Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
During his two previous meetings with the Dragon King in the Four Noble Truths Temple, the Unique King could tell that there had been an obviously vigilant and unconvinced look in the Dragon King’s eyes. He had thought, ‘Clearly, this guy still vividly remembers the palm strike I gave him in Heaven’s Pass.’
But back then, the Dragon King had received that palm strike before he could whip out his saber. Like all killers with quick reflexes, he had fled as soon as he had sensed danger. The Unique King thus believed that the Dragon King had been subduing an urge to prove his sabersmanship skill all along.
This was the core of his entire plan. A kung fu competition with the consent of both sides would solve all of the problems in advance. With the Central Plainsmen as witnesses, nobody would be able to accuse him of using assassination as a means to his end. The Unique King descended another step, internal Qi surging through his meridians, as though it were powerful enough to destroy the entire stone hall. “Dragon King. Please.”
Watching the Unique King, Gu Shenwei laid his right hand on the hilt of the saber. Indeed, he wanted to have another fight with the Unique King, and he wanted to use the true Death Sutra Swordsmanship against his enemy who was also his mortal foe. However, he was the Dragon King, which was why he was still thinking about the warning of his counselor, Fang Wenshi, even at this moment when his desire for revenge had peaked. ‘When you’re fighting for supremacy, the number of your supporters will grow larger and larger because everybody wants to take their share of the loot; when you’re seeking revenge, the number of your supporters will dwindle smaller and smaller because they can get nothing by helping you.’
“Luo Qikang,” said Gu Shenwei. It was time for this Central-Plain kung fu expert with a godlike reputation to display his true strength.
Luo Qikang didn’t move. He had once said that he only answered to officials of the Central Plains. The Dragon King seemed to have forgotten about this, but as luck would have it, the deputy envoy, Sun Chengqi, turned to face him at this moment and said, “Don’t let the Central Plains be humiliated.”
A flicker of anger flashed across Luo Qikang’s mind. The Luo family was a large family, and many of his family members were high-ranking officials of the Imperial Court. This petty deputy envoy actually dared to speak to him in this kind of tone, as if he were just a common kung fu practitioner in the martial arts world.
He walked forwards, quickly calming himself down. He decided to make a response to all the doubts facing him with his sword. He had done this in the Central Plains before he was twenty, and he was now going to do it again in the Western Regions.
The Dragon King had chosen to avoid fighting with him! Annoyed and embarrassed, the Unique King finally became furious. He stood still on the fifth step of the staircase, an impulse to massacre everyone in front of him bubbling up inside. This pale-faced guy, who used to be his servant, who had betrayed the stone castle and fled… Not only had he failed to live up to his expectation, ruined his plan, but he also made him lose face in front of his counselor, Zhang Ji.
Zhang Ji had tried to persuade the Unique King earlier. “The Dragon King has chosen the right time to come here with the right allies. Golden Roc Castle only has its advantageous terrain. The Dragon King is not going to fight the King Lord. He used to be a killer. It was Golden Roc Castle that trained him to be composed and steady.”
“The Dragon King is a killer, but he’s also a sabersman.” The Unique King had had a slight disagreement with his counselor. “That was why he agreed to elect the Lord of Jade City via a kung fu competition. He’s unconvinced that I defeated him with that palm strike.”
But it turned out that Zhang Ji had been right. The Dragon King had come and accepted the challenge, behaving exactly like a Jianghu kung fu practitioner who regarded his sabersmanship as his life. However, at the last moment, things had diverged from the Unique King’s plan.
This fact proved that the Unique King was still that immature killer.
Zhang Ji secretly sighed. He had found a chink in Golden Roc Castle’s armor a long time ago. This organization adopted the harshest methods to train teenagers that had been taken here by force or bought. It turned them into bloodthirsty and obedient killers, but it adopted another set of less harsh methods to educate the master’s descendants. It also imparted more skills to those descendants, in the hopes that they would become sensible masters of these killers.
As a result, very few members of the Shangguan family were qualified killers. Most of them were merely owners and commanders. And the Unique King was no exception.
