the male visitors. Noticing the filthy and tattered clothing he was wearing and the listless face of his, all the guests found themselves puzzled inside. But it was common knowledge that the Martial World did not lack people of strange and unique behaviors. Didn’t elite masters from the Beggars Clan all wear ragged clothing? Since he was the Head Apprentice of the Huashan Sword School, he couldn’t have been ordinary; therefore no one had any belittling thought about Linghu Chong.

Linghu Chong was seated at the second table, accompanied by one of the hosts, Wang Bofen. Soon, the wine had gone around three times. Wang Bofen couldn’t help but notice that Linghu Chong had maintained an indifferent face throughout the time, and would only reply once a while to his attempt to make conversations – apparently Linghu Chong didn’t really think much of him at all. Then he remembered that earlier in the inn, Linghu Chong didn’t even kowtow to them, yet had no problem accepting the present of forty taels of silver. Feeling very displeased, he decided to change the topic to something in regards to martial arts techniques. So he casually asked for Linghu Chong’s opinion on several martial arts related questions that were in the advanced level, but Linghu Chong only nodded and agreed, never really answering any of them.

Actually, Linghu Chong didn’t have any ill feeling against Wang Bofen at all. It was just that after seeing the luxurious life of the Wang Family, he realized that the difference between his indigence and the wealth of the Wang Family was so dramatic. It was almost like the difference between Heaven and earth. Lin Pingzhi had changed into a long robe made of silk brocade after he came to his grandfather’s house. He had a handsome face to start with, so after dressing up, he looked extremely elegant and graceful. Linghu Chong simply couldn’t help but feel a sense of inferiority and inadequacy.

“Even if little apprentice sister didn’t become a couple with him and stayed the same to me, what future would she have staying with a pauper like me?” he thought.

All his minds focused around Yue Lingshan, so naturally, regardless of what Wang Bofen said to him, nothing really went into his ears.

Enjoying a great fame in the martial arts society around the central region, Wang Bofen had been used to people fawning on him left and right, yet tonight, he kept getting snags from the young man named Linghu Chong. Normally, he would have let his temper loose right at the beginning, but for the sake of his dead sister and the fact that his father had great respect toward the Huashan Sword School, he worked hard to hold his temper down and just kept toasting to Linghu Chong.

Every time when someone toasted Linghu Chong, he would slam down the wine in his cup without thinking, so before he even knew it, forty cups of wine or so had gone down his throat. He used to have very good tolerance of wine. Even over a hundred cups worth of wine wouldn’t have made a difference for him. But because he had lost all his inner energy, his tolerance was reduced quite a bit. And in addition, with a tremendous amount of anxiety gnawing at his heart, each cup of wine seemed to have had a much greater effect on him. By the time he drank up all those forty cups of wine, he was already feeling dizzy.

“This lad doesn’t know the ways of the world at all,” Wang Bofen thought aloud. “My nephew is your apprentice brother, so you should have called me an Uncle-Master, or simply uncle. It is all right that you didn’t call me an uncle, but how dare you ignore me completely like this? Very well! I am going to get you drunk and let you make a fool out of yourself in front of all these guests.”

Seeing that Linghu Chong could barely keep his eyes open and was tipsy already, he said with a smile, “Little brother Linghu is the Head Apprentice of the Huashan Sword School, and sure enough, he is an outstanding young hero. Not only is his Kung Fu skill extraordinary, his wine tolerance is also extraordinary. Servants! Get rid of the tiny cup. Get Mister Linghu a big bowl and keep it filled!”

The servants cheered and filled Linghu Chong’s bowl with wine. Throughout Linghu Chong’s life, he had never stopped anyone from pouring wine for him, so as soon as his bowl was filled, he would empty it down his throat. Not long after, he had drunk up another five or six bowls worth of wine. Suddenly, with a wave of his arm, he swept all the plates and cups in front of him off the table.

