"Yuan Gou is brutal. I don't want to cause any more trouble. Let's just let this matter drop. Anyone who's unhappy can come find me."
Xu Long snorted, forcefully suppressing the conflict.
This is certainly not the best way to solve the problem, but Xu Long doesn't have that much Kung Fu Hustle to waste on them.
"Next, it will be a matter of all the major sects working together to deal with Bao Yuan. Those who don't want to participate can withdraw now."
Xu Long made his intentions clear: he wanted to eliminate these two-faced people.
He's going to be distributing benefits later, and he can't just give them to those junks for no reason.
A combination of rewards and punishments is essential to winning people's hearts.
"Our Shaolin Sect withdraws!"
Kongwen snorted coldly and immediately led his men away.
The monks' choice was not unexpected by Xu Long, as similar situations had occurred many times in history.
To put it bluntly, these monks are parasites.
Buddhist Sect do not engage in labor and are supported by the people, so they naturally do not pay taxes, which seriously hinders national development.
If that were all, it wouldn't be so bad. In some dynasties, Buddhism would also seize farmland and harbor First Villain criminals.
Some people who didn't want to serve in the military shaved their heads and became monks.
Some people break the law and then become monks or nuns.
Some people are lazy by nature, so they shave their heads and become monks.
They occupy a large amount of social resources but do not give back to society.
In certain special periods, monks may even organize rebellions.
In modern society, monks have become even more audacious, openly becoming vampires and parasites, plundering, stealing, and committing all sorts of evil deeds.
There have been four anti-Buddhist movements in history, led by Emperor Taiwu of Northern Wei, Emperor Wu of Northern Zhou, Emperor Wuzong of Tang, and Emperor Shizong of Later Zhou, all of whom had reached their limit of tolerance for Buddhism.
They take advantage of any benefits and avoid anything that doesn't, all while pretending to be some enlightened monk.
Disgusting!
Of course, don't think of Taoism and other religions as anything special; they're all the same.
There are only two kinds of religions: those that have perished and those that haven't.
A religion that has died out is a good religion; one that hasn't died out is a bad religion.
Religion is like a novel; the author (leader) rambles on and on, not even knowing what he's writing, but the readers (believers) all believe it.
"Now that everyone who's not involved has left, it's time to give everyone something good."
At this point, Xu Long, holding the Heavenly Sword in one hand and the Dragon Slaying Sabre in the other, clashed them violently together amidst the greedy and bewildered gazes of the crowd.
Click!
The sound was crisp and clear, but to everyone's ears it felt like a giant hammer slamming into their hearts.
The precious sword they had so desperately sought had shattered in the middle.
"This..."
Everyone was Shocker, unable to believe their eyes.
Legend has it that whoever obtains the Dragon Slaying Sabre will become the supreme master of the martial arts world.
And the only thing in the world that can rival it is the Heavenly Sword.
But now? Everything's broken!
What they were pursuing was nothing more than a joke that wasn't funny at all.
"Wait, there seems to be something there!"
Some people have sharp eyes and noticed something amiss.
"Yes, there is definitely something inside."
Xu Long nodded and pulled out the gold paper hidden inside the Heavenly Sword and the Dragon Slaying Sabre.
"This is what you've been pursuing all along. The Heavenly Sword contains two martial arts manuals: the Nine Yin Manual and the Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms. The Dragon Slaying Sabre contains the Book of Wumu. The former will greatly increase your strength and allow you to unify the martial arts world, while the latter will enable you to contend for supremacy and become the ruler of a nation."
Xu Long glanced at the contents of the gold paper and then handed it to Yang Xiao.
"Each sect should send one person to copy it. Once they've finished, bring the original back to me."
"This..."
Upon hearing Xu Long's words, everyone was shocked.
Such a precious thing, and you actually shared it?
How bold and magnificent!
"Master, you're not joking, are you?"
The Mount Hua Sect leader, Xianyu Tong, was filled with shock. He thought that mastering either of these two martial arts techniques would allow one to dominate the martial arts world.
Let alone him, anyone would have wanted to keep it for themselves, yet Xu Long was willing to share it.
Having each sect leader make a copy is not just a simple matter of copying; it's equivalent to spreading it throughout the world.
"We admire the magnanimity of our leader!"
Xianyu Tong was filled with a myriad of thoughts, and then he sighed silently.
Xu Long disdained what they pursued throughout their lives.
This kind of arrogance suggests that they may never have taken these sects seriously from the beginning.
"Such strength... could it be that back then...?"
Zhou Zhiruo recalled that night on Mount Wudang, if Xu Long was not incapable of cultivation, but rather deliberately concealing his abilities.
Thinking of this, Zhou Zhiruo felt a surge of joy, but it quickly turned into pain.
What I did back then must have made him hold a grudge.
And judging from his attitude towards me just now, he probably doesn't even consider me a regular Ming Cult disciple.
"These things are of little use to me. With a formidable enemy at hand, we should focus all our efforts on improving everyone's cultivation."
Xu Long finished speaking, then suddenly turned around and asked, "Where is Zhu Yuanzhang?"
Upon hearing Xu Long's words, Zhu Yuanzhang, who was among the Ming Cult members, paused for a moment before quickly stepping forward to bow, "Your subordinate is here!"
"This ' Book of Wumu ' was left by the national hero and Yue Fei. You should take it and study it carefully, lest you tarnish the prestige of my Ming Cult."
"Thank you for your guidance, Master! I will do my utmost!"
Zhu Yuanzhang was overjoyed. He knew that he had entered the sights of many martial arts masters from the stage of a lowly lackey, and even had the opportunity to rise to the top and step into the stage of the strong.
"Master, although Zhu Yuanzhang is capable, he is also shrewd and ruthless. If we hand over power to him, it may be detrimental to our Ming Cult."
Yang Xiao leaned close to his ear and whispered.
"I understand, he can't cause any trouble."
Xu Long smiled, his face noncommittal, but in his heart he had already sentenced Zhu Yuanzhang to death.
Zhu Yuanzhang was an incredibly powerful figure; it's safe to say that it would be difficult to find another person in the entire history of the world who could rival him.
Starting with a broken bowl, begging on the streets—even novels wouldn't dare write it like that!
But he succeeded, ending the devastation of the Yuan dynasty and establishing the Great Ming.
However, being capable is one thing, whether or not one deserves to die is another.
Zhu Yuanzhang in the world of "The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber" is no good person; in fact, he can be described as utterly wicked.
When the Ming Cult Allied Army was about to overthrow the Yuan Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang began to sow discord between Zhang Wuji and Xu Da and Chang Yuchun, causing Zhang Wuji to become disheartened and voluntarily resign from his position as leader of the Ming Cult.
In their struggle for control of the empire against Chen Youliang, the two led their respective Ming Cult Eastern Army and the Western Army— in a fierce battle at Lake Poyang, resulting in countless deaths and injuries among Ming Cult members.
By that time, Zhu Yuanzhang had already become a powerful figure, and even the new leader Yang Xiao could not contain him.
Later, when Zhu Yuanzhang became emperor, he began to suppress the development of the Ming Cult and even carried out a brutal massacre of Ming Cult disciples.
Such despicable and shameless behavior deserves to be punished by being torn to pieces.