Chapter Forty-Four: Mutual Invitation, Forcing an Invitation

  Wang's face sank and he sternly asked: "Does your master have a red mole on the left side of his cheek?"

  Yang Kang smiled slyly, intending to say something clever to gloss over the situation, but suddenly saw a few piercing glances from Wang that shot towards him like lightning, making his eyes ache and his heart skip a beat. He hastily swallowed the joke he had been about to tell and nodded honestly instead.

  Wang Chu said with a smile: "I had expected that you were the disciple of Master Qiu. Hmph, do you still remember what your master told you before teaching you martial arts?"

  Wang Chuyi asked this question for a reason. Although the Quanzhen School was founded by Wang Chongyang, it actually flourished under the hands of the Seven Quanzhen Disciples. Because when Wang Chongyang founded the Quanzhen School, he only accepted the seven disciples as his direct apprentices, so at that time, although Wang Chongyang's martial arts were unparalleled in the world, the reputation of the Quanzhen School on the Jianghu was not particularly great.

  After Wang Chongyang's death, in order to inherit and carry forward the Quanzhen School, the Seven Masters of Quanzhen began to open up their doors widely, and only then did the Quanzhen School gain momentum. However, with many disciples gathered, it was inevitable that there were both good and bad among them. In order not to let a few unscrupulous individuals tarnish the reputation of the Quanzhen School, the Seven Masters of Quanzhen discussed and established extremely strict rules for their sect, and before accepting new disciples, they would first clearly state these rules as a warning.

  Since Wanyan Kang is a disciple of his senior fellow-disciple Qiu Chuji, he must have also been taught the rules of the Quanzhen Sect. However, many of Wanyan Kang's actions today are in conflict with the rules of the Quanzhen Sect. To mention just two examples, "bullying the weak" and "associating with evil people" cannot be avoided. Moreover, looking at the martial arts he displayed when fighting Guo Jing earlier, apart from Quanzhen Sect's martial arts, there were also moves from other schools, so it is possible that he has also violated the rule of "secretly joining another sect". That's why Wang Chuyi asked him in this way.

  Yang Kang secretly felt that things were going to go wrong and couldn't help but feel anxious in his heart. He had been taught by Qiu Chuji for many years, but he deeply knew the temperament of this master, which was indeed bold and fierce, hating evil like an enemy. If what he did today was known to Qiu Chuji, he would inevitably face extremely severe punishment, and it was even possible that his martial arts would be abolished.

  However, Yang Kang was also a clever person. After a moment's thought, he came up with a vicious plan. He immediately composed his face and said with a smile: "Since the Taoist priest knows my master, he must be a senior. Why not invite the Taoist priest to come to our humble abode, so that I can also listen to the senior's teachings nearby."

  Wang Chu hummed and did not respond.

  Yang Kang's face stiffened slightly, but immediately returned to its usual warm and gentle state. He turned to Guo Jing and bowed, smiling: "I can say that I didn't know this brother until we fought. Brother, your martial arts skills are truly impressive. Please, come with Daozhang to my humble abode, let's become friends."

  Guo Jing pointed at Yang Tiexin and his daughter, saying: "You first clarify, are you going to let them go or not?"

  Yang Kang's face showed a hint of embarrassment, and he immediately smiled: "Let her go, of course. I just wanted to continue sparring with that girl, and I didn't mean to detain her."

  Guo Jing saw Yang Kang agree to release the people, and his expression improved a lot. He snorted and was about to speak when he suddenly saw Linghu Chong rush over from the side, bowing to Yang Kang with a fist: "Thank you for the young prince's invitation, but I have important business with Brother Guo, so I can only disappoint the young prince's good intentions."

  Ling Yun stepped forward to take over the conversation, also fearing that Guo Jing would momentarily agree to Yang Kang's invitation. He knew Yang Kang's character, although young in age, but his cunning and treachery were even more than his cheap father Wanyan Honglie, if he really agreed to his invitation and entered the Zhao Wang Fu, it might not be easy to get out again.

  "Who is this?" Yang Kang's brow furrowed slightly as he suddenly appeared, and he turned to ask Guo Jing.

  "This is my good brother Ling Zhu Yun." Yang Kang asked, and Guo Jing, this honest child, immediately reported Ling Zhu Yun's name. "My brother Ling said it right, we still have things to do, but we don't have time to go to your house, besides, we're not familiar with each other, and I don't want to go to your house either."

  Yang Kang couldn't help but hesitate for a moment. Sometimes honest people are more blunt because they say what's on their mind without hiding anything. However, Yang Kang was indeed from a noble family and had mastered the art of changing his expression, quickly regaining his smile and nodding: "Since Brother Guo is busy, I won't bother you anymore."

  Yang Kang turned to Wang and said, "However, Daozhang, you must come with me no matter what. If my master finds out that I met a senior but didn't invite him home for tea, he will definitely think I'm being lazy and neglectful, and I'll be severely punished."

