>>36546406

>Previously...
>After defeating and driving off the Five Deadly Venoms in a close battle where Duan Lei and Sky revealed their ability to work together and Zhu'er showed that perhaps she's hardly as helpless as she seemed, the three of you had to get a new room at a different inn and Zhu'er revealed more of her unfortunate family difficulties. After some soul-searching and a visit from an extremely frustrating Buddhist monk, Tiankong made a decision that will shape his immediate future...

>>36546507

You wake up having that dream about your father again, and like every morning you shake it off.

Sleeping itself wasn't easy; this bed is HUGE compared to the cot you used to use, and it's silken sheets are very comfortable but were very hard for you to get used to, so you ended up doing your breathing exercises until you were too tired to stay up anymore.

As you wake up and run through them again, you wonder about what Zhu'er said about your much more powerful then average neijia for your age, wondering if it has to do with what your father said about exercise; that the more extreme the exercise the more strength you build in your muscles.

Perhaps the intense stress you put your internal energy through whenever you practice Heaven's Blessings follows the same principle? You also remember him saying that too much exercise could seriously injure someone, and what is trying to control the raw power created by forcing your Yin and Yang apart if not risking your health in such a fashion?

You finish, the concentrated spark of lightning fading as you complete your morning training, and get up.

>WDYD?

>Breakfast Time!

>Meet Duan Lei at the city gates earlier then you planned, so you can get your politics lesson in faster!

>>36546406
Alright another day in the china that never was! Thanks for the lore-bin sage. I hope to see more of the monk, he helps make Sky feel a bit more fallible without being insulting.

Question: is it a law in the Wulin that every young Zia must have long flowing locks with possible bedhead?

>>36546713
>Breakfast Time!

>>36546713
breakfast

>>36546726
I suppose you'll find out later in this very thread!

>>36546713
>>Breakfast Time!
The most important meal of the day!

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>>36546726, >>36546761, >>36546980

As you head downstairs you see Zhu'er has already ordered food for you, which you much appreciate; a dish of fried mantou with sweetened milk and some kind of local Sichuan spicy beef noodle soup. It seems like EVERYTHING in Sichuan is pretty spicy actually.

You end up sitting next to Zhu'er (she offered the seat anyway), and take some amusement in her desire to eat daintily and shovel food into her mouth at the same time; the conflict of being a proper rich daughter and also being a poor thief you imagine.

Duan Lei walks downstairs, buckling his saber onto his shoulders, talking the entire time as he grabs a few mantou and heads for the door.

"Gotta go take care of some personal business, so don't wait up. Bro, I'll meet you at the eastern road gate at noon so we can check out the dignitaries from the Wulin passing through. Until then you have the morning to yourselves!"

He winks at you for some reason, and Zhu'er face palms at it.

>WDYS?

>"So, you owe teaching me how to hide my presence like you do!"

>"Where do you suppose he's off to?"

>>36547093
Both.
First bottom then the upper one.

ask her why he winked

>>36547093
>"So, you owe teaching me how to hide my presence like you do!"

>>36547093

>"So, you owe teaching me how to hide my presence like you do!"

>>36547093
>>"So, you owe teaching me how to hide my presence like you do!"

>>36547199, >>36547236, >>36547265, >>36547311

"Why did he wink?" you ask between a mouthful of soup.

"Never mind. He's probably out on his way to a duel," she says, continuing to eat.

"What?! I should...," you begin, sitting up from your chair, but she stops you with a touch to your hand.

"Relax, it probably isn't a duel to the death or anything like that. Last night while you were out he got a visitor with a Challenge Letter. He seemed pretty excited about it, so he was probably in Chengdu in the first place for it," she explains.

"Not for the tournament?"

"Maybe that too, but since so many Xia are coming to see it there's always a high chance of meeting a rival you don't usually see. I hear property has been damaged all over the place since the week started over duels and feuds and such. It's actually kind of weird."

"Oh. Well that's good. I'd hate to have to kick his ass later. By the way, you owe me that presence hiding technique thing, like you said," you say with a pointed finger as you sip the milk.

"Yeah, I remember. I'll teach you today," she says nodding.

There's a brief pause, and then she blinks in-between bites.

"Wait, what do you MEAN 'kick his ass later?"

"In the Top Ten Young Heroes Tournament."

"WHAT?!" she shouts, getting up and slamming her hands on the table.

>WDYS?

>"Keep your voice down, people are trying to eat!" [Tease]

>"What's the big deal?" [Nonchalant]

>>36547534
>"Keep your voice down, people are trying to eat!" [Tease]

>>36547534
"Keep your voice down, people are trying to eat!"

No way we're - aren't - gonna tease her.

>>36547534
>>"Keep your voice down, people are trying to eat!" [Tease]

>>36547534
>>"Keep your voice down, people are trying to eat!" [Tease]
Didn't they teach you table manners at home, young lady?

"I'm told it's rude to shout in a public place," you point out with a smirk.

"Why in Diyu would you do that?! It's crazy!" she says, completely ignoring you for once.

"Why? It's a public tournament isn't it?" you say, shrugging. You suspect you're missing a piece of crucial information here.

"Yes but....what about finding your father?"

"Actually, this is part of that."

"I fail to see the correlation!"

"It's like you said; Chengdu is just too big for me to search all of it when I don't even know who took him or even my father's past. They might have even moved past here already and I wouldn't even know it, so just blindly looking isn't going to work," you explain.

She stops, unsure of where you're going with this.

"So I'm going to need help and influence, something to help me keep looking. I suppose I could start using my skills to make money and do whatever the hell I need to do to form my own clan or school, but I get the feeling that it would take forever...,"

"Years," she agrees.

"So that option just isn't going to work. However if I make a lot of noise in this tournament, show off my style, SOMEBODY has to see that I share my father's school. Like you said, he's going to have SOME kind of history, even if I don't know it, right? And if I do well I might actually get some kind of recognition faster," you explain.

"But...you kept saying your father didn't approve of politics in the Wulin? Isn't this going against his wishes?

"My father got kidnapped and following his teachings won't help me find him within the next decade," you dryly point out.

Though honestly the real decision-maker for you was that mouthy monk who showed up last night. He convinced you to make the decision when he-

Wait. No. YOU convinced yourself.
Because his advice was dumb.

"I guess that makes sense...," she says, sounding hesitant for some reason.

>WDYS?

>"It IS an open tournament right?" [Inquire Tournament]

>"Why does the idea bother you so much anyway?" [Inquire Zhu'er]

>>36548043
>"Why does the idea bother you so much anyway?" [Inquire Zhu'er]
Is it her natural instinct as a runaway and thief to avoid attention?

>>36548043
>"Why does the idea bother you so much anyway?" [Inquire Zhu'er]

>>36548043
>>"Why does the idea bother you so much anyway?" [Inquire Zhu'er]

>>36548043
>"Why does the idea bother you so much anyway?" [Inquire Zhu'er]

She's cute

>>36548043
>"Why does the idea bother you so much anyway?" [Inquire Zhu'er]

>>36548043
Apologies for slow reply at the moment.

>>36548406
Just got here. Would it be inappropriate to tease her by musing that she herself intends to enter the tournament under some alias?

>>36548490
Pretty in character for Sky so far actually, heh.

huh must be internet problems for wulin he usually doesn't take this long

>>36548091, >>36548151, >>36548151, >>36548167, >>36548176, >>36548360, >>36548490

"I'm not sure why this would bother you. Weren't you the one who said I had to admit the Wulin is a bit more complicated then my father taught?"

"Well....YES, but your first activity in the Wulin being entering the Top Ten Young Heroes Tournament is a little much!"

"I just fought off the Five Deadly Venoms yesterday."

"Yeah, you fought them OFF and if I recall correctly I had to save you afterwards?"

"Still a pretty good first try!" you protest.

"Why? You thinking of entering?"

"Sure, as someone who ran away from home I REALLY want to draw THAT much attention to myself," she points out dryly.

"Under an alias maybe?"

"I have GREEN HAIR."

"Yeah, that'd put a damper in changing the name I guess!" you say with a laugh.

"Besides Sky, just because it's an open tournament doesn't mean it's a good idea or you have a chance to win. Most of the actual hopefuls are sent special invitations by the host, and while anyone else can compete their chances are generally considered pretty low for victory. Even then members without important cliques backing them tend to not enter anyway out of respect. Only ludicrously powerful people like Storm Dragon Feng Renshu and Sword Devil Dugu Qiubai ever did things like that, and they were such powerful martial artists that they could defeat entire lesser factions single-handedly!"

