As promised, the storyteller is there enjoying his cup of tea.
Tell me more about the circumstance of the martial arts community? How it came to be?
A hundred years ago, there were lots of heroes in the martial arts community, most notable of which is the legendary Nameless One.*
*Yeah I'm calling him that now. It's way cooler than Planet Escape: Nobody.
However, things declined after the martial arts world reaches its peak. For the next several decades, there was no one who was worth the title "hero". Until two decades ago.
There were two brothers who came from the West to Central China. They were Li Cangtian and Li Canglong.
No one knows where they learned their incredible martial arts skills. These two young men founded the Cult of Tianlong that became one of the greatest sects in the martial arts community. They claimed the title of Eight Guardians. Li Cangtian called himself the Devaraja, and Li Canglong, the Nagaraja.
At that time, the Cult of Tianlong was at its peak and threatened to conquer the world of martial arts. Sects of Central China were worried so they united as one and ambushed Li Cangtian and his guardians in the West.
Li Cangtian disappeared after that, and the Cult was severely weakened. Li Canglong took over and rallied the cult.
However, he was more ambitious than his brother. His goal was not just to rebuild the Cult of Tianlong. In recent years, the Cult has been building up its strength while the sects of Central China have returned to their squabbling ways.
For now, Central China is still led by the Shaolin and Wudang. The Beggars' Sect the most numerous, but the Cult of Tianlong is still the strongest among them all.
Other sects also include Qingcheng, Huashan. While Tianshan, The Clan of Heaven's Sword, The Clan of Matchless Broadsword, Bagua Clan are among the minors.
There are also other specialty clans, including Swordsmith's Manor that focuses on forging swords, Baicao Clan focusing on herbology, Poisonous Dragon Clan with its poison speciality, Beastmaster's Manor that hunts and domesticates animals, and Tangmen Clan which is famous for its hidden weapons.
What about your book, the Chronicle of Wulin?
My Wulinpedia consists of four parts. They are: the Book of People, Martial Arts, Weapons and last but not least, Beauties.
The Book of People records legends of heroes like Zhang Sanfeng, Wang Chongyang and the Nameless One.
Of course, if you do great things in the future, I will also record your legend in the book.
The book of technique records the rankings of all kinds of martial arts techniques, like Internal Styles, Qinggong, Quan Techniques, Zhang Techniques, Swordsmanship. For example, the Eighteen-form Dragon Subduing Zhang of the Beggars' Sect is called the No.1 Zhang technique of the world.
And for Swordsmanship people are still arguing whether the Master of Wudang, Zhuo Renqing's Taiji Swordsmanship or the Sword Saint's Storm of Swords can be called the world's strongest. But in fact, in my records, the most powerful swordsman is someone else.
The Book of Weapon lists famous weapons in Wulin history and ranks the current weapons in the communtiy. The most famous ones are forged by the Swordswith's Manor. The most well known of which are Netherworld, Dragon and Tiger Coupling Sword and Buddha Sword and Devil Blade.
The Book of Beauty records amazing beauties in the martial arts world. In my opinion, the Guardians of the Cult of Tianlong, Yaksha, Gandharva and the great master of Tianshan Xiao Xiao, are the most charming beauties currently.
You seem to like tea.
I've got no other hobbies other than drinking tea, and I've got some ideas about tea.
I'd love to hear about it.
Good tea does not only come from its color, scent and flavor, it also comes from the quality of water. Mountain water is at the top, river water the middle, and well water the bottom.
These three water types of water have their own characteristics. For example, we should use gently flowing water coming from springs among rocks in mountains and rivers. Now let's talk about tea leaves.
What an au-tea-stic fellow.
He rambles on about the types of tea. The gentle Pu Tea from southwest. The Mengding 'immortal' tea with detailed kinds called "Thunder", "Bell in Mist", "Bird Tongue", "White Leaves" and so on.
He mention several more but this copywriter is tired of typing them out.
Wow, that's a lot! I'm feeling dizzy. Seems that I'd better drink some tea and refresh myself.
Your understanding of tea really helps me a lot. I shall enjoy tea carefully from now on. Three watch, three smell, three taste and three reflections... I never thought tea leaves and drinking involved such profoundness.
By the way, can you tell me about famous local martial artists?
Luoyang has two famous martial artists.
One is called Great Hero of Tiangang, his name is Jiang Tianxiong, his house is near the stage. Jiang is a very kind person, loves making friends and often solves others' problems. Everyone likes him.
The other is the Master of the Clan of Heaven's Sword, Ximen Xuan. Speaking of the Clan, we have to talk about the Clan of the Matchless Broadsword in Chengdu as well. Both were originally from one clan, which was called the Blades.
Their disciples often quarreled with each other because of the different views between sword and broadsword. As time went by, they finally divided themselves into two. It's been 30 years and their hostility towards each other never stopped.
Whew. That's a lot to take in.
Hey, young man, you know what, we're known as "know-it-all of Luoyang." So you came to the right place!
That's right. Speaking of Luoyang, we have to mention the Changhong Security Escorts. It's the biggest security company in the north. The escort head, Guan Changhong is feared by the bandits for his broadsword technique.
Apparently he's the descendant of the famous Guan Yu of Three Kingdoms. With the techniques passed down only to the son of the family, Guan Changhong was well known in the Wu region back in the day.
Weird if true.
Later he got married and settled down in Luoyang and opened up the Changhong Security Escorts.
Now that we're speaking of Guan Changhong, it seems that his son is very interested in Qi Li, the street performer.
Oh? Isn't that the gal we rescued early on?
If only his father didn't mind the difference in social status of the two families.
That's a lot of lore from the teahouse for now.
I wanted to spend some cash on good tea but saw that they offer no statistical benefits.
So I skipped buying them.
