Starting from Tianlong, Wudu Tianxia

"Dang Qiang, aim for the neck vein and strike, kid. Close your eyes, it'll be over in the blink of an eye, there won't be any pain."

Perhaps seeing that Gao Yuan was just a teenager, the woman named Tan Qing felt pity for him.

Gao Yuan had no way to escape. His acupoints on his back were pressed, and he was in so much pain that he could hardly move. Seeing the blade coming at him, he tightly closed his eyes.

Clang!

Just as his life hung in the balance, a sharp sound broke the silence. A chess piece, seemingly out of nowhere, struck the back of the knife with pinpoint accuracy. Dang Qiang felt a numbness in his wrist, and the hilt of the knife nearly slipped from his grasp.

"Huh!"

Guo Jie turned around in surprise and saw a middle-aged man walking slowly from outside the dilapidated temple.

The man had a lean face, with fine lines appearing at the corners of his eyes when he smiled, but his temples were already streaked with frost, giving him a gentle and refined appearance.

"The Zoroastrianism is indeed despicable." As the middle-aged man stepped into the temple, his smile faded slightly when his gaze fell on Guo Jie.

"Under the guise of doing good and eliminating evil, they do all sorts of shady and disgraceful things."

Dang Qiang roared and swung his dagger to strike.

The middle-aged man dodged to the side, and a black iron chessboard appeared in his arms at some point. He flicked a black chess piece with two fingers.

The chess piece moved incredibly fast, shooting towards his chest like a bullet. Dang Qiang let out a muffled groan and instantly collapsed, lifeless.

"The Black Iron Chessboard... Are you Fan Bailing?" Guo Jie's voice was deep.

The middle-aged man didn't answer, but instead asked Gao Yuan, "Kid, does it hurt?"

Gao Yuan winced in pain, shook his head, but endured it without making a sound.

Seeing this, the middle-aged man secretly praised his resilience, and with a light touch of his fingertip, the excruciating pain instantly disappeared.

Fan Bailing?

With the acupoints released, Gao Yuan's mind cleared considerably, and he instantly remembered who Fan Bailing was.

The second of the Eight Friends of Hangu Pass, he was a student of the wise and eloquent old man.

In the original work, he is described as follows: In his youth, he liked to carry a chessboard around the world, and people called him "Chess Demon". He was extremely skilled in Go.

Seeing their fellow disciple killed, Li Yuan and Liang Yi were filled with rage and drew their swords, ready to pounce.

"Zheng"

But Tan Qing drew his longsword and held it in front of the two men, blocking their way.

Fan Bailing is skilled in the art of concealed weapons. Even if Li Yuan and his companion went up, they would be lying down and suffering losses for nothing. Only when one or two people of similar martial arts skills attacked them at the same time, taking the opportunity to get close and entangle them, could everyone follow up with a sneak attack.

At this moment, the two with the highest martial arts skills are Guo Jie and her!

"seek death!"

Guo Jie leaped to Fan Bailing's side, dodged, and launched a sweeping kick with all his might, clearly aiming for a fatal blow!

Fan Bailing flipped the chessboard swiftly, and two pieces shot out suddenly, one aimed straight at Guo Jie's chest, and the other at his ankle.

Guo Jie was clearly experienced in fighting. He suddenly twisted his waist and bent his knee as he swept his leg to narrowly avoid the chess piece that was about to hit his ankle. At the same time, he struck out with his palm, creating a strong wind.

The chess piece was jolted off course by the force of the palm strike, and with a "crack," it embedded itself into a pillar in the temple.

Inside the dilapidated temple, the two exchanged seven or eight more moves, each aimed directly at a vital point.

Guo Jie grew increasingly alarmed as the fight progressed—it was clear to everyone that Fan Bailing was slowly gaining the upper hand. He stopped talking nonsense and gave Tan Qing a wink.

Taking advantage of Fan Bailing's change of tactics, Tan Qing seized the opportunity, leaped behind Fan Bailing, and thrust out his sword.

In the blink of an eye.

