constantly. After exchanging 60 stances or so, the Duan Family Sword technique had been used completely. Seeing that there were several beads of sweat on Duan Zhengchun’s nose, but the sound of his breathing was still gentle, long and steady, Xiao Feng thought: ‘I’ve heard that this fellow is amorous and has quite a few lovers. Who’d have thought that he’d have such a lasting internal energy? I mustn’t regard him lightly.’ By now, the internal energy in Duan Yanqing’s canes had been brought into play to the max. When the iron canes were sent out in attacks, chi-chi sounds could be heard. When Duan Zhengchun warded off a sword stance, his body would shake. And when he warded off another sword stance, his body would shake again.

All the stances that the 2 of them used were the ones that they had learned and achived mastery of since the age of 13 or 14. Even the people such as Fan Hua and Ba Tianshi had also seen and been used to these stances for the past several decades. Hence this sword fight was not a battle of stances, but a battle of internal energy. Watching to this point, the people such as Fan Hua knew that Duan Zhengchun could not endure this. They gave each other hints with the eyes and grasped their weapons, wanting to go into action together to help him.

Suddenly a girl giggled and said: ‘So laughable, so laughable! Every one of the people known as heroes and exceptional men of Dali now wants to charge forwards together and rely on number to win. Wouldn’t it turn them into shameless pigmies?’

Everyone was startled. Seeing that those few sentences were obviously the work of A’Zi, they all were extremely puzzled. The person who was facing danger was her father, and she was not ignorant of it, but why could she say those mocking words?

Ruan Xingzhu said angrily: ‘A’Zi, what do you know? Your father is the South-Stabilizing Prince of the State of Dali. The fellow who’s fighting him is the traitor of the Duan family. These friends all were subjects of the State of Dali. Eliminating the cruel ones and suppressing the rebels are everyone’s duties.’ Her swimming skills were masterful, but her martial arts were mediocre. Seeing that her beau had been in danger repeatedly, she was anxious, calling: ‘Let’s charge side by side, everyone. The enemy is an evil traitor. Why still care about jianghu customs?’

A’Zi laughed and said: ‘Mom, your words are very funny. They’re just an unreasonable sophism. It’s because my Dad is such a hero and brave man that I accepted him. If he was a shameless fellow who wants to rely on other people’s help in fighting, why would I accept a fellow of this sort as father?’

These few sentences went into everyone’s ears clearly. Fan Hua and the people such as Ba Tianshi and Hua Hegen looked at each other in blank dismay. They all felt that it was undoubtedly improper to go forwards to help, but it would be no good if they did not go into action.

Even though Duan Zhengchun was a man who fond of pursuing romance, he cherish the reputation of being ‘a hero and brave man’ very much. He often made fun of himself, saying: ‘‘It’s hard for a hero to pass the beauty pass,’ even if I can’t pass the beauty pass, I’m still a hero. How can’t I see that the Conqueror of Chu (Xiang Yu) had Yu Ji, the Supreme Ancestor of Han (Liu Bang) had Lady Qi, and Li Shimin had Wu Zetian?’ So he simply disdained to do mean and cowardly things. Even though he was being in an intense fight, hearing A’Zi’s words, he said loudly at once: ‘What’s so important about life and death, victory and defeat? Whoever goes forward to help will make things difficult for Duan Zhengchun.’

Opening his mouth to say, it was unavoidable that his internal energy became impure. But Duan Yanqing did not seize the opportunity to press forward. Instead, he retreated 1 step, propped his canes on the ground and waited for Duan Zhengchun to finish saying before resuming fighting. The people such as Fan Hua were secretly frightened when they saw Duan Yanqing had such leisurely and refined behavior and that he did not try to gain any unfair advantage. Obviously he was secure in the knowledge that he had strong backing, so he did not need to take advantage of this situation.

Duan Zhengchun smiled, saying: ‘Let’s continue!’ He made a swing of the left sleeve and, making use of the wind created by the sleeve, sent out the long sword.

Ruan Xingzhu said: ‘A’Zi, you see, your father’s swordsmanship is so swift and fierce. If he really wants to finish this zombie off, he’ll be more than good enough. But he’s got the status of a prince, so in fact he can still leave it to his subordinates. He doesn’t need to do it himself.’ A’Zi said: ‘If Dad could finish him off, then nothing would be better. I’m only afraid that you’re talking tough, but feeble inside, Mom. Your words sound completely impressive, but in your heart, you’re extremely scared.’ These few sentences described exactly her mother’s state of mind. Ruan Xingzhu glowered at her daughter, thinking: ‘This brat really doesn’t know what’s good or bad, and talks inconsiderately.’

