Chapter 1: Establishing the Academy and Teaching Disciples

  Wang Jinxi is a responsible person, considering the overall interests of the Jin Yuan, he personally sent his only daughter to be married. After ten days of bumpy journey and suffering from the heat, Wang Jinxi's wedding procession finally arrived outside the White River City.

  Under the slanting sun, the greyish-black and sturdy White River City stood by the surging White River. The bustling shouts within the city seemed to be competing with the scorching heat, rising and falling in succession, entering the ears and dispersing some of the annoyance.

  Compared to the desolate and dark Wujicheng, this place is indeed full of vitality. The entire group of people seeing off their relatives couldn't help but have sparkling eyes, and the elderly, weak, and women who followed behind them even burst into loud tears. With such a good place for development, the one in their household must not be living too miserably, and they will also be able to live well here in the future.

  Lei Meng received the scout's report early, and the people sent by Jin Yuan to escort his relatives were approaching. Yang Fu, Yang Erwu, and Lin Chong had been waiting with him at the Bahe City Gate early on, but in fact they were being escorted over to wait, Lei Meng's face didn't have a hint of joy, he was stern-faced throughout.

  Seeing the large troops arriving outside the city gate, Lei Meng jumped onto the white horse beside him, forced a smile on his face, and with a squeeze of his legs on the horse's belly, he led several people to slowly welcome them.

  Wang Jinxi, who was sitting in the carriage, had already seen Lei Meng's portrait and naturally recognized the elegant and refined leader as Lei Meng. He shouted: "Stop!" The entire team of horses slowed down and came to a halt.

  The two of them jumped and landed elegantly beside the carriage. Leiming dismounted his horse, cupped his hands and took two steps forward, saying loudly: "I presume this is the renowned Wang Jinxi, King Wang! I've long admired you!"

  Wang Jinxi hurriedly returned the courtesy with a bow and repeatedly said "I don't dare".

  "You must be tired from the journey!" Lei Meng asked out of habit, then put away his stiff smile.

  Wang Jinxi observed very carefully, and his heart couldn't help but thump with a loud noise. What was wrong with this Lei Ming? Didn't he even look at my family's lovely daughter with favor? Or did he have ulterior motives towards me, Da Jin? He forced a smile onto his face and hastily said: "It's not bad, it's not bad. Since entering Wujijiang, the road has been very smooth and flat, and the horse carriage is moving very smoothly."

  "Please go into the city to rest." Lei Meng replied, then turned to Lin Chong who was laughing uncontrollably beside him and shouted, "What are you laughing at! Quickly take these troops to rest. And get the soldiers to come over and identify their relatives!"

  "Yes!" Lin Chong responded with a straight face. Unable to hold back his laughter, he suddenly let out a burst of air and quickly turned around to run away.

  Lin Chong took the name list handed over by Wang Jinxi's department and counted the personnel outside the city. After a moment of chaotic and excited recognition, some people found their families and cried with joy. Some seekers were not found and wept in sorrow. There were also those who had lost their loved ones and mourned in grief...

  Walking on the flat and dark streets, looking at the novel carts by the street, listening to the distant laughter... Wang Jinxi sighed all the way. What kind of border town is this? This is simply a paradise for the common people!

  In the main hall of the city master's mansion, Leiming sat in a red wooden back chair and leaned forward to ask: "I wonder if King Wang is satisfied with Baihe?"

  "Hmm, great! This is a wonderful place to be, the common people live very happily!" Wang Jinxi stroked his chin stubble and said.

  "Then let the king stay here for a few more days." Leiming said, and then shouted loudly outside the door, "Someone, take the king to rest!"

  A sword-bearing muslin soldier rushed in from outside with a rustling sound.

  "Hold on!" Wang Jinxi felt something was off. How could he be told to go rest before even getting to the main topic? What kind of logic is this?

  Lei Meng looked at Wang Jinxi's round face with his head tilted, as if to see if there were any flowers on it. He raised an eyebrow and asked: "I don't know what else King Wang has?"

