Chapter 100:
The Sword Trial Conference

 

EVEN THOUGH THERE WAS Zhou in the north and Chen in the south, each with their own governments, the jianghu wasn’t split between north and south. After all, the world itself made no such delineations—it was one.

Therefore, the violent expansion of Hehuan Sect and the Buddhist discipline sent not only the northern sects into a panic, but had alarmed Linchuan Academy as well.

The Sword Trial Conference naturally gave the various sects a fantastic opportunity to make contact and foster friendships. Linchuan Academy wanted to form an alliance, so they’d sent Zhan Ziqian over to test the waters. If Yi Pichen were willing to acknowledge Linchuan Academy as the head, the alliance would form as naturally as waters gathering in a canal. Then this union between Confucians and Daoists would have a great advantage in containing the soaring influence of Hehuan Sect and the Buddhists.

However, Zhan Ziqian’s trip hadn’t gone smoothly. It had become clear that Yi Pichen was unwilling to accept a subordinate role, so Zhan Ziqian could only return empty-handed.

Without the participation of the Confucian discipline, the Sword Trial Conference would indeed lose quite a bit of luster.

Shen Qiao listened to the ins and outs of this tale, then shook his head. “When everyone shares a common goal, does it matter who’s in charge?”

Zhan Ziqian smiled and shook his head. “Not everyone can be like Daoist Master Shen, caring little for hollow and material things. Now that Xuandu Mountain has joined the Göktürks as their limbs, Chunyang Monastery can consider itself the pillar of the Daoist discipline. However, my sect, Linchuan Academy, is the head of the Confucian discipline. Daoism and Confucianism’s differences lead them to vie for supremacy, like a battle between dragon and phoenix. In this case, the subordinate faction will fade into the background—who wants to end up a prop for someone else’s reputation?”

Shen Qiao frowned but did not speak.

It was exactly as Zhan Ziqian said. Ruyan Kehui and Yi Pichen were both martial experts of the current generation. The weight attached to the position of “alliance leader” wasn’t insignificant. No matter who took the seat, the other one would grow uneasy. Worse still, they were both sect leaders, and ones who represented Confucianism and Daoism respectively. Neither of them would rashly place their own sect in an inferior position where they’d be forced to follow someone else’s lead. This wasn’t only an issue of reputation, but related to the orthodoxy of the schools, their statuses, and the changes of such.

“I trust that Abbot Yi was unwilling to accept this.”

“That’s right,” said Zhan Ziqian. “After Abbot Yi heard the reason behind my arrival, he gracefully refused the suggestion of forming an alliance. I believe my shizun, too, had already expected such a conclusion; that’s why he sent only me, and not my shidi or anyone else. But Abbot Yi’s desire to form an alliance against Hehuan Sect and the Buddhist discipline isn’t a secret. Sooner or later, their side will know. I fear that a storm may descend without warning at the Sword Trial Conference tomorrow. Though you may be a Daoist, you have no relationship with Chunyang Monastery, so why not come with me to Linchuan Academy as a guest? Ever since you parted with the Su family, my shidi has held you in great esteem. Surely he’ll be delighted to see your honored self again.”

Shen Qiao smiled. “Thank you, Zhan-xiong, for your kindness. However, this humble Daoist will remain here.”

Zhan Ziqian was confused. “Why?”

“Everyone within the Daoist discipline is bound by a common cause,” said Shen Qiao. “A calamity wouldn’t affect only Chunyang Monastery—if Hehuan Sect annexes them, disaster won’t be far from the other sects as well. Moreover, I already promised Bixia Sect that I’d help them during the Sword Trial Conference.”

Regret washed over Zhan Ziqian’s face. “Then there’s nothing to be done,” he said. “However, I fear that Abbot Yi’s desire to promote an alliance this time will come to nothing.”

“Currently, Chunyang Monastery is on the rise, and its scope and prestige are no worse than Xuandu Mountain’s,” Shen Qiao pointed out. “Logically speaking, quite a few people should wish to come and join them.”