Light dawned on Zhang Ji, and he finally realized what was special about the Dragon King. He was a freak. Servant Huan had learned to be as bloodthirsty and restrained as a killer, but he had kept his independent will alive inside him, and he had never become obedient. Zhang Ji blamed himself. He should have seen through him earlier. Servant Huan appeared different from his peers even as a teenager. While the other common apprentice killers had been desperately trying to survive, Servant Huan had been the only one who had been interested in history.
The Unique King slightly raised his foot and was about to descend the stairs to display the genuine Golden Roc unique skills to these guests when he turned his head aside to see the look in Zhang Ji’s eyes.
The look in his eyes was suggesting him to not do this. Though it was unpleasant, the Unique King’s heart lurched. He knew what the counselor was trying to imply. If he walked into the kung fu competition field, he would appear inferior to the Dragon King even if he managed to kill this so-called kung fu expert of the Central Plains. The residents of Jade City didn’t care about who the coward was. They would only hear that the Unique King had fought with the Dragon King’s attendant, so his victory would become dishonorable.
The kung fu competition had become insignificant. The Unique King could only get two sons that he didn’t want if he won. Maybe the Dragon King had intended to get rid of them for a long time. If he lost – the Unique King looked over his shoulder at his youngest son. Unaware that he was a part of the competition’s stakes, Shangguan Cheng was looking at his father with his sparkling eyes which were full of pride and worship. Apparently, he believed that his father was going to fight this round himself.
For the first time in his life, the Unique King hesitated.
Shangguan Fei and Shangguan Hong had also been blindsided by the Dragon King’s decision. They only believed in the Dragon King’s sabersmanship, believing that Central Plainsmen were unable to defend against the dirty, weird moves of killers, and that this Luo Qikang should be no exception.
Shangguan Fei stealthily walked up to the Dragon King’s side and said in an extremely low voice, “If the opponent is not the King Lord, then I think… that we can let Shangguan Hong fight this round. His kung fu is different from before, and he knows the killers’ fighting style very well.”
At first, Shangguan Hong got angry, but soon, he felt that this was actually a good idea. This competition concerned his own life. What was more reliable than the soft sword wrapped around his waist besides the Dragon King?
“Let me fight,” Shangguan Hong said loudly as he took a step forward. He had stared at his father for a long time and gained some impulsive courage. Even if his opponent was the Unique King, he still dared to fight.
Zhang Ji, who was not far away, briefly snorted as he thought, ‘Shangguan Hong’s always so stupid. He’ll never learn how to be a decent man.’
Gu Shenwei gave a severe glance at the two brothers, which made his intention very clear. The two immediately drew back and didn’t dare say anything else.
The Unique King, who was standing on the fifth step of the staircase, suddenly burst into laughter. His two sons were following the Dragon King’s orders like servants. With these two living humiliations in front of him, what couldn’t he endure?
“Eleven.” The Unique King uttered a number, turned around, and walked back to the throne. He picked up his youngest son, put him down on the ground, and then sat on the throne himself, deliberately ignoring the disappointment in Shangguan Cheng’s eyes.
Zhang Ji was pleased. Since the Unique King was sensible enough to rein himself back from the brink of the precipice, he was still a king worthy of his assistance.
Gu Shenwei was slightly disappointed. He had predicted that Shangguan Fa wouldn’t fight, but if he did, then his two most powerful enemies, Luo Qikang and the Unique King, would reveal their true strength at the same time.
No plan was perfect. Gu Shenwei had nothing to complain about.
“Eleven” might be someone’s name or just a number. A Green-faced killer in his twenties walked out. First, he kowtowed to the Unique King at the bottom of the staircase, and then he stood up and faced his opponent with his bare hands.
“I’m Luo Qikang from the Hedong Luo Village.” Luo Qikang didn’t pull out his sword and instead first identified himself according to the rules of the Central Plains.
Eleven didn’t say anything, as if he hadn’t heard his opponent at all.
“His kung fu is only second to my father’s in this world.” Shangguan Cheng stood before the Unique King’s knees, his small face full of excitement. Clearly, he knew this Green-faced killer named Eleven. “In order to practice kung fu, he had to cut off his tongue. Show him, Eleven.”
With a feeling that this kid’s temper was somewhat like that of Luo Ningcha, Gu Shenwei became slightly displeased with him.
Eleven followed the young master’s order. He stuck out the remaining half of his tongue and then quickly withdrew it.
