The “Hundred-Transformation Scholar” was renowned for his skills in disguise, impersonation, and lightness techniques. Within the span of a single breath, he twisted and turned in the confined space, desperately trying to evade the sword beam that relentlessly pointed at his brow.
However, to his horror, no matter how he changed his movements, his opponent seemed to anticipate them in advance, precisely matching him step for step. The chilling sensation at his brow grew stronger and deeper!
How could there be such an incredible swordsman?
After arriving at the inn, he had discreetly inquired about “Zhen Heluo” Guan Haoran and learned that Zhang Yuanshan’s martial arts had reached a divine level, surpassing his own. Therefore, after ambushing and seriously injuring Master Xinji, he chose an escape route that avoided Zhang Yuanshan, rather than attempting to break through from Xiaozhi, who had no martial arts skills.
Who would have thought that the cheerful, dazzling young girl was actually such a terrifying swordsman!
She was absolutely stronger than the widely revered Zhang Gongzi!
Much stronger!
Regret gnawed at the Hundred-Transformation Scholar’s heart, but he knew he couldn’t delay any longer. Not only was he unsure if he could dodge this sword strike, but if the senior monks of Shaolin arrived, he would have no chance of escape. Gritting his teeth, his face flushed red, he suddenly lunged forward, then made a strange backward movement, slipping between Meng Qi and Qi Zhengyan.
He intended to use them as a human shield to evade Jiang Zhiwei’s sword!
Meng Qi saw the Hundred-Transformation Scholar’s movements—agile and nimble like a fox or ghost—and suddenly recalled his own “Eight Steps of Divine Movement.” He felt he understood something, yet also felt as if he understood nothing at all.
The Hundred-Transformation Scholar stepped lightly with his left foot, pivoting on his right, and twisted around strangely, attempting to slip behind Meng Qi to avoid Jiang Zhiwei’s relentless sword.
This step… Meng Qi suddenly felt it was somewhat familiar, bearing a striking resemblance to one of the Eight Steps of Divine Movement!
Instinctively, he slid his feet and turned, moving behind the Hundred-Transformation Scholar in the same way.
Now there was nothing in front of him—the Hundred-Transformation Scholar was shocked and alarmed, the chill at his brow intensifying.
He had no choice but to change his steps again, and under the Hundred-Transformation Scholar’s lead, Meng Qi executed the best step of his “Eight Steps of Divine Movement” since he had mastered it.
The two danced like partners, constantly changing directions, yet always facing each other, graceful and unfathomable.
This damned monk! The Hundred-Transformation Scholar cursed inwardly. If he had just one more breath of time, he was sure he could have defeated the young monk. However, after this brief interruption, he already saw the sharp tip of the sword.
Beside him, Qi Zhengyan drew his sword, scattering points of cold starlight that enveloped the Hundred-Transformation Scholar.
By the time Zhang Yuanshan and the Shaolin monks arrived, the Hundred-Transformation Scholar was already cornered.
Meng Qi, whose martial arts were far inferior, feared being taken hostage by the Hundred-Transformation Scholar. Thus, he activated the Eight Steps of Divine Movement, slipping out of the encirclement, and prepared to play it safe, waiting for an opportunity to strike the Hundred-Transformation Scholar with his monk’s spade.
Thinking back to how he had naively spent an entire day with this enemy, being deceived and brought to the brink of death, Meng Qi felt furious and naturally wouldn’t miss the chance for revenge.
The Hundred-Transformation Scholar exhausted every trick, but it was all in vain. He was struck by the head of the Discipline Hall, hit by a sword strike each from Jiang Zhiwei, Zhang Yuanshan, and Qi Zhengyan. His hair was disheveled, blood streamed from his wounds, and he staggered forward, but his movements slowed, no longer capable of escape.
At this sight, Meng Qi stepped forward and swung his blade, cutting a deep gash into the Hundred-Transformation Scholar’s back.
“Hmph, I’m just that petty of a person!”
The Hundred-Transformation Scholar could no longer support himself and collapsed to the ground, his acupoints sealed by a red-robed monk.
“Namo Amituofo, Master Kuang, have you been well? Ten years have passed, and old monk has failed to recognize you.” Master Xinji, his face yellowed, walked forward without assistance.
After being captured, the Hundred-Transformation Scholar knew begging would be futile. He lifted his head and laughed loudly, “Haha, the Abbot is old and his eyesight has failed, no longer the glory of his youth. However, the General holds you in high esteem. If you lead Shaolin to surrender to him, he will surely petition the Emperor to grant you the title of National Master, making Shaolin the foremost Buddhist temple, with endless incense offerings and ten thousand acres of fertile fields!”