>>36549041
oh we are soo entering this tournament

>>36549041
But
We
ARE THE LIGHTNING

>>36549117
Yup.

>>36549041
>Storm Dragon Feng Renshu

"What sect was he with?"
[urge to test legends intensifies.]

>>36549041

"Well maybe I'm the next Storm Dog and Sword Dude, you don't know," you say, folding your arms in a playfully stubborn way.

"Storm DRAGON and Sword DEVIL. And you're pretty good Sky, but you aren't THAT good. They were two of the most powerful xia to have ever lived, and you had trouble with the Venoms, who AREN'T world-shaking material."

"Yeah, I hadn't actually heard of the Venoms before Lei told me about them, heh. Or the other two either," you admit with an amused chuckle.

"I can't imagine a single reason why your father would so diligently train you in martial arts and yet leave you so woefully uneducated in Wulin matters," she says exasperatedly.

>You briefly flash back..

>Young Sky: "Dad, why's the Wulin important? You talk about it a lot but never explain anything."
>Grouchy Morning Sifu: "That's stupid book-learnings for girly pansies without strength. Now head out into the yard, today we're going to practice dodging."
>Young Sky: "Dodging what?"
>Grouchy Morning Sifu: "High-velocity acorns."

>Flashback End!

"Yeah, I'm sure he had...really great reasons," you say, wincing.

To this day you feel nervous sitting under oak trees.

>>36549256
Hah. Get Gud son then you won't have to worry about all that pinky in the air for your tea party bullshit. Now... DOOOOOOODDGGGEEE!

>>36549256
god dam Ba is just to awesome

>That's stupid book-learnings for girly pansies without strength.
love it

>>36549256
wonder if sky might have had an at least temporary fear of acorns before sifu found a new way to potentialy traumatice him

>>36549256, >>36549155

"What sects were Sword Devil and Storm Dragon a part of anyway?" you ask.

"That's what I was trying to say, they weren't part of any existing Wulin faction and neither took any students. They DID succeed in open tournaments, but they were anomalies, not anything approaching regular occurrences."

"What happened to them?" you ask, curious about the legends of the Wulin.

"They both died. Sword Devil lived over six centuries ago and Storm Dragon over two decades ago. Both just vanished one day, and most people think they committed suicide."

"Why would someone so powerful kill themselves?" you wonder, not comprehending.

"Because they'd gotten SO powerful their abilities alienated them from everyone around them. Without conflict to test yourself there's no point in gaining martial skill in the Wulin of course." she explains.

"Well, I'm entering anyway. The point isn't winning, it's getting enough attention that I can find Ba better."

You DO kind of want to win though. I mean, you hardly ever got to practice with anyone aside from Ba, now you get to learn about other schools and styles and stuff, which given your narrow education is pretty interesting to you.

She sighs.

"Okay. But we're going shopping first. Right now."

>WDYD?

>"Yeah, no way." [Refuse]

>"What does SHOPPING have to do with the tournament?" [Agree. You've got time until noon anyway.]

>>36549532
>"What does SHOPPING have to do with the tournament?" [Agree. You've got time until noon anyway.]

>>36549532
>>"What does SHOPPING have to do with the tournament?" [Agree. You've got time until noon anyway.]

i think this is a date but sky wont see it

>>36549532
>>"What does SHOPPING have to do with the tournament?" [Agree. You've got time until noon anyway.]

>>36549532
>"What does SHOPPING have to do with the tournament?" [Agree. You've got time until noon anyway.]

Storm Dragon disappeared 2 decades ago? Remind me how old is Sky?

>>36549532
>"What does SHOPPING have to do with the tournament?" [Agree. You've got time until noon anyway.]

Any bets on Storm Dragon being Ba?

>>36549617
20

>>36549684
uh huh
>>36549629
Easy money

>>36549629
Well, we do know that Sky doesn't actually know his father's name. So maybe, yeah.

>>36549573, >>36549602, >>36549607, >>36549607, >>36549617, >>36549629

"I'm....not seeing the correlation between shopping and my entering the tournament," you say, narrowing your eyes in case this is a trick of hers.

"Because you dress like a member of the Beggar's Fraternity," she says calmly, obviously not attempting to spare your feelings.

"What's WRONG with the way I dress?!" you say, raising your voice.

"Keep your voice down, we're in a public place!" she admonishes.

"So what's wrong with it?" you ask again, quieter this time.

"I just said. You look like a member of the Begger's Sect."

"Begger's have a sect?" you say, confused.

"Yeah, I'll leave Lei to explain the details. They seem more his type of people anyway."

>>36549900
What's wrong with looking like someone from the Beggar's Sect? They sound cool.

>>36549900
because poor people are icky

>>36550072
They are. The Beggar's Fraternity, despite being filthy hobos, are usually portrayed as some of the most virtuous members of the jianghu. They're good guys, I'd be happy with Sky making friends with them.

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>>36549900

Eventually she drags you out of the inn to go shopping for CLOTHES of all things.

You run all over this one distract of town looking at a bewildering array of garments of various sizes and types, most of which you don't even have names for off the top of your head.

Even MORE embarrassingly, she has you BATHE, having a bunch of alarmingly strong grooming experts practically drag you back into a bath and force you into the water as they wash your old clothes...except you're pretty sure you heard Zhu'er tell them to burn them.

You were going to have to fight your way out, but Zhu'er managed to get your sword away from you when making you hold clothes and then did something weird to your pressure points, greatly reducing your strength.

You silently vow bloody vengeance upon her household as you sit helplessly in a bath tub while your long scraggly hair is scrubbed by a bunch of guys who on occasion mention to you that "when the missus gets this way it's best just to do what she says until she calms down, she'll be happier for weeks later."

You silently vow bloody vengeance upon their households too.

Eventually you come out dressed in cleaner and admittedly decently-fitting clothes, but a lot...FANCIER then the firs and stuff you used to wear.

You feel like some kind of doll.

"Don't laugh," you say to Zhu'er, who's eyes widen in surprise.

"I...um...."

"DON'T laugh!"

>>36550191
So, Sky is a bishie.

>>36550191
if that pic is anything to go by sky is looking FIIINEEE, and has no reason to complain

>>36550191
Oh, aren't we every inch the image of a gallant swordsman? Nice. I imagine we probably don't have the clockwork sword, though. What is that thing for, anyway? Doesn't quite look like a gun.

>>36550253
We're in a wuxia setting, EVERYONE is bishonen or bishoujo if they can manage it. It's just how it works.

>>36550191
is that what sky looks like cause if so the ladies will accost him every were he will go he is a 10/10

his suit up music
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IsUsVbTj2AY

>>36550253
It's sort of a rule among Wuxia heroes. Sky requires a great deal of cleaning to get there, and given his "earthy" backround shall we say is somewhat resistant to it.
Because it will probably never come up; how the hell else do you think Sky's Ba managed to procreate? Not because of his stellar personality, I tell you that much.
>>36550270
He was covered in dirt for 20 years, he feels naked without his Protective Earth Armor Method
>>36550285
No idea. It's from the third Chinese Paladin game. I had to look for SOMETHING to visually represent Tiankong since I have no drawing ability whatsoever and since 'kinda like Koei's Zhao Yun' was my first pic I went with something close but not identical, especially since Sky would HATE wearing armor.
>>36550294
I believe the phrase is 'Sploosh'.

DRAGON TIGER GATE INTENSIFIES

>>36550428
Hopefully with less 50-year-old Donnie Yen trying to pass as a teenager. Yikes.

>>36550411
So it IS a rule for young Xia to have long hair. Gotcha.

>>36550191
Zhu'er must contain her lady boner

It's a shame we didn't meet someone from the Hobo sect before we got clean. They may have made us an honorary brother!

>>36550411
> how the hell else do you think Sky's Ba managed to procreate?

Gonna be completely honest here, I assumed we were a foster child acquired from some enemy Ba killed the fuck out of felt remorse for. Then our biological family assumed Ba had killed us too, only deepening their feud with him. After realizing that he couldn't raise a kid while constantly fighting off assassins, Ba said fuck it and became a hermit, teaching us martial arts mainly so he'd have something to do while bored out of his mind in self imposed exile. The great irony being that Ba has a generation of legitimate bastards a couple years older than us jut about ready to break onto the Tournament scene.

That was my guess anyway.

>>36550515

Really? He looked young, well so is jackie

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2 MB WEBM

>>36550515
50 Year old Donnie Yen playing as 50 year old Martial Masters is best Donnie Yen

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>>36550191

"I WASN'T going to laugh!" she protests.

