The old man started laughing. “It’s truly amazing to know that there’s someone in this world who still remembers my name.”
Both Linghu Chong and Tian Boguang looked at the old man admiringly.
The old man looked away and continued, “Huashan Sect apprentices these days are getting more disorderly. He looked at Linghu Chong, pointing his index finger at him. “Very well, since you’ve asked me to teach you then I’ll teach you a few moves. “
“Yes!” Linghu Chong and Tian Boguang responded concurrently.
Linghu Chong glared at Tian Boguang agitatedly.
Tian Boguang took a step back and coughed softly as he realized that the old man meant teaching Linghu Chong. He was too excited to meet the Huashan Sect’s legendary martial art exponent and was really hoping that he could get some pointers from him. He bowed at the old man and said, “Senior Feng, take your time to teach him. I’m going to relieve myself.” After that, he slapped Linghu Chong’s arm and said sternly, “You better learn properly!” After finishing his words, he turned around and walked away.
Linghu Chong smirked at Tian Boguang. He then bowed at the old man, “Junior pays respect to senior.”
The old man replied, “Actually it isn’t difficult to exchange a few moves with him without losing. I’ll teach you thirty moves. You’ve actually learnt these moves before. All you need to do is change the sequence.”
Linghu Chong nodded his head thought he wasn’t sure what the old man meant.
Tian Boguang hid behind a rock looking at them from a distance. He wanted to see what extraordinary sword moves the old man was going to impart to Linghu Ching.
“First move is White Aurora Shooting The Sun. Then its A Phoenix Comes With Grace. Next is Golden Geese Crossing The Sky. Followed by Sword Interception Stance,” the old man went on naming thirty Huashan Sect sword moves.
Linghu Chong listened to him tentatively, memorizing the sequence.
The old man stroked his long beard and looked at Linghu Chong. “Your name is Linghu Chong?” he asked.
Linghu Chong nodded his head. “Yes, I’m Linghu Chong.”
The old man laughed and said, “Linghu Chong, it’s not easy to remember these thirty moves. Furthermore, you need to perform all thirty moves in one go. With your current abilities it’s definitely not easy to do it. Why don’t you try them out slowly, first?”
Linghu Chong bowed, “I’ll give it a try.” He performed a few sword moves but got stuck half way through. He lowered his sword and walked back to the old man. “Senior, The White Aurora and A Phoenix Comes With Grace don’t seem to connect at all. There’s no way this is going to work,” he uttered.
The old man hummed agitatedly, “Idiot! Idiot! No wonder you’re Yue Buqun’s disciple. When your sword arts are rigid of course it wouldn’t work. The essence of swordplay is to be dynamic and flexible. After you’ve finished the White Aurora Shooting the Sun move and had your sword tip pointing up, couldn’t you just follow the flow and slash it downwards? Even though there’s no such posture in the move, why can’t you be more innovative and adjust to the circumstances?”
Linghu Chong scratched his head. “You’re right Senior! Why didn’t I think of that? Thanks for the advice!” He walked to the front and performed the sword moves all over again. This time his moves were more graceful.
The old man stroked his long beard and said, “You got it right. However, you’re still too stiff and rigid. If you fight against an exponent you’ll definitely not be able to win.” He paused for a moment and stared at Tian Boguang. “But you should be able to beat that little kid there. Give it a try!”
Tian Boguang waved at the old man with a smile.
Linghu Chong replied the old man, “Yes, Senior!” He then walked over to Tian Boguang and said, “Brother Tian, please go ahead.”
Tian Boguang snorted, “What do you mean please go ahead?! We’ve already fought for many rounds. The winner has been decided. There’s no need to fight anymore!”
Linghu Chong replied, ““If you don’t want to fight, that’s alright. You may leave now. Farewell.”
Tian Boguang glared at him agitatedly. “How dare you…” He paused for a moment and cast a quick glance at the old man.
The old man ignored them and went to sit on a big rock.
Tian Boguang bowed at him and said, “Senior Feng, I, Tian Boguang is a junior. I’m not worthy to exchange moves with you. If you join in the fight, it would really be beneath your dignity.”
The old man nodded with a smile, indicating that he would not get involved in the fight.
Tian Boguang turned toward Linghu Chong and reached for the handle of his short saber. “Stinky kid! Let’s carry on!” he yelled.
Linghu Chong jumped towards Tian Boguang and started attacking him with a flurry of slashes, thrusts and chops.
