Chapter 173: The Attack of the Hall of One-Class

"Big Brother Zhang has such high-level political maneuvering!"

Watching Zhang Jie's skilled and effortless methods, Duan Yu was convinced.

In his eyes, even his uncle, the current Emperor of Dali, Baoding Emperor Duan Zhengming, had only such political maneuvering.

Hmm, when Kumārajīva challenged the Tianlong Temple, in order to repel the enemy, he became a monk at Tianlong Temple with the dharma name Benchen,

and practiced the "Guanchong Sword" of the "Six Meridian Divine Swords"; after Zhang Jie intervened,

and rescued Duan Yu from Kumārajīva, he returned to secular life and went back to being his emperor.

As for how Duan Yu knew?

Although Zhang Jie had designs on the "Six Meridian Divine Swords" after rescuing him,

he didn't imprison him, and he still maintained contact with Dali.

It wasn't that Zhang Jie wasn't willing to let him go,

but Duan Yu felt that there were many things to learn from Zhang Jie and was unwilling to leave.

After Duan Zhengchun and the others learned that Duan Yu and Zhang Jie had a good relationship,

they were also happy to see the next emperor of Dali have a friendship with a peerless expert like Zhang Jie.

In a world with martial arts, the deterrent power of a peerless expert is absolutely terrifying.

The Duan family could stand firm in Dali, where ethnic groups were complex and powerful officials emerged one after another,

and the high monks like Benyin, Bencan, and Master Masters Ku Rong, who practiced in Tianlong Temple, deserved much of the credit.

No, Zhang Jie's methods were even more brilliant than his uncle's!

Because Zhang Jie possessed something every ruler dreams of—overwhelming power!

Although all factions in Dali submitted to their Dali Duan family,

there were powerful officials headed by the Gao family in the court, and foreign tribes like the Bai and Dao Yi outside.

This forced Duan Zhengming to painstakingly balance all parties,

fearing that any one side would grow too large, break the balance, and threaten the rule of their Dali Duan family.

His father and mother were a typical political marriage:

His mother, Dao Dao Bai Feng, was a princess of the Dao Yi tribe, a major clan in Dali,

and his father, Duan Zhengchun, was established as the Crown Prince after his uncle, Duan Zhengming, had no heirs.

The reason he had so many half-sisters living outside

was also because his mother Dao Dao Bai Feng's status was very high, so high that his father Duan Zhengchun didn't dare to offend her too much.

"Big Brother Zhang, you actually took control of the Beggar Sect so easily."

Duan Yu's heart was filled with shock and envy.

The Beggar Sect had hundreds of thousands of disciples and was undoubtedly the number one sect in the world.

The status of the Beggar Sect leader in the Wu Lin was enough to rank in the first tier with the Shaolin Abbot and others.

Even without mentioning his unfathomable martial arts,

Zhang Jie's status alone was enough to make him an honored guest in their Dali.

Hearing Duan Yu's words, Zhang Jie shook his head:

"If possible, I hope the fewer Beggar Sect disciples, the better; ideally, none at all."

What are Beggar Sect disciples?

They are the absolute bottom of society, with no livelihood, no means of production, no fixed assets,

and can only survive by begging!

The more beggars there are, the more it only shows that the situation is darker, and the more people in the world cannot survive!

Just like the dialogue between Su Can and the Emperor in "King of Beggars":

Emperor: Su Can, your Beggar Sect disciples are becoming more and more numerous,

numbering in the hundreds of thousands; there are too many, and I cannot sleep.

I want you, this Beggar Sect leader, to disband the Beggar Sect and not organize them in any form.

Su Can's reply was: Your Majesty, how many beggars there are in the world

does not depend on me, the Beggar Sect leader, but on you, the Emperor.

If the people of the world were all living and working in peace, who would be willing to be a beggar?

Of course, certain professional beggars in the 21st century who beg for money,

using feigned pity to deceive the kindness of other good-hearted people,

and building villas and driving luxury cars in their hometowns, are not included.

They are no longer beggars who have to beg for a living;

they are actually scammers, and Zhang Jie expresses disdain for such guys.

And in the Beggar Sect of the Great Song at this time, apart from a few Clean-Clothes faction members who joined to seek protection,

or even borrowed the power of the Beggar Sect to develop and grow,

most of the others were Dirty-Clothes faction members, pitiful people who couldn't survive.

For such pitiful people, out of the most simple view of good and evil, Zhang Jie hoped there would be fewer of them.

This was also the reason why he hesitated for a moment before taking over as Beggar Sect leader:

He wanted to change this status quo and make the number of people in the world who have to beg for a living decrease.

"Big Brother Zhang, I'm sorry, I thought wrongly."

Duan Yu, who was extremely intelligent, immediately thought of the meaning in Zhang Jie's words,

and felt ashamed that he only cared about the power of the Beggar Sect and not the livelihood of the Beggar Sect disciples.

"It is already very good that you can realize these things."

Zhang Jie didn't blame Duan Yu, but was full of praise and encouragement.

Although Dali was not a major power like Liao or Song,

it was also a regional power occupying an area roughly the size of a province around Yunnan in the 21st century.

Duan Yu, as the only son of the Dali Prince of Zhennan, Duan Zhengchun,

was a true royal descendant born with a silver spoon in his mouth.

And after the current Dali Emperor, Duan Zhengming, had no sons,

Duan Yu's status became even more noble—he was the only future heir to Dali.

Having such a noble birth and status,

Duan Yu didn't become a spoiled brat who thought he was the best in the world,

and could still care about the suffering and hardships of the people; it was truly rare and precious.

And it was precisely this noble birth that made his consciousness a bit naive,

without a comprehensive understanding of the lives of the real common people.

