Chapter 40: Ren Woxing

Of the Meizhuang Four Friends, who specialize in zither, chess, calligraphy, and painting, Danqingsheng and Tubi Weng have both been defeated.

At this moment, several people are standing inside a wooden hut.

Inside the room is a scent of sandalwood, and an old man sits upright with a zither on the table before him.

This old man is around sixty years of age, thin as a rail, with the muscles of his face sunken in, yet his eyes are bright and piercing; he is none other than Huangzhonggong.

He holds the Laughing Proudly in the Jianghu Music Score in his hands, and after looking at it for only a moment, his expression changes, and he cannot help but say: "Exquisite!

Peaceful and upright, yet also pure and secluded."

By the time he turns to the second page, he is already lost in thought.

"Laughing proudly in the red dust, with profound mysteries hidden deep within; I never imagined Qu Yang and Liu Zhengfeng possessed such skill."

Seeing him lost in the music score, Xiang Wentian interjects: "Owner Huang, as long as anyone in your esteemed manor can defeat my brother's swordsmanship, these four treasures shall be gifted to your manor."

Huangzhonggong slowly regains his senses and asks: "Have my three younger brothers all been defeated?"

Heibaizi laughs: "Defeated. Right now, in the courtyard, there are still the landscape paintings ruined by our third and fourth brothers.

My nineteen-line board game was also defeated by this Brother Lu."

Huangzhonggong asks in surprise: "Could it be that this young hero Lu is also a master of chess?"

Heibaizi shakes his head: "Not at all, not at all. Young hero Lu does not understand chess, so he did not strike with his sword according to the rules of the nineteen-line board.

And my chessboard world is too small to stop him."

As it turns out, after Lu Li defeated Danqingsheng and Tubi Weng, he then engaged Heibaizi.

Heibaizi incorporates chess into his martial arts, possessing a unique profundity.

He holds a chessboard as a weapon, with three hundred and sixty-one black and white pieces embedded in it, which can be fired as hidden projectiles.

Heibaizi dances the chessboard about, as if escaping into it.

The black pieces are deep and profound, like the vast and unpredictable long night; the white pieces are dazzling, like stars that remain unchanged through the ages.

The nineteen-line board has already surrounded Lu Li like a thousand calamities and ten thousand hardships.

To defeat Heibaizi, one must be a master of chess.

But how could Lu Li know how to play chess? He was trapped within the chessboard, initially experiencing Heibaizi's Dao of the black and white lines.

But as time passed, the chess momentum became increasingly dangerous, ring after ring, calamity after calamity.

With the vertical and horizontal lines combined, it had almost become a dead end.

A look of joy flashed in the eyes of Danqingsheng and Tubi Weng; seeing that their second brother's chess momentum had succeeded, it seemed these few authentic works would remain in Meizhuang!

But the next moment.

Lu Li thrust his sword five times in succession, and then a slanted sword light directly split the vertical and horizontal momentum.

Heibaizi's body flew backward violently, and a wisp of blood spilled from his mouth.

"Impossible!

This move of yours is not any chess path at all; why were you able to break my chess game?"

Heibaizi asks in astonishment, his face full of surprise.

Danqingsheng and Tubi Weng are even more horrified; they do not understand why Lu Li was able to break the chess momentum!

Even Xiang Wentian, who is standing to the side, is completely baffled.

If he were to face Heibaizi himself, he would certainly win, but he would have to use his trump cards and force Heibaizi to be unable to place his pieces and form a momentum from the very beginning.

No one understands why Lu Li was able to win so suddenly.

Lu Li laughs: "Have you ever played Gomoku?"

Who says one can only play Go on a chessboard? Heibaizi laid out his nineteen-line board, but Lu Li played five pieces in a row, and a single slanted sword strike threw his entire chess game into chaos!

"Gomoku? What is Gomoku?"

Heibaizi is stunned, and the others are also confused.

"Just a way to play.

Using chess to discuss swords is indeed a good method, it is just a pity your way of playing is too limited."

Have you ever heard of Gomoku, military chess, animal chess, or even Fight the Landlord and card games? Heibaizi's chess skills are profound, but Lu Li simply did not play according to his rules.

His sword can slash out a Huashan, so naturally, it can also break his chessboard.

Lu Li is like a woodcutter, wielding the sharp axe in his hand to directly chop his chessboard to pieces,

creating his own rules.

Five pieces in a row, one slanted sword strike.

Listening to Heibaizi's description, Huangzhonggong laughs loudly: "Interesting, interesting!

So you win as long as five pieces are connected? Young hero Lu is truly a remarkable person."

Huangzhonggong looks at Lu Li with piercing eyes.