They saw Duan Zhengchun execute 3 swift stances continuously with his long sword. The internal energy in Duan Yanqing’s iron canes became stronger, forcing the enemy’s sword back one stance after another. In the 4th stance, ‘Golden Horse Rises into the Air’, Duan Zhengchun swung his sword out horizontally. Duan Yanqing replied with the ‘Green Jade Rooster Heralds Dawn’ stance by thrusting out with the iron cane in his left hand. When the cane and the sword came into contact with each other, they immediately stuck together. Making ‘gu-gu’ sounds in his throat, Duan Yanqing suddenly pushed his right cane against the ground and his body rose into the air. The head of the cane in his left hand was still sticking together with the tip of Duan Zhengchun’s sword.

In an instant, 1 man stood on the ground with both his feet, absolutely still like a deep abyss or a lofty mountain, and the other was in mid-air with his whole body, floating freely like a willow branch in the wind.

‘Oh,’ all the bystanders exclaimed. They knew that the 2 of them had reached the important moment–fighting with internal energy. Standing on the ground, Duan Zhengchun was able to borrow force through his feet, which was to his advantage. However, Duan Yanqing was pressing down from a higher position, so the weight of his whole body was put on the enemy’s long sword, also adding to his internal energy.

After a short while, everyone saw that the long sword gradually bent and slowly turned into an arc. The thin iron cane, however, was still as straight as an arrow.

Xiao Feng saw that the long sword in Duan Zhengchun’s hand became more and more curved, and if it was bent a little more, perhaps it would be broken into two. He thought: ‘All along, the 2 haven’t used their most profound technique ‘Six Meridians Divine Sword.’ Could it be Duan Zhengchun knows he isn’t as good at this technique as his enemy, so he thinks it’d be better to hide his clumsiness? But judging from his expression when using internal energy, it seems he has used up all his reserve of power. It doesn’t look like he still has some unused special skill at all.’

Duan Zhengchun, seeing that the long sword in his hand could snap at any moment, took a deep breath and quickly pushed out with his right finger. It was none other than the Purely Yang Finger technique. His accomplishment in finger force was still rather inferior to that of his elder brother Duan Zhengming, and the finger force was unable to go farther than 3 Chi (33.33 cm). The cane and the sword were sticking together, and the total length of 2 weapons was as great as 8 Chi, so this finger attack was certainly unable to injure the enemy. Hence the finger force was totally not aimed at Duan Yanqing, but was aimed at his iron cane.

Xiao Feng slightly frowned, thinking: ‘It seems this fellow can’t use the 6 Meridians Divine Sword. He’s still not good as my sworn brother. This finger attack is merely a very good acupuncture point blocking skill, nothing more. What’s so fantastic about it?’ But he saw that whenever Duan Zhengchun’s finger hit Duan Yanqing’s iron cane, it slightly shook and Duan Zhengchun’s long sword became somewhat straighter. He continuously poked 3 times so the long sword in his hand became less bent 3 times, gradually reverting to its original state.

A’Zi, however, said again: ‘Mom, you see, Dad is using both his finger and the sword, but he can only match a thin cane of that fellow’s. If the enemy attacks with the other cane, could it be that Dad has 3 hands to handle it? If he doesn’t, then crawling on the ground and raising his feet will also be good. Even though he’ll look ugly, it’ll still be better than getting stabbed to death by that fellow.’

Ruan Xingzhu was already laden with sorrow watching the fight, yet her daughter, at her side, had always said words that were unpleasant to hear. Before she had replied, she saw Duan Yanqing raised the iron cane in his right hand, and sure enough, with a ‘chi’ sound, he thrust at Duan Zhengchun’s left forefinger with it.

The technique and internal energy of this cane attack of Duan Yanqing were the same as those of the Purely Yang Finger. But using the cane like a finger, he could reach farther thanks to its length. Still, Duan Zhengchun did not dodge it. His finger force and Duan Yanqing’s cane force clashed. He felt a burst of ache and tingle in his arm at once. He retracted his finger. When he was about to channel his internal energy again to send out the 2nd finger stance, unexpectedly, the black cane before him moved very quickly. The 2nd cane stance of Duan Yanqing was already coming. Duan Zhengchun was shocked: ‘He channels his inner breath so quick. It seems it goes as he pleases. This achievement in the Purely Yang Finger is much profounder than mine.’ He returned it at once with a finger stance. But he was still late by the blink of an eye, so his body slightly shook.

Seeing that he himself had fought Duan Zhengchun for a long time, Duan Yanqing was very afraid that a long delay might cause trouble. If Duan Zhengchun’s subordinates charged at him at the same time, it would eventually require plenty of action. So, he brandished his cane like the wind at once and sent out 9 stances in an instant. Duan Zhengchun did all he could to fend them off, but when the 9th cane stance came, his internal energy was no longer constant. And so, with a soft ‘pu’ sound, the tip of the iron cane pierced his shoulder. His body slightly shook, and with a ‘pai’ sound, the long sword in his right hand snapped.

