s ill, I saw you all the time when I closed my eyes. That day when my fever worsened, Mom said that I kept talking to you in my dreams. Big apprentice brother, Mom has learned about that night when I spent the night up here.”

Linghu Chong blushed and felt some uneasiness. “Was Master-Wife angry?” he asked.

“Mom wasn’t angry about it. But…but….” Yue Lingshan suddenly blushed and stopped abruptly.

“But what?” Linghu Chong asked.

“I am not telling you,” Yue Lingshan declared.

Noticing the affected shy expression on Yue Lingshan’s face, Linghu Chong’s heart quivered. He immediately pulled himself together and said, “Little apprentice sister, you just got better. You really shouldn’t come up here so soon. I knew you were gradually getting better. Everyday when fifth apprentice brother or sixth apprentice brother brought food up for me, they all told me about you.”

“Then how come you are still so thin?” Yue Lingshan asked.

“Well, as soon as you fully recover, I will gain my weight back.” Linghu Chong answered with a smile.

“Tell me the truth. How much did you eat at each meal these days? Monkey Six said that you didn’t touch your food at all and only drank a lot of wine. He tried to persuade you, but you simply wouldn’t listen to him. Big apprentice brother, why don’t you…take good care of yourself?” At those words, tear drops started rolling in her eyes again.

“Nonsense! Don’t listen to him. Monkey Six always likes to exaggerate. Why would I only drink wine and not eat?” Linghu Chong denied.

A breeze of cold wind swept by and sent Yue Lingshan shivering. It was a very chilly day. The cliff didn’t even have a single tree to block the cold wind. It was already very cold on top of Mount Huashan; it was even colder here on the cliff.

“Little apprentice sister,” Linghu Chong said quickly, “you have not fully recovered yet. You’d better not catch a cold again. Go back down the cliff. Wait till one day when the sun comes out and after you have fully recovered, then you can come up to see me again.”

“I’m not cold. We are getting snow and windstorm everyday. Who knows when we will have sunshine again?” Yue Lingshan complained.

“But what if you get sick again? I…I…,” Linghu Chong said in a worried tone.

Seeing the thin and pallid face of Linghu Chong, Yue Lingshan thought, “If I get sick again, he’ll get sick too for sure. That will surely get him killed with no one here taking care of him at all.” So she had to agree. “Fine. I am leaving now. You take good care of yourself. Don’t drink that much wine. Have at least three bowls of rice every meal. I’ll go talk to Dad and tell him that you are not feeling well. You need more nutritious food. You can’t live off only vegetables.”

“I will not violate the prohibition. Seeing you getting better is enough nourish for me already. I am sure I will start gaining weight in a couple of days. My dear, please go back now,” Linghu Chong urged.

“What did you call me?” Her cheeks going red, Yue Lingshan asked in a low voice, love and affection swelling in her eyes.

Feeling a little bit shy, Linghu Chong immediately answered, “I just blurted that out. Little apprentice sister, please don’t mind.”

“Why would I mind? I like you to call me that.” Yue Lingshan replied.

Linghu Chong felt a warm current coursing through his heart. All he could think of was to embrace her tightly in his arms. But he immediately told himself, “She has shown me such affection. How could I ever disgrace her with such disrespectful behavior?” So he turned his head aside in a hurry, and only said in a soft voice, “Walk slow when you go down the cliff, one step at a time. Take a rest if you need to. Don’t just run all the way down like you used to do in other days.”

“I won’t,” Yue Lingshan answered as she turned around slowly and walked toward the road down the cliff.

Hearing the sound of her steps getting further and further, Linghu Chong turned his head back, only seeing Yue Lingshan standing a few dozen feet away down the road staring at him. For a long while, the two just stared at each other silently.

“Walk slow. It’s time for you to get back,” Linghu Chong finally said.

“Yes,” Yue Lingshan answered and this time really started heading back.

