me the Great Ancestor of the Duan dynasty, known as the ‘Saintly Emperor of Martial Prowess and Learning’. Duan Zhengming was the fourteenth Emperor in the line, which had been in power for a hundred and fifty years.

At this time, the Northern Song was ruled by Emperor Zhezong in the city of Bianliang [now known as Kaifeng]. Being young in years, the Empress Dowager attended to state affairs. She appointed and trusted famous statesmen and repealed severe laws, resulting in the rejoicing of the common people and pacifying the land. She was the most brilliant and humane female lord in Chinese history, which would proclaim her as being the ‘female Yao and Shun’ [famously benevolent Chinese emperors].

The country of Dali was located in southern Xinjiang, and thus every Emperor was a devout adherent to Buddhism. Even though they had raised themselves to the level of being a ruler, towards the Song dynasty, they were always deferential and unfailingly patient, never raising arms against them. Emperor Baoding had reigned for eleven years and espoused three precepts. To protect order, to uphold peace, and secure the blessings of heaven, creating a heaven-like place to live. The borders were safe, the country was prosperous, and the people lived in peace.

Emperor Baoding, upon seeing that Mu Wanqing not only did not kneel, but even cheekily asked him directly if he was the Emperor, couldn’t help but laugh. “I am indeed the Emperor. Do you find the city of Dali to be a fun place?” Mu Wanqing replied, “As soon as I entered the city, I was brought to come see you. I haven’t explored it yet.” Emperor Baoding let out a slight smile. “Tomorrow, Yu’er will take you out to tour the city and show you the sights of Dali.” Mu Wanqing replied, “Great. Will you be coming with us as well?” After she said this, everybody present couldn’t help but laugh slightly.

Emperor Baoding turned to look at the Empress who sat by his side and merrily asked, “Empress, this little sister wants us to accompany her sightseeing. What do you think?” The Empress smiled a little, but did not respond. Mu Wanqing cast a few glances at her. “Are you the Empress? You really are quite pretty.” Emperor Baoding roared with laughter. “Yu’er, this Miss Mu is very innocent and naive. How amusing!”

Mu Wanqing asked, “Why do you called him “Yu’er” [child Yu]? Are you the ‘uncle’ which he kept on talking about? He snuck out of the city to have some fun, and was very afraid that you would be angry at him. Don’t beat him, okay?” Emperor Baoding laughed. “I was going to give him fifty hard strokes of the cane, but since you ask for mercy on his behalf, I’ll spare him. Yu’er, quickly thank Miss Mu!”

Seeing that Mu Wanqing had put the Emperor in a merry mood, Duan Yu was happy. He knew that his uncle had an even temperament. Duan Yu bowed deeply towards Mu Wanqing, and said, “Many thanks to Miss Mu for asking for clemency on my behalf!” Mu Wanqing returned his bow and whispered, “As long as your uncle has agreed to not beat you, my heart is at ease. There’s no need to thank me.” Then she immediately turned towards Emperor Baoding and said, “I always thought that Emperors were really fierce and scary people. I never would have imagined that you…you…you are very nice.”

Aside from being praised by his parents when he was a child, for the past ten years, everyone who met Emperor Baoding would be extremely respectful and fearful. Nobody would ever call him “very nice”. But he saw that Mu Wanqing was like a piece of muddied gold or uncut jade, totally unaware of propriety and custom, and liked her all the more. He said to the Empress, “Do you have anything to bestow upon her?”

The Empress removed a jade bracelet from her left wrist and handed it over. “I’ll give this to you as a gift.”

Mu Wanqing accepted the gift and wore it on her own wrist. Suddenly, she laughed. “Thanks! Next time, I’ll also find something pretty and give it to you!” The Empress laughed slightly. “Then I’ll thank you in advance.”

Suddenly, a ‘ge’ sound could be heard on the roof of the pavilion, followed by another ‘ge’ sound coming from the top of an adjacent room.

