Great Saint Warrior Kingdom, the Great Yang River.

The Great Yang river was a famous river. Set deep in a canyon, it was a wild and uninhabitable place, with many great demons reigning supreme in the river.

According to legend, it was formed when a peerless sage of the ancient times swung his sword at a great beast. 

Sadly, he missed. But because he missed, many gained a home! 

Due to its inhospitable nature, the place was not meant for mortal life forms, yet its banks and the deep bed of the river itself hosted many demons.

As such, it was a great place for experienced cultivators to hunt. But not so much for martial artists… 

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A dozed men could be seen on a cliff. All of them were surrounding a singular man.

An experienced figure would recognize many of them as men of far reaching fame!

‘Lost his soul to his sword’ Nangong Zhou, ‘Dragon Bladed Vagabond’ Long Shen, ‘Dog Lord’ Huo Guodan…

And so many others!

Who was the man who could cause so many great hero’s to gather on a cliff, and even surround a man?

The only reasonable response would be, ‘Three Saber Strokes to the neck’ Ba Qigang!

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Ba Qigang was like his name suggested. For Qi was air, and Gang was strength.

His whole bearing let people feel an air of strength around him.

Quite tall, and very robustly built, it was no wonder that even when not angry, he would inspire awe in all who spoke to him.

As for his nickname?

It was not for his skill with the saber. 

Indeed, it was not him who struck someone with a saber thrice, but rather the opposite!

Ba Qigang was a hot blooded man, so in his youth when his blood could almost burn people with how hot it was, it was not very hard to provoke him.

And one day… a man did.

It was the ‘King of Sabers’, Qiu Bafeng! Though he had yet to earn his title, he was still called ‘Saber Bearing Young Hero’.

And he was famous for his saber.

So, when Ba Qigang once famously said,” In my generation, I doubt any could cut my skin in anything less than ten strokes!”

At the time he was quite drunk. But what he said when he was drunk, he stuck to when sober!

“I merely didn’t want to brag about it!” he said, and he explained,” My skills in hard qigong are simply without an equal! If I said I was the second in hard qigong, there is no one in my generation who would dare claim he was first!”

Indeed, he was bold in his words. But for martial artists like Ba Qigang, it was those words that would either earn him great prestige or great shame!

So, when Qiu Bafeng, who was of Ba Qigang’s generation, heard of the bold words, he got drunk.

Qiu Bafeng drunkenly laughed and spoke,“Those are the words of a true man!” then he continued,”But I will see if he upholds them!”

Thus, some weeks passed, and when the martial world forgot about the whole affair, Qiu Bafeng boldly declared that he would let Ba Qigang taste merely three strokes of his, Qiu Bafengs, saber on any body part he wanted.

So, when Ba Qigang heard about the challenge, he accepted without much thinking.

Like that, an exhibition was organized.

Would Qiu Bafeng behead Ba Qigang? Or would Ba Qigang endure and prove his so called matchless skill in hard qigong?

Thus, on the day of the exhibition match, two figures could be seen on the martial arts ground.

The whole arena was made out of bricks, as it was there mostly for show matches. But nobody would mind if it was completely broken.

Why? 

It was the rich who built it! Especially for entertainment, as in their boring lives with a lack of modern technology, there weren’t many things they could do without risking themselves.

And what else would be more interesting than a match where the whole arena was broken!

So, Ba Qigang and Qiu Bafeng stood opposed to each other.

It was Qiu Bafeng who spoke first,” My great blade weights around forty catties. Tell me, what limb would you do well without!”

Ba Qigang grinned,”Ain’t that quite light? I thought that eighty two catties would be much more appropriate for a man of your stature!”

Qiu Bafeng’s eyes opened, as he said,”You laugh in the face of losing a limb? No matter what happens after this, I will respect you as a true man!”

Ba Qigang laughed, pretty much roaring with laughter, as he said,” I laugh in the face of death!” and then he explained, as pulled his head to his shoulder,” Hit me in my neck!”

Qiu Bafengs eyes didn’t merely go open. Rather, two tears fell down his cheek, and he sad” You truly are a man!” as he lifted his great blade.

A hot blooded man would think that Ba Qigang wanted to die a true man rather than swallow his words.

An ordinary man might think that Ba Qigang cared too much about face to live without a limb, always reminding him of the shame he would experience till his death. Or that he preferred death to being a cripple.

And a scheming fellow might think that Ba Qigang wanted someone to avenge him after his death, as he had many friends. After all, even if he died honorably, his friends would probably want to avenge him.

But Ba Qigang never thought of any of this!

He was simply confident in his hard qigong!

After all, if a man looses faith in his martial arts, why even practice?

If his hard qigang was strong enough, Ba Qigang would easily shrug off the attack!

So, Qiu Bafengs great blade fell, its great weight giving greater intensity in the fall.

A lot of force would be transfer through it, enough to kill a bear!

Qiu Bafeng nearly closed his eyes as his blade fell down. But he refused, as he wanted to see how a real man would die!

