Chapter 943: Attacking Shaolin!
Chapter 943: Attacking Shaolin!
Translator: Legge Editor: Legge
Five days later.
Mount Song 1 .
The Shaolin Monastery.
This was not a tourist area. The mountain was located in a separate area from the tourist spots. In the main hall's backyard, a group of young monks were holding brooms and sweeping the floor.
"Are Martial Uncle Jie Jiao and Jie Zao back yet?"
"They just came back yesterday. I heard they got some fractures!"
"Yes, they were badly injured!"
"It's a miracle they managed to get back. I heard that they were only released and did not get into much trouble after the abbot pressured the local authorities in Tianshan. The National Martial Arts Association helped out too. Otherwise, they might have even gotten sentenced for that day's happenings. We live in a lawful society now, after all."
"How did it end up like this?"
"That Rao Aimin had been committing all kinds of evil. It was time to teach her a lesson!"
"Shh, don't speak carelessly. Others might hear you."
"So what if I said that. I'm just speaking the truth!"
"This issue is more or less resolved anyway."
"What do you mean 'resolved'? Aren't we going to take revenge for what has happened? Our martial uncles were beaten up too!"
"I heard that we were in the wrong first."
"Still, they shouldn't have been so cruel!"
"We'll settle those scores at a later time for sure. Has Rao Aimin come around yet?"
"I heard that she's still unconscious at the hospital!"
"Hmph, I hope she never wakes up! And that Zhang Ye too! Even the Eight Trigrams School's leader does not dare to have an opinion on this issue and announced that Rao Aimin would be expelled from the school a while ago, so why did a celebrity like Zhang Ye bring himself into the picture? So what if he's a celebrity? Does being a celebrity give him the right to poke his nose into other people's business? Why doesn't he…"
Suddenly, the bell in the mountains pealed!
When they heard the first ring, everyone still looked normal and went about doing what they were doing. But when the bell pealed five straight times, the Shaolin Monastery monks' expressions all changed!
An enemy attack!
It was an enemy attack!
Everyone came rushing out!
"What happened?"
"What is going on?"
"Why are we under attack?"
"The bell of Shaolin hasn't rung five times in a row in decades!"
"What has happened?"
"How can there be anyone who dares to come up into Shaolin and cause trouble!"
Some of the people were panicking!
Some of them were looking confused!
And there were some who quickly picked up their staves, ready to take on the enemy!
Suddenly, an angry roar from a warrior monk came from outside. "Zhang Ye is here! Zhang Ye is attacking us! Quick, go and get the Martial Granduncle!"
What?
Zhang Ye?
The successor to the Taiji Fist that had been lost for over a hundred years?
"This is bad!"
"It's him?"
"Hurry up and call the Martial Granduncle!"
"Defend! Defend the grounds!"
"Get into formation!"
Before they even saw him, they heard him say, "Since the National Martial Arts Association cannot give me a satisfactory explanation? And the Shaolin Monastery cannot give me a satisfactory explanation? Then I'm gonna force out a satisfactory explanation!"
Thump!
Thump!
Two muffled sounds and two warrior monks flew into the front yard with a scream!
Zhang Ye had changed into pure white training clothes today and was wearing a pair of normal canvas shoes. He strolled into the premises of the Shaolin Monastery!
The monks who did not know much martial arts had been sweeping the floor and gossiping earlier. But now, they were scared out of their wits and scampered away.
"Zhang Ye, what do you want?"
"The nerve!"
"You dare attack Shaolin?"
"How bold of you!"
"Have you gone crazy?"
The Eighteen Arhats formation was set up!
Quite a few Buddhist monks 2 were raging at Zhang Ye from a distance away!
Everyone was very surprised at this, as after five days of peace and quiet, they had thought the worst was over. No one had expected that someone would actually bring the fight to the Shaolin Monastery!
Zhang Ye smiled and said, "I've always had this much courage. Most issues only have two choices for me: I either handle them or I don't bother with them at all. There has never been an issue of whether I dare or not!" He raised his foot and started to walk in.
"Charge!"
"Stop him!"
