Chapter 1 The Curtain Falls (For Now)

The morning's spectacle came to an end when Feng Bujue and his companions followed Lin Chang upstairs. However, the discussions among the various martial artists wouldn't cease. Feng Bujue's debut in the martial world was nothing short of astonishing. For a time, he made the martial artists of Cang Ling Town forget their original purpose for being there.

Who exactly was Feng Bujue? What kind of martial arts did he practice? How could someone in their twenties possess such miraculous skill? When was the Broken Sword Teahouse established? Was it truly just a small sect, or was there a larger organization backing it? What were the skills of the other four besides Feng Bujue? And so on...

Of course, by the next day, with a series of major events unfolding and the duel drawing closer, people's focus shifted elsewhere.

But let's leave those matters for now and return to the morning of this "first day."

After Feng Bujue and his group were invited upstairs by Lin Chang, the members of the Ten Thousand Rosy Clouds Manor were quite embarrassed. They could only sullenly return to their seats, drinking in silence, ignoring the events before them.

Gongsun Qian had originally wanted to humiliate his opponents to regain some face, but he didn't expect them to brazenly utter wild words and then reveal a bizarre internal energy technique that left everyone speechless.

Seeing the mocking glances thrown their way by Ji Tong's group from the Eight Directions Tower, Gongsun Qian was filled with suppressed anger. He soon rose and left the inn's lobby.

As he was about to go upstairs, Ji Tong said to him, "Brother Gongsun, don't forget to dispose of that dog's corpse, lest it pollute the inn."

"Hmph!" Gongsun Qian snorted coldly, not responding to the provocation. Today's events weren't a catastrophic humiliation, so he would let it pass. To clash with Ji Tong at this moment would only make him appear to be lashing out in anger, losing his superior demeanor, so he endured it.

While going upstairs, Gongsun Qian whispered to his eldest disciple, who was following behind him, "Later, when no one is paying attention, take a few of your junior brothers and bury Wang Ao's body in the mountains."

"Yes, disciple obeys," his disciple replied.

"Ah," Gongsun Qian seemed to remember something and added, "Go through the back door..."

"Yes... Disciple understands."

...

The reopened Cang Ling Inn had clearly undergone renovation and expansion, its footprint twice the size of its dilapidated state years ago. The inn had four floors with over fifty rooms, divided according to the categories of Heaven, Earth, and Man, and further sorted by the characters of the Heavenly Stems: *jia, yi, bing*... The furniture and decorations in each room also varied slightly.

As mentioned earlier, the situation in Tongqiu County had led to the main forces of the major sects arriving in Cang Ling on the same day. After entering the town, they naturally discovered the shortage of inn rooms.

They couldn't have each sect, with their master and twenty disciples, take up twenty rooms, could they? If so, the inn would be full as soon as the people from the One Prefecture Two Towers moved in.

So, after discussion, the sects decided to distribute the rooms "fairly."

Despite the power of the Ten Thousand Rosy Clouds Manor, they ended up with only four rooms: one for the master and his wife, one for Gongsun Li, one for the two most senior disciples, and one for five disciples to squeeze into (of course, once Wang Ao's body was disposed of, five became four). The remaining ten disciples had to stay outside the inn, ready to be summoned by the master at any time.

Similarly, the Eight Directions Tower also occupied four rooms. Subsequently, the Three Sects and Four Schools each had three rooms. As for the other miscellaneous sects, they got a maximum of two rooms. Some third-rate sects had their masters and three or five members crammed into one room, their treatment not even as good as the senior disciples of the major sects.

Compared to these people, lone travelers like Lu Shan, whose martial status and skills were quite good, benefited greatly. As long as they arrived early, these types of martial artists could each occupy a room.

At this moment, Feng Bujue and his group followed Lin Chang to the Heaven-class Room C, one of the best rooms in the inn.

Prior to this duel, the Ye Manor had only sent seven people in total: the Six Swords of Flowing Shadow and Ye Hai. But these seven people occupied the seven best rooms in the inn.

Unlike the other sects, the Ye Manor, being Sword Saint Ye Cheng's own sect and the supreme power of the martial world, had no need to discuss rules and regulations with others in Tongqiu. Frankly speaking, even if the Ye Manor booked the entire inn and forbade outsiders from entering, the other sects wouldn't dare say a word.

After all, this duel was a private matter between Xie San and Ye Cheng. They had never invited anyone to watch, but the news had leaked, attracting so many people. These nosy martial artists had come uninvited to witness the earth-shattering battle. The Ye Manor was already being polite by not charging admission or kicking them out. The "fair distribution" was a matter among themselves; the Ye family had no need to participate.

"Young Hero Feng," Lin Chang said to Feng Bujue after entering the room, "These three are my junior brothers and sisters."

Three people were already seated in Heaven-class Room C, clearly waiting for Feng Bujue and his group.

"This is Head Liao Feng," Lin Chang said to his three companions, pointing to the players one by one. "That is Head Liao's wife, and the other three are also heroes of the Broken Sword Teahouse."

Lin Chang's brief introductions served their purpose, and immediately one of them spoke.

"This humble one is the Bamboo Grove Sword, Miao Shaoqing." The speaker was a man in his thirties, refined and handsome with the air of a scholar. He wore a black brocade robe, and a sword rested beside his chair. The "Bamboo Grove Sword" looked like an ordinary bamboo pole about a meter long. One might mistake it for a dog-beating stick, but if you said it was a sword, others wouldn't even be able to tell which end was the hilt.

Miao Shaoqing ranked fifth among the Six Swords of Flowing Shadow. Among the four swords present, he was the lowest in seniority, so he was the first to clasp his hands and greet Feng Bujue.

"I've heard so much about you..." Feng Bujue said with a smile. In his mind, he was thinking: *I feel like I have a lot of weird names to remember again...*

"The Autumn Orchid Sword, Su Shang."

"The Ephemeral Flower Sword, Ye Mu Han."

The next two to introduce themselves were female swordsmen. They didn't use "this humble one," perhaps feeling it inappropriate to use such a self-deprecating term before a junior like Feng Bujue.

The Autumn Orchid Sword, Su Shang, ranked fourth among the Six Swords. At twenty-six years old, she wasn't stunningly beautiful, but still a beauty. She was quite petite, estimated to be only about one meter fifty tall when standing. The size of her bust was quite disproportionate to her height, truly a case of jade peaks pressing against silken robes, snowy mounds forming. Even though she was currently dressed in a beige martial outfit with a high neckline, it was difficult to conceal those proud curves.

The Ephemeral Flower Sword, Ye Mu Han, looked a few years older than Su Shang, with an overwhelming aura of a tomboy. Her hair was styled like a man's, her skin was rough, and even her voice was coarse. However, she hadn't reached the point of being indistinguishable between male and female, as she didn't have an Adam's apple. Although her appearance was heroic and imposing, compared to Master Atobe, she was still a bit more feminine.

"Greetings to the two female heroes," Feng Bujue returned the greetings one by one.

Since the others had introduced themselves, Xiao Tan and the others should at least give their names out of courtesy. "Um... This one is Wang Tan Zhi, I don't have a nickname..."