The world of martial arts, the immortal swordsman in the mortal realm.

Chapter 52, pages 65 and 66: Five-Finger Sword Light! A Martial Arts Tournament for Marriage
"This……"

Upon hearing Wanyan Kang's question, Liang Ziweng was quite taken aback.

He thought to himself that the young prince was still a child at heart, and this idea was far too far-fetched.

If I could concoct such a potion, wouldn't I have become the Grand Preceptor of the Jin Dynasty long ago?
How did we end up in this situation?

Wanyan Kang, observing the expression on Wanyan Kang's face, knew that his idea was unrealistic. He shook his head regretfully and said:

"What a pity. I know the injustice suffered by Elder Liang, so I wanted to take advantage of my position to avenge him. For example, I could prepare a banquet, invite Lu Chen and Huang Rong to the feast, and take the opportunity to slip that drug into their wine to find out their lineage and even the martial arts they practice..."

Upon hearing this, Liang Ziweng feigned emotion, but then sighed wistfully:
"Don't say that I am incompetent and cannot concoct such a medicine. Even if I could, it would be useless to Lu and Huang."

Wanyan Kang asked curiously:
"Why is this?"

Liang Ziweng looked grief-stricken:
"My precious snake has been carefully raised for twenty years with various rare medicinal herbs. Eating it can not only preserve one's appearance and greatly enhance one's martial arts skills, but also make one immune to all poisons. Lu and Huang have eaten my precious snake, and even the snake's blood has been used to make them... In short, they are now immune to all poisons, and no drug or poison can affect them."

Wanyan Kang was startled, and felt a surge of resentment:

How could Lu Chen and Huang Rong have gotten such a good deal from such a magical snake?
You, Liang Ziweng, are no good either. If you had presented this snake to me earlier, wouldn't I, Wanyan Kang, have become much more powerful and immune to all poisons?
For a moment, he was filled with resentment and jealousy, and his face turned gloomy.

Liang Ziweng glanced at him, then suddenly whispered:

"Actually, this old man has a way to get the medicinal power of the precious snake back."

Wanyan Kang's eyes lit up:
"Oh? What's your plan, Elder Liang?"

A sinister glint flashed in Liang Ziweng's eyes:
"Since Lu and Huang have consumed the precious snake, its medicinal power must have accumulated in their flesh and blood. If one were to drink their blood raw, even if the effects were not as potent as the snake's, it would still be seven or eight tenths as effective!"

Drinking human blood raw?

Wanyan Kang felt nauseous at first, but soon seemed to be deep in thought:
To achieve great things, one must be able to do what others cannot and endure what others cannot endure.

If one could truly increase their power and become immune to all poisons, what harm would there be in drinking human blood?
However, Lu Chen and Huang Rong are highly skilled in martial arts and are now immune to all poisons, so they cannot be drugged and rendered unconscious. The only way to obtain their blood is by force.

Wanyan Kang then whispered with Liang Ziweng about how to plan their strategy. After a while, Liang Ziweng suddenly said:
"Young Master Ouyang cut off two of Lu Chen's fingers, deeply hating him, and has already deduced the solution to Lu Chen's martial arts. Why not invite Young Master Ouyang to participate and take charge of the combat?"

Wanyan Kang originally wanted to say that he had a more powerful martial arts expert, and he wanted to refuse Liang Ziweng's suggestion to avoid having more people share the benefits.

But then he thought again, Lu Chen's martial arts were already superior to Ouyang Ke's, and his power had greatly increased after eating the treasure snake. It might not be safe to rely on his powerful female master alone.

Ouyang Ke was highly skilled in martial arts, had a grudge against Lu Chen, and was also lusting after Huang Rong's beauty. If they were to ask him for help, he would definitely work extra hard. So they changed their minds and nodded, saying:
"Besides Young Master Ouyang, we can also invite Master Lingzhi to participate, as he also has a grudge against Lu Chen. In addition, I can also invite a great expert from my side. There are also Peng Lianhu, Sha Tongtian, and Hou Tonghai..."

"They're no good!"

Liang Ziweng gets angry whenever Hou Tonghai is mentioned.

Hou Tonghai deserves some credit for Old Liang's hemiplegia, and he shook his head repeatedly.

"Hou Tonghai is both muddle-headed and stupid, yet he's also loud and likes to act clever. Sha Tongtian is his senior brother and always sides with him, and Peng Lianhu is also very close to Sha Tongtian... In short, bringing these three along will not only be of no help, but will also ruin the young prince's plans."

