“What do you mean you can’t contact your men?” Ah Duo paced restlessly in her room and the masked man stood still in front of her.

“We can neither contact my men, nor the Dual Sword Martial. Also, the Princess reached Sichuan a week ago. We can assume that everyone was annihilated.”

“Annihilated?”

Ah Duo screamed and threw objects placed on tables and shelves on the floor in a fit of rage. How could the Dual Sword Martial fail as well? Wasn’t he one of the strongest fighters in Jianghu?

“Mother, what else did you expect? He was going up against the Crimson Dragon Guardian.” Yichen, who had been observing the situation calmly, finally spoke up.

“I’ll take care of everything when that peasant comes back. So mother, rest assured for now. Have I ever failed you?”

“Oh, Yichen…” Ah Duo covered her mouth with a hand and doubled over the desk. She could feel herself crumbling under the pressure. How is she supposed to help her child? She should’ve killed that mutt before it got a chance to bare its fangs. She was careless. In the end, it was all her fault.

“Leave.” Yichen ordered the man who slunk away in the shadows instantly. He placed a hand on his mother’s shoulder carefully and spoke with a warm smile on his face.

“I will do everything from now on, so please rest. I only wish for you to be happy, mother.”

That night, in the darkness of his room, Yichen carefully wrote down a letter and tied it to his hawk’s leg.

“It’s time to bring them out.” A curious smile bloomed on Yichen’s face as he watched the hawk fly away in the sky.

************************************************************************

The preliminary round went on for six days and by the end, half the contenders were eliminated. The first round of the competition was supposed to take place in two days, which made Daiyu practice her sword with a renewed vigor.

“Focus on materializing your qi on your palms.” Haoran had promised Daiyu to teach her something interesting that day. “Now concentrate the qi on just your fingertips.”

Beads of sweat were beginning to form on Daiyu’s forehead, who was giving it her all to follow Haoran’s instructions.

“Now attack the dummy’s acupuncture points with your fingers.” Tang Family’s training hall had sturdy looking dummies for practicing. Daiyu punctured the acupressure points and fell back exhausted after she was done. Even the sturdy dummy had dents in places where Daiyu’s finger had touched it.

“Hmm. You need to put more qi behind it to make these attacks work but good job for now. With a single jab, you can immobilize your enemy or even kill him, depending on where you press.”

“Ahh, why is it so much harder than sword techniques?” Daiyu groaned and sat up.

“Well, because it requires more precision I guess?” Haoran dawdled in his usual annoying voice and sighed.

“Have you ever thought about what you’re going to do in life?”

“Well, of course. I will become the Heavenly Demon.” Daiyu raised her eyebrow in confusion. What sort of question was that?’

“I mean after that. Becoming the Heavenly Demon is not the end, is it?” He shook his head, as if he was annoyed by Daiyu’s question.

“After that… Well, I never thought about it. I will reform the Cult, maybe change those annoying elders, put a power check on the Sects within the Cult and their military power…” Daiyu trailed off as she thought about all the things she wanted to do.

“I guess I’ll think about it when I get there.” She clicked her tongue and pushed herself off the ground. “I just need to focus on becoming stronger for now.”

Haoran gave her an odd look and shrugged.

“Think more about it, nitwit. Aimless hardwork is rarely fruitful. Think about something you want to do that would make you happy.”

“Are you concerned about my happiness?”

“Tsk. As if. Just start swinging that damn sword of yours. You’re way too weak. I could basically kill you with a flick of my finger.” Haoran lied back down and closed his eyes. Daiyu gave a soft sigh when she saw him act that way. She had already guessed that he was not the type of person to reveal what he felt.

‘Well, it still feels nice though. The fact that someone cares about what I feel…”

************************************************************************

“Is that the girl who knocked Jin Wu of Wudang Sect out?”

“I saw it myself. She used some mysterious martial arts.”

“Which sect is she from?”

“I hear the Tang Family is sponsoring her.”

Numerous whispers about Daiyu began emerging after her incredible victory in the preliminary round. She had no idea about it when she fought Jin Wu, but he was one of the most promising third-class disciples from the Sect who was making a name for himself in the Central Plains. The fact that a no-name girl with unknown origins knocked him down became a topic of hot gossip.

