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I'm not sure who owns this HSDS (Heaven Sword & Dragon Sabre) Summary website, but I found it by accident a while ago and it's been down ever since. I thought it would be a great idea to post this here and use it as a reference. (Just in case it's gone forever or down again for quite sometimes).
And to give credit to the unknown writer who summarize the story, here's the direct link
http://www30.brinkster.com/affirmati0ns/yttlj.html
OK.. here's the summary.
HEAVEN SWORD & DRAGON SABRE SUMMARY
YITIAN TU LONG JI
Preface
Yi Tian Tu Long Ji, or literally translated, the Heaven-Ruling Sword and the Dragon-Slaying Sabre. Simply put, the Heaven Sword and Dragon Sabre. It was writting by our favourite Chinese novelist Jing Yong, or Louis Cha in goodness-knows-when.
This book is the third part of Jing Yong's romance trilogy, comprising of She Diao Ying Xiong Zhuan, starring Guo Jing and Huang Rong, and Shen Diao Xia Lu, main characters being Yang Guo and Xiao Long Nu. Now, in this third part, we have Zhang Wuji.
Basically, the book is a very typical Jing Yong novel - the hero learns some super powerful skill and becomes the best martial arts exponent in the world. Then he meets millions of girls who fall for him and in the end he marries one and disappears from the scene forever. So happy.
The book is based around the Heaven Sword and the Dragon Sabre. Simply put, the wielder of either Sword or Sabre is supposedly invincible, as long as he can figure out the secret to unleashing that kind of power.
Introduction to the Sects
There are a few major sects. One is Shaolin Temple. Shaolin Temple has a very long history and is featured in every single Jing Yong novel. It is a Buddhist temple which has venerable monks (duh) and a strong martial arts tradition. In this story, Shaolin's most powerful skills are the Shaolin Jiuyang Gong and the Jing Gang Bu Huai Ti, or Shaolin's Invincible Body Skill.
Wudang Sect is located on Mt. Wudang (duh). Formed about 40 years before the story began by a Shaolin reject called Zhang Junbao. He lived in isolation till he was enlightened in the ways of martial arts, creating a new branch of martial arts based on the Yin and Yang of Taoist preaching. He then changed his name to Zhang Sanfeng and took in 7 disciples. After many years of teaching them, they went out into the pugilistic world and carved a name for themselves with their acts of bravery and heroism, and labelled as the Seven Heroes of Wudang. When the story begins, one of their most important skills is Wudang Jiuyang Gong.
Emei Sect was formed by Heroine Guo Xiang, one of Guo Jing's two daughters. The present leader is Priestess Miejue, a Taoist priestess with a cruel and unfeeling heart (how ironic), who possesses the incredibly sharp Heaven Sword. Emei skills are based around their most powerful skill, Emei Jiuyang Gong.
Beggar's Sect is another of Jing Yong's favourite sects. As the name implies, it is the union of beggars all across China. Their most formidable skills are Xiang Long Shi Ba Zhang, or the 18 Dragon Palms, and Da Gou Bang Fa, the Dog-Beating Staff Skill, both having been passed down from generation to generation of leaders from Hong Qi Gong.
Kongtong Sect, Huashan Sect and Kunlun Sect, along with Shaolin, Wudang, and Emei, are known as the Six Great Orthodox Sects collectively.
Ming Sect is an unorthodox sect, labelled to be the "Evil Sect" by the orthodox sects. The structure of the Ming Sect is as such: the highest rank is the leader of the Ming Sect, followed by the Right and Left Envoys, then the Four Kings. At present, Ming Sect is in shambles and civil war, with the leader dead for many years and everyone squabbling for power. Their most divine skill is Qian Kun Da Nuo Yi, or the Great Reversal Skill.
Tianying Sect is a breakaway sect from the Ming Sect, led by one of Ming Sect's Kings, the White Eagle Yin Tian Zheng.
Outstanding Skills
Jiuyang Shengong - the most powerful type of internal energy known. Developed by a Shaolin monk long ago and written in the manuscript, Jiuyang Zhenjing. Learnt in full most recently before the story by Jueyuan, a Shaolin monk. He then passed in down in three parts to the future leaders of Shaolin, Wudang and Emei, resulting in the formation of Shaolin, Wudang and Emei Jiuyang Gong. All three are but mere shadows of what was once Jiuyang Shengong. The original manuscript was stolen and hidden away...only to be found by our hero.
Jiuying White Bone Claws and Heart-Fragmenting Palms - skills taught in a manuscript called Jiuying Zhenjing, that was once possessed by Guo Jing. Guo Jing hid the manuscript, and it was then learnt by one of our characters. Jiuying Zhenjing possesses these two skills, and also trains internal energy. If not learnt properly, they can become very evil skills.
Great Reversal Skill - passed down along the generations of Ming Sect leaders, it has many capabilities, including the ability to store your enemy's energy and focus it back or away. Proved very useful to save our hero's life.
