And his martial arts skills had already broken through to the upper third level of the spirit refining realm during forty years of bloody battles.
With his understanding of the old martial arts world of forty years ago, there should be no problem for Qiao Mu to rank among the top three with the hundred years of skills he displayed.
"Is there more than one centenarian like this in the outside world?" Hai Siyuan asked in surprise.
"Of course not." Clairvoyant explained:
"For the past forty years, the martial arts world of Jiuzhou has been oppressed by aliens outside and threatened by the Martial Saint inside. Under the double pressure from both inside and outside, if you don't make progress, you will die, and you will die miserably, being eaten up by the Martial Saint."
"Among the four lists of strength and skill gods in Tingchao Tower, those who can enter the top ten are all geniuses and eccentrics born under the current heavy pressure."
"The top ten on the four lists are no longer something that ordinary martial artists can achieve with hard work alone. They are all gifted with extraordinary talents and have encountered many unexpected events. They can be called the sons of martial arts luck and are at the forefront of today's martial arts."
"Just talking about the Power Ranking, the others in the top ten fell off a cliff by chance, but turned out to be a blessing in disguise by taking rare fruits, which transformed their bodies and gave them a hundred years of extra power."
"There is also a martial arts family named Xue. It is said that their family is cursed by the blood of an alien and cannot live past the age of fifty."
"So every generation of the head of the family will use his life's skills to instill skills in his descendants before he turns fifty. The skills are passed down from generation to generation. Although there is some loss, the accumulated skills are far superior to those of ordinary warriors. This is related to the family martial arts practiced by the Xue family."
"And this Qiao Shuangsen is different from those gifted children of destiny." Clairvoyance said with emotion:
"He did not rely on chance, but on his consistent efforts over a hundred years. He built a tower out of sand and a mountain out of earth. He is a role model for warriors of my generation."
"Listen to what he said on the stage. He has been practicing hard for a hundred years to get to where he is now. It really makes me, the bystanders, admire him."
People with extraordinary talents often attract envy.
But for those who work hard and diligently, I feel more respect and admiration.
"More importantly, this represents a path that future generations can hopefully repeat," Clairvoyant said.
"Even if your progress is slow, as long as you have enough perseverance, you can continue to make breakthroughs in the Xumi Mountain King Sutra. The so-called levels of power only represent different stages, and there is no concept of bottlenecks in the practice."
Hai Siyuan was also impressed when he heard this: "I really don't know what kind of person he is to be able to create a martial art like the "Sumeru Mountain King Sutra". This person will definitely leave a mark in the history of Kyushu martial arts."
As they were talking about this, Qiao Mu on the stage had finished his sermon and walked down from the stage.
Spreading martial arts is not a one-day job, and he is quite interested in Lu Yanbei.
After all, just now on the stage, this old man said in person that he learned his swordsmanship from the former number one swordsman in the world... He is also one of Qiao Mu's targets on this trip.
Chapter 187 The World's No. 1 Sword Exiled Immortal (4k
"You want to see Jian Zexian?"
After hearing Qiao Mu's purpose, Wooden Sword Wanderer Lu Yanbei showed a strange look on his face.
Not only him, when Qiao Mu mentioned the name of Jian Zexian, Captain Hai next to him also looked surprised, seemed to be hesitant to speak, and frowned.
The exiled swordsman was one of the reasons why Qiao Mu came to this lonely city.
He usually likes to deal with strong people, because strong people are often dangerous people, most of whom are in big trouble and can easily kill people.
So he flocked to it.
But Captain Hai frowned at this moment:
"Mr. Qiao, although the Sword Exiled Immortal is strong, he has a heart of stone. Why are you looking for him?"
"In the thirty years since he entered the lonely city, he has never drawn his sword, never fought for the soldiers and civilians in the city, and watched our soldiers die on the battlefield."
"Twenty years ago, General Li Changge went to ask him for help before he died, but he was not moved at all. He still hides in the Taoist temple in the city until today."
If it was an ordinary city resident who did not dare to go into battle to kill the enemy due to his own low strength and lack of courage, Hai Siyuan could still understand... Although he understood, he still despised cowards.
But Jian Zexian is different.
In the previous martial arts world forty years ago, Jian Zexian was an extremely dazzling figure.
The Martial Saint at that time was only the eleventh in the world, and there were ten people in the martial arts world who were more dazzling than him.
The Exiled Sword Immortal was the leader in martial arts and swordsmanship at that time, and was called "The Exiled Sword Immortal" by martial artists all over the world.
