Chapter 227: The First Battle of Ye Capital

“Thunder Blade Madman Monku…” Jin Jinxian muttered under his breath, still using the nickname everyone knew best, completely disregarding the final paragraph Mei Qi had painstakingly added.

Around him, Kong Yu, Wang Ce, Shan Xiumei, and the others had already opened at least six of the nine apertures, their keen vision allowing them to clearly read the letter. They now understood that the martial artist listed on the Renbang, the “Mad Thunderblade Monku,” had come to challenge Jin Jinxian, the “Red Sun Sword” of Yedu. Each of them harbored their own thoughts.

“How interesting! It’s rare to encounter a challenge from a Renbang expert in Huan Prefecture!” Wang Ce whispered privately to Shan Xiumei, his eyes sparkling with excitement and longing, as if he wished he could take Jin Jinxian’s place. For the younger generation of martial artists and martial arts enthusiasts, this was an extraordinary event far surpassing the martial arts school competitions, offering even more topics for discussion and drawing a larger crowd.

Furthermore, Wang Ce, having evaluated his own capabilities, had long harbored the ambition to challenge renowned masters after opening his seventh chakra, aiming to establish his reputation and ascend the Renbang rankings. Faced with such an opportunity now, how could he not be exhilarated and brimming with anticipation?

Shan Xiumei smiled in response, “Being able to witness a battle between a Renbang expert and a senior master will make this year unforgettable.”

“But…” she slightly furrowed her brow, “Thunder Blade Madman Monku, or rather, ‘Blade Madman’ Su Meng—if he wants to enhance his reputation and climb higher on the Renbang, why doesn’t he directly challenge those ranked in the top thirty-two? Why must he go through the trouble of challenging Master Jin?”

In the past, “Gentleman Sword” Meng Qi had risen on the Renbang, while the “Scattering Flowers Heavenly Maiden” had been removed, resulting in one addition and one removal, yet Thunder Blade Madman Monku’s ranking remained unchanged.

“I know this,” Wang Ce replied, showing off to the beautiful Shan Xiumei. “Only three martial artists from Huan Prefecture are listed on the Renbang: one is ‘Gentleman Sword’ Meng Qi, who returned to Xiliang for revenge and has since disappeared without a trace; another is ‘Green Lotus Young Master’ Liu Su of the Huanhua Sword Sect, who is currently traveling the world and was recently spotted in Jiangdong, not in Yedu. Therefore, if Thunder Blade Madman Monku wishes to challenge someone, he can only seek out my cousin Wang Zai, who ranks much higher than Thunder Blade Madman Monku and is renowned for his ‘Righteous Qi.’ Thunder Blade Madman Monku must prepare thoroughly before challenging my cousin.”

“Prepare?” Shan Xiumei blinked, a bit puzzled.

Wang Ce showed off, “Momentum. He needs to build up his momentum. By challenging senior masters and young martial artists with formidable strength and achieving successive victories, he can push his own momentum and confidence to their peak, thereby increasing his chances of defeating my cousin.”

“Oh, I see. Wang Brother, you really know a lot,” Shan Xiumei looked at Wang Ce with admiration.

“Hmph,” Wang Ce, satisfied yet pretending to be humble, said, “Momentum confrontation and spiritual contention are important aspects of our family’s cultivation, so I naturally understand a bit about it.”

Qong Yu, the green-robed chief constable, maintained a calm expression, but his heart was stirred. Was Thunder Blade Madman Monku truly planning to test his blade against the heroes of Yedu? What connection did this have with that “demon girl” he had mentioned? Was he acting of his own will or under coercion?

“We must have the constables keep an eye on Su Meng and any women near the Wanhu Lou…”

Qi Zhengyan was also among the guests. Upon seeing the letter, he immediately understood it was related to the Da Luo demon girl Gu Xiaosang and also to Shan Xiumei, the heir of the Xuan Nu sect by Wang Ce’s side.

“How did Master Meng determine that Shan Xiumei is the heir of the Xuan Nu sect?” Qi Zhengyan pondered. He believed that Meng Qi would not act rashly; he must have found evidence before personally challenging the Chiyang Martial Arts Academy.

He knew clearly that, despite Meng Qi’s seemingly playful and restless exterior, his penchant for showing off often left Qi Zhengyan both amused and exasperated. As Meng Qi himself would say, “I have intermittent brain spasms.” But when it came to actual matters, he was always cautious. When it came to life-or-death situations, he was never timid and would never truly fall under the sway of a demon girl. His actions must have a purpose or a hidden plan.

Qi Zhengyan suppressed his thoughts and did not observe Shan Xiumei’s reaction, as doing so at this moment would easily alert her.

The other guests were variously excited, expectant, puzzled, or anxious, all looking toward Jin Jinxian, wondering whether he would accept the challenge.