Shaolin's Invincible Body Skill - allows person to be invincible to attacks. Requires large amounts of concentration and internal energy.
Book 1
The story begins with Wudang's Third Hero Yu Daiyan walking around and amazingly stumbling across some people fighting for the Dragon Sabre. He took it from them so that less people would squabble over it and cause casualties. He decided to return to Wudang to celebrate his teacher's 90th birthday, and to let his teacher handle the matter of the Sabre. He was waylaid and poison darts paralyse and knock him unconscious temporarily.
After waking up, he found that a kind stranger had ordered an escort agency to bring him safely back to Wudang. The escort company, run by Shaolin disciples, brought him to the foot of Mt Wudang. They ran into some people who they mistook for the other Six Heroes of Wudang and handed him over. They then proceeded downhill, where they met the Fifth Hero Zhang Cuishan. He revealed that the other Five Heroes had been on the mountaintop the whole day. Realising their mistake, they combed the area till they located Yu Daiyan, wwith his joints broken by the unmistakable Shaolin Iron Fingers.
After bringing him back to Wudang and letting Zhang Sanfeng use his extraordinary internal energies to keep him alive, Zhang Cuishan was filled with anger and immediately rushed to the escort agency headquarters. There, he found that everyone in the agency had been killed, with eyewitnesses fingering him. He leaved the scene and met a woman, Yin Susu. He discovered that Yin Susu was the person who had hired the escort agency to bring Yu Daiyan back to Wudang after she spotted him lying paralysed next to the road while passing by. She also mentioned that she had followed the agency and had been hit by Shaolin's poison darts while attempting to recue Yu Daiyan. In anger, she had returned to the agency headquarters and killed everyone there for not doing a proper job. Zhang Cuishan was shocked by her cruelty, but used his internal energy to purge the poison from her body, helping to heal her injuries.
Zhang Cuishan then followed Yin Susu to a desolate place where Tianying Sect was exhibiting the Dragon Sabre. He discovered that she was in fact the daughter of Tianying Sect leader, Yin Tianzheng. A number sects had gathered to view this famous Sabre. However, one of Ming Sect's Kings, Golden Hair Lion King, Xie Xun, gatecrashed the party and took the Sabre. He then sent everyone into madness with his Lion Howl, sparing only Yin Susu and Zhang Cuishan. He abducted them and they sailed towards a far-off place where Xie Xun would be able to concentrate on unravelling the mystery of the Sabre, without leaving any eyewitnesses behind. When they reached the polar regions, Yin Susu blinded Xie Xun with her darts and escaped with Zhang Cuishan to Icy Fire Island. Not long after, Xie Xun somehow arrived on the Island too. There, Yin Susu and Zhang Cuishan, who as usual fell in love at first sight, got married and had a child. Yin Susu pleaded with Xie Xun to adopt the child as his godson, and he agreed, naming the boy Zhang Wuji, after his own dead son, Xie Wuji.
Ten years had passed, Xie Xun then tells of his life story. He had been under the tutelage of a highly skilled martial arts exponent called Cheng Kun. One night, when Xie Xun was drunk, Cheng Kun took advantage of his wife and killed everyone in the household. Xie Xun then vowed revenge on his now-hidden teacher, and went on a killing spree, pretending to be Cheng Kun in order to force his teacher out to deny the claims. One night, he spotted Wudang's First Hero Song Yuanqiao, and planned to kill him. However, he was stopped by an old and wise Shaolin monk, Kongjian, who wanted to resolve this conflict. He let Xie Xun hit him 13 times in return for the family members Cheng Kun killed. If Xie Xun could kill him, Cheng Kun would appear to face Xie Xun. However, if Xie Xun failed, he would have to forget about this matter. Xie Xun began to hit Kongjian with the skill he stole from Kongtong Sect, Qishang Quan, or Seven Fatal Fists. This skill was reputed to be able to injure seven vital body organs. After 12 hits, Xie Xun realised that Kongjian's Invincible Body Skill was too powerful. Thus, he pretended to kill himself so as to force the kind Kongjian into losing concentration to save him. His plan worked, and Kongjian tried to stop him, thus losing the effect of the Invincible Body Skill. On the 13th hit, Kongjian crumbled to his death. But Cheng Kun had played him out. Xie Xun vowed revenge and decided to obtain the Dragon Sabre so as to rule the world and kill Cheng Kun.
