Iron Plank and Bronze Pipa

Anyone who has visited Dali knows its four famous sights: the wind at Xiaguan, the flowers at Shangguan, the snow on Cangshan, and the moon over Erhai. Likewise, everyone in the martial world knows that Cangshan, beside Dali City, is home to four eccentric masters of unfathomable skill, known by the names Wind, Flower, Snow, and Moon. These four martial world oddities are Lu Bochao, the “Scholar of Divine Wind”; Bai Xiaolan, the “Young Master Who Cherishes Flowers”; Jiang Lijun, the “Snow Princess”; and Gu Taixu, the “Hermit Who Hates the Moon.” The “Scholar of Divine Wind,” Lu Bochao, is renowned throughout the land for his One-Yang Finger and light-footedness. He is said to be a direct descendant of the Duan emperors of the former Dali kingdom. Bai, Jiang, and Gu each command the martial world with their own peerless arts: the Flying Flower Palm, the Snow Sword, and the Drunken Moon Fist. These four oddities are renowned heroes, sworn enemies of evil. The martial world’s villains and scoundrels tremble at their names. And because each has a peculiar temperament, even respectable members of the orthodox schools keep their distance, treating them with wary respect. Thus, both the orthodox and unorthodox factions have bestowed upon them the title “Four Supremes of the Martial World,” though some also call them the “Four Eccentrics of the Martial World.”