Wudang Mountain and Hsu Fengnian were fated to be, and it was Hsu Fengnian's blessed land. This was already recognized by Beiliang. It was said that Hsu Fengnian, the new Prince Liang, was able to become the world's number one, thanks to the hard work of the two headmasters when he was practicing on the mountain. That was why he was able to make rapid progress in the realm of martial arts. Nowadays, the Elephant Cleansing Pool on the mountainside of Wudang Mountain had become the holy land of neo martial arts. The stone house behind the waterfall was crowded with martial artists from all over the world who came to meditate and face the wall every day, just to touch the immortal aura of the invincible man in the world. Every now and then, there would be people fighting for a place. This disturbed several young Taoist priests who were in charge of cleaning the Elephant Cleansing Pool. They often complained to their master that it was delaying their practice and desperately begged for a change. Later, the headmaster, Li Yufu, let his disciple, Yu Fu, take over the responsibility. However, although Wudang Mountain opened the Elephant Cleansing Pool to the public, the small thatched cottage and the small vegetable garden not far from the pool were always hidden under the instructions of Beiliang Palace. No outsiders were allowed to come near. The little Taoist priest, Yu Fu, would occasionally go to the thatched cottage to play. The originally abandoned vegetable garden also saw green again.
After separating from the Yan family, Hsu Fengnian followed Li Yufu to the Elephant Cleansing Pool. When Hsu Fengnian saw a large group of people bustling out of their tents and going to the pool to wash up with cotton towels on their shoulders, he did not know whether to laugh or cry. He turned to Li Yufu and asked, "Is it like this all year round?"
Li Yufu nodded and smiled, "Yes, these martial artists generally do not make trouble. They take care of themselves. Every day, except for going to the square to practice martial arts in the morning and evening, they practice here. Wudang Mountain can't drive them away. It was unknown who had spread the news that Youngest Martial Uncle had cut the waterfall with his wooden sword. Over the past half a year, more than 100 broken wooden swords had been fished out of the pool. Later on, there was another saying that the reason Wangye's divine skill was so great was because he found a martial art secret manual at the bottom of the lake. Therefore, even though these people were not landlubbers when they went up the mountain, now each and every one of them was very familiar with the water. However, they did not find the secret manual, but they did find a lot of pebbles as bright and clean as jade from the bottom of the lake. Scattered all over the place, there were at least several hundred of them. Later on, after some discussion, they found a craftsman at the foot of the mountain who polished a set of top-notch chess pieces and presented it to Wudang Mountain. Although the gift was not heavy, but the affection was heavy.
Hsu Fengnian was speechless. The Jianghu he was familiar with was like this. The lower the level of the market, the more pitiful and lovable it was. He found a gap and squatted by the elephant pool. Beside him were two Jianghu men who were still wearing old unlined clothes despite the cold of spring. Hsu Fengnian knew that this was not the realm of being unaffected by the cold and heat. They were just pretending to be strong. In Jianghu, it was important to not lose to others. In the winter, if you wore a mink coat to keep warm, then you had to grit your teeth and wear unlined clothes. Even more ruthless, they would simply bare their arms. This was the same way as the literary world. In the midsummer, there were many madmen who wore fur coats and sang loudly in order to fish for fame. Hsu Fengnian squatted down and picked up a handful of cold water to wash his face. The burly man on his left glanced at him and was surprised that a young man who looked like a scholar had come to join in the fun. He asked in the jargon, "Newcomer? Is there a mountain? "
Hsu Fengnian nodded. Mountain? Qing Liang Mountain should count as a mountain, right? Hsu Fengnian asked with a smile, "There are so many people squeezed here. Not to mention eating and sleeping, even farting and taking a dump isn't satisfying. May I ask senior, is there really someone breaking through here? "
That fellow thought deeply. He probably felt that this kid was quite smart. He lowered his voice and said mysteriously, "How could there not be? Two days ago, there was a brother who broke through the threshold of the Third Rank Realm in one night. It was a rather sloppy method, but after breaking through, his sword flowed like flowers and water couldn't get through. Before that, there was an old senior from Lingzhou who came here to comprehend the Dao. He stayed in the Third Rank Realm for more than 20 years. In the end, he just sat here for three months and broke through. I heard that after that senior became a Master, he was in high spirits. On a full moon night, he let out a long roar. His voice was so loud that even a few miles away from the foot of the mountain could hear it. For a full hour, it was like thunder. Don't you think that's weird? "
Hsu Fengnian held back his laughter and nodded seriously, "Us normal people can't even make a pot of tea's worth of time, let alone a full hour. Moreover, we'll definitely be mute for a month. For this senior expert to be able to roar for an hour, he definitely has a lot of internal strength. He's definitely in the Master Realm."