After a few months, Zhang Cuishan, Yin Susu and Zhang Wuji built a raft and returned to the Central Plains. Xie Xun refused to leave Icy Fire Island, as he did not want to get caught up in matters of the pugilistic world. Upon their return to the Central Plains, Zhang Wuji was captured by two Mongolian martial arts exponents, the Xuanmin Elders. Zhang Cuishan and Yin Susu returned to Wudang in tears. There, the other five Orthdox Sects had gathered to hear about Xie Xun's whereabouts. They all claimed to be looking for Xie Xun in order to seek revenge for the people he killed, but most were actually looking for the Dragon Sabre. In secrecy, Yin Susu finally revealed her ten-year old secret in front of Zhang Cuishan - she had been the one who initially paralysed Yu Daiyan. Ashamed to face Wudang, and in order to quell the unrest, Zhang Cuishan was forced to kill himself. Suddenly, a gloating Xuanmin Elder appeared at the door with Zhang Wuji. He was driven away and Wuji was saved, but not before the evil Elder hit Wuji with a Xuanmin Palm, an extremely cold poisonous skill. Yin Susu then pretended to tell the Shaolin abbot the whereabouts of Xie Xun in order to draw attention away from herself, then killed herself in order to be with her dead husband.
The five Orthodox Sects left the mountain in view of these grave circumstances, and the remaining Five Wudang Heroes along with Zhang Sanfeng, used their internal energy to purge Wuji of the effects of the Xuanmin Palm. They managed to stabilise his condition, while the now-paralysed Yu Daiyan could only watch helplessly. Zhang Sanfeng realised that the only way to heal him completely was to teach him Jiuyang Shengong. However, the original manuscript could not be found and the closest they could get was to teach Wuji Emei, Wudang and Shaolin Jiuyang Gong. After 2 years, Zhang Sanfeng had taught Wuji the intricacies of Wudang Jiuyang Gong, and now brought him to Shaolin to request that Shaolin teach Zhang Wuji Shaolin Jiuyang Gong. Sadly, the wise and kind Shaolin abbot and elders turned down their request and they left disappointed.
Book 2
Zhang Sanfeng and Zhang Wuji descended the mountain and took a boat to go gallivanting along the river. Suddenly, they spotted some passengers on another boat being attacked by Mongolian soldiers. The heroic Zhang Sanfeng immediately jumped over and killed all the Mongolian soldiers. After docking the boat, he found that the boatman was dead, and the boatman's daughter, named Zhou Zhiruo, had been left all alone in the world. Their passenger was a Ming Sect disciple known as Chang Yuchun. Chang Yuchun then volunteered to bring Zhang Wuji to seek a cure for his deadly sickness at the Ming Sect's God of Doctors Hu Qingniu. Zhang Sanfeng agreed, but only on the condition that Zhang Wuji did not join the Ming Sect. They parted ways, Zhang Wuji following Chang Yuchun and Zhou Zhiruo following Zhang Sanfeng.
Chang Yuchun brought Zhang Wuji to the Butterfly Valley to seek help. There, Hu Qingniu refused to help Zhang Wuji unless he joined the MingSect. He would only heal Chang Yuchun. Chang Yuchun wanted to exchange his own life for Zhang Wuji's and refused any medication. Hu Qingniu reminded Chang Yuchun that he had only 7 days in which to cure him, but Chang Yuchun was willing to give his life for Zhang Wuji and collapsed outside. However, the stubborn Hu Qingniu still remained adamant. Later in the day, Hu Qingniu tested Zhang Wuji's pulse, and realised that this sickness was extremely unique and queer, one worthy of pitting his own medical skills against. He decided to test his own medical skills to the limt and prove that he was indeed the God of Doctors by healing Zhang Wuji. After that, he would still keep to his promise of not healing anyone who did not belong to Ming Sect by killing Zhang Wuji.
6 days passed, and Zhang Wuji had been reading all of Hu Qingniu's medical books in search of a cure for Chang Yuchun. He finally decided to give it a shot and managed to heal Chang Yuchun. However, as Hu Qingniu revealed later, the medicine given to Chang Yuchun by Zhang Wuji had been a severe overdose, and this would shorten Chang Yuchun's life by 40 years. With a laugh, Chang Yuchun shrugged it off, and promised to visit Zhang Wuji often. This great friend of Zhang Wuji's thus departed Butterfly Valley.
A couple of years passed and Zhang Wuji's illness had spread to his vital organs. Even the God of Doctors could not help him now. All Hu Qingniu could do was attempt to slow down the process. One good point was that Zhang Wuji had picked up much valuable medical knowledge from Hu Qingniu, and he now possessed medical skills beyond any other doctor (besides Hu Qingniu of course). Hu Qingniu then told Zhang Wuji about his sister. Hu Qingniu had met a person dying of a very deadly poison which would cause so much pain the person would scratch the flesh off his own skin gladly. He had healed this person, Xian Yutong, and even betrothed his own sister to him. However, Xian Yutong instead married the daughter of Huashan Sect's leader, and forced Hu Qingniu's sister to death. This Xian Yutong was now the leader of Huashan Sect.
