Dragon Tiger Pact, Qionghua Martial Assembly

Heaven had never been fair.

Some people were born clothed in brocade and fed on jade, surrounded by wealth and glory, while others were ground down into mud and filthy water, clawing and crawling their way forward.

Talent was something even less obtainable by wishing for it.

Even when Yang Erhu was at the peak of his prime, with his control over force barely reaching the level of "releasing and withdrawing at will," facing Hong Yuan fresh out of the Jade Wutong Immortal Realm, he still would not have dared say he was certain to win.

Yang Erhu reckoned it would be an eighty-twenty split!

The one with the higher odds of victory was naturally him.

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As long as his force struck the other party, he could decide the outcome, but it was not as though there was no chance of his boat capsizing in a gutter. With the slightest carelessness, he could also be beaten to death by the other party's wild punches.

Yang Erhu naturally did not know Hong Yuan was cheating with a hack. He could only sigh over the toughness of his young disciple's physique, tendons, and bones.

And now, after Hong Yuan had entered force and understood the marvelous uses of force, Yang Erhu was even farther from being his match!

Fortunately, he was a disciple of his Tiger-Subduing Sect.

"Teacher, let's talk about Grandmaster Dragon-Tiger and the Dragon-Subduing Sect..."

Hong Yuan brought the subject back.

In truth, combining the details with Meng Yue's confession, Hong Yuan already understood about seventy or eighty percent of the whole matter. As for the missing ten or twenty percent, after watching so many films, dramas, and novels, he could fill it in on his own.

Asking now was nothing more than wanting confirmation.

Hong Yuan already knew that Grandmaster Dragon-Tiger had taught the two disciples Zhang and Li, and that his mantle had been divided into the two lineages of Dragon-Subduing and Tiger-Subduing.

Memories surfaced in Yang Erhu's eyes, and he began to recount it.

Originally, although the two True Persons, Zhang and Li, had disputes and each found the other an eyesore, the two sects were not in the same prefecture after all. They might not even meet once in several years, so they were able to coexist in peace.

The problem arose a little over ten years ago, when True Person Li suddenly died.

True Person Li's death was an accident.

He had been in the midst of cultivation. Perhaps because he was old, there was a slight lapse in his control over qi and blood, and in that instant he suffered a backlash from his own force.

Then, because he had been cultivating alone with no one to save him, he directly breathed his last!

In the end, Zhang and Li were senior and junior brothers from the same sect. No matter how many grudges lay between them, once True Person Li died, True Person Zhang still had to come and mourn him.

Who would have thought that after the funeral rites were over, True Person Zhang would propose that the two sects had originally been one, and naturally ought to merge into a single sect, without distinction between one another.

Yang Erhu, his brother, and Wu Duxiong were all furious and flatly refused.

True Person Zhang settled for the next best thing and proposed observing the Tiger-Subduing secret transmission, only to be refused again.

That True Person Zhang did not force the issue either. He simply withdrew like that, and for the next few years, all was calm and tranquil—until the Qionghua Grand Gathering six years ago.

"The Qionghua Grand Gathering?!"

Hong Yuan was slightly surprised.

As a scholar, he naturally knew of the Qionghua Grand Gathering, and even yearned for it.

The Linjiang Prefecture where he lived was located in Ming Province.

Since ancient times, the land of Ming Province had been a gathering place for refined scholars and elegant gentlemen, poets and literary wanderers. Its graceful charm was known throughout the realm.

Literati liked to chant of wind and toy with the moon; in matters of romance, flowers, snow, and moonlight, once enough people gathered, elegant gatherings using flowers as their pretext naturally became more numerous.

And in Ming Province, the qionghua flower stood alone in splendor. A thousand blossoms clustered together like snow pressing down on the branch, its jade stamens exquisite, its hidden fragrance drifting. Its form and charm inspired nothing but praise.

Thus, every year when spring came in the third month and the qionghua flowers bloomed in full, it was also the grand occasion when poets and literary wanderers went out in spring, enjoying flowers and the moon.

At first, this had only been an activity for men of letters. Later, after several hundred years of evolution, it gradually became a celebration for everyone.

When the finest season for qionghua arrived, from princes, nobles, high officials, and dignitaries above, to common folk, peddlers, and porters below, all would take part.

