The Last Battle

Wang Ming infiltrated Mount Song at night, only to find that the Songshan Sect's security was exceptionally tight. The residential areas were too heavily guarded, making infiltration difficult. In the end, he had no choice but to hide in the Dragon Roar Hall, a place rarely guarded at night.

Upon entering, he saw the screen behind the main seat in the center of the hall. It was covered with admonishments, detailing the merger of the Five Peaks Sects, the attack on the Sun Moon Holy Cult, and finally, the assault on Shaolin and Wudang...

"This Zuo Lengchan can truly be called the foremost hero in The Smiling, Proud Wanderer, but alas, his timing was unfortunate."

Wang Ming walked forward, sat in the chair, placed his hands on the armrests, and looked at the empty hall before him.

"This feels rather interesting."

Sitting in Zuo Lengchan's position, he wondered if this guy sat here every day fantasizing about becoming the leader of the martial arts world!

Suddenly, Wang Ming felt that the chair was a bit strange. He reached under the cushion and discovered a hidden compartment. He pulled out a book.

Wang Ming's spirits immediately lifted. By the moonlight, he saw the four characters Ice True Qi on the cover, and he became excited.

Zuo Lengchan was simply a genius. Back then, the Five Peaks Sects and the ten Elders of the Sun Moon Holy Cult had clashed twice at Mount Hua. The elite fighters of the five sects were decimated, and many of the exquisite secret techniques of the five sects' swordplays perished with their masters.

Zuo Lengchan gathered the surviving elders of his sect, recorded all the sword moves they remembered, regardless of their quality, and compiled them into a sword manual.

For decades, he refined the techniques, removing the superfluous and preserving the essential. He modified all the less ruthless moves and less imposing stances in his sect's swordplay, perfecting the seventeen sword moves of his sect. Although he did not create any new sword paths, he could be considered a great contributor to the organization of the Mount Song Swordplay.

Most importantly, he also created one of the few internal energy techniques with attributes in the Gold Country wuxia world — Ice True Qi.

Not only was he exceptionally talented in martial arts, but he was also outstanding in tactics. Although his strategy was lacking, he could still be considered astonishingly brilliant.

Unfortunately, he lost to the scheming Fang Zheng, Chongxu, and Yue Buqun.

Wang Ming felt that the Songshan Sect in this world was not simple.

There was a theory that the Songshan Sect was established by retired soldiers from the imperial court. This was because Zhu Yuanzhang rose to power through the Ming Cult, and they wanted to monitor the martial arts world. Otherwise, which sect would foolishly build its headquarters next to the Shaolin Temple? Were the Shaolin monks truly benevolent?

The weapons of the Songshan Sect were also like those used in the military, broadswords, and they wore armor, which was quite remarkable! In ancient times, wielding a sword was one thing, but armor was a violation of the law. (The Li Yapeng version featured armor.)

Yet, the Songshan Sect remained unharmed, which proved there was something fishy.

The Songshan Sect disappeared when the Ming Dynasty fell. He remembered one version where Zuo Lengchan was an imperial agent.

Wang Ming memorized the secret manual by moonlight, then returned it to its place. He then leaped onto the roof beams and concealed himself above.

Wang Ming's strike from the roof beams, which he had been preparing for a long time, injured even the highly skilled Zuo Lengchan's arm.

"As expected, my first attempt lacked experience!" Wang Ming thought to himself.

Zuo Lengchan's strength was genuine and not some cheap imitation. He possessed extremely rich combat experience and dodged the fatal blow at the critical moment.

The assassination attempt had failed.

Assassin's Creed: One strike fails, flee a thousand miles.

He had been discovered, and an assassin must escape; this was the awareness an assassin must possess.

Wang Ming scoffed, "Bah! Assassins should go on a rampage, kill everyone, and that's a perfect infiltration. Wang Ming had decided; Zuo Lengchan's life was his.

Even Jesus couldn't save him!!!!

After a few leaps and bounds, Zuo Lengchan rushed out of the Dragon Roar Hall and onto the large training square where disciples practiced.

The two gatekeepers who had turned and fled without hesitation were now leading a large group of people towards the square.

The Dragon Roar Hall was surrounded on all sides, making escape extremely difficult.

Zuo Lengchan was protected in the rear by a group of Songshan Sect experts, who also tended to his wound.

At this moment, the Taibao, who was still at Mount Song, drew his sword and pressed towards Wang Ming.

The thirteen Taibao of Songshan were all clad in armor and wielded greatswords. Below the sect leaders, they were practically invincible.

Consider this: the entire martial arts world wielded swords no wider than two fingers, but their swords were as wide as a palm, and they wore armor with extremely high defense. Who wouldn't curse them upon encountering them?

