The Legend of the Condor Heroes

Yang Chengzhi hadn't really wanted to come. But he was due to return to Zhenguan Academy tomorrow, and he'd suddenly remembered meeting Ma Feifei at the tavern that day. They hadn't talked much, but he'd still gotten a good impression of Ma Feifei. Besides, he had no one to talk to in Dubian Town; the three hundred students all kept their distance from him.

After thinking it over, he realized Ma Feifei was the only person he could say he knew. In the end, he decided to visit him before leaving and say goodbye.

"Brother Yang, are you returning to Zhenguan Academy tomorrow?" Ma Feifei set down his copying brush for once and invited Yang Chengzhi to sit. The two faced each other and began to talk.

Yang Chengzhi seemed to be in poor spirits. He looked so down that he might as well have had "I'm unhappy" written across his face. Still, he managed a smile for Ma Feifei. "Yes. The academy has sent word for me to report back."

The news that he'd been barred from taking part in this war between nations had spread throughout the Chu Kingdom, and Zhenguan Academy had suffered some backlash over it. The academy elders were said to be displeased, and they'd ordered Yang Chengzhi to return at once. It seemed they intended to settle the score with him.

"Are you really going to sit back and do nothing, Brother Yang?" Ma Feifei knew that once Yang Chengzhi returned, he'd most likely be expelled from the academy. It was something that would affect him for the rest of his life.

"It's not that I'm sitting back and doing nothing. I simply have no options." Yang Chengzhi gave a self-deprecating smile. "I don't mind you laughing at me, Brother Ma, but although I'm ranked three hundredth on the Dragon Ranking, that was a year ago. I was at the Spirit Master Sixth Stage then, and a year later I'm still stuck there. The person ranked two hundred and ninety-ninth is already at the Spirit Master Eighth Stage, and there are plenty of people below me who've reached it too."

"In another month, Zhenguan Academy will hold its annual Dragon Ranking Tournament. I won't even be able to hold on to the three-hundredth spot, let alone defeat Xiaoyaozi."

Once he fell off the Dragon Ranking, Yang Chengzhi would lose his last trump card.

In the end, this world still respected strength above all.

Only with strength could you look down on everything, command others' awe, and stand above morality and the law.

Those without strength could only submit to the will of the strong.

If Yang Chengzhi got pushed off the Dragon Ranking, he'd lose one more layer of protection. The academy would be able to expel him without a second thought.

Only the most gifted could earn the academy's favor and respect.

"Have you ever thought about wiping away your disgrace by defeating Xiaoyaozi in the Dragon Ranking Tournament a month from now?" Ma Feifei asked.

If Yang Chengzhi could defeat Xiaoyaozi a month from now and take the top spot on the Dragon Ranking, Zhenguan Academy couldn't possibly expel him. He'd not only be able to stay at the academy but also wipe away his disgrace. It would be the perfect outcome.

"How could I?" Yang Chengzhi shook his head. He'd thought about it, of course, but only in his dreams. There was no chance it could happen in reality.

Not even a Spirit Saint could help him reach the Spirit Sect realm in a month, let alone defeat Xiaoyaozi.

Xiaoyaozi had entered the Spirit Sect realm a year ago. After another year, what realm would a once-in-a-generation genius like him have reached?

Ma Feifei smiled mysteriously, turned, and took a book called The Legend of the Condor Heroes from the shelf. He set it down in front of Yang Chengzhi. "Why don't you give this book a read?"

Yang Chengzhi blinked. How had the conversation veered so far off course? He looked down at the book Ma Feifei had handed him. It had an exquisite blue cover, with the words The Legend of the Condor Heroes written across it.

"Some kind of miscellaneous book?" Yang Chengzhi asked in puzzlement.

He didn't understand why Ma Feifei had suddenly handed him a book and told him to read it. In his current situation and state of mind, could he even focus on a book?

"You've got nothing else to do, so why not sit here and read for the day? You can head back tomorrow." Ma Feifei pointed at The Legend of the Condor Heroes and smiled. "It's a good book. But just so you know, reading here costs one Spirit Crystal per hour."

"One Spirit Crystal!" This time, Yang Chengzhi was the one who stared in surprise.

As a student at Zhenguan Academy, he used Spirit Crystals all the time. That was precisely why he knew how valuable they were.

Cultivation required Spirit Crystals, of course, but so did buying rare treasures, cultivation techniques, and martial skills. Spirit Crystals were practically the currency of cultivators. With them, you could buy just about anything.

As a student ranked three hundredth on Zhenguan Academy's Dragon Ranking, Yang Chengzhi received a thousand Spirit Crystals each year as a reward. He also went out to hunt spirit beasts and earn more whenever he had a break from classes. He might have seemed well-off, but at his level, his expenses were huge. He earned and spent almost as much as he made, with barely any savings.

