Martial Arts Master

The news flash ended, and the scene switched back to the commentator, who was chuckling.

“As what we have just seen, Zhi Tong, Peng Leyun, and Ren Li’s opponents have all expressed their desires to win. The Heavenly Son of China is an honorable title, but it doesn’t come without pressure. Anyone fighting against you will be fired up. In a forest, the tallest trees are the first to get blown down, and among people, the outstanding ones are most susceptible to slander. Defeating a Heavenly Son of China is an honor, something to remember for life. If presented the chance, who wouldn’t give it their all!”

“Let us patiently wait for a feast to the eyes!”

This commentator is good, stirring up emotions with just a few words… Lou Cheng thought to himself. Placidly, he replied to Yan Zheke.

“But what should I do if I want to win too?”

He sent a confused emoji along.

“Comrade Lou, I trust you can win as long as you don’t play around! [pats shoulder]” replied Yan Zheke.

Originally, Lou Cheng told her about his ‘playing around’ as a joke, but who knew she would have remembered it.

“I wouldn’t dare to! We are talking about a Daxing Temple inner disciple! [indignant emoji]” protested Lou Cheng.

“Based on what I know of you, you will play around precisely because he’s an inner disciple of the Daxing Sect! Wouldn’t you like to experience the Buddhist Zen Method? Wouldn’t you like to have a taste of the secret arts Vajrapani and Womb Realm?”

“I admit I do… Ke Ke knows me best…[cries with hand over face]” replied Lou Cheng.

“Relax, go ahead and do it so I have something to poke fun at for the rest of your life! [titters with hand over mouth]” replied Yan Zheke. “Alright, let’s talk about Zhi Tong. He mainly practices the secret art of Yamantaka, which belongs to the Vajra wing. When he achieves Physical Invulnerability, he will be able to physically morph into Yamantaka. Apart from that, he’s also well-versed with Vajra Seal, secret arts developed from the secret arts of Yamantaka, and is in the Dan stage of the Golden Light Sutra. Also, the Six-syllabled Sanskrit mantra. But, don’t worry, it has been said that his Zen mind is unenlightened, failing to pick up the weakened version of Thoughtsteal.”

Lou Cheng nodded gently as he read. He began discussing with Ke Ke, and at the end of it he asked, curiously, “Daxing Temple has Restricted Godly Techniques, right?”

After all, it was the leading Buddhist sect!

“Yes, but I can’t recall its name. What I do know is that practicing it can grant one the Vairocana Flesh…” remembered Yan Zheke.

According to her, the Daxing Temple had Restricted Godly Techniques at its top, and below that there was the Golden Light Sutra, the secret arts Womb Realm and Vajrapani, and Dan Stage moves derived from the secret arts.

…

On the following day, Lou Cheng spent the first half of the day training and studying footage. It was not until night that he set off for the Sky Moon Martial Arts Stadium.

At this point, the only one to have lost his match was Ann Chaoyang, which didn’t come as a surprise. The popular Mighty Ones—Peng Leyun, Ren Li, Tu Zheng, and Meng Liang—progressed to the next round without a hitch. This brought him a good amount of pressure.

After a while, when he was done regulating his body, he left the resting room, walked along the path of glory, and was led by staff members to the arena in the center.

In a sea of cheers, Lou Cheng ascended the stone steps. The dull-looking Zhi Tong was clad in grey monk robes. His scalp had a caesious glow, and in his sullen eyes, there was more black than white.

Yamantaka was also known as Vajrabhairava!

They greeted each other with a nod. Without further ado, the referee raised his right hand, and shouted, “Talk-time begins now!”

Zhi Tong folded his hands before his chest and announced his Buddhist name in a soft tone.

“Mister Lou, I believe you must have already seen my interview from last night.”

His tone was indifferent and did not give away any hostility.

“Yes, but everyone longs to win. That hardly comes as a shock,” Lou Cheng replied calmly.

Zhi Tong nodded gently and chuckled.

“All along, Great Master Abbot and Master thought my competitiveness detrimental to my quest to enlightenment. I would like to prove to them that a fighter too can attain true enlightenment!”

The last part of his sentences was delivered in a melodious tone. The cloud before his eyes dispersed, and so did the gloominess around him. In those eyes, a golden light sparkled. The intense fighting intent exhibited by him seemed to display an energy of Pūrvapraṇidhāna!

In a split second, right before Lou Cheng, Zhi Tong’s frame enlarged suddenly. His solemn, austere expression was enough to inspire fear, ward off evil, and petrify demons. At the same time, a golden glow began spreading around him and illuminating the arena. The glow was so sacred and benevolent it gave many audiences the impulse to fall to their knees.