“Leading beasts to devour people is the work of an Asura, a fate I am ashamed to share,” Master Xinji replied with a touch of heroism.
“Hmph, the General’s only concern is the Abbot himself. Now that I have wounded you, who remains to oppose the General? Those narrow mountain passes can only hinder ordinary experts and soldiers. To the General, they are as flat as a plain. When that time comes, the mountain passes will be mere decorations!” Failing to bribe, the Hundred-Transformation Scholar resorted to threats. “Abbot, do not let Shaolin’s thousand-year legacy be destroyed by your hands!”
Meng Qi gave an almost imperceptible nod—not in agreement with the Hundred-Transformation Scholar’s words, but acknowledging one point he had made correctly: when a master who “transcends levels” exists, if one’s side has no one capable of countering, ordinary mountain passes and gates are utterly useless. Such a master can easily bypass them, kill the guards, and open the passage for his comrades.
“Amituofo, there is no need for further words, the legacy of Shaolin lies only in Buddhist principles and Zen insights.” Master Xinji raised his sleeve, and with a withered hand, gently swept over the Hundred-Transformation Scholar’s head. “With battle imminent, old monk cannot hold back.”
“You, you actually intend to kill me!” The Hundred-Transformation Scholar was shocked and terrified. He had hoped Jiang Zhiwei and Zhang Yuanshan would kill him, while the Shaolin monks would intervene, merely disabling his martial arts. “Where is your discipline? Where is your Buddha? The General will soon arrive, and you will die without a burial place!”
“Amituofo, the Buddha possesses compassion, but also the wrathful visage of Vajra.” Master Xinji spoke calmly, gently brushing his hand over the Hundred-Transformation Scholar’s head.
Instantly, the Hundred-Transformation Scholar’s eyes widened in disbelief as he slumped lifelessly to the ground.
Meng Qi suddenly found this old monk quite to his liking. As he was about to speak, he suddenly saw the golden Buddha statue once again smiling with a flower in hand. Flames rose, forming new words that continuously changed.
“Subtask One: Eliminate ‘Hundred-Transformation Scholar,’ one of the four Xiantian masters from the opposing faction. Jiang Zhiwei will receive thirty Virtue points, Zhang Yuanshan and Zhen Ding each receive twenty Virtue points, and Qi Zhengyan and Wang Jin each receive ten Virtue points.”
“Subtask Description: Eliminate one of the four innate masters from the opposing faction. Participants will receive corresponding virtue point rewards based on task difficulty, power disparity, and individual contribution.”
“Subtask Two Initiated: Eliminate General Du’ercha. Participants will receive merit point rewards ranging from fifty to two hundred merit points based on their contributions!”
“This, this is a subtask?” Meng Qi was somewhat incredulous.
At this moment, Zhang Yuanshan secretly transmitted his voice to him and Qi Zhengyan separately: “I didn’t have time to explain earlier. When I killed Guan Haoran, this subtask was triggered. Since I was the only one who acted, based on the comparison of strength, I received fifty good points. I believe if Zhen Ding were to complete this task alone, the reward would likely exceed one hundred.”
Meng Qi nodded slightly. In this environment, he couldn’t ask many questions, so he waited for Master Xinji to speak.
As Master Xinji looked at the Hundred-Transformation Scholar’s corpse, about to speak, an old monk with white eyebrows suddenly stepped forward, indignantly pointing at Meng Qi and others: “You spies! How could you bring the Hundred-Transformation Scholar into the temple and harm the Abbot! What other plots do you have?”
One by one, the senior monks stepped forward, seemingly ready to capture Meng Qi and his companions.
Before Zhang Yuanshan could defend them, Master Xinji waved his sleeve and said, “There’s no need to be so agitated. These gentlemen are not spies. They were likely just deceived by the Hundred-Transformation Scholar. If they were indeed spies, when the Hundred-Transformation Scholar attacked me earlier, if Jiang and Zhang had acted together, with their strength, I’m afraid I would have already attained Nirvana.”
This reasoning was highly persuasive, calming the agitated crowd. However, the white-browed monk still wore a grim expression: “The backgrounds of these gentlemen are unclear. Perhaps most are indeed righteous warriors, but who can guarantee none are like the Hundred-Transformation Scholar? Their failure to reveal themselves earlier may simply indicate a deeper plot. Until they are properly identified, they should not be allowed to remain within the temple.”
