Gong and Tan Po, Zhao Qiansun, Shan Zheng and others all died. Master Zhiguang also committed suicide by poison after handing over the stone inscription to Xiao Feng.
Xiao Feng found Madam Ma, Kang Min, but she demanded that he kill A'Zhu before revealing the identity of the ringleader. Xiao Feng resolutely refused. Then, A'Zhu impersonated Elder Bai to trick Kang Min into revealing information, but Kang Min saw through her disguise and 'confessed' that the ringleader was Duan Zhengchun.
Kang Min originally only wanted to use Xiao Feng to kill Duan Zhengchun, that unfaithful man, but she never expected that her words would cost A'Zhu her life.
Xiao Feng and A Zhu went to Xiaojing Lake to find Duan Zhengchun. They encountered A Zi and met Ruan Xingzhu. Xiao Feng also learned that he was Duan Zhengchun's daughter, but he believed Kang Min's words and mistakenly thought that Duan Zhengchun was Xiao Feng's enemy.
Therefore, A'Zhu did not reunite with her parents, and instead disguised herself as Duan Zhengchun to accept Xiao Feng's challenge. She was killed by Xiao Feng with the Eighteen Subduing Dragon Palms, causing everyone in the alternate dimension to cry their hearts out.
Xiao Feng was devastated. He and A'Zhu had just pledged their lives to each other and planned to go to the borderlands to herd horses and sheep, but A'Zhu died just like that.
Xiao Feng understood that A'Zhu wasn't just taking the blow for Duan Zhengchun; she was also doing it for Xiao Feng's safety. After all, Duan Zhengchun was the Prince of Zhennan of Dali, and he had many experts from Tianlong Temple as his backup. Even if Xiao Feng killed Duan Zhengchun, he would still face great danger in the future.
Not only A'Zhu, but in many people's minds, Tianlong Temple is an extremely powerful force. When Wu Yazi and his wife swept through the martial arts world, the Beggar Clan lost the Dog-Beating Staff Technique, and Shaolin lost the Seventy-Two Arts, but Tianlong Temple was the only one that did not lose.
Another point is that this is how Mr. Jin Yong arranged it: A'Zhu had to die.
Otherwise, if Duan Yu had directly stated that he was the son of the Prince of Zhennan of Dali when he swore brotherhood with Xiao Feng, Xiao Feng might not have had to kill his sworn brother's father.
All the coincidences led to the tragedy of A'Zhu and Xiao Feng.
Of course, Xiao Feng's tragedy ends with his suicide for the peace between the two countries, while A'Zhu's tragedy has come to an end.
At this moment, Xiao Feng's two mothers were already chatting with their daughter-in-law A Zhu, holding her hands, and they were very satisfied!
As for that stupid son who beat his wife to death, he deserves to regret it for the rest of his life!
Chapter 440 Reunion
To be fair, Xiao Feng's later life was truly tragic.
He finally came to his senses and wanted to get married, but before he could even do so, she was gone; he had killed her with his own hands.
Xiao Feng then discovered evidence that Duan Zhengchun was not the leader, which dealt him a great blow. He wanted to commit suicide in front of A'Zhu's grave, which terrified the 'dead' in the other dimension.
Fortunately, Xiao Yuanshan jumped out again and extended Xiao Feng's life, telling him that he should avenge A'Zhu and his parents before dying.
Xiao Feng actually did just that. After he had taken all the revenge he needed to take, he found an opportunity to die. He could have lived.
Actually, there's another tragic character hidden in Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils who never appears. In some ways, he's even more tragic than Xiao Feng. He spent his whole life practicing martial arts at Shaolin Temple, never offending anyone, never doing anything major, and yet he became the number one master in Shaolin Temple in two hundred years, reaching the pinnacle of his life. But then, he ruined himself while practicing martial arts...
This pitiful-looking person is Xuan Cheng. The explanation given by the sweeping monk is that Xuan Cheng's Buddhist cultivation is insufficient, but in reality, it's because Xuan Cheng is too eager for quick success.
A martial arts fanatic with extraordinary skills, whose life ended before he even made his appearance, began to spend the rest of his life studying Buddhism, until he heard a Buddhist voice ask, "Do you wish to regain your strength?"
Of course he wanted to, so Xuancheng 'died' and saw a wider world.
The main story of Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils is proceeding as planned. Xiao Feng rescues A Zi from the hands of the Xingxiu Sect disciples. Because of his guilt towards A Zhu, Xiao Feng is really good to his sister-in-law.
Not long after, Xiao Feng rescued Duan Zhengchun from Madam Ma. The once beautiful and ruthless woman was tortured beyond recognition by A Zi. In the end, when she looked in the mirror for Madam Ma and saw that her once proud face was ruined, she couldn't bear the blow and died of ugliness.
Later, a series of events occurred, leading Xiao Feng to take A Zi to Changbai Mountain to dig for ginseng. There, they met Wanyan Aguda, the leader of the Jurchen people, and he helped him become the emperor of the Liao Dynasty. Xiao Feng was also named the Southern King, and A Zi was named a princess.