unned. He had never anticipated such a sudden counter attack from the young man covered in mud. Out of desperation, he dived down the ground and rolled till he was over ten feet away, and finally was able to dodge the thrust. If he had come up with his solution only one second slower, he would not have survived it.

The entire audience watched Cong Buqi in such a sorry plight. By the time he leapt back onto his feet, his head, face, hands, and robe were completely covered with mud. Some couldn’t help but burst into laughter. But after thinking about it some more, all had to agree that other than the rolling they had just seen, there was really no other way to dodge that move.

Hearing the laughter, Cong Buqi found himself consumed by embarrassment and fury. Holding his sword tight, he charged toward Linghu Chong in a leap.

Linghu Chong had made up his mind already. “I must not use any of my inner strength, and only counter him using sword stances taught by Grand Uncle-Master.”

He was quite familiar with the Dugu Nine Swords already. He wouldn’t have used it so boldly against such a tough enemy if it weren’t a life-threatening situation for him. Right on the edge between life and death, he surprisingly found his head clear of all other thoughts. Instantly, all the complicated and magical techniques in the “Sword-breaking Stance” came clearly before his mind’s eye. Seeing that Cong Buqi charged at him like a mad tiger, he spotted the flaw in Cong’s move instantaneously. Holding his sword in a slight angle, he aimed the tip toward Cong’s lower stomach.

When Cong Buqi charged forward, he figured that if his opponent didn’t dodge, then the opponent would have to block with his weapon, therefore, even though his lower stomach was open to attacks, he really had no need to defend that part. But to his surprise, Linghu Chong didn’t dodge and didn’t block either, only pointing his sword tip in an angle and waited for him to put his own stomach onto the sword tip. Before his feet landed back onto the ground, while his entire body was still in mid-air, Cong Buqi had realized the danger ahead. In a frantic rush, he swung his sword toward Linghu Chong’s sword. But Linghu Chong had anticipated that. He raised his right arm slightly. The sword went up two feet and now the sword tip pointed toward Cong Buqi’s chest.

Cong Buqi had hoped that when he swung his sword, it would smack against Linghu Chong’s long sword, and then he would be able to leap aside using that force. But he had never expected his opponent to turn his sword and point it upward all of a sudden. His swing was only met by thin air. And without any other forces, he could not change the direction his body was moving toward. He screamed in terror as his body flew right at Linghu Chong’s sword.

Feng Buping dived forward with a jump and reached out to grab at Cong Buqi’s back, but it was already too late. With a thump, Linghu Chong’s sword tip had penetrated Cong Buqi’s shoulder.

Missing out on the grab, Feng Buping immediately drew his sword and slashed it at Linghu Chong’s back neck. Following normal sword art principles, Linghu Chong should have jumped back quickly before returning the attack, but with all his internal energy in a state of complete chaos, which prevented him from using any bit of inner strength, he simply couldn’t jump back to dodge. Having no alternative, he retrieved his sword out from Cong Buqi’s shoulder and used another technique out of the Dugu Nine Swords. Stabbing his sword out with a backhand, he pointed the sword tip at Feng Buping’s belly button. It looked almost as if it was another death-defying move of Linghu Chong that would end up in common ruin, but the stab had a surprising position that his sword would have pierced the enemy’s belly before the enemy’s weapon would ever reach him. It would only be a split of a second difference in speed, but the end result would be dramatically different.

Feng Buping could tell that the opponent had no chance of fending off his slash, but to his great surprise, the young man conveniently launched a backhand stab toward his lower abdomen. What a vicious attack that was! He quickly took several steps back. After taking in a deep breath, he charged forward again with seven consecutive hits, each thrust or slash swifter than the previous one. The attacks swept toward Linghu Chong like a storm.

Linghu Chong gave no thought of life or death. All he had in his mind were the various sword art techniques Feng Qingyang had taught him. Occasionally, when a snapshot of the sword moves on the rock wall in the back cave flashed by in his head, he would simply use them at will following the essence flow of his swordplay. Within moments, the two had exchanged over seventy moves, yet their swords never even collided once. Regardless of attacking or defending, all the sword art techniques shown were clever and profound.

