The Six Immortals Chapter 14

The Three lists of Jiu You Bi Fan collected his purchases and continued on, looking for any other useful products at different stalls, but couldn’t find anything of use. Jing Feng stayed with Bi Fan the entire time. He was watching Bi Fan closely, but couldn’t understand Bi Fan’s interests. To him, Bi Fan was a complete mystery. Jing Feng’s slightly arrogant attitude had, by now, changed to a humble one. “Brother Bi Fan, you spent two hundred spars on broken piece of armor and an item that could have been purchased for a lot lesser, why?” This question had been tormenting Jing Feng, so he asked. “I just felt that the tin used in the armor was good enough to provide some defense, when needed.” Bi Fan casually replied back. Bi Fan didn’t want to disclose much, he wanted to keep his head down in this place, as he didn’t want any trouble. Jing Feng didn’t ask any further questions and they continued to enter and exit stalls. The Ting Feng valley had everything. Bi Fan had kept his eyes open, and was picking up things quickly. Bi Fan wasn’t rashly spending money; he only sought items that had a particular use to him. Unfortunately, most stalls were meant for veteran martial artists and didn’t have too many things he could use. But luckily, he had found an armor he could make use of. Ting Feng valley had a lot stalls, Bi Fan and Jing Feng spent the entire day wandering around. “Brother Jing Feng, we will have to go back tomorrow, I can’t stay away for long.” Bi Fan said. Jing Feng replied, “Well, we can come back later when we get an opportunity.” He still wanted to get his hands on the jade fan, the only transaction that he hadn’t been able to make. This had been torturing him the entire time. In the evening, Bi Fan and Jing Feng decided to find a hotel. In the dead of the night, Bi Fan took out the armor, and carefully studied its interiors. He was right in assuming that the armor’s core was concealed with an ingenious mirroring magic, and would be able to provide some energy, along with defense. However, Bi Fan couldn’t identify how such a soft and humble armor had been covered with a magic of this kind. And even though the armor appeared soft, its defensive capabilities were quite amazing. He tried the armor, it was very soft, and felt very comfortable, Bi Fan was very satisfied. Early next morning, Bi Fan and Jing Feng were ready to leave. Ting Feng valley had a lot of good things, but they didn’t have the time to go shopping. So they had decided to leave early, to avoid being distracted by the stalls. Jing Fend hadn’t been able to buy the fan yesterday, which had made him very sad. He was still a little gloomy. While they were walking towards the exit, they saw two young men walking towards them. Jing Feng’s expression changed a bit, as he continued to walk. One of the men, pale-faced, smiled and said: “Hey! It’s the great Jing Feng!” His cynical tone and Jing Feng’s reaction were clearly indicating that this man was trouble. “Jiang Wen, don’t gloat, I will beat you in the next tournament”, Jing Feng coldly relied back. Jiang Wen laughed: “Oooo, I am scared, but I’ll still take you on. But hey, I’m afraid that I won’t get to beat you again and again, once I become a core disciple.” “Humph!”, Jing Feng puffed his cheeks as he walked away. Bi Fan caught up with Jing Feng and asked: “Who was that arrogant guy?” “Jiang Wen, of ‘rising sun’ palace school, he beat me in the last Qianlong tournament. He tricked me, and since then, every time we meet, he arrogantly rubs it in.” Jing Feng said. “Qianlong tournament? What’s that?” Bi Fan asked. Jing Feng explained: “The schools in the Jiu You city select some of their students to participate in the Qianlong tournament, last time, I was awarded the third position, and Jiang Wen was second.” Bi Fan knew that ‘Jiu You’ was a massive city, with a population exceeding eight million, and within the city, there were at least a hundred martial art schools. Quinyang Door fell under the jurisdiction of ‘Jiu You’ city and was regarded as one of the good schools in the region, but not the best. And Xuanu Palace was considered one of the best schools in Tian Yu. Jing Feng explained to Bi Fan that, Jiu You releases three different lists for three different competitions, the ‘fetus’ list, the ‘emerging from womb’ list and the ‘magical powers’ list. The winner’s name would be entered in the imperial listings. Jiu You was one of the strongest territories, and to win such a tournament, would make a person very famous. Bi Fan couldn’t help but long to be on that list, but his strength wasn’t even enough to compete with the average disciples of average schools, let alone win such a big tournament. But now, Bi Fan’s heart was set on a new goal; to win the Qianlong Tournament. Bi Fan vowed to reach new heights and get his name on that list. Bi Fan was convinced that with his new found motivation, he will be able to work even harder. Who had earlier been just an orphan, Orchard farmer, now dreamt of a very comfortable life. Now, Bi Fan’s path was set, but it was studded with numerous difficulties and obstacles. He would have to climb them, one by one. Bi Fan had secretly vowed to become strong. He didn’t want to go back to those earlier days, and a life full of humiliations. With the help of divine essence seals, Bi Fan returned to the Quinyang town in less than a day. “Brother Jing Feng, I have to go back to the hills, would you like to come with me?” Bi Fan asked. “You go ahead; I need to do somethings in order to get ahead of Jiang Wen. In the next tournament, I will beat him.” Jing Feng said, his eyes reflected his perseverance, brimming with passion and fight. Bi Fan said: “Take care Brother Jing Feng, I will take your leave now.” Bi Fan said his good-byes, and alone rushed back to the Quinyang Mountains. Because he had been practicing ‘the dance of mist’ footwork, his speed had increased, and he was able to cover up the distance faster. Before nightfall, Bi Fan managed to arrive at the foot of the hill. Bi Fan took out the tokens that Xiaofeng had given him and took the crane up the mountain. Riding the red crowned crane once again instilled a sense of tranquility in Bi Fan. He couldn’t help but think about his future. Bi Fan was already practicing some ‘inner breath’ techniques now; he wanted to reach the ‘inner breath’ layer as soon as possible. After returning to the mountain, he would get back to his training, and try to become a disciple. He was determined to become a disciple as he was aware of their status in society; he was more motivated than he had ever been. The minimum requirement to enter the Qianlong tournament was ‘brave’ layer, which was still a very long way ahead. As his mind raced through, he didn’t realize that he had already reached his destination. Bi Fan had already wrapped up the packages at the time of departure, and quickly jumped out of the crane with the package. On his second time down the mountain, he had acquired a lot of new valuables; he still had no intention of disclosing that information to anyone. Bi Fan knew that like Jing Feng, most people here too, would be baffled by his acquisitions. “Bi Fan, you’re back. Did you get everything?” Xiaofeng greeted him, seeming somewhat happy. “Xiaofeng, everything you had asked, is inside this, although I’m not sure what it really is.” Bi Fan replied as he handed over the parcel. Xioafeng parted saying: “Bi Fan, you work very hard, go and rest till tomorrow, then resume taking care of the medicine orchard.” Bi Fan, after his return, began practicing every day, even harder than before.

Chapter end