An Unwavering Conviction
The trip to Chengdu was peaceful and without any disturbances. There were a large number of people going in and out of Chengdu, mostly because of the Young Phoenix Martial Tournament that the Sichuan Tang Family was hosting. Tang Bo led everyone to the Tang Family's gate and an uneasy feeling began settling in Daiyu's heart.
"Ah, young lord! Welcome back." An old man greeted them at the gate and guided them inside the residence. The Tang Family was a wealthy and powerful family, and its prestige was obvious with the way it had been decorated. Luxurious goods were placed at every corner and even Daiyu could tell that their worth couldn't be calculated easily.
"I have brought some guests with me. Where is the Lord right now?" Tang Bo asked the old man.
"He is in his office, young lord." He looked at Daiyu and Zihan with curious eyes and led them to the office of the Tang Family's patriarch. After a while, the four of them entered the office and Daiyu could feel her heart beating loudly.
The Tang Family's Patriarch, Tang Zhan was a man who had earned the title of 'Poison King' long before he ever succeeded the position. He was a sharp looking man with a stern face and he was giving off formidable pressure even when he was simply sitting.
"I have come back successful, my Lord. On my way back, I had the chance to accompany the young princess of Demonic Cult to Chengdu and I invited her here as my guest." Tang Bo introduced Daiyu to the Patriarch and she realized it was her queue to introduce herself.
"Greetings to the Lord of the Tang Family. I'm Cheon Daiyu, the Ninth Princess of the Demonic Cult and this is the Crimson Guardian Dragon, Zihan. Thank you for showing us such great hospitality." Tang Zhan's expression didn't change even after the introduction but he finally spoke for the first time since they had entered the office.
"Welcome, Princess Daiyu. I am honored to have met you and the famous Crimson Dragon Guardian himself. Please stay with us till the tournament is over. Any friend of my son is a guest of the Tang Family. Le Yang will show you the way so rest up for today." Tang Zhan asked the old man Le Yang to escort them to their rooms immediately.
"Thank you for your grace, Lord Tang." Zihan bowed politely before leaving Tang Bo and Tang Xia with the Patriarch. Once the two had left, Tang Zhan looked back at his son and spoke in a low voice.
"So, what did you observe?"
"The young princess is certainly not a greenhouse flower. But I don't think she knows what it means, succeeding the position of the Heavenly Demon that is." Tang Bo had a contemplative look on his face when he answered that question.
"That is of little consequence. Children learn as they grow up and she will know what the position means soon enough." Tang Zhan tapped his fingers on the table and shifted his gaze to look at Tang Xia who had been silent until now.
"What do you think?"
"She's strong. Although I didn't throw my daggers with the intention to kill, I wasn't going easy on her either. The spar ended with her clean victory. I think she's strong enough to place our bets on her."
"We don't have much time. The Justice Alliance is pressuring us and we are surrounded by Justice Alliance members. Qingcheng, Emei, Wudang, Namgoong and Peng Family. We need to find a way out." Tang Zhan stood up from his seat and moved over to stand by the map hanging on the wall.
"We have been the rulers of Sichuan for hundreds of years and I will not allow our legacy to fall so easily. Making an alliance with the Heavenly Demon won't be easy but if we can get our hands on his heir…" Tang Zhan looked at the Sichuan Basin on the map and clenched his fist.
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Chengdu was overflowing with martial artists from all around the Central Plains on the day of the preliminary round. Daiyu didn't go outside the the Tang Family's residence for the four days she had been there except for registration purposes. On Zihan's advice, Daiyu didn't mention her Sect or surname to keep her identity anonymous. Since the Tang Family was willing to vouch for her identity, there wasn't any problem during the registration process. Instead, she spent all her time in the Tang Family's training grounds and practiced her sword techniques over and over again.
"Do you know what you lack?" Haoran commented during one of the training sessions. He had been guiding Daiyu to perfect her sword techniques for the past few days. Neither of them had brought up the dream or his comment again after that night, but Daiyu could see deep sadness reflected in his eyes sometimes.
"What is it?
"You lack the conviction to kill. Unless and until you strike your sword with the resolve to kill the enemy with one strike, you will never make any progress."
His comment bore more impact than Daiyu wanted to admit. It was true that she was hesitant to kill and stain her blade with blood. Her heart didn't feel ready to kill just yet. However, what Haoran said was true as well.
"Even those Taoist don't hesitate to kill with their sword, so why are you hesitating? You either kill or get killed in Jianghu. If you wish to protect yourself, you must learn how to steel your heart. The path to the Heavenly Demon's throne is filled with blood and sacrifices."
Daiyu nodded and gritted her teeth. She knew he was right. She still lacked the conviction to kill, but it could no longer be an excuse for her to be passive.
