Chapter 219: Dragon and Tiger Banquet
Chapter 219: Dragon and Tiger Banquet (Two in One)
The tense situation outside the Divine Guards' base was broken with the appearance of Gong Yangyu.
The deputy head of Fire Dragon Temple, Zhang Jing, turned around and left. Li Yuan was sharp-eyed and saw that the people of Fire Dragon Temple were retreating like a tide in the night. A quick glance showed that there were no less than three hundred people.
"Zhang Jing..."
Gong Yangyu watched coldly until the backs of the people from the Fire Dragon Temple were out of sight. Then he turned around and glanced at Li Yuan and Qiu Changying.
The two looked at each other and quickly followed.
"From what the Valley Master said, he has already returned? Is he also waiting for the Fire Dragon Temple to take action?"
Li Yuan muttered to himself.
After arriving at the barracks, he was sure that Gong Yangyu was fishing again!
The small room was packed with people. In addition to Long Sheng and Fang Baoluo, Elder Ku Yue and Qiu Zhengxiong were also present.
"Good guy!"
Li Yuan's eyelids twitched, and Qiu Changying seemed surprised as well, but they quickly reacted.
These old guys even hid it from her...
"Feng Yuanqing is dead?"
Before the two of them greeted each other, Qiu Zhengxiong had already asked.
"According to the secret agent, Feng Yuanqing was assassinated about an hour ago. The assassin attacked him twice. The first time, he cut off his left arm, and the second time, he killed him with a hammer and smashed his skull. He left calmly!"
Gong Yangyu sat at the top, with a somewhat subtle look on his face:
"That Feng Yuanqing is holding the Fire Dragon Sword. There are only a few people in the Zhelong and Dechang Prefectures who can kill him quickly."
"Han Chuijun?!"
Qiu Zhengxiong blurted out.
"..."
Fang Baoluo hadn't wanted to talk, but now he couldn't sit still:
"Elder Qiu, my master hasn't returned to the city yet!"
"No, he's back."
Elder Ku Yue added.
"Master is back?"
Li Yuan's heart moved slightly.
"Valley Master."
Elder Ku Yue looked at Gong Yang Yu and frowned: "But you sent Lao Han to do it?"
After all, the Fire Dragon Temple is related to the Dragon and Tiger Temple. Unless they take the initiative, other sects, including the Divine Weapon Valley, will not dare to take action against them easily.
"……no."
Gong Yangyu also frowned.
He had just returned in a hurry after learning from the secret agents that Zhenwu Hall and Huolong Temple intended to attack the Divine Guard Army. But even he did not want to kill Feng Yuanqing.
Over the hundreds of years of Fire Dragon Temple, at least twenty or thirty disciples have been sent to Dragon and Tiger Temple openly or secretly. Although he has never heard of any significant figures emerging from them, he really doesn't want to provoke them.
Otherwise, when he destroyed Qianjun Cave, he would have destroyed the Fire Dragon Temple as well.
"Old Han is acting on his own again?"
Elder Ku Yue didn't look very good: "Once Feng Yuanqing dies, Longhu Temple will definitely ask about it. This..."
“It’s a good thing.”
Gong Yangyu glanced at everyone:
"Once Feng Yuanqing dies, the Fire Dragon Temple will inevitably be shaken for a short period of time. After this period of time, it won't be a big deal if we take action again."
The Fire Dragon Temple's superior status in Dechang Prefecture is due to the fact that disciples from every generation have been worshipping in the Dragon and Tiger Temple. However, due to this reason, it has never been able to surpass the Qianjun Cave, let alone its Divine Weapon Valley.
"It's not Han Chuijun."
At this time, Qiu Zhengxiong came to his senses:
"If he takes action, the people from the Fire Dragon Temple will never have the chance to come to him."
Everyone in the room was talking and discussing.
Li Yuan found a seat and sat down, listening to everyone's discussion, and he began to understand something.
Gong Yangyu had no intention of fishing. In this turbulent time, he just wanted a smooth transition. He was not willing to go to war with the Fire Dragon Temple until the situation calmed down.