"Yes you were, I could see you smiling!"

"No! Because...because I got you this scabbard while you were in the bath!" she says, holding out from behind her back your saber, now in a handsome new sheath.

You take it. It's black with a dark blue dragon design on it, with silver ornamentation across it. It's probably finer made and classier then the weapon itself is.

"Kinda like me in these clothes...," you say under your breath.

"What?"

"Thanks. This is...really cool actually. The scabbard I had was in pretty bad condition," you say, giving her a genuine smile.

She seems to blush even MORE when you smile at her, so much so that you're worried she'll pass out right there.

He smiles rather brilliantly even when dirty. When he's cleaned up the effect is somewhat enhanced.

"S...so, do you want me to come with you when you go meet Duan Lei?" she asks, stammering.

>WDYS?

>"No, I can get there faster on my own. Besides, the Venoms are still out there and I'm worried that they might show up watching all the dignitaries." [Refuse Politely]

>"Sure, if you want. You might be kinda bored, we're going to be going over stuff you already know." [Accept]

>>36551145
>>"Sure, if you want. You might be kinda bored, we're going to be going over stuff you already know." [Accept]

>>36551145
>"Sure, if you want. You might be kinda bored, we're going to be going over stuff you already know." [Accept]

>>36551145
>>"Sure, if you want. You might be kinda bored, we're going to be going over stuff you already know." [Accept]
i dont think our bro would recognize sky

>>36551145
>"Sure, if you want. You might be kinda bored, we're going to be going over stuff you already know." [Accept]

We must show Lei our newly acquired technique.

The one that makes the ladies sploosh.

>>36551145
>>"Sure, if you want. You might be kinda bored, we're going to be going over stuff you already know." [Accept]

>>36551145
>>"Sure, if you want. You might be kinda bored, we're going to be going over stuff you already know." [Accept]

>>36551170, >>36551189, >>36551196, >>36551220, >>36551229, >>36551259

"Alright. It might be boring though...," you admit.

"Oh, I think I'll find something to look at while you and Lei talk," she says as you walk past, holding a smile on her face.

You walk through the market with her, attracting a lot more attention then normal, which embarrasses you; you KNEW you looked stupid in this stuff.

Zhu'er doesn't seem to mind though, and in fact hangs onto you the entire time looking rather pleased with herself.

You're about to ask her to let go when a VERY loud shout behind you breaks up the streets.

"ANDAAAAA!!!!"

"Eh?" Zhu'er says, mirroring your thoughts as you both turn, only you to be suddenly ensnared in a HUGELY strong bone-crushing grip and carried into the air in a single powerful leap which carries you away from the streets towards the rooftops!

"ANDAAAA!!!" the ridiculously strong man says as you fly through the air as he slowly crushes the life out of you in a grip that seems fully designed to kill bears and tigers!

>WDYD?

>Must...break....free! [Counter-Attack however you can!]

>Use the First Form to shock him loose! [Risk injury while your breathing is restricted!]

>>36551476
>>Must...break....free! [Counter-Attack however you can!]
who the fuck is this?

>>36551476
>>Use the First Form to shock him loose! [Risk injury while your breathing is restricted!]

>>36551476
>>Must...break....free! [Counter-Attack however you can!]
Use pressure points! Wait, do we know those?`

>>36551476
>Use the First Form to shock him loose! [Risk injury while your breathing is restricted!]

>>36551533
Actually, did our pressure points ever get reset or are we still half incapacitated?

>>36551476
>Must...break....free! [Counter-Attack however you can!]

>>36551476
>Must...break....free! [Counter-Attack however you can!]

Neat a Mongolian, I wonder why he thinks we're his Anda though.

>>36551476
>Must...break....free! [Counter-Attack however you can!]
Brace against his body and Traverse the Instant BAD END

>>36551476
>>Must...break....free! [Counter-Attack however you can!]

>>36551553
Thankfully, yes.
>>36551504, >>36551533, >>36551557, >>36551616, >>36551686, >>36551702


You wiggle your arms free (oh gods, they're almost numb from his grip, who the fuck is this guy) and slam your elbows down onto his back...which does nothing at all apparently.

Eventually you land, smashing into the rooftop hard enough to send tiles everywhere!

You lie there, barely exhaling as he gets up off you!

"ANDA! Where you go Anda!? Miss you!" the huge guy says in broken Chinese.

He's actually not hideous-looking, being rather handsome in his furs and doe skins. His ears have some kind of gold earrings in them and he has beads in his hair made out of silver, as well as a bow on his back and a large saber at his side.

"...the...fuck is an anda?" you say as you stagger to your feet and take up an awkward combat stance, trying to catch your breath.

"Anda's an anda! Anda looks different!" he says, patting you up and down.

You hear cries from across the street, and town guards armed with sabers approach, shouting at the man to "halt!"

The doe-skinned man's eyes suddenly turn serious, and then he draws his saber as for once your quick-thinking mind utterly fails to process what's going on.

"Anda! I lead them off! Remember promise!" he says, then giving a war-cry he leaps away and the guards chase after him, leaving you setting there completely flabbergasted.

>>36551804
Well that was, uh...

>>36551804
>>36551616
what does anda even mean?

>>36551804
im even more confused then i was last post

>>36551804
I think we just found our husbando
sorry Zhu'er

>>36551804
Who the hell was that?!

>>36551804
Well, looks like we met someone who might have been one of our fathers friends...

>>36551839
"Brother" I think. Not unlike sworn brother.

>>36551804
Sword dude? Is that really you after all this time?

>>36551804

You sit there, totally uncomprehending of what just happened, and decide he was probably insane, which might explain his language and....everything else.

As you see him sailing away, you realize his Lightfoot Skill is INSANELY good; you can't even see what street you were originally on before he grabbed you!

Think Hulk-jumps, with a corresponding level of property damage.

"I'll just....pretend this never happened. I ate too much spicy stuff, obviously."

>WDYD?

>Try and find Zhu'er.

>Go meet Brother Lei; safety in numbers against flying crazy people.

>>36551970
>>Try and find Zhu'er

>>36551970
>>Try and find Zhu'er.

>>36551970

>Try and find Zhu'er.
>Go meet Brother Lei; safety in numbers against flying crazy people.
In this order.

>>36551970
well that was odd.....

>>36551970
>>Try and find Zhu'er.

>>36551970
>Try and find Zhu'er.
Grab'er and go find Bro Lei

That is
>Secure the princess
>Rendezvous with the swordsman

>>36551970
>>Try and find Zhu'er.
Can't leave her on her own, she might start stealing fish again.

>>36551970
>Try and find Zhu'er.

>Go meet Brother Lei; safety in numbers against flying crazy people.

>>36552003, >>36552007, >>36552013, >>36552027, >>36552033, >>36552034, >>36552036

You get off the roof and land on the street with a slight and somewhat unmanly "ow...!" as you feel a jolt up your spine upon impact.

You begin looking around for which direct you....uh, FLEW from, and decide to make a rough guess and start looking.

You still get all those weird stares (especially from women), which makes you even more uncomfortable alone then when you were with Zhu'er.

At some point you get turned around and end up in...the river port?

There's a huge crowd of people gathering around on area, muttering to themselves. A lot look like xia to you.

>WDYD?

>Ignore them. LAST time that happened you met a dickwack who probably helped kidnap your father.

>On the other hand, he's already kidnapped so a look couldn't hurt....

>>36552201
>Ignore them. LAST time that happened you met a dickwack who probably helped kidnap your father.

>>36552201
>On the other hand, he's already kidnapped so a look couldn't hurt....
But if it isn't someone we recognize we leave immediately.

>>36552201
>On the other hand, he's already kidnapped so a look couldn't hurt....
Can't miss a gathering of xia.

>>36552201
>On the other hand, he's already kidnapped so a look couldn't hurt....

>>36552201

>On the other hand, he's already kidnapped so a look couldn't hurt....

Could be a clue

>>36552201
>Ignore them. LAST time that happened you met a dickwack who probably helped kidnap your father.

>>36552201
>>On the other hand, he's already kidnapped so a look couldn't hurt....
apparently no nice date with Zhu'er

>>36552201
>On the other hand, he's already kidnapped so a look couldn't hurt....

>>36552201
>>On the other hand, he's already kidnapped so a look couldn't hurt....

>>36552201
>>On the other hand, he's already kidnapped so a look couldn't hurt....
Just a quick peek before we're on our way.

