But this time, as soon as he took the first step, his equipped Trait suddenly vanished.
Wu Shuangren had encountered this before. When he fought Peng Tianlang, Liao Yu and Mo Zhengshang had suddenly arrived and joined him in attacking Peng Tianlang.
The fight had gone from one-on-one to many against one, no longer meeting the conditions for equipping [Match for One Person], so the Trait vanished.
This time, it was just the opposite. Wu Shuangren had gone from one-on-one to one against many, which likewise failed to meet the conditions for equipping the Trait, so it vanished.
"Stop a moment."
Wu Shuangren raised a hand, signaling the three veterans to stop, and stood there thinking.
During the first round, [Match for One Person] didn't disappear. It was in effect the whole time. But in the second round, the Trait disappeared when all three charged me at once. What was different?
Wu Shuangren thought it over, then signaled for the three veterans to charge him again.
The three of them did not really understand what they were doing.
But after several days of training, Wu Shuangren had begun to establish his authority, and the three had grown accustomed to obeying orders.
Without giving it much thought, the three stood side by side and charged Wu Shuangren again.
This time, Wu Shuangren did not charge straight at them. Instead, he focused on the veteran on the far left and chose to circle around.
Moving faster, he circled to the left and, before all three had finished turning, closed in and "killed" the veteran on the far left first.
He then "killed" the remaining two in turn.
Now Wu Shuangren understood the key.
As long as I consciously intend to fight multiple enemies at once, I don't meet the conditions for equipping the Trait. Even when it's one against many, I have to focus my attention on one person first. The order of battle has to be: deal with the first, then the second... I can't fight multiple enemies at the same time.
Wu Shuangren sparred with the three veterans several more times, repeatedly confirming his guess.
He sent the three veterans back inside to sleep and stayed outside alone, pondering beneath the night sky.
As things stand, [Match for One Person] is best suited to encounters on narrow roads, duels between generals before their armies, or matches in an arena. The stronger the enemy I face, the greater my advantage. On a chaotic battlefield, using [Match for One Person] to fight ordinary soldiers would actually be inefficient.
And a battlefield melee is many against many, so every now and then I might fail to meet the conditions for equipping the Trait. Unless I deliberately put myself alone in the thick of battle and charge into the enemy ranks by myself. But in that case, to keep the Trait equipped, I'd have to focus most of my attention on a single target, leaving me wide open to sneak attacks. On top of that, I couldn't use moves like Night Battle in Eight Directions or Sweeping Away a Thousand Soldiers to "clear out soldiers"...
Wu Shuangren could not help frowning.
He had to find a way to solve this problem.
P.S. Starting today, I'll try to release three chapters a day. I hope everyone will keep up with the daily updates and help this book go further. A new book really needs those daily reader numbers. Thank you.
Chapter 49: Night Raid
In a one-on-one fight, Wu Shuangren could easily claim the title of "number one under heaven" with the help of his Trait!
But in this world, others would not always fight him one-on-one.
Without a powerful faction to protect him, too much fame would only make him more vulnerable to ambushes and underhanded attacks.
Moreover, once his Internal Skill cultivation advanced, he would need nourishing food, which only a powerful faction could provide as well.
The Grandmasters of this world were either rulers in their own right or honored guests of powerful factions.
Rather than risk his life in someone else's service, Wu Shuangren only wanted to build a faction of his own.
So he was not content with fighting one-on-one. He also wanted the ability to charge into battle, cut down enemy generals, and seize their banners!
After turning it over in his mind, Wu Shuangren realized that aside from constantly improving his own true martial strength, he could only hope for his Trait to advance.
The stronger he was, the faster he could defeat opponents weaker than himself.
Once the Trait advanced, any new changes might also improve his ability to fight one against many.
The next day, Wu Shuangren cultivated and trained the militia as usual.
That evening, he first sparred with Liao Yu for two hours.
Then he called five veterans over to surround and attack him.
The pressure was entirely different from facing three. With five working together, no matter which direction Wu Shuangren attacked from, he would face attacks from at least two spears at once.
If he focused on one, he was liable to be stabbed by another.
This time, Liao Yu and Wu Dongrong watched from the sidelines.
Wu Shuangren told them he was deliberately holding back his Internal Skill, solely to practice fighting one against many and to give the militia more experience surrounding and attacking martial artists.
So the two began to truly act as instructors-
One taught the militiamen how to fight in coordination, while the other taught Wu Shuangren how to stay alive when facing attacks from multiple people on the battlefield and how to kill enemies as efficiently as possible.
Under Liao Yu and Wu Dongrong's guidance, Wu Shuangren and the militiamen "fought" one another again and again.
A little over ten li outside Yi Prefecture City.
Mist Hidden Mountain.
The mountain was shrouded in clouds and mist all year round. Looking toward it from atop the walls of Yi Prefecture City, one could see its peaks appearing and disappearing through the haze, hence the name Mist Hidden Mountain.
Of course, what truly made the mountain famous was Mist Hidden Temple upon it.
More than eighty years ago, an eminent monk built a temple on Mist Hidden Mountain, beginning the legacy of Mist Hidden Temple.
