LIGHTNOVELSTORY Chapter 196: Times Have Changed
"How presumptuous! A mere child dares to slight the Shaolin as defenseless!"
After the previous hats were taken off, another middle-aged monk immediately stood up.
"Humph, Shaolin has withdrawn from the martial world for many years, yet the world seems to have forgotten us."
Tao Yu glanced at him and said sternly,
"Not at all, the fact that your fireworker monk killed the abbot of the Dharma Hall and then the dean of the Arhat Hall left in anger has indeed shocked us."
His words were tantamount to ripping off a scab, leaving the big monk who had stepped forward utterly defenseless.
Because of this very reason, even the old abbot had gone into seclusion. Why bring up the most sensitive subject!
"Today, I shall capture you and hand you over to the Pharmacist to see just how he teaches his disciples! My apologies for the offense!"
Having realized that he couldn't win with words, the big monk put his palms together, ready to make his move.
However, before he could even finish his words of apology,
Tao Yu's palm, executing "Shocking Hundred Miles", was already bearing down on him from the sky.
"Shocking Hundred Miles", among the Dragon Palms, was known for its overwhelming power!
Roar!
A majestic dragon's chant seemed to echo in the ears of all the monks present.
Without coming into close contact and over ten feet apart, the terrifying power of the palm instantly caused the big monk's facial expression to contort as if he were parachuting, with his skin and lips trembling in unison with his hair and robe.
In his mind, it was as if he saw a golden dragon pouncing directly at him.
Pfft pfft~
Under the force of that palm, his kasaya burst apart, and the big monk's body, mosaic-blurred, was blown straight out from among the shreds.
Upon seeing this, Abbot Tian Ming leaped up and stretched out his hand to catch him.
But as soon as he caught him, Abbot Tian Ming's face changed.
A yin-yang balanced and pure Inner Strength surged into his body from the other monk's!
Even Tian Ming, who had cultivated the Muscle Changing and Bone Forging Scripture, now felt that this Inner Strength was purer than his own!
The painful sensation in the meridians along the way made him involuntarily grunt and begin to back away.
"Abbot!"
"Be careful!"
The deans of the Dharma Hall and the Arhat Hall, who were originally standing beside Abbot Tian Ming, also had their expressions change as they leaped up, one on each side, pressing down on Tian Ming's shoulders.
Yet even so, all four, including the one who had been knocked back through the air, still withdrew over a dozen steps upon landing.
Dang~
They crashed into the Buddha statue behind the Mahavira Hall, making a sound as loud as a large bell!
"Both money and time have been spent, but the gains have been quite satisfactory," Tao Yu mused to himself, looking at his Yuan Force that was less than five thousand, with a touch of somber reflection.
In the half month of catching snakes, plus the few days it took to continue his journey to Mount Song, he didn't stop practicing the Northern Dipper for a moment!
He had also entered the threshold of the Muscle-Tendon Strengthening Chapter and completed Deification, further expanding his meridians!
Furthermore, the True Qi output limit of all his moves had been passively enhanced.
Now, the meridians throughout his body were almost completely filled, about to transition from the window of improvement to a stable phase.
To increase his reserve of True Qi, he would have to continuously work on expanding his meridians, requiring more Yuan Force investment with much lower efficiency.
Even when he was not even half as strong as he is now, he could repel Guo Jing, who had achieved a breakthrough with a single strike.
Now that his meridians were fully filled and his proficiency with the Dragon Palms grew, coupled with the increased True Qi input limit from the Muscle-Tendon Strengthening Chapter,
He managed to repel the Shaolin Abbot, the Dharma Hall dean, and the Arhat Hall dean with a single strike from a distance!
Merely one strike caused the three, who had come to a stop, to sit down cross-legged, using their Inner Strength to suppress the pure True Qi surging into their bodies.
And the burly monk previously blown away by Tao Yu was not dead; it seemed his body merely served as a conduit, with the primary targets being the three top experts of Shaolin standing behind him.
"Abbot!"
"Dean!"
"How is this possible!"
"How old is he, exactly..."
"Is this the Dragon Subduing Palms?"
"..."
With just a single strike, the entire Mahavira Hall was plunged into a state of shock.
The core members of the Shaolin were all astonished.
So young, had he been practicing martial arts since he was in his mother's womb?
"Tao Yu, your martial arts are peerless, but even you would not necessarily be able to kill all of us before you exhaust your inner strength!"
Another great monk stepped forward, speaking with a fierce tone.
"Tao Yu, even if the thousands of monks from Shaolin Temple were to rush you, you might not be able to do anything to us!"
Another Shaolin high monk, also in a kasaya, spoke with a stern face.
Facing the fierce denunciations of the monks, Tao Yu stood with his hands behind his back, merely humming lightly.
Blending in the Nine Yin True Scripture's Ghost Prison Yin Wind sound techniques, that light hum altered the expressions of the monks present, who all involuntarily took a step back at the same time.
And without striking again, from the shadow behind Tao Yu, an assault rifle slowly rose up.
It was the AT200.
"What kind of technique is this?"
"Hiding objects in a shadow?"
"What is that thing?"
"..."
Ignoring their exclamations, Tao Yu held the AT200 in his hands, aiming it at the plaque of the Mahavira Hall.
"This is a type of weapon from the Abyss, and I invite the esteemed monks to observe."
As his words fell, a barrage of bullets erupted, relentlessly sweeping across, and the armor-piercing rounds from the AT200 sliced the plaque of the Mahavira Hall in two!
Crack~
As the plaque fell to the ground in two pieces, sending wood chips flying, all the monks present were shell-shocked.
"What kind of divine weapon is this?"
"Is this a weapon of the gods? Impossible!"
"Amitabha..."
If it were just a handgun or a normal assault rifle, it wouldn't have been enough to shock these monks, whose martial arts were not weak.
Even weaklings like Cheng Lixue and Zhang Hao could barely discern the trajectory of bullets fired from handguns.
These monks might also consider ordinary assault rifles to be some kind of superior hidden weapon.
But the bullets fired from the AT200 had stronger gunpowder and moved faster!
To the ordinary monks who couldn't project their inner strength outward, this was a crushing blow!
Just showing up once was enough to make these great monks feel that the divine weapons held by their Buddha statues were laughably weak!
Such weapons were the true treasures!
"This object is a gun. Almost everyone in the company has one. There are few among the Pioneers with a temperament better than mine. Would the venerable monks still need to consider?"
Tao Yu loaded a new magazine, casually tossing the AT200 back into the shadows, his tone light and dismissive.
First, he intimidated them with martial arts, then he showed his weapon to tell them that thousands of monks amounted to nothing.
Whether it was high-end combat or a war of attrition, he was undisturbed!
"Amitabha, we had already agreed to exchange with Tao Yu, so we must keep our promise. My two junior brothers have just taken their positions and their understanding of the Buddha's teachings is not yet complete; they have misunderstood Tao Yu," said Tian Ming, the abbot, as he managed to suppress the true qi that Tao Yu had projected into the air.
Thanks to the powerful inner strength from the Muscle-Tendon Strengthening Chapter, he was able to stand again and set the tone for the conflict.
"Abbot Tian Ming is indeed an enlightened monk. I trust that under your leadership, Shaolin will continue to shine brightly."
Seeing that the matter had been resolved, Tao Yu also showed a hint of a smile on his face, paused for a moment, and then continued,
"There's no rush for the martial arts manuals. Next, I would like to make a deal with the esteemed monks of your temple..."
Seeing the high monks softening, Tao Yu was also very satisfied.
They knew the times, which meant that the upcoming cooperation should proceed quite smoothly...