"Fire the cannons!"
Gui Ye acted as the master of ceremonies for the ancestral worship. Following his loud shout.
Immediately, Wei Ping beside him had two disciples light the firecrackers that were already hung below the cliff, and the crackling sound of firecrackers immediately echoed throughout Mount Wuliang…
"Beat the drums!" wΑp.kanshu伍.net
Gui Ye shouted again.
The young disciples beside them immediately began to beat three large drums, their sounds echoing with the firecrackers…
"Offer incense!"
Gui Ye shouted again.
Wei Ping, standing by the offering table, immediately handed the lit incense to Sima Boyong and Chang Wude, along with Wu Weizi and Yang Jingyi. The three elders of Wuliang Daoist temple first offered incense, nine sticks each, and then inserted them together into the bronze censer on the altar.
"Bow!"
Gui Ye, standing to the right of the altar, shouted again.
Sima Boyong and Chang Wude, along with Wu Weizi and Yang Jingyi, knelt on the futons on the ground. As Gui Ye shouted, "First kowtow!"
The four bowed their heads to the ground. Gui Ye shouted again, "Second kowtow!"
The four bowed again. Gui Ye then shouted, "Third kowtow!"
The four bowed a third time, and then Gui Ye shouted, "Rise, stand, and return to your positions!"
Sima Boyong and Chang Wude, along with Wu Weizi and Yang Jingyi, rose and stood to the left of the altar. Gui Ye then shouted, "Guests, offer incense!"
Immediately, Master Huikong and Abbess Yunbai, Sect Leader Liu Bing and Elder Zhang Qing, Sect Leader Shi Yizhen and Li Feiyu, and other sect leaders and masters came forward in a line. Wei Ping handed them incense, and as Gui Ye shouted, "Offer incense!"
The group orderly inserted the incense into the altar's censer, and then Gui Ye shouted, "First bow!"
Unlike Chang Wude and Sima Boyong who had knelt, the group did not need to kneel but bowed their heads. Following Gui Ye's shouts, they bowed three times to the past masters of Wuliang Daoist temple…
After all, they were guests and did not need to kneel, only to bow three times.
"Alright."
Seeing this, Gui Ye signaled the younger generation of Wuliang Daoist temple to continue offering incense and bowing.
"Junior Brother Wan, Junior Sister Nuolan, here you go…"
Li Zihang held incense and handed it to Wan Yunting and Kang Nuolan, followed by Xu Lingwei and Duan Yingying, as well as Wei Ping, Qi Wu, and Zeng Yongchang. They offered incense first, then knelt and bowed three times…
The young disciples of the various sects did not need to offer incense or bow, but all disciples of Wuliang Daoist temple had to offer incense and bow to the past masters. This process took about half an hour. After all the disciples had finished offering incense, Sima Boyong said to the sect leaders of the various sects, "Everyone, the ancestral worship ceremony is now complete. Let us descend the mountain in order."
"Alright…"
The sect leaders and masters of various sects, Master Huikong and Abbess Yunbai nodded, then signaled the disciples on the bluestone path to turn around and descend the mountain in an orderly fashion.
"Uncle-Master Zong, why don't you descend the mountain with us and watch the disciples and the young talents of the various sects spar?" Sima Boyong approached Gui Ye, who was sitting on a chair, and said respectfully.
"No need. You all go ahead."
Gui Ye stood up, waved his hand, and then lifted the curtain and went inside.
"Then let's go."
Seeing this, Wu Weizi sighed and said.
Ever since Gui Ye came up the mountain to be the tomb keeper of the past masters, he had not descended the mountain for decades. Therefore, his temper had become increasingly eccentric, and his attitude towards everyone was not good. As a result, everyone had gotten used to it.
By the time they returned to the small plaza next to the cliff on the back mountain of the Daoist temple, it was already eleven o'clock in the morning.
"Everyone, please be seated."
Sima Boyong, as the host of this ancestral worship ceremony, immediately invited the sect leaders and masters of various sects, Master Huikong, and Abbess Yunbai to sit on a row of chairs in front of the arena, with their respective sect's young disciples standing behind them.
On the right side were the disciples of Wuliang Daoist temple. Standing in the front row were naturally Wei Ping and Zhu Yangyu, Xu Lingwei and Duan Yingying, Zeng Yongchang and Qi Wu, as well as Wan Yunting and Kang Nuolan, who were standing with Li Zihang.
"Senior Brother Chang, please take a seat too."
After the sect leaders of the various sects were seated, Sima Boyong turned to Chang Wude and said with a smile.
"Hmph, who wants to sit with you?"
Chang Wude glared at him coldly and sat to the right of Yang Jingyi. Consequently, Wu Weizi sat to the left of his sister-in-law, and Sima Boyong could only sit to the left of his junior brother Wu Wei.
"Wentang, go up and preside."
Sima Boyong asked his son, Sima Wentang, to go up to the arena to announce the rules of the sparring match and the list of participants.
Sima Wentang nodded. He was holding a microphone and several pieces of paper as he walked onto the arena. Then, facing the people from the various sects and the disciples of Wuliang Daoist temple, he said, "Next, we will hold a sparring match. I will first announce the rules. No killing blows are allowed during the match. If you are knocked off the stage, you lose. It's just a friendly match!"
After all, this was a friendly sparring match between young disciples, not a death match. Therefore, the participating disciples were not allowed to use heavy blows, and everything was for the purpose of exchange and sparring.
"Then I will announce the list of participants for the sparring match first."