“Young hero Linghu has had a drop too much! Better drink a cup of hot tea to sober up,” guests from the same table all suggested.

“There’s no way the Head Apprentice of the Huashan Sword School would get drunk so easily! Little brother Linghu, drink up!” Wang Bofen beamed as he filled Linghu Chong’s bowl once again.

“Who…who said I am drunk? Bottoms up!” Linghu Chong replied.

He picked up the wine and started pouring it down with big swallows. Half of the wine actually ended up dripping down his robe. All of a sudden, his body jerked as he opened his mouth wide and started vomiting, and seconds later, the entire tabletop was covered with “wine” and “dishes” that had been inside his stomach just moments ago. People around the table dodged backward in shock while a smirk ran across Wang Bofen’s lips.

Hundreds of pairs of eyes were immediately fixed onto Linghu Chong. Yue Buqun and Madam Yue both frowned, thinking, “This lad really doesn’t know how to behave in formal occasions. He has just made a fool of himself in front of so many noble guests.”

Lao Denuo and Lin Pingzhi both rushed forward and held Linghu Chong in support.

“Big apprentice brother, why don’t I walk you back to rest?” Lin Pingzhi suggested.

“I…I am not drunk. I can drink more. Give me more wine!” Linghu Chong rebuffed.

“Sure! Sure! Someone brings some more wine out,” Lin Pingzhi replied.

“You…you…Little Lin, why aren’t you spending time with little apprentice sister? What are you dragging me for?” Linghu Chong cast a sidelong and bleary-eyed glance at Lin Pingzhi.

“Big apprentice brother,” Lao Denuo said, “let’s go take a break. There’s a bit crowd here, we’ve got to watch our mouth.”

“Watch my mouth? Humph! Master sent you to keep watch on me. Have you found any proof yet?” Linghu Chong snapped.

Afraid that Linghu Chong could speak anything without thinking in his drunkenness, Lao Denuo held Linghu Chong’s arms and pushed him all the way into the guest room at the back with the help from Lin Pingzhi.

Yue Buqun also heard Linghu Chong’s words. Even though Yue Buqun was well self-cultivated, he couldn’t help but show an annoyed face.

“Little brother Yue,” Wang Yuanba soothed, “that was only nonsense from the mouth of a drunken young lad. Why bother? Come on, let’s enjoy our wine!”

“The lad is from the countryside and hasn’t had much chance with formal settings. Will you please pardon him, Grandmaster Wang?” Yue Buqun replied with a forced smile.

After the banquet was over, Yue Buqun told Lao Denuo to stop following Linghu Chong around and only watch him in secret.

It was not until the next afternoon before Linghu Chong finally woke up. Remembering none of what he had said the previous day, he found himself with a terrible headache – almost felt as if his head had been cracked open. Taking a look around, he found himself the only occupant of a neat and clean room. He stepped out of the guest room but didn’t see any of his apprentice brothers. After inquiring the servants, he learned that they all went to the Training Hall at the backside to swap pointers in martial arts training with the sons and apprentices of the Wang Family.

“Why bother tangle up with them? I’d be better off just take a hike myself,” Linghu Chong thought to himself as he stalked out of the gate and off to the street.

Luo Yang had been the capital for many different dynasties. There were many good-sized buildings everywhere, yet the streets weren’t very busy. Linghu Chong was not very literate and only had a very limited knowledge about history. Staring at the many historical sites in the city of Luoyang, he had no idea as to what they were and what they were for. Bored stiff, he strolled aimlessly into a small alley. Then something caught his attention. Seven or eight local punks were playing a game of gambling inside a small tavern. Pushing his way through the crowd to the front, he took out the package of the present he had received from Wang Yuanba the previous day. Retrieving the silver out, he joined the game with keen interests. Not until dusk did he finally returned, tipsy from drinking more wine. For the next several days, he kept going back to gamble and drink with the bunch of local punks. In the first couple of days, he had some good luck and won several taels of silver, but by the fourth day, he kept losing, and soon his forty taels of silver were completely cleaned out. Naturally, the group of punks kicked him out of the game. Feeling quite infuriated, Linghu Chong kept asking for more wine, but after only a couple of kettles of wine were served, the bartender asked.

