clearly meant to refer to his own earlier actions.

Duan Yu said, “As you, the Enlightened Lord of the Great Wheel, have come from afar and are a guest of the Heavenly Dragon Monastery, we have received you with proprietry and respect. But you dare to offend my uncle? The only reason we had been showing forebearance and restraint at every turn is because everyone here is a disciple of Buddha, but you have only become more and more overbearing and arrogant. Who, amongst Buddhist disciples, is as flagrant in breaking monastic principles as you are?”

Everyone, hearing Duan Yu righteously castigate Jiumozhi, felt secretly grateful towards him. At the same time, they became even more on guard, fearing that Jiumozhi might suddenly fly into a rage and suddenly launch an attack against Duan Yu to harm him.

They did not expect that Jiumozhi would remain calm and composed. He said, “Today, I have become acquainted with so many eminent personages. It has been my great fortune. I ask that you exchange a few stances with me as well, so as to allow this humble monk to gained great benefit from your tutelage.” Duan Yu said, “I don’t know martial arts and I’ve never learned it.” Jiumozhi laughed. “Wise, wise. I take my leave!” Leaning slightly, with a sweep of his sleeves he struck out with both arms and simultaneously launched four attacks using his ‘Blazing Flame Sabre’ technique, chopping towards Duan Yu.

The enemy had just launched an attack on him using his most ferocious skill, but Duan Yu remained muddle headed and ignorant. Emperor Baoding and Benxiang struck out with their fingers simultaneously, receiving and blocking these four attacks from Jiumozhi’s ‘Blazing Flame Sabre’. Only, under the sudden assault of Jiumozhi’s vigorous internal energy, both of their bodies swayed. Benxiang let out a ‘wa’ cry and vomited out a mouthful of fresh blood.

Only after seeing Benxiang vomit blood did Duan Yu understand that Jiumozhi had just then launched yet another sneak attack. He was absolutely enraged. Pointing at Jiumozhi’s nose, he cursed, “You couth, unreasonable barbarian monk!” With his exertion of energy from his right index finger, his mind and his internal energy connected, and he naturally executed an attack from the ‘Shangyang Sword’ technique. His internal energy was extremely powerful. In this day and age, extremely few people had reached such a level. Just previously, he had studied the manuscripts of the ‘Divine Sword of the Six Meridians’ while hiding in front of Elder Kurong, and also watched the invisible sword fighting of the seven elder monks. Now, as he struck out with his finger, his mind unconsciously followed the instructions on the manual. With a ‘chi’ sound, a simple, vigorous, and incomparably powerful energy stabbed towards Jiumozhi.

Startled, Jiumozhi hurriedly used a palm strike from the ‘Blazing Flame Blade’ technique to receive the attack. Duan Yu’s attack not only surprised Jiumozhi; it was also wildly out of the expectations of Elder Kurong, Abbot Benyin, and the others. The ones who were the most surprised of all were Emperor Baoding and Duan Yu himself. Duan Yu thought to himself, “Huh. That was weird. I just pointed at him. Why did this monk act so hurriedly to ‘block’ my point? Oh, I get it, I get it. It must be that I accidentally pointed at him in accordance with the techniques of the ‘Divine Sword of the Six Meridians’, and he thought that I knew how to use it. Haha, since that’s the case, I might as well scare him a bit!” He loudly said, “What’s so remarkable about this ‘Shangyang Sword’ technique! Take a look at the ‘Zhongchong Sword’ techniques!” As he spoke, he struck out with his middle finger. But this time, although his technique was correct, the internal energy did not rush out as it did before. He was just pointing aimlessly in the air, without any actual effect.

Jiumozhi, seeing him strike out with his middle finger, immediately gathered his internal energy to resist the attack. He didn’t expect that the ‘attack’ didn’t contain an ounce of internal energy. At first, he thought that his opponent was trying to confuse him, interchanging ‘solid’ with ‘void’. He saw Duan Yu strike out a second time, but once again it was empty and without any power behind it at all. He couldn’t help but feel delight in his heart. He thought to himself, “I was just wondering how someone who could use the ‘Shaoshang Sword’ technique could also be able to use the ‘Zhongchong Sword’ technique. Looks like I was right. This kid is just bluffing. Scared me for a moment!”

