Nightfall

The monk could not wait to smash his staff into Cat Girl and turning her into mush and still wanted to scream that Buddha was benevolent. That was why Ning Que said that he did not seem to understand what being benevolent meant as he held the podao against the monk’s neck.

The skin on the monk’s neck trembled beneath the blade. He looked at Ning Que’s clothing in surprise and said hoarsely, “You’re Tang?”

Ning Que nodded.

The monk forced himself to calm down. He looked to the other side of the blade and said, “What you have done is called a sneak attack.”

Ning Que did not look at him, but at the snowflakes that landed on the blade and said, “If you say so.”

The monk did not expect this answer and was stunned speechless. His shadowed face beneath the bamboo hat stiffened in anger. He said, “Are you going to be unreasonable?”

Ning Que smiled at him. “You weren’t being reasonable either.”

The monk was speechless.

Ning Que looked at him and asked, “How shall we end this?”

The monk’s eyes brightened slightly. He said, “I’m not satisfied. Let’s have a go again.”

Cat Girl who was listening to the conversation from the side said sarcastically, “Aren’t you feeling ashamed? You were the one who made a sneak attack, but said that we crept up on you. Why should we fight you again?”

Ning Que seemed not to have heard her. He moved the podao away from the monk’s throat. He moved back a distance away from the monk.

The monk looked at him silently before removing his bamboo hat with his right hand, revealing a bald head covered with green cloth as well alert eyes. He did not know who the young man who had suddenly appeared was and could not sense his state. There were only two possibilities. The young Tang lad was of a state way higher than his, or that he wasn’t a cultivator.

Had he entered the Seethrough State at such a young age? The monk felt that the possibility of this was too small. Furthermore, Ning Que’s impressive shooting and sword skills did not seem to be that of a cultivator. As such, he was pretty certain that he was an ordinary person. If this was so, how would he be able to defeat a cultivator like himself again?

The monk from Yuelun Kingdom looked at Ning Que and took a deep breath. His dark feet plunged into the ground and melted the snow around it. The prayer beads stuck to the tree by a single arrow shuddered violently before pulling lose. It flew straight at the monk who caught it with his right hand.

“Go ahead.”

The monk said to Ning Que with a heavy gaze which turned ferocious in a split second. His black prayer beads spun up in the air. His metal staff followed closely behind, smashing towards Ning Que with a lound crack.

Dried leaves, snow and mud flew as they splattered in the battle. The Qi of Heavena and Earth rang in dissonance as if it was about to explode.

Ning Que held on to the hilt of the podao with both hands. The hilt was wrapped with hemp ropes used to absorb sweat. As his fingers grazed over the familiar ropes, he stared at the oncoming staff and the floating prayer beads without flinching.

Just as the prayer beads rose to the highest of heights and almost disappearing from sight, he bent his knees slightly and leapt like a snow fox after its prey.

The distance between the two pulled closer. He flipped and the podao flicked upwards, hitting the prayer beads which were about to wrap itself around the blade.

This was followed by an ear-piercing screech of the two objects rubbing against each other. The sharp blade managed to stop the prayer beads from spinning. Ning Que turned his wrist, and flicked the prayer beads away with his podao.

The prayer beads soared into the air and disappeared within the snow. The monk’s dark face turned pale as he realised that he couldn’t locate his natal beads with his sense of perception. He had suffered an inperceptible injury.

Ning Que’s first blow was successful and he wouldn’t stop there. He stepped forward as the podao fell behind him naturally. He twisted and held the hilt tightly with both hands, bringing down the podao with his entire might.

The blade tore through the air and falling snowflakes.

And hit the metal staff that was about to hit his face.

There was a loud, thunder-like crash.

A soft tear.

A deeper cut appeared on the tattered robes. Fresh blood bloomed on the cotton.

He kicked the monk on his knee with his right leg and twisted his wrist. The slender podao flipped in the air and hit the monk’s throat with force, forcing back the agonized scream that was about to be released.

The monk landed on one knee as blood dribbled from the corner of his mouth and the deep cut on his chest. He looked extremely scary and pitiful. In reality, Ning Que had controlled himself and the monk was in no danger of dying. However, he paled even further after sensing the cold prickling on the back of his neck.

Surprise, fear and confusion flashed through his eyes. He did not understand. Forgoing what had just happened, how did a seemingly normal person manage to get rid of his prayer beads and force himself into such a hopeless state?

