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

Page 133

Jiang Ning said, "Your martial arts are so much better than hers, so teaching her will naturally be very easy. But that's secondary. The reason I'm having you spar with Yue Lingshan and teach her is to let you seize this opportunity to deepen your relationship, not to make you knock her sword away."

Linghu Chong said with annoyance, "Why didn't you say so sooner?"

Jiang Ning never expected Linghu Chong to be so mentally challenged.

Despite his considerable martial arts talent and usual smooth-talking nature, he was incredibly foolish when it came to Yue Lingshan.

Linghu Chong quickly rallied, his face resolute.

"I understand, I'll go find my junior sister now."

"Forget it, senior brother, don't go and get scolded."

Jiang Ning called out to him.

Yue Lingshan is currently furious, and Linghu Chong has gained nothing but being scolded.

Linghu Chong thought about it and realized he was right; it was better not to go looking for trouble.

"When should I go find my junior sister?"

Linghu Chong stared longingly at Jiang Ning, clearly seeing him as a lifeline.

Although Jiang Ning's previous method didn't work, Linghu Chong still felt that Jiang Ning was very reliable.

Jiang Ning thought for a moment and said, "Let's talk about it in a few days. Go after your senior sister has calmed down."

Linghu Chong sighed upon hearing this.

"That's all it can do."

After sighing, Linghu Chong noticed that Jiang Ning was all ready to go, even with his sword in hand.

"Where are you going?"

Linghu Chong asked in surprise.

"Master said that there are too many people on Mount Hua now, so we can move the battle line forward and wait for them at Thousand-Foot Cliff."

Jiang Ning walked and talked.

Linghu Chong seemed to be thinking about what he heard, and after a moment he chased after him.

"I'll go with you."

Jiang Ning turned around and looked at him in surprise.

Linghu Chong smiled helplessly: "Anyway, I have nothing else to do, so it's fine to go there and keep watch."

Jiang Ning had no objections.

The two walked along the road, and Linghu Chong looked preoccupied.

Before they knew it, Jiang Ning and Linghu Chong had arrived at Thousand-Foot Cliff, where some Huashan disciples were already guarding it.

"Senior Brother, Junior Brother Jiang Ning."

Upon seeing Jiang Ning and Linghu Chong arrive, Liang Fa hurried over.

Linghu Chong nodded to Liang Fa.

Jiang Ning smiled and said, "Senior brother, you've worked hard. How is the situation now?"

Liang replied, "It's quite quiet, there's nothing unusual for now. My junior brother is already keeping watch at the foot of the mountain, and he'll come and notify us immediately if anything happens."

Jiang Ning looked around. There were barrels of oil all around, as well as many torches and large stones, all of which would be useful later.

However, due to the narrow terrain, not much can be placed here. A large amount of supplies are placed on the North Peak, so that they can be quickly transported here should a fighting break out. They are well prepared.

Jiang Ning looked around and said, "You senior brothers have been guarding for so long, go and rest first. I'll take over the guard duty."

Liang laughed and said, "It's alright, we're just sitting here anyway."

Jiang Ning sat down at the end of the Thousand-Foot Cliff, casually placed his sword on a nearby stone, and began to guard the Thousand-Foot Cliff.

Linghu Chong also looked at Liang Fa and the other Huashan disciples and said, "Junior brothers, you should go and rest. Other junior brothers and sisters will come to relieve you later. Junior brother and I will stay here and keep watch for now."

"Ok."

Liang Fa nodded and led his fellow disciples back to rest.

Linghu Chong also sat down on the other side of Jiang Ning, and then looked at Jiang Ning's profile. He found that Jiang Ning's face was expressionless, and his eyes were looking down at the Thousand-Foot Cliff, as if he was waiting for something.

……

At the foot of Mount Hua.

"Island Master Sima, what do you mean? Should we charge straight up Mount Hua?"

Thousands of martial arts practitioners have gathered at the foot of Mount Hua, their heads thronging the ground, a dense and seemingly endless mass.

A middle-aged man with a imposing build was speaking to a burly man.

Upon hearing this, Sima Da, the island lord of Changjing Island, did not speak immediately. He looked up at the towering Mount Hua, pondered for a moment, and then looked at one of the people, cupping his hands in greeting.

"Mr. Ji, in your opinion, how should we attack Mount Hua?"

The person being questioned was not particularly handsome, but his eyes were bright and piercing.

This person is called Ji Wushi. Although he usually claims to be without a plan, he is actually very cunning and has first-class martial arts skills. He is a very powerful figure.

Upon hearing this, Ji Wushi lowered his head and pondered for a while before raising his head and saying, "In my opinion, we need to consider this carefully. Mount Hua is steep and difficult to climb. There has always been a saying that 'there is only one path to Mount Hua since ancient times.' I think you can all see that just by looking at Mount Hua from here."

"Mount Hua is easy to defend but difficult to attack, especially with Ning Yanwang and Yue Buqun, the Gentleman Swordsman, stationed on the mountain. These two are extremely skilled in martial arts. Moreover, I heard that people from the Hengshan, Taishan, and Hengshan sects have arrived. They occupy advantageous terrain. If we rush up like this, it will be like a thousand troops crossing a single-plank bridge. The enemy will take advantage of the terrain and wait for us to tire themselves out. In that case, we may not gain any advantage. It would be better if we..."

"Why think so much? Just go for it."

Before Ji Wushi could finish speaking, a burly man next to him impatiently interrupted him.

“We have thousands of heroes here, why should we be afraid of a mere few hundred? We could drown them all.”

"What Ning Yanwang? What Gentleman Sword? So what if they have high martial arts skills? Are there fewer experts on our side?"

"No matter how skilled they are in martial arts, can one of them fight ten? Twenty?"

