One-Punch Invincibility: The Old Daoist Had Become a True Person

Black clouds pressed down on the town, darkening the countryside.

A tall figure strode onward through the wind and rain.

Rain could not reach him; wind could not penetrate.

An invisible force kept the wind and rain at bay.

With a single step, a hundred yards shrank to an inch.

The tall figure strode with his head held high, clad in fitted black clothes. His features were regular, his brows thick and eyes large. A scar ran down his left cheek from the corner of his eye to the corner of his mouth. Far from making him look vicious, it lent him a rugged masculinity and an untamed air.

Upon entering Floating Cloud County, he did not stop to rest or shelter from the rain. His steady strides carried him through the town from west to east.

Looking at Floating Cloud Mountain shrouded in wind and rain, the man started up the mountain. A few steps brought him to the gates of Truth-Seeking Abbey.

He cupped his fist in greeting and introduced himself.

"Chu Yunfei of the Chu clan in Fengyang Commandery. I have come after hearing of your reputation and wish to challenge Daoist Xuanming. Please announce my arrival."

The disciples guarding the gate were briefly stunned.

Over the years, many people had climbed the mountain to pray for blessings, but few had come expressly to issue a challenge. No one had ever challenged their senior martial uncle Xuanming by name. This man was the first.

The matter was too important to treat lightly. One remained to watch the visitor while the other went to report.

Upon receiving the news, Xuan Tong dared not delay. He immediately went down to welcome the visitor, calling Xuan Yu along the way. Unlike the inexperienced disciples, they knew just how formidable the visitor's background was.

The Chu clan was a major clan of Fengyang Commandery, with a heritage spanning more than eight hundred years, and one of the rare martial Dao aristocratic clans. They conducted themselves openly and honorably, and their formidable reputation extended throughout the commandery. Both the imperial court and the martial world afforded them due respect.

Chu Yunfei himself was well known in Fengyang Commandery. He had established a superior Dao foundation in the martial Dao and glimpsed the qi refining threshold at barely twenty. Obsessed with martial arts, he had spent three consecutive years challenging powerful opponents from all quarters. Victory followed victory, and he stood above all others at his level, undefeated to this day, earning the name One-Punch Invincibility.

With such a prodigy arriving to challenge their senior brother, they felt as though facing a mighty enemy and dared not neglect him.

"Xuan Tong and Xuan Yu greet Lay Buddhist Chu."

"Greetings to you both, Daoists."

Chu Yunfei was forthright and decisive. Once they had exchanged greetings, he dispensed with further pleasantries and plainly repeated that he had come to challenge Daoist Xuanming.

A martial fanatic had a one-track mind; refusing such a man was useless. Xuan Tong understood this. Having also received a voice transmission from his senior brother Xuanming on the way, he wasted no words and promptly led the way.

This gave Chu Yunfei a favorable impression of Truth-Seeking Abbey.

Ever since he had made his name, every faction he visited to issue a challenge had subjected him to endless quibbling, their every word carrying a refusal. Had he not persisted, how would he ever have gotten a fight?

The Daoists of Truth-Seeking Abbey were refreshingly straightforward.

Boom!

Thunder roared, and rain poured down.

The group ascended Dao-Treasuring Peak. Looking up, they saw a gray-robed figure seated cross-legged on the summit.

"That is our senior brother Xuanming."

"High places invite lightning strikes, yet your senior brother goes against that wisdom, ascending the summit in the rain to listen to thunder. He certainly does things differently."

Xuan Tong smiled at this. "Senior brother Xuanming once said, 'To become a tiger of the mountains, you must first enter the mountains. To become a whale of the seas, you must first swim in the sea. To understand nature, you must first draw close to nature. Only by drawing close to the Dao can you comprehend it.'"

After silently repeating a couple of those lines, Chu Yunfei's eyes lit up, and he could not resist praising them. "To beat someone up, you must first take a beating. Daoist Xuanming understands things thoroughly."

Xuan Tong's mouth twitched. Xuan Yu cast a peculiar look at the aristocratic clan's scion beside him.

The words might have been crude, but the principle was sound. Still, that comparison...

Truly a martial artist through and through!

Just then, a sudden bolt of lightning struck the summit, landing beside the old Daoist. Seeing that he neither dodged nor raised any defenses, making no move whatsoever, Chu Yunfei's face showed a trace of admiration.

"Your senior brother has remarkable courage!"

Whatever the outcome of this challenge, old Daoist Xuanming's temperament alone deserved respect.

"Senior brother is sincerely devoted to the Dao. His Dao heart and spirit have always far surpassed ours."

Xuan Tong spoke with courtesy, while Xuan Yu wore a proud expression.

Without wasting any more time, the group reached the summit.

