The Shigong Temple gate hung open, and the sound of combat filled the air. Just beyond the massive metal gate, three men of the Gao Clan engaged in pitched combat with the temple’s disciples. A dozen naked blades were brandished against the Gao men, but no blade could pierce their skin, for they were masters of the Path of the Ancient Iron Tortoise.
Two of the Gao men engaged the Shigong swordsmen, and the older man in the center of the group walked with an air of regal disinterest. He moved as if the battle unfolding around him did not concern him at all.
Though the swordsmen attacked ferociously, they could not hope to wound the Gao men. In accordance with their Path, the two Gao men struck the swordsmen just as the blades glanced off their iron skin. Several disciples were felled by the Gao men’s counter attacks.
Dozens of disciples had fallen to the ground, their hakama stained with their own blood. Arms, intestines, and other organs littered the ground. The disciples’ blades dealt no damage, but the punches and palm strikes of the Gao men were more than effective.
The men from the Gao Clan walked toward the Shigong Temple’s outer treasury. It was said that the sacred treasures held within that vault were worth more than all of Haishan. With those sacred treasures, Gao Sun Ping would have no trouble replacing Gao Wei as the Patriarch of the Gao Clan.
Before Gao Sun Ping and the two men with him could reach the treasury, a middle-aged man with a sword at his belt and a green haori on his back appeared from behind the treasury. He walked toward them at a leisurely pace, and his left hand rested casually on the hilt of his katana.
Three red lengths of cord connected the swordsman’s hilt to its sheath. The cords’ knots were so small that they could not be untied without specialized tools. It was only by snapping the cords that the katana could be unsheathed.
“That’s enough,” the man in the green haori called out, causing the disciples to back away from the intruders.
“Yes, Elder Jian,” several of the disciples said, sheathing their blades and bowing respectfully to the elder.
For the first time since arriving, Gao Sun Ping spoke. “Elder? Pah! There is nothing venerable about this young man.”
“I shall allow your disrespect to go unpunished just once. Who are you, and why are you here?”
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The intruders stopped five paces away from Elder Jian. Though they did not move, the Gao men’s muscles were prepared to spring into action at any moment. Their shoulders were hunched and their heads were bowed like predators ready to strike.
“It is only proper for the younger man to introduce himself first,” Gao Sun Ping said.
The man in the green haori sighed and said, “If you insist. I am Shen Jian, inner elder of the Shigong Sect and practitioner of the Path of the Divine Sword.”
With the tone of a man who clearly enjoyed the sound of his own voice, the oldest intruder said, “And I am Gao Sun Ping, elder of the Gao Clan and master of the Path of the Ancient Iron Tortoise.”
“Oh? So you have mastered your Path? You don’t look like a god to me,” Shen Jian said with a smirk.
“Silence!” Gao Ping shouted, his eyes widening with anger. “I am the strongest cultivator the Gao Clan has seen in three hundred years! I strike with the force of the heavens themselves, and no blade made by man can harm me! I have passed through the Third Gate and have become a mighty JinDan!”
“Wow,” Shen Jian said sarcastically. “You’re almost strong enough to guard our library. Our outer elders are stronger than you.”
“You’re bluffing! Not even your geriatric, dying Patriarch has stepped through the Third Gate!”
Shen Jian’s amused expression shifted to one of cold rage the moment Gao Ping mentioned the Shigong Patriarch. Shen Jian said, “You have insulted the Patriarch and have thus insulted all of the Shigong Sect. Apologize immediately or die.”
“And who will make me? Will…?”
Before Gao Ping could speak the next word, Shen Jian disappeared in a blur of motion and reappeared a pace behind the three intruders. When he reappeared, his hand was on his sword, which still remained in its sheath. For a moment, the only visible change was that the three red cords on Shen Jian’s sheath hung loosely from his sheath, now detached from his sword’s hilt.
Blood sprayed from the three intruders’ midsections. Two of the men were completely cut in half. Their torsos and legs fell separately to the ground. Gao Ping was cut deep, but his spinal cord was not severed. The unseen cut disemboweled him, severing his intestines and destroying his stomach.
As Gao Ping fell to his knees, Shen Jian said, “So this is what your mastery has brought you? Instead of dying instantly, you will have the privilege to slowly bleed to death as your stomach acid destroys your organs.”
All Gao Ping could do in response was gurgle as blood filled his mouth. With a voice filled with mockery, Shen Jian said, “Here’s something you can take with you to your next life. I passed through the Third Gate more than a hundred years ago, and our Patriarch has passed through the Fourth Gate. You were doomed the moment you stepped into Shigong Temple.”