The Villain's Counterattack

Chapter 126: Sword Challenge Huashan, Beat Xianyu at Night

However, Song Qingshu did not go to Emei first and then to Huashan as he had said. Instead, he visited several other sects among the six major sects in order of distance. The first one he visited was Huashan Sect. Song Qingshu had walked this route many times in his previous life, but he was always surrounded by people. Now, he was alone with a sword, a pot of wine, and a tall horse covered in gold and silver.

Wherever he went, he would visit the people. He would break the legs of any evildoer, no matter if he was a disciple of a famous family or a Mongolian Tartar, strip him naked and hang him up for public display. He would also write his crimes on his body. If there was not enough space to write, he would hang a piece of cloth around his neck with the person's crimes recorded on it, and he would hit the mark every time.

Although he didn't kill people, these villains were left with crippled legs, and some even had their hands broken. They would eventually be exploited by their enemies and meet a bitter end. Some of the Mongol officers were so dissolute and bloodthirsty that Song Qingshu infiltrated the barracks, turning them into idiots and then striking them in the head, leaving them to leave.

Arriving at the foot of Mount Hua, they paid a visit according to the rules of Jianghu. However, Xian Yutong of the Huashan Sect looked down on the third generation disciples of Wudang and sent his own disciples to greet them. Song Qingshu did not take it seriously and praised Huashan highly. He also asked about the sword contest among the five greatest masters of the world at Huashan a hundred years ago, which made all the Huashan disciples feel proud. However, they did not know that Song Qingshu was secretly mocking them for occupying such a precious mountain but being weak in strength.

After meeting the divine fortune teller Xian Yutong in the Jianqi Chongxiao Hall, Song Qingshu explained his purpose. He said that since he had just entered the martial arts world, he wanted to visit several other sects among the six major sects first. He wanted to make himself familiar with them first so as to avoid conflicts when they met in the future. Secondly, he wanted to learn the martial arts of hundreds of schools to enhance his own foundation. At the same time, he expressed his yearning for the Huashan Sword Contest of the Five Greatest Masters in the World and wanted to go to the holy land to watch it.

Xian Yutong, upon hearing that Huashan was the second most powerful martial art after Shaolin, warmed to Song Qingshu. Everyone loves a man who follows the rules, even if some people naturally dislike them. Song Qingshu, known as a Confucian knight, appeared refined and distinguished to outsiders, leading to lively discussions of literature and martial arts. However, during the conversation, Song Qingshu later revealed that the most powerful martial arts on Huashan were its basic internal energy and swordsmanship, which displeased Xian Yutong and the other experts.

Song Qingshu said, "We can't just judge martial arts by their name or appearance. The Huashan Foundation Internal Skill and Huashan Foundation Swordsmanship originated from the Quanzhen Sect, the world's greatest sect back then. Your founder wasn't the strongest of the Seven Quanzhen Masters. How can his Purple Cloud Skill compare to the Seven Quanzhen Masters' master, the first person to win the first Huashan Sword Contest? You have to know that the Huashan Foundation Internal Skill evolved from his own, so how could it not be the strongest?"

Then Song Qingshu praised the Quanzhen Sect of that time. The Quanzhen Sect was the mother family of Huashan, and they should be happy to be praised. However, for some reason, they always felt that the founder of their own sect was just a small role in the Quanzhen Sect. Although he was one of the seven sons, he was neither the head sect nor the one with the strongest martial arts or the highest prestige. Everything about him was mediocre, which made it difficult for everyone in Huashan to accept.

Xian Yutong felt that if this continued, Song Qingshu would become more and more respectful, but the object of his respect would be further and further away from Huashan, so he turned the topic to the present. Song Qingshu lamented that the Tartars were rampant in the world today, and the Han people were living in dire straits, and no one knew when it would end. Was there no hero who could rise up to resist?

Xian Yutong felt a headache after hearing this. There were indeed many such people, but they were all labeled as evil. He, a submissive citizen, had killed fewer people and was instead labeled as a famous and upright person. This topic could not be discussed, so let's talk about martial arts.

Xian Yutong was upset and wanted to teach this young man a lesson, so he sent out his own disciple. However, he was killed instantly in three moves. Song Qingshu turned around and asked, "Why didn't this senior brother use the basic Huashan sword technique, but instead used this low-level sword technique that is full of flaws?"