As Wild Horse’s senior, he was not much older than Wild Horse, but Gu Shenwei had never heard of him. Outstanding apprentice killers would be selected to receive the training of a Green-faced killer at a very early stage, so they wouldn’t appear in East Castle at all.
“Eleven, how many moves do you need to make to defeat him?” asked Shangguan Cheng.
Eleven raised his right hand and held up three fingers.
“Three,” Shangguan Cheng yelled happily.
Han Fen craned her neck from behind the Dragon King. She had been hiding here all along ever since she had been saved. “Kid, you made a mistake. He’s not saying that he will win in three moves. He wants you to substitute him with someone else.”
“With whom?” Shangguan Cheng asked in confusion. He was too young to tell that Han Fen was an eccentric woman.
“Three fingers of course refer to someone named ‘Three.’ Surely, Three is better than Eleven, right?”
Shangguan Cheng turned his head back and looked at his father. Suddenly, he understood that he had been fooled, so he angrily said, “Eleven, kill that woman afterwards.”
Eleven nodded and then made his move. His speed was so fast that even Gu Shenwei was surprised.
Eleven’s moves were different from the former two Green-faced killers. He didn’t try to find any loopholes in the enemy’s defense from the enemy’s sides or back. Instead, he aimed straight at Luo Qikang’s vital parts. When he was a couple of feet away, he shot out a hidden weapon.
His weapon of choice was throwing knives.
He hadn’t raised his hand, and neither had he swayed his body. It seemed as if the throwing knife had been shot by a second person occupying the same space as his body. His hands were still unoccupied, which were a threat to the enemy.
It was as if he had a third hand attacking the enemy.
Luo Qikang didn’t unsheathe his sword, and instead chose to draw back. Slightly leaning sideways, he dodged the throwing knife, letting the blade brush past him, but a strip of his sleeve was torn off by Eleven.
Eleven made his second move before his first move was even over. Two throwing knives darted towards the target from the left and right sides at the same time. Eleven leaped upwards and blocked off Luo Qikang’s route of retreat, curling his body into a ball. Nobody knew whether he was going to make the next move with his hands or his feet.
Luo Qikang tumbled onto the ground and closely dodged the opponent’s second move, which was not something that a top-notch kung fu expert of the Central Plains was supposed to do.
Those Central Plainsmen who were spectating the fight all sighed in unison, while Shangguan Cheng jumped up happily. “Two.” The first move had been too fast and he hadn’t been fast enough to count it in time.
Eleven, who was in mid-air, conveniently made the third move then. He descended from mid-air, abruptly drew two daggers, and shot out a shower of concentrated steel needles.
This was the third move that he had promised his young master. He wanted to finished the fight with this move. Though the enemy was agile, there was nothing special about him. He believed that the enemy definitely wouldn’t be able to dodge this move.
But Luo Qikang dodged it. And not only did he dodge it, but he also whipped out his weapon. His sword was at least three feet and five inches long, which was difficult to pull it out even when the owner was standing with nobody else around. But surprisingly, Luo Qikang managed to quietly unsheathed the sword while rolling on the ground and then vertically throw it upwards. Meanwhile, he changed his direction, leaped upwards, and dodged all of the steel needles.
Eleven ran into the tip of the sword. He was good at using hidden weapons, but he didn’t expect his enemy to use a sword as a hidden weapon.
The long sword went straight into his throat. Eleven crumpled heavily onto the ground. Those steel needles that he had just thrown at the ground supported his body with the whole blade of the sword revealed upright behind his neck.
“Three moves,” said Luo Qikang, holding up three fingers at the kid who was transfixed with shock.
This was the first time that the swordsman of the Luo Village had fought a Green-faced killer of Golden Roc Castle, but it seemed as if he had anticipated the opponent’s every move. His moves were thrilling, but not too risky. Both the Unique King and the Dragon King felt that his kung fu was incredible.
“Come with me,” Gu Shenwei said to the kid on top of the staircase, but it was Luo Qikang that he was thinking about. Luo Qikang was indeed a formidable enemy, which required him to think of a way to deal with him.
Shangguan Cheng hugged his father’s leg in panic, confused about the meaning of that strange man’s calling.