Watching the dazzling sword fight by the side, the entire audience couldn’t help but cheer inwardly. Everyone could hear the heavy panting from Linghu Chong. Clearly he didn’t have much strength in him. However, brilliant sword moves and techniques emerged one after another from his sword with endless variations and changes. Every time when Feng Buping had difficulty countering Linghu Chong’s moves, he would simply chop and slash with sheer force, knowing that the opponent would never try to block it and end up in a competition of strength, thus getting himself out of trouble.

Seeing the display of the undignified fighting style, some bystanders couldn’t help but feel discontented. A Taoist priest from the Taishan Sword School spoke out.

“The apprentice from Qi-Branch has better sword skills and the Uncle-Master from Sword-Branch has better inner strength. What the hell is going on? Has the Qi-Branch and the Sword-Branch switched place for some fun?”

Feng Buping blushed at the remark as he waved his sword even faster, showering Linghu Chong in attacks like gusty wind and heavy rain. He was the best swordsman in the Sword-Branch of the Huashan Sword School, and his sword skills were indeed excellent.

Linghu Chong had no extra strength to move around. It already took all his strength to simply manage to stay standing. And because of that, he missed many good opportunities to secure a win. Besides, he was not yet proficient with all the sword techniques, and fighting such a top-notch fighter with his newly learned Dugu Nine Swords certainly aroused fear in his heart. As a result, the fight lasted for a long while and produced no winner.

Another thirty or so moves passed. Linghu Chong noticed that if he had simply thrust out at will, his opponent would be in a frantic rush and have a hard time dealing with it, but if he had used any of the Huashan Sword School moves or moves of the Songshan, Hengshan, or Taishan sword schools drawn on the rock wall in the back cave, Feng Buping would be able to counter well and launch his counterattack immediately after. Once when Feng Buping drew three arcs at him with his long sword, his entire right arm was almost chopped off. Awfully dangerous indeed! Amid the frenzies, Feng Qingyang’s words suddenly came to his mind, “When you don’t have a sword stance, your enemy would have no way of countering it. Overcoming stances without a stance achieves the ultimate acme of sword art.”

Actually through the over two hundred moves he exchanged with Feng Buping, he had comprehended the superb techniques of the Dugu Nine Swords better and better. Regardless of how vicious or fierce Feng Buping’s sword moves were, he would always be able to spot the weaknesses and flaws within Feng’s sword moves, and a simple thrust or slash from him, at will, would always force Feng Buping to retract his sword to defend. After some more moves exchanged, he slowly gained his confidence. By the time he remembered the key of “Overcoming stances without a stance” told by Feng Qingyang, he took a long breath and thrust his sword out with an odd angle. This thrust wasn’t part of any sword move, not even part of the sword moves from the “Sword-breaking Stance” of the Dugu Nine Swords. It was weak, and tilted. Even he himself didn’t know where he was pointing the sword.

“What kind of move is that?” Feng Buping thought to himself, confused. Not knowing how to counter that, he waved his own sword to protect his upper body.

Since Linghu Chong didn’t have any limit or restriction with that thrust to start with, seeing that his opponent had guarded his upper body well, he gave a gentle shake to the sword tip and stabbed it at Feng Buping’s waist. Feng Buping didn’t anticipate such an odd change at all. Astounded, he leapt back three steps, while Linghu Chong remained still, not having any strength to lunge after him.

The fight had lasted for quite a while now. Even though Linghu Chong didn’t use a bit of his inner energy, waving the sword about did require quite some strength. Feeling exhausted, he breathed heavily while pressing his hand on his chest.

Realizing that Linghu Chong didn’t follow up with the attack, Feng Buping didn’t want the fight to just end like that. He sprang back and shot out four thrusts in a row toward Linghu Chong’s chest, stomach, waist, and shoulder. Linghu Chong flicked his wrist and stabbed the sword toward Feng’s left eye. Uttering a cry of shock, Feng Buping leapt back three steps again.

“Strange! Strange! That man’s sword art is very admirable,” The Taoist Priest from Taishan Sword School spoke again. The entire audience felt the same way, knowing that “that man’s sword art” he admired had to be Linghu Chong’s sword art, not Feng Buping’s.

Feng Buping also heard the remark. He thought to himself, “I am able to take over the Huashan Sword School because I am the Head Master of the Sword-Branch. If I can’t even defeat an apprentice of the Qi-Branch, not only would my grandiose plan to be the Head Master of Huashan Sword School burst in bubbles, I would certainly end up living a hermit’s life again in some remote valley, too ashamed to face anyone in the Marital World.” At that thought, he cried inwardly, “At this point, there’s no need to hide it any more!”

