Translator: Transn Editor: Transn
People of the North Court loved to duel, and the way they went about it was not entirely similar to other nations.
Gu Shenwei could still recall how the kung fu practitioners of the Central Plain duelled. Theirs was more of a ritual and preparations could take days or even months. Both sides would gather close ones to provide support and at least three respected elders of the martial arts community would be invited to become moderators. The time and place would be fixed beforehand, as would a list of prohibitions during the competition itself.
On the actual day of competition, both contestants would endorse a liability contract which indemnified them from any responsibility. It would be stated clearly that neither party, regardless of the result of the duel or their condition, find fault with their opponent after the duel. They could also choose to announce that theirs would be a friendly duel with neither party intending to harm the other. Under the second type of competition, the contestants would not be gunning for each other’s lives but are attempting to subdue each other with moves that did not seem harmful but show the judges clearly which of them was the stronger.
The elders would not only be expected to watch closely, but they also had to spread the achievements and glory of the victor elsewhere.
There were many possible factors that could cause the entire competition to fail midway. Many times, it was these competitions that never happened which became the most famous, as a hero would always be behind the successful diffusion on a duel.
The way people dueled in the Western Region was somewhat similar, but more simplified. The biggest difference would be no one would be willing to act as a ‘hero’ and try to diffuse the situation; everyone would be expecting a proper duel and be unhappy if there was even a slight delay.
The audience, most of which do not even know kung fu, replaced the usual roles of elders and closed ones in a Central Plain duel and would cheer both parties on. They were also the ones to determine the winner, and would go absolutely wild with betting.
In the Western region, kung fu competitions were business opportunities and everything about them had to do with money. The winner would receive a monetary reward, and everyone treated fame as just a side effect of victory that would be quickly forgotten.
In the North Court, kung fu competitions or duels were a form of communication. When things got complicated and it was hard to come to a conclusion about certain matters, the parties involved would compete in kung fu. Victory not only meant power and glory.
Kung fu competitions of such nature could take place anywhere, without any agreement made beforehand, audience or judge. They were left to be witnessed ‘by the gods and the ancestors of the competitors’, expressing the idea that even the bloodshed that was about to begin had some divine aspect to it.
Tuo Sai, the son of King Riyao, was about to enter into a North Court-style kung fu competition with the Dragon King. To him, the act was not against the Khan’s promise but the best way to settle his problem.
“May the Gods and our ancestors witness this,” Tuo Sai swore to the heavens. “The blood of a long line of Khans will not be spilled in vain. Let our enemies rot in the grassland and our foes be trampled upon by horses.”
To the people of the North Court, it was an ordinary curse, but it sounded extremely disrespectful to the Dragon King and his party. None of them however, could think of a come back. Old man Mu was from the North Court, but he seldom took part in kung fu competitions and was not familiar with such language as well. At this crucial moment, it was Long Fanyun, who rarely spoke but acted.
He pointed to the heavens as well and spoke in a voice that was firmer and reverberated even more than Tuo Sai’s, “By the Empyrean above, the Dragon King’s name shall not be sullied. Let those who take him lightly eat their own words and may those who challenge him be destroyed.”
As such, the battle between the ‘Gods and ancestors’ and ‘the Empyrean’ began.
Shangguan Fei looked at the huge and erect frame of Long Fanyun with admiration, so moved by the swordsman’s words that he nearly cried.
Each side took 20 steps back to clear out a flat grassy area between them, the competition was about to begin.
The first competitor sent out by theNorthCourtwas the soldier who exchanged blows with Old man Mu earlier on. Even though he wore the standard uniform of a cavalryman, he drew out a long sword, a weapon hardly ever seen in the North Court or the Western region.
“I’m Gu Da, a lowly soldier serving under King Riyao. I humbly invite the masters from the Dragon army to compete with me.”
The way the ‘soldier’ spoke betrayed his roots. He was obviously from the Central Plain and was using a fake name.
