The Smiling, Proud Wanderer, becoming a disciple of Yue Buqun

Page 379

It was Linghu Chong who stopped in time.

But as soon as Linghu Chong stopped moving, his movements slowed down a bit, and the other two monks seized the opportunity to push him back. The attacks from the remaining monks followed, and Linghu Chong was once again caught in a fierce battle.

"What kind of swordsmanship is that?"

One of the high monks, who was watching Linghu Chong break through the formation from a short distance away, frowned.

He was referring to the Dugu Nine Swords technique used by Linghu Chong.

Another high-ranking monk also shook his head and said, "I've never seen it."

"What exquisite swordsmanship."

Then another high-ranking monk spoke.

"If Linghu Chong hadn't shown mercy, someone would be dead right now."

His words resonated with the other high monks.

But it was precisely because Linghu Chong held back that he is now in a very passive position.

Chapter 507: Entering the Battle (Louis Likes Oranges 6/16)

The Dugu Nine Swords is an unparalleled sword technique, but this was just a friendly spar. Linghu Chong didn't want to kill anyone, so he lost his fighting spirit and couldn't fully unleash the power of the Dugu Nine Swords. Linghu Chong was on the defensive, and the continuous attacks from the Arhat Formation made it impossible for him to stop and rest.

Linghu Chong began to pant after only a short while.

Jiang Ning, seeing that Linghu Chong was about to give up, did not hesitate any longer. He drew his sword, pointed it, and leaped into the formation, landing in the center of the formation.

Just then, Linghu Chong had just repelled the attacks of several martial monks when more martial monks attacked from behind.

Linghu Chong was panting heavily and had no time to turn around to attack or defend; he was about to be hit in the next second.

At this critical moment, Jiang Ning descended from mid-air, raised his sword and swept it, sending the monks flying.

However, Jiang Ning didn't stop moving. He glanced around and saw that he and Linghu Chong were surrounded by a dense crowd of martial monks.

Jiang Ning reached out and grabbed Linghu Chong's shoulder, lifting him up. Then, he leaped to another open space where there were fewer martial monks.

"Junior brother, thank you very much."

At this moment, Linghu Chong also caught his breath and thanked Jiang Ning.

If Jiang Ning hadn't intervened, he would have already been defeated.

Jiang Ning shook his head and didn't speak; now was not the time to chat.

At this moment, the monks saw Jiang Ning and Linghu Chong jump behind them and quickly returned to defend.

Jiang Ning glanced at the martial monks around him, tightened his grip on the Zhenwu Sword, and charged forward.

The monks facing Jiang Ning did not dare to be careless when they saw him coming. They already knew that the person in front of them was the infamous King Ning, and immediately raised their sticks and used their internal energy to strike Jiang Ning's seven acupoints.

Jiang Ning dodged the attack by sidestepping, and at the same time turned around and swept his leg, drawing an arc in mid-air, kicking the faces of the seven monks. Screams of pain rose one after another. The seven monks were swept away and fell to the ground outside, spitting blood. They were injured and unable to continue fighting.

Jiang Ning's move was different from the previous one. Unlike Linghu Chong, who had been in the formation for a long time without any results, Jiang Ning had "crippled" seven monks as soon as he entered the formation.

The other monks' expressions immediately darkened upon seeing this, and they concentrated most of the Arhat Formation's power to deal with Jiang Ning.

when!when!when!

The sound of clubs striking each other rang out densely as many monks attacked Jiang Ning from different angles. Their attacks were well coordinated, and although it was a group of people attacking one person, it did not appear crowded.

Normally, when using a large number of people to deal with a single person or a group of people, there is an unavoidable problem: no matter how many people there are, when facing a single person, only a few people can fight against that single person at the same time, while the rest can only watch from the outside and cannot truly take advantage of numbers. It is called a group fight, but in reality, it is about wearing down the opponent with your own lives until the opponent is killed.

But the Arhat Formation is different.

These monks had grown up practicing martial arts at the Southern Shaolin Temple since childhood. They coordinated perfectly, with one retreating while another attacked, and several retreating while others attacked. They never revealed any flaws or gaps, leaving the attacked person no chance to catch their breath or stay still, and maximizing their numerical advantage.

A group of monks attacked from different angles. Eight monks attacked from eight different directions. The Demon-Subduing Staff was aimed at Jiang Ning's chest and back, while eight other monks attacked his lower body. The attacks were incredibly dense.

