Success or Failure Rests on This Single Move

"Beggar Sect Chief?"

Huang Shang felt a jolt of shock.

How much influence did Chen Sheng have to be able to stir up someone of this caliber in the martial arts world?

Do not be fooled by the original plot where Wang Jiantong, Xuan Ci, and a dozen other martial arts experts were soundly defeated while besieging Xiao Yuanshan.

That was because the martial arts talent of the Xiao father and son was simply too high; they were god-like figures, not because Xuan Ci and the others were weak.

As the Beggar Sect Chief, Wang Jiantong was a top-tier expert, proficient in both the Dog Beating Staff Technique and the Dragon Subduing Palm Technique.

For him to personally step out for such a trivial matter, wasn't that a bit beneath his status?

However, as Huang Shang recalled, he remembered that Chen Sheng's family had indeed been involved in the martial arts world before washing their hands of it and settling in the Eastern Capital.

Old-school martial artists often held onto many favors, and people in the pugilistic world valued gratitude. If the elder Chen had once done a favor for the Beggar Sect, then with his grandson dead, the sect would certainly not refuse a plea for help.

But for Wang Jiantong to show up personally, it was clearly a matter of personal circumstances.

As Huang Shang's thoughts raced, Wang Jiantong turned his gaze directly toward him. His eyes were piercing, the light within them seemingly solid, stabbing straight into the depths of his heart: "Answer me!"

Anyone would be stunned if a stranger suddenly broke into their home, so Huang Shang's reaction was perfectly normal.

It wasn't until Wang Jiantong asked a second time that he replied, word for word: "I did not harm Chen Ziyu!"

Wang Jiantong stared intently at Huang Shang, observing his calm expression, before suddenly reaching out a palm to grip Huang Shang's wrist.

The speed was incredibly fast. Before Huang Shang could react, his body tensed, and just as he was about to instinctively struggle, Wang Jiantong released him.

The Beggar Sect Chief muttered to himself: "He truly knows no martial arts, yet the disciple was clearly injured by cold, internal energy. What is going on?"

Huang Shang finally understood.

Wang Jiantong had been lured here by the secret actions of the reincarnators.

He had been wondering how the reincarnators would continue to probe him, never expecting them to strike so soon.

This "pushing the boat with the current" tactic was quite slick.

I must take this as a warning!

Huang Shang reflected inwardly.

Previously, he had successfully baited the pair of reincarnators after locking onto their location in the vast crowds of Kaifeng Prefecture, and he couldn't help but feel a bit of arrogance.

But facts proved that those who could survive in a place like the Main God Temple, where only the fittest survived, and successfully promote to star-level, were all elite.

The mutual probing and hidden strikes between the two sides were becoming increasingly dangerous.

While Huang Shang was considering the reincarnators, Wang Jiantong quickly reached his own conclusion.

As a veteran of the martial arts world, he keenly sensed that Huang Shang had nothing to do with Chen Ziyu's death. Instead, someone was hiding behind the scenes, using the Beggar Sect as a blade. He immediately cupped his hands: "It was this one's mistake. I apologize to the young master on behalf of my subordinate."

As he spoke, his expression grew dazed, and he took a deep gulp of wine: "Some mistakes can be mended, but others can never be changed..."

Huang Shang knew why Wang Jiantong was like this.

It was currently 1062, and the Battle of Yanmen Pass had occurred in 1060.

Less than two years had passed since that tragedy, the most painful time for Shaolin's Xuan Ci and the Beggar Sect's Wang Jiantong.

After so many friends and comrades had died, only to realize they had killed the wrong person, anyone would be filled with despair.

Under normal circumstances, even if entrusted by the Chen family, Wang Jiantong would not have shown up in such a grand manner.

But his state of mind was too poor, and his judgment clouded, making him an easy pawn.

However, even though Huang Shang held no official rank and was not a person of great consequence, Wang Jiantong was taking himself too seriously if he thought a casual apology would just brush this over.

Knowing the reincarnators were listening, Huang Shang immediately said coldly: "You martial arts people have no regard for the law and are arrogant to the extreme. One day, the Great Song imperial court will hunt you all down!"

This was half-truth and half-lie.

Hunting them all down was unrealistic, but he had little affection for the free-roaming, undisciplined martial arts crowd.

Especially the Beggar Sect.

When he was a child, Huang Shang loved the cool Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms; during his rebellious phase, he would shout out the move names whenever he fought his classmates.

Naturally, he had once admired the Beggar Sect.

But after growing up and experiencing the cold realities of the world, looking back at this "chivalrous" and "number one" sect, he found it quite awkward.

