chapter 10.2

Zhang SanFeng said, "This young disciple of mine may not have many worthy merits, but he most definitely would not lie to his master, and I don't think he would dare to lie to the three divine reverends. The people of the Dragon Gate Escort Agency and your sect were not killed by him and as for Xie Xun's whereabouts, that is something he refuses to reveal."

Kong Zhi said with a cold laugh, "But there was someone who witnessed Hero Zhang CuiShan kill our sect's disciples with their very own eyes. So is it that Wu Dang disciples will never dare to offer dishonest words, while the Shaolin disciples will?" And with a wave of his left hand, three middle aged monks stepped out from behind him.

The three monks were each blind in their right eye. They were of course the monks who were blinded by Yin SuSu's silver needles at the riverside of LinAn City's XiHu, Yuan Xin, Yuan Yin and Yuan Ye.

These three monks followed Abbot Kong Wen and the others to the Wu Dang mountain, and were observed by Zhang CuiShan from the beginning. He knew within his heart that he must answer to the bloodbath by the riverside of the Xi Hu. As expected, the Abbot Kong Wen spoke not more than a few words and already brought out the three monks. Zhang CuiShan was put into a tough spot, for the person who committed the murders by the bank of the XiHu was indeed not him, yet the true culprit was now his wife. The love between the couple was deep and the faith they held towards each other was strong, how could they possibly not shield each other from harm? But now at this point and in this situation, how is one to protect the other?

Amongst the "Yuan" generation, Yuan Ye was the most hot-tempered. In accordance to his character, he would have struck out at Zhang CuiShan with all he's got the moment he saw him. But because his martial art uncles were all there, he was therefore forced to restrain himself. But at that time, it was his master who called him out, thus he immediately shouted, "Zhang CuiShan, at Lin An City's Xi Hu banks, you projected poisonous needles into the mouth of Hui Feng, taking his life. I saw that with my very own eyes, did you think I was framing you? The three of us were blinded in the right eye by your silver needles, did you still want to confound us and lay blame on others?"

At this point, Zhang CuiShan could only argue point for point as he said, "Although we do use a pretty extensive range of weapons within the Wu Dang sect, yet they are all large sized projectiles along the likes of steel darts and sleeve arrows. My six fellow sect members and myself have been around in the martial arts world for quite a while now, but has there been anyone who's seen a Wu Dang disciple use any gold or silver needles type of weapons? As for acts such as coating poison onto the needles, that is a concept even more undeserving of my refute."

The ways and actions of the seven heroes of Wu Dang have always been honourable and upright, that was something everybody within the martial arts world knew. Therefore all the martial art fighters that were gathered together here on the mountain truly found the idea of Zhang CuiShan using poisonous needles to harm others hard to believe.

Yuan Ye shouted with anger, "Even at this point, you're still trying to deny it? That day when you used needles to kill Hui Feng, my martial arts older brother Yuan Yin and myself clearly witnessed and discerned everything clearly and without any further doubt. If it wasn't you, then who was it?" Zhang CuiShan replied, "Just because there was somebody in your sect who fell into harm and injury, that gives you right to come to our Wu Dang sect and request us to tell you who the culprit was that injured your sect members? Since when was such a rule established?" Zhang CuiShan's intellect was quick and his tongue was sharp, he was good with words and skilled in debating. In the midst of his anger, Yuan Ye's words were becoming increasingly nonsensical, causing what was originally a very justified incrimination to suddenly become akin to an unreasonable allegation.

Zhang SongXi immediately added, "Brother Yuan Ye, at present it's still not possible to ascertain who it was that wounded those Shaolin monks. However, our sect's Yu DaiYan was most definitely injured under the hands of Shaolin's Golden Steel Fingers. Everyone has come here at just the right time, we were just planning to inquire about who was the culprit that used the Golden Steel Fingers to injure my third brother?"

Yuan Ye's mouth gaped open and was completely tongue tied. He could only stutter out the words, "Not me."

Zhang SongXi gave out an icy laugh and said, "I know it wasn't you. I doubt that you would have that kind of power." After pausing a while, he continued, "If my third brother was perfectly healthy when he was exchanging stances with your revered sect's skilled fighters, then even if he was injured under the Golden Steel Fingers, he can only blame himself for being unable to excel in martial arts. Since in all types of battles and martial art exchanges, injuries and even deaths will likely occur, what else can he say? Can any guarantee be established before a fight that can warrant that a single strand of hair will not be harmed? But at that time, my brother was severely ill, he wasn't able to move even a single finger on his body. That Shaolin disciple used Golden Steel Finger to brutally cripple his arms and legs in order to force him to reveal the whereabouts of the Dragon Saber."

Having gotten to this point, he raised his voice to cry out, "You would think that Shaolin's martial arts eclipses over the whole martial arts world already, and they have also long been considered as the martial arts world's most venerable sect. Why must you still desire to possess the precious Dragon Saber in order to be satisfied? Besides, my third brother has only seen that Dragon Saber once, but the methods employed by your revered sect's disciples are really much too inhuman and atrocious. Within the martial arts world, Yu DaiYan can still be considered as possessing of some respectful fame. Within his whole life, he has only committed heroic and righteous acts of charity, doing many good deeds for the martial arts world. Now, because of a Shaolin disciple, he's crippled for his whole life, causing him to spend these last ten years lying on his bed unable to get up. We were just planning to ask the three divine reverends, what does Shaolin plan to do about this?"

Because of Yu DaiYan's injuries and the deaths of the whole Dragon Gate Escort Agency, Shaolin and Wu Dang have already spent much time over these debates. But they were never able to come to a conclusion because of Zhang CuiShan's disappearance. Zhang SongXi purposely brought out this case again when he observed Kong Wen and Yuan Ye all speak with such forceful justification.

The Abbot Kong Wen said, "I have already gone over this before. The disciples within our sect have already been investigated and questioned over in detail already. Nobody from our sect harmed Hero Yu."

Zhang SongXi reached his hands into his pockets and brought out a golden nugget, the finger marks left on the gold nugget can be clearly seen. He loudly exclaimed, "As all heroes can see, the culprits responsible for my brother Yu's injuries is the Shaolin disciple who left these marks on the golden nugget. Aside from the Shaolin sect's Golden Steel Finger, which school and which sect can boast to have a martial art skill that can produce such a mark on gold?"

Yuan Yin and Yuan Ye were trying to incriminate Zhang CuiShan based soley on their words, but Zhang SongXi was able to produce material evidence which would of course be much more convincing than proof-less conjectures and empty words.

Kong Wen said, "May the Buddha have mercy. Aside from the three of us brothers, there are also three other elders within our sect who have been able to master this skill of the Golden Steel Fingers. But these three elders have not stepped out of Shaolin's doors for thirty or forty years now. How would they be able to harm Hero Yu?"

Muo ShengGu suddenly chimed in, "Revered abbot, you wouldn't believe my fifth brother's words because you insist that his defense was based solely on the testimonial of just his one person, but are the words of Revered abbot you not also based on just your sole defense?"