At this point, many people from the orthodox sects came to seek Hu Qingniu's medical assistance. They had various weird illnesses that Zhang Wuji had never seen before. Furthermore, they all bore a little golden flower. Sadly for them, Hu Qingniu was down with smallpox and could not help them. Even if he was not sick, he refused to help anyone not from the Ming Sect. Suddenly, Zhang Wuji spotted a familiar face. It was Ji Xiaofu with a little girl. Ji Xiaofu was an Emei disciple and had been betrothed to Wudang's Sixth Hero Yin Liting, and had been present at Mt. Wudang on the day his parents commited suicide. He ushered Ji Xiaofu to one side where he helped to test her pulse and used acupuncture to ease her pain. Then, she introduced the little girl, her daughter Yang Buhui (meaning no regrets).
Zhang Wuji then helped to heal the rest of the orthodox sect disciples. After doing so, he heard about how Ji Xiaofu was injured. She had been called by a message from Emei to meet at an inn. There, she had met the rest of the injured people, who had also been called in the same way. Suddenly, a coughing old woman, known as Granny Jinhua, had come up and knocked them off their feet and out of breath. She then tied them up and used different ways of injuring them. They were then told to go to Butterfly Valley to seek a cure.
Then, Hu Qingniu summoned Zhang Wuji into his room. He introduced Zhang Wuji to his wife, where he explained the whole situation.
Hu Qingniu explained why he refused to cure anyone not belonging to Ming Sect. All along, his wife was labelled the Goddess of Poison. She had always been competing with him to find out whether the God of Doctors or the Goddess of Poison was better. At first, he had incurred her wrath by curing some of the people she had poisoned. As both of them were from Ming Sect, he knew she would not hurt anyone from Ming Sect. Thus, in order to give way to his wife whom he so dearly loved, he refused to heal anyone not from Ming Sect.
A few years later, Granny Jinhua had come to him to seek help for her husband. However, he refused to heal them as they were not from Ming Sect. The Granny smirked and left, swearing revenge. Now, these people had come to test whether he really kept to his promise of not curing non-Ming Sect disciples. This signalled her intent of coming to kill him. As such, he had decided to run away with his wife in a caravan, and asked Zhang Wuji to make two fake graves, and claim that he had killed himself. He then gave Zhang Wuji a medical book he had compiled himself, hoping that Zhang Wuji would be able to find a cure from there. Hu Qingniu's wife also gave him a book of poisons that she hoped might be useful in the future.
After they left, the Granny and her little female disciple Yin Li appeared. They discovered that Zhang Wuji was Xie Xun's god son, and wanted to bring Zhang Wuji with them and force him to reveal the whereabouts of the Dragon Sabre. However, Zhang Wuji refused and bit Yin Li's hand. Ji Xiaofu tried to help Zhang Wuji, but the Granny was highly skilled and defeated Ji Xiaofu easily. At this moment, the Emei Sect leader Priestess Miejue appeared. Miejue managed to defeat the Granny by a couple of strokes, and the Granny left with Yin Li. Then Miejue brought Ji Xiaofu to a side where she questioned her disciple about her daughter.
Ji Xiaofu then revealed that she had actually been followed by a man. This man had extremely good martial arts skills, but had not forced her to do anything. After many months of being followed, she finally gave in to him. She then found herself pregnant and had not dared to return to Emei Sect in fear of being punished severely. She then revealed that this man was actualy the Left Envoy of Ming Sect, Yang Xiao. Miejue was horrified, as she hated the Ming Sect and all other "evil" sects. She ordered Ji Xiaofu to kill Yang Xiao, but she refused, and Miejue was forced to kill her.
After Emei left, Ji Xiaofu entrusted Zhang Wuji with Yang Buhui, asking him to bring her to her father, Yang Xiao, somewhere in the Kunlun Mountains, all the way across China in the west. Zhang Wuji agreed, and actually took Yang Buhui all the way across China. There he left Yang Buhui with Yang Xiao and journeyed off on his own.
Floundering in the snowy peaks of the Kunlun Mountain Range, he was attacked by some dogs and lost consciousness. When he awoke, he discovered that he had been saved by a pretty lady known as Zhu Jiuzhen. Zhang Wuji fell in love with her at first sight. He discovered that there had been an incident where her family had been surrounded by robbers, defenceless. Zhang Cuishan had saved their entire family from death and humiliation by Zhang Cuishan, and revealed that he was Zhang Wuji. Zhu Jiuzhen's father, Zhu Changling, then declared that he would rescue Xie Xun from Icy Fire Island and bring him back safely. However, Zhang Wuji soon discovered that this was actually been a ploy to trick him into leading them to the Dragon Sabre. He ran away, followed closely by Zhu Changling. They dropped onto a plateau, and Zhang Wuji escaped by squeezing into a small crevice.
The crevice turned out to be a tunnel into a little paradise, with fruits, fish, goats and monkeys all around. There, he found a monkey with a large tumour in its stomach. He found out that it was actually a little gunny sack sewn into the monkey's stomach. He removed it and discovered that it was actually Jiuyang Zhenjing.
