Chapter 62: Zun Shan

Chapter 62: Zun Shan

Although Sunan and Bao weren’t aware of it, rumors were beginning to spread through the camp.

“Did you hear about how Sect Leader Sunan and Chieftess Bao spent the whole night together on top a mountain a few weeks ago?”

“People are saying that they’re a couple now!”

“If they get married, what will happen to the two sects?”

“Supposedly, they’re already secretly engaged.”

“You don’t even know the half of it. I heard that she’s pregnant!”

“That wouldn’t surprise me at all. I was walking by Bao’s tent the other night, and you wouldn’t believe the sounds I heard!”

It didn’t take long before some of the leadership of the sects caught wind of the rumors. It was Mao Yun who took it upon himself to try to stem the tide of gossip. He well knew that if Bao or Sunan ended up hearing about such rumors, especially some of the more salacious ones, it would be a huge loss of face.

However, the rumors wouldn’t stop, and were compounded by the fact that Sunan and Bao had taken to spending more time with each other. The truth was that because of the well-established routines led by the other sect leaders, Bao and Sunan had few responsibilities. Usually, martial arts forms were practiced first thing in the morning, followed by sparring sessions. The time after the noon meal and accompanying rest was set aside for meditation and self-reflection. Then came battle formation practice with Dragon Lord Sima. The final hours before dinner were for various other sect-related activities, and the evenings were free time.

Other than when official duties required their time, Bao and Sunan were often seen sparring together, creating new martial arts techniques, or sitting by the lake chatting.

It was Sun Mai who came up with the solution to the problem….

“It’s time to announce that we’re forming a new sect!” he announced.

Bao and Sunan looked at each other.

“Are you sure it’s time?” Sunan asked.

Sun Mai smiled broadly. “Of course! There’s no need to beat around the bush. Plus, the Bixie Moon is approaching, the perfect time for new beginnings!”

“I agree on this point,” Mao Yun chimed in. “The main question we have is what to call the sect.”

“Well,” Bao said, “that’s already been decided. It will be the Dragon-Phoenix Sect. But, the Bixie Moon is only a week away. Is that enough time for all the preparations?”

“More than enough!” Sun Mai said. “Li Runfa and I have already worked out the emblem to use. Look!” He produced a sheet of paper with an ink drawing on it, depicting an intertwined phoenix and dragon.

Sunan’s eyes widened. “Is that…?”

“Yes,” Sun Mai said. “This is the very same image which appeared above the two of you in the cave beneath Mount Fohe. Fitting, don’t you think?”

“We won’t really need to change the uniforms very much,” added Li Runfa. “Assuming the sect still has separate divisions for the Dragons and Phoenixes.”

Things proceeded in a whirlwind. The announcement was made, and the date set for the following week. Thankfully, the buzz of excitement that swept through the camp quelled some of the rumors about Sunan and Bao.

When the day came, a grand ceremony was held officially uniting the two sects into one larger sect. Many of the titles held by the officers remained the same. However, Sun Mai stepped down as the Chief Minister to focus on his work with his scripture, which he said was nearing completion. He was replaced by Tie Gangwen, who assumed the title Dragon General. In the time that had passed since his grievous injury, he had developed new ways to manipulate Qi, and was now just as formidable a fighter as he had been in the past. In fact, because his surname meant ‘iron,’ people had taken to calling him the One-Armed Iron Titan.

After some debate, new titles were also created for Sunan and Bao. From the day of the ceremony onward, they came to be known as Dragon Sovereign Sunan and Phoenix Sovereign Bao. Neither Sunan nor Bao were very pleased with such ostentatious titles, but no amount of protestation on their part could convince the other leaders to accept anything else.

With the addition of the new recruits that had filtered into the sect over the months, the new Dragon- Phoenix Sect had roughly 700 members, divided equally into the Golden Dragon Division and the Pure Phoenix Division. Each division was further separated into seven sub-divisions, led by Dragon Lords and Claws of the Phoenix respectively. Because a new legion had been formed in each division, new leaders needed to be chosen, and at the suggestion of Dragon Lord Sima, those leaders would be decided by holding a tournament.

The day after the opening rites and rituals, and the night of feasting which followed, the tournament began. It was a grand occasion that began first thing in the morning with thirty-two competitors, sixteen from each division. The rules for the competition were similar to the platform fights back in Daolu, although any blows which would inflict serious injury were strictly forbidden. The losers of any given match would be instantly removed from the competition.

The 32 competitors were all well-known members of the sect, people who were skilled fighters and had distinguished themselves in various ways, either in the fighting in Daolu, or in the months following.

The first round of the competition took an entire day, with sixteen spectacular fights. Some of them ended quickly, others were protracted struggles that lasted for multiple rounds. Another night of feasting was held, and the following day, the sixteen winners from the first round fought fierce battles until only eight remained. Of those eight fighters, five were men and three were women. One of the men who stood out from the others was from the Golden Dragon Sect. His name was Lin Cuirou, a name that was almost too beautiful for a man.

