Unparalleled Double Harmony

Chapter 609 True Hero's Order

Upon hearing the words "True Hero Hall," Di Bujuan's expression immediately changed.

After Lin Dong finished speaking, Di Bujuan stood up and said, "Wait a minute, let's talk about this behind closed doors."

Perhaps due to his lifestyle and professional habits, Lin Dong hadn't closed the door when he entered the room, so Di Bujuan was now preparing to close it himself.

Unexpectedly...

"Hey~ you're not feeling well, sit down." The next second, Lin Dong said these words to Di Bujuan in a persuasive tone, and then, without turning his head, he swung his arm and used the back of his left hand to create a palm wind with a faint dragon roar, "sweeping" the door behind him shut.

As the saying goes, the layman sees the spectacle, the expert sees the skill. Lin Dong's "Palm Wind Combination" technique is similar to Murong Xiao's wine-pouring in previous chapters. Both demonstrate great skill from small details. However, Lin Dong has no intention of showing off; he simply did it casually. And Di Bujuan is not like Sun Wukong or Huang Zhong; he can see the subtlety in it...

"Oh, I didn't realize that at first..." Seeing that the door was closed, Di Bujuan simply sat down again and continued, "It's been many years, and your martial arts have improved again..."

“Heh…” Lin Dong chuckled. “Old Di, the reason you couldn’t beat me back then was simply because I was ten years older than you. In terms of talent, I was inferior to you… But now, twenty years have passed, and your skill is still limited to this level. In fact, the gap between us is even greater than it was back then… That’s probably your problem.”

“Yes…” Di Bujuan’s eyes shifted slightly, and he sighed, “I understand, I’m busy.”

"What are you so busy with? I think you're indulging in too much drinking and womanizing, aren't you?" Lin Dong didn't think much of it at the time and just casually teased him.

"Heh...you bet?" Di Bujuan suddenly feigned ignorance and said with a smile, "I'm not like you, who can eat whenever he wants, leave whenever he wants, and only love one woman in his life. I have eight concubines to serve me..."

As he spoke, the relaxed expression on Lin Dong's face gradually disappeared, because Lin Dong could tell that Di Bujuan was lying, especially when he said the words "I will only love one woman in my life," there was a story in Old Di's eyes.

Lin Dong wasn't one to rub salt in other people's wounds. Seeing Di Bujuan's reaction, he pretended to be clueless and shifted the conversation to himself: "Ha! You must have had a tough time... It's a pity my life as a beggar isn't as comfortable as yours, so I can only use my free time to practice martial arts."

"Hmm..." Seeing that the other party was so cooperative, Di Bujuan pondered for a moment and then followed up, "By the way, that move you just used... was it the Eighteen Subduing Dragon Palms?"

“Yes,” Lin Dong said. “Back when I was the leader of the Beggars’ Sect, they insisted that I learn it… You know, I was originally a swordsman. Their Dog-Beating Stick Technique and Dragon-Subduing Palm Techniques weren’t to my taste, so I didn’t like learning them. Ha… Who knew that after so many years, all the sword techniques I learned when I was young were long gone, but I’ve become more and more proficient with the Beggars’ Sect’s palm techniques. I’m just one palm away from mastering them.”

"Oh?" Di Bujuan was surprised. "Your current cultivation level isn't considered fully developed yet?"

"Well, the way I closed the door just now was due to two things: my internal strength and my meticulous control over my palm power... Neither of these has anything to do with whether the palm technique is mastered." Lin Dong explained, "Only when you comprehend the 'eighteenth palm' of the Eighteen Subduing Dragon Palms can you be considered to have mastered it."

"You figured it out?" Di Bujuan asked, puzzled. "What do you mean? It's not in the 'Eighteenth Palm' manual?"

“That’s right, there isn’t one,” Lin Dong continued. “That’s why many previous Beggar Clan leaders only knew the Seventeenth Palm, but not many people knew this secret.” He paused for half a second and then added, “I also reached the Seventeenth Palm ten years ago, but I still haven’t figured out the last one.”

"Hmm..." Di Bujuan nodded thoughtfully, "No wonder it's known as the 'Number One Palm Technique in the World,' even someone with your martial arts skills..."

“That’s why I said my talent is not as good as yours.” Lin Dong interrupted before the other party could finish his sigh, “I’m too ‘straight’. With my brain, I’m afraid I’ll never be able to figure out the ‘Eighteenth Palm’ in my entire life. I need someone as cunning as you to do it.”

“Heh…” Di Bujuan chuckled, “Then teach me this martial art, and we’ll work together to figure it out.”

"You wish!" Lin Dong laughed. "If I were to spread this around carelessly, wouldn't the Beggars' Sect come after me for generations?" He then joked, "How about you give me the leadership of the Canal Gang and become the leader of the Beggars' Sect? Let's see if they'd be happy then."

"Alright, if you don't want to teach me, then don't. I was just kidding," Di Bujuan said. "Hey? Where were we just talking about?"

The two old friends got so engrossed in their conversation that they completely forgot what they were supposed to be discussing. In fact, during those few minutes, Di Bujuan even ignored the discomfort in his stomach.

"Tsk...Isn't it just about you bringing up my martial arts?" Lin Dong remembered after a few seconds, "I said I came to see you on behalf of the Zhenxia Hall."

"Oh, right, right." Di Bujuan responded, then asked, "Uh... so you're now a member of the True Hero Hall?"

