Chapter 340: Mo-Ke Finger
Translator: Transn Editor: Transn
As still as an iron tower, Zhen He was filled with fearful panic. “Why has Junior Brother Zhen Ding… Wait, no… Why has Su ng, the Killing Blade, returned to the Shaolin Temple?”
The disciples of the Shaolin Temple rarely returned to Mount Liantai after being expelled, unless one had co to realize and had attained the true Enlightennt of Buddhism, relieved oneself of all emotions and desires, and had truly beco a monk. But that did not seem to be the case for Su ng’s return.
It would be virtually unthinkable for anyone to return for the sake of dispensing vengeance, for not even those on the Terrestrial Rankings, much less the 11th on the Ranking List of Young Masters, were able to callously inflict their will toward the Shaolin Temple.
ng Qi observed their expressions, and blurted out with amusent, “Senior Brothers, there’s no need for such hastiness. Mr. Su isn’t an enemy nor a monster.”
With a heavy breath, Zhen De suppressed whatever foreboding sentints were swelling within him. “Donor Su, what brings you here?”
“I have business to discuss with my master, Divine Monk Xuan Bei. Would Senior Brother Zhen De please announce my arrival?” Asked ng Qi as he stood patiently with folded arms, neither too humble nor too proud.
Zhen De’s expression shifted slightly. “Donor Su, you were expelled from the Shaolin Temple. You’ll no longer address Uncle Master Xuan Bei as your Master.”
“Senior Brother Zhen De,” chuckled ng Qi, “I couldn’t imagine that you could be so obsessed. My manner of addressing the Master is only a matter of semantics. He is, after all, both my Master and Divine Monk Xuan Bei. What difference is there for us to worry about?”
His tone was leisurely, as if he was at the temple to deliver a sermon on Buddhism and discuss the scriptures.
Mumbling, Zhen De turned on his heels and walked in the direction of the mountain, leaving with just a few words. “Uncle Master has sealed himself for hertic training. I’ll announce your arrival to the Reception Yard.”
“So, the Master is in hertic training. That explains why he hasn’t erged despite the grave incidents along the journey…” ng Qi nodded slightly as he stepped into the pavilion and waited.
At the mid-mountain pavilion, there were tables and chairs made of stones for guests to rest and refresh themselves. There was also a stone stele, where one could read a miniature inscription of the Diamond Sutra.
“If the rumors were true…” ng Qi observed the stone slabs with his hands folded behind him. The minute engravings seed to be dense in each row, but if read carefully, one would not feel confused reading the text. Every engraved word was slick and well-positioned, each retaining its own individualistic style. No two words would appear the sa as if physically manifesting the “Each and every form is illusory” teaching of the Diamond Sutra. What a aningful representation of Buddhist enlightennt in this place, the Holy Grounds of Buddhism.
In the anti, Zhen He regathered himself and quietly observed ng Qi, only to find that the latter did not even have the slightest agitation. In silence with poise and reverence, ng Qi studied the sutra text upon the stone slab with his hands crossed behind his back as his clothes billowed lightly in the breeze.
Zhen He was reminiscing about the ti that he was shaken by the imposing stature of Junior Brother Zhen Ding, when he was unable to perform at his best and lost during their sparring.
It was then that he understood that Junior Brother Zhen Ding had trendous talent in the study of Kung Fu. In ti, he would surely reach greater heights. Who would have known that ti could pass so swiftly like the wind? In just a matter of a few years, he had already surpassed Zhen Ben and Senior Brother Zhen Miao and made his na in Jianghu as the 11th on the infamous Ranking List of the Young Masters, almost on par with the young Uncle Master Xuan Zhen.
To look upon him now, one would surely feel the aura of a master emanating from within him.
ng Qi looked as if he was in peace, absorbed in ditating on the Zen disciplines contained within the Sutra and rembering the Sixth Master of the Shaolin Temple, Divine Monk Yuan Kong, who had inscribed the Sutra upon the stone slabs many years ago. The Divine Monk, who in his greatness, had claid the Golden Body of the Luohan.
His clothes fluttered in the brisk mountain breeze, yet no signs of impatience surfaced.
Being unfamiliar with ng Qi, Zhen He could not strike up a conversation with him and, therefore, accompanied him quietly as they both waited for Zhen De’s return.
Monts later, Zhen De returned with a Reception Monk in a yellow frock.
“Amitabha,” greeted the monk with his palms raised to his chest in reverence. “What’s the business that Donor Su wishes to discuss with Junior Brother Xuan Bei?” With that, the monk had indicated that he was of the sa “Xuan” seniority with Divine Monk Xuan Bei.
As they approached, ng Qi turned from the stone stele. Smiling, he asked, “Uncle Master, is there any specific reason required for an old friend to co visit?”
