The Sword And The Exquisiteness (Volumes IV and V)

[fulim1410]

oh Man the ending is so ...What a ending for such a good story

[charbydis]

Let us all bow to Athena for she trully has done a marvellous job , in both teh translation and the epilogue.

[pasqualle]

YEAH!!! finally its finish.... THANX ATHENA...Great translation thought the ending is quite disappointed...

Anyway...thanx again for the translation.....
SIA SIA....


and are you translating any other novel after this...
hehhe...surely will put it in to my priority list....

[chuanfa]

Thank you Meh for the great translation. You are greater than great. I don't care what the other negative people say, but your epilogue was a really good way to round out the story. Without the epilogue the ending would have been a let down. I really feel terrible for poor Yu Peiyu having to marry 3 beautiful women like that. Poor guy.
The part about Ji Beiqing killing herself seemed kinda wierd though. They walked into the cave , saw that she was motionless and just assumed she was dead. I know there are some things implied in any story that one has to think through, but that seemed cut short. It looks like she meditating. She must be dead???Huh?
Also, I thought there were a couple more of the Shades around. I thought there were like two more.

Mr. Donggou was a high level martial artist and most people were scared of him. Therefore he was at a higher level, obviously, than most in wulin. I also understand that Yu Peiyu had a great foundation for martial arts and internal cultivation. But if Mr. Donggou was leaps and bounds ahead of Yu Peiyu in as far as internal cultivation and martial arts knowledge how did Yu Peiyu seem to surpass Mr Donggou in the ephemeral form dexterity skill? Mr. Donggou has had longer to perfect the skill and with his internal cultivation it seems that the effects of the new skill would be greater due to his body being used to house that much chi. I know I might be analyzing this too much, but.................

[JiaMoZhi]

Originally posted by chuanfa
Thank you Meh for the great translation.

hahahaha

You've confused SPCNET's Goddess of wisdom with another esteemed translator

[SSan]

Thank you very very much Athena, and veri nice epilogue you have done...I really like it, a satisfied ending for every nice guy like Yu Pei Yu and his three nice wives, and also Hong Lian, I like this guy very much.
I will miss one of my amazing thing to start my day.
Hope you will be back for sure and do another translation of GL's work. If so may I suggest to start with Cie Tai Suang Ciau. (Legendary of Siblings) ha ha ha....
Once again, thanks for the hapiness you give to chinese illiterate like me.

[Lonely Wanderer]

Wow a whole book translated!!!!!!!!!! Thanks Athena for the great work and hope to see futher translations from you.

[Fu Hung Suet]

wonderful story Athena .....


great job !


... one thing that i miss .... what happened to the guy from echo valley ? did i skipped anything.....? or did he just disappeared like echo ?

... well if you still have appetite for translating other GuLong novel, my wish is youo would do Liuxing, Hudie, Jian ....

that would be reallllly great....

[Alvin]

Thanks athena, for finishing this story,

and adding a bonus epilogue to us (i like it very much).

[zhouyu]

Give the lady some resting time, hahahahahaha

[Acidbeastonfire]

Now its time for TigerWong to spill his GL fighter ranking list!!!!
Come on tiger!!!!

[charbydis]

Originally posted by Athena
[

Mr. Dongguo looked pensive for a moment before saying:"Yes, I remember that part about you. Something about when you were young and that you knelt in front of Lady Zhu of the Palace of Enchantment and proposed to her, right?"
Master Nu said:"Yes!"

sigh! She could have had Master Nu but instead she chose pretty boy!

[JiaMoZhi]

Originally posted by charbydis
sigh! She could have had Master Nu but instead she chose pretty boy!

lol
If they got together, would Nu change or would Zhu change? I think Nu would be the one losing his pride and temper and becoming another Ah Fei. And Zhu would keep seeing other men behind his back.

On another topic, to anyone that has already read TigerWong's top 50 thread in the Wuxia Fiction forum, can you list only the best fighters from The Sword and the Exquisiteness novel and post it here or in the Dramatis Personae thread found here:
http://www.spcnet.tv/forums/showthread.php?threadid=676

Thanks!

I don't want to read the top 50 post myself because I don't want to see where Ah Fei and the other Dagger Lee fighters rank, since that would spoil the excitement of all the Gu Long twists Meh has in store for us

And here's my best of S&E thread:

1-2: Mr. Dongguo/Parrot
3-4: Ji Beiqing/Yu PeiYu
5: Yu DuHe
6-7: Dongguo Gao/Feng San/Ji Kuqing
8: Tian ChiXing
9: 8th Madame Fu
10-11: Hai Dongqing and Yang Zijian
12: 1 shade by himself without any knowledge of the dead shades
13+: 8th Squire + top 10 and maybe Yu Fanghe near the bottom of this category

1-2: Mr. Dongguo/Parrot : they haven't fought, and they can both own Tian ChiXing. Wouldn't be fair to choose one over the other based on this novel.

