Chapter 23 — The Contest
劍問蒼天 · Page 3 of 8
Song Dayi looked back toward where they had come from and said, "That man is the only son of Uncle-Master Zeng Shuchang, the seat-holder of Fenghui Peak. I hear he is exceptionally gifted, widely read and deeply learned, and his cultivation runs very deep. He is one of the favorites in this contest."
Zhang Qingyue was stunned and for a moment could not speak.
After breakfast, all the disciples of the Canglan Sect came to the Cloud Sea Plaza. One glance showed a vast sea of people, shoulder to shoulder and toe to toe, human energy at its height—a clear sign of the Canglan Sect's prosperity.
On the great plaza, during the short time the crowd had been at breakfast, eight great platforms had already been raised, built of logs as thick as a man's waist and set more than a dozen *zhang* apart, arranged in the positions of the Eight Trigrams. Before and behind the platforms a sea of people now stood. Beneath the central and largest platform, the Qian position, a towering red roll was erected, several men tall, on which characters the size of rice bowls, inlaid in gold, spelled out the draw numbers and names of the disciples entered in the contest. Zhang Qingyue's name stood very conspicuously in the first place, while the column for his opponent was utterly blank.
Zhang Qingyue blushed and stole a glance at the senior brothers around him. The others were all smiling; only Sixth Senior Brother Du Biyan was still grumbling: "Unfair, unfair, un—"
"Silence!" A soft voice came from beside them. Startled, they all turned and saw Tian Buhui and Su Wan approaching with Tian Lingsu. The disciples of Dazhu Peak hurriedly saluted: "Master! Mistress!"
Tian Buhui nodded and said nothing. It was Su Wan who spoke: "The contest will begin shortly. You must all do yourselves credit—understand?"
"Yes," they answered in unison.
Su Wan turned to look at Zhang Qingyue, but his own eyes had at once found Tian Lingsu beside her. Today she seemed even lovelier than usual, radiant with high spirits, her fine eyes full of laughter—one look told him her mood was excellent.
Something seemed to prick Zhang Qingyue's heart, and he could not help lowering his head.
"Xiaofan," Su Wan said, coming over when she saw that her youngest disciple looked rather strange.
Zhang Qingyue quickly raised his head. "Yes, Mistress."
Su Wan looked at him. "Is anything the matter?"
Zhang Qingyue quickly shook his head. "Nothing, Mistress."
Su Wan looked at him again. "Xiaofan, your luck is quite good—you have a bye today. But you must still watch your senior brothers and sisters closely in their matches. Such an opportunity is rare and will do you great good. Understand?"
Zhang Qingyue nodded. "Yes, Mistress."
Su Wan looked at Tian Buhui; he nodded, turned, and walked down from the platform, the others following behind him, gradually dissolving into the crowd.
"Dong!" A clear sound of bell and cauldron rang out, echoing through the cloud sea of drifting white, and everyone's spirits lifted at once. In an instant the noisy plaza fell silent.
There on the great central platform appeared the figures of Daoyan Zhenren and Cangyan Daoren. Daoyan Zhenren stepped forward, swept his gaze over the countless disciples below, and said in a clear voice: "The contest begins."
With that he flicked his sleeve, and at once the bell and cauldron sounded again—"Dong, dong, dong, dong"—ringing to the heavens. Hearing it, Zhang Qingyue suddenly felt his blood racing. He stole a glance at Tian Lingsu beside him and saw her face wreathed in smiles, her expression eager to try her hand.
Once he looked at her, he could not move his eyes away, and so he did not catch what Daoyan Zhenren said on the platform, nor the few words Cangyan Daoren added after him. At last another clear, sweet peal of the great bell and cauldron startled him from his daze, and he realized the contest had already begun.