Abbot Kong Wen's character was quite gracious and even though he recognized the disrespect in Muo ShengGu's words, he was not angry and only said, "If Hero Muo you don't believe this old monk's words, then there's nothing I can do." Muo ShengGu said, "How could your humble pupil I possibly dare to not believe revered abbot's words? But things in life are often unpredictable and prone to change. What is right, wrong, true and false will often turn out to be contrary to one's expectations. You only insist that the fellow Shaolin monks were injured under my fifth brother's hands, and we also believe that my third brother must have been injured under the fingers of a skilled Shaolin fighter. But it may very well be that are still secret twists unbeknownst to us all. According to your unworthy pupil's views, these incidents still requires further examination and reconsideration in order to not disturb the harmony between the Shaolin and Wu Dang sects. If we handle things in a crass or crude manner, then one day when the truth is finally revealed, there will only be regrets." Kong Wen nodded his head and said, "Hero Muo's words are right indeed."

Kong Zhi shouted with severe anger, "But are we just going to forget about the wrongful murder of our martial arts brother Kong Jian? Hero Zhang, we can put aside the death of the Dragon Gate Escort Agency for the time being. But today, if you are willing to reveal the whereabouts of the vicious bandit Xie Xun, then you better start revealing it because even if you are not willing to speak, we're still going to make you speak!"

Up to this moment, Yu LianZhou has been silent, but seeing that the situation has reached a deadlock, he said loudly, "If the Dragon Sabre was not in the hands of Xie Xun, would Reverend still be so concerned about capturing him?" He didn't say much, but just these two lines were already powerful enough, for he was outright reprimanding Kong Zhi as harbouring the unhonourable intentions of desiring to covet a precious treasure.

Kong Zhi was extremely enraged and with a slap, smashed his palm down upon the wooden table in front of him. With a bang, the table's four legs broke simultaneously as the table immediately shattered and the wooden splinters of the tabletop spewed everywhere. The immense force harboured within that palm was frightening. He roared with rage, "I've long heard that Grand Master Zhang's martial arts originated from Shaolin, but the word within the martial arts world has it that Master Zhang's martial arts excels beyond that of his originator. We've long been admirers even though we may not have been able to ascertain whether there is indeed truth in this rumour. Today, in the presence of the world's heroes, let us take this opportunity to boldly ask Grand Master Zhang to teach us a thing or two by exchanging a few stances with us!"

As soon as he said these words, all the fighters within the room were brought to an excited state of frenzy. It has now been seventy years since Zhang SanFeng made a name for himself, but all the fighters who had the chance to combat with him have all died over time. There was not a single one of them left in this world who can testify to exactly how fathomless his martial arts were. Thus, even though there were all sorts of extraordinary and fantastic legends circulating within the martial arts world, nobody aside from his seven exclusive disciples had the chance to witness Zhang SanFeng's brilliance with their very own eyes. But Song YuanQiao and his brothers have stunned and dazzled the world with the celebrated name of the Seven Heroes of Wu Dang. If just the disciples can already be seen to have such powers, it would be hard to imagine much less describe what heights their master's abilities would reach.

When the people outside of the Shaolin and Wu Dang sect heard Kong Zhi publicly declare a challenge against Zhang SanFeng, there was not a single person who was not roused into a state of excitement. They were all thinking within their heads that this was certainly turning out to be a worthwhile trip now that they had the chance to witness with their very own eyes the power of the present era's number one martial artist.

Everyone's eyes immediately shot towards Zhang SanFeng's face, anticipating his response of whether or not he was going to give his consent. But he was only seen to smile faintly and did not reveal whether he was going to accept the challenge or not.

Kong Zhi continued, "Grand Master Zhang's martial art abilities crowns over his era, and since he is already undefeatable within the world, the three of us are of course not your match. But since the situation has been forced to this point, I'm afraid that the entanglements between our two sects cannot be resolve if we don't settle it through a martial arts competition. Since master you are two generations above us, it would be much too disrespectful if we fought you one on one. Forgive us for daring to overestimate our capabilities, but we will combine the power between the three of us in order to challenge you Grand Master."

Everyone was thinking within their hearts, "That's some gallant-sounding excuse to cover up your intentions of combating one with the power of three. Even if Zhang SanFeng's martial arts are indeed supreme, yet he is nevertheless an old man that has reached his one hundredth year, his stamina and energy must without a doubt be on the decline. He may not be able to withstand the combined attack of the three divine reverends of Shaolin."

Yu LianZhou said, "Today is our master's hundredth year celebration, how could he possibly engage in any physical combat with his guests? …" when everyone heard this, they all thought, "Wu Dang sect really is going to back out from accepting this challenge." But unexpectedly, Yu LianZhou continued, "Besides, as reverend Kong Zhi has already said, my master and the three reverends are of different generational ranks, if he really did take action, wouldn't that make him guilty of the offense of picking on his juniors? But since Shaolin has stated their challenge, the seven disciples of Wu Dang will like a chance to learn from the twelve Shaolin monk's supreme martial arts."

After these words were spoken, there was again another great rumble that went through the whole group of guests who had all started to discuss and analyze amongst each other. Kong Wen, Kong Zhi and Kong Xing each had three disciples who accompanied them to the mountain today, bringing the total to twelve Shaolin monks. They all knew that Yu DaiYan was completely crippled and thus there were only six out of the seven Wu Dang disciples left. To fight twelve with six is a situation based upon a one against two ratio. Such terms as delineated by Yu LianZhou really can be said to serve a self-elevating purpose for the status of the Wu Dang sect.

Yu LianZhou's move may seem to be a risky step, and in actuality it was indeed a move that he was forced into making. He was very aware that the Shaolin reverends' martial art skills were extremely powerful, and since their ages were older than him and his brothers, their cultivation would naturally be greater. If they fought one on one, his oldest brother Song YuanQiao would be able to break even with one of the reverends, but he himself was just recovering from his injuries and may not be able to withstand one of the reverends. As for the very last reverend, regardless of whether it is Zhang SongXi, Yin LiTing, or Muo ShengGu who fights that match, they most definitely will lose to the reverend. Although his terms of challenge were officially stating that the six brothers will combat against the twelve Shaolin fighters, but the other nine Shaolin disciples can be assumed to pose a very small threat. Therefore, though it seems that the Wu Dang sect was combating a larger crowd with a smaller group, in actuality it was really the Wu Dang six disciples who were combining their powers to fight the three divine reverends of Shaolin.

How could Kong Zhi possibly not understand the dynamics of such an arrangement? After scoffing with a "hmph" he then said, "Since Master Zhang won't grace us with the honour of exchanging a few stances, then let us three brothers attempt to learn a few things by facing off against three of the Wu Dang six heroes. We can determine the victor with three matches, the side who is able to win in two of the three matches will be the winner."

Zhang SongXi said, "If reverend Kong Zhi really insists on fighting one on one, then that can also be done. But amongst the seven of us brothers, aside for my third brother Yu DaiYan who is unable to descend his bed after falling prey to the deadly attacks of a Shaolin disciple, there is not one of us who dares to back out from a challenge. Therefore, let us then determine the winner through six matches, where each of the Wu Dang six disciples will face off with a Shaolin disciple, the side that can win four matches out of the six will be determined as the victor."