But after knowing that the Fire Dragon Temple intended to target them, they recalled all the true disciples and elders. If the Fire Dragon Temple really took action tonight, they would counterattack and kill them, and the Dragon and Tiger Temple would have no words to say.
“They are all old foxes.”
Li Yuan picked up the teacup and took a sip. The tea was a little bitter, but then it became sweet.
Inside the barracks, a group of elders and disciples were discussing the matter.
However, compared to Feng Yuanqing's death, they were more concerned about the assassin who assassinated Feng Yuanqing.
"I heard that the killer called himself Li Yuanba. This person..."
Long Sheng paused for a moment and looked at Gong Yangyu: "Valley Master, rumors in the martial arts world say that Li Yuanba is an alias for Senior Brother Shi. I wonder if that's true or not?"
As soon as Long Sheng opened his mouth, everyone in the room had different expressions.
Fang Baoluo and Li Yuan looked at each other, feeling quite awkward, while the others looked at Gong Yangyu.
"Shi Hong..."
Gong Yangyu's face twitched, and he felt a little heartache, but he didn't say much, just shook his head:
"Feng Yuanqing has mastered the art of meridian unblocking and has the Fire Dragon Sword in his hand. How can Shi Hong be so worthy as to assassinate him?"
"no?"
Everyone thought about it and felt that it made sense. Although Shi Hong was also able to open up the meridians, he was no match for Feng Yuanqing.
Elder Ku Yue and Qiu Zhengxiong remained silent and drank their tea quietly.
"Rumors in the martial arts world cannot be trusted."
Gong Yangyu picked up the teacup and took a sip. After putting it down, his expression returned to normal:
"Who Li Yuanba is has nothing to do with us, and why he wants to kill Feng Yuanqing has nothing to do with us either..."
After a slight pause, he looked at Li Yuan:
"The most important thing now is the Dragon and Tiger Banquet."
The feast of dragon and tiger.
Feeling the different looks from the crowd, Li Yuan also put down his teacup: "Disciple should do his best."
"There is no need to covet the inheritance of Zen Master Fulong."
At this time, Qiu Zhengxiong spoke.
He glanced at Li Yuan and felt complicated. This kid was actually the true disciple of Li Chen Hall.
He was quite dissatisfied at first, but gradually changed his mind. However, he did not expect that this boy would have such an opportunity.
That's Zen Master Fulong...
"The disciple understands."
Li Yuan lowered his head slightly, his mind wandering.
Old Man Qiu's internal energy is stronger than Feng Yuanqing's, but if a real fight came, if it weren't for the flying eagle, he might not be able to defeat the latter.
In other words, it couldn't withstand my sneak attack...
“Although I don’t know how you caught the eye of Zen Master Fu Long, this is your good fortune. You don’t have to think about Zen Master Fu Long’s legacy, but taking this opportunity, if you can join Longhu Temple, it will also be a great thing for the sect.”
Qiu Zhengxiong's expression eased slightly:
"Regarding this matter, if you need anything, the sect should also help you..."
Divine weapon?
Li Yuan thought about it, but didn't ask for anything too much. He just stood up and thanked him:
"Thank you, Elder, Valley Master. I will do my best."
"Ah."
Qiu Zhengxiong was very satisfied with Li Yuan's attitude. Although Han Chuijun was a number one bastard, he did not make a mistake in accepting him as a disciple.
"Yesterday, this old man got the information from Yunshu Tower about the Dragon and Tiger Banquet."
Gong Yangyu took out a letter from his arms, shook it casually, and it floated to the table next to Li Yuan.
"Thank you, Master."
Li Yuan hurriedly thanked him.
Yun Shulou is the largest information dealer in Huizhou, but all the information about Longhu Temple is not sold to the outside world. He went around several times but didn't get any information.
I'm afraid this letter was not easy to come by.