"Young hero Lu, let us exchange a few moves, stopping at the point of contact."

"Very well."

Lu Li's trip here was intended to broaden his horizons and enrich his swordsmanship.

Now that he has already experienced chess, calligraphy, and painting, he is ready to experience this Huangzhonggong's zither-sword!

He sees Huangzhonggong pluck the zither strings with his right hand a few times, and immediately, zither music rings out.

At the same time, the tail of the zither is pushed toward Lu Li's shoulder.

Hearing the zither music, Lu Li feels a slight tremor in his heart, feeling as if the internal energy in his meridians is moving along with the music.

This Huangzhonggong's martial arts are actually some kind of sonic wave technique!

As it turns out, Huangzhonggong plucks the strings to produce sound, which is infusing superior internal energy into the zither music.

Not only can it disturb the enemy's mind, but it can also resonate with the opponent's internal energy.

When the zither music was slow and gentle, the opponent's internal energy would circulate in a similarly calm and gentle manner; when the zither music was rapid and urgent, the opponent's internal energy would follow suit and become agitated.

Yet, the moves Huangzhonggong played on the zither were the exact opposite of the music; the slower and more melodious his zither music became, the faster his attack speed grew.

This sense of contrast made it difficult for enemies to defend against.

As Huangzhonggong plucked several notes on the zither in succession, Lu Li's internal energy began to leap along with them.

The expressions of Heibaizi and the others shifted slightly, and they all retreated from the Zither Hall with their backs turned, even thoughtfully pulling the wooden door shut behind them.

Separated by the wooden door, the group could faintly hear the zither music alternating between slow and fast, suddenly falling into silence, then suddenly ringing out with a loud clang.

Feeling restless and agitated, the group retreated further, backing out to the main gate, and then closed the main gate as well.

Muffled by the two doors, the zither music was now almost inaudible.

But occasionally, a high-pitched note would pierce through, still causing the hearts of those few to beat faster.

Just then, the zither music rang out with a loud clang; for every note the zither played, the group retreated one step, and as the zither rang five times in succession, they retreated five steps involuntarily.

A layer of sweat beaded on the shiny crown of Tubi Weng's head: "Why is this kid still stubbornly holding on? If Big Brother accidentally takes his life, what should we do?"

Danqingsheng frowned and said: "I will go and plead with Big Brother, let us not hurt this friend."

Heibaizi shook his head and sighed: "If you go in now, do you not want your internal energy anymore?"

Just as the group was feeling anxious, they suddenly heard the zither music swell, followed by seven loud, successive clangs.

At the seventh sound, a crisp Sword Song reached the ears of the group, and the seventh note of the zither suddenly went mute, as if the strings had snapped.

Heibaizi and the others were greatly shocked and hurried to push the door open and enter.

They saw Huangzhonggong standing blankly, his seven-stringed zither broken, the strings hanging down by the side of the instrument.

Lu Li stood holding his sword.

Clearly, Lu Li had won all four matches.

Heibaizi, Xiang Wentian, and the others were all aghast.

Especially Xiang Wentian, who knew that Huangzhonggong was an extraordinary figure in the pugilistic world and was himself unwilling to fight him head-on against the zither music; he had not expected that he would be defeated by Lu Li today.

Huangzhonggong sat down dejectedly, clutching his broken zither.

"Young Hero Lu's sword art and internal energy attainments are truly remarkable; this old man is impressed."

"I had considered this 'Seven-String Invisible Sword' to be a peerless martial art of the pugilistic world, yet it could not harm you in the slightest, Young Hero."

"I suppose that having lived in seclusion for so long, I have become a frog at the bottom of a well."

Lu Li cupped his hands and said: "Senior's zither music and Sword Qi have truly broadened this junior's horizons."

"Had I not grasped the transformation of the four seasons of Huashan, using the stillness of winter to resist the high-pitched zither music and the flourishing sounds of summer to resist the deep, melancholy notes, I fear I would not have been able to withstand Senior's 'Seven-String Invisible Sword'."

"Setting aside the other three items, I shall gift this 'Smiling Proud Wanderer' musical score to you, Senior; consider it the tuition fee for my visit to Meizhuang this time."

"It is only a pity that I could not encounter a stronger opponent during this trip to Meizhuang."

Having said this, Lu Li turned to leave.

Xiang Wentian also seized the opportunity to tuck the remaining three items into his robes, making a show of preparing to leave.

"Wait."

Heibaizi stepped out to intercept the two, then whispered to Huangzhonggong and the others: "Why not let that person make a move?"

That person? The corners of Lu Li and Xiang Wentian's mouths curled up; it was time for Ren Woxing to make his entrance!