Jiang Ning moved with incredible speed, his Zhenwu sword moving with impenetrable speed, forming a sword screen around him. The weapons clashed, producing a dense cacophony of metallic clanging.

Jiang Ning's side suffered most of the attacks from the Arhat Formation, and Linghu Chong's side was not in a good position either.

Although Jiang Ning had already shared most of the pressure, preventing Linghu Chong from facing the Arhat Formation alone, Linghu Chong, hampered by his methods and with his internal energy beginning to wane, was already showing signs of being unable to hold on.

Seeing this, Jiang Ning swept away the attacking monks with a single sword stroke, then leaped to Linghu Chong's side, and the two joined forces to fight against the Arhat Formation.

when!

Jiang Ning deflected the Demon-Subduing Staff that attacked Linghu Chong from the side with a single sword strike, and then dealt with the martial monk behind Linghu Chong.

Linghu Chong finally breathed a sigh of relief after receiving support from Jiangning.

The monks surrounding them continued their attacks, but the monks on the outer perimeter made different moves.

"drink!"

The monks on the periphery shouted loudly. Some of them lined up in a horse stance with their knees bent. Several monks stomped their feet and jumped onto the shoulders of these monks. Then other monks jumped onto the shoulders of these monks, and so on. Soon, a human wall was formed.

These monks were piled up together like a high wall, but then began to writhe like pythons.

The monks who were besieging Jiang Ning and Linghu Chong also made way, and the next second, the human wall piled up seemed to lash down like a whip.

Upon seeing this, Jiang Ning and Linghu Chong dispersed to the sides.

Bang!

These monks lashed out like whips, slamming their demon-subduing staffs into the ground, raising dust and seemingly shaking the earth itself.

"drink!"

The monks roared, veins bulging on their foreheads, arms, and necks. Together they struck Jiang Ning and Linghu Chong like whips lashing out.

Faced with this offensive, Jiang Ning and Linghu Chong regrouped.

"Junior brother, are you okay?"

Linghu Chong was panting heavily at this moment, his chest heaving considerably.

These monks' attacks were not so simple; their coordination was extremely perfect. They were now piled up together as if they were one person, but when they attacked, the monks attacked together, accompanied by a surge of internal energy, which was simply difficult to defend against.

Linghu Chong possesses considerable internal strength, but he now feels it's becoming unsustainable.

Jiang Ning was naturally unharmed.

At this moment, the opposing monks launched another attack, striking downwards like whips, just as they had the first time.

Seeing this, Jiang Ning stopped dodging as before and rushed over quickly, saying at the same time.

"Senior Brother, you attack from above, I'll attack from below."

Linghu Chong didn't understand Jiang Ning's meaning, but he acted quickly and immediately jumped to fight the 'whip-head' monk.

As the sword and staff struck, the monk with the whip raised his palm and struck.

Seeing this, Linghu Chong countered with his palm, simultaneously channeling his inner energy.

The two palms met, their inner strength surging.

Linghu Chong groaned, blood seeping from the corner of his mouth, and then flew backward, turning into a blur in mid-air before crashing to the ground.

Bang!

Linghu Chong rolled five or six times on the ground before he came to a stop.

At this moment, Linghu Chong's face turned red, his chest heaved with blood, and he couldn't help but vomit a mouthful of blood.

The monk who slapped him was completely unharmed.

"how is this possible?"

Linghu Chong was defeated, but at this moment he looked at this scene with disbelief.

How could he possibly lose in a contest of internal strength?

Linghu Chong was shocked and puzzled, but what he didn't understand was that he wasn't fighting one martial monk's internal energy, but rather all the martial monks' internal energy.

These martial monks practiced martial arts together from childhood, ate the same food, and practiced the same skills. From childhood to adulthood, they only did one thing: practice martial arts, practice martial arts, practice martial arts. For decades, they did this day after day. Their internal strength came from the same source, and their aura was like that of a single entity.

Just now, when Linghu Chong was exchanging blows with the monk at the head of the group, the other monks behind him were transferring their internal energy to him. When the monks combined their strength to strike, Linghu Chong, being alone, naturally couldn't withstand it and was instantly defeated.

Chapter 508: Breaking the Formation (Louis Likes Oranges 7/16)

Although Linghu Chong was defeated, he still served to draw the enemy's attention.

With Linghu Chong drawing fire from above, Jiang Ning seized the opportunity to attack the lower array's core. His charge was incredibly fast, like a raging bull charging into battle, heading straight for the few martial monks at the bottom.