Muo ShengGu loudly added, "Let's do it this way, if the Wu Dang sect loses, then my fifth brother Zhang will reveal the whereabouts of the Golden Mane Lion King Xie Xun to Shaolin sect's head abbot. But if Shaolin sect does kindly grant us the honour of winning, then we'd like to ask the three reverends along with all these guests who have come to here with the excuse of celebrating a birthday, but who are in actuality looking to stir up some trouble to please leave the mountain as a group!"

Zhang SongXi's suggestion of using a six against six method of combat can already be said to situate the Wu Dang sect in the undefeatable position. For his oldest brother and second brother's martial arts can be expected to be comparable with the three divine reverends of Shaolin. As for the rest of the Shaolin disciples, they most definitely will lose in the last three matches.

Kong Zhi shook his head while muttering, "That's not right, not right." But at the same time, he couldn't openly admit to exactly what wasn't right about such a suggestion.

Zhang SongXi said, "When divine reverends issued a challenged to my master, you said that you wanted to fight one man using the power of three. But when we said that we will use six fighters to combat the twelve revered monks of Shaolin, reverend Kong Zhi will suddenly request to fight one on one. Fine, so we'll agree to fighting one on one, but now reverend you say that such an arrangement is not right. Why don't we just do it this way then, let your unworthy pupil I fight against Shaolin's three divine reverends by myself, then everything would be absolutely perfect right? Let the three divine reverends obliterate your unworthy pupil, then that way Shaolin can be victorious and then wouldn't that be so gratifying?"

Greatly agitated, Kong Zhi's face changed colours while Kong Wen murmured a Buddhist mantra, "Amita Buddha!" Since Kong Xin arrived on the Wu Dang mountain, he has not said one word. But at this moment he suddenly said, "Brothers, since this young hero Zhang says he wants to fight the three of us by himself, then let us do that!" Because Kong Xin had practiced monasticism from an early age, therefore even though his martial arts were skilled, he was not at all acquainted with customs of the world and could not catch the sarcasm and mockery in Zhang SongXi's words.

Kong Wen said, "Hush up brother" as he turned around and said to Song YuanQiao, "We'll do this, let the six Shaolin monks face off against the six disciples of Wu Dang. We'll determine the winners with just one match." Song YuanQiao replied, "Not the six disciples of Wu Dang, but the seven disciples of Wu Dang."

Kong Wen was greatly taken back as he asked, "Is Master Zhang also planning to join the battle as well?"

Song YuanQiao replied, "Revered Abbot's conjectures are wrong. All fighters who have fought with my teacher have long since passed away, how can my teacher possibly act out again? However, although my third brother Yu is unable to move after being burdened by severe injuries, and while he also has no disciples, yet the seven of us brothers have always been as one body. Today, in such a confrontation that will concern life, death, glory and shame, how could he possibly stand detached without lending out a helping hand? I'll ask him to hastily find somebody and to give them a few instructions and guidelines in order for this person to substitute for him and fight on his behalf. Wu Dang's seven disciples will fight the revered monks of Shaolin as a group, it matters not whether you decide to send out seven fighters or twelve fighters!"

Kong Wen paused briefly and thought, "Within the Wu Dang sect, aside for Zhang SanFeng and his seven disciples, there hasn't been mention of any other skilled fighters. He says they'll find a last minute substitution, but what use is that? If they ask another sect's disciple to fight, then that wouldn't be a battle of the Wu Dang sect versus the Shaolin sect. He most likely was just trying to preserve the famed glory of the 'Seven Heroes of Wu Dang' when he said these words." Therefore he gave a nod with his head and said, "Alright. Then the seven monks of Shaolin will battle Wu Dang's seven heroes."

Yu LianZhou, Zhang SongXi and the others immediately understood what purpose Song YuanQiao was trying to induce with his words.

Zhang SanFeng still had one set of martial art skill that was extremely worthy of pride, it was called "Zhen Wu's Seven Spheres Formation." The Wu Dang sect offered worship to the deity Zhen Wu [9], and when Zhang SanFeng saw the pair of statuettes comprising of a snake and a tortoise that was always situated in front the statue of Zhen Wu, he thought to the SheShan [10] and GuiShan [11] located at the juncture between the ChangJiang [12]and the HanShui River Valleys [13]. When he thought over the agile lightness of a long snake contrasted with the lumbering heaviness of a tortoise, he also thought to how the diety Zhen Wu was able to place his leg on the shell of a tortoise while his right leg rested on the body of a snake, thus capturing the essence of the most lithe and cumbersome objects' fundamental nature. He immediately took off that moment, journeying through the night to arrive at the Northern areas of the HanShui River Valleys to study the two She and Gui mountains. Through the undulating twists of the SheShan and the stately stableness of the GuiShan, he was able to create an incredibly brilliant and mystical martial art skill.

However, the She and Gui mountains were so majestic in their force, that it caused the martial arts inspired by the intensity of the mountains to be so profound and boundless, that it encompassed a vast field and became something of which could not be fully implemented through one person's power. Zhang SanFeng quietly stood by the river's bank and for three days abstained from drinking a single drop of water or consuming a tiny morsel of food. He concentrated all his energies into mulling over this skill, yet was still unable to solve this problem. But during the early dawn of the fourth morning, he watched the sun rise from the East to cast a million streaks of wavering golden slithers and flickering spots of sparkling illuminations on the face of the river. He was suddenly enlightened and after engaging in a hearty laugh, he returned to the Wu Dang mountain and brought his seven disciples to him in order to relate a martial art skill to each one of them.

These seven different forms of martial arts when executed separately is of course each an embodiment of brilliance and exquisiteness in their own right, but if two people combine their efforts, the brothers can support and facilitate each other by simultaneously fostering their attack while maintaining their defence, causing their power to be increased even further. If three people simultaneously executed their moves, their power would be double that of the combined effort of two individuals. The power of four people would equal to that of eight first rate fighters while five people amounts to the force of sixteen fighters and six fighters will be equivalent to thirty-two fighters. By the time they can gather the efforts of seven fighters simultaneously, it would be analogous to having the collective force of sixty-four of the present era's first-rate fighters attacking all at once. Within the present era, the number of martial artists who can be classified as a first rate fighter was merely a small list comprised of twenty or thirty people, what are the chances of having the opportunity to gather together all these first rate fighters? Even if they could be gathered together, within these fighters there were the good and the evil, the compassionate and the malicious, how could they possibly co-operate together as a group?

Because this skill of Zhang SanFeng's was inspired by the tortoise and snake statues that stood by the foot of deity Zhen Wu, it was therefore titled as the "Zhen Wu Seven Spheres Formation." At that time, he painstakingly pondered over the difficulty in making up for the vacancy in the west end while one watched over the east, which would simultaneously afford opponents with the chance of taking advantage of the exposed vacancy in the Southern and Northern ends. It was only later when he came up with the solution of directing his seven disciples to execute this skill as a group was he finally able to resolve this problem. Although he couldn't help but be a little disappointed over the fact that this "Zhen Wu Seven Spheres Formation" could not be worked out in such a way so as to enable just one person to executed it, but when he thought to, "If this skill really can be executed through the power of just one person, then wouldn't that mean just one person's power would be enough to defeat the combined force of sixty-four first rate fighters? Is that not a much too absurd and arrogant idea?" and couldn't help himself from laughing while being at a complete loss of words.