Each time Tian Boguang blocked an attack he would instantly strike back. But this time Linghu Chong was able to dodge and block all of his attacks very well. The two of them exchanged over two hundred moves with no apparent winner. Linghu Chong finally swung his sword downward at Tian Boguang’s hand and knocked the short saber off his hand.
Tian Boguang retracted his hand and stepped to the side, crying out in pain.
Linghu Chong immediately thrust his sword at Tian Boguang’s chest.
Tian Boguang dodged the attack and subsequently extended d his hand out to grab Linghu Chong’s throat. He strangled Lighu Chong frustratingly and groaned, “If you don’t want to die you better leave with me!”
Linghu Chong struggled for breath as he replied, “I’ll never leave with you! I’ve fought a hundred rounds with you. It was you who lost to me…”
“I don’t care if it’s one hundred moves or two hundred moves, it doesn’t matter. As long as I am winning you’ll have to leave with me!” Tian Boguang shouted angrily.
Linghu Chong sneered, “I’m not leaving with you!”
The old man shook his head frustratingly. “Idiot! Your finger can be used as a sword too. Do you have to use a real sword for that Gold And Jade Fill The Hall move?” he shouted.
Linghu Chong narrowed his eyes and thought to himself for a second. He quickly thrust his hand out and stabbed Tian Boguang’s chest with his index and middle fingers.
Tian Boguang let out a cry of pain and felt numb all over his body. His acupoints had just been sealed.
Linghu Chong gently thrust the tip of his finger at Tian Boguang’s forehead and pushed him to the ground.
The old man nodded and started laughing. “Good! Come with me,” he said. He turned around and walked into the cave.
Linghu Chong knelt at the old man, “Grand apprentice pays respect to Grand Apprentice Uncle. Thank you for your guidance.”
The old man pulled him up as he responded, “Stand up.”
Linghu Chong returned to his feet. “Thank you, Grand Apprentice Uncle,” he said with a smile.
The old man grinned, “Do you still think that I’m swindling and bluffing now?”
Linghu Chong bowed and replied, “Grand Apprentice doesn’t dare. I am so fortunate to be able to meet Grand Apprentice Uncle! Are you hungry? I have some food in the cave. Let me go get them.”
Feng Qingyang shook his head. “That won’t be necessary.” He stretched his arms and said, “It has been a long time since I last stood under the sunshine.”
He then looked at Linghu Chong and said, “You have sealed Tian Boguang’s Tan-Zhong (chest center) Point. With his inner strength, he will be able to regain his conscious in two hours. By then, he’ll harass you again. You can then defeat him again and he would have no choice but to behave and leave. After you’ve defeated him you must force him to take a vow that he would never mention to anyone that he had seen me.”
Linghu Chong nodded and said, “I understand. But Grand Apprentice Uncle, my victory just now is only by chance. It was pure luck. In terms of skills I’m afraid that I can’t beat him.”
Feng Qingyang frowned and said, “You are Yue Buqun’s apprentice. I really don’t want to teach you any martial arts. But that year I made a vow that I would never fight anyone in the remaining of my life. When I demonstrated the sword moves to you the other night, I only wanted to let you know that the Huashan Sect’s Nineteen Stances of the Jade Maiden Sword that you used wasn’t well performed. Otherwise how could I hit the sword away from your hand? Since we’ve come to this, I I can only use your hands to drive Tian Boguang away and make him take a vow of secrecy. Come with me.” He turned to the right and walked into the secret cave.
Linghu Chong obediently followed him from behind.
Feng Qingyang pointed at a rock wall and said, “These are the Huashan Sect’s sword techniques drawings on the rock wall. You’ve already seen them and remembered them. But when you perform it, it’s another thing. That kid Yue Buqun is really a stupid person. You have great potential but he taught you to become a stupid just like him.”
Linghu Chong was annoyed with Feng Qingyang for humiliating his master. “Grand Apprentice Uncle is insulting my master. I’m not learning from you anymore,” he sneered.
Feng Qingyang looked at him with much surprise. “Throwing your temper like a little kid? Angry that I scolded your master?” he shook his hand at Linghu Chong annoyingly. He really needed Linghu Chong to drive Tian Boguang away so he finally gave in. “Fine! I won’t insult him again, okay? Since you master calls me Senior Apprentice Uncle there’s nothing wrong if I calls him a kid!”
Linghu Chong smiled and said, “As long as Grand Apprentice Uncle doesn’t insult my master I’ll do whatever you want me to do.”