Many years ago, two evildoers had stolen the Jiuyang Zhenjing from Shaolin Temple and hid it in a monkey when escaping from the monk Jueyuan and the Condor Hero Yang Guo. They ran away to Western China and fought over the manual, killing each other in the process. The monkey had found its way to this little cave where Zhang Wuji was.
As such, Zhang Wuji took five years to learn the Jiuyang Shengong, constantly flinging fruits to his enemy outside the cave. When he had completed his learning process he buried the Jiuyang Zhenjing, along with both He Qingniu's and his wife's books in the cave. He felt almost invincible with his superior internal energy and with his illness totally cured. Thus, he exited the cave in order to visit Zhang Sanfeng and his other uncles at Wudang. However, he was tricked by Zhu Changling, who pushed him down a cliff. Zhang Wuji dropped into a pile of hay, miraculously surviving the huge fall and only broke his legs. There he met a disfigured girl who called herself Zhu'er. Zhang Wuji did not want to reveal his identity in case more people questioned him about Xie Xun, and gave himself the name Zeng Ahniu.
After a few days of talking, Zhang Wuji realised that Zhu'er was actually Yin Li, the Golden Flower Granny's disciple. Both of them exchanged their life stories (with Zhang Wuji's being fake to a large extent naturally), and Zhang Wuji discovered that Yin Li had fallen in love with him ever since the day they first met. However, Yin Li could not recognise him, and probably would never have. She only loved the little stubborn strong-willed 14-year old Zhang Wuji, not the grown-up one. Zhang Wuji then revealed that he had been tricked by Zhu Jiuzhen and forced into his present state.
A few days later, Yin Li returned, and revealed that she had killed Zhu Jiuzhen in order to seek revenge for Zhang Wuji. The Zhu family then came and surrounded her. Yin Li fought bravely but she was no match for 5 of her opponents. Suddenly, Zhang Wuji stepped up and defeated all of them. Yin Li and Zhang Wuji escaped, and were caught by Miejue, who was heading towards Bright Peak, where the Ming Sect was. Emei and the other orthodox sects were going to wipe out the Ming Sect together. Miejue then encountered a gang of Ming Sect disciples, and they engaged in a bloody battle. Zhang Wuji was shocked by the cruelty of Miejue, and pleaded with her to spare their lives. In return, he would allow Miejue to hit him 3 times. The first two blows caught Zhang Wuji heavily, but at the same time gave him new insights into Jiuyang Shengong. On the third blow, he managed to use his internal energies and launch a counter-blow, almost knocking Miejue off her feet.
He discovered later that Yin Li was actually the daughter of Yin Yewang, meaning that she was actually his cousin. However, he was caught in a gunny sack and taken to a mountaintop. There he met the Five Separatists, comprising of Zhou Dian, Priest Tieguan, Leng Qian, his captor the monk Shuo Bu De, and the Green Winged Bat King, Wei Yixiao. They brought him to meet Yang Xiao too. However, they were ambushed by Cheng Kun and all 7 were paralysed in their melee. In the meantime, Zhang Wuji's Jiuyang internal energies had been seeping out of his body and were being trapped in the gunny sack. With a bang, the gunny sack exploded and Zhang Wuji had finally crossed the last hurdle in learning Jiuyang Shengong.
Cheng Kun recovered quickly and ran, with Zhang Wuji chasing fiercely after him. He met Yang Buhui and her servant Xiaozhao. Xiaozhao led Zhang Wuji to the Ming Sect's secret tunnel to look for Cheng Kun, but Cheng Kun let down an avalanche of rocks to trap them in the tunnel. There, Zhang Wuji discovered the manuscript for the Great Reversal Skill, which then allowed him to use his Jiuyang Shengong properly to remove the rocks.
He then proceeded to Bright Peak, where he offered to defend the Ming Sect and save them from certain extermination. There was no one else to help him, as Yang Xiao and the Five Separatists had been severely injured by Cheng Kun earlier. There was only White Eagle King Yin Tianzheng, but he was one man against an entire army.
Book 3
Naturally, Zhang Wuji defeated all of the orthodox sect representatives, taking revenge for Hu Qingniu on Xian Yutong and wrenching the Heaven Sword from Miejue's hands. When he returned it to Zhou Zhiruo, who had become an Emei disciple, Miejue ordered her to kill him. Without a moment's hesitation, she plunged the sword into his chest. It was then that he revealed he was Zhang Wuji and not Zeng Ahniu. The sects were stunned and after a while they left, with Zhang Wuji entrusted to the Ming Sect to recuperate under their protection. The Ming Sect was attacked and they went into hiding.
After that, all the Ming Sect disciples all over China were summoned to the Butterfly Valley, where Zhang Wuji was officially installed as the leader of the Ming Sect. Then, Zhang Wuji chose a handful of people to follow him to Icy Fire Island where they would bring Xie Xun back to the mainland.