“Young man, you’ve lost all your money in the gambling game. How are you going to pay for the wine?”

“Write it under my tab. I’ll pay you tomorrow,” Linghu Chong replied.

“Our business is very small. We don’t give credits to anyone, not even relatives or close friends.” The bartender shook his head.

Infuriated, Linghu Chong snarled, “How dare you think I don’t have any money!”

“Sorry,” the bartender replied with a smirk, “show your money and you’ll get your wine! No money, no wine, no credit!”

Linghu Chong glanced over himself. His ragged and tattered clothing certainly didn’t help convince the bartender that he might be a wealthy man. Other than the long sword by his waist, he really didn’t have anything else that might be worth any money, so he untied the long sword from his waistband and threw it onto the table.

“Take this to the pawnshop!” he said.

Wanting to win more money out from him, one of the punks replied in a rush, “Sure! I’ll pawn it for you!” He took the long sword and left.

With that assurance, the bartender took out another two kettles of wine for Linghu Chong. By the time Linghu Chong finished one, the punk had returned with some small pieces of silver.

“It’s pawned for three taels and four ounces,” the punk said as he gave the silver and the pawn ticket to Linghu Chong.

Linghu Chong weighted the silver in his hand. It didn’t even weigh a full three taels, but he didn’t complain and went straight back into the gambling game. The game lasted till around dusk when the three taels of silver exchanged hands again – from both losing in the gambling and paying for the wine he drank.

“Hey, loan me three taels of silver. I’ll pay you back double the amount if I win,” Linghu Chong said to a punk named Twitch-Lip Chen.

“What if you lose?” Twitch-Lip Chen asked with a snicker.

“If I lose, I’ll pay you back tomorrow,” Linghu Chong answered.

“How do I know if you have money at home or not? If you lose, how are you going to pay me back? Are you gonna sell your bitch or your sister then?” Twitch-Lip Chen mocked.

Linghu Chong’s anger exploded. He raised his arm and slapped Chen across the face with a backhand. By then, he had consumed a good amount of wine and was already half drunk. Reaching out, he snatched the small pile of silver in front of Twitch-Lip Chen.

“What the hell! This son of a bitch is a mugger,” Twitch-Lip Chen yelled out loud.

The group of punks all came from the same clan, and immediately, they swarmed forward and started throwing punches toward Linghu Chong. Having no sword in his hand and having no strength to defend himself, Linghu Chong was pushed down on the ground. The punks punched and kicked, and within moments, gave Linghu Chong bruises all over his face and his body.

Sounds of hoof beats rose. Several horses came by in short trots.

“Move out of the way! Get lost!” someone on the horseback yelled and whipped his horsewhip to drive away the punks.

Linghu Chong just lay still on the ground face down and couldn’t even get up.

A girl’s voice suddenly cried out, “Isn’t that big apprentice brother?” It was the voice of Yue Lingshan.

“Let me take a look,” another voice answered. It was Lin Pingzhi this time.

Lin Pingzhi dismounted from his horse and then turned Linghu Chong’s body around. “Big apprentice brother? Are you ok?” he cried out in shock as soon as he recognized Linghu Chong’s face.

“I got drunk! And I lost my bets!” Linghu Chong squeezed out a wry smile and shook his head.

In a hurry, Lin Pingzhi propped him up and helped him onto the horseback. Besides Lin Pingzhi and Yue Lingshan, there were four other riders in the pack – they were the two daughters of Wang Bofen and the two sons of Wang Zhongqiang, cousins of Lin Pingzhi. The six of them had set out in the morning to tour around the various temples and historical sites in the city of Luoyang, and were on their way back home after the fun. They certainly didn’t expect to find a Linghu Chong all beat up in the middle of the small alley. All four of them were astounded.