Being accustod to dealing with guests from the outside, the Reception Monk made no indication about any issues over the address. “Normally that wouldn’t be the case, but Junior Brother Xuan Bei is currently in hertic training. If the donor has pressing matters that require attending to, then I’ll have to consider alerting him ahead of schedule. However, if this is just a leisurely visit, then I’m afraid that Donor Su might need to visit again at another ti,” replied the smiling monk.
“I wonder if Junior Brother Zhen Hui is also in hertic training?” Asked ng Qi, switching over to Zhen Hui. By his calculations, he should have been out of his training by now.
Understanding ng Qi’s imbroglio with the temple, the Reception Monk had known that ng Qi would surely ntion Zhen Hui. Without any further thought, he replied, “Nephew Zhen Hui has just completed his training not long ago. He shouldn’t be sitting for another training any ti soon.”
“I shall visit him then,” said ng Qi with a carefree smile on his face.
“This way please, Donor Su.” The Reception Monk nodded and then led the way.
As the Reception Monk led the way up the mountain path with ng Qi in tow, the latter was filled with emotions as he looked around and fleeting mories flowed into his mind. The spot where he gathered water, the spot where he almost had fallen… He was flooded with the sights and sounds of his past as he passed the different morable areas that he had been during his ti there.
After a while, another monk was waiting on the mountain path. Dressed in a yellow monk’s frock and looking mild-mannered, he looked more like a scholar than a monk. He was none other than Zhen Miao, ng Qi’s Teaching Monk during his ti in the Warrior-monk Yard, one of the two older Seniors of the Shaolin Temple’s “Zhen” seniority.
There had been many monks that erged later on with exceptional flair in Kung Fu and Buddhist enlightennt, all of whom were remarkable talents themselves. But for now, both he and Zhen Ben maintained their headway amidst the ergence of new talents.
“Amitabha,” greeted Zhen Miao. “How are you, Donor Su?” He was there specifically to await ng Qi’s arrival.
At the curves and turns of the mountain path behind him, scores of grey-frocked disciples were hoping to take a peek, trying to get a glimpse of the legendary Reckless Monk, the greatest of the Shaolin Temple’s “Zhen” seniority.
Amongst the bemused, grey-clad disciples, a monk with a yellow frock visibly stood out. With narrow slit eyes and a scheming deanor, ng Qi recognized him as Xuan Kong, a Commandnt Monk from the Commandnt Yard.
“Could it be that he would try to goad into sparring with Zhen Miao? Zhen Miao is a person with a strong will to win. During the days before I had found the true way of enlightennt, he would always seek out to fight.” The thought made ng Qi wary as he smiled in return. “I’m not only good, I’m better than ever. Thank you, Senior Brother Zhen Miao, for your thoughts and concern.”
“That’s good indeed. The incidents at the Warrior-monk Yard from years ago are etched in my mind like it was yesterday. Who would have known that Donor Su would one day beco world-renowned? I wonder if you would be available to advise on a thing or two.”
Without any experience of venturing off the temple grounds, all news from Jianghu was all but hearsay to Zhen Miao. Even in training and sparring with enlightened masters of the “Xuan” seniority, they would not seriously inflict harm upon each other. With an itch that he could not scratch, he was thirsty to test his skills and satisfy his curiosity.
In his opinion, he believed that he was at 70 percent of his peak, having mastered the two Exterior strokes of the Mo-Ke Finger technique.
Xuan Kong watched them both, his scheming gaze closed in on both of them with great attention and anticipation. He harbored no hopes that Zhen Miao, with no true life-and-death fighting experiences, would be able to fully stand against Su ng. He rely hoped that the outco would put him in his place and humble the usual arrogance that Zhen Miao had about himself.
ng Qi sensed the rising tension and prodded with a smile. “I’ve always been slightly disappointed to not have had the pleasure to witness Senior Brother’s Mo-Ke Finger during your ti in the Warrior-Monk Yard. I see that my wish is coming true today.”
Even so, as a guest, Su ng had the choice to decline an invitation to spar.
“Zhen Ben has already mastered the Seven Supre Arts, whereas I have only mastered the Mo-Ke Finger technique. Donor Su, if you please,” said Zhen Miao somberly.
It was only right that the guest was first offered to make the first move.
“Please, Senior Brother.” ng Qi declined with a smile.
As a master in his own right, one who was close to being listed within the top 10 on the Ranking List of Young Masters, it would be unseemly of him to make the first move.
Filled to the brim with great desire to win, Zhen Miao stood for a split-second and, with great grace and agility, he lunged himself forward with two fingers closed together and pointed at ng Qi.
The sudden thrust of the fingers filled ng Qi’s vision in an instant. The pressure that accompanied the stroke assailed ng Qi from all angles. A move which had no form nor style, but was unbridled and free.
