HEAVEN SWORD DRAGON SABRE Book 2 of 2

The Hidden Military Strategy Manual Part 4

Suddenly Wu Jingcao shouted, "Gu Xiongdi [brother Gu], do it!"

The Rui Jin Flag's Vice Flag Leader rushed toward the furnace with a naked blade in his hand. A white ray flashed, the blade stabbed Wu Jingcao in the chest. The multitude faces of heroes watching from the side changed, they all cried out in shock. Blood spurted out from Wu Jingcao's naked chest toward the Tulong Saber. As the blood met the fire, blue smoke rose gracefully.

"It's finished!" Wu Jingcao shouted. He retreated several steps and fell sitting down on the ground. There was a deep black big saber in his right hand. The two broken pieces of the Tulong Saber had been fused together into one piece.

Now everybody understood. Turned out when a swordsmith failed to forge a saber or a sword, they would drip blood on the blade. There was an old legend about a certain husband and wife, Gan Jiang and Mo Xie, who had to jump into the furnace before an extremely sharp weapon could be forged. With his action, Wu Jingcao might have followed a master artisanship custom handed down from the ancient times.

Zhang Wuji rushed toward Wu Jingcao; he looked carefully at the wound, and saw that the saber only entered the flesh shallowly, the injury was not life threatening. Immediately he applied cut wound medicine and wrapped up the wound, while saying, "Wu Xiong, why did you do this? It's not important whether this Saber can be fixed or not. Why did Wu Xiong have to suffer such pain?"

"What's the big deal about this superficial wound that it has caused Jiaozhu anxiety?" Wu Jingcao replied. He stood up and raised the Tulong Saber to take a closer look. Upon seeing that the broken part was mended flawlessly with only a faint trace of blood on it, he could not help but feel very proud.

Zhang Wuji examined the two Sheng Huo Ling tablets, which were used inside the furnace and as expected, he did not see the slightest sign of damage. Receiving the Tulong Saber, he chopped it on two spears, which were snatched from Yuan troops earlier. With a light 'Swish!' sound, the two spears were cut smoothly, as if they were made of mud, cut by ordinary iron.

The crowd of heroes applauded loudly. "Excellent Saber! Excellent Saber!" they praised.

Wu Jingcao took the two-piece Yitian Sword in his hands. His mind wandered to the moment when the former Rui Jin Flag Leader, Zhuang Zheng, as well as dozens of his brethrens of the Rui Jin Flag, lost their lives under this Sword. He could not restrain tears from flowing down his eyes.

"Jiaozhu," he said, "This Sword has killed my Zhuang Dage. It has killed not a few of my good brothers. Wu Jingcao hates this Sword to the bone. I can't fix it. I am ready to accept responsibility for this offense." While saying that, his tears poured down like rain.

"That only shows Wu Xiong's 'yi qi' [loyalty, code of brotherhood]," Zhang Wuji said, "What offense are you talking about?" Taking the two pieces of the Sword, he walked toward Jing Xuan of Emei Pai and said, "This Sword originally belonged to your precious Sect. I would like to ask Shitai to pass this on to Miss ... to Mrs. Song." Jing Xuan did not say anything, but she accepted the two pieces of broken sword.

Zhang Wuji held the Tulong Saber in his hand; he thought for a moment and then brought the Saber to Kong Wen.

"Fangzhang," he said, "This Saber was my Yifu's. Now that Yifu has entered the 'three precious' [orig. 'san bao' – Buddha, Dharma (his teaching) and Sangha (his monastic order)] and joined Shaolin, it is only fit that this Saber should be under Shaolin Pai's power."

Kong Wen shook both of his hands and said, "This Saber has already exchanged hands many times over. Last time it was Zhang Jiaozhu who snatched it away from among the thousand troops and ten thousand horses; everybody can bear witness to it. And then it was Wu Dage from your precious Cult who mended it. In addition, today the heroes from all over the world have agreed to elect Zhang Jiaozhu to preside over the honorable position. Therefore, it is a question of ability and virtue, of origin and relationship, of prestige and position, this Saber should be under Zhang Jiaozhu's control. This is perfectly justified."