Still, T1-level physical ability was already pretty impressive.
A few miles of mountain road would take an ordinary person at least half an hour to walk, but Chen Ce only needed a few minutes.
The moment the wind gathered around his broken sword, he happened to arrive behind the Noxian Legion.
Looking at the massive army, he smiled from the bottom of his heart.
"Who are you?" A Noxian crossbowman spotted Chen Ce's sudden arrival. Dozens of crossbows immediately aimed at the unwelcome guest.
But Chen Ce merely raised both hands above his head, perfectly calm.
"Someone here to farm favor with you."
As soon as he finished speaking, his spear began to spin.
Dozens of bolts flew at once, but all of them clattered to the ground after being deflected by the spear shaft. The sound was so utterly unexpected.
The crossbowmen were dumbfounded.
But their captain still refused to believe that anyone could take on a hundred men alone. This arrogant act of charging into their camp by himself felt like an insult, and it enraged him.
"Axemen! Chop him down!" he shouted. "He's only one man! Don't be afraid of him! Does he think he's that monster who killed Sion?!"
Hearing the latter half of that sentence, Chen Ce nearly stumbled.
How to put it... what a coincidence.
"Sorry, but I actually am." He smiled, then swung the greatsword forward.
Reinforced by the wind, the Black Stone Rune Greatsword reassembled and unleashed the powerful energy it held within.
In a single clash, dozens of men were sent sprawling. Their pained cries mingled with the clatter of weapons hitting the ground.
Then came...
Sweeping Blade!
Three Talon Strike!
Steel Tempest!
Wind Wall!
Chen Ce seamlessly combined all sorts of skills. Against these Noxian soldiers, who had almost no magical power, he was like a tiger among sheep.
He even had enough time to glance over at the monastery while fighting.
The monks were all gathered around the monastery's wooden gate, desperately defending the sacred temple and keeping every Noxian invader from defiling it.
Fighting fiercely from the rear, Chen Ce quickly dealt with most of the Noxian soldiers using ranged weapons. But it would still take him some time to fight his way to the monastery gate.
He glanced over his shoulder. Ahri, who was a little slower, was finally almost there.
Just as he was about to call out and tell her to go help at the gate, a fast-moving blur suddenly flashed past him.
A moment later, a tremendous crash rang out by the gate.
A tall, muscular man had arrived.
He was gripping a Noxian soldier by the throat. The soldier looked so weak beside him, like a pitiful little chick.
He was as strong as a wild man. He even dressed like one.
And his thick northern Freljord accent made it all the more obvious:
"You can't tame our rage!"
Chapter 67: Lillia Gets Caught!
The moment he saw Udyr, Chen Ce felt a great sense of relief and delight.
On the one hand, this Spirit Walker from Freljord was incredibly powerful. With his help, Hirana Monastery would surely weather this crisis safely.
On the other hand...
If Udyr was here, that meant Lee Sin, the Blind Monk, was here too.
Oh, no—perhaps Lee Sin at this point in time couldn't yet be called the "Blind Monk."
Chen Ce turned around and, sure enough, spotted another lean figure at the far end of the mountain path.
He was a man dressed as a monk, around thirty years old. He wasn't old, but his face was full of the marks of time, giving him a deeply weathered air.
His head was completely shaved, with only a long braid hanging down his back. His clothes were plain and worn, and his loose trousers had faded from many washes.
Overall, he looked much the same as "Lee Sin, the Blind Monk" in the Rift.
There was only one thing that was completely different: his eyes.
He wasn't blind yet. His brown eyes had seen all the joys and sorrows of the world. Weathered but bright, they gave him an impression of wisdom and calm, mixed with a trace of regret and pain.
Yes, at this point in time, he hadn't blinded himself.
And according to the original timeline, the night he would lose his sight was...
Tonight.
In the original timeline, he had joined forces with Udyr to help the monks fight off the Noxian invaders. He was forced to use the Dragon Spirit Power he still couldn't fully control.
That night, the tremendous power defeated every enemy, but the consequences were devastating. The monks in the monastery were unharmed, but every building was destroyed, leaving the entire temple in ruins. In the rampaging Dragon Spirit Power, Lee Sin's eyes had also lost the ability to perceive light forever.
Without the Dragon Spirit Power, he couldn't protect the monks who needed help. But if he used it, he couldn't control the frenzied energy that would destroy the entire monastery.
It seemed like an unavoidable tragedy.
But... Chen Ce, who had already "foreseen the future," might be able to break this seemingly unbreakable curse.
"Lee Sin! We've got things here! Get the injured monks somewhere safe first!"
Hearing someone call his name, Lee Sin hurriedly looked toward the voice. Only then did he notice a young man fighting alone amid a vast army, holding a spear in one hand and a sword in the other. His swift, fluid attacks kept him from falling behind.
He didn't recognize the man, but his clothes told him that he probably wasn't a monk from Hirana Monastery—or even a monk at all. After all, no monk would wear armor.
But either way, he was an ally. That was all that mattered.
"Okay!" Lee Sin called back. He rushed toward the monastery gate and, without relying on the Dragon Spirit Power, used his superb ancient martial arts to drive back several Noxian soldiers before leading the wounded away.
He secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Without this powerful reinforcement, he would probably have hesitated for a while before choosing to use the Dragon Spirit Power. He couldn't just stand by and watch his fellow monks be killed—especially when he clearly had the ability to protect them.
"Lee Sin?" Some of the monks from Hirana Monastery recognized their former fellow disciple. They remembered the wrongs he had committed, but they said nothing.
