Chapter 207: Escort Fights Golden Wheel, Huang Rong Teases Ouyang
As a “boom” sounded, most of the spectators below let out uneven gasps.
Within Zhou Yan’s field of vision, a man using “Monkey Fist” had just pulled out his stance when he was struck by a man from the Shu Region named Ran Tianshi, a peculiar individual, who hit him with a single punch that seemed to shrink his entire body by a circle.
Ran Tianshi’s footwork propelled his body, and it faintly emitted roars like wind and thunder; his palm force also carried the sound of wind and thunder.
The hero using Monkey Fist barely managed to parry for a few moves before shouting, “Stop.”
Ran Tianshi’s body instantly retracted, and the man said, “Good skill, I am ashamed to be inferior.”
“You are too kind.”
“After I diligently practice my martial arts, I will come to challenge you again.” This man had already won two matches, and if he won one more, he would obtain a seat to participate in the Feast of Heroes. Now, his efforts were in vain, and he was somewhat resentful. He uttered a perfunctory remark, leaped off the high platform, took the one thousand taels of silver ingots presented by Huo Du’s attendant, returned to his seat, and continued watching.
It is indeed true that the wilderness hides crouching tigers and hidden dragons.
It was already past dusk, and after a full day of competitions, over thirty people had won three consecutive matches and were seated in the front row chairs.
Zhou Yan observed that these heroes from the Four Seas who had vied for seats were naturally far inferior to figures like the Eastern Heretic and Western Venom, but they were not inferior to the likes of Monk Lingzhi.
For instance, Ran Tianshi, before his eyes, could be compared to Ouyang Ke.
Zhou Yan gained much from observing this martial arts competition. He witnessed the Western Xia Spring Leg technique, and a man named Ma Xiuping, who had three wins in three matches, was now sitting in the front row chair. His legs struck out in rapid succession, like a storm, and in terms of leg techniques alone, he was the second person Zhou Yan had seen, after Huang Yaoshi.
Because the opponent appeared, Zhou Yan even thought of Murong Fu and the Yipin Hall from the Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils World; the Southern Murong was skilled in this martial art.
Zhou Yan observed and gained inspiration.
There was also a swordplay expert named Han Wugou, who also won three matches in three, using eighteen sword strikes in total across the three matches.
Zhou Yan, Zhang Wangyue, Huyan Lei, and others who had traveled extensively and were knowledgeable did not recognize the origin of the swordplay.
They only obtained some information from the conversations of the spectators.
Han Wugou hailed from Xianyang, and his ancestral swordplay was enlightened from the Biographies of Assassins.
Zhou Yan knew of the Biographies of Assassins; it was a chapter in the Records of the Grand Historian, which depicted the deeds of assassins such as Yu Rang, Cao Mo, Nie Zheng, and Jing Ke with illustrations.
Upon hearing this, he sighed. To enlighten swordplay from a chapter in the Records of the Grand Historian was like Huang Shang comprehending the Nine Yin Manual from the Daoist Canon. The person who created this swordplay was truly exceptionally talented.
Han Wugou’s unstoppable, forward-charging sword intent provided Zhou Yan with much inspiration.
In conclusion, he gained a great deal.
Huyan Lei withdrew his gaze from the high platform and asked Zhang Wangyue, “Does the Head Escort recognize this cultivation technique?”
The Chief Escort of Fu’an said with a wry smile, “Indeed, the wilderness is full of heroes. I considered my fist and foot skills to be not bad and my knowledge extensive, but looking at it now, my vision is still too narrow.”
Zhou Yan looked at the man displaying his might on the stage and thought of someone.
In the Divine Condor world, at the Xiangyang martial arts assembly, a man named Lan Tianhe and Yelü Qi initially fought to a draw. Lan Tianhe had learned martial arts from a peculiar individual he met in the Shu Region and had been invincible in the southwest for over twenty years. Now, the Ran Tianshi on stage, with his palm force roaring like thunder, could he be the mountain hermit that Lan Tianhe encountered?
As he thought this, another “boom” sounded on stage, and the third person fighting Ran Tianshi was blasted off the high platform.
The burly man on stage held a copper gong, struck it with a clang, and announced, “Great Hero Ran has three victories and has earned a seat at the Heroes’ Banquet.”
Huo Du was overjoyed and stepped forward to get close to him. Then, Ran Tianshi leaped off the high platform and sat in the front row.
The big man holding the copper gong said, “There are still three seats left for today’s Feast of Heroes. Which hero will step forward?”
“I’ll give it a try.”
Zhou Yan followed the sound and saw Ouyang Ke stand up. With a swish, he opened his folding fan and leisurely walked forward. His body leaped up and soared, gracefully descending onto the stage.
