Huo Yuanzhen felt a surge of excitement as he held the first half of the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Skill in his hands.
Although he regretted not drawing the first volume of the Nine Yang Divine Scripture, this Dragon-Elephant Prajna Skill was more than enough to make up for it.
Back in the day, King Jinlun, upon entering Central Plains, had only reached the tenth level of the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Skill and gained the power of ten dragons and ten elephants. With just this tenth level, he could hold his own against the Five Greats of the Central Plains.
Of course, King Jinlun was also a martial arts genius, and his external martial arts were incredibly strong. But in terms of attack techniques, this was the gap that Huo Yuanzhen currently had.
However, no matter how skilled a martial art's offense was, none could compare to the precious Dragon-Elephant Prajna Skill, for it fundamentally changed a person's strength.
Many people mistakenly think the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Skill is an internal energy technique, but it is not.
The Dragon-Elephant Prajna Skill doesn't belong to internal energy techniques; it is a supreme dharma protection technique from Esoteric Buddhism, a method of unlocking potential and unleashing immense power. Its roots are within the Buddhist teachings, which is why it appeared in Huo Yuanzhen's abbot system.
Though it isn't an internal energy technique, it has many unique advantages that internal energy techniques cannot provide. This martial art is accessible to everyone. Even a dull person, with proper guidance, can master the first level within a year or two.
If it were an internal energy technique, not everyone could practice it.
However, the second level is twice as hard as the first. To reach the second level within a year would require two years of training. The third level would take four years, the fourth level eight years, and so on.
If calculated by year, mastering the thirteenth level of the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Skill would require eight thousand years. In total, to complete the entire technique, it would take sixteen thousand years.
Normally, no one could truly reach the thirteenth level of the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Skill. Even King Jinlun, a martial arts prodigy, only reached the tenth level.
In the novel The Return of the Condor Heroes, King Jinlun, with his tenth level of the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Skill, already surpassed top experts like Zhou Botong in terms of sheer power.
So, after obtaining the first half of the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Skill, Huo Yuanzhen was in an extreme state of excitement.
With great enthusiasm, he opened the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Skill. The manual indicated that with this volume, one could reach up to the seventh level of the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Skill.
As he read the book, a mysterious energy began to flow into his body, feeling so pleasant that Huo Yuanzhen almost wanted to sing.
After about an hour, the magical energy dissipated, and the book became just a normal manual.
Huo Yuanzhen felt that his arms were filled with immense strength. It felt as if one punch could shatter anything. This wasn't internal energy—it was his own innate strength!
Yet, externally, there was no sign of this power. Huo Yuanzhen still looked like the delicate and handsome monk he always was, without a hint of overwhelming strength.
Eager to test his newfound power, Huo Yuanzhen picked up a teacup, a green porcelain one.
With just a slight pinch of his fingers, the cup shattered into pieces!
"This is true innate strength!"
Iron Bull had the strength of a thousand pounds in each arm, but Huo Yuanzhen felt that maybe even his absolute power wasn't as great as his own right now.
Thinking of Iron Bull, Huo Yuanzhen was struck by a thought. If Iron Bull learned the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Skill, how terrifying would he become?
He already had the strength of a thousand pounds. If he began from that, and cultivated to the thirteenth level, could he carry mountains and drive the moon?
Huo Yuanzhen shook his head with a self-deprecating smile. With Iron Bull's qualifications, it seemed that he would need to start training from the Jurassic era to reach the thirteenth level of the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Skill.
However, even if Iron Bull couldn't reach that high, reaching the fourth or fifth level would still be extremely terrifying.
The only issue was that Iron Bull was an undercover agent left in Shaolin by Ning Wan Jun. Although he didn't seem to have the awareness of an undercover agent, Huo Yuanzhen couldn't fully trust him as long as Ning Wan Jun didn't show up and clarify things.
With the July lottery drawing over, Huo Yuanzhen put away the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Skill manual. He thought to give it to Yijing first, since he was his disciple and had no issues with loyalty.
The news of Chen Ding, the mighty hero from Dengfeng County, challenging Shaolin to a duel spread through the streets and alleys.
Most of the common folk leaned toward Shaolin, but they couldn't do much about this. It had already escalated into a martial world dispute.
The matter began when a Shaolin lay disciple injured Chen Ding's nephew, and in retaliation, Chen Ding injured a Shaolin disciple. Thus, the two sides had built up enmity.
If Shaolin had remained just a hidden Buddhist sect, it wouldn't have mattered much. But Shaolin also taught martial arts and accepted disciples, clearly positioning itself as a martial faction in the world. Thus, the matter should be settled according to the martial world's rules.
The situation was impossible to conceal. People knew that Chen Ding had allied with Li Xuan, and Chen Ding didn't bother to hide it. Not only did he team up with Li Xuan, but he also invited friends to come to Dengfeng County and help him defeat Shaolin in one fell swoop.
In contrast, Shaolin maintained a low profile, making no special response to the duel, as if the matter didn't concern them.
Little did people know, Huo Yuanzhen was also preparing to find reinforcements, as Shaolin didn't have many capable people available at the moment.
Guan Shanyue was the final trump card and couldn't be used easily. Among the remaining people, Iron Bull could hold his own, Yijing was passable, and then there was himself.
