t Tianmen, and the other people were not as good as Priest Chongxu in terms of martial art. Since Chongxu already admitted that he was not a match for Linghu Chong’s sword art, even though they did not believe him, they also did not dare to rashly go up to fight and brought shame to themselves.

Just as Ren Woxing was about to step outside of the hall, they suddenly heard Yue Buqun shouted, “Wait!”

Ren Woxing turned his head around and asked, “What?”

“Priest Chongxu is an educated man. He doesn’t want to fight someone with a narrow mind. We haven’t fought out this third fight yet. Linghu Chong, I’ll accompany you for this fight.”

Linghu Chong was surprised and his whole body started to shake. His mouth was chattering as he said, “Master, I… I… how can…”

But Yue Buqun was calm when he replied, “Other people said that you’ve taken some pointers from martial uncle Feng and received the essence of swordsmanship from Huashan School. It seems that even I’m not your match. Even though you’ve already been expelled from Huashan, but in Jianghu, you’re still setting up your reputation using our school’s sword art. Because I am unable to teach you, all the seniors of the orthodox schools are exasperated by you, unworthy youth. If I don’t take care of this then do I let other people take responsibility for this? Today, if I don’t kill you, then you’ll kill me.” As he said these last few words, his voice became fierce. He then drew his sword out and shouted, “The two of us no longer have a master disciple relationship, en guard!” Linghu Chong took a step back and said, “Disciple doesn’t dare!”

Yue Buqun thrust his sword towards Linghu Chong’s chest. Linghu Chong leaned to the side avoiding it. Yue Buqun followed this with another two thrusts which Linghu Chong also avoided. Linghu Chong’s long sword was still pointing at the ground and he had not used it to block the thrusts. Yue Buqun said, “You already gave me three moves. Consider that as finishing the respect we have. Ready your sword!”

Ren Woxing said, “Chong’er, you’re still not returning any move, do you really want to die here?”

Linghu Chong answered, “Yes”, and immediately lifted his sword up. In this fight, should he let Master win or should he win over Master? If he deliberately held back and lost, even if he received heavy injuries, he wouldn’t care, but Ren Woxing, Xiang Wentian, and Yingying would all be detained on Mount Shaoshi for ten years. Great Master Fangzheng was surely a righteous eminent monk, but there was no guarantee that Zuo Lengchan and the rest of the Shaolin monks would not harm the three of them. In this ten year of imprisonment, it would be very hard to say whether they would be able to keep their lives. But he also thought about how he had been by himself since he was young, and it was Master and Master-Wife who brought him up. He considered them as his own parents and he had not repaid them for their kindness yet. How could he defeat Master in front of all the world’s heroes and make him lose face and reputation?

As he was hesitating on what to do, Yue Buqun had already attacked him with more than twenty moves. Linghu Chong only used the Huashan sword moves previously taught by his master to block. He didn’t dare to use the ‘Dugu Nine Swords’ as each of its moves was an attacking method meant to harm the opponent. After he studied ‘Dugu Nine Swords’, his knowledge had greatly advanced and furthermore, his internal energy was abundant. Although he was only using a common Huashan sword art, his sword’s power and class naturally differed by a lot compared to the past. Yue Buqun was attacking continuously but he had not managed to harm him yet.

The spectators saw how Linghu Chong was wielding his sword and they naturally understood that he was intentionally giving way. When Ren Woxing and Xiang Wentian looked at this, both their faces showed their worries. Both of them remembered that day at the Plum Manor on Hangzhou’s Mount Gu when Ren Woxing invited Linghu Chong to join the Divine Sun Moon Sect. He was giving him the Right Protector position and later on, the position of Chief. Ren Woxing would also impart to him the secret of how to harmonise the various internal energies in his body after using the ‘Art of Essence Absorbing’. But this youth was hardly moved by this offer and was very loyal to his school.

