Volume 1 Chapter 1 (1/2)

Chapter 1 Di Hongtian

The world of martial arts was full of talent. It now came to a great period of prosperity during this dynasty. Clans numbered too many to be counted. The nine national clans nominated by the emperor himself were relied upon by the whole royal family, and they became the leaders of the world.

The White Horse Temple was one of the national clans.

They were different from the other eight clans, though with a great martial competence to conquer the demons, they had little desire to fight with other clans for power. Instead, they lived in the distant mountains, considered reliable by the royal family, and caring about the normal folk, so their fame was the highest.

The temple was built in the middle of the mountain with the same name. For a whole year, people arrived in crowds to offer incense, so some businessmen started to build simple wood sheds and made money by selling teas and food to the visitors at the foot of the mountain.

Today was a hot day; some thirsty visitors took seats at a tea stand and chatted while drinking the cool beverage.

The tea was inexpensive and delicate; it was taken from some common tea tree and roughly brewed. But the visitors were quite thirsty, so they were satisfied with the flavor.

Not everyone was content with it.

“You call this tea? You son of a b.i.t.c.h!” Someone broke the tea bowl and yelled rudely, “Why not use it to feed a dog?”

The tea spilled, even on some other guests. “What are you doing?” The strong guys stood up to avoid the water, looking with anger toward the guy.

The troublemaker was a young man of about twenty four or so, wearing nice clothes and had a jade hanging at his waist. His face was fierce and malicious.

“My dear guest,” the shop owner said as he came near with a flattering smile to try to fix the problem. But the next minute, he was caught by the young man and pushed to the table with his face pressed to the top with his arms twisted behind him. He scratched two trails into the owner’s face; they started bleeding.

“Hey, you are too mean, friend.” Someone stood up to stop the young man, but  more guests were still sitting to watch.

“Who are you?” The young man continued to yell, “Dare you to meddle in my business?”

The big guy who had taken part in it was irritated and he smacked the table with his palm. With a loud, clear cracking sound, the thick wood table was crushed by his strength and a wide c.h.i.n.k appeared.

“What a feat!” someone praised as they stood. The table top was more than three centimeters and he had cracked it with a palm. If he used his martial skills to hit other people, bones could be broken.

The big guy turned to the young man and tried to catch his shoulder. “Don’t be so arrogant, young man.”

Other visitors were running away to keep safe from their fighting, leaving their payments on the tea tables.

“Are you giving me advice?” The young man sneered at him. “Get away from me!”

Suddenly he bounced up with his left leg and swept the big guy’s chest speedily.

Bang!

Before everyone could see clearly how he struck, the big guy, with a weight of about 100 kilograms, flew up and crushed table after table before he reached the ground; tea was sprayed everywhere.

“Wanjun Leg!” someone recognized his art and called out.

The others who came with the big guy all became serious. “Are you from the Yu Family?”

“He is . . . Yu Long?”

One of them with a yellow belly bowed, extending his arms toward the young man. “Prince Yu, we didn’t know it was you. We are sorry to bother you. Please leave our elder brother his life.”

The elder brother was still trying to keep his feet after knocking down four or five tables. Each of his footsteps left a clear imprint on the ground.

“What’s wrong with the young man?” some visitor murmured to his companion as he pointed at a young man who did not run away with the others.

“Was he too frightened to run?” the other one wondered aloud.

The young man was still holding his tea bowl, on his chair, his head lowered, seemingly absentminded.

“Run, run!” they called to him secretly.

“Why are you bothering me?” The young man raised his head, patting the back of the elder brother with his left hand. The elder brother stopped immediately. The young man was still steadily holding his tea bowl; the water in it did not so much as ripple.