In that day, Linghu Chong felt a kind of joy he had never experienced before in his entire life. Sitting on the rock, he couldn’t resist his urge to laugh out loud. He suddenly burst out a long roar, and it echoed around the valley again and again. The roar seemed to be shouting the words, “I am so happy! I am so happy!”

The next day, it snowed again, and sure enough, Yue Lingshan did not come up. Linghu Chong heard from Lu Dayou that she was enjoying a speedy recovery and was getting better and better everyday. That truly cheered him up.

Another twenty or so days passed before Yue Lingshan came up the cliff again. She had a basket full of Zong-Zi[1] this time. After looking at Linghu Chong’s face carefully for a moment, she smiled. “You didn’t lie. You sure gained quite a few pounds back.”

“You’ve recovered well. I am so happy to see you healthy.” Seeing the ruddy complexion on Yue Lingshan’s cheeks, Linghu Chong also smiled.

“I’ve been bugging Mom every day so that I could bring your food up, but Mom just wouldn’t let me. She kept saying that it was too cold, or it was too humid. She almost sounded as if as soon as I come up the cliff, I’ll drop dead. I said that big apprentice brother has stayed on the cliff for days and nights. I don’t see him getting sick. Mom said that big apprentice brother has very high inner energy; I am simply not in the same league. Hey, Mom was praising about you. Aren’t you happy to hear that?”

Linghu Chong nodded. “I really miss Master and Master-Wife. I wish I could see them soon.”

“Yesterday I spent a whole day helping Mom wrapping Zong-Zi. I thought to myself, wouldn’t it be nice if I could bring you some? And guess what? Before I even opened my mouth to ask today, Mom had already said to me, ‘Take this basket of Zong-Zi to Chong.’ What a surprise!”

Linghu Chong felt a lump in his throat, thinking, “Master-Wife is so nice to me.”

“These Zong-Zi just came out of the pot; they are still hot. Let me peel some for you.” Yue Lingshan went in the cave and started unwrapping the bamboo leaves outside of the Zong-Zi. Soon, appetizing smell filled the small cave.

Taking the unwrapped Zong-Zi Yue Lingshan handed to him, Linghu Chong took a bite. Even though the Zong-Zi only had vegetarian stuffing, the mixture of straw mushrooms, lotus seeds, broad beans and other ingredients gave it a very delicious flavor.

“Little Lin and I picked those straw mushrooms the day before yesterday…,” Yue Lingshan bragged.

“Little Lin?” Linghu Chong was lost.

“Oh, That’s junior apprentice brother Lin. I’ve been calling him Little Lin these days. He came to me the day before yesterday and told me that there was straw mushrooms under those pine trees at the east slope. He even went with me and spent half a day picking them. But we only found enough to fill a half basket. While there’s not much, it sure is tasty, isn’t it?”

“Yummy! I almost swallowed my tongue together with it. So, little apprentice sister, you don’t yell at him now?” Linghu Chong asked.

“Why not! Anytime he doesn’t listen to me, I yell at him. But he sure learned how to behave himself these days, so I don’t yell at him as much now. And when he works hard and progress a little with his sword practice, I praise him a little, ‘Aha, Little Lin, this move looks not too shabby, much better than yesterday. But it’s still not fast enough. Practice more! Practice more!’ Ha-ha!” Yue Lingshan said amusingly.

“Are you teaching him sword arts?” Linghu Chong asked.

“Yep! He speaks Fujian dialect. Apprentice brothers and sisters are having a hard time understanding him. I’ve been to Fuzhou before and it’s easier for me to understand his words, so Dad asked me to help him with his sword art whenever I have time. Big apprentice brother, since I can’t come up here to see you all the time, when I get bored, I might as well teach him a couple of moves. Little Lin is no dummy. He can learn quickly.”

“I see. So you are the senior apprentice sister and the instructor. No wonder he dares not to disobey you.” Linghu Chong laughed.

