Chapter 449 - 221: Spectating the Martial Arts Conference

"Thank you for saving me!"

The moment Mr. Zeng the Elder was freed inside the cave, his body seemed to inflate like a balloon, filling out instantly.

The surrounding Cold Ice True Qi immediately covered his entire body. With a shudder, all the filth fell from him in an instant, like rustling ice pellets.

He immediately regained his handsome and distinguished appearance.

Zhao Rui’s eyes lit up slightly. He hadn’t expected Cold Ice True Qi to have such a unique cleaning ability.

’There’s truly no limit to Martial Arts!’

"Think nothing of it."

Zhao Rui smiled faintly, turning his head to look at the large, frozen-solid block of ice that was the monster on the ground. He asked curiously, "Do you have any idea what that thing is? How did it capture you? And where are the others?"

Mr. Zeng the Elder shook his head and said, "It was my own carelessness. Ever since the two realms connected, my Celestial Mountain Sect has been focused on establishing contact with this world to return to our homeland..."

Mr. Zeng the Elder briefly recounted the events that had transpired.

It turned out that the Celestial Mountain Sect had been unable to return to Blue Star because they had no one to receive them in this realm. It wasn’t until the major sects of Gui Xu began returning on a large scale that they had the chance to send a disciple along.

Unfortunately, that disciple had long since been secretly replaced by someone from Great Zhou.

The entire Celestial Mountain Sect, completely unaware, walked right into the trap they had set, suffering heavy losses.

Only Mr. Zeng the Elder managed to escape by mustering all his strength. Unfortunately, when he reached Tianshan, he discovered that his enemies were already lying in wait.

After a bloody battle, Mr. Zeng the Elder’s strength was diminished. His opponent then used a treacherous move to subdue him, and he ended up a prisoner.

"And what about that Ice Crystal Essence Stone?"

"Well..."

Mr. Zeng the Elder hesitated for a moment before saying, "It’s a rare stone belonging to my Celestial Mountain Sect. It’s somewhat beneficial for ice-based Martial Arts..."

"Oh, I see. I was just curious."

Zhao Rui smiled freely, not thinking much of it. ’It must be a sect heirloom, just like Mount Emei’s Qiushui Sword.’

"What are your plans now?"

"Me?"

Zhao Rui pondered for a moment and said, "When the false is taken for the true, the true itself becomes false. Why not use the real to disrupt the fake...?"

Upon hearing this, Mr. Zeng the Elder’s eyes lit up, and he couldn’t help but nod.

"The grudge for the destruction of my sect is irreconcilable! I will do as you say. From now on, I will follow your lead."

Mr. Zeng the Elder said with great solemnity.

"That won’t be necessary. Now that Gui Xu and Blue Star have merged, the world is on the brink of chaos. Saving you was also a way to gather more strength for the Righteous Sects."

Zhao Rui waved his hand dismissively, not wanting to take credit. It was too early to talk about such things; the future was still unpredictable.

’Still, with Mr. Zeng willing to continue lying low in the "Celestial Mountain Sect," he’ll make a rather useful pawn.’

"Mr. Zeng, have you ever heard of the Snow Mountain Sect?"

"The Snow Mountain Sect?"

Mr. Zeng the Elder was taken aback and shook his head.

"I’ve never heard of it, but there is a Great Snow Mountain Ming King Palace!"

"The Great Snow Mountain Ming King Palace?"

"Yes. It’s a secret location in Gui Xu Great Zhou. The sect within is the Great Snow Mountain Ming King Palace."

Mr. Zeng the Elder said after a moment of thought.

Zhao Rui nodded. Using the Controlling Cranes and Capturing Dragons technique, he pulled the fake Mr. Zeng from the ground into his hand.

He then shattered the hard ice, pressed his hand against the man’s head, and instantly activated the Demon Sound Enchantment skill.

"AHH!"

The fake Mr. Zeng let out a roar, spewing a strange language that Zhao Rui couldn’t understand at all.

"That’s the language of Great Zhou."

"He’s saying that he is the Refining Demon True Man from the Great Snow Mountain Ming King Palace, and he was ordered to descend the mountain to assist the Great Zhou Dynasty in conquering the world."

"So he really is from Great Zhou."

Zhao Rui’s expression turned grim. Great Zhou had already begun to move.

’It seems war is imminent. I just don’t know when the tipping point will be.’

"This man is saying..."

Before Mr. Zeng the Elder could finish, the fake Mr. Zeng suddenly started bleeding from all seven orifices. His neck lolled to the side, and he died on the spot.

"A Forbidden Technique?"

Zhao Rui froze for a second, released his grip on the fake Mr. Zeng, and then said in a low voice.

"That’s right. It must be some kind of Forbidden Technique, one that prevents the disclosure of True Words."

"No matter. The rest is up to you, Mr. Zeng."

"Right!"

The two of them discussed the current situation and how to stay in contact. After reaching an agreement, Zhao Rui opened a large pit in the cave floor, tossed the fake Mr. Zeng inside, and then sealed the entire surface with hard ice.

On the frigid Tianshan, a seal like this would not loosen in the slightest for decades, even centuries, without outside interference.

After taking care of everything, the two men left the cave and went their separate ways.

...

The Tianshan region was vast and sparsely populated.

After leaving the peak where the Celestial Mountain Sect was located, Zhao Rui began to circle the entire Tianshan Mountain Range. He spent several days doing so, but unfortunately, he found no trace of any Evil Dao masters.

His gaze couldn’t help but drift toward the Great Shang region opposite him.

’What if they came from Great Shang?’

’With their abilities, a mere borderline wouldn’t be able to stop them.’

Just as Zhao Rui was pondering this, he received a call from Da Chou, who told him that Shaolin had decided to hold a Martial Arts conference on Shaoshi Mountain in seven days to discuss the future of the martial world.

Upon hearing this news, Zhao Rui had to give up on his idea of sneaking into Great Shang to investigate for now.

He then sped all the way toward Shaoshi Mountain.

Shaolin’s Shaoshi Mountain was quite famous in his previous life. The great battle where Master Qiao fought three great masters took place there.

Since ancient times, Shaolin has been the leader of the Martial Arts world. The sect was filled with masters as numerous as the clouds, and all sorts of Divine Skills emerged from it.

Its Seventy-Two Profound Skills were renowned throughout the world. Mastering just one of them would instantly make a person one of the most famous masters in the land.

Not to mention the Yijing Marrow Cleansing Skill, capable of cleansing the body’s meridians and marrow, and the Nine Yang Divine Skill, the most unyielding and purely yang technique in the world.