Walking westward along the Glorious Avenue, bypassing the Imperial Palace, and soon entering the West City of the Imperial Capital. The entire imperial capital is roughly shaped into a square, with four corners forming two diagonal lines that divide the entire city into four districts except the imperial palace. There are areas of different sizes. Among them, Triumph Avenue divides the entire West City into two, and then divides it into two large areas.
The location of the martial arts forum is on Triumph Avenue in the West Fifth District, about eight miles away from the west gate of the palace. This was originally a property belonging to Sunset Sect. Since establishing this martial arts forum with the other four sects, Sunset Sect, as the eldest brother among the five sects, naturally donated this moderately located and very powerful house. Purchased land and houses in surrounding areas to expand and renovate, showing an unusually grand momentum.
Wu Feng and his party arrived not far from the martial arts forum. They saw a huge archway erected on the roadside in the distance. It was particularly eye-catching. The entire archway was made of huge white stones. There were three "Martial Arts Forum" above the archway. Huge wild cursive fonts are deeply engraved on it, and a powerful momentum rushes towards the face.
Passing through the archway is a small square covering an area of dozens of acres. In the center of the square is a large wooden platform with many weapon racks placed behind it. Looking from a distance, dragons and tigers are leaping on the platform, flags are flying beside the platform, and there are a sea of people under the platform. , it’s truly spectacular.
Wu Feng carefully observed this huge place, but he couldn't help but have a question in his heart. Looking at such a huge mansion and the surrounding ancillary facilities plus the land, it would be impossible to buy this without millions of gold coins. Is the purpose of the Sunset Sect and the other four sects creating such a large-scale stage just to strengthen their own sect’s momentum? Can such a large sum of money be supported by the economic strength of these five sects
With doubts, Wu Feng and the others slowly approached the archway. Immediately, a disciple who was greeting guests at the door ran up to greet them, "Young masters, are you here to take a look? Please come inside." The attitude was very cordial.
Wu Feng didn't answer, just nodded, and walked straight in. The receiving disciple didn't care, he just looked at the three of them carefully and walked away.
"Shuangying, Mingxia, do you know the situation of these factions?" Wu Feng asked casually as he walked forward. There were many people coming and going, most of them were ordinary people in the imperial capital watching the excitement, but There are also a considerable number of people from all walks of life. These people carry swords and carry swords, and their demeanor and behavior are very different from ordinary people. But after all, in the imperial capital, under the emperor's feet, they all look very stable.
"Brother, why are you asking this? Are you also interested in the world?" Gu Mingxia asked immediately as she was straightforward.
"Well, it's not a bad thing to know each other well. What's more, I had a relationship with the leader of the Sunset Sect?" Wu Feng replied with a smile.
"Oh? Brother, do you know Na Fu Jian?" Qin Shuangying also intervened, feeling very strange that Wu Feng was the head of the Sunset Sect. When he came here to give a martial arts lecture, for the sake of convenience, Wu Feng asked the two girls to change their titles so as not to attract attention.
"I can't say we know each other. We met a few years ago at a banquet held by His Highness. I heard that the Sunset Sect is considered a famous sect in the empire. As the leader, Fu Jian should not be simple either. ." Wu Feng said.
"The Sunset Sect was indeed very popular when the previous leader Han Xiao was in charge of the sect, and was firmly among the three major sects in the empire. However, a few years ago the leader of the sect, Han Xiao, disappeared mysteriously, and the members of the sect were fighting for the leader. Civil strife broke out in his position. Later, although Fu Jian ascended to the throne of the sect, the strength of his sect has been greatly affected, especially when his two junior brothers led many disciples to leave, which directly led to the sect's reputation in the entire empire's martial arts world. He fell out of the top five, and now he can be ranked between seven and eight at most, but his strength cannot be underestimated." Gu Mingxia is very familiar with this anecdote in the world. As a child of a martial arts family, the first condition for going out to enter the world is You need to know all kinds of secrets and stories in the rivers and lakes so that you can deal with difficult situations during your travels.
"Xia Mei is right. If this were not the case, there would be no need for the Sunset Sect to establish a martial arts forum, and they would have to unite with several other sects." Qin Shuangying also added, "But this martial arts forum is really useless. If it has less effect, at least the influence of the Sunset Sect will be greatly increased, and the status of the other sects will also be improved a lot."
"Hey, it's impossible for the Sunset Sect to build such a large martial arts forum without sufficient strength. Think about how much money the land and facilities here alone require? I'm afraid this is not something that these sects can afford. Is that okay?" Wu Feng smiled slightly and changed the topic to this.
The two women were startled when they heard this, and then they both started to think about it. Apparently they also noticed the complexity of this issue. In order for a sect to survive and grow, in addition to its own strength, the most important thing is to have strong financial support. , both of them are from martial arts sects, and of course they are very aware of this issue.
Wu Feng didn't say much more on this issue, and brought the topic to the remaining sects, "What about the remaining sects?"
"Puhua Temple is located on the outskirts of the imperial capital. It is also a very famous Taoist temple in the imperial capital. Although it is far less prosperous than Baiyun Temple, it is unique in martial arts. It is said that the most famous sword technique of the sect is extremely powerful. They The previous leader once used this set of swordsmanship to be so powerful in the North that even the Changchun Sword Sect, the largest sword sect in the North, had to give him three points. Although there are not many disciples in his sect, they all have extraordinary martial arts." Qin Shuangying It seems that he is familiar with the situation of martial arts sects in the imperial capital.