"The initiator of this Dragon and Tiger Banquet is Yu Xuanji, an inner disciple of the Dragon and Tiger Temple. She was born in the Yu family of the Great Dragon Gate. Her master, Gong Jiuchuan, is said to be a top master who has achieved success in marrow refining."
Gong Yangyu glanced at everyone and said in a deep voice, this was the information obtained from Yunshu Tower.
"Marrow refining!"
Everyone in the room was shocked.
In the entire Zhelong Mansion, there are only a handful of people who are experts in refining the internal organs, let alone refining the marrow?
The last time such a master appeared in Shenbing Valley was more than three hundred years ago.
Qiu Zhengxiong glanced at Gong Yangyu and said nothing.
"Yu Xuanji initiated the Dragon and Tiger Banquet. Initially, she only sent out one invitation, which was to Li Yuan. But some unexpected events happened a few days ago, and she suddenly sent out several more invitations."
Gong Yangyu spoke to everyone.
Li Yuan casually opened the letter. The content of the letter was almost the same as what Gong Yangyu said, but it was more detailed, such as who the invitations were sent to.
Those names all looked familiar; they were all famous geniuses from the eight prefectures of Huizhou, and there were quite a few of them. Yue Chongtian's name was prominently on the list.
In addition, he also saw Shi Hong's name...
"Eighty thousand miles?"
Li Yuan turned to the second page and couldn't help but raise his eyebrows. He actually saw Ba Wanli's name. Was the latter also among the invited guests?
"According to Yun Shu Lou, the incident came from the Dragon and Tiger Temple. Among the second batch of invitations released, there was 80,000 miles."
"Eighty thousand miles?!"
Everyone in the room looked at each other. Fang Baoluo's expression changed, but he looked at Qiu Changying. The second true disciple of Shenbing Valley had a blank expression on his face.
“Perhaps there will be a third batch of invitations?”
Long Sheng's mind suddenly became active. He had no feelings about the Tianyun Xuanbing. To him, it was just a legendary thing.
But Zen Master Fulong's legacy is different...
"It's hard to say whether there will be a third round of invitations, but as of now, there are already sixteen people attending the banquet, all of whom are famous young... well, geniuses in various prefectures of Huizhou."
Thinking of Ba Wanli, Gong Yangyu swallowed the word "young man". Although he has not lost his virginity yet, Ba Wanli has not been considered a young man thirty years ago.
"Only sixteen?"
Long Sheng smiled bitterly in his heart and immediately gave up the idea.
"The Fire Dragon Temple has never had the intention to compete with us, and is willing to be under the Qianjun Cave. There was no reaction before and after the destruction of the Qianjun Cave. Now they are suddenly targeting us. I am afraid it is related to the Dragon-Tiger Banquet?"
Qiu Zhengxiong suddenly spoke.
"It's possible, but..."
Gong Yangyu shook his head in his heart.
Before the second batch of invitations were distributed, Huolong Temple had already contacted other forces in Dechang Prefecture.
……
The house was brightly lit, and a headless body was lying on the ground. Zhang Jing's brows were furrowed, and his face looked quite ugly.
"Bones and muscles are broken, head bursts..."
"The assassin used a long-handled heavy hammer. There was no internal energy left. I don't know what kind of martial arts he used."
"It doesn't look like a military hammer..."
Several old men gathered around the body to examine it, each telling about the clues they had found.
"Chongtian."
Zhang Jing turned around and looked at Yue Chongtian, whose face was filled with grief: "Are you sure that the man's weapon was damaged and he killed the Sect Leader with his bare hands?"
Looking at the corpse that was like a pile of mud, Zhang Jing felt shocked and angry, but also found it unbelievable.
Although the 'Red Fire Dragon Body' of the Fire Dragon Temple is not as good as the 'Thousand Forging Horizontal Training Body' of the Qianjun Cave, it is also a superior horizontal training. Feng Yuanqing had already practiced this horizontal training to perfection.
His body is as strong as steel and cannot be hurt by swords or knives.
A pair of fleshy palms...
"Every word the disciple said is true."