Since the Seven Heroes of Wu Dang have made their name within the martial arts world, there has not been an encounter in which they were not able to achieve the upper hand. Regardless of how powerful of an opponent they may be pitted up against, the most they would require would be just the combined efforts of two or three brothers in order to conquer and be victorious. This "Zhen Wu Seven Spheres Formation" has not been used even once. At the present moment, Song YuanQiao knew that they were faced with great adversaries, for nobody really knew exactly how powerful the three divine reverends of Shaolin were. Though he thinks that he may be able to equally tie one of them, these were nevertheless overconfident conjectures on his own part. It could very well be that he would be thoroughly defeated as soon as he struck out, which was why he was suddenly reminded of the treasured secret weapon of the Wu Dang sect, the never-been-used "Zhen Wu Seven Spheres Formation."

When he heard Abbot Kong Wen agreeing to fight the seven heroes of Wu Dang with seven Shaolin disciples, he then said, "We'd like to ask our respected guests to please wait here for a moment while we went and asked our third brother to find a successor right away in order to comprise the correct number for the seven disciples of Wu Dang." Then with a look at Yu LianZhou and the others, the six brothers all respectfully bowed to Zhang SanFeng and asking to be excused before retreating into the inner rooms.

Muo ShengGu was the first one to speak, "Eldest brother, let us use the 'Zhen Wu Seven Spheres Formation' today and show those Shaolin monks the capabilities of a Wu Dang disciple. But who should we ask to replace our third brother?" Song YuanQiao replied, "I think concerning this matter, we should all come to a decision together. Let us not say anything right now. Each one of us will write a name on our palms and then we'll see what the general consensus is." Muo ShengGu said, "Alright!" and immediately took out a pen which he handed over to Song YuanQiao.

Song YuanQiao wrote a few words on his palm and then clenched together his fists before handing the pen over to Yu LianZhou. Everyone took turns writing and then revealed their answers simultaneously. Song YuanQiao, Yu LianZhou and Zhang SongXi all wrote the words "Fifth Sister." Zhang CuiShan wrote the two words "Zhuo Jing," whereas Yin LiTing's whole face had flushed a deep red while he refused to reveal his answer by tightly clenching together his fist. Muo ShengGu said, "Hey that's strange, what are you hiding?" and pried open his fist only to see that on his palm were written the words, "Miss Ji."

Zhang CuiShan was genuinely touched as he took Yin LiTing's hands and said, "Brother!" Everyone understood that Yin LiTing was being considerate of the fact that because Yin SuSu was just beginning to recover from her illness, it was thus not very suitable for her to engage in battle. Therefore he would rather ask Ji XiaoFu, his own future wife to participate in the battle instead. Muo ShengGu had originally wanted to tease him but Zhang CuiShan immediately shot him a look to prevent him. Song YuanQiao thus said, "Fifth brother, please go and ask sister to come out then."

Zhang CuiShan returned to his bedroom and brought out Yin SuSu before briefly outlining what the situation was like outside in the reception hall. Yin SuSu said, "The lives of the whole Dragon Gate Escort Agency, Hui Feng and the other Shaolin monks were all ended by me. But at that time, I still haven't met CuiShan yet. I don't want this incident to burden the Wu Dang sect anymore, let me go and tell them to go and settle these scores with my father's Heavenly Eagle sect instead."

Zhang SongXi said, "Sister, why continue to differentiate between you and I at this point? Besides, I believe that though these people ascended the mountain today by using the Dragon Gate Escort Agency incident as their excuse, their true goal is to interrogate about Xie Xun. Similarly, their interrogation of Xie Xun for the purpose of revenge is again just another excuse, while getting their hands on the Dragon Saber comprises their true purpose." Muo ShengGu said, "Fourth brother's words are absolutely right. Their main desire is to covet the Dragon Saber, and regardless of what, they will try to force you to reveal the details of the treasured saber." Zhang CuiShan said, "Years ago, the Reverend Kong Jian told my brother Xie Xun that concealed within the Dragon Sabre was a martial arts manual that can render its practitioner invincibility and the ability to conquer and dominate the whole martial arts world. Since Kong Jian was aware of this secret, then Kong Wen, Kong Zhi and Kong Xing must also know as well."

Yin SuSu said, "If that is the case, I will follow eldest brother's every command. But your unworthy sister's martial arts are so lowly, how can I fully comprehend the brilliance of the 'Zhen Wu Seven Spheres Formation' in such a brief moment of time?"

Song YuanQiao replied, "In all honesty, by just combining the power of the six of us brothers to combat the seven Shaolin monks is already sufficient enough to secure our victory. But if sister you can participate on our third brother's behalf by acting as his successor, then I'm sure that he will be incredibly grateful."

The hearts of the six heroes of the Wu Dang all beated together as one, and the purpose behind them asking Yin SuSu to participate in the battle was not for the sake of combating the adversaries, but rather it was for Yu DaiYan's sake. It should be understood that if the Six Heroes of Wu Dang combined their efforts to attack, the power of the "Zhen Wu Seven Spheres Formation" would already be equivalent to the power of thirty two first rate fighters. Even if the three divine reverends did turn out to be very powerful, and even if there was some unknown first rate fighter amongst the disciples who accompanied them on this trip, yet even combining the power of all seven of them, it can be ascertained that there absolutely could be no way for them to turn out as being comparable to the combined power of thirty two first rate fighters. But ever since their master had taught them this "Zhen Wu Seven Spheres Formation," they never had the chance to use it. Today, they will clench victory with just one battle and defeat all three divine reverends of Shaolin, if Yu DaiYan cannot share this victorious glory, melancholy will most definitely fill his heart. Therefore Song YuanQiao and the others wanted Yin SuSu to learn the stances from Yu DaiYan and stand in as his substitution. That way, when the legend of this battle gets passed down amongst the martial arts world in the future, Yu DaiYan can still be considered as having partaken a role in this battle even if he didn't physically join in, and they will still be spoken of as the "Seven Heroes of Wu Dang."

The mutual understanding and genuine compassion that the brothers held towards each other were all discerned by Yin SuSu through just two three words, and therefore she said, "Alright, then I will ask our third brother to teach me. But my martial arts is much too inferior when compared to the rest of you, I just hope that I won't get in the way and end up being a burden later." Yin LiTing said, "Don't worry, that won't happen. As long as you remember the steps and directions of the formation, that would already be good enough. Even if you happen to forget anything during the battle, we will all be there to remind you."

Therefore, the seven of them all went over to Yu DaiYan's bedroom. Since Zhang CuiShan returned home, he has already had a few talks with Yu DaiYan, but because Yin SuSu was ridden with illness, it was only until now did she finally have the chance to officially go see Yu DaiYan.

When Yu DaiYan saw the elegant exquisitness of her beautiful face and observed the gentle grace in her manners, he became very happy for his brother. Then he was filled with a desolate heartache when he heard Song YuanQiao say that she wanted to act as his substitution to participate in the "Zhen Wu Seven Spheres Formation" which they will form in order to counter the three divine reverends of Shaolin. But he has been crippled for ten years now and have gotten used to many things. Therefore with a faint smile he said, "Sister, your third brother I don't have anything good to give to you as a welcoming present. Now in this moment of haste, I can only relate to you the steps and directions of this formation. After the adversaries have retreated, I will explain to you in detail the variations and practicing methods to this formation."