Mu Wanqing was startled and knew that an enemy had arrived. That person had arrived so very quickly. But suddenly, like raindrops hitting the ground, the sound of other people arriving on the roof was heard as well. Chu Wanli’s voice sounded out, “Sir, what desire do you have that causes you to arrive at the prince’s manor in the dead of night?”

A loud, coarse, husky voice replied, “I came to find my apprentice! Quick, go have my obedient apprentice come out and pay me a visit!” It was the Divine Crocodile of the Southern Seas.

Mu Wanqing’s sense of startlement deepened. Although the prince’s palace was heavily protected, with guards clustered as thickly as the clouds, and although the South-Subduing Prince, Gao Shengtai, the Sage of Hollow Jade, and Chu, Gu, Fu, and Zhu all possessed excellent martial arts, but the Divine Crocodile of the Southern Seas really was too formidable. If Yun Zhong’e and Ye Erniang, along with that as-yet unseen ‘most evil man in the world’ appeared, then the Four Evils would be working in harmony, and it would be difficult to prevent them from kidnapping Duan Yu.

Chu Wanli shouted in reply, “Sir, who is your apprentice? How could your apprentice be in the palace of the South-Subduing Prince? Withdraw and depart!” But suddenly, a mocking laugh was heard, and a large hand appeared which ripped apart the large plaque above the room, tearing it in two. Like a shadowy blur, the Divine Crocodile of the Southern Seas suddenly appeared in the middle of the pavilion.

Casting his gaze across the people present, he spotted Duan Yu and laughed loudly, then shouted, “Number four wasn’t wrong! My obedient apprentice really is here after all! Quick, beg for me to make you my apprentice, then come with me to learn martial arts!” While speaking, he extended his chicken-claw like hands and reached for Duan Yu’s shoulders.

The South-Subduing Prince saw that this claw came swiftly and with great power, and was afraid that his beloved son would be hurt. Immediately, he struck out with a counter-palm. With a ‘peng’ sound, their two hands collided and he fully blocked the energy of the strike. The Divine Crocodile was secretly alarmed and asked, “Who the heck are you? I came here to take my apprentice away, what business is it of yours?” Smiling, the South-Subduing Prince replied, “I am Duan Zhengchun. This child is my son. When, precisely, did he kowtow and accept you as his master?”

Duan Yu laughed. “He wanted to accept me as his apprentice. I told him that I had accepted another master long ago, but he wouldn’t believe me.”

The Divine Crocodile looked at Duan Yu, then looked at the South-Subduing Prince, Duan Zhengchun, and said, “The old guy’s martial arts is pretty damn good, but the kid doesn’t know any at all. I refuse to believe you two are father and son! Duan Zhengchun, we’re not bad, but even if he really is your son, you haven’t been teaching martial arts properly. Your son really is worthless! What a pity! What a pity!”

Duan Zhengchun responded, “What’s a pity?” The Divine Crocodile responded, “Your son is really similar to me. He’s an exceptionally rare prospect for studying martial arts. He only needs to study with me for ten years, and I guarantee that he will become an incredible expert in the wulin.”

Duan Zhengchun was half-furious, half-amused. From his earlier exchange of palms with the Divine Crocodile, he knew that this person’s martial arts was extremely formidable, and just as he was formulating a proper response, Duan Yu interjected.

“Yue Number Three! Your martial arts are crap. You aren’t fit to be my master! Go back to the “Ten Thousand Crocodile Island” of the Southern Seas and practice martial arts for another twenty years before coming here to discuss martial arts with others!” The Divine Crocodile angrily responded, “A little brat like you, do you have the stature to claim my martial arts are bad?!”

Duan Yu responded, “Let me ask you. ‘Wind and thunder, increase. A gentleman should act in virtuous ways, and if he commits an error, must rectify it.’ What does this mean?” The Divine Crocodile was stupefied, then indignantly responded, “That doesn’t have any meaning. You’re just talking rubbish!”

