Legend of Fu Yao

Meng Fuyao drew her sword. The lightning of the Cleaving Nine Heavens struck from across the sky, cutting through the layer of earth and stirring up the specks of dust and pebbles. Every strike of hers resembled that of a whip with the way it moved.

Her current improved sword technique purely relied on strength but was a combination of power and agility; swiftness and calmness. Within the calmness was contained an unlimited amount of power.

Clang! Cang! Clang!

At the 101st move, Meng Fuyao’s blade collided with Yan Taiyu seven times. Every collision targeted the joints of the whip using a slightly different degree of strength and technique. Her attacks were continuous and quick. Finally, a crack appeared on the seemingly indestructible whip. Meng Fuyao, the opportunist, took the chance to strike.

A section of the whip hit the ground.

Appalled, Yan Taiyu stumbled back. This was no normal whip. It was a whip that could not be broken by swords, and the people who tried were usually the ones that ended up getting hurt. His father had told him, with much pride, that the whip was indestructible. And indeed, armed with this whip, he had beat many other competitors. Who could have thought that today, someone actually broke it?

As Yan Taiyu moved back, Meng Fuyao forced her way forward. With another seven strike combo, the middle section of the whip broke.

As the collision happened, Meng Fuyao felt her heart thump hard against her chest. It was as though someone had tugged her heart. But it was only momentarily. Very soon, her heart rate went back to normal.

Mrng Fuyao pushed it to the back of her mind as she lifted up her sword and pointed it to Yan Taiyu. “Do you still want to continue?”

Yan Taiyu’s face was ashen as he picked up the pieces of his whip. “I’ve lost,” he admitted as he dragged the whip down. The more knowledgeable spectators whispered to each other as they shared a collective pity for the excellent whip that was just lost.

The victor was in an extremely good mood as she laughed. “Mr. Ba.”

“Bagu.” The man corrected her with a strange accent and half closed eyes.

Meng Fuyao frowned – she disliked this peculiar man. “Very well then, EightAuntie. ¹ How about we get straight to it?”

Bagu lifted his head and calmly said, “I have already begun.”

Meng Fuyao paused and what quickly followed was her heart tightening. It was as though an invisible hammer had struck her heart causing much pain. She suddenly remembered she had the same pain when she was battling Yan Taiyu. She just realized what Bagu meant when he said he had ‘begun’ — this earnest-looking man had actually snuck an attack on her while she was battling Yan Taiyu!

‘How dare you scheme a sneak attack on me? When I learned how to scheme people, god knows which corner you were in playing with your own urine and mud!’

Meng Fuyao leaped forward. A ray of black light with the innermost layer of white shot over. It was the sixth level of the “Cleaving Nine Heavens,” and wherever the blade traveled, the sounds of the wind would cause the currents to form a vortex, colliding with each other!

The furious Meng Fuyao used all her skills at once.

Her blade, unlike the previously quiet attacks, was now filled with murderous aura and instantaneously appeared near Bagu’s chest.

Bagu, who stood opposite her quietly, remained at his spot without much movement. Suddenly, an eerie grin crept onto his face as he showed his palm towards Meng Fuyao.

In the palm of his hand was a single eye. It had a charcoal black pupil, giving off a chilling vibe. That eye “stared” at Meng Fuyao, as though as it was “looking” into her deepest thoughts.

As Meng Fuyao rushed over, Bagu remained still. All he did was put his two hands together and shake them. Then, that “eye” started to blink.

Beautiful rays of light fanned opened.

Amidst the magnificent light rays, a long-awaited familiar yet a little foreign scene unfolded itself in front of her.

Pure white walls, pure white sheets. Beside the bed was a bedside table with a vase sitting on it. A nurse dressed in pink walked in, pushing a cart full of medicine. A metal rod on the side hung an IV… and on the bed, was a haggard and skinny lady donned in blue — Mother!

In the illusion, everything felt so unbelievably real. Meng Fuyao could even hear the gentle voice of the nurse, her mother’s cheerful reply, the sound of the IV coming in contact with the metal and the footsteps of the family members here to visit.

And then, she saw her own blade stabbed into her own heart.

Fear struck her as the illusion fell apart.

As the light faded, her mother appeared.

Her mother lifted her head and smiled weakly at her daughter rushing towards her with a knife. Quietly, her mother muttered, “Fuyao…”

‘Mother!’

In that second, Meng Fuyao, with all that she could, tried to stop her attack. As a result, the force injured herself instead, and blood rushed up to her throat.

Meng Fuyao watched her mother from the other dimension. Thanks to this, her soul was almost shattered into a million pieces.