In a matter of seconds, it was clear who the victor was. The young disciples of the Black Ink Garden of Yuelun Kingdom had to cover their mouths as they looked at the monk who kneeled pathetically in the blood soaked snow. They were not pitying the monk, but were surprised that the ordinary looking slender podao had managed to hit the prayer beads, tear through the monk’s robes, his metal staff and the snow in a split second. It had even managed to land on the monk’s throat. There was simply no chance of the monk making a second move.

What surprised them even more, and was something that they did not uderstand like the monk, was how the Tang lad’s blade had managed to pick off the prayer beads.

This has nothing to do with his sword skills. Natal beads of cultivators of the Buddhism Sect were like the flying swords of the Sword Master. They were extremely fast and the naked eye would never be able to pick out it’s trajectory. If one could not see them, they would not be able to predict where it would fly. Even the best sword skills in the world would not be able to pick it out and send it flying. However, this Tang lad just managed to do it.

It was reasonable that the flying arrow had managed to hit the prayer beads from outside the forest as Cat Girl was still fighting with the monk then. The prayer beads were entangled with the River Sword. However, how would they explain this?

Ning Que held the hilt with one hand and looked at the Yuelun monk kneeling beneath his blade. He shook his head and said, “You were the one who insisted on the second match. You cannot blame me. We are all people walking on the Taoist path. Must we fight to the last man standing?”

This was the exact statment the Yuelun monk had told Zhuo Zhihua earlier when he injured her. The young girls from the Great River Kingdom were appeased when they heard him repeating the words to the monk.

The monk looked up at Ning Que and said hoarsely, “I admit defeat. May I know what your name is, great one.”

Ning Que looked at him in satisfaction. The monk’s eyes held only fear and confusion but not hate. However, he was not satisfied with the question, which seemed like it came from a Wuxia novel. He frowned slightly and said, “Why would you want to know my name? Are you going to look for trouble with me in the future?”

“I do not dare.” The monk coughed twice and wiped the blood from his lips with his sleeve. “I want to ask my elders when I return. I cannot say that I was defeated by a nameless Tang.”

Ning Que was silent. He considered if he should report the name of his sect.

The Yuelun monk waited in silence. The girls of the Great River Kingdom waited curiously as well. Even the girl behind the yellow cloth curtain halted her hand and placed her brush on its inkstone.

Ning Que said, “If the elders of White Tower Temple ask, say that you were defeated by Zhong Da Jun of the Academy.”

The monk’s stiff body trembled when he heard that Ning Que was from the Academy. His voice wavered as he said, “So you are from the Academy. This lowly monk was too daring.”

“You asked for my sect, and I’m sure that the Yuelun White Tower Temple and even the Divine Hall will use it against me in the future.”

Ning Que looked at the green cloth covering the monk’s bald head and said, “It is a pity though. I am a student of the Academy. I’m sure that everyone would agree that there is no one who can go against the Academy as of yet.”

The monk’s trembling got even stronger. He said, “This lowly monk does not dare to have such thoughts.”

“It doesn’t matter if you have them or not. The Academy has always been a place that values rules and being reasonable. The first lesson that we learnt was on etiquette. That is why I cannot help but to butt into things that go against rules and are unreasonable.”

“For a monk who is barely into the No Doubts State, how dare you be so ruthless. So what if it’s the Flower Addict. Can you all just take over someone’s territory just like that? Quni Madi… That’s the name, now? She’s got to follow the rules too.”

Ning Que thought of the etiquette professor, Cao Zhifeng and Second Brother as he lectured the monk.

The professor had once said that the rules of the Academy was very simple. Whoever has the strongest fist makes the rules. It is etiquette to follow the rules. Second Brother’s requirements of him on this trip to the Wilderness was simple. He was not to embarass the Academy no matter the situation. In other words, he was only allowed to bully others and not be bullied.

He had actually said this to the girls from Great River Kingdom. He was just repeating it. However, when one had a sword against his neck, the speech sounded entirely different. The monk from Yuelunk Kingdom did not dare to doubt his words and only listened, aftraid that the hot-blooded Academy student would cut into his neck should he lose grip of his sword.

“Scram. Don’t come back again.”

Ning Que lifted the podao and said to the monk.

However, he murmured in his heart to his seniors in the mountains of Chang’an and the proud white goose. “Your junior didn’t embarass the Academy. He has started to bully others now.”

…

…

“Thank you, Senior Brother, for helping us out.”

“You’re welcome.”

