Wuxia: Starting Off With 60 Years of Inner Strength

Fang Li’s eyes went wide.

"When did we ever capture Ruan Yuqing?"

"..."

Jiang Ran raised an eyebrow. Just then, he heard footsteps approaching from behind.

He turned to see Li Tianxin, Luo Qingyi, and a limping Chang Sheng making their way over.

With a flicker of movement, he pulled Chang Sheng over first.

Then he pointed at Chang Sheng and said to Fang Li,

"He said you captured them."

"How absurd!"

Fang Li was furious. He glared at Chang Sheng.

"I was willing to overlook the trouble you caused at the Golden Goblet Tower, but how can you spout such nonsense and slander my name?"

"We clearly saw Female Knight Ruan and a group of female knights from the Shuiyue Sword Sect being pursued, so we stepped in to save them! We even brought them back to the Three Rivers Gang for protection."

"And you... you dare to say we captured them?"

"The Three Rivers Gang has no quarrel with the Shuiyue Sword Sect, past or present. Why would we have any reason to capture them?"

Chang Sheng was stunned.

"How is that possible... I distinctly saw you bringing Female Knight Ruan and the others onto a boat."

"And they were all injured..."

"That... was that not you?"

Jiang Ran raised his eyebrows. ’So this was all a misunderstanding?’

He glanced at Fang Li.

"Then why do you have Cheng Yixin’s sword?"

"How do you know Miss Cheng?"

Fang Li’s expression changed the moment he heard this.

It was a strange change—not shock, but a mix of apprehension, unease, anger, and bewilderment.

Jiang Ran wasn’t sure how he managed to read so many emotions on his face in a single instant.

He simply raised an eyebrow.

"Never mind how I know. First, tell me what’s the deal with this sword."

"...Miss Cheng’s Swordsmanship is superb. When I was asking her for pointers, she thought... she thought I was pretty good!"

As he said this, Fang Li suddenly puffed out his chest and raised his head.

"It’s because of that she gifted me this ’Willow Catkin Sword’."

"As a return gift, I gave her an ’Elegant Willow Sword’!"

After speaking, he shot a provocative glance at Jiang Ran.

"..."

Seeing that look, Jiang Ran finally understood.

He didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. ’It seems this Fang Li has mistaken me for a love rival...’

But in all honesty, Jiang Ran had no real impression of this Cheng Yixin; he only recognized her sword.

But if he said that out loud, he figured no one would believe him.

’No impression of her, yet I recognize her sword?’

Earlier on the boat, Li Tianxin hadn’t believed him either...

However, this explanation made Fang Li’s story seem much more credible to Jiang Ran.

Still, he didn’t trust him completely just yet.

Instead, he turned his attention back to the ongoing match.

By now, that Hall Master Wang had already been led away to rest. Competing in the arena was another Hall Master.

He had to admit, the men of the Three Rivers Gang were quite skilled.

The martial arts of these several Hall Masters were all extraordinary in their own ways.

Hall Master Wang from before had a swift Body Technique. Although not as good as Jiang Ran’s Hidden Shadow Enchanting God Step, his movements were still faint and hard for his opponent to track.

The one on stage now, however, possessed extremely exquisite sabermanship.

His style was wide and sweeping—all hard attacks and forward advances, completely unrestrained. His saber cut in all directions with peerless ferocity.

But his opponent was no ordinary character either.

He wore an iron mask on his face and held an exceedingly strange weapon.

The shaft was a little over two feet long—not too long, but not too short either.

One end was a hilt, while the other was shaped like two fingers.

At a glance, it resembled a two-pronged fork.

It was pitch-black and looked incredibly heavy.

His martial style focused on ’jabs’ and ’strikes’. He wielded his weapon to block his opponent’s saber, occasionally reaching out to take advantage of his weapon’s length and strike at vital points all over the body.

The two had been entangled for over twenty moves.

Suddenly, the man with the strange weapon deliberately revealed an opening. The Hall Master, without the slightest hesitation, raised his saber and swung it horizontally.

With a HUM, the gleam of the saber shot through the air, but it ended with a sharp CLANG.

The saber’s edge had landed perfectly between the ’two fingers’ of his opponent’s weapon, as if it had been clamped shut by them.

Seeing this, the Hall Master’s face changed. He tried to pull his saber back, but it was too late.

The man pressed down with one hand, forcing the saber’s edge to dip involuntarily. At the same time, his free hand struck out repeatedly.

They exchanged three moves in the span of a single breath.

Then, the man spun around, his weapon twisting to lift the Hall Master’s saber into the air.

With his weapon controlled by his opponent, the Hall Master had no choice but to follow its movement.

In that instant, the man’s wrist trembled, the weapon spun, and with a SNAP...

...the Hall Master’s saber broke in two.

"Ah!"

The Hall Master cried out in shock as his opponent’s weapon swept toward him.

THUD! It struck him squarely on the Yutang acupoint on his chest.

The blow was no small matter. The Hall Master staggered back two steps, blood filling his mouth, but his opponent was already upon him.

His weapon rolled forward, and a rapid series of THWACKS echoed out.

He had already struck four or five vital points on the Hall Master’s chest.

At that moment, the man’s figure blurred. He pounced forward again, bringing his weapon down viciously on the crown of his opponent’s head.

"Stop!!"

A sharp cry came from the side.

But before anyone could see who it was, something else arrived first. The object flew through the air and slammed into the man’s weapon.

The force of the blow was immense, sending the man spinning in place.

Looking closely, they saw the flying object was a scabbard.

Looking up again, they saw a figure leap into the arena, their sword-tip dancing like a spiritual snake as it darted straight for the masked man’s throat.

The man saw this and sneered.