Martial Arts: Starting from a Seemingly Real System

Diwu Qingcheng gave a delicate shout and looked at Li Shaobai with a sneer on her face.

"Let me ask you, where is Hu Guangming? Qiao Rui reported that you and Hu Guangming kidnapped Tian Jing together, so why did you come out to defend yourself and not Hu Guangming?"

Li Shaobai's breathing suddenly stagnated, his eyes rolled around, he dodged in panic, and stammered, "He, he...he went to the toilet!"

"Humph!"

Diwu Qingcheng narrowed her phoenix eyes and a cold and fierce aura burst out, scaring Li Shaobai so much that he retreated repeatedly.

"Ever since Qiao Rui showed up to save Young Master Yan from Wudang, you discovered that he had also come to Shushan. Even if you didn't pay attention to it at first, you should have reacted when Young Master Qiao went on the field to fight against the foreign monks and Hu people from the border. You sent Hu Guangming to secretly take Miss Tian out of the Sword Tempering Peak and hide her in a more secret place, right?"

"I see!"

Everyone off the field understood what was going on. No wonder Li Shaobai was always being evasive in his words and his eyes were wandering, looking like a guilty thief. Add to that what Zhao Lingying said about the meals for the three of them, and anyone could see that there was something fishy going on.

"No, it's not!" Li Shaobai's expression changed drastically, and he kept making excuses.

Diwu Qingcheng no longer paid attention to Li Shaobai, turned around and looked at Dugu Nian, and said in a crisp and powerful voice, "Such a clumsy performance, such a flawed and vulnerable speech, is Master Dugu really going to sacrifice the nearly 100-year reputation of Shushan for such a despicable person?"

Everyone looked at Dugu Nian, wondering whether she would deny protecting her disciple or would she frankly and selflessly admit the mistake of her disciple?

Diwu Qingcheng's eyes were bright and sharp, as if they could see straight into people's hearts. She looked around, taking in everyone's doubtful expressions on Shushan's faces, and raised the corners of her mouth, quietly revealing a smile.

At the Beggars' Sect's seat, Jia Renyi looked at Dugu Nian with a playful look, and then glanced at Diwu Qingcheng.

"This little nun is worthy of being a Purple Crystal Sky Guardian at such a young age. She is indeed a good strategist. No matter what choice Old Lady Dugu makes today, the reputation of Shushan will be damaged. I am really happy to see it!"

Dugu Nian suddenly looked up, her eyes were cold and sharp, piercing straight into Diwu Qingcheng's eyes.

Diwu Qingcheng did not dodge or evade, but just looked at Dugu Nian with a faint smile.

The two glances met in the air, like a needle tip and a wheat thorn competing.

The atmosphere suddenly became heavy, and the air seemed to be filled with the smell of gunpowder.

……

After a long moment, "Hehehehe!"

Dugu Nian's calm face actually broke into a smile. Although she was over sixty years old, due to her profound skills in maintaining her youth, she looked like a middle-aged woman with remaining charm, which was truly amazing.

"Qingtianwei, your elegance is still as good as ever!"

A strange and seemingly irrelevant sentence made the hearts of all the elderly people present tremble!

No matter whether they were the leaders of the sects or the old men among the wandering cultivators, they suddenly recalled the scene when the Qingtian Guards controlled the martial arts world and no one dared to disobey. Those were those years that were too painful to recall!

Dugu Nian's words aroused the fear of the older generation of heroes towards the Qingtian Guards, but she didn't care. She put away her smile and said to Li Shaobai in a calm tone: "Go and bring that Miss Tian over here!"

"Master, I..." Li Shaobai wanted to say something timidly.

"Lingying, go with him!" Dugu Nian ignored him and instead instructed Zhao Lingying.

"Yes, Master!" Zhao Lingying accepted the order.

"Hurry up and go!" Kong Gaozhen saw that his senior sister had spoken, but Li Shaobai was still hesitating and seemed unwilling to give up. So he came up and kicked Li Shaobai, causing him to fall.

Li Shaobai then crawled away from the Wanjian Guizong Square, and Zhao Lingying followed behind him to prevent him from causing any more trouble.

