Unparalleled Double Harmony

Chapter 482 Unintentional Hidden Dangers

Let’s talk about the “backstage”, which is the contestants’ rest area behind the ring.

Those waiting here at this time are not just the contestants who are going to compete in the arena - according to the regulations, each contestant, in addition to the contestant himself, can also allow three people to wait in the rest area with the contestant.

This number has undoubtedly been studied and discussed.

Think about it, if you are a sect that hires non-staff members to participate in the competition, then you must send a few trusted people to watch behind the scenes. Otherwise, what if your contestants are bribed by lobbyists? You will not even know that you have been tricked.

Therefore, the configuration of many sects coming to the backstage is: a hired player, plus two leaders of the sect, and finally a trusted disciple they want to train, who will serve tea and water to the people in front and see the world by the way.

Take the Xingyi Sect for example. The player they hired was the Three-Character King recommended to them by Sun Huang. The people in charge of supervising the battle were Shao Dejin and his son Shao Shanhu, and they brought with them a trusted disciple named Jiang Wan.

Anyone who can become the confidant of the Shao father and son certainly does not rely on hard power; Jiang Wan is that type... He has no other abilities, but is very good at deceiving his superiors and subordinates, spreading rumors, flattering, taking credit for others' work and shifting the blame, etc.

The four of them standing there were a sight that was hated by both humans and dogs.

Not only did the local martial artists in Cangzhou have a bad relationship with the Shao father and son, but those who came from other provinces also looked at them with awe when they saw that Xingyi Sect had hired a killer to compete.

But...no one really raised any objections to this, and no one dared to chase him away.

Firstly, the Three-Character King had made contributions in the "Sword and Blade Fighting Demons" campaign, which is undeniable in the entire martial arts world.

Secondly, it is no secret that San Zi Wang and Shuang Xie have a close relationship.

Just for these two points, everyone should give us some face, right?
Moreover, there is a third point: if someone uses San Zi Wang's identity as a killer to question his legitimacy as a contestant, and succeeds, then next, someone will definitely use the same method and from a similar angle to question other contestants.

Many of those who serve as mercenaries for the participating sects are vagrants like San Zi Wang. When you are in the martial arts world, who doesn't have some troubles? If someone starts this, will it end?
Therefore, whether it is contempt or aversion, no one can say anything until they are defeated in the ring.

However, there was one person in the rest area who was particularly concerned about this...

That is Wu Mingzi.

This guy had just fought with San Zi Wang, Linghu Xiang and Qin Feng in Xunlin in the image of a "masked man" some time ago. Although he thought that his identity had not been discovered...but now that he met the opponent again so soon, he still felt a little nervous.

"This Three-Character King is no ordinary person. What if he sees my duel and realizes that I am the masked man? What should I do then?"

Thinking in this way, Wu Mingzi felt a lot of pressure, so much so that he sat in his seat for a long time with a solemn expression, as if thinking about something.

After reading this and combining it with the previous documents, you readers should have discovered that Wu Mingzi has a serious problem of mental exhaustion.

The experiences in his first half of life had a huge impact on his worldview and made him overly cautious.

But to be honest, his talent for conspiracy and intrigue was not that good. Even though he was so careful and so "meticulous", he still revealed his flaws.

Since San Zi Wang, Linghu Xiang, and Qin Feng could sell information about him to Tingfeng Tower, they could naturally tell it to Sun Yixie and Huang Donglai for free.

In other words, at this moment, Sun and Huang had already been focusing on guarding against Wu Mingzi.

They had already informed the chief security officer, the abbot, in advance, "Don't worry too much about the others. The Baquan Sect and the Murong family will help take care of it. Just keep an eye on Wu Mingzi from the Kunlun Sect. There's something fishy about him."

Of course, the abbot also asked, "What's his problem?"

And Shuang Xie really dared to tell him: "Not only did Wu Mingzi recruit Xiao Zhun's remnants for his own use, he also wore a mask, held the stolen Canxia Sword, and snatched the True Hero Order from San Zi Wang... This is definitely a big conspiracy."

After hearing this, the abbot blurted out the word "fuck" immediately, and then he cursed in a very regretful tone: "Why am I asking this!"

Indeed, he shouldn't have asked.

There are some things he doesn't know and doesn't take to heart, but once he knows... he can't ignore it.

Although the abbot never calls himself a "knight", he is undoubtedly a good man at heart and a righteous man in the martial arts world.

He doesn't like to get involved, and even often refuses invitations from others to get involved in some so-called chivalrous activities, simply because he understands that being a "knight" is very tiring and requires a lot of price to pay.