At this time, seeing how he was so respectful towards his former master and master-wife, it seemed that if Yue Buqun were to stab him to death, Linghu Chong would even be willing to accept this in his heart. He was actually only using defensive moves so how would he be able to win? It was apparent that Linghu Chong had already decided not to win over his master, especially since they were fighting in front of so many accomplished heroes. He would have abandoned his sword and admitted defeat a long time ago if it was not for the fact that Yingying, Ren Woxing and Xiang Wentian would be imprisoned on Mount Shaoshi if he lost. The two people, Ren and Xiang, were pacing back and forth not knowing what to do. They looked at the fight again and they thought, “What should we do?”

Ren Woxing turned his head around towards Yingying and whispered, “Go in front.”

Yingying understood her dad’s intention well. He was afraid that Linghu Chong would take into consideration the kindness of his former master and would intentionally lose the fight. He wanted her to go in front so that Linghu Chong would be able to see her and be reminded how she had treated him, so he would use his power and gain victory. She lightly groaned but did not move. After some time, when Ren Woxing saw Linghu Chong kept retreating, he became even more worried and again told Yingying, “Go in front.” Yingying still did not move and groaned again not answering him. She thought in her heart, “You already understand how I treated you. If you think I’m more important then you’d help me go down the mountain and you’d be able to gain victory by yourself. If you think your master is more important, even if I pulled your sleeve and cry, it would still be useless. Why must I stand in front of you to remind you of this?” She deeply felt that it was natural for two people to love each other. If she had to give some signs before Linghu Chong would consider her love for him then that was just too tasteless.

Linghu Chong was not restricted to using Huashan sword art when blocking each of his master’s attack. If he had actually counter attacked, Yue Buqun would have been forced to throw away his sword and admit defeat a long time ago. He had seen a lot of flaws in his master’s sword moves but he had not even attacked once. Yue Buqun understood Linghu Chong’s heart from the beginning, so he attacked continuously using his Divine Violet Twilight Art in conjunction with his Huashan sword art. He already knew that Linghu Chong would not attack back so he kept advancing with all of his attacks and did not care about the flaws in his sword art anymore. As he did this, the power of his sword art had now greatly multiplied. The spectators saw that Yue Buqun’s sword art was wonderful and he had also received an advantage, but he had not been able to stab Linghu Chong from the beginning. They also saw that when Linghu Chong wielded his sword, sometimes there was a move and sometimes there was no move. When there was no move, it looked like as if his long sword was just blocking in a disorderly fashion but looked marvellous at the same time. He only had to touch Yue Buqun’s sword lightly to protect himself. The more they watched, the more they admired him. They all thought, “Priest Chongxu said that his sword art is inferior, seems like he didn’t just make that up.”

Yue Buqun had been fighting for a long time without stopping and he was becoming impatient. Suddenly, he thought, “Ayo, this is not good! This little traitor doesn’t want other people to say that he doesn’t know how to repay the kindness of other people so he kept on fighting me. Even though he’s not attacking, he’s still making it difficult for me to gain victory. Everyone here is a master and is very observant. At this time, they must have observed a long time ago that this little traitor is purposely giving way to me. I’ve been continuously attacking him from the start, what would become of my dignity? How can this be considered as the behaviour of a school leader? This little traitor wants to give me some difficulties and force me to give way and voluntarily admit defeat.”

He quickly transferred his Divine Violet Twilight Art into his sword. His sword hacked down splitting the air. Linghu Chong slanted his body and avoided the chop. Yue Buqun circled his sword and slashed towards Linghu Chong’s waist. Linghu Chong leapt above the sword. Yue Buqun flicked his sword upwards aiming towards the back of his body. The change in this sword move was extremely fast. There were no eyes at the back of Linghu Chong’s body and the situation was very difficult for him to avoid. Everyone gasped in surprised. Linghu Chong was in mid air and there was nowhere for him to step on to launch his body forward. It was also too late for him to use his sword to block the strike. But then, they saw him using his sword to hit the wooden pillar in front him. Borrowing this force, he jumped to the back of the pillar and with a ‘pu’ sound, Yue Buqun’s long sword penetrated the wooden pillar. The sword was pliable but with his internal energy injected to it, the long sword went through the pillar and the point of the sword stopped just inches away from Linghu Chong’s body.