Duan Yu said, “You don’t even understand these most basic of sentences, how can you be fit to discuss martial arts philosophy? I’ll ask you another question. ‘To injure those above, to benefit those below, the people speak without boundaries. Ones self, top and bottom, below. Arriving at great brightness’. What does that mean?”

Emperor Baoding, the South-Subduing Prince, Gao Shengtai, and others, upon hearing him recite from the Book of Changes [I-Ching] to tease this person, couldn’t control their laughter. Even though Mu Wanqing had no idea what he was talking about, but guessed that it was something akin to ‘a sour scholar dropping a satchel’, and that he was mocking the Divine Crocodile.

In his startlement, the Divine Crocodile noticed that upon the face of every person present was suppressed laughter. He guessed that whatever it was that Duan Yu said, it probably was insulting. With a loud roar, he extended his palm, preparing to strike. Duan Zhengchun took a half-step forward, standing between him and his son.

Duan Yu laughed. “What I have said are all secrets of martial arts practice, and their subtleties are boundless and without end. You probably wouldn’t understand anyways. You ‘frog in a well’ [reference to a Chinese parable], actually want to be my master? The people under heaven would laugh so hard, their mouths would become permanently askew! Haha! The masters I have kowtowed to, some are Daoist immortals from jade caverns, others are elite scholars and erudites, and still others are learned elder monks. You? Even if you studied for another ten years, you might not be able to get me to accept you as my student!”

The Divine Crocodile loudly roared, “Who is the teacher you have accepted? Tell him to get out here and show me his abilities!”

Duan Zhengchun saw that only one of the Four Evils had arrived. Although his martial arts was formidable, the Divine Crocodile was still a level beneath himself. He might as well take the opportunity to allow this idiot to be teased a bit. Thus, although the Emperor, Empress, and imperial concubine were all in attendance, he did not step in to curb his son’s nonsense.

Duan Yu, seeing amusement on the face of his uncle and seeing that his father wasn’t going to step in, became even more animated. He said to the Divine Crocodile, “Fine. You have the courage to stay here. I’ll go invite my master. Don’t get scared and hop away!” The Divine Crocodile angrily replied, “I, Yue Number Two, have wandered the jianghu for such a long time. Who am I afraid of? Hurry, go!” Turning, Duan Yu left.

The Divine Crocodile took a look at every person’s face, only to see that there was a smile on each of their faces. He thought to himself, “My apprentice’s martial arts are so crappy, not worth a dog’s fart. How good can his teacher be? Your old man aint scared of him one bit!”

He suddenly heard the sound of boots as two people entered the room. From outside, Duan Yu called out, “Has that Yue Number Three fellow ran off yet? Father, don’t let him flee! My master is coming.” The Divine Crocodile roared back, “Why would I run away? Damn it! Quickly, have your teacher enter! You aren’t willing to accept such an illustrious teacher as myself, it’s most likely because your current teacher won’t agree. First I’ll snap the neck of your worthless teacher. Then, without a teacher, you’ll have to accept me as your teacher! Haha, this idea of mine is so extremely brilliant!”

Just as he was praising himself, Duan Yu brought a person in. Upon seeing that person, everyone present couldn’t resist laughing their heads off.

This person wore a small hat and a long gown, with a yellow, rat-like mustache, and squinty red eyes. He had a shrunken set of shoulders, appearing to be a humble thing. The Sage of Hollow Jade and the others recognized him as Mr. Huo, one of the palace’s accountants. This person always seemed to be half-asleep, half-awake. He loved to go gambling with the palace’s servants.

At the moment, he was covered with the scent of alcohol and his front was covered in grease. Duan Yu was grabbing his arm, trying to pull him in, but he was cowering and reluctant. As soon as he entered the flower pavilion, he knelt before the Emperor and the Empress. Emperor Baoding did not recognize him, and merely said, “Forget it.”

