The training ground east of the imperial palace gleamed with a floor paved in blue steel granite.
Eighteen stone pillars carved with coiling dragons stood silently around it. Dim reinforcement-array markings spread chaotically across the ground, dividing the training ground into irregular sections.
At the center, ten zhang separated them.
Jiang Ning stood tall as a pine in his black robes, a seal hanging at his waist.
Opposite him, Master Kuhai wore a kasaya over his gaunt frame, his eyes lowered like an ancient Buddha deep in meditation.
The breeze sweeping through the training ground suddenly stopped, as though space itself had frozen.
"Amitabha." Kuhai spoke slowly, his voice calm. "Marquis, we are only sparring to test our understanding, so let us stop short of harm. Shall we limit ourselves to three exchanges?"
As he spoke, the frozen training ground began to flow again.
Jiang Ning nodded slightly. "Agreed!"
"Good." Kuhai also nodded slightly.
Then he raised his gaze, pale golden Buddhist light flowing within those seemingly gentle eyes.
"I hear that you have also cultivated our Vajra Temple's supreme art, the Indestructible Vajra Body, and have even forged your own path with it?"
"That is correct!" Jiang Ning nodded.
"Then, for the first exchange, please strike. This old monk will defend without attacking, using the Indestructible Vajra Body to test your immortal might. You can judge whether my Indestructible Vajra Body amounts to anything."
As his words fell, Kuhai's aura abruptly withdrew. The vast presence that had been deep as an ocean and steady as a sacred mountain retreated entirely within him.
Countless rays of golden light burst from the pores of his gaunt body.
As though supported by an invisible force, his kasaya unfastened itself, then slowly floated up and spread flat.
The kasaya drifted slowly toward Jin