Inside him resided Yamantaka, and outside him shone the Buddha’s Light!

Pressured and disturbed, Lou Cheng quickly cleared his mind, condensing water to ice and freezing the lake into a mirror; the negative emotions were buried and couldn’t surface again.

Hoo!

In the arena, it felt as though a freezing wind had just swept past. Bloodlust blended into the coldness, and it was as though a world-ending blizzard was brewing.

The Buddha’s Light dimmed, then spread out in rings once more. In the frightening, raging blizzard, the gentle but resilient light persevered, like a lantern limning home-goers’ paths on a snowy night.

They went even in the aura fight!

Zhi Tong retracted his gaze from Lou Cheng. Moving his lips, he began cantillating, soft as a whisper at first but increasingly loud as he went on.

Buzzzzzzz! At Lou Cheng’s ears, it was as though a thousand monks were knocking on wooden fishes and intoning sutras. As clamorous and annoying as it was, there was a sense of enlightened detachment to it. Cracks began forming on Lou Cheng’s Ice Mirror, ripples spreading across the lake.

You can do that during talk-time? Looking down, Lou Cheng controlled his body in the state of All-Seeing God.

Thump, thump, thump!

His heartbeat grew louder and louder, within which bore the howling of a blizzard wind and the clatter of battle.

Thump, thump, thump!

Zhi Tong felt his heartbeat increasing helplessly, resonating with Lou Cheng’s in the distance. The circulation of his blood was disrupted, causing him to experience a giddiness in his head.

Just as their ranged combat was intensifying, the referee swung his arm down.

“Begin!” he boomed.

The second round of Battle of the Kings preliminaries, a match between favorites, officially begun!

Snap! Zhi Tong stepped forward, closing the distance gracefully as he entered Lou Cheng’s 5-meter radius.

The Buddha’s Light around him had not yet scattered. Moving relentlessly, he jerked his right arm, throwing out a dense but swift palm. His skin was of a golden luster, as though it was forged with bronze.

A move derived from Vajra Seal of the Vajra Wing—Great Vajra Palm!

Bam! The attack condensed the air before him, giving it the density of a steel board as it toppled towards Lou Cheng.

It was a two-staged attack—first the air, then the palm!

As such, if the enemy blocks it, the steel-like column of air would exhaust him, allowing the Great Vajra Palm to hit hard!

Without moving away, Lou Cheng unhurriedly withdrew his Qi and blood, triggering his Dan force. Then he drew his arm back, bulging his muscles, and punched at the concentrated, dense column of air.

Boom!

The ‘steel board’ shattered apart, reduced to a gentle breeze. The pale-gold palm emerged from the storm’s eye and was about the meet Lou Cheng’s fist.

In a case where an opponent at the same stage blocked with insufficient strength, Zhi Tony’s palm strike is utterly enough to shatter bones!

At that moment, a dull sound of explosion sounded at Lou Cheng’s fist and wrists, revigorating his attack that was at the end of its momentum. His fist pushed forward another inch.

The 15th Style of Fire Sect—Jet Spray!

This was another application of it!

Bam! His fist crashed into the palm, and the pale-gold glow shook as though it was going to break.

At that moment, Zhi Tong’s other hand extended from his waist at lightning speed!

Four fingers curved and a thumb extended forward, he thrust his hand at his opponent’s lower abdomen. The pale-gold Buddha’s Light’s light spawned two colors, green and red, which was pure and pellucid but dangerous and terrifying at the same time!

Vajra Seal—Demon Vanquishing Finger!

It was a move adept at penetrating defenses, a divine skill that moderately countered the Golden Bell Cover and Immortal Flesh!

Lou Cheng maintained his stance masterfully, his left fist not once losing its position. He swung his arm down, conjuring a raging flame around it.

Pompf! Right as his fist contacted the thumb that was glowing in green and red, the enwreathed flames were instantly snuffed out, as though it never existed in the first place. The punch that carried the force to crack gold and crush rocks failed to produce a single crack.

Logically speaking, a clenched fist should easily overpower a single finger. But, Zhi Tong’s Demon Vanquishing Finger was so hard it was as though he had entered the Unbreakable Realm.

Bam! Missing his finger strike, Zhi Tong immediately drew his right arm back, and brandished it like a monk’s staff. Glowing with a faint gold Buddha’s Light, he smashed it at Lou Cheng as though he meant to smash through both his defense and body!

A move derived from the secret arts of Yamantaka from Vajra Wing—Mad Demon Scepter!

