After coming down from the mountain, I "borrowed" a set of clothes, shoes, socks, and underwear from a villager's house at the foot of the mountain. Who would've thought that the first thing I would do after learning martial arts would be this? How tragic. After spending two years in the mountains and taking some spiritual medicine, I was now about 1.73 meters tall. I decided to first return to the orphanage, and then go visit the Shaolin Temple. I thought I was pretty impressive, but I had no idea how strong I really was. Only after comparing myself to Shaolin could I get a sense of it. After all, Shaolin is the pinnacle of the martial world. I remember in the wuxia movies, people would always challenge others like this—showing up at their doorsteps.
"Uncle, who are you looking for?" A cute little girl, around seven or eight years old, stood beside me, tugging at my pants, as I stood by the door of the orphanage director's office.
"Oh, little sister, I'm looking for Director Liu."
"Eh, what? You're only twelve years old! How could you not see that I'm still very young just because I'm tall?"
At that moment, the door opened and a kind-looking middle-aged woman stepped out.
"I'm the director, Liu. Who are you? What's your business?"
"It's me, Mu Ye Feitian."
"Ah, Feitian, you've grown so tall! Where have you been the past two years? Do you know how worried we were when you went missing? Look at how long your hair has gotten. Nobody cares about you and you don't even take care of yourself. You're really something. Come in, come in!"
Director Liu, with a heart full of kindness, pulled me into her office and asked me about everything. I told her that after leaving the orphanage, I met a kind-hearted traveling person. He was elderly and passed away this year, so now I was back to get my identification. To gain her trust, I crushed a teacup in my hand.
"Wow, Uncle, you're amazing!" The little girl shouted.
"Haha, Xiao Yan, he's actually your older brother, just four years older than you," Director Liu explained with a smile.
"Really? Then why is he so tall?" Xiao Yan asked with a confused look, not believing me.
To get my identification, I stayed at the orphanage for a week. The little girl, Xiao Yan, loved to follow me around and asked me to teach her martial arts. She was so cute that I ended up teaching her some basic acupoint techniques and martial arts moves. I then had her circulate true qi as I instructed.
"Brother Tian, is this how it's done?" Xiao Yan turned to ask me.
"If you give me a kiss, I'll tell you. Otherwise, I won't," I teased her. Xiao Yan looked around to make sure no one was watching, then quickly kissed me on the cheek, her face turning red.
(Gong Shuyun: "You little freak, do you have a thing for children? Who arranged for such a young girl to show up? Why wasn't this planned properly?""Uncle, Xiao Yan asked to come,""Oh, is that so? Then why don't you kiss Uncle too? That way, I won't scold you, Tian Brother. Come on, give me a kiss.")Mu Ye Feitian could be seen foaming at the mouth, muttering incoherently: "Old cow eating young grass, the heavens can't tolerate this, woo..."
Who would have known that by teaching her, I had created a rival who went against me—a "domineering flower" of sorts. Life is truly full of surprises. Eventually, I was finally conquered by my own charm. It really does have its cause and effect.
"Damn it, why haven't I found any good books? They say it's Shaolin, but there aren't even a few decent martial arts manuals. What a shame. What's this? Yin Fist Kung Fu?"At this moment, I was flipping through the martial arts manuals in the Shaolin Scriptures Hall. Most of the books were Buddhist scriptures. Finally, I found one that looked promising. It read as follows:
Yin Fist Kung Fu (also known as Well Fist Kung Fu): The name comes from the practice being done around a water well. After long and diligent practice, the practitioner can unleash punches with hundreds of pounds of force. A single blow to the head can cause a fatal injury or a broken skull. Additionally, the practitioner can strike from a distance of about three meters, using inner qi to send a punch wind that reaches the opponent's body. Those who are struck lightly may vomit blood and fall, while those who are hit heavily may die on the spot. The effect is as divine as it is instantaneous. However, practitioners must focus on martial virtue and should never strike recklessly. Remember, harming others is harming oneself. Practice caution at all times.
"That's it? I thought it would be much harder to practice." I angrily threw the book at the wall. There was a "clink" sound, and the wall turned like a door, revealing a hidden passage. Could it be that I've just stumbled upon a hidden Shaolin treasure? Although it was dark inside, it didn't matter to me, as I could see just fine whether it was day or night.
I walked through a long, dark passage and entered a large, round stone chamber. So this was where the real books were hidden, inside the mountain's heart! No wonder I hadn't found it in the past few days. In the center of the room was a glowing pearl, emitting a soft white light that illuminated the entire space. Could this be the legendary Night Pearl? Shaolin really is wealthy.
I casually grabbed a book off the shelf—The True Internal Power of Shaolin—and found the following inside:
Zen Meditation Gong
Zen Meditation Gong is an important part of Shaolin's internal skills. Nearly every monk practices it. The essence of Zen is emptiness, so in meditation, one must achieve stillness, seek purity in that stillness, and find peace through purity. The practice is divided into three forms: sitting meditation, standing meditation, and lying meditation.
