Chrysanthemum-Slaying Alliance

Wang Chong cupped his hands in a salute. He was still very grateful to this young Daoist.

Fang Jingru, however, gazed at the folding fan in his hand with great interest, leaving Wang Chong trembling with fear for quite a while. He was terrified that the man would suddenly shout, "So you're the lecher White Chrysanthemum!" and attack him. This man's martial arts were formidable, and he did not know whether he could match him.

Fang Jingru's interest in his folding fan actually came from a shared enthusiasm. He practiced the Celestial Master’s Mansion's Wind and Thunder Fan Divine Skill, and from the single exchange with Wang Chong earlier, he had recognized his opponent's Hundred Styles of Wind and Cloud from Wudang. These were two of the three most famous folding-fan martial arts in the world. The third was the Eastern Yi Demon Sect's Twelve Flower-Plucking Kills.

Fang Jingru suddenly chuckled and said, "Wudang and the Celestial Master’s Mansion are both among the Nine Daoist Lineages, so we should address each other as fellow disciples. Brother Wang Chong, your martial arts could be called transcendent. Those ordinary men of the martial world are no match for you at all. Why did you flee in such a panic?"

Wang Chong had actually realized that, had he not fled, he probably could have slaughtered that entire band of men in a dozen moves or so. But he had no experience, did he? He said sheepishly, "I've studied books since childhood. Though I'm also versed in martial arts, I've never fought anyone, so I panicked for a moment."

Fang Jingru could not help laughing heartily. "So that's how it is! Brother Wang Chong, there's no need to belittle yourself. With third- or fourth-rate fellows like those, you need only make a small move to cow them, and they'll naturally do as they're told."

Wang Chong was too embarrassed to say that they had looked down on him because he had "thrown up." After all, it was deeply humiliating. He could only cup his hands without a word.

Fang Jingru assumed he was thin-skinned and somewhat shy. With a flick of the ritual fan in his hand, he said, "Brother Wang Chong, you must also have come to hunt down the lecher White Chrysanthemum."

"Sixty-one outstanding young martial artists from our Seven Southern Provinces have formed an alliance, called the Chrysanthemum-Slaying Alliance!"

"I would especially like to invite you to join us, Brother Wang Chong, so we can unite our strength and rid the world of this lecher together."

Wang Chong was beginning to back out. The Chrysanthemum-Slaying Alliance did not sound like anything respectable. Besides, what if he himself was White Chrysanthemum?

Fang Jingru waved his folding fan and said with an air of mystery, "Brother Wang, let me tell you: our Chrysanthemum-Slaying Alliance is going to meet six of the Eight Beauties of Qingcheng this time. These six fairies are among the finest beauties in the martial world today. Don't you want to take a look? Meet them?"

Wang Chong thought, No! I don't want to look, I don't want to meet them, and I don't want to see them.

Just then, a firework suddenly shot into the sky in the distance. Even in daylight, it was extremely conspicuous. Fang Jingru hurriedly snapped his folding fan shut and said, "Sanlang and the others have encountered an enemy. Brother Wang Chong, let's hurry over to help."

Wang Chong truly did not know how to refuse. If he insisted on not going at a time like this, his behavior would only look more suspicious. He could only steel himself, use his lightness skill, and follow Fang Jingru. Fang Jingru wanted both to show off his lightness skill and to take the measure of this Wudang disciple, Wang Chong, so he unleashed the Celestial Master’s Mansion's secret lightness skill to its fullest. After racing several li, he heard that Wang Chong's breathing remained even as he followed close behind, matching him step for step. He could not help being secretly astonished, thinking, Who exactly is this man? Though I don't know every member of Wudang's younger generation, I've heard all their names. Anyone who has mastered the Hundred Styles of Wind and Cloud must be a capable martial artist, and with such extraordinary lightness skill as well, he shouldn't be a nameless nobody.

Could he be a secret disciple trained by one of Wudang's elders?