Jin Jinxian clearly felt the questioning gazes of everyone present but could only offer a bitter smile.

If a young and relatively unknown martial artist challenged him, even if they had unlocked seven or eight apertures, he could easily brush it off with a laugh or delegate it to a disciple. However, Thunder Blade Madman Monku was a renowned expert in the Renbang, possessing both formidable strength and a formidable reputation. How could he possibly refuse such a formal challenge?

A person’s reputation and a tree’s shadow—Renbang experts were simply different from others!

Jin Jinxian took a deep breath and instructed his martial artists, “Send someone to the Wanhu Lou to deliver a message; I will accept the challenge tomorrow night.”

Whether Thunder Blade Madman Monku was genuine or not would be revealed in due time. If someone was impersonating him, the embarrassment would not land on Jin himself.

Wang Ce glanced happily at Shan Xiumei, anticipating an exciting spectacle.

…

As the Lantern Festival approached, the night’s full moon gradually rounded, and the Wanhu Lou was bustling with people, even livelier than the Lantern Festival itself.

Most of the attendees were martial artists who had heard that the thirty-third-ranked “Thunder Blade Madman” Monku on the Renbang would challenge Yedu’s renowned master “Red Sun Sword” Jin Jinxian tonight, and they had gathered to witness this rare battle.

Seizing this opportunity, many gamblers secretly set up betting booths, with most people placing their bets on the self-proclaimed “Blade Maniac” Thunder Blade Maniac Monku Su Meng. He had previously defeated three martial artists with nine apertures, including Anguo Xie and You Huan Duo, whose strength surpassed that of Jin Jinxian.

Behind the Wanhu Lou, there were lotus ponds and rockeries, winding corridors, now empty, reserved for the impending duel between Meng Qi and Jin Jinxian.

Various private rooms upstairs were filled with people from different factions: the Wang family from Zhou Jun, the Huang family from Yedu, the Huanhua Sword Sect, and the Luoxia Divine Sword Sect, among others. The rest of the crowd either crowded along the corridors or used their lightness skills to climb onto rooftops and treetops, creating quite a lively scene.

“I wonder if the Mad Blade can defeat Master Jin?” In a private room occupied by the Wang family from Zhou Jun, Shan Xiumei stood by the window, silently gazing at the cold moonlit lotus pond.

The room was packed with numerous members of the Wang family, including Wang Zai and several other gifted relatives whose abilities were nearly on par with his. Wang Ce cast a glance at his cousin and the others, smiling as he said, “The Mad Blade will undoubtedly defeat Master Jin. The only uncertainty lies in how many moves it will take.”

Wang Zai contemplated, “No one witnessed Thunderblade Madman Monku Su Meng’s battle with Anguo Xie, which appeared to involve poison and concealed weapons. Yuan Mengzhi of the Jade Hand perished under the thunder he summoned, and the actual combat lasted merely half a move. ‘Local Yama’ You Huan Duo was forced to retreat by his sudden resurgence of martial prowess and later met his end at the hands of the Sword Immortal Maiden. Thus, it’s difficult to gauge his true strength. Without summoning thunder, even with the Ananda Breaking the Precepts Blade Technique, he might require more than ten moves.”

Gaining the upper hand with the Ananda Breaking the Precepts Blade Technique and relentlessly pressuring the opponent was a method to swiftly defeat a Nine-Aperture martial artist.

“That makes sense,” the other Wang family members agreed with this assessment.

In another private chamber reserved for the Ye Du Huang family, an elder roughly reiterated Wang Zai’s words. Finally, he turned to the person beside him and said, “Thunderblade Madman Monku often relies on external aids. Judging by his true strength, he hasn’t surpassed his peers. Zi Shi, he is the perfect stepping stone for you to climb the Renbang rankings.”

The person beside him was the Huang family’s outstanding talent of the current generation, Huang Zishi, known as the “Falling Petals Young Master,” who had already unlocked eight orifices.

Huang Zi Shi didn’t speak, fanning himself with a folding fan as he gazed at the lotus pond outside, his eyes burning with intensity.

In the private room of the Chiyang Martial Arts School, a rough-looking middle-aged man held a copy of the Human Rankings list. After scanning the room with his eyes, he sneered and said, “Thunderblade Madman Meng Ku hasn’t shown any truly convincing strength apart from his lucky acquisition of an item that can summon thunder and lightning. In my opinion, he doesn’t live up to his reputation. Master Jin should be able to defeat him! Hmph, if it were me, I could win too.”

He was Luo Youfeng, the master of another major martial arts academy, “Pojun,” with the strength of eight meridians. In his prime, he often exploited this advantage to push the older and weaker Jin Jinxian into a corner during sparring matches.

“He challenged Master Jin openly; how could he not have some skill?” another master disagreed.

At this moment, Jin Jinxian, who had been meditating with his eyes closed, opened his eyes, stood up, picked up his Chiyang sword, left the private room, and walked step by step into the courtyard, building up his momentum.