Duan Yanqing suddenly uttered a strange sound from his throat and thrust the iron cane in his right hand at the enemy’s head. Determined to take Duan Zhengchun’s life immediately with this stance of the cane, he put all his power into the hand, so when the cane went out, it made loud noises.

The 3 people Fan Hua, Hua Hegen and Ba Tianshi leaped out at the same time and attacked Duan Yanqing from both sides. The 3 Dukes of Dali saw that the situation was extremely dangerous, and it was definitely too late to save Duan Zhengchun, so they all attacked Duan Yanqing’s vital parts directly to force him to retract the cane to save himself. Having already expected this move, Duan Yanqing pressed the iron cane in his left hand on the ground to support his body then channelled enough internal energy into the iron cane in his right hand and swung it out horizontally. In just a shock, he repelled all the 3 weapons. Then he aimed directly at Duan Zhengchun’s head again.

‘Ah,’ Ruan Xingzhu uttered a sharp cry and quickly rushed over. Seeing that her beau was about to die a gruesome death, she also had no intention of living.

When Duan Yanqing’s iron cane was just 3 cun (3.333 cm) away from Duan Zhengchun’s ‘Baihui acupuncture point’, suddenly Duan Zhengchun’s body flew away to one side, and so the cane hit empty air. By now, the 3 people Fan Hua, Hua Hegen and Ba Tianshi had been forced to retreat simultaneously by Duan Yanqing’s iron cane. Ba Tianshi was fast in his reaction. He turned his hand over and grabbed Ruan Xingzhu’s wrist so that she would not die in vain at the hands of Duan Yanqing. All of them looked towards Duan Zhengchun at the same time.

This cane stance of Duan Yanqing missed the enemy, but he saw a big fellow stretch out his hand, grab the back side of Duan Zhengchun’s neck then forcefully pull him away in the blink of an eye at the very moment when his life was hanging by a thread. This extraordinary hand technique was really beyond imagination. Duan Yanqing had powerful martial arts, but he thought to himself that he was unable to do so. Because his facial muscles were stiff, even though he was amazed, his face did not change colors. He only let out a ‘humph’ sound from his nostrils.

The person who went into action and saved Duan Zhengchun was, of course, Xiao Feng. While the 2 Duans were battling each other, he stood to one side and fixed his eyes on the fight. As he saw that Duan Zhengchun was about to be killed by the opponent, he suddenly thought that if Duan Yanqing thrust that cane down, his own intense and deep-seated grievances would become impossible to redress. For the past several days, he had made many vows and taken many oaths, that, in any case, it was impossible for him not to get his revenge. Seeing the enemy before him, how could he let him die at the hands of a stranger? Hence he leaped forward and pulled Duan Zhengchun away.

Duan Yanqing’s mind was astute. Not waiting for Xiao Feng to put Duan Zhengchun down, he swung the iron cane in his right hand out like fierce winds and rainstorms, one stance after another. All of the thrusts were aimed at Duan Zhengchun’s vital parts. He was determined to remove this obstacle that was standing before his imperial throne first. How to deal with Xiao Feng would be a matter of the next step.

Flashing left, ducking right, Xiao Feng dodged through the spaces between the stances of the cane while still lifting Duan Zhengchun. Duan Yanqing executed 27 stances continuously with his cane, but all along he had not touched a corner of Duan Zhengchun’s robe. He was very astonished in his heart and knew that he himself was no match for Xiao Feng. Letting out a strange howl, he suddenly floated out several zhang and asked: ‘Who are you, sir? Why do you interfere with this?’

When Xiao Feng had not yet replied, Yun Zhonghe called: ‘Big bro, he’s the former Chief of the Beggar Society Qiao Feng. Your good disciple Soul Chasing Staff Tan Qing died at the hands of this villain.’

After these words were said, not only was Duan Yanqing shocked, but even the extraordinary people of Dali were also shocked, and their expressions changed. The name Qiao Feng resounded in the world. There was no one in wulin who had never heard of ‘North Qiao Feng, South Murong.’ But when he introduced himself to Fu Sigui and Duan Zhengchun, he only claimed to be ‘Xiao Feng, a Khitan.’ So, everyone did not know that he was the famous Qiao Feng. Now, after hearing these words of Yun Zhonghe, they all thought to themselves: ‘So it is him. Chivalrous and brave, he really deserves his reputation.’

Duan Yanqing had already heard Yun Zhonghe relate in details how not only had his satisfying disciple Tan Qing failed to harm other people at Juxian Manor but he had also been killed by Qiao Feng. At this moment, hearing that the big fellow before him was the killer of his disciple, he was both angry and anxious. He held out an iron cane and wrote on a bluestone flagstone: ‘Sir, what’s the enmity between us? Having killed my disciple, now you’ve spoiled my important business again.’