From a life of oil lamps and ancient Buddhas, untouched by worldly affairs, to becoming the leading power in Yi Province's martial world, Mist Hidden Temple had taken less than twenty years.
After that, relying on a steady succession of experts, Mist Hidden Temple continually expanded its power. It maintained more and more monk soldiers, absorbed more and more farmland, and wielded ever greater influence.
By now, Mist Hidden Temple had become a behemoth in Yi Province!
Today was Chief Steward Hong of Mist Hidden Temple's birthday, but unlike in previous years, he had not held a birthday feast in Yi Prefecture City and invited a host of important figures.
For some reason, Chief Steward Hong had chosen to return to Mist Hidden Temple on his birthday this year and recite Buddhist scriptures alone in the shrine hall.
Though he was not holding a feast, others could hardly refrain from sending gifts.
Thus, from dawn until dusk, a continuous stream of people climbed the mountain, and every prominent figure in Yi Prefecture City sent someone bearing a congratulatory gift.
Even the prefect of Yi Province had made a point of sending a gift!
In a shrine hall on the mountain behind Mist Hidden Temple.
The man whose birthday it was knelt alone before the Buddhist shrine, a string of prayer beads in his hands. His eyes were closed as he turned the beads and chanted under his breath.
This man was Mist Hidden Temple's Chief Steward Hong-Hong Zhanming.
He had a round face that looked very kind, with small eyes and large ears. When he smiled, he resembled Maitreya.
If he shaved his head and put on a monk's robe, he would look every bit an eminent monk.
After finishing the scripture, Hong Zhanming slowly opened his eyes, sorrow in his gaze.
"Worldly passions fall away, sacred intent is empty... I named you Hong Fan back then in the hope that you would live free of worldly passions and attain peace. Alas..."
Hong Zhanming murmured.
He had not wanted to entrust the matter in Bo County to Hong Fan, but he could not withstand the young man's repeated pleas. He also felt guilty for never acknowledging him as his son, so he had finally agreed.
He had never imagined that this decision would cost Hong Fan his life!
"Master Hong."
Outside the shrine hall, a man came to report. "We just received a message by carrier pigeon. Huang Guan and the others have reached Bo County. They can make their move tonight."
Hong Zhanming rose and turned to look at him.
"Also, Luo You's family have all been captured. How would you like us to deal with them, Master Hong?"
the man asked.
Hong Zhanming said nothing. Holding his hand like a blade, he drew it twice across his neck.
His subordinate understood, bowed, and withdrew.
The low sound of chanting once again filled the shrine hall.
Before the Buddhist shrine, Hong Zhanming wore a devout expression.
Bo County.
The third watch of the night, eleven o'clock.
The night was deep and quiet. The entire county town lay under darkness, with only a few lights shining.
On the walls, constables from the constabulary and archers from the county yamen stood night watch.
Ever since Hong Fan was killed, Liao Yu had assigned more men to night watch, and Xu Jing had also ordered the town's defenses strengthened.
The bonfires on the walls burned all night, and patrols passed at regular intervals. There was no way Peng Tianlang's gang could have climbed the walls and entered town as silently as they had before.
As the men on night watch stood bored and somewhat drowsy, a fire suddenly appeared in the distance.
Then came the sound of a dense drumming of hooves.
"A cavalry party!"
"Quick, sound the gong-"
Beneath the night sky, more than a hundred riders were approaching the county town!
The riders carried torches, looking like a fire dragon from afar.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The night watchmen sounded the bronze warning gong, shattering the stillness of the night.
A short while later, Wu Shuangren was the first to lead several dozen trained militiamen onto the walls.
Soon, Wu Dongrong, Liao Yu, and Xu Jing arrived with men of their own.
The two people in charge of the Mo Family also brought men up onto the walls.
"Damn it, are these bastards really going to attack the town?"
Liao Yu cursed under his breath, his expression tense.
He was not the only one. Everyone on the walls was nervous.
The cavalry outside the town did not approach the walls. They merely lined up in the distance, their torches forming an unbroken stretch of firelight, an imposing sight.
As soon as the warning gong sounded, everyone on the walls had their attention drawn to the approaching cavalry. No one noticed two figures silently climbing over the wall from another direction and entering the town.
Once inside, the two used the shadows as cover and moved swiftly.
A short while later, they arrived outside the medical clinic run by Xu Nanzhi.
"This is it. We've got the right place."
One of them spoke in a low voice.
"Let's go."
Their footsteps made no sound as they circled around to the clinic's rear courtyard and slipped silently over the wall.
Hong Zhanming had not taken this retaliation against Wu Shuangren lightly.
After the news reached Yi Prefecture City, he had first sent people to make detailed inquiries about what had happened in Moxian Tower that day.
When he learned that Wu Shuangren had first killed Wei Laohei, then killed Luo You one-on-one without suffering any injuries, Hong Zhanming regarded him as a first-rate expert.
Killing a first-rate expert inside the county town would be too difficult.
So Hong Zhanming had settled on his current plan-
Have someone kidnap Xu Nanzhi and take her out of town, then threaten her life to force Wu Shuangren to come out.
If Wu Shuangren refused to leave town, they would kill Xu Nanzhi and first give him a taste of losing a loved one!
Chapter 50: A Thousand Turns of the Tide