Lingnan Sect
"Remember one thing well: we Lingnan Disciples have never done wrong, and we never will. Don't look inward—look outward! Everything we do to hurt others, we do for justice!"
South of the Five Ridges, sects abound in the Wulin, yet they rarely set foot in the Central Plains. The most famous is the Lingnan Sword Sect, once renowned far and wide—it would not have been out of place among the Seven Great Sects.
But good times did not last. The former Sect Leader was framed by a petty man and died of a broken heart. After the current Sect Leader, the "Two-Faced Freak" Yan Jianrui, seized power, the Disciples stopped practicing martial arts and took to impersonation, spreading rumors, and framing others for sport, leaving the Jianghu in a foul haze.
To take a master and join the sect, one must disown all kin. One swears to cast off one's own name, with no dignity to speak of and no morality, and only then is nothing forbidden. It is said that to make their mouths fouler still, they must eat shit.
Leshan Sword Discussion
The Lingnan Sword Sect's ancestor, the "Seven-Star Sword Master", once traveled north to the Central Plains and agreed to meet the "Elephant Pond Cultivator" and the "Sword Saint" of the day for a Leshan Sword Discussion.
All three were the finest swordsmen of their age. The Seven-Star Sword Master and the Sword Saint had long vied with each other, each drawn by the other's fame, both wanting to know who was the Wulin's foremost Swordsman. The Elephant Pond Cultivator was pure of heart and few of desires and had no wish to go, but hearing that the others meant to duel atop the Leshan Giant Buddha's head, unwilling to let them defile the Buddha, he hurried to stop them, and with great effort persuaded the two to hold the contest at the Buddha's feet.
After this battle, the three of them gained mutual insights and shook hands in reconciliation, making it a beautiful tale of the Jianghu.
Decline
Years ago, an earthquake struck Lingnan and miasma ran rampant. However skilled in Sword Technique, a man is still flesh and blood, and the Sect Leader fell ill. Petty men of crooked hearts seized the chance to grasp for power: first they slandered their own Sect Leader, then they bought hearts and minds, and as rumor fed on rumor, everyone came to believe the Lingnan Sect Leader was a villain who ruled by force of arms and preyed on the common folk.
In his despair, the Sect Leader tore up the Seven-Star Sword Manual, hastily passed on the seal, sealed his sword, and retired. Little did he know he had entrusted it to the wrong man—the next Sect Leader was none other than the culprit who had schemed for his authority all along.
As the leaders did, so did the followers. The new Sect Leader devoted himself to scheming, and the Disciples followed suit, no longer applying themselves to martial arts. Mocked by the Jianghu that their "lip-spears" could rival 's "Heart Sword", they only grew smug.
And so the once-great Lingnan Sect declined. Nan Xi is now the true direct heir, forced to travel north; one day she means to fight her way back to Lingnan and purge the dregs.
The Four Uglies of Lingnan
"They came bearing murderous malice. Those they harm are not only the Ye siblings and Talented Woman Wei—they are strangling the courage of all who would show kindness, filling the world with hatred and suspicion."
This refers to Lin Zhiheng, Chen Jue, Ruan Dan, and Mi Oukuan, who appear on Ye Yunshang's route—the shame of Lingnan. They swindled Duan Zhixiu and forced him into the sect. They spread rumors everywhere and are the culprits behind the framing of Ye Yunshang and Wei Ju. At the Wulin Assembly, they even joined Chao He in slandering the Tang Clan as henchmen of the Demon Cult.
They show not the slightest respect for the former Sect Leader, comparing his daughter Nan Xi to a chicken—implying a prostitute. They swear to wipe out the Seven-Star Sword Master's legacy, while in their hearts they all mean to steal the Secret Manual and practice it in secret. In the end, Nan Xi comes upon them at an Inn and kills them all with a single sword.
Nan Xi declares that not all Lingnan Disciples are as vicious as these few—most simply chose silence. Zhao Huo retorts that the Lingnan elite have been silent far too long, and that it cost him the chance to know any other heroes.
The game never uses the name "Four Uglies of Lingnan"; it was coined by players, and it fits well enough.
Five-Colored Dragon Sand Pill
The Green-Faced Heavenly King of the Lingnan Sect once personally gave Long Yuan the Five-Colored Dragon Sand Pill. Its colors are brilliant, each standing for one of the Five Elements, and taken separately, any single pill is enough to kill. But taken in the right order and at the right hour, they generate and overcome one another in turn, transforming their medicinal power for one's own use.
But Long Yuan fumbled once and lost a pill, so the cycle of overcoming could not be closed. Not daring to take them for a long while, he simply gave them to Zhao Huo to try his luck.
Notes
- When Duan Zhixiu reached the Lingnan Sect, he thought it was some mountain king's stronghold—it looked that run-down.
- Duan Zhixiu really did chew dung cakes and drink saliva tea. Was that the entry rite, or was he simply too easy to fool?
- The current Sect Leader is actually Patriarch Wuxiang in disguise, deliberately leading the sect astray to destroy it.