Chapter 21: Gathering at Mount Heng (Hunan)

Lin Pingzhi sighed; he knew Lu Li would give this answer.

Simply because he had already heard this answer countless times on the road.

Lu Li had only spent a few days modifying his family's ancestral sword technique, completely transforming it.

Yet, after practicing for so long, he himself could only reach Minor Accomplishment.

Lin Pingzhi thought to himself that sometimes, compared to this master of his, he truly felt a sense of frustration.

Mu Gaofeng was startled and said viciously, "You say my natural talent is insufficient?"

"Not bad, it is precisely because you are too stupid."

"Not only are you stupid, but Yu Canghai is also stupid; all those who learned the Lin Family sword technique are fools."

As he spoke, Lu Li flicked his wrist, instantly executing a move of the ordinary Evil-Warding Sword Technique, then followed it with a move of the Evil-Warding Sword Technique he had modified.

With these two moves executed in succession, everyone could see the difference between the two at a glance.

Lu Li did not stop; the long sword in his hand immediately transformed into the tail of a poisonous scorpion, becoming ruthlessly peerless.

The crowd was shocked and immediately realized: wasn't this the very sword technique Mu Gaofeng had just used? Mu Gaofeng was even more dumbfounded and blurted out, "When did you learn my sword technique?"

"Hahahaha!

Does such trashy sword technique even need to be learned? I only needed to take one look to master it."

"You lot stole the Lin Family's Evil-Warding Sword Technique, yet you couldn't understand a thing."

"I only exchanged one move with you, and I had already learned your sword technique."

Lu Li laughed loudly and looked at Mu Gaofeng with contempt.

"Therefore, I say, you are too stupid."

The long sword suddenly plunged into Mu Gaofeng's heart.

Mu Gaofeng stopped breathing amidst shock and grief.

'In the next life, let me be born with high natural talent.'

This was perhaps his final wish before death.

Lu Li knew that Mu Gaofeng's camel hump on his back contained poison that could be sprayed to harm people; in the original work, Lin Pingzhi had stabbed that spot with his sword, resulting in him being blinded.

Therefore, Lu Li turned his long sword and stabbed directly through his heart.

The next day, rumors spread through the Jianghu that the North of the Desert Camel, Mu Gaofeng, had died by Lu Li's sword.

The process was recounted without a single error, and all who heard it were astonished by Lu Li's talent.

From then on, no petty scoundrels dared to harass Lu Li or the Lin Family, and at the same time, many people turned their gaze toward Yu Canghai at Songfeng Temple.

After all, they did not possess Lu Li's talent.

But in Yu Canghai's hands, there truly was the cassock secret manual!

Lu Li and his companion left the inn and headed toward Mount Heng (Hunan).

Yet, a bald monk also walked out of the inn, looked in the direction where Lu Li had gone, and chanted softly, "Amitabha."

"The Evil-Warding Sword Technique is indeed stirring up trouble again, though it is different from what Master anticipated."

"Moreover, Lu Li of Huashan has exceptional talent; I must return to the temple as soon as possible to report to the Abbot."

... Mount Heng (Hunan), Liu Mansion.

Although the main event was not until tomorrow, the Liu Mansion was already filled with guests and decorated with lanterns and colored streamers.

Lu Li brought Lin Pingzhi into the Liu Mansion, asked for the location of the Huashan Sect's guest rooms, and intended to pay his respects to Yue Buqun.

Passing through the courtyard, he heard the heroes there talking one after another, surprisingly discussing matters of the Five Mountains Sword Sects.

He heard a man wearing a short shirt say, "Yesterday at Huiyan Pavilion, the great lecher known as 'The Lone Traveler of Ten Thousand Miles', Tian Boguang, held the little nun of the Hengshan Sect hostage—ahem, the little master of the Hengshan Sect—and forced the little master to drink with him."

"He was recognized by two Daoist priests of the Taishan Sect; guess what happened?"

An uncle nearby laughed, "Mr. Zhao, you're still keeping us in suspense with this bit of news; if you don't tell us, I'll tell it for you."

The former man laughed, "Hahaha, Brother Wang is truly impatient; I'll tell, I'll tell."

The man in the short shirt took a sip of wine and began, "Those two Daoist priests from Taishan, the elder one is called Tiansong, and the younger disciple is called Chi Baicheng."