On the way, they met the most ravishing beauty Zhang Wuji had ever laid eyes upon, a girl with Mongolian airs, Zhao Min. She invited them to her villa for a meal, and they discovered that she possessed the Heaven Sword. After they left, they realised they had been poisoned. Zhang Wuji returned to the villa for the antidote. After some frolicking and physical contact and romantic moments in an underground chamber (usual Jing Yong style) Zhang Wuji left.
Later, they encountered Yin Liting lying in a pit. His joints had been broken by Shaolin's Iron Fingers! Zhang Wuji was furious and immediately set out for Shaolin Temple. However, they found that it was deserted and large words inscribed on the backs of some giant gold Buddha statues. It was written under the Ming Sect's name and signalled evil intent - that the Ming Sect had eliminated Shaolin and was heading for Wudang. Zhang Wuji immediately sped towards Wudang. There he posed as a little servant boy and saw Zhang Sanfeng tricked by a Shaolin monk and severely injured.
Zhang Wuji then realised that Zhao Min was behind this, and that she was actually forcing the major sects to join forces with the Mongolian court to take over China. Zhang Sanfeng knew that, with himself injured, Yu Daiyan left paralysed and all the other Wudang heroes missing, there was no way Wudang could stand against this attack. He then passed on his latest skill, the Taiji Fists to Yu Daiyan with Zhang Wuji watching at the side.
Zhao Min appeared posing as Zhang Wuji and the leader of the Ming Sect. She challenged Zhang Sanfeng using her three servants. Zhang Wuji saved the day by injuring the first two with the Taiji Fists and his Jiuyang Shengong. When faced with his sword-wielding last opponent, Zhang Sanfeng then passed on the Taiji Swordplay, and he managed to defeat Zhao Min.
Zhang Wuji had discovered that Zhao Min also commanded some Shaolin monks from the far western regions of China, and that they had a certain medicine called the Heiyu Duanxu Paste. This was a very effective medicine that could heal broken bones easily. He followed them and stole the paste at night, hoping to use it to heal both Yu Daiyan and Yin Liting. To his dismay, the paste he stole was actually a poison. Zhao Min had been too clever for him. He ended up having to beg Zhao Min for the antidote, and Zhao Min agreed to let him have the antidote, but only if he promised to do 3 things for her in the future.
Zhang Wuji brought Wei Yixiao and Yang Xiao in search of Zhao Min after a while. They found out that she had the major orthodox sect members in captivity in a pagoda. They arrived and realised that she was forcing them to display their martial arts skills so that she could steal them. They had been given a poison that suppressed their internal energy. She also commanded both the Xuanmin Elders and an extremely highly skilled mute called Ku Toutuo.
Later that night, Ku Toutuo appeared at Zhang Wuji's window and challenged him to a duel. Zhang Wuji naturally won and Ku Toutuo suddenly spoke to them, telling them that he was actually the Ming Sect Right Envoy Fan Yao. However, he had disfigured himself beyond recognition and pretended to be a mute so that he could act as an undercover spy in the Mongolian court. He had found out that Zhao Min was actually a Mongolian princess and that the Mongolian court wished to eliminate the Ming Sect first.
The four of them hatched an elaborate scheme to steal the antidote from the Xuanmin Elders. Halfway through the plan, just as Fan Yao was about to ascend the pagoda so that he could give the captives the antidote, Zhao Min appeared and asked him to accompany her to see Zhang Wuji. Fan Yao realised all of a sudden that Zhao Min was in love with Zhang Wuji (gasp! like we didn't know...). In a dark little shady corner of the inn, Zhao Min and Zhang Wuji had an intimate discussion about matters absolutely not important. Zhao Min also asked Zhang Wuji to bring her to look for the Dragon Sabre when he departed.
In the meantime, Fan Yao had returned to the pagoda and given the antidote to the captives. Zhao Min's brother Wang Baobao had brought his troops and surrounded the pagoda. Although there were many Ming Sect exponents there to help fend off attacks, it was inevitable that they would be defeated by sheer masses. The pagoda was set on fire by Wang Baobao's men. The captives were trapped five storeys above ground level - death seemed inevitable.
However, when there's a will, there's a way, and where there's a Jing Yong hero, no good guy dies. Zhang Wuji appeared in the nick of time and saved everyone. At the rooftop, Fan Yao was fighting with Miejue. Fan Yao had tricked one of the Elders into thinking that Miejue was his old lover. Now Miejue was going to kill Fan Yao for smearing her name. Soon Fan Yao escaped from the pagoda. Miejue also leapt down, but swore not to accept any favours from Ming Sect disciples. When Zhang Wuji leapt up to catch her, she pushed him away and fell to her death. (By the way Miejue isn't a very good person and she isn't a guy, so she dies)
The next day, Zhao Min met Zhang Wuji in the inn again. There they had a very intimate discussion again and Zhang Wuji brought her out of the inn. They met some Emei disciples arguing amongst themselves. Apparently Zhou Zhiruo had been asked to take on the leadership of Emei, and the disciples doubted this discision, leading to a quarrel. Just then, Granny Jinhua and Yin Li appeared and abducted Zhou Zhiruo. Zhang Wuji, being the fickle minded testosterone charged guy he is, wanted to save her too.