“Ah!” everyone gasped in surprise. The sound of this cry was full of happiness, delight and praise. Unexpectedly, everyone was happy for Linghu Chong. They admired him for the skilful and clever way he avoided the attack. They were also celebrating the fact that Yue Buqun did not manage to stab him. Yue Buqun had executed his unique skill, Three-Linking Strike, but was still unable to hit Linghu Chong. Furthermore, he felt angry when he heard the spectators calling out in compassion towards his opponent.

This ‘Life Snatching Three-Linking Immortal Sword’ was a move from the Huashan School’s sword branch, which he, a qi branch disciple, did not initially know. In those years, when the two branches were destroying each other, disciples of the sword branch used this sword art to kill many good fighters from the qi branch. At the same time, disciples from the qi branch were also slaughtering the disciples from the sword branch. After they had taken the leadership of the Huashan School, the good fighters from the qi branch attentively studied in detail these three advance sword moves ‘Life Snatching Three-Linking Immortal Sword’. When they thought of the power of these Three-Linking moves on that day, there was still lingering fear in their hearts. During the study of this Three-Linking sword art, everyone said that this sword art belonged to the demonical path. But as they were seeking the exquisiteness of this sword art, they all forgot their own school’s difficult ‘Qi Drives the Sword’ principle. They only said that the sword move was beautiful but in their hearts, they actually really admired it.

Seeing Yue Buqun and Linghu Chong fighting, Madam Yue was full of grief. When she saw her husband suddenly using these three moves, she thought in her heart, “In those years, the two branches wanted to destroy each other because of the dispute about the importance of qi cultivation and sword art. He’s the head disciple of the qi branch but at this moment, he suddenly used the move from the sword branch. If an outsider saw through this, wouldn’t they contemptibly mock us? Ai, he must have no choice but to use this move. But he’s clearly not Chong’er’s match, why is he still continuing to fight?”

She wanted to ask them to stop but this matter concerned a lot of people and not just her own school. She wanted to go forward but changed her mind, she grasped the handle of her sword and her heart was worried to death. Yue Buqun lifted his right hand and pulled his sword out from the pillar. Linghu Chong did not move and stood still behind the pillar. Yue Buqun only saw how he stayed behind the wooden pillar looking like he was hiding from further attacks. He regarded that this happened because Linghu Chong was afraid of him and also because Linghu Chong respected his reputation. The two people studied each other. Linghu Chong said in a low voice, “Disciple isn’t your match. We don’t need to fight anymore.” Yue Buqun uttered an ‘hng’.

Ren Woxing said, “There can be no winner and loser in this fight between master and disciple. Great Master Abbot, there’s no winner and loser for these three fights. Old man will pay for my sin, how about if we stop this?”

Madam Yue relaxed and inwardly sighed, “We clearly lost this fight. Chief Ren said this to give us face. In this case, it’s best if we stop.”

Fangzheng said, “Amituofo! What Shi Zhu Ren said saves everyone from injury and shows your wisdom. Old monk doesn’t…” The word ‘mind’ had not been said when Zuo Lengchan interrupted, “Then we’re going to let these four go down the mountain and let them harm Jianghu and massacre the innocents? Let their eight palms to be covered in the blood of hundreds and thousands of people and destroy everything good in this world? Should we still regard martial brother Yue as the headmaster of Huashan School?”

