The Villain's Counterattack

Chapter 154: Sweeping the Five Flags and Fighting against Yang Zuoshi

Song Qingshu, a third-generation disciple of Wudang, visited Yang Xiao, the left-hand man of the Ming Cult. He arrived at the foot of the Bright Summit with a visiting card and a sword. However, he was alone, but he carried hundreds of people with the Five Elements flag along the way and forced his way to the foot of the Bright Summit, which made the entire Ming Cult lose face.

Yang Xiao, who had received Song Qingshu's letter early, immediately made preparations and led the disciples of the four sects of Heaven, Earth, Wind and Thunder to welcome him with great fanfare, but he did not let him go up the mountain. After three years, Yang Xiao's appearance had not changed much, but Yang Buhui had grown up a lot. Seeing that Song Qingshu seemed to want to say something but hesitated, she knew without asking that he wanted to ask her about "Brother Wuji".

"The first disciple of the third generation of Wudang, the Confucian hero Song Qingshu, has honored you with a visit to Guangmingding. I, Yang, apologize for not welcoming you in person. But you have defeated the three leaders of the Five Elements Flag of the Ming Cult along the way. Don't you think you are too disrespectful to the Ming Cult?" Yang Xiao stared at Song Qingshu with cold eyes. Just a word he said made everyone around the Five Elements Flag blush.

Song Qingshu was only in his early twenties, and none of them were his match. No matter how many tricks they used, they still ended up being defeated. They besieged him, used poison, and set fire traps, but Song Qingshu's lightness skills were so powerful that all these tricks failed.

If this kind of record were to spread to the martial arts world, it would be enough to make him famous, but the reputation of the Ming Cult's Five Elements Flag would be ruined.

"You also know that I am the first disciple of the third generation of Wudang. My great master, Master Zhang, is famous for his skills that surpass those of nature and is known as the number one in the martial arts world. How can his direct disciple be inferior to him?"

"Yang Xiao, I, Song Qingshu, deeply admire your Ming Cult for fighting the Tartars and saving the people. However, you are in chaos internally, fighting for power and profit, each without a clear leadership structure. I, Song Qingshu, look down on you. You are a motley crowd, bound to fall apart from within." Song Qingshu pointed his sword at Yang Xiao and shouted, "I'm sure you already know why I've come today."

Yang Xiao glanced at his beloved daughter and said calmly, "A prominent sect doesn't need any elaborate excuses to challenge the Ming Cult. However, I do know your purpose this time, and I have nothing to say. If you were simply challenging me, I would have nothing to say. However, since you have brought shame upon the leaders of the Five Elements Flags and impacted the Ming Cult's prestige, I cannot let you leave so easily."

Song Qingshu glanced disdainfully at the five leaders of the Five Elements Banner and sneered, "They're fine leading troops in small-scale battles, but not in large-scale battles. Once thousands of Mongol cavalry charge en masse, small tactics become ineffective, unless you occupy advantageous terrain and hold it. As for your martial arts, I truly don't take you seriously. The Ming Cult has become increasingly corrupt since Yang Dingtian, and you're far behind."

When everyone heard Song Qingshu mention Yang Dingtian, their faces suddenly changed. When Yang Dingtian was alive, the Ming Cult was so prestigious and united, and no one in the martial arts world dared to offend it. But now it was divided into five parts, Fan Yao was missing, the White-browed Eagle King set up his own sect, the Golden-haired Lion King fled overseas, the Purple-clothed Dragon King was missing, and the Green-winged Bat King and the Five Scattered People also broke up with him and left Guangmingding.

If they were all there, who would dare to mess with the powerful Ming Cult?

Would the Emei Nun Miejue dare to provoke the Ming Cult? Would she keep shouting that the evil cult's villains should be killed by everyone?

Sending any two of the Four Dharma Kings could help the Emei Sect lose weight. At that time, the Ming Cult was not the supreme leader in the martial arts world, but it was not far off. The Shaolin Cult was beaten into autism three times.

"Whether the Ming Cult has really fallen or not, Young Master Song needs to ask Yang about his methods." Although Yang Xiao was very reluctant to admit it, he had to admit that there was really no one else available on Guangmingding except himself.

The real masters, the Five Scattered Masters, the Four Dharma Kings and the Right Envoy, are all gone. Among them, the Four Dharma Kings and the Right Envoy are not powerful characters that he can easily defeat. From this point of view, the Ming Cult has indeed been torn apart and has really declined.

"Hmph, Yang Xiao, I've come here only to avenge my Sixth Uncle Yin Liting. Although you're resourceful, you lack prestige. Within the Ming Cult, you can only serve as a deputy and military advisor. If you were the leader, it wouldn't be much different from what you have now. It would still be a mess, simply because you can't command the support of the people."

Seeing Yang Xiao's face turn pale, Song Qingshu sneered, "No point in talking any more. Now, attack! Today, I will follow your will. Light Kung Fu, sword techniques, palm techniques, internal energy, hidden weapons, whatever you choose. I just want to beat you up. The method doesn't matter."

"What a big tone!" Yang Xiao roared, "Then let's give it a try." As he said that, he shook his hand and threw out a chess piece, which whizzed straight towards Song Qingshu's outer door, showing no mercy.