‘Chi-chi’ sounds were heard continuously, as if he was writing on sand. Every stroke of the 17 words went deep into the stone. When combined with high-level internal energy, his ventriloquism technique could capture the hearts of other people and mix up their minds. It was an extremely formidable heterodox technique. But this technique simply used mental force to control the enemy, if the enemy’s internal energy cultivation was better than his, he would be harm by them. He already knew how Tan Qing had died, and now he saw the skills that Xiao Feng used to save Duan Zhengchun, so he dared not rashly use his ventriloquism technique to talk to Xiao Feng.

Seeing that Duan Yanqing had finished writing, Xiao Feng, without saying anything, walked forward, pressed his foot against the ground and made several sweeps, immediately erasing completely all the 17 words on the flagstone. It was already very hard for one man to use an iron cane to write on a flagstone, but the other man used his foot to remove the words. This skill with the sole of the foot was much more difficult than concentrating internal energy in the tip of the cane. With 1 person writing and the other erasing, a bluestone flagstone on the lakeside path unexpectedly seemed just like a beach.

Seeing Xiao Feng erase those words, Duan Yanqing knew that, first, he wanted to display his skills, and second, he wanted to say that there was no enmity between them, and that if he himself could ignore the antipathy that he had unintentionally caused in the past, then both of them should stop. Knowing that he himself was no match for Xiao Feng, Duan Yanqing thought it would be better to get away as soon as possible, to avoid tasting the present deficiencies. Using the iron cane in his right hand, he drew a stroke from the top down at once, followed by an upward stroke, expressing the intention of ‘writing off at one stroke.’ Then he immediately gave the ground a poke with an iron cane, leaped backward, turned around and went away as if floating.

South Sea Divine Alligator looked Xiao Feng up and down with his strange eyes wide open. His heart full of disrespect, he cursed: ‘Fvck, what’s so amazing about this dog bastard…’ Before he had finished saying, his body suddenly rose into the air and flew towards the center of the lake. A plop was heard when water was splashed on all sides as a result of him falling into the lake.

Xiao Feng exceedingly hated being called ‘bastard’ by other people. While still carrying Duan Zhengchun with his left hand, he rushed over and threw South Sea Divine Alligator into the lake with his right hand. This action of his was extremely fast and did not allow South Sea Divine Alligator the smallest room for resisting.

South Sea Divine Alligator had lived at the South China Sea for a long time, and called himself ‘Divine Alligator’, so his swimming skills were certainly excellent. Pushing his feet against the bottom of the lake, he jumped up to the surface and cried: ‘How did you pull that?’ As he finished this sentence, his body sunk to the bottom again. He pushed his feet against the bottom of the lake once more, jumped up to the surface and cried: ‘You sneakily attacked your father!’ Finishing this sentence, he sunk again. In the 3rd time of jumping up, he cried: ‘Your father won’t let you get away!’ His temper was extremely irascible so he could not wait until he had come ashore to start cursing Xiao Feng. He kept jumping up, letting out a sentence of abuse and sinking.

A’Zi laughed and said: ‘Everyone sees, this fellow emerges from the water and submerges. Doesn’t he look like a big black turtle (Play on words: black turtle = cuckold)?’ It happened that South Sea Divine Alligator jumped up to the surface right in this moment. Hearing she said so, he cursed: ‘It’s just you who are a black turtle…’ A’Zi raised her hand. A ‘chi’ sound was heard as she fired a flying awl at him. When the flying awl came, South Sea Divine Alligator had already sunk to the bottom of the lake.

South Sea Divine Alligator swam to the shore and climbed up, dripping wet. Unexpectedly, he was not afraid in the slightest. He walked up to Xiao Feng brazenly, tilted his head and glowered at him, saying: ‘What’s the technique you threw me into the lake with? Your father doesn’t know this technique.’ Ye Erniang, standing at a place 7 or 8 zhang away, called: ‘Third, go quickly. Don’t make a fool of yourself here.’ South Sea Divine Alligator said angrily: ‘I was thrown into the lake by him and don’t even know the technique he used. How can this not be a burning shame? Of course I must ask clearly.’

A’Zi said very solemnly: ‘Alright, I’m telling you. This technique of his is called the ‘Turtle Throwing Skill’.’

South Sea Divine Alligator said: ‘Oh, so it’s called the ‘Turtle Throwing Skill’. As I already know the name of this skill, I’ll beg other people to teach it to me and train hard so that later I won’t be at this disadvantage.’ As he finished saying, he left with quick steps. By now, Ye Erniang and Yun Zhonghe had already gone far.