The Nine Daoist Lineages now all followed the rules laid down by the ancient Daoist sage, the Supreme Holy Dao Lord, dividing their disciples into five ranks: lay disciples, initiated disciples, inner-chamber disciples, true-inheritance disciples, and secret disciples. Lay disciples were like the secular disciples of Buddhism: the doors could be opened wide to admit them, they were taught only ordinary martial arts, and they faced few restrictions. Initiated disciples could access the foundational arts of their respective Daoist schools, giving them a higher starting point than ordinary martial artists. Inner-chamber disciples were already the backbone of their sects, and when they traveled the martial world, they could represent their sect's standing.

True-inheritance disciples were trained as legitimate successors and could receive a school's entire true inheritance. Yet a sect's innermost core was its secret disciples. Secret disciples were different from all the others. Often, not even one would appear in several decades, but once one did, all the Nine Daoist Lineages recognized him, and he could study the martial arts of every sect. He was the chosen guardian of the Daoist lineages, charged with protecting their tradition.

At the very least, a secret disciple had to be the seed of a future Great Grandmaster. Secret disciples of several generations had even stood at the very pinnacle of the world, able to spread a protective canopy over the Daoist schools, undaunted by the world's wind and rain.

The secret disciple currently acknowledged by all the Daoist lineages was Daoist Guanlong's second disciple from Taiyi Abbey. He was also one of the Seven Daoist Adepts. Though little known in the martial world, he enjoyed tremendous renown among Daoists.

No sooner had the thought arisen than Fang Jingru rejected it, telling himself, Impossible. Absolutely impossible.

If this man were a secret disciple, others might not know, but how could my master, one of the Four Great Celestial Masters, not know? With that thought, his curiosity grew all the greater.

Both men possessed excellent lightness skills, and they soon reached the place where the firework had been launched. Seven young people, each with a distinctive bearing, were attacking a tall man with all their might.

The man was powerfully built, with a saber in his right hand and a sword in his left. A savage, fierce presence poured from him, like a vicious wolf. Though he was plainly alone, he showed no fear, repeatedly unleashing perilous moves and seeming instead to hold the upper hand.

Yet not only Fang Jingru but even Wang Chong could tell that, fierce as the man appeared, each of the seven surrounding him possessed astonishing skills. Had they not all been worried about getting hurt and adopted a steady defensive strategy, the situation would never have come to this. Even with their current strategy of prioritizing their own safety, the tall man would undoubtedly lose if the battle dragged on a little longer.

Seeing that his "enemies" had gained two fresh reinforcements, and that Fang Jingru and Wang Chong both possessed superb lightness skills, with martial arts that seemed even better than those of the seven surrounding him, the tall man knew that prolonging the fight would bring him nothing but harm. With no desire to linger in battle, he suddenly let out a long howl and unleashed his last-resort technique combining saber and sword.

As a youth, he had become a disciple of the Turkic State Preceptor, Zhao Feishan, and learned a full repertoire of martial arts. He had created two arts of his own, one for saber and one for sword: the Ten Thousand Li Wild Sand Sword Technique and the Wolf God Killing Technique. With them, he had roamed unchallenged across the great grasslands, rarely meeting a worthy opponent.

Then, on one occasion, he encountered a youth from the Central Plains traveling through the grasslands. Seeing the youth's extraordinary martial arts, he felt the thrill of a hunter sighting prey and challenged him. That battle had been unbearably difficult, and he had suffered a crushing defeat. Afterward, he sought his master's advice on how to defeat his opponent. Zhao Feishan personally revised his disciple's saber and sword techniques, expanding the Ten Thousand Li Wild Sand Sword Technique from twenty-four moves to thirty-six, and reducing the Wolf God Killing Technique from eighteen forms to twelve kills. His martial prowess soared as a result. Relying on the Ten Thousand Li Wild Sand Sword Technique and Wolf God’s Twelve Kills revised by his master, he defeated powerful foes one after another and won the title of New Generation Wolf God of the Turks!

Yet very few knew that, besides revising his disciple's saber and sword techniques, Zhao Feishan had also created six forms combining saber and sword. He regarded these six forms as his last-resort skills and had used them only twice in his life.

...Qian Luoyi: Let me show off in the next chapter...