Recently, after practicing the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Skill and combining it with his exceptional lightness kung fu and Lion's Roar Iron Head Skill, perhaps he could win one or two rounds unexpectedly, but this wouldn't be enough.
Huo Yuanzhen was quite the oddity. He had already mastered the seventh level of the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Skill, had the "One Reed Crossing the River" lightness kung fu, and possessed the Buddhist divine power of the Lion's Roar, yet he had no real offensive techniques.
Even with the most basic Shaolin Long Fist, he could unleash immense power, but he didn't know how to use it properly.
Learning them was impossible, as Huo Yuanzhen's qualifications were ordinary. Even after practicing for years, he would see no results. Besides, with the system, he could simply draw a martial arts manual and learn top-level techniques, so why would he endure such hardships?
But Chen Ding's challenge had been delivered to Shaolin, and he had officially accepted it.
The challenge letter clearly stated that on the 15th of August, there would be a duel where the two sides would fight nine rounds, with the side winning the most rounds declared victorious.
Chen Ding and the Law King Temple would represent one side, while Shaolin would represent the other.
Chen Ding added a stipulation: the losing side would have to completely withdraw from Mount Shaoshi, and only one Buddhist faction would remain on the mountain.
Huo Yuanzhen did not agree to this request, as Law King Temple no longer had the ability to compete with Shaolin. It was hanging on by a thread, so the risks between the two sides were not equal.
Huo Yuanzhen added a condition: if Chen Ding wanted to participate in the Shaolin vs. Law King Temple contest, he would have to pay a price. If he lost, he would have to give up all his assets in Dengfeng County.
Chen Ding had been in Dengfeng for many years and owned a number of businesses—two silk shops, a tavern, and a large ironworks. All were flourishing and worth quite a bit.
Shaolin itself was also quite prosperous, with many followers, so making money wasn't difficult. However, Huo Yuanzhen wasn't someone to be taken advantage of. If Chen Ding wanted a piece of the pie, he would first have to pay the entry fee—he couldn't just come and take advantage of Shaolin.
Perhaps because Chen Ding was confident of victory, he quickly agreed to Huo Yuanzhen's terms. The two sides signed the agreement and had the county officials witness it.
Afterward, news kept coming in about the martial artists Chen Ding had invited to help him.
"The North Desert Twin Ghosts, mid-stage Postnatal experts, skilled in the ghost-headed knife. They are ugly in appearance, but together they have a unique joint attack technique that can even resist late-stage Postnatal experts."
In Huo Yuanzhen's room, Guan Shanyue read through a report detailing the martial artists Chen Ding had invited. He read them out one by one: "The Water-Cutting Sword, Chai Xian, one of the four famous swords of Jiangnan, a late-stage Postnatal expert. He is Chen Ding's master uncle and one of the two late-stage Postnatal experts Chen Ding has invited."
"The Four Famous Swords of Jiangnan... late-stage Postnatal," Huo Yuanzhen massaged his temples. This development was unexpected, and with just over ten days until August 15th, Chen Ding's side had
continued to invite powerful martial artists. The arrival of two late-stage Postnatal experts finally gave Huo Yuanzhen a bit of pressure.
"Chen Ding also has a master?"
"Yes, Abbot. Most people in the martial world have a master. Chen Ding's master is He Daoming, the second of the Four Famous Swords of Jiangnan. All four of these swords use precious swords and consider themselves righteous. They are quite famous in Jiangnan."
"The Four Famous Swords, does that mean there are also Four Great Swords?" Huo Yuanzhen casually asked.
"Yes, actually, there are Four Great Swords of Jiangnan. The four old monsters are incredibly powerful. If any of them shows up, I, your disciple, would have to run away immediately. They are..."
"Stop. Don't talk about the Four Great Swords for now. Continue with who the other late-stage Postnatal expert they invited is?"
Huo Yuanzhen didn't want to put more pressure on himself right now. He already knew there were Four Great Swords—if he fought the small ones, there were still older and stronger ones. Maybe they even had masters. For now, he wouldn't ask.
Guan Shanyue understood and didn't continue. He picked up the report again and began reading: "Another late-stage Postnatal expert, named Yue Shan, self-styled as Iron Walker. He has incredibly powerful external martial arts and wields an iron staff. It's said he once wanted to become a monk, but due to his strong desire to fight, no temple would accept him. He now carries an iron hoop and calls himself a walker. His strength has reached the peak of late-stage Postnatal, and with his external martial arts, to be honest, even I, a Postnatal completion who is about to enter the Innate Realm, would have trouble dealing with him."
"How does he compare to the Water-Cutting Sword, Chai Xian?"
"Chai Xian's sword focuses on speed, but his sword can't break through Iron Walker's external martial arts. If they fought, Chai Xian wouldn't last even one incense stick."
Huo Yuanzhen nodded. It seemed that this Iron Walker, Yue Shan, was the strongest expert on their side.
By this count, their side already had two late-stage Postnatal experts. Even if Guan Shanyue joined the fight, it would likely only win one round.
Just as he was struggling, an idea suddenly flashed in his mind: "You said this Iron Walker wanted to become a monk but didn't succeed?"
"Yes... Abbot, do you have an idea?" Guan Shanyue's eyes brightened.
"Let's plan carefully," Huo Yuanzhen said, his mind already forming a vague plan.