Ben Chen sighed. "Junior Brother Ben Yin, I had no choice. Although the three of us won today's battle, we paid a terrible price.
Ning Qingyu was a wily, ambitious man, always full of schemes. He looked to be on his last legs just now, but who could guarantee he had no hidden tricks up his sleeve?
For one thing, the Heavenly Demon Disintegration Technique appeared at the Mount Hua Martial Arts Conference some time ago. Though the person who used it died on the spot, it was still unknown whether a manual had been left behind.
If it fell into the hands of the Mount Hua Sect and we pushed them too far, I'm afraid none of us would make it down the mountain today.
We're all old, and our deaths would hardly be a loss.
But not yet. Ning Qingyu was right: the Shaolin Temple has indeed grown too prominent in recent years, and we've truly offended quite a few people.
Without the three of us keeping the petty villains in check, there would certainly be no end of trouble later on. We might even face the destruction of our temple.
It would be foolish to fight the Mount Hua Sect to the death right now. Let's set this score aside for the moment and settle it with them when the opportunity comes.
The Mount Hua Sect with Ning Qingyu is entirely different from the Mount Hua Sect without him.
No matter how good Ning Qingyu is at scheming, he's injured his internal organs this time. Without some heaven-defying stroke of luck, he probably won't last ten years.
Without Ning Qingyu, who could keep the conflict between the Sword and Qi Factions in check? The Mount Hua Sect, scattered like loose sand, would no longer be a threat."
Though the three had outmaneuvered the Mount Hua Sect, they felt no relief. Mount Hua was in crisis, but wasn't the Shaolin Temple also caught in the eye of the storm?
Today, they had used secret techniques to grievously wound Ning Qingyu, but they had also damaged their own vitality. They were already advanced in years; after this ordeal, they had even fewer years left to live.
With the three of them holding the fort, the Shaolin Temple had been able to dominate the martial world in terms of top-tier fighters for decades.
Without them, Shaolin would lose its advantage in top-tier strength over Wudang, the Sun Moon Divine Cult, and Mount Hua. Yuancong might be enough to guard the temple, but any further expansion would invite disaster.
The imperial court, lurking in the shadows, made the three especially wary. Over the years, Shaolin had made efforts to ease relations with the court, but that reconciliation had only been for show.
Unless they gave up their hidden temples and temple estates, cut ties with Buddhism, and became an ordinary martial arts sect, they were bound to remain under suspicion.
Clearly, that was impossible. This was the very reason the Shaolin Temple had survived for over a thousand years. If it gave that up, would Shaolin still be Shaolin?
The Shaolin Temple had weathered every dynasty, so it naturally had its own way of surviving. Religion was only one part of it; its status as a leading authority in the martial world was just as indispensable.
Nearly every time the imperial court cracked down on Shaolin, it dragged the other martial arts sects into the fight to shoulder the blow. Because it needed the major powers to share the court's pressure, the Shaolin Temple had to exercise restraint in its actions.
Even with its own formidable strength, it mostly worked behind the scenes to suppress its rivals, rarely making its intentions plain and fighting a major sect head-on.
The results were plain to see. Though the Shaolin Temple had many rivals, it had almost no enemies locked in a fight to the death.
On the surface, it got along with all the major sects. As long as no one's vital interests were at stake, they were willing to give Shaolin some face.
Only after they returned to camp with their hearts in their throats did the three Mount Hua Sect members finally relax.
After taking several White Cloud Bear Gall Pills from Heng Mountain and regulating their breathing for two hours, Ning Qingyu had stabilized his injuries enough to leave seclusion in a hurry.
It was easy to admit defeat; retreating was another matter. After making such a spectacle, how could the Mount Hua Sect simply give up and leave? What would become of its reputation? And what of the face of the Guanzhong martial world's heroes?
If they couldn't afford to provoke the Shaolin Temple, then the Luoyang martial world would have to bear their anger. After all, those local powers had delayed them and disrupted the Mount Hua Sect's plans. It wouldn't be unjust to take them to task.
As for the Shaolin Temple, achieving their strategic goal was enough; everything else was a minor matter. Aside from their own subordinates, whom they had to protect, the rest had little to do with them.
"When immortals fight, mortals suffer."
It had always been so. Whenever the martial world was thrown into turmoil, it was almost always the small powers that fell first.
"Take care of the Divine Wind Gang, the Flying Leopard Pavilion, the Dragon Coil Gambling House... all of them, and use their assets to make up for our losses this time.
"Our Guanzhong allies should get a share too, to calm everyone down. Then pack up and head back to Mount Hua as soon as possible."
Without exception, the names on the list belonged to people who had no ties to the Mount Hua Sect and no powerful backers. Clearly, Ning Qingyu hadn't lost his sense of proportion. He knew whom he could touch and whom he couldn't.
One elder said unwillingly, "Sect Leader, are we really just going back like this..."
"Cough, cough..."
Patting his chest, Ning Qingyu forced himself to explain. "We were outmatched. What else can we do besides go back?
"Compared with the Shaolin Temple, our Mount Hua Sect is still too weak. We'll return to Guanzhong, recuperate, and wait for another opportunity. I refuse to believe Shaolin will stay this strong forever."
Word spread through the martial world: the Divine Wind Gang, the Flying Leopard Pavilion, the Dragon Coil Gambling House... had joined the Demonic Cult and plotted the clash between the Iron Sword Sect and the Long Spear Association in an attempt to stir up conflict throughout the martial world.
The Shaolin and Mount Hua sects then jointly announced their crimes and called on their fellow martial artists to launch an operation to eliminate the demons. Soon after came the news that the Divine Wind Gang, the Flying Leopard Pavilion, the Dragon Coil Gambling House... and the other gangs had been wiped out.
With two major powers jointly declaring them guilty, there was no possibility of overturning the verdict. Even if they hadn't been part of the Demonic Cult before, they were now.
After sharing the spoils—the fourth ironclad rule of the martial world—the tense relationship between Shaolin and Mount Hua eased a little.
Each side got what it wanted. The Guanzhong martial world's heroes, led by the Mount Hua Sect, took all the liquid assets, while the Henan martial powers, led by Shaolin, divided up the real estate, shops, and farmland that couldn't be carried away.
As they prepared to leave, the Luoyang martial powers who had escaped disaster even warmly presented the Mount Hua Sect with a generous gift, thanking them for their "righteous deed in eliminating demons."
They were so "warm" that refusing the gift wasn't an option. If the Mount Hua Sect didn't accept it, the heroes of Luoyang wouldn't be able to sleep at night. The Long Spear Association, one of the parties involved, was the most enthusiastic of all.
The martial world was all about human relations. Clearly, this upheaval had transformed the Luoyang powers that had escaped disaster. One by one, they had seen the true nature of the martial world.
Those unlucky examples who had been branded members of the Demonic Cult could have avoided such a fate if only they'd burned a few more sticks of incense, offered a few more gifts, and paid a few more visits now and then.
It wasn't too late to learn that lesson now. Take a man's money, and you take on his troubles. Shaolin and Mount Hua were both upright, reputable sects; they couldn't accept a gift one moment and turn against the giver the next.
With the Mount Hua Sect accepting the gift, the Luoyang turmoil was finally put behind them.
Looking at the list of gifts, a touch of color finally returned to Ning Qingyu's deathly pale face. With their earlier spoils included, the Mount Hua Sect had at least avoided taking too great a loss on this expedition.
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