>>36552237, >>36552244, >>36552247, >>36552250, >>36552261, >>36552266, >>36552277, >>36552327

You head over, curious as to what's going on.

As you arrive, you see what they're all watching a HUGE warship arrive (wow the Yangzhe River is big, one flanked by smaller ships. It flies a flag; white an azure dragon entwined with a huge guan dao with blue-green blade crossed with a jian sword.

"Can you believe the BALLS on them coming here?" one xia, a man with a sword held in his hand in it's scabbard says to you. "Right here in front of everyone!"

His friend, a man with a saber nods. "Half of the Empire wants them in the ground too. Someone's going to try and take them out while they're here, obviously."

Another, a man with nothing by his hands wrapped in bandages shakes his head. "No way, that's why they brought all those extra guards. If we all took them on here he'd be breaking the Yuan Clan's hospitality and the Tang Clan's neutrality. Sichuan's not the Central Plains for a reason remember," he says.

"I wonder what they even want? Money? Not tribute certainly...," the swordsman says.

"Shit...you don't think they're here to ask the aid for the Yuan or the Tang?" the brawler asks, sounding worried.

"Maybe...the Yuan Clan would pass up, but the Tang? Who knows what the hell those guys are thinking..."

>>36552624
Some serious shit is about to hit the fan during the tournament I just know it I can feel it in my bones

>>36552624
Pfft, politics it seems. Let's look for Zhu'er and leave those ying and yang clans to their devices.

>>36552769
why would any thing happen we are just a random no name xia that will win the tournament that some one rigged what could go wrong

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>>36552624

You keep your mouth shut, having no idea what they're talking about, but mighty curious about these ships now. They're also bigger and more awesome then anything you've seen; even the local palace here looks weak by comparison.

As they land, a small army of thugs comes out. They appear a mix of rough-looking armed sailors and something like...soldiers you guess, but more lightly armored, and mostly with sabers and other close-combat weapons rather then spears.

Some look not much different then the bandits you slew, but the others look far more professional. All have the same blue-green livery where cloth is present.

Finally someone who must be....their leader, you guess, steps down from the ship, and they ALL bow to her, placing their right clenched fist on their left shoulder.

What surprises you is that it's a woman; she looks about your age, and thus is a head shorter then most of the huge guys around her, but they show her more absolute deferral then you did your father, and then they flank her while standing well behind her as she moves down the dock.

Also? She's the most beautiful woman can possibly imagine. Actually, scratch that; your imagination isn't that good.

She wears the same blue-green colors, and in her off-hand carries a jian sword, which is extremely long at about four feet in length, much longer then usual. Her hairs is even longer, this luxurious shining black color that goes past her knees, which she wears with a comb in her hair made out of silver, pearls, and sapphires.

She strides down the plank with absolute surety in her steps, and moves down the dock with the same sense of confidence and purpose.

Weirdly, she's wearing somewhat unfeminine boots.

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>>36552831
I dunno man it seems legit

>>36552873
>they show her more absolute deferral then you did your father
that can't be hard, we're very bratty

>>36552945
Too true, too true. Then again Ba's personality isn't all that great either

>>36552873
River pirates?

>>36552873
Wait until Sky finds out its a guy. I wonder if she's here for the tournament and these guys are her just her escorts /mercenaries.

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>>36552873

"Is...wait, who the hell is that?" the brawler says, clearly as awed by the sight as you are, though he's even more surprised. Given his reaction, you think he was expecting someone else.

"Is that his wife?" the saberman wonders aloud. "She's...wow, she's beautiful."

"She's way too young for that. It must be his daughter, the one who making a name for herself recently," the swordsman says.

"Then why's she here? Maybe she's the envoy to the Yuan Cla-" he saberman says, then a man with a staff who looks like you used to earlier wearing rags and carrying a pair of bags interrupts.

"She's here for the tournament, clearly. She's the right age for it," he says, using his pinky to clean out earwax.

"What!?" someone says, and half the group turns to him.

"No way!"

"Impossible! That's even worse then-"

"How can she even think of entering-"

The beggar speaks, shrugging. "The Yuan Clan is hospitable and they're hosting. The Tang Clan provides security and they're neutral. Even if they're on outs with the Empire they can come here and participate in a political situation like that."

>>36546406
Glad you finally made this thread lol. "Later today" my ass haha. <3

>>36553087
Ok, we absolutely must participate in the tournament. Not even our Bro can turn our head.

>>36553087

The soldiers go and clear a path through the crow, who reluctantly part thanks to their numbers and obvious willingness to start a fight, and the girl doesn't stop, obviously assured that her steps will go uninterrupted.

"Stand aside," one soldier says, reaching out for you.

>Oblige.

>Don't Oblige.

>>36553213
"Who am I standing aside for?"

Oblivious

>>36553213
>>Oblige.

>>36553213
>>Oblige.
Of course we'll step aside for the pretty lady.

>>36553213
>Oblige.
No need to make a fuss.

>>36553213
>Oblige

We're making way for a lady. We have some manners, probably.

>>36553213
>Don't Oblige
"And why would I do that?"
c'mon we're arrogant no? Lets act the part

>>36553213
>Oblige.

>>36553213
>Oblige.
Tip our nonexistant fedo... I mean futou, nonexistant futou.

>>36553294
Sky's not arrogant, he's impetuous. Subtle but important difference.

>>36553213
>Oblige.
There is no need to be upset.

>>36553332
Yeah, but I thought we admired achievements brought about your OWN strength, not standing on the backs of others who came before you and expecting others to bow down for something you didn't do

>>36553370
>>36553213

Dude, if we stand aside we can
catch a glimpse of her ass.

Also what are the odds the missus spots this handsome countryman wearing a gentleman's clothes?
>I want trouble

I still love Zhu'er though~

>>36553370
I don't think there is any reason to believe she didn't earn that devotion. It just seems rude to me to ask us to move without announcing her.

>>36553433
I agree with that 100% i'ts one of the reasons why I don't want to move it's rather rude and arrogant.

>>36553370
What does this have to do with not stepping aside for a lady? Alright, so her guard was rude to us, but that's no reason to involve her. Respond to words with words.

>>36553407
Pretty sure Sky isn't a lech. Yet.

>>36553489
>yet
Keyworrd

>>36553254, >>36553256, >>36553261, >>36553281, >>36553300, >>36553320, >>36553367

You step aside, not sure about facing these guys down with your ribs and back still hurting from ANDAAAAA guy's bone-shattering grip.

You still stand close enough to get a better look at her as she walks past, eyes closed and head slightly lowered, even as her stride is confident and purposeful.

Wow. Her uh...whole figure is pretty nice. Her clothing is elegant, but it doesn't even bother hiding how well-built she is. Somehow you think this woman is pretty proud of whatever she's got...which is a lot from the look of her.

"Oh yeah. Definitely entering the tournament. Totally worth it if I get to up close with her,"

"Watch your tongue, knave!" the soldier says, and the brawler next to you agrees with a nod.

"Yeah, her father may be a traitor, but she's definitely nice to look at. She's supposed to be an absolute terror though, just like her mother," he comments.

"I said hold your TONGUES, knaves!" the guard says.

>Oblige.

>Do not oblige.

>>36553489
that's why I put >>36553294

>>36553529
>>Do not oblige.
Standing out of the way of a large group is one thing, but our speech is our own and doesn't interfere with their passage.

>>36553529
>Do not oblige.

>>36553561
Agreed

>>36553529
>Do not oblige
You come to this city as visitors and tell it's residents how to speak? How arrogant.

>>36553529
>roll eyes
If they engage, we engaged.

>>36553529
>Do not oblige
"We share the path, but my thoughts and my words are my own. Besides, it was a compliment. Would you rather I called her a hideous hag?"

>>36553529
>Do not oblige.
I can say what I want sir. I wasn't talking to you.

>>36553529
>Do not oblige.

>KNAVE
NOW IT'S PERSONAL
HOBO BRIGADE ASSEMBLE

LEI, THE SWORD & BOTTLE MASTER
ZHU'ER, POISONOUS MARTIAL ARTIST GOING THROUGH A GLAM-ROCK PHASE

>>36553529
>>Do not oblige.
Nah, we like our wagging tongue just fine.

>>36553529
Do not oblige

I would like to point out that a wagging tongue from an adept young martial artist is how many wuxia romances start as well.

>>36553529
Do not oblige

"A woman like her deserves a more courteous servant than you!"

>>36553529
The soldier forgot to use the magic word.

>>36553717
>Abracadabra! Hold your tongues!

