C1 Jianghu Core Heart

Yang Ming stood alone at the top of the green city mountain, looking down at the mountains, his heart was filled with emotions. Ever since he went up the mountain at the age of five, studied art at the age of ten, walked into the martial arts world at the age of twenty, and then became famous in the martial arts world at the age of thirty. In the past twenty odd years, Yang Ming had experienced far too much.

Yang Ming had a pretty face, was tall and handsome, had a healthy build, was slightly thinner than the average martial artist, his eyes were a lot larger than an average person. His eyes looked a little depressed, but his eyes revealed a little tenacity and boldness.

Yang Ming's smile was different from an ordinary person's. He would always smile lightly, as the corners of his mouth slightly raised.

As the sixth disciple of Qingcheng, Yang Ming had a few senior brothers that he needed to follow their orders. As for the other junior brothers and sisters, they needed to be taken care of and taught by him as well. He felt that the burden on his body was not light.

In the entire Qingcheng Mountain, there was not a single place without Yang Ming's memories. This was the home that he had always loved, and here, there was the person he respected the most, the person he relied on the most.

It was Third Senior Brother who held his hand and brought him around the Green City Mountain. After that, Fourth Senior Brother and Fifth Senior Sister also came to see him, and at worst, Yang Ming felt very close to them, and after that, he would always follow behind them like a small tail.

Yang Ming was a man of his nature, in his heart, there were not many differences between good and evil, he believed that there was still evil, there was still good to evil, and good to evil lies with a single thought of a person, but not the difference between good and evil, so when walking in the martial arts world, Yang Ming liked to make friends.

Yang Ming was willing to sacrifice himself for his friends in the martial arts world. He believed that friends who had experienced hardships together had the most deep and sincere feelings, and he liked to have that kind of tacit understanding and ease with such friends.

Yang Ming was a little narcissistic, and thought highly of himself. With his aloof appearance and indifferent expression, he actually had a burning heart hidden underneath. Even though he didn't say anything, he would frequently arrange things for his friends in his heart.

This was also the creed in Yang Ming's heart. The happiness he got from helping others was enough to make him feel like it was enough.

Just as Yang Ming was enjoying the beautiful scenery of Qingcheng by himself, a few figures suddenly flashed behind him. Yang Ming's eyes were sharp, and followed the traces left behind by the figure.

There was a strong wind blowing in the mountain, causing the branches to sway from time to time, but there was a tree that was slightly different from the others. Yang Ming knew in his heart that those people must have been hiding there.

Yang Ming maintained his composure and casually picked up a few leaves from the ground. With a light flick of his finger, the leaves streaked across the sky and flew towards the forest. With a few screams, a few people quickly jumped out from the bushes.

Yang Ming said: "Who dares to seek trouble with my Qingcheng City? "I only used a portion of my strength just now, otherwise you would have already lost your lives."

The few people who jumped out were dressed in tight clothes and their faces were covered. They did not talk to Yang Ming and endured the pain as they rushed to attack him.

Yang Ming did not wait for them to get close, he picked up a few stones from the ground, with a slight raise of his hand, a few stones flew out like a shuttle, and all of them fell to the ground.

Everyone cried out in grief and rolled on the ground, but no one was able to stand up.

Yang Ming laughed: "If you can really force me to make a move, then you can still be considered a hero. This time, I only used half of my strength, and with a few stones, you all are unable to get up, and you dare to come to my Qingcheng to cause trouble?"

The begging sounds continued, Yang Ming shouted angrily: "If you are not as good as others, just train harder when you are back, and if you are slightly injured, just kneel down and beg for mercy, you are considered a martial artist, what a disgrace!"

"Great hero's martial arts are unrivalled, I am only here because I heard that your Qingcheng Mountain is abnormally rich, therefore, I came here this time to collect some valuables, how could I dare to be disrespectful to your Qingcheng? As you have seen, us brothers, martial arts are low, and we are often bullied by others in the martial arts world, so in order to survive, we can only do some stealing."

Yang Ming said angrily: "You and the rest all look to be tall, if you only want to find food, what kind of small matter is that? You all only want to get what you want without working all day, all you want is to enjoy life, seems like I have to teach you all a lesson!"

With that said, Yang Ming tapped the tip of his foot on the ground, and heavily kicked everyone.

Everyone rolled on the ground in pain, "Hero, we know we are wrong." This time, no one dared to show any mercy. They could only hear the constant sounds of people admitting their mistakes.

"We are just a bunch of hooligans, what need is there for Hero to be so angry? "When we were captured, we naturally suffered physical pain, and it is normal for us to be cursed at. However, this is the first time that we are being sincere in teaching others a lesson while we fight like this." One of the lackeys said. His face was somewhat ashen, and his hair was disheveled.