He didn't want to become a pushover like Hai Cangfeng.

Eight out of ten people like that will not have a good ending.

The abbot has seen too many things like repairing bridges and roads and losing both eyes, killing people and setting fires and losing all descendants. Three generations ago, his ancestors, the Fang family, were also a family of martial arts heroes, but what good ending did they have?
But this time... The abbot didn't expect that Sun Huang would tell him such a big secret right away, without even saying a word like "This is a big matter, don't tell anyone about it."

To put it bluntly, Shuang Xie also saw through the abbot's chivalrous nature.

Therefore, when the abbot heard this information, he had taken responsibility. From then on, even if you wanted him to take Wu Mingzi less seriously, he would not be able to do it.

Therefore, the abbot really didn't pay much attention to what other people were doing in the rest area, and his attention was almost always focused on Wu Mingzi.

But this... has also become a hidden danger.

It became an opportunity for the "Shadowless Poison Lord" to act quietly.

…………

Let’s get back to the ring.

As Wen Taiqi announced the result of another match, the ring competition had unknowingly reached the tenth round.

Huang Donglai's commentary also followed up at the right time: "Then the ninth game ends here. The next one is the tenth game, which is also the highlight of this morning..."

Sun Yixie took over the conversation: "This match is between the representative of Tingfeng Tower, 'Living Arhat' Fu Yan, and the representative of Xinghui Tower... oh no... the representative of Jia Gang, 'Crippled Merit' Sha Hulun."

This battle is indeed a focus battle.

Although Tingfenglou and Youjiabang are both well-known and powerful, they are both engaged in the "gray industry" and are not the "famous and upright" groups in the traditional sense. Therefore, it is reasonable for them to be ranked in the first round.

Some people may say, isn’t the Murong family also a gray industry?
Yes, but after all, they still have the reputation of being a “martial arts family” to brag about, right?
In those days, if your ancestors were prominent, it really worked. Otherwise, why would some emperors of humble origins have to find an ancient celebrity with the same surname as themselves to claim as their relative after ascending the throne?
But Tingfeng Tower and Youjia Gang do not have the same conditions as the Murong family. Both of them started from scratch, doing business on the edge of a knife, and grew strong relying on the personal operational capabilities of their gang leaders.

Just like the two players they hired this time, they also embody their efficient and pragmatic style as "businessmen"...

Fuyan, who fought on behalf of Tingfeng Tower, was 18 feet tall (just a saying, actually he was over 1.80 meters tall), with a burly build, a big bald head, and a torn cassock draped over his head. He had rough features and a face like an angry Buddha, with a circle of sideburns on his chin, and a thorny beard, making him a "living arhat".

At first glance, everyone would think this person is a middle-aged monk, but in fact... he is losing his hair.

He lost his hair at a young age, and no one can help him.

And if you look closely, he doesn't have any scars on his head, so he is not a monk.

So what's the matter with his outfit?
First of all, this Fuyan does have something to do with "monks"...

When he was young, he had no popularity with women because of severe hair loss, old looks, and a poor family. Even when he went out to do odd jobs, he was often laughed at for his baldness. Since both his career and love life were not going well, he decided... why not try a different path?

So he went to Mount Shaoshi to become a disciple.

The reason why he chose that place was very simple. As a commoner with very limited cultural knowledge, the only place he knew that was full of bald men like him who were very powerful and could teach people martial arts was Shaolin Temple.

Half a month later, Fuyan successfully arrived at the gate of Mount Shaoshi. The monk guarding the mountain glanced at him and immediately saluted him.

"Master, may I ask which temple you are from and why you came to Shaolin?"

Fu Yan curled his lips and said, "I am eighteen years old this year, and I came here to become your disciple."

"Oh..." Upon hearing what he said, the monks who were a dozen years older than him looked at him with even more respect, "Then you... uh... donor, wait a moment..."

To make a long story short, because of Fuyan's very convincing appearance, the Shaolin monks thought that he might really have some affinity with Buddhism, so they accepted him as a lay disciple, wanting to observe him, and if he was suitable, they would consider giving him the tonsure.

Let me digress here. In our book, the inner disciples of Shaolin Temple, that is, those "non-lay disciples", have a very high threshold for becoming disciples. The case of Master Chunkong, who was picked up by a senior monk when he was still a baby, is a rare exception. Normally, those who come to become disciples, especially adults, and want Shaolin to ordain you as a monk, have to be a lay disciple for a period of time first, and let them observe you for several months to several years.

