Chapter 167

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Ps: The martial arts competition is about to begin. I reckon many of you will be disappointed. Hehe, this competition is a bit different from the duels you’ve seen in other novels. I wonder if any of you have already guessed. Hahaha!

The man from the Piaomiao Sect saw the guard of Huanxi Manor fall to the ground but didn’t stop. He muttered, “Sorry, brother, I’m in a rush.”

As he spoke, he pulled out a waist token from his chest, the same one issued to him when he entered the villa just now. With a flick of his wrist, he tossed it to the ground, spurred his horse, and chased after Zhang Xiaohua, who was already ahead.

After the rider passed through the side gate, the guard didn’t immediately get up. He glanced around, confirming that no more horses were charging through. Only then did he spring back to his feet with a nimble flip, brushing the dust off his clothes. He picked up the token, spat on the ground with disdain, and cursed under his breath, “XXX, so what if you’re from the Piaomiao Sect? Big deal! Making me do two flipping carp jumps! Just wait—one day when I make a name for myself, I’ll make you do push-ups every single day!”

Unfortunately, the disciple of the Piaomiao Sect was long gone, how could he hear him?

Perhaps it was precisely because he was already gone that the guard dared to say such things.

Meanwhile, Zhang Xiaohua, shouting all the way, had already dashed through the side gate of Huanxi Villa. Zhang Xiaohua couldn’t help but feel a surge of pride at his quick thinking.

Zhang Xiaohua had no idea how to ride a horse, but luckily, the horse knew the way and didn’t require his guidance. As he sat astride the horse, he saw it galloping out of Huanxi Villa and heading straight for Piaomiao Manor. Zhang Xiaohua finally breathed a sigh of relief. There were several close calls along the road, but whether due to the horse’s agility or Zhang Xiaohua’s frequent shouts of, “Move aside, I’m a novice.” other travelers wisely kept out of the way, allowing him to pass safely.

When the horse finally reached the wide, straight road leading to Piaomiao Manor, Zhang Xiaohua felt his heart drop back to his stomach. His throat, after shouting all the way, was now dry and parched.

However, Zhang Xiaohua’s moment of relief was short-lived. Just as the horse approached the gatehouse of Piaomiao Manor, with several guards standing at attention, Zhang Xiaohua realized something was wrong. The horse wasn’t slowing down! With no other choice, Zhang Xiaohua shouted again at the top of his lungs: “Move aside, I’m a novice!”

When the guards saw the horse charging at them, they remained calm and didn’t dodge. This made Zhang Xiaohua even more anxious, and he shouted even louder: “Move aside, I’m a novice. Move aside, I’m a novice.”

After hearing this, the guards exchanged odd looks, but none of them budged. Just as the horse drew near, one of them made a sharp whistling sound. The mighty horse instantly halted its momentum, coming to a perfect stop before the guards, its hooves planted firmly on the ground.

But poor Zhang Xiaohua wasn’t so lucky. He had assumed the guards heard his shouts and would leap out of the way and the horse would charge through the gate as it had before. But who would have expected that the horse stopped so suddenly, he really has to say that the horse was really quite spiritual.

Before he could react, Zhang Xiaohua was launched from the saddle, soaring through the air like a shooting star, headed straight for the gatehouse. The guards, seeing this, were momentarily stunned. One of them thought to himself: “He really is a novice after all.”

Immediately, the guard tapped his toes lightly on the ground, his body rising as he used his Qinggong to fly toward Zhang Xiaohua, intending to catch him before he hit the ground.

But just as he was about to catch Zhang Xiaohua, an unexpected change occurred. When Zhang Xiaohua was thrown off the horse, his hand had firmly held onto the reins. As his body soared through the air, the reins reached their limit, abruptly halting his forward momentum. Instead of continuing to fly forward, Zhang Xiaohua was pulled straight down toward the ground.

In truth, the moment Zhang Xiaohua was flung from the horse, he had immediately thought of using the footwork and techniques of the Piaomiao Steps to stabilize himself and land gracefully. However, as soon as he was airborne, he lost control of his body, how could he still use his skills?

The guard, who had been waiting below with his Qinggong ready to catch Zhang Xiaohua, was caught off guard by the change in direction caused by the reins. By the time the guard noticed, he had already expended too much force and couldn’t adjust his position in time. All he could do was watch helplessly as Zhang Xiaohua plummeted straight down in a “graceful” and direct manner, hitting the ground with a loud “thud”, raising a cloud of dust.

