Monk Tianming had returned.
He looked at Li Su. Sigh, the Arhat Divine Art, huh? There's only been one person like this in a thousand years. If only I could see him reach mastery in my lifetime. What a pity, what a pity. I never imagined that, after someone finally comprehended it, the problem wouldn't be his lack of aptitude, but that Shaolin Temple had run out of money. Why did Shaolin Temple have to take in so many disciples? And shouldn't lay disciples have to pay fees? Giving away martial arts for free was already ridiculous. What was wrong with charging tuition?
Honestly.
Amitabha Buddha. Sin, sin.
Tianming took a breath and composed himself. "Xuanxu, from now on, you'll study our sect's finger techniques alongside Xuannan and the others."
Li Su froze.
"Among your peers, your internal energy cultivation is already among the very best. Buddhist Sect techniques value steady progress. Given where you are now, it would be better to stop and let your cultivation settle for a while than to keep refining it without pause."
Tianming said gravely, "Besides, from what I've seen, you haven't practiced any martial techniques in the two years since you began cultivating. That's not good. Martial arts are both cultivation and combat skills: you must train your inner power, but you must also learn how to fight. Otherwise, you'll have a body full of true qi but no idea how to use it. Of course, by 'use it,' I don't mean that you should fight people. I mean you need to become proficient at controlling your true qi."
Li Su blinked. That was true. No matter how high his cultivation was, he still needed to put it to use. He had plenty of time, so there was no need to rush. Learning a finger technique wouldn't hurt.
Besides, his internal energy had already formed a Circulation Realm. It would keep growing even if he didn't train.
At worst, his Arhat Gong would progress more slowly. But he wasn't in a hurry. He had plenty of time. If he couldn't master it in this life, he could do so in the next.
Li Su picked up a charcoal pencil and wrote, "I'll listen to you, Master."
Seeing Li Su's suddenly enlightened expression, Monk Tianming's eyelid twitched. After all, he really couldn't bring himself to say, "Xuanxu, you're cultivating too quickly. Put it on hold for now. Shaolin Temple doesn't have the money to support your training."
Were martial skills important?
Of course. Martial arts meant both combat skills and cultivation, and combat skills came first.
Li Su and the others would inevitably be sent out into the world one day. How could they make their way through it if they knew how to cultivate but not how to fight? A careless mistake could get them killed.
As for the claim that martial skills could improve one's control over true qi—that was nonsense. You cultivated your inner power, and it moved through your body almost at your will. How could it disobey you? In truth, martial skills weren't about controlling your inner power; they were about changing how you used it.
And while others might need to be careful, Xuanxu didn't.
The Arhat Divine Art's greatest strength lay in the Arhat Golden Body, but that didn't mean its Arhat True Qi was weak. It might not look overbearing, but its nature was extremely domineering. Once it reached a high level, if Arhat True Qi invaded someone else's body, it was like jamming a steel knife into them. It didn't mix with their energy, and it ran wild at the slightest touch. Even some vicious demonic arts couldn't compare to that agony.
The original meaning of "arhat" was "slayer of enemies."
Don't bring up the "enemies" in the attainment of arhatship. Matters of mythology and faith shouldn't be mixed up with this, or Shaolin Temple might as well get rid of its Seventy-Two Supreme Arts.
Ahem! Ahem!
After coughing twice, Tianming said directly, "Good. As long as you understand. Sit down. We're just about to begin."
At his words, Li Su found an empty meditation cushion and sat cross-legged.
He listened with Xuannan and the others, wondering which finger technique they would be taught.
Shaolin Temple had plenty of finger techniques.
Li Su knew several famous ones, such as the Flower-Plucking Finger and Daluoye Finger, which Jumozhi had used, as well as the renowned Formless Calamity Finger, which only Xuanbei among the Xuan-generation disciples had successfully mastered.
Come to think of it, Li Su's gaze shifted slightly. Xuanbei was among them too. Were they going to teach them the Formless Calamity Finger? Hmm, probably not. Their generation was too young. Even the oldest, Xuanci, was only twelve, while the youngest, Xuandu, had just turned ten.
"You all practice the Dragon Subduing Elephant Taming Art, and you've already reached a certain level of proficiency. Although Xuanxu practices Arhat Gong, he's met the most basic requirements as well and has developed a considerable amount of inner power.
"Finger techniques place the greatest demands on inner power.
"The finger technique I'll teach you today not only requires inner power, but also demands many changes in your true qi. You may try to practice it, but don't worry about mastering it; treat it as training. You have two months. If you can't reach the entry level by then, you may come to me for another method. But remember, don't force yourselves to learn or practice it. Understood?"
"Yes!"
The little monks nodded, their faces full of anticipation.
Among their generation, only Xuancheng, Xuanci, and Xuanji were learning finger techniques, and all three practiced the Vajra Finger.
Xuancheng had already achieved considerable proficiency and had begun learning another technique, the Shaolin Dragon Capturing Skill.
Some might wonder: was it really all right to teach such young disciples so many martial arts?
There was nothing strange about it.
The disciples of this generation were exceptionally talented, far beyond those who had come before. They often mastered the techniques they were taught with remarkable speed. By the time of Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils, most of the Xuan-generation disciples were first-rate fighters. It was only because super-first-rate fighters like Xiao Feng overshadowed them so completely that they seemed less impressive.