The swordsman on the right secretly shuddered as he washed his face with cold water. He rolled his eyes and said, "Little brother, don't listen to little kitten Kong's nonsense. What clear and long howl? What half an hour? Those are all nonsense. Who would be bored enough to shout for half an hour? Besides, isn't that old man afraid of disturbing the rest of the Wudang immortals? I, Xu Shiying, don't respect any Martial Path Master. I only respect the Taoists on this mountain. They are really skilled. My grandfather's grandfather personally saw Old Ancestor Huang. My grandfather also received help from Old Sect Leader Wang. When Sect Leader Wang split the river with a finger, my grandfather was watching from the side of the river. Now that Sect Leader Li is also an expert, just looking at his fist, I have to give him a thumbs up. "
The man whose real name was Kong Dahu but who was ridiculed as Kitty Kong turned his head and looked at his brother who gave him a thumbs up. He laughed, "Forget it, Xu Shiying. You're always bragging about your relationship with the King of Beiliang. Other than the two words Xu and Xu being homophones, the two of you are like heaven and earth, not even half a copper coin!"
Xu Shiying fiercely threw the cotton towel on his shoulder and glared, "My grandfather was one of the first old soldiers to follow the Great General to Beiliang. My grandfather still has the armor and the Eight Dipper Bow passed down by my grandfather at home …"
Kong Dahu laughed out loud and said, "If your grandfather is really a foreigner like the Great General, then why did you say that your grandfather's grandfather had seen the founder of Wudang Sect, Huang Manshan? Did you not prepare your boast properly?"
Xu Shiying felt guilty for a moment and then became angry out of humiliation. He said, "Anyway, my grandfather was born in the second generation of the Liaodong Old Barracks. Before the imperial court used the era name Yong Hui, he had followed the Great General to the north and south. My grandfather could shoot with the Eight Dipper Bow on foot and hit eight out of ten. He could shoot with the Six Dipper Bow on foot and hit seven out of ten. My grandfather said that even the Great General praised his archery back then. He said that when he went to Beiliang, he would let the Beimang barbarians know the strength of the Liaodong warriors."
Kong Dahu sneered and said, "I've heard that other people say that Divine Archers can hit 100% of the time, or they can shoot a willow leaf from a hundred paces away. Your Grandpa Xu Shiying can only hit 70% of the time, how could he be praised by the General? Xu Shiying, oh Xu Shiying, are you not afraid of choking yourself to death with your bragging? "
Xu Fengnian immediately had a whole new level of respect for Xu Shiying, because in the early days of the imperial court of Li Yang, there was a martial arts examination called "The Law of Testing and Equestrian Archery". According to the law, Xu Shiying's grandfather's archery skills were indeed excellent. It was precisely because Xu Shiying didn't mention anything about shooting with a hundred shots, that it was more realistic.
Hsu Fengnian asked, "Brother Xu, why didn't you enlist in the army?"
Xu Shiying sighed and said sadly, "When my father was young, he wanted to study and pass the imperial examinations. My grandfather didn't like it and said that studying was useless. My father couldn't persuade my grandfather, so he could only enlist in the border army and become a small official in the Xianli Ranch. In the end, I don't know how, but he angered a big shot above him. The big shot had an even bigger backer. I think it was that Huaihua Great General Zhong Hongwu. When he came back, he was half dead. My grandfather was a person who cared about his reputation. Even when he died, he didn't say anything. He just wanted me, his grandson, to study. Unfortunately, I'm not cut out for studying. I only want to practice martial arts so that I can accumulate some military merits like my grandfather and get an extra set of armor for the family to pass down as a family heirloom. "
At this point, Xu Shiying grinned and said, "I also have an older brother who joined the army at the border of Youzhou. When he returned home during the Spring Festival last year, I heard him say that he would soon become an official crossbowman. My brother followed my father's example and was very good at studying and practicing martial arts. "
Hsu Fengnian asked curiously, "Your father was wronged at the border. Why did he let your brother enlist in the army? Besides, the culture in Beiliang is gradually growing. Studying can also give one a good future. Besides, the northern barbarians are coming. It's not safe to be a soldier. "
Xu Shiying, who always gave off a sloppy feeling, said sincerely for the first time, "I don't know what my brother was thinking. At first, he really didn't want to be a soldier, but after a few years, he didn't want to study at home. Luckily, there was a young lady in his hometown who missed him. She's almost become an old maid. But last year, my brother promised his future sister-in-law that as long as he became the most difficult crossbowman in Beiliang's 300,000 strong border army, he would marry her grandly the next time he returned home. As for my father, when he returned home from the border, he only knew how to drink. After my brother joined the army, he drank the most. But in the past two years, he drank less and didn't say anything crazy. Especially after the Spring Festival, he even quit drinking. Last time, when he and my brother went to visit my grandfather's grave together, when my father toasted … "
Xu Shiying didn't continue speaking. He lowered his head and washed his face fiercely.
Although Kong Dahu and Xu Shiying usually teased each other, their friendship was actually quite good. The Beiliang martial artists who came to the Elephant Cleansing Pool to bask in the glory were divided into different groups. Small characters like them who didn't have any family background couldn't even squeeze into the areas with good feng shui near the pool, let alone meditating and facing the wall in the stone house behind the waterfall. Some of the disciples of sects and schools formed groups, each with their eyes on the top of their heads. Not only did they feast on fish and meat every day, there were also many young female heroes who stuck close to them and messed around in their tents every night. Every morning when they woke up, their faces were glowing. People like Kong Dahu and Xu Shiying could only watch enviously from afar. Those who were more daring would go and eavesdrop. Of course, the premise was that they weren't afraid of being beaten black and blue by the young heroes of the righteous sects.
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