"Well, there are too many masters. Compared with the Snow Mountain Sect, which one is stronger and which one is weaker?" Wu Feng asked a little curiously.
"It should be between brothers. Our Snow Mountain Sect has been greatly affected in the past few years, otherwise..." Qin Shuangying blushed, but she still expressed her views realistically.
"Well, what kind of sect is the Tsing Yi Sect?" Wu Feng asked again.
"The Tsing Yi Sect is also a somewhat influential martial arts sect in the imperial capital. It flourished for a period of time especially in the previous generations. It has not many disciples, and most of them are female disciples. They all wear cyan. It is named after the robe. It is said that the current sect leader, 'Shang Feihong' Chu Zhenling, is particularly good at light skills and hidden weapons. He has reached the pinnacle of excellence. There are several disciples under his sect who are also quite outstanding and have a good reputation in the martial arts world." Qin Shuangying introduced. He said, "The Tsing Yi Sect has several clinics and medicine shops in the imperial capital, and they are very good at treating bruises and injuries."
"Then their main source of income should also come from the medicine shop?" Wu Feng asked immediately.
"I don't know about that." Qin Shuangying obviously didn't expect Wu Feng to be interested in this.
"What about the Baisha Sect and the Boat Gang?" Wu Feng asked again.
"The Baisha Sect and the Boat Gang are not very famous in the martial arts world, but the number of disciples of these two gangs is quite large, both exceeding a thousand. The only members of the Baisha Sect are the leader 'Fire Hand' Du Fang and his junior brother 'Ghost Finger' You Xing is still considered a good fighter, and the others are unknown; but among the boat gang, only their gang leader "Hun Jianglong" Liang Chengfu is considered good, and several other subordinates are only good at water kung fu. But these two factions are different from each other. The relationship between the government and the government is very close, and many government servants are from these two sects." Qin Shuangying finished the situation in one breath.
Before Wu Feng could ask again, Qin Shuangying added: "The Baisha sect runs a considerable salt business around the imperial capital, and also does the grain business, while the boat gang, as its name suggests, mainly engages in water transportation, and the shipping business on the Shan River that flows through the imperial capital. Nearly half of them are controlled by ship gangs, especially coal transportation in Jinzhong is basically transported to the Imperial Capital and the East China Sea by waterway due to cost reasons. It is an extremely profitable golden waterway and the lifeblood of the ship gangs’ survival and development.”
"Then why did these sects suddenly unite to create this martial arts forum? Is there any special reason for this?" Wu Feng asked slowly.
Qin Shuangying was stunned, and then replied: "I haven't understood this carefully, but the combination has greatly improved the reputation and power of each of the five factions. At least this should be a reason."
"Well, the Sunset Sect has a strong foundation and strength, and is inextricably linked with the high-level officials of the empire. Puhua Temple and Tsing Yi Sect are quite famous in the martial arts world. The disciples in the sect are quite strong. The Baisha Sect and the Boat Gang They have close contacts with the local governments at the middle and lower levels of the empire, have many disciples, and have a solid economic foundation. These five factions can be said to have their own strengths, but once they are combined, they form a community of interests with considerable strength. The imperial capital now needs to find a partner with whom It’s not easy for them to compete against the Jianghu gangs." Wu Feng said slowly. He was both satisfied and surprised that Qin Shuangying was so familiar with her situation, and his view of the Snow Mountain Sect had changed a lot.
"Brother, why are you so interested in them? In the eyes of the government, they are just some martial arts sects. Could they do anything to fight against the empire?" Gu Mingxia looked puzzled.
"Hey, it would be nice if it were that simple. But we can see that various forces in the imperial capital are intertwined and have been basically established for a long time. Therefore, any new phenomenon is worth pondering. If there is an effect, there is a cause. This is what the martial arts world says. It must appear for a reason, and it will never happen out of thin air." Wu Feng shook his head and said, "But this has nothing to do with us for the time being, but it would be better to know some inside information, maybe we can use it in the future if we have the opportunity. "
The closer they got to the central stage, the more and more people there were. Wu Feng and the other three found their way through the crowd, and finally slowly squeezed to the side of the stage. I saw that this large platform was made entirely of fine pine wood. It was in a rectangular shape, about thirty meters long and twenty meters wide, and it looked quite grand. The surrounding colorful flags are fluttering in the wind, and when paired with the smooth weapon racks, it looks even more pleasing to the eye.
On the edge of the wooden platform directly opposite, a dozen large mahogany chairs were lined up. At this time, there were only two or three people sitting next to them. Obviously, there were no important figures from the five sects. A pair of men were practicing happily in the center of the stage holding weapons. The clear and melodious sound of the weapons clashing and the shouts of the two men complemented each other. Coupled with the bursts of cheers from the audience, it really looked like a martial arts competition.
There is a huge wooden screen planned behind the large flowing chair. There is a wood-carved plaque hanging on the edge of the screen. On it are the four words "Art without End" with flying dragons and phoenixes. It can be seen that it was written by a famous artist. There is also a couplet posted on both sides of the screen: "Sincerity makes friends all over the world, martial arts makes friends all over the world."
"Hey, you're quite impressive." Wu Feng whispered, and then asked: "Which faction is in charge today?"