Yin SuSu replied with elated joy, "Thank you third brother."

This was the first time that Yu DaiYan heard her open her mouth to speak, but when he suddenly heard her say the four words "Thank you third brother," the facial muscles on his face began to contort and quiver uncontrollably while his two eyes stared blankly ahead, completely lost in thought. Zhang CuiShan asked with alarm, "Brother, are you not feeling well?" Yu DaiYan did not respond, but remained lost in a numbed, comatose state. There was a strange look in his eyes, an expression that communicated both pain and hatred. It was as if he was suddenly reminded of one of the most hated experiences of his life.

When Zhang CuiShan turned around to look at his wife, he found that her expression had also changed suddenly as well, there was a mixture of horror and anxiety written all over her face.

Song YuanQiao, Yu LianZhou and the others looked at Yu DaiYan and then looked over at Yin SuSu, not understanding why the expression of these two people would suddenly become so strange. Everyone's heart was filled with a premonition that something terrible would happen. The room had suddenly become a mass of oppressing silence, so quiet that the heartbeat of each person could almost be heard.

Yu DanYan's breathing was heard to grow increasingly rapid, and a faint flush erupted over his pale cheeks. In a low voice he said, "Sister, please come over here and let me take a look at you." Yin SuSu's whole body was visibly shaking while she actually refused to approach Yu DaiYan. She only extended her arm to tightly cling onto her husband's arm instead.

After quite a while, Yu DaiYan sighed and said, "If you don't want to come over, that's fine as well. For I never did get to see your face that day anyways. Sister, can you please repeat these words after me, 'One, you must personally lead the escort. Two, you must take the package to the Xiang Yang city without any rest, so it will arrive in ten days. Three, should there be any problems, humph, I will kill every single person in your Dragon Gate Escort Agency.'"

When everyone heard him recite these words slowly, nobody could stop their bodies from breaking out into a cold sweat.

Yin SuSu ran forward a step and said, "Third brother, it truly is remarkable of you to be able to recognize my voice. That day at Lin An City's Dragon Gate Escort Agency, the person who entrusted Du DaJin with the mission of bringing you back to Wu Dang mountain was your worthless sister I." Yu DaiYan said, "Thank you for your kindness sister." Yin SuSu continued, "Afterwards when the Dragon Gate Escort Agency fouled up along the journey, causing brother you to end up like this, it was also your sister I who went and completely annihilated their whole family, killing everyone including even the young and old." Yu DaiYan coldly asked, "For what reason did you treat me with such kindness?"

Yin SuSu's face was sombre as she gave a long sigh and said, "Third brother, since things have come to this stage, I can no longer conceal anything from you any longer. But I have to state ahead of time that in regards to this, CuiShan has been kept from the truth all along. I was afraid … afraid that after he knows of the truth, he will never … never care about me again."

Yu DaiYan quietly murmured, "Then you don't need to say anything. I've already become a useless cripple, there's no need to persist in chasing after the past. Why ruin the relationship between the two of you for someone like me? Now, all of you go! The six heroes of Wu Dang will combat the revered Shaolin monks, victory is at hand, do not let people think that the Seven Heroes of Wu Dang is merely an empty name."

Yu DaiYan's will was incredibly strong, and ever since he was injured, he has never moan or groaned with any form of bitterness. Originally, he couldn't even make any sounds for speech, and it was only through Zhang SanFeng's careful and skilled treatments of transferring the inner energy that he had cultivated throughout all these years into his body, was he finally able to gradually open his mouth for speech. Yet he refused to mention a single word about what happened to him that day, and it was only today did anyone finally hear him utter these few indignant words of grief. After the brothers heard these words, there was not a single person whose blood was not boiling, while sounds of crying was furthermore heard to come from Yin LiTing.

Yin SuSu said, "Third brother, I know that you have already figured out the truth, but you're only refraining yourself from revealing it because you're taking into account of the love and friendship between CuiShan and you. It's true, that day on the waters of the QianTang River, the person who was hiding within the compartment of the boat and who used the Mosquito Needles to hurt you was your unworthy sister I …"

Zhang CuiShan severely roared, "SuSu, was it really you? You … you … you didn't tell me this earlier!"

Yan SuSu replied, "The true culprit who injured your third brother was your very own wife. How could I possibly tell you that?" She whipped her head around again to face Yu DaiYan and said, "Third brother, afterwards, the person who concealed the Seven Stars Needles in their palms in order to wound you and cheat away the Dragon Saber in your possession was my very own brother Yin YeWang. Because there has never been any trouble or scores of vengeance between our Heavenly Eagle Sect and your Wu Dang Sect, and since we have already obtained the Dragon Saber and furthermore respect you as a venerable and tough man, we therefore asked the Dragon Gate Escort Agency to bring you back to the Wu Dang mountain. But the twists that suddenly appeared along the journey was not something we ever expected would happen."

Zhang CuiShan's whole body was shaking and fire seemed to be about to blaze out of his eyes. He pointed to Yin SuSu and said, "You … you really ruined me with a wicked lie."

Yu DaiYan was heard to suddenly give a loud scream while his whole body flipped off the bed boards. With a loud thump, he fainted while falling onto the ground. The four slabs of bed boards had broken simultaneously."

Yin SuSu took out her sword, rotated the handle around and handed it over Zhang CuiShan while saying, "CuiShan, we have been husband and wife for ten years now. To be sheltered by your compassion and be blessed by your profound love and genuine respect, I know that I can really die with no regrets now. Please kill me with one swipe of the sword in order to preserve the brotherly rightfulness between the Seven Heroes of Wu Dang."

Zhang CuiShan took hold of the sword and was just about to lurch forward to drive the blade through his wife's heart when in that brief flash, the last ten years all surfaced within his heart, all of the various attractive qualities such as her warm tenderness and devoted care, gentle affections and sweet sentiments. How could he possibly bring himself to pierce forward with that sword?

He remained in a state of dumbfounded shock for a moment, and then after suddenly giving out a loud scream, he dashed out of the room. Yin SuSu, Song YuanQiao and the others did not know where he wanted to go, so they all ran after him. They watched him tear out of the room and kneel on the floor in front of Zhang SanFeng, saying "Honoured master, your disciple I have made a terrible mistake, there's no possibly of it being rectified. I would only like to beg you of one thing."

Zhang SanFeng was not aware of what the situation was like, therefore said with a tender expression, "What is it? Just say it and there would be nothing your master would not do for you."

Zhang CuiShan knocked his head on the floor three times and said, "Thank you respected master, your disciple I have only one cherished son who has landed in the hands of evil villains. I would like to beg esteemed master you to rescue him out of the demons' lair and raise him into an adult." He then stood up and ran forward a few steps before turning towards reverend Kong Zhi, Mr. Iron Zither He Tai Chong, Kong Dong Sect's Guan Neng, E-Mei Sect's revered nun Jing Xuan and the others, declaring in a loud and clear voice, "All crimes and sins are the doing of Zhang CuiShan's sole person only. A true man will always confront the consequences of their actions, today I'll give everyone a satisfying answer!" As he was saying these words, he lifted his long sword and drew it across his own neck. Bright red blood immediately gushed out as his life ended right there.