Fangzheng hesitated when a ‘chi’ sound was heard. Yue Buqun had gone around to the back of the pillar and thrust his sword towards Linghu Chong. Fast as lightning, Linghu Chong avoided the thrust. After many moves, the two of them were back in the middle of the hall. Yue Buqun wielded his sword and attacked quickly, advancing at every opportunity. Linghu Chong smothered these attacks by either blocking or avoiding. After more than twenty moves, Ren Woxing laughed. “To decide who wins this fight, we’ll just have to wait for seven to eight days and see who dies from starvation first. I’m sure we’ll find out by then.” Everyone felt that even though what he said was an exaggeration, it’s likely that if they kept on fighting like this, it would be hard to get a result within a few hours.

Ren Woxing thought, “This old fellow Yue just thickened his face and kept on fighting. He’s in an invicible position and couldn’t possibly lose. But if Chong’er made a slight mistake then everything would be spoiled. The longer this fight goes, the more harmful it would be to us. I must say something to incite him.” He then said, “Brother Xiang, we’ve really widened our view today in Shaolin temple.”

Xiang Wentian replied, “Right. All of the top masters from Wulin are gathering here…”

“Among them, there’s one who is better than the rest.”

“Which one?”

“This person learned a divine martial art and other people will admire him when they see it.”

“What divine martial art is this?”

“This person is learning Golden Face Cover, Iron Face Divine Art,” Ren Woxing told him.

“Subordinate has heard about Golden Bell Cover, Metal Gown, but I’ve never heard of this Golden Face Cover, Iron Face.”

“Other people’s Golden Bell Cover, Metal Gown martial art makes one’s body impervious to sabre. This person’s Golden Face Cover, Iron Face Divine Art will make the face hard when practised.”

“This Golden Face Cover, Iron Face Divine Art, which school or sect has this martial art?” Xiang Wentian asked.

“They said that this martial art is no small matter. It was created in the west mountain of Huashan by the headmaster of Huashan School, Jianghu’s venerable Gentleman Sword Yue Buqun, Mr. Yue.”

“I heard that Gentleman Sword Yue Buqun’s internal energy art is unrivalled and his sword art is unmatched. As expected, it wasn’t just an empty reputation. This Golden Face Cover, Iron Face Divine Art, after it’s learned then your face will be impervious to sabres, is this right?”

“This move has a lot of usefulness. We’re not disciples of the Huashan School so we wouldn’t know the secret to this art.”

“Mr. Yue already created this kind of divine martial art, then his name would be known throughout Jianghu and would forever be praised as an immortal.”

“Of course. When we later meet with anyone from Huashan School, we must be really careful with their Iron Face Divine Art,” Ren Woxing said.

“Yes, subordinate will remember this in my heart.”

The two of them were talking back and forth like they were the actors in a comical drama, but there was a hint of ridicule in their tones towards Yue Buqun. Yu Canghai was giggling non-stop, taking pleasure in other’s misfortune. Madam Yue’s was blushing furiously. But it seemed that Yue Buqun didn’t hear any of these conversations. He thrust his sword and Linghu Chong avoided it by slanting to the left. He quickly followed to the right and slashed his sword forward. Suddenly, he circled his sword back and the point of the sword thrust back out again. It was the Huashan School’s sword move called ‘Return of the Prodigal Son’. Linghu Chong lifted his sword to block it. Yue Buqun’s sword was now dancing around in mid-air, executing the sword move called ‘Green Pines Welcoming Guests’. Linghu Chong again blocked the attack.

