Chapter 101: Battle of Life and Death

  Master Yu Cheng's words moved many people in the martial arts world. It is worth noting that Shaolin Temple had long stopped accepting new disciples, so when Master Yu Cheng announced that he would accept students and pass on his skills, it was unknown how many people would recklessly rush to join Shaolin Temple, regardless of everything, just to learn a set of skills.

  Nangong Qianlan was the first to speak: "The world's martial arts originated from Shaolin, and Shaolin's fame is known throughout the land. I, Nangong Qianlan, am the first to pay homage to Shaolin and ask if Master Yucheng can make an exception and accept me as his disciple?"

  Master Yu Cheng smiled and said, "The Gong family's martial arts are also renowned in the Jianghu. There is no need to join Shaolin Temple again. Miss Nangong, as long as you practice your family's martial arts well, you will stand out and have a place in the Jianghu."

  Nangong Qianlan said with a serious expression: "Thank you, Master, for your guidance. I will definitely work hard."

  Master Jade smiled and didn't say anything more.

  I looked at the excited group of martial artists and said loudly: "From now on, I will also start recruiting disciples from outside. Anyone who is willing can go to the headquarters of my Wudang sect to participate in the selection. Those who pass the physical examination are all welcome as my disciples."

  As soon as I said this, many people shouted: "Good, let's have our own children participate in the selection now..."

  Master Jade and I exchanged a glance, suddenly burst out laughing together, and said in unison: "Welcome, everyone..."

  A row of tall figures quietly approached me at this time, whispering: "Received intelligence, that group of unidentified people appeared again, less than a kilometer away from us. Looking at their movements, they are rushing towards us."

  I frowned and said: "Notify all personnel, prepare for battle."

  A row of long-necked people went away, I stepped forward a few steps and said to the crowd of martial artists: "Everyone, there is another group of unidentified people rushing towards us. I hope they are not enemies, but we must make preparations in advance. Everyone should also prepare, just in case they are enemies, we will have another life-and-death battle!"

  Master Jade said loudly in Buddha's name: "Don't be afraid, if the enemy comes we will stop them, if water comes we will cover it with earth. We won't let them enter our base half a step."

  I nodded slightly and turned around to face a row of warriors, saying: "Check your weapons, prepare for battle!"

  A row of warriors immediately looked for suitable cover, preparing to fight again. I also hastened to say to Chen Jing and others who had rushed over: "It's possible that the enemy has arrived with reinforcements, are our weapons enough?"

  Chen Jing paused slightly, saying: "We've run out of incendiary bombs, we used them all up earlier. However, we've managed to retrieve the laser gun, found a usable armored vehicle, and some rocket-propelled grenades."

  I furrowed my brow: "How many laser guns were damaged?"

  Chen Jing sighed: "The laser gun still hasn't overcome the last technical difficulty, high temperatures will burn out the barrel. Now only eleven can be used, and the remaining nine are all damaged."

  I didn't dare to waste any more time, so I immediately said: "The warriors with laser guns are the first line of defense. As soon as the enemy comes into our sight, they will fire a warning shot. If it's confirmed that they're enemies, attack them on my order. The rocket launchers and armored vehicles are not to be used for now, they're our last line of defense in case of an emergency. Master Yu Cheng, please have your warriors work with the remaining soldiers to snipe at the enemy using various weapons."

  Master Yu Cheng responded with a sound and led the way to prepare. The remaining warriors without laser guns found cover for themselves and formed a second line of defense.

  I exchanged a glance with Chen Jing, and we both saw the desperate look in each other's eyes. The warriors had been fighting continuously and were already physically and mentally exhausted. If the incoming troops were enemies, they would be fresh forces, how could we possibly defeat them?

  If we still had enough incendiary bombs and other new-style weapons, perhaps there would be a chance. But now, we no longer have these new-style weapons.

  When brave men meet on a narrow road, the bravest one wins. When we encounter enemies, we must be brave and launch a fierce attack. We cannot retreat now that the battle has reached this point; even if it means we all die in battle, we will not think of retreating again. If the enemy comes, we'll fight to the death, and both sides will perish together.

  The first shot from the warrior with a laser gun revealed the face of the incoming person. Because as soon as a group of people appeared on the opposite side, they immediately dispersed and hid, and immediately began to counterattack.

  I saw through the telescope that the enemy was all in black night gear, even wearing a hood on their head, it was a standard ninja outfit. They didn't have any intention of hiding their figures, they were fully prepared to fight us to the death.