Lou Cheng did not have the time to dodge or use Force Concentration. Shifting his force of gravity, he bent his back, guiding his arm upwards. His fist scraped through the air, donning an extraordinarily dense and incandescent flame glove in the process.

The 13th Style of the Fire Sect—Scorch!

Boom!

The sound of the explosion traveled outwards. Lou Cheng’s fist blocked Zhi Tong’s forearm, denting the golden skin, and set off a drizzle of flame and Buddha’s Light.

Instantly, Zhi Tong’s arm recoiled and Lou Cheng’s fist rebounded. They both had to relieve the soreness in their arms.

Zhi Tong drew a breath, forcefully keeping the negative effects at bay. He then raised his left arm, forming a palm knife and chopped downwards swiftly.

Bam, bam, bam! He attacked with both arms, delivering a flurry of chops that left afterimages, with the swiftness of lightning and the finesse of a blooming lotus. Still, he couldn’t breach Lou Cheng’s inner defense, who with the aid of Ice Mirror preempted his attacks, parrying them with punches, pushes, arm blocks, and elbow strikes. His defense was impregnable.

Pam, pam, pam!

Zhi Tong’s palm knives got faster and faster, and eventually, the heat from the rapid friction ignited the air!

Dharmapala Veluriyam Flames Chapters of the Womb Sect Wing—Blazing Flames Divine Blade!

The scarlet flames sprung up and spread towards Lou Cheng from wherever the palm knives had cut through. A net of flames formed!

Lou Cheng’s pupils shone brightly against the blazing light that was mixed with palm knives trying to catch him off-guard.

He wasn’t shocked at the scene, but rather delighted. Breezily, he threw out a punch.

Incandescent flames gathered at the surface of his fist, collapsing inwards and absorbed the surrounding flames.

In a moment, it reached its limits and suddenly expanded and burst apart.

Boom!

The white-hot luminance dazzled Zhi Tong, and the flames that burned towards Lou Cheng were brought back by the wind, returning and engulfing him.

The 36th Style of Fire Sect—Devour!

Emperor Yan Force has always been incredible when it comes to interfering with other flames!

The one who controls Emperor Yan rules supreme in the world of flames!

Lou Cheng lowered himself, preparing to close up to Zhi Tong and give him a taste of a Severe Warning or Lament of the Ice Queen. But, right at that moment, he heard a Buddhist syllable being uttered in a booming, sacred and stern voice.

“Ma!”

Right as the note surfaced, heaven and earth seemed to connect, the air around them condensing into a swamp, and like a cage, it solidified the flames and bound Lou Cheng!

The Six-syllabled Sanskrit Mantra—Ma Syllable!

The moment Lou Cheng was immobilized, he knew things were going south. Realizing that he could not swing his fist, he immediately reversed the flow of his Qi and blood to pump up his muscles in an attempt to free himself using brute strength.

Bom, bom, bom! The popping of air sounded endless.

By then, Zhi Tong’s vision had recovered, and he was forming a new hand seal.

With the opportunity, he solemnly pronounced the note,

“Ba!”

The blaring sound echoed in the stadium as the Buddha’s Light flared. Guided by a mysterious force, the light materialized into four arms around Zhi Tong’s shoulders!

His arms were miragelike, deep-blue, horrifying, and out of this world!

Simultaneously, rage leapt into Zhi Tong’s face as his muscles bulged and his pale-gold complexion turned blue. Storing a latent rage, his power was evident.

The extremely battle-gifted Zhi Tong had spilled blood, sweat, and tears to develop this killer move!

Even among all schools and sects, this Simplified Physical Invulnerability Move can be listed as Top 3!

The only drawback was its long preparation time, so he had to find an opportunity to trap Lou Cheng with the Ma Syllable.

And the engineering of that opportunity has been under work since the beginning of his first attack!

Of course, he knew about Lou Cheng’s Emperor Yan Force and his mastering of the Fire Stage Dan Stage Chapters!

He was precisely waiting for Lou Cheng to counterattack and introduce chaos into the fight!

Bam, bam, bam! Zhi Tong stepped forward, his fists and four new-grown arms uniformly beat at Lou Cheng, who had just managed to break free from his confinement. There was nothing fancy about his moves. Every move was brutish and rough!

Concentrating his eyes, Lou Cheng had already visualized the ancient character before his enemy had stepped out. Right now, he was directing a hand-formed seal towards himself.

“Fighting Formula!” he yelled.

The complete Fighting Formula!

Nine Words Formula VS Six-syllabled Sanskrit Mantra!

His taut muscles were exaggerating and staggering. Lou Cheng leaned backward on his back, raising his arm for a backhanded block!

Boom!

