The Smiling, Proud Wanderer, becoming a disciple of Yue Buqun

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It is important to know that the symbolism of the tortoise and the snake is extraordinary for them.

In particular, the tortoise and snake were both subdued by Jiang Ning at the same time.

Moreover, Jiang Ning also possesses the Zhenwu Sword.

Upon hearing this news, the seven old Taoist priests couldn't help but feel a sense of unease.

But in the end, they still firmly refused.

What truly shook their resolve was the news that Jiang Ning had recently become a terrestrial immortal, which reached the palace some time ago.

This caused them, who had already begun to waver, to waver again.

Later, Zhu Houzhao promised them that as long as Wudang was willing to cooperate, Wudang would remain prosperous throughout the Ming Dynasty.

Only under such circumstances could they be considered to have reluctantly agreed.

Looking at these seven seemingly helpless but actually excited about the future prosperity of the Wudang School, Zhu Houzhao smiled without saying a word.

In fact, he initially only wanted to bestow upon Jiang Ning the title of True Person, but Jiang Ning proved himself worthy by seizing the True Martial Sword, subduing the tortoise and snake, and entering the realm of terrestrial immortals. This prompted Zhu Houzhao to keep increasing the rewards, and in the end, he simply recognized Jiang Ning as the reincarnation of the True Martial Emperor.

Fortunately, Emperor Taizong Wen once used the excuse of Zhenwu Dadi's secret assistance to launch a rebellion, which gave his great-great-grandson a reason and excuse.

Back then, the True Martial Emperor personally and secretly helped my Emperor Taizong Wen. So what if the True Martial Emperor has reincarnated and descended to earth to help me now?

reasonable.

Zhu Houzhao thought to himself.

It can be said that Zhu Houzhao defied the Daoist sects to become the Demon-Slaying Heavenly Venerable of Jiangning, and the right timing, location, and people were all indispensable.

However, Zhu Houzhao restrained himself. He originally wanted to give Jiang Ning the power to execute princes of the highest rank and below without reporting any crimes, and to make the position hereditary. In the future, the Huashan Sect would be the leader of the Taoist sect.

But then he thought that if he really did that, not only would the princes of the Zhu family rebel against him, but the Taoist priests would also say that the Azure Heaven is dead and the Yellow Heaven shall rise, and beg the Ming Dynasty to die.

Zhu Houzhao eventually restrained himself.

Moreover, Zhu Houzhao also realized that this was indeed inappropriate.

If that's the case, problems will definitely arise in the future.

He dared to bestow such an honor upon Jiang Ning because he believed in Jiang Ning. However, if the position could be inherited without fail, the Huashan Sect would reach its zenith in the future, and the Huashan Sect leader at that time would inevitably control the power of all Taoist sects in the world and enjoy extremely high prestige among the people.

If the future leader of the Huashan Sect harbors disloyal intentions and raises his arm to rebel, countless people will surely respond, and at that time he will truly be leaving a huge pit for his descendants.

It was for this reason that Zhu Houzhao decided to give his honor only to Jiang Ning.

Apart from Jiang Ning, no one else in the Huashan Sect has received this honor.

If Jiang Ning were to pass away a century from now, this honor would end with Jiang Ning, and his title and privileges would also end with him.

As for what will happen to the Huashan Sect in the future, that has nothing to do with Zhu Houzhao.

Moreover, Zhu Houzhao also considered the problem of the Huashan Sect becoming the dominant force in Taoism a hundred years after Jiangning, even surpassing the Wudang Sect. That's why he promised the Wudang Sect that as long as the Ming Dynasty did not perish, Wudang would remain prosperous and strong.

This also provides future generations with leverage to counterbalance the Huashan Sect.

This was something Zhu Houzhao, as emperor, had to do; it had nothing to do with feelings.

"I wonder what the sect leader's expression is like right now."

An old Taoist priest smiled bitterly.

It's impossible for Chongxu not to attend such a momentous event as Jiang Ning succeeding as the head of the Huashan Sect. They can already imagine Chongxu's expression at the scene.