Yue Chongtian wiped away the tears from his eyes and said solemnly: "The killer's hammer was not taken away in time and is still in the courtyard. Many fellow disciples saw it..."
"Yes, the assassin was slashed by the master's weapon after a few moves..."
Someone spoke up and confirmed what Yue Chongtian said.
"What kind of martial arts is this?"
Zhang Jing murmured.
A punch smashed the head into the chest, shattering all the bones and muscles in the body. If it was a heavy hammer, it would be fine, but if the fist could be so fierce... "Could it be a unique boxing technique?"
Zhang Jing frowned.
More than ten masters in the room took turns examining the body, but in the end they all shook their heads. They did not detect any Qigong residue on the body, nor did they see any other signs of martial arts.
"Either this person's martial arts skills are far superior to the master's, or this assassin possesses a unique fist and palm martial arts similar to the 'Pure Gang Fist', 'Universal Fist', or 'Shocking Wave Palm', and has already mastered it to perfection."
Several elders from the Fire Dragon Temple looked at each other and gave their conclusion.
"If this assassin's martial arts skills were higher than the master's, he would not have done this assassination."
Zhang Jing rejected the first guess: "As for the unique martial arts, the only unique martial arts in Huizhou is the 'Great Dragon Fist' of Huailong Palace, but..."
There was silence in the house.
After a long time, Yue Chongtian finally spoke:
"Master Zhang, that Gong Yangyu..."
"That old guy hid his whereabouts and returned to the city. I'm afraid he wants to ambush us."
Zhang Jing's chest heaved.
"Did someone from those families leak the news?"
Yue Chongtian's face darkened.
"This matter needs to be thoroughly investigated! But now that Gong Yangyu has shown up, it will be extremely difficult to kill Li Yuan."
Zhang exclaimed in amazement.
Everyone in the room was filled with indignation, but no one said anything.
Many of them witnessed the destruction of Qianjun Cave with their own eyes, and Gong Yangyu's martial arts were far beyond what they could handle.
"Then, Master Chu..."
"Shut up!"
Zhang Jing interrupted angrily and glanced coldly at everyone in the room:
"There are some things I won't say a second time. If you dare to leak that information, don't blame me for being ruthless and disregarding the friendship between fellow disciples!"
Everyone in the room was silent, and the old man who was speaking turned pale.
"Let's break up!"
Zhang exclaimed in amazement, waved his hand and asked everyone to disperse, leaving only Yue Chongtian.
"Mr. Zhang."
Yue Chongtian closed the doors and windows tightly, but there was still some sadness on his face.
"Whoever dares to kill the leader must die!"
Zhang Jing's face was as gloomy as water: "If the master dies, Elder Gong will definitely come. By then, this Divine Weapon Valley..."
Gong Jiuchuan.
Yue Chongtian's heart trembled.
"As for Li Yuan, if you can't kill him, just let him go for now. The Dragon and Tiger Feast is the most important thing."
After taking a look at his brother's body, Zhang Jing took a deep breath and looked at Yue Zhongtian:
"I will do my best to help you at this Dragon and Tiger Banquet. I also hope that you will not forget the kindness of master and disciple, and the kindness of the sect!"
Yue Chongtian bowed to the ground:
"Disciple will never forget!"
……
……
The next day, the sky was clear.
It was early in the morning when Li Yuan just returned to the room. He took a short nap and when he woke up, he was full of energy. The minor injury he had suffered yesterday had healed completely.
"Dragon and Tiger Banquet."
Li Yuan sat cross-legged on the bed and took out the letter from his arms.
The content of the letter was very detailed, but it only briefly mentioned Yu Xuanji and Gong Jiuchuan. The truly detailed part was about the Dragon and Tiger Banquet.
The origin of the Dragon and Tiger Banquet can be traced back to the recruitment of disciples by the Dragon and Tiger Temple.
As the Taoist sect of Hengshan, the gate of Longhu Temple is always open, but there are many ways to recruit disciples.
Hengshan Dao City has jurisdiction over counties and prefectures. Anyone under the age of sixteen with excellent aptitude can pay a sum of money and enter directly to become an outer disciple.