Zhang CuiShan's intentions of committing suicide was quite strong. He already predicted that his master and fellow brothers would act out to stop him the moment he drew his sword, therefore he purposely situated himself amongst the crowd of guests and stuck out immediately after he finished saying those two sentences."

Zhang SanFeng, Yu LianZhou, Zhang SongXi and Yi LiTing all screamed out while rushing forward at the same time. Banging sounds rang out consecutively as the body of six or seven people flew up into the air. These were all people of whom were surrounding Zhang CuiShan and whose bodies were all blown back by the force harboured within the palms of Zhang SanFeng and his disciples. But they were still too late. Zhang CuiShan's blade had already slitted through his throat, there was no possibility of salvaging the damage. Song YuanQiao, Muo ShengGu and Yin LiTing all came out slightly later, and of course would be even further away from being able to stop Zhang CuiShan.

It was at this time when a young child's voice cried from outside the long window of the hall, "Papa! Papa!" These two cries seemed to be smothered, the mouth of this speaker was obviously being covered by someone else. With a sway of his body, Zhang SanFeng had already arrived outside the long window. All that was seen was a man dressed in the attire of a Mongolian war general, in his arms was a eight or nine year old boy. That boy's mouth was covered, but he was struggling to break freak.

Zhang SanFeng's beloved disciple has just died a terrible death, and it was as if somebody has driven a knife into his heart. But due to his cultivation of nearly one hundred years, his thoughts still remained clear. He shouted in a low voice, "Get inside!" That man gave a tap with his left leg, and was just about to leap up onto the rooftops with the kid in his arms. But his shoulders immediately slumped while his whole body seemed to be suddenly held down by an incredible weight and he found that he couldn't even lift his two feet from the ground. What had happened was Zhang SanFeng had soundlessly approached the man and placed his left hand lightly on his shoulders. That man was incredibly petrified, for he knew that all Zhang SanFeng needed to do was expel some internal energy, and even if he doesn't die right away, he most definitely will be severely injured. Therefore, he could only follow his orders and enter into the reception hall.

That kid was indeed Zhang CuiShan's son, Zhang WuJi. His mouth was covered by that man, but from outside the long window he was able to witness very clearly how his father committed suicide with a slash of his sword. How could he possibly not be upset? He therefore broke free forcefully, and was finally able to release a loud scream.

Yin SuSu witnessed her husband commit suicide for her, but then suddenly she saw her son return without any harm. After her tremendous sorrow, followed great joy. She asked, "Child, did you tell them the whereabouts of your godfather?" WuJi held his head upright and said bravely, "Even if they kill me, I would not say a single word." Yin SuSu said, "That's a good boy, come and let me hold you."

Zhang SanFeng said, "Hand the child over to her." That man's whole body was controlled, and had no choice but to follow Zhang's orders and passed WuJi over to Yin SuSu.

Zhang WuJi fell into his mother's embrace crying, "Ma, why did they have to push my papa to commit suicide?" Yin SuSu said, "All these people here have come up onto the mountain because they wanted to force your father to kill himself." WuJi's little pair of eyes swept slowly from the left to the right once. Though he was young, but when everyone's eyes met up with his gaze, they couldn't help but feeling shaken within their hearts.

Yin SuSu said, "WuJi, you have to promise your mother one thing." WuJi said, "Ma, just say it." Yin SuSu said, "Don't rush to seek revenge, you have to be patient. But don't even let a single one of them go." When everyone heard these few cold words from her, they couldn't help but feel a cold chill brush across their back. WuJi was heard to cry, "Ma! I don't want revenge, I only want my papa to come back to life!"

Yin SuSu said tearfully, "When a person dies, there's no way of bring them back." Her body quivered ever so slightly as she said, "Child, since your papa has died, we may as well reveal your godfather's whereabouts to others." WuJi hurriedly said, "No, no we can't do that!"

Yin SuSu said, "Abbot Kong Wen, you are the only person whom I will reveal the secret to, please bring your ear closer." This move was out of everyone's expectations, and they were all surprised. Kong Wen said, "All is well, all is well! If only madam you were willing to reveal this earlier, fifth hero Zhang wouldn't have to die" and approached Yin SuSu, leaning his ear over.

Yin SuSu's lips moved a few times but was not heard to emit any sounds. Kong Wen asked, "What?" Yin SuSu said, "The Golden Mane Lion King Xie Xun is hiding in …" when she got to the words "hiding in" her voice became extremely muddled again, no audible sound was heard. Kong Wen asked again, "What?" Yin SuSu replied, "He is there, your Shaolin sect can go and find him yourselves."

Kong Wen frantically insisted, "I didn't hear anything" while he straightened his body and lifted his hands to scratch his head, a completely confused and lost expression on his face.

Yin SuSu laughed coldly and said, "I can only tell you that much. As long as you go there, you will most definitely find the Golden Mane Lion King Xie Xun."

She embraced WuJi and said in a low voice, "Child, when you grow up, you must take caution of woman tricking you. The more beautiful that woman is, the better of a manipulator she will be." She then pressed her lips against WuJi's ears and whispered in an extremely soft voice, "I didn't tell that monk anything, I was only lying to him … look at … what a great liar your mother is!" and after a bitter, anguished laugh, her arms fell to her side as her whole body slumped down to the floor. What was immediately seen was the dagger that was stuck in her chest. She had already stabbed herself with this dagger when she was embracing WuJi, but because WuJi's body was blocking her front, nobody was able to detect it.

WuJi threw himself onto his mother's body and screamed, "Mama, mama!" But Yin SuSu had driven that dagger into herself a long time ago and had been able to hold up for quite a while already. By this time, she had eventually stopped breathing. WuJi was incredibly devastated, but not only did he not sob and cry, he actually glared at Abbot Kong Wen while asking, "It was you who killed my mama wasn't it? Why did you kill my mama?"

Having witness a series of life's great tragedies all at once, even Kong Wen, the sect leader of the present era's most revered martial arts sect couldn't stop himself from feeling incredibly shaken. After being interrogated by WuJi like this, he couldn't help but back up a few steps while frantically saying, "No, it wasn't me. She … she was the one who killed herself."

Tears were rolling around in WuJi's eyes, but he exerted all his strength to force back these tears, muttering, "I won't cry, I will not let myself cry, won't cry in front of all you bad people."

The Abbot Kong Wen cleared his throat softly and said, "Grand Master Zhang, we never expected that … ai … ai … that it would end up like this. Since fifth hero Zhang and his spouse has already committed suicide, then we will no longer continue to interrogate about the past. We will retreat now." After saying these words, he pressed his palms together and bowed, while Zhang SanFeng returned a bow and said cooly, "Forgive us for not seeing you out." All the Shaolin monks got up together, turned around and prepared to leave.

Yin LiTing shouted with anger, "You all … you all force my brother to kill himself …" but then he immediately thought, "Brother killed himself because he felt that he had wronged third brother, it really wasn't their fault." Therefore having just uttered half a sentence, he didn't continue to finish it and only threw himself onto Zhang CuiShan's corpse, wailing loudly.