During this trip to the Heavenly Dragon Monastery, he had fallen flat on his face, so to speak, several times in a row now. He thought to himself that if he didn’t show off his power a bit, the fame and prestige of the ‘Enlightened Lord of the Great Wheel’ would suffer more than a bit of harm. His left palm immediately chopped towards both the left and the right, sealing off any rescue paths which Emperor Baoding and the others might use to aid Duan Yu. Then, he chopped out with his right palm, striking at Duan Yu’s right shoulder. This technique, ‘White Rainbow Pierces the Sun’, was a marvelous and brilliant technique from his ‘Blazing Flame Sabre’ skill. He was intending to cut off Duan Yu’s right arm with a single chop. Emperor Baoding, Benyin, Bencan, and the others cried out in unison, “Careful!” Each of them struck out with a finger towards Jiumozhi.

The three of them were naturally using the first-class martial arts principle of ‘forcing an enemy into a position where he cannot help but withdraw to defend himself’ in their attack. Jiumozhi had already used his internal energy to protect all the critical points on his body. He didn’t draw back his attack on Duan Yu in the slightest, and chopped perfectly straight down. Hearing the alarmed cries from Emperor Baoding and the others, Duan Yu knew that he was in a bad situation. He pushed outwards vigorously with both hands. His mind in a state of panic, his internal energy natural flowed out. The ‘Shaochong Sword’ of his right hand and the ‘Shaoze Sword’ of his left hand simultaneously struck out, dissolving the power of the stroke of the ‘Blazing Flame Sabre’ aimed at him. There was still plenty of energy left over from his strike, and with a ‘chi chi’ sound, the the two attacks counter-assaulted Jiumozhi. Jiumozhi didn’t have time to think, immediately sending internal energy to his left hand to ward off the attack.

After being provoked into striking out for the past few times, Duan Yu had the vague notion that it was necessary for one to first gather his internal energy, and then agitate it to strike out with a finger; only then could his internal strength and power be unleashed. But as to why this was the cause, he had no clue at all. He lightly struck out with his middle finger, once more shooting forth the ‘Zhongchong Sword’. In a blink of an eye, all of the techniques he had learned from the six manuscripts rushed to the front of his mind. All ten of his fingers struck out continuously, attacking here and there in an inexhaustible onslaught.

Jiumozhi was astounded, and hurriedly generated his internal energy to resist the attacks. Sword qi criss crossed the small room, and sabre energy danced in the air. It was as though countless miniature thunderbolts or raging gales were repeatedly clashing against each other midair. After fighting for a while, Jiumozhi felt as though his opponent’s internal energy was only growing stronger and stronger, and his sword techniques were boundless without fathom, as though creating new stances on the spot. It was totally different from his earlier fight with Benyin, Benxiang, and the others, where they were rigidly sticking to a pre-set formula; in contrast, the variations were much more difficult to predict and fathom. He was not aware that Duan Yu was not able to memorize all of the complicated changes and transformations within the sword techniques of the ‘Divine Sword of the Six Meridians’, and was simply randomly piercing and stabbing about in a critical situation, much less inventing new stances on the spot. In his heart, he was both shocked and regretful. “The Heavenly Dragon Monastery actually has such a young and extraordinarily skilled master as this person. Today, I really did bring about my own humiliation!” Suddenly, he struck out three times, with three ‘chi’ sounds, before calling out, “Hold your hand!”

Duan Yu’s internal strength could not be generated or retracted at will. Upon hearing his opponent call for him to halt, he did not know how to cease, and so his only option was to raise his fingers and point them at the ceiling. He thought to himself, “I should stop exerting my strength and hear what he has to say.”

Jiumozhi saw that a perplexed look was on Duan Yu’s face as he stopped fighting. Earlier, when he was withdrawing his internal energy, Duan Yu acted as though he were baffled and did not know what the hell he was doing at all. Jiumozhi’s heart was swayed, and he immediately leapt forwards, striking towards Duan Yu’s face with his fist.

