Time moves back a little, afternoon, Qingmu Outer Hamlet.

Chen Jiu, the second-in-command of Chen Family Canal, entered the room and greeted the person waiting for him with cupped hands.

"Luan Black Skull, long time no see. What brings you here in person?"

In the distance, a middle-aged man wearing a fur coat even in the scorching heat, his hair disheveled, came into view. He held a string of nearly black prayer beads, carved with skull-like patterns. He stood up from the shadows. Tall, even a head taller than Chen Jiu, he was none other than Luan Sanlang, the "Black Skull King" who shook the Lüliang Mountains.

"If I don't come myself, who else can negotiate for me?" His voice was hoarse. Though tall, his speech carried a sinister air, a lingering effect of damaged meridians from early cultivation. In the present Lüliang Mountains, he was considered one of the most skilled martial artists. As for whether he could surpass Blood Bodhisattva - well, the two had never fought.

Chen Jiu smiled. "Aren't you afraid that the one surnamed Lu will directly turn hostile and wipe you out?"

"I, Luan Sanlang, have roamed the Lüliang Mountains for so many years, and I've never been afraid of negotiations. No matter how fierce Blood Bodhisattva is, she wouldn't dare to openly defy the world's conscience, would she?"

"That's true. Black Skull King has enough courage. So, everyone has reached a consensus on the purpose of this trip up the mountain?"

"What's the situation in this stronghold?"

"It's troublesome. I heard that powerful people have come from outside the mountains."

"Heh, people from outside the mountains..."

"It's the really powerful kind..."

Confined to a corner, the people of the Lüliang Mountains generally looked down on outsiders. But at the same time, they were actually afraid of them at heart. They plundered ordinary merchants from nearby areas on every raid. However, every time they raided or when the Wu Dynasty's border troops invaded, the Lüliang Mountains were burned to the ground, causing untold suffering. Luan Sanlang and Chen Zhenhai, no matter how arrogant they usually were, could only hide in the mountains and endure when faced with these regular armies, the official forces.

Therefore, when speaking of outsiders, Luan Sanlang's tone was extremely complex. The two talked for a while, and when they mentioned the Fang Yiyang brothers, they heard that voice.

The majestic sound of the mountain greeting instantly enveloped the entire Qingmu Stronghold, and the atmosphere in the entire Outer Hamlet changed. Countless commotions and whispers arose. Then came the Blood Bodhisattva's voice. Luan Sanlang led a group of followers and Chen Jiu out of the room, and they heard someone beside them whispering, "This power is unfathomable..."

"I didn't expect Blood Bodhisattva to be..."

"Who is Lin Zongwu..."

"The leader of the Great Bright Sect." Luan Sanlang stood by the railing, looking towards the group of people at the end of his gaze. "I've heard of this person..."

"I know too..." Chen Jiu whispered, "This person fought his way from the south to the north, and it is said that his martial arts have reached a perfect state, never suffering a defeat. He is a true grandmaster. Sha Wanshi, who claimed to have fought all over the Central Plains in Qingmu Stronghold a few days ago, is not even comparable to this person... He's also coming to Lüliang..."

At this time, almost everyone was astonished that such a grandmaster would come to Lüliang. Luan Sanlang whispered, "He's going to challenge Blood Bodhisattva..." The expression on his face was hard to tell whether it was joy or sorrow.

The most solid foundation of a martial artist's skill comes from internal energy. The Lüliang Mountains have always been turbulent, so ferocity in actual combat accounts for a large part in addition to internal energy, but if the internal energy is too poor, no amount of ferocity will help. The power contained in the voice that resounded through Qingmu Stronghold just now was far above Luan Sanlang's, leaving him only with admiration and fear. Although Blood Bodhisattva's response was quieter, it still came down from the top of the mountain, showing her extremely high internal energy cultivation, which was already an admirable height for a woman.

He originally thought that his chances of winning against Blood Bodhisattva were fifty-fifty, but who knew that she had reached this level. And knowing that she had reached this level, the grandmaster who had truly fought all over the world was obviously coming to trouble Blood Bodhisattva. Suddenly, the matter was elevated to this level in the martial arts world, turning into a great battle between two grandmasters in Lüliang. For a time, Luan Sanlang really didn't know what to think.

After a while, he thought of something and asked, "You said earlier, who was the person who came into the mountain from outside? What's his name?"

"I only heard about it today. There's another one on the mountain named Ning Yi. Outsiders call him Heart Demon..."

"Heart Demon Ning Yi, I seem to have heard that name before."

Luan Sanlang thought for a while, and a companion came over and said, "Could it be the one who broke Liangshan?"

