Chapter 27: Incident III

Scraps of snow drifted down. On the four-sided martial arts platform, thick layers of brown beast hide were laid down, and coarse black ropes formed railings around the four sides.

“The twenty-four front courtyard disciples will remain for observation and will duel starting from the lowest rank. Those who win five consecutive matches will receive a special prize from the Abbot!”

The female Taoist child from before, carrying a copper gong, struck it once and began reading the simple competition rules.

Among the people below, the twenty-four front courtyard disciples voluntarily moved forward. They had changed into white Taoist robes and stood out visibly in the crowd.

Senior Brother Chen Sui stood at the very front, holding his sword, waiting quietly.

Behind him, Mu Qiaozhi was talking to Huang Shan and Qiu Yiren.

Further back were Wu Cheng and Chen Chong.

Wu Cheng looked confident and sturdy, his black hair tied high. His smile was bright and sunny, and his bronze complexion, contrasted by the silver-white long sword, gave him a sense of vibrant vitality.

Chen Chong‘s face was gloomy, a look of worry etched on his expression. He clearly hadn’t recovered from his last encounter with Lin Hui.

The disciples behind the two were much more low-key and relaxed. Both men and women showed no pressure, and some were even secretly flirting and giggling softly.

Lin Hui, as a newly promoted disciple, stood in the last tier, with only three or four disciples behind him. These were the disciples promoted even later than him.

He was currently listening to the two male disciples ahead of him discussing the contents of the Dabi.

“It looks like whoever steps up first is at a disadvantage…”

“That’s why there’s a special reward for winning five consecutive matches—it’s compensation. It’s primarily a celebration, and the ranking starts from the back. This means the strongest ones, like the Senior Brother, will be the last to take the stage, so the later they go up, the lower the chance of getting five consecutive wins.”

“So the early matches are a scramble for the five-win bonus, and the later ones are just to compete for the top ten ranking prizes?”

“That’s roughly the case. Who’s going up first?”

“Yu Fan, who was just promoted last month. He’s from Mengshan Town. He’s essentially the warm-up act.”

“It’s him. Whoever comes before him is truly lucky.”

The two chatted softly while Lin Hui quietly adjusted his state. He was also curious about how far he could go in the competition.

Theoretically, since the Clear Wind Taoist Temple sword style relied on speed for victory, a continuous battle (wheel combat) did not consume much physical energy.

Unless the fight dragged on for too long, or they used secret techniques or highly consumptive abilities like the Light Body special effect, it wasn’t difficult for one person to fight three or four rounds.

‘Looking at this, ranked fifteenth, I might be able to go for five consecutive wins…’

Lin Hui gently grasped the sword hilt at his waist, relaxing and tightening his fingers repeatedly.

“Ranked twenty-fourth, Yu Fan, please step up to the stage.”

The Taoist child on the stage loudly announced the first name.

In the viewing stands around the platform, people gradually began to take their seats. The more prominent guests included the Xinyu Town Security Chief, the Deputy Chief, and the patriarchs of several large local families. Chattering and laughing, they took seats marked with their names, and Taoist children served them tea individually.

Whoosh.

The massive gray awning overhead was unfolded, covering a portion of the viewing stands to shield these relatively honored guests from the falling snow.

Yu Fan, ranked twenty-fourth, stood a few steps behind Lin Hui. Hearing his name, he quickly walked up the wooden steps to the stage. He saluted toward Abbot Daoist Baohe and the Ming Generation Masters, then cupped his hands toward the Security Chief and other guests, before standing quietly, sword held, at one end, waiting for his opponent.

“Ranked twenty-third, Zhang Yuanchun, please step up!”

As the name was announced, a young woman with white hair leaped onto the stage.

“Please guide me.”

Without unnecessary words, the two cupped their hands, drew their swords, and tossed their scabbards aside.

Their figures flashed simultaneously, lunging toward each other.

Clang.

The two swords clashed and then swiftly slid apart.

The Nine-Section Quick Sword unfolded simultaneously. The two figures blurred, sword shadows flashing around them like two gray snakes, constantly stabbing, pointing, slashing, or blocking the opponent.

“This level of swordsmanship is truly dangerous. If one isn’t careful and is struck, it will be a bloody wound. The quick sword of the Clear Wind Taoist Temple truly lives up to its reputation,” Security Chief Ning Shaolang commented, stroking his beard.

He was thirty-nine years old, in his first year serving as the Security Chief of Xinyu Town after being transferred from the Inner City. He accepted the invitation mainly because the Clear Wind Taoist Temple was considered the strongest martial arts hall in Xinyu Town. He felt the first match alone made the trip worthwhile.

“This is the Nine-Section Quick Sword of the Clear Wind Taoist Temple. It emphasizes speed, and the moves mostly involve pointing, stabbing, slashing, and turning. It lays the foundation for the later Clear Wind Sword Style,” Deputy Chief Yu Zhenhao explained softly. He had served in Xinyu Town for many years and was quite familiar with the Clear Wind Taoist Temple.

“This kind of quick sword is actually quite suitable for working in the security office. When dealing with trouble makers, it can subdue the enemy with one swift strike, and because it’s fast and precise, it won’t cause too much damage. The Flying Cloud Fist always caused internal injuries, which was problematic,” Chief Ning Shaolang said thoughtfully.

“That is true. The Clear Wind Taoist Temple has always been very stable in its cooperation with us,” the Deputy Chief agreed.