A wave of indignation erupted throughout Huashan. So the most advanced swordsmanship on Mount Huashan was actually just basic swordsmanship? Was this guy looking for trouble? More and more people came to challenge him, but they soon discovered something odd: a basic swordsmanship technique could hold a fight for eight or ten moves, while none of the other swordsmanship techniques could last more than five. Song Qingshu always pointed out the weaknesses of those so-called advanced swordsmanship techniques after a competition, but the basic swordsmanship would always be praised and highlighted for its strengths.

Song Qingshu defeated more than ten Huashan disciples in a row without even taking a breath, but he ended the farce with the excuse that he was still young and lacked internal strength, and was a little tired. However, seeing how energetic he looked, no one would believe him. If he continued, it would be really impossible to end it.

Xian Yutong could not take action personally, otherwise it would be bullying the weak. Song Qingshu knew that the head of Huashan was not a good person, so after visiting Huashan in the afternoon, he said goodbye and left early. It seemed that he went straight to Kongtong Sect, intending to enter Shu and climb Mount Emei from Kongtong Sect, which was exactly the same route as the boy said.

Xian Yutong grew increasingly angry as he thought about it. He put on a simple disguise and rode away at top speed, intending to teach Song Qingshu a lesson at night. However, the boy was incredibly alert and, upon noticing the ambush, he immediately fled, so fast that even the Huashan Sect Leader couldn't catch up. When Xian Yutong returned, disappointed, he was ambushed by a man in black along the way. The man, with his sharp swordsmanship, injured his arm and then captured him, only to strip him naked, rob him of all his money, and his steed before escaping.

Xian Yutong was left on the roadside for most of the night before his acupuncture points unblocked themselves. He stole some clothes from a farmer before dawn and returned to Mount Hua with his face covered. He did not appear in public for more than half a month, probably because his face was bruised and swollen. There was a red palm print on his chest, which seemed to be the heart-cutting palm of a Western monk.

The man seemed to be heading towards Song Qingshu. Xian Yutong thought carefully and came to the conclusion that he had alerted Song Qingshu and let the foreign monks who were chasing him snatch him away. Recalling the strange smell of the man and the muttered "It's not that boy" after seeing his face clearly, he knew he was wronged. He had saved the Wudang boy from disaster.

Ever since Zhang Sanfeng captured a Tartar warrior and handed him over to Shaolin Temple at his centennial celebration two years ago, Wudang disciples have frequently faced special attention from Tartar warriors while traveling the Jianghu. However, since all Wudang disciples qualified to travel the Jianghu were skilled fighters, while they had not suffered much damage, the impact was still there. At least Wudang disciples' travels had become less frequent, and each one was shorter, to avoid being surrounded and attacked by the Mongol warriors.

The scene at the foot of Wudang Mountain was quite different. The Wudang Sect and Yin Susu's followers from the Sky Eagle Cult had forcibly turned the area within a fifty-mile radius of the Wudang Mountain gate into a restricted area for the Mongols. It was okay if people didn't get caught while passing through, but anyone who openly dressed in Mongol attire, no matter who they were, would hardly be able to spend the night safely.

The Wudang Sect is a famous and powerful sect and naturally they would not resort to such means, but the Sky Eagle Sect is different. It is no secret that Zhang Wuji was injured by the Mongol Tartars with the Mysterious Nether Palm and suffered from the cold poison day and night. In order to avenge her son, Yin Susu killed the Tartars who came to her doorstep. Who can say that she did something wrong?

Moreover, the Wudang Sect has never been polite to those evil Tartars when traveling around the world, simply because Zhang Sanfeng's martial arts skills are so high that the Mongol Tartars can do nothing even if they know it was them who did it. If they really went too far, Zhang Sanfeng would risk his pride to launch a surprise attack and assassinate the Mongol high-ranking officials. Who can be sure that he can get away with it?

So we formed a tacit understanding: if you come out, I will chase you, and if you kill me when I get close, I won't pursue the matter. We will just fight a little but will never cross the bottom line.

The fact that the Wudang Sect could form such a tacit understanding with the Mongol Empire did indeed seem incredible to many people in the martial arts world. However, when one thinks about Zhang Sanfeng's martial arts, it seems natural. However, Zhang Sanfeng is already over a hundred years old. How long can he live?

It's hard to say about this question. At least no one has dared to provoke this centenarian so far. Some time ago, he was traveling around the world with Zhang Wuji and Song Qingshu and was able to beat the Mongol masters into a pulp. This is really not in line with his age.