Feng Qingyang raised his brows and said, “This is almost like I am begging you to learn from me.” He pointed at the drawings of the Mount Hua style sword art on the rock wall and started explaining. “These moves are our sect’s most unique sword moves. Most of them have long been lost, and even your master doesn’t know about it. Even though the stances are exquisite but when you use them it will be countered by others.”
Hearing these words, Linghu Chong pondered to himself for a moment and said, “Grand Apprentice Uncle means that I have to shuffle the sword moves so that the opponent is unable to counter it?”
Feng Qingyang looked at him pleasingly. “You have potential indeed. You’re a fast learner. Devil cult’s elders are formidable martial arts practitioners. They’re talented and intelligent. They were able to counter all the Five Mountain Sword Sects Alliance sword techniques completely. But they didn’t know that regardless of how great your martial arts skills are or how exquisite your stances are you are still unable to win the cunning tricks and traps of the opponent. If you fall into the traps set by your opponent, no matter how great your martial arts skills are you’ll still not be able to use them,” he commented.
“It was indeed the elders of the devil cult. What Brother Dong said was true. Could it be that our Five Mountain Sword Sects Alliance lost in a fight and ended up using traps to defeat the opponent? Wonder how is Brother Dong doing now,” Linghu Chong thought to himself. He looked away and took a deep breath as he remembered that Tian Boguang was still outside. “Linghu Chong! Stop thinking of other things! Tian Boguang is going to wake up in another hour. If you keep thinking about other things you won’t have time to learn sword arts!”
Feng Qingyang went on talking. “In terms of martial arts understanding the devil cult elders can’t be counted as experts. They didn’t know that moves are fixed but the one executing the moves is flexible. Fixed stances can be countered but if they were to come across inconsistent stances, they will be restrained and left to be slaughtered by the opponent. You must remember this word; ‘flexible’. When you learn a move, you need to learn it in a flexibly. When you execute a move, you also need to execute it flexible. If you only rigidly adhere to formalities without adding your own lively elements, even if you have mastered thousands or tens of thousands unique moves, as soon as you encounter a true expert, he would still be able to overcome every single one of them.”
Linghu Chong understood Feng Qingyang’s words right away. “I understand! It must be flexible and unrestrained!”
Feng Qingyang responded, “Being flexible and unrestrained is only the first step. You must reach to a level where you can attack with no particular move. Only then can you reach the level of an expert. Just now you said shuffling the sword stances so that the opponent has no means of countering it. You’ve only spotted a small part of it. It’s not about shuffling the sword moves but to have zero moves to be undefeated. When you shuffle your stances there will be intervals between stances. Your opponent will make use of this to attack. But if you don’t have any form of stances, then the opponent would not be able to counter attack.”
Linghu Chong knitted his brow. “How to counter attack when there are no form of stances?” he pondered to himself. A whole new concept had suddenly appeared in front of his eyes.
Feng QIngyang picked up a sword from the ground and pointed it at Linghu Chong. “Try and counter this sword stance of mine,” he instructed.
Linghu Chong fixed his eyes at Feng QIngyang’s sword and said, “This is not a move, so there’s no way I can counter it.”
Feng Qingyang laughed and responded, “As the saying goes, if you want to slice a piece of meat, you need to have the piece of meat before you can slice it; if you want to cut some firewood, you need to have the firewood before you can cut it. If your opponent wants to counter your sword move, he needs to have your sword move before he can counter it. When an ordinary person who has never learned any martial arts slashes a sword randomly, no matter how knowledgeable you are, you still wouldn’t be able to predict where his next move will slash in which direction. Even martial arts exponents wouldn’t be able to defeat his move. Because there is no move, it’s impossible to counter the move. If this person has never learned any martial arts and has no stances, than others can knock him down easily. True advanced sword art is to be able to notice the loopholes of your opponent’s stances and use your zero stances to attack him. When he is unable counter your stances while you are able to counter all his stances then you’ll win.”
Linghu Chong suddenly thought about something. “But what if the enemy doesn’t have any stance either?” he asked.
Feng Qingyang replied, “Then he must be an expert too. When the both of you fight sometimes he may be better and sometimes you may be better.” He paused for a moment and let out a sigh, “However, It’s very difficult to meet such a person. In my entire life, I’ve only met three of them.”
Linghu Chong curiously asked, “Who are these three?”
