Chapter Thirty-Seven: Finally Taking Action

The monk Kongzhi heard the voice behind him, his expression darkened, and his aura instantly dissipated, rendering him soft and on the verge of collapse.

At that moment, someone caught him in their arms—behind him stood two figures, none other than Abbot Kongwen and the eminent monk Kongxing.

Just before this, Yuanye, Abbot Kongwen, and Kongxing had been discussing the Shaolin secret arts, never expecting that the duel between Kongzhi and Xiong Ba would abruptly turn into a contest of internal energy.

Witnessing this, the three grew tense, rising and rushing to the arena, ready to intervene and help dissipate the force should either Xiong Ba or Kongzhi falter.

But they never anticipated that Xiong Ba would break through at that very moment, defeating Kongzhi in the blink of an eye. Abbot Kongwen and Kongxing were caught off guard, and now Kongzhi’s internal energy was in disarray, on the verge of dispersing completely.

Kongzhi, however, cared only for the honor of Shaolin; even as his energy threatened to scatter, he wished to gather his strength for another fight—only to be stopped by Abbot Kongwen behind him.

Kongxing, holding Kongzhi, instantly sensed the turbulent surge of internal energy within him—it was a crisis of life and death. His face changed drastically in anxiety. “Brother Kongwen, what should we do?”

Abbot Kongwen reached out to check Kongzhi’s pulse and immediately turned pale, his chest tightening.

For as soon as a thread of his own internal energy entered Kongzhi, it not only failed to help but provoked a fierce backlash, causing his own energy to waver.

He turned to the anxious Kongxing, his face as white as paper, shaking his head slightly.

His own skill was nearly equal to Kongzhi’s, but now with Kongzhi’s energy rampaging and on the verge of madness, how could he possibly suppress it with his own power?

“Let me try.”

As despair engulfed them both, a clear voice rang out from across the way.

“Young Hero Yuan, hurry! You must be able to save Brother Kongzhi!” Kongxing called out, seizing the last hope.

Kongzhi’s condition was critical; any further delay and his meridians would surely rupture within mere breaths. Yuan Ye pressed his toes lightly to the ground, and Abbot Kongwen and Kongxing saw a flash of white—Yuan Ye had already reached Kongzhi’s side.

What startled them most was that Yuan Ye did not immediately land, but hovered three feet above the ground, descending gently as if walking on air, ethereal as an immortal.

Yuan Ye placed a hand on Kongzhi’s back, his face suffused with a misty violet aura as his internal energy flowed, entering Kongzhi’s body like blazing sunlight, forcing Abbot Kongwen and Kongxing to step back more than ten paces before they could steady themselves.

“The Gentleman Without Trace truly lives up to his reputation. It’s said he excels at swordsmanship, but his lightness skill surpasses even the Xiong brothers, and his power is unmatched,” Abbot Kongwen sighed.

Kongxing managed a bitter smile. “Indeed! This fierce, pure Yang energy embodies true mastery. Even if we struck with all our might, we couldn’t harm him in the slightest!”

He continued, “How absurd! Earlier my brother boasted that his Dragon Claw technique could match a few moves against Yuan Ye, upholding Shaolin’s fame. Now it’s clear I overestimated myself. What talk is there of witnessing Young Hero Yuan’s swordplay?”

Internal cultivation is a unique method: through special techniques, one absorbs the vital energy of heaven and earth, then expends one’s own vitality to circulate this energy through the meridians, generating true internal energy—the external manifestation is inner power.

Two years prior, Yuan Ye discovered the Nine Yin Manual hidden in the belly of a white ape on Mount Kunlun.

By then, his mastery of Wudang’s Pure Yang Infinite Skill was already complete, so switching methods yielded twice the result for half the effort. In just a month, he had perfected the Nine Yang Divine Skill.

Since attaining the Nine Yang Divine Skill, his ability to generate internal energy became one with all things, allowing him to advance far beyond the acquired stage, even glimpsing the essence of pure Yang and taking the first step toward the innate realm.

From then on, his power grew at an astonishing rate, his internal energy seemingly boundless.

Even his physique was greatly enhanced; in battle, his ordinary strikes could unleash devastating force, and his defense was unmatched.

Moreover, after perfecting the Nine Yang Divine Skill, while he couldn’t guard against blades and swords, his internal energy automatically protected him, rebounding external attacks, making his body impervious like a golden vajra. Yuan Ye called this the Pure Yang Body.

He also found the lightness skill within the Nine Yang Manual to be exceptionally refined, and upon mastering it, surpassed nearly all experts in the world.

Combining it with the Willow Down Flying Smoke skill from Wei Yixiao, Wudang’s Cloud Ladder, and the Nine Yang Manual’s lightness technique, he finally created a transcendent lightness skill.

He named it Flying Immortal Skill, for when performed, his white robes fluttered like an immortal descending.

The Nine Yang Divine Skill was also a sacred art for healing; with a Pure Yang Body, he was immune to all poisons and specialized in breaking all cold and yin-type internal energies.

Once perfected, it integrated various martial arts, and after mastery, all martial arts in the world could be adopted.

Thus, over the years, he challenged countless experts, mastering most skills from all major sects, and now his Pure Yang martial intent was nearly complete.

Shaolin’s martial arts are the pinnacle of the martial world, with innumerable secret techniques; they were the final foundation for Yuan Ye’s perfection of Pure Yang intent—the very reason he came to Shaolin.

Yet Yuan Ye never expected that the contest between Xiong Ba and Kongzhi would end with Xiong Ba’s breakthrough and Kongzhi’s utter defeat.

With Kongzhi now on the verge of madness, Yuan Ye had to do his utmost to save him, lest Kongzhi die on the spot, making today’s events impossible to resolve peacefully.

He feared nothing, but had no wish to become Shaolin’s enemy and add another powerful foe to his future.

His internal energy had long since reached clarity and fullness; now, with all his strength, he sent his vigorous pure Yang energy into Kongzhi’s body.

Under the domineering Nine Yang energy, the rampaging internal energy within Kongzhi was like lambs before a hungry wolf, utterly powerless, quickly settling into calm.

Abbot Kongwen and Kongxing, anxious moments ago, saw Kongzhi’s congested, red face gradually return to healthy color, and finally breathed a great sigh of relief.

After stabilizing Kongzhi’s violent internal energy, Yuan Ye divided his own energy into dozens of streams, carefully smoothing out the chaotic currents within Kongzhi’s body.

The evening breeze brushed his hair, cool and light.

Yuan Ye now stood at the guesthouse near the summit of Mount Shaoshi. In the afternoon’s contest, he had finally acted, and the outcome was clear—Abbot Kongwen and Kongxing had long foreseen it, though they’d hoped to retain the courage to compete.

The result: Yuan Ye had mastered ten Shaolin secret techniques, including the famed Shaolin Dragon Claw.

After the match, Abbot Kongwen, unwilling to let Shaolin’s skills fall short, proposed another duel the next day.

Hearing this, Yuan Ye knew Abbot Kongwen had resolved to invite Shaolin’s Three Venerable Monks.

He had anticipated this; though the Three Venerable Monks might not individually reach the innate stage after decades of meditation, their combined strength surely rivaled the peak of acquired mastery.

They were his ultimate goal in coming to Shaolin—the most suitable opponents for him now.

Listening to the monks’ evening chants echoing from the temple, Yuan Ye smiled faintly, turned, and entered his room.

He looked forward eagerly to tomorrow’s battle.