  Our warriors, seeing this situation, no longer hesitated and began to attack the enemy. However, these ninjas were obviously not ordinary warriors who could deal with them, they easily dodged the warriors' shots and agilely pounced over.

  Although some of them were wounded by our warriors, most of them rushed to the front of our first line of defense unscathed.

  I took a rough look at the enemy, and there were about a hundred of them, all dressed as ninjas, with weapons in their hands that weren't modern firearms, but uniform samurai swords. The cold light flashing from the samurai swords was like rows of sharp teeth on a large mouth, fiercely attacking our soldiers.

  "Everybody fall back!"

  While speaking, I and Master Yucheng rushed out first, our target was the two ninjas running in the front.

  Master Yuchen and I were both unarmed, facing a ninja wielding a katana. We could only dodge his attacks and look for an opening to strike back, hoping to land a critical hit.

  The ninja in front of me has an incredible physique, and my attack was easily dodged by him. At the same time, he also launched a knife attack towards the back of my neck, almost injuring me.

  I was shocked to know that I had encountered a formidable enemy. At this time, more ninjas attacked, and many warriors were no match for them, they could only retreat to protect themselves. Fortunately, the martial artists under Master Yucheng rushed over at this time, one after another, blocking the ninjas, thus avoiding the heavy casualties of the warriors.

  This is no longer a war in the usual sense, but a contest between the Chinese martial artists and the Japanese pirates. The Chinese Kung Fu is world-renowned, even the Japanese pirates learned their Kung Fu from us. The contest between the two sides is still a contest of Chinese Kung Fu.

  However, modern Chinese people do not value the study and practice of martial arts, resulting in fewer and fewer people who understand martial arts. On the other hand, the Japanese pirates attach more importance to this aspect, and the development of ninjutsu is very rapid, with a tendency to surpass China.

  Both sides of the martial artists had just made contact when someone was injured, and the miserable cries rose and fell. The injured included Chinese martial artists as well as Japanese ninja. The kung fu from China was developed by the Japanese pirates into their own unique style, with many changes in various aspects. Therefore, the authentic Chinese kung fu encountered the Japanese ninja techniques, and for a while, it was really difficult to distinguish between victory and defeat.

  The number of Japanese ninja pirates is superior, with thirty or forty more people than us. So, Master Yucheng and I took drastic measures from the start, not daring to give the Japanese pirates time to completely surround us.

  The Wudang Heart Method is fully activated by me, the power of both fists is maximized, and every punch will either severely injure or directly knock a ninja of the Japanese pirates into the air, with an uncertain fate.

  Master Jade began the war by putting down the Buddhist precept of not killing, and started a massacre. His men had already killed several Japanese ninja pirates.

  Nangong Qianlan led her clansmen to cooperate with us, Master Yuchen and me, in fighting the enemy, blocking all those who attempted to rush forward and surround us. However, the enemy was numerous and powerful, many martial artists were surrounded by multiple enemies at the same time, either injured or sacrificed. For a while, our casualties increased, and the pressure also doubled.

  My heart was secretly anxious, and my hands moved more heavily, striving to hurt an enemy with every move, to alleviate the pressure on fellow martial artists. In the heat of battle, after snatching a warrior's sword, I swung it and cut open the owner's neck, watching as the enemy fell while charging at another one again.

  Nangong Qianlan herself was armed with a very sharp ancient long sword, said to be the heirloom of the Nangong family. Her current skills had improved significantly, and every move she made was perfect, killing enemies who didn't dare to get close to her.

  The ninja who was previously at the forefront and had been entangled with me for several moves, turned to other martial artists. Now that he sees me and Nan Gong Qian Lan together killing many of them, he turns back, specifically targeting me and Nan Gong Qian Lan, attempting to hold us back and give his companions an opportunity. The ninja who was originally entangled with Master Yu Cheng also tied him up, apparently sharing the same idea.

  Nangong Qianlan and I launched a simultaneous attack, coordinating perfectly with each other. Our combined strength was even greater than when I fought alone. The ninja in front of us was caught off guard, frantically retreating as we pressed our advantage. Seizing the opportunity, Nangong Qianlan and I unleashed a killing move, forcing the ninja to retreat once more. Behind him lay the edge of the courtyard wall; with this latest retreat, he lost his footing and stumbled, on the verge of tumbling over the wall.

  Nangong Qianlan took advantage of the opportunity and stabbed the ninja's wrist with one sword, causing his katana to fall out of his hand. I didn't give him any more chances, stretched out my hand and grabbed his arm, capturing him alive.

  Nangong Qianlan was even more direct, and as soon as I caught the ninja, she directly turned the hilt of her sword over and struck it against the back of the ninja's head, knocking him out.

