M49S Vol 1 Chapter 52. The Gentleman’s Grace

Ran Yuguan found himself cornered. He had no choice but to face Chen Boyan.

Chen Boyan was an enigma. Ran Yuguan could not see through his cultivation at all. Even the other disciples of Beidou were privately uneasy. They trusted their senior brother and knew he was no ordinary cultivator, but Chen Boyan was no ordinary cultivator either. With that kind of brilliance, could he really be defeated?

On the other side, the disciples of Gushan Sword, who knew the truth about Chen Boyan’s strength, were just as anxious. Their senior brother could not lose. To the disciples of Gushan, he was the plaque that hung over Shanyu Hall, the anchor that held their hearts steady. If he fell, it would feel as if the entire mountain had collapsed.

Both sides held their breath. Even those who did not know the truth could sense the weight in the air, as if a storm were about to break.

And in truth, this was no ordinary match. It was a battle for the dignity of two sects, one that could not be lost. Ran Yuguan gripped his sword and stared at Chen Boyan, trying to read something in his expression, but there was nothing to see.

Chen Boyan remained as composed as ever. He raised a hand and said, “Please.”

Ran Yuguan returned the gesture, and the two drew their swords in unison. In the instant the light caught the blades, the air grew suddenly cold and sharp.

From appearance alone, Ran Yuguan was every bit the refined gentleman. His synchronized draw with Chen Boyan was elegant to behold, and the sight stirred anticipation in many watching eyes. But Tu Youqiong stared at him nervously, muttering under his breath like a spell, “Hit him, hit him, hit him hit him hit hit hit…”

On the platform, Ran Yuguan finally made the first move. His sword was called Dragon Scale, named for the scaled patterns carved along its blade.

As Dragon Scale swept through the air, the sound of a dragon’s roar echoed around him.

This sound was usually reserved for moments meant to intimidate an opponent, but Ran Yuguan summoned it at the very start, hoping to seize even the slightest upper hand in momentum.

Tu Youqiong mumbled, “I can do that too. I can summon a dragon with Song of the Water Dragon.”

Dai Xiaoshan snorted. “That dragon of yours looks like it’s been starving since the day it was born.”

Tu Youqiong puffed up, ready to fire back, but just then, a clear sword cry sliced through the lingering dragon’s roar. Both of them turned their heads. Chen Boyan had stopped Ran Yuguan’s sword. Wuwang and Dragon Scale clashed, vital force surging from the blades and bursting outward in a wave of pressure that stirred the hair on the foreheads of everyone watching.

The swords were ringing.

Light flowed along the surface of Wuwang. Sword essence and vital force surged in unison, releasing a pressure that radiated directly from the sword itself. The harder Ran Yuguan pushed, the stronger that pressure became.

Still, the sword kept humming.

And this time, Ran Yuguan felt something that made his heart jolt. Dragon Scale was trembling.

It was trembling on its own.

Shock gripped him. At his level, he had already begun to touch the threshold of unity between man and sword. His blade had gained a measure of spiritual awareness. Like a person, it had its own instincts. And now, his sword was afraid.

He could not believe it. Chen Boyan’s talent had reached a level that was simply terrifying. This could no longer be explained by genius alone. It was sword-to-sword suppression, absolute and undeniable. Ruthless to the core.

The sword was still ringing. Still trembling. Ran Yuguan made a quick decision and pulled back. He would not pit his weakness against the other’s strength.

Chen Boyan frowned slightly and lowered the tip of his sword. The light on Wuwang dimmed. He looked at Ran Yuguan again and said, “Please.”

Ran Yuguan’s heart tensed. Was Chen Boyan mocking him? Was he being humiliated on purpose? His gaze darkened.

“Please don’t hold back. It’s a matter of respect to your opponent.”

The moment the words left Ran Yuguan’s mouth, Jiang Xie was so anxious his heart felt like a grasshopper bouncing in his chest.

He wasn’t Ran Yuguan, and neither was anyone else present. They couldn’t possibly understand the kind of crushing pressure Wuwang had just unleashed. All they saw was that after exchanging just one move, Ran Yuguan had suddenly retreated. And then Chen Boyan, in response, had withdrawn some of his edge and invited him to continue.

How could Ran Yuguan be this weak? It didn’t make sense.

Jiang Xie was on edge. The Knock upon the Immortal Gate had gone several rounds now without a single cultivator breaking into the third tier. All of Beidou’s hopes rested on Ran Yuguan. Even their ally, the Wang family, had offered him a Barrier-Breaking Pill to help him advance. By all logic, Ran Yuguan should have at least made it into the top three.

