Song of Heroes

While Charles is at the Pagoda, Liu Yi was like always guarding the courtyard and thinking of a cover story if the monk discovered Charles is missing. He was in his room trying to meditate but to no avail.

The Temple is too boring for him. Every day all he could hear is the chanting of the Sutras and by now he could even recite some of it.

Finding that his effort to meditate is not working, he got up from his cross legged position and walk around the room.

He was about to go out and met some of the Monks from the Vegetable Gardens when suddenly a sound startles him.

a gong was sounded, reverberates through the entire temple and awoken this city of monks.

It startles Liu Yi.

First he thought that Charles has been discovered. But just a moment later, he found out that was not the case. The patrolling Monk shouted

'Intruder! Intruder!'

Liu Yi went out of his room.And then he dashed outside his courtyard. He saw many monks congregated in the entrance so he quickly runs to the entrance.

Arriving at the entrance of the temple he see a person wearing red robe strewn with white on the edges of his clothes

Liu Yi was choked.

The man then flies out from the gate of the Temple. Liu Yi is shocked because he recognize the man.

Lu Dongpo.

Liu Yi once was tasked to seek Lu Dongpo because of the Red Snow palace long before he met Charles.

Looking at that man, Liu Yi is certain he is not mistaken. This man is Lu Dongpo. His face looks a lot like a monkey with a mischievous smile on his face.

His move is like a monkey on a tree; on his hand is an iron staff with an inscription, Walker of the Ten Earth and Nine Heavens.

As the monk is about to attack Lu Dongpo and forces him to get out the Temple, another person fly inside, a sword full of thunder sound resound in the courtyard of the Temple, shocking Liu Yi and almost make him startled enough to fall down in shock.

Light filled the courtyard. The roaring sound is like the sound of thunder in the sky.

'HAHAHAHA!' Lu Dongpo laughs.

'Mad Fairy, you are really stubborn!' Lu Dongpo said as he waved his staff and met that sword strike, as fire sparks and the sound of metal clanging sounded like a bell, waking everybody up.

This city of Monk was on alert and hundreds of monks went out of their halls and march in a uniform manner climbing down the mountain to go to the entrance of the Temple.

On the other hand, ten Warrior Monks fly out into the roof from the nearby Halls after they were awoken from practicing meditation, overlooking the matter but not one dare to enter the battle haphazardly.

They also look toward the junior monk and gesture them to not enter the battle.

The Mad Fairy is known in Jianghu as the Elder of the Red Snow Palace. The fact that she is here and Lu Dongpo is here means the rumors in Jianghu was true.

Lu Dongpo did do something to the Red Snow Palace that causes the Red Snow Palace to send a capture order

'Return back what you stole, you ungrateful monkey!' The Red Fairy once again swings her sword

A light filled attack seems to arrive at Lu Dongpo almost instantaneously as he once again deflected it with his staff, the sound of something hitting metal sounded and a slight shockwave erupted from that iron staff, distorting the air around it.

The Mad Fairy sword moves in a very difficult and cryptic way, but Lu Dongpo movement is even more erratic and even more unpredictable, so much so, he almost look like he was madly swinging his metal rod.

But if that is the case, how does he keep deflecting Mad Fairy attacks? It is certainly not luck

The more Lu Dongpo deflects her attack, the Mad Fairy gets even angrier and her attacks become even faster.

But not only that her movement becomes faster it become even more mysterious, as her sword moves in a way that is akin of a dance of a mad dancer, is influencing the Hearts of the Monks.

Even though the ten warrior monk beforehave gestured for the junior disciple not to enter the battle, a few of the disciple monk was entranced with the sword dance of the Mad Fairy and their bloodlust rises up

They were influenced by the sword dance, raises up their wooden staff and wanted to enter the battle.

This junior disciple all have kind intention, they wanted to stop the battle but one could see that their eyes are dazed and their movement is the Staff Killing The Dragon moves

The ten warrior monk on the roof also saw this.

Liu Yi who also see the sword dance instead took a deep breath and read the mantra of his sect, The Heaven Edge sect

His breath follows the rhythm of the wind, his battle intent, bloodlust and madness is covered by the all-embracing energy of nature, making him one with the Heaven and Earth and dispels his madness and then he opens his eyes, his eyes clear and calm.

'This Mad Fairy thinks this Temple is her for to toy around! Hmph!' One of ten warrior monk snorted,

Then that warrior monk put his palm together, and with comes a buzzing sound because of the internal energy in his palm

Then he inhale the wind and then he shouted

'Junior Disciple, stop your intent this instant!' His voice roar, as a lion roar echoes in the courtyard and forces that junior disciple to move back and break them from their enchantments.