3-4: Ji Beiqing and Yu PeiYu's fight was pretty even, with no one stepping back.

6-: At 1st I thought Kuqing was on the same level as his wife, but he was severely injured by a blow from Mr. Dongguo. Feng San was pushed back many steps by Beiqing, so at best Kuqing is on the same level as Feng San.

As for Yu DuHe, he fared a lot better against Yu PeiYu than Kuqing did, and also better than Feng San vs Ji Beiqing. Being able to fight dirty is a great skill to have

8-: I would have placed Tian on the same level as Feng San if he weren't so easily captured by Dongguo.

Hai dongqing can't beat Yu PeiYu at full strength as quickly as Madame Fu can. Sure she had the 1st strike, but it was not a strike from behind or anything, it was still pretty clean. Doesn't give her that much of an unfair advantage. I don't remember the Hai/Yu fight 100% but I do remember that at that time Yu Peiyu was not at full strength.

Hai killed 2 shades before they found the flaws of his martial arts.

And it's hard to place the leader of the heavenly silkworm sect in a clear place when Gu Long/Qiao Qi aren't helping us out at all I would place him higher than the top 10 (Granny's Hu top 10) for sure.

And my initial assessment of 8th Squire being equal to the top 10 was correct

[TigerWong]

- DongGuo XianSheng
- Yu PeiYu
- Ji BeiQing
- Feng San, DongGuo Gao, Tian ChiXing
- Yu DuHe, Ji KuQing
- Nu Zhen Ren, Yi Kun, Tian LongZi (most Top 10 masters), 8th Madame Fu
- Yang ZiJian, Hai DongQing, 8th Squire Fu
- Shade
- Hu Lao Lao, Heirarch of Heavenly Silkworm Sect


Some quick comments...

I would have placed Tian on the same level as Feng San if he weren't so easily captured by Dongguo

We don't know the exact circumstances of his capture.

And it's hard to place the leader of the heavenly silkworm sect in a clear place when Gu Long/Qiao Qi aren't helping us out at all I would place him higher than the top 10 (Granny's Hu top 10) for sure.

He shouldn't be higher than Top 10, or even match them. (Maybe the weakest of the 10 like Granny Hu) Yu PeiYu was having a decent time against him at the Palace of Enchantment. On the other hand, Yu was having a tough time against students of the Top 10 and needed a temporary strength boost from Feng San in order to even have any chance against Nu Zhen Ren.

And my initial assessment of 8th Squire being equal to the top 10 was correct

Well, you're entitled to your opinion. But I assessed him somewhat differently.

[JiaMoZhi]

1st of all, thanks for posting your list here.

Originally posted by TigerWong
.

We don't know the exact circumstances of his capture.

That's true. I guess it's reasonable to place him on the same level as Feng San then.

He shouldn't be higher than Top 10, or even match them. (Maybe the weakest of the 10 like Granny Hu) Yu PeiYu was having a decent time against him at the Palace of Enchantment. On the other hand, Yu was having a tough time against students of the Top 10 and needed a temporary strength boost from Feng San in order to even have any chance against Nu Zhen Ren.

Oops I reread that part and yeah Yu PeiYu gave him a good fight. But still, Granny Hu was pretty impressed by the leader of the silkworm sect. And the big question is still how many arms does the leader really has? Maybe he wasn't fighting with all he had VS Yu PeiYu.

Well, you're entitled to your opinion. But I assessed him somewhat differently.

I still think that 8th Squire is at least an equal to the top 10 because of:

-the ease with which he dispatched the student of DongFang Daming, a top 10 member. He killed Deng Xuan without him even knowing it! I think that's pretty impressive.

On the other hand, at the beginning of Yu PeiYu and master Nu's fight, before anyone noticed that Yu had a inner power boost, HongLian estimated that Yu would last for 100 attacks against Nu and everyone seemed to agree with him. The day before that Yu PeiYu fought Nu's student to pretty much a tie. I think it's reasonable to say that students of the top 10 would be pretty much of the same level. ShiYun and Tiyun for example. Also Yu Xuan, a lader of the top 13 schools respected Deng Xuan too and after Deng was killed he considered that giving up fighting and finding a good gift was the only alternative to live.

-And Tian LongZi also considered 8th squire to be of his caliber.

-Also, 8th Squire was made leader of an attack squad.

BTW, can you tell me the position of Mr. Dongguo in your top 50 list? Just to have an idea of how many novels out there have more powerful characters than this one

Yu PeiYu reversing the waterfall was certainly impressive, as well as Feng San surpassing Tang Zhi Shen Gong while he was ill.