Wanyan Kang thought about Hou Tonghai's behavior all along and nodded in deep agreement:

"Very well, then it will be me, Elder Liang, Young Master Ouyang, Master Lingzhi, plus the great expert I invited... that should be enough."

"Young Master Ouyang also has twenty-four concubines by his side, all of whom are quite skilled in martial arts..."

At this point, Liang Ziweng suddenly hesitated again:
"However, it seems that the Prince values ​​Lu and Huang quite a bit..."

Wanyan Kang smiled slightly:
"No matter how strong Lu Chen and Huang Rong's martial arts are, they are still outsiders. If their power and special skills were transferred to me, do you think Father would blame me or be happy?"

Liang Ziweng feigned sudden realization, stroked his beard, and smiled:

"His Highness will surely be pleased!"

……

Another two days passed in the blink of an eye.

That afternoon, Huang Rong excitedly came to find Lu Chen with the cloak she had made, only to find him sitting in the pavilion in the courtyard, looking down at his palm.

His focused expression made it seem as if some profound mystery was hidden between his fingers.

Huang Rong tiptoed over, draped the cloak over him, and then examined his hands for a while, but couldn't figure out what was going on. Curious, she asked:

"Brother Lu Chen, what are you looking at?"

Lu Chen looked up and gave her a smile, stood up, pulled the cloak over his shoulder to look at her, and praised her:
"It's beautiful. Rong'er is so skillful."

Then, in response to her question:
"I'm thinking, since we can use our fingers to unleash sword energy, could we... unleash sword energy with all five fingers at once?"

His idea was, of course, inspired by the "Six Meridian Divine Sword".

If the Six Meridians Divine Sword can unleash invisible sword energy from all six fingers simultaneously, then it's not unreasonable for him to unleash sword light from all five fingers at once, right?

Huang Rong had also learned the "White Rainbow Sword Technique" and knew the method to activate the sword's radiance. Upon hearing this, her eyes lit up:
"The method of sword light is to let true qi flow through the 'Hand Jueyin Pericardium Meridian', and then be injected into the sword hilt and the sword body through the middle finger to generate sword light. So when you have no sword in your hand and only use the sword finger to generate sword light, it seems that the index and middle fingers are emitting invisible sword light, but in fact, only the middle finger is really emitting sword light."

“That’s right, the index finger was originally just an auxiliary finger.” Lu Chen nodded and said with a smile, “If all five of my fingers’ meridians could unleash sword light…”

He raised his right hand, his five fingers trembling, "Then this sword finger technique will not only be more powerful, but the sword light will also have more uses and variations, making it even more difficult for the enemy to defend against."

Huang Rong nodded repeatedly, her eyebrows dancing with excitement as she said:

"That's right! For example, if you practice a claw technique, using claw moves but channeling your inner energy through sword energy techniques, when you use your claws to seize an enemy, suddenly unleashing sword energy from all five fingers will definitely give your enemy a big surprise. But, isn't that very difficult?"

The method of unleashing the sword light in the White Rainbow Sword Technique is already quite profound and exquisite, requiring extremely high control over true qi. Normal cultivation is quite difficult, let alone modification.

It is important to know that every cultivation method involving the circulation of true qi is the result of countless refinements. As the saying goes, a slight difference can lead to a huge error. The more profound and subtle the circulation of true qi, the less likely it is to be easily altered.

If one arbitrarily alters the path of true qi circulation, then at best the true qi will go astray and the meridians will be damaged, and at worst one will suffer from qi deviation, broken meridians, or even complete paralysis and sudden death.

"It is very difficult."

Lu Chen sighed:

"I've been pondering this for two days, and all I've figured out is how to circulate true qi along the 'Hand Yangming Large Intestine Meridian' and unleash sword light through the index finger..."

As he spoke, he extended his right finger and gently pressed it onto the wooden table in front of him. With a soft cracking sound, a thin crack appeared on the surface of the table when his fingertip was still three inches away from it.

"..."

Huang Rong blinked, slightly shocked:
"You've created a new sword aura technique in just two days?"

"It cannot be considered as creating a new law."

Lu Chen shook his head:
"I have only made some adjustments to the original sword light method of the 'White Rainbow Sword Technique' so that the true qi can flow through the Hand Yangming Large Intestine Meridian and generate an invisible sword light at the index finger. This can only be said to be walking on the end of the road opened up by predecessors and opening up a new road slightly ahead. It is not creating a new skill from scratch."