“I wouldn’t say that. Yesterday when I asked him to go hunt pheasants with me, he didn’t want to go, and said that he had not gotten the moves White Aurora Shooting to Sun and Heaven Hanging Upside Down right and needed to practice more.”

Linghu Chong was a bit surprised. He asked, “He has only been in our Huashan Sword School for several months, how come he is already practicing moves like White Aurora Shooting to Sun and Heaven Hanging Upside Down? Little apprentice sister, our Huashan sword arts require the practitioner to follow each of the steps. It would be harmful to try to advance too quickly.”

“Don’t worry about it. I won’t be teaching him irresponsibly,” Yue Lingshan explained. “Little Lin is always eager to excel. He practices days and nights. Every time when I want to chat a little, in less than three sentences, he would start asking questions about sword arts. Sword forms that will take others three months to grasp will only take him half a month. When I wanted him to go play with me, he would never agree frankly.”

Linghu Chong fell silent, and all of a sudden, some kind of indescribable annoyance filled his heart. He took another bite, and then just stared at the Zong-Zi in his hand blankly.

“Big apprentice brother, did you swallow your tongue? Why have you stopped talking?” Yue Lingshan pulled at Linghu Chong’s sleeves.

Absentmindedly, Linghu Chong put the remaining of the Zong-Zi in his mouth. Somehow, the supposedly delicious Zong-Zi got stuck in his mouth and he couldn’t swallow it down.

Yue Lingshan pointed at him and giggled hard. “Aren’t you too impatient? See, you got it stuck to your teeth.”

With a wry smile, Linghu Chong swallowed hard and finally managed to send it down his throat. He thought to himself, “I am really being stupid! Little apprentice sister loves to play. Since I can’t go down the cliff, she wanted apprentice brother Lin to be her company. That’s really quite normal. Why am I being so narrow-minded and getting mad at that?” So he relaxed a little and said with a smile, “You must have worked on this one. See how tight did you wrap it? It got my tongue and my teeth all stuck together.”

Yue Lingshan burst into loud laughter. After a few moments, she commented, “Poor big apprentice brother, who has to be a prisoner on top of the cliff. See how gluttonous you are!”

The next time when she came up the cliff again, it was already over ten days later. Other than the meal basket, she also brought a small basket with half basket of pine nuts and chestnuts.

During the ten days, Linghu Chong’s neck probably had gotten longer from all the anxious looking down the cliff. Every time he asked about little apprentice sister from Lu Dayou when he brought food up, Lu Dayou would always look queer and speak in an odd way. Linghu Chong got suspicious, but simply couldn’t get a straight answer out of him. When Linghu Chong pressed really hard sometimes, Lu Dayou would always answer, “Little apprentice sister is doing great. She practices sword art diligently everyday. Maybe Master didn’t want her up the cliff so she wouldn’t be disturbing big apprentice brother’s meditation here.”

Now when he finally saw Yue Lingshan again after all the waiting, his joy was unspeakable. She seemed to be glowing with health and radiating vigor, looking even prettier than how she looked before the illness. Linghu Chong couldn’t help but think, “She has fully recovered. Why did she wait so long before coming up the cliff again? Did Master or Master-Wife ban her from coming up here?”

Seeing the puzzled look in Linghu Chong’s eyes, Yue Lingshan suddenly blushed. “Big apprentice brother, I hadn’t come up to see you for so many days. Are you mad at me?” she asked.

“Why would I be mad? Master and Master-Wife must have told you not to come up, haven’t you?” Linghu Chong said.

“Yeah. Mom just taught me a new sword art form. She said that this sword art form has so many complicated variations, if I had come up the cliff to chat with you, I’d lose my focus.”

“Which sword art form?” Linghu Chong asked curiously.

“Take a guess!” Yue Lingshan challenged.

“Yang-Wu Sword Form?”

“Nope.”

“Xi-Wu Sword Form?”