"Finger Snap Magic, what a grand title, but unfortunately yours isn't quite authentic." Song Qingshu casually used the third-grade One Yang Finger to shatter the chess piece in mid-air. He then held up another chess piece and showed it to Yang Xiao: "Look carefully, this is the real Finger Snap Magic."

The sound of breaking wind was even quieter, but the speed and power were both quite astonishing. Yang Xiao fired two chess pieces in a row before knocking one of Song Qingshu's pieces down. A look of horror filled his face, "How is this possible?!"

Song Qingshu flicked his hands, and black and white chess pieces flew all over the sky. Yang Xiao casually drew a long sword from his follower and knocked the chess pieces down with a "ding ding dang dang" sound. However, he knew that he had already lost in the hidden weapon competition and that the internal force infused by Song Qingshu's subsequent finger-snapping magic was very little. It was just a show, but Yang Xiao was one step ahead of him in terms of means and variety.

"You are not good at using hidden weapons, and you can't beat me in swordsmanship." Song Qingshu unsheathed his long sword and in an instant he was in front of Yang Xiao. He thrust out with an astonishing speed. Yang Xiao unleashed his sword skills, decades of internal strength, and the two swords collided. With a crisp "clang", the long sword in his hand was actually cut off by Song Qingshu, and a piece of his clothes fell off. If it weren't for his amazing dodging skills, this sword would have been enough to injure him.

This kid was actually three times stronger than me in terms of internal strength? Yang Xiao was not a superficial person. He thought that this was just because of the divine weapon in his hand. And could the long sword he used be of inferior quality? Even if Song Qingshu's sword was not as good as the Heavenly Sword, it was probably not far behind.

Song Qingshu sheathed his sword, exerted a little force with his feet, and in the blink of an eye he was beside Yang Buhui. He touched her little head, and then casually took the swords of the two followers beside her. No one reacted, let alone resisted. Song Qingshu flipped over and landed in the middle of the field, avoiding the sneak attack from Yang Xiao's finger-snapping magic from behind.

Throwing a long sword at Yang Xiao, Song Qingshu sneered, "If I defeat you with my divine weapons, you won't be convinced. These two long swords belong to you, the Ming Cult disciples. Let's have a fair fight."

Yang Xiao was furious and attacked with his sword. Although he was not famous for his sword skills, his martial arts training had reached such a high level that he could use all kinds of martial arts with ease and had almost no weaknesses. The two of them fought back and forth, swords clashing, and the battle was fierce.

The Ming Cult members were stunned. They knew the martial arts prowess of Left Emissary Yang Xiao, but what about Song Qingshu, a man in his early twenties, perhaps no more than twenty-five? He could fight him on equal terms, even gaining a slight advantage.

From the ground to the cliff, the two men's lightness skills were surprisingly equally matched, especially Song Qingshu's Wudang Cloud Ladder, which was extremely flexible in moving up and down, and could also move and change positions in the air. "Bang!" The two men simultaneously struck out with a palm in the air, and flew backwards to the left and right, falling to the ground.

As if on telepathic note, they both dropped their swords and charged forward, unleashing a flurry of punches and kicks. Yang Xiao's palm technique was quite impressive, and Song Qingshu's Heaven-Flipping Palm, after numerous refinements, was equally formidable. Surprisingly, Yang Xiao was unable to defeat him, even finding himself in dire straits several times, forced to resort to the incomplete Great Shift of the Universe. Yang Xiao suddenly realized that even with his second-level Great Shift of the Universe, he still couldn't defeat him.

The two men fought from sunrise to noon, their faces and bodies covered in dust and sweat, looking utterly miserable. Song Qingshu took a palm strike from Yang Xiao, and Yang Xiao took a kick from Song Qingshu. A large footprint gleamed brightly on his chest, leaving him feeling gloomy. When had this bastard become so powerful? Was Wudang's Zhang Sanfeng so skilled even in teaching his disciples?

"Gurgle~" Song Qingshu's stomach suddenly growled, and soon after, Yang Xiao's stomach followed suit. "Wait, it's getting late now. Let's take a break after I have a good meal and then continue fighting."

Still fighting? My old bones can't stand such a torment from him. Although this battle was very exciting, it will take at least two or three days to recover.

It's hard to stand alone. Should we call those bastards back to help?

Could it be that this bastard not only wants to owe himself a favor by helping the Five Elements Flag, but also wants to summon back the Ming Cult masters scattered outside?

In the afternoon, Yang Xiao directly took the initiative to propose to test Song Qingshu's "scholar-knight" quality. The two competed in music, chess, calligraphy and painting, but the competition between martial arts masters is naturally different. Song Qingshu directly played a song "Seven-Stringed Invisible Sword" which almost made Yang Xiao collapse. Then they competed in chess. The two used swords to carve a chessboard on the stone wall, and then stood five feet away and used the magic of snapping fingers to play chess with black and white pieces. The game continued until the sun set without a winner.

Yes, it's just that there was no winner, not that there was no winner. Song Qingshu had clearly gained the upper hand, but Yang Xiao cheated and deliberately slowed down the game. In the end, he ended the game hastily on the grounds that it was getting late, but left the unfinished game on the rocky cliff. Every chess piece was deeply embedded, showing the profound internal strength of both men.

Yang Xiao invited him warmly, but Song Qingshu directly refused. He frankly said in front of everyone that he would just settle for peace this time and would come again at this time next year. He hoped that the Ming Cult could withstand the stronger him.