Gelding

Ren Debiao saw that Meng Yuan was not merely putting on a show to frighten him. He truly carried the momentum of deciding life and death with a single stroke. Ren Debiao could not help recalling the sight of him carrying Wolf One down the mountain.

Back then, Meng Yuan had spent more than half his strength fighting Wolf One for his life, yet he had still carried Wolf One over his shoulder, trudging through the mud. He had fallen hard on his backside several times, but he gritted his teeth and endured all the way down the mountain without uttering a single plea for help or a single complaint.

It was from that time on that Ren Debiao felt Master Nie no longer regarded him favorably, nor was he willing to teach him anything.

"I have already entered Eighth Rank. You are no match for me. Do you truly want to humiliate yourself?" Ren Debiao did not wish to lose momentum, so he immediately pointed out the difference in their strength.

"You prattle on and on. Your courage has already fled!" Meng Yuan was extremely confident. His opponent had only just entered Eighth Rank. The True Qi circulation method of the Gale Wind Saber Technique was still within the Lower Thirty-Three Heavens and had yet to enter the "change of Eighth Rank" Master Nie had spoken of.

Hearing this, Ren Debiao seemed to have had a sore spot jabbed. He immediately gritted his teeth and raised his saber.

Ren Debiao moved with extreme speed, closing in within an instant. The long saber in his hand slashed out like a silver ribbon, cutting diagonally toward Meng Yuan's throat.

That strike was incredibly swift, even raising a piercing whistle through the air.

Meng Yuan remained unhurried. He tapped the ground lightly with his toes and retreated a step. Only once his opponent's momentum had run out did he draw his saber.

With a clang, the two sabers collided like spring thunder bursting forth, startling birds into flight in the distance.

After a brief exchange, the two separated. Borrowing the force of the clash, Ren Debiao twisted through the air and struck at Meng Yuan's chest again.

Meng Yuan raised his saber to block, then counterattacked at his opponent's lower body.

The Gale Wind Saber Technique prized speed. As the two used it at once, they fought in a deadlock, saber flashes whistling through the air—a truly splendid sight.

All the trainees had learned this saber technique. Though they did not understand the subtleties of True Qi circulation, every stroke from the two men was as swift as a gale, and their bodies shifted and leaped without pause, leaving the eye unable to take it all in. They could not help feeling their hearts race with longing.

They traded blows, saber light flashing. Before long, Meng Yuan realized that although his opponent had entered Eighth Rank and knew the method of circulating True Qi, he fell short of Meng Yuan in speed, strength, and reaction alike.

Meng Yuan thought to himself that, first, he had tempered his body twice. The True Qi in his dantian was fuller than his opponent's, his acupoints broader, and his True Qi flowed without obstruction. Second, his opponent seemed not to have comprehended the principles of combining Qi with strength, or intent with Qi—or perhaps Master Nie had never taught him.

At this moment, Ren Debiao also sensed that something was wrong. Though he and Meng Yuan appeared evenly matched, he constantly felt that Meng Yuan was using him to hone his blade.

From holding back at the start to fully driving his True Qi through his saber, no matter how Ren Debiao attacked, Meng Yuan's eyes always kept up, his saber immediately followed, and his power and speed never lagged behind. Ren Debiao could not even tell when Meng Yuan might exhaust his True Qi.

Ren Debiao frowned and thought for a moment, then hardened his heart. Just as he was about to call out some words and pretend they had tied, he felt his opponent's saber momentum suddenly surge. The force grew greater, the saber became even swifter, and only afterimages could be seen.

After desperately blocking seven consecutive strikes, Ren Debiao had not even drawn another breath, nor had he had a moment to speak. He only felt the other man's power was crushing, far beyond his own, leaving both his arms numb and aching from the shocks.

In a daze, Ren Debiao felt the saber hilt hammer into his back. His organs jolted, his vision swam, and he could no longer stand steadily. The long saber flew from his hand.

Ren Debiao staggered and collapsed to the ground. He felt that Meng Yuan had still held back in that blow.

Though he had lost, Ren Debiao felt somewhat relieved. Meng Yuan seemed to have forgotten his words about settling both victory and death, and had not killed him.

Just as he was rejoicing and about to admit defeat, Ren Debiao felt a piercing pain shoot through his left arm.

Ren Debiao hurriedly turned to look, only to see Meng Yuan's foot planted on his left arm. It had already been broken.

A miserable scream rang across the Training Field. Sweat poured from Ren Debiao as he rolled about without stop.