“Oh, there she comes!” One of them pointed his finger at Daiyu who came to the arena along with the Tang siblings. The both of them had been busy practicing for the tournament so Daiyu had been seeing them less frequently.

“Ah, it feels uncomfortable.” Daiyu squirmed beneath the curious gazes of the onlookers. She was not used to receiving so much attention.

“Who can blame them? After all, defeating a disciple of Wudang is no easy feat.” Tang Bo laughed and Tang Xia also let out a small giggle.

This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

“I’m up first so I’ll get going. I can’t believe I’m getting to have so much.” Tang Xia skipped to the arena while the other two settled in their seats. Daiyu couldn’t help but feel a little bad for Tang Xia’s opponent.

The matches were going to be held in the middle of the arena from this round onwards. All the people would be focusing solely on a single match. That kind of attention was a bit intimidating in itself.

Tang Xia swept the ground with her opponent and clicked her tongue in disappointment.

“That guy was no fun. How can he get hit by my needle without even fighting back?” The guy in question was currently convulsing on the floor while Tang Woe, the heir of the Tang Family fed him the antidote. Tang Xia had reduced the son of the Peng Family’s patriarch to a frothing mess.

Daiyu gave Tang Xia an uneasy look and shuddered. She made a promise to herself about never getting on Tang Xia’s bad side.

The duels progressed without any hitch and Daiyu learned a lot about the various martial arts techniques the contestants used from different sects. The Peng Family’s heavy sword, the Namgoong Family’s swift sword that resembled drifting clouds, the Shaolin Sect’s palm techniques that blew away the enemies in a single motion and Emei Sect’s golden sword that resembled nature in itself fascinated Daiyu. However, the technique that stood out the most to her were the Plum Blossoms that Mount Hua swordsmen drew from their swords. It reminded her of the Thirty Two Movement Violet Butterfly Sword Technique but there was something different about it.

The mount hua’s sword technique did not simply produce plum blossoms but made the blossoms bloom. It reminded her of the dream she had long ago. The dream where she saw a majestic plum blossom tree being created solely from the sword.

“Ah, it’s your turn now.” Tang Bo commented enthusiastically and Daiyu licked her dry lips as her heartbeat sped up. Zihan was absent from the audience today. He had received some urgent orders from the Cult and had to leave for a few days in haste. Even Haoran had disappeared after using up too much of his energy.

“Let’s calm down.” Daiyu mumbled to herself and climbed up on the stage. She could feel the countless eyes that were focusing on her. However, she couldn’t help but feel a little lonely in the middle of the vast crowd.

“Amitabha. I’m Daoming from the Shaolin Sect.” A young monk greeted her politely. He had a calm expression on his face and she could see serenity in his eyes.

Daiyu took a deep breath and composed herself. The Shaolin Monks fought with their bare fists but they were incredibly strong. She could lose here if she lost her focus even for a moment.

“I’m Daiyu, a martial artist being sponsored by the Tang Family. I request disciple Daoming of the Shaolin Sect for a spar.” Daiyu followed the standard greetings and drew out her sword.

“I accept Miss Daiyu’s request.” Daoming took his stance and everyone could feel the tension building up between the two of them. The moment the duel began, Daiyu moved swiftly to attack first. She had no idea what to expect in this match since she had never fought against someone who only used their fists.

“Amitabha.” Daoming drew back his palm and thrust it forward. Daiyu could feel an immense amount of pressure being emitted from his palm and the impact knocked her backwards immediately.

“Keuk!” Daiyu fell and she realized that she had sustained internal injuries from that attack. Without wasting a second, Daiyu stood up but Daoming was ready to deliver his next attack.

“Amitabha.” He thrust his fist forward and Daiyu swung her sword immediately in response. The dozens of butterflies emerging from her sword surrounded her completely to form a shield. However, the shield broke as soon as Daoming’s attack came in contact. Surprisingly, Daiyu wasn’t pushed back this time and she charged forward and attacked Daoming before he could react. Daaoming’s palm glowed with gold colored qi and he parried her attacks with his bare hands.