The title of the so-called exiled immortal, even if it is just the name of a martial artist in the martial arts world, is of great significance.
Because there are immortals in this world, and they indeed possess powers far beyond those of ordinary warriors.
It is quite incredible that Jian Zexian, as a martial artist, is dubbed "the exiled immortal among swordsmen" by the world. This represents that in the eyes of the martial artists in the previous generation of martial arts, this is the "exiled immortal" in their eyes, a figure like a land sword immortal.
Such a person, who obviously possesses unparalleled martial arts skills, but never draws his sword and hides in the city, would naturally make Hai Duwei and other soldiers despise him.
He was very strong, so even if Captain Hai and others had some grudges in their hearts, they could only hold them back and did not dare to provoke him.
But it was impossible for the old soldiers in the city, led by Captain Hai, to have a good attitude towards Jian Zexian.
After listening to Captain Hai's brief account of Jian Zexian's life and deeds, Qiao Mu was also greatly surprised.
The one who reacted more violently than him was Lu Yanbei.
His face looked rather awkward, he didn't know whether to move forward or backward, he just stood there motionless.
"Don't worry about it, Mr. Lu. Let's just talk about the facts." Captain Hai also noticed Lu Yanbei's embarrassment and waved his hand.
"What Jian Zexian did is Jian Zexian's business. Since Elder Lu entered the city a year ago, he has fought side by side with us many times. We naturally understand his sincerity."
"Don't think too much, Mr. Lu. You are you and he is him. You don't have to work so hard to do good things for him."
Qiao Mu seemed to be thinking about something. It sounded like Lu Yanbei and the exiled sword immortal had a very close relationship
"Could it be that Mr. Lu is the disciple of the Exiled Sword Immortal?" Qiao Mu asked casually.
This time he didn't call him nephew, but used a more formal title.
But after saying this, Lu Yanbei's expression became even weirder. He sighed slightly and said:
"To be honest, Jian Zexian's real name is Lu Yannan, and he is my younger brother."
"I learned swordplay when he was young, and I taught him swordsmanship. But when he grew up, his swordsmanship easily surpassed mine, and later it became him who taught me swordsmanship."
"People in the martial arts world call me 'Wooden Sword Wanderer'. They say I have perfect sword skills and am not limited to swords. In fact, if it weren't for my brother's advice, I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to get to where I am now."
Qiao Mu pondered for a long time, and suddenly asked:
"In addition to swordsmanship, has Master Lu also learned the Iron Crotch Kung Fu?"
"Iron Crotch Kung Fu? Why do you ask, Brother Qiao?" Lu Yanbei was surprised.
Because your second brother is invincible in the world. Qiao Mu complained in his heart, and suddenly recalled the old Huang whom he knew in Yancheng before.
Speaking of which, Lao Huang's iron crotch skills are really top-notch. He is now 109 years old, and he is still as strong as a rock, which allows him to have no worries.
While the two were talking, Hai Siyuan walked a few steps away and planned to leave.
He was not interested in the topic of Jian Zexian.
But before he could go far, Qiao Mu called him.
"Captain Hai, do you remember what I said before, that your brother is waiting outside Anxi Pass?"
Hai Siyuan paused, but saw Qiao Mu take out a large stack of envelopes from his bag, took out one and handed it to him.
Anxi Pass was built twenty years ago, and Hai Siyuan had also learned about the existence of Anxi Pass from Lu Yanbei and other warriors from the outside world.
The letter in Qiao Mu's hand was actually a family letter from Mr. Anxi Guan Waihai.
He had a total of 31 such letters from home, which came from people who settled in small towns outside the Parthia Pass.
They said they wanted Qiao Mu to help them go into the desert and burn the letter to the underworld, but in fact they didn't believe that their relatives died in the alien war and still hoped for the best...
"Give me all these letters as well." Hai Siyuan said in a slightly heavy tone:
"They are all my former colleagues... Although these 31 letters were delivered to this lonely city, how many of them are still alive today..."
Hai Siyuan took the stack of letters from home and left.
...
There is a Taoist temple in the lonely city.
This city has been besieged by aliens in the desert for forty years, so it is obviously impossible for there to be a Taoist temple in the city that worships aliens.
So this Taoist temple has obviously been abandoned long ago and has fallen into disrepair, with the walls covered with mottled marks.
The courtyard was covered with a layer of fallen leaves, which made a crunching sound when stepped on. In the courtyard there was a statue of an immortal lying slantwise in the mud.
