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

Page 6

In his words, regardless of gender, they are all disciples of Mount Hua, and all fellow disciples are brothers and sisters. No one is anyone's subordinate. How could one expect senior and junior sisters to wash other people's clothes and act as servants?

Chapter 11: Innate Skill

The Huashan Sect is very poor.

Very poor.

Ning Zhongze and her female disciples were so poor that they had to sew their own clothes in addition to their daily training to save money.

Jiang Ning carried clothes and a basin and followed the mountain path to a stream. The stream was clear and the water was gurgling. You could see fish the size of your finger swimming in the stream.

This is where they usually wash their clothes.

When Jiang Ning arrived at the stream, he found a woman already squatting there washing clothes. The woman was wearing the clothes of a Huashan disciple.

When Jiang Ning arrived, the female disciple of Mount Hua still hadn't noticed anything. It wasn't until Jiang Ning deliberately made a noise, the sound of pebbles rolling, that she realized what was happening.

The female disciple from Mount Hua turned around, and a bright face came into view. She was about twenty years old, with arched eyebrows, large and bright eyes, fair skin with a rosy glow, and a few strands of hair falling from her forehead.

"Oh, Junior Brother Jiang Ning, what a coincidence."

A smile appeared on the woman's face, like spring flowers gradually blooming in March.

Jiang Ning bowed.

"Senior Sister Du."

The female disciple smiled and said, "There's no need to be so polite between fellow disciples. Just call me Lanyin."

"Respect for elders and juniors."

Jiang Ning replied calmly.

Du Lanyin smiled helplessly and said when she saw the basin in Jiang Ning's hand, "Do you want to wash your clothes? I'll help you wash them."

Jiang Ning smiled and shook his head.

"No need to trouble you, senior sister. I'll do it myself."

Du Lanyin said, "It's alright. Although Master said that clothes should be washed by oneself, this is my own request, and Master won't say anything. Besides, didn't Senior Brother's clothes also have Ling Shan and Senior Brother Da You washed? Master didn't say anything either."

Although Yue Buqun taught the Huashan disciples to be self-reliant and wash their own clothes, Linghu Chong never washed his own clothes. It was always Lu Dayou, his sycophant, and Yue Lingshan, his childhood sweetheart, who took care of it all. Lu Dayou and Yue Lingshan would even compete to wash his clothes.

Jiang Ning politely declined with a smile.

"Thank you for your kindness, senior sister."

After saying that, he went to the stream and began washing his clothes.

Du Lanyin felt helpless, but her eyes brightened a little more after seeing Jiang Ning's back.

“Junior Brother Jiang Ning, what you said before was really well said.”

He was referring to what Jiang Ning said to Yue Buqun and the other Huashan disciples at the training ground, as well as his words about upholding justice.

"Since the government cannot bring justice to the victims, then upholding justice is the meaning of the Huashan Sect's existence."

Du Lanyin murmured these words, a hint of sadness appearing in her bright eyes.

"..."

Jiang Ning paused in washing the clothes, but did not speak.

He knew about Du Lanyin's plight.

Du Lanyin's family was an ordinary family before. Her parents were farmers with a few acres of poor land. When she was nine years old, a powerful clan in the area began to buy up the land.

It was called an acquisition, but it was practically robbery. Her parents refused to sell the land, so they were dragged to their own mansion and beaten to death by the powerful clan. Their bodies were thrown out and said to have died of illness. Then, after the powerful clan bribed their way in, the few acres of land belonging to her family were incorporated into their property.

That powerful family had someone holding an official position in the government, and they were in cahoots with the local officials. Her family's experience was just one example of what happened to them.

And so she became a beggar, begging everywhere.

To conceal her identity as a woman, she made herself look dirty and smelly during the time she was begging. She begged in the county town during the day and hid in the deep mountains and forests at night. She lived like this for two years, and the hardships she endured are beyond words. Until she met Yue Buqun and Ning Zhongze, they took her back to Mount Hua.

After learning about her ordeal, Yue Buqun did not choose to help her take revenge. Instead, he let her stay on Mount Hua to practice martial arts, and then she could take revenge herself once she had mastered the skills.

Driven by the desire for revenge, Du Lanyin works very hard, but his talent is not great. He is only at the level of a third-rate master, and it will still be some time before he can take revenge.

Moreover, the Huashan Sect is now dominated by the Qi Sect. The Qi Sect's techniques are not only inferior but also slow, and they are the kind of people who achieve great things late in life. It takes at least one or two decades of accumulation to achieve any results.

