Duan Zhengchun transmigrates to Yin Zhiping

"Zhiping, although you have been transformed after that ordeal, you must not be blindly arrogant when you are in the martial world. Who is Senior Hong? Even if he is kind and generous, what if he accidentally hurts you?"

"Yes, you're overestimating yourself. That was someone who was on par with your grandmaster back then. Even if all seven of us from Quanzhen Sect combined, we might not be a match for him. How dare you?"

Liu Chuxuan and Sun Bu'er shook their heads with smiles and spoke separately. The meaning behind their words was clear: they both seemed to think that Duan Zhengchun was somewhat blindly confident.

"Senior Hong is indeed highly skilled in martial arts. His Eighteen Subduing Dragon Palms is a rare and exquisite palm technique that cannot be resisted by ordinary people. Although we exchanged hundreds of moves, we were ultimately unable to determine a winner."

Duan Zhengchun nodded and casually said something.

However, upon hearing this, Liu Chuxuan and Sun Bu'er froze in place once again, staring at Duan Zhengchun as if he were a monster, their mouths agape as if they could fit an apple in them.

"You...what did you say?...You fought to a draw with Senior Hong?!"

"Are you sure you've met Hong Qigong, the Northern Beggar, one of the Five Greats of the Martial World?! Senior Hong?!"

Liu Chuxuan stared blankly at Duan Zhengchun, his words already becoming incoherent.

Meanwhile, Sun Bu'er, standing to the side, had already blushed slightly and awkwardly looked at his junior apprentice again.

Duan Zhengchun laughed and said, "That's true, but Senior Hong must have held back and didn't use his full strength."

Although he explained it this way, Liu Chuxuan and Sun Bu'er were already speechless. Even so, how many people in the martial arts world could fight the Northern Beggar Hong Qigong for more than a hundred moves?

Upon hearing Duan Zhengchun's answer, Liu Chuxuan and Sun Bu'er exchanged glances, shook their heads in unison, and showed expressions of disbelief on their faces.

Duan Zhengchun smiled and said nothing more, because in his heart, he didn't actually think that Hong Qigong's martial arts were that outrageous. He just felt that the people in the martial arts world he was in were too weak.

Before Liu Chuxuan and Duan Zhengchun could recover from their shock, Duan Zhengchun slowly took out a shoe from his pocket and placed it in front of Liu Chuxuan, saying softly, "Back in the dungeon, was it Uncle Liu who deliberately made a commotion to warn his disciple? Thank you, Uncle."

Liu Chuxuan looked Duan Zhengchun up and down, nodding repeatedly, and said, "With your martial arts skills, your senior uncle is probably meddling in other people's business. But when I heard someone call out the name 'Senior Uncle Liu,' I recognized it as you and was worried that you might have mistaken someone for someone else and fallen into the enemy's trap."

“Last night, the Vajra Sect inexplicably withdrew all the guards from the dungeon. My master felt something was wrong. It turns out that someone came to rescue the two of us.”

"By the way, did you come to the west alone this time?"

Duan Zhengchun shook his head and said, "There are also the eldest brother and the others, a total of more than fifty people. According to the plan, they are responsible for launching a feint attack on the Vajra Sect's mountain gate, while the disciples are responsible for sneaking in and trying to rescue the senior uncle and senior master from the dungeon."

"I just didn't expect the Vajra Sect to have a backup plan; we were prepared."

As Liu Chuxuan put on his shoes, he nodded and said, "I see. Although the enemy was cunning, they were still no match for your intelligence. We were able to escape alive this time thanks to you!"

Sun Bu'er, who was standing to the side, nodded approvingly, her brows furrowed with gratitude.

"Senior Uncle, you flatter me. But I heard that you brought other disciples with you when you came to the Western Regions. Why didn't I see them in the dungeon?"

Duan Zhengchun continued to ask.

Liu Chuxuan shook his head and sighed, his face filled with sorrow. He said helplessly, "Except for me and your Uncle-Master Sun, everyone else is dead. The Vajra Sect is ruthless; they killed all their disciples when they captured us..."

As he finished speaking, Sun Bu'er shook his head, his face filled with grief.

Duan Zhengchun was filled with mixed feelings. From the process of rescuing Liu Chuxuan and Sun Bu'er, he had realized that the Vajra Sect, as the number one sect in the Western Regions, was indeed shameful in its conduct.

"The reason why your Uncle Liu and I are still alive is because the Vajra Sect wants to get the secret of the Nine Yin Manual from us!"

