Chapter 33: Kongtong, Kongtong, empty and hollow; today, I shall let this mountain

Half a month later.

Weizhou, Kongtong Mountain.

"Empty and hollow, possessing a sense of tranquility and naturalness; there are also many caves on the mountain. No wonder this mountain is named Kongtong."

A youth in green robes stood outside the mountain gate of the Kongtong Sect, speaking to himself with carefree contentment.

"Where did this strange brat come from, daring to run wild at our Kongtong Sect?"

A Kongtong disciple saw the newcomer in green robes and bare feet, with hair color unlike that of an ordinary person, and couldn't help but shout loudly. Instantly, twenty or thirty other Kongtong disciples fixed their gazes upon him.

"Aren't you all looking for me, Zhuang?"

As soon as the youth in green robes finished speaking, a Kongtong disciple hurriedly shouted:

"Kill the Second Senior Brother!"

This person had only shouted halfway when the youth in green robes, who appeared to be strolling leisurely, passed through the Kongtong mountain gate in the blink of an eye and arrived behind the twenty or thirty Kongtong disciples.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

In an instant, these people didn't know when a bloody hole had appeared in their throats; they fell to the ground one after another, breathless and dead.

When Zhuang Buran walked into the square outside the main hall of the Kongtong Sect, he saw a group of Kongtong disciples practicing swordplay and boxing, while an old man sat upright in the center.

"Zhuang Buran has come specially to pay a visit to the mountain and seek death!"

The youth in green robes let out a long whistle, which immediately caused the bodies of those present to sway; eight or nine out of ten Kongtong disciples vomited a large mouthful of blood in unison, their faces as pale as gold paper, and they fell to the ground.

The old man was also shaken by the sound wave technique, which contained incomparably tyrannical internal energy, causing the chair beneath him to shatter into pieces; his body couldn't help but retreat seven or eight steps before he stood firm.

He looked at the disciples who had been full of life just a moment ago, now lying before his eyes on the verge of death, likely to pass into the underworld within a short time, and couldn't help but gnash his teeth in anger:

"What a wicked thief, to actually dare to attack our doorstep."

At this moment, a middle-aged man and two old men leaped over. Upon seeing the situation in the square, all of them felt their blood surge and were filled with rage.

"The Kongtong Sect Leader has arrived. Why are there only three of the legendary Kongtong Five Elders left now?"

The youth in green robes feigned a look of sudden realization:

"I suddenly remembered; they took a large group of elite Kongtong disciples outside to search everywhere for my tracks."

"Unbridled, lawless, and with extremely tyrannical cultivation; no wonder even after obtaining the supreme arts of the Five Greats, he could still live well, and even obtained the *Nine Yin Manual*," the middle-aged man said through gritted teeth.

"You seem to have some grievances," Zhuang Buran revealed a look of confusion. "Wasn't it you who came to provoke me first?"

"Who doesn't want to obtain supreme martial arts treasures? The one surnamed Wang also yearned for them. Upon hearing that this treasure had fallen into the hands of a young man traveling alone, he became even more restless." A trace of regret appeared in the middle-aged man's eyes:

"I should have thought of it earlier; someone who can obtain various supreme divine arts is no ordinary person. Since things have come to this, even if we die, we must bite a few pieces of flesh off you."

He drew the precious sword from his hand and roared:

"Fight this wicked thief to the death!"

Having said that, he attacked the youth in green robes with his sword. The sword style was extremely dangerous, fierce, and ruthless, with every move aiming to kill, as if he had no intention of leaving himself a way to survive.

"A mantis trying to stop a chariot; overestimating one's capabilities."

Zhuang Buran wore a look of laziness and said softly with great interest:

"Kongtong, Kongtong, empty and hollow; today, I shall let this mountain... live up to its name."

While speaking, he snatched the precious sword from the middle-aged man's hand in one motion, placed it flat on his palm with the tip pointing outward, and flicked his right middle finger against the hilt. A crisp "Zheng" sound rang out.

The precious sword turned into several broken blades, their momentum even more fierce and urgent than a heavy crossbow fired from a strong bow, all of them sinking into the middle-aged man's chest.

The remaining momentum of the broken blades did not diminish, piercing through his body and nailing him to the heavy wooden door in the distance.

With a "thump," the middle-aged man fell stiffly to the ground, lying in a pool of blood with his eyes wide open.

"Sect Leader!"