Despite this, she stubbornly continued to practice her skills and did not ask Yue Buqun to help her take revenge. Although she knew that if she asked, Yue Buqun, as the Gentleman Sword and their master, would definitely take action, she did not do so.

"..."

Seemingly thinking of her own experience, Du Lanyin stopped talking and silently washed the clothes. Jiang Ning naturally wouldn't deliberately provoke her painful memories.

After a while.

Jiang Ning stood up.

"Sister, I'm leaving first."

His clothes were already clean, but Du Lanyin's were not yet finished washing.

Jiang Ning only had underwear to wash, while she had a lot of clothes to wash, so it took her longer than Jiang Ning to wash them.

Du Lanyin, who had been called, snapped out of her daze and, seeing Jiang Ning already standing up to leave, quickly said, "Okay, junior brother, take care."

Jiang Ning nodded and then left.

However, as he left, he thought of Du Lanyin's experience.

It seems that Senior Sister Du's original home was somewhere near Dengfeng.

Many disciples of Mount Hua have experienced similar situations to Du Lanyin. They practice their skills very hard, but their talent is not that great.

With these thoughts in mind, Jiang Ning returned to the mountain to dry the cleaned clothes, just as a rosy glow appeared on the horizon.

late at night.

Jiang Ning returned to his house and lay on his bed, quietly looking at the roof. Outside the window, he heard the chirping of insects and the rustling of leaves.

Jiang Ning was originally thinking about how to strengthen the sect's foundation, but what Yue Buqun said in the back hall today opened his mind.

Judging from what Yue Buqun said, the martial arts world hundreds of years ago seemed to be the era of The Legend of the Condor Heroes. In that case, the world actually included all of Jin Yong's martial arts novels.

From Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils to The Legend of the Condor Heroes, The Return of the Condor Heroes, and The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber, those eras have all passed. Now is the era of The Smiling, Proud Wanderer.

The Smiling, Proud Wanderer is set in an era when most of the legendary martial arts techniques have been lost.

Since this world is a sequel to the martial arts novels mentioned above, why should Jiang Ning be bound by the sword techniques of the Huashan Sect? He could easily seek out those lost divine skills to serve as the foundation of his sect.

There are too many lost martial arts techniques from the novel *Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils* to the present day, such as the Nine Yin Manual, the Nine Yang Divine Skill, the Six Meridians Divine Sword, and the Northern Darkness Divine Skill. These are far superior and stronger than the sword techniques in the cave on the Cliff of Contemplation of the Huashan Sect.

If Jiang Ning could find even one of the divine skills, his Huashan Sect could rise again. Why would Yue Buqun bother to fight for the flawed Evil-Repelling Sword Manual?

However, although Jiang Ning had the idea of ​​searching for the divine skill, he had no clue how.

These divine skills have all been lost, and finding them would be like searching for a needle in a haystack. The earlier the divine skills are, the harder they are to find.

Over the past few hundred years, many martial arts practitioners have surely been searching for the whereabouts of these divine skill manuals, but no one has ever been heard of finding them. Jiang Ning doesn't believe that he can be so lucky as to find them easily just by going out. That would definitely take a lot of time, and he might not even be able to find them in his entire life.

Jiang Ning stared at the rooftop, his brows furrowed, his eyes glazed over, his thoughts drifting into the distance.

After a while.

Jiang Ning's eyes narrowed, and he sat up in bed, his lips murmuring three words to himself.

"Innate Skill".

Chapter 12: I am from the Huashan Sect, the orthodox lineage of Xuanmen, and the legitimate successor of Taoism!

Innate Skill.

Its status goes without saying.

The most treasured skill of the Quanzhen School, the highest level of Taoist practice, and the martial art that made Wang Chongyang surpass all others.

Although the Zixia Divine Skill of Mount Hua is the most treasured skill of the Mount Hua Sect, there is a world of difference between these two treasures.

The Huashan School is a branch of the Quanzhen School, and also its last branch; it is no exaggeration to call it the orthodox school.

As the orthodox lineage of the Xuanmen and the last branch of the Quanzhen Sect, if Jiang Ning could retrieve the supreme divine skill of the Xuanmen, the Innate Skill, it would be a great boost to Mount Hua.

At that time, would Yue Buqun still be afraid that the current Huashan Sect would disgrace the orthodox identity of the Xuanmen? He would probably say to everyone he meets that Huashan has been the orthodox sect of Xuanmen and the orthodox lineage of Taoism since ancient times.