"The one who fought Song Jiang's brothers at Liangshan Marsh?" Luan Sanlang frowned. "I heard that although Timely Rain Song Jiang's martial arts were not high, his subordinates were all top-notch heroes. This Heart Demon stormed the Hall of Righteousness, defeated more than a dozen experts with his own strength, and finally took the opportunity to defeat Liangshan?"

Chen Jiu whispered, "He has a court background. He's the Wu Dynasty emperor's most trusted lackey, specializing in dealing with martial artists. Not only Liangshan, but I heard that when Holy Duke raised an army in the south and was suppressed, this Heart Demon also played a big role. He may have fought with Holy Duke Fang La and Cloud Dragon Nine Manifestations Fang Qifo... It's hard to say who won or lost."

Luan Sanlang was silent for a long time, then took a breath. "Damn it, things have become so chaotic... I was wrong. I should have called all the brothers to come and see how things develop..."

As he said this, they saw the Great Bright Sect's team walking into the gate of Qingmu Stronghold. The leader, Lin Zongwu, the Great Bright Sect's leader, looked like Maitreya, his steps majestic, his sleeves fluttering. He truly had the demeanor of the strongest grandmaster from outside the mountains. In the blink of an eye, Qingmu Stronghold, which had been their neighbor in Lüliang for so long, seemed to have become unfathomable, with a atmosphere of a dragon's pool and a tiger's den...

****************

Lin Zongwu's sudden appearance caused various reactions among the people in Qingmu Stronghold.

The Great Bright Sect leader's reputation has spread very quickly in the north in the past year. One reason is that his martial arts are indeed very strong, and the second is that he is very kind and sincere to most of the people who lost to him. Later, many people were willing to make him famous. In the past year or so, many martial arts veterans who had actually fought with him believed that this new grandmaster who appeared in the martial arts world had unfathomable skills and could almost be called the number one in the world, unparalleled and unmatched. He had the ability to fight against Zhou Tong, and even defeat Zhou Tong.

Unfortunately, after resigning from the Imperial Boxing Gym, Zhou Tong has been running around, rarely seen. And he no longer cared about the false reputation of such martial arts duels. In the past six months, Zhou Tong has been visiting one village after another in the north, forcing people to release food for disaster relief. Lin Zongwu was looking for him in the north, but he never met him from beginning to end. Frankly speaking, this was still very regrettable.

Some even said that Lin Zongwu was just putting on a show, and he didn't dare to go where Zhou Tong really was - of course, no one would think that Zhou Tong would really be afraid of the battle - it's hard to say what Lin Zongwu's mood would be when these words reached his ears.

Of course, only a very small number of people knew that the Great Bright Sect could be allowed to pass by the court with one eye closed, unlike the Mo sect, which was suppressed. Its backer was Qi Yan, the head of the Qi family, one of the great Confucian scholars of the dynasty.

Everyone sent people to negotiate about the situation on Lüliang Mountain this time, but who knew that Cheng Yaojin would appear halfway, giving everyone a blow to the head and suffering a silent loss. There were two reasons why they suffered a loss. The first was that Ning Yi's status in the Prime Minister's Residence was indeed considerable, but if that was all, everyone could only do business properly and be equal to each other. Who knew that the Secret Investigation Department would announce that they had been operating in Qingmu Stronghold for two years - under this reason, and with Qingmu Stronghold's cooperation, everyone had nothing to say.

Xiao Cheng of the Wu Sheng Army strangely chose to take the money; On Dong Pang'er's side, Sha Wanshi had already left shamelessly when he was defeated. The envoy he sent also became dumb after accepting a bribe; He Shuyuan knew that things could not be done, and most of the other scattered merchants also chose to face reality. But the only thing that made them feel that things might change was the atmosphere down the mountain in the past few days. If the other mountain strongholds of Lüliang Mountain really came to demolish Qingmu Stronghold, they might be able to fish in troubled waters. Therefore, not many people left immediately, and that was why many people waited for this big show.

Dong Pang'er originally wanted Sha Wanshi to challenge Blood Bodhisattva, but Sha Wanshi's weight was obviously not enough. But it was different now. On one side was the Great Bright Sect leader, who was close to being the number one in the world, and on the other side, as the local tyrant, the notoriously fierce Blood Bodhisattva seemed to be skilled in martial arts. And with these two grandmasters, everyone naturally thought of the powerful third person: Heart Demon Ning Yi.

Suddenly, Qingmu Stronghold became a gathering place and arena for grandmasters. Where would the situation develop next? The three people with the highest status in the green forest, one representing the sect, one representing the bandit stronghold, and one representing the court, if they fought, what would it be like? Almost at the first moment of knowing, everyone began to look forward to it.

Among them, Lou Shuwan also began to look forward to the changes in the situation with joy...