“The Huashan Sword School is a member of the Five Mountains Sword Alliance,” they thought. “When Grandpa mentioned about them, he would always praise dearly. And when we exchanged pointers with them in martial arts a couple of days ago, they did each show outstanding Kung Fu skills. Isn’t this Linghu Chong the Head Apprentice of the Huashan Sword School? How come he couldn’t even overcome several local punks? But if Linghu Chong’s nose was really bleeding so badly, how could this not be true? How odd!”

Returning back to Wang Yuanba’s mansion, Linghu Chong slowly recovered after several days of good rest. Yue Buqun and Madam Yue were both aggravated at the news that Linghu Chong went gambling with some local rascals and went in a fistfight after losing his money, and neither of them paid a visit to him. By the fifth day, Wang Jiaju, the younger son of Wang Zhongqiang, walked in Linghu Chong’s room excitedly.

“Big brother Linghu, I’ve vented the spleen for you today! I gathered up the seven punks who beat you up that day and gave them each some good lashes.”

Linghu Chong didn’t really mind this incident much, so he replied casually, “That’s really not necessary. I got drunk that day, and it was really my fault to start with.”

“Nah, they can’t do that to you. You are a guest of the Golden Blade Wang Family. How can the Golden Blade Wang Family let its guest get beat up in the city of Luoyang and not get even? If we don’t straighten this out, would others still show the same kind of respect to the Golden Blade Wang Family?” Wang Jiaju disagreed.

Deep inside Linghu Chong’s heart, he had already disliked the “Golden Blade Wang Family.” Now when he heard Wang Jiaju mention the “Golden Blade Wang Family” left and right, as if the “Golden Blade Wang Family” was the most powerful and influential family in the entire Martial World, he couldn’t help but mock, “It sure takes the Golden Blade Wang Family to deal with a bunch of punks and rascals.”

As soon as the words came out of his mouth, he regretted saying them. Just when he was about to apologize, Wang Jiaju had responded with a stern face.

“Brother Linghu, what are you talking about? If it weren’t for my brother and I who drove those seven punks away, would you still be alive today?”

“I do owe the two of you a debt of gratitude for saving my life,” Linghu Chong replied with a casual smile.

Wang Jiaju could tell from how Linghu Chong said the words that it was sarcastic and that he didn’t mean it at all. Feeling more irritated, he snapped.

“You are the Head Apprentice of the Huashan Sword School, yet you couldn’t even handle a couple of local punks and rascals in Luoyang. Humph, aren’t people going to say that you don’t deserve your reputation?”

At this time, Linghu Chong really didn’t care about anything. So he replied, “I don’t even have a reputation to start with, what’s there to deserve or what not?”

“Brother, what are you discussing about with brother Linghu?” a voice rose from outside the door. Then the curtain was lifted and a man walked in. It was Wang Jiajun, the elder son of Wang Zhongqiang.

“Brother, I thought I’d be doing him a favor and help vent his anger, when I gathered up those seven punks, and gave each of them some good lashing. Who would have thought that this Hero Linghu would blame me for interfering?” Wang Jiaju exclaimed angrily.

“Ah, there’s something you don’t know,” Wang Jiajun responded. “I just heard from apprentice sister Yue a moment ago that this brother Linghu is very good at concealing his real abilities. That day outside the monastery of the Buddha of Herb, he blinded fifteen first-class fighters’ eyes with only one swing of his long sword. What brilliant sword art that must have been! Got to be very rare indeed! Ha-ha!” His grin had a sense of mockery. Obviously he didn’t believe a single word from Yue Lingshan.

Wang Jiaju also let out a big grin. “I suppose the martial arts skills of those fifteen first-class fighters must be far from the martial arts skills of the local punks in Luoyang then! Ha-ha! Ha-ha!”

