Chapter 56: People-Oriented Approach

After a few shifting steps, Linghu Chong trembled as he stretched out his hand, pointing at Wang Jingyuan, who held a sword in one hand and a crossbow in the other, and said angrily, "Junior Brother Wang, you're cheating!"

Wang Jingyuan sheathed both the crossbow and the sword casually and replied, "Just tell me, did I use 'Phoenix Bringing Auspiciousness' or not?"

Linghu Chong shivered with anger, "Is that really 'Phoenix Bringing Auspiciousness'?"

"Why wouldn’t it be?"

"You pulled out a crossbow! That doesn’t count! Wait, is that crossbow...?"

"Don’t bother with such details. Fine, this time I’ll use 'Welcoming Pine Guest' and promise not to use any other weapons during the attack."

Hearing Wang Jingyuan’s assurance, Linghu Chong drew his sword and said, "Then, Junior Brother Wang, make your move!"

This time Wang Jingyuan truly used 'Welcoming Pine Guest' honestly. Linghu Chong tried to find a way to counter it but found it impossible. He could only dodge aside to avoid the attack.

"Junior Brother! Didn’t you say you wouldn’t use tricks?!"

"I am using 'Welcoming Pine Guest,' aren’t I?"

"Yes! But you..."

"I didn’t use any other attacking methods besides this move, right?"

"That’s true! But you..."

"Then why are you accusing me of cheating?!"

"Then use your sword!"

Wang Jingyuan casually put away a forty-pound great axe he had just picked up and earnestly admonished Linghu Chong, "Who says swordplay requires a sword? Is swordplay such an inconvenient thing? Besides, haven’t you realized the problem by now?"

Linghu Chong looked puzzled. "What problem?"

Wang Jingyuan pointed to the manuals behind them. "Tell me, if someone came here and found these manuals, then thought these moves could easily counter the Five Mountain Sword Sect’s sword techniques, wouldn’t they be excited and practice diligently?"

Without a second thought, Linghu Chong answered, "Naturally."

Wang Jingyuan shook his head. "Looks like that person is as foolish as you. They’d learn it, come down the mountain, meet a Shaolin monk on the road, and get beaten to tears by the monk’s mad demon staff technique."

Linghu Chong was somewhat stunned. "That..."

Wang Jingyuan looked at the manuals showing counter techniques. "Don’t you see? These things aren’t true martial arts at all. Each method can only specifically counter one sword move, and only if the opponent uses the move honestly."

"Even if I had used a sword to perform 'Welcoming Pine Guest' and suddenly switched mid-move to 'How is Mount Tai,' could you change along with me?"

Linghu Chong immediately glanced at the manuals and found that the counter techniques for 'Welcoming Pine Guest' and 'How is Mount Tai' differed greatly. Both outwardly appeared as a straightforward thrust, prepared in advance, and the change of move was quick.

But expecting the counter to change simultaneously was sheer fantasy.

Realizing this, Linghu Chong breathed a sigh of relief. "I knew it. Our Huashan swordplay was painstakingly crafted by generations of ancestors. It couldn’t be so simple..."

"In fact, their thinking wasn’t wrong. During the Southern Song era, on the back mountains of Zhongnan, there was the Ancient Tomb Sect. Its founding matriarch was betrayed by Wang Chongyang, the founder of Quanzhen Sect on Zhongnan’s front mountain..."

Yue Lingshan asked, "What do you mean by betrayed?"

"Abandoned after causing chaos in a relationship," Wang Jingyuan replied.

Hearing this, Yue Lingshan furrowed her brows, feeling some sympathy. "That Wang Chongyang..."

"Wang Chongyang was our Huashan Sect’s ancestor Hao Datong’s master."

Yue Lingshan promptly softened her tone, "Master Chongyang must have had his reasons?"

Wang Jingyuan shook his head, "No reasons. He was just awkward and arrogant—like Zhongnan’s Ikari Shinji or Quanzhen’s Lu Mingfei. Well, maybe that’s a bit harsh. He was better than those two."

Changing the subject, Wang Jingyuan continued, "The point is, the Ancient Tomb Sect’s matriarch, out of love and hatred, created the 'Jade Maiden Swordplay,' with every move designed to counter 'Quanzhen Swordplay.' But unlike these distorted techniques here, 'Jade Maiden Swordplay,' even on its own, is a refined sword art, only especially powerful against 'Quanzhen Swordplay.'

"And there’s more. The matriarch must have still harbored feelings for Wang Chongyang, holding some hope. If the two fought side by side, one using 'Quanzhen Swordplay,' the other 'Jade Maiden Swordplay,' the two arts would complement each other, multiplying their power."

Linghu Chong and Yue Lingshan, having never heard this history, were momentarily stunned, imagining just what a brilliant and extraordinary woman the Ancient Tomb Sect matriarch must have been.

But Wang Jingyuan added, "Speaking of which, I just remembered something. Because of the feud between the two founders, the Ancient Tomb Sect despises the Quanzhen Sect deeply.

"Among the third generation disciples of the Ancient Tomb Sect was a junior sister named Xiaolongnü. Her first time out of the mountain, she faced our Huashan ancestor, Hao Datong. Xiaolongnü was only twenty then, while Hao was over fifty."

Yue Lingshan anxiously asked, "Our ancestor surely didn’t bully a junior, did he?"

Wang Jingyuan shook his head, "No, he didn’t."

Both Linghu Chong and Yue Lingshan breathed a sigh of relief, preserving the venerable image of their ancestor.

"The ancestor was beaten to his knees by Xiaolongnü and almost took his own life."

"Huh?!"

"Oh, right, Xiaolongnü didn’t use 'Jade Maiden Swordplay' then."

"......"

Linghu Chong chuckled awkwardly twice. "Junior Brother Wang, you must be joking with us?"

"No, I’m telling the truth. If you don’t believe me, I can swear before the ancestor."

"Th-that’s not necessary."

Wang Jingyuan went on, "What I want to emphasize is, you don’t need to be so obsessed with martial arts. Because martial arts always have moves—and moves can be countered.

"But focusing only on countering moves is pointless. Whether making or breaking a move, it’s always done by a person. The key is always the person, not the technique. This reminds me of Xiao Feng beating all the martial world heroes with 'Taizu Long Fist.'

"And for example, Senior Brother, if you learned 'Dugu Nine Swords,' you could probably walk through the martial world unchallenged. But if you met a monster who had mastered the 'Dragon Elephant Prajna Skill' to the thirteenth level, that person would knock you down with a single punch."

"What about 'Dugu Nine Swords'?"

"I’m saying even 'Dugu Nine Swords' depends on who wields it."

"Then watch me wield it."

Wang Jingyuan turned and clasped his hands toward where the voice came from. "Disciple greets Senior Uncle Feng."

"Hmph! Some cleverness, at least," a slender old man’s figure appeared in the cave.

Linghu Chong and Yue Lingshan looked at Wang Jingyuan’s actions, puzzled. Wang Jingyuan winked at Feng Qingyang and said, "He is our Huashan senior, Senior Uncle Feng Qingyang."

Hearing the name "Feng Qingyang," terror flashed across Linghu Chong and Yue Lingshan’s faces.