Chapter 32: Emperor Tang Makes His Move

Everyone's eyes were fixed on the two young men and one young woman who had just arrived.

Tang Xuanxin thought to himself that it was no wonder so many players in the game had wanted to pursue her. Guo Fu’s temperament left much to be desired, but her beauty was truly exceptional. Her face was as radiant as spring flowers; after riding hard, a slight sheen of sweat glistened on her brow, and her cheeks, flushed and reflected in her red attire, made her look even more alluring.

The girl in red called out, “Brother Wu, we’ve run into that wicked woman again!”

The two boys in yellow tunics looked both frightened and furious. They were shocked to encounter Li Mochou, the infamous female demon with such formidable martial arts, and enraged because it was she who had killed their mother, a grudge they had never forgotten, day or night.

The two sprang from their horses, each drawing a longsword, and charged straight at Li Mochou. Driven by the hatred for their mother’s murder, they cast aside any rules of the martial world.

“I’m coming too!” cried the girl in red. She knew well how dangerous Li Mochou was and feared the Wu brothers might suffer harm. She paid no heed to the usual codes of honor, grabbed her sword from her saddle, dismounted, and rushed to aid them.

Li Mochou, seeing her enemies multiply, grew wary and focused all her attention on the fight. The two boys in yellow attacked with flushed faces and fierce resolve, their swordplay pure and orthodox, clearly marking them as disciples of a prestigious school. When the girl in red joined in, her sword tip trembled with dazzling light, her thrust slanting in with a hidden, deadly follow-up. Though her skill was shallow, her technique was profoundly clever, displaying the hallmarks of elite tutelage.

In truth, this would normally have been nothing much to Li Mochou. Though these three youngsters were competent, she did not take them seriously. What gave her pause was the appearance of the twin eagles—could it be that Guo Jing and Huang Rong were nearby?

Facing attacks from three sides, Li Mochou parried lightly with her horsetail whisk, handling all three with ease. But the trio, fighting with desperate ferocity, targeted her vital spots, which began to irritate her. If not for her wariness of Guo Jing and Huang Rong, these three—ten of them, even—would be no match for her.

At that moment, the twin eagles swooped down to join the fray.

Yang Guo and Yelü Qi, meanwhile, ceased fighting, allowing the three youths and the eagles to assail Li Mochou in turn. This, too, was the convention of the martial world: since these new combatants had entered the battle, the previous fighters would not interfere until victory or defeat was decided.

Master Xuanzhi watched the scene, nodding quietly as he observed the three young people fighting Li Mochou.

These three, though young, possessed martial skills at least on par with the disciples of the great sects—Five Mountains Sword Sect, Emei, Kongtong, Kunlun, and others. Could they be the daughter and disciples of the Guo family from Peach Blossom Island? Xuanzhi’s gaze lingered on the twin eagles, deep in thought.

Tang Xuan also nodded to himself. The Wu brothers, Wudunru and Wuxiuwen, and the girl Guo Fu—though portrayed as hopeless in the TV adaptations of "Return of the Condor Heroes," always downtrodden—should not be underestimated, depending on the opponent. Against a demoness like Li Mochou, of course, they would fall short. Compare them to Yang Guo or Yelü Qi, and naturally, they fell even further behind.

Yang Guo, after all, had mastered the peerless Nine Yin Manual, and Yelü Qi was a disciple of the "Old Mischief" Zhou Botong, with extraordinary talent. As for the Wu brothers and Guo Fu, though tutored by Guo Jing and Huang Rong—who themselves possessed the Nine Yin Manual, Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms, Dog-beating Staff Technique, and other legendary skills—none of these ultimate arts had been passed on to the three.

Even so, the trio trained in the finest martial arts of Peach Blossom Island; though still young, they were already second-tier experts in the realm, the equals of lesser sect leaders. They could stand toe-to-toe with Huashan’s Linghu Chong, Songshan’s "Thousand-zhang Pine" Shi Dengda, or the twelve "Jing" generation nuns of Emei.

In the world of martial arts, these three were level 30-something second-tier experts. The only problem was that compared to Yang Guo and Yelü Qi, they lagged far behind—even with the help of the twin eagles, they were still no match for Li Mochou.

At this moment, Li Mochou laughed lightly. “Little brats, watch how the Scarlet Serpent Fairy toys with monkeys!” Her horsetail whisk swept in with a "whoosh," launching six consecutive attacks, each one aimed at a vital point, forcing the three youths to scramble and leap away, looking very much like frantic monkeys.

The twin eagles, having suffered at her hands before, saw her raise her hand and thought she was about to use her deadly Ice Soul Silver Needles. They beat their wings and soared skyward in alarm.

Li Mochou burst out laughing but gave chase no further. Instead, she called out, “Lingbo, let’s go!”

She summoned Hong Lingbo and prepared to withdraw. Clearly, with the number of enemies growing and a senior monk watching the fight, and with Guo Jing and Huang Rong possibly nearby, she had no desire to linger.

Her other disciple, Lu Wushuang, had already been rescued from Hong Lingbo by Yang Guo and the others during the earlier skirmish. Li Mochou paid it no mind, figuring she could recapture Lu Wushuang another day.

Master Xuanzhi, seeing Li Mochou about to leave, frowned slightly. He had witnessed her martial prowess firsthand and found her reputation well deserved. Even if he took the field himself, he might not be her match; at best, he could fight her to a standstill, but ultimately could not detain her.

Watching Li Mochou preparing to leave, Xuanzhi was uncertain whether he should intervene to vanquish the demoness—if he failed, the Shaolin Temple’s reputation would suffer.

In the next instant, Xuanzhi’s expression changed. Tang Xuan had already made his move!

He had no such scruples. To him, Li Mochou was a gleaming source of virtue points. Seeing the demoness about to escape, he leaped forward and shouted, “Wicked woman, not so fast—allow a Shaolin disciple to learn from you!”

He unleashed his Grass-on-the-Wind lightness skill to the utmost. This top-grade, perfected third-rank technique was already among the best in the martial world. Third- and fourth-rank skills were the standard for first-class martial artists, and his was perfected to the highest level. Even the Black Wind Stronghold’s second-in-command, whom they had encountered earlier, hadn’t mastered it to such a degree.

Moreover, Tang Xuan’s own fourth-rank inner strength technique, perfected, gave him further boosts. His original speed of 1,260 surged by 216%, and with the 60% boost from the Arhat Thousand-Jin Skill, his increase reached 276%—his speed soared past 4,700!

In the blink of an eye, Tang Xuan flashed before Li Mochou like a racing steed, both fists lashing out with a biting wind. Though his fists had not yet landed, the force was enough to make Li Mochou’s robe billow outward.

It was the perfected Shaolin Arhat Fist—its power now exceeded 7,000!

“What dazzling footwork!”

The crowd watched Tang Xuan’s sudden move, their eyes lighting up. Such lightness skill marked him as a top-tier expert in the martial world. His fistwork, too, was vigorous and forceful, brimming with the grandeur of mountains and rivers—a match for any master!

Could he be a lay disciple of Shaolin?

“Well done!” Li Mochou was taken aback, not expecting a new and formidable opponent. She halted, her horsetail whisk sweeping in all directions—left, right, up, down—its strands darting to intercept Tang Xuan’s twin fists from every angle.