The Heaven Sword and the Dragon Sabre Chapter 22

Heroes embrace the three commandments.

E Mei’s Master Mie Jue said to her disciples, “This youngster’s kung fu is very strange, but the four fighters of Kun Lun and Hua Shan have trapped him in terms of techniques. Our righteous kung fu of central plains are broad and deep, much better than the devilish Xi Yu kung fu. The two forms uses four people. The four people occupy eight locations. The front side has eight-times-eight-for-sixty-four moves. The reverse side also has eight-times-eight-for-sixty-four moves. When combined, you have sixty-four-squared, or four thousand and ninety-two different variations. This is simply unrivaled in the world.”

Zhou ZhiRuo, ever since she saw Zhang WuJi on the stage, has been worrying for his well-being. As one of Mie Jue’s favorite students, she has received much training in the realm of kung fu theory. So she began to ask loudly, “Master, although there are many variations in this front/reverse formation, it still does not deviate from the principle of Tai Chi dividing into Yin and Yang. In my opinion, the most important part of their formation lies with the positioning of their feet.” She said this in a clear, crisp voice; even Zhang WuJi could hear her in the middle of the fight. He turned his head, seeing that its Zhou ZhiRuo talking, and immediately thought, “Why is she speaking so loudly? Is she trying to help me?”

Mie Jue said, “You’re very observant to have figured out the intricacies of their formation.” Zhou ZhiRuo started to talk to herself, “Yang divides up into Tai Yang, Shao Yang, Yin divides into Tai Yin, Shao Yin, Tai Yang is split into Gan and Dui, Shao Yin is split into Li and Zhen, Shao Yang is split into Xun and Kan, Tai Yin is split into Gen and Kun. Gan is south, Kun is north, Li is east, Kan is west, Zhen is northeast, Dui is southeast, Xun is southwest, Gen is northwest. From Zhen to Gan we have the front side, from Xun to Kun is the reverse side.” Then she said to Mie Jue, “Master, just as you said: Heaven and Earth determines the location, the wind flows in between the mountains, thunder and wind complements, water and fire cancels, forming the eight divine positions. Numbers are forward, while knowledge goes backward. Kun Lun’s sword art is forward, so they obviously go from the Zhen position to the Gan position. The Hua Shan Saber art is reverse, so they obviously go from Xun to Kun. Right, master?” Mie Jue was delighted to hear her disciple point out the intricacies of the sword formation, nodded, and said, “Good girl. These years of teachings were not wasted on you.” She almost never gives praises, so these words are the biggest compliments she’ll ever make. But she did not notice that Zhou ZhiRuo’s voice was way too loud. After all, why did she need to speak up when talking to someone besides her? However, others around them did notice. Zhou ZhiRuo saw many eyes looking at her, so she simply pretended to be naïve and happy, clapping her hand saying, “Master. That’s right, that’s right! We E Mei sect’s Four Shape Circular Position encapsulates a square, combining Ying and Yang, with Yang outside the circle, and Yin inside the square, Circle symbolizes movement of heaven, while square symbolizes the stillness of the earth, seemingly even superior than theirs.” Mie Jue had always been arrogant, feeling that her E Mei Four Shape Fist is one of the best kung fu in the world. So these words really made her happy. With a smile, she said, “Although in theory this is true. But in practice, it still depends on the user’s knowledge.”

Zhang WuJi had learned some basic things about the Book of Changes when he was young. After Xiao Zhao’s help, he then figured out the Wu Wan Position. Now with Zhou ZhiRuo’s help, he realized the pattern behind the movements of the opponents. In an instant, he figured out many different ways to attack them. Each way would guarantee success.

Yet he thought again, “But should I do this right now? Mie Jue would probably blame Ms. Zhou if it seems that she has helped me. Mie Jue is very cruel, and might do terrible things to her. I can’t possibly let her suffer because of me.” So he continued to go on like before, not changing his fighting style, while examining the moves of his opponents. With Zhou ZhiRuo telling him the basics, the rest became easy for him.