All the guests felt unease in their hearts as they all approached Zhang SanFeng to express their intentions of departing, while they were all thinking within their hearts, "This time, the bad blood has gotten really thick. The Wu Dang sect most definitely will not easily let us off the hook this time. There will be trouble in the future." Song YuanQiao saw the guests out, accompanying them outside to the temple doors with reddened eyes. As soon as they stepped foot outside, he turned his head around, his tears already pouring down. Within the reception hall, all that could be heard was the sobbing from everyone in the Wu Dang sect.

This last part is a summary. I might come back and fill in the rest later. But this part isn't all that important, especially the whole Shaolin trip. But if enough people petition for it, I can go ahead and do the detailed translation

E-Mei sect was the last group to leave, when Ji XiaoFu saw how devastated YinLiTing was, her eyes also reddened as she approahced him and told him that they planned to go and that he should take care of himself. Yin LiTing asked her whether her E-Mei sect was also trying to give his brother a hard time. She hurriedly said that her master only wanted to ask Zhang CuiShan to reveal XieXun's whereabouts. And then she continue to say that she had wronged Yin LiTing greatly, and once again told him to take care of himself while saying that she can only repay his kindness in her next lifetime.

Ji XiaoFu then took down a necklace (more like a neck hoop) from her neck and was going to put it on Zhang WuJi while saying, "This is for you …" when WuJi dodged his head and said, "I don't want it." Embarrassed, tears popped up in her eyes. Her martial arts sister Jing Xuan Shi-Tai then commanded them all to leave.

After the E-Mei sect left, WuJi held back no longer and was just about to cry wholeheartedly when he suddenly couldn't catch his breath and fainted to the ground. Yu LianZhou picked him up and held him in his arms, thinking he had fainted due to his distress, therefore massaged his chest a few times while urging him to "cry it all out." But surprisingly, he didn't wake up, while the temperature of his whole body was icy and he was barely breathing. Even when Yu LianZhou generated his energies and massaged him, WuJi still didn't wake up. When everyone saw how the child seemed to be ready to die along with his parents in just a short moment, they all blanched.

Zhang SanFeng delivered some inner energy into the acupoint located on his back. Considering Zhang SanFeng's current cultivation, there should be no reason why he couldn't cause somebody to regain consciousness if they weren't on the brink of death. But when delivering that internal energy into WuJi, the child's face turned from white to green, from green to purple, and his whole body was shaking uncontrollably.

Zhang SanFeng stopped and felt his forehead, feeling as if he had just placed his hand on a slab of ice. He felt that on a center of his back, there was a spot that was blazing hot while everywhere else was freezing cold. If Zhang SanFeng's internal energies hadn't reach such a fathomless level, when he came into contact with the coldness, even he would shiver. He then told Song YuanQiao to find the man in the Mongolian dress who had kidnapped WuJi. Yu LianZhou followed him out for he knew that Song YuanQiao was not the Mongolian soldier's match. But in the midst of all the turmoil involving Zhang CuiShan and Yin SuSu, nobody paid any attention to the Mongolian soldier, who had already fled amidst the chaos.

When Zhang SanFeng tore open WuJi's shirt, a green-coloured hand print can be very clearly seen, the area of handprint was burning hot, while everywhere else was freezing cold.

Song YuanQiao and Yu LianZhou returned and reported that there was no outsiders left on the mountian.

ZhangSanFeng said that he always thought that every since Taoist Priest "Bai Sun" (Hundred Damages/Injuries Taoist Priest) died thirty years ago, there would be nobody left in this world who would know this Xuan Ming Divine Palms ("Xuan" means dark and/or mysterious, while "Ming" also means something along the lines of dark, deep, underworld, death). Song YuanQiao due to his age and experience was the only person aside from Zhang SanFeng who has heard of such a martial art skill.

Zhang SanFeng sighed as tears ran down his face while he held WuJi within his arms and looked over at Zhang CuiShan's corpse and said, "CuiShan, CuiShan, you've chosen me to be your teacher and entrusted me with your last wishes. But I couldn't even save your beloved son, your only child! So what if I do live to a hundred? What use is it to me if Wu Dang sect's fame resonates throughout the world? I may as well be dead."

All his disciples were shocked, for they have never heard their master say such dejected words of despair. Yin LiTing asked him whether WuJi really had not hope of being saved. Zhang SanFeng replied that unless his master JueYuan could come back to life and related to him the complete whole fo the 9 Yang manual.

Yu LianZhou told his master about how that day he was injured under the same man, but now he was able to recover. Zhang SanFeng told him that this was due to the fame of the Seven Heroes of Wu Dang, for Xuan Ming Divine Palms if used on an opponent whose inner energies exceed that of their own, the force of the palm would return back into the executer's body to injure them. It was then that Yu LianZhou realized that he got away last time because the man was taking caution of the possibility that Yu LianZhou's internal energies may be more profound than his own.

Song YuanQiao remarked that through that brief glimpse he had of that man, he seemed to be of foreign race.

WuJi opened his eyes and cried while clutching onto Zhang SanFeng, "Papa, papa, it hurts, it really hurts."

Yu LianZhou said, "WuJi, your papa has died already. But you have to live on and concentrate on praticing your martial arts in order to avenge your father's death." WuJi cried, "I don't want revenge! I won't seek revenge! I only want my papa and mama to come back to life again. Second uncle, why don't we just let all those bad people go, and concentrate on saving papa and mama instead?"

When Zhang SanFeng heard these words, his tears started up again, while he said that he could only try his best. He brought WuJi into his own room, sealing the eighteen major acupoints on his body. WuJi immediately stopped shivering as the green shade on his face grew increasingly deep, but Zhang SanFeng knew that as soon as this green shade turns into a black shade, WuJi would stop breathing and there would no longer be any way to save him. Therefore he took off WuJi's shirt while himself also untying his own taoist gown and pressed his own body against WuJi's back.

Yu LianZhou and the rest knew that Zhang SanFeng was using the "Pure Yang Boundless Energy" skill to transfer some of WuJi's cold temperature onto his own body. Because Zhang SanFeng was a virgin and had eighty years of energy cultivation, he has already achieved the pinnacle of this skill. After about an hour's time, a faint greenish colour started to appear on Zhang SanFeng's face while the tips of his fingers started to tremble, therefore he told Yu LianZhou to sub in for him, reminding them that as soon as they can't stand it, they must stop.

When Yin LiTing took over, he immediately had to stop because he was hit so hard by Zhang CuiShan's death, he had to stop a while, calm his thoughts down before he could continue.

The six of them took turns and over three days and three nights, gradually relieved the coldness of WuJi's body. From the eight day, each person would spend four hours each day in helping him relieve his illness.

At the beginning, WuJi's illness seemed to increase significantly, and everyone thought that he could be saved. But by the 36th day, Yu LianZhou found that regardless of how much energy he generates, he can't seem to transfer out a single bit of WuJi's coldness. Even Zhang SanFeng was not successful. During the following five days, everyone tried their best and thought of all sorts of methods, yet still was not successful.

WuJi told Zhang SanFeng that his arms and legs were warm, but the top of his head, chest and abdomen were growing increasingly colder.