Yang Ming said: It's enough to teach you guys a lesson today, but I'm just letting you all go like this, in the future, I'm afraid that you guys will do those shady business again, acting like men, even if you are starving to death, being beaten to death, you can't lose your dignity. You guys don't look like evil people, it's just that your aura is too strong, I want you all to do some menial work for my Qingcheng, do you want me to do it?

"We are just a bunch of homeless people. Most of us come from poor families. We are bullied everywhere so we can get together. We have to take care of each other." They all replied shamelessly.

"So you're having a hard time. "As long as you guys truly change your ways, there will definitely be a place that can accommodate you all in Qingcheng." Yang Ming said.

All of them were a little surprised. When they were found out earlier, they were either beaten half to death or sent to the government. But now, this man in front of them was not only skilled in martial arts, but also had a dignified and elegant demeanor. What is our purpose for staying in Qingcheng?

Yang Ming spoke to the rest: "Although your martial arts are not high, but you are only doing some poaching and stealing, and are not harmless to humans. Today, I will give you a path of improvement, I, Qingcheng, have several hotels at the bottom of the mountain, after a few days, I will open another one for you, and you will handle it by yourself. You just need to pay the rent every month, do you have any objections?"

"Thank you, Hero." The rest of the brats struggled to support their bodies and knelt in front of Yang Ming, "Thank you, Great Hero.

These few people could not help but feel gratitude towards Yang Ming.

Yang Ming laughed: "Since everyone has agreed to call me Brother Yang now, then we will be one family. All brothers, please stand up, you don't have to go through the big ceremony like this anymore, everyone please call me Brother Yang from now on, the older people will call me Brother Yang, the younger ones will call me Brother Yang, if you continue to call me Elder Hero, then don't treat me, Yang Ming, as a friend."

Yang Ming helped everyone up one by one and sat on the ground with them. "If we have alcohol right now and were to drink it with all the brothers, we would be able to enjoy such a beautiful scenery on top of Old Firmament Peak, wouldn't that be a good thing?"

"Don't worry, big brother Yang, one of my brothers is called Ah Wu, he is an alcoholic. He has a lot of alcohol, so he will carry around a large jug of wine with him every day. He will carry it when he comes out to work with us, it is his life."

Yang Ming took the wine pot and gulped down a few mouthfuls of it. Although this wine was brewed by an ordinary person, it was still full of alcohol, and normal people could get drunk for half a day just by drinking a few mouthfuls.

Yang Ming understood the benefits of the wine, and knew that what the others said was true, that Ah Wu was definitely someone who could drink. Although Yang Ming was also quite good at drinking, he didn't have much to do with the research aspects of alcohol. As long as it was a slightly stronger alcohol for him to drink, he would be satisfied with it as long as he was able to drink it.

Seeing that everyone had finished drinking, Ah Wu snatched the wine pot away from them, and after everyone drank a round, in truth, they had only drunk half a pot. Ah Wu took the wine pot and raised his head, and after a few murmurs, when Ah Wu put down the pot, it was already empty.

Yang Ming looked at Ah Wu and said, this man was skinny and had a wretched expression, no matter how they looked at him, he was not someone who could drink, but they had seen with their own eyes just now, the people of this world, cannot be looked down upon, nobody in this world can be looked down upon, every person must have a special side to him.

After they had a chat at the top of the mountain, Yang Ming instructed everyone to come find him at the Green City Mountain in three days. At that time, he would settle everything and give everyone a place to settle down.

Everyone thanked him and said their goodbyes to Yang Ming.

Yang Ming was not in the mood to go down the mountain now. After everyone had left, he sat on the ground to adjust his inner breathing and to absorb some of the spirit energy from the top of Qingcheng City. Yang Ming had an extremely high comprehension ability towards martial arts, his talent was high, and was rarely seen in dozens of years. In the future, he would definitely become one of the top disciples in the martial arts world.

As Yang Ming was meditating, the mountain gradually became silent. Night started to fall, and only the sounds of streams in the mountain and the rustling of leaves in the wind could be heard. From time to time, the cries of birds could be heard.

Under the moonlight, the leaves were swaying and many shadows were moving on the ground. Yang Ming opened his eyes and saw a shadow that was a little special, it seemed to be a human shadow.

Yang Ming tilted his head and saw a man with silver beard and white hair standing in front of him.

Yang Ming bowed and said, "Master, how are you, this disciple misses you." His eyes were slightly red.

He saw that the elder was in his eighties. He had a ruddy complexion and his skin was white and red. The skin on his hands was extremely smooth and his eyes were sharp like lightning. His facial features were quite ordinary.

"Ming’er, get up." The elder said as he gently pulled Yang Ming's hand.

This elder was the previous Sect Leader of Qingcheng, Qing Yi, and was also Yang Ming's teacher and teacher. Yang Ming had been brought back to Qingcheng to raise him ever since he was young, and in Yang Ming's heart, he was the closest person there.