The guard involuntarily winced, covering his eyes with his hand, muttering to himself: “How disastrous.”

It wasn’t clear whether he was lamenting Zhang Xiaohua’s misfortune or his own failed rescue attempt.

Such an incident had never occurred in the entire history of the Piaomiao Sect. Truly, it was a first—never seen before and likely never to be repeated!

Fortunately for Zhang Xiaohua, most of the force from his forward momentum had been absorbed by the reins, and though he fell from a height, he was only disoriented and confused rather than seriously injured. Otherwise, even a child would have struggled with such a fall. By the time the guard rushed over to help, Zhang Xiaohua had already stood up, albeit slowly and somewhat dazed.

The guard, seeing Zhang Xiaohua standing, asked: “You, are you alright?”

Zhang Xiaohua patted the dust off his clothes and replied: “Oh, no problem. Just a bit dirty.”

Hearing this, the guard smiled slightly and asked: “Who are you, and why are you riding one of our Piaomiao Sect’s horses?”

Before Zhang Xiaohua could respond, the sound of urgent hoofbeats echoed from behind. Without even needing to look back, Zhang Xiaohua grumbled: “Ask that guy behind me.”

Sure enough, when the Piaomiao Sect rider behind him caught up and whispered an explanation to the guard, the guard’s face twisted into an odd smile. He patted Zhang Xiaohua on the shoulder and said; “Good, you’ve got courage.”

Zhang Xiaohua was confused but glared at the man from the Piaomiao Sect, saying angrily: “You dared to trick me!”

The man spread his hands, looking innocent, and said: “I didn’t! I told you the truth. The horse has a very gentle temperament.”

Zhang Xiaohua gritted his teeth and said: “Then why did you smack the horse’s rear?”

The man shrugged and said: “Younger Brother, even your Sister Qiu Ju said it’s getting late, so wasn’t I just helping you get to our Piaomiao Sect faster? I meant well, but it turned out wrong.”

Zhang Xiaohua angrily asked: “Is your surname Zhang?”

The man was taken aback and replied: “No, my surname is Jiang, not Zhang.”

Zhang Xiaohua, with a stern face, said: “If your surname isn’t Zhang, don’t call me younger brother. Wait until your surname is Zhang, then you can say it.”

With that, he turned around, lifted his head proudly, and walked through the archway.

The man from the Piaomiao Sect was stunned, looked at Zhang Xiaohua’s not-so-tall back, let out a frustrated laugh, and then led the two horses forward, following him.

Poor Zhang Xiaohua, hadn’t even participated in the martial arts competition yet, and he had already suffered such a setback. It was not a good omen at all. Who knows what the martial arts competition will bring?

As they passed through the archway, a vast, empty square greeted them, and Zhang Xiaohua couldn’t help but stop in his tracks, looking surprised.

A certain Jiang, seeing Zhang Xiaohua stop, was also puzzled but didn’t halt his steps. He continued leading the horses, walking past Zhang Xiaohua.

Just as he walked past Zhang Xiaohua’s shoulder, he heard him exclaim: “Huh! Strange.”

Jiang couldn’t help but turn around and ask: “What is it? What’s so strange?”

Zhang Xiaohua gave him an irritated glare and said: “Did I ask you? Why do you love cutting into people’s conversations? Why is this square so empty? It doesn’t look like there’s going to be a big event at all.”

Jiang rolled his eyes and replied: “What did you expect it to look like?”

Zhang Xiaohua excitedly said: “I thought there would be at least a big stage about two people high, with countless disciples watching below, and competitors fighting on top!”

Jiang couldn’t help but chuckle and said: “What you’re describing sounds more like the opera stage from your hometown. We don’t have anything like that at the Piaomiao Sect!”

Zhang Xiaohua was taken aback and thought to himself, wasn’t what he just said exactly about the stage for watching performances in Lu Town? His little face couldn’t help but turn red, and he stammered: “Then what does the martial arts competition look like?”

Jiang sneered: “What the martial arts competition looks like, you’ll naturally know once you enter the Piaomiao Sect’s gates. If we set up a stage like this outside of our own gate, we wouldn’t be able to hold our heads up in the Jianghu; we’d lose all face.”

After saying that, he ignored Zhang Xiaohua and walked straight toward a side entrance.

Zhang Xiaohua glared at Jiang’s back for a moment and had no choice but to quicken his pace to catch up.