Alright, I'll stop here, since I technically stole it. Otherwise, everyone would be martial arts masters, and then what would I do? I estimated that I had been in this Scripture Hall for almost three months and had learned many of Shaolin's secret techniques. With my natural intelligence and the innate true qi from The Supreme Sun Technique, which was stronger than the Shaolin techniques to begin with, there was really no difficulty in mastering them. Honestly, Shaolin's defenses are weak. I've been here for so long, and aside from a few people coming to clean the wooden building outside, no one has come in. Otherwise, it might have been a bit of a problem.
Feeling refreshed and in good spirits, I finally saw the sunlight again after such a long time. Standing on the mountain behind the Scripture Hall, I accidentally yawned. Suddenly, a voice shouted from above, "Who's up there?"
I was busted. I quickly started running. "Think you can escape?" I heard a monk dressed in yellow robes chasing me from behind. Haha, your skills are too weak to catch me.
At that moment, the bells of Shaolin rang loudly. Before I knew it, many monks with wooden staffs rushed out from who knows where. Wait a second, why am I running? I came here to compete. So, I stood on the roof. The monk chasing me stopped in his tracks, looking surprised when he saw I wasn't running anymore. He stopped too, a smile creeping up the corner of his mouth, as if he were wondering how I would escape now that the path was blocked.
At that moment, a group of old monks emerged from the Great and Precious Hall. "I am the abbot of Shaolin, Zhikong. May I ask why the donor has entered our Shaolin Scripture Hall?"
"Abbot, you've wronged me! I didn't come to steal anything from your Shaolin Scripture Hall. If you don't believe me, go take a look at the Scripture Hall. Is anything missing? I just made a mistake and wandered into the wrong place. If you don't believe me, you can ask the monks behind me. I was standing on the mountain, not in the Scripture Hall." I acted pitiful, as though I had been falsely accused.
"Hui Fa, is this the case?" the old monk asked the monk behind me.
"Yes, Abbot, but he..." The monk didn't finish before being interrupted by the abbot. I knew the old monk wouldn't speak further; if he did, he'd reveal the true location of the Scripture Hall.
At this moment, a monk in a red robe approached the abbot and whispered something in his ear. The abbot nodded as if relieved. But with my skill, I could hear it clearly: "The scriptures and manuals are all intact."
"Abbot, if he has no guilty conscience, why is he running?" the monk said.
Since I came to challenge them, and seeing the old monk gesture for me to leave, I wasn't going to let it go easily. I purposely said, "It's not that I'm running; I just want more monks to come out. How can I have a fight with no audience?"
"It seems the donor has come to learn Shaolin's martial arts. Please, move to the competition arena." I watched as the monks swiftly flew away—it was clear they had impressive skills. They had hidden their power well. If it weren't for me showing off my skills, no one would have realized they were stronger than ordinary people.
"Abbot, Hui Fa is willing to challenge this donor to a duel," it seemed the monk in yellow robes wasn't satisfied.
"Alright," the abbot agreed. The monk in yellow took a stance and began the Luohan Fist. I performed my lightness skill, Divine Dragon Invisible, and in one move, I used the "Dragon Catching Hand" from the Sun Dragon Fist to seize his arm. It was so fast that no one had time to react. They only saw a flash of movement, and Hui Fa was captured.
Hui Fa was a prominent second-generation disciple of Shaolin, so for the abbot to be able to subdue him in one move was unheard of. It was clear that this young man's skill was unprecedented.
"Donor, what an amazing skill! Truly, the later generation pushes the earlier one forward. Hui Fa, step back. I, Zhikong, will now take over the leadership of Luohan Hall," the elderly monk said as he stepped forward. The monk in yellow had no choice but to step back.
"Master, I humbly greet you," I said.
"Please, young donor," the abbot responded. A true high-ranking monk had a different presence; standing there, his aura and demeanor were worlds apart from the monk in yellow. I had to be careful in dealing with him.
"Master, watch out, here I come!" I struck with the Dragon's Roar across the Four Seas, a move that combines both offense and defense. When I made contact with his body, there was a rebound of true qi.
"Master, it seems you've reached the eighth level of Shaolin's Vajra Qi Protective Skill," I complimented him.
"Unexpectedly, young donor, you've studied Shaolin's secret techniques," the abbot replied.
"Thank you for the compliment, Elder," I said, and with that, we exchanged several more moves.
Now, let's talk about the Shaolin Vajra Qi Protective Skill:
Shaolin Vajra Qi Protective Skill
The Vajra Qi Protective Skill is part of Shaolin's true transmission of internal hard skills. Its purpose is to increase the practitioner's explosive power and resistance to attacks during combat. If practiced alongside the "排打功" (Pai Da Gong), the effects are even better.