As a result, Zhao Min, Zhang Wuji and Xiaozhao who had come along for the ride, went onto Granny Jinhua's boat to follow her. On the boat, Zhang Wuji and Zhao Min shared some very lovey dovey times and the usual Jing Yong stuff.
They arrived at Lingshe Island, where they saw Xie Xun. He was fighting a few Beggar's Sect people and he finally defeated all of them. Some more romantic moments followed. That night, Zhang Wuji discovered a plot by Granny Jinhua to steal the Dragon Sabre and severely injure Xie Xun. He tried to stop her, but suddenly three people appeared. They proclaimed themselves as the Three Envoys of the Persian Ming Sect. Zhang Wuji was almost defeated by their unpredictable and weird style of martial arts, and rescued Xie Xun, Yin Li, Zhou Zhiruo, Xiaozhao and Zhao Min. They sailed away, but returned as they saw how severely wounded Zhao Min and Yin Li had been in the battle against the Persian envoys.
They encountered some gigantic Persian Ming Sect ships, where Zhang Wuji fought many of their most skilled exponents. He managed to defeat them and took six Fire Tablets from them. These had been lost years ago, and was a symbol of power. They discovered that an ancient form of the Great Reversal Skill had been inscribed on these Tablets, and Zhang Wuji learnt them easily.
Later, he discovered that Xiaozhao was actually Granny Jinhua's daughter, and had been sent to steal the Chinese version of the Great Reversal Skill for the Persian Ming Sect. This heralded a great achievement for Xiaozhao, and she was proclaimed the leader of the Persian Ming Sect. They sailed away, leaving Xie Xun, Zhao Min, Zhou Zhiruo and Zhang Wuji on a little island.
Book 4
Left on that small little island, Xie Xun, Zhang Wuji and Zhou Zhiruo woke up one day to find Zhu'er dead and Zhao Min gone, with the boat having been steered away the previous night. They also discovered that they had been poisoned and had lost their internal energy.
After some time, they managed to purge the poison. Of course, a romance blossoms between Zhang Wuji and Zhou Zhiruo, and Zhang Wuji swears to kill Zhao Min in revenge for Zhu'er's murder.
They returned to the mainland after hijacking a boat. There, they lodged in an inn and Zhang Wuji went around to scout. He soon found himself at the Beggars' Sect meeting and saw Song Qingshu defect to the Beggars' Sect without the approval of Wudang. Time passed, and their talk moved to killing Zhang Wuji and how he was sure to live but a short life. Suddenly, Zhao Min and the Xuanmin Elders appeared. They broke up the meeting with Zhao Min asserting that Zhang Wuji would live a long life (and that he was so handsome and charming and blah blah we all know).
However, two highly-skilled elders came upon her. Just as she was about to die, she was suddenly whisked away underneath their noses by (guess who?) Zhang Wuji! They hid together in (of course) a small little compartment. There they got physical as they overheard the Beggars' Sect conversation.
As Zhang Wuji was enjoying the pleasures of life in that small little nook, he discovered the Beggars' Sect's evil plot to use Song Qingshu to poison the Wudang Sect. After they had left, Zhang Wuji realised he was too deeply entranced by Zhao Min and could not bear to kill her. Zhao Min and him returned to the inn. Shocked, they found that Zhou Zhiruo and Xie Xun had disappeared. They spent the night together (in separate rooms, what were u thinking?) and once again came that assurance of Zhao Min's undying love (yawn) for Zhang Wuji.
The next day they travelled on horseback to search for Zhou Zhiruo and Xie Xun. They came to a small little dark cave in the middle of the wilderness. Yet again in that little hole in the ground they began to get physical once more. Suddenly, they heard people coming from the distance. They were 4 of the Wudang Heroes. Caught in this awkward situation, Zhang Wuji and Zhao Min retreated to the back of the cave. All at once, Zhang Wuji bumped into a dead body at the back. Surprised, he saw it was the Seventh Wudang Hero Mo Shenggu!
The 4 Heroes heard his gasp and immediately alerted themselves to the back of the cave. Without thinking, Zhao Min immediately jumped out and acted as a decoy, running away from the cave. Zhang Wuji realised how deeply she loved him and was grateful for her everlasting undying devotion. He ran out and buried the body, then ran after Zhao Min. He found her at the bottom of a valley and tried to heal her. Suddenly, he was surrounded by the 4 Heroes. He disguised himself and defeated all of them using the Fire Tablets Skills. However, his disguise was unveiled at the last moment, and all thought he had killed Mo Shenggu.