"But this is still quite remarkable. To be able to modify the technique without making any mistakes, and to extend a new path that had reached its end, is already considered to have embarked on the true path of a martial arts master!"

Huang Rong's eyes sparkled, and she said in a light, cheerful voice:

"Your understanding of swordsmanship is truly unprecedented!"

Seeing her proud and smug expression, Lu Chen couldn't help but smile and said:

"Master Rong has such a fine student, congratulations!" "Hey, you're even praising yourself now!"

"Not at all, I was clearly praising Master Rong for her discerning eye."

"That's more like it. Have you thought of a method for using the other three fingers to unleash sword light?"

"Hmm. With the experience of using the 'Hand Yangming Large Intestine Meridian' to generate sword light, I also have some ideas for the other three finger sword lights. In another three to five days, I should be able to create them one by one."

"Besides sword techniques, the Five Fingers Sword Light is best suited for claw techniques. We must find a powerful claw technique."

"The Black Wind Duo has it in their hands..."

Just then, Butler Jian's voice came from outside:
"Young Master Lu and Young Master Huang, are you here? I am here on the orders of the Prince to invite you to the banquet."

Lu Chen went over and opened the courtyard gate, saying to Butler Jian:

"Thank you for your trouble, Steward Jian. We will go to the Prince's courtyard for the banquet later."

Butler Jian smiled ingratiatingly:
"Well... the young prince is hosting a banquet on Willow Lake outside Sheng'an Temple today. The snow scenery of Willow Lake at Sheng'an Temple is a unique sight in Zhongdu, so the young prince specially arranged for someone to rent a large painted boat, intending to have a banquet with you two while enjoying the snow on the lake. The young prince has already prepared his carriage and is waiting outside the mansion, just waiting for you two to come over together."

"I see. Butler Jane, please wait a moment."

Lu Chen nodded, returned to the courtyard, and told Huang Rong about it. Huang Rong frowned and said:
"Something feels off..."

Wanyan Kang had visited Hanmei Garden twice in the past two days, each time bringing gifts such as exquisite jewelry, precious medicinal herbs, and fine clothes, demonstrating his respect for scholars and never showing any malice.

He thought he had concealed it very well, but little did he know that Lu Chen and Huang Rong, one with the ability to "foresee the future" and the other with a very high level of intelligence, had long seen through his "honeyed words and daggers" nature and were not fooled by him at all; they were just pretending to be friendly with him.

Today, Wanyan Kang inexplicably set up a banquet outside the Prince's Mansion, and Huang Rong instinctively felt that something was amiss.

Lu Chen laughed:

“There is something wrong with that. But since it’s a banquet on the lake, whatever Wanyan Kang’s intentions may be, we don’t need to be afraid of him.”

Huang Rong was already an excellent swimmer, and with her guidance, Lu Chen also improved his swimming skills. The two of them also mastered the "breath-holding technique," making the lake their home ground.

Furthermore, both of them have greatly improved their skills and are immune to all poisons, so they are not afraid of Wanyan Kang playing tricks.

That said, the snake meat has been eaten up in the last two days, and Lu Chen is ready to lay his cards on the table—although he has not yet found out Mei Chaofeng’s exact hiding place in this huge palace, Wanyan Kang knows!
So whatever Wanyan Kang's intentions may be, we might as well take advantage of the banquet outside today, capture him, find out where Mei Chaofeng is, and arrest her that night.

After exchanging a few words with Huang Rong, the two returned to the inner room and dressed themselves.

Lu Chen donned a black fox fur coat, carried the Xuan Tie Heavy Sword and the Broken Sword on his back, and held the Qing Gang Sword in his hand. He and Huang Rong, who wore a soft armor underneath a brocade white fur coat, followed Steward Jian out of the palace. They saw Wanyan Kang leading a group of guards and leading a large horse, waiting outside the palace gate.

Upon seeing Lu Chen and Huang Rong approach, Wanyan Kang beamed with joy:

"Brother Lu and Young Master Huang have finally arrived!"

Lu Chen gave Wanyan Kang an apologetic smile:
"I apologize for keeping you waiting, Your Highness."

Wanyan Kang laughed heartily:
"It's alright, it's still early, and I'm not in a hurry anyway. Would you two like to travel by carriage or on horseback?"

Huang Rong huddled her small face inside the fluffy white collar and rubbed her hands together.

"It's too cold. Brother Lu and I will ride in the car."

Wanyan Kang smiled and nodded, then waved to the carriage yard in front of the palace. A guard drove a luxuriously decorated carriage over.