  His own daughter, personally delivered to their doorstep, and yet they didn't even acknowledge her! Wang Jinxi felt indignant in his heart, but he didn't dare to vent his anger carelessly. He stood up, bowed slightly towards Lei Meng, and said: "General Lei, I have come with imperial orders to deliver my daughter, let's discuss the marriage first."

  "Marriage?" Lei Meng feigned surprise, "What marriage? Yang Tian and I are still five or six years away from getting married. The Heavenly General of Luoyang has long been married, and Old Master Huang Chu is already at the age of being a grandfather. Is it that Your Highness has taken a liking to Lin Chong, Liao Yun, Qin Hao, or perhaps my junior apprentice Wu Erzi?"

  Looking at the majestic Lei Meng, listening to his nonsense, Wang Jinxi couldn't help but turn black in the face. Who are those people? I haven't even heard of them, and even if I have, how could his precious daughter marry those ordinary men?

  He was very indignant in his heart, but thinking of the mission he shouldered, Wang Jinxi gritted his teeth and endured. He said in a low voice, "It's naturally about General Lei and the princess's marriage. General Lei is young and promising, and he is the only suitable candidate for the princess's husband!"

  Lei Meng shrugged and said disdainfully, "But the princess is not Lei Meng's only choice." As soon as he spoke, Wang Jinxi was choked for half a day without breathing.

  Looking at Wang Jinxi's unsatisfied expression, Lei Meng continued: "Go back and tell Wang Ding that I know his thoughts. There is no need to make any fake peace. As long as he doesn't come to provoke me, I won't go and hit him!"

  Wang Jinxi was first shocked and then embarrassed. The little thought he had come up with, and Wang Ding's vicious idea, were seen through by others. He forced a smile and said: "General Lei is kind-hearted and benevolent, this is the blessing of all people under heaven!"

  The thunderous voice stopped him, saying: "Prince Wang, please rest for now. After that, take the princess back and don't change anything else. We won't attack Jin Yuan on our own initiative." After finishing speaking, he stood up, took a deep breath, and quickly left, as he really had no interest in chatting with Wang Jinxi anymore, which was a waste of youth and life, and he still had many things to do.

  Wang Jinxi stood there in a daze, watching as Lei Meng disappeared into the distance. He was so shocked that he couldn't say a word. After standing there for a while, he followed the soldiers to his quarters to rest.

  They spent two peaceful and fulfilling days, but Wang Jinxi did not find Lei Meng, instead his robust subordinate, Lu Dingnan, found trouble with Lin Chong. It turned out that Lu Dingnan had been close to Lin Chong since childhood, one practiced swordsmanship and the other marksmanship, often competing with each other, and they were evenly matched. Later, Lu Dingnan traveled around to learn martial arts, while Lin Chong joined the army, and the two never met again, unexpectedly meeting again in Baimen City.

  Lu Dingnan recognized Lin Chong outside the White River City, but it was not the right occasion, so he didn't rashly acknowledge him. After staying for two days and inquiring multiple times, Lu confirmed that it was indeed Lin Chong. He then stood guard at the gate, shouting to see Lin Chong. However, Lin Chong was not there, and after soldiers repeatedly tried to persuade Lu Dingnan to leave without success, he suddenly drew his long sword and said: "Scram! Don't think you're so great just because you're a king's man, or I'll make you look good!"

  Lu Dingnan had been traveling the jianghu for over a decade, and people usually looked up to him. When he worked under Wang Jinxin, others didn't dare speak ill of him. Seeing two gate guards daring to shout at him, how could he tolerate this humiliation? He swiftly drew his sword, ready to quickly knock away the Tang knives that resembled swords in the hands of the two men.

  He danced up a ball of green light and rolled towards the two soldiers. The two soldiers, who were used to life and death, saw the green light approaching and, without hesitation, drew their Tang knives and stabbed straight ahead. One came with injuries exchanged for injuries, with lives exchanged for lives.

  Lu Dingnan had never been on a battlefield. Who has ever seen such a way of fighting, coming up is to fight to the death, the sword tip lightly sweeps the knife and then retreats. He just stood still, his left hand pointing at two soldiers, opening his mouth in anger: "Damn it! You two are looking for death!"

