The Villain's Counterattack

After breakfast, Emperor Baoding brought Duan Zhengchun, Murong Fu, Zhong Wanchou and others to Tianlong Temple. Murong Fu looked a little strange carrying a book box on his back, and before leaving, he asked for a porcelain bowl with half a bowl of water in it, which made people even more confused.

Tianlong Temple is located north of Zhongyue Peak on Cangshan Mountain outside Dali City. Officially known as Chongsheng Temple, the Dali people often call it Tianlong Temple. With Cangshan Mountain on its back and the Erhai River in its face, the temple boasts a breathtakingly beautiful location. The temple boasts three pagodas, built in the early Tang Dynasty. The largest stands over 200 feet tall and has 16 steps. An iron inscription on its summit reads: "Built by Yuchi Jingde during the Zhenguan period of the Tang Dynasty." Legend has it that Tianlong Temple boasts five treasures, with the three pagodas being the most important.

When they arrived at Tianlong Temple, a young monk led the way to a large hall. They could vaguely see four old monks standing in a row facing them, and behind them there was another old monk sitting with his back to them. There were side rooms on each side, but the doors were closed for some reason.

Emperor Baoding was the first to come forward to pay his respects, followed closely by Duan Zhengchun and Murong Fu. Only the Horse King God Zhong Wanchou stayed outside, with Shanchan Hou Gao Shengtai standing on his left and right like door gods.

Abbot Benyin exchanged a few pleasantries with Murong Fu, exchanging a few polite words. Murong Fu then put down his book and took out a porcelain bowl half-filled with water. "The Murong family has inherited many martial arts, with Dou Zhuan Xing Yi being the most important, followed by Sanhe Finger. However, the Murong family's finger techniques are not limited to Sanhe Finger."

"The Duan family's finger technique in Dali is the best in the world, and even Shaolin cannot deny it. However, I dare not compete with the senior monks of Tianlong Temple with just the Chanhe Finger Technique, so I have to rely on other finger techniques." Murong Fu put his right index finger and middle finger together and dipped them into the water in the porcelain bowl. Wisps of cold air rose up, and in the blink of an eye, a thin layer of ice condensed.

"This is the Xuanyin Finger, which has a cold and yin nature and no outward force. It is a close-combat finger technique, and in terms of pure finger technique, it is half a step inferior to the Yiyang Finger." Murong Fu's words made the old monks nod their heads slightly. Xuanyin versus Yiyang, there is no superiority or inferiority in terms of properties alone. This finger technique cannot be transformed into invisible energy. Although it is much inferior to the Yiyang Finger as a whole, it is difficult to tell which is better in terms of close-combat finger technique alone. Ultimately, it depends on the person using it.

"It is a first-rate finger technique comparable to Shaolin's Vajra Finger. Not bad." Abbot Ben Yin nodded slightly, expressing his approval of Murong Fu's early revelation of his cards. This boy has the demeanor of a gentleman.

Murong Fu nodded and smiled, then took out two wooden boxes from the bookcase. The wooden boxes were filled with low-quality black and white chess pieces. He then took out one from each of them and threw it over his head.

Just as everyone was puzzled, Murong Fu opened his hands to the left and right, and with a flick of his index finger, two chess pieces flew high into the sky. "This is the family heirloom, the Sanhe Finger. It transforms internal energy into invisible energy. Its power is not inferior to the One Yang Finger, but it is far inferior to the Six Meridians Divine Sword. However, it is more flexible and swift, and its power is within a controllable range. It can be large or small, hard or soft."

Then Murong Fu began his performance. His hands were like butterflies flying through flowers. His Qi controlled the two chess pieces to fly all over the sky. Finally, they landed in front of him. He pointed his two fingers at them and they suddenly rushed out of the hall and flew far away.

"Excellent!" The four old monks couldn't help but exclaim in admiration. The One Yang Finger might be as powerful as the Three-Handed Finger, but the final move, the simultaneous release of two fingers like Two Dragons Fighting for the Pearl, was truly remarkable. The One Yang Finger required considerable internal strength. Murong Fu had just unleashed at least twenty or thirty fingers into the air, and yet had managed to keep the inferior chess piece intact. This demonstrated his immense control. He had mastered this technique to a high level.

They had originally overestimated Murong Fu, a young master in his twenties, but now it seemed they had underestimated him. Any invisible Qi-energy technique was complex and required a strong internal force as a foundation, not just the One Yang Finger and the Six Meridians Divine Sword. They were well aware of this. Being able to manipulate both hardness and softness, and to freely control the power, was something they had never been able to do before the age of fifty, and now it was a struggle.

This boy should not be underestimated!

Murong Fu took a deep breath, took out two more chess pieces and said, "If it were just the Mysterious Yin Finger and the Canhe Finger, I would be confident enough to challenge the One Yang Finger, but I wouldn't dare compete with the world's number one sword, the Six Meridians Divine Sword. I also have a finger technique that doesn't use invisible energy, but it can attack from a distance. It's a bit of an opportunistic trick. It's called the Finger Magic!"

