A Clash of Gods - Chapter 131

Chapter 131 Fight in the Arrays
Yang Ning was helpless after he was beaten by Zhenming on Tianbao Peak and therefore was in awe of the Temple of Great Light, but he took actions in the Five Cereal Hall and fooled the monks from that hall, making them unable to tell the directions, so his feeling of awe for the temple scattered instantly, and he merely thought that this temple was just so so.

However, at the moment, seeing that the four monks from the Bright Building took actions in an array, he knew that he was too arbitrary. Since the Temple of Great Light was regarded as the first temple in the world, it wasn’t just in name.

The four monks moved swiftly with good teamwork and acted quickly like lightning. Yang Ning couldn’t see clearly what was happening on the spot and realized that the monks from the Bright Building were extraordinary as expected.

It was no wonder that the disciples in the Bright Building enjoyed the special treatment in the temple. They could enter the Five Cereal Hall randomly and eat good and much food. Judging from these four monks’ martial skills, no ordinary disciple could be put on a par with them.

Yang Ning was dazzling while looking at them, and most of the monks in the large hall just saw them fly and couldn’t see the array’s change clearly, like Yang Ning did.

Yang Ning glanced at Zhenming next to him and saw that this little monk gazed at them, so he thought, “Can this little monk find out something?” However, he thought that this little monk was really skilled in martial arts and perhaps could really see some inklings. Then he couldn’t help but move close to Zhenming’s ear, asking in a low voice, “What’s going on now? Which side gains the upper hand?”

In fact, at the moment, some monks whispered to one another in the large hall.

Zhenming lowered his voice. “Our senior fellow apprentices are powerful in martial arts and changeable. And their array changes mysteriously, but the disciples from the Baiyun Island guard their array, and our senior fellow apprentices can’t break their array for now… At the moment, our senior fellow apprentices gain the upper hand.”

Yang Ning thought this little monk could see it clearly indeed.

He raised his head and saw Jingkong sit still with his legs crossed and put his palms together, looking calm, while Jingneng was also sitting, but his body moved left and right from time to time. Obviously Jingneng cared about the war situation a lot and was not as unmoved as Jingkong.

Bai Yuhe didn’t move one step from beginning to end and stood straight like a gun, while Chi Danmei twisted her body occasionally. Her figure was hot and each movement showed her coquettish style.

Suddenly a voice was heard, “Ah.” All people in the hall were shocked and looked following the sound, to see that one of the monks watching the battle fell forward. Fortunately, his companion acted swiftly and reached out to grab his robe on his waist before he fell on the floor. That man weakened and went into a coma.

Yang Ning was surprised, while Jingneng looked angry. This master couldn’t say anything in front of outsiders and just waved his hand, silently ordering them to carry that monk away.

“What happened?” Yang Ning asked Zhenming in a soft voice involuntarily.

Zhenming pondered for a while and then said, “I don’t know. Maybe…that senior fellow apprentice is poor in martial arts and can’t stand seeing such arrays…”

Yang Ning thought that this little monk talked big. It was fine that he didn’t know, yet he put the blame on the arrays.

Others were fighting, and the one witnessing the battle fell into a coma first. Could they blame the arrays?

He raised his hand and looked around. It was surprising that he saw many monks lower their heads and put their palms together, without looking at the battlefield. Yang Ning was astonished and looked at the eight people who were fighting, to find that they were like shadows. He just indistinctly saw that several figures turned around like whirlpools.

He stared at them for a moment and felt dizzy unexpectedly, as if the sky and earth were spinning round. The eight people seemed to miraculously transform into hundreds of figures. He also felt that his feet were shaky and then quickly turned away, thinking, “Awesome. It appears that this little monk told the truth. Although we don’t join the fight, the fight between the two arrays can influence the audience.”

He knew nothing about arrays, yet now he finally realized the power.

The people who watched them fight couldn’t stand it and felt dizzy, so how powerful were the fighters in the arrays? He thought more highly of the disciples from the Bright Building.

But then he felt depressed.

He had thought that he was skilled in fighting with bare hand and could cope with powerful enemies. Moreover, he had learnt the movements of the Easy Travel. Sometimes he believed that with the Easy Travel and his bare-handed fighting skills, even if he was not a top martial arts master, he could be counted as an outstanding warrior and swagger on the street.

Till now he knew that his capability was unpresentable in this world.

Of course it was no problem if he coped with three or five ordinary bullies. However, if he met the real martial arts masters, he was too weak.

Now when the two sides fought in the arrays, he couldn’t even see clearly, let alone joining the fight. It appeared that if he wanted to live a better life in this world, he should practice martial arts hard in the future. Otherwise, he couldn’t even protect himself, not to mention protecting others.

“Bad news…” Suddenly Yang Ning heard Zhenming speak in a low voice, so he asked in a hurry, “What’s wrong?”

Zhenming whispered, “A senior fellow apprentice was beaten by a palm, and the Wuxiang Array was almost in a mess. Fortunately…that senior fellow apprentice must have practiced a skill such as Kong Kim Shield, and he wasn’t injured. It was so dangerous…” He lowered his voice with cold light in his eyes. “The senior fellow apprentices from the Bright Building are awesome as expected. These four disciples must have practiced this array for thousands of times. Otherwise, they wouldn’t cooperate so well.”