Long Fanyun stepped forward and replied loudly, “I’m Long Fanyun, a swordsman from the Great Snowmountain and the Dragon King’s guard. I shall fight you.”
The two competitors did not waste any more time talking and immediately began.
Long Fanyun’s skills had improved by leaps and bounds, he had benefited the most from the Dragon King’s instructions among all the swordsmen from the Great Snowmountain, and not only was his machete technique much better, his internal strength had improved greatly after practicing five chapters of Wayless Qigong.
It was hard to determine the kung fu level of Gu Da, the swordsman from the Central Plain who had changed his name. Even Old Man Mu, who exchanged blows with him, could not deduce his background and strength. He could only throw a meaningful glance to the Dragon King, signaling that he felt Long Fanyun would not be a match.
His prediction turned out to be correct, Long Fanyun did not lose because his machete technique was inferior, but because of the huge gap in their Lightness Skills. After giving more than 30 blows, he was struck by his opponent’s sword with a backhand move, the sword pierced him on his wrist and his arm was now involuntarily lowered by about 30 centimeters despite still holding on to his saber.
Long Fanyun still had an opportunity to counter, and in fact he was already preparing to, but his opponent had already retreated by a few steps. “Thanks for allowing me to win,” Gu Da said, expressing that he had already won.
Shangguan Fei was extremely disappointed. He was the reason for the competition and was more afraid of losing than anyone else. He shouted, “Hey, how could you say that even before the fight is over?”
Swordsmen from the Great Snowmountain were used to putting their lives on the line and their legends were full of precedents where a severely injured swordsman would successfully strike back, but they also did not like to lose face. If Long Fanyun chose to fight on after his opponent had claimed victory, he would be viewed of as shameless. “You’ve won,” he replied after a moment’s hesitation.
Gu Da nodded and disappeared back into his party and was soon nowhere to be seen.
“We can’t let them win like this,” Shangguan Fei commented, scratching himself out of anxiety. Long Fanyun however, apologized to the Dragon King. “Please forgive me, Dragon King,” he said.
Gu Shenwei nodded, not blaming the captain of his guards and then signaled for Old man Mu to step forward.
Tuo Sai, who was standing at the opposite side, grunted coldly. Old man Mu was one of his chief targets that day, and he had brought along a kung fu master just to handle the old man.
The master was also dressed like a soldier and had been standing in the last row. He spurred his horse through the crowd and leaped onto the ground and after greeting Tuo Sai, he turned to face Old man Mu.
He was also an old man, but his physique was entirely different from that ofOld man Mu. He was huge and looked extremely authoritative, and in his hand was a broad sword which was even longer than his opponent.
“Old devil Mu, we haven’t seen each other for a while.”
Old Man Mu wass hocked upon seeing his opponent and took a leap back. “Aren’t you the Giant Machete King, Feng Tianhe? Why are you still alive?” He asked.
Feng Tianhe had been Old man Mu’s enemy for many years and was the leader of the pack that chased Old man Mu dozens of years ago. The old devil could remember clearly that each of his fist had struck a vital spot of the Giant Machete King, and that he had personally seen him die. He did not expect that his opponent would still be alive.
“You’re not dead, so of course I’m still alive,” replied Feng Tianhe, his voice full of suppressed hatred. A few of his close ones had been killed by Old man Mu, and he had retired for many years after thinking that revenge had been served but on hearing that Old man Mu was still alive, he immediately accepted an invitation to make a comeback in the jianghu.
Old man Mu very well knew his opponent’s skill level. He would not be afraid of Feng Tianhe only if he had all of his powers back, but now he was not completely sure of winning. “Since both of us are alive, let’s call it even,” he suggested.
Feng Tianhe scoffed at the suggestion and began to laugh with his laughter sounding increasingly bleak as he continued, “Even? My two sons and three brothers died just like this. Do you seriously think that I will agree to call it even between us now?”
