Chapter - 518 Secret Manual And Military Treatise are Hidden Within (11) (1/2)
Zhang Wuji examined the two Sheng Huo Ling tablets, which were used inside the furnace and as expected, he did not see the slightest sign of damage. Receiving the Tulong Saber, he chopped it on two spears, which were snatched from Yuan troops earlier. With a light 'Swish!' sound, the two spears were cut smoothly, as if they were made of mud, cut by ordinary iron.
The crowd of heroes applauded loudly. ”Excellent Saber! Excellent Saber!” they praised.
Wu Jingcao took the two-piece Yitian Sword in his hands. His mind wandered to the moment when the former Rui Jin Flag Leader, Zhuang Zheng, as well as dozens of his brethrens of the Rui Jin Flag, lost their lives under this Sword. He could not restrain tears from flowing down his eyes.
”Jiaozhu,” he said, ”This Sword has killed my Zhuang Dage. It has killed not a few of my good brothers. Wu Jingcao hates this Sword to the bone. I can't fix it. I am ready to accept responsibility for this offense.” While saying that, his tears poured down like rain.
”That only shows Wu Xiong's 'yi qi' [loyalty, code of brotherhood],” Zhang Wuji said, ”What offense are you talking about?” Taking the two pieces of the Sword, he walked toward Jing Xuan of Emei Pai and said, ”This Sword originally belonged to your precious Sect. I would like to ask Shitai to pass this on to Miss … to Mrs. Song.” Jing Xuan did not say anything, but she accepted the two pieces of broken sword.
Zhang Wuji held the Tulong Saber in his hand; he thought for a moment and then brought the Saber to Kong Wen.
”Fangzhang,” he said, ”This Saber was my Yifu's. Now that Yifu has entered the 'three precious' [orig. 'san bao' – Buddha, Dharma (his teaching) and Sangha (his monastic order)] and joined Shaolin, it is only fit that this Saber should be under Shaolin Pai's power.”
Kong Wen shook both of his hands and said, ”This Saber has already exchanged hands many times over. Last time it was Zhang Jiaozhu who snatched it away from among the thousand troops and ten thousand horses; everybody can bear witness to it. And then it was Wu Dage from your precious Cult who mended it. In addition, today the heroes from all over the world have agreed to elect Zhang Jiaozhu to preside over the honorable position. Therefore, it is a question of ability and virtue, of origin and relationship, of prestige and position, this Saber should be under Zhang Jiaozhu's control. This is perfectly justified.”
The crowd of heroes echoed in chorus; they said, ”This is the will of the people, Zhang Jiaozhu does not need to decline.”
Zhang Wuji had no choice but to accept; he thought, ”If I can command the heroes of the Wulin world with this treasured Saber, we can drive the invaders together and complete the big current task.”
He heard somebody started to recite, followed by the multitude of heroes, ”The most treasured in the Wulin world, precious Saber slaying the dragon, ruling under the heavens, no one dares to disobey!” The next line was 'Yitian [relying on Heaven] does not appear, who can match its sharpness?' but since everybody had seen the Yitian Sword was broken and was not going to be mended, nobody recited these last two sentences.
The Rui Jin Flag of the Ming Cult harbored a deep hatred toward the Yitian Sword. Today, seeing the Tulong Saber was restored to its original form while the two pieces of Yitian Sword stayed broken, they all expressed their delight.
Everybody had been busy for half a day; their stomachs were growling. The Ming Cult's Five Element Flags and half of the Shaolin Temple monks were dispatched to guard all vital points. The rest of the people followed the monks to enjoy vegetarian dishes inside the Temple.