“That is the case, but everyone has different thoughts. Leaving myself aside, look at the Wang brothers, Daoist Master Shen. Abbot Yi personally invited them to the main hall, hoping to win them over, but they insist that they only came for the Sword Trial Conference and refuse to say anything regarding an alliance. It’s obvious that they see Chunyang Monastery as a lone hand trying to clap, unable to make any sound, and so they’re only willing to watch from the sidelines—they won’t allow themselves to be dragged into the vortex. Forming an alliance is easier said than done.”

He was a mild-tempered man, and though he was a disciple of Confucianism, he didn’t hold any extreme positions. He even expressed regret for Chunyang Monastery’s situation, as if he’d already foreseen that an unceasing tempest would buffet the Sword Trial Conference tomorrow, and that a bleak outcome awaited them at the end. The two of them sighed over this for a while before Zhan Ziqian again brought up painting. He invited Shen Qiao to visit Linchuan Academy another day, and Shen Qiao naturally accepted.

Zhan Ziqian had only just left when the Su brothers came to visit, wanting to thank Shen Qiao for his assistance back in Chang’an. Though the entire Su clan had temporarily fled to Qingcheng Mountain for their safety, they hadn’t entirely abandoned their wealth and estates back in Chang’an. Once the time was ripe, they’d return once more.

On top of this, many sects had also sent over visitation requests, wishing to meet with Shen Qiao.

Shen Qiao was now beginning to realize that he was no longer that former sect leader, adrift with nothing to his name, whom everyone had derided. Somehow the fact had crept up and taken him by surprise. When people brought up Shen Qiao now, they were inevitably talking about his battle in Chang’an. Since the sheer speed with which Hehuan Sect was expanding these days was putting everyone on edge, Shen Qiao killing two of their elders made people discuss him with even more relish.

It was a completely unexpected outcome to Shen Qiao, and he was caught between laughing and crying. Using the excuse that it was getting late, he gracefully rejected all these visitation requests. After he’d sent Su Wei and Su Qiao off, he meditated within the house, quietly waiting for morning to arrive.

Not long after the dawn of the next day, someone brought over breakfast and some hot water for washing. Once he sorted everything out, Shen Qiao was about to leave when Zhao Chiying showed up, already knocking on his door. They left for the main hall together.

“Where are Fan Yuanbai and the others?” asked Shen Qiao.

“They’ve already gone to get their number plates,” said Zhao Chiying. “If all goes as expected, they should be in the first round.”

Shen Qiao had yet to fully grasp the rules of the Sword Trial Conference, so he took this chance to ask about them.

“When we arrived yesterday, Chunyang Monastery’s disciples were already registering everyone’s surnames and sects. Today they’ll sort the participants according to order of arrival, then hand the list of names over to Liuli Palace. Liuli Palace will also consult everyone’s battle chronicles within the jianghu, then group contestants of similar strength together for the competition. If someone didn’t mean to participate, they just need to tell Liuli Palace beforehand. Their name will then be removed and replaced with someone else’s. However, these rules only apply to regular disciples. Those like us usually won’t end up on the list unless we specifically decide to enter and compete.”

“Even the person themselves might not have clear knowledge of their battle chronicles,” said Shen Qiao. “Liuli Palace are so reclusive—how do they obtain this information?”

Zhao Chiying smiled. “I’ve also wondered about this. I suppose they must have created a vague tier list based on information received from various other parties. Thoroughly determining the rankings is also one of the goals of the Sword Trial Conference. They say that Liuli Palace possesses dazzling foresight: as long as they see someone’s skills, they’ll know how that person’s martial arts compares in the jianghu. Everyone who’s seen it firsthand has been amazed. Ten years ago, I didn’t have the chance to see it, so this time I definitely will, to broaden my horizons.”

As the two of them talked, they passed through Chunyang Monastery’s backyard and arrived in the main hall.

At this time, many people had already arrived. The main hall was different from the wide, empty space they’d seen yesterday—now it was covered with seating cushions and soft mats, all arranged beautifully. The doors of the main hall were open as well, so if one was seated inside the hall, they’d have a clear view of the matches outside, all without needing to be exposed to the sun or rain.

