Only the white stones Lord Miguo ploughed through bled. From the moment of receiving Ming Feizhen’s punch to the moment his fall ended, he never even grunted. Despite smashing his property to dust, the sound of the impacts didn’t travel more than ten metres.
“What the heck is that discipline?” Hua Qing remarked.
Zhuxing Wuchang answered, “Lotus Sect has coexisted with our Divine Moon Cult for a thousand years in the Western Regions and is referred to as the second biggest cult there. You can’t expect them to defend their reputation without some strength.
“His signature discipline is called ‘Karma’, a discipline employed for objectives besides fighting more than for fighting. It’s a discipline derived from Buddhism that empowers him to wield miasma. He adds the strength of others to his own, granting him the ability to go toe to toe with anyone. At the highest level, there’s a thing called ‘Miguo Restoration’. If he wasn’t so petty, as a practitioner of the discipline, he wouldn’t have been sent flying in one punch. That being said, don’t underestimate him. He might’ve departed from Buddhism, but he gained unexpected benefits from it. Who knows what sort of crap he’s come up with.”
Though he was lauded as the best swordsman among Divine Moon Cult’s three Guardians, he was actually well-versed in all eighteen arms. As a lover of martial arts, he was more erudite than practically everyone in Divine Moon Cult when it came to martial arts.
Wen Wudao pulled Hua Qing and Su Li behind him. “Stay behind me where it’s safe, brother. He’s about to get started.”
The rocks seemingly levitated as the jacked monk, resembling a threatening titan, emerged from the rubble and debris.
The erstwhile leader of Lotus Sect didn’t teach Lord Miguo how to commit murder with Karma because he saw how prone to violence Lord Miguo was. Instead, he passed it on as a strengthening guide. He didn’t expect Lord Miguo to have the wisdom to figure out how to apply it to combat in addition to training his body.
In ”Karma”, in order to hit one’s enemy with their own force, one must be able to withstand the force first. Else, the style becomes its wielder’s own undoing. Lord Miguo, therefore, came up with the idea of storing the energy in a space ten metres around him. Thanks to Karma’s technique, he could store even more energy without harming himself. For that reason, no matter how ferocious Ming Feizhen’s punch was, all the force would go to the collection of energy around Lord Miguo.
Lord Miguo positioned his hands in a pranam posture. “Please heed this old one’s adv-”
Lord Miguo couldn’t finish his sentence due to another punch at his chest that sent him plummeting through rocks again.
Unlike last time, Ming Feizhen leapt onto the collapsed lotus platform and continued ruthlessly laid into the monk who had yet to rise. Rubble crashed with each blow he delivered.
Hua Qing: “What the…”
“Smart kid.” Wen Wudao folded his arms. “He’s not giving Lord Miguo any time or space to utilise his weapons. How did he come up with such a shameless idea?”
“His strategy is our cup of tea,” commented Master Le. “I’m not calling him smart. I’m calling him shameless.”
Bai Tianbin: “You lot have a lot to learn about shamelessness before you can call yourselves shameless.”
“Shameless or not, let’s leave it at that. His fight acumen is undoubtedly commendable,” Sky Realm Palace’s representative, Yungu, opined. “He wasn’t aware of Lord Miguo’s skills ahead of time, but he quickly caught on to his opponent’s ability once they started. His analysis speed, observation and ability to adapt are as prodigious as can be.”
On the surface, Yungu’s comments might’ve appeared superficial. To the perceptive eye, however, she established herself as someone who deserved to be held in the same regard as the likes of Master Le and Zhuxing Wuchang.
Bai Tianbin: “Hey, Lass, what does Sky Realm Palace want this time? Is Western Regions not in enough anarchy for you?”
Yungu couldn’t make herself seem distasteful even when she sneered. “I have teachings I follow. You follow Divine Moon Cult’s teachings. We have our own masters to serve. Why don’t we just mind our own business?”
“Hahaha, well, I can’t argue that you make sense. I don’t care what you do, so stay out of my business, too.” Bai Tianbin switched to a hostile demeanour. “What if we share a common goal, though?”
Yungu didn’t feel the pressure from Bai Tianbin’s eyes whatsoever. “The same goes: why don’t we just mind our own business?”
Before he ate a hundred and eight punches, Lord Miguo’s body was comparable to a soft piece of cloth. As he absorbed punch after punch, his body accordingly inflated. Meanwhile, the sound of each punch softened as Lord Miguo absorbed their force into his field. Suffice to say, the effectiveness of the punches declined corresponding to how full the field was.
While Lord Miguo’s skill would have people green with envy, anyone who could see the whole picture would realise how ridiculous Ming Feizhen was to fill up the field so fast and sustain his pace.
If Lord Miguo removed his field now, Ming Feizhen would only need a single punch to effortlessly implode the true qi accumulated in his body. If he kept it up, the two of them would be caught in a fatal explosion once the field was unable to contain any more.
“You had enough?” Lord Miguo fumed.
“Yeah,” Ming Feizhen kept grinning, “if I can get one more punch in.”
With one more bomb, Ming Feizhen triggered a true qi explosion. The true qi that emanated from their location made dust out of the floating rocks around.
Espying Ming Feizhen return to Hua Qing’s side, Bai Tianbin complimented, “Nice qinggong. This old one must admit your qinggong is superior to even his.”
Master Le: “You’ve improved considerably in just days.”
Ming Feizhen’s attention was directed solely at the lotus platform.
“Kid… you immortal?” Lord Miguo strolled out from the curtain of dust without a single bruise or scratch. Hands placed together, he said, “Great skills,” he caught a kick Ming Feizhen whipped at him, then finished, “for some street busking.”
