Putian, Paying Homage

At the same time, in a small town a few miles outside of Songshan.

The group from Putian Shaolin Temple, who had arrived at Songshan three days ago, had unexpectedly not ascended the mountain directly, but instead taken up residence in this small town. It was initially assumed they were resting for a day to restore their spirits.

Yet, who would have thought that this stay would last for three full days.

The White-Clad Buddhist walked into his master's meditation room and said, "Master, they have arrived!"

"They have arrived?"

"Yes!"

"Chengkong, do you hold any resentment?"

"No resentment."

"Is that so? This master understands."

Monk Kuxin took a gentle breath and, after a moment of silence, spoke.

"Gather everyone. We ascend the mountain."

"Yes!"

Songshan Shaolin Temple.

"Take a look at this!"

Watching the message sent back by his disciples, Monk Tianjian handed the contents to Tianwen and the others.

After reading the contents, Tianwen's brows furrowed slightly: "They clearly reached Songshan, yet stayed in the town for three whole days, and now they are setting off again. What exactly is this Monk Kuxin's objective?"

Over the past ten days or so, the identities of those who came from Putian had naturally been thoroughly investigated.

The head of the Bodhi Hall of Putian Shaolin, Monk Kuxin.

Monk Tianxing said, "I have heard of the deeds of this Monk Kuxin. He is a man devoted entirely to the Buddha, having never raised a hand against anyone in over thirty years. He can be called an orthodox Buddhist practitioner."

For a moment, in the great hall, everyone's brows were tightly knit.

A person who should not have appeared had brought a group that should not have come; the situation grew increasingly strange.

"Let us wait. They have already reached the foot of the mountain. Regardless of what intentions the other party may have, what is meant to come will come eventually."

For a time, the entire Mahavira Hall fell silent. Everyone closed their eyes and waited quietly.

At the same time, on the other side.

Looking at the expectant expression in Xuanci's eyes, Li Su finally nodded, agreeing to his request for a spar.

It had already been over ten days; now, the only ones who had not yet sparred with him were Xuanci and Xuancheng.

A wide smile appeared on Xuanci's face as he leaped up and landed in the center of the arena.

He set his hands, the opening stance of the Dragon-Capturing Skill.

Xuannan and the others immediately stopped, their gazes shifting to the center.

Setting aside Xuancheng, Xuanci was undoubtedly the second strongest among them, and this "second" was not a marginal distinction; if Xuanci were to get serious, the rest of them would lose without a doubt.

Now that Li Su had caught up, although he had ended in a draw with everyone, both Xuanji and Xuanku could feel that Li Su rarely attacked during their bouts, focusing primarily on defense.

Therefore, a draw was, in a sense, no different from a loss.

They could not help but wonder, just how strong was Li Su?

After all, regarding Master Tianming's disciples, besides Xuancheng and Xuanci, the one who drew the most attention was Li Su.

No, at times, the Master's performance regarding Xuankong was even higher than those two. Xuanci aside, Xuancheng's talent was plain to see, as everyone knew. But what about Li Su?

Walking to the center of the arena, Li Su took a gentle breath.

He had already seen the Arhat Fist, the Vajra Palm, and the Great Strength Vajra Palm.

The Vajra Finger was a lethal technique and lacked corresponding forms, so Xuanji and Xuanku had not used it during their spars.

Now, only the Dragon-Capturing Skill of Xuancheng and Xuanci remained untested.

Setting his stance, he began with the Cotton Palm.

The moment their gazes met, Xuanci moved.

He was truly the number one person under Xuancheng; the moment he made his move, Li Su felt immense pressure.

Spreading his hands, he unleashed two forms of the Dragon-Capturing Skill simultaneously, one after the other, charging forward.

Li Su took a breath, shifting through the six forms of the Cotton Palm, likewise using both hands for two forms.

Bang! Bang!

As soon as they clashed, Li Su's heart tightened. He immediately transitioned his Cotton Palm—which had not even completed half a form—into a wrapping move, then a pushing move!

He shifted his internal force, refusing to clash head-on with Xuanci.

Xuanci's eyes lit up. In their usual spars, even with Xuancheng, they mostly clashed strength against strength. Li Su's style of not meeting force with force was undoubtedly a refreshing change.

"Ha, interesting."

River-Blocking Dragon Lock!

The hands Li Su had parried swung their elbows, tracing a circle before hanging inverted to claw toward Li Su's hands.

Hm?

Li Su's pupils constricted. Instantly channeling his strength, he used the Cotton Palm's free-hand technique, sweeping the back of his hands—rather than his palms—toward Xuanci's claws!

Bang!

With a muffled thud, the Vajra force within Xuanci's Dragon-Capturing Skill erupted violently.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Even Li Su could not withstand such immense power; he stumbled backward, the backs of his hands aching intensely.

"Eh?"

Xuanci raised his brows, a look of surprise crossing his face. Instead of pursuing, he stopped and began flexing his fingers back and forth.

"Is this... Cotton Force?"

He had intended to press his advantage, but Li Su had retreated, and a tremendous force had traveled up his fingers, leaving both his hands feeling slightly numb.

Li Su lowered his head to glance at the backs of his hands; they were already red.

Even with the protection of his Arhat True Qi combined with the Cotton Palm's force, the impact of that Vajra power was truly astonishing.

"Again!"

Xuanci smiled and lunged forward once more.

Li Su drew a breath and raised his Cotton Palm, not daring to be the slightest bit careless, and gave it his all.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

In less than the time it takes to brew a pot of tea, the two had exchanged dozens of blows.

One was unyieldingly fierce, the Dragon-Capturing Skill breaking through everything in its path.

The other was fluid and unpredictable, the Cotton Palm's variations impossible to track.

After another dozen exchanges, Xuanci suddenly leaped backward and shouted, "Stop, stop! Tell me, Xuankong, what exactly is going on with your Cotton Palm? I've nearly finished an entire set of my Dragon-Capturing Skill, yet you still have new moves?"

Li Su exhaled and slowly withdrew his stance.

He was truly worthy of being the future Abbot of the Shaolin Temple; had the series of events from the Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils era not occurred, his martial arts talent would undoubtedly have reached the absolute peak.

He took out a charcoal pencil, intending to write.

But at that very moment, a thunderous voice exploded across the sky!!!

At the foot of the Shaolin Temple, Master Kuxin, who had arrived with his retinue, stood before the gate of the Songshan Shaolin Temple. Unexpectedly, he did not send anyone to announce his arrival. Instead, he pressed his palms together, and his formidable Shaoyang Virgin Qi erupted outward.

"Kuxin, Head of the Bodhi Hall of the Putian Shaolin Temple, has come to challenge the mountain!!!"

The voice was like thunder, shaking the surroundings.

In an instant, whether it was Abbot Tianjian and the others in the Mahavira Hall, or Xuancheng and his peers, all could not help but change color.

Challenging the mountain—this was no friendly term; it was a provocation, a declaration of war.

"Putian Shaolin Temple? How could this be?"

Bewilderment appeared on the faces of Xuanci and the others.

"Amitabha!" Abbot Tianjian pressed his palms together, while Tianwen, Tianxing, and even Tianming could not suppress the anger rising on their faces.

Master Kuxin, what on earth are you trying to do???