The Invitation / The Registration Frenzy

Just as the victor was about to be decided, Yao Bilian darted two fingers forward and caught his sword fingers like a pair of scissors, stopping them a hair's breadth away. No matter how much force Si Ming exerted, they wouldn't budge.

"Give up. This is a finger technique I developed by clamping beans for years. I don't know how many girls have crumbled before it."

Chapter 49: The Invitation

Si Ming naturally didn't believe Yao Bilian's claim that it was the "Bean-Clamping Finger Technique," but with his current knowledge of martial arts, he couldn't recognize what technique it actually was. Only two of his fingers were caught, yet his entire body was unable to move. It truly was "pull one hair and the whole body moves" in reverse.

Of course, it wasn't impossible to turn the tables. The Blazing Yang Battle Art contained a move called Aurora Finger, which could fire a laser from the fingertip. Though it wasn't very powerful, causing burns at most and little more than a tickle against a thick-skinned, tough-fleshed body-refining martial artist, a hit to a vital spot like the eyes would be enough to reverse the outcome of a fight.

However, Aurora Finger required at least level five internal cultivation to use. For now, Si Ming could only think about it before conceding defeat to Yao Bilian.

"You can be proud of yourself for pushing me this far." Yao Bilian wasn't trying to comfort him; she genuinely believed it. "Your physical abilities are clearly inferior to mine in every respect, kid, yet in a fight you can flexibly combine strength, speed, and technique, and use the environment to devise sound tactics... Did you come up with a way to use the snow to hold back my offense beforehand?"

Si Ming said, "Not really. It suddenly occurred to me during the fight. What's the expression for it again... Right, a flash of inspiration!"

"Looks like you're the practical combat type. That's rare. The vast majority of people perform far worse in actual combat than in training. They look perfectly competent when they practice, but the moment they step into the ring, their minds go blank. Forget tactics—if they can come up with the right move in time when someone attacks, they should thank heaven and earth.

"A lot of people don't understand why they have to practice forms and routines. It's really so they won't be at a loss in a fight. Once they've practiced a set of martial arts hundreds or thousands of times, until it's drilled into their bones, they'll naturally react when an enemy attacks, instead of standing there hesitating for ages, unsure whether to counterattack, defend, or dodge."

It was rare for Yao Bilian to speak seriously, and Si Ming wasn't quite used to it. He said, "Maybe they want to overcome technique with no technique."

"That saying has done real harm. They haven't even learned to walk, yet they're thinking about flying. Do they think they haven't fallen hard enough? Plenty of people stammer and take ages to think when a teacher calls on them to answer a question in class, yet they actually believe they can instantly work out a response in a fight that moves at lightning speed. Isn't that bullshit?"

Yao Bilian scoffed. "People like that have read too many martial arts novels. They think that because the characters in books always have a narrator describing their thoughts, they have the same ability to calmly think and analyze during a fight. But if they actually sparred with someone, their brains would turn to mush the moment they started. If they lost, they wouldn't know how they lost, and even if they won, they wouldn't know how they won. If people like that practiced routines, they could at least fight according to them. If they don't even know a routine, all they can throw is a flurry of wild punches."

Si Ming hadn't expected Yao Bilian to react so strongly to this, full of resentment. He wondered whether something had happened to her when she was young, like being dragged down by a pig teammate.

But he didn't ask any further. Instead, he changed the subject. "During our fight just now, it never occurred to me that you'd have such a formidable finger technique. I thought you were best at leg techniques. Otherwise, I never would have come up with those tactics."

"You're right that leg techniques are my specialty, but that doesn't mean they're all I know. On TV, northern leg experts only use their legs and southern fist experts only use their fists to leave a stronger impression on the audience. Who would be that stupid in real life? Even if you don't become an all-rounder, once you know your weakness, you should at least find a martial art to make up for it." Yao Bilian smiled.

Si Ming thought it over and realized she was right. Everyone knew his master was skilled with the sword, but that didn't mean he knew no other martial arts. Among the Dinghu Sect's ultimate arts was the Drought God Palm, which used Nüba as its visualization subject and contained the power of Earth Sha Yin Fire. Its power was extraordinary, and surely his master knew it.

Otherwise, if someone deliberately prevented him from drawing his sword, leaving him without a sword and instantly costing him half his strength, that would be awkward.

Ying Zhou, who was standing nearby, spoke up. "There aren't many people in the world who specialize in leg techniques, are there? Most only train their legs for lightness skills and movement techniques. It's rare to use them as the main means of attack."

Hearing this, Yao Bilian sighed. "I was too naive when I was young and got taken in. I thought training my upper body would cover me in muscles and ruin the beauty of my figure, so I focused on my lower body instead. Even if my legs became muscular, I could cover them with stockings as long as it wasn't too extreme. Besides, they'd become springy, with alluring curves."