"Who among you here isn't a master? Who isn't an outstanding individual?"

A brute.

Ji Wushi frowned; he hated brutes the most.

Ji Wushi still smiled and said, "What this hero said makes sense. However, the Huashan Sect is a famous sect after all, and its leader is one of the top ten masters of the righteous path. Not long ago, his disciple Jiang Ning killed Yu Canghai, who was also one of the top ten masters of the righteous path, and slaughtered his entire family. This strength should not be underestimated. We still need to be careful."

"The so-called top ten masters of the righteous path are nothing but empty boasts. Who doesn't know how much of that is exaggerated?"

Upon hearing Ji Wushi's words, someone else scoffed and laughed disdainfully.

"These so-called righteous sects love to gild their own image, boasting grand reputations, but they're really nothing special. Take Yu Canghai, for example, who claimed to have surpassed his master, even better than his teacher. But what happened in the end? He was killed by a mere brat. How powerful can these righteous masters really be?"

"There are thousands of us here, and countless experts. If we all attack together, let alone the mere Huashan Sect, even taking down Shaolin Temple would be a piece of cake."

"Yes, that's right."

Many people in the crowd behind him echoed his words.

Upon hearing this, Ji Wushi fell silent.

Sima Da and the others at the front couldn't help but feel a headache upon seeing this.

That's what happens when there's no one to lead; opinions differ, you have your ideas, and he has his.

They initially wanted to appoint a leader, but these martial arts figures were all people who lived on the edge of a knife, and most of them had volatile tempers. No one was willing to submit to anyone else, and they all felt that they were qualified to be the leader. In the end, they fought each other to the death and started fighting amongst themselves.

"It would be great if the Holy Maiden were willing to come out and take the lead."

An old man sighed.

The others also nodded.

Sima Da's eyes lit up upon hearing this.

"I'll go ask the Holy Envoy and see what his opinion is."

The others nodded in agreement.

"Ok, Ok."

"The Holy Envoy came out on the orders of the Holy Maiden, so they must already have their own ideas."

"Island Master Sima, please go quickly."

Sima nodded and then walked through the crowd to the back. In the middle of the crowd, there was a luxurious and spacious carriage standing quietly. The martial arts figures around it had solemn expressions and tense bodies, but there were faint sounds coming from inside the carriage from time to time.

Sima Da respectfully approached the carriage and knelt down to kowtow.

"Your subordinate, Sima Da, requests an audience with the Imperial Envoy."

Sima Da spoke in a loud voice, and as soon as he finished speaking, the faint noise inside the carriage stopped.

After a while.

"come in."

A voice came from inside.

"Yes."

Sima Da respectfully rose, bowed, and walked toward the carriage. A coachman standing in front of the carriage opened the door, lifted the curtain, and Sima Da nodded slightly in thanks before going inside.

Upon entering the carriage, Sima Da dared not raise his head the entire way. He knelt down and kowtowed respectfully before the central table.

"Your subordinate, Sima Da, has met with the four imperial envoys."

Four figures sat upright at the other end, dressed in strange clothes, with a single braid sticking up on their heads. The table was covered with fruits, with a fruit pit casually tossed under the table.

Hearing no response, Sima Da glanced briefly at the four people before quickly lowering his head again.

Ugly, so ugly.

Sima Da could only sigh that the Sun Moon Sect was truly full of hidden talents. These four people not only had extraordinary martial arts skills, but each of them was also uniquely ugly, which was simply beyond the limit of visual appeal.

Looking at Sima Da kneeling below, Tao Zhixian unconsciously scratched her buttocks. The next second, a rough hand slapped her, and Tao Zhixian quickly sat up straight.

"Cough cough."

Tao Genxian coughed and deliberately raised his voice to show his sternness as he asked.

"Lord Sima, what business do you have with my four brothers?"

Upon hearing the envoy's question, Sima Da dared not delay and quickly replied, "Your Majesty, we have arrived at the foot of Mount Hua. We request Your Majesty's guidance on how to attack Mount Hua."

Tao Ye Xian's eyes lit up, and she was about to speak when Tao Gen Xian interrupted her, saying, "My four brothers and I were only sent by the Holy Maiden to inform you to besiege Mount Hua. The Holy Maiden did not tell us anything else. You can decide what to do."

"This……"

Sima Da was troubled upon hearing this.

These four claimed to be the Holy Maiden's subordinates, but apart from producing the Holy Maiden's token and issuing orders, they did not interfere in anything else. The Holy Maiden did not come out to lead them, otherwise they would not have been in a situation of being leaderless.

"Your Excellency, you may not know this, but we have no good solution and we cannot agree on a solution. That is why we have come to bother you, Your Excellency, and earnestly request your guidance."

Sima Da kowtowed.

His words put the Four Immortals of Peach Valley in a difficult position.

They don't know how to do this either.

At the crucial moment, it was the eldest brother, Tao Genxian, who had a bright idea and said, "Since you can't agree, then you can discuss it. The minority should obey the majority. We are only here to supervise the battle and will not get involved in this kind of thing."

"Yes, yes, brother is right."

Upon hearing this, Peach Leaf Fairy's eyes lit up, and she quickly gave Peach Root Fairy a thumbs up.

Tao Genxian smiled smugly.

"This... I understand. Thank you for your guidance, Your Majesty. I will take my leave now."

Sima Da looked troubled, but still nodded.

The four members of Tao Genxian immediately put on serious expressions and nodded solemnly: "Go."

As soon as Sima Dayi left, the four of them returned to normal. Peach Leaf Fairy grabbed the peaches she hadn't finished eating and continued eating. Peach Branch Fairy and Peach Dry Fairy even started fighting over the same thing.

……

After Sima Da came out, he returned to the front of the group, where many martial arts practitioners were waiting for him.

"how?"