The training emphasizes that power originates from the ground, and the same applies to formations. The formation formed by these monks is so powerful, but it is not without weaknesses. Once the bottom layer is broken, this python formation will fall apart like a pile of loose sand.

"not good!"

The warrior monks below immediately understood Jiang Ning's intentions upon seeing his rapid charge.

The other monks quickly stepped in to help the lower-ranking monks out of the predicament.

when!when!when!

Jiang Ning's sword flew up and down, deflecting wave after wave of attacks, and finally arrived at the location of the array's core.

Without the slightest hesitation, Jiang Ning unleashed his inner force, sending several monks at the bottom flying. Without the support of the lower-level monks, the python formation composed of monks instantly disintegrated, and many monks fell through the air as if weightless.

Screams rose and fell as many monks plummeted from the sky, but the next second the other monks attacked again.

The breaking of this snake-like formation did not cause the monks to retreat, because the Arhat Formation remained intact.

Jiang Ning glanced at the martial monks surging in from all directions, then looked around, channeled his inner energy into his chest and abdomen, and let out a long roar, his inner energy surging around him.

Upon seeing this, the monks were greatly alarmed and dared not be careless in the slightest. They all assumed a horse stance, with one monk wrapping his arm around the arm of the monk next to him, and the rest of the monks doing the same thing, while simultaneously circulating their internal energy to resist Jiang Ning's suppression of internal force.

An extremely powerful internal force raged across the arena, causing the dust on the ground to rise without wind and instantly sweep across the area.

But the monks in the area all had flushed faces and bulging veins on their necks.

Their auras merged into one, enveloping them and resisting Jiang Ning's internal force. Although they felt dizzy and their bodies swayed slightly, they stood firm and remained as solid as a rock.

These hundred-plus monks actually withstood the onslaught of Jiang Ning's internal energy.

These monks were all quite skilled in martial arts, but they managed to hold on despite Jiang Ning's internal energy suppression. If it were anyone else attacking Jiang Ning now, many of them would have been screaming in agony by now, but none of these monks fell. This was all due to their unique abilities.

These hundred-plus people all practiced the same martial arts, and their internal energy was inseparable. They joined forces to circulate their internal energy to resist, and the combined internal energy of the hundred-plus people resisted Jiang Ning's internal energy suppression, which actually allowed them to withstand it.

"What terrifying internal energy."

At this moment, the expressions of the high monks who were watching the battle became solemn.

"For someone his age to possess such refined and profound internal strength is probably unparalleled in the world; it's unimaginable."

A high-ranking monk said.

"Is it the Purple Cloud Divine Skill?"

Another high monk shook his head: "No, I heard that when the Purple Cloud Divine Skill is used, the face turns purple and the internal energy is also purple, but there is no expression on his face, and the internal energy he showed was very pure, without a trace of impurity. It is not the Purple Cloud Divine Skill."

The high monk who spoke first asked, "Is that the Hunyuan Gong?"

"impossible."

The monk who was explaining shook his head decisively: "The Hunyuan Gong of Mount Hua is indeed a good technique, but one cannot cultivate internal strength to this level solely through Hunyuan Gong."

"strangeness."

Another high-ranking monk frowned and asked, "Could it be that the Huashan Sect has acquired some other unknown internal energy cultivation method?"

"These two people are very special."

Several eminent monks continued their discussion.

Linghu Chong and Jiang Ning truly exceeded their expectations. Both Linghu Chong's display of the Dugu Nine Swords and Jiang Ning's extremely profound internal strength surprised them greatly.

Several eminent monks discussed amongst themselves, but Zen Master Lingxuan remained silent, looking at the scene without uttering a word, his eyes filled with inscrutable emotions.

Martial arts can be categorized into external and internal skills. If we were to differentiate them, swordsmanship, knife skills, and other weapon techniques, as well as palm strikes, fist strikes, and leg strikes, would all be considered skills, while internal skills would be considered the Dao (the Way).

Today, upon seeing these two young disciples of the Huashan Sect, he felt as if he had glimpsed the pinnacle of skill and the pinnacle of the Dao in them.

"Sword Sect... Qi Sect..."

Looking at Linghu Chong, who was standing outside clutching his chest, and Jiang Ning, who was still fighting in the formation, Master Lingxuan's lips moved slightly as he softly murmured these words, his cloudy eyes flashing with an unknown emotion.