The Smiling, Proud Wanderer, becoming a disciple of Yue Buqun

Before even getting close to the Hall of Righteousness, they saw a group of Huashan and Hengshan disciples standing outside.

Master Dingyi and her disciples had not left yet.

"Junior Brother Jiang Ning."

A disciple's eyes lit up when he saw Jiang Ning, and he quickly stepped forward and said, "Master said that you can go straight in now that you're here."

Jiang Ning nodded: "Okay, senior brother."

As soon as I stepped inside, a voice rang out.

"I heard that Brother Yue is preparing to recruit disciples recently? And he even killed Tian Boguang? Congratulations! This lecherous villain has been a scourge to the people. Countless righteous people have tried to kill him but failed. I never expected that he would be killed by Brother Yue's outstanding disciple. This is truly an inspiring event."

Jiang Ning recognized the voice; it was the voice of Lu Bai from Hengshan City.

Hearing this, he quickened his pace and entered the hall. He found that in addition to Yue Buqun and Ning Zhongze sitting in the main seats, Master Dingyi and more than a dozen other people were sitting in the lower seats. Ding Mian, Lu Bai and Fei Bin from the Songshan Sect were all there. Among the other people, eight people were from the Hengshan Sect and the Taishan Sect based on their clothing. The remaining few people were not identified, but they seemed to be from the Sword Sect.

When Jiang Ning entered, Yue Buqun was smiling as he responded to Lu Bai's words.

"Thank you for your kind words, Brother Lu."

"Master, Mistress, Abbess Dingyi."

Jiang Ning's entrance attracted the attention of everyone in the hall, who all stopped talking and looked at him.

"Ah."

Yue Buqun remained calm and introduced Jiang Ning, "These three are senior uncles of the Songshan Sect. You met them in Hengshan City before. This is Lu Lianrong of the Hengshan Sect, and this is Yu Qingzi of the Taishan Sect."

Jiang Ning simply nodded in acknowledgment.

"Senior Brother Yue, you know why we've come. Your Qi Sect has occupied the Huashan Sect for so many years, shouldn't you give it up?"

A burly man spoke, his face sallow and filled with hostility.

Upon hearing this, Yue Buqun merely smiled faintly: "I am not worthy of the title 'Brother Feng.' We ceased to be fellow disciples after you voluntarily left the Huashan Sect. I return the title 'Brother Yue' verbatim."

"Fine, if you don't acknowledge me as your junior brother, then forget it."

Feng Buping looked fierce, but he didn't immediately start shouting for a fight.

“Originally, we had no grudges against each other and there was no need to hurt our relationship. It’s just that the Huashan Sect was once so powerful and famous in the martial arts world. Now, however, its members are few and its disciples are weak in martial arts, which has caused the Huashan Sect to lose its reputation. This is the responsibility of your poor leadership. We, the wandering Huashan disciples, can’t stand by and watch.”

Yue Buqun said indifferently, "The current state of my Huashan Sect seems to be none of your business, does it?"

"How can it not be unrelated?"

Upon hearing this, a thin, short Taoist priest immediately stepped forward.

“We were once disciples of the Huashan Sect, and grew up in Huashan. How can we sit idly by and watch you lead the Huashan Sect into the abyss?”

Yue Buqun's smile vanished as he looked at the short Taoist priest and said, "Brother Cheng, what do you mean by that? What do you mean by saying that I, Yue, have led the Huashan Sect into the abyss?"

Cheng Buyou sneered, "My Huashan Sect is famous for its swordsmanship, and it has always valued the sword more than the internal energy. However, you teach your disciples to value internal energy more than the sword, resulting in their inferior martial arts skills and bringing shame to the Huashan Sect. Isn't this going astray? Isn't this leading the Huashan Sect into the abyss?"

"This senior."

Hearing this, Jiang Ning, who hadn't said a word until now, finally spoke up.

"You are also a martial artist, how can you not even understand the principle that one's own body is the foundation? Swordsmanship is an external skill, while Qigong is an internal skill. Which school in the world today does not focus on Qi? Let's not talk about Shaolin and Wudang for now, but just take my Five Mountains Sword School. Hengshan swordsmanship uses stillness to control movement and hides needles in softness. It also follows the path of Qi. Can you say that the Hengshan School has put the cart before the horse?"

Even the nun Dingyi, who had been silent and frowning, nodded.

Actually, at this point, she was also a little confused, wondering where these people who claimed to be from the Huashan Sword Sect had come from.

After the sword qi dispute occurred in Huashan Sect back then, they announced that a plague had caused too many deaths. The other sects did not know the specific details. However, when Master Dingyi saw these people leading people from Songshan Sect, Taishan Sect, and Hengshan Sect to Huashan to demand an explanation, and the questions pointed directly to the Huashan Sect's hidden secrets from decades ago, she felt inexplicably uneasy.

