All Heavens: A Role-Playing System Starting from Tianlong

Duan Yu was unaware that the two were each preoccupied with their own thoughts at the moment.

Kumārajīva's journey to Dali was to borrow the Six Meridians Divine Sword manual. Whether it would be a "literal" or "martial" borrowing would depend on the attitude of Tianlong Temple.

He had done thorough preparation for this trip: he had sent people to thoroughly investigate the backgrounds of the Duan family of Dali and the monks and laypeople of Tianlong Temple. From their appearance and age to their temperament and hobbies, from their martial arts styles to their level of cultivation, he knew everything about them.

Unexpectedly, as soon as they stepped into Dali territory, they ran into a master who was not on the list.

This man possesses a composed demeanor, his martial arts skills are unfathomable, and he is a member of the Duan clan. With the journey to borrow the genealogy book imminent, such unpredictable circumstances must be investigated.

Duan Yanqing had a similar idea. He wanted to take this opportunity to probe the monk's background.

This sparring match between the two is a personal matter. Even if Duan Yanqing loses, it will not damage the Duan family's reputation.

The two left the city gate one after the other, walked south for six or seven miles, and chose a secluded hillside.

Duan Yanqing stopped and turned to look at Kumārajīva, who was slowly following behind him.

"My King, there's no one here. We can make our move now."

Kumārajīva clasped his hands together and smiled slightly: "Please, sir."

No sooner had Kumārajīva finished speaking than Duan Yanqing made his move.

He stood still, raised his hand, and pointed.

"Swoosh—!" An invisible finger force shot out, heading straight for Kumārajīva's chest.

Seeing this, Kumārajīva remained calm and waved his right hand, unleashing an invisible burst of energy.

"Bang!" The force of the fingers and the energy collided in mid-air, producing a muffled sound.

The energy dispersed, stirring up a strong wind that made the surrounding grass and trees rustle.

"Excellent!" Kumārajīva's eyes gleamed with admiration. "This humble monk has long heard that the Duan family's One-Finger Divine Skill is unparalleled in the world. Seeing it today, it truly lives up to its reputation!"

Duan Yanqing remained unfazed: "The Ming King's palm strike is also extraordinary. I wonder what its technique is?"

Kumārajīva replied with a smile, "This move of mine is a unique skill of the Nyingma school of Esoteric Buddhism, called the Flaming Blade."

"I see." Duan Yanqing said no more, and with both hands, he flicked his fingers in quick succession!

The power of the One-Finger Divine Skill poured down like a torrential rain, covering all of Kumārajīva's vital points.

Kumārajīva's expression remained unchanged as he flipped his palms, creating a dense, impenetrable net of fiery blade energy around his body.

"Hiss hiss hiss hiss hiss—!"

The sound of dense energy colliding echoed on the hillside, and the ground between the two was blasted into craters of varying depths by the residual force, sending dust flying.

After a rapid attack, Duan Yanqing retreated gracefully, creating distance between himself and Kumārajīva.

His face remained calm, but his mind was racing.

His internal energy had not yet recovered, and such a rapid barrage of attacks had greatly depleted it. Since the previous offensive had yielded no results, a change in strategy was necessary.

On the other side, seeing that he had stopped, Kumārajīva did not pursue. He stood still and waved his sleeve, dispersing the dust between the two.

"Your finger strength is refined, and your moves are skillful, but your internal energy seems slightly lacking." Kumārajīva's gaze fell on Duan Yanqing. "Could it be that you were injured before?"

"Your Majesty has a good eye," Duan Yanqing said calmly.

He naturally had no interest in explaining to the other party that half of his internal energy had been drained away and he had not yet recovered.

Since we're at a disadvantage in a direct confrontation of internal strength, let's try a different approach.

He lightly touched the ground with his feet, and his figure floated up, heading straight for Kumārajīva.

Kumārajīva was not surprised by this. It was only natural for him to turn to close combat after losing the internal strength contest.

The two sides had simply kept their distance from each other.

He wanted to see how the other party would cross the distance of several meters between them.