After Lu Chen and Huang Rong boarded the carriage, Wanyan Kang ordered the group to set off. He then rode his horse to the carriage window, smiling as he spoke to Lu Chen and Huang Rong inside.

As we walked into the market, we suddenly saw a large crowd of people making a racket, blocking most of the street and making it difficult for vehicles to move.

Wanyan Kang's face turned cold, and he was about to order his personal guards to disperse the crowd when he suddenly heard cheers from the crowd ahead. It seemed that someone was shouting something like, "Great kung fu! The kung fu is beautiful, and the person is even more beautiful!"

Curious, Wanyan Kang leaped up and stood tall on the saddle, looking down at the crowd. He saw a large open space in the crowd with a large white flag with red flowers and the four golden characters "Martial Arts Contest for Marriage" embroidered on it.

Two people under his command are having a martial arts match: one is a slender, beautiful young woman in red, and the other is a burly, rough man.

The burly man's punches and kicks were powerful and heavy. Although his moves looked somewhat methodical, he was just an ordinary, third-rate martial artist.

The young girl, on the other hand, was agile and graceful, with precise and skillful punches and kicks, clearly demonstrating considerable martial arts prowess.

Just then, Lu Chen suddenly lifted the carriage curtain and peeked out:

"Young Prince, what happened up ahead?"

Wanyan Kang sat back in his saddle and laughed:

"It's nothing, just a martial arts contest among outlaws to find a husband."

Although he was cunning, he was still just a boy under eighteen and had a playful nature—of course, his playfulness was quite bad, taking pleasure in tormenting and even humiliating others. Therefore, he originally wanted to join in the fun and tease the girl in red.

However, thinking of the important matters he needed to attend to today, he suppressed his playful thoughts, casually replied to Lu Chen, and was about to order his guards to disperse the crowd and clear a path.

But before he could give the order, Huang Rong climbed out of the carriage and said excitedly:
"A martial arts contest to find a husband? I'd better check it out!"

She also liked to play around. When she heard that there was a "martial arts contest to choose a husband" ahead, a kind of excitement that was common in stories but not in reality, how could she sit still?

He immediately leaped onto the roof of the carriage and stood on tiptoe to look into the crowd.

Lu Chen also took the Xuan Tie Heavy Sword down and placed it on the carriage seat. He then leaped onto the roof of the carriage and stood side by side with Huang Rong, watching with great interest.

I've been in Zhongdu for several days now, and today I've finally stumbled upon this "martial arts contest to find a husband" scene?
Looking into the crowd, one could see that the person competing in the arena was indeed a slender girl in red, around seventeen or eighteen years old. Beside the banner that read "Martial Arts Contest for Marriage," there was a large iron spear, and standing next to the spear was a middle-aged man with graying temples, a thick waist, and broad shoulders. It was clearly Mu Nianci and Yang Tiexin.

Confirming that he had indeed encountered this scene, Lu Chen glanced subtly at Wanyan Kang, only to see him looking rather uninterested. While amused, Lu Chen increasingly sensed that Wanyan Kang harbored ill intentions towards him and Huang Rong.

The fact that Wanyan Kang could refrain from engaging in a martial arts contest and teasing Mu Nianci shows that today's banquet on the lake is definitely not a pleasant one!

At this moment, Huang Rong suddenly whispered:
"The fist technique used by that girl in red looks like Master Qi's 'Free and Easy Wandering'!"

She had also learned that "Free and Easy Wandering" style, so of course she could recognize the red-clad girl's kung fu.

Lu Chen casually said:

"Master Qi likes to mentor younger generations. That girl in red must have met Master Qi. Judging from how well she uses the Free and Easy Wandering Technique, it seems that she has at least received Master Qi's true teachings in this technique."

Huang Rong was unconvinced:
"My free and easy wandering technique is even better now."

Lu Chen nodded:

"Yes, Rong'er's kung fu is of course better."

In fact, Huang Rong practiced too many different kinds of kung fu, and she was always inconsistent in her practice. Although her overall strength was great, in terms of proficiency with the "Free and Easy Wandering" kung fu, she was not as good as Mu Nianci, who relied entirely on this kung fu to make her way in the world.

Huang Rong sensed that his tone was purely consoling, pouted unhappily, then suddenly giggled:
"Since I happened to be dressed as a man, I went to participate in the martial arts contest to find a husband and have a match with her!"

With that, he leaped off the carriage and plunged into the crowd.

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(End of this chapter)