“In that case, we will hire three additional people from here to join the Emergency Response Team. They will be invited based on the three ranks immediately following the front courtyard’s ranked sequence,” Ning Shaolang whispered.

“Adding three people to the Emergency Response Team at once might be a bit much…” the Deputy Chief hesitated.

“The number of outsiders in the Outer City has been increasing, and the pressure on public security is immense. Having more personnel is always good,” Ning Shaolang explained.

The benefits of the Emergency Response Team were high, but more crucially, this position came with temporary execution authority. They could handle incidents first and then report them.

This execution authority meant that as long as they didn’t target Inner City residents, there would be no problem, even if they accidentally killed someone.

That was why the Deputy Chief was hesitant.

“Enough, watch the ring. A victor is about to be decided,” Ning Shaolang smiled, stopping the Deputy Chief from speaking further.

On the ring, the two had reached the final stage of their fierce battle. Two sword shadows quickly clashed dozens of times, then were mutually swept away, returning to their respective owners’ hands.

Swish!

Just then, Zhang Yuanchun on the left stepped forward, and her long sword spun into a cone shape, surging toward the opponent’s upper body.

Yu Fan on the opposite side tried to block, but his wrist suddenly went soft, failing to parry the force.

Cling!

The long sword in his hand was swept out and flung away. A silver blade immediately hovered motionless over his chest.

“I concede,” Zhang Yuanchun gasped loudly.

“Zhang Yuanchun wins!” the Taoist child shouted at the side simultaneously.

This outcome was not unexpected. A higher rank beating a lower rank was normal.

But the next opponent, ranked twenty-second, was also defeated by Zhang Yuanchun in a few moves, which surprised everyone.

Following that, the twenty-first and twentieth ranked disciples were also defeated. Although Zhang Yuanchun was quite exhausted, she still managed to stand firm on the stage.

Everyone around the ring gave her enthusiastic applause.

The subsequent matches on the ring were inconclusive, with people constantly being swapped out. No one could win two matches in a row.

Finally, Lin Hui heard his rank announced.

“Ranked fifteenth, Lin Hui!”

Lin Hui tightened his grip on his sword hilt and stepped onto the stage, his expression calm.

Hiss.

He drew his sword from its scabbard, tossing the scabbard aside, and heard Chen Zhishen‘s cheer from the distance.

His opponent was a young man ranked sixteenth. He had sharp eyebrows and bright eyes, a decent appearance. Compared to the ordinary-looking Lin Hui, he was popular among the female disciples below the stage.

“Ranked sixteenth, Feng Cheng’an, please guide me, Senior Brother.” The opponent cupped his hands toward him.

“Ranked fifteenth, Lin Hui. Junior Brother, please begin.” Lin Hui pointed his sword tip down toward the ground.

He had watched the opponent from below and knew his skill level. He was at most Second-Rank Body Tempering, posing no challenge.

In a real fight, the opponent’s strength wouldn’t even be enough for a warm-up.

‘I’ll focus on defense then. It can be considered training for my defensive capability.’

He told himself this.

Ending the battle too quickly would be too offensive and conspicuous. The previous matches all took quite a few moves to decide a winner. If his match ended in an instant, it would be too abrupt. Lin Hui disliked standing out.

Therefore, he decided to end the battle in a mild manner.

Clang!

In the instant the copper gong sounded, signaling the start of the battle.

Feng Cheng’an attacked fiercely. The Nine-Section Quick Sword unleashed a gray sword shadow, striking toward Lin Hui‘s right shoulder with a speed slightly faster than before.

Clang!

Unfortunately, his strike seemed accidental, blocked by Lin Hui‘s backhand parry.

Feng Cheng’an didn’t hesitate. He retracted his sword, gathered his breath, and instantly changed his stance, stabbing toward Lin Hui‘s abdomen.

Clang!

There was another crisp sound.

Feng Cheng’an‘s expression shifted slightly. He changed his stance again, his sword shadow turning into a gray snake, continuously attacking.

Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!!

Strangely, no matter how he attacked, the sword shadow abruptly halted beside Lin Hui and was deflected.

Lin Hui stood rooted to the spot, his long sword turning into a gray line whose shape was almost invisible, drifting and dancing to block every sword strike and every move from the opponent.

The clanging sound of clashing swords rang out continuously like a piece of music, its speed accelerating.

Lin Hui‘s expression was unchanged. He didn’t even shift his feet, just standing there, precisely parrying every one of the opponent’s moves.

Half a minute later…

The clamor in the surrounding viewing stands had already subsided at some point.

Lin Hui slightly narrowed his eyes. The long sword in his hand abruptly stood still, blocking the tip of the opponent’s sword, which was aimed at his brow.

Ding.

Amidst the soft sound, he looked at Feng Cheng’an, who was panting heavily with an expression of disbelief.

He extended his unoccupied left hand, his index finger thrusting forward like a sword, and lightly touched the opponent’s brow.

Thud.

Feng Cheng’an could no longer stand. He staggered back a few steps and fell onto the ground.

He had fought with all his might, launching over a hundred sword strikes in one go, every one with full effort, but…

His face was flushed crimson, almost purple, and his lungs heaved like a bellows.

“Next contender,” Lin Hui‘s voice sounded, as if he hadn’t moved at all.

Feng Cheng’an wanted to get up but couldn’t move. He was exhausted and had to be carried off the stage by two logistical Taoist priests.

(End of Chapter)