0p0 Chapter 250: Anniversary Banquet, Forced Palace
Chapter 250: Anniversary Banquet, Forced Palace
In Wudang Mountain, the sun shines brightly on the earth. At noon, the entire mountain range is shining brightly.
At this moment, the Zixiao Palace on the top of the mountain is extremely lively because Zhang Sanfeng’s 100th birthday celebration is about to be held here.
When I walked into the hall, I saw that it was crowded with people, almost shoulder to shoulder.
Zhang Sanfeng was dressed in a plain Taoist robe and sat steadily on the main seat.
His silver hair shone like silver threads, his face was kind yet majestic, and his eyes were deep and bright, as if he could see through everything in the world.
His every move and gesture reveals his sage-like temperament, which makes people admire him.
Beside Zhang Sanfeng sat the highly respected elders of the Wudang Sect.
Some of them closed their eyes to rest, while others talked in low voices, and everyone's face was filled with joy.
The Seven Heroes of Wudang stood on both sides of Zhang Sanfeng in a heroic manner, like messengers guarding the gods.
Looking at both sides of the hall, all the famous and upright families in the Ming Dynasty came to congratulate.
The high monks of Shaolin sect wore robes and clasped their hands together; the female disciples of Emei sect had graceful figures and held long swords; the masters of Kongtong, Kunlun and Huashan sects also had their own unique style and were eye-catching.
Not only that, sects from other dynasties also came to show their support, such as the Beggars' Sect, which is famous for its chivalry.
In addition, even the government attached great importance to this event and specially dispatched the elites of Hulong Villa to attend Zhang Sanfeng's centenary banquet as a sign of respect.
For a moment, the Zixiao Palace was crowded with guests, with laughter and joy rising one after another, all witnessing this grand event in the martial arts world together.
Zhang Sanfeng then looked kindly and gently at the many martial artists standing below him, a faint smile on his face as he spoke slowly, "Thank you all for taking the trouble to come and attend this humble centenary celebration. It is truly an honor for me that you can take the time out of your busy schedules to be here."
As soon as Zhang Sanfeng finished speaking, he heard a strong and powerful voice coming from the crowd. It turned out that it was the Shaolin abbot Master Kongwen who spoke.
He clasped his hands together, bowed slightly to Zhang Sanfeng, and said in a clear voice, "Master Zhang, you are a well-deserved leader in our martial arts world. In recent years, everyone present has witnessed the efforts and hard work you have put into maintaining peace in the martial arts world and upholding justice! It is truly a great honor for us to be able to celebrate Master Zhang's birthday here today!"
As soon as Abbot Kongwen finished speaking, the originally quiet crowd below suddenly became like a pot of boiling water, and everyone started to echo his words.
Someone shouted, "Yes, yes, we are so lucky to be here in person to offer our blessings to Master Zhang!"
Another gruff voice followed, "Master Zhang is highly respected, highly skilled in martial arts, and cares deeply about the people of the world. Our admiration for you is as endless as the torrent of a river!"
For a time, all kinds of praises were heard one after another.
Abbot Kongwen, who was standing aside, listened quietly to the people around him praising and praising Zhang Sanfeng. A barely perceptible look of joy appeared on his usually serious and rigid face.
Abbot Kongwen then took a small step forward, cleared his throat, and spoke again, "Master Zhang has always hated evil and always stood up for what he saw as injustice. Such chivalrous deeds earn our sincere admiration. This time, besides coming to congratulate Master Zhang on his birthday, I also have a matter concerning justice in the martial arts world, and I implore Master Zhang to intervene. I hope Master Zhang, for the sake of his fellow martial artists, will not refuse!"
After saying this, Abbot Kongwen bowed deeply to Zhang Sanfeng again with an extremely sincere attitude.
Zhang Sanfeng stared at Kongwen calmly. Seeing that Kongwen had a serious expression and a furrowed brow, he knew everything in his mind.