  Two soldiers ignored him, standing on their own land, even if it was a dragon, they would have to roll with it! The two exchanged a secret signal and suddenly one took a stride forward, sword raised for a straight thrust, while the other swung his Tang knife in a slanting slash towards Lu Dingnan.

  The two knives came at slightly different times, and Lu Dingnan didn't dare to take them head-on. He lightly jumped back to avoid the attack. When the two men's knife momentum was exhausted, he suddenly charged forward, not waiting for the two men to reorganize their offense. He blocked the Tang knife of the soldier on the right with his own sword, and kicked the soldier flying out with one foot. Then, he swiftly swung his sword to slash at the soldier who came up stabbing from the left.

  As expected, the soldier with the horizontal sword did not appear, and the other soldier continued to charge forward. Lu Dingnan took a deep breath and swung his sword, causing the soldier's Tang knife to become unstable in his hand, almost flying out of his grasp. The soldier cherished his knife dearly and was unwilling to let go, taking a step forward to counterattack with great force. Just as he was about to catch his breath, Lu Dingnan aimed at the gap and kicked him squarely in the chest with one foot, causing him to grunt and fly out horizontally.

  It was a complex situation, but in reality, the three men's confrontation only lasted for an instant. The two soldiers each clutched their chests, propped themselves up against the wall with their swords, and took half a day to catch their breath, with a faint trickle of blood at the corner of their mouths. They knew they couldn't beat the newcomer, but they still glared at Lu Dingnan with fierce eyes, like vicious wolves, ready to pounce and bite him if he let his guard down for even a moment.

  Lu Dingnan sneered and said: "You two think you can exchange blows with me? That's truly a fool's dream!"

  The imagined scolding did not appear. The two soldiers retracted their ferocity, sheathed their Tang knives with a hint of warmth in their eyes and slightly lowered their heads saying: "Commander Lin!"

  Immediately afterwards, a "pa pa" applause sounded from not far behind Lu Dingnan: "Not bad, not bad kung fu, actually able to beat my soldiers so they don't dare come forward."

  Lu Dingnan turned around and took a look, his eyes were firm and unyielding, wasn't that Lin Chong? A smile appeared on his face as he said: "Haha, even two small soldiers dare to draw their swords against me, not cutting off my hands and feet is already giving me a huge favor."

  "What! You dare!" Lin Chong swiftly drew out his Tang knife, pointing it at Lu Dingnan. If he hadn't known that this man was an envoy of Jin Yuan, he would have stabbed him with one swift stroke, creating a transparent hole in his body!

  "Lin Chong!" Lu Dingnan was shocked and furious. He was a man who valued relationships and righteousness, and he never thought that his old friend would turn against him with a knife.

  As he heard the other person shout out his name, Lin Chong furrowed his brow and slowly lowered his raised right hand. Looking at the vaguely familiar face, he asked tentatively: "You are..."

  "I'm Ding Nan, Lu Ding Nan!" Lu Ding Nan was excited, and he seemed to hear Lin Chū calling out "Lu Ding Nan" in his ear.

  "Ah, Dingnan, it's you, Dingnan!" Lin Chong's mind flashed back to the appearance of Lu Dingnan from years ago, slowly overlapping with the figure in front of him. He quickly stepped forward, sword in hand. Lu Dingnan also drew his sword and hastened towards him.

  Then, the two old men actually hugged each other, leaving the two soldiers by the wall staring at each other in confusion.

  After patting each other on the back with a "thud thud" sound, the two of them threw their heads back and burst out laughing.

  "Go, let's go inside and have a drink!" Lin Chong said with a smile, sheathing his sword.

  Lu Dingnan shook his head, and a sudden smile spread across his face. "Making an appointment is not as good as running into each other," he said. "Let's have a friendly competition first, and then we can discuss swordsmanship over drinks!"

  "Haha! Still the same style as before!" Lin Chong was amused, recalling the scene from back then. He smiled confidently and said, "However, you're no match for me now."

