Yuehua Sect was one of the five major sword sects and named after the mountain it was built on. As Han Changsheng hurried on route to Mount Yuehua, the impermanent Black and White reappeared and gave him a general overview of the Sect and Huangfu Fengxuan Xichen——Lord An Yuan"s situation.
Lord An Yuan was a descended immortal. His nature differed from that of an ordinary mortal. Not only did he possess an outstanding disposition since childhood, but he was also talented in martial arts. He could reproduce the sword techniques he was taught from the start and could recite the contents of martial arts tomes after seeing them only once. Yue Peng, the head of Yuehua Sect, appreciated such a disciple and, in secret, regarded him as his future son-in-law. While wanting to pa.s.s the position of Yuehua"s head to him.
As the Black impermanence told this part of the story, Han Changsheng asked: "In that case, aren"t his martial arts quite powerful?"
The White impermanence answered: "They"re only remarkable compared to his peers in Yuehua Sect. Yuehua"s martial arts are, after all, nothing exceptional and he is young, even if the head views him with special regard. Nor can we break the rules and hand over to him the martial arts a.s.sociated with his ident.i.ty."
The Black impermanence added: "Everything has to abide a gradual progression. The immortal lord, in his descent from the heavens, is to bear a great tribulation. If he pa.s.ses through too smoothly, it won"t be a tribulation. Every time he suffers through a trial, he can advance and get better martial arts skills. At present, his skills are even worse than yours."
Han Changsheng ranted: "What do you mean "even worse" than me? Lao zi is also the head master of Tianning Cult!"
The White impermanence frostily replied: "How many martial arts platoons do you have in Tianning Cult?"
Han Changsheng paused for a moment before whining: "They are lao zi"s men, aren"t they as powerful as lao zi?"
The White impermanence snorted.
The Black and White impermanence had told him of Yue Peng"s daughter, Yue Yu-er. An Yuan, Yue Yu-er and Li Jiulong were raised together from childhood. Li Jiulong secretly loved Yue Yu-er as a child and always coveted the position of Sect head. Unfortunately, growing up, no matter the situation, he was always pushed under An Yuan"s shadow. After he"d understood Yue Peng"s recognition of An Yuan, his thoughts of him veered even further into hatred. To him, An Yuan was an eyesore, and he constantly sought to bring harm to him.
As the Black and White impermanence repeatedly stated: This time around Han Changsheng was to go to Yuehua and play the role of Li Jiulong, acting out the fate prescribed by the Writer Fates to completion in the name of Li Jiulong. He had to remember his ident.i.ty, not letting others get suspicious, and make sure no more damage was done to Lord An Yuan"s fate.
A few days later, Han Changsheng arrived at Yuehua Sect.
Li Jiulong had snuck down the mountain. Before he left, he excused himself saying he was ill and needed to rest so the others wouldn"t bother him. Although this guy was a senior Shixiong, he wasn"t popular, and in so many days, no one visited him, so no one found out he left the mountain.
Han Changsheng pa.s.sed over the wall and slipped into Li Jiulong"s room.
Having journeyed the last couple of days, Han Changsheng had long become exhausted and in a breath fell asleep for the next seven to eight hours. When he woke, it was already past noon. Lord An Yuan had not yet returned. With nothing to do in his room and his stomach once again hungry, he fixed up his disguise and went out for food.
After a short while, he came into the vicinity of the martial arts training grounds.
On the court, several young disciples practiced martial arts. Amongst a group of brown clad disciples, a figure in yellow stood out. On a closer look, Han Changsheng saw that the figure was that of a 17-year-old girl, pet.i.te in stature, with round eyes and a round face. The Black and White impermanence had already shown him illusions of the people beforehand, so he recognized the little girl as Yue Yu-er, the only daughter of Yuehua Sect"s head.
Han Changsheng thought about it for a moment and decided to not get any closer yet, jumping up a big tree and hiding to spy on them.
Just getting interested in sword practice, Yue Yu-er suddenly proposed a compet.i.tion and, acting like a spoiled child, tugged at one disciple: "Shixiong Lin, come compete with me until one of us gets the point."