Holding onto Mr. Huo’s arm, Duan Yu said to the Divine Crocodile, “Yue Number Three, amongst all of my masters, this one has the most shallow martial arts. First you need to overcome him, before you can go on to challenge my other masters.” The Divine Crocodile screamed loudly, “If I can’t crush him to a pulp within three stances, I’ll accept you as my master!”

Duan Yu’s eyes suddenly gleamed. “Are you serious? A man’s word is his bond. If a man breaks his word, then he isn’t a man at all. He’s a bastard son of a turtle!” The Divine Crocodile yelled, “Come, come, come!” Duan Yu answered, “If we’re only competing three stances, then there’s no need to fight with my master. I’ll take on those three stances of yours myself.”

After hearing the report from Yun Zhonghe, the Divine Crocodile immediately rushed to Dali. His sole goal was to abduct Duan Yu and make him the heir of the martial arts of the Southern Seas sect. After exchanging a set of palms with Duan Zhengchun, his heart was filled with fear, thinking to himself that to kidnap Duan Yu while surrounded by so many elite fighters would be a difficult task indeed. He might not even be able to take his apprentice’s father.

Fortunately, at this moment, Duan Yu himself volunteered to fight him. He couldn’t ask for a better opportunity. With a single stance, he could subdue Duan Yu. After that, no matter how good Duan Zhengchun and the other’s martial arts were, they wouldn’t dare move against him. All they would be able to do would be to watch dumbly as he took his apprentice away. The Divine Crocodile replied, “Fine, come take three stances from me. I won’t use any internal energy and promise not to hurt you at all.”

Duan Yu answered, “Let’s set all the conditions now. What happens if you can’t beat me in those three stances?”

The Divine Crocodile laughed loudly. He knew that Duan Yu was a frail, scholarly weakling who didn’t even have the strength to tie up a chicken. Forget three stances, the kid couldn’t even take on one. “If I can’t hit you in three stances, I’ll accept you as my master.” Duan Yu laughed. “Everyone here can bear witness. You won’t go back on your words, will you?” The Divine Crocodile angrily replied, “The words of Yue Number Two are totally trustworthy! If I say this is this, then it is. If I say that is that, then it is.”

Duan Yu teased, “Yue Number Three!” The Divine Crocodile retorted, “Yue Number Two!” Duan Yu again said, “Yue Number Three!” The Divine Crocodile said, “Quick, make your move and stop wasting time!” Duan Yu strode forward two steps to face the Divine Crocodile.

Of the people in the palace, everyone from the Emperor and Empress on down, with the exception of Mu Wanqing, had watched Duan Yu grow up. They all knew that he loved scholastics and hated fighting. This time, Emperor Baoding and Duan Zhengchun wanted to force him to learn martial arts. Instead, he actually snuck away from home. Forget about exchanging blows with first class masters, even if he were to fight with your average bodyguard or escort, he would definitely not be a match.

Everyone present knew that he was just teasing this idiot, but in the end, his words became hard, and it looked like he was actually going to fight the idiot. Although the Divine Crocodile had promised not to harm him due to wanting to take him on as an apprentice, the Divine Crocodile’s temperament was violent and murderous. What if he suddenly became enraged and started to fight for real? Duan Yu was of royal descent, how could he possibly be allowed to take on the risk? The Sage of Hollow Jade was the first to speak and to block Duan Yu. “Yu’er, stop fooling around. There’s no need to waste time on a wild, uncouth man such as him.” The Empress also spoke. “Marquis of Virtuous Enlightenment, issue an order to have this madman apprehended.”

The Marquis of Virtuous Enlightenment, Gao Shengtai, replied, “Your servant, Gao Shengtai, will obey.” Turning, he shouted, “Chu Wanli, Gu Ducheng, Fu Sigui, Zhu Danchen! The four of you, listen to the imperial decree! The Empress orders you to apprehend this unruly man!” Chu Wanli and the other three respectfully replied, “Your servants shall follow the decree.”

