A Martial Odyssey

Chapter 6: Gongsun Jing

Yi Ping did not know how long he had been wandering since he had left the Eternal Ice Palace. Was it days, weeks or months? He could not really remember.

That was because all he could remember on the eve of leaving the Eternal Ice Palace, was that he got very drunk; Very dead drunk. When he was awake, he was in bed naked; and so were Shui Yujian and Shui Meijian who were beside him.That was why he left the Eternal Ice Palace in haste and he was in a daze for a long time. What did he actually do? He could not believe what he had done and what had happened.

"Yixian, Yujian, Meijianforgives me"

He cursed himself for hurting Shui Yujian and Shui Meijian and losing their trust in him. He could not imagine that he had actually destroyed the lives of two innocent maidens in his drunken state. After that he was in low spirits for a really long time and was often in a daze as he thought of Yixian, Yujian and Meijian.

Yixian had entrusted her two protgs to him and yet he did something so unthinkable to them. He could never forgive himself for what he had done.

He thought of taking his life on numerous occasions but when he remembered that he had not found his wife's killer yet, he reluctantly pulled himself together again.

He was Yi Ping of old again. It was as though he was still a wanderer and had never been to the Eternal Ice Palace. Everything was just a beautiful dream. No one would ever believe him even if he tells anyone.

But he could not forget the fact that Shui Yixian was his wife and that she had died in his embrace. He could not forget the blood feud that he had with the yellow dressed maiden. He had no idea where she was. He did not even know her name! It was as though she had never existed.

He was confused. Was everything just a dream?

He was drinking wine as usual in a tavern. He did not have a habit of drinking before he went to the Eternal Ice Palace. But because drinking was the only way for him to forget his unhappiness and the tragic death of his wife, he retorted to it. That was another reason why he could not remember how long he had been wandering or the passage of time as he was drunk most of the time.

He thought he had a purpose but he had since lost that purpose. Even if he could find his enemy, could he be able to defeat her?

All of a sudden, someone greeted him, "Young hero, why are you drinking alone? Do you mind if we sit beside you?"

Yi Ping looked up and saw a handsome young man. He was the one that had greeted him and he looked like a refine scholar. There were two others with him; one was a one-arm old man but he was anything but old for he exudes strength and vitality. The other was a middle age monk with a thick white eyebrow.

The refine scholar added, "I apologize for not properly introducing myself. I am Gongsun Jing."

Those with the clan surname of Gongsun were few and only one martial family carried that clan name. This refine scholar was none other than Gongsun Jing the Benevolent from the Gongsun Aristocracy Clan. He was said to be a highly regarded and won the respect of the pugilistic heroes for his kindness and thoughtfulness.

Even Yi Ping had heard of his renown and had once wished to be acquainted with him! But that was in the past and all he wanted now was to be left alone.

Gongsun Jing had seen a handsome young man drinking alone. Judging by the sword that he had besides him, he garnered that this young man must have come from a renowned martial clan. He was eager to recruit the likes of him as his friends and followers. The younger they were, the easier to be acquainted with!

It was not a one sided friendship. Likewise, the pugilistic heroes from the martial clans would also like to befriend Gongsun Jing for he had the renowned and would be a powerful backer in the future.

Unfortunately for Gongsun Jing, Yi Ping was not from any martial clan. The sword that he had with him was just a sword that he had grabbed from the Eternal Ice Palace on a whim as he had lost his own sword. And today, he was only interested in drinking and had just started.

The sword that Yi Ping had randomly grabbed was one of the four most precious swords of the Eternal Ice Palace, christened the White Emerald Phoenix.

Gongsun Jing was eying Yi Ping's sword and said, "Do you mind that I take a look at your sword?" He had said so casually as the white emerald sword that Yi Ping had on him caught his attention. He was a swordsman and interested in all kinds of swords.

To his surprise, Yi Ping simply said. "You can take a look." He placed the sword onto the table.

In the martial fraternity, the pugilists regard their weapons dearly and would never allow strangers to inspect their weapons. A weapon weight and its characteristic would often give their opponents' clues on how best to counter it.

And moreover, a swordsman would never part with his sword unless he was dead.

Therefore Gongsun Jing had not really expected this young man to surrender his sword so readily. He had expected the young man to either reject him nicely or rudely and he would have a good idea if he was a friend or foe.

Gongsun Jing took the White Emerald Sword and inspected it. There was a 'White Phoenix' and an 'Emerald' inscription on it. The emeralds that adorned the white long were real and the blade of the sword was exceptional sharp!

Even the one armed old man who did not appeared to be interested in the sword at first, was exclaiming when Gongsun Jing had just unsheathed the sword, "What a good sword! It is surely one of the few top tier swords in the fraternity!"

When the White Emerald Sword was unsheathed, the brilliant chilling malevolent aura of the sword was brilliant and everyone could feel its chill piercing through their bones!

Gongsun Jing was bewildered. The owner of this sword had to be from a renowned martial clan in order to protect this sword and would be zealous of it.

But this young man did not seem to care very much for his sword.

And he did not seem to be very interested in acquainting with him even after he had reported his name aloud in an attempt to awe him. Yet he was generous enough to show him his sword.