"Don't let him get into the main hall!"
"Block him!"
The eighteen warrior monks formed into the Eighteen Arhats formation and swarmed Zhang Ye!
However, Zhang Ye did not even look at them. His eyes were already set on a hundreds of years old plaque inside the main hall. Slowly, step by step, he made his way in!
A staff attack flew in!
Zhang Ye moved his hand with a twist and a snap!
A warrior monk fell to the ground crying in pain!
Right after, the afterimages of two staves whistled past, one in the front of Zhang Ye, the other behind him!
Zhang Ye did not look back. He raised a hand to use his index and middle fingers to pinch the staff attacking from in front. With a flick of his wrist, the staff held by the warrior monk in front of him shook violently and the monk lost his grip. Zhang Ye then gathered up a bit of concealed power and pushed the staff forward, hitting the warrior monk right in the chest, which sent him flying. Zhang Ye immediately twisted his fingers and flung the staff held between his fingers behind himself, straight into the face of the warrior monk standing behind him. That monk was also sent flying, with a bloody nose, and passed out from the pain!
Yet another monk attacked Zhang Ye with a staff, the afterimages sweeping his lower body!
Zhang Ye did not try to dodge. He just stepped on it with one foot. The tip of the staff was pressed down onto the ground, and with a shudder, that warrior monk was also sent flying!
The Eighteen Arhats formation was reduced to only fourteen people in the blink of an eye!
The monks of the Shaolin Monastery felt their blood run cold!
They were not a match for their opponent!
There was no way to fight him!
"Don't be afraid of him!"
"Beat him up!"
"Charge!"
"We'll stop him even if we have to die!"
"Let's charge at him together!"
There were a total of 28 people who could fight. All of the warrior monks present attacked together at once!
Zhang Ye made use of his "listening power" and used both hands to stop a barrage of punches from two warrior monks. Deflecting, he threw both monks to the ground. It was as though they had no control over their bodies anymore, but also as though they had been sent sprawling to the ground by the same force they had exerted in their attacks, resulting in them smashing their heads!
A warrior monk who practiced hard qigong roared and attacked in a berserk fury!
But the moment he arrived in front of Zhang Ye, before he could even see what Zhang Ye's move was, all he saw was the sway of an afterimage hitting his body's center of gravity. Afterwards, his entire person was thrown to the side, never to get up again!
"Master!"
"Assistant Instructor!"
"Assistant Instructor!"
The assistant instructor of the Shaolin Monastery's warrior monks couldn't even stand up to one strike from Zhang Ye!
There was no way they could fight him!
What was the point of fighting anymore?
Although the martial arts of these Shaolin Monastery warrior monks was very good, and each one was even picked out of a hundred others, their opponent right now was someone who was an expert in Taiji Fist. This expert had also fully recovered from his injuries and was young and strong, a martial arts master at his peak! Unless there were between 100 and 200 people attacking him at once, there was no way they could deal with him!
Five people!
Ten people!
Twenty people!
In the blink of an eye, all of them were on the ground!
A few people who had participated in the National Martial Arts Conference five days ago were once again surprised by Zhang Ye's kung fu. This was because Zhang Ye had obviously just recovered from his injuries, yet his martial arts had gotten better than before—of course what they couldn't know was that in the past few days, as long as he had accumulated 1 million Reputation Points, Zhang Ye would immediately purchase a Taiji Fist Skill Experience Book and "eat" it up!
"We can't do it anymore!"
"We're unable to hold him off any longer!"
Quick, get the Martial Granduncle!"
"Where is the Martial Granduncle?"
...
In the inner courtyard.
In some room.
The eminent monks of the Shaolin Monastery, including the abbot, were all gathered here. They did not even bother going outside in the face of this crisis. There were all kinds of expressions on their faces.
The abbot was silent!
An eminent monk looked anguished!
A Buddhist monk looked fretful!