The three old men were furious. They hadn't expected this villain to be so cruel. They all exerted their internal energy and struck themselves violently, as if destroying their own livers and lungs, causing their expressions to become manic and their ferocity uncontrollable. They launched a siege on the youth in green robes with incomparable speed.

Zhuang Buran stood calmly in place, only feeling the fist energy unleashed by the three. One was full of rigid and fierce power; one pair of fists was elusive, with a cold force coming head-on; and the third pair of fists contained rigidity within softness, unleashing an inward-contracting force.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

The moment the three old men hit the body of the youth in green robes, they were suddenly struck by a vast counter-shock force, forced to retreat ten steps before stopping. The five internal organs in their chests and abdomens turned over in unison.

With a "waa" sound, they sprayed out large mouthfuls of fresh blood.

"Your *Seven Injury Fist* doesn't seem to have been practiced to perfection," Zhuang Buran stood with his hands behind his back:

"Come, I will stand here without moving and let you unleash it to your heart's content. Let's see if you beat me to death first, or if I shake you to death first."

The three old men seemed not to hear, their expressions becoming even more manic, and their fist power seemed to grow even stronger. They struck the youth in green robes continuously with their left and right fists, their fists as swift as thunder and incomparably powerful.

Every punch unleashed contained seven types of fist energy: rigid and fierce, cold and soft, horizontal, direct, inward-contracting, soft within rigidity, and rigid within softness.

After a few breaths, the old man who had been forced back the most steps by the counter-shock suddenly vomited blood and died. Immediately after, another person's eyes rolled back, and he died breathless.

Only the last old man, although he vomited a large mouthful of blood, had a face as pale as white paper, completely devoid of color, and knelt on the ground, exhausted.

Zhuang Buran walked steadily to his front and said:

"You have disappointed me too much. You must know that your sect's *Seven Injury Fist* is a unique skill capable of breaking the *Vajra Indestructible Body Divine Skill*. Now it seems that it was entrusted to the wrong person!"

"Since the founding of our sect, the *Seven Injury Fist* has never competed against the *Vajra Indestructible Body Divine Skill*," the old man panted as he looked up at the youth in green robes, who was neither flushed nor out of breath, and said with difficulty:

"Is the martial arts in the *Nine Yin Manual* truly so mysterious and unpredictable, allowing you to possess such extraordinary martial arts at such a young age?"

"Still thinking about it even now? I will fulfill your wish."

A deep, soul-capturing light appeared in Zhuang Buran's eyes, and the old man's eyes became dazed and trance-like.

"Tell me about the mental method and essence of the *Seven Injury Fist*."

"The human body contains yin and yang energy, and the five elements of metal, wood, water, fire, and earth. The heart belongs to fire, the lungs to metal, the kidneys to water, the spleen to earth, and the liver to wood. Practicing the seven injuries injures all seven; the energy of the five elements regulates yin and yang..."

Before long, the corners of the youth in green robes' mouth curled up, and he thought:

"The *Dragon Subduing* is upright, the *Seven Injury* is sinister. Although the power is about the same, the *Seven Injury* is somewhat mediocre. Only those with great internal energy can reveal the brilliance of the fist technique, but it is still an excellent fist technique."

"Within one punch, there are seven different forces, making the enemy unable to block the second force after blocking the first, and the third, fourth, and so on follow one after another."

Immediately, he looked around. Since he had created the *Nisheng Triple*, he had reached the threshold of the second level. The reason he hadn't crossed it was simply to carve the technique to be more subtle and profound.

And on the first level, with his skin and flesh completely Qi-fied, he already possessed divine strength. His power increased by another thirty or forty percent, and with every gesture, he possessed the strength of a dragon and tiger, unleashing a palm strike with a casual wave.

Thus, Zhuang Buran gave a casual pat, and the internal organs of the dazed old man before him were shattered, and he fell to the ground, breathing his last.

Then, upholding the principle of "since I'm already here," besides eliminating the fish that slipped through the net on the mountain, he looked to see what other martial arts and precious medicines the Kongtong Sect had.

About an hour later, thick smoke billowed from the Kongtong Sect's base.

A youth in green robes carried a bundle, stepped with light footsteps, and descended the mountain leisurely, faintly able to hear the casual and loose ditty he was humming.

"The waves of the rivers and lakes are surging, who is the most miserable, who knows... who has higher martial arts than me, a loud laugh shakes the mountains and rivers, the rivers and lakes are dangerous, run quickly."

(End of chapter)