"The two of them went up to intervene, but as a result, Chi Baicheng was killed by Tian Boguang with a single blade strike!"

"That Daoist Tiansong fought fast against Tian Boguang's speed,"

"They fought for twenty or thirty moves, but he ended up taking a blade to the chest, blood spraying wildly, and he is still lying in bed now."

The others heard this and couldn't help but exclaim in shock, "Is this fellow Tian Boguang's kung fu really that formidable?"

Although they did not know Chi Baicheng, they had heard of the reputation of Daoist Tiansong, who was a famous martial arts veteran in the Jianghu; to think he was actually hacked down by Tian Boguang in one strike? Lu Li, however, had met Chi Baicheng during the Five Mountains Sword Alliance at Songshan.

He thought it a pity; this man was also a real hero, yet he was killed by Tian Boguang.

The crowd discussed it heatedly, and someone asked, "What happened later? Did Tian Boguang just take the little nun away like that?"

The man in the short shirt said, "Not at all, not at all!"

"Later, Linghu Chong of the Huashan Sect happened to be craving wine, entered the pavilion to buy some, and went upstairs after hearing the commotion."

Hearing that Linghu Chong was craving wine, everyone couldn't help but smile.

It was common knowledge that this Huashan disciple was a drunkard.

Hearing this, Lu Li also became interested.

In the original work, Linghu Chong's martial arts were not good enough, so to save Yilin, he could only pretend to be brothers with Tian Boguang, drinking and sitting to outwit him, only to be misunderstood for a long time.

But the current Linghu Chong had already practiced the Five Mountain Sword Arts and the Purple Mist Divine Skill; even without practicing the Dugu Nine Swords, his martial arts were far superior to those in the original work, vaguely standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Yue Buqun.

Even if he couldn't crush Tian Boguang, he shouldn't have been defeated.

He heard the man continue, "The Huashan Drunken Sword walked up, drank a bowl of wine, and teased Tian Boguang, 'So stinky, so stinky! There is truly no wine in the world worse than this!'"

"As soon as the words fell, the two began to fight."

"That Linghu Chong is worthy of being one of the Huashan Twin Swords; his sword technique is superb, and he actually fought Tian Boguang to a draw."

Tian Boguang unleashed over a dozen rapid blade strikes in a row, yet he could not gain the slightest advantage.

"Splendid! Truly worthy of the Huashan Twin Swords; such a lecherous thief deserves to be eliminated!"

"Did he manage to slaughter that lecherous thief?"

Someone nearby asked.

The man in the short shirt shook his head and said, "Tian Boguang could not secure a victory, and fearing he would be surrounded by experts from the Five Mountains Sword Sects, he turned and fled."

Upon hearing this, everyone sighed.

Yet they also knew that this matter could not be blamed on Linghu Chong.

Although Tian Boguang was a person held in contempt, when it came to lightness skills, there were truly few in the pugilistic world who could surpass him.

The reputation of 'Lone Traveler of Ten Thousand Li' was not called that for nothing.

Hearing this, Lu Li nodded inwardly.

'In the original work, Linghu Chong was wronged quite badly here, but now he has stood his ground.'

Lin Pingzhi's expression was invigorated upon hearing that his senior grandmaster had won.

But then he thought, if his own master had taken action, he would surely have been able to kill Tian Boguang, right? Just then, someone indeed spoke up: "If the Asura Sword of Huashan took action, would he be able to kill Tian Boguang?"

The courtyard suddenly went quiet, and after a moment, someone said, "The affairs of the Fuwei Escort Agency have been making quite a stir lately; it is said that Lu Li protected the Lin Family from the hands of Songfeng Temple."

"Just two days ago, he killed Mu Gaofeng with two sword strikes."

"The Mu Gaofeng you speak of, is he the North of the Desert Camel?"

Everyone was shocked to hear this; the North of the Desert Camel had vicious methods and extraordinary martial arts, and was by no means easier to deal with than Tian Boguang, yet he was killed by Lu Li? By comparison, Linghu Chong could only barely suppress Tian Boguang.

The crowd chatted away, talking about everything under the sun.

Meanwhile, Lu Li had already brought Lin Pingzhi to the guest rooms in the side courtyard.

Before he could even knock on the door, a Huashan disciple spotted Lu Li.

Gao Genming's eyes lit up, and he said loudly, "Second Senior Brother!"

"You've returned."