The Villain's Counterattack

Chapter 328: Tianlong Temple Monks Discuss Murong

But inside the Tianlong Temple, Emperor Baoding Duan Zhengming sat at the bottom, with four old monks lined up in a row in front of him, and another old monk sitting with his back to him, listening to him tell the whole story.

The four old monks were Benyin, Benguan, Bencan and Benxiang, and the one standing behind them was their uncle, Zen Master Kurong. These six people were the real controllers of the Tianlong Temple's Sea-Suppressing Divine Needle.

After listening to the story of Baoding Emperor Duan Zhengming, the four old monks looked at each other in bewilderment. They knew very well how skilled the Duan brothers were in martial arts. They were not weak among the top masters and were only slightly inferior to them. It was hard to believe that Gusu Murong Fu was only about twenty years old, and they had no chance of winning even if they joined forces.

Abbot Ben Yin chanted a Buddhist chant and said in a deep voice, "Donor Murong spoke of the three Duan Clan techniques, highly praising the Six Yang Melting Snow Technique and praising the One Yang Finger more. He expressed admiration for the Six Meridians Divine Sword but didn't pay much attention. Judging from his conversation with the Prince of Zhennan, he's a compassionate person. The Six Yang Melting Snow Technique isn't exactly a truly world-shattering skill, but it is one of the Dali Duan Clan's unique skills, and it shouldn't be passed on easily."

At this point, he continued, "That young donor, Murong, has come here to seek merit, but he hasn't crossed our bottom line. He's also pointed out that his cousin's bloodline is from the Duan family of Dali, but for the sake of the overall situation, they can't be publicly recognized, and can only be a nameless and unrecognizable princess of the Dali Kingdom. If this method of compensation is used, it's not a bad idea, but having someone come to our door to demand it is not a good thing after all."

Emperor Baoding Duan Zhengming stated that he had already brought Tianlong Temple to the forefront, and that Murong Fu would come to visit him early tomorrow morning. He explained that there would be a martial arts competition, and that the Gusu Murong family also had a powerful heritage, and the highest martial arts was the Dou Zhuan Xing Yi martial arts skill of "returning the favor as you would have done to them", which was no less famous than the Six Meridians Divine Sword.

The second is the Canghe Finger Technique, which transforms the powerful internal force into invisible energy. By extending the index finger, the opponent is tapped in the air, which is not inferior to the Yi Yang Finger. Its flexibility is even better than that of the Yi Yang Finger. However, the Canghe Finger Technique is only a killing technique, and does not have the healing effect of the Yi Yang Finger that can turn bones into flesh and revive the dead.

Since Murong Fu specifically challenged the One Finger Zen and Six Meridians Divine Sword, tomorrow was sure to be a feast of finger techniques. Even before the fight began, it was clear that Tianlong Temple would be victorious. Murong Fu himself knew his family's inherited finger techniques were inferior to those of the Dali Duan Clan. However, techniques are finite, while people are mortal. Murong Fu, with his extraordinary talent, might be able to overcome his superiors and win a prize.

However, the old monks did not take the young man Murong Fu seriously. Although they had some concerns when facing the magical skill of Dou Zhuan Xing Yi, they were not afraid at all when it came to comparing finger techniques.

It can even be said that they were eager to have Murong Fu return to Tianlong Temple. Being able to use Nan Murong, a rising star in the Central Plains martial arts world, to make a name for himself with the One Finger Zen and the Six Meridians Divine Sword was a situation that was almost impossible to fail. How could they not like it?

Several people asked Emperor Baoding Duan Zhengming for his opinion on the matter. After a moment's hesitation, the Emperor said, "Although this boy comes from a martial arts family, he received a Confucian education and studied various schools of thought. However, his character is quite distinct between gratitude and resentment. Several years ago, Gusu College was challenged by several academies. He led the students in building a welcoming pavilion outside the academy gates, inflicting a crushing defeat on the invaders. He then took the initiative to attack all the academies."

Upon hearing this, the old monks couldn't help but look at each other. Isn't this desire for revenge a bit too strong?

As if he could read the monks' thoughts, Emperor Baoding shook his head slightly and said, "At that time, Gusu Academy had just been established. Its reputation was not well-known, but it was quite large. Furthermore, it housed other schools of thought besides Confucianism, making it a target of public criticism. He had no choice but to fight. Although he later took the initiative and targeted those academies, he still left room for maneuver. He even allowed those with a more favorable attitude to win even if they were defeated with honor, and even had some wins and losses."