Feng Qingyang frowned, “Why are you so nosy? Just practice you sword arts properly.” He then stepped to the side and pondered to himself. “Wonderful…wonderful…” he sudden said.
Linghu Chong bowed at him and apologetically said, “I admit my mistake.”
“No, you didn’t make any mistake.” Feng Qingyang replied. “You just the type of person that I like. However, we don’t have much time left. You better hurry up and master Huashan Sect’s thirty four sword stances and perform it in one go. After that you need to forget all of them completely without leaving a single stance in your head. Then use the Huashan Sect’s Sword Art With No Moves to fight Tian Boguang.”
Linghu Chong hesitantly bowed, “Yes, Grand Apprentice Uncle!” After finishing those words, he performed all the Huashan Sect sword techniques on the rock wall, connecting all the distinct and separate sword moves together. Since all he had to do was to follow the natural flow, it became an easy task for him to connect them. He waved his sword, sometimes slashing to the left, sometimes chopping to the right, without thinking about any moves drawn on the rock wall. He didn’t care if his posture or position was close to the drawing and simply followed his own will.
Tian Boguang started shouting from outside. “Brother Linghu! Please come out! We’ll have another contest.”
Linghu Chong stopped and stood still. He looked at Feng Qingyang and asked, “Grand Apprentice Uncle, do you think this random slashing and chopping style sword form of mine will enable me to block his fast short saber attacks?”
Feng Qingyang knitted his brow and shook his head. “You won’t be able to block it,” he replied.
Linghu Chong’s heart skipped a beat. “I can’t? What should I do then?” he asked nervously.
Feng Qingyang hummed and said, ““If you can’t block it then don’t block it.”
Linghu Chong immediately understood what Feng Qingyang meant. “I got it, Grand Apprentice Uncle. You mean that since he wants me to leave with him naturally he won’t take my life. Therefore I can simply ignore his attacks and just focus on my own attacks. Am I right, Grand Apprentice Uncle?”
Feng Qingyang nodded with a smile.
Linghu Chong exited the cave and exchanged a furry of stances with Tian Boguang. His attacks were fast and random but it was still not fast enough to fend off Tian Boguang’s attacks. Tian Boguang swished his short saber downward, slashed Linghu Chong’s hand and subsequently pointed it at his neck. Linghu Chong retracted his hand in pain.
“Do you really think that I don’t dare to chop you?!!” Tian Boguang asked angrily.
Linghu Chong moaned and said, “Brother Tian, look at my hand! It’s already bleeding.”
Tian Boguang sneered, “So what?”
Linghu Chong pushed Tian Boguang’s hand away and replied, “I need to rest for a night. How about this? Once I’m done resting we can duel again tomorrow. You should get some rest too.” He patted Tian Boguang’s shoulder and joyfully hopped back into the cave.
Tian Boguang was dumfounded and lost for words. He dropped to the ground and squeaked annoyingly.
Feng Qingyang wrapped Linghu Chong’s hand with a piece of cloth.
Linghu Chong sighed, “Grand Apprentice Uncle, this jerk has changed his mind. He’s for real this time. What should I do now?”
Feng Qingyang replied, “Luckily you held him off for a night. I don’t think you should sleep tonight. We’ll use one night to tech you three sword moves. You look intelligent but I’m not sure if you’re really that intelligent. If you are really that smart you might be able to master the three moves in one night. But you’re not as intelligent and slow then you should…” He paused and heaved a long sigh. “Then you don’t have to fight Tian Boguang tomorrow morning. Just admit defeat and leave the mountain with him.”
Linghu Chong raised his brows and uttered, “Three moves?” He couldn’t understand why it would take the entire night to master three sword moves.
Feng Qingyang smirked, “Do you think it’s that easy to master three moves in one night?”
Linghu Chong shook his head and grinned, “I didn’t mean anything like that. If I can’t master three moves in one night I’d rather let him kill me than to give in and leave with him.”
Feng Qingyang raised his brows and continued, “These three moves are extremely ordinary. But it would take a miracle for you to master the three moves in one night. You don’t need to learn the second move just yet. Let’s just focus on the first move and third move for now. The first move alone has three hundred and sixty five variations. If one of the variation is not performed well then you can forget about the third move.”
He then rose from his seat and started reciting a long verse. After finishing his sentence, he looked at Linghu Chong. “Chong’Er, it took me three months to master one move. To learn two moves in one night is almost impossible,” he explained. “Just think about it…” He started reciting the verse again but noticed Linghu Chong looking away. “Chong’Er, did you hear what I said?” he asked.