"I'm not telling you to kill unnecessarily, but I hope that you can show me your resolve in tomorrow's match. Your end goal is to strike down your enemy with a single strike. That is what will make you stronger."
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The preliminary round was not compulsory for Daiyu, who was being sponsored by the Tang Family. However, she wished to participate in it either way to test her strength. She also realized that a lot of martial artists from prestigious sects were also going to participate in the preliminary round.
There were a total of two hundred participants this year, out of which only thirty were from the unorthodox faction. Disciples from various big and small sects had gathered to test their strength today.
Daiyu sat beside Tang Bo and Tang Xia to watch the matches before she was called on the stage. The huge arena had been divided into four areas where matches took place simultaneously, at least for the preliminary round. Daiyu watched the first few matches with keen eyes but none of the martial artists stood out. Most of them were from smaller sects and they did not have any special strengths. Finally, the time for Daiyu to step on the stage arrived.
"Good luck, Princess! I'm sure the result will be in your favor." Tang Bo smiled brightly to encourage her. Even though Daiyu often felt disturbed by his cheerfulness, his encouragement soothed her anxious heart.
"Well, I'm sure it will go well, if it's you." Tang Xia made a simple statement and Daiyu began descending the stairs to reach the arena.
"It doesn't suit well for a martial artist to get excited when they are winning. Always remember to keep a cool head." Haoran reminded her again before disappearing into thin air. Daiyu looked up to see Zihan sitting with Tang Zhan, who gave her a smile of encouragement. Zihan was a busy man who was not there to teach her often but he made sure to guide her properly whenever he had a chance.
"I am Jin Wan, a third-class disciple from the Wudang Sect." A young boy who looked like he was around Daiyu's age greeted her politely. He had a serene air to him, despite being a young teenager.
"My name is Daiyu. Please forgive my discourtesy since I do not wish to reveal my Sect's name." Daiyu greeted back with the same politeness and they both took out their swords. Daiyu could see the yin yang symbol on his sword, which was the symbol that represented Wudang.
The referee indicated the start of spar and Daiyu charged at Jin Wan with an incredible speed. She had gotten better at using the Crimson Butterfly Footwork Technique, and Zihan had told her that she was close to reaching the technique's second stage. She swung her sword and Jin Wan blocked it perfectly before pushing her back to create some distance between them. The two parried with their sword and Daiyu could feel the heaviness and stability that represented Jin Wan's sword. If Daiyu's sword was like a butterfly moving through an orchard, Jin Wan's sword was like an overflowing river that maintained its flow no matter what happened.
Jin Wan's qi flowed like a river and many streams surrounded Daiyu in an instant. She knew that she could sustain considerable internal injury if she got hit by them. Daiyu used her footwork technique to move through the streams and swung her sword after closing the distance in an instant.
Jin Wan stepped back and an even more formidable wave of Qi emerged from his sword. Daiyu's sword moved back and the area became filled with butterflies in an instant. She swung her sword without avoiding the incoming stream and countered his technique with the Eleventh Movement of the Thirty Two Movement Violet Butterfly Sword Technique called the Butterfly Cleave. The butterflies might be feeble creatures but they withered and rose up again and again following the cycle of life of and death. Daiyu's butterflies flooded Jin Wan's stream of Qi and cleaved through it without much resistance.
"Huh?" Jin Wan's eyes widened and he sent a number of waves to counter Daiyu's butterflies. However, Daiyu's sword kept moving till a storm of butterflies surrounded Jin Wan.
Even an ocean could not stand up against natural disasters like tornadoes and cyclones. Daiyu's butterflies moved close to Jin Wan and the wings cut through his skin and flesh like they were nothing.
"Ack!" Jin Wan yelled and he stood in front of Daiyu with blood leaking out of several cut wounds all over his body. She could see he still had the resolve to continue this fight. They both raised their sword and Daiyu moved without hesitation. She was determined to end this match with a single strike of her sword.
'Downward Slash.'
She decided to use the most basic movement she had learned when she first began her training. Jin Wan raised his sword to block Daiyu's attack but her sword was too fast and powerful for him. With a downward motion of her sword, Daiyu sent Jin Wan's sword flying and attacked his shoulder. He fell back from the attack and passed out from the impact of the injury.
The arena thundered with applause and Daiyu looked around to see that the audience was solely focused on her match against Jin Wan from the Wudang Sect. It was rare to see disciples from prestigious sects competing in the preliminary round but it was an even rarer sight to witness such disciples being defeated by no-name martial artists.
Daiyu could see the proud look on Zihan's face and the approving smirk on Haoran's annoying face. Even Tang Xia had a rare smile on her lips as she applauded with the audience.
The exhilarating feeling of winning the match and the rush of being acknowledged by hundreds of people made Daiyu's head spin. That was how Daiyu achieved her first victory in the Young Phoenix Martial Tournament.