Those words didn’t bother Linghu Chong a bit. He chuckled and then simply sat down on his chair, swaying back and forth gently with his arms around his right knee.

Wang Jiajun was actually sent here by his father and his uncle to interrogate Linghu Chong. Originally, the brothers Wang Bofen and Wang Zhongqiang had told him to try to coax secret using kind words without offending the guest, but seeing the arrogant look on Linghu Chong’s face and how he had treated the two brothers like dirt, he lost his temper.

“Brother Linghu, would you be kind enough to answer a question of mine?” He raised his voice high.

“Certainly,” Linghu Chong answered.

“I heard from cousin Pingzhi that when my uncle and aunt passed away, brother Linghu was the only one there to attend upon,” Wang Jiajun said.

“That’s right.” Linghu Chong nodded.

“Then it was you, brother Linghu, who passed the last words from my uncle and aunt to my cousin Pingzhi?” Wang Jiajun continued.

“Correct,” Linghu Chong replied.

“Then how about my uncle’s ‘Evil-Resisting Sword Manuscript’?” Wang Jiajun pressed on.

At these words, Linghu Chong stood up abruptly. “What did you say?” he yelled loudly.

Worried that Linghu Chong might launch a sudden attack against him, Wang Jiajun took a step back.

“My uncle owned the ‘Evil-Resisting Sword Manuscript’ and asked you to give it to my cousin Pingzhi. Why haven’t you given it to him?” he charged.

Hearing such irresponsible calumniation from him, Linghu Chong trembled in rage. “Who…who said that there’s an ‘Evil-Resisting Sword…Sword Manuscript’ for…for me to give to apprentice brother Lin?” he asked with a trembling voice.

“If there isn’t one, why do you look so scared and can’t even talk right? Aren’t you showing a guilty conscience?” Wang Jiajun challenged with a smirk.

“Brothers, I am a guest here in your house. Do these words of yours represent what your father and grandpa think of me, or simply what the two of you think of me?” Linghu Chong asked, working hard to control his temper.

“I am just asking you a casual question. What’s the big deal? It has nothing to do with my grandpa or my dad. But it is well known in the Martial World that the Evil-Resisting Sword Art of the Lin Family in Fuzhou is a very powerful sword art. Since Uncle Lin passed away so abruptly, and the precious ‘Evil-Resisting Sword Manuscript’ that he always carried with him disappeared all of a sudden, as his close relatives, we certainly want to hear about it,” Wang Jiajun replied.

“Little Lin sent you to ask me the question, didn’t he? Why doesn’t he come and ask himself?” Linghu Chong mocked.

“Cousin Pingzhi is your junior apprentice brother. How would he ever dare to ask you?” Wang Jiaju let out some laughs.

“Now with your Luoyang Golden Blade Wang Family backing him up, humph, you sure can force me to talk now. Why don’t you go get Lin Pingzhi now?” Linghu Chong sneered.

“You are the guest of the house. We dare not force you to talk. The two brothers of us are simply curious about it; that’s why we asked the question. If brother Linghu is willing to answer, that would be great. If you do not want to answer, then there’s really nothing we can do about it,” Wang Jiajun said.

Linghu Chong nodded. “I don’t want to answer. There’s nothing you can do about it. Please leave me alone now!”

The Wang brothers gazed at each other in speechless despair. Neither had expected Linghu Chong to be so straightforward and closed the topic so quickly. Wang Jiajun cleared his throat and then tried to start the conversation again.

“Brother Linghu, you blinded fifteen first-class fighters’ eyes with only one thrust of your sword. This move is brilliant. Perhaps you learned it from the ‘Evil-Resisting Sword Manuscript,’ didn’t you?”