Fan Bailing forced Guo Jie back, flipped the chessboard over, and used it to block his back. The sound of metal and stone clashing together was crisp and clear. He managed to block Tan Qing's sword attack by moving the chessboard horizontally!

With a slight movement of the chessboard forward, the magnetic chessboard immediately attracted the iron sword, disrupting Tan Qing's offensive rhythm.

At this moment, Guo Jie launched another sneak attack!

Fan Bailing knew that fighting two against one was overconfident and dared not get bogged down in a protracted battle.

He made a firm decision, withdrew the chessboard, held his palms horizontally across his chest, folded and turned them, channeled his internal energy, and then thrust them outwards.

not good!

Guo Jie was startled. He only wanted to launch a sneak attack and never expected to compete with Fan Bailing in internal strength.

At this moment, like an arrow on a bowstring, there was no choice but to release it, and he also rapidly circulated his internal energy.

Tan Qing's swordplay was hindered by the chessboard, and her body was not steady. When she saw Fan Bailing deliver a palm strike to her and Guo Jie respectively, she hurriedly responded.

"Bang!"

Like the sound of firecrackers exploding, the three men's palms met.

Guo Jie's body trembled, and he took three steps back. Tan Qing, who had not yet fully exerted his strength, was forced into a corner and could not breathe properly.

Guo Jie was secretly alarmed.

"The Chess Demon lives up to his name. If it were just a contest of internal strength, he and Tan Qing would definitely be no match for Fan Bailing."

As his mind raced, Guo Jie secretly analyzed the situation.

"Incense Master!"

Li Yuan and the other man shouted, but Guo Jie smiled faintly and shook his head, indicating that it was nothing to worry about.

"My Zoroastrianism spreads its teachings throughout the world, aiming to enlighten people. We've always kept to ourselves and the Eight Friends of Hangu Pass. Have you thought this through? Why insist on meddling in other people's business?"

Fan Bailing remained unmoved: "What business is it of yours? I came here specifically to see you. I've been following you for days. Otherwise, who would be wandering around a dilapidated temple in the middle of the night for no reason?"

"Elder Xu of the Beggars' Sect had already informed the heroes of various places in Xuzhou to keep a close eye on your movements, but you are laughable for not knowing it."

Guo Jie was slightly surprised that the Beggars' Sect had made preparations in advance and invited the Eight Friends of Hangu Pass to help out!

Tan Qing and Guo Jie exchanged a glance. Guo Jie's face darkened. "What do you intend to do?"

"The Fire Worshiping Cult is bewitching people and indiscriminately killing innocents. Everyone has the right to kill them. Hand over the garrison deployment map and get out of Xuzhou. Otherwise, when my elder brother arrives, he will personally take your heads and make a name for the Eight Friends."

The implication is that someone is there to meet you.

"Alright, you are stronger now, and I admit defeat because my martial arts are crude. But there is always someone better. In the future, there will be experts in the Zoroastrian Church to teach me. Farewell."

Guo Jie was filled with resentment. If Dang Qiang hadn't been killed, the loss of Zhushetu wouldn't have mattered; he could have simply made him repeat himself again. But now…

He wasn't without suspicion that Fan Bailing was deceiving them, but he didn't want to gamble. After much deliberation, he left the map behind and hurriedly departed with a few others.

Fan Bailing alone was enough to hold off the two of them; if another person came, they might really have to stay.

Where there is life, there is hope.

After Guo Jie and the others left, Fan Bailing endured for a few more breaths, with streaks of blood oozing from the corners of his mouth. He immediately sat cross-legged and began to heal his injuries.

At this moment, Gao Yuan painstakingly picked up the iron chess pieces embedded in the beams and scattered on the ground, and placed them in front of Fan Bailing.

Then he took a small bowl, fetched some water from the broken vat, and handed it to Fan Bailing: "Sir, have some water!"

Fan Bailing's opinion of Gao Yuan rose even higher: "his ability to seize opportunities."

He smiled faintly and said, "Kid, why are you picking it up?"

Gao Yuan rubbed his nose and said, "Sir, you just used a chess piece to repel the enemy. I saw that it was sparking as it was embedded in the pillar. I figured it wasn't an ordinary chess piece. It was heavier than a bronze ingot. There aren't many of them, so I'll try to retrieve as many as I can."