He spoke slowly, his voice steady and powerful, "Master Kongwen, since you've said so, I'm sure this matter is of great importance. But feel free to speak up. If I can, I will certainly help."
As soon as Zhang Sanfeng finished speaking, Abbot Kongwen nodded slightly and responded without hesitation, "To be honest, ten years ago, a peerless demon suddenly appeared in the martial arts world. This person was none other than Xie Xun, the Golden Lion King, one of the Four Dharma Kings of the Demon Sect. This beast was ferocious and brutal, wantonly slaughtering righteous people like us in the martial arts world. His crimes were truly heinous. At that time, our Shaolin sent many masters to destroy this demon, but Xie Xun was so cunning that he managed to escape. Since then, there has been no news of him since then."
At this point, Abbot Kongwen paused briefly, took a deep breath, and then spoke indignantly, "Recently, I've overheard that your sect's Fifth Master, Zhang Wu, seems to know the whereabouts of Xie Xun, the Golden-Haired Lion King. Therefore, I implore you to share your knowledge. That way, we, the heroes of the martial arts world, can unite to defeat this demon and bring comfort to the innocent souls who have perished at his hands."
After saying this, Abbot Kongwen gave a subtle look to Nun Miejue who was standing beside him.
Nun Miejue immediately understood what she meant. She stood up abruptly, her eyes fixed on Zhang Cuishan, and sternly said, "That Golden Lion King, Xie Xun, has committed countless bloody crimes in the martial arts world, killing hundreds of people. If such a vicious criminal cannot be brought to justice, how can the public anger be appeased? As Master Zhang's most favored disciple, Zhang Wuxia must be well aware of the righteousness of this matter. I hope you will quickly reveal the whereabouts of that evildoer!"
Upon hearing this, the crowd below began to whisper and discuss, and then someone couldn't help but speak up, "Yes! The whereabouts of Xie Xun, the villain that everyone in the martial arts world wants to kill, are unknown. If Zhang Wuxia knows his whereabouts, he should tell us. This would be considered as eliminating a great scourge for our martial arts world!"
For a moment, voices of agreement rose and fell, echoing throughout the entire hall.
Seeing the people below pressing forward with such a fierce momentum, the faces of the Wudang disciples changed drastically in an instant.
After they looked at each other, they drew the swords at their waists without hesitation. In an instant, the sword light flashed and the cold air was overwhelming.
At this moment, Taoist Mu, who had been silent the entire time, suddenly took a step forward, his eyes wide open in anger, and shouted, "You are using the excuse of celebrating my headmaster's birthday today to force me to abdicate. Do you really think that our Wudang Sect is easy to bully? If you want to force me to abdicate, first ask this sword in my hand if it agrees!"
Before he finished speaking, he shook his wrist and the sword drew a sharp arc in the air, making a sharp sound of breaking through the air.
In an instant, the originally noisy scene became silent, and the tense atmosphere seemed to solidify, so heavy that it made people feel a little breathless.
Everyone was shocked by Mu Dao Ren's aura, and for a moment no one dared to speak easily.
However, after a brief silence, a cold snort suddenly came from the crowd.
Xi Huazi of the Kunlun Sect leaped up to a prominent position in front, pointed at Mu Dao Ren with disdain and said, "Hmph! Your Wudang Sect may be powerful, but you can't disregard the righteousness of the martial arts world, can you? Could Master Zhang allow the sinister Xie Xun to go unpunished just because he loves his disciple? Even if Master Zhang possesses unparalleled martial arts skills, can he truly protect such a sinner?"
At this point, Xi Huazi paused briefly, scanning the audience. Then, raising his voice, he shouted, "Today's matter concerns the safety and justice of the entire martial arts world. I hope all the seniors and fellow practitioners will work together to force Zhang Wuxia to reveal the truth!"
"Besides, if we all rush forward together, with the large number of masters among us, I believe that Master Zhang may not be able to kill us all before his true energy is exhausted!" His words were full of strong threats.
……