And in the corner sat a monk who seemed to be the center of focus right now. But he did not say a word. This person was very old, but still looked to be very healthy. He wore only the most simple and common gray robes meant for the lowest level disciples, and had a head full of hair, all of which made him stand out. He might have been ordained as a monk before, or perhaps he had grown out his hair later on. But it was quite clear that everyone in the room was focused on him. They were also quite respectful of him!
His name was Shi Wu.
He was the most skilled person in the entirety of the Shaolin Monastery.
The abbot suddenly looked at him and said, "Senior Brother!"
Shi Wu shook his head.
A Buddhist monk said anxiously, "Martial Uncle! Zhang Ye has already trained to the level where he can use concealed power. Moreover, no one is familiar with this Taiji Fist martial arts style. In the entire Shaolin Monastery…only you can take him on!"
Shi Wu looked at them and replied, "I am not his equal."
"But you haven't tried yet, so how could you know?" said someone, gasping.
Shi Wu explained, "By taking Chen Xi for that many moves, there isn't anyone below grandmaster who is a match for him anymore." Taking a pause, he continued, "Even if I can fight on level terms with him, what then? The fault in this affair lies with the Shaolin Monastery. This is a sin caused by those who attended the National Martial Arts Conference. And the sneak attack? Surrounding their people? Hunting them down with the intent to kill? That was a blunder on the grandest scale! Now that they have come seeking an explanation from us, even if he were to bring the Shaolin Monastery to the ground, we could not raise a voice of objection against him!"
The abbot said, "But the several hundred years of the Shaolin Monastery's heritage, how can we—"
Suddenly, a scream came from the outside!
"Don't you dare!"
"Zhang Ye! Don't you dare!"
"Stop!"
"Stop, I say!"
Bam!
There was a loud crash!
"Ah!"
"Abbot!"
"Martial Granduncle!"
"Zhang Ye has smashed our Shaolin Monastery's plaque!"
The Shaolin Monastery plaque that had been handed down for hundreds of years was now in pieces!
What?
The abbot was furious!
The Shaolin Monastery was furious!
"We'll take him on!"
"We'll take him on!"
"Zhang Ye's taking it too far!"
"We can't let him leave!"
The plaque of the Shaolin Monastery had been handed down for several hundred years. This was their identity, as well as their reputation. By smashing the plaque, this was as good as smacking their faces!
Shi Wu's expression changed slightly. He sighed again then suddenly said, "None of those who came back from the National Martial Arts Conference this time will be allowed to leave the mountains for five years while they meditate and reflect on their actions! For the rest of this year, the inner courtyard of the Shaolin Monastery will be locked shut! There won't be any more recruitment of warrior monks as well!"
"But why?"
"Yeah, why!"
"Martial Uncle!"
"Martial Granduncle!"
At this moment, the head warrior monk of the Shaolin Monastery, who usually kept to himself, finally spoke up, "Rao Aimin is currently unconscious. Chen Xi is seriously injured and won't be able to fight again within the next half a year. Zhou Tianpeng has been maimed and won't survive much longer. Meanwhile, of the other two grandmasters, one of them is overseas but his location is unknown; the other is already past 90 and has closed himself off from worldly affairs. In the entire national martial arts world, there isn't anyone who can stop him, so what else can we do but shut our doors to the outside world? What can we do if we don't submit? If we really make him angry again, do you want him to come back and take it up with us? By then, it may not be only the several-hundred-year-old plaque that gets demolished; it may be our entire Shaolin Monastery that gets leveled to the ground!"
Hearing that, everyone fell silent!
...
In the front hall.
Zhang Ye dusted off his hands. In front of the many angered Shaolin monks, he turned around and strode off.
He was extremely calm!
As though no one were around!
"Zhang Ye!"
"You…"
"The Shaolin Monastery has become your sworn enemy!"
Even though they shouted at him, none of them dared to make a move to stop him from leaving!
Zhang Ye had come and gone like there was no one around. He could come as he wanted, and leave as he pleased. Before he walked away, he even left some words for them. "Sworn enemies? Alright then, follow my Weibo to get the latest updates of my news. I welcome you all to be sworn enemies with me at any time!"
He even advertised before he left!
The many monks of the Shaolin Monastery exploded with anger at this!