332: Chapter 112 Battle Against the Sweeping Monk

"Is the old lay devotee Murong Bo doing well these days?"

Upon hearing this, Meng Li frowned and asked, "My father passed away many years ago. What do you mean by this, Great Master?"

The Sweeping Monk smiled and revealed, "Your Murong Family lineage is a descendant of the Xianbei royal family, and you are single-mindedly bent on reviving the Great Yan."

"Your father's death is a lie; his faked death to plot the restoration of the nation is the truth."

"All these years, he has often come to the Shaolin Monastery to steal Martial Arts, and he is even more insatiable than the old lay devotee Xiao Yuanshan. The old lay devotee Xiao only stole the existing Martial Arts of the Shaolin Monastery, but he has taken all seventy-two unique skills of the Shaolin Monastery, only returning the originals after copying them."

"I suppose he has always intended to master these seventy-two unique skills thoroughly."

"Some time ago, Young Master Murong, after you defeated Qiao Feng and rose to fame, he left the Shaolin Monastery."

"This Monk originally thought that he had heard of this, felt your inner strength was sufficient, and went to impart the seventy-two unique skills to you, intending to return once he was finished."

"I never imagined that he still hasn't returned, and Young Master Murong, you have not learned the Shaolin unique skills either."

"Young Master Murong, could you tell This Monk the whereabouts of your father?"

Meng Li shook his head and said, "Great Master, monks do not tell lies. Your fabrications have broken your precepts."

"Amitabha." The Sweeping Monk recited a Buddhist chant and then explained, "This Monk is not inquiring about your father's whereabouts to do him harm, but rather because he lacks the foundation of profound Buddhist teachings, and by forcing himself to practice the seventy-two unique skills, the internal injuries caused by entering the Demonic Path are even worse than those of the old lay devotee Xiao."

"As far as This Monk knows, his three acupoints—Yangbai, Lianquan, and Fengfu—suffer from severe pain three times every day."

"If not resolved in time, not only will he suffer endless torment, but it will also endanger his life."

"As his son, how can you bear to watch your father die in such painful torment?"

Meng Li sighed, "Great Master, if you only have lies to offer, please forgive me for not keeping you company."

Having said that, he turned to leave.

"Amitabha." Seeing this, the Sweeping Monk pressed his palms together and recited a Buddhist chant, then said softly, "Since you are stubborn, Young Master, This Monk has no choice but to keep you in the monastery for a while, waiting for your father to return voluntarily and take refuge in the Three Jewels."

After speaking, he raised his hand and used the Dragon Claw technique to grab at Meng Li's shoulder.

Meng Li dodged to the side and counterattacked with a grappling reversal Move from the Tianshan Broken Plum Hand.

The Sweeping Monk switched to the Tiger Claw technique to respond.

Meng Li still used the Tianshan Broken Plum Hand, but the Move had subtle changes.

This change happened to land on the flaw of the Tiger Claw technique, potentially subduing it.

The Sweeping Monk noticed this and quickly changed his Move accordingly, using a technique from the Flower-Plucking Grappling Hand to respond.

Meng Li still used the Tianshan Broken Plum Hand, creating new changes in the subtle details.

The Sweeping Monk switched to the Twelve Grappling Hands, the Shaolin Thirteen Claws, the Indra Claw, and the Nirvana Claw.

Meng Li faced them all with the Tianshan Broken Plum Hand, handling them with ease.

The Sweeping Monk then switched to palm techniques: Great Force Vajra Palm, Prajna Palm, Skanda Palm, Thousand-Hand Tathagata Palm...

Meng Li still used the Tianshan Broken Plum Hand.

The two of them exchanged blows, creating quite a commotion, which the crowd outside heard and rushed over to investigate.

The first to arrive were Wang Yuyan, A Zi, and A Zhu.

Seeing that Meng Li and the Sweeping Monk had begun fighting, A Zi instinctively wanted to help, but was stopped by Wang Yuyan.

Immediately, Wang Yuyan said, "Husband and this Great Master are not fighting for real; they should be sparring. Let us watch and see what happens."

Only then did A Zi give up the idea of helping and instead began to watch intently.

A Zhu, A Bi, Mu Wanqing, Mei Jian, and Zhu Jian did the same.

Following them were Xiao Yuanshan, Qiao Feng, Xuan Ji, and Xuan Sheng, as well as the Shaolin monks.

Further behind were the rest of the Jianghu people and the group led by Duan Zhengchun.