"I'm afraid the sect leader will hold us accountable after he finds out about this."

Another old Taoist priest sighed and said.

"One who receives the emperor's salary must serve the emperor faithfully."

The other old Taoist priests were more open-minded, saying, "His Majesty has ordered us not to tell the sect leader about this matter. Even if the sect leader holds us accountable, there's nothing we can do."

There was no other way; we couldn't really go against the emperor, could we?

And the emperor really gave a lot.

The seven old Taoist priests thought to themselves.

……

At this moment, Mount Hua was completely silent, and all the martial arts practitioners stood up, looking at Jiang Ning with mixed feelings.

The martial arts world and the imperial court have always disliked each other. If any martial arts figure tries to curry favor with the imperial court, they will inevitably be insulted by them. But at this moment, facing Jiang Ning, they cannot utter a single word.

Just as when Wang Zhizhi glanced at them while announcing the imperial decree, they could only obediently kneel down.

Instead, many people were whispering and gossiping.

"Is Master Jiang truly the reincarnation of the True Martial Emperor?"

I think so.

"Wasn't this imperial edict issued by the emperor? The emperor said he dreamt that Emperor Taizong appeared to him in a dream. Who was Emperor Taizong? Back when he raised the Jingnan Rebellion, Emperor Zhenwu secretly helped Emperor Taizong ascend the throne. Now that Emperor Zhenwu has been reincarnated, it doesn't seem so unacceptable. The emperor wouldn't lie to me, would he?"

"Yes, and didn't you see the strange phenomenon that occurred when Master Jiang was offering his prayers to Heaven? Today, dark clouds covered the sky, but a beam of golden light pierced through the clouds and shone on Master Jiang. Moreover, a flock of cranes came to pay homage. When have we ever seen such a scene?"

"And have you noticed? It seems that since his debut, Master Jiang has been doing the work of the True Martial Emperor, wielding his sword to vanquish demons and monsters. With the True Martial Sword in hand, even turtles and snakes will submit. Now, the Three Pure Ones resonate with him, and flocks of cranes come to pay homage. Who could have imagined that so many things would come together in one person?"

"This is unbelievable! Could there really be gods in this world?"

"I don't know if there are gods or immortals, but I truly believe in them."

Chapter 763: The Bewildered Chongxu

Even those who didn't believe it couldn't help but be astonished and uncertain when they witnessed the inexplicable celestial phenomenon and the auspicious cranes arriving.

Jiang Ning put away the imperial edict and looked at the crowd.

The golden light shone on Jiang Ning's face, giving him an air of holiness.

Upon seeing this, everyone lowered their heads slightly, not daring to look directly at Jiang Ning.

"Today, the succession ceremony of our Huashan Sect has come to an end. Thank you all for coming to witness the ceremony."

Upon hearing Jiang Ning's words, the four sect leaders—Tianmen Daoist, Qingzhu Shifu, Mo Da, and Dingxian Shifu—all stepped forward and bowed to Jiang Ning.

"Meet the leader."

"Meet the leader."

These four people were all Jiang Ning's elders, but from this moment on, in addition to still being the head of the Huashan Sect, Jiang Ning was also the leader of the Weiyi Alliance.

Moreover, the emperor had just bestowed upon Jiang Ning the title of Demon-Slaying Celestial Venerable, granting him authority over the Taoist sects and the entire world. Legally speaking, Jiang Ning could now directly manage the Taishan Sect.

Jiang Ning is now extremely skilled in martial arts and holds a very prestigious position, making him undoubtedly the number one figure in the righteous path.

All four sect leaders are headed by Jiang Ning.

Jiang Ning raised his hand in a gesture of support.

"Please rise, my four senior uncles and senior masters."

Jiang Ning looked at the disciples of the four sects and said loudly, "Jiang Ning has been recommended by all my senior uncles and elder brothers to serve as the leader of the Weiyi Alliance. Today, Jiang Ning here swears that he will not fail your trust."

Disciples from all four sects bowed in greeting.

"Meet the leader."

The shouts of the disciples from the four sects were deafening, while the other martial arts practitioners looked at each other in bewilderment.