If one's family is poor, one can enter as a menial disciple, and then, after passing the sect's selection, one can enter the inner sect.
The second is the sect disciples, who can recommend relatives who are over sixteen years old but have good aptitude and understanding to join the sect.
Third, there are the Dragon and Tiger armies.
The Dragon and Tiger Army has more than 100,000 soldiers, half of whom are from the Dragon and Tiger Temple, and the other half are from all corners of the world.
The threshold for joining the Dragon and Tiger Army is relatively low, but those who join the Dragon and Tiger Temple in this way must have made meritorious contributions before they can enter the ranks, and they cannot learn secret martial arts.
Fourth, it is the Dragon and Tiger Banquet.
Normally, only the elders from the inner and outer sects of the Dragon and Tiger Temple are qualified to host the Dragon and Tiger Banquet, and they can invite martial artists who do not meet the first two conditions to join the sect.
Because the threshold of the Dragon and Tiger Banquet is extremely high, anyone who can pass it can enter the inner door.
This secret letter contains detailed records of the Dragon and Tiger Banquets, mainly the three Dragon and Tiger Banquets that have been held in Huizhou over the past twenty years.
"Roots, understanding, fighting."
Li Yuan muttered to himself.
The way that sects around the world recruit disciples is pretty much the same, it’s just that the threshold is different, and Longhu Temple is no exception.
The three Dragon-Tiger Banquets recorded in the letter were quite similar, however, in all of these three banquets, martial arts competition was the main focus, with aptitude for attacking a target being secondary to one’s understanding.
"Yu Xuanji is only an inner sect disciple. Logically, she is not qualified to host the Dragon-Tiger Banquet. Initially, she must have received the support of that Zen Master Fu Long..."
Li Yuan pondered.
He was the only one who received the first batch of invitations, which was consistent with Wang Wenyuan's instructions, but for the second batch...
"From inside the Longhu Temple?"
Li Yuan narrowed his eyes, wrote down the names of the second group of invited people, then stood up, practiced a few sets of military postures, and went to find Wang Peiyao.
"these people……"
Wang Peiyao took the half letter handed to her by Li Yuan and looked at the fifteen names on it:
"Eighth Senior Brother, Young Valley Master, there are two people from Zhelong Mansion, Yue Chongtian and Yan Xiong. This one is from Dechang Mansion. Yan Xiong is the most important disciple of the Iron Sword Sect in the contemporary era. It is said that he has the root bone of a little dragon and has a very good comprehension. He changed his shape a few years ago."
Wang Peiyao was very happy to collect intelligence, and knew all the more than ten people mentioned in the letter by heart. Not only could he tell of their sect's martial arts, but he also remembered their deeds.
"They are all from the eight prefectures of Huizhou."
Wang Peiyao spoke with a firm tone.
"so?"
Li Yuan nodded slightly. He originally thought that there might be people from Longhu Temple among these people. Now it seems that there might be, but there is no record of them in the intelligence of Yunshu Tower?
He thought about it and took the letter back.
Liu Wang Peiyao had breakfast, and then Li Yuan continued to practice martial arts. After changing his form twenty-seven times, his physical strength began to increase again.
"call!"
In the small courtyard, Li Yuanxu pushed his fist.
This is a military posture, but it is more than just a military posture, as it is mixed with other martial arts he has learned, including the forms he has changed.
Changing form, as the name suggests, is a method of imitating the beasts of heaven and earth, changing one's own bones and enhancing the limits of the human body.
There is no upper limit to the forms a warrior can change, and the more forms a warrior changes, the deeper his talent will be, which will directly affect the subsequent stages of opening the meridians, refining the internal organs, and even refining the marrow.
Therefore, even a great master in the marrow refining realm would still practice lower-level martial arts in order to change into more forms.
The essence of Yixing lies in Yi.
During the process of changing shape, the limits of the human body will be raised to an incredible level, and the human body will gradually change until it becomes inhuman.