He unleashed both palms simultaneously, and the fiery blade energy slashed towards Duan Yanqing like a violent storm.

But Duan Yanqing's figure suddenly became erratic.

One moment they were on the east side, the next they were on the west side; their bodies looked unsteady, but their forward speed did not decrease at all, and they actually squeezed through the gaps in the flames and blade energy.

By the time Kumārajīva realized something was wrong, Duan Yanqing had already used the Lingbo Weibu technique to dart to his side and pointed out with a finger!

This monk was plotting to steal the Duan family's secret techniques. Although Duan Yanqing was hesitant to kill him due to his status as the Tibetan national preceptor, it would be good if he could severely injure him and keep him bedridden for a year or two.

"Oh no." Kumārajīva's expression changed slightly.

In the critical moment, he forcefully channeled his inner energy, condensing the power of the Flaming Blade into his palm, holding it back from being unleashed. He used his palm as a substitute for the blade, meeting the attack head-on, and collided with the finger that Duan Yanqing had pointed at him.

"Bang!" Their fingers and palms collided, and the force of their energy spread outwards.

At the same time, with a backhand slash, another fiery blade of energy burst forth, forcing Duan Yanqing back several steps.

"Your lightness skill is impressive, benefactor." Kumārajīva steadied himself and secretly regulated his breathing. "Is this also a secret technique that the Duan family has never shown to others?"

Although the One-Finger Divine Skill is known for its balanced and gentle nature, Duan Yanqing's skill was profound. Just now, when he pointed out, the force of his finger had already seeped into the acupoints on Kumārajīva's hand, interfering with the flow of his true qi.

However, Kumārajīva possessed profound internal strength. He immediately took a deep breath, flung his fist at the ground, and unleashed his internal energy, which, along with the finger force that had just entered his body, poured out and crashed onto the ground with a "boom," causing earth and rocks to churn.

Seeing this, Duan Yanqing shook his head: "The Ming King truly possesses profound inner strength."

No sooner had he finished speaking than Duan Yanqing swayed and attacked again.

The opponent just forcibly forced out his finger strength, and his right hand is certainly not fully recovered. This is the perfect opportunity to take advantage of his weakness and kill him.

Seeing this, Kumārajīva made a quick decision and used his lightness skill to run away.

Having just witnessed Duan Yanqing's unpredictable and agile footwork, he feared that rashly making a move would give him another opening, so he decided to create some distance and observe the situation.

Upon closer inspection, this retreat did indeed reveal some clues to him.

Duan Yanqing continued to use the same footwork as before to pursue him, occasionally exchanging blows with him from a distance using the power of the One-Finger Divine Skill.

However, while Kumārajīva fled in a straight line, Duan Yanqing swayed left and right and moved forward in a serpentine pattern during the pursuit.

Although the speed was by no means slow, this superfluous act must have a reason.

Could it be that this lightness skill must be performed according to a fixed pattern?

Kumārajīva secretly observed the other party's movement trajectory.

When Duan Yanqing changed his body again, he anticipated the move based on the pattern he had just observed.

"Swoosh!" A fiery blade of energy shot out, slashing towards Duan Yanqing's inevitable path.

Duan Yanqing shifted his body slightly, dodging the invisible blade energy.

A glint of light flashed in Kumārajīva's eyes.

The trajectory has changed. It's different from the route in the previous round.

Since he can adjust himself, why doesn't this person catch up with the monk in a straight line? Could it be that he has to constantly adjust his pace and can't keep going straight without changing his direction?

He clasped his hands together, his inner energy flowing continuously into his palms. Then, he drew circles in front of his body with his palms and pushed them out in one breath.

His flaming blade could unleash several streams of energy with a single palm strike. At this moment, several blade energies formed in front of him, slashing out simultaneously and enveloping Duan Yanqing's vital points.

Seeing that there was no way to avoid it, Duan Yanqing had no choice but to defend himself.

He pointed several times, dispersing the sword energy in the path he was destined to take. The remaining energy swept past him and smashed on the ground, creating a mess.

His response was tantamount to confirming Kumārajīva's guess.