Linghu Chong responded by reciting the entire verse in one go.
Feng Qingyang looked at him in sheer amazement. “This is the General Index of the Dugu Nine Sword. Have you learned it before?” he asked.
Linghu Chong shook his head, “I’ve never learned it before. I’ve no idea that it’s called Dugu Nine Swords either.”
Feng Qingyang narrowed his eyes and asked, “How did your recite it when you’ve never learned it before?”
Linghu Chong replied, “That was how you recited it moments ago.”
Feng Qingyang nodded with a smile. “You’ve got a good memory. Then I’ve an idea. Dugu Nine Swords first move, the General Index Stance has many variations. Let’s not rush into how to implement the general index just yet. The second move is Sword Defeating Stance. It’s used to counter swordplay styles from any sects. We can ignore that for now too. The third move is Saber Defeating Stance. It is used to counter single saber, double saber, willow leaf cutlass, ghost-beheaded saber, machete, and cavalry blade. Tian Boguang uses the single saber’s Swift Saber technique. You’ll just learn the portion that specifically deals with his saber techniques tonight.”
Linghu Chong was stunned by Feng Qingyang’s explanation. “Wow, the Dugu Nine Swords is truly brilliant. I’ve really not heard of it before.”
Feng Qingyang continued, “Dugu Nine Swords third move stresses on using light to resist heavy and fast to overcome slow. Tian Boguang’s fast saber chops are really fast, so you will have to be even faster than him. You’re younger than him so it’s easy to be faster than him. But it’s difficult to predict who will win. As for an old man like me, to be faster than him would be rather difficult. If you have to know what kind of a move he will be using and you must be faster than him. The moment he raises his hand, your sword should already be pointing at his vital parts. That way he would no longer be able to perform his techniques.”
Linghu Chong nodded and said, “That mean’s anticipating your enemy beforehand.”
“Of course! First I’ll teach you how to foresee your enemy beforehand. It can block Tian Boguang’s fast saber,” Feng Qingyang explained.
After spending the entire night learning the complicated Saber Defeating Stance variations diligently Linghu Chong lowered his sword and walked toward Feng Qingyang. “Grand Apprentice Uncle, how did I do?” he asked anxiously.
Feng Qingyang grinned, “Considering the limited time that you have, I would say that you’ve done pretty well.”
Linghu Chong bowed, “Thanks for the compliments, Grand Apprentice Uncle.” He then paused for a moment and asked, “Grand Apprentice Uncle, there’s something I don’t understand though. How come all the sword variations are all attacking techniques with no defending techniques at all?”
Feng Qingyang stroked his long beard as he spoke, “Dugu Nine Swords only moves forward and not backward. When every move only attacks, your enemy can only defend and retreat. Naturally there’s no need to defend yourself. The senior who created this sword art is called Dugu Qiubai (Qiubai means seeking for a loss). Think about it. His name is seeking for a loss. Seeking a loss all his life but couldn’t get one. Once he uses this sword technique he was unbeatable. Why would he still need to defend? If anyone could make him draw his sword to defend, he would have laughed with joy and be delighted beyond measure.”
Linghu Chong looked away and pondered to himself. “This senior became matchless under heaven. It’s difficult to find anyone who could match against him. He’s really someone to be respected. Once Tian Boguang is gone I must plead Grand Apprentice Uncle to teach me the entire sword arts.”
Right at that moment, Tian Boguang started shouting from the outside. “Brother Linghu! It’s already morning! Are you awake yet?! Come out now!”
Feng Qingyang smiled coldly and said, “Go out and fight Tian Boguang. Kick him off Mount Hua!”
Linghu Chong bowed with a smile, “Yes! Grand Apprentice Uncle!”
He exited the cave and walked toward Tian Boguang. “Brother Tian, I’ve thought about it the whole night. I’ve decided…”
Tian Boguang put on a sad face and interrupted him. “Don’t say it anymore. I, Tian Boguang is already quite dishonest. I didn’t think that you’re even more dishonest than me! You want to fight? Fine! I’ll fight you till the end.”
Linghu Chong looked at him depressingly. “Alright! Brother Tian! Stop crying! If you continue to cry I’ll start crying too. I’ll fight with you, ok?”
Tian Boguang pressed his lips together and moaned, “Okay!” After finishing his words, he swung his short saber at Linghu Chong’s head.