But still—

Ran Yuguan charged again, his sword slicing through the air. His first move was Stars Shift with the his figure darting forward like a phantom, bearing down on Chen Boyan. He couldn’t pit Dragon Scale against Wuwang in a direct clash, so he could only look for an opening and use raw cultivation to suppress his opponent.

But the moment the move landed, the expressions on the spectators’ faces became difficult to describe.

Zhong Wu touched his nose and said quietly to the cultivator beside him, “He must have arrived late. He probably didn’t see the match at Chanhua Tower a few days ago between Tu Youqiong and Cai Mu.”

He gave a dry chuckle, mostly because the man standing next to him happened to be the rogue cultivator Zheng Cheng, who said nothing and kept his face cold.

But just as Zhong Wu gave up on conversation and turned his focus back to the match, Zheng Cheng suddenly spoke.

“To counter that move, use the ninth form of the Gushan Sword Technique. A Glimpse of the Soaring Swan.”

Zhong Wu froze. That was exactly what Chen Boyan had said during the earlier match. Tu Youqiong had followed his words and defeated Cai Mu. And now, Chen Boyan himself was executing the technique. How could he possibly lose?

“Don’t, Senior Brother!” Jiang Xie cried out in alarm. But he knew Ran Yuguan would never abandon Stars Shift with the Converge just because he said so. All he could do was watch nervously and hope Chen Boyan would choose not to respond with A Glimpse of the Soaring Swan.

But he did.

The pale-blue figure vanished in an instant, like a breeze too elusive to catch. A single toe tapped lightly on a fallen leaf drifting from nowhere, and in that moment, he reappeared behind Ran Yuguan.

Ran Yuguan was not slow to react. The moment Chen Boyan appeared behind him, he turned and thrust his sword as if he had eyes on his back.

Jiang Xie finally let out a breath. He silently scolded himself for panicking and reminded himself to have more faith in his senior brother.

On the other side, Tu Youqiong was still carrying on with exaggerated fervor. His fists clenched, face flushed, he squatted halfway down and chanted under his breath, “Hit him hit him hit him hit him hit him…”

Xiao Yu’er stood beside him. Though he didn’t join in the chanting, he also had his fists clenched, his young face solemn with focus.

Just then, Wuwang flew from Chen Boyan’s hand, spinning straight toward Ran Yuguan.

Ran Yuguan raised his sword horizontally. “Clang!” The two blades collided, and Wuwang was knocked back into the air. But a bad feeling struck him. He looked up, and saw Chen Boyan appear above him, seize Wuwang midair, and bring it down in a single slash.

“Boom!”

At the last possible instant, Ran Yuguan blocked the strike. But the surge of vital force crashed down on him from above. He gritted his teeth and held firm, but the stone tiles beneath his feet shattered inch by inch, crumbling almost to dust.

Dust and debris exploded into the air, clouding the platform and obscuring the crowd’s view.

Jiang Xie’s heart clenched again.

A breath later, Chen Boyan appeared at Ran Yuguan’s side and whipped his sword across Ran Yuguan’s waist, sending him flying.

Too fast. Far too fast.

Chen Boyan shifted positions several times in quick succession. Before anyone could follow what was happening, Ran Yuguan had already been sent flying.

When the dust finally settled, what stood before them was a scene no one had expected. Chen Boyan stood calmly, sword in hand, his gauze robe pristine and untouched, his expression composed. Ran Yuguan, on the other hand, had skidded across the stone until he crashed into the railing at the edge of the platform. Even his hairpiece had come loose.

Silence fell across the crowd.

“Cough… cough…” Ran Yuguan got to his feet. His lower back throbbed with pain, but he knew that was already after Chen Boyan had gone easy on him. That last strike had been delivered with the back of the blade.

So Chen Boyan really was a gentleman?

But Ran Yuguan refused to accept it. He ignored the pain in his body and the murmurs from the crowd, forcing everything out of his mind as he locked his eyes on Chen Boyan.

“Again.”

He was the eldest senior brother of Beidou, entrusted with great hopes by his entire sect. How could he possibly accept such a crushing defeat?

“You lost, plain and simple. No playing dirty!” Tu Youqiong shouted loudly.

The disciples of Beidou flushed with embarrassment. Chen Boyan, however, turned and cast a glance at his junior. “Youqiong, mind your words.” Then he looked back at Ran Yuguan. “As long as your sword stands, so do you. If Brother Ran can still fight, then it is not a loss. Please.”

Chen Boyan’s gaze was open and sincere. Ran Yuguan’s breath caught. In that moment, he felt keenly the gulf between him and Chen Boyan. But just as Chen Boyan said, he could still fight. So why wouldn’t he? He wanted to see more clearly where exactly he had been defeated.

