บท 40: Hero Assembly

"There are so many people!" Wang Jingyuan couldn't help but exclaim. She held on to Mo Xian's wide sleeve tighter, lest they get separated in the crowd. "Mo Xian, I told you to wake me at the crack of dawn; now all the good spots are taken for sure."

Mo Xian kept his eyes on a person dressed in black in front of him. It was one of his secret guards that Wuxin sent to lead him and Wang Jingyuan to their seats. Mo Xian's hand held onto Wang Jingyuan's wrist. "We walked around a lot yesterday so I thought you must be tired. I wanted to make sure you were well-rested. Besides, I got us seats ahead of time so we won't even have to stand."

"What? You got us seats? How did you do that?" Wang Jingyuan was surprised. She didn't think they could get seats ahead of time like buying tickets to a baseball game. Mo Xian's reply was lost in the din of the crowd.

On the western outskirts of the city was a large arena often used for performances and festivals. Sometimes, the wealthy liked to throw giant parties there. At the center was a large stage, about sixty meters wide, thirty meters long, and a meter and a half off the ground. Wooden posts marked out a rectangular area around the stage where the audience had to stay out of.

All around the stage were elevated platforms with seats set up. These seats had the best views of the stage and were mostly taken up by the larger, more famous sects. Everyone else had to stand around the stage and watch.

One of the platforms was slightly higher than the rest. There was a large drum set up on one side of the platform. A group of monks were bustling about on the platform. Other monks were directing traffic and greeting the various sect leaders around the arena.

Mo Xian tugged Wang Jingyuan in the direction of one of the platforms. When they arrived, two people stood up in the front row and gave their seats to Mo Xian and Wang Jingyuan. Mo Xian nodded at them before sitting down, and the two people quickly disappeared into the crowd.

"Did you buy the seats?" Wang Jingyuan asked as she sat down. It was a good spot indeed; she had an unobstructed view of the stage.

"I reserved them ahead of time." Mo Xian decided that Wang Jingyuan would disapprove of the fact that he sent Wuxin to buy the seats off people, so he told her a white lie.

"You're so thoughtful. I really appreciate it, Mo Xian." Wang Jingyuan smiled at him as she placed Feng Ming Sword across her lap. It was still wrapped in the black cloth, but loosely enough so that she could easily pull out the sword if needed.

"Anything for you, Jing-Jing." Mo Xian smiled back. Fortunately, the skies were slightly overcast today, so there was no sun to shine in their eyes. However, gray skies did not seem like a good omen for a battle of skills between the sects. "Do you recognize any of the sects?"

Wang Jingyuan looked at all the other platforms. She spotted Qingsha Sect immediately; the teal-robed pupils and disciples were clustered on one of the platforms directly in front of her and to the left. Moving clockwise from Qingsha Sect, the next four platforms each had a group of people with the same-colored clothing: blue and white, pale yellow, purple, and white. The rest of the platforms had some clusters of martial artists wearing the same uniforms, but were more disorganized, jumbled, and had far less people in each sect.

"Those must be the five major sects." Wang Jingyuan pointed them out to Mo Xian. "Look how organized they are."

"They look pretty arrogant too," commented Mo Xian. "All the sect leaders seem so aloof and overly self-confident, like they think they're better than everyone else."

"They probably are; they're the sect leaders for a reason."

"I bet you're better than them, Jing-Jing."

"I doubt it; I don't have much experience. I told you, I'm still relatively new to the martial arts sector." Wang Jingyuan shook her head. "These people have been in the sector all their lives. They're ancient foxes."

She surveyed the rest of the platforms again and looked into the pushy crowd on the ground. "I wonder if my senior brother is here."

"Do you know what he looks like?" Mo Xian helped her look. He didn't see anyone that seemed particularly like a senior brother. "What does your sect clothing look like?"

Wang Jingyuan paused. She didn't know. The only person from Xuanyan Sect that she met was Luo Qingye. He wore a black robe over a dark gray hanfu, but the chiefs usually wore something different than the pupils. "Um, it's alright, it's impossible to find him in this crowd anyway." Wang Jingyuan dodged the question and turned her attention back to the five major sects.

"The sect wearing all white is consisted of only females. I think that's Emei Sect."

Mo Xian nodded. "Their chief is Abbess Huiyuan. That woman sitting in the front and center must be her." The woman looked to be at least fifty, but her eyes were sharp. Wang Jingyuan seemed to be able to feel her piercing gaze all the way across the arena.

"Mo Xian, which one do you think is Huashan Sect?" Wang Jingyuan asked. "I've heard that Huashan Sect is well-known for their sword skills."

"I'm not sure if that's them, but the sect wearing blue and white are all holding swords." Mo Xian pointed at one of the sects. "If you were to go up against one of their pupils, do you think you will win?"

Wang Jingyuan hesitated. "I don't know," she finally said. "I'd like to think that what my mentor taught me is superior, but like I said before, I lack experience."

Before Mo Xian could reply, an old Buddhist monk stood at the front of the platform that was taller than the rest. "Amitabha [1], would everyone please quiet."

Wang Jingyuan was surprised at how loud and full his voice is; it easily projected over the entire arena. This monk, although old, had very strong internal forces. Everyone hushed and looked towards the old monk.

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[1] Amitabha: this phrase is said often by Buddhist monks. According to Wikipedia, this phrase means “The Buddha of Immeasurable Light and Life”. In Chinese, this phrase is 阿弥陀佛 (pronounced ‘uh-mee-tuoh-foh’).

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