To say Liu Zhiwei had no designs on the Golden Cauldron Sect's leadership was purely a lie to fool others. Even in his dreams, he did not know how many times he had heard the words "Sect Leader Liu."
Thus, Duàn Yì's flattery struck right at his heart. The missing word "deputy" made his entire body feel wonderfully refreshed, as though he had taken a sauna, and even made Duàn Yì look far more pleasing to the eye.
"Good. Then I'll tell you about this man in detail, so Junior Brother Bai can understand that I, Liu Zhiwei, am not simply forcing you into this fight..."
Only after Liu Zhiwei's detailed account did Duàn Yì learn the particulars of Lin Bohui, and he fell into thought.
This man was likely not from Wei Prefecture. He had suddenly appeared more than three months ago, and his first move had been to challenge the Willow-Whip Swordsman of Yongji County in Wei Prefecture. He won that battle, severing the Willow-Whip Swordsman's right-hand tendons within seven moves, and his name spread from then on.
According to the Willow-Whip Swordsman himself, when he dueled Lin Bohui, every move and stance of his opponent had seemed utterly ordinary. Yet in Lin Bohui's hands, they became swift as lightning, sinister and strange, impossible to guard against. He had been no match at all.
Twenty days later, Lin Bohui challenged another swordsman of Yongji County, Huang Jing. Huang Jing was a lay disciple of the Xuanzhen Sect of Zhongnan Mountain. His Tiger-Slaying Swordplay was fierce and ruthless, every strike aimed to kill, yet he still lost to Lin Bohui on the eighth move.
After that, Lin Bohui traveled through four counties of Wei Prefecture and challenged another five somewhat renowned swordsmen.
Some of these swordsmen excelled at defense, some at offense; some possessed profound internal cultivation, while others also practiced tough-body martial arts. Yet without exception, they all lost to Lin Bohui, building his meteoric reputation.
These were Lin Bohui's achievements since entering the martial world: seven battles, seven victories, his momentum soaring like a rainbow. Even Bái Xī Wén nodded slightly upon hearing them.
Besides making a name for himself by challenging experts, another thing Lin Bohui was widely known for was his insatiable lust. Before and after every battle, he was always a frequent patron of the local brothels. According to the women who had slept with him, he was simply a tireless tiger, ferocious beyond compare.
"Fine. I accept this fight. Today is the twenty-ninth of August. On the second of September, I'll wait for Lin Bohui at the Golden Cauldron Sect's arena."
After hearing Liu Zhiwei's account of Lin Bohui, Duàn Yì let out a long breath. A sharp gleam flashed through his lake-deep eyes as he spoke calmly.
"What? You agreed?"
After recounting Lin Bohui's record, Liu Zhiwei had thought the matter was finished. He had not expected Duàn Yì to do the opposite instead. It was truly baffling.
Lin Bohui was no minor character like Ruan Dong. In terms of martial skill, he surpassed Ruan Dong by more than tenfold. Had Duàn Yì gone mad?
"That's right. Now that I've agreed, this Cold Jade should be mine, shouldn't it?"
Duàn Yì stepped forward, picked up the Cold Jade beside Liu Zhiwei, and held it in his palm. A bone-piercing chill surged from within the jade, as if he had been dropped into the heavy snows of deep winter.
As Duàn Yì circulated the Ice True Qi within his body, the discomfort in his palm immediately vanished. Instead, the entire piece of Cold Jade brought him a cool and pleasant sensation.
"What courage. Then it's settled."
Without waiting for Bái Xī Wén to speak, Liu Zhiwei tossed out those words and shot from the room with a whoosh, as though someone were chasing him. Clearly, he feared some change might arise.
Thus, only Bái Xī Wén and Duàn Yì remained in the room.
"You really don't know whether you're dead or alive. Do you even know what this battle means for you?
"Perhaps you won't die, but if you lose, one of your hands will be cut off. You'll become crippled for life and never wield a sword again."
Only after a long silence did Bái Xī Wén speak. He had thought Duàn Yì would refuse on his own, but he had not expected him to agree.
He worried about Duàn Yì partly because of Yuè Jiāo Nú, and partly because over these days of spending time together, he had truly come to regard him as his own younger brother.
Seeing Duàn Yì say nothing and merely stare at the Cold Jade in his hand, Bái Xī Wén continued,
"You may not know the terror of Bixie Swordplay, so let me tell you.
"This swordplay became famous long ago. Someone once used it to run rampant through Lingnan Dao of Great Xia, unifying the underworld forces of seven provinces, his prestige reaching in all eight directions. He was honored as the Bixie Swordsman and ranked among Great Xia's top-tier experts.
"I have also heard of this swordplay's methods. Taken apart, its seventy-two sword forms are riddled with flaws, but once it is truly mastered, one can scarcely find a single weakness. It is truly bizarre.