But when Zhou ZhiRuo could not see any improvement, she became frustrated, and thought, “He’s concentrating on his enemies, so how can he digest all the information I told him?” She again began to speak loudly again, “Master, I bet Mr. Iron Zither will next move to the Gui Mei position, right?” Before Mie Jue could reply, Ban ShuXian yelled, “Little girl from E Mei, who the h.e.l.l is this kid to you? Why are you helping him? You know, it’s not a good idea to mess with Kun Lun sect.”

Zhou ZhiRuo’s face immediately turned red, as Mie Jue yelled, “ZhiRuo, stop talking. It’s not a good idea to mess with Kun Lun sect.” Her tone made it obvious that she’s protecting her student instead of scolding her. Zhang WuJi felt much warmth in his heart, thinking that if he kept on fighting like this, Zhou ZhiRuo would likely try other methods to help him. He started to laugh loudly and said, “I’ve already lost to E Mei, even got captured by Master Mie Jue. E Mei is certainly much better than you Kun Lun.” He stepped left two steps and shot out his plum branch at the short old man. His timing and accuracy are just perfect, following the concepts in the Book of Changes. The short old man felt a strong chi pus.h.i.+ng from behind, and unwillingly changed his direction, instead aiming his saber towards Ban ShuXian. Ban ShuXian quickly tried to change her stance to block the attack. But at this time, she saw the tall old man coming to attack her. He TaiChong quickly came to the rescue, blocking the tall old man’s saber. At this time, Zhang WuJi’s palm shot out again, this time directing the short old man’s saber towards He TaiChong. Deeply angered, Ban ShuXian quickly attacked the short old man with three sword strokes, causing him to back off and yell, “Don’t fall into this little kid’s trap!” He TaiChong realized this, and turned around to attack Zhang WuJi again. But with Qian Kun Da Nuo Yi, Zhang WuJi turned him back the other way again, his sword cutting the side of the tall old man’s arm. Screaming in pain, the tall old man counterattacked with his saber. The short old man screamed, “Brother, don’t lose your temper. It’s all because of that little kid, ouch…” Because Zhang WuJi had just turned away the sword of Ban ShuXian, prompting it to slash the back of the short old man. In an instant, both of the Hua Shan elders became hurt. The onlookers are gasped, not knowing what’s going on. They only see that simply by using his palm and a branch, Zhang WuJi could divert all attacks towards him onto someone else. After some more rounds, they saw the He couple’s sword and the two old men’s sabers collide numerous times. Everyone sees what’s happening, but no one knows how he’s doing it. Only Yang Xiao, who knows some rudimentary Qian Kun Da Nuo Yi, can understand some of theory. But even he wouldn’t believe that Zhang WuJi actually knows Qian Kun Da Nuo Yi.

Ban ShuXian started giving out orders, trying to change their positions a bit, but Zhang WuJi had covered all eight positions, so that no matter what they do, their weapons still ended up pointing towards themselves. After a while, Ban ShuXian threw away her sword and began attacking with her fists. The short old man saw this and thought, “Good idea. This kid knows some strange stuff, but he can’t divert our weapons if we don’t use any.” He followed by throwing away his saber. But as he did this, he saw Zhang WuJi diverting He TaiChong to him. Ban ShuXian yelled, “Get rid of your sword!” He TaiChong immediately changed his form, throwing back his sword in the process. The tall old man also released his grip on his saber, but just as he did so, he found something in his hand again. For Zhang WuJi had simply returned his saber to him. The tall old man yelled, “I don’t want it.” And threw it behind him. Yet Zhang WuJi once again grabbed the saber, and once again returned it to him. This repeated numerous times before the tall old man simply gave up, and began to laugh. At this time, the other three people kept attacking Zhang WuJi with bare fists. Being some of the best fighters in their sects, their bare-handed fighting techniques are also quite formidable. But no matter how much they try, they just could not touch Zhang WuJi, who escaped their attacks over and over.