“Try again!” Yue Lingshan shook her head.

“Could it be the Fair-Maiden Sword Form?”

“That’s my mom’s specialty. I am not even qualified to give the Fair-Maiden Sword Form a try yet.” Yue Lingshan stuck her tongue out and made a face. “Ok, let me tell you. It’s The Nineteen Stances of the Jade Maiden Sword!” she said triumphantly.

Linghu Chong was taken by slight surprise. “You start to learn The Nineteen Stances of the Jade Maiden Sword now? Oh, that really is a very complicated sword form,” he said happily. All his suspicion melted away.

Although the set of Jade Maiden Sword form only had nineteen stances, every stance had very complicated changes and variations. If the practitioner couldn’t memorize all those, he wouldn’t even be able to fully use just one stance. He had heard from Master about it before, “The Nineteen Stances of Jade Maiden Sword mainly focus in the fancy variations and changes. The form is quite different from our school’s main focus – Inner Energy Drives the Sword. Since female apprentices tend to have less strength from their arms, when they encounter with a tougher opponent, they can use this sword form to counter with artful moves. But all the male apprentices have no need to learn it.” That’s why even Linghu Chong himself had not learned it before. Based on Yue Lingshan’s current skill level, it seemed that she was not ready to learn this sword form yet. Before, Linghu Chong, Yue Lingshan and some other apprentice brothers and sisters had watched how Master and Master-Wife showed the set of sword form. Master had attacked using many different sword art forms from different sword schools and styles, but Master-Wife only defended with this Nineteen Stances of Jade Maiden Sword form. The Nineteen Stances of Jade Maiden Sword were actually well matched with the hundreds of excellent sword moves in a dozen different styles. All the apprentices watching by the side were dumbfounded in amazement. Yue Lingshan had begged her mother to teach her this sword form by then, and Madam Yue had answered, “You are still too young. First, you don’t have the skill level yet. Secondly, this sword art form requires a lot of brainpower. You should probably wait till you are twenty years old before learning this sword form. In addition, this sword form is used for countering sword moves from other sword schools. If you only work with apprentice brothers and sisters in our own school, you’d end up practicing how to counter Huashan sword art. Chong knows a lot of different Kung Fu and he probably remembers many different sword moves from other sword schools. He can probably practice with you in the future.” This was an episode that happened about two years ago, and nobody ever mentioned it again. Who’d expect that Master-Wife actually taught her this sword form?

“Master must be in a real good mood these days to practice sword art with you everyday,” Linghu Chong said.

This sword form focused on adapting itself to changing conditions and not restricting oneself to certain moves or postures, that was why right from the beginning, the practitioner would need to practice with a partner. Within the Huashan Sword School, Yue Buqun and Linghu Chong were the only two having good knowledge about sword arts from other sword schools. Thus, since Yue Lingshan was learning The Nineteen Stances of Jade Maiden Sword, Yue Buqun had to be working with her to attack her with other sword school’s sword moves.

Yue Lingshan flushed slightly again. “Dad doesn’t have that much time. It was Little Lin who helped me to practice,” she said bashfully.

“Apprentice brother Lin? Does he know many sword moves from other sword schools?” Linghu Chong asked in surprise.

“He only knows the family Kung Fu of his – Evil-Resisting Sword Art. Dad said that even though the Evil-Resisting Sword Art isn’t that powerful at all, it has some interesting variations in the moves, which would be good for me to compare to. He wanted me to counter Evil-Resisting Sword Art as the starting point for my Nineteen Stances of Jade Maiden Sword training.”

“I see.” Linghu Chong nodded.

“Big apprentice brother, are you upset?”

“No. Why would I be upset? You are learning an advanced form of our Huashan sword arts now. I feel very happy for you! Why should I be upset?”

“But you don’t look very happy.”

“Which stance are you on now?” Linghu Chong squeezed out a smile and asked.