Yue Buqun slashed twice with his sword. Linghu Chong was startled and hurriedly retreated two steps. His face was blushing as he called out, “Master!” Yue Buqun snorted and continued with his attack forcing Linghu Chong to take another step back. Everyone saw that Linghu Chong’s face was blushing and he seemed to be in a desperate situation. They did not understand a single thing and all thought, “There’s nothing strange about his master’s three attacks, what’s so great about it? How can it unexpectedly make things difficult for Linghu Chong?” None of them knew that these three moves that Yue Buqun used were from the sword art that Linghu Chong and Yue Lingshan created, the ‘Chong Ling Sword Art’. Linghu Chong suddenly felt sentimental, remembering the past when he was looking forward to the days when he would be able to share marital vows with his little martial sister, and when Yue Lingshan treated him nicely. With their childish thoughts, they had then felt that if the Yue couple could pass down martial arts, then the rest of the disciples would be able to as well. Thus, the two of them tried to create a set of sword art of their own and only the two of them were able to use this set of ‘Chong Ling Sword Art’. That’s why seeing this set of sword moves gave him a bittersweet taste in his heart.

He didn’t expect Yue Buqun would unexpectedly use these three sword moves. Linghu Chong felt helpless, ashamed, and sad. He thought, “Little martial sister had already broken our ties of love. You’re using this set of sword moves to make me recall my feelings and to put my mind in confusion. You want to kill me then just kill me.” He felt that there was nothing for him to continue living on this world and death would be better.

Yue Buqun’s long sword was thrust out again. The move he used was ‘Nong Yu Playing the Flute’. Linghu Chong knew this move very well and he just unconsciously blocked it. Yue Buqun followed with a move called ‘Xiao Shi Riding the Dragon’. These two moves complemented each other and the movements were graceful. Especially ‘Xiao Shi Riding the Dragon’ with the long sword dancing in the air, looking like a divine dragon flying elegantly through the air.

According to a story, during the time of Chun Qiu, Qin Mukong had a daughter called Nong Yu who loved to play the flute. There was a youth called Xiao Shi, who arrived riding a dragon and could play the flute divinely. Later on, he taught Nong Yu how to play the flute. Qin Mukong then allowed him to take her to be his wife. ‘Ideal Son-in-Law’ was the literary reference that these moves were taken from. Later on, the pair of husband and wife transcended to immortality together and occupied the middle peak of the Huashan Mountain. Huashan’s Jade Maiden Peak had ‘Phoenix Pavillion’, the middle peak had Jade Maiden Temple, Jade Maiden Cave, Jade Maiden hair washing basin, and a dressing table, every one of them gained their fame from this fable. Linghu Chong and Yue Lingshan had often gone to all these places but the meaning behind the story of Xiao Shi and Nong Yu, their happiness, and also what went on in the heart of those two people, they never knew any of those.

At the moment he saw Yue Buqun used the move ‘Xiao Shi Riding the Dragon’, Linghu Chong’s heart became confused while his hand moved to block the attack. He thought, “Why does Master want to use this move? Does he want to remind me of my mistakes and kill me?”

After Yue Buqun used this move, he again used the move ‘Return of the Prodigal Son’ followed by ‘Green Pines Welcoming Guests’ which was followed by the three moves from the ‘Chong Ling Sword Art’. These moves were again followed by ‘Nong Yu Playing the Flute’ and ‘Xiao Shi Riding the Dragon’ moves. When masters competed, even when the moves went above a thousand, they would never duplicate the pattern. This pattern of moves had already been executed to fight the opponent before so using them again would be useless. When the enemy was familiar with your pattern then he could take advantage of it to make an attack. When Yue Buqun used this pattern for a second time, it caused all the spectators to be puzzled.

Linghu Chong saw Yue Buqun used the move ‘Xiao Shi Riding the Dragon’ for the second time. This time, this move was followed by the three moves from the ‘Chong Ling Sword Art’. Suddenly, a thought flashed in his mind and he was enlightened. “So Master used these sword arts to remind me. I must abandon my evil ways and return to the righteous way, and then the return of the prodigal son means that I would be accepted back into the Huashan School.”

