Chapter 44

During the Northern Song Dynasty, there was an extraordinary person named Huang Shang! Originally a civil official and the top scholar, he gained insight into the principles of Daoist martial arts while proofreading the "Daozang" and created a martial arts masterpiece that would later shock the world—the Nine Yin Manual!

This extraordinary book was originally placed in a secret location, but for some unknown reason, it suddenly appeared in the martial world, leading to a chase by many people.

The appearance of a divine martial arts manual in the martial world naturally caused countless heroes to vie for it. How many people in the world could truly see through fame and fortune and let go of such a supreme martial art?

However, although the Nine Yin Manual had a great reputation, no one really knew how powerful the martial arts it contained were. The reason was that no one who obtained the manual could keep it for long. As soon as someone got it, they would be hunted down and killed, and the manual would fall into someone else's hands. This cycle continued, and those who had obtained the manual never truly possessed supreme martial arts.

In a town at the foot of Mount Hua, Bai Xiaosheng sat quietly in a tavern, listening to the conversations around him.

When he stepped through the waterfall and pushed open the stone door, he was delighted, but in his joy, he forgot that he had no control over time and space. As soon as he stepped through the stone door, it closed automatically, and when he stepped out again, he found himself in a new world.

This was not the world of novels that Bai Xiaosheng was familiar with, but a transitional world, a world where the Nine Yin Manual was already famous in the martial world, and a world where the Five Greats had not yet established their reputations.

And the time was just before the Hua Mountain Sword Conference!

"Hey, have you heard? The real person Wang Chongyang of the Quanzhen Sect on Mount Zhongnan has obtained the Nine Yin Manual. A few days ago, many people attacked Mount Zhongnan, but they were all defeated by Wang Chongyang."

"Is Wang Chongyang that powerful?"

"Of course! Wang Chongyang is a formidable person. In the martial world today, few can match him."

"Do you think Wang Chongyang has practiced the martial arts in the Nine Yin Manual, which is why he is so powerful?"

"I don't know, but I have a more explosive piece of news..."

"What is it?"

The man chuckled, holding an empty wine bowl. The people around him cursed silently but quickly poured him more wine. After drinking, the man said directly, "Wang Chongyang has sent a message through the martial people. In five days, he will discuss the ownership of the Nine Yin Manual at the summit of Mount Hua."

"Is that true?"

The people around him were skeptical, but the man said confidently, "Of course it's true. The Quanzhen Sect has already arrived at Mount Hua, and so many martial people in this town are here for this reason."

This news sparked continuous discussion in the tavern, and Bai Xiaosheng listened with interest. He had already heard this news when he arrived, which was why he was at Mount Hua.

The Hua Mountain Sword Conference was a major event. Since Bai Xiaosheng was here, how could he not witness it?

"Murder!" Suddenly, a scream echoed in the tavern, followed by a scattering crowd. However, more people remained, their faces unchanged. The martial people in the tavern all stood up, some bare-handed, some with weapons, and headed towards the scene. Bai Xiaosheng put down his wine bowl, grabbed the long sword on the table, and quickly followed.

Reaching the crowd, Bai Xiaosheng moved his feet and pushed aside two people, squeezing in. Inside, a man lay on the ground, his mouth full of blood, his chest caved in, and he was already dead. In front of him, a man clenched his fists, his face full of killing intent, clearly the one who had taken the man's life.

"It's Wang Dong, the master of the Tai Shan Divine Fist! I didn't expect him to be here!"

The people around immediately started discussing the standing man. He was very famous in the Tai Shan area, considered the top expert, while the man on the ground was rarely mentioned, as he was already dead.

Listening to the discussions and the polite exchanges around him, Bai Xiaosheng gained some insight. Most of the martial people here had recognizable names, and their skills were varied, but their martial arts were not particularly high. This was common in the martial world; it was easy to gain a name, but hard to improve one's martial arts, as not everyone had good masters or powerful manuals.

This was probably why so many people were crazily chasing after divine martial arts!

"Look at the Quanzhen Sect people..." A voice caught Bai Xiaosheng's attention. He looked up and saw two young men in Daoist robes walking down the street. These two were the young Qiu Chuji and Wang Chuyi.

Watching their steps, Bai Xiaosheng shook his head slightly. Their skills were not high enough!

To be fair, Qiu Chuji and Wang Chuyi were a bit older than Bai Xiaosheng, but in terms of martial arts, they were not as good as him. They were all late converts to the Quanzhen Sect, and even Wang Chongyang learned martial arts when he was older. However, Wang Chongyang was exceptionally talented and had innate abilities, which made him the best in the world.

Compared to him, his seven disciples were not as good. Even with the powerful manuals left by Wang Chongyang, they were only top-notch experts in the martial world, on par with the Five Greats.

Watching the two, Bai Xiaosheng suddenly thought of Zhou Botong. At this time, Zhou Botong's martial arts were not high, but he was still a top expert. If Bai Xiaosheng wanted to test his martial arts, he could try Zhou Botong.