  "It's only after comparison that one knows! Draw your sword!" Lu Dingnan would never give up easily.

  Lin Chong slowly drew out his Tang sword, gently blew on it, and a humming sound pierced through the air, saying: "Let's compare then."

  Lu Dingnan shook his head to shake off the buzzing in his ears, and with a swift stab of his sword. Several feet away, Lin Chong glanced at him sideways, suddenly opened his eyes wide, took a heavy step forward, swung his knife swiftly, and brought up a thick atmosphere that pressed towards Lu Dingnan.

  A strong gust of wind hit him in the face, and with a heavy atmosphere, Lu Dingnan's breath condensed, and the sword in his hand was "ting" cut off by Tang Dao's swift and fierce slash...

  The oppressive atmosphere dissipated, and Lu Dingnan was stunned for a long time. It wasn't until Lin Chong walked over with the Tang sword that he suddenly came to his senses. He threw away the broken sword in his right hand, grasped Lin Chong's arms tightly with both hands, and said: "Lin Chong, Lin Chong! Who is your famous master? I also want to become a disciple!"

  Lin Chong was taken aback and said: "I just borrowed the advantage of the weapon, as for martial arts, I haven't compared with you in detail yet, don't know..."

  "No, I can tell from your aura that you're much stronger than me! I want to be your apprentice!" Lu Dingnan was very determined. After wandering the jianghu for ten years, he could still easily discern the difference in strength.

  Lin Chong furrowed his brow, unsure of how to respond. Although Lei Meng's martial arts skills were exceptionally high and the teaching effect was extremely good, making him the top choice for apprenticeship, Lin Chong had been learning from Lei Meng for a long time but had never seen him take in any disciples. With just the three of them - himself, Liao Yun, and Luoyang - he really didn't know what Lei Meng's standards were for accepting disciples; moreover, Lu Dingnan had appeared very suddenly...

  Lin Chong hesitated, and Lu Dingnan asked: "Don't you want to? Don't you want to?"

  "No, no, it's not that I'm unwilling, nor is it that I taught you, can you take the lead?!" Lin Chong grasped Lu Dingnan's shoulder and changed the subject, "Now let's just drink, drink! Everything else can wait until after we're done drinking!"

  After being apart for over a decade, the two had many topics to discuss, sharing their own experiences and interesting stories with each other. The conversation flowed smoothly, accompanied by continuous laughter, as they drank wine until deep into the night.

  With a heart full of regret for losing the martial arts contest, Lu Dingnan was made drunk by Lin Chong. After helping him back to rest, Lin Chong knocked on Lei Ming's door in the dead of night.

  Smelling the wine all over his body, Lei Meng sat at the table in front of the lamp and said: "Expel the wine fumes, scatter them and then come back!"

  After half an hour, Lin Chong circulated his internal energy throughout his body, forcing out the stench and wine fumes, before respectfully entering the room.

  Lei Meng looked at Lin Chong, whose clothes were a bit disheveled, and smiled slightly, asking in a soft voice: "You look like you've had too much to drink. What's wrong, Lin Chong?"

  Lin Chong immediately told the story of his encounter with Lu Dingnan in detail, and finally asked weakly with a hint of hope: "Master, I wonder if you can take Lu Dingnan as your apprentice?" It was clear that he still had deep feelings for Lu Dingnan.

  Lei Meng tapped his fingers on the table, thinking for a while before saying, "It's impossible to take him in at present, because his identity is suspicious."

  Just as Lin Chong was about to explain, Lei Mingzhi stopped him and said: "I know you trust him very much, but after so many years, people will always change. We still need time to observe him." Lin Chong heard this and nodded dejectedly.

  However, it's not that there are no opportunities to learn martial arts. Given that so many people want to learn martial arts, I plan to build a martial arts school and start teaching! Lei Meng gazed deeply into the night sky, recalling the traditional mode of operation for martial arts schools, from low-level apprentices to mid-level, to high-level... a teaching model that doesn't get involved in other matters. Perhaps this will be a blessing for those who want to learn martial arts in Hexi's four cities.