"Sect Leader's great virtue, we, we..."

After listening to the conversation between Zhang Jie and Duan Yu, the four great elders and others were deeply moved.

If it weren't for having no other choice, who would want to be a beggar?

Even for them, the high-level elders of the Beggar Sect,

they were often mocked as "old beggars" by others outside!

Those who claimed to be from famous orthodox sects, even if they respected them on the surface,

always looked down on them in private.

Suddenly, Wu Zhanglao's tears flowed down like a waterfall,

simply like a broken string of pearls, flowing in a continuous stream.

Chen Guyan was surprised: "Old Wu, I know you are a man of sentiment,

but how did you cry like this?"

"I, I don't know why either, I just can't stop the tears."

Wu Zhanglao wiped his eyes with his hand, but still couldn't stop the tears.

"Hey! Old Chen, Old Xi, why are you crying too?"

Wu Qingfeng, wiping his tears with his sleeve, looked blankly at the other three elders.

"Us?"

Chen Zhanglao and the others touched the corners of their eyes and found them wet.

He looked around the surroundings again and found that among everyone present, only Zhang Jie and Duan Yu were not crying,

while the others were all crying uncontrollably, as if they had lost a loved one.

"This is bad, Sect Leader, I'm afraid we've been poisoned!"

Chen Guyan realized something was wrong: even if one or two people were truly men of sentiment,

moved by Zhang Jie's speech, it wouldn't be to the point where everyone was like this.

He hurriedly reported to Zhang Jie, who remained unaffected.

Zhang Jie nodded and analyzed calmly:

"Colorless and odorless, making people cry like rain, as if in extreme sorrow;

I'm afraid it's the poison of the Xixia Hall of One-Class—'Sorrowful Breeze'!"

"'Sorrowful Breeze'?"

The four great elders were all shocked.

Unlike the other Beggar Sect disciples who were still confused,

as elders, they had fought against the Xixia Hall of One-Class many times.

This "Sorrowful Breeze" was the signature poison of the Xixia Hall of One-Class.

It is rumored that this poison is refined from poisonous creatures in the Joyous Valley of the Xixia Great Snow Mountain;

it is usually kept in a bottle, and when used, the stopper is pulled, and the poisonous water turns into gas and emerges, feeling like a breeze brushing the body;

those poisoned will cry like rain and be unable to move, and because the poisonous gas is colorless and odorless, it is difficult to guard against.

Chen Zhanglao and the others hurriedly tried to circulate their energy, only to find that the internal energy they used to command like an arm was now like a snail,

no matter how they drove it, it was lazy and wouldn't move at all.

They moved their hands and feet again, only to feel that their originally powerful muscles and bones were now soft and crisp, unable to lift a shred of strength.

"Bad, we've fallen into the trap of the Xixia Hall of One-Class!"

The four great elders, confirming it was indeed "Sorrowful Breeze," had their expressions change drastically.

And the Beggar Sect disciples below, hearing the sudden change, couldn't help but panic.

For a time, the hundreds of Beggar Sect members were pushing and shoving, falling into chaos.

Then, under the effect of the "Sorrowful Breeze," they all collapsed on the ground one by one.

"What are you panicking about? Isn't there still me?"

Zhang Jie waved his sleeve and said in a deep voice.

Although his voice wasn't loud, it instantly suppressed the clamor of the Beggar Sect disciples.

"Right! We still have our new Sect Leader!"

Looking at Zhang Jie's still upright figure, the Beggar Sect disciples immediately found their backbone and stopped panicking.

"Sect Leader, what should we do next?"

The four great elders and other high-level Beggar Sect members asked.

"Naturally, we will use their own strategy against them."

Zhang Jie smiled slightly, bent his legs, and sat on a chair in a comfortable posture.

The original Duan Yu could be immune to "Sorrowful Breeze" because he learned a remnant of the "North-Dark Divine Art"

and swallowed the Manggu Zhuha, the king of all poisons;

his current cultivation was far beyond that of Duan Yu after his success,

and he learned the complete version, so naturally, he wouldn't be poisoned by the "Sorrowful Breeze."

After all, according to the original description, Duan Yu only practiced the first diagram of the North-Dark Divine Art,

the "Hand Taiyin Lung Meridian" absorbing power and the second diagram "Ren Meridian" storing power.

He only learned two of the total thirty-six diagrams of the North-Dark Divine Art.

After Duan Yu learned these two sets of techniques,

he felt that practicing this martial art to absorb others' internal energy went against his nature, so he didn't practice the full method.

Specifically, Duan Yu could only actively absorb others' internal energy with his thumb,

and needed physical contact with the opponent to perform the absorption.

The two diagrams he learned were only the most fundamental part of the North-Dark Divine Art,

equivalent to one-eighteenth of the complete North-Dark Divine Art.

And this also caused Duan Yu's internal energy to be unreliable,

only improving after he realized the "Six Meridian Divine Swords" and other martial arts later.

Moreover, Zhang Jie guessed that the invention of the "Sorrowful Breeze" had something to do with his cheap senior sister Li Qiushui, whom he had never met.

Only a peerless expert like her, who had studied internal energy and meridians very deeply,

could research a "Sorrowful Breeze" that even first-class experts couldn't be immune to.

Li Qiushui came from the Xiaoyao Sect, and as one of the three great unique skills of the Xiaoyao Sect, the North-Dark Divine Art,

it was understandable that it could be immune to the "Sorrowful Breeze."

"We understand!"

The four great elders nodded deeply, each sitting cross-legged and circulating their energy to expel the poisonous gas.

Duan Yu also understood Zhang Jie's meaning, so he also found a seat and sat down. ===== CHAPTER 174 =====