Chapter 53: A Show of Force
“So you’re saying you want to teach the Sacred Sect’s foundational scripture, the Great Nurturing Heavenly Demon Sutra, to Mu’er?” the Cripple asked.
Granny Si nodded gently. “He’s better than me. The Creation Heavenly Demon Art is a divine ability within the Great Nurturing Heavenly Demon Sutra. I used it to flay skin and make clothes, which was somewhat sinister, but I never thought to use the Creation Heavenly Demon Art to counter the Sunlight Soul Refining in the Sky of the Thunderclap Eight Forms. He did.”
The Pharmacist nodded. “Sealing the soul with the Creation Heavenly Demon Art to counter the Sunlight Soul Refining in the Sky—truly a stroke of genius.”
Granny Si smiled. “So if he learns the Great Nurturing Heavenly Demon Sutra, he might even elevate the demonic scripture, developing things we never imagined before.”
The Mute gestured with his hands, and the Deaf Man shook his head. “Don’t tell him. If we tell him, there’s no fun in it.”
The group of old men and women chuckled knowingly, their hearts light.
In the Village of Wretches, thunderous sounds echoed. Qin Mu and Ma Ye moved in tandem, each executing the same move—Nine Dragons Riding the Wind and Thunder—as they attacked each other.
Boom—
Thunder rolled, deafening. Qin Mu and Ma Ye’s fists collided, and Qin Mu grunted, stepping back in a staggered retreat. His footwork coiled like a divine serpent, appearing to retreat but actually gathering strength.
In a few steps, Qin Mu’s power peaked. His body surged like an angry dragon emerging from an abyss, charging at Ma Ye!
“You little brat, you even modified the Heaven-Stealing Step I taught you,” the Cripple said in surprise.
He recognized that Qin Mu’s footwork just now was like a coiled dragon contracting its body, ready to strike. Though it seemed like a retreat, it was actually a feint, dangerously aggressive.
His Heaven-Stealing Step was exquisitely refined, but the Cripple, by habit, had always favored sneaky tricks like stealing and fleeing. He never cared about enhancing its offensive power. The Cripple’s footwork was usually for theft, escape, or ambush—not for direct attack.
Qin Mu had only slightly altered the footwork, unconsciously infusing it with the aura of a divine dragon. His movements carried a dragon’s momentum, winding like a serpent.
Bang, bang, bang—a series of explosive impacts rang out. Qin Mu and Ma Ye had only exchanged one punch, yet forty-five loud sounds erupted, a strange phenomenon.
Qin Mu was sent flying backward. Midair, his body twisted like a dragon, dispersing Ma Ye’s force, and he landed steadily.
“Ma Ye is still Ma Ye,” the Cripple praised.
Ma Ye said, “Mu’er, have you grasped the essence of this move?”
Qin Mu’s face showed shock. He blurted out, “Your fist force is different from mine! My fist force contains forty-five dragons, all of the same kind, but yours has forty-five different divine dragons, each with a distinct force!”
“You’ve understood.”
Ma Ye looked gratified. “In the Great Thunderclap Temple, there are a hundred reliefs of heavenly dragons, called the Hundred Dragon Chart. The first Tathagata carved them based on the hundred heavenly dragons he had seen, for later disciples to cultivate the fist force of Nine Dragons Riding the Wind and Thunder. When I cultivated this move, I didn’t see real dragons—I saw these reliefs. Nine Dragons Riding the Wind and Thunder contains forty-five dragon forces, requiring forty-five dragon charts. But the temple has a hundred dragon charts. Do you know what that means?”
Qin Mu’s heart trembled. “Every time you use Nine Dragons Riding the Wind and Thunder, the dragon force within your fist is different from before!”
Ma Ye nodded. “This move, Nine Dragons Riding the Wind and Thunder, looks like a simple punch, but it contains countless variations. These variations are hidden within the fist’s internal power, making them invisible. Mu’er, watch closely!”
Ma Ye threw a punch with his single arm. A dragon’s roar echoed, followed by thunder. A dragon-shaped surge of primal energy shot out, an angry dragon breaking free from an abyss, ready to devour!
Then two more dragon roars sounded. Twin dragons burst from his fist, intertwining as they drilled forward!
Three dragon roars followed—three dragon forces, fierce and domineering, capable of splitting rocks!
Then came four dragons pouncing, five dragons subduing demons, six dragons in reincarnation, seven dragons overturning the sea, eight divisions of dragons, and nine dragons with wind and thunder!
With this single punch, Ma Ye unleashed forty-five dragon-shaped fist forces, each as vivid as a real dragon.
He aimed the punch at the sky. Above the Village of Wretches, forty-five azure dragons appeared, accompanied by thunder, crisscrossing lightning, and bolts. The forty-five azure dragons surged into the clouds.
Qin Mu looked up and saw a cloud suddenly shatter and vanish.
As the cloud broke, a human head fell from it, landing at Qin Mu’s feet. Startled, he looked closely—it was a monk’s head, somehow hidden in the cloud.