They had already foreseen that under Jiang Ning's leadership, the Weiyi Alliance would surely reach its zenith.

An elderly man wearing a straw hat, whose face was not revealed, was slightly shaken when he saw this scene from a distance.

"Today, the succession ceremony of our Huashan Sect has concluded. Now it is time to restart the Huashan Sword Tournament."

Looking at everyone, Jiang Ning spoke loudly.

After experiencing a series of unbelievable events, everyone's enthusiasm for the Mount Hua Sword Tournament has cooled down somewhat.

But everyone was still excited when they heard that the Mount Hua Sword Tournament was about to begin.

We've finally reached this stage.

"In the past, the Quanzhen Sect's patriarch Chongyang, along with Huang Yaoshi (Eastern Heretic), Ouyang Feng (Western Poison), Duan Zhixing (Southern Emperor), and Hong Qigong (Northern Beggar), competed for the title of the best swordsman in the world at Mount Hua."

Jiang Ning's voice also reached the foot of Mount Hua.

"But unfortunately, since the third Mount Hua Sword Tournament, which was held by Yang Guo, Huang Yaoshi, and others to determine the best swordsman in the world, there has been no more Mount Hua Sword Tournament. Whenever I think of this, I feel regret."

"Today I wish to reopen the Mount Hua Sword Tournament and invite heroes from all over the world to Mount Hua to compete for the title of the best in the world."

As soon as Jiang Ning said this, the crowd stirred and showed excitement.

"Please proceed to Yuntai Peak."

Upon hearing this, everyone made way for them.

Jiang Ning walked ahead, and everyone else moved towards Yuntai Peak.

The leaders of various sects also went there one after another, leaving only the Wudang people still in place.

"Master."

Chongxu turned his head and found that all the Wudang disciples were looking at him with confused expressions.

Looking at their expressions, Chongxu sighed inwardly.

At this moment, wasn't his heart just like theirs?

"Let's go."

Chongxu composed himself and said calmly.

"Let's go see the martial arts competition at Mount Hua."

Chongxu admitted that he had indeed lost his guard after Wang Zhi announced the imperial edict.

But no matter what, Zhu Houzhao has already done this, so we should wait until we get back to test his attitude before making any further decisions.

"Yes, Master."

The Wudang disciples asked in bewilderment.

Seeing his disciples' still bewildered expressions, Chongxu couldn't help but feel helpless.

If I had known he would not have come.

What kind of situation is this?

Suddenly they found a living ancestor for Wudang.

Chongxu sighed.

After calming himself down, Chongxu headed to Yuntai Peak.

At this moment, Yuntai Peak was crowded with people, but when they saw that the Wudang Sect had arrived, they gave up their place to the Wudang Sect.

There was a ring in front of everyone, but no one had gone up yet.

Jiang Ning sat in the Huashan Sect's seat, with Yue Buqun and others beside him, and Linghu Chong and other Huashan disciples behind him.

There is only one rule for this Mount Hua Sword Tournament: as long as no one is killed, even serious injuries are within the rules.

But so far, no one has gone up to the arena.

Everyone turned their attention to Jiang Ning.

Jiang Ning remained seated in the position of sect leader, showing no intention of taking the position.

In fact, there was basically no suspense in this Mount Hua Sword Tournament, but Jiang Ning did not intend to be the first to go up. If he went up, the Mount Hua Sword Tournament would end too quickly.

This Mount Hua Sword Tournament, ostensibly a competition to determine the best in the world, is actually an opportunity for many martial arts practitioners to showcase their skills.

Can't you see that Zhenshanzi, the leader of the Kunlun Sect, looks like he's about to make a move?

Zhenshanzi looked at the field in front of him, feeling a little restless.

Jiang Ning's absence now gives them a chance to showcase their strength to the martial arts world. As long as they can stand out among the martial arts community, even if they are not the best in the world, they will still gain enough fame.

But Zhenshanzi, being the head of a major sect, ultimately remained calm and did not go first.

At this moment, not only Zhenshanzi, but also other martial arts practitioners were eager to fight.