The Divine Crocodile, seeing that a brawl was about to erupt, loudly shouted, “So you people want to mob me, huh? Fine! All of you, come at once! You there! Are you the Emperor and the Empress? Why don’t the two of you come as well?”

Duan Yu frantically waved his hands. “Wait, wait! Let me fight with him for three stances first!”

Emperor Baoding knew that this nephew of his was often capable of exceeding expectations. Perhaps he had some sort of plan or trick up his sleeve. The Divine Crocodile definitely would not take his life, and with himself, the Marquis of Virtuous Enlightenment, his brothers, and others present, there definitely wouldn’t be any problems. “Everybody, stop. We might as well let this uncouth madman experience the martial talents of the young prince of Dali.”

Chu Wanli and the other three were just about to charge, but as soon as they heard the Emperor’s decree, they immediately stood down.

Duan Yu repeated, “Yue Number Three, we have to agree in advance. If you can’t beat me in three stances, you’ll have to take me on as your master. Even if I become your master, you need to be aware that your intelligence is lacking. There’s no way I can teach you martial arts. Do you agree to this?” The Divine Crocodile angrily replied, “Who wants you to teach me martial arts? What type of crappy martial arts can you possibly know?”

Duan Yu said, “Good! So you’ve agreed. After I become your master, you’ll have to obey my commands. If I tell you to do something, you must do it. Otherwise, you’ll be known as an unfilial person who disobeys his master and insults his ancestors, which is totally contrary to the rules of the wulin. Do you agree?” The Divine Crocodile actually wasn’t angry; instead, he laughed. “Naturally. After you lose and take me on as your master, you also would have to obey me.”

Duan Yu had been silently pondering ten or so steps of the “Graceful Steps Upon the Waves” [Ling Bo Wei Bu] martial arts he had learned. He felt that to avoid three stances would not be difficult. However, he had never fought with anyone before, and the Divine Crocodile’s martial arts was extremely high, leaving him without absolute confidence in victory. It’d be best to leave himself an avenue of retreat.

“Fine,” Duan Yu said. “But if you want to take me on as your apprentice, you still need to defeat my masters one by one. Only after proving that your martial arts are superior will I accept you as my master.” He thought to himself, “If I am grabbed by him underneath three stances, I’ll just point at all the elite martial artists here one by one and describe them all as being my masters, and force him to fight them one by one by one.” The Divine Crocodile replied, “Fine! Fine! You keep on talking but you refuse to fight. You aren’t like me at all! The students of the Southern Seas sect are never hesitant when it comes to a battle!”

Duan Yu pointed behind the Divine Crocodile with a faint smile. “One of my masters has been standing behind you for a long time, now.” The Divine Crocodile hadn’t sensed anyone behind him. Swiveling his head, he didn’t see anybody. At this time, Duan Yu suddenly advanced one step, moving as though he were floating on the breeze. Clumsily, he reached out towards the Divine Crocodile’s chest, attempting to strike at his Shanzhong acupoint with his thumb. This was an extremely clumsy and ungainly move, but Duan Yu’s body was filled with the internal energy of seven disciples of the Wuliang sword sect. Although he couldn’t use all of that internal energy, the power of this claw was not small.

The Divine Crocodile felt some pain at the pit his stomach as Duan Yu suddenly seized his Shenque acupoint, located at his navel, with his left hand. The scroll for the “Divine Art of the Northern Darkness” [Beiming Shengong] included drawings of numerous myriads of acupoints on it. Duan Yu, however, had only mastered the acupoints on two of the drawings. The “Ren” meridians, and the “Lunar Lung” scripture. The Shanzhong acupoint and Shenque acupoints were two major acupoints of the “Ren” meridians.