The match resumed. Amid the flurry of sword shadows, a group of female disciples from Ruizhu gathered together, chattering away with open admiration for Chen Boyan.

“Senior Brother Chen really is the embodiment of a gentleman…”

“Yang-shimei, this is already the third time you’ve said that. Be careful or Senior Sister will scold you.”

“Don’t say that…” The one called Yang-shimei had a classic oval-shaped face. She quietly glanced at Senior Sister Xu Mengyin, and only after confirming she had not taken notice did she breathe a small sigh of relief.

She always had the feeling that Senior Sister harbored some special feelings for Senior Brother Chen. She respected her deeply, and absolutely did not want to make her unhappy.

Chen Boyan and Ran Yuguan exchanged blows once more, but the outcome was no different from before.

Ran Yuguan stood in the center of the terrace with his sword in hand, motionless and dazed. He remained that way for a long time. Jiang Xie sighed and went over to pull him back, but he turned away on his own and walked off, ignoring everyone around him.

The defeated always departed in silence. No one wanted to risk sharing in Beidou’s misfortune, so the crowd shifted their attention to Gushan Sword.

After the recent match, Gushan’s senior disciple Chen Boyan had risen to ninth place on the Knock upon the Immortal Gate ranking. Elder Yu Yao of Beidou, seated on the seventh floor, crushed the armrest of his chair. The sharp crack rang out and seemed to echo endlessly in everyone’s minds.

Tang Li touched his nose and smiled. It was not his reputation on the line, so he was content to let the loser bear the embarrassment.

Lord Jin had just caught sight of the Wang clan’s fragment of the Heaven’s Secret Diagram. Nothing else held his attention. He reclined in his chair, absentmindedly toying with his fan, his thoughts already drifting elsewhere.

Chen Wujie wore a faint, unreadable smile. The old man in the bamboo rain cloak had his eyes shut, resting. The entire seventh floor was so quiet, it felt as if even a falling needle could be heard.

And the quieter it became, the more unrest stirred in Yu Yao’s chest. Yet just as he was about to act, Wang Changlin, who was supposed to be on his side, shot him a look, signaling him to stay calm.

Yu Yao had no choice but to suppress his frustration for the time being and wait to see what cards Wang Changlin would play. He could afford to be patient, because Wang Changlin had more to lose. Ran Yuguan might have lost, but once he adjusted, defeating the rest would pose no difficulty. As for the Wang clan, their most outstanding performer thus far was Wang Zi’an, and there was no way Wang Changlin would let him take the lead.

By now, the situation on the terrace had settled. The disciples of Gushan Sword continued to take the initiative, but Chen Boyan remained still, and no one came forward to challenge him again.

Everyone was waiting. What they truly hoped for was that someone like Shen Qingya would step up and test the waters.

Time passed slowly. Yu Yao glanced at Wang Changlin again and again, growing more restless with each moment.

Finally, just as he drained his cup of tea and his agitation reached a peak, a group of elders from minor sects on the sixth floor, along with a few rogue cultivators, approached together. After offering greetings to those present, they stated their purpose.

“After careful discussion, we have come to a unanimous decision. It is inappropriate for Chen Boyan to participate in the competition.”

“Oh? Please, speak freely.” Wang Changlin rose to his feet.

An elderly man with a white beard stepped forward and said, “I mean no offense to Elder Tang or to Young Master Chen. But Chen Boyan holds a unique status. Though he is the senior disciple of Gushan Sword, he is also a descendant of the Chen family. As everyone knows, the Chen family does not involve itself in worldly disputes. That is a rule set by the ancestors. Since Chen Boyan will eventually return to the Chen family, allowing him to compete in the Knock upon the Immortal Gate seems improper.”

“What part of it is improper?” Tang Li’s usual mild demeanor vanished. “Even if my senior nephew leaves Gushan Sword in the future, he is still my senior nephew. He represents Gushan Sword in this competition. There is nothing improper about that.”

“Don’t be upset, Brother Tang,” Wang Changlin interjected to smooth things over. “These elders have their concerns. After all, it was a rule laid down by their ancestors. I wonder… what does Brother Chen think?”

Chen Wujie remained seated. Even as the others rose to their feet, he stayed where he was, and not a single person found it inappropriate. He looked up, glanced at the white-bearded elder, then turned to Tang Li and said, “What do the rest of you think?”

Yu Yao, of course, stood with the white-bearded elder. “Rules must not be broken. I hope you will not take offense, Young Master Chen.”

Chen Wujie waved his hand dismissively and let his gaze sweep across the others. “And the rest of you?”

Many among them hesitated.

