The Martial Arts Tournament

A few days later. The imperial court’s wind suddenly shifted. The Hall of Martial Suppression was disbanded. Its ruthless lackeys were either thrown into prison or beheaded. Emperor Kanglong issued an imperial edict of self-reproach, confessing his wrongdoing, affirming that the martial world was an inseparable part of the realm, and announcing the decision to host the Number One Under Heaven Martial Arts Tournament. The pivot was so abrupt and dramatic that the entire empire was stunned. Of course, sharp minds sensed that something was amiss beneath the surface, concluding that an extraordinarily powerful reclusive master must have intervened. Otherwise, given Emperor Kanglong’s unyielding nature, backing down was out of the question—hunting his targets to extinction was his true style. Though no one knew the mysterious master's identity, the martial artists who had been fleeing and hiding finally breathed a sigh of relief, emerging from their various shelters one after another. *** Yu Xian’s small courtyard. He reclined on his lounger, lazily rocking back and forth. On the table beside him sat a birdcage containing Emperor Kanglong himself. As for the emperor currently in the imperial palace, he was actually a duplicate transformed from Yu Xian’s summoned beast, the Silver Mirror Ghost King. The Silver Mirror Ghost King excelled at impersonating others, flawlessly mimicking a person's aura and martial arts, and could even read their thoughts to execute a seamless deception. For now, although the court officials were bewildered by Emperor Kanglong’s complete reversal, none dared to question it. In fact, many officials suspected that the emperor was being coerced by a shadowy powerhouse—a suspicion only deepened by the sudden execution of all the imperial guards on duty that day. This was precisely why the new decrees were executed without a hitch. When the enemy was already battering the nexus, who still cared about a few outer turrets? Naturally, everyone rushed back to protect the base. "Look at that. Even if I replaced you with a pig, it could run things just as well as you did. What do you have to be so proud of?" Yu Xian sipped his tea while watching the shifts across the jianghu on his light screen, chuckling toward the emperor in the cage beside him. Trapped inside the birdcage, Emperor Kanglong had been turned into a bird and could display no facial expression whatsoever—only sheer terror. At first, he thought he had provoked some legendary hermit of the martial world, only to realize he had run into a god. At the very least, he had never heard of anyone capable of transforming a living person into a bird. Where had all the excess flesh and blood gone? Now, his only wish was for Yu Xian to spare his life, but whenever he opened his beak, all that came out was frantic chirping. "Hungry?" "Here, a prime earthworm for you." Hearing Emperor Kanglong’s chirps, Yu Xian used a pair of small tweezers to pinch an earthworm and shoved it right down the beak. The cats, who also knew the truth, looked at the birdcage on the table with genuine sympathy. Seeing how wretched the emperor had it, they felt that being turned into cats wasn't so bad after all—even if they could only eat mice. *** The Number One Under Heaven Martial Arts Tournament officially began. Yu Xian had laid down generous bait. The first-place winner would receive the imperial court’s full backing to establish a sect on any of several designated famous mountains, with all funding covered by the imperial treasury. The second-place winner would be granted permission to establish a sect in any city and freely recruit disciples. The third-place winner would be awarded a massive trove of heavenly materials, earthly treasures, and divine martial manuals, making it effortless to cultivate to the Xiantian realm. Between the disbandment of the Hall of Martial Suppression, the emperor’s public self-reproach, and this grand event, countless martial artists were bursting with curiosity about just how formidable the intervening master was. One had to admit, martial artists possessed immense guts. Had this been immortal cultivators hunted down by the court, only for the authorities to make such a sudden about-face, they would have been a hundred percent certain it was a trap or a conspiracy. Martial artists, however, did not overthink things. They converged on Yandu in droves until every street and alley of the imperial capital swarmed with wandering pugilists. Naturally, this caused the average appearance of the capital’s population to plummet. Hideous people used to be a rarity, but now eight out of ten people on the street were an eyesore. Then, a man whose style stood in stark contrast to everything around him walked into the picture. Having achieved minor completion in the Divine Art of Graceful Elegance, Song He’s appearance had transformed from a Bull Terrier into Sun Honglei, and then from Sun Honglei into Takeshi Kaneshiro. As he walked down the street, the contrast between him and the grotesque rabble of the martial world was as clear as day and night. He looked like an existence from an entirely different dimension. In truth, he had also come to participate in the tournament, primarily to fulfill his late master’s lifelong wish: to bring glory and prominence to their sect. His master had been a Daoist priest of a tiny sect with only a handful of members. Later, some died and others drifted away, leaving only his master soldiering on. Regrettably, right up until his death, his master never managed to bring glory to the sect. And so, Song He had arrived. First place or second place, either would do—he was going to establish a sect and fulfill his master’s dying wish. *** Back in the courtyard, Yu Xian looked at Song He on the light screen and smiled at the Heavenly Dao Doggy beside him. "Look at that. How do you like my chosen protagonist?" "Woof, woof!" The Heavenly Dao Doggy’s eyes glittered as it stared at Song He on the screen, thoroughly supporting Yu Xian’s choice. Speechless, Yu Xian remarked, "You really are a looks-obsessed dog. Fine, from now on, you'll be called Little Face-Hound." "Woof, woof!" Little Face-Hound immediately affirmed the name. What was wrong with being a face-hound? Beauty was justice, and justice was the Heavenly Dao! If Song He had looked like this from the very beginning, it would have treated him as the protagonist long ago. Yue Feng would have been relegated to supporting actor at best, and everyone else would have been pushed even further back. After that, Yu Xian watched the spectacle alongside Little Face-Hound. The dog, previously indifferent, had now found the motivation to keep watching solely because of Song He’s newfound handsomeness. Yu Xian had actually realized that the Heavenly Dao favoring beauty was by no means an isolated occurrence. The Heavenly Dao of many worlds favored beautiful things. Young boys and girls always seemed to receive just a little extra grace, which was the fundamental reason so many worlds developed storylines where youths saved the world. Of course, there were also worlds where the Heavenly Dao was cold and utterly impartial, leaving nothing more to be said. Beneath the gaze of countless eyes, the Number One Under Heaven Martial Arts Tournament commenced. Naturally, Yu Xian went to join the fun. He took up residence right inside the imperial palace, and once the tournament began, he posed as an imperial guard by the emperor's side, sitting in the best seats alongside the Silver Mirror Ghost King to enjoy the show. Before the matches began, the Silver Mirror Ghost King stepped forward to deliver an address. He wept copiously, claiming he had been led astray by treacherous ministers and made terrible mistakes, but that he now recognized his errors deeply and felt profound remorse for his past actions. Thus, this grand tournament was an opportunity granted to him to redeem himself through meritorious service. In short, the Silver Mirror Ghost King’s speech was shamelessly over-the-top, to the point where onlookers wondered just how terrifyingly high that mysterious master’s cultivation must be to scare the mighty Emperor Kanglong into such a spineless state. Fortunately, the tournament proper soon got underway. Although it was declared that anyone could participate, there was still a minimum cultivation requirement: only those with at least first-rate strength were permitted to register. Consequently, though crowds of martial artists had gathered to watch the excitement, the vast majority were relegated to mere spectators, lacking the qualifications to compete. The former Song He would not have qualified either. But after achieving minor completion in the Divine Art of Graceful Elegance, he already possessed super-first-rate strength, securing his entry ticket into the tournament without a hitch.