Chapter Fifty-Four: The Art of Profound Techniques

Huizhi cried out, “You wicked woman, how dare you insult the Shaolin warrior monks!” With those words, he swung his heavy black staff, thrusting it at Lan Wutong’s chest. Lan Wutong let out a sharp cry and unfurled her long whip from her sleeve, snapping it toward Huizhi’s neck.

Yet Huizhi’s attack was feigned; he carried himself with dignity and refused to truly battle a woman. His move was meant to provoke Li Chongyuan into intervening. As expected, seeing Huizhi’s steady form, Li Chongyuan recognized him as a formidable opponent and feared Lan Wutong might suffer. Without hesitation, he drew his sword and lunged at Huizhi’s back. However, Huizhi, seasoned in the ways of the martial world, had anticipated this. He promptly withdrew his staff, flipping the tail into the head, striking toward Li Chongyuan’s chest. Li Chongyuan used the Three Lives Sword Technique to parry, his blade gliding along the staff toward Huizhi’s hands.

He moved with the staff, dissolving the sword’s momentum, then swept the staff across horizontally at Li Chongyuan’s waist.

Shaolin Temple is divided into two main lineages: the scholarly monks and the warrior monks.

Whenever someone enters the temple and takes monastic vows, elders from each hall select them. Those who are clever, perceptive, and educated are admitted to the scholarly lineage, beginning in the Sutra Hall to study scripture. Once they master the texts, they are assigned to various halls as monks, or some remain in the Sutra Hall to teach newcomers. Those with exceptional insight move on to the Manjusri Hall or the Bodhi Hall.

The Bodhi Hall is devoted solely to the contemplation of Buddhist doctrine; monks spend their days in meditation or teaching, holding a very esteemed status. They rarely travel outside and lead austere lives. The Manjusri Hall specializes in water-land rituals and chanting for blessings, often interacting with high officials and nobility. Many distinguished monks from the Manjusri Hall are honored guests in royal mansions. Though their mastery of Buddhist teachings is slightly less than those of the Bodhi Hall, their reputation is widespread.

If a newcomer is physically strong and mentally sharp, they are often chosen by the warrior monk lineage. They first enter the Arhat Hall to learn martial arts; after passing the Wooden Dummy Array and qualifying, most are sent to various halls as guardian warrior monks. The truly skilled remain in the Arhat Hall to instruct new disciples, and the best among them advance to the Discipline Hall and the Dharma Hall.

The Dharma Hall, much like the Bodhi Hall among scholarly monks, is dedicated to martial arts research, abstaining from mundane affairs. Unlike the Arhat Hall, where numerous and diverse martial arts are practiced—including boxing, inner strength, and all manner of weapons—the Dharma Hall allows individuals to select a single martial art to practice with undivided focus.

Warrior monks often spend decades within the Dharma Hall, refining their skills to the highest level. These are martial devotees, strangers to worldly affairs, and only such devotion can withstand the hardship and solitude. The famed seventy-two Shaolin techniques were created and perfected by these men.

The Discipline Hall, meanwhile, serves as the law enforcement branch of Shaolin. After mastering their skills, Shaolin monks and lay disciples travel the martial world. Some, unable to resist worldly temptations, commit crimes. These individuals possess formidable martial arts and have the prestige of Shaolin behind them; local authorities are powerless, and martial heroes hesitate to act against such a powerful sect. Thus, it falls to the Discipline Hall to purge Shaolin’s own black sheep. Its monks not only surpass their peers in martial arts but are also versed in the cunning and tricks of the martial world, enabling them to maintain Shaolin’s honor.

Since Huizhi was the chief disciple of the Discipline Hall, his skills were not to be underestimated. His specialty was the Wind Demon Staff. Years ago, the Shaolin renegade Hui Biao, expelled from the temple, turned to banditry in the Zhongtiao Mountains. The local authorities mobilized hundreds of soldiers, trapping him by the riverbank, but he fought his way out with a single discipline knife, slaughtering over seventy men. Even martial experts summoned by the magistrate met their demise. News reached Shaolin, and Huizhi journeyed alone across a thousand miles to Zhongtiao. Through careful investigation, he finally confronted Hui Biao, and after a fierce battle lasting a day and a night, he killed Hui Biao with his staff.

Later, the coroner examined the body: not a single external wound, yet every bone shattered to the size of beans. The assistant minister of justice exclaimed, “Truly the reincarnation of Vajra!”

Vajra was the leader of the thirteen staff monks who saved the Tang king at the end of the Sui dynasty. After ascending the throne, Emperor Taizong, grateful for his rescue, bestowed upon him the title “King of the Staff.”

When the Wind Demon Staff was unleashed, it cast overlapping shadows accompanied by thunderous winds, overwhelming its opponent. Li Chongyuan, using the Three Lives Sword Technique, maneuvered through the staff’s shadowy barrage. This sword technique emphasizes the principles of past, present, and future, anticipating the enemy’s moves and subtly restraining the Wind Demon Staff. The staff relies on unrestricted, savage power, its strength greatest when unbound. Yet the sword’s tip never left Huizhi’s wrist and chest for a moment.

The more Huizhi fought, the more constrained he became, gradually losing the upper hand. Alarmed, he thought, “How can this man’s swordplay be so swift?” What he didn’t know was that Li Chongyuan’s technique, while fast, only used a third of his strength with each move, making transitions quicker and adding speed upon speed.