The accumulated pressure of the stroke rushed forward with a force like raging waters from a broken dam!
“So soon, yet already an Exterior stroke,” thought ng Qi, smiling. With an unnerving calmness, he unsheathed his saber and returned with rapid, circular slices that seed to fill the entire void between them. The strong montum of his blade movents dwarfed even the surging force of his opponent’s attack.
With a slash, ng Qi hurled himself forward as he avoided the technique and closed in on Zhen Miao. Once he had cleared it, he unleashed his blade on his opponent.
Unsettled by how ng Qi had maneuvered and avoided his attack with such ease, Zhen Miao attempted to block his opponent’s saber by targeting its blade with his fingers.
The sight of the gleaming blade rekindled the hidden embers of cravings within him. His strong will to win that drove him forward beca his undoing that slowed him down for an instant.
With the Heaven Inflicted Pain technique, ng Qi had thus secured his victory and then gathered himself.
“A good stroke. Too bad it was executed with the wrong timing,” observed ng Qi casually.
The true way of battle had never been about using only fatal blows and the most potent techniques and moves. Without appropriate timing by spotting opportunistic openings and flaws of the opponent, it was easy for the opponent to instead avoid and dispel your attacks with ease. Therefore, during ng Qi’s duel with Qing Yu, it was a contest of bladesmanship on the surface when they were actually looking for openings and opportunities to exploit and unleash their ultimate technique to secure victory. Hence, after Soul-losing Flute’s death at the Mountain Deity Temple, against ng Qi’s aggressive attacks, Fla Scorching Devil refrained from willfully executing any potent techniques. That was because ng Qi, who was ard with a plethora of unpredictable techniques of movent, would be able to maneuver and avoid any ranged attacks, given the distance. With ng Qi overpowering him in the end, there was not even a chance for him to dole out anything worth ntioning.
Even when ng Qi first duelled with An Guoxie, he did not brazenly use the Peace Quietude Split technique, but instead, with great shrewdness, he first used the Transformation Strategy technique to force so openings before he attained his victory.
This duel fully underlined the fact that Zhen Miao was deeply lacking in actual combat experience, where his ultimate technique could only be used to its full potential only in duels of equal level or in tis of grave danger…
Frozen, Zhen Miao was in severe disbelief that he had been beaten so easily. With those few words of advice from ng Qi, he finally ca to terms with his defeat and began to slowly reply, “My thanks to you, Donor Su, for your advice.”
In his haste to pursue victory, he had not rembered one of the teachings he had learned from his master: There is no gain in one’s insight without actual practice.
The monks of the “Zhen” seniority were incredulous and their faces were filled with shock and awe. Not one of them could have imagined that their Senior Brother Zhen Miao could be defeated with such a lack of apparent effort. “Had Zhen Ding really attained enlightennt?”
“The Ananda Oath-Breaking Bladesmanship, a Divine Skill of the Shaolin Temple… And here I thought you were a master in your own right…” snorted Xuan Kong suddenly.
With a great laugh, ng Qi stepped forward. With a whisk of his blade, he appeared before Xuan Kong in the blink of an eye and slashed.
Despite the sluggish slice, Xuan Kong was forced into a quandary in which he could see clearly with his eyes that there was no avoiding it. There was an infinite counter to each evasive maneuver that Xuan Kong could think of, and each countermove was as fast as a blinding flash.
With a cold sweat breaking out on his forehead, Xuan Kong could not think of any way to avoid nor counter ng Qi’s attack. With throbs of panic bearing down on him, he could only react and tried to raise his palms to slap at the blade when it was close.
With a simple countermove, the saber blade avoided both palms and rested before his forehead. Xuan Kong’s legs threatened to crumble as he trembled in fear.
“Uncle Master Xuan Kong, this’s no Divine Skill of the Shaolin Temple.”
Saying that as he laughed, ng Qi sheathed his saber.
With his green robes rippling gently in the breeze and his sword back in its sheath hanging from his waist, ng Qi carelessly drifted past Xuan Kong and continued up the steps as he laughed gently.
Xuan Kong, who was once ahead of him in strength and position, could not even withstand a single slash of his blade now.
Gazing at the departing ng Qi, the flocks of monks of the “Zhen” seniority could not help being filled with awe and admiration at his gallantry and elegance.
Reaching the front of the temple, a gray-frocked monk rushed out and exclaid crudely to ng Qi,
“Senior Brother, you’re back! Co quickly and tell the stories of your duels with Right-Guarding Sword, the Astounding, and Five Emperors’ Knife.”
“Crap! Two years of not seeing each other and Junior Brother still behaves like I just left yesterday!” ng Qi was left speechless as he watched Zhen Hui.
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