With this thought, Bai Xiaosheng followed Qiu Chuji and Wang Chuyi at a leisurely pace, finding the Quanzhen Sect's residence in the town. He glanced at it, then walked around a corner, and slipped into a nearby house. He did not disturb the residents but stood in a hidden place, watching the Quanzhen Sect's residence from a distance.

Zhou Botong, known as the Old Playful Child, was a playful person and would not stay in the courtyard. Soon, Bai Xiaosheng saw a person sneak out of the courtyard.

He knew this person must be Zhou Botong.

With a quick step, Bai Xiaosheng jumped over the wall and followed Zhou Botong from a distance. After a while, he quickened his pace, kicked a stone, and sent it flying. In front, Zhou Botong felt the wind behind him, turned, and faced Bai Xiaosheng.

Bai Xiaosheng smiled and suddenly retreated, moving as if the wind, quickly heading out of the town. Zhou Botong found it interesting and quickly followed.

The two, one in front and one behind, soon left the town and arrived at a secluded place at the foot of Mount Hua.

Bai Xiaosheng stopped, planted his sword in the ground, and drew it back, pointing it at Zhou Botong. "Do you like to fight?"

"Like, like, Zhou Botong naturally likes it. Kid, did you bring me here just to fight?" Zhou Botong chuckled, jumping around like a monkey.

Bai Xiaosheng nodded. "I've heard that the Quanzhen Sect is the orthodox Daoist sect. I want to see it!"

"Good, good! Let's have a match!" Zhou Botong laughed, kicked a leaf, and sent it flying at Bai Xiaosheng. Bai Xiaosheng's sword drew a circle, the wind from the sword carried the leaf, and he moved straight, thrusting forward.

"Take this!"

Zhou Botong raised his fist to meet the sword. The sound of the fist hitting the sword echoed, and the sword left marks on the ground.

They exchanged blows, and in a moment, they had fought over thirty to forty moves.

"Zhou Botong, if your fist technique is only this much, I won't hold back!" As he spoke, Bai Xiaosheng changed his sword technique, making it suddenly strange. The originally straight thrust became unpredictable, making Zhou Botong retreat.

After thirty to forty moves, Bai Xiaosheng had roughly understood Zhou Botong's techniques. From the techniques, Zhou Botong had not yet reached the level of creating his own martial arts, and his skills were inferior to Bai Xiaosheng's.

Now, with full effort, Bai Xiaosheng's sword technique dominated, and he had the upper hand.

"Damn, damn..." Zhou Botong, being pushed back, shouted in anger. His techniques changed multiple times, from fist to palm to finger, using all the Quanzhen martial arts. However, without the necessary level, his techniques, no matter how many changes, still had flaws, and Zhou Botong could not turn the tide.

Suddenly, during the fight, Bai Xiaosheng's sword flashed, and he retreated two steps, standing a few meters away from Zhou Botong. He was slightly surprised and said, "Hey, I, the Old Playful Child, haven't lost yet. Why did you stop?"

Bai Xiaosheng smiled, swung his sword, and sheathed it. "I've tested the sword technique. Now, I want to test the internal power!" He then stepped forward and punched. His speed was fast, his punch like thunder, startling Zhou Botong. Zhou Botong quickly raised his palm to meet the punch, stepping back and using the force from the ground and his waist.

With a "slap," their hands met, and the force sent Zhou Botong leaning back. He leaped up, flipped in the air, and landed a meter away, while Bai Xiaosheng took three steps back to steady himself.

'In terms of internal power, we are about the same!'

"Haha... Your punch is quite strong, but I, Zhou Botong, am not bad either. Take my punch!" This time, Zhou Botong pressed forward, and Bai Xiaosheng raised his palm to meet him. They exchanged blows again, over thirty moves.

This time, they exchanged hard punches, testing their internal power, and they were evenly matched.

After two matches, Bai Xiaosheng knew Zhou Botong's level and had a rough estimate of his own. He was slightly better than Zhou Botong, but compared to the Five Greats, he was a step behind. However, in a real fight, the Five Greats would not be able to defeat him in a hundred moves.

At a certain level, unless the internal power difference was significant, it came down to techniques. Bai Xiaosheng's techniques were well-mixed, and he did not believe the Five Greats had reached the level of no techniques. At most, they were also well-mixed, and their advantage was in internal power. In a fight, it would come down to internal power, and Bai Xiaosheng would not easily lose.

Stepping out of the fight, Bai Xiaosheng pulled his sword from the ground, bowed to Zhou Botong, and said, "Zhou Botong, let's end it here today. At this time tomorrow, we will meet here again. What do you say?"

"Good, good... Having someone to fight with, I, Zhou Botong, am more than happy!" Zhou Botong laughed, and Bai Xiaosheng also smiled. They looked at each other, and almost simultaneously, they ran towards the town.

This time, they were also competing in lightness.

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