Wang Ming, however, showed no fear, as if he had surrounded everyone present.

"Who are you, and why did you ambush me?" Zuo Lengchan asked with a sinister expression.

"I am the number one Sword Saint of the Eastern Isles, Hikaru Kabaneta." Wang Ming spoke with a pronounced "Da Zuo" accent.

"An Eastern Islander? I don't know where I offended you people, that you would come to assassinate me," Zuo Lengchan asked, suppressing his anger.

"Hahaha!!!! You did not offend us. You are blocking our path."

"Blocking our path?"

"Hehehehe!!! First, we will destroy the Five Peaks Sects, then we will annihilate Shaolin and Wudang. We, the Eastern Isles, will reign supreme in the martial arts world." His "Da Zuo" flavored declaration enraged everyone present.

"Hmph! Arrogant! Kill this Japanese dog!" Zuo Lengchan ordered.

Instantly, the Songshan Taibao's eyes turned cold, their killing intent ignited, and they charged forward without any pretense of martial honor.

Wang Ming gripped the Eastern Islander-style long saber in his hands and met their attack head-on.

The Eastern Islander saber was a long blade that Wang Ming had commissioned at great expense.

To assassinate Zuo Lengchan, he naturally wouldn't dare to use the Mount Hua Swordplay or the standard issue sword of Mount Hua.

Wang Ming was not like Linghu Chong, who acted recklessly and revealed traces of Mount Hua. If the assassination failed, it would cause trouble for the Mount Hua Sect.

Even if the assassination succeeded, and witnesses reported it to Shaolin or Wudang, demanding they seek an explanation from the Mount Hua Sect, wouldn't that also be troublesome?

He was here to resolve trouble, not create it.

It was high noon, the sun blazing directly overhead, scorching the earth.

Wang Ming raised his Japanese sword high, charging at several of the Songshan Sect's Taibao.

As he neared, he angled the Japanese sword, deflecting the dazzling sunlight with its mirror-like surface into their eyes, causing temporary blindness.

"Ah—"

With a single stroke, he slit the throat of a Taibao whose vision had not yet recovered. Necks, unprotected by armor, were their weakness.

After the strike, he swiftly retreated, dodging the sword edges of the remaining five Taibao as they hacked down at him.

"Clang, clang, clang!!!" The Songshan Taibao's weapons clashed.

Seeing that their previous strength had just faded and new strength had yet to emerge, Wang Ming immediately launched a lightning-fast thrust.

"Chii!"

The sword point landed on a Taibao's throat. Instantly, bright red blood erupted like a fountain. The Taibao's face was filled with shock as he fell powerlessly. His last thought: How could a sword technique be this fast?

Zuo Lengchan, who was still on the sidelines tending to his wounds, watched the two fallen Taibao with immense grief. Although they called him Senior Brother, he had personally trained them. He hadn't expected to lose two in such a short time.

Even so, Zuo Lengchan did not enter the fray. The reason was not just his injuries; there was a more crucial one.

He realized that although this guest was shrouded in mystery and operated from the shadows, his martial arts were exceptionally formidable, in no way inferior to his own. He wanted others to test the waters first, allowing him to observe the opponent's martial arts style.

The more he observed, the more puzzled he became. This masked figure in black used a simple Japanese sword technique, yet it was surprisingly potent.

His height and build didn't match any of the experts he knew. Zuo Lengchan's heart filled with doubt: Who is this expert that has appeared out of nowhere?

As a shrewd schemer, how could Zuo Lengchan simply believe Wang Ming's words?

Currently, the Taibao at Songshan were almost all killed by Wang Ming in this short span.

Yet, Zuo Lengchan couldn't discern anything specific. He only felt that the man's swordplay was bizarre and unfathomable.

For example, this masked man in black thrust his sword towards a Taibao's throat. The sword wasn't particularly fast, and he knew the Taibao's skill; he could block it by bringing his sword back. But this person foolishly swung his sword to the right, exposing his vital spot.

This swordplay was precisely the "Illusion Sword."

The Songshan Taibao's vision was deceived by Wang Ming's sword light. They saw phantom afterimages of the blade, mistaking a sword strike from the right for one coming from the left, and ended up slashing at empty air.

"The world of 'The First Under Heaven' far surpasses the world of 'The Smiling, Proud Wanderer'."

"Illusion Sword" was not a top-tier martial art in that world, but it was supreme in this one.

Its moves were very simple; one could say it had no moves.

The core components were the calculation formulas for light and shadow and a secret technique for explosive speed, which is why it could be used with a saber or a sword.

Wang Ming was even less afraid of his style being recognized, leading them to the Mount Hua Sect.

Moreover, the moves incorporated some Japanese sword techniques from Duan Tianya mixed into "Illusion Sword," making it even harder to identify.

