Chapter 56: I Must Lend a Hand (First Update)
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Chapter 56: I Must Help Out (First Update)
The spirit crane message technique was a secret art handed down from an eccentric surnamed Wei among the Twenty-Four Heroes. Relying on the flow of vital energy, each transmission could cover only three or four miles. Coupled with humid weather and human interference, it was extremely prone to damage. It was often dismissed as a mere parlor trick, no different from sleight of hand or street performance.
After learning the technique, Luo Feng set about improving it. He carved three arrays onto the spirit crane, ensuring the message would always be delivered, unfazed by water or fire. With the infusion of compressed vital energy, its speed rivaled that of an ordinary flying sword.
...
Mount Wudang.
It was said that the True Warrior Sovereign once declared, "None but True Warriors are worthy."
On Mount Wudang resided the Wudang Sect, a major school of Daoism. Centered on the mountain, devoted to the True Warrior Sovereign, it emphasized inner alchemy and was renowned for its mastery of flying swords and talismans.
Wudang’s martial arts focused on strengthening sinews and bones, cultivating internal energy. They stressed internal training, prevailing with stillness over motion, softness over hardness, short over long, slowness over speed, and channeling intent into energy, energy into body. Their style was inclined toward gentleness and breath cultivation, favoring short-hand techniques. Wudang’s arts were not aggressive, yet neither could they be easily affronted—any offense would be met with swift defeat.
Among their arts, Tai Chi stood above all, its reputation resounding throughout the world.
The founder, Zhang Sanfeng, was a grandmaster of Daoism who opened up the mysterious gate of inner cultivation. Over generations, the sect's titles multiplied, from Perfected One to True Immortal, then to Lord and Celestial Sovereign. From the Song through Yuan and Ming dynasties, spanning nearly a millennium, he stood as the only manifest immortal of his age.
With such a formidable founder, the Wudang Sect produced outstanding talents in every generation, remaining a prominent school in the world of the extraordinary for nearly a thousand years, never once falling.
Even the widely reviled traitor Zhou Sheng, scorned by all, had his talent as a sorcerer universally acknowledged.
The Wind Marquis’s Qimen, the world’s foremost sorcery!
On this day, a spirit crane bearing a message flew into the Wudang boundary marker stone.
A Daoist, practicing Tai Chi, his eyes bright with inner light, glanced up. With Cloud Ladder Step, Wudang’s renowned lightness skill created by Zhang Sanfeng, which emphasized agility of movement rather than confusing the opponent with complex footwork—its principle was a nimble form, ascending and descending freely, advancing and retreating at will. When mastered, it was said one could never tire.
The Daoist leapt up, his left foot stepping on his right, soaring hundreds of feet into the air to snatch the spirit crane.
He saw the twin sword symbol upon the crane.
Astonished, he exclaimed, “A letter from the Demon-Slaying Alliance.”
Several years ago, when the Eastern Invaders launched a massive assault, the mundane world fell into chaos, and the extraordinary world refused to be outdone; the great sects gathered together.
Luo Feng and the other twenty-three, acclaimed as the Heroes of the Anti-Japanese Resistance, spearheaded the formation of the Demon-Slaying Alliance, with sects sending their disciples under his leadership, forging a united front among the extraordinary.
This was a matter of the nation. The Daoist dared not delay and immediately used lightness skill to reach the Grand Master’s Hall.
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“Greetings, Grand Master!”
The Daoist bowed.
The Wudang Grand Master sat cross-legged in meditation, unmoving, and replied calmly, “Elder Xu, why such a fuss? How many times must I remind you: maintain a Daoist’s composure!”
Elder Xu answered solemnly, “A message from the Demon-Slaying Alliance, bearing Luo Feng’s seal.”
The Grand Master sprang to his feet, broke the seal, and after reading, burst into hearty laughter. “Good, good, excellent!”
Elder Xu’s face remained expressionless, but he thought to himself, So much for composure. You’re all old foxes, playing at ghosts and goblins. Among us brothers, you’re the most hot-tempered. I never understood why Master chose you as Grand Master.
Still, Elder Xu was curious about the letter’s contents and hesitated before asking, “Has something unexpected happened at the front?”
The Grand Master stroked his beard and smiled. “It’s good news. The invading sorcerers have gathered to ambush Luo Feng, but he saw through their plot and found their trail.”