The other children stopped practicing and gathered to watch.
The two faced off and traded seven or eight strokes. Watching from the sidelines, Han Changsheng could obviously see that the levels of Yue Yu-er and the disciple surnamed Lin were both not high. Someone could say they were about the same, but disciple Lin"s disciple movements were somewhat timid, and he seemed to let Yue Yu-er win. After a dozen strokes, Yue Yu-er"s sword pointed to his chest: "I win!"
Disciple Lin also looked on in admiration: "Little Shimei"s martial arts are is getting stronger and stronger."
The surrounding crowd applauded: "Little Shimei is really powerful."
Yue Yu-er seemed to have not yet enjoyed herself to the fullest and named another shixiong. This shixiong"s skills were obviously higher than those of Yue Yu-er, but he too yielded to her. After twenty strokes, he accepted the sword: "Little Shimei, I"ve lost."
Yue Yu-er looked pleased with herself.
Han Changsheng rolled his eyes. This yielding maneuver was way too fake. Didn"t you see your Little Shimei"s grasp on the sword wasn"t even stable? The Black and White impermanence had told him that Yue Yu-er was the only female disciple in Yuehua Sect and the head"s only daughter. Naturally, she was pampered by everyone.
Han Changsheng disapproved of this behavior. Yue Yu-er was just the only female disciple, and he was Tianning Cult"s sole leader. He could not see how his two guardians and several palace lords had b.u.t.tered him up!
"Next! You, come!" Yue Yu-er said, her eyes on a small disciple in the corner.
The little disciple was obviously shocked and timidly stepped back.
Yue Yu-er frowned, raised her chin, and arrogantly declared: "Didn"t you hear me, Liu Xiaoqi, I order you to come here and fight me!"
Han Changsheng looked at the guy named Liu Xiaoqi. He was a young boy with a frail body, pale skin, clear facial features and baby fat which had not yet faded from his face. He appeared to be sixteen or seventeen, and, compared to Yue Yu-er, he was considerably small. Earlier when he was with the Black and White impermanence, Han Changsheng had seen Yuehua Sect"s profile on him; this Liu Xiaoqi had joined the Sect only two years ago, a late-entry disciple. Now, he could only practice basic martial arts, and the elders had yet to teach him any skills.
The Shixiong around Liu Xiaoqi pushed him forward and said fiercely: "Little Shimei called you!"
Liu Xiaoqi"s face grew paler, and he waved his hands repeatedly: "I can"t, I …can"t."
"I told you to come here! You WILL come here!" Yue Yu-er looked displeased. "Liu shidi, you do every time. Are you looking down on us?"
A few disciples next to him echoed her sentiment: "Yeah! Exactly!"
Liu Xiaoqi was close to tears.
Han Changsheng watched them with curiosity. Before he"d arrived, the Black and White impermanence had given him a general introduction to the social hierarchy in Yuehua. But they could not provide a comprehensive explanation in the limited time. Han Changsheng just wanted to remember who was who which was already pretty unlikely, the rest of what he had heard he had already forgotten. With the situation at hand though, it was obvious Liu Xiaoqi was not welcome.
As Han Changsheng had guessed, Yue Yu-er didn"t like Liu Xiaoqi very much and was now deliberately looking for faults in him. Liu Xiaoqi was usually a very reserved person while Yue Yu-er was used to being spoiled. Whatever she demanded, near no one dared refuse her. But with Liu Xiaoqi, she had hit a wall. There was a time when Yue Yu-er and a few shixiongs had snuck down the mountain to play. When they b.u.mped into Liu Xiaoqi, Yue Yu-er invited him to join them, but Liu Xiaoqi refused. As a result, the matter was discovered by the head, and several of the more unruly youths were punished for three days, even Yue Yu-er had not been spared. In reality, the head had discovered it on his own, but Yue Yu-er suspected that Liu Xiaoqi revealed their secret. From then on, the seeds of resentment were sown.
Liu Xiaoqi was pushed forward, sullenly he said: "I… I can"t fight my shijie."