  I casually threw this ninja towards the warriors who were on guard behind us and shouted, "Keep an eye on him, if anything goes wrong, shoot him dead."

  The warriors rushed up and took away the unconscious ninja. Several enemies who saw the situation on this side wanted to come forward to rescue the ninja caught by us, but were blocked by me and Nan Gong Qian Lan and could not move forward.

  The fierce battle lasted for a long time, with both sides suffering heavy casualties. I and Nangong Qianlan worked well together, without getting injured, and wounded several of the enemy's top fighters. Master Yucheng also wounded the ninja in front of him with the help of some fellow martial artists, but was unable to capture him alive.

  Gradually, my fellow martial artists of China stood up together, forming a large circle, back to back, and continued to fight the enemy. The enemy had also basically completed their encirclement of us, surrounding us in the middle.

  The enemy was highly organized, and as soon as someone fell back wounded, someone else would immediately fill the gap that had appeared, attacking us with abandon. I exchanged a glance with Nan Gong Qian Lan, nodded in unison, and charged forward together, tearing open a hole in the enemy's encirclement. Then we shouted loudly: "Everyone, don't panic! Follow us and break through the enemy's encirclement!"

  With the gap opened up by me and Nangong Qianlan, the enemy's encirclement was broken and lost its intended effect. The fellow martial artists followed us in a charge, instantly breaking out of the enemy's encirclement, merging with the soldiers who were on high alert behind us, turning around to set up defenses, blocking the enemy's advance.

  The warriors had no martial arts skills, and could only rely on the weapons in their hands to attack the enemy, giving us time to catch our breath. We stood firm, counterattacked, and for a while, the enemy was led by the nose, some people were at a loss, and were killed by us in the confusion.

  This is a typical counter-attack, we who were originally fleeing suddenly turned back and launched a surprise attack, the enemy was caught off guard and more than a dozen people were killed by us. The enemy immediately became chaotic, some people began to retreat, blocking those who wanted to come forward and attack us.

  However, the leader of the enemy was clearly an intelligent figure. After hearing him mutter a few words, the enemy immediately became organized and began to attack us again, with their coordination gradually normalizing.

  Our eyes immediately lit up, and I shouted again: "Everyone gather in the middle, withdraw from here, protect our base entrance."

  A row of warriors left, and the remaining people are all martial arts practitioners. Our number has decreased, but our combat effectiveness has not decreased much. After all, we have to fight against the Japanese pirates' ninjas, and ordinary soldiers are of little use.

  Master Jade, I, and the Nan Gong family members including Nan Gong Qian Lan launched a fatal attack on the leader of the Japanese pirates. We chose to take down the enemy's leader first, just like the saying "擒贼先擒王" (catch the king before catching the thieves). As expected, our collective attack was successful, and although some of the attacks were blocked by other enemies, Master Jade and I still managed to hit the enemy leader, severely injuring him in one move.

  The leader of the Japanese ninja was also very formidable, with a severely injured body, and yet he still managed to slash my arm with one knife, almost cutting off the main artery on my arm.

  I was shocked, but also secretly fortunate. At the same time I was injured, I rushed forward without hesitation and knocked out the leader of the Japanese ninja with one punch. Then, I picked him up and threw him into the circle surrounding our city.

  Immediately, fellow martial artists came forward and seized the leader of the Japanese pirates' ninjas. I returned to my position and shouted loudly: "The leader of the Japanese pirates has been captured by me! Everyone work together and kill all these ninjas!"

  Master Jade said loudly: "Shaolin Arhat Formation, deploy!"

  A group of high-ranking Shaolin monks immediately jumped out, shouting loudly: "Shaolin Arhat Formation!" Along with their shouts, the formation was instantly set up, surrounding a portion of the ninjas in the middle.

  Most of the Shaolin monks used their signature weapon, the Qī Méi Duǎn Gùn (齐眉短棍), at this time. The sticks danced in the air as a dozen or so monks charged towards the surrounded Japanese pirates with a fierce battle cry. The pirates had never seen such a powerful martial arts formation before and let out a collective howl as they charged forward, trying to break through the encirclement. However, they were unaware of the immense power of the Shaolin Luo Han Array (罗汉阵). Once activated, the attacking force of over a dozen monks was almost cumulative, making it impossible to withstand a head-on collision.

  The counterattack of the Japanese pirates had no effect at all, and many people were injured or killed. After this blow, the remaining Japanese pirates became much more honest and did not dare to attack the Arhat Formation casually again. Although they didn't take action, the high-ranking monks of Shaolin Temple wouldn't show mercy either. With a loud shout of "zháo", dozens of short clubs swung out, knocking down all the enemies who were still able to move.