[TigerWong]

Originally posted by JiaMoZhi
-the ease with which he dispatched the student of DongFang Daming, a top 10 member. He killed Deng Xuan without him even knowing it! I think that's pretty impressive.

- Not all students are necessarily at the same level. Heck, not even all Ten Masters are at the same level.

- Deng Xuan and 8th Squire Fu never actually fought. 8th Squire Fu delivered the "killing blow" unexpectedly. Who knows how long the battle would have lasted if they fought? (although 8th Squire Fu would eventually win)

I think gauging 8th Squire Fu's level based on the encounter w. Deng Xuan is too speculative based on the above reasons.

-And Tian LongZi also considered 8th squire to be of his caliber.

Actually, I felt Tian LongZi viewed him with contempt. On the other hand, 8th Squire Fu's attitude towards Tian was more hesitant.

-Also, 8th Squire was made leader of an attack squad.

True. So I can live with the idea that 8th Squire Fu is close to the Ten Masters (although I personally think he falls somewhat short).

BTW, can you tell me the position of Mr. Dongguo in your top 50 list? Just to have an idea of how many novels out there have more powerful characters than this one

2nd. But theres no hard evidence. Just impressions. One can make a case for any number of GL characters to take the top spot, including Mr. DongGuo himself. Many of GL's longer epics have a large number of powerful characters.

[JiaMoZhi]

Originally posted by TigerWong
- Not all students are necessarily at the same level. Heck, not even all Ten Masters are at the same level.

- Deng Xuan and 8th Squire Fu never actually fought. 8th Squire Fu delivered the "killing blow" unexpectedly. Who knows how long the battle would have lasted if they fought? (although 8th Squire Fu would eventually win)

The impression I got was that Deng Xuan didn't even see the blow at all. I feel that it's more of a "too good for you" master move than a cheapshot move. So I doubt that Deng can stand 2 moves from Fu.

It's true that not all students or masters are of the same level.

But in this novel it seems like Granny Hu was mentionned as having poorer martial arts while the rest of the top 10 were packed together. Furthermore there wasn't a detailed ranking like in Bai XiaoSheng's book, so it's safe to assume that they were pretty equal. Like how Nu and Long never fought in the book but Nu still respected Long.

Of course I don't have any proof that Deng Xuan is equal to Shiyun, but I think there is still a reasonable possibility that he is. And the respect Yu Xuan shows him might be an indication of his ability.

Actually, I felt Tian LongZi viewed him with contempt. On the other hand, 8th Squire Fu's attitude towards Tian was more hesitant.

I agree that Fu was kinda hesitant while Tian seemed a lot more relaxed. But Tian still showed him a lot of respect by recognizing the ability of his 10 000 pace Divine Fist. It's wasn't as contemptuous as when Hai Dongqing sneered when he compared Feng San to Ji Beiqing.
Or when Tian ChiXing laughed when Zhu Lei'Er thought he was scared by Feng San.

But still Fu was truly hesitant and pale at some point, either because he's a coward, doesn't want to fight over something he doesn't really need (the ladies statues), or because he's slightly weaker as you suggest.

True. So I can live with the idea that 8th Squire Fu is close to the Ten Masters (although I personally think he falls somewhat short).

That's ok. I can see the reason behind your position and besides our idea of Fu's power is only slightly different.

2nd. But theres no hard evidence. Just impressions. One can make a case for any number of GL characters to take the top spot, including Mr. DongGuo himself. Many of GL's longer epics have a large number of powerful characters.

Wow, I'm surprised he's that close to the top. I thought people of Ding Pang's caliber or better were common among Gu Long's novels. But S&E is between Gu Long's 1st and 2nd period like you said, so maybe the deterioration theory also applies to GL's novels and that's why Dongguo is so close to the top.

[TigerWong]

Originally posted by JiaMoZhi
The impression I got was that Deng Xuan didn't even see the blow at all. I feel that it's more of a "too good for you" master move than a cheapshot move. So I doubt that Deng can stand 2 moves from Fu.

He was being politely led out of the manor at the time. The 100 Paces Divine Fist caused a delayed response (i.e. it's effect was not very noticable at the time) and was probably imparted with a casual, friendly gesture. Deng Xuan did not have his guard up at all. A far cry from concluding that Deng Xuan can't stand 2 moves from Fu in a real battle.

It's true that not all students or masters are of the same level.

Of course I don't have any proof that Deng Xuan is equal to Shiyun, but I think there is still a reasonable possibility that he is. And the respect Yu Xuan shows him might be an indication of his ability.

- Shiyun had many more years of training than Deng Xuan.
- Shiyun could be more talented than Deng Xuan.
- Master Nu is probably one of the stronger Ten Masters.
- Yu Xuan showing respect doesn't mean much. It's mostly based on reputation. Even Yu PeiYu can defeat him soundly.