Right now, he had at most a few hundred Spirit Crystals on him.

At one Spirit Crystal per hour, reading all day would cost him more than ten. That was even faster than he spent Spirit Crystals while cultivating.

"Too expensive?" Ma Feifei frowned. This wasn't how the scene was supposed to go! As a student of Zhenguan Academy and a famous name on the Dragon Ranking, was Yang Chengzhi really complaining about one Spirit Crystal an hour? The bookstore had been open for so long, and aside from that poor girl Zhao Xiaodao, no one else had ever thought it was expensive.

"No, no." Yang Chengzhi hurriedly shook his head and took out ten Spirit Crystals to hand to Ma Feifei. "I've got nothing to do today anyway. It'll be nice to sit down and read for a while."

Ma Feifei took the Spirit Crystals and glanced at Yang Chengzhi. "Don't worry. You'll get your money's worth. Enjoy the book."

Yang Chengzhi watched Ma Feifei walk away, then looked at the book on the table. A smile suddenly spread across his face.

"Brother Ma is an interesting fellow."

"Let's give it a try, then." Yang Chengzhi picked up the book. "The Legend of the Condor Heroes? I've never heard of it."

It was probably some unknown, miscellaneous book, he thought.

With little expectation, Yang Chengzhi opened the book and began reading the first chapter, "A Stormy Night."

The mighty waters of the Qiantang River flowed endlessly day and night past Ox Village in Lin'an, then eastward into the sea. A row of dozens of Chinese tallow trees stood along the bank, their leaves as red as flames. It was the eighth month. The wild grass in front of and behind the village had just begun to turn yellow, and the slanting rays of the setting sun made the scene seem all the more desolate. A crowd of villagers had gathered beneath two great pine trees—men and women, along with more than a dozen children—all listening intently to a thin old man. The storyteller was in his fifties, and his blue cloth robe had been washed so often it had faded to a blue-gray.

He struck two pearwood clappers together a few times, then tapped a small drum with a bamboo stick in his left hand, setting it rattling. He sang:

"Peach blossoms bloom alone, with none to call them their own; Wild grasses stretch beneath the dusk, as crows return to roost. Broken walls ring old wells in scattered places— Once, every one of them was someone's home."

When he reached this part, Yang Chengzhi couldn't help murmuring, "That's a fine poem."

When he read how the Jin soldiers beat Ye Sanniang's family to death one by one, and how Ye Sanniang drew her knife and tried to kill one of them before taking her own life, Yang Chengzhi's calm heart stirred.

"How cruel those Jin soldiers are. How pitiful Ye Sanniang is."

Without realizing it, Yang Chengzhi had been drawn into the book. He forgot all his troubles and followed the words into the world they described.

By the time he finished the first chapter, "A Stormy Night," Ma Feifei had to call him back to himself.

"Brother Yang, the bookstore is closing," Ma Feifei said with a smile.

Yang Chengzhi had been reading since morning. He hadn't eaten lunch or gone to the toilet once, and he hadn't even lifted his eyes from the page. It was clear just how engrossed he'd become.

"Huh? Closing? Oh!" Yang Chengzhi finally came to his senses and reluctantly shut The Legend of the Condor Heroes.

"Here are the Spirit Crystals left over. Take them, Brother Yang." Ma Feifei returned the unused crystals, then gestured for him to leave.

Was The Legend of the Condor Heroes a good book? Yang Chengzhi couldn't say.

As far as the story went, it wasn't anything unusual. It was a common tale of war and people driven from their homes. The characters were all ordinary people. They couldn't cultivate, much less fly through the air or travel underground. They knew only simple swordplay and staff techniques, along with the ability to leap across rooftops.

For cultivators in a world of cultivation, this sort of story should have been impossible to enjoy.

Why? Because people read for wish fulfillment. Readers wanted to put themselves in a character's shoes and do things they couldn't in real life. Put simply, the story had to surpass reality—especially one with a heroic theme.

The fight scenes in The Legend of the Condor Heroes seemed no different from what ordinary people who couldn't cultivate could do in Yang Chengzhi's world. Leaping into a tree, swinging swords and blades—ordinary people could manage those things. And for a cultivator like Yang Chengzhi, they were nothing. Judging by the book's power levels, he figured he could sweep through its entire world.

Though he'd only read one chapter.

Still, he couldn't call the book bad. It had drawn him in.

But if someone asked him exactly what had captivated him, he really couldn't say. So he couldn't judge whether the book was any good.

"Maybe... I'll come back and read more tomorrow?" Yang Chengzhi thought on his way back.

As for returning to the academy...

Did it matter?

No, it didn't.