>>36553732
Alakazam

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>>36553561, >>36553573, >>36553590, >>36553612, >>36553617, >>36553619, >>36553643, >>36553657, >>36553714

"Howzabout you go fuck yourself?" you say off-handedly

"W-what?!" the guard says, his hand going towards his saber.

"You heard me big guy. It's a free jianghu last time I checked, I don't care how important your boss thinks he is to me. Or she." you clarify.

"You'll learn some manners if I have to-!" he says, grabbing your shoulder.

So of course you grab his wrists and exert your inner energy and with one arm you flip him over onto his back without any visible effort on your part.

There's a hushed silence.

"Oh shit," someone in the crowd says.

"YOU!" a young man barely older then you with heavily tanned skin who looks awfully foreign to you says, pointing his finger. He's wearing armor (equally foreign) and at his side is holding some kind of very long saber in a scabbard that you've never seen before. His hair is done up in a slight topknot, and he'd probably be considered good-looking if he weren't so pissed-off in features.

Or maybe he mad you flipped that guy.

"Yeah?" you ask, folding your arms.

"You DARE attack us in a neutral city?"

"He started it pal. Maybe your goons need better manners, I'm sure someone around here could teach them to 'em. This guy for one," you say, pointing a thumb at the knowledgeable hobo-guy, who waves happily and gives a stupid smile.

>>36553698
so is catching them trying to steal form you

>>36553951
>the knowledgeable hobo-guy, who waves happily and gives a stupid smile
...another potential MC?

>>36553951
>a young man barely older then you with heavily tanned skin who looks awfully foreign to you says, pointing his finger
...another potential MC?

>>36553955
oh, I wasn't arguing against there being a Zhu'er romance, I'm just saying we're totally setting off the start of one with this lady as well.

>>36554015
well sky is harem MC dense when it come to women

>>36553951
Wait a minute...father a traitor, mother an "absolute terror", bodyguard a foreigner and the lady wears sensible boots. Shit, they're some sort of pirate royalty, aren't they?

>>36553698
The plan is to repeat this technique whenever we meet a female martial artist, right?

>>36554015
Honestly with the way the genre works, if we don't end up bedding both of them and setting off a rivalry between the two I'll be a little surprised (and we'll have fucked up somewhere).

Love triangles are like some kind of compulsory Jianghu rite of passage. I'm liking our options so far!

Also, the hobo-guy is totally a Beggar's Sect dude.

>>36553951
>>36553951
"If you start shit you get hit. Tell them, (hobo) guy"

>>36554069
I did suggest earlier that these might be river pirates. Though I've no idea how close to sea we are.

>>36553951

"You....," he begins reaching for his saber, taking a wide-legged stance

"Lord Sho! Let us handle this knave! No need to dirty your blade like-" one says, but "Sho" interrupts him

"No! By insulting my men he's insulted ME, and I deal with my insults personally," he says, thumbing out the saber from it's long scabbard, reaching over to draw it. Weird technique...

"Now, fool, we'll see if your sword is as swift as your-" he begins, but then a sharp voice cries out.

"EIJI!"

And his face, freezes up, and he puts his sword back into it's scabbard.

"My Lady!" he says, bowing, and your facial expression changes to one of perplexed confusion as the woman walks over and stands over him as he suddenly bows!

Your hand was halfway up to your saber's handle on your back, you were totally ready to throw down there before she came along.

"What the HELL are you doing?!" she says, pointing at him. Her voice is beautiful...in a....loud, commanding, "die, peasant!" way.

"I....my lady, this man spoke out against..."

"Stop babbling!" she says, and he shuts up, his face one of absolute dread. Pretty sure he's sweating up a storm too. "As chief of my bodyguards, your job is to walk BEHIND me when I go into places where there is threat of assassination, NOT ten feet behind me arguing with random xia in the street!"

"He insulted you, my lady!" he says, in the most apologetic tone you can imagine. His spine seems to be a bit bent. You imagine he bend is in the shape of her boot. "I was merely defending your hon-"

"I can defend it MYSELF thank you! Which one?!" she asks, looking around at the crowd.

EVERYONE steps as far away from you as possible.

She sees this, and strides over purposefully.

"What's the meaning of this? Why have you accosted my guards?!" she demands.

>WDYS?

>"He started it."

>"Say 'please' first, I don't work for you."

>>36554275
I'm thinking more like rebel clan or something.

>>36554298
>"He started it."
>"I was just compliementing your beauty"

>>36554298
>>"Say 'please' first, I don't work for you."

>>36554329
Supporting this >>36554329

>>36554298
>"He started it."
I'll give respect where it's due, a man who calls me a knave and tries to silence me out of hand gets a lesson in humility. I have nothing against you ma'am And very little against your chief bodyguard provided he takes his man and leaves me alone.

>>36554298
>"He started it."

>>36554298
"Say 'please' first, I don't work for you."
>"He started it."

>>36554329
no anon, that's how you weasel your way out of her sight, we need to be brash now.

if we want to bed her, first we must make her angry with us.

>>36554298
>>"He started it."
Best to lay out the grievance in plain terms. We don't want to make them enemies... for now at least.

>>36554350
>>36554329
>>36554298
These

>>36554374
You can also be slightly scumbaggish, just say it in the most 'pimp' way you can imagine with the most lecherous face in existance

>>36554298
>"He started it."
"I remarked on your attractiveness, your guard took offense, I told him to fuck off, he grabbed me, I flipped him...I'll admit, neither of us really handled it with dignity."

>>36554298
>I have been waiting, patiently I might add, ten minutes to cross the street now. Are you seriously going to delay me further in defense of some fool dumb enough to try striking me for commenting on your beauty and obvious martial skill? Fine, consider that lesson learned.

>>36554449
no

>>36554298
>>"Say 'please' first, I don't work for you."

>>36554298
>>"Say 'please' first, I don't work for you."

Gotta go with this, I mean we're a country bumpkin. This is hillariuos

>>36554329, >>36554349, >>36554351, >>36554364, >>36554342, >>36554376, >>36554377,>>36554420

"Watch it lady, I don't work for you," you say, and her changes from one of complete irritation to total surprise.

"Your man on the ground there started it," you say, pointing at the senseless guard on the ground. "I was talking to someone else then he took offense to something I didn't say to him and he tried to start some shit over it. I guess I started some shit back more then he could handle."

She blinks away her surprise, and looks down at the guard.

"You...," she begins, seemingly torn between indignation in the blunt way you speak to her and the obvious lack of offence beyond defending yourself.

"What's...how....what's your name, xia?" she seems to settle on.

"Tiankong, called Sky," you answer plainly.

"I....see. Sky," she says, looking you up and down. And down and up. And up and down again, and you're starting to feel uncomfortable now.

You kinda wish you were fighting Angry Saber Guy, Shu or Enji or whatever his name was.

"I apologize for the...lack of manners my men showed, Hero Sky. I will discipline him later," she says, then clenches her scabbard in her right hand and folds her left hand around her fist in the Wulin Greeting.

"I must take my leave now, I have family business to attend to," she says, giving a...slight bow, and then walking back among her guards, shouting "EIJI! COME!" and the foreign guy gets up from bowing and follows.

>>36554671
Yeah, she doesn't know how to respond to someone who isn't immediately cowed by her. She's going to be a fun one, isn't she?

>>36554671
thatwentbetterthanexpected.jpg

>>36554724
>>36554769

I told you guys. Be ballsy with her. She'll appreciate it

>>36554724
I think we found a new source of amusement

>>36554671
>her right hand and folds her left hand around her fist in the Wulin Greeting.

i think we just got challenged to a fight

>>36554807
So, how many girls are we going to show heaven's fury to?

>Dirty Japanese People

Disgusting

>>36554671
> Eiji
> topknot
> foreigner
> weird scabbard and sword

I am thinking japanese.

>>36554851
Faaag.

What matters is not a man's origins, but the size of his BALLS COURAGE

>>36554671
There is another pause as the procession moves past and pretty much EVERY guy in it gives you a murderous glance as they carry their fallen man away.

There is silence, then you hear again, likely the same person as before:

"Oh shit."

Then suddenly the crowd is CHEERING for you, and you have no idea what's going on.

"Damn! I can't believe you stood up-"
"Holy SHIT, the BALLS on this guy!"
"Show those traitors, they don't call the shots around-"
"What did he say his name was, Sky?"
"Guy must be from some impressive clan if he-"
"Wonder who is Sifu is, he must be awfully-"

And you back is patted by a lot of people and you just stand there, totally lost.