With a loud roar, he charged forward in an angle, slashing his long sword horizontally and then bringing it swishing down through the air in an unprecedented speed. Within only five moves, whistles from wind gusts had rose dimly. He waved his sword faster and faster and the sound of the wind gusts also became louder and louder.

This set of sword art was called the “Quick Blizzard Sword Stance,” and was created by Feng Buping while he lived in seclusion in Mount Zhongtiao for fifteen years. Each move would be even faster than the previous one, and the sound of wind gust would be louder and louder as well. It was the most valued sword art of his. Having some lofty aspirations, he not only wanted to head the entire Huashan Sword School, but also wished to become the chief of the Five Mountains Sword Alliance after getting the Head Master post. And this “Quick Blizzard Sword Stance” with one hundred and eight moves would have been the tool to help him achieve his goals. He really didn’t want to recklessly show this special skill of his, because once it was shown, it would no longer be a secret weapon of his, and if he got into fights with elite fighters, the enemy would have had precautions, and the effect of the set of sword arts would no longer be so dramatic. But there was no way to back down from the fight right now. If he couldn’t defeat Linghu Chong, he would lose all face right at this moment. He was pretty much forced into using it as the last resort.

This set of “Quick Blizzard Sword Stance” was incredibly powerful without a doubt. The force created by the blade extended slowly. The audience could feel the cold front moving toward them while the wind gusts blew onto their faces and hands harshly, making them very uncomfortable, so everyone stepped back more and more. The circle around the two fighters gradually grew bigger and bigger, and soon reached the size of fifty feet in diameter.

By now, even the many masters from the Songshan, Taishan, Hengshan sword schools, and the Yue Buqun couple dared not underestimate Feng Buping. They all felt that not only his sword moves were brilliant, but also the swift and fierce force created by his blade. He apparently didn’t only rely on his sword moves to win his battles. Feng Buping wasn’t a renowned master in the Martial World; who would have thought that his sword skill was so incredible.

Flames from torches held by the many riders were all blown toward the outside by the forces from the blade, and the sound of wind gusts still seemed to be getting louder and louder.

In the eyes of the many witnesses, Linghu Chong was almost like a small boat traveling in a huge storm with crashing waves hundreds of feet high. In the roaring wind, terrifying waves smashed toward the small boat like landslides. But the small boat rode the wave high and low, never being swallowed by the mountain-sized waves.

The faster Feng Buping attacked, the more principles and essence of the sword art Linghu Chong comprehended based on the teaching of Feng Qingyang. The more they fought, the better Linghu Chong understood. And the better he was able to understand the many techniques of the sword stances, the more confident he became. He found himself in no rush to end the fight; instead, he watched the various variations in the opponent’s sword moves with rapt attention.

The “Quick Blizzard Sword Stance” was indeed very quick. Within moments, Feng Buping had used up the entire one hundred and eight moves. Seeing that it still failed to bring Linghu Chong down, he became restless with anxiety. Roaring in fury, he slashed and chopped with his long sword like a mad man, intending to force the opponent to block his attacks.

Linghu Chong was a bit frightened when he saw Feng Buping going all out in such a death-defying manner. Afraid to keep the fight any longer, he shook the blade of the long sword. “Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh, and swoosh!” The blade had left one cut each on Feng Buping’s left arm, right arm, left leg, and right leg. “Clank,” Feng Buping’s sword fell down to the ground.

Because Linghu Chong didn’t have much strength with his hand, the four thrusts were all done quite lightly, but that was enough to turn Feng Buping’s face completely pale.

“Fine! Fine!” Feng Buping murmured. He turned around and cupped his hands toward Ding Mian, Lu Bai, and Tang Ying-E the trio. “Three apprentice brothers of the Songshan Sword School, will you please tell Chief Zuo that I am truly grateful for his great kindness. But…but my skills aren’t good enough, and I am too ashamed…ashamed…” He cupped his hands again and then walked away quickly. After ten steps or so, he suddenly stopped and called out.

“Young man, your sword skills are truly incredible. I bow before you. But with such outstanding sword skills, I am sure even Yue Buqun is no match for you. May I have the honor to hear your respectful name, and the name of the great master who taught you the sword art, so I know who and what sword art I had lost to?”