Zhang SanFeng therefore knew that the since the coldness has already seeped into these areas, it could not be relieved through external energy, meaning that outsiders cannot help WuJi. The only solution is if WuJi practiced the 9 Yang Manual, to use the ultimate internal energy to disperse the coldness within him. The bit of 9 Yang that Zhang SanFeng knew was incomplete and even after undergoing the last few times of isolated meditation, he was only able to comprehend 30-40 percent. Therefore could only teach him what he knew in hopes that he may preserve his life for an extra day.

WuJi thus practiced this skill for 2 years, developing a decent amount of "purple Qi" within his Dantien (elixir field). But the coldness within his body still was not able to be dispersed, and the green colour in his face grew more noticeable each day. Every time the cold spells attacked, they would worsen each time. Zhang SanFeng took care of him painstakingly each day during the last two years, and Song YuanQiao and the others went in search of precious medicine and rare herbs, all of which were consumed by him. But it was still to no avail, and WuJi only grew thinner and more sickly, despite his attempts to smile for everyone else.

Due to caring for WuJi, the Wu Dang sect had no time to search out their enemies who had injured Yu DaiYan and WuJi. The Heavenly Eagle Sect had sent somebody over to ask about WuJi's situation and to deliver presents a few times, but because the Wu Dang disciples hated how both Zhang CuiShan and Yu DaiYan's calamities were both indirectly caused under the hands of the Heavenly Eagle Sect, therefore every time a representative of the Heavenly Eagle Sect came around, they would chase them away. All the presents they would bring will be returned back to them, and after one time when Muo ShengGu severely beated up one of the representatives, Yin TianZhen no longer continue to send people over.

During the Mid-Autumn festival, the whole Wu Dang sect got together for a dinner. WuJi had another attack, but because he didn't want to ruin the festive atmosphere, could only force himself to sustain the pain without saying a single word. But everyone could see very clearly what was happening. They brought him into the room and warmed him up, while Zhang SanFeng said that tomorrow he will be bringing WuJi to Shaolin.

Everyone knew that this move was putting Zhang SanFeng in the inferior position, for he is purposely going over to Shaolin in order to ask for help, in hopes that the reverends of Shaolin can help to fill in the gaps of the 9 Yang manual, and heal WuJi's illness.

Everyone knew that considering Zhang SanFeng's age and position, to personally go to Shaolin begging for help, would be a very disgraceful thing, and that from now on, every time the Wu Dang sect saw the Shaolin sect, they would not be able to raise their head with pride. But because of Zhang CuiShan, everyone was willing to put down their pride.

Although E-Mei sect also had a portion of the 9 Yang, but Mi Jue Shi-Tai's character was extremely strange. Zhang SanFeng had already written a few letters to her, asking Yin LiTing to deliver it to E-Mei, but Mi Jue didn't even break open the envelope and would already send the letter back to Wu Dang, unopened. Now, other than begging Shaolin, there was no other way. Even though it would be better for the face of Wu Dang if Song YuanQiao brought his brothers along with them to Shaolin, but they knew that there was no way the Abbot Kong Wen would relate the 9 Yang to them.

When Zhang SanFeng and WuJi got to the ShaoShi mountain, they waited by the gazebo outside the temple, until Kong Wen, Kong Xing and Kong Zhi came out to receive them. But they didn't invite them into the temple and only sat down with them in the gazebo, which displeased Zhang SanFeng at first, but he quickly got over it.

Kong Wen explained that because years ago, Zhang SanFeng suddenly left the Shaolin, Shaolin's rules are such that all disciples who forsake the sect are not allowed to re-enter the sect's doors.

Zhang SanFeng laughed and said that he was just someone who served JueYuan, and can't really be considered as a Shaolin disciple. Kong Zhi said coldly, "But Grand Master Zhang did steal martial arts from the Shaolin temple."

Zhang SanFeng was originally very angry, but when he thought to how though his martial arts were indeed created by himself, but its foundation was built through the 9 Yang that Jue Yuan related to him, and the bronze LoHan figurines that Guo Xiang gave him. Therefore to say that his martial arts originated from Shaolin, is not all that incorrect.

Kong Wen and the others all figured that Zhang SanFeng was here because of Zhang CuiShan's death.

Zhang SanFeng then explained the purpose of his trip, describing that there was only three people who had heard the 9 Yang manual as related by Jue Yuan years ago: himself, GuoXiang and Abbot WuSe. Because he was so young then, and was not knowledgeable in martial arts, out of the three, he was the one who was able to absorb the least out of the 9 Yang.

Kong Zhi said coldly that it was because Zhang SanFeng did indeed serve Jue Yuan for many years, there is absolutely no reason that Jue Yuan wouldn't relate 9 Yang to Zhang SanFeng. He then said that Wu Dang sect's name was so famous now only because of Jue Yuan's doing.

Two years ago, ever since Yin SuSu anounced in front of all the guests gathered on Wu Dang that she was going to reveal the whereabouts of Xie Xun to Abbot Kong Wen, every two or three days, there would be fighters who would come to Shaolin and bother the monks about the whereabouts of Xie Xun. Throughout the two years, there has been many combats in the Shaolin temple, causing a considerable number of injuries and deaths from both sides. Therefore, in a sense, Shaolin views this calamity they're experiencing as being caused by Wu Dang, which was why they were purposely venting out their anger on Zhang SanFeng.

When Zhang SanFeng said that the purpose of his trip was to "learn a few things from Shaolin," Kong Wen and the others immediately thought that he was trying to issue a challenge to a fight, for they all knew that in terms of martial arts, Zhang SanFeng was the number one martial artist in the world. Now that he has come up to Shaolin by himself, they all thought that he was arrogantly trying to show them up, trying to defeat them with some kind of powerful martial arts they believe he must have come up with during the last two years.

In the midst of his fear for Zhang SanFeng, Kong Xing actually said that they were going to unleash the "hundreds and thousands" of monks against him.

Zhang SanFeng immediately clarified that his purpose for this trip was not to fight, but was hoping that the Reverends can enlighten him by filling in the various holes in the portion of 9 Yang that he knew. Zhang SanFeng said quite a few humble words while even standing up to give a bow, surprising the monks so much that Kong Wen hurriedly got up to return the bow.

Zhang SanFeng then related the details of WuJi's illness and explained why they needed the 9 Yang, emphasizing how no matter what, he will try his best to save WuJi for he was the sole child of Zhang CuiShan. Therefore he offered to relate to Shaolin all he knows of the 9 Yang, in hopes that Shaolin can also relate back to him their parts of 9 Yang, in order to form a more complete whole.

But after pondering over this suggestion for a while, Kong Wen said that thought Shaolin had 72 major martial art skills that was inherited form DaMo, there has never been one monk in the whole Shaolin history who was able to master more than twelve. Therefore he felt it was unncessary for Zhang SanFeng to offer Shaolin his portion of 9 Yang, for they simply couldn't learn everything. He also said that Wu Dang's martial arts originated from Shaolin, but if Shaolin takes something from Wu Dang, in the future when people talk about this incident, they will say that Shaolin has benefited from Wu Dang.

Even though Zhang SanFeng continued to persuade the Shaolin monks, Abbot Kong Wen still would not be persuaded. In the end, he just turned around to a monk and told him to bring forth some food for Zhang SanFeng. By this point, Zhang SanFeng could do nothing but express his intentions of departing.

Taking WuJi in his arms, they left Shaolin.