Chapter 109: Debate

“I can’t control other sects, but don’t drag them into this. I’m not a disciple of the Hengshan Sect.”

Cheng Buyou gave a heavy, cold snort: "All I know is that I am a disciple of the Huashan Sect."

"Disciples of the Huashan Sect? I doubt it."

Upon hearing Cheng Buyou emphasize once again that he was a disciple of the Huashan Sect, Yue Buqun finally spoke again.

"Brother Cheng, your Sword Sect left Mount Hua after its defeat twenty-five years ago and is no longer a disciple of Mount Hua. What do you mean by this now?"

"What do you mean?"

Cong Buqi, who had remained silent until now, sneered, "Can't you see? We're not convinced!"

Upon hearing this, Yue Buqun remained silent. He glanced at Cheng Buyou, Feng Buping, and Cong Buqi, then at Ding Mian of the Songshan Sect, as well as the people from the Hengshan and Taishan Sects.

"So what do you want?"

Language can never truly persuade people; only fists can.

Cong Buqi didn't say anything more and turned to look at Ding Mian, Fei Bin, and the others.

Hearing them get to this point, Ding Mian knew it was his turn to speak.

The other sects were all bored during the ideological debate between Feng Buping and Jiang Ning.

In fact, they could have directly asked Yue Buqun to abdicate when they arrived, but the preliminary procedures had to be followed.

“Brother Yue, it is not in our Songshan Sect’s place to interfere in this matter, but Junior Brother Cong and the others came to our Songshan Sect to complain that you deliberately ostracized the Sword Sect and forced them to leave. How do you explain this, Brother Yue?”

Before Yue Buqun could even speak after hearing Ding Mian's words, Abbess Dingyi couldn't hold back any longer.

"Senior Brother Ding, you came to Mount Hua in such a menacing manner, demanding an explanation from Senior Brother Yue. What kind of explanation do you want? If Senior Brother Yue doesn't give you a satisfactory explanation, are you going to force him to abdicate in favor of these three people?"

"Just because these people say they're from the Huashan Sect doesn't mean they're all there is to it. They say they were forced out, so they were forced out? What kind of exclusion did they make? What kind of forced departure did they make?"

Even the nun Dingyi, who had remained silent until now, couldn't help but show a hint of anger on her face after hearing these words.

Regardless of what the Huashan Sect was like before, this is their family matter. The Songshan Sect directly interfered in the internal affairs of another sect and demanded an explanation from Yue Buqun without saying anything. Such domineering behavior even made Abbess Dingyi speak up.

Yue Buqun is a sect leader, how dare you insult him like this? Does your Songshan Sect still consider us, the Five Mountains Sword Sect, as allies?

Ever since witnessing the ruthless methods of the Songshan Sect in Hengshan City, Abbess Dingyi felt that the Songshan Sect did not treat their other allies, the Five Mountains Sword Sects, as human beings, and this feeling has only intensified now.

"You've misunderstood, nun."

Upon hearing Master Dingyi speak, Ding Mian's brows furrowed almost imperceptibly.

He didn't expect that the Hengshan Sect members were also at Mount Hua.

He stood up and said to Yue Buqun, "Alliance Leader Zuo wants Brother Yue to explain the specific reasons. If the Huashan Qi Sect had won the Sword Sect fairly and squarely back then, then this matter would not have happened."

"You want Yue to give a statement?"

Upon hearing this, even Yue Buqun, who usually had a very good temper, couldn't help but turn cold.

"How do you expect me to explain myself? A loss is a loss. You expect me to give you an explanation based solely on a few words from these people? What do you take me for? What do you take the Huashan Sect for?"

"I, Yue, have already stated that right and wrong are internal matters of my Huashan Sect. Even if these people are not satisfied, we can simply have another competition. For someone like Alliance Leader Zuo to demand an explanation from me, does he consider me his subordinate? Does he think the Five Mountains Sword Sect belongs to him alone?"

Yue Buqun's expression immediately turned cold, and he stopped being polite.

Chapter 110: Reopening the Sword Qi Competition

"That's what I meant!"

Upon hearing Yue Buqun's words, Feng Buping immediately spoke up.

He had long known that Zuo Lengchan's Five Mountains Flag alone would not be enough to make Yue Buqun relinquish his position as sect leader. His willingness to agree to Cong Buqi and the Songshan Sect's return to the sect was precisely for this moment.

Feng Buping had been living in seclusion for over twenty years, diligently practicing his skills, all for this day. He wanted to defeat Yue Buqun honorably and prove that the Sword Sect was indeed more powerful than the Qi Sect.

Zheng~

Feng Buping stepped forward, looking directly at Yue Buqun with an open and honest expression. He held his long sword upright and spoke in a booming voice.

"Feng Buping of the Huashan Sword Sect will experience the martial arts of the Qi Sect today."