“My name is Linghu Chong,” Linghu Chong replied. “I am the Head Apprentice of my respectful Master – Yue Buqun. It was only because of your mercy, senior master, that I was able to win a move by sheer luck. There’s nothing to be proud of.”

Feng Buping heaved a long sigh, his voice dreary and gloomy. Slowly, he walked away, and soon, faded into the darkness.

Ding Mian, Lu Bai, and Tang Ying-E looked at each other, all thinking, “My sword skills perhaps aren’t even as good as Feng Buping’s. Then of course I would be no match for Linghu Chong, either. If we swarm forward to attack Linghu Chong all together, it wouldn’t be a difficult task to slice him into bits and pieces on the spot. But when so many masters from different schools are here as well, something like that would be completely out of the question.” With the same thought in mind, the three nodded at each other.

“Nephew Linghu,” Ding Mian said in a loud voice, “your sword art is brilliant and broadened everyone’s horizons. Farewell for now. I am sure we’ll meet again someday!”

“Let’s go!” Tang Ying-E waved his left hand and then turned his horse around. Giving the horse a good spur, he rode away like a wind. The rest of the group followed behind him, and within moments, all vanished into the darkness. The sounds of hoof beats became lighter and lighter, and soon, the night was, once again, swept with silence. By now, other than the bunch from the Huashan Sword School, there were only those masked men left outside of the monastery.

The old man in the mask let out a few wry laughs and broke the silence. “Young hero Linghu, you have outstanding sword skills and we all admire you truly. Yue Buqun’s Kung Fu skills are far from yours. You should have been the Head Master of the Huashan Sword School.” He paused for a second and then continued, “After seeing the brilliant sword art you have displayed, we really should have beaten a retreat in the face of difficulties. But since we have greatly offended your respectful school, it’s going to be endless trouble for us. Well, we must destroy both the root and the branches. I guess we’d better take advantage of you while you are injured and take you on with overwhelming numbers then.”

He signaled with a whistle, and the rest of the fourteen masked men pushed their position forward and surrounded Linghu Chong. When Ding Mian and the bunch left, they threw their torches on the ground randomly. The flames had not been extinguished yet, so only the lower portion of everyone’s body was lit, and their body portion above their waists remained vague in the dark. Their weapons shined from reflections of the flames as the fifteen masked men closed in on Linghu Chong.

When Linghu Chong fought Feng Buping earlier, even though it didn’t consume any of his inner energy, it did exhaust him and covered him with sweat. The reason he was able to defeat the first-class master of the Huashan Sword School Sword-Branch was because he had learned the Dugu Nine Swords and was able to take the initiative of the different moves. But these fifteen men in mask had many different types of weapons and used many different styles of moves. When they all attacked at once, there would be no way for him to counter each one of them. Without the ability to use his inner energy, he couldn’t even jump forward three feet or leap five feet sideways, how would he manage to break out from the combined attack of the fifteen elite fighters? He let out a deep sigh and turned his eyes toward Yue Lingshan, knowing that this would probably be the last glance before his end, and hoping that he would get some relief from the expression on Yue Lingshan’s face. Sure enough, he found Yue Lingshan’s pretty eyes fixed on him filled with worry and care. Linghu Chong felt a surge of joy. Then, he saw her hand hang by her side, and it was holding a hand of a man. A quick glance told Linghu Chong that the man was none other than Lin Pingzhi. Welled with depression, Linghu Chong lost his will to fight completely and almost wanted to throw down his long sword and simply let the enemy have him.

Afraid of the brilliant performance he had shown during the fierce fight with Feng Buping, the fifteen masked men approached forward half a step at a time, on one dared to launch the first attack.

Linghu Chong turned around slowly and stared at the fifteen masked men. Their thirty eyes shined through the holes on their masks like the eyes of fierce wild animals, filled with cruelty and hostility. Suddenly, a thought sparked in his head.

“The eighth stance of the Dugu Nine Sword, ‘Missile-breaking Stance,’ can counter all types of projectiles and darts. Even if the enemy has shot thousands of arrows at me, or dozens of people shooting many kinds of projectiles and darts at me, I would be able to knock all of them down using this one stance.”

