Nightfall

All those who were listening found the exchange simple, yet confusing. Tang Xiaotang said that if General Lebu wanted a fight then he had one, but when had he incited a fight?

Their confusion stemmed from the fact that they had never lived in the Wilderness, and so they had no understanding of its history or of the culture of its people.

The vast grasslands of the North were called the Wilderness because they had once belonged to the Wild People. One thousand years ago, the Wild Kingdom was the strongest force on earth. Now all who lived in the Wilderness were outcasts; remnants of the wild people who live out their days in suffering.

Once the Wild Kingdom was defeated by the Great Tang, the Wild People were exiled even further north. Their former slaves from the Tribe of Savages joined forces with their nomad tribesmen in the west to rebuild the Three Great Halls of Kings, finally regaining their freedom.

Those tumultuous times had left a cruel scar in the memory of both sides. The Tribe of Savages’ attitude towards the Wild People was exactly as hateful as one might expect, while the Wild People thought of the Tribe as traitorous slaves. The conflict was a blood feud, but after the Wild People were exiled to the cold north, the two sides hardly encountered each other, and their hatred dulled with time.

As the Ever Night fell, the Wild People forged a bloody warpath southward to reclaim their ancestral homelands, spilling blood in the Left Royal Court in the East. The blood feud between the two peoples was once again awakened. In view of this history, General Lebu and Tang Xiaotang’s discussion about the appropriate name for those plains was laden with significance and established the position of each party.

Since you are of the Wild People and I am of the Tribe of Savages, this fight is inevitable.

“There are many people here, but none will fight you. This is not because their strength surpasses you so much that it would be an unfair fight: after all, everyone knows the standard of the Academy, and even if you are a second-generation student, you cannot be considered their junior. They only do not dare to fight you because of your identity as the Academy’s student.”

General Lebu said to Tang Xiaotang, “The conflict between the royals of my Golden Tribe, the Tang Kingdom and the Academy runs just as deep as the feud between you Wild People. I do not care about your status in the Academy. I admire your song and your fighting from before, so I will kill you.”

Only then did Tang Xiaotang hear from Chen Pipi about the General’s identity as the Golden Tribe Royal Hall’s top martial artist. Still, her face showed no trace of worry.

Unlike the General, she was not in the habit of delivering a long monologue before a fight. She immediately charged at her opponent, her metal rod in hand. Her leather boots left a trail of trampled flowers in their wake.

The rod whistled through the air, delivering a clean, direct blow.

With a clang, Lebu deflected the blow with the scythe from his waist, blocking it just as cleanly.

Both had lived in the Wilderness. Their fighting styles were similarly direct and free of any sneaky tricks. The win depended on two things alone: strength and cultivation level.

The sound of the two weapons colliding was like an earth-shattering thunderclap.

Amongst the audience, the Divine Priests at lower levels of cultivation paled when they heard this noise. The junior students on the dais found the noise unbearable, covering their ears.

Suddenly, Lebu’s eyes widened. He thought that the collision would have broken Tang Xiaotang’s weapon, but in fact, it had snapped his tempered scimitar into pieces.

What kind of weapon was that ugly rod? How could it render the Blow of Light useless, then shatter his own formidable blade?

All those watching now looked at the rod with fear in their eyes. Little did they know that this ugly rod was a Devil’s Doctrine artifact. It had originally been a gigantic, blood-red scimitar. In the Battle of Chang’an, the Abbey Dean created seven rainbows linking the sky and the earth, intending to use them as escape routes. Yu Lian had used this huge crimson blade to break them.

While the scimitar successfully broke the rainbows, it was also melted into this ugly rod by the sheer force of the Haotian energy woven into the rainbows as fortifications. Although its appearance was much uglier and Tang Xiaotang now used it as a rod, it was still the same rainbow-breaking material. Nothing on earth could match up to it.

Although the rod had emerged victorious over the scythe, the weapons’ owners had not yet finished their battle. With a mighty cry, General Lebu harnessed the energy of the grass plains, making it course through his body. His curled-up right fist seemed as solid as a mountain. With a glint in his eye, he advanced menacingly towards the rod.

The meeting of the rod and the fist was once again accompanied by a deafening noise.

The noise was so loud that the Divine Priests at lower levels of cultivation were now cupping their ears in pain. It was so powerful that it even made some onlookers sustain internal injuries, causing them to cough up blood.

Lebu was the strongest warrior in the Golden Tribe. Based on strength alone, it would be hard to find an opponent who could match him. He had recently gone to war with the Great Tang’s great general Xu Chi in northern Xinjiang and shone just as brightly as Xu Chi on the battlefield. Unless Xia Hou resurrected, nobody would be able to defeat him, Tang Xiaotang included.

His iron fist landed on the rod. Although the weapon did not bend or break, the gargantuan impact traveled through the rod and hit Tang Xiaotang’s body in full force.