Only through great fortune and luck did Duan Yu manage to learn this highest of martial arts techniques, the ‘Divine Sword of the Six Meridians’. He didn’t know any of the most basic empty handed or weapon based martial arts at all. Within this punch of Jiumozhi’s was hidden seven or eight separate techniques. This was already a very powerful fist skill to begin with; now, backed up by the might of the Blazing Flame Sabre’s energy, it became an infathomably deep and powerful stroke, impossible for even he himself to measure its strength.

In the martial world, there was no martial artist at all who understood deep martial arts but not superficial ones, who could comprehend complex martial arts not but not simple ones. Duan Yu was the only exception. Seeing Jiumozhi punch towards his face, he awkwardly stretched out his arm to block. Jiumozhi’s right palm flipped over, seizing the ‘Shenfeng’ acupoint on his chest. Duan Yu’s entire body immediately felt limp and he could no longer move. The ‘Shenfeng’ acupoint belonged to the ‘Zushaoyinshen’ group of acupoints, which he had never practiced in his study of the Divine Art of the Northern Darkness.

Although Jiumozhi discovered huge, gaping flaws in Duan Yu’s study of martial arts, he was unable to overcome Duan Yu’s ‘Divine Sword of the Six Meridians’, and intended to use other high-level martial arts to defeat him. But he never would have expected to be able to so easily capture him in a single attack. He was actually afraid that Duan Yu was just play-acting and had some strange trick in mind. With his one hand on Duan Yu’s ‘Shenfeng’ acupoint, he immediately struck out with his other hand and sealed his ‘Jiquan’, ‘Dazhui,’ and ‘Jingmen’ acupoints. This acupoints belonged to the ‘Jingmai’ group, which Duan Yu also had never learned.

Jiumozhi retreated three steps. He said, “This young benefactor has memorized the method by which one might learn the ‘Divine Sword of the Six Meridians’. The original manuscript has already been burned by Elder Kurong. That makes this young benefactor a living manuscript. Burning him alive as a sacrifice in front of Mr. Murong’s tomb will be just as good.” Spreading out his left palm, he hurriedly made five chops in a row, then seized Duan Yu and dragged him out of the doorway and away from the Muni Pavilion.

Emperor Baoding, Benyin, Benguan and the others wanted to rush forward and reclaim him, but were all sealed out by this chain of five chops which Jiumozhi made. There was no way for them to rescue him.

With a toss, Jiumozhi handed Duan Yu off to the nine escorts which stood guard outside the pavilion. He called out, “Let’s go quickly!” Two of the escorts stretched their hands out simultaneously and caught Duan Yu. They did not leave the way they came in. Rather, apparently on their own intiative, they made their way out via the grove which surrounded the Muni Pavilion. Jiumozhi generated the power of his ‘Blazing Flame Blade’ and simply repeatedly hacked at the doorway of the Muni Pavilion.

Emperor Baoding and the others all urgently clashed the force of their Single Solitary Finger against Jiumozhi’s power, but were temporarily unable to break his invisible net of sabre strikes. Jiumozhi heard the sound of hoofsteps and knew that his nine subordinates had already departed northwards with Duan Yu. He laughed long and loudly. “Burning a living manual is superior to burning a lifeless manuscript! Now that Mr. Murong has someone to accompany him in the underworld, he won’t feel lonely anymore!” He made diagonal cuts with his right hand. With a ‘ka la la’ sound, two of the pillars of the Muni Pavilion were chopped in half. His body swayed slightly, then, as though his body were nothing more than a breath of thin smoke, he flew towards the grove as well. In an instant, his location became indiscernable.

Emperor Baoding and Bencan rushed out at the same time, only to see that Jiumozhi was already long gone. Emperor Baoding said, “Hurry! Chase him!” His gown fluttering in the wind, he had already moved many meters. Master Bencan and him were running shoulder to shoulder, picking up speed and pursuing northwards.