"Uh...yeah, thanks. I gotta be...yeah," you say, walking away, getting your back pat more times then you've had in your life.

You manage to extract yourself finally and make your way through the crowd, heading towards what you hope is the eastern gates.

>>36554851
If you don't put them into the story, how we gonna kill them? Everybody knows the only thing better than a dead Japanese is a dying one.

>>36554959
...we just became a folk hero somehow. Huh. Guess these people are REALLY hated. Today has been a weird one for Sky.

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>>36554938
>not knowing Japanese are irremediably evil

Don't trust Japanese

China is not the Sick Man of Asia!

>>36551839

You

>>36555006
Yeah, it's going alot better than I expected

>>36555006
Yeah, first he gets held hostage for shopping, then some freaky mongolian kidnaps him, and now this!
Where the hell is Duan of Hunan!?
We need an adult!

>>36555057
son we are the adult

>>36555041
Nah man, Japs and Koreans are not bad.

You just have to watch out for those goddamned steppe monkeys.

GODDAMN STEPPE MONKEYS I'M SO GLAD WE HAVE REAL CHINESE RULERS NOW. TOTALLY NOT STEPPE MONKEY DESCENDANTS

>>36554959

After awhile, you manage to find your way to the Eastern Gates, and use your Lightfoot Skill to make your way up to the rooftopes where on the tallest building overlooking the gates to the city sits Duan Lei with a jug of wine next to him.

"Man, you would NOT believe the morning I just had." you say, standing next to him as you arrive on the roof and stretching your sore back.

There's a pause as Lei looks at you blankly.

"....do I know you or something dude?"

You pause, irritated. These STUPID clothes....

"It's Sky."

"Oh! Man Bro, what happened to you?" he says, offering you a seat next to him and pouring a bowl of wine for you.

"You let Zhu'er have me for the morning," you say dryly.

"Oh! Ha, yeah. That'll get you every time. She back at the inn?" he says, glancing around.

"Dunno, we got separated," you say, taking the wine gratefully.

"She'll chew you out for that," he confides. You notice he looks a little banged up himself.

"Yeah, probably. What happened to you though?"

"Hmm? Oh, was in a duel this morning, it's why I had to rush off so early," he explains. Zhu'er called it.

"How'd it go?"

"I lost. Hey, pay attention, they're arriving now," he says, waving over at the gates as SEVERAL processions move through.

>>36555215
Oh, man we tried to find her, damnit all.

We'll need to have a make up conversation back at the in.

Make up conversation being an eufemism for the horizontal tango.

captcha: espussy best (no jokes)

>>36555267
We can just explain we got lost from her after the giant Mongolian grabbed us

I mean she was right by our side she will understand

>>36555267
CAPTCHA HAS SPOKEN

Rolled 58 (1d69)

>>36555299
lold

>>36555267
>espussy best
We ancient chinese porno now...

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>>36555345
>>36555299
>>36555314
>>36555290
>>36555267

>>36555345
> we ancient chinese porno now...

I'll have you know that's actually a thing.

(NSFW): http://www.sextvx.com/en/video/117575/acrobatic-china-sex

>>36555439
I don't know what to do with my life after this revelation. I guess I'm going to follow my childhood dream and learn porn fu

>>36555439
I watched that when it was originally released, so...

>>36551132
>>36555041

One of the things I love about Donnie Yen is that you can actually see how he's always learning new things and incorporating them into his movies.

Some of the long-pole techniques he's used in Kung Fu Jungle are wing chun ones, and those were totally absent before his Ip Man days. He does a lot more in-close fighting since Ip Man too. Feels good.

>>36555495
What's the title, btw? I always wanted to track this one down and watch it with the gf.

>>36555455
We should probably try to find a school of beautiful women who practice the Rapturous Heavens style, an ancient martial art focused around being a socialite and sexing so good that they don't need to fight ever. Or whatever. Just go with it, I'm sure it's a thing.

>>36555539
Dreaming Pink Pearl Courtesan Style, I presume.

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>>36555215

"Okay," Lei begins, showing you the first group. "That's the Wudang Sect, from the Wudang Mountains. They're a Daoist group, probably the biggest one honestly. They have some pretty powerful martial arts, especially swordplay. It has this whole hard-soft thing going on, it's hard to explain unless you've seen it. They're kinda like monks, but not really since they can have families. They just have diet restrictions and stuff. Quenzhan Sect is another big Daoist group, but it looks like they aren't showing up."

"Okay, gotcha," you say, nodding.

"That young guy with them is Ma Huizhong, he's one of their hopefuls for Top Ten Young Heroes. He's a famous swordsman. Probably one of the ones with a direct invitation."

>>36555529
That I don't remember. This was VHS days, and it was part of a sort of porn comedy mixtape. I think the one after it was the one with the guy who Yeung Hong back in the day, and I don't remember the name of that one either.

>>36555632

Wudang sect ain't nothin to fuck with

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>>36555632
Blood and Steel corrupted my view on the Wudang sect

>>36555693
if you all look up you will see my side flying away

>>36555632
> Quanzhen Sect

Messed up your pinyin a bit, mate. Fixed it for you.

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>>36555632

"The next group is pretty easy to figure out," he says, motioning at a very large group of monks in Buddhist outfits.

"The Shaolin Temple?" you guess.

"Right. Probably the most famous faction in the Wulin, and one of the most powerful. They never throw their weight around or anything, but they're often considered the leading orthodox faction in the Wulin."

He frown in confusion. "If they never use their authority or power, why are they considered leaders then?"

"It's an honorary thing; they're one of the oldest factions and the depth of their martial skills is pretty well-known. Their candidate for Top Ten is Brother Genshu."

"Which one is he?" you say, looking around at the gathering of monks below.

"No idea. He's not really very public, he mostly sticks to the Shaolin Temple. It doesn't matter anyway, he won't compete; like I said, the Shaolin Sect doesn't really throw it's weight around much."

"Huh. Okay. So they're just here to be polite basically?"

"Yeah, pretty much."

>>36555845
Fucking Monks man

Always confusing

>>36555845
10 bucks it's that guy we met.

>>36555936
i can only hope so he was pretty cool

>>36555845
>38 posters
Hey mate, just so you know, you've got some pretty big shit in yo hands.

>>36555976
It has been 9 hours since he started. Lots of posters drop off after voting once.

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>>36555845

Another group moves in, and they all look really...rich. Lots of fans, ink brushes. Most of them men too, lots of different ages as well.

"These guys don't look like fighters...," you say, frowning in confusion.

"They're the Junzi Society," he explains.

"The...Gentleman's Society?" you say, confused.

"Yeah. They're all scholars, well-educated, that sort of thing. A lot are fairly well-off too. They've got this whole thing going on where they're always trying to promote the ideals of the upright gentleman, 'bring us back to a more civilized time'. They say they're descended from the Yellow Emperor, but they can't prove it really, so it's just a claim."

"So what are they like?"

"Refined. Organized. Kinda socially conservative. Intellectual."

"So sticks in the mud, basically," you say, unimpressed.

"Yeah, pretty much Bro," he says, pouring you another bowl of wine with a smile.

>>36556010
I know that, but most quests tend to stay well bellow that, even the ones that stay up throughout the whole day.
30+ unique posters, specially for a quite new quest, is a lot.

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>>36556019

"So which one's their Top Ten hopeful?"

"At the head of the procession," he says, pouring himself a bowl next.

"The old guy? He looks a little ripe for twenty-five and under, doesn't he?"

"Next to him. The shorter one," he clarifies.

You look around, and finally spot who he's talking about.

"The HOT one?" you say, nodding at the spearwoman who nods and talks to the older man.

"Yup."

"I thought you said they were socially conservative, she's a girl!"

"They ARE, but Yang Meifeng is really THAT good. She's with a faction that's just as nerdy, still intellectual, but less conservative. She's descended from the Yang Family of Generals, and Yang Zhi of Song Jiang's bandits, and schooled by the Zhuge Clan. I hear she get lots of grief in her own faction, but she's just so damned good nobody can say she's not worthy. She's pretty nice too," he says.

"You sound like you know her," you question.

"We met once before, yeah."

>>36555006
I hope they aren't really hated.

It's going to be tough to make her a concubine/wife when we achieve Supreme Wushu Mastery if people don't like her.

Gotta plan for the future, man.

>>36555633
Do you mean the 1983 version of Yeung Hong??? Because if Ah-Miu made a literal porno I am ALL over that. I've had a thing for him since I was little.

