Zui Wu Dao Vol 2 Chapter 23

Chapter 23     Zhen Fa for Three

With thick skin, Xuan Luo followed Xuan Yuan Duan Ai into the building. This task Tian Yu Zi has given him is no easy task. He honestly doesn’t know how he should react. He still needs to find out the rules and details from Xuan Yuan Duan Ai.

“Duan Ai xiong, what are the rules of the compet.i.tion?”

“Tian Yu Zi zhang lao wants you to compete in the compet.i.tion?” Xuan Yuan Duan Ai curiously questioned.

“Is there something wrong with that?” Xuan Luo doesn’t know how he should respond.

“Ha. I’m just surprised Tian Yu Zi asked you. You do know the situation at Chun Yang Palace, right? Those who are able to get into Chun Yang Palace can all cultivate nei li. There are three books of xin fa in Wu Dang. Usually, when someone first tries to enter the Clan, he/she is given the simplest book to try. The next two books, however, are much more advanced. Since Chun Yang Palace focuses on nei gong, all their disciples basically practice the best xin fa. As a result, their disciples are generally much stronger than us.”

“At the same time, we are not that bad. When it comes to style, you cannot learn much from Chun Yang Palace. However, their highly perfected nei li is not something we can compare with. Although Tian Yu Zi said it doesn’t matter how strong your nei li is if your style isn’t proficient, the reality is, Chun Yang Palace is much more capable than us. That is the reason why we at Zi Yang Palace have thoroughly lost confidence. I honestly don’t know why Tian Yu Zi choose to send you here.”

Xuan Yuan Duan Ai felt a bit useless. If his natural abilities were better, he definitely would not have joined Zi Yang Palace. Sadly, his natural abilities were limited. When he first entered the Clan, he was only able to unleash nei li using the simplest book. Yet, the quality was very poor. He wasn’t able to advanced into the higher books. As a result, he decided to put his emphasis on his style instead.

“I see. But throughout all these years, Zi Yang Palace never had someone who could take on Chun Yang Palace?” Xuan Luo frowned. He didn’t realize that the task Tian Yu Zi had given him was such a heavy one. Although he has some confidence in his abilities, the Tai Chi fist alone doesn’t seem to be enough either.

“Tian Yu Zi zhang lao didn’t tell you?” Xuan Yuan Duan Ai was shocked. Xuan Luo was taught directly by Tian Yu Zi, but he doesn’t seem to know anything about Tian Yu Zi’s past.

“Tell me what?”

“Based on your expression, I can tell you have no idea.” Xuan Yuan Duan Ai’s face remained cold and uninviting. “Tian Yu Zi zhang lao could originally cultivate nei li. At the time, he practiced Zi Yang Gong, which is the highest form of Wu Dang’s nei gong xin fa. But one day, during a battle, his core was destroyed. Since then, he can no longer practice nei li. Fortunately, Tian Yu Zi zhang lao’s perception is deep. After closing himself off for a long period of time, he practiced the style once more and came up with his theory that style is superior to nei gong. Hence, Zi Yang Palace and Chun Yang Palace were born. We do not know the details behind the scenes. I accidentally heard about this while practicing with a bunch of the other disciples. As for whether it is true or false, that is hard to say.”

Xuan Luo was stunned. He didn’t know anything about Tian Yu Zi’s past.

“What happened after that?”

“Afterwards, Tian Yu Zi focused on style and many disciples with poor natural abilities had hope. Because based on his theory, once you have achieved ‘success’ for style, that’s when it is possible to counter someone who has mastered nei li. Thus, many disciples with poor natural abilities turned to Zi Yang Palace. But practicing style is rather difficult. There are very few who can truly do it. As time pa.s.sed by, everyone’s confidence is shaken; and not many are willing to practice anymore. Hence, that’s why we are the way we are now. Although we have a battle with Chun Yang Palace every three years, the result is always….”

Xuan Yuan Duan Ai no longer wanted to continue. But Xuan Luo could tell what he wanted to say.

“Duan Ai xiong, what is the battle going to be like?” Xuan Luo asked. Since he is already here, he wants to be prepared. After hearing Xuan Yuan Duan Ai’s explanation, Xuan Luo felt pumped up. Although he doesn’t know whether he can help Zi Yang Palace win, he still wanted to do his best.

“There are two parts to the compet.i.tion. We have a team battle and a single battle. For the team battle, it is mandatory for us to learn a type of zhen fa to battle together.  As for the one on one, each Palace sends out three representatives. The winner stays on until he himself is defeated.”

“What is a zhen fa?” Xuan Luo has never heard of the term before.

“In a team battle, zhen fa is very useful. Under a zhen fa, even if your powers are not very strong, it will still increase your fighting strength tremendously.”

“Three people? There’s me and you. Who is the third person? In addition, I have never learnt zhen fa before. What are we going to do?” Xuan Luo creased his brows.

“There are many types of zhen fas. There is one for two people, three people, four people, five people, and so on. Learning it is not difficult; especially the two and three people one. It only takes a few days to learn it. We have three days. That is enough. But we need to be able to work together, or else the zhen fa will be useless. As for the candidates, you can see for yourself. Our disciples at Zi Yang Palace are in no shape to battle. We definitely need another person. But I actually know a person who is suitable. He might not be willing to join us though.” Xuan Yuan Duan Ai was very hesitant.

“Who is he?” Xuan Luo was puzzled.

“We shall go find him. He is extremely stubborn though. But right now, the most important thing is for you to learn the zhen fa for three people.” Xuan Yuan Duan Ai then threw a book at Xuan Luo. Xuan Luo looks down and sees “Zhen Fa for Three” imprinted on the cover.