Two beautiful concubines, disguised as men, rose and left the arena at this moment.
Zhou Yan smiled; the show was about to begin.
The man asked, “May I ask the esteemed hero’s surname?”
“Ouyang Ke.”
No one had actually heard of this name. The man said, “Which hero will spar with Great Hero Ouyang?”
“I will.”
A man leaped onto the high platform and announced his name. As soon as the two clashed, the man stepped forward and punched with great force. Ouyang Ke tucked his folding fan at his waist, dodged the opponent’s punch, and his fist, like lightning, struck towards the man’s right shoulder. The man blocked, and Ouyang Ke hooked with his left fist. As the opponent raised his arm to block, he suddenly appeared behind the man, clasped his fingers on the opponent’s back, grabbed his waist and ribs, lifted him, and threw him off the stage.
This move used skillful force and was not a killing blow. The man stumbled back two steps after landing, his face flushed, and he cupped his hands, saying, “I am impressed.”
The man knew Ouyang Ke had held back and wisely did not utter harsh words. He slipped into the crowd.
“Anyone else?” Ouyang Ke asked.
Having won in two moves, Ouyang Ke’s displayed momentum still surpassed Ran Tianshi’s. No one from the audience stepped forward to challenge him.
Ouyang Ke looked around with great pride, took out his folding fan from his waist, and fanned himself while looking at Huo Du.
“Little Prince, no one is challenging. How should this be counted?”
Huo Du had not expected such a scene. As he pondered a solution, a voice suddenly rang out from below the stage: “I’ll give it a try.”
Laughter suddenly erupted.
Many spectators turned their heads towards the sound. They saw a young master in white, with a face like jade, take a few steps and then leap onto the high platform. His agility was so graceful, as if he were dancing in the air.
“What excellent lightness skill.”
Those with sharp eyes cheered incessantly.
Seeing Huang Rong ascend the stage, Zhou Yan smiled and said to Zhang Wangyue, “There’s a show to watch. I’ll go to the front. If anything unexpected happens, provide backup.”
Zhang Wangyue smiled and said, “Alright.”
Zhou Yan stood up and walked to the side, squeezing into the surrounding crowd.
Ouyang Ke looked at Huang Rong. The folding fan he held, which had been tapping his left palm, slowed down, while his gaze grew brighter.
This was the first time Huang Rong was in close proximity to Ouyang Ke without a mask.
Ouyang Ke’s eyes were sharp. Back at the Yellow River wharf in Tong Pass, Monk Bao Neng of the Vajra Sect had seen through Huang Rong’s disguise as a man; there was no reason for him not to recognize her.
Her face was as lustrous as jade, her eyes as clear as water, and her smile was radiant. Not only was she incomparably beautiful, but she also possessed an indescribable charm and loveliness, clearly a peerless beauty no less than the one admired in the Ancient Tomb of Zhongnan Mountain.
Ouyang Ke suddenly felt a sense of “mountains and rivers exhausted, doubt there is no path, yet willows shade and flowers brighten another village.” The woman from the Ancient Tomb of Zhongnan Mountain was currently just a mirage, but at the Feast of Heroes, a woman of unparalleled beauty appeared.
As Ouyang Ke thought this, he said with a pleasant expression, “It is truly my great fortune to be able to spar with you, young lady.”
Huang Rong giggled, “You can tell?”
“The four words ‘Sink Fish and Fall Geese’ are too crude to describe your beauty. How could I not tell? May I ask your esteemed surname and which sect you belong to?”
“You guess?”
Ouyang Ke smiled, “Within ten moves, I will surely guess your sect?”
“Within ten moves, I can also guess your sect.”
Each of them spoke their piece. The spectators on stage, not knowing Huang Rong’s intentions, thought she was imitating Ouyang Ke, and another burst of laughter ensued.
Zhou Yan, squeezed in the crowd, smiled slightly. Huang Rong was about to tease Ouyang Ke.
Ouyang Ke was not annoyed. “Since that is the case, let’s compete. You go first, young lady.”
“Watch this move.”
Huang Rong’s body moved swiftly. Her left palm chopped diagonally, her right fist struck, and simultaneously, her right leg kicked out straight. This move, “Three Consecutive Strikes,” though one move, contained three attacks. This was a skill Huang Rong had learned from Hou Tonghai.
Ouyang Ke was quite surprised. He thought, how could this young lady know the martial arts of the Three-Headed Flood Dragon? He was not foolish enough to ask Huang Rong about her relationship with Hou Tonghai. He used his “Instant Thousand Li” lightness skill, his body like a willow catkin, drifting several feet away.
“Second move.” Huang Rong circled her hands and attacked Ouyang Ke. This was another move she remembered from when Zhou Yan used “Xiaoyao Fist.”