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>>36556223
So many beautiful flowers in this tale,
it'd be a shame if we couldn't taste all their scents
however, of course we will.

>>36556223
YANG MAKE WANG SO LONG AND HARD AS GONG

>>36556300
I dunno man this seems like our Bro girl

>>36556341
TOP KEK

>>36556357
What are you talking about? The bro is also our girl.

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>>36556223

Another procession walks in, this entirely composed of women. There's a lot of....pink. A lot of white, a lot of pink.

"Okay...and these are...?"

"The Emei Sect. The other major Buddhist faction in the Wulin."

"They...uh...don't look like monks?" you note.

"Hah! No. Emei Sect's leaders are all Buddhist nuns, but the individual members are all women. They're pretty big on righteousness and fighting evil. Their kungfu is really suited to women; men have a hard time practicing it."

"Huh. Okay."

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>>36556408

>>36556298
Yeah that's the one. And Yes Micheal Miu did make a full on porno. It's a great watch.

>All female Emei sect
Goddamn it Age of Wushu, I didn't want to be reminded of chinagame.exe.

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>>36556408
"Their hopeful is Zhou Ai, the Fairy Swordswoman. That's probably her," he says, pointing out what is easily the most beautiful one in the group.

"She's even hotter then the last one!"

"Yeah. She's also probably a better fighter from what I hear, but you know, considering whenever I hear her martial skills some drooling doofus mentions her great beauty in the same breath, she might be overrated slightly," he notes.

"Noted. And this next group?"
>>36556471
I was thinking more Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber, but sure, we can go with that too.

>>36556548
As long as the aforementioned Tang clan isn't a bunch of transplanted naruto-kunai chucking poison fetishists that constantly eat whales, I'll survive.

>>36556548
>this many hot martial artist chicks
I can only get so hard, man

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>>36556548
"The Heaven Sword Alliance," he says, and they do all indeed carry a sword. Their banner is white, and features six swords, each a different color crossed with a seventh silver sword in the center. "Their deal is that they're seven different sword sects on seven different mountains, with the head faction being on Mount Heaven itself."

"So they're crazy widespread and really numerous is what I'm hearing."

"One of the most powerful. Their leader is Sword Saint, probably one of the Top Ten most powerful xia in the world today. That guy at the head of the procession is Xiao Jian, his grandson."

The young man is handsome but there's something weird about him. He looks...not animated. Kinda half-asleep, or bored.

"A guy named Sword Saint named his son 'Sword Dawn'?" you ask.

"Yeah, they're like that. Sword Saint is an honorary title though. Goes to the head of the Mount Heaven faction, after the others elect him."

"He looks....kind of bored."

"I can imagine why," Lei says frowning. "He's a freaking genius. He was excelling when he was twelve and beating experts when he was fifteen and he's so good nobody will ever fight him anymore. Half of the time they throw the fights anyway because they don't want to risk angering the Alliance since it's so powerful. He's considered most likely to win the tournament."
>>36556581
They ARE actually, but the Tang Clan's depiction like that dates back to novels written in the late 60's. That entire videogame basically just used factions from existing wuxia stories.

>>36556775
n he needs to be entertained i think we can help with that

>>36556775
I don't care if it's precidented well in literature, I swear to god, if one fucking whale gets swallowed, I might bust a vein, I spent literally hours of my life locked into an animation with that fucking text shoved down my throat oh god the flashbacks.
Also, i love your quest, keep it up
One small critique though, doublecheck your pronouns, they're the most confusing thing when typo'd

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>>36556775

Yet ANOTHER group of almost-entirely attractive women comes in with a banner of a phoenix on it. Wearing a bit less then the Emei Sect did.

"This is the Resplendent Phoenix Society. They're mostly women, some men. All about women's sufferage, making sure men and women are equal in society."

"I thought the Wulin only cared about strength and skill?"

"Secular society Bro," he says as you down another bowl.

"That...,"

"Is a bit unorthodox, yeah. The Emei Sect doesn't especially care about that, being more concerned with fighting evil. The Phoenix Society is also pretty big on that, but they never stop messing with politics either, Wulin and otherwise. It seems half of the factions in the jianghu have leaders married to a Phoenix Bride."

"Okay, so I'm just going to take a shot in the dark there, but that one who makes the other two look dull and boring-looking...,"

"Is their hopeful, yeah. That's Hong Lanhua, Red Orchid. Don't get your hopes up. She's not available, trust me."

"Married?"

"No just....not available dude. Trust me."

You think there must be a story there, but you let it go.

>>36556775
Wouldn't you be more likely to insult the Heaven Sword Alliance by throwing the fight to their champion than if you fought him honestly? It shows respect for his skills by going all out. Giving him an easy win is patronizing. That's rude, I'd be very upset with my grandson's opponents if I was the Sword Spirit.

>>36556918
She's either into chicks and Lei tried, or Lei tried and she's taken by him
or my favourite alternative: do not stick the dick in crazy! says Lei

>>36556932
>Sword spirit
Hahah
I see someone's taking in Sky's personality and soul

>>36556932
It's hard to say when someone throws for sure, but if the guy loses then his entire clan gets pissed off, so throwing is the safer option for anyone without a huge clan behind them too.

>>36556991
But I bet the guy would be much happier with a good fight.

>>36556976
No, actually, I've just been in a number of Legends of the Wulin games. In LotW, the leader of the Heaven Sword Alliance is dubbed Sword Spirit, not Sword Saint. I got a bit mixed up there. Completely unintentional.

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>>36556918

A group of....poor people walk in?

"The Hobo Clan?"

"The Beggar's Fraternity. They probably the most numerous group after the Sword Alliance, but nobody actually knows for sure. They're REALLY well-connected, they seem to know everything about everything,"

"Because nobody notices beggars...," you say, figuring it out as he says is.

"Right. They're supposed to have regular guys incognito too, but like I said, nobody knows."

"Is that all of them? Who's their hopeful?"

"Barefoot Doctor Shi Hualong. This isn't the main group or anything, since they aren't centrally organized, just one that's arriving. They're alright folks."

>>36557035
Understandable.

>>36557075
These people definitely know something about Ba.

>>36557031
he might be the type who hates to lose
but in the end no matter what he likes, it's his job not to let his clan lose face, and they'd lose face if he lost, so people throw and he accepts it no matter how disappointing it is

>>36557114
>he might be the type who hates to lose
But if he's bored with victory then..
I dunno man

>>36557122
there are people like that, and they wouldn't be bored with every victory. Most fights require a modicum of effort unless your opponent is really far beneath you, i.e you can beat them without taking a single hit

Oh hey I made in time.
Since I'm actually here in time: thanks sage. I'm a (new) fan of the genre, despite the holes in my knowledge base. These threads have been helping find out what the hell I've been missing.

>>36557122
not mutually exclusive, after all, maybe he loves cultivating the air of someone who's so casually amazing that he's above the wushu world.

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>>36557075

Another banner, a white one with a black circle and a black hand upraised, palm facing forward inside of it.

"The Iron Palm Sect. One of the south's biggest clans. They collect tribute from half of Canton, and their hopeful is that guy," he says, pointing out their leader.

"Does he always look so pissed off?" you wonder.

"Always. Qiu Qiang isn't just their hopeful; he's the head of their entire faction at twenty-four."

"That's...not common, right?"

"No. It's not unprecedented, but it's pretty rare. Especially since he killed the last clan head, his father in a duel to inherit."

"That sounds somewhat...less then heroic."

"It's not, but the match was an official one, approved by the sect itself and agreed to by his father. Iron Palm Sect Martial arts is one of the hardest there is. Training is supposed to be brutal. They were decently-sized, but until Qiu Qiang took power they weren't nearly as powerful. He basically dragged the clan up from mediocrity by himself."

>>36556298
Wait, wasn't that series released in 82?

>>36555632
>Ma Huizhong

Any relation to the Ma family from which Ma Su/Ma Liang/etc come from?

>>36557335
In the sense that Old MacDonald and Sir John A. MacDonald are probably technically related.

>>36556775
>seven sword banner
>seven sword sects from seven sword mountains
>Sword Dawn, son of Sword Saint

These fuckers like swords, is what I'm getting.

>>36557365
Man, heroic bloodlines are a thing, it's worth investigating. The Ma clan was nothing to fuck with

>>36557440
One is tempted to assume they use swords to fight.

>>36556223
> Yang Meifeng
> spearwoman

Yang Family Spear successor detected.