At this very moment, Zhan Nancheng and Zhangsun Wuji were chatting over tea. After Meng Fuyao’s exciting display of her techniques in the battle with Yan Taiyu, the audience had lost any form of interest or expectation in the battle with Bagu, who only had a decent performance throughout. Some of the audience begun to chatter, others enjoyed their tea while others built connections. However, a majority of them who took delight in gossiping turned to the engaged couple.

Zhan Nancheng then asked Zhangsun Wuji, “Pardon me but many have heard of the engagement between the Crown Prince and Princess Lotus. Why is it that the wedding is still not held? I am looking forward to enjoying the wedding feast.”

The royals that were present all turned their attention over after hearing this sentence.

Princess Lotus slowly placed her teacup on the table, straightened her back, looked down and placed her hands on her knees.

Everyone’s attention, except for the two fighting, was now focused on Zhangsun Wuji. The initially noisy palace hall had now become oddly quiet.

Under the watchful eyes of everyone, Zhangsun Wuji remained silent, not replying to the question for a long period of time.

Everyone was now looking at Zhangsun Wuji.

No one knew of the danger Meng Fuyao was in.

They were just purely curious and did not expect any ‘out of the blue’ sort of answer. Only Princess Lotus, as she kneeled in front of the table without moving, hid her hands in her sleeves as she trembled ever so slightly.

As the scrutiny of the crowd enshrouded Zhangsun Wuji, he remained silent, as though he was in deep thought. After a while, he smiled and replied, “The Princess and I have already nu–”

His words abruptly stopped, and he quickly turned to the battlefield. Without notice, he flew towards that direction.

The spectators, who were waiting for his reply, were all caught by surprise — a remarkably composed person suddenly revealed a worried expression and even flew out half way.

Lotus stopped trembling. Fourth Prince Feng beside her commented, “What’s with this crown prince…” He then noticed that Lotus was pale. Concerned, he asked, “Sister are you alright? Why do you look so pale?”

Lotus forced a smile and responded, “Don’t worry brother. I am blessed by the Gods and will always turn peril into safety.”

Fourth Prince Feng found her response a little odd but did not bother overthinking it, and he turned back to watch the battle.

Lotus sat upright steadily and laughed silently. That laughter of hers was chilling, and a little sinister.

Meng Fuyao retracted her blade suddenly, and the huge impact was immediately redirected to her alone. She felt a loud rumble, and her entire body was being weighed down by a tremendous power. A mouthful of blood forced its way up her throat as she was flung out by the power. Opposite her, Bagu, who was waiting patiently for his chance, finally moved. He stepped forward, stretched out his hand, which had a ghost head claw in his palm, and attacked Meng Fuyao.

At this point in time, the audience redirected their attention back to the battle. To their surprise, the battle had done at 180-degree turn — Meng Fuyao who was on the verge of winning was now rebounded by the force and flung out. Not only that, Bagu’s ghost head claw was inches away from sinking into her chest. With Meng Fuyao being unable to retaliate given her heavy injuries, the shocked audience could not help but gasp.

A sardonic smile appeared on Bagu’s face as he watched Meng Fuyao’s desperate attempts to evade. Meng Fuyao was unable to, however, as her heavy injuries and her disordered meridians inhibited her movements.

She closed her eyes in despair.

In the split-second, before her eyes were fully closed, a figure swept by. Zhangsun Wuji had arrived.

He had drifted over so gently, yet, every strike of his was strong and solid. With a wave of his sleeves, he stopped Bagu’s attack!

The howling of the wind stopped as Zhangsun Wuji lightly stretched out his finger and stabbed it in between the eyes of the sinister ghost head.

Bagu looked his ghost head claw as anger slowly warped his face into the devil’s look alike. With a ghastly expression, he looked up at Zhangsun Wuji. Enunciating each and every word clearly, he questioned in a menacing tone, “Crown Prince. As the judge of this competition, you actually intervened in the battle, publicly protecting your own contestant. Do you not think that your actions are nothing short of outrageous?”

“In my opinion, I am protecting you,” replied Zhangsun Wuji.

Coldly, Bagu retorted, “This joke of yours is not very funny, Crown Prince.”

“I cannot be bothered to joke around with you.” Zhangsun Wuji smiled. “All I ask you is one question, are you really from Fufeng nation?”

The audience burst into a heated discussion, shocked. The True Martial Arts Meet had stringent rules about a contestant’s nationality. Once it was discovered that the contestant lied about his or her nationality, the rights to participate in this competition would be immediately canceled. If Bagu had lied about his identity, he had no right to stay.