Who has an opinion?

Wu-Tang?

Although Wudang is also a Taoist sect and currently has a strong influence, what does it have to do with our Quanzhen Sect? At most, it's just that the two sects are different. Moreover, our Quanzhen Sect was founded earlier than Wudang. In the end, isn't Wudang also a branch of Taoism? It's just that you have a large influence and strong strength, which is why you have become the face of Taoism. But our Huashan is the true orthodox sect of Xuanmen.

What? You're saying that the Quanzhen Sect later surrendered to the Yuan Dynasty, accepted its bestowal of titles, and became its lackeys?

What does this have to do with my Huashan Sect?

After the death of its founder Wang Chongyang, the Quanzhen School split into several branches. The branch that surrendered to the Yuan Dynasty was Qiu Chuji's branch, not my branch, Hao Datong's branch. Why should they be blamed on my Huashan School?

Moreover, my Quanzhen Sect founder Wang Chongyang once led troops to resist the Jin dynasty, which is a source of pride for the Han people. Furthermore, my Huashan Sect, along with the other five of the six major sects, also drove out the Tartars during the Yuan dynasty.

Our Huashan Sect has rendered meritorious service and shed blood for the sons of Han!

Right now, Wudang is powerful, and Huashan can't compare. You have the biggest fist, so you're the boss. I'll tolerate you for now.

But now that my Xuanmen's supreme divine skill, the Innate Skill, has returned to Mount Hua, it is because a true man born between heaven and earth cannot remain subservient to others for long.

When that time comes, the position of the leader of Taoism will change.

Master Chongxu?

Please step back a bit, you're blocking my face.

From now on, I, Yue Buqun, will be the vanguard of Taoism and the great general of Mount Hua!

Our Huashan Sect has a long history and profound heritage, and is a legitimate sect of Xuanmen and a true orthodox Taoist school!

reasonable.

Very reasonable.

The moment Jiang Ning thought of the Quanzhen Sect's supreme martial art, the Innate Skill, his thoughts were immediately set.

Compared to other divine skills that have disappeared and are like searching for a needle in a haystack, Jiang Ning felt that finding his own sect's divine skill, the Innate Skill, was more reliable.

Although the Quanzhen Sect has declined and the whereabouts of the Innate Skill are unknown, Jiang Ning knows of a place where the Innate Skill might still be found.

Zhongnan Mountain.

Tomb of the Living Dead.

That place was the headquarters of the Ancient Tomb Sect, but before that, the ancient tomb belonged to Wang Chongyang. However, due to some love-hate entanglements between Wang Chongyang and Lin Chaoying, the founder of the Ancient Tomb Sect, he moved away from the Tomb of the Living Dead and established the Quanzhen Sect next to it, giving the ancient tomb to Lin Chaoying.

The Tomb of the Living Dead was once Wang Chongyang's residence, and there may be traces of the Innate Skill there.

Later, Jiang Ning can head to Zhongnan Mountain to search for those tombs of the dead.

Jiang Ning didn't care whether there were any descendants of the Ancient Tomb Sect in that ancient tomb.

Over the course of hundreds of years of history, many sects have risen and fallen, and many sects from the time of The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber have disappeared by now, including those large sects.

If even these large sects are like this, let alone the Ancient Tomb Sect, which has always stayed in the ancient tomb.

The Ancient Tomb Sect last appeared as the woman in yellow during the late Yuan Dynasty. After that, there was no trace of the Ancient Tomb Sect, and it is possible that the Ancient Tomb Sect has disappeared.

Of course, even though the Ancient Tomb Sect is still in that ancient tomb, Jiang Ning is not afraid.

He was going to retrieve the lost martial arts techniques of his own sect, not to steal the martial arts techniques of the Ancient Tomb Sect. Why shouldn't they give them to him?

Besides, even this ancient tomb of your Ancient Tomb Sect used to belong to our Quanzhen Sect. You occupied my home and seized my things without giving them back to me.

That doesn't make sense.

Jiang Ning has this right, so he has nothing to fear no matter where he goes in the world.

I'm in the right, so what am I afraid of?

Of course, if the Ancient Tomb Sect really still existed, Jiang Ning would never go directly to them to demand it. Unlike the declining Huashan Sect, their martial arts are still intact and complete. If Jiang Ning were to go there with a clear conscience, he would probably be slapped back by them.

However, it is more likely that the Ancient Tomb Sect no longer exists.