The Smiling, Proud Wanderer, becoming a disciple of Yue Buqun

Page 190

Martial arts training ground.

More than sixty young children, dressed in the uniforms of Huashan disciples, stood neatly in the training ground, with Jiang Ning standing in front of them.

“In the past, your sect’s internal assessments were personally supervised by your master. This time, I will be in charge.”

Jiang Ning looked at his young junior brothers and spoke calmly.

"Yes, senior brother."

The junior disciples answered in unison, including one who called out "Master".

Besides the newly initiated children, his disciple Liu Zhao was also among these Huashan disciples.

At this moment, Liu Zhao was standing in the crowd, looking at Jiang Ning in front of him with a serious expression. His palms were slightly clenched, and he was feeling a little nervous.

"let's start."

Jiang Ning didn't waste any more words and prepared to begin the assessment.

"Junior brother, here you go."

Lu Dayou handed over a piece of paper with the names of these dozens of disciples written on it.

Yue Buqun was worried that Jiang Ning wouldn't recognize all his junior brothers, since Jiang Ning had either been away from home or focused on practicing his skills. So he had Lu Dayou write down their names to make it easier for Jiang Ning to call them by name.

Jiang Ning took the paper, glanced at it, and then called out two names.

"Liu Zhao, Ye Ying, you two go first."

Chapter 269: Attack

Liu Zhao, who was in the crowd, did not expect Jiang Ning to call his name first. His already nervous mood became even more nervous. After swallowing, he stood out from among the many junior uncles.

Another person who stepped forward was Ye Ying.

Ye Ying was personally recruited by Jiang Ning in Pingliang Prefecture. He was quite talented and was the most talented among this group of disciples besides Liu Zhao. Jiang Ning planned to have the two of them spar to see the result.

"Master."

"Senior brother."

After Liu Zhao and Ye Ying stepped forward, they first bowed to Jiang Ning, and after Jiang Ning nodded, they looked at each other.

"Uncle-Master, I have been rude."

Liu Zhao said something to Ye Ying first.

Looking at his junior apprentice who was not much younger than him, Ye Ying nervously returned the greeting, saying, "Junior apprentice, please."

After exchanging greetings, the two accepted the wooden sticks handed to them by a Huashan disciple who was assisting Jiang Ning in presiding over the sect's assessment. They then assumed their stances and began to spar.

"drink!"

"what!"

Liu Zhao struck first with his staff, pointing it directly at Ye Ying; it was none other than the "Phoenix Arrives" move from the Huashan Swordplay.

"Ok?"

Jiang Ning raised an eyebrow.

Although Liu Zhao's move was immature and full of flaws, his movements were correct and his strikes were steady, clearly showing that he had a solid foundation and hadn't been slacking off lately.

Faced with Liu Zhao's attack, Ye Ying remained calm and unhurriedly raised his staff and swept it upwards to deflect the attack, which was also a move from the Huashan Sword Technique.

The two immediately began to fight, exchanging blows back and forth.

Lu Dayou and the others who were maintaining order during the assessment were stunned to see Liu Zhao and Ye Ying fighting so skillfully, especially with their Huashan swordsmanship being used one move after another.

When Liu Zhao and Ye Ying were their age, they were still practicing a sword technique for a long time, but these two used it so easily. Although their movements weren't very accurate, it really surprised them.

"Junior Brother Ye and Junior Nephew Liu are both geniuses."

Tao Jun sighed.

"Okay, that's enough."

At this moment, Jiang Ning called for a stop, and Liu Zhao and Ye Ying also stopped immediately. The two stood in front of Jiang Ning, their expressions somewhat uneasy.

"qualified."

Jiang Ning didn't say much and let the two pass directly.

Liu Zhao and Ye Ying then relaxed.

"next."

Jiang Ning continued calling out names, and two more children with youthful appearances came up. After imitating Liu Zhao and the other two in bowing, they also began to spar.

Time passes slowly.

Jiang Ning watched his fellow disciples sparring with a blank expression, saying nothing except for calling out names and mostly just saying whether they passed or failed.

"qualified."

"qualified."

"Unqualified."

Although there were many disciples, the time spent in each pair battle was not long.

Jiang Ning didn't have high expectations for these junior disciples; he generally allowed them to pass. Only when a few of them performed exceptionally poorly would Jiang Ning give them a failing grade.

Jiang Ning didn't say anything about punishment for these unqualified junior brothers. They were still young, and the current assessment was just to check whether they had tried hard.

Even so, Jiang Ning still brought inexplicable pressure to these junior disciples.

"Ouch."

A young disciple from Mount Hua wielded a wooden stick and struck his opponent. The opponent didn't react in time and the stick hit his arm, leaving a red mark. He cried out in pain, his little mouth trembling, and he was about to burst into tears.

Jiang Ning shook his head upon seeing this.

At first, the two junior brothers had some discipline in their fight, but later they just started swinging their wooden sticks around randomly, without any rules whatsoever.