Even if novels were fictional, they still had to follow basic logic.

What kind of people were beggars?

They were people who had abandoned their self-respect; most had hands and feet and could be self-reliant, yet they chose not to endure hardship, only wanting to reap without sowing.

Could you really expect such a group, from top to bottom, to be chivalrous, self-sacrificing, and dedicated to defending the country?

Was that realistic?

Perhaps Jin Yong also knew the nature of the Beggar Sect, which was why there was always an annoying villain within the sect, and they were always high-ranking elders with real power.

If not for leaders like Xiao Feng, Hong Qigong, and Huang Rong holding it together, the Beggar Sect might have long since become an accomplice to evil.

Therefore, rather than saying the Beggar Sect acts for the sake of justice, it is more accurate to say that the Beggar Sect's prestige exists solely because its leader is a peerless hero, and the subordinates merely follow his example.

With Wang Jiantong in such a decadent state now, it would be a miracle if the Beggar Sect were doing well.

The beggar's description of the Worry-Free Cave during the day suggests he was likely not just a bystander, but a participant.

After Huang Shang finished speaking, he turned around.

Wang Jiantong, however, suddenly began to laugh.

He had always held the wild talk of scholars in contempt, but recalling what he had heard not long ago, he suddenly recited with fervor: "To establish a heart for Heaven and Earth! To secure the fate of the people! To carry on the lost teachings of the sages! To establish eternal peace for all generations!"

Huang Shang was taken aback and looked at him again.

Despite his rugged appearance, the man known in the martial arts world as Sword Beard was actually quite cultured.

On Qiao Feng's twenty-fifth birthday, Wang Jiantong, as his master, had gifted him a fan inscribed with a poem:

The northern snow drifts over Yanmen Pass, the flat sands swirl in chaos, uprooting the tumbleweed. Ashamed to count the heads of captives for fame, I would rather strike down Rōran to repay the nation's grace.

This poem was taken from a passage in Zhang Zhongsu's Song of the Frontier, depicting border soldiers defending the frontier, killing the enemy, and achieving merit with heroic passion.

Wang Jiantong's use of it was quite fitting.

At this moment, the man began to show off: "The four lines you spoke, Young Master, are being praised throughout the Eastern Capital for their grandeur. 'To establish eternal peace for all generations' especially resonates with me. I assume you are of the pro-war faction, intending to strike hard against Western Xia and the Liao Kingdom to protect the lands of our Han people?"

Huang Shang had not expected Wang Jiantong to bring this up and inwardly cursed, but to maintain his persona, he had to answer: "Of course. We scholars should assist the monarch above, bring peace to the people below, subdue the barbarians abroad, and pacify the rebels within, laying the foundation for eternal peace!"

Wang Jiantong laughed loudly: "A fine 'subdue the barbarians abroad.' I hope your ambition remains unchanged, and that in the future, it does not become empty talk like those bureaucrats who occupy positions without doing their jobs, knowing only how to beg for peace. Farewell!"

His laughter echoed as Wang Jiantong's figure flickered; in the blink of an eye, he was out the door and gone without a trace.

This is trouble.

Huang Shang stood by the table, his expression grim.

This time, it was no longer an act.

His plans had been disrupted by Wang Jiantong's posturing.

Wang Jiantong's words were not meant as encouragement.

He was saying them to himself.

People are like this; after committing a grave error, they often seek self-consolation.

Wang Jiantong was consoling himself; as the leader of the Beggar Sect, he still had to drive out foreign enemies for the people of the Great Song. He needed to pull himself together and stop wallowing in pain and guilt.

But because of this, in the ears of the two reincarnators outside, Huang Shang had become a member of the pro-war faction, intent on subduing the barbarians.

This was no small goal.

Destroying the Great Liao, Western Xia, or even the Jin Kingdom—which did not yet exist—were no trivial matters.

If the reincarnators decided that Huang Shang's requirements were impossible to meet and retreated, all his previous hard work and effort would go down the drain!

Even if they didn't give up and continued to probe, it only increased the chances of his exposure.

Everyone has different encounters and different thoughts. No matter how well I simulate, I cannot control their actions.

I cannot go on like this; I must reverse this passive situation!

The plot thread I buried earlier can be used now, even if it is a bit rushed...

At this moment, Huang Shang suppressed the anger in his heart and took a deep breath.

He was not going to give that man and woman another chance to probe him.

Tonight, he would force the reincarnators to reveal themselves and make contact with him.

Success or failure hinges on this one move!