And There Was Still Him

"Senior Brother Chen, did something big happen again today?"

After the routine sparring session ended, one of the bolder trainees asked Chen Ming that.

Whenever something major happened, Hong Mingquan and Zhang Mingyu would be absent. Last time, it had been when Huo Qianqian refused Wen Zehao's marriage proposal.

Something big must have happened today.

The trainees had long been whispering about it in private.

Seeing their gossip-hungry faces, as though they were all hoping for something to happen to spice up their dull training lives, Chen Ming said, "Nothing much. A distinguished guest came to the manor. All right, go back now."

Upon hearing that, the trainees grew curious and pressed him about what sort of distinguished guest it was.

Chen Ming ignored them and left on his own.

He did not know either.

Just as he was about to pass through the courtyard gate, he spotted someone leaning against the moon gate, a foxtail grass stem dangling from his mouth and a longsword cradled in his arms.

Eh, wasn't this one of the five people who had arrived today?

Chen Ming recognized him at a glance. He gave a slight nod and was about to pass through the moon gate.

The man extended his sword, blocking his path.

Chen Ming asked, "Brother, why are you blocking my way?"

The man looked him over from head to toe and asked with interest, "Which of Martial Uncle Huo's disciples are you?"

Chen Ming shook his head. "I am not Old Huo's disciple."

"Your Three Powers Fist is practiced quite well. It is rare to find someone as patient as you, willing to feed moves to those little fellows. When I first started learning martial arts, if I'd had a senior brother like you, I definitely would have learned Three Powers Fist much faster."

"You flatter me."

Chen Ming responded modestly.

This man called Huo Chengkun Martial Uncle, which meant the distinguished guests who had come today were Huo's fellow disciples.

Seeing that the other man had no intention of letting him leave, he asked directly, "May I ask why this senior brother is blocking my path?"

The man spat out the foxtail grass and smiled. "You cannot leave yet. You need to come somewhere with me."

"What if I refuse?"

The smile vanished from the man's face. "Don't force me to make a move."

"...Where are we going?"

Chen Ming had always known how to take advice.

He did not know this man's background, so naturally he would not rashly make a move.

Besides, the situation was still unclear.

This man was in someone else's home, yet he still dared act so arrogantly, showing no regard for the owner at all. What was he relying on?

The man could not help laughing. "Brother, you truly know which way the wind blows. Come with me."

Chen Ming followed behind the man all the way to the front courtyard, still guessing what these people had come to Huo Manor for.

The moment he entered the front courtyard, he saw two people fighting.

One of them was Zhao An, the eldest senior brother who rarely showed himself. He wielded a saber.

His opponent was also one of the five riders Chen Ming had seen that morning, and he wielded a sword.

Saber Qi crisscrossed the courtyard, while Sword Qi glimmered with chilling severity.

Chen Ming was immediately drawn in.

These two were at least Eighth Rank cultivators. Battles at this level were not something one encountered easily.

Besides the two combatants, there were several others in the courtyard.

Zhang Mingyu, Hong Mingquan, Wen Zehao, Huo Qianqian, and Du Juan, the Second Senior Sister who had already married, were all there. Among Huo Chengkun's disciples, everyone except the fourth and sixth disciples had arrived.

Yet they all looked rather bedraggled, with several tears in their clothing.

Zhang Mingyu was even injured.

It appeared they had all just gone through a battle—and suffered no small loss.

By contrast, the man and woman on the other side were both composed and at ease.

The Blue-Robed Woman even complained, "Second Senior Brother, why did you take so long?"

The man who had brought Chen Ming over smiled. "Huo Manor is too large. I nearly got lost."

"Is this man Huo Chengkun's disciple too?"

"No."

"Then why did you bring him here?"

"I think this man must have a great deal to do with Martial Uncle Huo."

Chen Ming paid no attention to their conversation. All his focus was on the battle between the two men.

He imagined himself in their place and felt that, if it were him, he would not last three moves against either of them.

After all, they were separated by an entire major realm.