“Could some demon have killed this monk and carried his head into the clouds?”
As Qin Mu speculated, another thud sounded. Two arms and two legs fell from the sky, along with a torso landing outside the village.
“It wasn’t a demon!”
Qin Mu’s heart pounded. “That monk was hiding in the cloud!”
The Mute, Deaf Man, Butcher, and others in the village seemed unfazed, paying no attention.
Ma Ye, too, appeared not to notice he had killed a monk. He glanced at the demonic sect’s patriarch outside the village—a show of force.
A show of force against the demonic sect’s patriarch, intimidating the many strongmen of the demonic sect!
In the neighboring village, the young patriarch was visibly moved. “The Great Thunderclap Temple’s fist techniques and divine abilities are indeed formidable, though still lacking compared to the old Tathagata. I know who the one-armed man is now—the Great Thunderclap Temple’s outcast, Horse King God, Venerable Ma. He made a name for himself when he fought his way out of the temple. I didn’t expect him to be living here in seclusion. This little village shouldn’t be underestimated.”
The Enforcement Elder looked at the body that had fallen from the sky. “That’s a monk from the Great Thunderclap Temple, killed by Horse King God. Strange, why would a monk from the temple be here?”
The young patriarch smiled. “Probably sent to spy on Horse King God. It’s a trivial matter. The Tathagata is old and won’t leave the mountain anymore. But that boy’s fist technique is very interesting, very high-level. He’s never studied the Tathagata’s Mahayana Sutra, yet he can fully unleash the power of the Thunderclap Eight Forms…”
Back in the village, Ma Ye withdrew his gaze and continued, “Mu’er, what did you see from my punch just now?”
Qin Mu suppressed his confusion. The forty-five azure dragons earlier were not only different in form but also entirely different species, which deeply shocked him.
Suddenly, Ma Ye executed Nine Dragons Riding the Wind and Thunder again. Another forty-five different azure dragons appeared in the sky, with thunder and lightning, wind and clouds raging, surging into the heights!
Ma Ye threw punch after punch. The dragon-shaped fist forces in the air multiplied, densely packed, covering a hundred miles in all directions with flying azure dragons!
Those dragons formed a magnificent formation in the sky, their bodies coiling around each other into a massive dragon disk, heads facing outward. They roared in unison!
Ten thousand dragons roared, shaking heaven and earth!
This was no longer a demonstration of Nine Dragons Riding the Wind and Thunder’s essence for Qin Mu. It was a blatant show of force—a show of force to the Great Wasteland, to the Heavenly Demon Sect, and to anyone harboring ill intentions toward the Village of Wretches!
Qin Mu stared, wide-eyed. The others in the village also praised him, nodding repeatedly. The Heavenly Demon Sect members in the neighboring village changed expressions, sighing in admiration. The young patriarch said to his followers, “If you ever encounter Horse King God alone, yield to him with courtesy.”
The Enforcement Elder whispered, “Does our Heavenly Demon Sect need to fear this little village?”
“Fear? Not quite.”
The young patriarch smiled faintly. “They’re already crippled, broken, their skills diminished. But two of them are on my level—one is the man without limbs, and the other is the blacksmith. The rest are all stronger than our twelve Sacred Guardian Elders and four Supreme Sect Guardians. The Saintess is probably the weakest among them. See that butcher with only an upper body? If you’ve seen him before, you’d remember him well, because he has a title—Heavenly Blade!”
The Enforcement Elder’s heart shook violently. He looked at the Butcher in disbelief, murmuring, “That Heavenly Blade? Wasn’t he dead long ago?”
“I heard he died too.”
One of the Guardian Elders said, “I heard he went mad, drew his blade against the sky, and charged into the heavens. Some saw the shadows of gods appear in the sky. That madman attacked the gods. It was said that dark clouds gathered, and blade light flashed through the thunderclouds. Not long after, Heavenly Blade’s corpse fell from the sky. If this butcher is that Heavenly Blade, how did he survive?”
The young patriarch said, “For someone like him, even dying isn’t easy.”
The Enforcement Elder asked, puzzled, “Patriarch, why did you agree to the Sect Leader’s wife to make this boy the young sect leader? I don’t think his strength is that impressive.”
“This boy’s strength is indeed not that impressive—still very green. But look at who’s around him.”
The young patriarch grinned. “The strongmen around him are terrifying. These were once figures who dominated their eras, each with their own expertise! This boy is their child. They’ve taught him everything they know. Add our sect’s Great Nurturing Heavenly Demon Sutra, and heh, if he becomes our sect’s Sacred Sect Leader, our sect will profit greatly!”
The Enforcement Elder conceded, “The patriarch is wise. But why test him?”
The patriarch countered, “What if he’s an idiot? A test is necessary. Notify the hall masters of the 360 halls—they are only allowed to use abilities at the Spirit Embryo realm! Tomorrow, when he enters the hall!”