Lin Cuirou was known for two things. First was his love of emeralds. He bedecked himself with all sorts of emerald jewelry, everything from rings to necklaces to a headband with a gaudy emerald festooned in the middle of it. Second, he was known for his good looks, of which he was very proud. He was handsome to the point of being pretty, with unusual green eyes that would make most women swoon to look into. Because of his good looks and his love of emeralds, other members of the sect had given him the humorous nickname Emerald Hunk.

At the beginning of each match, Lin Cuirou would instruct his opponents not to strike him in the face, and none of them did. That is, until the final round in which he was up against a burly Golden Dragon who landed a fist strike right on his cheek.

In response, Lin Cuirou went berserk, unleashing Slash of the Dragon’s Tail with cathartic speed and power.

Despite countering with a move called Golden Willow Shield, his opponent was thrown violently out of the fighting arena.

It was a spectacular scene that left everyone in the audience cheering. As for Lin Cuirou, he hurried in search of a mirror to check his face for any permanent damage.

The final two battles of the tournament couldn’t have been more opposite. The match which determined the new leader for the Pure Phoenix Division lasted for ten brutal rounds and ended with a completel knockout. In contrast, the match for the Golden Dragon Division ended within moments with a beautifully executed strike by Lin Cuirou.

In the end, Lin Cuirou was promoted to Dragon Lord, and a stocky woman named Ma Ge became the new Claw of the Phoenix.

A few weeks passed, after which the decision was made to move camp. The Dragon-Phoenix Sect traveled slowly along the bank of the Chrysanthemum Lake for about three days until they reached the southern shore, where the scouts had found a wide valley that made the perfect location for a more permanent camp. The valley was closer to the lake, and would be much more easily defended upon assault, leaving everyone feeling a bit more secure.

The area north of Chrysanthemum Lake, which bordered the Banyan Mountains, was uninhabited. However, that was not the case south of the lake. Several tribes of indigenous people called that area their home, and although they were suspicious of outsiders, once they were convinced that the Dragon Phoenix Sect was not part of the empire, they accepted their presence.

In fact, some of the nearby tribes seemed very interested in the fighting abilities of the sect, prompting Sunan and Bao to make arrangements to teach them.

The Eyes of the Phoenix were tasked with scouting the area and making maps. As the weeks went by, the scouts traveled further and further away from Chrysanthemum Lake, even into the Jian Shu Forest which filled most of the Banyan Region, and was more of a jungle than a forest, despite its name.

Sunan had long since explained to Bao about the Shan people and the Empyrean Hammer. It took no convincing on his part for her to agree to have the Eyes of the Phoenix begin to look for clues.

Time passed. The first interesting word that came back from the Eyes of the Phoenix had nothing to do with the Shan.

Wang Tian himself brought the news to Bao and Sunan as they drank tea near the shore of the lake.

“See those mountains to the southeast?” He pointed. “That’s where Zun Shan is located.”

“The Zun Shan?” Sunan asked.

“Yes,” Bao said. “Another of the five great mountain peaks. What of it, Wang Tian?”

“One of the Eyes of the Phoenix was exploring the area and found a staircase cut into the very rock of Zun Shan.”

Bao frowned. “A staircase on Zun Shan? I learned about all of the five peaks and never heard anything about a staircase.”

“I know,” Wang Tian replied. “I studied a thing or two about them myself, and have never heard any such tale. However, it didn’t seem to be a surprise to any of the locals when we made some inquiries. The staircase is located on the western face of the mountain, and isn’t visible from the foot of the mountain. Even the entrance to the staircase is difficult to find. My man only stumbled across it by chance.

“What’s the most intriguing, though, isn’t the staircase itself. It’s what’s at the end of the staircase. A temple.”

Bao put down her tea cup. “A temple on Zun Shan? How is that possible?”

“Your guess is as good as mine. I’d like to go see it for myself. Would you two like to come along?”

And thus, three days later, Sunan and Bao found themselves climbing a staircase up the side of Zun Shan. In addition to Wang Tian and two other Eyes of the Phoenix, they were joined by Sun Mai, Mao Yun, and about 10 other members of the sect.

The air got colder and thinner the higher they got. Eventually, the staircase ended at the mouth of a cave. Columns had been carved into the sides of the cave mouth, although they were worn and crumbling with age.

Just as Wang Tian had said, the mouth of the cave led into a temple complex that was shockingly large. It took the small group an entire day just to explore the main areas. It contained a huge grand hall, seven smaller halls, and numerous passages and rooms.

“Who could have built a place like this?” Sunan asked at one point.

“Perhaps the Suk,” replied Sun Mai. “Or perhaps other forces more ancient than we can imagine. The architecture is like nothing I’ve seen before.”

Bao ran her finger along the wall, which had obviously once been carved with a fresco, but was now so worn down that it was almost impossible to make out any details. “You know, this place is more than large enough to hold the Dragon Phoenix Sect….”

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