Chapter 61: The Good Do Not Come

  Zhang Sanfeng just smiled and didn't speak, but Yao Guang, who had been quietly attending to him like a Taoist child, couldn't help but burst out laughing.

  She was very young, with a clear and crisp laugh, and at this moment, she immediately attracted the attention of the whole audience, and Kong Zhi glared at her angrily.

  Xiang Guang smiled and looked back, taking a step forward, but it was extremely formal to make a Taoist courtesy, saying loudly, "Wudangmen Xue Zhu pays respects to the three high monks. I don't know how this table of Wudang offended Master Kongzhi, so that the master needs to 'crush bones and ashes'. Greed, anger, and delusion are all obstacles. The master's heart is towards Buddhism, why be so easily angered? My second brother's words were just ordinary questions. If the master didn't have this thought in his heart, he could have explained it clearly. Why did he need to ruin his own cultivation like this... It's easy to fall into the red dust of the secular world, but it's not that simple to return to the empty gate and worship the ancient Buddha."

  Kong Zhi was shut down by this little girl right to his face, and suddenly his face turned bright red. He tried to open his mouth several times, but he knew that if he shouted back, it would be equivalent to falling into the other person's words.

  Kong Wen recited a phrase "Amitabha Buddha" and said in a low voice: "What Nü Tan Yue said is very much in line with Buddhist principles, Kong Zhi, calm down and don't be impatient."

  When she said this, Yao Guang couldn't help but think that Shaolin's reputation as the number one sect in the martial world for hundreds of years was indeed justified. Regardless of whether her words were right or wrong, given the age difference between her and Kong Zhi, if someone else had spoken like that, they would have been refuted on the spot, or even physically attacked. Yet Kong Zhi actually listened to her words, and even publicly apologized to Kong Zhi, calming him down. This kind of magnanimity was truly rare among ordinary people.

  Kong Wen said, "Zhang Wu Xie may not be willing to betray his sworn brother, but he should understand the feelings of us, fellow disciples... who want to know the truth about the death of our brother Kong Jian. Now that we have come up the mountain, we must get an answer."

  Zhang Cuishan wanted to speak, but Yao Guang cut him off and said: "My fifth brother has already said that even if he was killed, he wouldn't say anything. What can Master Kongwen do? Is it to use force to win? Just now, Master Kongzhi asked my master for guidance, but because of the difference in seniority, he didn't dare be disrespectful... Today is my master's 100th birthday, and fighting would be unlucky. If there's something that needs to be done, I'll take care of it myself. Why don't I ask the three masters for guidance instead? Although I'm still junior to you by a few generations, the three masters shouldn't mind. You can come together if you want, just because of my young age, I'll use a weapon."

  As soon as Yao Guang finished speaking, there was a commotion.

  The names of the four great Shaolin monks may not be as loud as Zhang Sanfeng, but they have also been famous for many years and are well-known. The three of them joined forces, and in today's world, there is probably no one who can defeat them. If it were Zhang Sanfeng who came on stage, that would be fine, but now this little girl in her teens actually boasted that she could take on the three great monks alone, and even revealed a tone of "although I am higher than several masters, several masters don't have to feel embarrassed about being outnumbered". This kind of arrogance that is almost palpable in this situation is no different from being reckless and foolish!

  At that time, countless people burst out laughing, and some said that this little girl wanted to become famous and had gone crazy. Some even said that the Wudang Sect in recent years has been recruiting anyone, and even those who are clearly mentally ill have been allowed to join, it's really ridiculous. No wonder Zhang Wuxia married a witch and became sworn brothers with the evil thief Xie Xun, it turns out that this is the kind of atmosphere they have.

  However, some of the older and more mature individuals, such as Song Yuanqiao, looked at the Wudang crowd with a calm expression after a moment of surprise, although they were worried but not shocked or suspicious. It was clear that they were not too concerned about this little girl. As a result, everyone became even more suspicious and wondered what made her dare to utter such arrogant words.

  If she can defeat the three divine monks alone, it would be boasting that no one dares to refute, but seeing her age is only thirteen or fourteen, even if she started practicing from birth, her internal skills are far inferior to those of the three divine monks. Even with exceptional talent, what can she do? It's likely that Zhang Sanfeng didn't want to lose face himself, so he sent out such a young disciple. If they lose, it won't be considered losing face for Wudang when people talk about it in Jianghu, at most, it would just be said that this little girl is young and arrogant.

  Kong Zhi's anger grew even more upon hearing this, thinking to himself that the man had said three people would go up together, which was a sign of his hidden fear towards Zhang Sanfeng. This young whippersnapper actually dared to ask him and his two fellow disciples to join forces just to raise their own value, so he scowled and loudly declared: "No need to trouble my fellow disciples, I'll take on your esteemed self alone!"

  Yao Guang raised an eyebrow and smiled: "Oh? Kong Zhi, the great master, alone? Then I'll have the upper hand. Although that's the case, I still want to use a weapon. Master, if you have any handy weapons, feel free to use them. If your best skills are in empty-handed combat, then it won't be considered taking advantage of you. Today's battle is of great importance, so naturally, we need to use our best abilities. To be honest with you, master, I'm most skilled with a sword——"

  She turned around and signaled Dao Tong to bring the sword up, putting the duster in her hand into Dao Tong's hand, taking out the iron sword and showing it to everyone.

  "Let everyone see clearly, this is a long sword that costs only three or two silver coins in the iron shop at the foot of Wudang Mountain. It's not some famous and powerful weapon. My contest with Master Kongzhi was just about showing off our exceptional skills, not relying on the advantage of our weapons."