The six arms descended on him at once, bashing through the air currents. Lou Cheng teetered under the tremendous strength, his arm shivering and about to break!

Without the complement of Simplified Moves of Physical Invulnerability, the Fighting Formula slightly loses effectiveness!

Left with no choice, Lou Cheng twisted his hips, his feet still aligned, directing the unbearable external force into the ground with his extremely potent control.

Snap! His body shrunk as his feet sunk 2 inches above his ankles into the ground!

What horrifying strength, and what preposterous effects!

…

Inside the Longhu Club, ‘Optimus Prime’ Long Zhen, wiping at the sweat on his forehead, walked out of the Volcano Experiment Lab and saw Chen Qitao, the Dragon King spectating the fight between Lou Cheng and Zhi Tong.

Long Zhen took a glimpse and clicked his tongue. “Yamantakafication?”

“Merely in appearance. Meretricious,” Chen Qitao commented concisely.

Long Zhen smiled without saying anything. This was Dragon King’s usual attitude towards Yamantakafication and other deity transformation skills.

To him, the purpose of forming three heads or four arms was more for the propagation of Buddism and Daoism back in the days, gathering believers through inspiring awe. However, in actual combat, this will seem like a counterproductive move that scatters strength. With such effort, one might as well transform into a ball, which would have a shorter preparation time than Yamantakafication, but also concentrates its empowering effects. That would raise the power of the move by at least twenty percent.

Guided by this mentality, he made tremendous modifications to the secret arts of the Fire Sect he learned and was often mocked by Warrior Sage, calling his moves unsightly.

…

Lou Cheng’s Qi and blood madly tumbled, his muscles constantly shuddered. His feet were trapped in stone, and at that moment there was an obvious delay in his movements as he failed to work them free.

The complexion of his right arm turned from green-red to black, and his bones and fascias were extraordinarily painful, temporarily preventing him from exerting strength.

The rage on Zhi Tong’s face vanished, replaced by a solemn look once more. Suddenly, he put his palms together. Guided by visualization, he condensed the Buddha’s Light that was both inside and outside of his body to his closed palms.

He was about to end the match in one move—a Simplified Move of Physical Invulnerability from the Golden Light Sutra—Buddha’s One Finger Strike!

This was also a move that was, at the cost of extreme self-consumption, hard to defend against. But, once it hits an enemy, the attack would directly pierce through them if they weren’t at Physical Invulnerability, even if they have Immortal Flesh.

However, the long preparation time and obvious give-away signs of the move were major problems. If Lou Cheng had not been rooted to the spot, Zhi Tong wouldn’t even waste the effort of using it!

As for now, he was going to finish it all at once!

Thump, thump, thump! Sensing an extreme danger, Lou Cheng’s heartbeat intensified. He did not have time to tend to his injuries and ready himself again, so he made use of the time he had to visualize a dark nebula, solemn and freezing, as well as a dense Great Sun that ignites into existence after enough dust accumulated.

Mutated Version of Severe Warning!

At that moment, Zhi Tong released his palms slightly, forming a thin gap, from which shot out a bright laser, piercing towards Lou Cheng’s lower abdomen like Vairocana’s finger.

The speed of the laser was comparable to lightning, way beyond what human power can produce. Therefore, there was no way for Lou Cheng, who was not able to evade in advance, to dodge it. Even the referee could not come to his rescue in time!

That was precisely why Zhi Tong did not aim at any vitals!

But just before his enclosed palms split apart, Lou Cheng, as if he had a premonition, swung his left arm and fist down, covered in a layer of darkness.

Pompf!

The laser struck his fist and instantly vanished without a trace, leaving a shallow burn mark. Zhi Tong’s eyes shrunk to the size of a needle’s tip.

Wasn’t Buddha’s One Finger Strike said to be able to pierce through even Immortal Flesh?

It only looked effortless on the surface, and Lou Cheng’s left fist had already sustained moderate damage—his fascias were disordered and fractured, there were tears in his muscles, and his bones were nearly broken. The strength that was supposed to rebound and explode could only be dispersed into the surrounding through his movements.

I wouldn’t expect less from the Heavenly Son of China… When Lou Cheng was swinging his fist, Zhi Tong had secretly used the Ma Syllable, cutting away the fear and anxiety in his mind with the sword of intelligence, and breaking free from wavering emotions.

Forming another hand seal, he said in a dignified manner,

“Hong!”

It was as though some substance in this world was being pumped into his body, stimulating it and causing his Qi and blood to reach its peak form once more.

At the moment, Zhi Tong was not yet at his limits and had quite a bit of remaining stamina. Still, he chose to use the Hong Syllable in advance.