Ouyang Ke did not recognize it and retreated several more feet.
“Third move, fourth move, fifth move, sixth move.” Huang Rong repeatedly shouted, using Taizu Long Fist, Yanqing Fist, which Zhou Yan had used before, and the Five Elements Fist of Lei Meng, the “Short Lion” from Jiangxi, which was used at the start of the competition.
Ouyang Ke recognized the fist techniques, but these few fist techniques could be known by anyone pulled from the stands.
“What a clever girl,” someone from the stands cheered.
Ouyang Ke evaded them one by one, thinking he must force her to use her sect’s peerless skill.
“Be careful, young lady.” Ouyang Ke’s body moved agilely. His left palm executed “Blowing Willow in the Wind,” and his right palm executed “Heavenly River Gathers Snow.” The left was light, the right heavy, the force containing both hardness and softness, unleashed simultaneously. His palm momentum enveloped Huang Rong.
Huang Rong’s palms flew, her movements like swirling clouds and mist, her position uncertain. With two “pats,” she exchanged two palms with Ouyang Ke, using the Hengshan Flowing Cloud Palm that Zhou Yan had learned from his exchange with Liu Qingzhou in Hengshan.
“Eighth move, ninth move.” Huang Rong’s body retreated and advanced rapidly. Two figures quickly overlapped. She suddenly retracted her palms, forming a shape like an old monk clasping his hands, and then fiercely thrust them out. She struck successively.
Ouyang Ke blurted out, “This is ‘Buddha Asks Brahmins’ from the Arhat Subduing Tiger Fist.”
Huang Rong giggled, “Are you going to say I’m a monk?”
Her words again drew a wave of laughter from the audience.
Ouyang Ke was stunned, thinking Huang Rong was cunning.
“One more move.”
Ouyang Ke smiled, “One move it is.”
As he spoke, his arm struck out. In an instant, it was as if his arm had lost its bones. When Huang Rong blocked, he smoothly changed direction and struck towards Huang Rong’s face.
Huang Rong retracted her move and her body rushed forward.
Ouyang Ke was greatly alarmed, thinking that if this punch landed on her face, it would ruin her exquisite beauty.
He abruptly withdrew his fist.
“Ten moves have passed. Have you recognized my sect?” Huang Rong suddenly stopped her move, smiling.
“You are learned, young lady. But you made ten moves, and you surely couldn’t recognize my sect either, so we are still evenly matched.”
Huang Rong smiled, “I have already recognized your sect.”
Ouyang Ke knew Huang Rong was intelligent and cunning, so he did not believe her.
“Let’s hear it.”
“Listen carefully,” Huang Rong said loudly. “Your name is Ouyang Ke. You were once hired by the Great Jin Prince Wanyan Honglie to assist at the Zhao Wang Manor. Prince Huo Du is recruiting experts, wanting to use the heroes to deal with the Jin Dynasty Crown Prince Wanyan Kang. You have come here on his behalf to disrupt the grand banquet, haven’t you? However, the Mongolian army once threatened to slaughter Zhongdu. Your actions are considered a good thing for them, lest the heroes be deceived and unwittingly aid the wicked.”
A single stone stirred up a thousand waves.
Ouyang Ke was greatly shocked.
Huo Du’s face turned cold. “Seize these two.”
“Heh, a cornered dog will leap over the wall,” Huang Rong said, turning to make her escape the best strategy. Darba lunged at Ouyang Ke like a fierce tiger.
A “buzzing” sound was heard, and a golden wheel, about a foot and a half in diameter and cast in gold, flew through the air towards Huang Rong’s back.
“He will definitely block it for me,” Huang Rong cried out in terror. The shadow of being struck by a foot and almost losing her life during Ouyang Ke and Hong Qigong’s fight suddenly descended, but in the next moment, she chose to trust Zhou Yan.
Two “swishing” sounds were heard. A stone and a silver ingot were shot from left and right, hitting the golden wheel accurately.
The silver ingot’s force was weak, only causing the golden wheel to deviate slightly. The stone, however, directly knocked the golden wheel sideways, and it smashed into the ground with a “boom.”
Hearing the sound of the hidden weapons from front and back, Huang Rong was overjoyed. It must be Zhou Yan and Father.
Zhou Yan had not expected Huang Yaoshi to be present. He used “Finger Flicking Divine Skill” to shoot out the silver ingot, then casually took out the Kitchen God Mask he had prepared and kept on his person, covered his face, leaped onto the high platform, and intercepted the Golden Wheel Law King who had already reached the stage.
As Zhou Yan ran, he brought his physical state to its peak, sinking his hips and loosening his waist. With the move “Kanglong Regret,” he was ready to unleash his power.