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Then… a great clang was heard!

The blade failed to cut Ba Qigangs neck off, even though it would have split open a regular man! 

Many thought that Ba Qigangs spine would be broken, and his internal organs would be torn apart. But the force simply ran through Ba Qigang, breaking the ground at his feet!

There was no spitting up blood, nor Ba Qigang collapsing to the ground!

Instead, there was a grinning man who said,” You’ve got nine more strokes!”

Yet after the third stroke, Qiu Bafeng didn’t cut any more.

Instead, Qiu Bafeng spoke,” I doubt I will ever see anyone like you in my life! Either kill me now, or let me become your younger brother!”

Qiu Bafeng was well aware of death, so dying by the hands of a man he recognized was much greater than dying to some evil demon or the like, who knew no honor, nor dared be men!

But becoming Ba Qigangs younger sword brother was the preferable option.

To the ultimatum, Ba Qigang laughed and said,” Good! I was in need of a younger brother!”

It was that kind of event that led to Ba Qigang to be most commonly known as ‘Three Saber Strokes to the neck’!

And it was this kind of man that was surrounded by the greatest men of the righteous factions!

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Though nearing fifty years, Ba Qigang had a truly commanding appearance. Standing more than a head taller than masters gathered around him, his stature was upright, and his eyes were focused.

Predatory even!

Around him, dozens of corpses laid.

All of them were men who dared cross blades with him.

Yet Ba Qigang had no blade. No sword, for he was not a gentleman.

Thus, it was his two fists that were bloody.

Two iron fists that shook the world!

Ba Qigang laughed and said,”Who dares come next!”

Nobody dared.

Didn’t this man who was nearly half a century old have pretty much a half of century worth of fame and fighting experience.

And didn’t he even reestablish his prestige in the hearts of there so called top masters of a generation?

Maybe if all of them cooperated in a strong formation, it would work.

Yet, none of them knew nor trusted each other enough to actually carry out a formation.

And formations themselves took time! It could take months, or even years for people to master them!

But did the top masters have the time to prepare for Ba Qigang?

No! They did not.

Suddenly, a man spoke,” Master Ba, please stop resisting. If you don’t give up your life, we will be forced to use some cruel means.”

It was none other than Long Shen, the Dragon Bladed Vagabond!

Ba Qigang spat in his direction, as he said,” If you are strong enough, take my head! If you are not, go die! It’s as simple as that, so why must you always resort to threats and that bullshit?”

it was an honest question on Ba Qigangs part.

Why would these righteous masters act in this way? Why would anyone try to kill him if they couldn’t do it even as a group?

Better stay at home and polish your sword if you can’t even win with a mob backing you!

It was pure and utter bullshit!

Long Shen sadly sighed. 

He promised to that man that he wouldn’t need his help. That he could win against Ba Qigang!

But, it seems that the man was right. 

‘If that Senior didn’t prepare for this’ Long Shen said in his heart,’I might not leave here alive!’

That was the kind of though he had about Ba Qigang.

Suddenly, he heard a click of disapproval. A tsk sound.

It was Ba Qigang who made it, and clear disappointment could very easily be seen on his face.

It was like an elder being sad for his student.

And why was Ba Qigangs face like that? Like a teacher who didn’t want to give up a student despite the student giving up on himself?

Well, it was rather simple.

Ba Qigang clicked his tongue in disappointment once more, and said,” Why must you give up on your blade?”

Long Shen was surprised and asked,” What?”

Ba Qigang said,”You heard me. Why even wield the saber if you dare not use it? Why be a martial artist if you dare not fight with your own power?”

Those words struck Long Shen right in the heart. He knew that he was afraid, and that his confidence waned.

And he knew that losing his confidence would not only halt him in his advance, it would even make him retreat!

He would grow weak and soft!

But he didn’t want to admit it. He didn’t want to admit that he grew afraid. That he grew soft!

Then Ba Qigang said,” I know what it’s like, child, to be a genius. I’ve also been a young man once! But what harmed you is your inability to handle fame!”

Ba Qigang continued,” You think that you can’t lose! You mustn’t! But truly I tell you, winning and losing is as common as breathing, if not more so! What matters is that you learn from your losses!”

Indeed, winning and losing was something everyone had to experience. Else, they would grow afraid of losing! 

So, they would never challenge themselves, always taking only the fights they know the will win.

But for a master, it was terrible to keep in your comfort zone. 

In martial arts, to not advance is to retreat!

Because even a lost fight is to advance, as you further know your limits! 

But suddenly, as Long Shen was contemplating the wisdom that Ba Qigang gave him, a voice appeared out of nowhere.

It said,”Ba Qigang, your words cannot save you from death!”

Then, a light struck the cliff, shattering it and taking Ba Qigang with the rocks.

Yet… the man himself smiled, as if this was a happy occurrence and not a certain sign of his death!

But on the cliff, many masters were petrified in shock caused by the immense show of truly supernatural power!