The only for him to defeat the injured Lou Cheng was to press the attack while maintaining his peak form!

If he held it until he was at his limit, the fight would be subjected to a lot of change, and there was the possibility that he would lose the upper-hand and lose any chances of executing it!

It’s stupid to hold the trump card until the last second!

In a breath’s time, the status of Zhi Tong’s body was refreshed, once again radiating rings of Buddha’s Light. Seeing that Lou Cheng had broken free from the stone trap, he dashed forward with a slide to close up to him.

At that moment, Lou Cheng, with the benefits from Encountering God In The Void, had already gotten his injuries under control. Working his Qi and blood to stimulate and bulge his body, and tensed his muscles, he was poised to attack.

Simplified Version of Fighting Formula, complemented by the Thunder Roar Zen!

Bam! Lou Cheng drew his arm back and punched at the replenished Zhi Tong.

Zhi Tong pushed out a palm. The palm, pale-gold in complexion, caught his opponent’s fist.

Bam! Lou Cheng’s tensed muscles concentrated a burst of strength at one spot, producing a strong tremor.

Zhi Tong flinched slightly. He felt the tremor in his organs, but his movements did not slow down.

Lou Cheng worked his Qi and blood once more to use the Simplified Version of Fighting Formula. Tensing his muscles again, he used a Zen Strike.

Bam, bam, bam!

He spread both fists, hitting once with every step, shuffling between Fighting Formula and Zen Strike. His body had magnified to a spectacular size, as though Thor had descended and was swinging his Mjolnir. Deploying both his left and right hands, there was nothing fancy about his moves, only pure strength and oppression!

Bam, bam, bam!

Zhi Tong could not find any gaps in the enemy’s tightly-timed tempo, and could only block the attacks head-on. After a few checks, his Qi and blood were heavily disordered, the tremor in his organs affected him, and his shivering muscles made it hard for him to exert strength.

…

In Moshang City, Wuyue Province.

Watching this scene, Geezer Shi clicked his tongue in approval.

“The smelly brat is finally beginning to resemble a little, cough, of myself back when I killed an Inhuman with 19 Zen Strikes…”

…

After five punches, Lou Cheng’s movements paused to adjust his tempo. While Zhi Tong had yet to recover from his tremor, with his eyes still slightly dazed, Lou Cheng visualized nimbuses in the darkness, shattering the cold with sound.

Bam!

His fist went out again, this time in a hammer-fist, but it was slightly different than before.

Severe Warning!

This was requisite for controlling the rhythm of the battle, but also because his Fighting Formula was at its limits!

Bam! Instinctively, Zhi Tong blocked with Great Vajra Palm. The world darkened before for him as a coldness flitted through his body, as though he had lost consciousness in an instant.

Lou Cheng took a half-step forward, visualizing Emperor Yan and compressing his Fire Force.

His eyes widened, inside which the Fire God Zhu Rong seemed to appear out of nowhere. His left fist went for Zhi Tong’s waist.

Boom!

Calming himself with the Weng Syllable, Zhi Tong quickly recovered from his thoughts freezing, barely warding off the hit. However, the power of the internal explosion had utterly triggered the tremor effects he was trying so hard to suppress. His organs and fascias also sustained damage. He wanted to dodge, but his feet temporarily lost strength.

His body was shivering when Lou Cheng straightened and dealt a punch downwards— from the same height, with the same power, and setting off the same internal explosion!

As for physical preparation, his Internal Explosion Punches was made simpler and quicker due to the benefits from the stage of Encountering Gods in the Void, allowing him to leverage on the enemy’s delay in movements from the tremor and injuries!

After the boom, Lou Cheng extended his left arm forward, raising his right fist for another Internal Explosion Punch backed by strength from his Dantian. He wasn’t going to give the opponent a chance to readjust!

Boom!

Zhi Tong, with his hand protecting his lower abdomen, felt as though something exploded inside him. There was a buzzing noise in his head, and he was seeing red.

Blood seeped from the corners of his mouth as he fell limply onto his opponent’s extended hand. The same question reverberated in his mind:

Why? Why is it that after returning to peak form, I did worse than the first half of the match and utterly lost?

Unclenching his fists, Lou Cheng steadied Zhi Tong with his palms. At his ear, the referee’s voice sounded.

“Lou Cheng wins!”

…

“It’s like looking like an in-game bug. As it stands, Lou Cheng can easily take down any opponents below the stage of Encountering Gods in the Void stage,” Long Zhen let out a laugh, shaking his head. He stood like a mountain.

“The little monk is too stupid, trading blow for blow with an opponent in the state of All-Seeing God,” said Ning Zitong who had come to the lab control room at some point of time.