Yue Lingshan didn’t answer. After a long time, she finally said, “I see. Mom said to let you help me practice, but I am having Little Lin do it, that’s why you are upset. Am I right? But think about it, big apprentice brother, in the short while, you won’t be able to come down from the cliff, and I am just too anxious to learn this sword form. I just can’t wait for you any longer.”

“You are talking childishly again. We are all apprentice brothers and sisters, so it’s all the same no matter who practices with you,” Linghu Chong said in laughter. He paused for a second and then went on, “I know you’d rather have apprentice brother Lin practice with you than having me.”

“Nonsense!” Yue Lingshan blushed again. “Compared to you, Little Lin’s skill level is miles away. What good does it do me practicing with him?”

Linghu Chong thought to himself, “Apprentice brother Lin has only joined the Huashan Sword School for several months. Even if he were a super genius, how good could he get?” So he said, “Of course there’s benefit here. Wouldn’t you feel great when you can beat him with every single one of your moves?”

“Humph, just with his clumsy Evil-Resisting Sword Art, does he actually expect to defeat me?” Yue Lingshan giggled.

Linghu Chong had long known that the little apprentice sister was the type who always wanted to win. When she sparred with Lin Pingzhi, most likely she was able to use the newly learned sword art with facility, and was able to enjoy advantage with every single move. Lin Pingzhi’s Kung Fu level was very low, and he probably made a perfect spar partner. When Linghu Chong thought about that, his depression went away immediately. “Then let me try a couple moves with you. Let’s see how good you are with your Nineteen Stances of Jade Maiden Sword,” he suggested, smiling.

Yue Lingshan was overjoyed. “Wonderful! Today…today before I came up…I actually planned….” With a shy smile, she drew her long sword.

“You came up the cliff today just to show me the sword art you just learned? Good, go ahead!” Linghu Chong said.

“Big apprentice brother, your sword skills have always been better than mine. But after I learn this set of Nineteen Stances of Jade Maiden Sword well, you won’t be able to bully me anymore.” Yue Lingshan grinned.

“When did I ever bully you? You are wronging the good guy here.”

“Don’t you want to draw your sword?” Yue Lingshan got into her starting position.

“Not so soon!” Linghu Chong said. He shifted his left hand into the starting position and then thrust his right hand out quickly. “This is from the Qingcheng Sword School’s Pine-Wind Sword Art. This move is called Thundering Pine Wave!” He pretended that his hand was a sword and thrust it toward Yue Lingshan’s shoulder.

Yue Lingshan turned to the side and stepped back while waving her sword to block toward Linghu Chong’s hand. “Look out!” she called out.

“Don’t try to be nice. I’ll draw my sword when I can’t defend myself.”

“How dare you fight my Nineteen Stances of Jade Maiden Sword with your bare hands?” Yue Lingshan snapped.

“That’s because you have not mastered it. Once you master it, I won’t be able to fight you with my bare hands.”

Yue Lingshan had been practicing the Nineteen Stances of Jade Maiden Sword very hard these days. She felt that she had advanced quite a lot in her sword skills, and even if compared to first class sword masters in the Martial World, she would be no less. The reason why she didn’t come up the cliff for the last ten days was to keep this a secret from Linghu Chong, so she could give him a big surprise with one brilliant feat, and thus make Linghu Chong think highly of her. But now he was actually belittling her and only wanted to fight her Nineteen Stances of Jade Maiden Sword with his bare hands, she couldn’t help but feeling annoyed.

“If by accident I cut you or something, don’t blame me. Don’t tell my mom or dad either.” She pulled a long face.

“That’s of course. You do your best. If you give ground in anyway, you wouldn’t be showing your true skills.” Linghu Chong’s left hand suddenly chopped out as he spoke. “Look out!” he yelled.

“What…what! Is your left hand a sword too?” Yue Lingshan shouted in astonishment.