Mad Fairy smirks even as she is in battle. Lu Dongpo on the other hand did not have time to pay attention to the monks.

Mad Fairy and Lu Dongpo was unaffected from the roar as they keep swinging their weapons at each other and deflecting each other moves

With each strikes, sparks of fire would illuminate the night, the furniture, plants, and ground nearby are either destroyed, crushed, or filed with sword marks.

Each time the sword and iron staff met it produces thunder roaring sound.

Lu Dongpo is laughing joyously even though he seems to be in injured in some places and wounds on his body is increasing.

When they find that their movement is limited in the small entrance courtyard of the Temple they changed the venue of their fight.

BOOM! BANG! Their weapons clashed as they jump up.

They leapt on the roof and continue fighting on top of the roof, as the tiles were crushed and destroyed with each step they take.

When they were on top of the roof, with one strikes they were separated by a distance.

They each took considerable distance from each other, staring at each other. The Mad Fairy eye gaze could kill but Lu Dongpo like always have that mischievousness in his eyes.

He laughed and said

'Mad Fairy this is the Righteous Temple. You are of the unorthodox way dares to barge in the most sacred holy land of orthodox martial arts without an army!'

'Hmph!' Mad Fairy snorted, the wind of the night blows her white robe. The moonlight seems to shines over her, making her seems like a fairy descended from the moon.

She then shouted, her voice resounded through this city of monks

'I have a personal feud with Lu Dongpo. Hope the Temple will not take offense. This monkey ran here intentionally trying to pit the Red Snow Palace and the Temple!'

After saying this she did not say anything else.

The Abbott who was in his meditation room was about to send the Golden Monks but then he close his eyes and said nothing.

On the other side of the Temple, an old monk went out of his room, and takes a broom and began sweeping his courtyard in the middle of the night.

But what is terrifying about this old monk is that even as he sweeps the ground, energy seems to be transferred to the edges of his broom.

The smooth and soft thread of the broom could be straighten and become sharper than needles because of the fine control of the internal energy of that old monk.

He looks toward that area where the Mad Fairy and Lu Dongpo are fighting.

'This is truly fate. This is truly destiny. Is this what one called the arrangements of Heavens? In the end even luck will run out'

He thought tonight how he let that young child enter the fourth floor. And now as he just returns, there is Lu Dongpo.

As the years passes by he saw Karma but he also saw that there are thing that are not connected by Karma, that there are things that exist outside the cause and effect.

All of this is connected and all of it is destined.

But of course, that young child could not see the connection. And no one else could see the connection other than him.

He, who was forgotten by death and abandoned by time.

He has lived too long and sees too much. He shakes his head and closes his eyes as he sweeps the courtyard.

On the other hand, on top of the roof, Lu Dongpo looks in the distance and no one seems to be helping him.

He sighed and his face fell down but then he looks back at the Mad Fairy and still retains that nonchalant attitude.

With his face, it only makes other people even angrier. Then Lu Dongpo shouted

'Fine! You want a fight, let us fight! I wanted to know if the Mad Fairy is as formidable as one says! Let see whether you can force me to give back the thing I stole!'

Then Lu Dongpo charged first, his acceleration causes the tile beneath his feet to crack and fly behind him.

His iron staff reverberates and with it comes down a hundred kilogram weight falling down upon the spot where the Mad Fairy is standing.

Lu Dongpo at the last moment channels his internal energy toward the edge of his iron staff. If he channels it a little bit late, even Lu Dongpo could not lift his iron staff.

The Mad Fairy jumped to the side like lightning and that iron staff fall down on that spot shaking the entire hall where they are standing and collapse the entire roof.

The Mad Fairy glided in the air and leapt onto another roof.

Lu Dongpo follows this time with another strike. This time it is targeted at the Mad Fairy head. The Mad Fairy deflected the heavy strikes with her sword.

With her internal energy she channel it to the edges of her sword, and using a rotating spiraling movement around the iron staff, directing and guiding the trajectory of the iron staff.

It lessens the impact and directs the staff to move sideways furthering helping to lessen the weight of the attack.

'You!' Lu Dongpo was frustrated. If his attack succeeded, the Mad Fairy head would explode like a watermelon being smashed by a hammer.

Lu Dongpo face fell but he quickly regains his composure. Usually the Mad Fairy swordsmanship is ingenious and sinister but this time it is calm but deadly.

The moment they clashed, they both found each other in a position to attack each other so dozens of exchanges happens in a few second.

The sword slash, the staff block, the staff strikes, the sword deflects.