I agree that Fu was kinda hesitant while Tian seemed a lot more relaxed. But Tian still showed him a lot of respect by recognizing the ability of his 10 000 pace Divine Fist. It's wasn't as contemptuous as when Hai Dongqing sneered when he compared Feng San to Ji Beiqing.
Or when Tian ChiXing laughed when Zhu Lei'Er thought he was scared by Feng San.

Not as contemptious. But any remark amounting to respect was very lightly given and with not a hint of being a bit worried either.

But still Fu was truly hesitant and pale at some point, either because he's a coward, doesn't want to fight over something he doesn't really need (the ladies statues), or because he's slightly weaker as you suggest.

Even if their skills were even, attitude is important. In a fight, I believe Tian will come out ahead.

Wow, I'm surprised he's that close to the top. I thought people of Ding Pang's caliber or better were common among Gu Long's novels. But S&E is between Gu Long's 1st and 2nd period like you said, so maybe the deterioration theory also applies to GL's novels and that's why Dongguo is so close to the top.

I'd say Ding Pang is pretty close. They're both nigh invincible. The deterioration theory does not apply to GL novels.

[Charlieboy]

just a couple of things I found strange and inconsistent in the story were the fact that Mr.Dongguo is this seemingly god-like wise old man but then says and does things that are incomprehensible for such a great

Mr. Dongguo said:"Now, I am looking for answers. This is the so-called strange occurence we talked about earlier, but I don't understand."

how could Mr.Donggou not have considered Yu Peiyu's martial arts base before imparting the greatest skill in the realm?

another strange thing that Mr.Dongguo did was to reveal the Yama book's contents while Yu Peiyu was training and completely defenceless - given that it was Mr.Dongguo himself who asked Yu Peiyu whether he had a deathwish because there were still some martial artists in the realm who had the ability to kill him in a fight, nevermind a completely defenceless Yu Peiyu

to a lesser extent, Ji Beiqing's decision to use Yu Peiyu to assassinate Mr.Dongguo - knowing and telling Yu how smart and calm he is, did she never stop to think that it would take Yu about 5 seconds to figure out the truth once he met Mr.Dongguo? Especially since such a plan would require Yu Peiyu to develop some sort of relationship with Dongguo, how could he be deceived so easily - I don't think this is in keeping with the character of Ji Beiqing, one of the masterminds behind such a devious plot - she may be a little nuts but to make such a glaring mistake doesn't make much sense to me since she didn't give anything away to her two students even after years

and I wonder why Dongguo Gao never learned the Ephemeral Form Dexterity from his brother??

[JiaMoZhi]

Originally posted by TigerWong
He was being politely led out of the manor at the time. The 100 Paces Divine Fist caused a delayed response (i.e. it's effect was not very noticable at the time) and was probably imparted with a casual, friendly gesture. Deng Xuan did not have his guard up at all. A far cry from concluding that Deng Xuan can't stand 2 moves from Fu in a real battle.

OK, that sounds more plausible than my original view. I agree that Deng not having his wheels ready made him an easier target. So it all boils down to, assuming Deng is equal to Shiyun and Tiyun, can Fu beat him in less than 100 moves in a formal challenge? I don't know enough to speculate on this.

- Shiyun had many more years of training than Deng Xuan.
- Yu Xuan showing respect doesn't mean much. It's mostly based on reputation. Even Yu PeiYu can defeat him soundly.

-Yu Xuan was a good friend of Deng Xuan, he knew him better than by reputation. He even knew the kind of health that Deng had, which suggests that they frequent each other regularly. So I still think that Yu Xuan's hopelessness after learning about Deng's demise shows that Deng was a skilled expert.

DongFang Daming died 7 or 8 years ago. Deng was said to be unmatched for a couple of decades, so he's a lot older than ShiYun.
Even if he hasn't seen his master in the last 7-8 years, Deng Xuan still had many more years of martial arts training than the younger ShiYun.

- Shiyun could be more talented than Deng Xuan.

That could be possible, but the opposite could also be true, since Deng was said to be unmatched for the last couple of decades.

- Master Nu is probably one of the stronger Ten Masters.

I agree with this since Nu was always mentionned 1st or near 1st when people named the top 10 and since he was made leader of an attack squad. But even though Nu might be higher in the top 10 list than DongFang, the difference in age between their students should still be able to balance it out.

Even if their skills were even, attitude is important. In a fight, I believe Tian will come out ahead.

True.

I'd say Ding Pang is pretty close. They're both nigh invincible. The deterioration theory does not apply to GL novels.

That's nice. I'm not a fan of the deterioration theory anyway since people can always record their skills in a book.