Under the activation of the Illusion Sword's explosive secret technique, he easily dealt with these Taibao.

He looked towards Zuo Lengchan in the distance, his challenging gaze exceptionally arrogant.

"Villain, die!"

"Clang!!!"

Zuo Lengchan's giant sword collided with Wang Ming's long saber, causing Wang Ming's arm to go slightly numb.

I can't go head-to-head with him, Wang Ming thought to himself.

But just as Wang Ming was about to pull his saber back.

Zuo Lengchan, bleeding from his injured left hand, directly grabbed the saber's body. His right hand abandoned the giant sword and struck towards Wang Ming with an open palm.

"Let you taste the power of my 'Ice True Qi'."

A bone-chilling aura spread from the long saber to Wang Ming's palm. Wang Ming looked closely and exclaimed in his heart: Holy crap, this is too exaggerated, it's like magic attack!

Wang Ming's saber was instantly covered in a thick layer of ice. It no longer looked like a saber but more like a club. The ice continued to spread towards Wang Ming's hand, scaring him into releasing his grip, dropping his weapon, and retreating rapidly.

He immediately used his internal energy to expel the cold air that had entered his meridians.

Although Wang Ming had read the "Ice True Qi" manual, he hadn't expected its effects to be so exaggerated.

This martial art had no flaws.

To defeat him, one could only overpower him with sheer force.

Seeing Wang Ming retreat, Zuo Lengchan casually discarded the Japanese sword, now heavily encased in ice.

He glanced at the Taibao on the ground, their throats slit by a single blade, his heart filled with both sorrow and rage.

"Attack! Hack him to death with your swords."

Zuo Lengchan, having been suddenly ambushed and unable to discern the enemy's background, was unwilling to take further risks. He directly ordered the numerous ordinary disciples to attack, intending to overwhelm Wang Ming with sheer numbers.

A human sea tactic!

When humans don't have infinite mana or health bars, everyone fears it.

Facing nearly a hundred Songshan disciples charging at him, Wang Ming also felt apprehension. He pondered in his mind: I can't let them surround me. I must strike first.

"Baka, watch my ninjutsu, Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique."

Thousand Flowers Scatter Money

Wang Ming leaped three meters into the air, a handful of copper coins in his hand raining down from above.

In an instant, they poured down like a dense, torrential rain, each coin possessing terrifying power.

Every single copper coin had the penetrating force to crack stone and pierce metal.

Whether the copper coins hit the Songshan disciples protected by armor or the areas without it, they would be ruthlessly pierced, finally embedding themselves half a centimeter deep into the bluestone slabs on the ground.

Instantly, a large number of the surrounding Songshan disciples fell. The remaining ones dropped their weapons and turned to flee.

They weren't specially trained death warriors who would charge into certain death; they weren't that fearless.

After using the move Thousand Flowers Scatter Money, Wang Ming's Purple Haze True Qi was completely depleted.

If not for the mask covering the purple energy on his face, Wang Ming wouldn't have dared to use the Purple Haze Divine Skill, as it could easily implicate Mount Hua.

"Japanese ninjutsu?" Zuo Lengchan's face showed surprise, and he immediately lunged out.

When Wang Ming's new strength had not yet emerged and his old strength had just faded, Zuo Lengchan, an old hand in the martial world, seized the opportunity. His Great Songyang Palm, imbued with Ice True Qi, struck out fiercely. Wang Ming scrambled to respond, suffering a great loss and being sent flying over ten zhang.

"Villain, you've expended so much internal energy, let's see if you die! You killed so many of my disciples, I'll flay you alive!"

"Cough cough!!" Wang Ming coughed up a mouthful of blood, soaking the mask covering his face.

Although he had taken this palm strike, Wang Ming wasn't severely injured.

Even though the Indestructible Vajra Body hadn't been fully mastered, preventing him from transforming into a golden figure, he could still use a bit of the Protective Method.

The Golden Figure completely nullifies damage, while the Protective Method reduces it.

Simply put, after using the Protective Method, he was only heavily injured instead of being killed.

Using the fully unleashed ultimate technique of Young Master Wuhen, Thousand Flowers Scatter Money, was a desperate measure.

If he didn't shock everyone with one move, he would have been surrounded by hundreds of Songshan disciples and slowly worn down by their sheer numbers.

Wang Ming grumbled inwardly, 'Should I also find four beauties to carry my sedan chair? I have reason to suspect that Young Master Wuhen's feet never touch the ground just to hide the fact that he's a 7-second man who's spent after using this move.'

Zuo Lengchan flew forward with a horizontal palm strike. Wang Ming dodged sideways, feeling the bone-chilling cold from the palm that grazed his ear.