All the prefectures and counties of Ming Province would hold events, but the liveliest place was still the provincial capital, Longyuan Prefecture.

From what Hong Yuan knew, every major brothel and pleasure house in Longyuan Prefecture would present its courtesan queens during the grand gathering, competing in beauty and drawing wealthy guests from all directions. They often threw around a thousand taels of gold, only to win a beauty's smile.

This was information Hong Yuan had heard from Fatty Huang.

But what did that have to do with martial artists?

Yang Erhu sighed softly and said:

"Ordinary people do not know that during the Qionghua Grand Gathering, martial artists likewise gather to hold a martial assembly. There is a small assembly once a year, generally attended only by martial artists of Longyuan Prefecture, while every three years there is a grand assembly.

"When the time comes, throughout all of Ming Province, any school or sect with a little power, or heroes who fancy themselves highly skilled, all swarm in to show off their abilities!"

Yang Erhu said, "At that martial assembly six years ago, Senior Zhang again proposed that our sects merge and unite. Back then, I could still be considered in my prime, and it was inevitable that my blood ran hot. If that True Person Zhang had tried to pressure me with his seniority, I naturally would not have agreed. But he first admitted he had been wrong, then pleaded sorrowfully, saying he was old and only wished to see Dragon and Tiger become one before he died. This... how could I refuse?"

Yang Erhu sighed again. "And, to speak from the heart, how could I not want to glimpse the Dragon-Subduing secret transmission and achieve the Momentum of Dragon and Tiger? So at the time, in a moment of heated impulse, I agreed."

Hong Yuan thought of Yang Erhu's joy when he saw the secret art "Grass on Wings," and knew this was his obsession.

"We discussed using the martial assembly as the time limit. We would compete in three matches, best two out of three, and the final victor would preside over Dragon and Tiger, while the loser would become a subordinate..."

Yang Erhu's voice paused. He closed his eyes slightly, and only after a long while did he say with a bitter expression, "But what I had not expected was that in only the first match, I lost."

"Three years ago, in the second match, my younger brother went up. Although he won that battle, the price he paid was also enormous. From then on, he could never practice martial arts again."

Yang Erhu's younger brother was none other than the father of Yang Lie, the wealthy gentleman living in the prefectural city.

"Both sides have one win and one loss each, so next March will be the final match. Originally, this fight should have been handled by Junior Brother Wu. For this battle, he even entered the army and tempered himself there for several years, but now..."

Yang Erhu's gaze settled on Hong Yuan, faint expectation showing in his eyes.

No wonder!

Hong Yuan understood at once. No wonder Yang Erhu had accepted him into the sect so easily, and had even poured out all kinds of secret teachings for him without holding anything back.

It was not that Yang Erhu was not a good man, but no matter how good someone was, if he treated a young fellow he had only just met this well, he had to be after something, right?

Hong Yuan did not think there was anything bad about it either. Yang Erhu wanted his good aptitude; he wanted the Tiger-Subduing Sect's secret teachings. Each took what he needed. As for the feelings between master and disciple, would they not slowly grow as they got along?

"Don't worry, Teacher. When the time comes, leave this fight to me."

Hong Yuan smiled.

Since he had taken the benefits, he naturally had to put in the effort. Besides, opening the [Taisui Blessed Land] required him to be number one in martial force; the path of staying low and playing safe was innately not meant for him. Since this Qionghua Martial Assembly could draw many experts there, there was no way he could miss it.

"Besides, it isn't even October yet. There's still almost half a year until the martial assembly. Isn't that more than enough time?"

With Hong Yuan's speed of progress, even he did not know what level he would have grown to by then.

Of course, Hong Yuan also understood that as his own strength increased, the difficulty of obtaining innate constitution and comprehension also rose greatly. For example, this time, he had killed Meng Yue, then cut down Old Third Yan at the docks, killing and injuring dozens of people before and after, yet he had not gained even the slightest thread of innate constitution or comprehension.

Yang Erhu held his tea and took another sip. A hint of thought appeared in his expression, but in the end, he still made his decision. "Wait here a moment. I have something for you."

After saying that, he stood and returned to the inner room.

Before long, Yang Erhu came back, now with an extra cloth bundle in his hands, which he carefully handed to Hong Yuan.

"Teacher, this is..."

"A handwritten secret manual left behind by your grandmaster, True Person Li!"