Startled, the Divine Crocodile immediately exerted his internal energy to resist. To his great shock, he felt it flow outwards from his Shanzhong acupoint, causing him to feel as though his entire body had lost half of its strength, frightening him even further. Duan Yu had already flipped him around, causing his feet to point upwards and his head to point downwards. With a ‘teng’ sound, his big bald head collided with the floor. Fortunately for him, the floor of the flower pavilion was carpeted, and so he was not injured. In his great anger, he exercised the skill “The Carp Stands Erect” and rose to his feet, then sent out his left hand in a claw attack towards Duan Yu.

Upon seeing this series of events, every person present was extremely shocked. Duan Zhengchun, seeing that the Divine Crocodile sent out that claw with extreme force, was just about to intervene when Duan Yu suddenly sidestepped towards the left. His footwork was strange to the extreme. With but a single step, he managed to dodge the opponent’s attack, which had struck with the speed of a peal of thunder or a flash of lightning. Duang Zhengchun exclaimed, “Incredible!” The Divine Crocodile’s second palm attack came slamming down towards Duan Yu, who did not try to block or counter. Instead, he took two oblique steps and once again completely dodged the attack.

The Divine Crocodile had missed two attacks in a row. He was both startled and angry. Duan Yu was standing right in front of him, not more than a meter away. Suddenly, with a crazy howl, he sent out a two-handed attack, grabbing at Duan Yu’s chest and stomach. He used all of his energy in this attack; arms, hands, and his claws. In his anger, he had completely forgotten that if this double blow connected, his “future heir to the Southern Seas sect” would suffer tremendous physical damage.

Emperor Baoding, Duan Zhengchun, the Sage of Hollow Jade, and Gao Shengtai shouted in unison, “Careful!” Only to see Duan Yu take a step to the left, then a step to the right. With breeze-like ease, he had already managed to somehow appear behind the Divine Crocodile. With his two hands, he patted the Divine Crocodile on his bald head.

The Divine Crocodile felt that his opponent’s attack was totally mysterious and unpredictable. Somehow, the kid had managed to pat him on the top of his head! He darkly exclaimed, “My life comes to an end!” But as soon as his opponent touched the top of his head, he realized that there was no power behind this blow at all. With a sneer, he reversed his left hand and sent it upwards. Suddenly, five bloody lines appeared on the back of Duan Yu’s hand. Duan Yu hastily retracted his hand, but the Divine Crocodile’s power hadn’t diminished yet. The clawing attack slid down from Duan Yu’s retracted hand, resulting in five bloody cuts also being made on the Divine Crocodile’s head.

Actually, after having avoided three separate attacks in a row, Duan Yu had already won this battle. Only, he was far too mischievous, and so patted the Divine Crocodile on his head. He wasn’t aware that his internal energy was now quite strong, and also didn’t know how to utilize it either. Consequently, he was almost captured instead. With a series of interconnected steps, he flew backwards and hid behind his father, so terrified that his face was pale and bloodless.

The Sage of Hollow Jade cast him a glance and thought to herself, “Hmph. Your father and your uncle taught you such a marvelous skill, and you’ve been hiding it from me all along.”

Mu Wanqing said loudly, “Divine Crocodile of the Southern Seas! Not only were you unable to hit him within three strokes, but you took a nasty tumble yourself instead! Quick, get over here and pay respects to your master!” Red-faced, the Divine Crocodile scratched his ear. “He wasn’t fighting with me for real. This one doesn’t count.” Mu Wanqing pointed directly at his face. “Have you no shame? If you aren’t going to accept him as your master, then you must be a bastard son of a turtle! What’s your choice? Are you going to accept him as your master, or be a bastard son of a turtle?” The Divine Crocodile angrily replied, “Neither! I want to fight him again!”

Duan Zhengchun saw that his son’s footwork was miraculous to the extreme, but was unable to discern the secret behind it. Quietly, he whispered to his son, “Don’t fight with him head on. Just take an opportunity to seize his acupoints.” Duan Yu whispered back, “Your son is afraid now. I don’t know if I can do it.” Duan Zhengchun replied softly, “Don’t be afraid. I’ll secretly assist you from the side.”

