Chapter 53 — Establishing Authority in Public

"So you mean to pass the Nether Demon Cult's supreme scripture, the Great Nurturing Dark Demon Sutra, to Shen'er?

" asked the Lame Elder. Granny Zhu nodded gently. "He is better than I. The Heaven-Creating Demon Art is but one divine power within the Great Nurturing Dark Demon Sutra.

When I used it to flay skin and make garments, it seemed somewhat sinister; but I never thought of using the Heaven-Creating Demon Art against the Sun-Soothing Divine Refinement in the Sky of the Thunder-Roaring Eight Techniques. He thought of it.

" Master Dan nodded. "Sealing the soul with the Heaven-Creating Demon Art to resist the Sun-Soothing Divine Refinement in the Sky — that is indeed a stroke of genius.

" Granny Zhu smiled. "So if he learns the Great Nurturing Dark Demon Sutra, who knows but he may carry the demon scripture to new heights and develop things we could never have imagined.

" The Silent Artisan gestured with his hands; Deaf Elder shook his head.

"Don't tell him. If we tell him, there is no fun in it.

" The old men and old women exchanged knowing smiles, all of them thoroughly pleased.

From within the Hidden Cripple Village came peal after peal of thunder. Shen Mu and Master Huo crossed paths, each unleashing the very same move — Nine Dragons Riding Wind and Thunder — against the other.

Boom!

The thunder rolled, deafening.

Shen Mu's fist met Master Huo's; he let out a muffled groan and stepped back in a staggered movement. But his footwork coiled like a divine dragon, seeming to retreat while actually gathering strength.

Within a few paces, Shen Mu's power reached its peak, and his body shot forward like an enraged dragon bursting from an abyss, charging at Master Huo! "You little rascal, you even altered the Heaven-Stealing Footwork I taught you! " said the Lame Elder in surprise. He could see that the steps Shen Mu had just used were like a coiling dragon contracting its body, ready to strike — though it was a retreat, it was actually a way of advancing through retreat, extraordinarily treacherous.

His Heaven-Stealing Footwork was exquisitely subtle, but the Lame Elder, from long habit, had always favored petty thievery and skulduggery; he had never bothered to enhance the footwork's power. His stepwork was meant for stealing things, fleeing, and ambushing — offense was never the strength of the Heaven-Stealing Legwork.

Shen Mu had only made slight changes to the footwork, unconsciously imparting to it the spirit of a divine dragon; his whole body now moved with draconic force, winding like a serpent. Bang bang bang — a rapid series of explosions rang out.

Shen Mu and Master Huo had exchanged only a single punch, yet forty-five enormous reports followed, a most peculiar thing. Shen Mu tumbled backward through the air.

Mid-flight, his body undulated like a dragon, dissipating Master Huo's force, and when he landed, he stood perfectly steady.

"Old Huo is still Old Huo," the Lame Elder said in admiration.

Master Huo said, "Shen'er, have you grasped the essence of this move? " Shen Mu's face showed astonishment, and he blurted, "Your fist's force is different from mine. In my fist there are forty-five dragons, but they are all the same kind of dragon; yours have forty-five different kinds of dragons, each with distinct energy!

" "You have perceived it.

" Master Huo wore a gratified expression and said, "In the Great Thunder-Roaring Temple, there are a hundred carved reliefs of dragons, called the Hundred Dragon Illustrations. The first Tathagata carved the hundred celestial dragons he had seen, to guide later disciples in cultivating the fist's force of Nine Dragons Riding Wind and Thunder. When I cultivated that technique, what I saw were not real dragons but those reliefs. Nine Dragons Riding Wind and Thunder contains forty-five kinds of dragon force and requires forty-five dragon illustrations. Yet the temple has a hundred dragon illustrations — do you know what that means? " Shen Mu's heart jolted, and he gasped, "Every time you use Nine Dragons Riding Wind and Thunder, the dragon force hidden in your fist is different from the last!

" Master Huo nodded. "The move Nine Dragons Riding Wind and Thunder looks like merely a simple punch, but in truth it holds countless variations within itself — only those variations are concealed in the power within the fist, so that no one can see them.

Shen'er, watch closely! " Master Huo struck out with his single arm. As the punch blasted forth, dragon roars rang out, followed by rumbling thunder.

A dragon-shaped torrent of vital essence surged out — an enraged dragon charging, bursting from the abyss; once it broke free it meant to devour men! Then came two more dragon roars, and twin dragons shot from his fist, crossing each other, their great bodies coiling together as they bored onward! Three dragon roars sounded — three kinds of dragon force, fierce and overbearing, enough to split steles and crack rocks!

Then came Four Dragons Slaying Prey, Five Dragons Refining Demons, Six Dragons in Samsara, Seven Dragons Overturning the Sea, Eight Divisions of Heavenly Dragons, Nine Dragons Wind and Thunder! With this single punch Master Huo unleashed forty-five dragon-shaped forces, every one of them as lively and swift as a true dragon.

He struck the sky, and in the sky above Hidden Cripple Village there suddenly appeared forty-five azure dragons, accompanied by thunder, interlaced lightning, and crashing bolts — forty-five azure dragons soared into the clouds.

Shen Mu looked up and saw a single cloud in the sky shatter abruptly and vanish without a trace.

As that cloud broke apart, all at once a human head tumbled down from the broken cloud and landed at Shen Mu's feet.

Shen Mu was startled; he looked closely and saw it was a monk's head, somehow hidden inside the cloud. "Could some demon have killed this monk and carried his head into the clouds?

" Shen Mu was still guessing when bang bang — two arms and two legs fell from the air, and a torso landed outside the village.

"It was no demon's doing! " Shen Mu's heart shook. "It was this monk hiding in the cloud!

" The Silent Artisan, Deaf Elder, the Butcher, and the others in the village seemed long accustomed to such things and paid it no mind.

Master Huo also seemed not to have noticed that he had blasted a monk to death; he looked up at the Nether Demon Cult Ancestor outside the village — he was showing his might. Showing off to the Nether Demon Cult Ancestor, intimidating the many experts of the Nether Demon Cult!

In the neighboring village, the young Patriarch was somewhat moved.

"The boxing arts and divine powers of the Great Thunder-Roaring Temple are indeed extraordinary, though still a notch below the Old Tathagata's.

I know who the one-armed man is now — a discarded disciple of the Great Thunder-Roaring Temple, Horse King Deity, Venerable Ma.

Back then he fought his way out of the temple and made his name in a single battle; I never imagined he was living in seclusion here. This little village must not be underestimated.

" The Elder of Punishments looked at the body that had fallen from the sky and said, "This is a monk of the Great Thunder-Roaring Temple, blasted to death by the Horse King Deity.

Strange — why would a monk of that temple appear here? " The young Patriarch smiled. "Probably sent to keep watch over the Horse King Deity. It is a trifling matter. The Tathagata is old, and will no longer leave the mountain.

The more interesting thing is that youth's fist technique — very interesting, very interesting, and of a very high level. He has clearly never studied the Thunder-Roaring Great Vehicle Sutra, and yet he can fully unleash the might of the Thunder-Roaring Eight Techniques. .