Si Ming thought it was a good thing this world didn't have a game called Street Fighter. Otherwise, he figured no girls would be willing to practice leg techniques.

"Oh, right. When I came in this morning, I saw an invitation in the mailbox with your name on it. I nearly forgot to give it to you."

Yao Bilian rummaged through her bag, took out a letter, and tossed it to Si Ming.

Si Ming opened it and took a look. "An invitation to the Haibin Commandery Youth Martial Arts Tournament. Strange, I'm not famous or anything. Why would they think to invite me?"

Yao Bilian also said, "What's this youth martial arts tournament? I've never heard of it."

"There's an information booklet in here too. Let me see... The organizer is the Yuezheng Lineage. I see. They just moved their entire Lineage to this country and want to hold some events to win the people's acceptance and build a good reputation, so they put up the money for this martial arts tournament. Anyone under sixteen can enter, and the champion's prize is one million!"

Even Si Ming was tempted. Though he now received a subsidy from the Mohist Academy of Science, there was no such thing as too much money. "Heh, they really are generous. The prizes for second, third, and the top eight aren't bad either. The lowest is still a hundred thousand. A great Lineage really doesn't lack money."

Yao Bilian asked, puzzled, "Why is the Yuezheng family holding the tournament in this commandery? If they want to expand their influence, wouldn't the capital be the best choice?"

Si Ming thought he could probably guess why. Most likely it was because he had saved Yuezheng Qiong here, and she wanted to repay him this way, though direct payment would have suited his tastes better.

"A million in prize money wouldn't make a splash in the capital and might not attract anyone, but here it's a fragrant feast, enough to get young people eager to enter." Si Ming couldn't tell her the truth, so he could only make up an excuse to brush her off.

"Are you planning to enter? You've got nothing better to do anyway, so why not go and make the top eight? Then you can treat me to a big meal."

Yao Bilian urged him on. "Competing with others can broaden your horizons and increase your knowledge. You can also gain practical combat experience and grow quickly. That's where modern people have the advantage over the ancients. In ancient times, travel was difficult, and people rarely ventured far from home. Most of their usual sparring partners were fellow disciples, and they went over the same few martial arts again and again.

"But things are different now. If someone goes from elementary school through high school, they can see more than a hundred martial arts and even exchange pointers with martial artists from every corner of the land. Leaving everything else aside, in terms of fighting experience alone, people today could beat the ancients black and blue."

Si Ming didn't answer. He had noticed that besides the invitation and the introduction letter, there was also a note in the envelope. He opened it to find a few characters, graceful as a startled dragon and sharp as a sword: "Take the championship. Test the results of your self-study. Severe punishment for failure."

The sword intent contained in those words was so familiar that no one else could have imitated it.

Si Ming immediately understood why Yuezheng Qiong had used such a roundabout method. It had presumably all been his master's suggestion.

"Looks like I have to enter even if I don't want to."

Chapter 50: The Registration Frenzy

At the registration site for the Haibin Commandery Youth Martial Arts Tournament, gongs and drums thundered, firecrackers crackled in unison, red flags fluttered, and a mountain of people formed a sea.

Si Ming looked at the dense, dark crowd, like an anthill, and said in shock, "Why are there so many people signing up? Has everyone in the commandery squeezed in here? This looks even crazier than the provincial martial arts tournament."

Yao Bilian said, "A million for the champion isn't particularly remarkable among martial arts tournaments, but compared with youth leagues at the same level, it stands out like a crane among chickens. Other youth leagues offer a hundred thousand at most. This tournament offers ten times that. The difference is like eighteen centimeters versus twelve."

"..."

Si Ming had no desire whatsoever to know what those lengths referred to. At the same time, he prepared himself to use the footwork of Dunjia Heavenly Movement to hide in the crowd the moment she made a dirty joke in front of everyone.

After watching for a while, he noticed that many entrants had brought their whole families and understood why there were so many people. If it were an adult tournament, each person could come alone, but when children entered, their parents often came along, making the registration line look especially bloated.

"Huh, isn't that the master of the Iron Fist Martial Arts School? He actually brought his disciples to compete too!"

"Wow, I recognize that young man in the ancient robe. He's Qi Dewei, the young master of the White Tiger Sect. Hasn't the White Tiger Sect always looked down on regional tournaments like this?"

"It's not just those two. I've also seen the Bagua Martial Arts School, the Xinyi Boxing School, the Divine Leg Sect... So many! Could every martial arts school and sect in Haibin Commandery have sent someone?"

"More than just Haibin Commandery. They've sent people from all over Donghua Province. Look, aren't those two groups over there from the Pure Yang Sect and the Mystic Yin Sect? Those two have been bitter enemies for hundreds of years, and they've both sent disciples to compete. This will be worth watching."

"Have you heard? The major martial arts schools apparently want to use this tournament to choose a Donghua youth martial champion and see which school truly has the most talent and knows best how to teach its disciples."