Ning Que did not travel the Jianghu world openly. He stopped Zhuo Zhihua from bowing in order to save time and said directly, “The name of the Academy will not stop them for long. Even if the White Tower Temple will take care not to antagonise us, they can still give you trouble. Please be careful.”

Cat Girl frowned and said rather unhappily, “Senior Brother, why did you give that guy a second chance to return blows. What if you couldn’t hit the prayer beads?”

Zhuo Zhihua wondered why her junior sister was still blaming the senior brother who had helped them out of goodwill. She was worried that this might annoy Ning Que, and smiled apologetically, “The monk should be a second generation disciple of the Yuelun Kingdom. To think that he lost against senior brother. You must be the cream of the crop in the Academy.”

Ning Que smiled turned rather stiff. He thought to himself, that he might regret it in the future having made a name for Zhong Da Jun in the world just because he was used to hiding his identity.

…

…

He led his horse away from the hot springs and along the lake. The snow had thickened considerably. Ning Que watched the scene quietly and thought about the battle today.

Being a gentleman, showing sportsmanship and honour had always been like gas being expelled by humans. It was meaningless. He had given the monk a second chance not because he wanted the monk to accept defeat, but he needed an opponent to try out his blade in order to test out his new battle style.

The experiment could not be done within the Tang military camp amongst his own brethren as he could not bear to bring the knife down on them. It would not work on a true strong cultivator like Prince Long Qing as he might fight with his full strength. The monk from White Tower Temple in the No Doubts State he met today was the best opponent to try out his new skills. He was so suited for the experiment that Ning Que almost trembled in excitement when he held on the the sword hilt.

He executed two swordplays in the battle and noted thtat his speed and acuracy had improved greatly since the City of Wei. But that was not the main point. It was that he had not used any cultivation skills at all. He did not need it for someone like the White Tower Temple monk. This was the basis of his experiment.

That rainy night at the Spring Breeze Pavillion, Chao Xiaoshu had killed countless of strong fighters from the underworld. The Sword Master from the Devil’s Doctrine had used his shadow of sword move and killed and maimed several elite bodygards of Tang. Compared to the average martial warrior, the cultivator is stronger and more difficult to defeat.

In Ning Que’s opinion, the most important reason for that was that the cultivator was able to control the Qi of Heaven and Earth with his psyche power. His natal flying sword or other weapons was way faster than any ordinary weapon in the world and practically impossible to catch.

However, this was not an issue for him as he had already entered the cultivation world. He had only ten clear acupoint and had barely any potential for it, and could not exert much control over the Qi of Heaven and Earth. If he fought with an enemy with his flying sword, he would never be able to win based on just speed and strength. However, despite all that, his perception was excellent and he could sense the slightest change in the Qi of Heaven and Earth.

Not every cultivator can sense the slight change in the Qi of Heaven and Earth. Ning Que was trying to sense it. As long as one could do it, they would be able to know when their opponent would show their hand and how their natal item works.

He had succeeded today. This was why he could sense the trajectory of the monk’s prayer beads clearly and in slow motion despite the fact that it could not be seen by the naked eye.

Being able to ascertain the trajectory of one’s opponent’s natal item was only the first step. Using this battle style, Ning Que has to shorten the distance between himself and the cultivator in order to engage in close combat.

It was just like what he told Situ Yilan the other day. To him, most of the cultivators in the world stuck in their world of meditation and flying swords. They could practically become magicians, but they didn’t know how to become executioners.

Other than the strong fighters in the Peak state of Martial Arts and Devil’s Doctrine, all cultivators have a fatal problem. Their physique was way weaker as compared to their abilities. If they didn’t have any strong escort servants, death would be their only way out if they met his swordplay which he honed over the years.

Ning Que’s had thought of this battle style due to his cultivation potential. Before he became a divine talisman master and copied many infinitive talisman, he had to think of other methods to defeat those of his same cultivation state or even higher. This had something to do with what Master Yan Se said to him before he left Chang’an.

Master Yan Se had looked at him calmly and said, “Even if you could kill all enemies within a mile with your flying sword, it would be nothing if they can protect themselves within a foot.” Even someone like Liu Bai can do nothing if your Second Brother gets close enough. That is why it is important to mind the one foot of distance within yourself.

The sword may travel miles, but it is not as important as the feet within yourself.

Ning Que held on the the horse’s reins and the two stared at the snow by the lakeside.

He stared at the miles ahead of him, pulled out his sword, and cleaved a single snowflake that floated before him.