Wang Ming picked up the broadsword on the ground, suppressing his injuries to counter Zuo Lengchan's assault.

After several rounds of fighting.

Zuo Lengchan exclaimed in shock, "How do you still have True Qi?"

Wang Ming secretly thought, 'Stupid dog, I have two Dantians.'

However, as the fight continued, Wang Ming became desperate.

Palm Breaking Style

He thrust his sword into Zuo Lengchan's chest and then rapidly retreated.

This was a martial arts world; with his heart pierced through, Zuo Lengchan was bound to die.

Since he was going to die anyway, Wang Ming naturally wanted to put some distance between them to avoid any last-minute counterattacks.

Zuo Lengchan's face showed a look of bewildered disbelief. How had the situation changed so quickly?

Zuo Lengchan held on with his last breath, unwilling to fall. He didn't want to die without understanding why.

Zuo Lengchan stammered, "You... you're not... not from the Land of the Rising Sun... Who are you?"

Wang Ming replied, "No comment."

Zuo Lengchan asked, "What grudge do we have?"

Wang Ming said, "None."

Zuo Lengchan then asked, "Then... then why... did you come to slaughter..."

Wang Ming looked at the weakened Zuo Lengchan and said, "Peace."

Zuo Lengchan immediately became agitated, growing even weaker, like a candle in the wind, about to be extinguished at any moment.

"It's not about personal grudges, it's about our stances."

"Stances! Good... good..." With that, Zuo Lengchan completely died.

After hearing Wang Ming's words, Zuo Lengchan, filled with unwillingness, breathed his last. A generation's formidable figure had thus come to an end.

Finally, Wang Ming thought of the manual for Ice True Qi. Such a brilliant martial arts grandmaster deserved respect, so he gave him an answer that wasn't an answer.

Wang Ming had no psychological burden whatsoever in killing Zuo Lengchan and his men. Talking about justice and evil was too hypocritical; frankly, those who roamed the martial world, no matter how they presented themselves, were essentially murderers.

If you're in this business, you have to be prepared to die and accept the consequences.

Losing a fight meant you weren't strong enough; being surrounded meant your wits weren't sharp enough.

Just like in the previous world, even if Wang Ming had been shot to death by Zhu Wushi's men, he wouldn't have hated him because there was no point. Ultimately, it was his own insufficient planning that led to his demise, and he deserved it. However, if Wang Ming were to return to The First Under Heaven and Zhu Wushi was still alive, Wang Ming wouldn't mind settling that score.

At this point, the Songshan Sect had been thoroughly terrified by Wang Ming. Most of them had already fled down the mountain, and a few of the "Eight Protectors" were not on the mountain.

This is for the best. Wang Ming isn't here to slaughter their sect or destroy their legacy. It's good that they can preserve a few embers of their tradition.

Wang Ming arrived at the Scripture Hall he had seen last night. He was curious about how many martial arts manuals were kept there.

He pushed the door open and entered. The hall was empty, with several large bookshelves.

After searching for a while, he found five manuals that he thought were useful:

The Great Songyang Palm, Mount Song Swordplay, Grass on Flying, Ladder Cloud Vertical, and One Reed Crossing River.

Ladder Cloud Vertical was from Wudang, and One Reed Crossing River was from Shaolin. Wang Ming wasn't surprised; collecting martial arts from other sects was normal. Besides, these two weren't their core techniques, so it wasn't difficult to obtain them.

Wang Ming tucked them into his robes and left the Songshan Sect.

When the Taibao of Songshan returned from outside and saw the ruined sect gate, he was furious and wanted to kill someone.

He learned from ordinary disciples that the sect leader had been killed by someone named Richuan Gangban. The Songshan Sect then vowed to get revenge.

Zuo Lengchan was dead, but the foundation he left behind was still intact. They recovered within less than ten years.

During these ten years, they continuously sent people to Japan to search for Richuan Gangban, decimating the martial arts world of Japan and leaving them with a talent drought.

The world of The Smiling, Proud Wanderer ends here. It's not that I can't continue, but there's no need.

For example, I could flirt with Ren Yingying and have the Oriental Unbeaten played by Joe Chen, creating a harem.

But besides padding the plot, it would have no meaning for the protagonist.

Pursuing Ren Yingying wouldn't allow me to write the scenes you want to see. Besides the protagonist getting his satisfaction, your feeling would be that the goddess from your memories has been "snatched" again, which is disgusting.

There are a bit few chapters, and it was a bit rushed.

It's simple to have more chapters. For example, starting from Hengshan's Golden Basin Hand Wash, the protagonist could follow Linghu Chong and pad the plot. I could write hundreds of chapters, but would that be necessary to read? Isn't Master Jin's original work good enough?

Thank you again for all the recommendation tickets. I'm very grateful!