Having faced countless formidable opponents, Huizhi suddenly shifted his staff technique. The thunderous noise faded; the staff’s swings—chopping, smashing, covering, and striking—were fierce but eerily silent. After a moment, the storm noises resumed, growing ever louder, but always lagging behind the staff itself. When the staff struck, it was soundless; only after it was withdrawn did a muffled thunder roll.

Xuanfa, standing in the distance, nodded slightly and murmured, “Huizhi’s mastery of the Wind Demon Staff has reached a rare level.”

Li Chongyuan, however, found himself increasingly pressured. Huizhi began to counter his moves, and the mismatched timing of sound and staff disoriented him. Coupled with the staff’s formidable weight, his slender sword could not oppose it for long, and the tide quickly turned.

Though Huizhi was a monk, he had spent little time in meditation, being immersed in the martial world; little Buddhist compassion remained in his heart. All his opponents were ruthless and cunning, and he himself had absorbed the violent ways of the martial world. When he attacked, he showed no mercy.

Li Chongyuan, seeing Huizhi’s ferocity, dared not be careless, but the Wind Demon Staff pressed ever closer, leaving him barely able to hold on. Lan Wutong and Lin Qingli watched anxiously from afar. Lin Qingli, knowing her martial skills were meager, wept in frustration, unable to help. Lan Wutong quietly clenched a few deadly venomous insects in her hand, determined to risk offending Shaolin to save Li Chongyuan if he were in danger.

Suddenly, Li Chongyuan recalled a technique used by Duanmu Chou in his battle with Tuoba Hui. Instantly, he counterattacked, launching the move "Falling Star from Heaven" right at Huizhi’s head. Huizhi sneered and raised his staff horizontally to block the blow.

Li Chongyuan immediately let go of his sword, allowing it to be knocked aside. Huizhi, delighted, thought Li Chongyuan had exhausted his strength and lost control of his weapon. But then, Li Chongyuan’s palms shot directly toward Huizhi’s chest. Startled but unshaken, Huizhi, with the skill befitting the chief disciple of the Discipline Hall, whose prowess ranked among the best of the Hui generation at Shaolin, faced him confidently. He was versed in all forms of martial arts, whether empty-handed or armed, and though the Wind Demon Staff was fierce, it was cumbersome in close combat. Huizhi shook his arms, casting aside the staff, and with a shout, met Li Chongyuan’s palms.

There was a loud crash as the four palms collided. Huizhi immediately unleashed Shaolin inner strength, surging forth. Though Li Chongyuan’s internal force was not as overpowering, it was deep and enduring, so Huizhi dared not underestimate him. He took a deep breath and intensified his power, aiming to send Li Chongyuan flying. But just then, Li Chongyuan’s gentle inner force vanished, replaced by a sinister, chilling energy. Caught off guard, Huizhi staggered backward as Li Chongyuan seized the opportunity, using Shadowless Before the Lamp to slip behind him. Huizhi reacted swiftly, kicking backward with a move called "Kui Star Kicks the Dipper." Li Chongyuan used "Beidou Phantom Moon," soaring in an arc overhead and landing before Huizhi.

Even with his vast experience, Huizhi never expected Li Chongyuan to instantly switch between two distinct footwork techniques. Before Huizhi could recover, Li Chongyuan unleashed the "Jieli Mohe Soul-Crushing Hand." This technique, famed for its precision, targets the vulnerable points of the human body, making it nearly impossible to defend against. With the aid of his Primordial Skill, its power was immense. The roles were immediately reversed. Huizhi’s shoulder well, mammary point, and meridian pass were struck; though Li Chongyuan did not wish to antagonize Shaolin and held back, Huizhi was left half-paralyzed, nearly collapsing.

Xuanfa saw the danger and immediately rushed forward. Li Chongyuan felt his breath seize as a tremendous force swept toward him.

He had no choice but to abandon Huizhi, leaping away with Beidou Phantom Moon. Xuanfa, having spent decades in the Dharma Hall single-mindedly cultivating the Great Demon-Subduing Pestle, possessed formidable power. In Buddhist lore, Weituo is the guardian deity, wielding a golden pestle to subdue demons; thus, the palm technique is named after this divine weapon, attesting to its strength.

Although called the Great Demon-Subduing Pestle, it is not a weapon but a palm technique, its force as solid and mighty as Weituo’s thousand-pound pestle. Since Shaolin’s external martial arts emphasize force over form, the Great Demon-Subduing Pestle, though immensely powerful, consists of only nine palm techniques.

These nine moves are extremely simple, the most common strikes in external martial arts. Presumably, the original creators believed that with overwhelming inner strength, any fancy technique was mere show, unworthy of effort, so they focused purely on power.

Xuanfa praised, “I have not left Shaolin in nearly ten years, and now I see such a remarkable young hero emerge in the martial world. Though I meant no harm with my last strike, few could have evaded it so calmly. Such skill merits a true contest with the Great Demon-Subduing Pestle. Come, let me offer you another palm!”

With that, regardless of Li Chongyuan’s consent, Xuanfa took a deep breath, assumed a horse stance, his left palm poised by his flank, and his right palm thrust forward. He shouted, “Weituo Presents the Pestle!”