Linghu Chong instantly raised his sword to block the attack. After that, he went on to attack Tian Boguang with a series of lightning fast slashes, chops and thrusts. His attacks became faster and faster.
Tian Boguang started to feel lost and did not know how to fend off the flurry of lightning fast attacks.
In a blink of an eye, Linghu Chong pointed the edge of his sword at Tian Boguang’s throat.
Tian Boguang lowered his short saber and let out a sigh, admitting defeat. “Senior Feng Qingyang’s sword art is exceptional. No one under the heaven is unable to defeat him. Stinky kid! I’m afraid after today I won’t be able to defeat you again.”
Linghu Chong smirked while he retracted his sword. “Forget it, Brother Tian. Before this you had many opportunities to kill but you did not. So I’m returning you a favor this time.”
Tian Boguang did not respond this time. He only smiled coldly.
“However, you’ve to promise me something,” Linghu Chong continued.
Tian Boguang folded his arms as he responded, “What is it?!”
Linghu Chong grinned, “My Grand Apprentice Uncle Feng has been residing in the mountain for decades. I don’t wish to outsiders disturbing him. Therefore I hope that you won’t leak a word about him.”
Tian Boguang nodded, “You have my words!”
“That’s great!” Linghu Chong gave him a thumb up.
Tian Boguang laughingly said, “Stinky kid! I’m starting to like you even more. Listen up, this isn’t over yet!”
Linghu Chong responded with a sneer, “I’ll be waiting!”
Tian Boguang returned a smirk and walked off from the cliff.
Feng Qingyang exited the cave and noticed that Tian Boguang was gone.
Linghu Chong knelt at him and bowed. “Grand Apprentice Uncle saved my life and taught me advanced swordplay. I’ll never forget your kindness.”
Feng Qingyang held his hand out and said, “What you’ve learn can’t really be considered as advanced swordplay yet.”.
Linghu Chong bowed and asked, “May I boldly request Grand Apprentice Uncle to teach me all of the Dugu Nine Swords techniques?”
“Are you sure you won’t regret it later for learning the Dugu Nine Swords?” Feng Qingyang asked.
Linghu Chong shook his head. “This is the most fortunate thing in my entire life. I can only be grateful,” he said.
Feng Qingyang smiled, “Very well, I will teach you then. If I don’t teach the Dugu Nine Swords to you, this advanced sword art would eventually be lost. Tian Boguang definitely won’t just give up so easy. Even if he decides to come back again, it’s going to be at least ten to fifteen days from now. When that time comes your martial arts skills would have surpassed him. And you certainly have more tricks than he does. I don’t think you’ll ever be afraid of him again. We have plenty of time now, so you must study from the very beginning to strengthen the basic.”
Linghu Chong bowed, “Thanks for your guidance, Grand Apprentice Uncle.”
In the meantime, Dongfang Bubai and Yi Lin were waiting at the forest not far from Mount Hua. Dongfang Bubai dressed in a man clothing, placed her hands behind her back and took a quick look around to the area to see if Tian Boguang had arrived.
Yi Lin walked up to her elder sister. “Sister, why are we here?” she asked curiously.
Dongfang Bubai turned around and looked at her with a smile. “I brought you to see the person you’ve most wanted to see,” she replied.
Yi Lin knitted her brows. “Who is that?”
“Linghu Chong,” Dongfang Bubai replied with a grin.
Yi Lin was stunned. “Big….Big Brother Linghu…?” she stuttered.
Dongfang Bubai replied, “I know that even since we rescued him in Hengyang City there isn’t a day that you don’t think about him or miss him. I’m here today to help you fulfill your wish. I’ve already ordered Tian Boguang to bring him down from Mount Hua. Once he’s here…”
Yi Lin interrupted, “Why didn’t you tell me earlier?!” She stomped the ground and walked off angrily.
Dongfang Bubai held her hand out as she yelled, “Yi Lin! Where are you going?”
“Going back to Mount Heng!” Yi Lin replied agitatedly .
Dongfang Bubai ran towards Yi Lin at the speed of light and appeared in front of her in a blink of an eye. “Yi Lin! Wait up!” she uttered.
Yi Lin moaned, “Sister! Big Brother Linghu already has someone that he likes. Besides, I’m a nun. It’s impossible for us to be together. If you’re still like this again in the future…then I won’t see you again.” She then walked past Dongfang Bubai and head off from the area.