Their exchanges is so fast that even the monk below watching this battle is dizzy and unable to see who strikes who or who is gaining advantage.

For those junior disciples that is too weak, they meditate and closes their eyes as to not be influenced by the Mad Fairy sword movement that have the properties of enchantment.

As their battle heated on, they have leapt out in many rooftops of the many halls in the Temple, destroying the tiles of the rooftops or crushing the rooftops structures.

They were like a blur as they keep moving down and up, from the rooftop to the ground and then leaping back up to the rooftops.

When they were in the ground, they crushed the ground, when they were on the rooftops they collapse the roof.

They fought ferociously and any mistake could cause both of them their lives.Even in that intense battle, Lu Dongpo managed to said

'I am Lu Dongpo, the Master Thief of Jianghu. I have stolen from the Western Liang royalty, run underneath the nose of the Han general Wei Yan. And you a mere elder of the Red Snow Palace think you can force me to give back what I stole? That would be damaging to my reputation!'

He then laughed as he keeps deflecting Mad Fairy attack.

Liu Yi was still watching the exchanges of the attack though this time he is watching it from considerable distance.

He after all has long heard about the famous name of Mad Fairy and Lu Dongpo. He thought he could learn something watching their change and he did learn something.

At first he didn't realize it but now as he keep seeing their exchanges, he recognize something very weird.

Lu Dongpo martial arts seem to be identical to Mad Fairy martial arts. At least that is what he thought at first.

But then the more he looked the way Lu Dongpo deflects Mad Fairy attacks, he become shocked as he thought of something.

Lu Dongpo is known to be a great thief in Jianghu but he is never famed for his mastery of martial arts.

But here he is fighting evenly and at times almost surpassing the Mad Fairy martial arts technique.

The sword movement Lu Dongpo is using seems to be perfectly countering any moves of Mad Fairy martial arts.

Could it be…..

Liu Yi once heard a rumor about the Red Snow Palace.

Demoness Zixiang is the sect leader of the White bone Peak but she is also the teacher of Mad fairy.

Mad Fairy because of her relationship with Demoness Zixiang was taught the style of Thirty Six Strikes of Blood Gale.

One of the rumors he heard is that in the encounter between the disciple of the Divine Sword Mountain and Mad Fairy, she mocked saying the Divine Sword Mountain reputed to be the origin of the saying "Sword comes from Divine Sword Mountain" is nothing much inviting the anger of one of the Great grandmaster Ling Tianfeng.

He descend from the Divine Sword Mountain and climb the Red Snow Peak and fights the villains of the Red Snow Palace, analyze their sword moves and carved the way to counter the Thirty Six Strikes of Blood Gale on top of one of the peak of Red Snow peak.

Codex of Ten Thousand Sword is like the holy book of swordsman and could derive and analyze all sword movements.

Ling Tianfeng proves to the entire martial arts world why the saying "Sword originates from the Divine Sword Mountain" that day.

Yao Lao, that Old Demon even come a few days after that and then laughed looking at the sword manual Ling Tianfeng left behind.

The Old Demon remarked

'The little kid is too impatient and governed by his emotion. How could he compare to Immortal Li. Even a thousand year would he would never reach that step' and then he left.

But while he mocked the disposition of Ling Tianfeng, the Old Demon said that manual he carved on top of the Red Snow Peak is able to counter every move of Thirty Six Strikes of Blood Gale.

So, The Elders of the Red Snow Palace scratched the carving and carved other thing in place of that manual.

Could it be….. that manual is not entirely lost?

There were rumors that the elders of the Red Snow Palace copy the manual before it is being destroyed.

Especially those people who are not the successor of The Thirty Six Strikes of Blood Gale.

And could it be that Lu Dongpo managed to seize that manual? As the fight between Lu Dongpo and Mad Fairy intensify, and her sword arts is getting restrained, she shouted

'You dare uses that technique! Fine. Do not say I didn't give you a chance!'

The Mad Fairy changes he technique suddenly shocking Lu Dongpo.

While she is the Elder of the Red Snow Palace and the successor to the Thirty Six Strikes of the Blood Gale she is also the disciple of Demoness Zixiang and inherits her Devil Maiden Sword Arts.

Suddenly the area around their fight dropped their temperature. Mist of cold air seems to come out from Mad Fairy hand and the shrouded her sword.

'Devil Maiden Sword Arts!' Lu Dongpo exclaimed in shock.

This is the sword arts of the Demoness Zixiang

With it she forces Ling Tianfeng to retreat when he attack the White Bone Peak.

Then as that cold air traveled to the edge of her sword, she attacked. A blinding light seems to be shooting out from her sword.

