Chapter 24
Chapter 24
BYES
No wonder Li Chou lost his composure publicly in such fury.
Setting aside that he had brought Chen Shu and Yun Shen to find He Yu—though not entirely voluntarily, it still constituted a favour to Cold Pine Glen, an act of helpfulness—the drawn lot itself was like a single spark landing on blazing oil, enough to ignite the rage of this Biyang Valley senior disciple.
The purpose of the second round draw wasn’t to randomly pair opponents, because the matchups between sects were traditionally fixed in advance.
The Sword Discussion Tournament was held every five years. Yet within that span, many participating martial world figures might come and go, and the strengths of the sects naturally shifted. To avoid offending the major sects, the tournament enforced a unified condition—sometimes the number of disciples taken, sometimes the competitors fielded; one particularly odd year it was decided by an internal vote among all fifteen participating sects. In other words, it ranked sects based on their perceived standing within the martial world. The top ranked sect faced the lowest, the second faced the second-lowest, and so on. This gave the higher-ranked sects peace of mind; it was also why Li Chou hadn’t worried about this small draw.
With nine sects remaining, eight were matched to duel. That naturally left one sect without an opponent. For this remaining sect to fight would cause issues, and whichever it fought, the other eight sects would cry foul. Hence, the draw ceremony existed. Its sole purpose was to select the most ‘fortunate’ among the eight already paired sects—the one that would be excused from competing in the second round altogether.
This exemption was known as the Byes.
The Byes were naturally advantageous, sparing the sect the strenuous duel in the second round, but this appeal was mostly for the lower-ranked sects. For Li Chou, for Biyang Valley, landing the Byes was pointless. Without it, the securely top-ranked Biyang Valley would merely have to fight one more round against Cold Pine Glen.
Given the existing animosity between the sects, winning that first confrontation might hold even greater significance to Biyang Valley than advancing to the third round.
For this reason, the entire Biyang Valley endured hardships and trained diligently.
Not only did they order each disciple to rigorously improve themselves, but they also sent people specifically to study the flaws in several Cold Pine Glen mechanisms circulating in the world.
They even personally organized several mock battles secretly within the valley.
All to wash away their previous disgrace at this Sword Discussion Tournament.
For Li Chou, encountering He Yu on the Yushui River before even reaching Diancang Pass was unexpected to him.
With his arrogant nature, upon seeing He Yu alone representing Cold Pine Glen in this competition, he did not feel reassured.
Instead, he thought that if Cold Pine Glen only sent He Yu, even a victory might invite criticism and cause displeasure.
But this was all based on the assumption that neither sect had drawn a bye in the draw.
It was crucial to understand that after the second round passed and they entered the third, these five sects would be divided onto different Sword Discussion Platforms, competing against the six major sects and twelve martial world figures without colliding with each other.
By then, let alone whether Biyang Valley could advance to the next round, even He Yu, who luckily drew a bye and preserved his spot for the third round, would inevitably struggle.
In the upcoming round against the six major sects, he had to face off against the twelve who fought their way out of hundreds or thousands of martial world figures alone, making victory entirely impossible.
In short, no matter how well Biyang Valley performed now, even if they fought all the way to the final battle or won first place, until He Yu packed up and left Diancang Pass, Biyang Valley could not confront Cold Pine Glen to determine their superiority, nor achieve the “washing away of disgrace” that the Biyang Valley disciples had toiled for five years in anticipation of that moment.
Stepping back, if Biyang Valley succeeded this time and joined the six major sects, given Cold Pine Glen’s strength, barring another stroke of luck, the two sects might have no chance to compete against each other for decades to come.
Over recent decades, the constant rivalry between Biyang Valley and Cold Pine Glen occurred precisely because neither sect ever drew a bye in the second-round draw, allowing them to clash every time and end in chaos.
Given this history, Li Chou had become accustomed to facing Cold Pine Glen in the second round and probably never considered the possibility of a bye.
Using the metaphor of a cooked duck flying away might not even describe the situation, as this “duck” was not just cooked—it had been plated, carefully sliced, poured with sauce, steaming hot, sitting on the table for five years, even fifty years.
Li Chou was holding his bowl and chopsticks, waiting for the call to “start the feast” before digging in—
At that very moment, He Yu’s incredibly lucky draw halted it all.
In decades of numerous Sword Discussion Tournaments, Cold Pine Glen had never drawn a bye, but today, just before Li Chou held his nose to bring Chen Shu and Yun Shen specifically to witness He Yu’s gratitude towards him, He Yu drew it.
Chen Shu asked, “What does this mean? Brother He doesn’t need to fight the second round?”
The room was already so quiet that one could hear a pin drop, and her words had no restraint.
Although she didn’t shout loudly, they rang out clearly enough for people at the far end to hear distinctly.
“Yes,” replied the alliance leader before He Yu could answer, standing up and walking over with a smile.
“For so many years, your Cold Pine Glen has finally had some luck—this is a breakthrough, sparing us a bloody battle in the second round.”
Seeing this, He Yu quickly stood up as well and bowed to the alliance leader.
He responded repeatedly, “The alliance leader exaggerates—it’s just luck, purely luck.”