But strangely, the people from the Beggars Sect did not arrive.

In just this short while, the Sweeping Monk had switched to many other types of Shaolin Martial Arts.

Fist techniques: Arhat Fist, Bright Fist, Off-Flower Seven-Star Fist...

Finger techniques: Formless Tribulation Finger, Flower-Plucking Finger, Palmyra Leaf Finger, Great Wisdom Indeterminate Finger...

He used various unique skills with ease, interweaving them, and even mixed in the Shaolin Heart-Embracing Leg and the Shadow-Following Leg. Furthermore, his attack speed became faster and faster; by the time Duan Zhengchun and his party arrived, his attacks were already creating afterimages.

His position relative to Meng Li was also constantly changing as they fought.

Xuan Ji, Xuan Sheng, and the Shaolin monks were greatly astonished when they saw this.

The Legacy of the seventy-two unique skills of the Shaolin Monastery has existed for a long time, but few are proficient in many of them. In their generation, the person who had practiced the most and reached the highest level was Abbot Xuan Ci.

Yet, Xuan Ci was only proficient in three unique skills: the Great Force Vajra Palm, the Prajna Palm, and the Kasaya Demon-Subduing Technique.

The Martial Arts displayed by the Sweeping Monk had already far exceeded this number.

This made them sigh in their hearts that a divine monk is indeed a divine monk, incomparable to ordinary people.

Then, they looked at Meng Li, and the astonishment in their hearts turned into shock.

Because when facing the various unique skills displayed by the Sweeping Monk, Meng Li's Moves also constantly changed, but they remained the same at their core; he was still using the Tianshan Broken Plum Hand.

With the strategy of "mastering one technique to conquer all," he handled it with ease.

Qiao Feng and Xiao Yuanshan also saw the trick to it.

Qiao Feng's eyes revealed surprise.

He did not expect that besides Shifting Stars, the Mixed Finger Technique, and that miraculous palm technique where ten thousand flowers fall, Meng Li would also possess such exquisite and varied hand techniques.

As expected of the Murong Family of Suzhou; their foundation is truly profound.

Xiao Yuanshan felt it was unbelievable.

Just one set of Martial Arts could actually easily cope with the various Shaolin unique skills!

This was something he had never thought of.

Compared to this, his behavior of stealing Shaolin unique skills over these years seemed somewhat ridiculous.

Duan Zhengchun, Zhu Danchen, and the others had lower attainments in Martial Arts and could only see that the Moves of the Sweeping Monk and Meng Li were extremely exquisite.

The rest of the Jianghu people only saw layers of afterimages and, while they didn't understand the details, they were awestruck.

They had previously witnessed the strength of the Sweeping Monk; under threat, he not only reversed the situation but also easily repelled hundreds of fully armed soldiers single-handedly. The title of divine monk was well-deserved.

Meng Li was actually able to fight him to a draw; he is truly worthy of being the Young Master who defeated Qiao Feng in one Move!

Seeing that he still hadn't been able to take down Meng Li even after everyone had arrived, the Sweeping Monk's eyes flickered slightly, and he used a technique to transfer force, diverting Meng Li's Move.

Meng Li was shocked in his heart.

Shifting Stars?

Taking advantage of this gap, the Sweeping Monk withdrew, then scanned the entire scene and pressed his palms together: "Young Master, please follow This Monk."

After speaking, he used his Lightness Skill and flew off towards the back mountain of the Shaolin Monastery.

Meng Li thought for a moment and then leaped to follow.

When they arrived in the woods at the back mountain, there was no one around.

The Sweeping Monk landed and stopped.

Meng Li frowned and asked, "Who are you, and why do you know the Shifting Stars of my Murong Family?"

The Sweeping Monk did not answer, but extended a finger and pointed through the air.

A beam of finger energy condensed from his True Qi at his fingertip transformed into a finger-beam and flew out, shooting straight at Meng Li.

Mixed Finger Technique!

Meng Li's eyes narrowed slightly, and he pointed a finger, shooting out a similar finger-beam that precisely neutralized it.

Not only does he know Shifting Stars, but he also knows the Mixed Finger Technique.

Combining this with the speculations from the internet in his first life, Meng Li had a vague answer regarding the identity of the Sweeping Monk.

However, what the truth really is still needs to be verified.

"Who exactly are you?"

The Sweeping Monk did not answer but instead asked, "Do you have the ambition to restore the nation?"

...