Lu Dongpo sidestepped and that blinding light cut the roof they were standing into two as both of them jump into another rooftop.

This time her attack is fluid, erratic but each one of her strike is targeted on the weakness and blind spot of Lu Dongpo.

They were whirling over in the rooftops, spiraling and spun in circles while their sword and iron staff clashing with each other, as fireworks sparks.

Her strike is unpredictable heavy, and sharp.

In just a few exchange Lu Dongpo have already suffered a few slashes on his arms, his shoulders his back and his thighs.

Lu Dongpo knew that he could not defeat the Red Fairy like this.

He took a deep breath.

There was a reason he came to the Temple.

He has been running from the Red Snow Palace since a long time ago.

They even sent the Golden Snake sect to send for him.

He got the Manual of Deflecting Sword in Thirty Six Strikes from one of the retired elders of The Red Snow palace who lives in Westhold.

He got the manual but then he had to blab about it in the Tavern around the Dragon Pass.

Of course in the Pass, the Red Snows Palace could not do anything.

But they could ask his other affiliated sects to help. It was then his misfortune began. He then rush toward the Righteous Temple

After all he had dealing with the Temple before. Or to be more accurate he had dealings with one of the people who knew the secret that this temple holds.

Hearing the battle at the border of Liao and the Liao kingdom coming down from East and hearing familiar names like Wu Di and Xue Hua, the determination to reach Righteous temple intensified.

Who would have thought that the Mad Fairy herself chases him down and so they fought a long time under the mountain.

He then ran up to the mountain.

He only trains the Deflecting Sword of the Thirty Six Strikes a few days so he could not display its full efficiency.

This manual is truly miraculous. The Thirty Six Strikes of Blood Gale is one of the ultimate sword arts of the Red Snow Palace and defeated many martial artist in Jianghu.

But the Deflecting Sword of Thirty Six Strikes could nullify almost all of the Thirty Six Strikes and could even be applied to other sword arts to nullify strikes, deflect and changed trajectory of attack.

But this technique could not contend with the Devil Sword Maiden

He knew he could not fight so he shouted

'OLD MONK!' His voice reverberated and echoes through the entire temple.

'I know the secret of the Pagoda! Save me or the whole world will know!' Hearing this, the one that is most shocked is Liu Yi

'Is he talking about the same Pagoda!' Liu Yi thought to himself.

Meanwhile on another courtyard, that old monk has stopped sweeping. He shakes his head and put down his broom. Then he jumped out and fly to that area with incredible speed.

While all of this is happening in the temple, in a large forest nearby the Righteous temple, is a Pagoda.

Inside that Pagoda, on the fourth floor, Charles is looking at a gigantic statue of the Enlightened One.

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MEANWHILE ON MIDGARD

While Charles is on Aeropa, a news from Avillon shocked the seven kingdoms.

The Second Prince of Norveg, Hakon Fairhair made an alliance with the Second Prince of Avillon shocking the world and Stormholt.

The whole world believes that the Two Lions of the East, Stormholt and Norveg would deal with Avillon.

Who would have thought that because of the civil war of Norveg, the Second prince of Norveg would make an alliance with the Second Prince of Avillon?

The War of the Seven Princes has already divided the Kingdom.

Argent Hardstone, The First Prince has crowned himself King in Snowhel claiming it the new capital for Norveg and desire to unite back the splintered regions by all of his rebellious younger brother.

He is enforcing Windspell and is ready to fight. The Old General, Rollo of Lombard led the expedition to pacify the rebellious regions

The Second Prince denounces his coronations and is still fighting.

The Royal brother of King Ragnar who was arrested and exiled out of Norveg after the death of King Ragnar levied his army and joined Second Prince Hakon

The Second Prince is also called the Prince of Windhill now while his brother Eric is called Prince of Hardstone.

Prince Sweyn who is the Duke of Bloomwind and fought beside his brother as a General of the Army has won the Prince of Windhill a lot of battle, securing their area of power

House Pryn swore fealty to the Second Prince after the Prince of Second Rank from their house was executed by Queen Frieda of the House of Lombard.

Fifth Prince, Prince Magnus also called the Prince of Vanheim and the Sixth Prince, Prince Sigurd the Duke of Redhill drew the support of the scholars.

The War of the Seven Princes is slowly affecting the whole continent of Midgard. And amidst this intense internal war of Norveg, one of the Two Princes of Avillon has lend their hand to the Second Prince.

Southern Han on the other hand is attacking Western Capital, Avillon is allying with Norveg, Stormholt preparing armies at the border...the world is slowly at the tipping point for another period of War to happen.

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