o seems to be a bit cocky. Can you even defeat your own Master Mr. Yue?'

"'I am only talking about fighting while sitting down,' big brother Linghu said. 'Fighting while standing up, my Master ranks at number eight, and I am only number eighty-nine, far behind the respectful Master.'

"'I see,' Tian Boguang nodded in agreement. 'Then fighting while standing up, where do I stand? And who did the ranking?'

"'This is a big secret,' big brother Linghu said in a confidential tone. 'Brother Tian, since I am having a good chat with you, I might as well tell you. But never let this out, otherwise, it can cause great upheaval in the entire Martial World. Three months ago, the five Head Masters of the Five Mountains Sword Alliance had a meeting at Mount Huashan to discuss the skills of the famous Kung Fu people in the Martial World. While they were in a good mood, they ranked the masters in the Martial World just for fun. Brother Tian, to be frank, although the five Masters really disliked your personality, they had great regard for your Kung Fu skills. Fighting while standing up, you can be ranked at number fourteen. '"

Priest Tianmen and Sister Dingyi exclaimed in unison, "Linghu Chong was talking nonsense! Nothing like that ever happened!"

"So big brother Linghu was just fooling him again?" Yilin asked. "Well, Tian Boguang couldn't completely believe him either. He said, 'The Head Masters of the Five Mountains Sword Alliance are all outstanding and famous martial artists in the Martial World. They actually ranked me at number fourteen? That is really overwhelming. So brother Linghu, did you present your smelly Toilet Sword Art in front of the five Head Masters? If not, how did they rank you at number two?'

"Big brother Linghu said with a grin, 'This Toilet Sword Art would be too embarrassing to show in public, especially in front of the five Head Masters. The sword art looks very ugly, but the moves are very ferocious. I was discussing it with some masters from heretical clans, and they all thought that nobody except Chief Dongfang could defeat the sword art. But brother Tian, I have to say that even though my sword art is very fierce, besides using it to kill flies when sitting on a toilet, it is really quite useless. Think about it, when you are really fighting with somebody, who would agree to sit down and not move? Even though we agreed to fight sitting down, as soon as you start to lose, of course you would get mad and stand up. You are ranked at number fourteen fighting while standing up, so with no effort, you could easily split me, the number two fighting while sitting down, into halves with just one chop. See, your number fourteen fighting while standing up is the real thing, and my number two fighting while sitting down is just a novel trick. It's nothing to be proud of.'

"'Hmm, brother Linghu, you are really glib,' Tian Boguang said. 'How do you know I will definitely lose to you fighting while sitting down? How do you know I will get mad and stand up to kill you?'

"'Well,' big brother Linghu said, 'if you agree that you won't kill me after you lose, then I won't insist on the enu..eunuch rule. So you won't have to worry about having no descendants. Ok, enough talk already, let's fight!'

"He raised his arm and flipped the table. The table, together with all the wine kettles and bowls, flew to the side. The two just sat there, face to face. One held a knife, the other grabbed hold of a sword.

"'Go ahead,' big brother Linghu yelled, 'start your attack! Whoever stands up first – his butt leaving the chair – loses.'

"'All right!' Tian Boguang also yelled. 'Let's see who's going to stand up first!'

"Right before they started fighting, Tian Boguang glanced at me and then suddenly burst into loud laughter. 'Brother Linghu,' he said, 'well done! So you have set up an ambush in advance, and intentionally set limits on my actions. As we fight while sitting down, not being able to leave the chair, all your helpers will rush out – or even if they don't, just this little nun playing some trick behind my back might force me to stand up.'

"Big brother Linghu also laughed loudly. 'If anyone helps me, then Linghu Chong is the loser. Little nun, do you want me to win or lose?'

"'Of course I want you to win,' I said. 'When you fight while sitting down, you are the second best in the world, so you won't lose to him.'

"'Good,' big brother Linghu said. 'Then please go! The quicker the better, the further the merrier! With a bald headed little nun in front of me, I don't need to go through the motions, I will have already lost.' He did not wait for Tian Boguang to comment and thrust his sword at him.

"Tian Boguang waved his knife and blocked the attack. 'Outstanding!' he smiled. 'Outstanding! What a great plan to rescue the little nun. Brother Linghu, you are truly a babe..babe-hound. But the risk is a bit too high this time.'