Old Man Mu turned and looked atShangguan Ru and said,”I’m no longer the Old man Mu you used to know. Look at me, I’ve become short and have turned over a new leaf. I’ve not been killing for almost… a year now, really.”
Feng Tianhe’s expressions turned grim as he replied, “Are you trying to fool me? You’ve always liked to toy with your prey before killing them. That hasn’t changed.”
Old man Mu turned to glance atShangguan Ru again, looking as if he was trying to proclaim innocence. “Alright, I don’t blame you for not believing me, but I won’t fight with you.” He replied.
“What?” Grunted Feng Tianhe.
“I admit defeat. You win this round.”
“No way!”
Two voices rang out at the same time, belonging to the enraged Feng Tianhe and also Shangguan Fei. Even though weakened, Old man Muwas still a top notch kung fu master. If he conceded defeat, they would not have much hope of winning the best of seven competition.
Old Man Mu did not care about what both of them thought however, and asked”I can concede defeat, can’t I, Dragon King?”
“As you wish.” The King replied.
After receiving the Dragon King’s approval, Old man Mu hurried back to Shangguan Ru’s side and smiled at Feng Tianhe as he said, “There will be many more chances for revenge. Don’t need to be hasty, aren’t I well and…” He shut up upon seeing Shangguan Ru’s harsh look and muttered to himself instead.
“Old devil Mu, to think that you used to dominate the north of Tianshan. I didn’t expect you to turn into a coward,” Feng Tianhe said, still wishing to provoke Old man Mu.
“I’ve changed. Being a good man means being cowardly…” Old man Mu could not help but return the favor.
Feng Tianhe’ssword remained in his hands, still considering rushing into the opposite side to kill his sworn enemy directly when Tuo Sai’s order came, “We have won two rounds. Get ready for the third.”
Feng Tianhe retreated indignantly as he thought that Old man Mu was right, that there would be many more opportunities for revenge.
The next competitor to emerge from Tuo Sai’s camp was a dark and huge man who called himself Yang San. He wielded two sabers and was obviously also from the Central Plain and had wanted to keep his real name secret.
Gu Shenwei gazed at Shangguan Fei and told him, “It’s your turn.”
Shangguan Fei looked to his sides to make sure that the Dragon King was speaking to him, “I, I… still haven’t been cured of Qigong Deviation.”
“Then admit defeat.”
“Wait a minute,” replied Shangguan Fei, starting to suspect that the Dragon King was making use of the competition as an opportunity to betray him to the North Court, “Dragon King, I’m part of the Dragon army, aren’t I?”
“You can be considered as one of us, yes.”
“Please don’t ‘consider’. I would like you to confirm it.”
“I confirm.” The king replied.
“Right. Younger sister, I’m still your brother, aren’t I?” He asked Shangguan Ru.
“Of course.”
Shangguan Fei walked into the makeshift arena after being doubly assured. He was originally trained in the machete technique of Fort Jin Peng, but his punches were even more deadly now. “Yang San, or whatever your real name is, let me warn you, dozens have died at my fist and if you are killed, do not blame me, you asked for it.”
Yang San laughed derisively. The kid in front of him looked extremely cowardly and there was no way he could have been a kung fu master. “Most probably he managed to kill the royal child by accident,” he thought.
Shangguan Fei sighed and spoke directly to Tuo Sai, “I didn’t know the deceased was of royal lineage. Why did he have to take the risk of entering the slums anyway and since he did, why blame anyone for killing him? Are you saying that he could attempt to kill someone, without his opponent striking back?”
His argument was sound but would be more convincing if his voice was not so shaky.
The muscles on Tuo Sai’s face twitched as he replied, “The bloodline of the Khan is different from you people. You’re right. As long as it’s on grass plains, only we are allowed to kill, and the other party is not supposed to retaliate.”
“In the past, it was most probably because my father could not take this kind of provocation that he struck out in anger,” Gu Shenwei thought.
Even Shangguan Fei was incensed now, clenching his fists tightly and striding up to his opponent.