As he spoke, the white piece in his right hand flew towards the main gate in a large arc, and then the black piece in his left hand arrived first. The two chess pieces collided violently, making a crisp sound and turning into powder flying all over the sky.

Murong Fu slapped his palm in the air, and a strong wind blew all the dust in the sky out of the door. This palm-splitting technique was learned from Huang Yaoshi. Although it was not as good as the One Finger Zen and the Finger Magic, it was still a pretty good skill.

Two more magical skills, the four old monks looked at each other in bewilderment. The power of the last palm strike was slightly insufficient. After all, the energy was not as dispersed as the One Finger Zen. Although it was considered first-rate, it was just that. However, the power of the Finger Snapping Skill was extraordinary, but it used actual chess pieces as a carrier, so the consumption of internal energy was much less.

Just as Murong Fu himself said, this Finger Snap Magic was indeed a trick, but to say that it was a hidden weapon technique rather than a finger technique was actually a bit far-fetched. They looked carefully and found that the secret of the Finger Snap Magic was still in the finger technique, and it was open and aboveboard and not comparable to ordinary hidden weapons.

"Amitabha." The four old monks chanted the Buddha's name in unison, and their favorable impression of Murong Fu grew even stronger.

Murong Fu collected the bookcase and set it aside, taking only a few chess pieces with him. He then bowed and said, "Close combat is often unrefined, and using swords in close combat is not as convenient and direct as fists and feet. I would like to learn the long-range attack capabilities of the One Yang Finger and Six Meridians Divine Sword. I hope you, seniors, will be generous with your guidance."

"Master Murong wishes to learn the One Zen Finger. How about I demonstrate it to you?" Just as the monks were hesitating, Emperor Baoding stepped forward. Although he was the emperor of Dali, he possessed considerable martial arts prowess. He had also mastered the One Zen Finger to the fourth level, allowing him to practice the Six Meridians Divine Sword. However, the Six Meridians Divine Sword was the most precious treasure of the Tianlong Temple, and even before Emperor Baoding became a monk, he could not receive it.

"That's what I wish for, but I dare not ask for it." Murong Fu had a high degree of approval for Emperor Baoding. He had a good character and could be called a wise ruler. He was also quite skilled in martial arts, but he was not comparable to the playboy Duan Zhengchun. His overall strength was even higher than that of Duan Yanqing, one of the four evil men.

The two men stood facing each other, only slightly apart, about seven feet. The Baoding Emperor immediately lost his composure. At this distance, his One Yang Finger couldn't reach him at all. The Baoding Emperor couldn't help but scratch his nose and took two steps forward. Murong Fu was slightly taken aback before understanding. He had also practiced One Yang Finger before, and he knew the general deterrent range of a fourth-grade One Yang Finger. Seven feet away was putting the Baoding Emperor in a difficult position.

But isn't three feet too short? You have to know that Murong Fu's Sanhe Finger can be effective even from seven feet away. At this distance of three feet, if two people stretched out their hands at the same time, they could directly touch each other.

As if he had read Murong Fu's mind, Emperor Baoding retreated a foot, a little embarrassed, and stood still. This time, he was absolutely determined not to retreat any further. If he did, he wouldn't be able to hit the other person at all. How could he possibly fight with him then? That would be a one-sided, passive attack.

At this point, the old monks suddenly discovered the flaw in their own sword techniques: their range was too short. The Six Meridians Divine Sword was fine; it could cut through metal within a foot, but wouldn't harm anyone beyond a foot. However, the One Yang Finger, unless mastered to a high level, had a formidable range. Even a master like Emperor Baoding couldn't do anything to an opponent from more than three feet away.

Within three feet, the One Finger of Zen was incredibly powerful and versatile, capable of splitting into multiple paths for numerous variations. However, its power was greatly reduced by its dispersion, and if it couldn't successfully strike an acupoint, its lethality was ultimately limited. It now seemed that the Finger of Zen was incredibly powerful and had a greater range, capable of inflicting damage even from twenty feet away. If a duel were to occur, the Finger of Zen would likely prevail.

However, the finger-snapping magic, which can shoot out stones, iron balls and other objects to kill enemies at a distance, requires a carrier to be used. Although it is effective in close combat, it is just that. But the Six Meridians Divine Sword is different. It is actually pure sword energy shooting out from the fingertips. It is extremely convenient and fast. No preparation is required, only strong internal strength is needed.

The sword-fighting battle between Murong Fu and Emperor Baoding came to an end quickly. The invisible energy, which was invisible and colorless, did not look very exciting, but was actually quite dangerous and consumed a lot of energy. It was not an option for a long battle. Emperor Baoding Duan Zhengming separated four or five energy energies and enveloped Murong Fu's whole body, but they were all dissolved one by one by him.

The two exchanged more than twenty moves each before stopping. Although it seemed a draw, a look at their expressions revealed that Murong Fu had won.