"That's interesting." Fan Bailing coughed and chuckled at Gao Yuan's meticulous calculations.

"Thank you so much for saving my life, sir!" These words came from the bottom of his heart; otherwise, he would have really been dead.

He imitated the manner of people in the martial arts world and bowed to Fan Bailing with clasped hands.

But he was young and his movements were clumsy, so his fist salute looked rather awkward.

"Haha, good lad."

Fan Bailing laughed again, thinking that if it were an ordinary boy, he would have been scared out of his wits by the danger just now.

This child not only remembered to return the chess pieces to their rightful owner, but also showed gratitude and restraint.

Although he was a beggar, he possessed a remarkable wit that surpassed that of many children who had received private tutoring or elementary education, which stirred a sense of appreciation for his talent.

"Young man, I find you quite clever. And given your humble origins as a beggar, do you have any family?"

"Sir, I am all alone, with no relatives left in the world."

"In that case, would you be willing to become my disciple...?"

Halfway through his sentence, Fan Bailing suddenly realized that all eight of them had inherited their skills from their master, but they had been expelled from the sect for more than ten years. Although they still cherished their master's teachings, their status was awkward.

Under such circumstances, how could one dare to pass on knowledge without the master's permission?

Once he understood this, his idea of ​​taking on apprentices was largely dispelled.

"Why!"

"I am a nobody, barely surviving in this world. I was just begging for my life, but you saved me, sir. If you don't mind, I would like to become your servant to repay your great kindness."

Gao Yuan wasn't stupid; how could he not see through Fan Bailing's thoughts? He even guessed that the reason for his hesitation might be related to the old man Congbian expelling him from his sect.

Since the normal way of learning doesn't work, we have to find another way.

Being a servant, helping with chess and odd jobs, surely won't break your sect's rules.

Fan Bailing was taken aback upon hearing this.

That's right. The servant isn't considered a disciple and doesn't teach martial arts, so he can't be considered to have broken the sect rules.

If one has exceptional talent, one can ask one's fourth brother for martial arts techniques from other schools to pass on to him.

Having figured things out, Fan Bailing suppressed his smile, a look of expectation appearing on his lean face, but there was no hint of joking.

Fan Bailing is serious!

A moment later, he looked up and met Gao Yuan's clear and bright eyes.

What a clever little beggar! He could roughly guess what was on his mind from just a few words. How quick-witted he was!

"Very good, very good. Forget about the servant boy; I'll allow you to stay by my side and learn chess. Are you willing?"

I'd love to! I'd love to! Only a fool wouldn't.

Even if one cannot become Fan Bailing's apprentice, following him as a chess player is not bad; at least it solves the problem of food and clothing.

It should be noted that a servant is a servant, while learning chess is not. In ancient times, a boy who learned chess could be called a chess boy, and there is a fundamental difference between the two.

Gao Yuan's heart finally settled down; he had been deeply worried that Fan Bailing was inflexible...

The Eight Friends of Hangu Pass were not particularly skilled, but they had a wide circle of friends and considerable influence in the martial arts world. They did not cause any major trouble until the start of the Tianlong storyline, making them very safe.

Most importantly, they may not be that powerful, but they have a grandmaster with extremely high martial arts skills!

Instead of aimlessly seeking a master in the martial arts world, using them as a link could indirectly connect with the wise old man, and who knows, we might even be able to meet Wuyazi?

Even if all else fails, with the connections of the Eight Friends of Hangu Pass, it shouldn't be too difficult to get some second- or third-rate martial arts manuals, right?

No matter how you look at it, you're not losing out.

Having some protection in such a treacherous world is far better than most people in the martial arts world who have no connections, no background, and no resources.

After careful consideration, Gao Yuan immediately bowed and said, "Thank you, sir, for taking me in!"

Fan Bailing laughed heartily, his face full of admiration, and gladly accepted Gao Yuan's three thumps.

Thinking that once he returned to his master's school, his master would agree and formally accept the boy as his disciple.