Chapter 556: Breaking the Old and Establishing the New (I)

The next morning, at the order of Luo Tianjin, the masters of the Xianwang Mansion gathered in the central hall, each holding a fan, waiting for the meeting.

What’s interesting is that those present today include not only the Xianwang Mansion’s own family members, but also two outsiders, Yelu Qin and Xunzhen.

In the central hall, people gathered in groups of three or five, talking and laughing.

Liu Xunyi's eyes were fixed on Xunzhen who was whispering with Yeluqin. His expression was uncertain and there was a strong sense of gloom between his brows.

As if she had noticed Liu Xunyi's strange gaze, Xunzhen suddenly turned her beautiful eyes, and her pair of sparkling big almond-shaped eyes looked straight at Liu Xunyi. At the same time, she slowly stood up, and under the astonished gazes of others, she walked towards him.

"Liu Zhishan, I haven't seen you for a while. How are you?"

"Thanks to Miss Xunzhen for her concern, I am doing fine."

Seeing Liu Xunyi standing up to greet them, Qin Ku, Ling Qing and Xu Heng who were sitting beside them stood up one after another. Only Luo Ningyu remained motionless, with a look of disdain on her face, and a hint of jealousy flashed in the depths of her eyes.

Xunzhen turned his eyes and looked at Qin Ku, and said with a smile: "I didn't expect that the famous 'Ghost Seer' would be accepted into the Xianwang Mansion, and... willing to be under someone else. I don't know whether I should congratulate him or feel sorry for him."

Xunzhen's words had hidden meanings, which made Qin Ku's expression become a little awkward.

In fact, when Xunzhen saw Qin Ku for the first time in Prince Xian’s Mansion, he had already guessed the expression Liu Xunyi would have when he saw him. Why was he so “bitter and resentful”?
The truth was just as Xunzhen had expected. Liu Xunyi had learned from Qin Ku that it was Xunzhen who had stolen the "Xuan Shui Xia Juan" from Shaolin.

Xunzhen seemed to be quite curious about Liu Xunyi's strange expression of wanting to say something but not being able to, so he smiled and said, "I haven't seen you for a few days, could it be that Liu Zhishan has forgotten me?"

"of course not."

"If not, why has Liu Zhishan been staring at me? As if... we just met by chance?"

"It's nonsense to say that we just met by chance, but..." Liu Xunyi stared at the smiling Xunzhen and said in a secretive way, "I thought that Miss Xunzhen and I were already friends, but unexpectedly, when we met today, I suddenly realized that you and I are such strangers."

"What do you mean?" Xunzhen glanced at Qin Ku and said with a smile, "Why did you become so shy after going to Huashan? The Liu Zhishan in the past was open and honest..."

"Frankly?" Liu Xunyi sneered, "When Miss Xunzhen said this, I wonder if she was mocking me or making fun of herself?"

Facing Liu Xunyi's questioning, Xunzhen smiled without saying a word, only staring at Liu Xunyi, who was hesitant to speak, with her beautiful eyes, as if she was trying to win over him with her expression and eyes.

Seeing this scene, Luo Ningyu finally couldn't suppress her inner resentment. She stood up suddenly and wanted to accuse Xunzhen.

"The Palace Master is here!"

However, before Luo Ningyu could say anything, Luo Tianjin, accompanied by Ling Xiaoxiao, strode into the hall.

"Meet the Palace Master!"

"Meet Alliance Leader Luo!"

As soon as they saw Luo Tianjin, everyone stood up and bowed to him.

"Prince Ning has given me such a great gift, I, Luo, am ashamed to accept it!"

Luo Tianjin ignored the others and quickly walked up to Yeluqin, apologizing: "I have made Prince Ning wait for so long. I deserve to die..."

"Hey!" When Luo Tianjin was about to bow, Yelu Qin quickly held him with both hands and said humbly, "Lord Luo, please don't embarrass me. Please take a seat."

"Prince Ning, please!"

As they chatted and laughed, the two held hands and rolled up their sleeves like close friends, complimenting each other and sitting down together.

"Let me introduce a friend to you first." Luo Tianjin waved his hand towards Yeluqin and said loudly, "This is Prince Ning of the Liao Dynasty. He is also the brother of Prince Shaoqin and a distinguished guest of my Xianwang Mansion."

"Meet Prince Ning!"

Out of courtesy, everyone in the Xianwang Mansion bowed to Yelu Qin.

"The Liao Dynasty has fallen, and the title of King Ning is just an empty title, not worth mentioning." Yelu Qin said with a smile, "I am honored to come to the Central Plains this time and see the world-renowned leader of the martial arts world and the heroes who are famous in the martial arts world. This trip is worthwhile."

"From now on, Prince Ning and Miss Xunzhen will officially become guests of the Xianwang Mansion. We will be a family in the future. We should take care of each other when something happens. We must not treat them as outsiders anymore."

"hiss!"

As soon as these words came out, there was an uproar in the hall, especially Liu Xunyi, who was not only shocked, but also a little confused.

Little do people know that the term "mubin" mostly refers to the counselors and hangers-on cultivated by officials, and is rarely mentioned in the martial arts world. Even if the martial arts world likes to gather talents, they will not use the term "mubin", but rather "fellows" or "righteous men".

Today, Luo Tianjin made a shocking statement, inviting Yeluqin and Xunzhen to the Xianwang Mansion as "guests of the court". His intention was definitely not as simple as a slip of the tongue.

At this moment, Xie Xuan's face looked extremely ugly, with an indescribable confusion lingering between his brows.

On the other hand, Yelu Qin's eyes immediately showed a touch of relief and secret joy after hearing the word "backstage guest". He knew that although Luo Tianjin had not said it clearly, he had secretly developed the heart of an emperor, so he thought that his earnest advice last night was not in vain.