For one thing, now wasn't the time to dwell on such things. For another... so many years had passed, and his efforts to atone had been more than enough to make up for his past sins.
Seeing him here again proved that he had cast off his former arrogance and pride and found true peace within himself.
Desire was the enemy of those who sought enlightenment, and he had clearly let go of his endless craving for power.
"It's good to see you again... truly," an injured elder said sincerely.
"I'm glad Shojin has accepted me again, too." Lee Sin pressed his palms together in return. Forgiveness and being forgiven passed between their eyes in an instant.
No words were needed.
The mood here was warm, but the fighting elsewhere was still intense.
Fortunately, with Chen Ce, Ahri, and Udyr joining the fight, the Noxian soldiers who had nearly broken through the monastery gate were driven back, and the tide was quickly turning.
Lee Sin felt more at ease when he saw that. He wouldn't have to use the Dragon Spirit Power he still couldn't fully control.
Of course, not using the Dragon Spirit Power didn't mean he had to keep hiding to the side like a cripple and watch the fighting.
He was a master of Ionia's ancient martial arts.
Even before he earned the favor of the Dragon Spirit, his martial skills had always been impressive.
He had once used those exceptional skills to pick fights and bring shame upon his fellow disciples. He felt deeply ashamed.
Now was his chance to atone.
"Hyah!"
Against a Noxian Legion with no "secret weapons" and almost no powerful fighters, Chen Ce would remain undefeated unless he ran out of stamina or became mentally exhausted.
With the Corrupting Potion replenishing him, help from Ahri and Udyr, and the monks and disciples fighting with all their might, the balance of victory quickly tipped in their favor.
In a little over half an hour, the Noxian Legion that had tried to seize Hirana Monastery was fleeing in disarray.
By this point in the battle, many of them didn't want to fight anymore. They saw no hope of victory, and they had been sent by their deranged Grand General to attack some remote monastery in the middle of nowhere. Anyone would have lost some of their fighting spirit.
All it would take was one order from their general, and they'd retreat faster than anyone.
Like office workers slacking off who heard their boss say they could leave early that night.
Watching the enemy flee, everyone finally got to share in the joy of victory.
Chen Ce brushed the dust and blood from his clothes, then headed straight into Hirana Monastery with Ahri.
Before they could ask anything, the monastery elders came out to greet them. Everyone had seen their bravery in battle, and naturally, they wouldn't treat them with anything but courtesy.
Chen Ce didn't beat around the bush. After exchanging a few polite words with the elders, he got straight to the point and explained why he had come:
"I came from the Placidium in Navori, seeking the help of the people here at the monastery."
As he spoke, he took the hairpin Karma had given him before he left from his pouch. "This is a token from Karma."
"Oh, you're a guest of Karma's." At the mention of her name, the elder, who had already been respectful, grew even more formal. "We're deeply grateful for your help. Please, come inside. We'll do everything we can to repay you."
"I'm deeply grateful."
As they spoke, they had already entered the monastery.
Hirana Monastery wasn't the name of one specific monastery, but a collective name for several temples. The outermost temple in Hirana Monastery was Shojin, where Lee Sin had once trained as a monk.
The monks sat on the ground. The most respected elders and instructors sat beneath the statue of a deity. Everyone was friendly and respectful.
Chen Ce returned each person's greeting, then was invited over to a paralyzed old man. The old man sat in a wheelchair. The lower half of his body was completely paralyzed, and only one arm and the parts of his body above the neck could move normally.
"Hello, Mr. Chen Ce." The paralyzed old man struggled to extend the only hand he could move, his right hand. "My name is Ming. If you don't mind, let me help you resolve the doubts in your heart."
"It would be my honor." Chen Ce respectfully shook his hand.
At the same time, he quietly sized the old man up.
Most of the old man's muscles had atrophied to varying degrees, but the calluses on his palm suggested that he had once been a martial monk.
And yet the elder had just said that he was Shojin's wisest monk.
A martial monk, but also the wisest and most learned... This strange combination reminded Chen Ce of someone.
He stole another glance at Lee Sin, who was sitting in a corner of the main hall.
He noticed that the latter's eyes darted away.
So it was true...
The paralyzed old man was Lee Sin's former master.
And the reason he was paralyzed... was naturally the kick Lee Sin had landed when showing off during martial arts class all those years ago.
After the martial monk Ming had been badly injured and left paralyzed, he could no longer continue to study martial arts, so he devoted himself entirely to scholarship.
So many years had passed. It was no wonder that a man already full of knowledge had become the monastery's wisest and most learned monk.
"Tell me what's troubling you," Ming said softly. "I'll do my best to answer your questions, within my abilities."
"Thank you." Chen Ce didn't waste time. He rolled up his sleeve in front of everyone.
The strange magical symbol on his right arm was immediately exposed.
"I want to know what this is and how I can get rid of it."
"Hmm..." Ming examined it closely for a while, then asked, "Is it a black magic rune?"
At the words "black magic," Chen Ce was instantly delighted. "Yes, black magic. A sorcerer from Noxus left it on me."
"I think I remember something about this kind of magical rune." The old man nodded thoughtfully. "But there are so few records of black magic that my memory is hazy. I'll need to look through the ancient texts again. As you know, Mr. Chen Ce, this sort of thing has always been rather obscure."
"I understand." Chen Ce wasn't in a hurry. He returned the greeting and held out his arm so one of Ming's students could copy the magical rune.
After they finished discussing the matter, Ming indicated that he was ready to go back and study it. But Chen Ce called out to him once again. "I have another favor to ask..."
"Hmm? Go ahead." Ming had his student turn the wheelchair around again.
Before you continue