“Truly!” Elder Xu’s eyes lit up. “Since Luo Feng began his bloody campaign, the invaders have been lurking everywhere, scheming in secret, a constant nuisance. Our sects have been mocked long enough; we’ve all been holding back our fire.”
“Brother, make the decision.”
The Grand Master pondered for a moment. “This time, let the elder cultivators stay behind to instruct the disciples. The senior stewards from each branch will send eighty percent of their forces. Mobilize thirty formations of the True Warrior Seven-Segment Array…”
“Since Luo Feng is attacking Ping’an County, our Wudang Sect must lend its full support!”
“At your command!”
...
The Han Dynasty Celestial Master’s Mansion lay in Jiangxi, spanning several hundred acres, the fifteenth blessed cave and thirty-second sacred land of Daoism, charged with spiritual energy.
The lineage of Celestial Masters, passed down for a thousand years, was a leading orthodox school in the extraordinary world.
High-ranking adepts practiced the Yin and Yang Five Thunders, while ordinary disciples studied the Golden Light Incantation.
As for the Celestial Masters themselves, they cultivated the legendary Five Thunders True Method—commanding heavenly thunder to smite evil spirits.
Rumor had it that the Celestial Masters’ Mansion guarded a secret art called the Celestial Master’s Crossing. Because of this, the mansion on Dragon-Tiger Mountain was faintly regarded as the head of the righteous path.
A spirit crane flew into the mountain. The main gate faced south, broad and imposing, overlooking a river, exuding grandeur. Embedded in the central courtyard was a grand Tai Chi diagram. On the gate pillars hung a couplet: “Within the Hall of Qilin, guests are immortals; amid Dragon-Tiger Mountain, dwell the prime ministers.”
As the crane approached, the Daoist bell tolled.
The Celestial Master of Dragon-Tiger Mountain narrowed his eyes. With a gesture, the Golden Light Incantation shimmered, transforming into a golden thread that flew from the summit to the foot of the mountain, snatching the letter.
He read it over and laughed heartily. “Splendid! I’ve been longing for a good fight!”
Tian Jinzhong, standing nearby, asked curiously, “Master, what’s the matter?”
The Celestial Master’s expression grew stern. “We are to do battle with the invading sorcerers.”
“Pass the word: all real men on the mountain prepare. Disciples who have practiced the Golden Light Incantation for over ten years are permitted to descend the mountain.”
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“Zhiwei, you handle these arrangements.”
Zhang Zhiwei, standing off to the side, was momentarily stunned, then bowed. “At your command, Master.”
So this is how Master intends to train me as the next Celestial Master. But… am I truly the most suitable?
“You may all go. Jinzhong, stay.”
The Celestial Master stood in silence for a moment, then waved his hand.
The Daoists departed, leaving only Tian Jinzhong behind.
Tian Jinzhong bowed. “Master, why have you asked me to stay?”
The Celestial Master gazed at his disciple, his eyes lingering for several seconds on the redness around Jinzhong’s eyes, and sighed. “Jinzhong, how long has it been since you last slept?”
Tian Jinzhong trembled slightly and replied in a low voice, “Since Master asks, I dare not hide it. It has been six years.”
The Celestial Master sighed. “In a few days, come down the mountain with me. It’s time you had a good rest.”
Tian Jinzhong looked up, his voice trembling with excitement. “Master, do you mean…?”
The Celestial Master’s tone shifted. “Since our ancestral master founded this path, how many generations has it been?”
Tian Jinzhong answered solemnly, “From the ancestral master to you, sixty-four generations.”
The Celestial Master nodded. “Do you know how our Dragon-Tiger Mountain Celestial Master’s Mansion has endured, generation after generation, never lacking incense or disciples?”
Tian Jinzhong considered, then ventured, “By upholding the righteous path, carrying ourselves with integrity?”
“By protecting our own!” The Celestial Master swept his robe and turned away.
“Disciple shall obey your command!” Tian Jinzhong called out, his voice resonant with emotion, echoing to the heavens.
...
Mount Song, Shaolin Monastery
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Mount Mao, Shangqing Sect
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Western Hunan, the Corpse-Driving Clan
...
[Is anyone there? Someone say something.]
(End of this chapter)