Once they passed through the side entrance, Jiang handed the horses over to someone in charge before turning back to call out to Zhang Xiaohua.

Zhang Xiaohua wore an unhappy expression as he stepped into the side entrance, but the moment he entered, he was immediately stunned by the scene before him.

In the square ahead, there were actually many small stages standing there!

Zhang Xiaohua looked confused and turned to Jiang, asking: “Didn’t you say there were no stages?”

Jiang feigned innocence and replied: “I only said that our Piaomiao Sect doesn’t have a big stage, but I never said there weren’t this many competition platforms! Look, there are quite a few right in front of you!”

Zhang Xiaohua gritted his teeth and stopped talking.

The square before them was quite large, filled with several small platforms about two people high, smaller than the stages he usually saw during the New Year in Lu Town. The platforms were empty, but there were quite a few people in the square. However, they weren’t gathered together as if to watch a show; instead, some were hurrying along, while others were grouped together, gesturing and discussing something. The entire square didn’t appear chaotic, and the noise level wasn’t loud.

It had a scene of orderly activity.

However, Zhang Xiaohua looked at the scene before him and felt something was off, though he couldn’t quite put his finger on it.

Seeing Zhang Xiaohua look like a country bumpkin entering the city, Jiang looked down on him and pulled a distance away, acting as if he didn’t know him. But after waiting a while, and seeing Zhang Xiaohua ignoring him, he became somewhat angry and approached, saying: “Zhang Xiaohua, why aren’t you moving? Why are you just standing here like a wooden chicken?”

Zhang Xiaohua was startled and asked in surprise: “Isn’t the martial arts competition here? Where else would I go?”

Jiang sneered: “Who told you the martial arts competition is here? Did I say that? Let’s go; I need to hurry and get you there. I have my own matters to attend to. I really don’t know what you were thinking, making me go to the villa to fetch you when you could have come by yourself.”

Zhang Xiaohua suddenly realized.

He immediately said, “If you have something to do, then go ahead and be busy. I’ll just go by myself.”

Jiang quickly waved his hand and said: “Don’t get me in trouble. Looking at you, it seems like you won’t stop until you cause a disaster. It’s better if I personally escort you to your destination.”

Seeing that he didn’t trust him, Zhang Xiaohua had nothing more to say and could only obediently follow Jiang, heading deeper into the Piaomiao Manor.

This was Zhang Xiaohua’s third time entering the Piaomiao Sect, and the scene was completely different from the previous two. Along the way, wherever there was a larger square, there were quite a few small competition platforms set up. Zhang Xiaohua counted carefully and found there were dozens of them, which left him puzzled. What were all these platforms for? Were they all for fighting?

However, seeing Jiang’s expression, Zhang Xiaohua didn’t want to be too curious.

It was hard to tell how large the Piaomiao Manor was. Jiang had led Zhang Xiaohua for quite a while without reaching their destination. The further they walked, the more strange Zhang Xiaohua found it. Wasn’t he just here to participate in a martial arts competition? Why did they have to go all the way to the back? Aren’t there so many platforms in the outer square? Oh, wait, not platforms, they were competition rings!

After passing through several corridors and small courtyards, they finally arrived at a tall wall with a large gate. The red-painted gate was tightly closed and was much larger than the gates of the other small courtyards. The surrounding wall was quite high and stretched far, seeming like a separate place.

Jiang walked up and knocked on the door’s ring with force. Immediately, the door creaked open, and a head peeked out. Seeing it was Jiang, the person complained: “Why are you so late? The martial arts competition is about to start!”

Jiang quickly apologized and said with a smile: “Manager Xu, the kid from Huanxi Villa was dawdling, and I hurried over as fast as I could.”

The person glanced at Zhang Xiaohua behind Jiang and said unhappily: “You know the Sect Master Ou always comes here early every year. Why didn’t you come sooner? Alright, hurry up and come in.”

Jiang pulled Zhang Xiaohua’s sleeve and whispered: “Alright, this is the place. Zhang Xiaohua, this is Manager Xu from our Piaomiao Sect’s Young Eagle Hall. You go in with him.”

After saying this, he cupped his hands toward Manager Xu and quickly turned to leave, as if he didn’t want to stay another second.

Zhang Xiaohua looked at Jiang’s receding figure in confusion and couldn’t help but envy: “This guy’s character isn’t great, but his Qinggong is quite impressive.”