Sima Wentang took out a piece of paper and read, "The Shaolin Sect has two disciples participating, the Emei Sect has one disciple participating, the Qingcheng Sect has two disciples participating, the Huashan Sect has three disciples participating, the Kongtong Sect has two disciples participating, the Kunlun Sect has two disciples participating, the Xingyi Gate has one disciple participating, the Mount Tai Gate has one disciple participating, the Bajiquan Gate has two disciples participating, the Tan Tui Gate has one disciple participating, the Great Saber Gate has one disciple participating, and the Eagle Claw Gate has one disciple participating. In total, there are nineteen disciples from the various sects!"
Then, Sima Wentang looked at the formation of Wuliang Daoist temple disciples below and said, "Wuliang Daoist temple will send three disciples to participate, namely Wei Ping, Zhu Yangyu, and Xu Lingwei!"
"Why isn't my disciple Wan Yunting on the list?"
At once, Chang Wude stood up and questioned Sima Wentang on the stage loudly. Then, he stared at Sima Boyong with his sharp old eyes and snorted, "What? Are my disciples not people of Wuliang Daoist temple?"
These words made the surrounding sect leaders such as Lu Chenzi and Master Huikong exchange glances, wondering what was going on.
"Senior Brother Chang, we only need to send three disciples. After all, this is just a sparring match. Moreover, other sects also have only two or three spots. If we increase the number of spots, it might not be appropriate," Sima Boyong stood up and explained patiently with a smile.
"Fine. It seems you can't teach good disciples. Why don't you replace him and let my disciple go up?" Chang Wude glared and provocatively said to Sima Boyong.
"Hehe, Senior Brother Chang, why bother? This is just a friendly sparring match with the various sects. Why do you need to fight over it?" Sima Boyong said with a smile, putting on a magnanimous posture.
"Hmph, I want to fight with you. So what!" Chang Wude stared at him provocatively.
Sima Boyong's small eyes narrowed, and he met Chang Wude's gaze. The two stood in confrontation, making the atmosphere awkward for others.
"Master, how about this? I'll fight his disciple first. Whoever wins gets the spot!" At this moment, Zhu Yangyu stepped forward, glanced at Chang Wude, and said to Sima Boyong.
"Alright."
Chang Wude turned and waved to Wan Yunting, who was standing beside him. "Yunting, come here. Do you dare to fight him first?"
Wan Yunting came to his side, looked at Sima Boyong and his disciple Zhu Yangyu in front of him, shrugged indifferently, and smiled, "What's there to be afraid of? It's just a sparring match."
"Good, you are indeed my disciple."
Chang Wude was very pleased with Wan Yunting's attitude and provocatively said to Sima Boyong, "Then let our two disciples fight first."
"Hehe."
Sima Boyong nodded and smiled, then turned to Zhu Yangyu and said with a smile, "Go easy, stop when it's enough, don't hurt our friendship."
"Disciple understands."
Zhu Yangyu nodded and walked onto the arena first.
"Remember…"
Then, Chang Wude pointed at Zhu Yangyu, who had gone onto the arena, looked at Sima Boyong, and shouted loudly to Wan Yunting beside him, "Go up and beat him to death!"
As soon as these words were spoken, the expressions of sect leaders like Liu Bing and Elder Zhang Qing, who were sitting there, were astonished. They did not expect Chang Wude to say such a thing. Could this be turning into a death match?
"Go."
Chang Wude pulled Wan Yunting, then glared at Sima Boyong, snorted, and sat down.
Wan Yunting shook his head and smiled. Of course, he would not listen to Chang Wude's words and kill Zhu Yangyu, but he couldn't hold back too much either!
Since he was Sima Boyong's disciple, Wan Yunting decided to teach his disciple a lesson.
Seeing Wan Yunting swagger onto the stage with a nonchalant air, Zhu Yangyu narrowed his long, slender eyes. He presented a calm and composed demeanor and asked, "Is it a hand-to-hand combat, or do we need weapons?"
"Let's fight empty-handed. I'm not good with swords," Wan Yunting nodded and smiled lightly at him.
"Okay, let's begin."
Zhu Yangyu's expression was calm and steady, but his heart had already turned cold. He spread his hands, stepped forward with his left foot, and assumed an attacking stance. His long, slender eyes stared directly at Wan Yunting in front of him, thinking that he should teach this ignorant young man a lesson first.
"Please."
Wan Yunting perfunctorily clasped his fists in greeting, then flicked his blue cloth robe and also spread his legs slightly to assume a stance. He looked at Zhu Yangyu in front of him, knowing that this person was not simple. His martial arts realm must have reached the Dan Jin stage. Therefore, despite his outwardly nonchalant demeanor, he dared not underestimate his opponent in his heart. The sect leaders and masters of the various sects sitting below, as well as Master Huikong and Abbess Yunbai, watched the two on the arena. They did not expect that before they even started fighting, the disciples of Wuliang Daoist temple would be the first to spar.
Jiang Tingxia, standing behind Abbess Yunbai, whispered to Zhou Ruoxi beside her, "Senior Sister Zhou, who do you think will win?"
Zhou Ruoxi looked at Wan Yunting and Zhu Yangyu confronting each other on the arena and shook her head slightly, "I don't know. Both of them are not simple. We'll only know who wins or loses after they start fighting!"
Jiang Tingxia nodded, then smiled and said, "But I bet on Junior Brother Wan winning!"
Zhou Ruoxi's pretty face stiffened. She turned to look at this girl and asked, "Why do you think he will win?"
Jiang Tingxia giggled and said, "My intuition tells me so."
"Cough cough…"
Abbess Yunbai in front coughed twice, and immediately Zhou Ruoxi and Jiang Tingxia covered their mouths and pouted their cute little tongues, not daring to speak anymore…