Heaven had never been fair.
Some were born to silks and fine food, wealth and splendor. Others were ground into the mud and had to claw their way through life.
Talent was harder still to ask for.
Even at the peak of his prime, Yang Erhu had only barely reached the level of Receive-and-Release-at-Will in his control of force. Faced with Hong Yuan just after he emerged from the Jade Wutong Immortal Realm, Yang Erhu would not have dared claim certain victory.
Yang Erhu reckoned the odds were eight to two!
Naturally, he had the better chance of winning.
One blow landing with force would decide the match. Still, a boat could capsize in a shallow ditch; one careless moment, and Hong Yuan's wild punches might beat him to death.
Yang Erhu had no idea Hong Yuan was cheating. He could only marvel at his young disciple's formidable physique and bones.
And now that Hong Yuan had learned to wield force and understood its uses, Yang Erhu was even further from being his match!
Fortunately, Hong Yuan was a disciple of the Tiger-Subduing Sect.
"Teacher, let's get back to Grandmaster Dragon-Tiger and the Dragon-Subduing Sect..."
Hong Yuan steered the conversation back on course.
Between what he had learned and Meng Yue's confession, Hong Yuan already knew most of the story. After all the shows and novels he had seen, he could fill in the few missing pieces himself.
He was asking now only to confirm it.
Hong Yuan knew Grandmaster Dragon-Tiger had taken True Person Zhang and True Person Li as disciples, then passed his legacy down through the Dragon-Subduing and Tiger-Subduing branches.
Recollection surfaced in Yang Erhu's eyes, and he began to tell the tale.
True Person Zhang and True Person Li had argued and could not stand the sight of each other. But their sects were in different prefectures, and they might not meet even once in several years, so they had managed to coexist in peace.
The trouble began over a decade ago, when True Person Li suddenly died.
True Person Li's death had been an accident.
While training, perhaps because of his age, his control over his vital energy and blood had slipped slightly. In an instant, his own force rebounded against him.
And because he had been training alone, with no one to save him, he died on the spot!
Whatever grievances lay between them, Zhang and Li had been fellow disciples under the same master. With True Person Li dead, True Person Zhang had to come pay his respects.
But after the memorial rites, True Person Zhang proposed that the two sects, originally one, should merge into a single sect without distinction.
Yang Erhu, his brother, and Wu Duxiong were furious and flatly refused.
True Person Zhang then asked to study the Tiger-Subduing Secret Transmission instead. They refused him again.
True Person Zhang did not press the matter. He simply left, and the next few years passed without a ripple, until the Qionghua Festival six years ago.
"The Qionghua Festival?!"
Hong Yuan was a little surprised.
As a scholar, he naturally knew of the Qionghua Festival. He had even longed to attend it.
Linjiang Prefecture, where he lived, lay in Ming Province.
Since ancient times, Ming Province had been a gathering place for refined scholars and poets. Its elegant spirit was renowned throughout the land.
Scholars loved to chant of wind and moon and indulge in flowers beneath the moonlight. As more of them gathered, literary outings centered on blossoms became increasingly common.
Of all Ming Province's flowers, the qionghua stood alone. A thousand blossoms clustered like snow weighing down the branches, their jade-white centers delicate and an elusive fragrance drifting on the air. Its beauty and grace drew praise from all who saw it.
Thus, every spring in the third month, when the qionghua bloomed, scholars and poets held a grand celebration, venturing out to enjoy the flowers and the moon.
At first, it had been an event for men of letters alone. Over centuries, it gradually became a festival for everyone.
When the qionghua season arrived, all took part, from princes, nobles, and powerful officials down to common folk, peddlers, and laborers.
Every prefecture and county in Ming Province held festivities, but the liveliest were in Longyuan Prefecture, where the provincial capital stood.
From what Hong Yuan knew, the brothels and pleasure houses of Longyuan Prefecture all presented their leading courtesans during the festival to vie for beauty. Wealthy patrons flocked in from all directions, often spending a thousand gold pieces just to win a beauty's smile.
Hong Yuan had heard that much from Fatty Huang.
But what did any of this have to do with martial artists?
Yang Erhu sighed softly.
"Ordinary people don't know this, but martial artists gather during the Qionghua Festival to hold an assembly as well. There's a small one every year, attended mostly by martial artists from Longyuan Prefecture, and a grand one every three years.
"When that happens, every school and sect with any influence in Ming Province, along with heroes who fancy themselves skilled fighters, come swarming in to show what they can do!"
Yang Erhu said, "At the assembly six years ago, Senior Zhang proposed merging the two sects again. I was still in my prime then, and hot-blooded. If True Person Zhang had tried to throw his seniority around, I would never have agreed. But he admitted he had been wrong, then pleaded with us. He said he was old and only wanted to see Dragon and Tiger become one before he died. How... how could I refuse?"
Yang Erhu sighed again. "And to tell the truth, I wanted to see the Dragon-Subduing Secret Transmission myself and attain the Momentum of Dragon and Tiger. So my head heated up, and I agreed."
Hong Yuan remembered Yang Erhu's delight when he saw the secret Grass on Wings technique. He knew this had become an obsession for his teacher.
"We agreed to settle it at the martial assemblies. Three bouts, best of three. The ultimate winner would lead Dragon Tiger, while the loser would become subordinate..."
Yang Erhu paused and closed his eyes slightly. A long while passed before he said bitterly, "But I never expected to lose the very first bout."
"Three years ago, my younger brother fought the second bout. He won, but paid a terrible price. He has never been able to practice martial arts since."
Yang Erhu's younger brother was Yang Lie's father, the wealthy man living in the Prefectural City.
"Each side has one win and one loss, so the final bout will be next year, in the third month. Junior Brother Wu was supposed to fight. He even joined the army and spent years honing himself for that bout. But now..."
Yang Erhu looked at Hong Yuan, faint hope in his eyes.
No wonder!
It dawned on Hong Yuan why Yang Erhu had accepted him as a disciple so readily and even taught him every secret transmission he had.
It was not that Yang Erhu was a bad man. But however good a person he was, treating a young man he had only just met so well meant he had to want something in return, didn't it?
Hong Yuan saw nothing wrong with that. Yang Erhu wanted his talent; he wanted the Tiger-Subduing Sect's secret transmissions. They each got what they needed, and the bond between teacher and disciple could grow with time.
"Don't worry, Teacher. Leave that bout to me."
Hong Yuan smiled.
Having taken the benefits, he naturally had to do his part. Besides, opening the Taisui Blessed Land required him to be the strongest in combat. Lying low had never been an option for him. If the Qionghua Martial Assembly drew so many experts, there was no way he could miss it.
"Besides, it's not even the tenth month yet. There's almost half a year until the assembly. Isn't that more than enough time?"
At the rate Hong Yuan was improving, even he had no idea how strong he would be by then.
Of course, Hong Yuan also knew that as his strength grew, gaining Root Bone and Comprehension became much harder. He had killed Meng Yue and cut down Old Third Yan at the docks, killing or injuring dozens of people in all, yet had gained not the slightest bit of either.
Yang Erhu lifted his tea and took another sip. Thought flickered across his face before he finally made up his mind. "Wait here a moment. I have something for you."
With that, he rose and went into the inner room.
A short while later, Yang Erhu returned with a cloth-wrapped bundle and carefully held it out to Hong Yuan.
"Teacher, what is this..."
"A handwritten secret manual left by your grandmaster, True Person Li!"
Before you continue