"That's why I was forcibly fed the Bone-Softening Soul-Devouring Powder and have been imprisoned ever since..."

Sun Bu'er sighed and slowly said something.

Duan Zhengchun pressed on, "What exactly is the Nine Yin Manual? Before we left, Master mentioned that the reason you and Uncle Liu led people thousands of miles to the Western Regions was because a mysterious master attacked Chongyang Palace with the intention of stealing the Nine Yin Manual."

"Now it seems that the mysterious group of experts were from the Vajra Sect?"

Sun Bu'er nodded and pondered, "That's right. Back when your grandmaster was still alive, a martial arts manual called 'Nine Yin Manual' suddenly appeared in the martial arts world. The heroes of the martial arts world did not hesitate to kill indiscriminately, causing great suffering to the people!"

"In order to prevent this catastrophe in the martial arts world, your grandmaster agreed to a duel at the summit of Mount Hua, and the one with the highest martial arts skill would win the Nine Yin Manual!"

"In the end, your grandmaster surpassed all others and became the leader of the Five Greats. He brought the Nine Yin Manual back to Chongyang Palace. However, before his death, he entrusted this supreme skill to your grand-uncle Zhou Botong for safekeeping."

"So even the headmaster doesn't know where the Nine Yin Manual is now. Your grandmaster is a mischievous child who comes and goes without a trace, so no one knows where it is."

Duan Zhengchun nodded thoughtfully, then suddenly became very interested in the "Nine Yin Manual" that was being frantically fought over by martial arts practitioners. He asked curiously, "Is the 'Nine Yin Manual' really that profound? It caused such a commotion. Only the greatest martial artist in the world can obtain it?"

Liu Chuxuan sighed, "That is indeed a top-notch martial arts manual, but because its moves are too insidious, your grandmaster brought it back to the Quanzhen Sect through the Mount Hua Sword Tournament, just to prevent martial arts practitioners from causing a greater disaster by fighting over it."

Duan Zhengchun pressed on, "Did Grandmaster Uncle ever say where he hid this book, or whether he always carried it with him?"

Liu Chuxuan shook his head and said, "It has never been mentioned. No one knows its whereabouts. Your grandmaster has not returned to Chongyang Palace for a long time. As for its exact location, I'm afraid only he himself knows."

Duan Zhengchun nodded and fell silent, wondering when he could meet this grandmaster he had never met before, or even just borrow this peerless manual to read.

"By the way, Zhiping, you didn't finish what you were saying earlier. Besides the moves that evolved from Senior Hong's Dog-Beating Stick Technique, where did the other seemingly exquisite move in your swordplay come from?"

Sun Bu'er hesitated for a moment, then asked another question.

Duan Zhengchun smiled and slowly said, "During my journey west, besides meeting Senior Hong, I also encountered a hidden master swordsman."

"This person claims to have lived for over two hundred years and boasts that his martial arts are far superior to the Five Great Masters of the world. He claims that he was the best in the world a hundred years ago and has never met his match."

"Because he looked down on my grandmaster, I was unconvinced and exchanged ten moves with him. I found that his martial arts were indeed unfathomable! I was no match for him at all."

Sun Bu'er was stunned for a moment, then hesitated and said, "A sword master who is over two hundred years old? And he even claims that his martial arts skills are far superior to the Five Great Masters of the world?!"

Liu Chuxuan was also full of doubt and said in surprise, "With Zhiping's current martial arts skills, I'm afraid even the two of us are no match for him. There are very few people in the world who can defeat him within ten moves!"

"This person claims to have lived for over two hundred years, which may not be entirely unfounded. What is his name?"

Duan Zhengchun shook his head and said, "He did not reveal his name, and jokingly said that once he revealed his name, countless people in the martial arts world would vie to become his disciples."

"He only said that before he retired from the martial arts world, everyone in the martial arts world respectfully called him the Sword Demon."

Upon hearing this, Liu Chuxuan and Sun Bu'er were both stunned, staring at Duan Zhengchun in disbelief as if he were a monster, speechless for a moment.

Seeing their immediate reactions, Duan Zhengchun knew that they must know the origins of this Sword Demon.

"Does your senior uncle or master know who he is?"

Duan Zhengchun asked curiously.

Liu Chuxuan shook his head in disbelief and said loudly, "You know him? You know him all too well! Perhaps you younger generation haven't heard of his fame, but we Seven Masters of Quanzhen heard your grandmaster mention his name quite often back then!"

At this point, Liu Chuxuan narrowed his eyes slightly, a memory surfacing in his mind...