Chapter 53 — Establishing Authority in Public
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 2 of 4
" Master Huo wore a gratified expression and said, "In the Great Thunder-Roaring Temple, there are a hundred carved reliefs of dragons, called the Hundred Dragon Illustrations. The first Tathagata carved the hundred celestial dragons he had seen, to guide later disciples in cultivating the fist's force of Nine Dragons Riding Wind and Thunder. When I cultivated that technique, what I saw were not real dragons but those reliefs. Nine Dragons Riding Wind and Thunder contains forty-five kinds of dragon force and requires forty-five dragon illustrations. Yet the temple has a hundred dragon illustrations — do you know what that means? " Shen Mu's heart jolted, and he gasped, "Every time you use Nine Dragons Riding Wind and Thunder, the dragon force hidden in your fist is different from the last!
" Master Huo nodded. "The move Nine Dragons Riding Wind and Thunder looks like merely a simple punch, but in truth it holds countless variations within itself — only those variations are concealed in the power within the fist, so that no one can see them.
Shen'er, watch closely! " Master Huo struck out with his single arm. As the punch blasted forth, dragon roars rang out, followed by rumbling thunder.
A dragon-shaped torrent of vital essence surged out — an enraged dragon charging, bursting from the abyss; once it broke free it meant to devour men! Then came two more dragon roars, and twin dragons shot from his fist, crossing each other, their great bodies coiling together as they bored onward! Three dragon roars sounded — three kinds of dragon force, fierce and overbearing, enough to split steles and crack rocks!
Then came Four Dragons Slaying Prey, Five Dragons Refining Demons, Six Dragons in Samsara, Seven Dragons Overturning the Sea, Eight Divisions of Heavenly Dragons, Nine Dragons Wind and Thunder! With this single punch Master Huo unleashed forty-five dragon-shaped forces, every one of them as lively and swift as a true dragon.
He struck the sky, and in the sky above Hidden Cripple Village there suddenly appeared forty-five azure dragons, accompanied by thunder, interlaced lightning, and crashing bolts — forty-five azure dragons soared into the clouds.
Shen Mu looked up and saw a single cloud in the sky shatter abruptly and vanish without a trace.
As that cloud broke apart, all at once a human head tumbled down from the broken cloud and landed at Shen Mu's feet.
Shen Mu was startled; he looked closely and saw it was a monk's head, somehow hidden inside the cloud. "Could some demon have killed this monk and carried his head into the clouds?
" Shen Mu was still guessing when bang bang — two arms and two legs fell from the air, and a torso landed outside the village.
"It was no demon's doing! " Shen Mu's heart shook. "It was this monk hiding in the cloud!
" The Silent Artisan, Deaf Elder, the Butcher, and the others in the village seemed long accustomed to such things and paid it no mind.
Master Huo also seemed not to have noticed that he had blasted a monk to death; he looked up at the Nether Demon Cult Ancestor outside the village — he was showing his might. Showing off to the Nether Demon Cult Ancestor, intimidating the many experts of the Nether Demon Cult!
In the neighboring village, the young Patriarch was somewhat moved.
"The boxing arts and divine powers of the Great Thunder-Roaring Temple are indeed extraordinary, though still a notch below the Old Tathagata's.
I know who the one-armed man is now — a discarded disciple of the Great Thunder-Roaring Temple, Horse King Deity, Venerable Ma.
Back then he fought his way out of the temple and made his name in a single battle; I never imagined he was living in seclusion here. This little village must not be underestimated.
" The Elder of Punishments looked at the body that had fallen from the sky and said, "This is a monk of the Great Thunder-Roaring Temple, blasted to death by the Horse King Deity.