Chapter - 498 A Gentleman is Gullible Because of His Righteous Conduct (7)

"Fan You Shi," Zhang Wuji quickly called out, "Listen to my order: you must not fight. We … we admit defeat …" As he opened his mouth, he vomited two more mouthful of blood.

Fan Yao did not dare to defy his Jiaozhu's order. Supposing he insisted on fighting, he would inevitably make Zhang Wuji's injury worse. Besides, even if he fought with everything he had, he might only deliver his life in vain without any advantage to their own Cult.

Standing in the middle of the field, Zhou Zhiruo asked two more times.

The fact that Zhang Wuji was injured by his own pulled-back strength was known to him and Zhou Zhiruo only. Others believed that Zhou Zhiruo's power was so strange that Zhang Wuji was not her match. The spectators only saw that Zhou Zhiruo did not continue her claw and thus they believed that she spared Zhang Wuji's life. As a young woman, she successfully defeated Yin Liting, Yu Lianzhou and Zhang Wuji; three prominent martial art masters of this age. Everybody believed that her martial art was simply too strange; totally beyond anybody's comprehension.

Although there were more than a handful warriors among the crowd of heroes who were quite skillful in martial arts, upon self-introspection, these people realized they could not be compared to Yin, Yu and Zhang, three people; therefore, they decided there was no need for them to lose their lives for nothing.

Standing in the field, Zhou Zhiruo's gown was blown by the mountain breeze, giving the impression that her gentle and frail figure was swaying by the wind. All around the field there were several thousand heroes and warriors from all over the world [orig. 'san shan wu yue, si mian ba fang' – three hills and five mountains, four faces and eight directions. Five sacred mountains of the Taoism are: Tai Shan, Hua Shan, Heng Shan, Heng Shan (different characters) and Song Shan.], yet not a single one dared to come down and challenge her.

Zhou Zhiruo waited a while longer, still nobody stepped forward. The old monk from Damo Hall walked into the field. Joining his palms together he said, "The skill of Emei Pai Zhang Men Ren [sect leader], Mrs. Song surpasses the crowd of heroes. Her martial art skill is number one in the world. Is there any hero who disagrees?"

Zhou Dian called out, "I, Zhou Dian, disagree."

"In that case," the old monk said, "I invite Zhou Yingxiong [hero Zhou] to come down and have a competition with her."

"I am not her match," Zhou Dian replied, "What can I compete with her?"

"Zhou Yingxiong," the old monk replied, "Since you are aware you are not her match, aren't you submitting to her?"

"I know that I am not her match," Zhou Dian said, "But I do not submit to her. What's wrong with that?"

The old monk no longer argued with his twisted logic. He asked, "Aside from this gentleman, Zhou Yingxiong, is there anybody else who do not submit to her?"

He repeated the question three times. Zhou Dian also voiced his disagreement three times. But nobody else made any noise to challenge the decision.

"Since nobody is going to challenge her," the old monk said, "Then according to the prior agreement of this great assembly, Jin Mao Shi Wang Xie Xun will be handed over to Emei Pai Zhang Men Ren, Mrs. Song. Whoever has the precious Tulong Saber in his possession should also hand over the control of the said Saber to Mrs. Song. This is the agreement reached by the heroes present and nobody will be allowed to dissent."

Zhang Wuji was in the middle of treating his heavy injury by dispersing his internal energy and activating his Jiu Yang Zhen Qi. He was slowly entering the 'clear' and 'void' state of mind. But as he suddenly heard the old monk say 'Jin Mao Shi Wang Xie Xun will be handed over to Emei Pai Zhang Men Ren, Mrs. Song', his mind was shaken and he nearly threw up another mouthful of blood.

Zhao Min was sitting close to him, caring for him with complete attention. Seeing Zhang Wuji suddenly shiver and his face greatly change, she understood his concern.

"Wuji Gege," she said in a soft voice, "Nothing could be better than Yifu falling into Zhou Jiejie's hands. She did not have a heart to kill you just now; obviously, she still has deep feelings for you. I am sure she will not harm Yifu. Please set your heart at ease and just concentrate on treating your injury."

Zhang Wuji thought she was right. He felt relieved.

In the meantime, the sun was slowly setting behind the western mountain. The field gradually turned dark. The old monk said, "Jin Mao Shi Wang Xie Xun is confined somewhere in the back of the mountain. Right now, the sky has turned dark, Gentlemen and Ladies must be hungry. We will gather here again tomorrow afternoon. Lao Seng [old monk, referring to himself] will lead Mrs. Song to release the prisoner. That time we will witness Mrs. Song's unparalleled martial art skill once again."

Yang Xiao, Fan Yao, and the others cast their glances toward Zhao Min. They all thought, "Exactly as you predicted. Shaolin Pai indeed has another plot. Even if Zhou Zhiruo possessed stronger martial art skill, there is no way she would be able to defeat Du E and the others, three eminent monks. I am afraid she would lose her life on top of that small hill. By showing off their power, Shaolin Pai will still dominate over the Wulin world."

By this time Zhou Zhiruo had already returned to her thatched shelter. By defeating the heroes that day, Emei Pai's prestige soared high. Seeing their Sect Leader return, there was not a single Emei disciple who did not show profound respect.

Although the crowd of heroes had seen Zhou Zhiruo win the title 'Number One Martial Artist under the Heavens', the most important matter had not been brought to completion yet, its conclusion was still left to everybody's guess. Therefore, nobody went down the mountain that day.

The old monk said, "By visiting our Temple, all heroes are Shaolin Pai's esteemed guests. If there is any resentment in your midst, we respectfully request for our sake that you do not settle it up on the Shaoshi Mountain. Otherwise, we will consider you as looking down on Shaolin Pai. After dinner tonight, you may visit the front part of the mountain as you wish. The rear part of the mountain, however, is where our Sect keeps our scriptures and manuals. We ask you to stay away from that part."

Immediately Fan Yao took Zhang Wuji and carried him back to the Ming Cult camp. Although Zhang Wuji's injury was very heavy, after taking nine of his own 'miracle pills' plus circulating his Jiu Yang Shen Qi, deep into the night, around the second hour [between 1 – 3am], he vomited three mouthfuls of blood and his internal injury was completely healed.

Yang Xiao, Fan Yao, Yu Lianzhou, Yin Liting, and the others were pleasantly surprised. They all praised his internal energy cultivation as unparalleled in the world. If someone else suffered such a heavy injury, even if he was under a master physician's care, he would need at least one or two months before he could comfortably circulate his 'chi' again. The fact that Zhang Wuji was able to recuperate in a matter of hours was simply too incredible. It would be hard for them to believe if they did not witness it with their own eyes.

Zhang Wuji ate two bowls of rice. After resting for a moment, he stood up and said, "I need to get some air."

He was the Cult Leader. Even though he did not tell them what he was going to do, nobody dared to inquire. Yin Liting only said, "You have just recovered from a serious injury; you must be very careful."