Yue Buqun looked at him calmly without saying a word, one hand resting on the table, his index finger tapping the surface lightly, one tap after another.

The hall was silent except for the sound of Yue Buqun tapping on the table.

Feng Buping, who had been looking at Yue Buqun with great enthusiasm, gradually became serious.

The sound of Yue Buqun tapping the table rang out again and again, and he inexplicably felt a dull ache in his chest, as if the tapping had pierced his heart.

The others present also looked solemn, especially Ding Mian and Lu Bai from the Songshan Sect.

Master Dingyi looked at Yue Buqun with a surprised expression.

Although Yue Buqun did not exude any aura, everyone present felt a sense of pressure when his gaze swept over them.

Ding Mian, Lu Bai, and Fei Bin exchanged glances, all seeing seriousness in each other's eyes.

In the past, Yue Buqun kept a low profile and never really fought anyone. Most of the time, he would only make a move and then stop. They didn't know how powerful Yue Buqun really was. In order to ensure that nothing went wrong, Zuo Lengchan asked the three of them to come together. In case of any unexpected events, their many experts would be able to suppress Yue Buqun and his wife.

But at this moment they suddenly realized that Yue Buqun's strength might be even more terrifying than they had imagined.

Jiang Ning and Ning Zhongze exchanged a glance.

Yue Buqun has become even more unfathomable.

After a while.

"Ah."

Yue Buqun chuckled, placed one hand on the table, and stood up.

"In that case, let's have another sword qi competition."

As soon as Yue Buqun uttered those words, the oppressive atmosphere in the hall vanished instantly.

However, the oppressive feeling weighing on everyone's hearts became even heavier.

Especially Feng Buping.

His face looked extremely pale at this moment.

He originally thought that after decades of hard training, his strength was no less than Yue Buqun's, and with three top-notch experts on his side, his Sword Sect would definitely win this sword qi contest. But before he even made a move, his thoughts changed.

Before he even made a move, he knew he was no match for Yue Buqun.

"Wait a minute."

Just then, Ding Mian and his fellow disciples exchanged glances and spoke again, saying to Yue Buqun, "Brother Yue, what do you think about setting the rules for this sword qi competition as a best-of-three series?"

"Best of three?"

Yue Buqun frowned and remained silent, while Feng Buping looked at Ding Mian with surprise.

Ding Mian continued, “That’s right. Since your sect had a disagreement back then because of the difference between emphasizing swordsmanship and qi, which led to the sword qi dispute, I think it would be better to adopt a best-of-three format, letting Brother Feng, Brother Cheng, and Brother Cong fight against three masters from your sect. If your sect wins both battles, it will prove that your sect’s philosophy is correct, and by then Brother Feng and the others will be convinced.”

Ding Mian didn't know exactly how strong Yue Buqun was, but he knew that the Zixia Divine Skill was very powerful. If the Sword Qi Competition were to be reopened, Yue Buqun could very well take on three opponents at once, just like his master, defeating more than ten experts from the Sword Sect. In that case, their Songshan Sect's trip would be meaningless.

Upon hearing this, Feng Buping frowned slightly, somewhat displeased.

But in the end, he didn't say anything.

To be honest, he disliked these people from the Songshan Sect, but Cong Buqi brought them to him and Cheng Buyou. Under Cong Buqi's constant persuasion and his own long-held desire to return to the Huashan Sect, he finally agreed. However, he did not expect things to change like this. Yue Buqun's strength seemed to be more powerful than he had imagined.

Even so, Feng Buping was prepared to continue the competition. Even if he couldn't win in the end, dying at the hands of Yue Buqun would be a way of honoring his senior uncles and elder brothers of the Sword Sect.

I never expected Ding Mian to say such a thing, such despicable words.

Feng Buping wanted to refuse, but now that things had come to this, he couldn't refuse even if he wanted to.

"Aren't you going too far?!"

Upon hearing this, a hint of anger appeared on Master Dingyi's face.

Ding Mian's words were clearly meant to bully the Huashan Sect.

The three people on the other side were clearly top-tier experts. Although the Huashan Sect had four people of the same level, Jiang Ning and Linghu Chong were juniors and most likely couldn't defeat one of them. Therefore, they were guaranteed to win the match.

Although Ning Zhongze was already a renowned master, women are weak and therefore less powerful. Her opponents were all men, all top-tier masters. If a fight broke out, Ning Zhongze's chances of winning were slim. If Ning Zhongze lost, even if Yue Buqun turned the tide and crushed the last person, it would be of no use.

The Songshan Sect clearly intends to seize control of the Huashan Sect.

This behavior both shocked and angered Abbess Dingyi.

If the Songshan Sect dares to treat the Huashan Sect like this today, they will dare to treat the Hengshan Sect like this tomorrow.