At this moment, Song Qingshu appeared in the distance with Chen Youliang, an Elder of the Beggars' Sect. Song Qingshu was halted in his tracks. There, they discovered that Song Qingshu had actually killed Mo Shenggu! Mo Shenggu had found him trying to sneak into the Emei Sect's bedrooms in search of Zhou Zhiruo. In order to cover up for his actions, he had killed Mo Shenggu. Now, Chen Youliang was blackmailing him.
At last Song Qingshu agreed to poison the Wudang Sect and left. The 4 Wudang Heroes were aghast at hearing this news and left to warn Zhang Sanfeng. That night, Zhang Wuji left to follow the Beggars' Sect. There he discovered that Zhou Zhiruo had been captured by them. He broke in to their meeting and defeated all of them, retaking Zhou Zhiruo.
At this moment, some people entered the room. A yellow-clothed woman entered with a little girl. They uncovered a foul plot by Cheng Kun...the Beggars' Sect leader had been killed by Cheng Kun! The little girl was the leader's daughter, who had escaped to Mount Chong Yang. There, the yellow-clothed woman had saved her. Now they had come to seek justice. Chen Youliang and the fake Beggars' Sect leader had to be killed!
Chen Youliang managed to escape and they proved that the present leader was fake by testing his skills. Zhang Wuji left soon after with Zhou Zhiruo.
The virile and very hormonal Zhang Wuji wanted to get married as soon as possible. So, on wedding day, they were about to begin the ceremony when Zhao Min saunters in. She immedately demanded that Zhang Wuji call off the wedding (remember he owes her 2 more wishes?) and showed him a strand of golden hair, characteristic of Xie Xun's own hair. Stunned, he apologised to Zhou Zhiruo, thinking that if Xie Xun was in Zhao Min's hands, and if he did not obey her (talk about submissive guys man), she would harm Xie Xun. Furious and jealous, Zhou Zhiruo leapt up and with a swipe of her hand, attacked Zhao Min with her Jiuying White Bone Claws. Luckily, Zhang Wuji managed to deflect the attack away from Zhao Min's head, but she was injured in the shoulder.
Zhang Wuji and Zhao Min escaped, where once again she proclaimed her true love for him (oh arent we sick of this). They went off to find Xie Xun. Along the way, they met Zhao Min's brother and had an epic Zhang Wuji vs Xuanmin Elders fight. Zhang Wuji brought Zhao Min to safety, but not before being injured in the process. Both of them being injured, sought refuge at a nearby monastery. There, they found that the monks were actually under the charge of Cheng Kun, and Zhang Wuji was forced to attempt to kill them, but severely harming his own health.
They retreated to a village around the corner. There they rested in an old woman's house, claiming to be brother and sister (of course the old woman suspected they were lovers). That night things got steamy. The steamiest ever segment of the book. And when you read, you go like oh DAMN why is he such a gentleman just take her clothes off...damn.
Anyway, to return to the story after that brief but worthwhile sidetrack, Zhang Wuji infiltrated Shaolin Temple, where Xie Xun had been caught and captured by Cheng Kun. One night, he ventured out to find Xie Xun. He discovered that he was being held under a huge rock in a little dungeon, guarded by the most senior and most highly-skilled 3 Shaolin monks and their extremely powerful Jing Gang Evil Slaying Whip Formation. He was unable to break through the formation that night and left to rejoin Zhao Min and the rest of the Ming Sect who had come along.
A great tournament was being held at Shaolin to vye for the Top Martial Arts Exponent. Zhang Wuji eventually made it to the final, where he faced off against the now-highly skilled with Jiuying skills, Zhou Zhiruo. There they fought tooth and nail, and eventually Zhang Wuji gave way to Zhou Zhiruo and let her win. What a gentleman, what a loser.
The next day, Zhou Zhiruo was asked to fight the 3 Shaolin monks to gain possession of Xie Xun. She called upon Zhang Wuji to help her in her fight. Eventually, they managed to free Xie Xun. Zhang Wuji discovered that Zhou Zhiruo had actually poisoned all of them on the island and killed Zhu'er. She had been found out by Xie Xun long ago, but he had kept quiet so that she would not kill them. When he had been left alone with Zhou Zhiruo that day, he had uncovered her secret, and she had tried to kill him. Just then the Beggars' Sect had appeared and abducted them.
Zhou Zhiruo held Xie Xun in her grasp, and now she wanted to kill him. Just then, the yellow-clothed woman appeared and began duelling with Zhou Zhiruo to rescue Xie Xun. Zhou Zhiruo lost and left in disgust. Xie Xun then fought with Cheng Kun, blinding him in the process and finally defeating him. Xie Xun then became a Shaolin monk and left.
Here the end draws near. They discovered that Zhu'er was not killed and that she had actually just fainted for a while. Zhang Wuji passed on the leadership of the Ming Sect to Yang Xiao and left to live a nice happy life with Zhao Min.
-End-
The writer is a Tng, Shen Rong from Singapore. I browsed through his other links and found a link to his present blog.
Well-summarised material....enjoyed reading it. :D