Daiyu was determined not to give him a chance to attack back and continued to attack the monk with all her might, even though her insides felt jumbled up. Daoming’s other palm connected with Daiyu’s stomach and she went flying back from the sheer impact.

“Ack!” Daiyu groaned and spit out blood. The attacks were heavy and intense, which made her sustain some heavy injuries. She could tell that some of her ribs had broken due to the last attack. However, she was determined not to go down so easily. She still had a card up her sleeve that she could use.

* Remember this if you are going up against stronger enemies who use palm techniques. Let them believe they are winning and cover your entire body with a thin layer of qi to protect yourself from the impact. The moment they let their guard down, rush at them with your strongest techniques and cut them down. However, you must remember that you only have one shot at defeating them. Dirty? No way! There’s no such thing as a dirty win. Victory is victory. The victor writes the history after all.

Daiyu recalled Haoran’s words from one of their training sessions and used her sword to support her body. She took a deep breath and concentrated on condensing her qi around her body in a thin layer.

“Amitabha, I acknowledge your determination, Butterfly Sword Maiden. I shall give it my all and finish this duel with my next attack.” Daoming bowed his head slightly and took up his stance to deliver his final attack. Daiyu raised her sword with the metallic taste of blood in her mouth. She was not going to be defeated here. Daoming’s palm gave out a bright gold light and a heavy pressure surrounded Daiyu from above. Dust rose up from the broken arena floor and no one could see what had happened to Daiyu in the middle of all the rising debris.

However, as the debris settled down, they could see a bent over figure in the middle of the dust cloud clutching a sword and coughing up blood. They could see a clear palm print that indented the floor.

“Is that the Divine Golden Palm Technique?”

“Such terrifying power.”

“I hear Monk Daoming is one of the most talented disciples in the Shaolin Sect right now.”

“Really? I had never heard of him.”

The people began chattering among themselves, believing the duel was over and a small smile bloomed on Daiyu’s lips. She injected all of her remaining qi into her sword and shot out like a bullet, leaving a trail of butterflies in her wake.

“Aghhhhh!” She let out a scream as her entire body revolted in severe pain. Even after protecting herself with qi, she could only dampen the impact of the attack. It was an attack with overwhelming power that threatened to break her apart.

‘Twenty First Movement of the Thirty Two Movement Violet Butterfly Technique, Butterfly Rush.’

An overwhelming river of hundreds of butterflies threatened to drown Daoming who was completely caught off guard by Daiyu’s sudden attack. He was sure that he had finished her off with his last attack. Daoming used all the qi at his disposal to protect himself against the sharp wings of the illusionary butterflies but he couldn’t protect his whole body despite his efforts. Several cuts appeared here and there on his body and the moment the butterflies disappeared, Daiyu had already appeared right in front of him.

Daiyu coughed up blood again but kept it up to deliver attack after attack which Daoming was barely able to counter with his palms.

“Amitabha!” Daoming yelled as Daiyu continued to push him into a corner. No matter how much he tried, he couldn’t create a distance between them. Finally, Daoming caught her sword between his palms and everyone in the audience gasped. What could a swordman do once his sword had been immobilized? However, Daiyu’s other palm began glowing with violet qi and it began moving towards her fingers. Daoming was too caught up in stopping’s Daiyu’s sword that he failed to notice the sharp fingers that were headed towards him with an overwhelming speed.

“Keuk!” Daoming groaned when Daiyu’s fingers came in contact with his pressure points and she jabbed him in several more places that completely immobilized him. However, she knew it wouldn’t hold him off for long and she swung her sword again to close the deal.

“Take this!” She yelled out loud before sending the monk flying back with a diagonal swing of her sword. When Daoming did not get up, even after several seconds had passed, the referee cleared his throat and announced Daiyu the winner of the match.

Daiyu doubled over as intense pain made stars twinkle in front of her eyes and her vision began getting blurry.

“Miss Daiyu!” She could hear Tang Bo’s voice screaming her name but she was too far gone to realize what was happening. Thunderous applause made her ears ring and she saw someone running towards her swiftly.

“Princess!” The voice yelled and Daiyu’s body slumped down on the ground. That was the last thing she remembered before passing out.