Villains in Film and Television: Starting with Yang Ke in "The Golden Age"

"I've met Taoist friends."

Following the scent he sensed, Yang Ke arrived at a high point in Shaolin Temple, where he saw a Taoist priest with an otherworldly air playing chess. Upon seeing him, the priest greeted Yang Ke.

"I wonder if you are from the Free and Unfettered Sect?"

This Taoist priest was none other than Xiaoyaozi. Upon seeing Yang Ke's movements, he immediately knew that Yang Ke had a connection with the Xiaoyao Sect, but that Yang Ke's strength far surpassed his own. That's why he asked, assuming that Yang Ke was a senior master of the Xiaoyao Sect.

"Greetings, senior. I am the new leader of the Xiaoyao Sect. My master is Wuyazi."

Yang Ke guessed that this person must be Xiaoyaozi, so he didn't hide his identity and revealed it.

Why don't you read what you're saying?

This is what Xiaoyaozi is thinking right now.

The disciple's disciple, or grand-disciple, was actually more skilled than him.

Has the outside world changed because I've been in Shaolin for so many years?

"Senior must be the ancestor Xiaoyaozi. May I ask why you are here?"

Yang Ke, too lazy to beat around the bush, directly explained his situation and even revealed Xiaoyaozi's identity.

"Oh?"

Xiaoyaozi was pleasantly surprised to find that Yang Ke was also a member of the Xiaoyao Sect.

"May I ask why you are here, senior?"

Yang Ke asked the question that had been piquing his curiosity.

This is Shaolin Temple. Even if Xiaoyaozi were traveling, there would be no need for him to be here.

Moreover, there are obvious signs of habitation here, so it seems that Xiaoyaozi has lived here for quite some time.

"Hmph, it's all Shaolin's fault."

"Shortly after I broke through to the level of the Free and Unfettered Celestial Realm, I traveled all over the country and was living a carefree life. But suddenly I discovered that Shaolin had instigated the Yanmen Pass Rebellion."

"If that were all, it wouldn't be a big deal. The key issue is that there's a sweeping monk in Shaolin Temple who actually wants to take this opportunity to recruit several contemporary masters into Shaolin."

"If we let him continue like this, will other martial arts practitioners have any way to survive in the future?"

"Thinking about this, I decided to have a match with him."

"Unfortunately, he is protected by the Vajra Indestructible Divine Skill of Buddhist martial arts, and he has the perfect Golden Bell Cover. The old Taoist martial arts are not the domineering and sharp way, so they can't do anything to him. They can only set up a formation to confine him and prevent him from appearing in the martial arts world."

Xiaoyaozi then revealed the reason for his presence at Shaolin.

"I see, so that's why I came here too."

Yang Ke suddenly understood after listening.

Murong Bo and Xiao Yuanshan were indeed later taken into the Buddhist order by the Sweeper Monk. With two more grandmasters, Shaolin was indeed no longer a threat after Xu Zhu went into seclusion.

The reason why Xiaoyaozi didn't appear in the drama is probably because of the variable that is Xuzhu.

Although Xu Zhu is the leader of the Xiaoyao Sect, he originally came from Shaolin. If Xiaoyaozi fails to explain clearly, and instead gives the Sweeper Monk Xu Zhu, a master who has inherited 210 years of internal energy from the three elders of Xiaoyao, then the balance will be broken.

If Xuzhu were to escape Shaolin, even if there were two more Grandmaster-level experts, it wouldn't matter; they could just trap him together.

"Yes, now that you're here, the balance has been disrupted."

"I can easily trap him. You can see if you can handle him. If not, you can come and replace me occasionally to prevent this old bald monk from wreaking havoc on the martial arts world."

Xiaoyaozi didn't stop Yang Ke from dealing with the Sweeper Monk, since his main strategy wasn't to break the Sweeper Monk outside, so the Sweeper Monk couldn't leave Shaolin.

If this problem can be solved, a huge weight will be lifted from his heart.

"Thank you for your hard work, senior. I will go down and deal with the matter of the traitor of the Free and Unfettered Sect. I will handle the matter when the Sweeper Monk appears."

Xiaoyaozi's appearance finally made Yang Ke understand some of the strange things hidden in Tianlong.