  Everyone present was a master of the Jianghu, and now that they saw the ordinary iron sword in Yao Guang's hand, they knew that she was not bragging. If it were under normal circumstances, perhaps someone would think that this girl had some skills, but in this situation, if she took out a divine weapon to deal with Wudang, it would be better for her. Instead, she insisted on using the most ordinary sword for fairness, which made people feel that she was seeking fame at the expense of the overall situation.

  Kong Zhi felt belittled and loudly said: "You can take out your treasured sword if you want!"

  Kong Zhi had mastered eleven of the seventy-two ultimate techniques of Shaolin, and after years of dedicated practice, his skills were profound. He wouldn't even consider a young whippersnapper like her as an opponent. And to make matters worse, he heard that she was using an ordinary iron sword, which made him feel utterly disdained and insulted.

  The people in the hall, including those from various sects and schools, were all taken in by his gaze. He then used his eyes to calm down a few of his senior brothers before turning back to Zhang Sanfeng with a smile. Only then did he raise his voice and say: "What does Baojian have to do with this? I'm the one who's going to compete with Master Kongzhai, not Baojian. A swordsman's skills are for himself alone. There's just one thing that needs to be declared beforehand - a knife has no eyes, and I don't have any guarantee of winning. It will be difficult to hold back during the competition, so if I were to injure Master Kongzhai, please don't blame me. The same goes for you, Master - there's no need to show mercy. This Purple Mist Palace wasn't easy to build, and we've already damaged one table. Let's not destroy anything else, shall we go outside to compete instead?"

  Yao Guang brought up the old matter again, mentioning the table that Kong Zhi had smashed. Kong Zhi's anger flared up once more, but he forcibly suppressed it, thinking to himself that later on, he would have to teach this girl a lesson and make her dare not be so arrogant again. He turned around and strode out in large steps, his feet kicking out with such force due to his agitated emotions that they cracked several floor tiles.

  Yao Guang smiled and handed the sword scabbard to the Taoist boy, then followed him out with ease.

  A crowd of people naturally also rushed out, surrounding a large circle, with Kongzheng and Yao Guang in the middle.

  Kong Zhi emphasized his identity and naturally wouldn't take the initiative to attack. He walked to the center and stretched out his hand, indicating that Yao Guang should make the first move.

  "Master Kongzhi is really making things difficult for me. It seems that I have been given a false advantage, and if I were to attack first, I'm afraid it would be said that my victory was not honorable." Yao Guang sighed and continued: "But I also know that Master doesn't want to take the initiative either. Let's each take a step back, and we'll make our moves at the same time."

  Kong Zhi's anger was burning at this moment, and he coldly smiled and said "Good!", before his voice had even fallen, he had already taken a step forward, his hand moving like a claw, precisely the Dragon Claw Hand, one of the 72 ultimate techniques of Shaolin.

  Yin Yaoguang had said that if he was willing, he could also take the sword, but instead taught Kong Zhi to be furious. He thought secretly that most of the 72 absolute skills of Shaolin were empty-handed, and even if he was empty-handed, he could make him admit defeat willingly, so he didn't take the Zen staff, and his attack was extremely fierce with Dragon Claw Fist.

  With his left hand in a false probe, his right hand grasped a vigorous gust of wind, directly seizing the "Lack Bowl Hole" on You Guang's left shoulder. This was indeed one move of the "Cloud Seizing Style", with a speed as swift as lightning, and a powerful and fierce momentum.

  Among the crowd, someone recognized this ultimate skill and immediately shouted in admiration.

  Yao Guang had already locked onto Kong Zhi's Qi machine, and just as he was about to approach, she suddenly felt a response in her heart. Without thinking, she took a step back, turned sideways, and held up her long sword with the tip pointing downwards. A smile spread across her face as she said, "What a great Dragon Claw technique! Indeed, it's one of the top-notch capturing skills."

  If Kong Zhi had been a bit slower, it would have been fine. But he was extremely fast, and no one expected him to grab at nothing, nor did they expect that where his hand had originally grabbed, a long sword suddenly appeared, making it seem as if he had intentionally placed his palm on the blade!

  Kong Zhi's face suddenly changed, and with his profound skills, he swiftly turned his movement into a long arm that stretched out like an ape's, wrapping around from behind to grab the "Wind Mansion Acupoint" at the back of Yao Guang's head. This was actually the "Scooping Moon Style" from the Dragon Claw technique. If this grab was successful, the opponent would definitely not have any strength left to resist.

  But little did he know, Qingzhi's movements were not slow, and Yaoguang's reaction was even faster. As soon as Qingzhi extended his empty hand, she stepped on the Bagua position and turned lightly in a half-circle, like a leisurely stroll, her posture elegant and effortless, avoiding that one grab without saying a word. The long sword in her hand drew an arc from bottom to top, its movement not swift, yet precisely colliding with Qingzhi's retracting motion, seemingly about to chop off his wrist again. Qingzhi couldn't help but change from doubt to shock, and both hands went out to grab Yaoguang's temples on either side.

  The temples are of great importance; in a contest between two internal martial arts experts, touching them can be fatal, with little chance of rescue.

  Yao Guang lightly laughed and didn't dodge, shaking the long sword in her hand. In an instant, a flash of light appeared on Kong Zhi's throat, leaving behind a red mark. Meanwhile, Kong Zhi's hands still hadn't touched Yao Guang's body, suspended mid-air with his face pale and full of shock.

  "Master Kongzhī, I concede."

  Everyone only saw the sudden reversal of victory and defeat in an instant. The applause that was originally for Qingzhilian's wonderful drink suddenly became like cheering for Yaoguang. For a moment, the expressions on their faces were extremely colorful, shocked, amazed, disappointed, and angry. In an instant, the entire mountain was silent, with hundreds of pairs of eyes staring at the hand of the blue and white Taoist robe girl. Not one of the good players present could see her movements clearly, and no one could figure out how she made that sword move.