"Chicken!" Yue Yu-er scolded, "Didn"t the shixiongs just accompany me in practice? Hurry up!"
Liu Xiaoqi raised his sword apprehensively.
The place Han Changsheng occupied was a peach tree at the peak of its harvesting season. He picked up a big juicy peach, wiped it on his clothes, and watched the fun while eating peaches from the sidelines.
Yue Yu-er rushed forward, striking at Liu Xiaoqi"s head. After all, it was a challenge, and she was using a wooden sword, but if struck, it would be quite painful.
Liu Xiaoqi lifted his sword to block as Yue Yu-er went on the offensive.
Yue Yu-er attacks were hurried, entirely brainless, with no rhythm or reason. Liu Xiaoqi did not attack, resisting in a hideous mess.
Suddenly, Han Changsheng"s eyebrows rose in surprise.
Liu Xiaoqi yielded to Yue Yu-er. But his yielding, and the other shixiongs" were different. Just then, Liu Xiaoqi, forced by Yue Yu-er"s attack, moved his sword in the form of a circular arc and blocked her. Tianning Cults approach to martial arts was to adopt multiple other schools of practice so that one could find and learn what they were good at, making them more powerful. Han Changsheng in that regard was also relatively familiar with the techniques and sequences of several of the major sects in the world of martial arts. The trick Liu Xiaoqi just used, although short-lived, was definitely not one of Yuehua"s moves. Because it was not a complete maneuver and was just so short-lived, the surrounding disciples couldn"t see it. Even more so, they thought Liu Xiaoqi blocked in confusion. However, Han Changsheng saw it clearly. Liu Xiaoqi was trying to restrain his own movement.
According to the impermanence, Liu Xiaoqi had studied martial arts for two years and was still learning basic skills. But Han Changsheng noted the stability of his sword and the firmness of his footwork. It was not like someone who had practiced for only two years. Of course, Liu Xiaoqi"s martial arts wasn"t powerful. Otherwise, even if he was just trying to save face, that three-legged-cat, Yue Yu-er, would not beat him so embarra.s.singly. He had merely learned other martial arts before entering Yuehua.
Liu Xiaoqi was beaten back and forth so much so that in his retreat he had withdrawn from the practicing grounds. Yue Yu-er pressed onward, smugly proclaiming: "Liu shidi, how are you so stupid? Can"t you pick up such moves?"
Liu Xiaoqi"s shoulder was. .h.i.t by Yue Yu-er"s sword, and he burst into a cold sweat. They were going until one got the point, but Yue Yu-er"s still did not stop, continuing to attack: "I will talk to father, you guys who are such trash, shouldn"t stay in our Yuehua Sect, or better yet go to Tianning Cult. Demonic Cults and trash go along together so well!"
Han Changsheng suddenly flew into a rage. Demonic Cult trash? As for your three-legged cat plaything, it dares say we of Tianning Cult are trash——?! Although the head frequently sneaked off from the Cult, their sense of honor was still strong! Whoever dares speak ill of Tianning Cult would not be let off so easily!
Liu Xiaoqi was forced to the edge of the field in his retreat, and Yue Yu-er relentlessly swung forward with her sword, slashing straight at him. Liu Xiaoqi could not avoid it. Han Changsheng twirled the peach pit, transferring his inner strength into it, and with a wave of his finger shot it straight at Yue Yu-er"s sword——
Pa!
Yue Yu-er"s sword slid a few inches to the side, missing Liu Xiaoqi. At the same time, the wooden sword in Liu Xiaoqi"s hand stabbed her shoulder.
"What!"
Yue Yu-er"s sword fell. She retreated clutching her shoulder, her pink powdered face red with rage: "You dare stab me?!"
The other disciples quickly approached and surrounded them, some supported Yue Yu-er, others shouted at Liu Xiaoqi: "Your words are good but beyond that, how could you hurt others?! I will inform the head!"
Just now, Yue Yu-er stabbed Liu Xiaoqi, and everyone else had collective amnesia.
Han Changsheng grimly laughed and jumped down from the tree, walking toward the crowd.
Translator(s): Sean
Editor(s): Bet