Mingzhou (now Ningbo).
In a spacious meditation room, there sat a muscular man with florid hair, not so tall but exceptionally sturdy, giving off the impression of being cast from a blend of copper and iron, wearing a loose-fitting gray uniform. Meditating with his back to the wall, a clear daylight filtered down from above the wall, illuminating the painting of the Fierce Tiger Ascending the Mountain hanging there...
The door to the meditation room quietly opened, and a young man in white entered gently, greeting in a soft voice, "Father, the Ming Sect’s Yang Tiansheng has once again refused our invitation to tea."
The florid-haired strong man responded indifferently, "Your father knows."
The spirited young man stood up, hesitated for a moment, and then spoke again, "Father, I’ve found a witness who saw with his own eyes Yang Erlang using his sword to kill Duan Yu at the main hall of the Jujing Gang..."
"There’s no need to tell me what I already know."
The florid-haired strong man interrupted his eldest son gently, "Your father knows he is powerful, but your father has confidence that he is even stronger!"
Listening to this familiar pre-battle theory that "inquiring about the enemy’s martial arts skills shows fear in the heart, and where there is fear, vulnerabilities will follow," the spirited young man silently looked up at the painting of the Fierce Tiger Ascending the Mountain.
He knew that was his father’s greatest fear.
When his father was young, he went up the mountain to chop wood with his grandfather and encountered a fierce tiger descending the mountain to feed. To protect his son, his grandfather lost an arm and passed away within a few years.
That ferocious and vicious tiger became a shadow over his father’s life for many years; his relentless practice of martial arts was as much to avenge his grandfather as to conquer the shadow in his heart.
Even though he later achieved greatness in martial arts, killing countless tigers with his Crushing Army Hammer Skill, he still couldn’t defeat the tiger from his youth...
It was only when he switched from using the hammer to practicing boxing did he finally stop hunting tigers everywhere.
But only the spirited young man knew, every time there was a major battle, his father would take out the painting and hang it on the wall, face the wall in meditation for at least three days and sometimes up to half a month...
In other words, the appearance of the Fierce Tiger Ascending the Mountain painting on the wall indicated that his father was feeling the pressure.
What a man, with a mouth even tougher than his fists.
The young man sighed inwardly, once again spoke stubbornly, "Father, is the land of the three prefectures really worth our engaging in a life-or-death struggle with such a formidable figure? Haven’t you always said that chaotic times are approaching? Why don’t we accumulate our strength in secret, waiting for the right moment?"
The florid-haired strong man replied indifferently, "It is precisely because chaotic times are approaching that the two of us must compete; one quick step leads to more quick steps, one slow step leads to more slow steps. Those who seek to achieve great things either succeed greatly or fail greatly; time waits for no one, we must compete for every moment... What, do you doubt your father?"
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The spirited young man bowed, "I am absolutely confident in you, Father, however..."
The florid-haired strong man, "However, what?"
The young man sighed lightly, trying to keep calm, "Lately, I’ve carefully considered the person Yang Erlang—naive at heart, yet rarely have I seen someone with such resolute determination. The name of our White Lotus Sect may intimidate Li Qing, it may intimidate the Ming Sect, but it’s not necessarily going to scare him... For merely the land of the three prefectures, to engage in a fight to the death with a hero, I think this deal is not worthwhile!"
He had tried to put it gently.
But no matter how gently put, it couldn’t mask the underlying message: Yang Erlang is neither Li Qing nor the Ming Sect, and should you be defeated under his blade, he would indeed dare to kill you!
It wasn’t that he lacked confidence in his own father.
It was the information on Yang Ge that made him feel a desperate admiration, felt dismal.
Even though he had tried to present the matter gravely, the florid-haired strong man remained as immovable as a rock by the sea, merely replying lightly, "Of course, in this world, there’s no rule that says only I may kill and others may not kill me..."
Seeing this, the spirited young man wanted to say more, but the florid-haired strong man had already raised a hand to stop him, "No need for more words; your father knows Yang Erlang is strong, but your father is stronger. As long as we can fight and win, your father will surely break free from the chains in one stroke and ascend to the Grandmaster Realm... Sen, your martial arts talent far surpasses your father, you just lack a bit of wildness, are too fond of comfort, with such apprehensions, how can you achieve greatness!"
The spirited young man looked unhappily at the silhouette of his father, reluctantly bowed, "I will remember your lessons, Father."
The florid-haired strong man, "You may go. Contact Liu Dongjun, according to the calculations she should be here soon..."
The spirited young man, "Yes, Father."
...
Night fell, at the Hangzhou stronghold of the Ming Sect.
Yang Ge grasped a handful of melon seeds while he and Yang Tiansheng huddled over a map finalizing the distribution of troops: "Out of five thousand soldiers, at least two thousand must be kept as a mobile force and reserve, these two thousand will be positioned behind our main formation."
"Two thousand in front, five hundred on the northern hill, and five hundred on the southern hill..."
"Three thousand to withstand the frontal assault of over twenty thousand Japanese pirates, the pressure from the first wave will definitely be great, at that time we must maintain the tempo, ease in the troops slowly, let’s not drive all the pirates into desperation from the start. Give them a bit of hope to break out or retreat, then firmly hold on to the grudge and steadily fight with them," he detailed.
"According to the intelligence sent by Wang Zeng, among these twenty thousand pirates are over a dozen groups of pirates and bandits, with the largest group numbering only around three thousand. With such a motley crew thrown together in chaos, as long as we don’t corner them into a deadlock too quickly, they are bound to start fighting amongst themselves!"