"By then I finally realized: big brother Linghu's mentioning again and again that who stands up first loses was to give me a chance to run away. Tian Boguang could not leave his chair, so of course he would not be able to catch me."

Hearing this, the listeners all praised, in their hearts, the great effort Linghu Chong had made. His skills were not as good as Tian Boguang's. Other than by this stratagem, there really wasn't any other way to help Yilin get away.

"The words 'babe-hound' etc. are all rude words. Never mention them again. Don't ever even think about them in your heart," Dingyi admonished.

Yilin lowered her head. "Yes, Master. So those were rude words too. I see."

"So you left right away, right?" Dingyi asked. "Once Tian Boguang killed Linghu Chong, you wouldn't be able to get away anymore."

"Yes," Yilin said. "Big brother Linghu urged me again and again, so finally I bowed to him and said, 'Thank you, apprentice brother Linghu, for saving me!' Then I turned around to leave. When I got to the stairway, I heard Tian Boguang shouting, 'Gotcha!' When I looked back, two drops of blood splashed onto my clothes. Big brother Linghu had taken a cut to the shoulder.

"Tian Boguang smirked, 'Well, I think your number two ranking sword art while sitting down is really nothing special!'

"'The little nun is still here,' big brother Linghu said, 'how am I to beat you? I am doomed to fail from bad luck!'

"I figured since big brother Linghu really disliked nuns, if I stayed any longer, he might really die because of me, so I rushed down the stairs. After I got out of the wine house, I could still hear all the clang of metal made by the sword and knife.

"Then Tian Boguang shouted again, 'Gotcha!' I was very worried and knew that big brother Linghu must have taken another cut, but I dared not to go up the wine house again. I climbed up the roof of the wine house from the side of the building, and bent over the roof to look inside the window. What I saw was very frightening. Big brother Linghu was still fighting fiercely with his sword, with blood all over him. Tian Boguang, on the other hand, was not hurt at all.

"After another while, Tian Boguang shouted again, 'Gotcha!' He slashed big brother Linghu's left arm and then pulled back his knife. 'Brother Linghu, I am being nice this time!' he said with a smile.

"'I know. If you had cut a little deeper, my left arm would be gone by now!' big brother Linghu answered, also with a smile.

"Master, how was he still able to smile in such bad condition?

"'You still want to fight?' Tian Boguang asked.

"'Of course I do! Did I stand up?' big brother Linghu said.

"'I suggest you give it up and stand up!' Tian Boguang said. 'Forget about the bet. You don't have to ask that little nun to be your master.'

"Big brother Linghu said, 'For a true man, once his word is out, even a wagon with four horses cannot drag it back. I gave my word; I am still accountable.'

"Tian Boguang complemented him, 'I've seen many tough guys before. But this is the first time I see a true hero, brother Linghu. Fine! Let's call it a tie and stop right here, alright?'

"Big brother Linghu just looked at him with a smile and said nothing. Blood kept flowing from his different wounds and dripped onto the wood floor. Tian Boguang dropped his knife and was just about to stand up when he suddenly remembered that he would have lost if he had stood up. His body had moved upward a little when he quickly sat back and did not leave the chair.

"'Brother Tian, you are quick!' big brother Linghu grinned."

Everyone could not help but let out an "Ah" of pity for Linghu Chong.

Yilin continued. "Tian Boguang picked up his knife again. 'I am going to use my fast strokes now,' he said. 'If I wait any longer, the little nun will have run to wonderland, and I won't be able to keep up with her anymore.'

"I trembled when I heard his words. I also worried that big brother Linghu might get killed by him, but I had no clue as to what to do next. Then a thought popped into my head: Big brother Linghu fought so hard against him just to rescue me. The only way to save big brother Linghu's life was to commit suicide right in front of them. So I unsheathed the broken sword by my waist, ready to jump into the wine house. Right at that moment, big brother Linghu's body gave a sudden shake, and he collapsed to the floor together with his chair. He pushed on the ground with his hands and struggled to get up with the chair at his back, but he was so badly wounded that he just couldn't get up.

"Tian Boguang was quite content, and with a big smile on his face, he said, 'Number two for sitting down. What rank for crawling?' With these words, he stood up.

"Big brother Linghu burst into loud laughter. 'You lost!' he said.

"Tian Boguang laughed hard. 'You were just defeated in such an embarrassing manner, and you are calling me a loser?'

"'What did we agree on?' big brother Linghu asked while lying on the floor.