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>>36557245

"The rest of these guys are minor groups; Red Flower Society, Iron Courage Manor, Weixin Escort Agency, Iron Sword Sect, Wolf Clan, Fierce Tiger Ridge, Golden Saber...there's way too many to count, and they keep changing too."

"None of them have hopefuls?"

"No, but I found out two are possibles. One might be showing up, one might not. The first is Bai Tiexin of the Jinyiwei, called 'Steeleyes'. He likely won't participate due to his rank."

"Which is....?"

"Oh right. The Jinyiwei are the Empire's secret police force. They watch the Wulin and jianghu, hunt down crimes and traitors, etc. They do just things, but also turn over good men to the state, which is always their first loyalty. They're definitely a part of the jianghu, but only kinda a part of the Wulin."

"And the other?"

"I just found out about her; Ao Zhengzhu, Dragon Princess, Eastern Dragon King's daughter."

"That's a pretty serious collection of titles there."

"Ao Guang is famous even OUTSIDE the jianghu. He was the Emperor's Sworn Brother, and was famous for his incredible might in battle and his mighty guan dao and his magnificent beard."

"His beard."

"Yeah, people talk about weird stuff. Anyway, there was some kind of falling out and either Ao Guang tried to assassinate the Emperor or he tried to assassinate him so Ao Guang fled the capitol and sailed with something like a third of the navy to an island in the east, Tungning, and formed a rebel state. He and his entire family and clan have been making like pirates ever since, but ones with some kind of legitimacy I guess."

"Huh."

"Their daughter is getting pretty notorious too. I heard about thirty minutes before you got here she arrived by ship. Apparently some guy actually called her out or something right there in front of her guards, right to her face, hugely insulting or something too. Crazy shit huh?"

"I can't imagine," you say, scratching your chin and looking away.

>>36557483
No I mean they take that shit pretty literally in china. Ma clan is Ma clan, "one of us" and all that.

>>36557541
Yeah some people do some really crazy stuff...

>>36557541
>Ao Zhengzhu, Dragon Princess, Eastern Dragon King's daughter
Yep, called it. Criminal in exile turned pirate king. Knew that's who these people were going to be.

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>>36557541
>Ao Zhengzu
>That description of Ao Guang

So... Guan Yinping?

>>36557495
> One is tempted to assume they use swords to fight.

In Legends of the Wulin, the Heaven Sword Alliance's special kung fu allows you to either count your BARE HANDS as swords, or to count your sword as ANY KIND OF WEAPON, so that's actually not a safe bet.

Some dude could deliver an open palm slap that splits his opponent in half, or used his sword as a battering ram instead of a cutting instrument.

>>36557614
Yeah they smelled like pirates going by the crowd's reaction.

>>36550563
>So it IS a rule for young Xia to have long hair
Just wanted to address this. Having long hair is a sign of filial piety because your hair is a gift from your family for... reasons (I'd have to look into the exact cultural justification)

Therefore, LOTS of Chinese have long hair, or had (I don't know how common the practice is these days)

That's why they have so many buns and hair ties and pins and fancy hats.

>>36557541
"Did they say anything about how that guy looked really silly in the new shitty outfit that a crazed fish-thief made him wear?

"Just... just asking, you know?"

>>36557622
Yes, Ao Guang is Invincible Taiwanese Rebel Pirate Guan Yu.
I SAID you'd be running into some Romance of the Three Kingdoms-reference characters, didn't I?
>>36557624
Actually the whole "my finger is a sword" thing is something that shows up in wuxia a lot; a powerful enough swordsman no longer needs a sword because his BODY is his sword. Sword Devil is famous for having transcended even this; the whole world and everything in it became his blade. A blade of grass, a stone, a wave, ALL of it became his sword. He would wave his hand and the world itself became his blade.

>>36557725
Oh wuxia, I love how the ultimate expression of power is somehow always INFINITE SWORDS

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>>36557740
> INFINITE SWORDS

>>36557725
It's ironic, because he originally got rid of his swords in an attempt to make things fair and get a real challenge again. He totally didn't mean to learn from the experience and develop that skill. But he was so good he couldn't NOT do it.

>>36557807
sounds like he should've just started fighting with heavy weights on his limbs or some other cliche

>>36556775

OH SHIT ITS SWORD SAINT

RUN

>>36557907
Relax, it's just his snotty grandson. I'm sure we can whoop his candy ass together, right brothers?

... Brothers?

Hey where are you guys running off t--- URK

>>36557899
He did. It didn't work, he just adapted to that, too. He even made a style based around it, the man literally could not stop creating more and more powerful kung fu.

wait our bro just mentioned some one now they are going to appear before us

>>36557740
You might even say he was the bone of his sword I suppose.
>>36557807
Dugu Qiubai is one of my favorite fictional characters because he's so powerful it actually is difficult to comprehend, making you stupid as you try to wrap your brain around the insane logic his power follows, literally "Retarded Powerful".
>>36557899
Actually? He did that already too, his Heavy Iron Sword. It didn't work. He became even MORE powerful for training with it.
>>36557541

"So uh," you say, coughing into your fist. "Why aren't there more guards? I mean, a whole lot of armed people just...walked right into the city without much surprise of anyone."

"You know how it works man. 'The Rivers shall not muddy the waters of the Well'. They've been paid off by the Yuan Clan, the richest clan in Chengdu. Yuan Shan-Lan is their head, and he's always really generous and popular, so it flies. He's in a sort-of-alliance with the Tang Clan, Sichuan's other major faction. They're kinda unorthodox too; I suppose they're hired assassins basically," he notes.

"How does that make them 'unorthodox' and not 'bad guys'?" you wonder aloud.

"It's kind of an ongoing debate. They take money to kill people, but they never seem to use it to take political power. They also never make territory grabs or war against other Wulin factions or try to extort smaller clans. Sometimes their members do chivalrous things when encountered, but also they also are totally ruthless when threatened. They specialize in hidden weapons, traps, silent killing, that sort of thing. The Yuan Clan and the Tang Clan have a whole 'no competition with each other in Sichaun' thing and set up this entire tournament, which is kind of unusual."

"Whyzzat?"

"Usually this stuff is held in an isolated mountain somewhere, not right out in an open populated city, but the Yuan Clan basically agreed to host and pay for EVERYTHING, so Wulin agreed."

>>36557961
sounds like he should've cut off his arms and legs and done kung fu as a torso

>>36557987
One breath kill anon one breath kill

>>36557918

TRYING TO BEAT SWORD DEVIL OR SWORD SAINT IS LIKE TRYING TO KILL LEGION OF THE DAMNED WITHOUT PLOT ARMOR, BECAUSE SWORD SAINT CAN LITERALLY FIGHT BY PROJECTING HIS QI FROM HIS LATRINE CHAMBER TO KILL SOMEONE WHILL HAVING A HAPPY SHITTING TIME

>>36557987
That's probably how he died.

>>36558040
so batman could do it

>>36558048
No one actually knows how he dies. Only his best friend, a giant magical condor, knows for sure. And he ain't talking.

>>36558064

They have wuxia batman actually, made by tony wong

Its licensed

>>36558066
maybe he willed him self to death

>>36558096

> Dorna face when

>>36558066
Probably because he has a beak instead of a mouth.
>>36557982

"Also, they moved some of the guards from the gate when some screaming lunatic barged through and knocked out half of the guys on duty and then (supposedly) flew away."

"Haha! Yeah how about that!?" you say, coughing into your hand again.

"Yeah, I wasn't here for that. Sounds like they were making shit up and got reassigned for it."

"Y-yeah, probably!"

"Anyway, that's all for now Bro. Let's head back to the inn," he says, leaping off the roof.

You both make your way back to the inn, where almost IMMEDIATELY you are practically tackled to the ground by Zhu'er in a hug!

"SKY!" she says, sounding...genuinely upset.

"HeyheyheyHEY!" you say, holding your hands up as she buries her face into your torso, completely surprising you!

"Where did you GO!? I was so WORRIED, I though you'd gotten hurt or were fighting or-" she says, and as she goes on, Lei looks over her shoulder at you, gives you a double thumbs up, and heads upstairs as you give him a "Don't abandon me bro!" pleading look.

>WDYS?

>"Calm down! I'm here now, aren't I?" [Reassure]

>"I was actually looking for you when we got separated and I got lost." [Explain]

>>36558140
>>"I was actually looking for you when we got separated and I got lost." [Explain]

>>36558140
>>"Calm down! I'm here now, aren't I?" [Reassure]
>>"I was actually looking for you when we got separated and I got lost." [Explain]
both of them