And even if you are a lay disciple, not everyone will be accepted... You either have to come with a letter of recommendation from a local rich man or a high-ranking official, or you have to have good qualifications and roots, otherwise why should I accept you?
This kind of threshold is basically common in all high-ranking families and sects. It is an unspoken rule and is also taken for granted.

If your sect accepts a rabble of people for a long time with almost no barriers within it, it will be ruined sooner or later. How to PUA those "outer disciples" is a science in itself.

However, this Fu Yan...at least in terms of personality, is a typical "mob".

Although he looks very much like Arhat Vajra, he is actually a vulgar man. All he pursues are money and beautiful women.

We have mentioned above the reason why he came to Shaolin. He just wanted to learn martial arts from a master, thinking that once he had acquired martial arts skills, no one would dare to laugh at him when he went down the mountain.

So the inspection did not last long, and Fu Yan was driven out of Shaolin.

Everyone, please note that he was driven out... just like the "Noviski" brothers who escaped secretly and did not even get through the bronze man formation.

He was even worse than the two brothers. At least they went to the Sutra Repository and secretly learned a unique skill of running. But Fu Yan only learned the most basic Luohan Fist during his time there.

But I never expected... that this guy is also a genius.

In the first ten years after being driven down the mountain, Fu Yan relied on a tattered cassock he had picked up and a face that could actually pass for a monk without the cassock to pretend to be a wandering monk, performing arts and begging for alms everywhere.

Almost every day, he performed the only martial arts he had learned, the Luohan Fist, in front of people.

Just like that, day after day, year after year, after countless repetitions, Fu Yan unknowingly realized something...

Generally speaking, Zen martial arts, even the most basic Luohan Fist, requires a certain degree of understanding of Buddhism in order to be practiced to the highest level. Fuyan was banned by Shaolin before he learned any Buddhism, so his situation is like wanting to build a wooden bridge, but he only has wood and no other nails, hammers, saws, etc.

Logically speaking, no matter how much you practice, it will be in vain.

But Fu Yan, without any support from Zen Buddhism, relying on his insights gained from years of wandering in the world of mortals and his unparalleled proficiency in the Arhat Fist, succeeded in pushing this martial art to a unique realm that no one had ever reached before.

It turns out that the most common, mediocre and low-brow principles in the world, which are almost opposite to the orthodox Buddhist teachings and mental methods of Zen, can also be combined with Zen techniques to create a new realm.

This kind of operation, which is like forcibly opening a branch line on a skill tree with only one straight line, is not something that can be achieved by simply having a high talent in martial arts. It is basically a matter of character or fate.

Time flies. After another ten years, Fu Yan finally followed his own path and mastered the Luohan Fist to a peak that no one had ever seen before.

Fu Yan finally got the fame, money, and beauty he wished for...

But although he has become one of the famous masters and is respected as the "Living Arhat", he still remembers his original intention and wears his tattered robes. It is not known whether he is reminding himself to remember those days when he had to work hard and perform on the streets, or he simply wants to disgust the Shaolin who drove him away.

Having said that, let’s talk about Fu Yan, who was invited by Tingfeng Tower. Let’s talk about the next one.

"Remnant merit", Sha Hulun.

He is the last of the “four tough guys” in the Outlaws’ Gang who we have mentioned several times before.

Now all four of them have finally appeared.

They are respectively——

People say that drinking alcohol is like drinking water, Chao Kang.

People say that the "saint of prostitution" who is so bold as to be above everything else is Yu Jianli.

People say that Jiang Muchan is a "blunt knife" who values ​​money more than his life.

People say that the "cangong" who is as aggressive as a mad dog is Sha Hulun.

Just as people say, Sha Hulun is an extremely combative person; he is not a martial arts fanatic, he just likes to fight with others. It doesn't matter whether it is a fight to the death or whether there are any rules or restrictions... Sometimes, he even enjoys it more when some unique restrictions are added.

It can be said that this kind of large-scale martial arts competition is Sha Hulun's playground. He is even more "pure" than Dugu Yong, who fights to exhaust his martial arts and participates in competitions just for the sake of fighting. He participates in competitions just for the sake of participating.

Even if Ding Zhu didn't hire him today, Lao Sha would still try his best to find other employers.

So, Boss Ding and he hit it off right away, and basically they came after they gave him a "symbolic amount of money".

Now that he was out there, he could face off against a master like Fu Yan, which made Sha Hulun so excited that he was shaking with excitement.

Then what follows is the story of - the living arhat fighting against the mad sand dog, and Tieshan relying on his strength to defeat the perfect opponent.