The recoil shocked her body. Blood trickled from the corner of her mouth. Still, she held the rod staunchly, not saying a word.

Lebu had been thrown into a rage by the destruction of his treasured blade. After that earth-shattering blow, he charged again with a roar.

He was stopped in his tracks after only two steps.

Without missing a beat or even rubbing the blood off her lip, Tang Xiaotang charged right back at the general.

By this time, the peach flowers on the ground before the altar had been ground into dust by her boots.

Tang Xiaotang and General Lebu met at blows again. They were both using short-range weapons: the rod and the fist.

It was as if two mountains had collided head-on. The clash created a thunderous noise which once again shook Peach Mountain, along with a shrill sound of the piercing wind.

Tang Xiaotang was struck back again. This time she was thrown back a further distance and the blood dripped steadily from her wounds. With another cry, she bolted forward towards her enemy.

The rod was brought down; the fist shot out. They parted and met. Tang Xiaotang charged so many times that she lost count.

Although she had not managed to topple General Lebu, her feet never stopped to rest. Since the beginning of the battle, the general had not made a single step of headway.

The terrifying crashes echoed again and again. Many Divine Priests had now been forced to the floor, and ten or so junior students were now out cold on the ground. The unceasing quake was too much for them to handle.

All the skilled cultivators in attendance felt terror in their hearts. Tang Xiaotang was clearly no match for General Lebu but she never stopped charging forward. Her unwavering determination was a fearsome sight.

Ning Que stood in the crowd and thought about what he had seen outside the Chang’an city gates, years ago. Tang Xiaotang had been swindled of all her money. When she passed by the city, she thought about how Chang’an had a reputation to uphold for the Academy, so she decided to earn money performing on the streets. Her act was lying on a bench and breaking boulders on her chest.

The Tang Xiaotang he saw persistently charging today reminded him of that sight from years ago: a huge hammer hitting a rock over and over, and below the rock, a young girl. Her chest was not broad, so the rock rattled on an uneven surface, making it hard to break. Although the rock did not break easily, the hammer kept coming down – eventually, the rock would break.

Chen Pipi stood in silence on the altar. His brow was furrowed and his lips quivered, but a smile lit up his face.

He thought about the story Tang Xiaotang had told him about her time in the Wilderness. To protect the vulnerable women and children, she and her senior had kept all manner of beasts away. She once encountered a pack of huge wolves. Although she was scared, she charged at the wolves until she forgot how many times she had charged. He was shocked and asked her, “But didn’t you say that you were scared?”

She replied, “When I’m about to enter battle, I forget that I’m scared.”

…

Before the dais of Peach Mountain, the battle between two strong cultivators continued. The peach flowers had long been decimated. Even the wind seemed to be shattered into a thousand pieces. It was as if it would never end.

Just as everyone thought that they could no longer hang on, that their hearts were about to give up, they realised that the battle had somehow ended.

The battle ended, not because Tang Xiaotang had stopped charging.

Rather, it was because Lebu had taken a step back.

The proud warrior, the best in the Golden Tribe, had silently retreated back into the crowd.

Tang Xiaotang’s body was drenched with blood. It dripped from her lip and flowed onto the iron rod. Countless bones in her body were now broken but she stood at attention, as if ready to resume her attacks at any time.

General Lebu seemed unhurt. His face was a little pale and his right fist trembled slightly. It seemed not to want to be formed again into a fist anytime soon.

The battle ended because he chose to retreat by one step. This showed that the battle had stayed consistently under his control, allowing him to end it with a dignified retreat.

He still looked powerfully formidable.

Tang Xiaotang’s braid had come apart. Her hair flowed wildly.

Her whole body was wounded. She was no match for Lebu.

Still, it was Lebu who had first retreated.

Although the battle seemed to reach no clear conclusion, the victor had been decided.

The winner on raw strength was undoubtedly Lebu, but he admitted defeat.

“I accept defeat.”

Lebu addressed Tang Xiaotang. “I have seen those who do not fear death, but I have never seen anyone like you. Initially, I could not understand how you could be this crazy, but I remembered your background. Now I understand. I admitted defeat because I would like to kill you, but I do not want to carry on fighting with you. I’m not insane.”

Tang Xiaotang was a Wild Person, a follower of the Devil’s Doctrine, a student of the Academy. That was her background.

In the eyes of many, Wild People were all crazy on the battlefield. Many followers of Devil’s Doctrine seemed crazy. The Academy had produced the most famous lunatic of all, Maniac Ke.

It was only natural that she would seem crazy in battle.

After the end of the battle, Tang Xiaotang regained her composure. She cast her eyes over all the strong cultivators gathered at the altar and felt her hand tremble around the iron rod. Suddenly, she broke out in a smile.

She turned to Chen Pipi and said, “Looks like I’m not taking you away after all.”