Yesterday, Zhan Ziqian had taken his leave early and the Wang brothers had shown little interest in a potential alliance, so Shen Qiao and Zhao Chiying thought few people would be here today as well. They certainly never expected to see seven to eight-tenths of the hall’s seats—which numbered almost a thousand—already occupied. A diverse assortment of sects had come. Not only were there small sects and clans like Feixian Gate and Qingyang Mountain Estate, but there were also organizations that hovered between first and second-rate, like Jiuhua Sect and Chixia Sword Sect. Though the prominent Confucian and Buddhist sects such as Linchuan Academy and Tiantai Sect failed to show up, judging by the current situation, things weren’t bad at all.

Zhao Chiying and Shen Qiao took their respective seats. Zhao Chiying whispered, “With Li Qingyu’s aptitude, he will definitely take first place today. Should Abbot Yi propose an alliance then, he’ll be able to reap large gains with minimal effort.”

Shen Qiao nodded, as he thought the same.

Yi Pichen walked over, surrounded by his disciples. He first greeted everyone with some niceties, then said loudly, “Thank you all for taking the time to attend the Sword Trial Conference, which is held every ten years. This time, Liuli Palace has borrowed my humble monastery to use as the venue. Chunyang Monastery is deeply honored. I hope that everyone here can get to know each other through martial arts, but take care not to overdo it, lest we damage the amity between us!”

Yi Pichen’s voice was warm and gentle, neither loud nor soft. But as he used internal energy to transmit it, everyone in attendance could hear him with perfect clarity.

After speaking, he withdrew half a step and introduced a purple-garbed woman beside him to the crowd.

“This is Yuan Zixiao from Liuli Palace, or Yuan-niangzi.”

Many people had heard of Liuli Palace, yet they’d never seen any of its members in person. Now, they saw that the renowned Liuli Palace had sent a woman to serve as the judge of the Sword Trial Conference, they were all stunned into silence and couldn’t help but reveal expressions of skepticism.

“Abbot Yi, we’re not trying to embarrass you, but the Sword Trial Conference is held only once every ten years, and everyone in the jianghu is eagerly awaiting its rankings. Now, not only is it being held early, but they have only sent a single woman. Not only does this show their contempt for us, it also demonstrates their disrespect toward you!”

“That’s right! Could Liuli Palace be afraid of Hehuan Sect and the Buddhist discipline’s influence? That’s why they sent only a single, weak woman to deceive us?”

“Precisely! If that’s the case, what point does this Sword Trial Conference even have? We might as well just head home and sleep!”

With one person serving as the lead, the rest naturally followed suit. Doubts soon arose all around them, and the situation grew unstable. The Chunyang Monastery disciples couldn’t help their anxious expressions as they looked to their shifu.

“Your name is Wei Gaofei, from Feixian Gate. You specialize in the saber, and you’ve achieved the height of proficiency in a set of Feixian Gate techniques called the ‘Inverted Heavenly Void.’” The woman in purple standing next to Yi Pichen suddenly began to speak, her voice ringing out like clinking jade and echoing in the main hall. Though crisp and pleasant, it was cold and devoid of any emotion, let alone any signs of anger and injustice that might have arisen at being questioned.

The young man who’d started the questioning was startled for a moment, then countered, “That’s right. So what?”

Yuan Zixiao continued, “But your saber techniques contain a fatal flaw—or rather a hurdle that you’ve failed to overcome no matter what—so you are unable to bring into play the true essence of your saber techniques. This is the reason you lost to Qi Wei from Longmen Sect last time.”

Wei Gaofei’s face paled in shock. “How… How did you know about this?”

Yuan Zixiao paid him no heed and instead continued icily, “The saber discipline known as Inverted Heavenly Void demands speed, ruthlessness, and precision, but your wrist isn’t nimble enough, so you’re unable to achieve that kind of speed. No matter how skilled you are in wielding the saber, you will never become one with it.”

At this moment, Wei Gaofei could no longer concern himself with how she knew of his shortcomings. He hastily asked, “Then, may I ask if there’s a solution?”