Otherwise, why would the abbot and the others have such a headache?
Under normal circumstances, two years of Arhat Fist would be enough to get a disciple looking halfway decent. Then another two years on a different technique, and four more years for an advanced one. Add a few delays along the way, and ten years would have passed.
Ten years for two beginner techniques and one advanced technique was nothing unusual.
But they hadn't even been there three years, and they were already being taught finger techniques—something that shouldn't have happened for another decade or more.
It was also because Shaolin Temple had been short on promising disciples these past few years. Tianjian had made a request, and Tianming had opened a path for them. Even Xuanxu shouldn't have been taught the Dragon Capturing Skill so soon.
Monk Tianming took a breath, his expression rather grave. "The finger technique I'm about to teach you is called the Formless Calamity Finger."
Xuannan and the others showed little reaction, but Li Su's pupils contracted, and he drew a quiet, sharp breath.
What the hell is Master thinking?
The Formless Calamity Finger! In the original story, it was only a little weaker than the Six Meridians Divine Sword and the Canhe Finger, wasn't it? Even Dali One Finger wasn't as powerful.
That was quite a leap.
Tianming smiled. "The Formless Calamity Finger is the foremost finger technique of Shaolin Temple, and the foremost finger technique in the world."
Hiss!
Xuannan and the others couldn't help widening their eyes, excitement spreading across their faces.
They were still little monks, after all. How could they not get excited when they heard the words "number one in the world"?
Li Su stared blankly. Old monk, what a load of bragging. The Formless Calamity Finger might sound impressive, but compared to the Six Meridians Divine Sword of Tianlong Temple and the Canhe Finger of Gusu, it clearly fell short. The Canhe Finger aside—its description alone was all they had, and Murong Fu hadn't practiced Taoist martial arts. It barely appeared in the original story. The Six Meridians Divine Sword was different. Whenever Duan Yu used it, Jumozhi got beaten so badly he could only clutch his head and flee.
As he watched everyone's excitement, a trace of amusement flickered in Tianming's eyes.
There was no doubt that the Formless Calamity Finger was Shaolin Temple's foremost finger technique. Its power went without saying. A bunch of children shouldn't have been taught such a deadly technique, but they had to save wherever they could. Hadn't they even put the Arhat Divine Art on hold? The temple needed time to recover, or they really would be reduced to eating dirt.
As for whether any of these children would master it? Ha! Not a chance. The Formless Calamity Finger was every bit as difficult as the Indestructible Diamond Divine Art. It was anyone's guess how long it would take just to reach the entry level.
As if to prove just how powerful the Formless Calamity Finger was, Monk Tianming raised his hand and pressed his thumb against the first joint of his middle finger. As true qi gathered, a stream of force formed around his hand, and he flicked it out.
Pfft!
The meditation cushion a zhang away suddenly scorched in a patch, though there was no wind.
"It burned! It burned!"
Xuannan and the others cried out.
Li Su was surprised too. Master's pretty strong. He's about as good as Jumozhi was in that old TV show.
Still, compared with the Six Meridians Divine Sword, it was nowhere close.
Thinking this, Li Su couldn't help pouting. No matter how he looked at it, the Formless Calamity Finger seemed flashy, but it couldn't compare to the other finger techniques.
The Daluoye Finger's rapid volley of all ten fingers went without saying. Even the Flower-Plucking Finger's ability to pluck flowers and leaves seemed much stronger.
Scorching something?
It looked imposing, but martial arts were for harming opponents. Whether something was scorched didn't matter much.
Scorching someone with a finger strike or punching a hole through them—the effects were different, but the results weren't.
As Li Su dismissed it, Monk Tianming smiled, his voice tinged with ruefulness. "When first practiced, the Formless Calamity Finger uses all five fingers at once."
"Each fingertip produces five kinds of force: stillness, vibration, contraction, the Forward Spiral, and the Reverse Spiral."
"When the five forces combine, they produce finger strength like fire. That's the first stage of the Formless Calamity Finger."
"This is the Five-Finger Realm!"
"Using one fewer finger without losing any of the force increases its power by a level. That is the Four-Finger Realm. The highest realm is reached when a single finger combines all five forces in one strike."
"Speaking of it, I'm ashamed to say that I've only just reached the entry level with the Formless Calamity Finger. When I use all five fingers, the force scatters, and its range is only a zhang. If I mastered it, a single finger strike could reach three zhang. Anyone struck would feel as though they'd been burned alive, their whole body turning black before they died. It could be called unparalleled in attack, with immense power. No other finger technique in the world could surpass its strength. Anyone hit would be scorched from head to toe, with no chance of escape. Even the Six Meridians Divine Sword, famed throughout the world as the foremost martial art of Tianlong Temple, or the Canhe Finger of the Murong family of Gusu, couldn't surpass the Formless Calamity Finger in the power of a single finger."
Hiss~!
As Tianming spoke, Li Su finally couldn't help drawing in a sharp breath, stunned.
That strike just now was only the entry level of the Formless Calamity Finger?
That was about as powerful as Jumozhi, wasn't it???
Was this really the same Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils he remembered???