The tense atmosphere began to envelop Qingmu Stronghold after those two sentences, and the air was contracting inward. Here, He Shuyuan, following behind Lin Zongwu, excitedly stepped onto the mountain, wanting to take the opportunity to have a game with the two people on the mountain. And above the mountainside, when finding Hong Ti, she was sitting on a large rock, leaning back slightly, pressing her hand on the ancient sword, and feeling the hunting mountain wind with her eyes closed. Ning Yi knew that this might be because the arrival of Lin Zongwu or the fighting spirit had stimulated some feelings in her heart, the kind of inspiration belonging to a martial arts grandmaster, which he did not understand.

"He will come to challenge you. I don't want you to accept his challenge. I will settle this person."

Hong Ti opened her eyes and glanced at him, revealing a smile. Although Ning Yi might not be ranked among the highest martial artists on the mountain, no one would doubt that he could settle Lin Zongwu, because they truly understood him.

"I know you can settle him." She smiled. "But the one he wants to challenge is me."

Ning Yi stood there looking at her. After a moment, he opened his mouth. "... The Great Bright Sect's backer is Qi Yan. The Qi family has a deal with the Prime Minister's Residence. For the time being, the Great Bright Sect and the Secret Investigation Department don't interfere with each other. I can try my best to stop this. Lin Zongwu came too quickly. He shouldn't have been invited by He Shuyuan. He may have simply wanted to fight when he came, but with He Shuyuan's encouragement, it will be difficult to say."

"Liheng, come here." Hong Ti looked at him and beckoned. Ning Yi walked over and took her hand. The two sat side by side on the rock. Hong Ti leaned on his shoulder. "There are some very direct rules in the Lüliang Mountains. You've also said before that I don't need to kill people everywhere, but it's okay to fight one or two matches every year. It's okay not to fight the others, but if I don't fight this one, I'll lose face. Isn't this when I should take action?"

The mountain wind blew over. Ning Yi looked down, then pulled Hong Ti's hand and put it in his arms. "The Secret Investigation Department has investigated a lot of people's information, especially Lin Echan's - um, he used to be called Lin Echan - his current skill is very high, very high, unfathomable. For a while, I once expected him to come to the capital to trouble me. The plan at the time was that within a range of one hundred and fifty to two hundred miles, as long as he appeared, no matter the reason, I would use all the power at my disposal to encircle and kill him. Because the Prime Minister's Residence and the Qi family reached an agreement, this plan was scrapped. He may... have truly become comparable to Zhou Tong."

"You're afraid I'll lose to him." Hong Ti smiled.

Ning Yi glanced at her, then reached out and picked her up. Hong Ti was tall, but she didn't seem heavy to Ning Yi. At this time, he held the woman in his arms. Hong Ti put her arms around his neck and curled up her legs.

"You have attachments now." Ning Yi whispered. "You're going to marry me. You have attachments, and I have attachments too. I don't want you to take risks."

"I understand." Hong Ti tightened her arms around him, her voice gentle. "But Liheng, look, what kind of place is Lüliang Mountain?"

"Hmm?"

"I survived here." She whispered. "Some people can't do things well when they have attachments, and some people do better when they have attachments. Liheng, it's hard to survive, but if you stay in a place like Lüliang Mountain for a long time, you'll understand that the more you want to live, the less you can be afraid. If you're afraid, you'll be less likely to survive. I told you before that you scholars are worth ten thousand enemies, and I can't do it. I can only be worth a hundred enemies. Even if I sometimes say that you are my teacher, I still like to be held by you like this, and I want to be by your side and do what I can do, and this is what I can do."

"When martial arts reach a certain level, they are either ruthless or affectionate. I am attached to you, and this is actually when I am the most powerful in martial arts. I am not afraid of the person who comes." She smiled and said softly, "Even if Zhou Tong comes, this time, I will defeat him for you to see."

Ning Yi was silent for a long time, doubting. "Don't lie to me..." Then he muttered in a low voice, "Don't think you can beat me, if you dare to lie to me... I'll make you kneel on the bed and beat you..." He felt happy just thinking about these words, but there was still a trace of worry in his heart that he couldn't erase.

Hong Ti's face turned slightly hot. She hugged his neck tightly, and after a moment, she whispered, "If I lie to you... then you can punish me as you please."

When she was shy like this, she didn't look much like a martial arts grandmaster. The two people who seemed to be the strongest on the mountain blew the mountain wind here for a while, and then got up and went down the mountain hand in hand.

"That's good! Let us go and kill them!"

……

Qingmu Stronghold, the setting sun gradually fell, and the wind rolled the clouds.

Down the mountain, the Lüliang bandits began to gather.

Countless eyes were cast towards this chaotic stage...