“There is,” Yuan Zixiao replied. “Since your body is the limiting factor preventing you from reaching the pinnacle demanded by Inverted Heavenly Void, why persist in pushing yourself down a dead end? It would be better to switch to your sect’s other set of saber techniques, the Jade’s Glow, which focuses on the slow and steady, and on effortless execution. With your aptitude, it won’t be difficult for you to achieve great things there.”

“Effortless execution, effortless execution…” Wei Gaofei mumbled, a thoughtful cast to his face as a myriad of expressions passed across it. Suddenly, he let out a loud cry and bowed deeply to Yuan Zixiao. “Thank you for your guidance. No words can express my gratitude for your great kindness—I will definitely repay you someday!”

With that, he stood, ignoring the others, and quickly left the hall. No matter how his martial brothers called out from behind him, he didn’t look back.

Seeing his behavior, the onlookers understood that he must have comprehended something from Yuan Zixiao’s words. Martial artists occasionally experienced flashes of inspiration, allowing them to break through a bottleneck. No one was surprised at this; rather, they were envious.

Yuan Zixiao continued to expose the backgrounds, weaknesses, and flaws in the martial arts of several other people, all of whom had just voiced doubts. Now that they were being exposed one by one, their faces also shifted greatly.

At this moment, everyone understood just how formidable Liuli Palace was, and they were terrified that Yuan Zixiao would also reveal martial weaknesses, allowing their opponents insights into their flaws before they even began competing. Naturally, no one dared to make a sound.

Zhao Chiying whispered, “What a formidable woman. Liuli Palace’s reputation is well deserved. I trust that she’d know the shortcomings of Bixia Sect’s martial arts as well.” There was a hint of fear in her voice.

Shen Qiao smiled. “All things beneath the heavens have two sides, yin and yang. Where there are strengths, there will be weaknesses. Even the most brilliant of martial arts have flaws. Her ability to expose each and every one is indeed incredible, but just because someone knows the flaw doesn’t mean that they’ll be able to exploit it. The greater your martial arts are, the fewer weaknesses they’ll have. Therefore, instead of taking the trouble to remember the weaknesses of others, it’s better to improve your own abilities. When you reach the stage of perfect, unobstructed harmony, others will naturally be left with no chances to exploit them.”

Zhao Chiying nodded. “Spoken like a true grandmaster. I cannot compare!”

On the other end of the hall, Yi Pichen saw that Yuan Zixiao could hold her own and so said nothing to intervene. Only once everyone quieted down did he speak. “Since you all have no objections, let us continue according to the rules!”

As his words fell, the Chunyang Monastery disciples rang the jade chimes. The clear sound traveled far, indicating the official start of the Sword Trial Conference.

The first battle was between the Wang family’s Wang-sanlang and Zhou Yexue.

As this pair had come into conflict earlier, when they met on the field, both looked at each other with displeasure. However, Zhou Yexue was clearly not Wang-sanlang’s match. In fact, the result had already been decided before they even began.

Though Zhao Chiying thought this a shame, there was nothing she could do. It was possible that the revitalization of Bixia Sect depended completely on her. Today, she’d made up her mind to enter the competition, but the question of which match to enter depended on her potential opponents. If her opponent was too unskilled, there would be no glory to it even if she won.

Zhou Yexue was an unyielding young maiden. Though she knew the outcome, she refused to surrender without a fight. She still wielded her sword and faced Wang-sanlang. Blades glinted and flashed as they fought, making for an exciting scene, if only temporarily.

The venue was so spacious that, in order to save time, another two pairs had their match at the same time.

Su Qiao was among that pair, and his opponent was Jiuhua Sect’s personal disciple. They were the same age, and both rising stars. The battle between the two was even more exciting than that of Zhou Yexue and Wang-sanlang, so most of the crowd’s attention was on them. They watched with rapt attention while silently sighing over how the jianghu’s talents were like waves pushing forth, the new supplanting the old.

At this moment, a Chunyang Monastery disciple came down the mountain, with another person behind him.

Upon seeing that person’s face from afar, Shen Qiao couldn’t help but shift slightly. It was clear that he was both extraordinarily surprised, as well as deeply shaken.

Sitting beside him, Zhao Chiying couldn’t help noticing his shock. “What is it?”