Linghu Chong was dumbfounded. Cold sweats broke out all over his body and his hands trembled. It had all become so clear to him now: “I have been wondering about this for many days. Why didn’t Master, Master-Wife, and the bunch of apprentice brothers and sisters feel grateful that I saved their lives, yet they all became suspicious of me? Now I know! That’s it! So they are all convinced that I embezzled Lin Zhennan’s ‘Evil-Resisting Sword Manuscript.’ Since they’ve never seen the Dugu Nine Swords before, and I refuse to let out the secret that Grand Uncle-Master Feng trained me in sword art, when they saw that my sword skills progressed so tremendously, all of a sudden, after spending several months on top of the ‘Cliff of Contemplation,’ they all concluded that I had learned brilliant sword techniques from the ‘Evil-Resisting Sword Manuscript.’ If that wasn’t the case, where else would I be able to learn such terrific sword arts? It was such a coincident that Grand Uncle-Master Feng showed up and taught me sword arts. No one would ever have expected that. But when the Lin Zhennan couple passed away, I was the only one by their side, so naturally everyone would assume that the ‘Evil-Resisting Sword Manuscript’, the ultimate sword art book that many elite masters would cast greedy eyes on, had fallen into my hands. It is understandable that others would have guessed like that. But Master and Master-Wife have brought me up, and little apprentice sister is as close to me as a real sister. They all know me well yet didn’t trust me on this one. Humph, you have really belittled me!” At that thought, his face naturally showed the expression of indignation.

“I guessed it right, didn’t I?” Wang Jiajun said with a triumphant grin on his lips. “Where is the ‘Evil-Resisting Sword Manuscript’ then? We are not interested in reading it at all. All we want is to return the manuscript to its rightful owner. Just give the sword art manuscript back to cousin Lin, will you?”

“I’ve never seen any ‘Evil-Resisting Sword Manuscript’.” Linghu Chong shook his head. “Chief Master Lin and his wife were taken prisoners, first by the Qingcheng Sword School, then by ‘Hunchback of the North’ Mu Gaofeng. If he had any sword art manuscript on him, they would have found it first.”

“Precisely!” Wang Jiajun immediately followed. “The ‘Evil-Resisting Sword Manuscript’ is so precious. Why would my uncle and aunt carry it everywhere with them? Of course they had hid it in a very secret place, and only before they passed away, they asked you to pass the message on to cousin Pingzhi. Who would have thought…who would have thought that…? Humph!”

“Who would have thought that you would go find it behind everyone’s back and embezzled it to be your own!” Wang Jiaju finished the sentence for his brother.

The more Linghu Chong heard, the angrier he became. He really didn’t want to argue any more, but since this was a very important matter, he would not want to take the blame for it. So he responded.

“If Chief Master Lin really had such a brilliant sword arts manuscript, he should have become invincible himself. Why couldn’t he even defeat a couple of apprentices from the Qingcheng Sword School and was taken prisoner by them?”

“That…that….” Wang Jiaju could not find any answer to that question and became tongue-tied.

Wang Jiajun, on the other hand, had a glib tongue. He argued, “That wasn’t unique. Brother Linghu, you learned the Evil-Resisting Sword Art and achieved outstanding sword skills, yet you couldn’t even defeat several punks and rascals and was taken prisoner by them. How are you going to explain that then? Ha-ha, it’s called pretending. It’s too bad that you have gone a bit too far this time. The Head Apprentice of the Huashan Sword School couldn’t even defend himself against several punks on the Luoyang streets. No one will ever be convinced by this act of yours. And since this is completely impossible, then it must be a trick. Brother Linghu, why don’t you listen to my advice and just admit it?”

Under normal circumstances, Linghu Chong would have answered back sarcastically. But what had happened was such a coincidence, which set him right under the spotlight with the most suspicion. He cared nothing about the “Golden Blade Wang Family” or the young Wang brothers, but he couldn’t let Master, Master-Wife, and little apprentice sister be suspicious of him.