Even in the Honor Manor, there were no swords of this quality and Gongsun Jing was secretly covetous of the White Emerald Sword.

He reluctantly returned the White Emerald Sword to Yi Ping, who took back the sword without saying anything.

Gongsun Jing smiled and said, "I am interested to be acquainted with heroes from all over the martial fraternity. Do you mind telling me your name and your martial clan of origin, young hero?"

But Yi Ping was too despondent and disheartened to say anything. And moreover he was just a nameless nobody while Gongsun Jing was a renowned figure in the martial fraternity.

Gongsun Jing was embarrassed by his silence and added, "I can buy you all the drinks that you want, young hero."

Pugilists in the fraternity were mostly lovers of wines and would hardly reject such a generous free offer.

But still, Yi Ping continued to ignore him.

This enraged the one-arm old man who shouted, "What insolence! You have no idea what is good for you, young man!" He threw a punch at Yi Ping.

Yi Ping saw the incoming punch and barely blocked the attack. This seeming innocuous move was like an unstoppable force and had actually pushed him backward and he was forced to get off his seat! The one-armed old man was a more powerful opponent than he had looked and his martial level was not beneath Tian Kui!

Gongsun Jing exclaimed aloud and praised Yi Ping, "Good! To think that he can actually block Uncle Gu attack!"

This rejuvenated Yi Ping fighting spirit and he began to attack the one-armed old man with his fists and palms.

The one-armed old man blocked his attacks easily and without any effort. The one-armed old man laughed and shouted, "Do you know who I am? You dare to raise your fist against me? Let me tell you. I am Gu Tianle the Warrior-God!"

Yi Ping was startled. Who had never heard of Gu Tianle before? He was the only one that deserved the title of Warrior-God. His martial abilities were renowned throughout the martial fraternity for the past twenty-years! Twenty-years, he had single-handedly stormed into the most powerful heretic sect in the martial fraternity, the Holy Hex Sect and defeated the most powerful heretic martial exponent leader Ji Yunzhong. That earned him the title of Warrior-God!

From then on, the various heretic sects and unorthodox clans began to lie low. This was the result of his resounding act!

Gu Tianle shouted, "If you still do not display your true martial origin, don't blame me for not warning you!"

Yi Ping knew that Gu Tianle was only playing with him and he could sense that his incoming blows were getting more and more furious and more intricate.

He decided to display the Shadow Kick Skill that he had picked up from Qiao Feng the Shadow Kicker. But to his surprise, Gu Tianle simply blocked his shadow kicks with his forearm and all of a sudden, he became enraged, "Who is Qiao Feng to you?"

This time, he was no longer teasing with Yi Ping and struck him on his chest. This sent Yi Ping violently backward with a crushing sound. Yi Ping was stunned that despite the Shadow Kicks and the frontal defense that he had positioned, Gu Tianle could punch through him so easily!

Yi Ping rubbed away the blood off his mouth and spat, "I have nothing to do with Qiao Feng!"

Gu Tianle hummed coldly, "If you are not related to Qiao Feng, where did you learn the Shadow Kick Skill from?"

Yi Ping said coldly, "I do not need to explain to you!"

The reason why Gu Tianle had been so upset with Qiao Feng was because he had lost his arm in an ambush by Qiao Feng the Shadow Kicker and his sworn brother, Ye Lu the Lightning God.

Gu Tianle raised the martial power in his palm and shouted, "Let see if you can withstand this!"

Yi Ping stood up defiantly and raised all his martial power in both his palms to accept the incoming attack.

Gongsun Jing shouted, "Young hero, it is dangerous for you. You risk death by"

But Yi Ping paid him no heed. There was a crashing force and a thunderous clapping sound as Yi Ping was flung all the way till he crashed onto the wall!

Gu Tianle had only use miniscule strength but he was surprised that Yi Ping had so much martial power for a young man like him. He thought, "Isn't he the old freak's disciple?" It was because at the moment of impact, he had felt the cold negative radiance force of his internal strength.

Gu Tianle did not know that Yi Ping internal strength was the Icy Heavenly Tears or else he would surely be in a greater surprise.

Most internal strength forces displayed by the martial fraternity were positive types. Only a few such as the Eternal Ice Palace, the Holylight Sect and the Southern Sword Sect used the negative types. It was because negative type progressions were generally slower and dangerous to practice alone. That was why these sects were usually seclusion sects and rarely interfere in the affairs of the martial fraternity.

But before Gu Tianle could ask him further, Yi Ping had jumped off from the second floor of the tavern!

They were astonished that Yi Ping still had the strength to escape.

Gongsun Jing sighed, "We have injured him and if he dies, I will not feel good. All I want is just to befriend him"

The Monk who real name was Jue Yuan said, "He is severely injured and cannot go too far away. Let me get him to the residence to recuperate so that we can show him we do not meant him any harm."

With that, Jue Yuan jumped down from the second storey of the tavern to pursue Yi Ping!

A crowd had already gathered when the commotion started. They began to praise Gongsun Jing, "Young Master Gongsun is a compassionate hero that is kind even to his enemies!"

Someone cursed Yi Ping, "It isn't Young Master Gongsun fault. I witness the act. That young man was just an insolence and arrogant thing. He is probably an enemy of the Gongsun Residence in the first place!"

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