Seeing the white-haired old Daoist make no use of magic power to ward off the wind and rain, Chu Yunfei did not look down on Xuanming for his bedraggled appearance, displaying his fine upbringing.

He cupped his fist in greeting. "Chu Yunfei has come to challenge you. Daoist Xuanming, please do not withhold your guidance."

Returning from his contemplation of the Dao, Xuanming studied the young man before him, whose powerful aura utterly surpassed Old Master Chen's.

"This old Daoist has never left the mountain. My modest reputation does not extend beyond Floating Cloud County, and I have rarely acted. I have slain only one person who had glimpsed the qi refining threshold—Old Master Chen. Lay Buddhist Chu, did you learn of me through a Projection Stone?"

Xuanming rose and voiced his question.

Chu Yunfei nodded in acknowledgment. "I serve at the Heaven and Earth Tower. Not long ago, I entered the Broad Dharma Bureau on official business and happened to hear two clerks talking. They praised your exceptional swordsmanship and outstanding strength, calling you the foremost expert beneath the Qi Refining Realm."

"Curious, I went to the Ten Thousand Scroll Pavilion and obtained the case file on the Chen clan's destruction. Through the Projection Stone, I witnessed your prowess as you slew Old Master Chen with a single sword strike. Like a hunter spotting fine quarry, I could not resist. Once my official business was finished, I came straight to Floating Cloud Mountain, hoping to fight you."

Looking at Chu Yunfei, then glancing at the worried Xuan Tong and Xuan Yu, Xuanming considered briefly before speaking frankly. "I fear I must disappoint you, Lay Buddhist Chu. Not long ago, this old Daoist was fortunate enough to enter the Qi Refining Realm. If I competed with you, victory would hardly be honorable."

All three were shaken by these words.

But Chu Yunfei's surprise carried disappointment, while Xuan Tong and Xuan Yu's astonishment was mixed with joy.

"Senior brother, have you truly become a True Person?"

Xuanming nodded.

I had intended to play the pig to catch the tiger once more.

But Chu Yunfei's challenge had disrupted his plans. He could certainly have feigned ignorance, accepted the challenge, and defeated Chu Yunfei.

Yet deceiving both himself and others like that would have felt far too false.

Seeking the Dao and cultivating the heart ultimately came down to seeking truth.

Against enemies, tricks and deception did not matter.

But deceiving Chu Yunfei, who had come openly and honorably, would violate his Dao heart.

Deceiving others was easy; deceiving oneself was hard!

Compared with his Dao heart, all other schemes were insignificant.

Excited, Xuan Tong and Xuan Yu bowed with solemn respect. "Congratulations on becoming a True Person, senior brother."

His expression serious, Xuanming returned their salute and said:

"Three months ago, this old Daoist entered seclusion precisely to seek a breakthrough. The circumstances then were unusual, however, and I concealed the matter to avoid complications. Now that I have successfully broken through, my failure to inform my junior brothers promptly was my fault."

Xuan Tong and Xuan Yu grew solemn.

They understood the meaning behind his words.

They knew he had been guarding against the Wang Family, whom he suspected of being enemies rather than friends.

Moved by their senior brother's sincere words, the two returned his salute again and spoke with equal sincerity:

"You are too hard on yourself, senior brother."

"We understand what was at stake."

"We could not be happier that you are willing to tell us now. How could we possibly blame you?"

At this, the three Daoists exchanged smiles.

They dispensed with further formalities; any more would only put distance between them.

"This junior thanks you for telling me frankly, senior."

Chu Yunfei cupped his fist in salute.

He had met many Daoists.

Some were unkempt; others fished for fame and praise.

But few were as sincere as True Person Xuanming.

"I merely told the truth." Xuanming smiled and asked in return, "With that being so, young friend, do you still wish to challenge me?"

Chu Yunfei answered decisively, his words like nails driven into iron. "Since I have come, how could I leave empty-handed? And how could I disappoint those lurking in the shadows, after all their painstaking scheming? True Person, please grant me your guidance."

Xuanming looked at Chu Yunfei with wholehearted admiration.

"Since your mind is made up, young friend, this old Daoist will suppress his cultivation to your level and fight you."

"But," he said, changing tack, "before that, we had best deal with a few scoundrels hiding their heads and showing their tails."

As his words fell, faint ripples stirred through the air.

A figure abruptly appeared, clad in black with a black mask covering his face. The instant he emerged, he was only three feet from Xuanming, raising his fist to strike a killing blow.

His powerful pressure far exceeded essence refining. He was unmistakably a Qi Refining Realm cultivator.

Xuan Tong and Xuan Yu were forced thirty feet back.

Chu Yunfei was forced ten feet back.

On the summit, wind and clouds changed color. Falling rain hung suspended in midair, held back by the overwhelming aura.

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