"If I'm not mistaken, this Lin Bohui is a descendant of the Bixie Swordsman. If you fight him, you are simply doomed to lose."
As a renowned expert who practiced such a mighty divine art as the Invincible Treasure Codex, Bái Xī Wén could afford not to take Lin Bohui seriously. But Duàn Yì could not, because his martial arts were still insufficient.
Duàn Yì remained unmoved. He merely stroked the Cold Jade in his hand and said in a lofty tone,
"Bixie Swordplay may indeed be extraordinary, peerless in power, but the person wielding the sword may not be flawless or impossible to defeat."
This was also a belief he had held ever since obtaining the Tower of Hidden Martial Arts: martial arts might have ranks high and low, but the thing that truly played the decisive role was always the person.
In other words, there were only invincible people, never invincible martial arts.
If Lin Bohui had truly mastered Bixie Swordplay and attained deep proficiency in it, Duàn Yì would not have dared to risk fighting a battle he was certain to lose.
Yet from Liu Zhiwei's words, he had deduced an unusual piece of information, which gave him some confidence.
Lin Bohui had not castrated himself. That was a major weakness.
Strictly speaking, Bixie Swordplay's moves were not especially exquisite. Compared with the Five Mountains Swordplay, they fell far short. But once combined with its secret of qi cultivation, they underwent a complete transformation and became a marvelous sword art.
Thus, the core of this martial art lay in its qi cultivation method: "To practice divine skill, wield the blade and castrate yourself; refine pills and take medicine, unite inner and outer." It originated from the Sunflower Manual.
Why did one have to castrate oneself?
Because the qi cultivation method recorded in the Sunflower Manual—or rather, the Bixie Sword Manual—was exceedingly dangerous. The true qi it produced was indeed incomparably powerful and could greatly increase one's speed in action, but it also had a flaw.
If one did not castrate oneself, the true qi one cultivated would make desire blaze through the body, causing Qi Deviation, paralysis, and death.
By ordinary reasoning, since Lin Bohui had not castrated himself, if he had cultivated Bixie Swordplay, he would inevitably be unable to endure for long before suffering Qi Deviation. If he had not died, it was simply because fate had favored him.
But nothing was absolute. Presumably, this man had encountered some opportunity and obtained a method elsewhere that could temporarily suppress the scorching true qi, allowing him to briefly wield the power of Bixie Swordplay.
That was why he had been able to win battle after battle, defeat seven somewhat renowned swordsmen, and make his name in a single stroke.
But in Duàn Yì's view, that was merely treating the symptoms, not the root cause.
Whenever Lin Bohui used true qi to wield Bixie Swordplay, that scorching heat could no longer be restrained. Thus, he needed to visit brothels before and after major battles to put out the fire. This was one reason for his excessive lust—not his nature, but a hidden danger of his martial arts.
Second, in Lin Bohui's seven battles, he had never made more than ten moves in any one of them. Certainly, this was because his opponents' martial arts were inferior to his, but it was more likely that his martial arts imposed enormous restrictions. Once he exceeded ten moves, unpredictable consequences might arise.
Those seven men were very likely opponents he had carefully selected.
If that were not the case, he would not have challenged only these seven men. He would have challenged more and stronger experts, achieving even more dazzling feats.
Duàn Yì absolutely believed in the power of Bixie Swordplay.
Third was what Liu Zhiwei had said: Lin Bohui's internal cultivation was on the same level as his own, both at the Qi Nourishing stage. At most, Lin Bohui's Internal Energy was somewhat deeper.
But that too was a flaw. According to Duàn Yì's calculations, if this man could truly cultivate and use Bixie Swordplay without restraint, he should at the very least have reached Meridian Unblocking.
After all, this was a martial art that advanced with fierce vigor. Once one crossed the first threshold, the road ahead would become a smooth plain. Yet Lin Bohui had not done so. This confirmed Duàn Yì's earlier guess and narrowed the gap between him and Lin Bohui.
Of course, all this was merely Duàn Yì's speculation, but there was at least a seventy to eighty percent chance that it was correct. That was already enough.
"You brat, I didn't expect you to be so confident.
"What you say makes sense, but I can tell you this: with your current martial arts, it is impossible for you to be stronger than the seven experts Lin Bohui challenged, much less equal Lin Bohui, who defeated them.
"So I advise you to abandon the notion of dueling him. At worst, after you leave the mountain, I'll send you to live with one of my good friends."
Bái Xī Wén did not understand the mysteries of Bixie Swordplay and still believed that Duàn Yì was certain to lose, so he tried to persuade him.
When he had wandered the martial world, he had made quite a few enemies, but he had also made many friends. Since the Golden Cauldron Sect would not accommodate Duàn Yì, sending him to another friend's place would not be a bad option.
Before you continue