“Let’s attack all at once and cut him into shreds!” the old man in the mask shouted.

Having no time for any further thoughts, Linghu Chong sent his sword out and used the “Missile-breaking Stance” of the Dugu Nine Swords. The tip of the sword vibrated as it thrust at the eyes of the fifteen men. Cries in terror rose one after another, and then bangs echoed as the many kinds of weapons fell to the ground. Within a split of a second, Linghu Chong had blinded the thirty eyes of the fifteen masked men with extraordinarily swift thrusts.

The “Missile-breaking Stance” of the Dugu Nine Swords was capable of hitting thousands of projectiles and darts. To be able to hit the thousands of targets, of course some would be hit before some others. But because the thrusts were so fast that it seemed as if all the thrusts were shot out at the exact same time. This stance must be able to hit every target with every thrust. If one thrust had missed the target, the enemy’s dart would have hit the practitioner. Linghu Chong was not proficient with this stance, yet, but it was obviously much easier to try to hit human eyes that were slowly approaching compared to hitting projectiles and darts approaching in high speed. He thrust out thirty times and hit all thirty eyes on target.

As soon as he completed the thrusts, Linghu Chong dashed out from the crowd. Holding on to the doorframe, he trembled hard, his face completely pale. Then a loud bang echoed as his sword fell out of his hand and hit the ground. He watched as the fifteen masked men each having their hands covering their eyes, blood dripping out from between their fingers. Some squatted down to the ground; some cried out loudly; some rolled back and forth in mud.

When the fifteen masked men, all of a sudden, saw only complete darkness accompanied by excruciating pain, in astonishment and terror, all they could think of was to cover their eyes and cry in pain. If they had been able to calm down and continue with their group attack, Linghu Chong for sure would have been chopped into shreds. But regardless of how high one’s Kung Fu skills are, who would be able to stay calm when someone had blinded his eyes, all of a sudden? Who would be able to continue his attacks toward the enemy? The fifteen men stumbled about in every direction like a bunch of headless flies, not able to decide what to do next.

In the critical moment, Linghu Chong actually managed to succeed with his strike. He was overjoyed. But seeing the pitiful sight, he couldn’t help but feel a mixed feeling of fear and pity.

Half shocked and half joyful, Yue Buqun yelled loudly, “Chong, cut their tendons in their legs so we can interrogate them slowly.”

“Yes…yes….” Linghu Chong answered and bent down to retrieve his sword. But when he used that move a moment ago, it had actually triggered the energy flow inside him. Trembling nonstop, he simply could not grab onto his long sword. Then his knee gave out completely and he collapsed.

“Everyone, use your right hand to pick up your weapon and use your left hand to grab onto the waistband from the one next to you. Then follow me!” the old man in the mask shouted.

The other fourteen masked men had been at a loss on what to do. Getting the command from the old man, all bent down to fumble on the ground. And regardless of what kind of weapon they were able to grab onto, they would pick it up. Some were able to pick up two and some weren’t even able to find one. Each one grabbed onto a fellow masked man’s waistband and stringed himself together with the group. Following the old man, all of them staggered their way through the puddles of mud and disappeared in the pouring rain.

Except for Madam Yue and Linghu Chong, all members of the Huashan Sword School had their pressure points sealed and couldn’t move an inch. Madam Yue had severe wounds on both of her legs and couldn’t walk. Linghu Chong, on the other hand, had lost all his strength and could only lie on the ground still. Everyone could clearly see that the fifteen masked men had become completely defenseless, yet none could keep them from getting away.

__________

[1] Bluffing the enemy by opening the gates of a weakly defended city. Presenting a bold front to conceal a weak defense. Zhuge Liang and Sima Yi were both real historical figures in ancient China. See their story in Romance of the Three Kingdoms.

[2] Di Xiu’s Master is an apprentice brother of Zuo Lengchan, the Head Master of Songshan Sword School, that’s why Di referred to Zuo as Head Uncle-Master.

[3] Once a person’s Mute Point is sealed, he will temporarily lose the ability to speak.

[4] An intimate way of calling Yilin.

[5] When one becomes a Buddhist monk, he will no longer be referred to using his real name. He will get a name in the Buddhist ‘s order and he is supposed to forget his real name as part of the Four Emptiness Doctrine.

[6] The title “Great Master” is a respectful way of calling a member of the Buddhist order.