The matter itself was not particularly serious, especially with today being the final day of the competition. But to force Chen Boyan to withdraw now felt abrupt. Even so, the white-bearded elders had invoked ancestral rules with such conviction. If Chen Boyan were made to step down, Gushan Sword would be left without its strongest blade, and the others would have a clear path forward.

Several who had been about to speak up held their tongues.

Tang Li understood that each sect had its own interests to consider, but that did not stop his fury from boiling over. “My senior nephew was personally trained by my elder brother and uses the sword techniques of Gushan. Why shouldn’t he be allowed to compete? How does that break any rule?”

“Not so,” Yu Yao shook his head. “Chen Boyan is a son of the Chen family. He must have been carefully nurtured by them from a young age. Brother Tang, how can you claim all the credit for yourself?”

“Elder Yu, mind your words.” Tang Li was furious, yet he had no way to refute it. Yu Yao’s words were blatant provocation, but Chen Wujie remained utterly unmoved, leaving Tang Li uncertain and uneasy.

At that moment, the old man in the bamboo rain cloak opened his eyes and said, “Rules are fixed, but people are not.”

The master from Futu Temple also placed his palms together and said, “Amitabha. With only half a day left in the competition, let us not damage the harmony between us.”

“Master, that is not quite right,” the white-bearded elder said earnestly. “The rules of our ancestors must not be broken. And even if Chen Boyan withdraws from the competition, would anyone truly deny his strength? We all know that the senior disciple of Gushan is a rare gentleman. If we speak to him properly, I’m sure he will understand.”

Another elder stepped forward and said, “That’s right. Didn’t the young man Chen brought along also refrain from competing? Clearly, the rules are meant to be upheld.”

Nonsense. Tang Li was seething and cursed silently. He had just drawn breath, ready to launch into a heated rebuttal, when those few elders suddenly bowed deeply and said, “The great sects should set an example for all cultivators. We hope the clan head and the rest of you will think twice before acting.”

As their words fell, Yu Yao also rose to his feet in support.

“You—” Tang Li gritted his teeth. That sanctimonious charge was nothing but a political trap, and he saw it for exactly what it was. There was no point arguing now. In the end, the ones who would decide the matter were Wang Changlin and Chen Wujie.

Wang Changlin appeared calm, taking a neutral stance as he passed the decision to Chen Wujie. “Why don’t you make the call, Brother Chen? You are Fangjun’s third uncle. He would never disobey your word.”

Chen Wujie raised his teacup slightly, lifting his eyelids as if he could hardly be bothered with these worldly disputes. But with everyone watching him, he shook his head and said, “If that’s the case, let Fangjun withdraw. We of the Chen family have no need for such empty reputation. He will understand.”

Those two sentences from Chen Wujie turned Tang Li’s face completely dark and stirred an uproar on the terrace.

Tu Youqiong grabbed the Wang clan steward who had delivered the message, disbelief written all over his face. “What did you say? You want my senior brother to withdraw? On what grounds?!”

“Yeah! What’s wrong with my senior brother? You’d better explain!” Xiao Yu’er refused to back down.

Dai Xiaoshan narrowed his eyes and glanced around. The reactions from the various sects were mixed, but no one was more pleased than Beidou. Somewhere in the crowd, someone called out loudly, “Just a moment ago he was strutting around like he was invincible, and now already knocked off the rankings. How long did he even stay up there? The time it takes for a single stick of incense?”

A few people burst into laughter. The sound pierced Tu Youqiong’s ears and made his chest feel like it was about to explode. Without another word, he rolled up his sleeves and stormed toward them.

Chen Boyan reached out to stop him. “Don’t make a scene.”

“How is this making a scene?” Tu Youqiong’s eyes were red with anger. “They’re insulting you. I’m going to fight them!”

“Xiao Yu’er will come too!”

“And Qing Gu!”

Zhong Wu, Master Yinian, and several others stepped forward as well. “Brother Chen, this may be a misunderstanding. If you’re willing, we can accompany you into the tower and speak with them directly.”

As his gaze swept across the faces gathered around him, concern written on every one of them, a faint warmth stirred in Chen Boyan’s chest. “Thank you all for your kindness. I—”

“What’s everyone gathering here for?” A teasing voice cut him off mid-sentence. He turned around and saw someone walking toward them with unhurried steps.

That someone was, of course, Meng Qiqi, who had been missing for the past two days.

He leapt down from the railing. The crowd instinctively parted to make way for him, and he walked down the path they opened until he came to stand in front of Chen Boyan. Then he turned around and shielded him behind his back.

The smile on his face vanished in an instant, replaced by a chill. “Who dared to bully my senior nephew while I was gone?”