Dongfang Bubai cast a disappointing glance at her little sister. “Yi Lin...You’ve no idea how lucky it is to be able like someone. There are some people that can’t even express their feelings no matter how much they like a person. They can only hide it in their heart,” she uttered to herself.
Tian Boguang arrived at the forest moments later.
Dongfang Bubai turned around and looked at him indifferently. “Where is he?” she asked in a cold voice.
Tian Boguang grinned as he responded, “I’m useless. I did not manage to bring him here.”
Dongfang Bubai glared at him fiercely “You probably don’t want to live anymore then,” she shouted.
Tian Boguang shook his head. “Of course I want to live! But what can I do? I’ve been begging him at the Repentance Cliff for days but he rather die than to come down. I tried using soft talks and by force but it didn’t work. What can I do?” he grumbled. “I think you should just give me the antidote and find someone else to do this.”
Dongfang Bubai narrowed her eyes. “Repentance Cliff…” she uttered. She suddenly recalled her conversation with Linghu Chong at the prairie. inghu Chong told her that if he ever got sent to the Repentance Cliff for punishment he would like her to bring him fat chicken and good wine when she comes to see hm.
“Looks like I’ll have to bring him some fat chicken and good wine myself,” she murmured. After finishing her words, she turned around and strode off in a flash.
Tian Boguang folded his arms, “Go ahead.” He suddenly remembered something. “Hey wait! You haven’t given me the antidote!” he yelled loudly.
Feng Qingyang stood at the edge of the cliff, stroking his long beard and started laughing. “It’s so good to be young. You wanted to learn sword arts so much that you won’t allow me to sleep. When you wanted to sleep, you fell asleep the moment your head touches the ground,” he uttered. “Oh well, I might as well come out here and get some fresh air.”
He then noticed a figure holding on to a meal basket ascending the cliff. The figure leapt from mountain to mountain in a single bound. “Extraordinary lightness skills,” he murmured. “Looks like I might end up making a trip instead of getting some fresh air.”
The figure ascended into the air and landed on the Repentance Cliff shortly. The figure was none other than Dongfang Bubai.
Feng Qingyang strode towards her at the light speed and appeared in front of her in a blink of the eye. He stared at her fiercely and asked, “Little kid, where did you come from? Your lightness skills are not bad.”
Dongfang Bubai stared at him coldly. “Your martial arts skills are not bad either. How about this little kid here exchange a few stances with you, old kid?,” she tossed the meal basket to a rock table and leapt off the cliff backward.
Feng Qingyang immediately ran after her.
The two of them fought in the air, exchanging relentless palm strikes fingertip strikes and hand strikes at light speed. Each time Feng Qingyang launched an attack at Dongfang Bubai she would be able to block it and subsequently returned a strike at him. Their inner strength was so immense that whenever they traded a stance it would produce short bursts of air.
After trading two hundred stances, the two of them finally landed at a nearby lake. Since the winner wasn’t determined yet, they continued to exchange intense stances. Feng Qingyang went on an attacking stance. He executed a series of swift attacks with his hands, as though it was his sword.
Dongfang Bubai swished and thrust her hand fan countering his relentless attacks at light speed.
Feng Qingyang channeled his inner energy to his hand and thrust out his fingers at Dongfang Bubai’s right shoulder.
Dongfang Bubai immediately thrust out her hand fan out at his fingers. Their inner energy collided and produced a powerful air blast that pushed them to the back.
Feng Qingyang stared at Dongfang Bubai sternly and said, “Little kid, I’ve concealed my sword my years. I don’t want to fight with you. Let’s call it quits.”
Dongfang Bubai grinned, “No way! You have formidable martial arts skills and that’s a threat to me. The more something threatens me, the more I’m curious about it.”
Feng Qingyang laughed and replied, “You may be young but you’re very daring. Do you know that there are some things that are not meant to be touched?!”
Dongfang Bubai put her hands behind her back and smirked. “You’re old but your curiosity is no lesser than mine. You’ve profound inner energy and extraordinary sword skills out of the ordinary,” she commented.
Feng Qingyang burst out laughing. “Great! It’s the first time I get praised by a youngster. You’ve unfathomable body movements. How about taking a stroke from me?”
Dongfang Bubai gave him an untroubled and indifferent gaze as she waited Feng Qingyang to make his move.
Feng Qingyang swished his sleeve and shot a surge of spherical shaped gust of wind from the tip of his finger at Dongfang Bubai.