If Linghu Chong had really chopped down, Yue Lingshan would have been injured in the shoulder. He held on his strength and explained, “Some people in the Qingcheng Sword School do use double swords.”

“That’s right! I’ve seen some Qingcheng apprentices carrying double swords. How did I forget that? Watch out!” Yue Lingshan launched a counter attack.

Seeing that the thrust drifted swiftly, Linghu Chong figured this must be an advanced move out of the Jade Maiden Sword. He praised, “This one is very good. Just not fast enough.”

“Still not fast enough? A little bit faster, I would have chopped off your arm.”

“Go ahead and try to chop it off.” Linghu Chong used his right hand as the sword and chopped toward her left arm.

Yue Lingshan was a bit annoyed. She waved her sword quickly and swiftly and started using the Nineteen Stances of Jade Maiden Sword she had been practicing one move after another. Out of the total nineteen stances of moves, she could only remember nine, and within the nine stances, she could really only use six. But these six stances were already quite powerful. Whenever she pointed the sword somewhere, Linghu Chong would have a hard time getting close to her in that direction. Linghu Chong circled around her as they fought. Every time when he tried to attack his way in, he was forced back by her sharp sword moves. Once he had to jump backward quickly and ended up bumping his back on a piece of rock that was sticking out.

Yue Lingshan was very pleased with herself. She asked in a grin, “Don’t you want to draw your sword now?”

“Just a little bit longer,” Linghu Chong said, as he lured her into using one move after another out of the Jade Maiden Sword form. After a few more moments of fighting, noticing Yue Lingshan used the same six stances again and again, Linghu Chong figured it out. He abruptly stepped forward and chopped with his right knife hand. “Killer move from the Pine-Wind Sword Art! Watch out!” he yelled. The chop looked as if it had a lot of strength in it.

Seeing the knife hand swishing down toward her head, Yue Lingshan slashed her sword upwards. That was exactly the move Linghu Chong had expected. He reached out his left hand in a flash and flicked out with his middle finger. “Ring,” his finger knocked on the blade of the long sword. Yue Lingshan only felt a burning pain in her palm and could no longer hold on to the sword. The sword flew out of her grip and fell straight down the bottomless abyss.

Her face as pale as a white sheet, Yue Lingshan stared silently at Linghu Chong in disbelief and astonishment, biting her lower lip hard with her upper teeth. “Oops!” Linghu Chong cried, and immediately rushed by the edge of the cliff, but the sword has disappeared in the bottomless valley and could no longer be seen. Suddenly, a green shadow flashed by the side of the cliff. It seemed to have been a piece of a robe. But when Linghu Chong looked more carefully, it was already gone. His heart thumped hard as he thought aloud, “What’s wrong with me? What’s wrong with me? I’ve practiced and sparred with little apprentice sister thousands of times before. Every time I would give ground to her and had never acted so mercilessly like today. I am really being ridiculous!”

Yue Lingshan cast a sideway look down the valley as she cried out loud, “The sword! The sword!”

Linghu Chong was stunned when he suddenly remembered that little apprentice sister’s long sward was an exceptional sword that could cut steel. It was called “Sword of the Green Pool,” and was acquired by Master in Dragon-Spring, Zhejiang Province[2] three years ago. Ever since little apprentice sister laid eyes on it, she could not keep her mind off it. She had begged for it from Master many times and Master never agreed until her eighteenth birthday this year when Master gave the sword to her as her birthday present. Now the sword had fallen into the bottomless valley, there would be no way to retrieve it back.

“What a terrible mistake have I made?” Linghu Chong regretted full heartedly.

Tears rolling in her eyes, Yue Lingshan stomped her left foot in frustration and then turned around to leave.

“Little apprentice sister!” Linghu Chong called out, but Yue Lingshan ignored him and started heading off the cliff. Linghu Chong chased her to the side of the cliff and reached out for her arm, but as soon as his fingers touched Yue Lingshan’s sleeve, he drew his arm back and watched her leave without ever looking back.