The alliance leader laughed heartily three times, deliberately turning to look at Li Chou who was scowling angrily at them, then leaned down and whispered, “Look how furious Li Chou is! I was worried he might not be here to see this good show!”
After saying that, he chuckled while surveying Chen Shu and Yun Shen, even patting Yun Shen on the shoulder without caring that Li Chou was watching, and cheerfully pushed the door open to leave.
With him going first, the next few people came to congratulate He Yu.
Chen Shu didn’t recognize most of them; only the female swordsman who had captured Ying Wei that day was somewhat familiar.
That female swordsman arrived second and briefly said to He Yu, “Congratulations,” her short words sincere with curved eyes.
Beyond her, it was unclear how many were genuinely joyful, how many just following the crowd, or how many solely wished to see Li Chou embarrassed.
For a while, the congratulations continued nonstop, making that draw seem like the crowd’s long-awaited outcome.
Only an elder-like monk came last, merely bowing once to He Yu.
He Yu appeared as if he wanted to say something to him but hesitated and stayed silent, instead clasping his fists in return.
After the man left, Chen Shu asked softly, “Is there some history here?”
“There is,” Yun Shen replied absentmindedly, distracted.
Chen Shu looked up at Yun Shen with great interest, tugging his sleeve and flicking her ponytail against him.
She prompted softly, “…What history? Say it quickly!”
“How would I know?” Yun Shen only then snapped back to attention, slowly turning his face to her and tilting his chin toward He Yu in front.
“The history of Cold Pine Glen—you should ask Brother He, why ask me?”
“You don’t know?” Chen Shu immediately let go of Yun Shen’s sleeve, glaring at him and fuming.
“You don’t know, yet you answered anyway?”
Seeing this, He Yu had to step in again, saying, “It’s nothing… Master Hui Kong is representing Xu Tuo Temple in the draw this time.
Their position was sixth last time, but after a high monk passed away the previous year, martial world figures inevitably shifted allegiances, so they fell to eighth place this year…”
As he spoke, he sighed and trailed off.
Chen Shu listened intently, blinking, and asked, “Then what?”
“With your Cold Pine Glen, ranked ninth, drawing a bye, his Xu Tuo Temple, ranked eighth, naturally had to face my Biyang Valley, swallowing a bitter pill in silence,” responded a voice filled with suppressed anger, one that sounded all too familiar.
He Yu didn’t answer.
Chen Shu looked up and noticed everyone else had left; only those from Biyang Valley remained besides them.
The one who had just spoken was Li Chou, who had walked to the doorway and stood before He Yu, glaring fiercely at the word “bye” on He Yu’s table.
He shot He Yu a sharp look, snorted, and walked off on his own.
Unlike on the boat, his disciples behind him were so terrified they lost all their bullying demeanor, shuffling meekly out with Li Chou.
Only Chen Shu was puzzled by Li Chou’s inexplicable temper and called out helpfully, “Even without the bye, you shouldn’t be so angry! I think your strength is good—you should pass easily!”
Li Chou naturally didn’t reply to her.
Not only he didn’t, but a strange “thud” sound came from outside the door.
Chen Shu turned back and asked, “What did he do?”
“From the sound,” Yun Shen said uncertainly, “you angered him so much he kicked that wooden door.”
That wooden door had endured more than just a kick. As the trio ascended the steps, they saw it had been split cleanly in half at the waist, the rough break looking as if it had been blasted apart by some force.
The yamen runner, weariness etched on his face, ushered them out. Seeing this, He Yu sighed sympathetically and paused to offer helpful advice. He earnestly explained key points to repair the door, intending to restore it to its original state where it had been nearly flush with the floorboards.
By the time the three had a free moment to watch the matches again, it was nearly dusk. The Xuanzi Platform was quiet; most afternoon bouts had concluded. Even the yamen runner who had been calling roll numbers had slipped away for a meal. Circling the platforms, He Yu clearly wanted to observe the potential winners on other stages, likely sizing them up. After all, he had initially prepared to face Biyang Valley. Now that even Biyang Valley had been angered so profoundly, his uncertainty had undoubtedly deepened.
Yun Shen seemed to understand He Yu’s intent. He accompanied him, weaving beneath the Sword Discussion Platforms, looking here and there. His experienced eye allowed him to offer occasional pointers, and soon the two became engrossed in animated discussion.
Only Chen Shu was left out. She hadn’t eaten much at noon, and her belly was already sunken. As they kept passing people returning to watch the matches carrying dry rations and grilled meat skewers, the mouthwatering aromas made her stare longingly. She jabbed Yun Shen repeatedly in the side, to no effect. Frustrated, she circled around and clapped He Yu on the shoulder.
“…What are you so busy with?” Yun Shen asked, though he knew perfectly well why.
He Yu turned to find Chen Shu tilting her head back, hands clasped behind her back, lips pouted, gazing at him imploringly. “Drawing a bye is good news, right? Brother He should treat us to dinner! The prizes start at the third round! A little wine wouldn’t hurt?”
He Yu was momentarily taken aback. He laughed, then chided amiably. “Wine? Seems like it’s sugar paintings you’re really after again!”