However, this Immortal Qing Yi, after leaving his hiding place, no longer stepped foot into the Jianghu. He would either roam about or live alone in the back mountains of Qingcheng, and even the disciples of the sect would not know of his whereabouts.

This immortal master would occasionally come back to see the disciples, but the time was uncertain, so it was rare for some disciples to meet an immortal master even once every few years. Even Yang Ming had not seen his master for over a year.

"Ming’er, Master would like to see how your martial arts has progressed. Although most of your martial arts will be imparted to you by your seniors, but for some martial arts techniques, you must be personally taught by me. Go down first and impart me some sets of sword techniques. "Qing Yi said.

Yang Ming then used one sword technique after another in front of Qing Yi. Yang Ming's body expanded, his wrist was gentle, the sword in his hand seemed to be like a juggling game, not only was his movements elegant and relaxed, his sword moves were also suitable for attack and defense, it was difficult to find any loopholes.

Qing Yi nodded repeatedly. Ming’er, your attainment in sword arts is not far from your Third Senior. Please show me some hidden weapons. "

Yang Ming picked up a few leaves from the ground with his right hand and a few stones with his left hand. He forcefully threw the stones upwards, then spun around on the ground and threw the leaves out one by one.

"You are indeed extremely talented," Qing Yi stroked his beard and laughed, "The hidden weapons require one to be able to discern one's position just by hearing the sound. The sound emitted by this small stone in the air is extremely weak and you can still determine it accurately.

"Master will now take a look at your Qing Gong. Master will throw the jade pendant in his hand. You have to catch it before it falls to the ground."

With a flick of Qing Yi's finger, the jade pendant flew out like an arrow, only three metres high from the ground. Yang Ming took a deep breath, pushed off the ground with his toes, then flew like lightning towards the jade pendant, in a few seconds catching up to the jade pendant and grabbing it the moment it landed on the ground, returning it to Qing Yi's hand.

"Hehe, Ming’er's Qing Gong is already at the acme of perfection. In time, he will definitely surpass your second senior brother."

"Ming’er, Master will now test your inner force. We martial artists focus on our inner force, so when we encounter people with the highest level of martial arts, our techniques are already unimportant. However, the battle of inner force is the key to victory."

"Hit that huge tree with your palm!" Qing Yi ordered.

Inner force was not just based on strength, rather, it was based on Qi. When Qi got stronger, Yang Ming focused and took a deep breath, then casually swung his palm towards the big tree.

Qing Yi walked forward and gently peeled off the bark, blowing into the tree, causing powder to fly everywhere. The center of the tree trunk had been shattered into pieces by Yang Ming using his Spirit Qi, Qing Yi praised, "You are truly worthy of being the most talented disciple in our Qingcheng City."

"Ming’er, the improvement of your martial arts skills has exceeded my imagination, but you have to remember, the highest realm of sword techniques is one with the sword, at the heart of the sword, although you no longer have any flaws in your sword techniques, at the same time, you still have to slowly comprehend them." Qing Yi said softly.

"Hidden weapons require a combination of hearing, vision, and judgement. When you make a move, you must be fully focused, and the accuracy of the technique requires intensive training to be accurate. Sometimes, the target is flexible, and the requirement of your judgement is much stronger."

"Although the Qing Gong is related to inner strength, the inner strength of the true Qing Gong master is not the strongest in the world. The Qing Gong master mainly trains the strength of the lower limbs, balancing with the body. The agility transformation of the movement technique is also the key to the support of inner Qi."

"Regarding the cultivation of the inner force, we must pay more attention to the unity of the heaven and the earth. Only by combining the true qi of our body with the true qi of the world and absorbing the essence of the sun and the moon can the inner force be strong."

Qing Yi brought up Yang Ming's martial arts techniques one by one, emphasizing even more on the weak spots. Yang Ming carefully comprehended every word that his master said, and from time to time, he spoke out some of the doubts in his heart. Please enlighten me, my master.

"Ming’er, there are many sinister people in the martial arts world, your personality is straightforward and straightforward, and when you do things, you love and hate them, but you are too loyal, Master is worried that you are doing well, and might be used by others. With your personality, you will definitely do something in the martial arts world, and some extraordinary things will happen."

"The purpose of the martial arts students in the martial arts world is to strengthen their bodies and protect their country, but because of martial arts, some people will use their power to do things that go against their original intentions. That's why ambitious people would come out and harm Wu Lin."

"Among all of my disciples, you are the one that Master dotes on the most, you are meticulous, responsible and caring, and you are also the most kind-hearted person, your martial arts talent is also high. Master actually hopes that you can one day do something for the world and take responsibility for the safety of the entire martial arts world."