The scene fell silent for a moment, only Yan Xiuzhu heartlessly pestered Qiao Rui, asking him to tell him about his boat trip with Feng Feiyan and Lin Wenyuan. Huang Jingxuan listened with great interest.

After about a cup of tea, Zhao Lingying came over supporting Tian Jing, and Li Shaobai and Hu Guangming followed behind with their heads hung.

"Tian Jing, are you okay?" Qiao Rui quickly stepped forward and supported her, his face full of worry.

"It's okay. They just asked me for the secret manual of Yuenu Sword every day. They didn't make things difficult for me in other ways!" Tian Jing said softly. Her face was a little pale and her spirit was a little listless, but it didn't look like she had been abused.

"That's good, that's good!" Qiao Rui finally let go of his anxious heart.

"Master, I know I was wrong, please forgive me!"

With a plop, Li Shaobai and Hu Guangming both knelt in front of Dugu Nian and bowed their heads.

"Li Shaobai and Hu Guangming violated the sect rules and were punished to go to Xixin Cliff to reflect on their mistakes for half a year!" Dugu Nian said indifferently.

"Xixin Cliff...half a year?"

Li Shaobai and Hu Guangming were startled and kowtowed, begging repeatedly, "Master, please spare my life. I will never dare to do it again. Please spare my life!"

Xixin Cliff is thousands of feet high and seldom visited by people. It is freezing cold with constant wind and snow all year round. One needs deep inner strength to fight against it. If one stays there for half a year, he will go crazy if he doesn't die.

Dugu Nian was indifferent to their cries and looked at Qiao Rui and Tian Jing with indifferent eyes, "You two must leave the mountain immediately and never set foot in Shushan again!"

Shushan issued an order to expel the guests, but fortunately Tian Jing had been rescued. Qiao Rui did not want to stay any longer, so he said goodbye to Zhao Lingying and everyone from Shaolin, Wudang and Huashan Sect one by one. He also made an agreement with Master Wuwang that after sending Tian Jing back to Longxing City, he would set off for Songshan Shaolin.

After everything was done, Qiao Rui prepared to go down the mountain. Before leaving, he asked Diwu Qingcheng whether to go or stay. Diwu Qingcheng smiled and said, "Since Sect Leader Dugu has ordered you two to leave, I guess you don't welcome me to stay for a drink. Let's go down the mountain together!"

"Okay!" Qiao Rui said happily. He just happened to have some doubts and wanted to find Diwu Qingcheng to ask for clarification.

"Why are you testifying for me? Aren't you afraid that my investigation results are false?" On the way down the mountain, Qiao Rui couldn't help but ask Diwu Qingcheng.

He remembered that he went to the Fucheng County Government Office to find the clerk and saw with his own eyes that the clerk directly ordered the constable to investigate. He then deliberately said that it was the Qingtian Guard who investigated just to increase credibility, but for some reason Diwu Qingcheng took the blame for him and said that she had sent people to investigate.

"Aren't we friends? It's just a piece of cake!" Diwu Qingcheng winked at Qiao Rui mischievously.

"Young Master Qiao risked his life for his beloved. In order to save his lover, he did not hesitate to fight against the two famous clans of the Beggars' Sect and Shushan alone. He is really courageous. A real man should be like this. I admire you and will help you to get it over with!"

When Tian Jing heard Diwu Qingcheng teasing Qiao Rui and calling her his little lover, two blushes suddenly appeared on her face. Although she didn't know what happened after she was captured, she could still guess a little bit because Qiao Rui went to Shushan alone to get her back.

She was touched, a sweet feeling lingered in her heart, she bit her lower lip with her pearly teeth, her eyes shy and full of desire, "Can you tell me about these things?"

"I'll tell you, I'll tell you!"

Huang Jingxuan came jumping over from the side, yelling. He started from the time when Qiao Rui was rescued by the Shuangjue Patriarch after Tian Jing left the Medicine King Valley, and he vividly recounted all the things that he and Qiao Rui had experienced during that period.

It’s been a bumpy and exciting journey!