The statue of the immortal was similar to the ones Qiao Mu had seen before, with an extraordinary temperament, an immortal demeanor, and an expression of compassion for the world.
However, the statue of the immortal had fallen over, with half of its face buried in the mud.
What Qiao Mu cared more about was not the immortal statue in the yard, but the people in the yard.
The man was dressed in green and had white hair like frost. He was facing away from them and sitting on the head of the immortal statue, as if he was using the head as a chair.
Judging from the side profile, although this person's hair is already white, his face is not old, and he is obviously much younger than the old man Lu Yanbei.
He had a face full of stubble and looked a little unkempt, sitting casually in this deserted yard. But his appearance was really handsome, and even with such unkempt appearance, he was still eye-catching.
It makes people sigh that if this person was still young, let alone his swordsmanship and martial arts, just this face would probably be enough to make him a famous figure in the world.
The middle-aged man in green was sitting on top of the immortal statue, holding a carving knife in his hand, and concentrating on carving a stone statue of a woman.
His carving skills are truly extraordinary. He carved a graceful figure of a woman in palace dress so vividly that it seemed as if she would open her eyes at the next moment.
The part that the middle-aged man was carving was the eyes.
As the saying goes, the finishing touch is the finishing touch. Whether in sculpture or painting, eyes are an important stroke.
If the finishing touch is done, the statue will have spirit and charm. It is no longer a stone statue with an empty shape, but as lively as a real person.
But at this moment, the middle-aged man put down the knife in his hand.
"Love has always been full of regrets, and good dreams are the easiest to wake up from."
"After so many years, I still can't walk out of this city in my heart. Ah Zhen, I don't have the face to let your eyes see what I look like now." He sighed slightly, and his angular profile was coated with a thin layer of gold in the evening sun.
"It's better not to carve these eyes."
He walked into the yard with his back to Qiao Mu, who seemed to be talking to him, or perhaps talking to himself.
"Thirty years pass in a blink of an eye, and the beauty has aged. Are you old now too?"
"I only regret that my skills are limited. I dare not carve out your eyes, dare not carve out your beauty."
"He is a very affectionate person." This thought flashed through Qiao Mu's mind.
However, Lu Yanbei, who was leading Qiao Mu here, moved at this time. He ignored the "Sword Exiled Immortal" who was carving a female portrait, walked straight to the main hall of the Taoist temple, and pushed open the closed door.
The door creaked, and the things in the main hall came into Qiao Mu's sight, causing him to pause for a moment.
I saw that on the altar of the main hall, there were more than a dozen stone statues... They were not the common statues of immortals in Taoist temples. These stone statues were all statues of women without exception.
There are petite and graceful ladies, there are heroic female swordsmen holding long swords, and there are also beautiful women with plump bodies that seem to be able to squeeze out water... More than a dozen stone statues of women with different postures and shapes, all of them lifelike, compete for beauty on the altar.
"Brother, you are ruining my plan again." The middle-aged man said nonchalantly.
He simply half-lay on the top of the tall immortal statue in the courtyard and yawned.
"Don't you have the shame to carve your eyes? Let them all take a good look at what you look like now. Are you ashamed?" Lu Yanbei said unhappily:
"You've almost turned the main hall of the Taoist temple into a harem exhibition hall."
"Brother, I am sincere to them." Lu Yannan said calmly:
"It's just that my heart has been broken a long time ago, broken into many pieces, and each piece fell in love with a different person."
"You can't discredit my sincerity towards them just because you weren't as popular as I was when you were young."
Lu Yanbei took a deep breath and almost choked.
"Is he the Exiled Sword Immortal?" Qiao Mu looked carefully at this so-called Exiled Sword Immortal.
Although this person is famous, it seems that apart from his good looks, he does not have the demeanor and bearing of a banished immortal.
"Forget about the banished immortal, but where is your sword? There doesn't seem to be a single sword in this Taoist temple?" Qiao Mu looked around and asked.
This so-called Sword Immortal had no weapon in his hand, only a flat knife for carving? What kind of Sword Immortal was this
"Heh." Jian Zexian smiled slightly.
"Brother's swordsmanship is still at the level of 'unrivaled in wooden swords'."
"And I have already reached the state of 'no sword in my hand, no sword in my heart'."
Lu Yanbei next to him said coldly:
"In other words, he has no sword in his hand, and he has lost the spirit and fighting spirit of a swordsman in his heart."