Although your seniors' achievements are higher than yours, Master believes that with your talent and hard work, you will definitely become the pride of our Qingcheng in the future. You know that the stronger you are, the heavier your burden will be.

"The thing that worried Master the most is your marriage. You are already thirty years old, and still have no intention of getting married. How can I, as your master, be worthy of your parents in the underworld?"

Yang Ming continued: "I will always remember Master's care and love for disciple, and will always remember Master's teachings. Disciple will definitely remember them, and disciple will always have the heart of a prodigal son, I am afraid that it will affect the good girl of another family.

Qing Yi laughed: "Master is someone who is on the verge of death, and is actually no different from those usual old people. He just wants to see his children and grandchildren doing everything safe and sound, and then he will be satisfied.

Yang Ming said: "Master is like a celestial being, a master rarely seen in a hundred years, all the people in the world are respectful to Master, and the disciples are only under Master's protection, thus they are able to achieve such a small accomplishment."

Qing Yi laughed: "The greatest achievement that I, Qing Yi, have achieved in my life, is to accept you disciples, none of you have disappointed Master!"

Yang Ming said, "That is all because of master's good teachings, and the disciples meeting master is the most important treasure in their lives. Master, if not for you, Ming’er I would probably not be in this world anymore."

Qing Yi lightly stroked his beard, "Ming’er, Master knows that the martial arts you learn are too miscellaneous, and it would be better for you to have several senior brothers specialize in one technique. Thus, in some aspects, you might not be as good as the ones they comprehend, but this is also one of your specialties, it's just that Master hopes that you can master all of the martial arts you have learned, and if you can create your own set of martial arts, you will definitely become a First Generation Grandmaster."

Yang Ming said: "Master is carrying me so high, but is embarrassing me. Although disciple thinks himself to be high, but in front of master and all the other senior brothers, I know that the gap is obvious, and disciple still has too many things to learn. If I want to become a grandmaster of a generation, disciple really does not dare to think in vain."

Qing Yi laughed: "Ming’er, everything is unpredictable. Master knows that your greatest strength is that you have a sincere heart that is able to treat all the people of the world as equals, and with your identity and martial arts skills, in the martial arts world, if it were anyone else, they would have already been above average, floating in the air.

It turned out that Qing Yi teaching everyone a lesson about being naughty had already completely entered Qing Yi's eyes.

"Master wouldn't blame us for calling you brother, and disgraced the sixth disciple of Qingcheng, right?" Yang Ming said.

Qing Yi laughed and said: "Master is not that secular person, only these matters, if your senior brothers saw it, they would definitely scold you, saying that you, as a dignified sixth disciple of Qingcheng, actually drank and chatted with a few hoodlums, calling each other bosom friends, you have lost your identity …"

Qing Yi said: "Your senior brothers are too inflexible, but it is also for the sake of Qingcheng's reputation, now that I have already handed Qingcheng over to them, so, there are many things that Master has no right to ask, and will not ask."

"Ming’er, Master still has a few last words to tell you. Listen carefully," Qing Yi said as his expression became serious.

Yang Ming bowed and stood to the side.

"Ming’er, you must remember, no matter what happens in the future, you must persevere and persevere on what you believe to be right in your heart. You must not give up, and you absolutely must not submit to anything.

"If you can truly achieve great goals in the future, Master hopes that you can retain this kind heart forever, this kind heart of a man who sympathizes with the world."

Yang Ming said: "I will remember Master's teachings for the rest of my life, no matter what happens in the future, I will remember Master's teachings today. I swear, I will remember Master's teachings forever, and I will not dare to disobey.

Master and disciple looked at each other silently, their eyes were filled with trust and understanding, and Qing Yi's eyes, was even more filled with hope.

Yang Ming and Qing Yi's master was very close, and it was unknown how long they would take before they could meet again. Yang Ming looked at his master, and although his master looked to be lively and energetic, he could not hide the traces of time on his face.

"Ming’er, Master is about to go roam, remember what Master said today, and become an upright hero of the martial arts world!" After Qing Yi finished speaking, he laughed loudly, then leaped up, and after a few feet, he floated in the air, "I'll go too", and Qing Yi's figure disappeared in an instant.

Looking at Qing Yi's figure disappearing in the distance, Yang Ming couldn't help but feel a little sad. In this world, master was the person who understood him the most, and had always treated him like his own person. Whether it was teaching him martial arts or teaching him how to be human.

Yang Ming recalled many scenes from his childhood. It was the first time his master brought him to the mountains, and he looked timid. It was the first time he taught him martial arts, and it was also the first time he saw his own uneasy and holy expression.

That young child grew up day by day. Yang Ming did not want to grow up in his heart, he liked that mischievous little boy who could sneak out all day to play tricks on him.

Yang Ming faced the direction that Qing Yi left in, kowtowed a few times, and then went down the mountain.