"What are you standing there for?" Luo Tianjin's face darkened and he said unhappily, "Didn't you hear what I just said?"

Seeing Luo Tianjin getting angry, everyone's faces changed in fear, and they hurriedly bowed and accepted the order: "We will follow the orders of the Palace Master."

"Yeah!" Luo Tianjin nodded with satisfaction, and then said, "Let's stop talking nonsense. Actually, I called you all here today because I want to discuss two things with you."

After saying that, Luo Tianjin's eyes turned to Xie Xuan, who immediately understood and said in a loud voice: "The first thing is that the roster of the various martial arts sects has been collected now. Now we need to check and register them one by one, and distribute the Jianghu tokens. Because it is a serious matter, the governor will entrust the tasks of checking, registering, and making tokens to careful and reliable people for a period of one month. I wonder if anyone among you is willing to take on this task?"

Hearing this, everyone in the hall couldn't help but ponder and look at each other.

It's not that they are unwilling to take on the task, but because it is a big, complicated and detailed task, it cannot be easily accomplished with just enthusiasm.

After a while of whispering, Luo Qi and Su Tang stood up at the same time to ask for orders.

Luo Tianjin hesitated for a moment, then said seriously, "Let the upper three gates handle this task. They must be careful and attentive, and must not make any mistakes, lest they cause the world's heroes to laugh at them."

"As ordered!"

Su Tang was overjoyed, in stark contrast to Luo Qi who looked disappointed.

"The details of the Jianghu token include not only the sect and name, but also some other changes. I will tell you later." Luo Tianjin said something for no reason, and turned to Xie Xuan and said, "Brother Xie, continue!"

"The second thing is that the Palace Master wants to appoint Wudang Sect's head Qingfeng and Xiangxi Teng Clan's chief Teng Sanshi as deputy leaders of the Central Plains Wulin to help the Palace Master manage all the affairs of the martial arts world, especially to control the sects and families south of Qinhuai. Today, I want to hear your opinions."

"Appoint him as the deputy leader?" Huang Yulang frowned and said bluntly, "This is unheard of and rare in ancient and modern times. I'm afraid... it's inappropriate."

"That's wrong." Yelu Qin waited for an opportunity to speak, "The so-called 'property' is just a means for the superior to rule the inferior. Although the Liao Dynasty has fallen, the strategies of the former emperors still exist in my clan, so I am well aware of it. As far as the Central Plains martial arts world is concerned, abiding by the propriety is what the martial arts sects and heroes should do. As for the martial arts leader, what he should do is not to 'adhere' to the propriety, but to 'formulate' the propriety."

"Well said!" Deng Changchuan's blood boiled and he clapped his hands in praise.

"I agree." Yan Bugui said, "The leader of the martial arts world should have the domineering and majesty of the leader of the martial arts world. How can he be compared with ordinary heroes in the martial arts world? Moreover, the southern sects have always been close to Jinjianwu, and they are not very enthusiastic about us, and even hostile to us. Although the master of the mansion is already the leader of the martial arts world and is supported by the heroes, people's hearts are no longer the same, and it is inevitable that some people say one thing and mean another. Therefore, if there are no two deputy leaders nearby to clamp down, and we only rely on the power of the Xianwang Mansion, even if someone has ill intentions, we will be unable to do anything. Over time, they will no longer take the master of the mansion seriously. Once the majesty of the martial arts world leader is gone, sooner or later he will be in name only and become a laughing stock."

"Thinking carefully, Taoist Qingfeng and Patriarch Teng are both seniors in the martial arts world. In terms of seniority, prestige, martial arts, and character, they are both the best in the martial arts world and are among the best." Murong Bai pondered, "If they are appointed as deputy leaders, it will definitely be what people want, and no one should be dissatisfied."

"I have thought about this carefully. In fact, the most prestigious person in the martial arts world is Shaolin's Master Xuanming." Luo Tianjin said quietly, "However, Master Xuanming is a person from the outside world. He rarely interferes with the troubles of the world, so I think he will definitely decline. After thinking about it, apart from Master Xuanming, the most prestigious person in the martial arts world is undoubtedly Taoist Qingfeng. As for the old hero Teng, everyone knows that he has a strong temper. In addition, he has always been at odds with me. Therefore, having him check and balance Taoist Qingfeng can also stop people from gossiping and saying that I am nepotism."

"The Palace Master has a thorough plan and acts in a thoughtful manner. We all admire him!" Luo Qi complimented.

"Yulang, what do you think?"

After pondering for a moment, Huang Yulang bowed and said, "The Palace Master breaks the old and establishes the new, and is able to adapt to changes. On the contrary, I am bound by conventional rules and am inflexible. I think... the deputy leader can consolidate authority and restrain the heroes, which is indeed a wise move."

"Good!" Luo Tianjin said with satisfaction, "Since everyone has no objection, this matter will be settled. Yulang, you have always been prudent in doing things, so this matter will be left to you."

"I'll take your orders!"

Xie Xuan looked around at everyone and said loudly: "The matter has been decided. Today we will stop here. You..."

"Wait a minute!" Luo Tianjin suddenly said, "There is one more thing. I also want to hear your thoughts."

When these words were spoken, everyone was stunned.

"Please let me know, Lord."

"In the past, there were six major sects, four great families, and four great heretical religions, divided into north and south, with good and evil fighting against each other, each dominating one side. But after the battle of Huashan, some died and some were injured, and the pattern of the martial arts world was undoubtedly completely broken." Luo Tianjin said calmly, "Everything has its pros and cons. Although the turbulent times will bring disasters, it may not be a bad thing for us. Therefore, I want to take this opportunity to establish order, reshape the pattern of the martial arts world, and create a... new martial arts world."

……

(End of this chapter)