"Unqualified."

Jiang Ning gave them a failing grade, and the two junior brothers were disappointed. The one who was criticized even had tears on his face, ready to fall at any moment.

"This assessment is mainly to see if you have slacked off in your training. I don't expect you to use the Huashan sword technique in a proper manner, but at least you can't be without any rules. However, when you get into the heat of the moment, you don't care about any moves or techniques. You are agitated and controlled by your emotions, unable to calm down. This will only leave openings for the enemy."

Jiang Ning didn't have high requirements for them. The first requirement was to calm their minds, which was the most basic requirement for practicing internal skills.

Jiang Ning remained calm and his tone was unwavering, but his appearance was very dignified in the eyes of his fellow disciples.

"This assessment is over. Those who passed, keep up the good work. Those who didn't will not be punished. Just be more diligent in the future, and I hope to see improvement next month."

They're at an age where they love to play, so it's normal for them to be restless and impatient. Jiang Ning won't say much, but he'll still give them pointers from time to time to prevent them from going astray.

"Yes, senior brother."

The dozens of junior disciples bowed in unison.

"Junior Brother Jiang is so serious, I'm even a little scared watching him."

The Huashan disciples nearby whispered among themselves.

When Jiang Ning was training the new junior disciples, they watched from the sidelines and inexplicably felt a sense of pressure, just as nervous as when Yue Buqun was testing them.

"You guys go eat."

Jiang Ning checked the time; it was noon, time for lunch.

Upon hearing this, the junior disciples left one after another in an orderly manner, leaving only Liu Zhao and Ye Ying behind.

Liu Zhao planned to go with Jiang Ning, while Ye Ying was to take care of his younger brother.

Standing next to Ye Ying was a three-year-old child, Ye Jian, who was his younger brother. Ye Ying had brought his brother along during the assessment and asked Lu Dayou and the others to take care of him.

"Master."

After everyone else had left, Liu Zhao stood quietly beside Jiang Ning.

"Ah."

Jiang Ning nodded and was about to speak when Linghu Chong ran over from a distance, his expression grave.

"Junior Brother Jiang Ning, Junior Brother Jiang Ning."

Jiang Ning, who was about to say something to his disciple, saw Linghu Chong's expression and asked in confusion, "What's wrong, Senior Brother?"

"Junior brother, Master sent me to call you. Something terrible has happened."

Linghu Chong rushed over and said hurriedly.

Ok?

Jiang Ning frowned: "What is it?"

"Master Tianmen and the others have been ambushed."

Linghu Chong quickly replied.

Jiang Ning's gaze sharpened, and without asking any further questions, he went directly to find Yue Buqun.

Seeing this, Linghu Chong quickly followed, leaving only Liu Zhao, Ye Ying, and Ye Ying's younger brother in the training ground.

Liu Zhao and Ye Ying looked at each other in bewilderment.

……

"Master."

Jiang Ning went straight to the main hall without stopping. As soon as he entered, he saw Li Jinyu, covered in blood, sitting in a chair, panting heavily.

Yue Buqun stood in the center of the main hall with a furrowed brow. Ning Zhongze and Feng Buping had already arrived.

"Ning'er, you've come."

Upon seeing Jiang Ning arrive, Yue Buqun didn't say much and went straight to the point: "Chong'er has probably already told you everything. Your Uncle Tianmen and the others have been attacked, and we need to go and rescue them immediately."

"Thank you, Uncle Master."

Li Jinyu's face was filled with tears.

"Let's go."

Yue Buqun was about to leave with everyone when Jiang Ning stopped him.

"Master."

Jiang Ning stopped Yue Buqun and looked at him, saying, "Since Uncle Tianmen and the others were attacked, were Uncle Dingyi and Uncle Mo also attacked?"

(Happy Mid-Autumn Festival everyone! May your families be reunited!)

Chapter 270: Another Killing Spree (Part 2)

Yue Buqun was startled.

He was momentarily stunned upon hearing that Tianmen Daoist had been attacked, but Jiang Ning reminded him, and he came to his senses.

"We can't worry about that now."

Yue Buqun glanced at Li Jinyu, who was covered in blood.

"The most urgent task is to rescue the Taishan Sect first."

Regardless of whether the Hengshan and Hengshan factions were attacked, rescuing the Taishan faction is now an urgent matter.

"Junior sister."

Yue Buqun looked at Ning Zhongze and said, "You stay here and watch the house."

The Huashan Sect has a large number of elderly, young, sick, and disabled members, so they cannot send all of them to provide support. They need to leave some people behind to guard the sect. Yue Buqun wants to go to provide support in person, and Feng Buping also needs to go. Only Ning Zhongze is suitable.

"……All right."

Although Ning Zhongze also wanted to go down the mountain, she could only nod after hearing Yue Buqun's arrangement.

“Nephew, you are injured now, so you should rest at Mount Hua for the time being.”