At this point, Emperor Baoding smiled and said, "The so-called mutual victory and defeat is simply the result of Master Murong sending the exam questions in advance, allowing the teachers and students to work together to prepare. If it were a true competition based on ability, not only the students, but even the teacher might not be able to win."

"This is his way of avenging a grudge," Emperor Baoding continued. "As for repaying a favor, this boy refuses to suffer any loss. If you try to profit from him, he'll inevitably end up taking advantage of you. But if you treat him sincerely and do him a favor, he won't be willing to accept it for nothing and will return it several times, even ten times."

"Most of the martial arts masters and talented individuals who sincerely surrendered to him possessed some special abilities. When they offered their abilities, regardless of whether they were already in the collection of the Gusu Murong family, they would receive guidance or even gifts in return. Someone even offered him a pair of broken hands, and he wouldn't say anything, but would accept them with a smile, and might even secretly bestow the full set upon them."

"He had little connection with the Horse King God Zhong Wanchou. It was just that when he came to Dali and passed through Wanjie Valley, Zhong Wanchou and his wife treated him warmly and exchanged medical skills with him. They then let him give the title of miracle doctor for treating malaria to this rough man, and even accompanied him to face the love rival of my royal brother." When Emperor Baoding said this, he had to talk about his brother's romantic affairs and his two illegitimate daughters that were currently known.

When the old monks heard that Duan Zhengchun not only had an illegitimate daughter, the eldest daughter of Taihu Mantuo Villa, but also cheated on the Horse God Zhong Wanchou and left him with a daughter, they thought it was no wonder that Zhong Wanchou beat the Prince of Zhennan as soon as he saw him. Although he was the one who got beaten in the end, his attitude was very obvious.

"This young donor Murong is quite clever." An imperial edict put an end to many of Duan Zhengchun's little thoughts. This was obviously not a method that the rough man, the Horse King God Zhong Wanchou, could think of. It was also a bit unfair to the little girl named Zhong Ling.

Emperor Baoding smiled helplessly and said, "As long as the Princess of Zhennan is still here, the outside beauties will not be allowed to enter the Zhennan Palace. The Baiyi people are a helper and cannot be lost. For the sake of the stability and peace of Dali Kingdom, we can only let them down. What's more..."

What's more, the two outside were only princesses, while the Zhennan Palace still had a prince. His mother was the Zhennan Princess. If anything went wrong and she took him to the Baiyi tribe, they would have nowhere to cry. The Zhennan Prince was gifted and kind, but there was only one flaw: he was too kind, a little pedantic, and even unwilling to practice martial arts.

That young master Murong had also enlightened him before, and it seemed he had been touched to some extent. If he could change as a result, that would be wonderful. Emperor Baoding suddenly remembered that the Murong family was behind Gusu College, and that young master Murong was a prominent figure among them. Perhaps he could...

He whispered his thoughts, and the old monks all praised his words. Abbot Benyin said, "Although it may seem like he's asking for favors, the Dharma is not taught lightly. Given his character, he should understand."

At this moment, Zen Master Ku Rong, who had his back to them, said, "Tomorrow we will add another test to see if his words and actions are consistent. If so, we will recognize him as our prince."

Everyone looked at each other in confusion when they heard this, but Zen Master Kurong stopped talking halfway through his words, leaving everyone confused for a moment.

Elsewhere, in the Dali Imperial Palace, Murong Fu retrieved his writing brush, ink, paper, and inkstone from his bookcase and began to organize his recent gains. As the saying goes, there are masters among the common people, and even among the common people, there are masters. Many of these inconspicuous methods may not be without profound principles, but they themselves may not fully understand them.

With experience in several worlds, Murong Fu has extraordinary knowledge and has discovered many high-value treasures that others have not noticed. To the locals, these treasures may just be useless weeds and pig food.

"Miscellaneous Discussions on Common Diseases in Dali Kingdom" was written in a few large characters in one stroke. At midnight, Murong Fu bound it into a book, then turned off the lamp and fell into a sound sleep. He did not regard the Dali Palace as a dangerous den at all. However, Zhong Wanchou did not sleep all night, and when he woke up in the morning, he had two faint dark circles under his eyes.