There were many ancient pine trees on Mount Huashan with branches full of leaves hanging down and stretching, as if they were welcoming guests who were coming up the mountain. They are called ‘Welcoming Guests Pine Trees’. The move ‘Green Pines Welcoming Guests’ was formed to resemble the appearance of these ancient pines. He thought, “Master is saying that if I return to the family of Huashan School, not only would I be welcomed back, even the pine trees on the mountain would welcome me back.” His heart trembled, “Master said that not only would I be welcomed back into the family of Huashan School, he would also give little martial sister as my wife. Master used the few moves from that ‘Chong Ling Sword Art’ to make me understand his intention clearly. It’s just that I was muddled and didn’t understand him so he used the two moves of ‘Nong Yu Playing the Flute’ and ‘Xiao Shi Riding the Dragon’ again.” Returning to Huashan and marrying Yue Lingshan were two of his biggest desire. Suddenly, in front of all these masters, Yue Buqun promised him these two matters. Even though it wasn’t conveyed outright by words, he understood it completely from these several sword moves. Linghu Chong knew that Master’s most important vow was to never take back what he already said. He had already promised to take him back into the Huashan family and also betroth his daughter to him. So if he fulfilled his promises then these matters would definitely happen. In that instant, a feeling of happiness filled his chest.

He naturally knew of the deep love between Yue Lingshan and Lin Pingzhi. He also knew that she did not love him any more but instead felt hatred towards him. But the marriage between man and woman was decided entirely by the parents and the daughter had no say in it. It had been that way for more than a thousand years. Yue Buqun had already betrothed his daughter to him, and Yue Lingshan would not be able to reject it. Linghu Chong thought in his heart, “If I were to be able to re-enter the Huashan School, I would be thanking the heaven and earth already. But to also become partner with little martial sister; that would really be a joy from heaven. Little martial sister would surely be unhappy at the beginning but I would be suitable for her. After a long time, she would see that I’m sincere towards her and would slowly change her attitude.”

He was beaming from ear to ear and was feeling very happy in his heart. Yue Buqun continuously used the moves ‘Return of the Prodigal Son’ followed by ‘Green Pines Welcoming Guests’. His sword moves were becoming urgent looking like he was becoming impatient. Linghu Chong comprehended what Yue Buqun meant, “Master is telling me, the prodigal son, to return. Of course he couldn’t say this out loud but he wants me to throw away my sword and admit defeat immediately. Then I would be able to rejoin the school immediately. I would be able to return to Huashan and get married to little martial sister. My life would be returned to me, what else do I want? But what about Yingying, Chief Ren, and brother Xiang? If I lose this fight then the three of them would be detained on top of Mount Shaoshi and they might be even be killed. I’m only coveting for my own happiness and not repaying other people’s kindness. Can I still be called a person?” At this thought, the back of his body was covered with cold sweat and his vision became blurry. He saw Yue Buqun slashed his sword horizontally passing very close to his mouth then pointing the sword towards him, pushed forward. This was the move ‘Nong Yu Playing the Flute’. Linghu Chong’s heart was moved again. “Yingying was willing to die for me but I didn’t even pay any attention to her plight. Is there anyone else in this world who is more vicious than Linghu Chong? No matter what, I have to repay Yingying’s kindness.” Suddenly, he felt dizzy, and heard a ‘zheng’ sound as a long sword fell on the ground.

All the spectators cried out in surprise.

Linghu Chong’s body was swaying. When he opened his eyes, he saw Yue Buqun had leapt back and was looking furious. Yue Buqun’s right wrist was bleeding. Linghu Chong checked the point of his sword and saw blood dripping from it. He was greatly startled. He knew that while his mind was in confusion, his hand was blocking the attack. But somehow, he unexpectedly used the ‘Dugu Nine Sword’ move to pierce Yue Buqun’s right wrist. He immediately threw away his sword and knelt on the ground. “Master, disciple has sinned and deserves death.”

Yue Buqun kicked out and hit him squarely on his chest. The kick was very fierce and swift causing Linghu Chong to fly off. While his body was in mid air, his vision became dark. He heard a ‘peng’ sound, and his body dropped on the ground. But he didn’t feel any pain as he passed out.