From this, we can see that the Vajra Qi Protective Skill is an all-around defense technique. If practiced to the tenth level, one could be considered truly invincible in the world. No one can fight without using their strength, and even if you tire, you'll wear out your opponent.
Who would have thought that this old monk's skills were so high? It seems that Shaolin really lives up to its reputation as a hidden dragon.
"Master, watch out, I'll use Shaolin's secret technique now," I said. With the right timing, using Shaolin martial arts to break Shaolin martial arts is a piece of cake.
With a "whoosh," I pierced the abbot's protective qi with a single finger, causing him to stagger back a few steps, incredulously shouting, "One Finger Zen!"
"What!?" The other monks were shocked as well. After all, the One Finger Zen is not something easily mastered, especially to the level I had achieved. If they knew I had only taken less than a week to master it, I wonder if they would ask me to be their master.
Shaolin Inner Qi One Finger Zen Movements:
Focus on the three yin points of the hands, and the three yang points of the hands, the three yin points of the feet, and the three yang points of the feet.
Strike the two sides of the ribs to open the Qi gates.
Strike along the bladder meridian on the back, from the Baihui point to the Changqiang point, starting from the top.
Strike the whole body from top to bottom.
Intensity of force: Similar to a back massage in a bath, the force should be evenly applied.
The above can be considered just part of the practice method for One Finger Zen. Its complex training steps and the endurance required from the practitioner are truly a great test. To reach my current level of skill would at least require fifty years of training. But seeing how I'm not even twenty years old, even if I started practicing from the womb, I shouldn't have reached such a level of mastery. This left the Shaolin monks present deeply embarrassed. The abbot couldn't understand how a young person like me could learn One Finger Zen, one of the seventy-two Shaolin ultimate skills, unless I had somehow stolen it. But how could I have fifty years of experience in such a short time? I was clearly a young man not even in his twenties and had gone unnoticed in Shaolin. Maybe I was a descendant of a lay disciple of Shaolin? But I had never heard of such an outstanding junior among the lay disciples or elders of Shaolin.
"Could it be that the young donor is a descendant of a Shaolin lay disciple?" the abbot asked, trying to comfort himself. It would at least justify the incredible skills of Shaolin's techniques in his mind.
"Master, you flatter me," I said, "I don't have a teacher. My skills were passed down to me by an old Taoist priest, though I don't know how he did it." I couldn't tell them the truth. "I'm not sure if he has any connection with Shaolin, but I believe he must have," I continued, knowing that practicing Shaolin martial arts had made me more cunning. No wonder Shaolin had stood strong for over five hundred years; there was a reason for it.
"I see. But I wonder, how is your cultivation so deep?" the abbot asked.
"Honestly, I don't know. You'll have to ask that old Taoist. After passing on his skills, he passed away," I said, letting a few tears fall deliberately.
"What? He passed his skills to you? How is that possible? Could it have been 'Lingxue Feidu' (passing Qi through acupoints), a technique lost for thousands of years? Perhaps this Taoist accidentally obtained it... that's possible," the old monk muttered to himself.
"This competition, Shaolin concedes defeat," the abbot said. As expected, the old monk was calm, not caring about winning or losing. He truly was a man of great cultivation.
"Master, you are too modest. In fact, Shaolin hasn't lost, since this duel was only meant to demonstrate the skills of Shaolin's martial arts," I said.
"Thank you for your consideration of Shaolin's honor. However, I must tend to my disciple's injuries, so I cannot entertain you further. Please, feel free to make yourself at home," the abbot replied.
"Master, you are too kind. By the way, I have some knowledge of medicine. Would you allow me to check on Master Zhikong's injuries? After all, he was injured because of me," I offered.
"Well then," the abbot nodded. I walked over to Master Zhikong, took his pulse, and examined him. It turned out that he was injured by the clash of two types of true qi inside him. Luckily, I had only used 20% of my strength. Otherwise, the old monk would have lost his life. I withdrew my true qi, then dripped some Shizhong Ru into his mouth and helped him circulate his energy. If I had used my Divine Transformation Pills, the problem would have solved itself instantly. But to maintain the image of a good youth of the 21st century, I still preferred to handle it myself. After all, admitting mistakes is what a good child does. Haha.
"Thank you, young donor. You've helped me break through to a higher level," the old monk said, clearly aware that I had given him a spiritual medicine. The breakthrough from the eighth to the ninth level saved him at least ten years of time. This was a great gift.
"I didn't expect the young donor's skills to be so refined. It seems that after this breakthrough, you are already on the verge of transcending into innate cultivation. In the future, if you have any requests from Shaolin, feel free to ask," the abbot said.
Since I helped his disciple break through a training barrier, it was assumed that my skill must be at least twice that of the disciple's. When I finished circulating my energy, I didn't even break a sweat. They must have realized I was hiding something. If I told them that my skill had already reached the innate stage, I wondered how they would react. After all, my technique leaned more towards immortality cultivation, and with the Zhu Guo and Shizhong Ru, breakthroughs were much easier.