With his father supporting him, Duan Yu’s courage arose, and he reappeared from behind Duan Zhengchun’s back. “You weren’t able to hit me in three stances. Time to accept me as your master!” The Divine Crocodile let out a thunderous bellow, then struck out at him with a powerful palm.

Duan Yu took a single step towards the northeast and easily avoided the attack. With a loud sound, ‘ka-la!’, this palm attack from the Divine Crocodile shattered a tea table. With all his willpower, Duan Yu focused, then softly recited, “See my body, advance and retreat. Follow his back, do not capture him. Go to the front courtyard, see nobody present. Hide both sides of the urn, go to a strategic place. Peel, disadvantageous to go towards the construct. The ram and goat touch the border, they cannot retreat, nor can they be fulfilled.”

He ignored the origins of the Divine Crocodiles palms, focusing only on his own footwork, retreating and dodging with strange, slanted steps. The twin palms of the Divine Crocodile became faster and faster, and the force of his blows stronger and stronger. A ceaseless stream of cracking sounds continually could be heard from within the flower pavilion as the chairs, tables, teapots, and teacups were shattered one after another. But he couldn’t land a single blow on Duan Yu’s body.

More than three stances passed in the blink of an eye. The two brothers, Emperor Baoding and the South-Subduing Prince, could easily tell that Duan Yu’s technique was shallow, and that he possessed no martial arts at all. Only, they could not discern how he received instruction from an elite martial artist and received an almost divine footwork skill, striding in the positions of Fuxi’s 64 trigrams. His first step would always be unimaginably queer. If he were really to fight with the Divine Crocodile, he would die underneath the opponent’s very first palm. But he didn’t bother to fight, and just focused on walking around. Although the Divine Crocodile palms were extremely fierce, he couldn’t lay a single finger on Duan Yu.

After watching for a while, the two brothers exchanged glances. A hint of worry had appeared on both of their faces. They both thought, “If the Divine Crocodile just closed his eyes and ignored Yu’er’s footwork, opting instead to randomly flail out with punches and palms, he’ll hit him sooner or later.” But they saw that the Divine Crocodile’s face grow more and more yellow, his eyes bulging more and more wide, not having thought of this method. His palm attacks fluctuated rapidly, but always would miss Duan Yu’s body by a third or two thirds of a meter.

If the fight continued, although Duan Yu would not be hurt, actually beating the opponent would be impossible as well. After watching a while, Emperor Baoding suddenly said, “Yu’er, slow your footsteps by a half. Face him directly, and grab the acupoint on his chest.”

Duan Yu answered, “Yes!” He slowed down his footsteps, then turned to face the Divine Crocodile and walked towards him. But upon facing the furious yellow countenance of the Divine Crocodile, fear suddenly struck him. His footsteps faltered just a little, causing him to move slightly out of position. The Divine Crocodile sent out a claw towards the left side of Duan Yu’s head, connecting and causing blood to immediately flow from his left ear. Feeling pain from his wounded ear, Duan Yu became even more timid. He increased the speed of his footsteps, hurriedly backing up and once again hiding behind Duan Zhengchun. With a forced smile, he called out, “Uncle, that won’t work!”

Duan Zhengchun roared furiously, “The members of the Dali Duan dynasty face their enemies boldly. Which one is cowardly and retreats to hide? Go out there and fight! Your uncle’s instructions were good.” The Sage of Hollow Jade, doting on her son, interjected, “Yu’er has already fought with him for sixty stances or more. The Duan family has produced such a wonderful scion, and you still think it isn’t enough? Yu’er, you won long ago. No need to fight any more.” Duan Zhengchun said, “Do not be afraid. I can guarantee that he won’t die.” The Sage of Hollow Jade felt bitterness in her heart, and her eyes began to fill with tears.

Seeing his mother in such a state, Duan Yu couldn’t bear it. His courage rose again, and he boldly strode forwards. He loudly proclaimed, “I’ll fight with you some more!” This ti