Yang Ning knew that this little monk didn’t speak randomly although he was young. Since Zhenming said that, it was obvious that the disciples from the Bright Building were powerful indeed. Then Yang Ning asked in a soft voice, “Zhenming, which side do you think can win? They have fought for a long time. Are they tired?”

Zhenming replied gently, “I don’t dare to affirm, but…if that disciple was injured after being beaten, the Wuxiang Array might have lost. The Wuxiang Array changes drastically, and the Siji Array can’t compare with it.” He stared at the battlefield and added softly, “The people in the Siji Array mainly defend as a way to attack, and their array doesn’t change as quickly as the Wuxiang Array, but they guard and protect themselves, and it is hard to find their weakness. The Wuxiang Array looks scattered yet it doesn’t. It seems that weaknesses are shown from time to time. However, in my opinion, each weakness is shown just to make the opponent misjudge seemingly.”

“Zhenming, you are really awesome.” Yang Ning admired this little monk indeed. “So you mean that the Wuxiang Array has a greater chance of winning.”

Zhenming responded, “I think…”

Before he finished his words, they heard several chants. Yang Ning looked at them hurriedly, to see that four figures had flown away to scatter before falling on the floor, and they were the four monks from the Bright Building. While the four disciples from the Baiyun Island stood in the middle, and the array seemed the same as it had been before they fought.

The four monks put their palms together and lowered their heads in silence, while all the four disciples dressed in clothes made of hemp looked terrified and reluctant.

Only judging from their faces, Yang Ning knew that the winner had been decided.

The eight people had sweat all over their bodies with hot air. Sweat flowed down along their foreheads. It could be seen that both sides fought a breath-taking fight.

Jingkong chanted and then said, “Chi, the Siji Array on the Baiyun Island changes mysteriously, and I admire them.”

Chi Danmei chuckled. “The Temple of Great Light deserves to be influenced by Buddhist doctrines for long with a deep foundation. You win this round. My master didn’t guess wrong. The Wuxiang Array in your temple has been passed down for nearly one hundred years and it is profound and mysterious. It can’t be broken easily.” She smiled charmingly and said in a sweet voice, “But I have to say that if these monks didn’t practice the magic skill about protecting bodies, the Siji Array might not be defeated.”

Jingneng stated immediately, “If you would practice in an array, you should cultivate your body first. The four disciples forming the Wuxiang Array have built their bodies first and then practiced in the array. This is just a part of the array. Would you explain away, Chi?”

Yang Ning was clear that the Wuxiang Array won not because of their absolute strength but because the four monks had cultivated their physical bodies and practiced skills to protect themselves. It was no wonder that Zhenming said that one of the monks had been hit yet wasn’t wounded. Although he couldn’t see it clearly from beginning to end, he guessed that the four disciples in the Siji Array took actions after finding the opponents’ weakness but couldn’t defeat them at one blow unexpectedly, so they lost.

The main reason why they couldn’t defeat the enemies at one blow was that the enemies had strong physical bodies. It was not surprising that the four disciples from the Baiyun Island were reluctant.

However, they couldn’t say that the four monks in the Wuxiang Array won in an improper way. After all, the array was driven by people. Any array naturally made demands on the people forming it. Since the Wuxiang Array should attack and defend, it was not a dirty trick to cultivate the physical bodies and enhance the defense first.

Chi Danmei laughed. “Master, you get me wrong. The victory has been decided. How would I find an excuse to refuse to admit it? Right, we lost the first round.”

Jingneng finally sighed with relief.

In fact, he was aware that Bai Yuhe would compete on swordsmanship, and the knife and sword were lethal weapons. Few people practiced swordsmanship in the Buddhist sect. Even the master who was most skilled in swordsmanship in this temple, Jingtong, probably couldn’t be one of the top ten in the world. It was a disadvantage of the Temple of Great Light. If Jingtong was present today, he could fight against Bai Yuhe with difficulty. Even so, he had only a fifty-fifty chance of winning.

Jingtong was not here now, and they had only a slim chance to win the competition of swordsmanship.

Today they had to win two rounds among the three. The people in the Temple of Great Light hoped to win the competitions of the array technique and boxing, and the key was the array technique.

Jingkong would compete in boxing. Although Chi Danmei was one of the top three disciples of the island owner, after all she was young, and with Jingkong’s strength, he was quite likely to win. In all monks’ eyes, the competition of the array technique had decided the final victory.

Now the Wuxiang Array won, and the attempt of the disciples from the Baiyun Island to enter the Purification Building was almost shattered.

Chi Danmei’s body was like a snake. When she stood up, she twisted her waist and moved forward gracefully, like a flame. Then she said in an alluring voice, “Master Jingkong, I will show my incompetency in the second round and learn from you. Please be kind and don’t hurt me.” While speaking, she laughed charmingly like flowers.

Jingkong stood up slowly with a smile and put his palms together. “Amitabha. I seldom practice martial arts and haven’t competed with others for many years. I don’t have the desire to excel over others. But since the disciples of the owner of the Baiyun Island came today, I have to learn from you with my old body, Chi.” He put his palms close to each other and then leaned forward politely, yet all the monks knew that this was the start of most martial movements in this temple. It was to show respect to the opponent, and meanwhile he was prepared to take actions.

Jingkong bent down his both hands and his monk’s robe plumped. The genuine qi flowed and protected his whole body.