Moreover, the saber and sword techniques they used were far more profound than the Bagua Saber Technique.

After watching for a while, he suddenly felt something was off. "Strange. Why are these two men's moves so similar?"

Though one used a saber and the other a sword, their moves were nearly identical, differing only somewhat in style.

What Zhao An used should have been Huo Chengkun's most famous Five Elements Saber Technique, taught only to personal disciples.

That swordsman might have come from the same school, but he used swordsmanship. Yet his swordsmanship employed the same moves as the saber technique. Could it be that the ancestors of this sect had simply been too lazy?

By then, their clash had reached a white-hot stage.

Chen Ming could sense that Zhao An was going all out. The saber in his hand danced into a mass of saber light, moving so fast it was almost impossible to see.

Yet his opponent reduced complexity to simplicity and thrust out with a single sword.

Clang!

A thunderous crash rang out.

Pain stabbed through Chen Ming's eardrums. He saw a long saber fly into the air, tumble several times, then plunge into the ground with a ringing clang.

Zhao An stood there in a daze, the web between his thumb and forefinger split open, his palm trembling without end. He seemed unable to accept the fact that he had been defeated.

"Good!"

"What a Golden Crow Descends!"

"Haha, all of you have lost!"

The two men and one woman at the side applauded and cheered.

The faces of those from Huo Manor turned even uglier. Huo Qianqian bit her lips tight, her eyes red-rimmed, nearly biting her lips until they bled.

The swordsman in the arena sheathed his sword and said flatly, "Your strength is not bad. Unfortunately, you turned swordsmanship into saber techniques. You took the wrong road from the very beginning. Naturally, you are no match for me."

Zhao An abruptly raised his head at those words, grief and indignation mingling in his eyes. He snapped, "Surname Guo, I lost because my skills are inferior. You have no right to slander my master's saber technique."

The man did not argue with him, merely saying, "Whether that is true or not, ask your master yourself. All right, since all of you have lost to us martial brothers, according to our prior agreement, you should submit to our disposal."

At those words, Zhang Mingyu, Hong Mingquan, and the others all changed expression drastically.

Zhao An, however, was straightforward. Raising his head, he said, "Since we lost, we have nothing to say. Kill or carve us up as you please!"

The man surnamed Guo turned around and called toward the main hall, "Martial Uncle Huo, you heard that, didn't you? As long as you listen to my master and hand over that item, your nephew will not make things difficult for these junior brothers and sisters. Otherwise, do not blame your nephew for being ruthless."

After a moment, Huo Chengkun's voice came from within the main hall. "Junior Sister, why must you do this? I told you, that item is not with me..."

Then came an old woman's shrill voice. "Senior Brother, do you still not understand? You have spent more than ten years in this place, devoting yourself to taking in disciples and changing the sect's swordsmanship beyond recognition, turning it into saber techniques to teach your disciples. And what use has that been? They cannot even defeat my disciples.

"Senior Brother, you want to pass down the sect's torch and flame in this manner. The sect's inheritance will only grow weaker and weaker. Among these disciples of yours, is there even one who can amount to anything?"

"Could it be that you want the sect's ultimate arts to be severed here and now? When you descend to the Yellow Springs in the future, what face will you have to meet the ancestors of our sect?"

"..."

The information revealed by the conversation in the main hall was so overwhelming that the people outside were left dumbfounded.

Chen Ming, especially as an outsider, grew increasingly uneasy as he listened. By some twist of fate, he had overheard such a secret. Once this was over, would Huo Chengkun silence him forever?

After that, no further sound came from the main hall.

The people outside waited with growing anxiety.

"Hold it!"

Suddenly, Huo Qianqian shouted, "We have not lost yet."

The Blue-Robed Woman mocked, "Oh? Does this little sister intend to go back on her word?"

"Who is going back on their word?" Huo Qianqian said. "We agreed from the beginning that you had to defeat every one of us for it to count. As long as one person can defeat you, then we win. We may have lost, but there is still him!"

As she spoke, she pointed at Chen Ming. "He has not lost yet."