"Blade shadows weave, light and shade in chaos; edges sweep high and low, heaven and earth uphold. Swift as a meteor chasing sun and moon, quick as lightning cleaving Cangwu." Meng Yuan withdrew his foot. "Brother Ren, failing to master the Gale Wind Saber Technique is not the problem. Bullying the weak and harming your fellow trainees—that is the real problem."

Without waiting for Ren Debiao to reply, Meng Yuan sheathed his saber and looked toward the trainees. "Master Nie taught us these skills not for flaunting them before others, nor for winning laughter. He taught us so that one day we may protect the Princess Consort. Sparring is allowed, but turning weapons against those under the same roof, making ditches of one's neighbors, and harming one another are forbidden!"

Everyone stared blankly at Meng Yuan, then looked at Ren Debiao's broken arm. For a time, no one spoke.

"Will you remember this?" Meng Yuan asked.

"We'll remember!" the crowd shouted loud enough to shake the sky.

Meng Yuan stepped forward to inspect Wu Changsheng and Tie Niu's injuries. Seeing that the wounds were not deep, he was finally relieved.

"Zhang Qing and Song Laohe, carry Brother Ren back to his quarters. Wu Changsheng, go outside and fetch a physician," Meng Yuan arranged.

"Um..." Wu Changsheng had even forgotten to cover the wound on his arm. He glanced at Ren Debiao, who was rolling about in agony, and asked softly, "Senior Brother Meng, should we send him straight to the medical hall?"

"It is only a broken bone. With a martial artist's body, two months of recovery will suffice. Just go outside and invite a physician." Meng Yuan pressed a hand against his saber hilt and emphasized, "Do not let Brother Ren suffer. Find a good physician of both skill and virtue!"

"Yes!" Wu Changsheng immediately accepted the order and left.

Zhang Qing and Song Laohe also lifted Ren Debiao and carried him away.

"Hu Qian, Zhao Tie Niu, come with me. The rest of you, continue training in peace!" Meng Yuan immediately headed out of the Training Field.

Hu Qian and Tie Niu hurried after him.

After walking for a while, a rare glimmer of thought appeared in Tie Niu's eyes. He leaned close to Meng Yuan's ear, afraid Hu Qian might hear, and whispered, "Brother, shouldn't we find Old Man Jiang and Jiang Yatou first? If we're running away, aren't we taking them with us?"

"Tie Niu! I heard every word!" Hu Qian smacked Tie Niu hard on the back, then grabbed Meng Yuan and asked, "Where are we going? How about I find my mother? She can still put in a few words before the Princess Consort."

"Why do you two only think of crooked paths? Why can't you be upright and honorable? Did the Princess Consort have us learn martial arts so we could trade favors and pull strings?" Meng Yuan sternly criticized them, then said earnestly, "I injured someone, so naturally I should admit my fault and accept punishment! I am going to find Xun Mei! If only I had found some vitex rods, I would surely carry them on my back and plead guilty!"

Hu Qian opened her mouth, then realized that although Meng Yuan was brimming with righteousness, he seemed remarkably practiced at this sort of thing, as though he had done it countless times before.

And though he said he was going to accept punishment, he looked more like he was paying a social call!

"One person bears responsibility for what he does. I know you are both angry at that man, but I was the one who injured him, so the fault lies with me alone. When you see Xun Mei, simply tell the truth and testify for me," Meng Yuan said.

Hu Qian was speechless. She carefully sorted through everything that had happened and realized that this Senior Brother Meng seemed to hold the moral high ground at every turn. Even injuring someone in the end could be called an act of righteous anger.

Besides, a Ninth Rank had thoroughly defeated an Eighth Rank. Given Master Nie's temperament, he might even praise him a few times.

"What exactly did your brother do before this?" Hu Qian pulled Tie Niu aside and asked quietly.

"A castrator! He specialized in gelding!" Tie Niu looked as if she were asking something she already knew. He had no idea how to be tactful and said it outright.

"So that is it." Hu Qian truly understood. "To castrate someone, you must first seize their momentum. That momentum is reason. He takes away another person's momentum and claims it for himself. Then the other person has neither reason nor momentum, while his own momentum and reason become all the greater!"

Hu Qian grabbed Meng Yuan and asked, "Is that how it is?"

Meng Yuan had no idea how gelding livestock had somehow produced scholarship and principles, but seeing the expectant look on her face, he could only say, "From the small, one perceives the great. Well said!"