Manager Xu saw Zhang Xiaohua’s dumbfounded look and was already displeased. He frowned and said: “Young man, are you here to participate in the martial arts competition? Why don’t you hurry up and get inside?”

Only then did Zhang Xiaohua come to his senses. He quickly cupped his hands and stepped through the red-painted gate into the courtyard.

Once Zhang Xiaohua entered the courtyard, he was even more astonished. What in the world was going on here?!

This square was more than three times larger than the one behind the Piaomiao Sect’s archway, filled with countless small platforms. However, at the center in the distance stood a square platform that was even larger than the one in Lu Town during the New Year celebrations. Some people were already standing on it. Zhang Xiaohua, with his sharp eyes, quickly spotted the Great Sect Master Ou Peng. Yet, that wasn’t the main reason for Zhang Xiaohua’s astonishment; what really surprised him was that the square was packed with people, and all of them had youthful smiles on their faces, their boyish features still intact. Most of them were even shorter than Zhang Xiaohua, appearing to be only about ten years old!

This, what was going on here?

Just as Zhang Xiaohua was marveling at this, he suddenly caught sight of two familiar faces at the back of the crowd. These two also had alternating expressions of red and green, looking very awkward.

Who else could it be but Shangguan Yun and Yu Deyi from the Lotus Escort Agency?

Although the two were standing at the back, their height was completely out of place among the surrounding boys, truly standing out like cranes among chickens. Moreover, despite the youthfulness of their faces, they stood straight, clearly well-trained. Although everyone was facing forward, some would occasionally glance back at these two strange outsiders. With more people staring, the two felt increasingly uneasy, shifting from side to side.

Just when the two were filled with regret, they suddenly saw the door open, and a familiar person walked in. They were overjoyed and intended to wave, but upon noticing Zhang Xiaohua’s almost identical height to the nearby boys, they raised their hands but couldn’t bring themselves to call out.

Zhang Xiaohua was also excited to see a familiar face. Seeing this, Manager Xu, naturally recognized the three were acquainted and nodded, pointing toward the two before hurriedly moving on to other matters.

Once Zhang Xiaohua saw the person leave, he swiftly ran over to Shangguan Yun and Yu Deyi, cupping his hands in greeting and eagerly asking: “Brother De, what’s going on here?”

Yu Deyi opened his mouth, about to speak, when a loud and clear voice echoed from the platform: “Now, I announce the official start of the Piaomiao Sect’s martial arts competition. Next, let’s invite our leader, Sect Master Ou, to give a speech~”

Immediately, a round of synchronized applause erupted, and the eyes of the ten-year-old teenagers sparkled with reverence as they stared intently at the tall platform. No, it was a fighting platform, where Ou Peng was slowly rising to his feet.

Ou Peng stood in the center of the ring, pressing down with both hands, and the applause below came to an abrupt halt, as if they had rehearsed this for a long time. Ou Peng nodded in satisfaction, then began to speak. Although his voice wasn’t loud, Zhang Xiaohua, standing far away at the other end of the square, could hear him very clearly as his words flowed directly into his ears.

Ou Peng began speaking: “Dear disciples of the Young Eagle Hall, as winter departs and spring arrives, bringing new life and blooming flowers, we gather here on this sunny and vibrant spring morning for our annual martial arts competition. I have a few words to share with you. These are words I repeat every year, and you shouldn’t find them annoying; they represent the hopes and concerns of our older generation for you. You are the rising sun, and this era belongs to you. If you prosper, then Piaomiao prospers; if you grow strong, then Piaomiao grows strong. We, the older generation, have watched you grow up, and you are the hope of the Piaomiao Sect. Today, I stand here speaking to you, but in the years to come, it may be one of you standing here addressing your juniors. Piaomiao is a legacy passed down through generations; as long as you can stand out, we have no fear of perishing on the shore… (the following 100,000 words are omitted; if any readers are interested, you can Google the annual speeches given by elementary school principals at the start of the school year!)”

Sect Master Ou’s speech went on for quite some time without pause. His earnest words resonated in the air above the square, and the faces of the disciples turned crimson, their little fists clenched tightly, as if they were stirred and inspired by the beautiful hopes Ou Peng described.

Only Zhang Xiaohua and the others, upon hearing his resonating voice, couldn’t help but be astonished. Ou Peng’s internal energy must be so profound! Zhang Xiaohua even thought, if there were beams in the square, wouldn’t his voice would linger for three days?

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