A rainbow-robed melody above a thousand peaks, a dance that shattered the Central Plains before descending

East Emperor Abbey!

A young Daoist was speaking with impassioned fervor, his gestures brimming with youthful vigor.

Dozens of young people were likewise stirred with excitement, their ambitions soaring.

Anyone deeply familiar with the figures of the martial world would have been startled to see this gathering of young people.

Almost every outstanding young martial artist from the seven southern provinces of the Central Plains was inside this Daoist abbey.

The young Daoist declaiming so loudly was Fang Jingru, hailed as the greatest expert of the Celestial Master Sect's seventeenth generation. His mastery of the Wind and Thunder Fan was said to rival that of his teacher, Zhang Huofang, one of the current Four Celestial Masters.

The cold-faced young man in the corner, who had kept his hand on his sword and sneered without a word, was Zhou Yuchen, the Kongtong Sect's senior disciple. Alone with his sword, he had taken on eighteen Greenwood Strongholds and won resounding fame, and was beginning to be regarded as the foremost swordsman of the younger generation in the southern martial world.

One man had rugged, archaic features, a very broad face, and a powerful build. Every movement carried tremendous presence and imposing dignity, and considerable resentment showed on his face. His surname was Qin, his given name Han, and his courtesy name Liaokong. He held the Principal Fifth Rank office of Left Martial Guard Zhechong Commandant. Rumor had it that he had long since cultivated his family's martial arts to the point where he could match ten thousand men, and he ranked among the three fiercest generals of the army's younger generation.

Among these young people were another six or seven whose martial arts, reputations, family backgrounds, and origins were no less impressive than those of these three. Even the reigning empress could not have assembled such a force, yet today, for the sake of one man, they had cast aside all their reserve. They had gathered at East Emperor Abbey for no other purpose than one man, one infamous man-the world's foremost sexual predator, White Chrysanthemum.

Even if they all had to join forces and gang up on him, they would stop at nothing to kill this predator who brought calamity upon the people.

If that predator appeared now, at least fifteen or sixteen peerless arts would come hurtling at him, and he would have to die in at least seventy or eighty different ways. Even a grandmaster who barged in here would certainly come off badly.

Fang Jingru spoke with righteous indignation for the time it took an incense stick to burn before finally stepping down. Another outstanding young man rushed forward and began an endless, furious denunciation of the predator White Chrysanthemum.

After stepping down, Fang Jingru gave a slight shiver and stopped listening. The abbey was crowded, and when he found the privy, several people were waiting outside. He turned away toward the rear mountain, climbed over the wall, and found a deserted spot beneath a tree so broad that several people together could barely encircle it. Just as he was about to open his trousers and let himself go to his heart's content, he heard a sharp, girlish cry: "You little predator! You lecher! Shameless!" A dark figure sprang up, all ten fingers hooked into claws, and seized toward several vital acupoints across his body.

Startled, Fang Jingru instinctively thrust out a palm. The Wind and Thunder Fan Divine Skill, a direct-line inheritance of the Celestial Master Sect, swept forth with mighty wind and thunder to meet the dark figure's claw force.

The claw force released by the dark figure divided into seven streams. These seven streams of internal force resisted, touched, guided, circled, entwined, turned, and adhered, drawing Fang Jingru's wind and thunder True Qi into the figure's body, channeling it into the Hand Shaoyang Sanjiao Meridian, shifting it to the Hand Yangming Large Intestine Meridian, and returning it through the Hand Shaoyin Heart Meridian.

How could Fang Jingru possibly have imagined that such a wondrous, mysterious art existed in the world? Injured by his own rebounding wind and thunder force, he gave a muffled grunt and nearly spat blood.

Just then, the dark figure swept both hands, sending seven or eight "hidden weapons" flying with shrill whistles through the air. Unable to circulate his internal force, he was struck in several acupoints, and his body instantly stiffened, leaving him unable to move.

Fang Jingru was utterly horrified. He prided himself on his formidable martial arts and believed that, apart from the experts of the older generation, few in the world could match him. He thought nothing even of the outstanding talents gathered at East Emperor Abbey today, yet he had never imagined that someone would subdue him within a few moves, leaving his life and death in another's hands.

A little girl of thirteen or fourteen casually shook a few beans onto the ground. These were what she had just used to strike Fang Jingru's acupoints. She kicked him irritably and cursed again, "You wretched, scruffy Daoist! Utterly filthy!"

The little girl had a lovely face and lush beauty. Dressed in splendid brocade, she was charming and aristocratic, clearly a young lady from a wealthy household.

Fang Jingru did not know why this girl had ambushed him. He was deeply alarmed and unbearably humiliated. Just then, a long cry suddenly rang out, followed by a steady, weighty voice: "What fiend dares run wild at East Emperor Abbey?" Recognizing Qin Han's voice, he was overjoyed and wanted to call for help, but was too ashamed to speak.

A moment later, sounds of clashing forces rang out. He struggled to lift his head and saw the little girl puffing out her cheeks in anger, her hands fluttering through the air like butterflies threading among flowers as she unleashed killing move after killing move.

Qin Han could not strike as quickly as she could. After exchanging seven or eight moves, he let his guard slip, and the little girl struck his shoulder with a finger. His Qi and blood surged, and he inwardly lamented his plight. I was already doing everything I could, even using my family's supreme secret method to drive my Qi and blood, yet I'm still no match for her. Who is this girl? How can her martial arts be so astonishingly powerful? She may well be a match for Wu Hook Frost Snow and Chess Sword Linglong.

Zhou Yuchen drew a deep breath. Hearing the sounds of a martial contest from this direction, he had followed out of curiosity. When he saw Fang Jingru with his acupoints sealed and Qin Han gravely injured by a single finger strike, his face crimson, he knew he might not be a match for her either. From a distance, he locked onto the little girl, who was as beautiful as a spirit descended from heaven, preparing to overpower her with his internal force and seize the opportunity to ambush her while Qin Han kept her occupied, killing this terrifying foe within a few moves.

The little girl suddenly looked back and smiled sweetly, like a hundred flowers blooming at once, peach blossoms smiling and plum blossoms glowing. Zhou Yuchen's heart faltered slightly, and the move into which he had poured his full spirit and vigor developed the tiniest flaw. Then his chest went numb, and the Kongtong internal force he had driven to its utmost suddenly poured out. Unable to stop himself from spitting a mouthful of blood, he immediately collapsed to the ground...

The little girl pursed her lips in mild vexation, looking resentful, angry, and a little aggrieved. Gazing at the three outstanding young martial artists of the seven southern provinces sprawled every which way on the ground, she muttered to herself, "This is Jade Slave's first time down the mountain. I only wanted to find a target with some weight to him. Who knew Heaven's plans would trump my own, and I'd end up... fighting a bunch of small fry first."

"I wanted to save my first fight for that predator White Chrysanthemum and take his head as a little gift to mark the completion of my training. You've all ruined it."

"How very annoying."

...Jade Slave: I was originally supposed to be Yang Yuhuan...

...Emperor Xuanzong of Tang: Why is there a faint green tint above my head...

...Prince of Shou: That's called imperial cuckold green...