“I, Linghu Chong, have never seen anything called ‘Evil-Resisting Sword Manuscript.’ What Chief Master Lin from Fuzhou told me before he passed away I have already passed on to apprentice brother Lin without omitting a single word. If I had lied about any part of it, may Heaven cast me down to Hell for eternal suffering and never bring me back,” Linghu Chong spoke with a solemn face. He positioned his hands behind his back after those words, his face looking awe-inspiring with ultimate righteousness.

“Did you think you can get yourself off the hook so easily just by swearing a casual oath? We are talking about a serious matter concerning a secret martial arts manuscript here. Did you think everyone is plain stupid?” Wang Jiajun grinned.

“So what’s your idea then?” Linghu Chong asked while forcing himself to stay calm.

“Please pardon our boldness, but we’d like to make a body search on you, brother Linghu,” Wang Jiaju suggested. He paused for a second and then added with a smirk, “That day when brother Linghu was seized by those seven punks and couldn’t move a muscle, they could have searched all over you, couldn’t they?”

“You want to make a body search on me? Humph! Are you saying that I am a thief?” Linghu Chong mocked with a sneer.

“We dare not!” Wang Jiajun replied. “Since you stated that you never took the ‘Evil-Resisting Sword Art,’ why be afraid to let us search you? Once we do a body search on you and there isn’t any sword manuscript on you, you would be cleared from suspicion. Wouldn’t you want that?”

“Fine! Why don’t you go get apprentice brother Lin and apprentice sister Yue, so the two of them can be witnesses?” Linghu Chong nodded his agreement.

But Wang Jiajun didn’t like the idea at all, fearing that as soon as he walked away and left his brother alone with Linghu Chong, Linghu Chong would be able to overpower his brother with ease. But if both of them went together, then of course Linghu Chong would hide the “Evil-Resisting Sword Manuscript” and they would have no chance of finding it ever again. So he rejected.

“The search would still be the same. If you aren’t afraid of the search, why use so many excuses?”

Linghu Chong thought to himself, “I agree to let you search my body only because I want to prove my innocence in front of the Master, Master-Wife, and little apprentice sister, the three of them. Whether you believe me or not, what do I care? There’s no way I am going to let your filthy claws touch my body if little apprentice sister weren’t here.” So he shook his head slowly.

“Just the two of you? I am afraid you are not worthy of searching me!”

The more Linghu Chong objected to the search, the more the two Wang brothers were convinced that the “Evil-Resisting Sword Manuscript” was hidden on Linghu Chong’s body. If they were able to find the “Evil-Resisting Sword Manuscript,” then firstly, they would look really good in front of their father and uncle, and secondly, they’ve heard that the “Evil-Resisting Sword Manuscript” contained superior sword art techniques, and since they were the ones who found it, Cousin Lin would have no choice but to let them borrow the manuscript and take a look at it. Wang Jiajun had seen with his own eyes the other day that Linghu Chong couldn’t even defend himself when the several rascals subdued him and gave him a good beating. He concluded that Linghu Chong must be only good with sword techniques, but not hand combat techniques. It would be a perfect opportunity right now when Linghu Chong had no sword in his hands. So he threw a meaningful glance at his brother before speaking to Linghu Chong again.

“Brother Linghu, better not refuse a toast only to drink a forfeit. It’s not going to be a pleasant scene if we get on the wrong side of each other.”

With those words, the two brothers closed in on Linghu Chong.

Suddenly, Wang Jiaju squared his shoulders and charged forward. Linghu Chong raised his arm to block. “Hey, you hit me!” Wang Jiaju yelled out loud as he locked Linghu Chong’s wrist and then pushed down with his elbow. Knowing that Linghu Chong is the Head Apprentice of the Huashan Sword School, not someone to be overlooked, he applied the joint manipulation techniques of the Wang Family with all his strength.

Linghu Chong was an experienced fighter. As soon as he saw Wang Jiaju charging in like that, he knew the opponent was all hostile. He had many different counter attacks in mind with this block. When the opponent locked his wrist, he could have turned his arm over and thrust it down in an angle to