This process starts with changing one's form and ends with the refining of the marrow.
"Inhuman..."
Li Yuanxu pushed the boxing stance that covered all forms, doing two things at the same time, and was also thinking about changing forms and even the cultivation of the subsequent realms.
After a long time, he let out a sigh of relief.
"Master!"
Li Yuan stopped and bowed.
Under the old tree, there stood a man, his body covered in golden light. That was the light of a divine weapon. The man was none other than Han Chuijun, who had not been seen for many days.
Lao Han's martial arts skills were excellent, but the light from that magical weapon was too dazzling, and he noticed it as soon as it arrived.
"The dragon body and spiritual form, very good, the dragon pill was not wasted!"
Under the old tree, Han Chuijun stroked his long beard. His expression could not be seen under the mask, but one could tell that he was very satisfied.
"Thank you for the pill, Master."
Li Yuan was very grateful.
A red dragon fish could easily cost hundreds of taels of gold, not to mention the red dragon fish king which was tens of meters in size.
One Dragon Transformation Pill is equivalent to a mine.
"If you really want to thank me, please bring me some Da Huan Dan after you go to Longhu Temple!"
Han Chuijun blew away the fallen leaves under the tree with his sleeves and sat on a stone bench.
Li Yuan glanced at Pan Yi and Yu Xiang under the eaves and sent them to cook.
"Your understanding is really surprising to me..."
Under the old tree, Han Chuijun looked at Li Yuan carefully and was actually somewhat shocked.
He had stayed in the realm of shape-changing for sixty or seventy years and was extremely familiar with it. From Li Yuan's posture and boxing stance, one could tell how many shapes he had changed.
How many months has it been?
"My humble achievements are far inferior to yours."
Li Yuan is very humble, but also speaks from the heart.
When they met again after changing their forms, he could still feel great shock and oppression from Han Chuijun, far stronger than Feng Yuanqing.
Even Gong Yangyu did not give him such strong pressure.
This is definitely not just because of that set of Red Flame Dragon Armor...
"How old are you?"
Han Chuijun glanced at him.
The master and the disciple exchanged a few pleasantries, mainly mentioning each other's recent situation.
There was still blood on Han Chuijun's body. In fact, after leaving Shenbing Mountain, he had fought dozens of bloody battles. Most of the time, he was the one killing people, and a small part was him being chased.
"I got into a few fights, killed a few people, and got hurt a bit."
Old Han said it lightly, but Li Yuan knew very well that in recent months, Old Han had shouldered most of the pursuit of Shenbing Valley by those groups.
"What about you?"
Han Chuijun asked. As soon as he entered the yard, he noticed that the boy's aura had changed. It seemed that he had fought with others many times. His boxing stance had become more skillful and full of murderous intent.
"I got into a fight, killed a guy, and got hurt a little bit."
Li Yuan followed suit and did not hide anything.
Old Han is very capable and tight-lipped, so at least Gong Yangyu doesn't know that Li Yuanba is himself.
"Okay, very good."
Looking at the boy in front of him, Han Chuijun felt quite satisfied. He seemed to see his own shadow in him.
'This child is very similar to me!'
The master and the disciple exchanged greetings. After a while, Pan Yi and Yu Xiang came over with wine and food. After putting them down, they closed the gate in tacit understanding and left.
"You have managed well and have not lost your virginity..."
Li Yuan was startled by Han Chuijun's sudden praise. He looked up and felt that there was something else behind Han's words.
"Eighty thousand miles, that kid."
Under the mask, Han Chuijun's face twitched. Thinking of Ba Wanli, he couldn't help but pinch his fingers.
"Big Brother? What's wrong with him?"
Li Yuan was a little curious.
"He...is obsessed with women."
"What?"
Li Yuan was a little confused.
With Ba Wanli's physique, how could he still be obsessed with women?
"Don't mention him!"
Han Chuijun did not mention it and asked:
"How confident are you at this Dragon and Tiger Banquet? Do you need me to help you weed?"
(End of this chapter)