Feeling very depressed, Linghu Chong thought aloud, “Normally I would have put up with her and give in to her, but why did I flick away her sword today? Am I envying her because Master-Wife taught her the Nineteen Stances of the Jade Maiden Sword? No, no way. It can’t be! The Nineteen Stances of the Jade Maiden Sword were meant for female apprentices, and wouldn’t I be happier that little apprentice sister is learning more Kung Fu? Ah, probably it’s because I have been alone on the cliff for too long and have become ill tempered. I only wish she would come up the cliff again tomorrow so I can apologize to her sincerely.”

That night Linghu Chong could not sleep. He sat cross-legged on a rock and tried to work on his breathing exercise, but he simply could not stay focus, and he dared not to continue. Moonlight shone through the opening of the cave and lit the rock wall. Noticing the words “Feng Qingyang” carved on the rock wall again, Linghu Chong reached out and started writing following the strokes carved on the rock wall. Suddenly, the wall darkened as a shadow was cast upon the rock wall. In astonishment, Linghu Chong picked up the sword by his side, with no time to unsheathe the sword, he just thrust it toward his back. When it was half way out, he suddenly retracted his strength and turned around as he called out in joy, “Little apprentice sister!” But it wasn’t his little apprentice sister.

A thin and tall man stood about a dozen feet away from the cave. Dressed in a green robe, he stood with his back toward the moonlight; a piece of green cloth covered his face, leaving only his eyes showing. Linghu Chong didn’t recall ever seeing this man before, so he yelled, “Who are you?” and jumped out of the cave with his sword drawn. The man didn’t answer, but raised his right hand and chopped twice toward his front-right, which turned out to be two moves out of the Nineteen Stances of the Jade Maiden Sword Yue Lingshan had used in the day. Linghu Chong was greatly surprised, although by now he had dropped most of his animosity toward the man.

“Are you a senior in our sword school?” he asked, when suddenly a strong wind of energy came upon his face. With no time to think, Linghu Chong slashed out with his sword, but at the meantime, a slight pain came from his left shoulder. It had been hit by the man’s hand. It seemed that the man did not use any inner energy when he struck with his hand. In great fear and astonishment, Linghu Chong hurriedly slid a couple of steps toward his left. The man did not follow up, and simply used his hand as a sword, and within moments of time, he had shown the dozens of moves included in those six stances of the Nineteen Stances of the Jade Maiden Sword smoothly with no interruptions. The dozens of moves were executed as if they were all part of one big move. The speed he had shown was simply unthinkable. Under the moonlight, Linghu Chong could see clearly that every move had been used by Yue Lingshan during the day. But how could he have executed all those dozens of moves as if it was just one big move? Linghu Chong’s jaw dropped and his body seemed to have frozen. The man flicked his long sleeves and walked off around the back of the cliff.

It was already a good while later when Linghu Chong was finally able to regain himself. “Senior Master! Senior Master!” he called out loud, but by the time he ran to the backside of the cliff, all he found was the sliverish moonlight reflected by the ground. There was no one to be found.

“Who is he?” Linghu Chong gasped and thought aloud. “When he showed the Nineteen Stances of the Jade Maiden Sword, I would stand no chance flicking away his sword, and every move from him could have chopped my hand off. No, it’s not only my hand. He could have stabbed me anywhere he wants or cut me anywhere he wishes. With those six stances of the Nineteen Stances of the Jade Maiden Sword, I would be like a piece of meat on somebody’s chopping block – totally be at his mercy. It turned out that this sword form is actually so powerful.” He pondered upon it a bit more and then thought, “Apparently the power didn’t come from the sword moves but the way he used his sword. With such a method, I wouldn’t be able to defend myself no matter what kind of ordinary moves he uses. Who is this man? Why is he on top of Mount Huashan?”

He pondered upon the question for a