Xiao Yuanshan and Murong Bo have done their share of killing before. If the Sweeper Monk were truly compassionate and dedicated to saving people, why didn't he do it sooner?

After talking with Xiaoyaozi, Yang Ke returned to the Beggars' Sect.

At this point, Ding Chunqiu was already fighting alongside Qiao Feng and Murong Fu.

Why did they fight?

It's very simple. Ding Chunqiu needs a figure to establish himself in the Central Plains and to carry forward the Xingxiu Sect. Qiao Feng is a good stepping stone for him.

Similarly, Murong Fu was also like that.

He knew that Yang Ke controlled the Beggars' Sect, but he had gained nothing in the past six months. What did he have to offer to confront Yang Ke directly?

Therefore, Murong Fu naturally wanted to take this opportunity to kill Qiao Feng and gain the support of some martial arts practitioners.

Qiao Feng didn't care. If you want to fight, then come on!

After returning to the Liao Dynasty, he broke through to the Grandmaster realm. Coupled with the powerful and domineering Eighteen Subduing Dragon Palms, dealing with Ding Chunqiu and Murong Fu was no problem for him.

Since the group had started fighting, Yang Ke naturally decided not to show himself first.

However, the Beggars' Sect had naturally reached the gates of Shaolin Temple. Abbot Xuanci had no choice but to ask Kumārajīva to wait while he appeared with the Shaolin monks.

The Four Evils also arrived; they were also brought by Yang Ke.

Xu Zhu is the son of Ye Erniang and Abbot Xuanci of Shaolin Temple. Xiao Yuanshan stole Ye Erniang's son and left him at Shaolin Temple, and he has been keeping an eye on him ever since.

How could Xiao Yuanshan miss such a good opportunity today?

What exactly is going on with the Beggars' Sect?

Abbot Xuanci frowned and asked about Quan Guanqing.

"It's nothing, it's just that an incident from back then caused our Beggars' Clan to fall apart a few days ago."

"Now that our Beggars' Sect has stabilized the situation, it is natural for us to seek revenge. And the cause of the current state of the Beggars' Sect is none other than the leader from back then, namely Master Xuanci!"

Quan Guanqing knew, of course, that Master Xuanci would be worried about incurring Qiao Feng's hatred if he were exposed, so he spoke his mind all at once.

"What?! You're the ringleader from back then!"

Qiao Feng was furious after hearing this.

On second thought, besides the abbot of Shaolin, who else could lead dozens of top-notch martial arts masters to ambush someone else?

Good heavens, they were used to kill their entire family, and now they're comfortably serving as his abbot.

The key issue is that after adopting Qiao Feng, they didn't explain things clearly, causing him to be removed from his position as the leader of the Beggars' Sect for no reason and then hunted down by the martial arts world.

If Master Xuanci had explained things clearly earlier, there wouldn't have been so many problems.

Qiao Feng still believed that Xuan Ci was responsible for the deaths of the gang leader, so he went all out to kill them and silence them. Therefore, he fought off Ding Chunqiu and Murong Fu with all his might and headed towards Master Xuan Ci.

"What? The source of the turmoil in the martial arts world over the past six months is Shaolin? Is that true?"

"Hmph, would the Beggars' Clan dare to attack without evidence? I've been annoyed with these monks for a long time. They're all so sanctimonious, but who was left alive in the end when they besieged Qiao Feng's family at Yanmen Pass?"

"That's right. So many fellow martial artists suffered heavy casualties when they attacked Qiao Feng. At first, we thought Shaolin couldn't stand by and watch and came out to uphold justice. Turns out it was to kill them to silence them."

People in the martial arts world are unaware of the inside story, but few people know what Xiao Yuanshan did, so it's reasonable for everyone to suspect Master Xuanci.

It's like Xiao Yuanshan lost his mind. He could have simply said that Master Xuanci was the leader and connected it to these things. Instead, he insisted on stepping forward to explain things clearly.

"Xiao Feng, please let me finish what I have to say."

Xuan Ci wanted to explain that he hadn't expected a seemingly righteous grandmaster like Murong Bo to deceive him, but Qiao Feng had already decided that he was the mastermind behind his departure from the Central Plains, so he didn't mince words.