Dongfang Bubai bent forward and generated a field of energy force to repel the oncoming gust of wind and knocked it back to Feng Qingyang.
Feng Qingyang instantly waved his hand and shot another blast of wind at the oncoming gust of wind, producing a powerful blast. He lowered his hand and glared at Dongfang Buba, “You’ may beyoung but you have great martial arts skills. What is your motive coming to Mount Hua? You did not come here to fight me, right?”
Dongfang Bubai hummed with a smile. “Would you believe me if I said that I came to Repentance Cliff to deliver food?” she replied.
Feng Qingyang stroked his beard, glaring at her suspiciously.
Dongfang Bu Bai cast a side glance at him and said coldly, “Alright. I’m not playing with you anymore. The food is getting cold.” After those words, she leapt into the air and flew back to the Repentance Cliff at light speed.
Feng Qingyang somersaulted in the air and landed behind her. He stared at her in disbelief. “Your body movement is extremely ghostly. Where exactly do you come from?!” he asked loudly.
Dongfang Bubai pointed to the meal basket on the table. “I told you already. I’m here to deliver food,” she replied. She then turned toward the cave and shounted, “Linghu Chong! Come out here!”
Linghu Chong came running out of the cave shortly. He gave Dongfang Bubai a surprising look. “Brother Dong! How come you’re here?” He then looked at Feng Qingyang and said, “Grand Apprentice Uncle, this is my friend. He saved my life before.”
He looked back at Dongfang Bubai and asked, “How come you’re here?”
Dongfang Bubai glared at him indifferently as she replied, “I came to deliver my promise. I didn’t think that you would really be confined at the Repentance Cliff. Since that’s the case, I’ll have to bring fat chicken and good wine to come and visit you. ” She then paused for a moment and continued, “Who would have known that I would meet this old man who has high skilled sword arts the moment I got here. Is he your Grand Apprentice Uncle?”
Linghu Chong quickly made a hand gesture singaling her not to saying anything rude about his Grand Apprentice Uncle.
Feng Qingyang looked at Linghu Chong and asked, “Chong’Er, is it really like that?”
Dongfang Bubai turned toward him. “If it’s not like that what else could it be?” she asked in a cold voice. “The food got cold because of you. You’re not allowed to eat it later.”
Linghu Chong immediately interrupted her. “Brother Dong! Don’t be rude! My Grand Apprentice Uncle is a senior and a martial arts expert. You’re not allowed to talk to him like that!”
Feng Qingyang responded, “Forget it. Since you know him then there’ nothing more to say. Chong’Er, he has very high martial arts skills.”
Linghu Chong looked at Dongfang Bubai in astonishment while Dongfang Bubai shot a smiling side glance at Feng Qingyang.
Since it came out from his Grand Apprentice Uncle’s mouth that Dongfang Bubai’s martial arts skills were high he was certain she was at the level of exponents. He was just surprised that she had such good martial arts skills.
Feng Qingyang looked at Dongfang Bubai and said, “Little kid, I have no appetite. I don’t want any of your food.”
Dongfang Bubai just fixed her eyes on him with a cold smile on her face.
“You two go ahead and talk. I’m going to get some rest,” Feng Qingyang finished his words and started to walk away.
Linghu Chong immediately ran up to him and blocked his way, “Grand Apprentice Uncle, my friend is only joking with you. Please don’t take it seriously,” he explained
Feng Qingyang burst out laughing, “Of course I won’t. I’m going to sleep.” He stepped to the left and walked away.
“Your Grand Apprentice Uncle is quite interesting,” Dongfang Bubai said as she watched Feng Qingyang leave.
Linghu Chong gave her an annoying look. “You still dare to mention it?! You almost offended him just now,” he grumbled.
Dongfang Bubai smirkedm “I’m not afraid of him. He is unable to threaten me neither can I threaten him so we aren’t afraid of each other.”
Linghu Chong propped his hands on his waist and grinned, “Your martial arts skills are really that high?”
Dongfang Bubai grinned as she looked away.
“Oh well, let’s not talk about this anymore. Let’s just drink wine,” he walked toward the table and grabbed hold of the meal basket.
Dongfang Bubai responded, “What’s the hurry. Let me ask you this first! Are there any places to sit in the cave?”
“There’s even a place to sleep. Let’s go!” he replied while walking towards the cave
Dongfang Bubai stared at him annoyingly. “Alcohol addict,” she grunted.
End of Chapter 13
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