  The Shaolin Arhat Array is not in vain, and as soon as it comes out, it achieves a remarkable feat. Our fellow martial artists all cheered in unison, everyone was inspired, and with renewed energy, they charged forward, finding their opponents and launching fierce attacks. The Japanese pirates' ninjas began to retreat, having lost their leader, they had no mainstay, and were killed by the Shaolin Arhat Array, nearly twenty of their companions were killed at once, they were already frightened out of their wits, lost their ability to resist, and could only retreat repeatedly.

  I was overjoyed and shouted: "Fellow Taoists, let's move forward together, drive out the Japanese pirates, and protect China!"

  A fellow martial artist also shouted in unison: "Protect the Chinese people!" With the shout, everyone moved forward together, attacking the retreating Japanese ninja pirates with an overwhelming posture. This time we used momentum to crush them, and it really had a miraculous effect. In no time at all, we drove the enemy back outside the courtyard wall.

  Many martial artists were so eager to kill the enemy that they ignored my and Master Yu Cheng's attempts to stop them, jumping down from the courtyard wall and charging into the midst of the enemy. Seeing this, I knew that the martial artists were too impulsive, and in order not to let them take risks alone, I could only call out to everyone to charge into the enemy together.

  The enemy, although previously defeated and having lost some men at our hands, still had a slightly superior strength overall. Now that we have voluntarily charged into their midst, it is as if we are being surrounded by the enemy once again. The situation immediately turned around, and our people quickly suffered casualties.

  I was anxious, but for the time being, I had no good solution, and could only charge forward recklessly, trying to open up a gap again. Master Yu Cheng and Nan Gong Qian Lan also saw the current predicament and wanted to do the same as me, to open up a gap. However, after being tricked once, the enemy immediately learned from their mistake and firmly blocked our way, refusing to let us break through the gap.

  We were trapped, and the enemy's warriors' swords attacked our vital parts at any time and place. Many fellow travelers were injured, and some were even killed.

  Master Jade arranged the Shaolin Arhat Array once again and whispered to me, "Block the enemy, give us time to set up the formation."

  I immediately stepped forward, the warrior knife in my hand opened and closed, forcing back several enemies in front of me, giving Master Yucheng and others time to set up the Shaolin Arhat Formation.

  This way, there was some effect, the Arhat array separated a part of the enemy and surrounded them. The remaining number of enemies decreased, and they were also frightened by the Arhat array, their combat power immediately dropped a lot. However, we lost the high monk of Shaolin, the number of people decreased, and the combat power was also reduced accordingly, so we were still tightly entangled by the Japanese pirates and couldn't escape.

  The Shaolin monks had just eliminated the previously surrounded enemies in a short time, and then the formation changed again, encircling another group of enemies. The enemy was frightened and hastily retreated, fearing that the Luohan Array would be launched again and they would also be eliminated one by one.

  The pressure on us has been reduced. Let's go all out and hold back our respective enemies, waiting for the Shaolin monk to make his next move.

  The Wokou ninja were really intimidated by the Shaolin Luo Han array, and many of them gave up their chance to attack us, focusing only on escaping. As a result, some people quickly escaped, but we didn't have enough manpower to completely block them. However, more enemies were blocked by us. What awaited them was either being captured or killed by us.

  We took a deep breath and finished off the remaining enemies, but when we thought of pursuing the fleeing enemies, their backs were already out of sight.

  Everyone in the martial arts community was covered in blood, both from their enemies and themselves. More people were stained with their own blood on their clothes, and almost no one was completely unscathed. The enemy was very powerful, and our side had fewer people, so it's no wonder that our casualties were also heavy. After a rough count, the number of martial arts practitioners who died in this battle reached half of the total number. Two-thirds of the remaining people were injured, and those who could still fight were less than one-tenth.

  Such a tragic battle, we barely drove away the enemy and killed some of them, but in fact, we still lost. Our martial artists are all elites of China, this time so many people were killed or injured, isn't that a defeat for us?

  Master Yu Cheng was also injured, his right arm was cut by a ninja of the Japanese pirates, and it still bleeding now, it seems that the blood vessel is broken. The military doctor of the Hu Long Lian had sacrificed in the previous battle, I slightly understand medical skills, gave Master Yu Cheng a simple bandage to stop the bleeding, and then sent someone to hurry up and send Master Yu Cheng and other generally injured martial artists to the hospital for treatment.