“This will make the righteous warriors who came to help feel disheartened,” a middle-aged monk hesitated to say.
The white-browed monk insisted firmly: “The Abbot was attacked and injured. We cannot take any more risks. With so many people around, the group of righteous warriors likely includes many barbarian spies. It would be better to send them all home.”
Master Xinji sighed and said to Zhang Yuanshan: “There are some disputes and discussions within the temple that you gentlemen should not hear. Please go down the mountain first. We will inform you once we reach a decision.”
Although it felt unjust, Zhang Yuanshan, Jiang Zhiwei, and others were all from prestigious sects and still young, so they refrained from causing a scene. They picked up Ke Bijun’s corpse and bid farewell, heading down the mountain.
“If we can’t enter the temple, how can we hold out until the very end?” On the mountain path, Wang Jin, who had barely spoken with Meng Qi and others, suddenly said.
Zhang Yuanshan hesitated for a moment and said, “I hope the discussion results in a positive outcome. Holding out at the foot of the mountain is still defending Shaolin, but it’s too dangerous. Hmm, Zhen Ding, do you know any secret passages into Shaolin?”
He didn’t want to be too rigid and wanted to sneak into Shaolin through secret passages. Since this place resembled the main world’s Shaolin Temple so closely, asking Meng Qi seemed appropriate.
“I’ve only been in the temple for less than a year. How would I know such secrets?” Meng Qi replied helplessly.
Qi Zhengyan suddenly spoke up in a low voice: “Then we can sneak into Shaolin when the barbarian army breaches the pass. We just need to be careful beforehand.”
Zhang Yuanshan sighed: “Master Xinji is seriously injured. I suspect Shaolin’s determination to hold out. Perhaps they will arrange for promising disciples to secretly leave with scriptures, relics, and other treasures. In that case, whether we are spies or not will no longer matter, and we will certainly be allowed into the temple.”
“Let’s hope as Senior Brother Zhang says,” Qi Zhengyan nodded.
Jiang Zhiwei, who had been silent all along, suddenly spoke: “If we can’t enter the temple to complete the main task, then we should try our best to kill Du’ercha. That way, each of us will receive at least fifty virtue points. Combined with our previous accumulation, it should be enough to deduct.”
This, this is truly typical of Jiang Zhiwei’s thinking… Meng Qi thought to himself.
At this moment, Zhang Yuanshan said gravely: “Xiang Hui was replaced by the Hundred-Transformation Scholar without our knowledge. We discussed a lot about the cycle world in front of him. Why weren’t we erased?”
“Perhaps in such a situation, the master of the Six Paths of Reincarnation would alter the Hundred-Transformation Scholar’s hearing. After all, it couldn’t warn us about an ‘insider,’ and we were simply guilty of an unintentional mistake,” Meng Qi speculated.
Now that the Hundred-Transformation Scholar was dead and they hadn’t been erased, this was the only explanation.
While discussing, the group returned to the inn, only to find a gloomy atmosphere. Everyone was silent, with visible fear.
“Brother Wei, what’s wrong?” Meng Qi called out to Wei Wuji from a distance.
Wei Wuji hurried over, looked at Zhang Yuanshan, and said in shock and fear: “Master Zhang, Young Master Lin has been assassinated!”
“What?” Even Zhang Yuanshan, who was usually composed, couldn’t help but exclaim in surprise. Lin Bixue, who had just been drinking tea and wine with him, had actually been assassinated?
“Yes, Lin Bixue’s page found him lying in bed after his meditation time had passed. His death was extremely strange,” Wei Wuji said fearfully.
“Take us to see,” Zhang Yuanshan ordered gravely.
Meng Qi also felt the situation was suspicious and didn’t object, following them upstairs to Lin Bixue’s room.
Inside the room, Lin Bixue lay silently on the bed, smiling peacefully, as if he had found liberation and rebirth, showing no signs of pain. His skin and muscles below the neck were yellowed and shrunken, resembling a mummy that had been dead for years. His death was extremely strange!
“This manner of death seems somewhat familiar, yet also different…” Zhang Yuanshan looked at Jiang Zhiwei in confusion.
Jiang Zhiwei nodded, indicating she felt similarly.
Bang! A sound came from the door.
Meng Qi and the others turned around to see Xiaozhi’s face pale as she backed away repeatedly, hitting the opposite wall without feeling anything.
“Xiao Sang, Xiao Sang has come too…” she muttered, shaking her head like in a dream.
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