In another room, Gu Xiaosang looked toward the Wang family’s location with a playful smile, saying, “Wang Ce’s mother comes from the Pingjin Cui family, with both strength and background being top-notch. However, she dotes on her son, bringing along an elderly servant from her dowry to protect him. This old servant has the strength of a half-step into the external scenery, although he has suffered severe injuries that damaged his foundation, his base strength still remains. I want to kill him, but it would take quite some effort. However, he protects Wang Ce, not Shan Xiumei. As long as Wang Ce often goes out, there will always be a way to separate him from Shan Xiumei.”

“Of course, not this time. Even if there were an opportunity, it would seem too coincidental and raise suspicion toward you.”

Meng Qi, who had been meditating with his eyes closed, coldly snorted, “You talk too much. If you’re going to be a maid, you should act like one. Come, give me a shoulder massage.”

Hmph, if I don’t take this opportunity to boss you around and get revenge, I won’t be surnamed Meng!

Gu Xiaosang lowered her head, looking pitiful as she said, “Master’s scolding is well-deserved.”

She moved behind Meng Qi and started massaging his shoulders, trying to please him, saying, “Master, is it comfortable? Are you satisfied?”

Too conscientiously… Meng Qi immediately lost all interest, inhaled deeply, moved away from the window, and directly jumped down.

He soared like a mighty eagle, his imposing presence stirring thunderous cheers from the crowd.

Standing atop the rockery, Meng Qi watched Jin Jinxian approach. He raised his right hand, drew out “Whisper,” and saluted, saying, “Elder Jin, please.”

Jin Jinxian touched his sword scabbard and smiled, “The younger generation is indeed formidable.”

With a clang, his crimson long sword was drawn. Without hesitation, he slashed his sword at Meng Qi across the lotus pond. The sword force was mighty, and the fierce wind from the sword qi blew toward Meng Qi.

As the sword moved forward, he also stepped into the lotus pond, stepping on the dry leaves.

Although Meng Qi held a blade, it didn’t mean he couldn’t use the Solitary Sword Technique. The styles of breaking swords, breaking blades, and breaking qi were all primarily about finding the opponent’s weakness, and were not much related to the weapon in hand. He could break with a sword, a spear, or a blade. However, when launching an attack, he had to conform to the principles of his own weapon, and many techniques of breaking attacks could not be used, so Meng Qi had not attempted it before.

But in the past half year, Meng Qi had truly focused on diligent cultivation, greatly improving his blade techniques and the Solitary Sword Technique, finally integrating the two.

The long blade slashed diagonally, whispers rising, disturbing the mind. With a clang, it met Jin Jinxian’s long sword. The mighty sword force and scorching sword qi seemed to hit the vital point of a snake, immediately weakening.

Jin Jinxian’s heart tensed. Indeed, the reputation was well-deserved. This slash was perfectly timed—too fast would be hasty, too slow would be insufficient, too heavy would lose flexibility, and too light would be inadequate.

Jin Jinxian turned his sword, transforming into the setting sun’s glow. Meng Qi once again slashed with a simple and ancient move. With another clang, they met again.

Clang after clang, Jin Jinxian launched twenty-seven consecutive sword strikes, fully demonstrating the Chiyang Sword Technique. The surging sword qi splashed water and created white mist, damaging the rockery.

Meanwhile, Meng Qi remained on the defensive, his long blade either forceful or subtle, either fierce or cunning, all ordinary moves, but always perfectly blocking Jin Jinxian’s sword strikes.

Jin Jinxian even had a feeling that this was the most exhilarating performance of his Chiyang Sword Technique since its mastery. The opponent seemed to always know his intentions, guiding him to scale the peak of swordsmanship!

But the audience didn’t see it that way. Wang Ce furrowed his brows and remarked, “Thunderblade Madman Monku seems somewhat undeserving of his reputation…”

He was being relentlessly assaulted by twenty-seven consecutive sword strikes from a declining Nine-Apertures martial artist, unable to mount any counterattack.

As he spoke, he glanced at his old servant and cousin, noticing their expressions were both puzzled and thoughtful, yet revealing no trace of disdain for Thunder Blade Madman Monku.

In another private room, Luo Youfeng, the master of the Pojun Martial Arts Academy, laughed heartily, “See? I told you Thunder Blade Madman Meng Qi doesn’t live up to his reputation! Besides summoning thunder, he only has the external scenery blade technique. If he doesn’t use the Ananda Breaking the Precepts Blade Technique soon, he’ll lose. Haha, even if he does, he might not necessarily win.”

Relying solely on the blade technique with true intent wouldn’t defeat a nine-aperture martial artist, as they had protective sword qi.

Other martial artists watching displayed expressions of disdain. This was probably the weakest expert on the Renbang.