At this moment, Kumārajīva exerted even more effort, unleashing another round of fiery blade energy, forcing Duan Yanqing to parry.

Even so, in each round of fighting, Kumārajīva suffered more internal energy depletion.

However, Kumārajīva's total internal energy and recovery speed were far superior to Duan Yanqing's. Now, using his strengths against his weaknesses, he naturally became even more powerful as the battle progressed.

One wave of sword energy after another was unleashed, bringing the battle back to the initial clash of internal energy.

Dozens more rounds passed. Duan Yanqing's forehead was covered in sweat, and his breathing became increasingly rapid.

Although Lingbo Weibu can generate internal energy when in use, his internal energy has not been fully restored.

Furthermore, Kumārajīva was a master in the original work who could fight six opponents at once in Tianlong Temple, and his internal strength was beyond imagination.

If this continues, he won't be able to hold on for much longer.

"You should admit defeat, benefactor." Kumārajīva's tone remained gentle, but his attacks showed no sign of abating. "Your inner strength is inferior to this humble monk's. At this rate, you won't last even a stick of incense."

Duan Yanqing did not answer, but silently estimated the remaining internal energy.

When the next wave of fiery blade energy came, he suddenly changed his move.

A finger strike deflected a blade of energy. Immediately afterward, another finger strike followed.

Seeing this, Kumārajīva casually unleashed a flaming blade.

But just before the finger force and the sword energy collided—

Duan Yanqing's finger force suddenly split in two, breaking in the middle.

The two finger strikes deflected the flaming blade, their momentum undiminished, continuing their attack on Kumārajīva.

Kumārajīva's pupils contracted sharply, and he quickly dodged.

He only managed to dodge one of them. The other grazed his arm, the scorching force tearing through his clothes and leaving a charred burn mark on his arm.

This move is a new killing move that Duan Yanqing has recently mastered.

Since neither Zhang Cheng nor Kurong would avoid him, Duan Yanqing also read the Six Meridians Divine Sword manual.

However, he knew that before his internal strength was damaged, he was not yet as good as Ku Rong and could not master the Six Swords Combined into One, so he simply stopped practicing and continued to cultivate the One-Finger Divine Skill.

However, the method of circulating true qi in the six meridians of the hand in the Six Meridians Divine Sword Manual is quite valuable and worth learning from.

Based on this, he improved the One-Finger Divine Skill. He also used Zhang Cheng's attack on the masked man as a model and painstakingly figured out this One-Finger Divine Skill that could differentiate on its own.

Today marks the first practical application of this technique. With a single strike, even a master like Kumārajīva suffered a hidden loss.

However, the One-Finger Divine Skill is a martial art that consumes a great deal of internal energy. Duan Yanqing's new move consumes even more, and coupled with the fact that he already had very little internal energy left, he was already at his limit after this attack, which had not yet determined a winner.

Seeing Kumārajīva leaping forward again, Duan Yanqing concentrated all his remaining internal energy and pointed out with one finger.

Having just suffered a minor defeat, Kumārajīva naturally dared not be overconfident now.

He clenched his hands together, unleashing a powerful flaming blade strike that pierced the air, engaging in a final internal energy battle with Duan Yanqing.

He shared a similar idea with Duan Yanqing—although he had no intention of killing, it would be good if he could take this opportunity to severely injure the other party so that they could not interfere with the upcoming journey to obtain the scriptures.

This time, both sides continuously supplied internal energy, and the finger force and sword energy did not cancel each other out.

Kumārajīva's sword force forced his opponent's finger strength to retreat steadily.

He continued to increase his strength, pushing the internal force of the Flaming Blade towards Duan Yanqing's chest.

Just as it was about to touch—

The internal force transmitted through Duan Yanqing's fingers suddenly surged!

The force of the push sent Kumārajīva flying!

Kumārajīva flipped over in mid-air, and after his feet landed, he still couldn't stop his momentum. He slid several feet on the ground before finally coming to a stop.

After regaining his footing, he praised loudly, "Impressive internal strength! And who are you, benefactor?"