  At this time, Ling Mu Yun had already seen that Yang Kang's invitation to Guo Jing to the Wang Mansion was just an excuse. What he really wanted to invite to the mansion was actually Wang Chuyi. In order to get Wang Chuyi to come to the mansion, his attitude was even more courteous than usual. Given Yang Kang's temperament, it was impossible for him to be genuinely close to Wang Chuyi, and it was likely that he had some ulterior motive in mind.

  It really was Ling Muyun who guessed it, Yang Kang really didn't have any good ideas.

  Yang Kang also knew that his actions today had already gone overboard, although he had done many things in the past that were not decent, but as long as he didn't let his master Qiu Chuji know, nothing would happen. Who would have thought that today he would be unlucky and was caught by Wang Chuyi. He had been taught martial arts by Qiu Chuji for many years, how could he not know that Wang Chuyi was his master's younger brother? Even if he hadn't seen him before, he must have heard of him.

  It was precisely because he knew that Wang Chongyang was the junior fellow disciple of his own master, Qiu Chuji, that Yang Kang had been so assiduous in inviting him to the palace. He wanted to invite Wang Chongyang to the palace and give him a warm welcome, in order to change Wang's bad impression of him, lest Wang tell on him when he met with Qiu later. Of course, if Wang refused to be swayed, Yang had ways to deal with him in the palace, so that he would not have the chance to see Qiu again.

  Among the people present on both sides, except for Guo Jing and others, the rest are all old rivers and lakes. What Ling Mu Yun can see, they can naturally see too. As the saying goes, no matter how hard you try to be friendly, it's either a cheat or a thief. Wang Chuyi didn't know what kind of evil idea Yang Kang was harboring in his belly, but as an old river and lake, he still maintained necessary vigilance towards Yang Kang. Facing Yang Kang's invitation, he shook his head and refused: "I don't have time to go to your mansion now, when I meet Master Qiu, I'll ask him how he taught you such a good apprentice."

  Yang Kang's face suddenly turned black, and the situation developed in a direction he least wanted to see. Wang Chuyi not only did not accept his invitation but also coldly ridiculed him. With such an attitude from Wang Chuyi, it can be imagined that if he were to meet Yang Kang's master, Qiu Chuji, would he say anything good about him?

  Yang Kang and Wang Chuyu's behavior was seen by everyone present, and they all understood in their hearts. Although this young master and Wang Chuyu are fellow disciples and uncle-nephew, this relationship is probably not even comparable to that of ordinary passersby.

  At this moment, the Lingzhi Upper Person, who had been standing at the edge of the field with a cold eye, suddenly stepped forward and said: "Wang Da Chang, Xiao Wang Ye has invited you with great courtesy, but you don't even give him any face, it's really too much. Even I, an outsider, can't bear to watch this. I have no choice but to take the risk of speaking on behalf of Xiao Wang Ye." As he spoke, Lingzhi Upper Person joined his hands together in a salute, and then suddenly raised his palms, sending out a fierce gust of wind that struck towards Wang with a loud crash.

  "What, you can't even get an invitation right, so you resort to forcing one?! Wang Chu let out a cold laugh and raised his hand in response. The wide sleeves of his robe suddenly puffed up like strong winds, as he also poured decades of refined internal energy into his palm to meet the attack head-on. The two powerful gusts of wind collided, producing a "whooshing" sound, and actually generated a slight air explosion."

  Just then, Lingzhi suddenly changed his move, his right palm turned into a claw and swiftly reached out to grab Wang's wrist. This move was extremely swift, but Wang's countermove was not slow either, he immediately countered with a reverse wrist hook, the two palms and wrists strongly clashed, colliding hard in mid-air, "Bang" a loud noise rang out, both of their bodies shook violently, then they simultaneously let go of each other's hands, retreating backward as if they had grabbed onto a scorching hot iron.

  Wang Chu smiled coldly and asked: "Master, how do you feel? Is my kung fu still passable? Do I have the qualifications to refuse Master's invitation?"

  "It's just barely tolerable..." Lingshi Shangren said in anger, but before he could finish speaking, a mouthful of fresh blood suddenly spurted out and his body fell backwards.

  Lingzhi Shangren was severely injured by Wang Chongyang's palm strength, but if he had calmed down and regulated his breathing, the injury wouldn't have flared up immediately. However, he was provoked by Wang Chongyang's words, and his anger surged, causing him to lose control of his injuries. Before he could even finish speaking, a mouthful of fresh blood spurted out.

  Yang Kang hastily rushed forward and supported Lingzhi Shangren, and when he looked at Wang Chuzi's gaze, it had already revealed a hint of horror.

  Liang Ziweng and Peng Lianhu were also secretly astonished in their hearts. These people had all been invited by Wanyan Honglie to come to the Central Plains, and they had all tried to test each other before. The martial arts of Ling Zhishang were not inferior to those of these two men, and even surpassed them in terms of palm techniques. However, despite using his strongest palm technique, he was still defeated by Wang Chongyang's single hand, which made the two men secretly shocked.