"Yes, I joined about four years ago." Lin Dong also spoke frankly. "There are a lot of old guys who were already martial arts legends when we were young. The youngest ones are almost sixty now, so in their eyes, I'm only in my fifties. So I'll do the errands."

"Eh?" Di Bujuan's eyes lit up upon hearing this. "Then could it be... you've come to invite me to join the True Hero Hall as well?"

Here we should subtly point out a couple of things in the book. At first glance, you might think that Di Bujuan's reaction is just wishful thinking, but from his perspective, it makes perfect sense.

One of the uses of the "True Hero Token" is that it can be used as a stepping stone to join the True Hero Hall.

So what exactly are the functions of the True Hero Token? And how is it issued? Let's explain that here as well.

First of all, as Meng Qi said earlier, there is more than one "True Hero Token".

However, only the members of Zhenxiatang know exactly how many were issued and how many were recovered.

Secondly, the True Hero Token is usually only issued to someone in two situations—

The first possibility is that Zhenxiatang believes you have the potential to join them.

The second type is when you accomplish something that makes a huge contribution to the entire martial arts world.

Of course, these two situations often overlap.

In addition, regardless of which of the above situations you obtained it under, there are two "hard criteria" that you need to meet before that: the people of Zhenxia Hall will first conduct investigations and discussions to determine that "your martial arts skills have reached a certain level" and "you are a true hero".

This is why Wen Yuzhai, despite her young age, already possessed the True Hero Token before the "Swords and Blades Slay the Demons" campaign, while Jiang Shouzheng, a seemingly prestigious and senior "hero," was so old that no one paid him any attention.

However, it doesn't mean that you can join the True Hero Hall just because you have the True Hero Token.

If you want to use this thing, you must first hold this token and attend the "Gathering of True Heroes" held once every five years.

Please note that anyone who "holds the True Hero Token" can participate, but it doesn't say that only those who were initially selected and given the True Hero Token can go.

After all, the world of martial arts is ever-changing, with a five-year cycle. It's hard to say whether you'll still be alive when the next gathering takes place, and who can be sure that the True Hero Token will still be in your hands by then?

At this point, some people might complain: Why did those old guys from the True Hero Hall set so many selection criteria for issuing orders? The people they selected for so long might not even show up in the end.

Then you might as well consider it from another angle—whether you can keep the True Hero Token after receiving it is also a test.

Furthermore, some people, even though they obtained the True Hero Token, did not want to "use" it, or felt that it was a hot potato. So they later gave it away or traded it to others. There were quite a few such cases.

In short, regardless of whether you successfully "keep" it or "obtain" it by any means, as long as you successfully use the True Hero Token to participate in the "True Hero Gathering," you can "use" it.

This item can also be used in two ways:
Firstly, if your True Hero Token was given directly by the True Hero Hall and you successfully "preserved" it in the past five years, then you can undergo their formal "trial" when you attend this meeting. Once you pass it, you can join them.

That's how Lin Dong joined.

Secondly, if you obtained your True Hero Token through various hands, regardless of how many times it passed through, or whether it was given away, stolen, or obtained through deception, you can use this token to have the True Hero Hall do something for you.

In principle, this matter is similar to the restrictions Zhao Min imposed on Zhang Wuji in "The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber"... namely, "cannot violate the spirit of chivalry", "cannot damage the reputation of the True Hero Hall", and "cannot help foreign tribes invade the Central Plains".

Undoubtedly, these three principles have many loopholes that can be exploited.

So by now, many readers have probably guessed it: the reason why Poison King Valley was wiped out overnight by the True Hero Hall was because someone used the True Hero Token to do it.

Although Poison King Valley does not directly oppose the Central Plains martial arts world like the Five Spirits Sect, it has never been a sect recognized by the righteous path, so doing this does not violate the principles of the True Hero Order.

From Ruan Qingpao's perspective, it was just a group of so-called heroes who inexplicably came and slaughtered his sect. So it was only natural that he wanted to use the True Hero Token to take revenge on them.

Having explained all of the above, it's not hard to understand why Chief Di asked, "Are you here to invite me to join the True Hero Hall as well?"

In his mind: Now the whole martial arts world knows that I, Di, have a True Hero Token. Lin Dong came to me on behalf of the True Hero Hall at this time, so he must want me to participate in the "True Heroes Gathering"... If he vouches for me, then it's no different from me being given the True Hero Token directly, right? Then I can also challenge the "trial", right?
However, just as Boss Di finished asking this question with great excitement, Lin Dong immediately poured cold water on him: "What are you thinking? Why don't you get better first, practice your martial arts some more, and we'll see how it goes in five years?"

These words displeased Di Bujuan, for the truth was the sharpest weapon.

Lin Dong's first mention of "curing the disease" was to save face for him, but fundamentally he was pointing out that Di Bujuan's martial arts were not good enough; based on his own experience, Lin Dong judged that Di Bujuan's martial arts could not possibly pass the test.

But Di Bujuan wasn't the kind of person to be unreasonable. He quickly composed himself and asked, "So what are you here for?"

"I have two things to advise you on..." Lin Dong said, holding up his first finger. "First, give me the True Hero Token; of course, once you give it to me, I'll immediately let the entire martial arts world know that you no longer have it." He paused, then held up his second finger. "Second, you'd better prepare to set off for Wudang immediately..."