Chapter 332: Worthy of Battling Ten Thousand Pursuers

On the first floor of the Dragon Tiger Pagoda, within the yellow clay platform, Li Yuan recognized the wooden, dull little monk at a glance — truly, he had never seen such long eyebrows on anyone else.

"The Dao Lord was truly young when he was young."

Li Yuan looked him up and down a few times, yet simply couldn't find a single point worth praising — plain and unremarkable, wooden and simple, and on closer inspection, not even as good as at first glance.

"……"

Outside the yellow clay platform, amid the swirling clouds and mist, Long Long Yingchan's face darkened slightly, and his two long eyebrows fluttered up and down.

o￠o

"No wonder people say the first floor is hard to enter — the entry trial can actually randomly summon the Dao Lord himself…"

Li Yuan, who had already been looking for someone to test his hand against, was not only unafraid but rather eager to try, and the intelligence about his own Dao Lord surfaced in his mind.

Long Long Yingchan — a once-in-a-generation talent, born with the Thirteen Forms of the Spirit Dragon, exceptionally high in comprehension, taken in as a personal disciple by the previous Dao Lord upon entering the sect as a child.

Li Yuan hadn't gathered much intelligence on this Dao Lord, mainly because hardly anyone within the sect dared to spread it.

But what could be confirmed was that Long Long Yingchan was a late bloomer — in his youth, his young adulthood, and his middle age, he had always been suppressed beneath Long Xi Xiang and Nie Xianshan.

But after the age of sixty-one, he advanced by leaps and bounds, becoming a Grand Master renowned throughout the world.

"Looks like the rumors are quite credible."

Li Yuan did not sense a very strong threat, but still treated it with caution, drawing a long-handled heavy hammer from the weapon rack, not daring to be overconfident.

"Disciple Li Yuan, humbly requests the Dao Lord's instruction!"

Li Yuan cupped his fists, very polite.

Outside the clouds and mist, Long Long Yingchan gave a light snort.

Hush!

Within the yellow clay platform, the wooden little monk slowly opened his eyes, glanced at Li Yuan who was cupping his fists in salute, and tapped lightly with his foot.

Hum—

Like a heavy hammer striking a bronze bell.

Li Yuan squinted and saw layer upon layer of Jin Guang radiating from the little monk's body, like a tangible bell-wave shrouding him within.

This move he knew as well — it was the Golden Bell Shield at the Grand Completion level, a mid-grade horizontal-tempering art.

"Not right!"

In a flash of thought, Li Yuan had already realized his mistake.

When that bell-wave spread to a distance of three zhang, it swiftly rolled back, converging around the little monk's body and weaving into a golden Arhat shadow over a zhang tall.

"Long Chan Diamond Sutra!"

The little monk pressed his palms together, like Fayin Fayin Tongzi worshipping the Buddha, and charged head-on toward him, the golden Arhat shadow behind him bowing along with him.

Its momentum was heavy as a mountain, its speed swift as well, like a meteor piercing through the gale and sea of clouds, plummeting at extreme velocity.

Boom!

In the blink of an eye, Li Yuan's feet also exerted force on their own — the moment he moved, he held nothing back, his landing like thunder exploding, his leap like a dragon soaring.

As he strode, his true Qi surged around him like a tide, sketching at a speed invisible to the naked eye the shadow of the Hundred Beasts Thunder Dragon.

In that instant, Li Yuan, unleashing his full power, finally felt the tremendous change in this Thunder Dragon after incorporating Yi Bai Xing.

The various forms fused within, with the Thunder Form as the core, layered and interwoven — whether in resilience, strength, explosive power, or anything else, all had climbed by more than one tier.

Propelled by this Thunder Dragon, Li Yuan's speed surged wildly — in an instant he had shot across several hundred meters, like a flash of Lei Guang.

"This is the true Hundred Beasts Thunder Dragon!"

Li Yuan suddenly felt immensely exhilarated; the long hammer swept up from behind him, like a thunderbolt, crashing down with a roar, and the Thunder Dragon roared along with it.

Clang!

The tangible bell-wave rippled outward like ripples, a gale rose suddenly, producing a crashing sound like waves striking a cliff.

Thud!

Outside the clouds and mist, Long Long Yingchan's two long eyebrows flicked up and down — he heard a dull thud that set his teeth on edge.

Of course the clouds, mist, and dust could not obstruct his vision; under that strike, Li Yuan's figure stood immovable as a mountain, while the wooden little monk had been hammered straight into the yellow clay ground.

Bang!

As the hammer fell, the solid rebound force delighted Li Yuan greatly — this was far more satisfying than pummeling that old ghost of Mount Mo Tian.

For a hammer-wielder, striking empty air was too unpleasant; this feeling of hard collision, he liked it much more.

Whine—

The moment his hammer struck, Li Yuan felt the ground tremble beneath his feet, the yellow clay-packed earth shaking violently, and the dust-covered little monk shot up in a flash, swinging down one arm, the Vajra behind him also swinging its Jiang Mo Chu.

"Only the Long Chan Diamond Sutra?"

Li Yuan was slightly taken aback; his feet did not move, the long hammer circled his body once, already moving with the Thunder Dragon, striking upward from below — only to hear a tremendous bang.

Under his merciless heavy blow, the wooden little monk was like a boulder swept up by a hurricane, letting out a whoosh as he flew several dozen meters away.

He landed heavily like a stone block.

"This tough to take a hit?"

The instant the heavy hammer struck, Li Yuan keenly sensed something amiss; he instinctively retreated one step, only to hear a dragon's cry ring out.

A cloud dragon formed of true Qi suddenly emerged from within the little monk's body — with just one claw, his eyelids began to twitch uncontrollably.

"Wind Tiger Cloud Dragon?!"

Boom!

Li Yuan retreated explosively, drew back his hammer, spun his body, and the Thunder Dragon and long hammer moved with him — accompanied by the roar of tigers and the cry of dragons, they met the attack with a thunderous crash.

Crack!

The dragon claw formed of true Qi, like a divine weapon, instantly shredded the heavy hammer reinforced by the Thunder Dragon's true Qi — with an unstoppable momentum, it sought to strike him dead on the spot!

"This fierce?"

The heavy hammer shattered. Li Yuan discarded the hammer and retreated, alarmed but not flustered. Dodging the dragon claw, he reached out and seized the thunder dragon formed from his vigorous true Qi in his palm, reshaping it into a heavy hammer, and once again charged forward to meet the attack.

Transformation?

Missing with one claw, Long Long Yingchan could not help but narrow his eyes, his expression shifting.

That claw was still at the Tongmai level, but it had been unleashed by the current him—yet it had been dodged?

Boom—!

The moment Long Long Yingchan's attention wavered, a massive blast of Qi erupted on the yellow clay platform, the gale sending mud and sand flying and rolling a hundred meters out.

"The gap... is actually this vast?"

Pinching his two Bai Mei, Long Long Yingchan was briefly dazed. When he came back to himself, he did not linger—in a flash, he had vanished from where he stood.

Li Yuan retreated out of the tower.

"Truly a Grandmaster. I should not have shown the slightest underestimation. I must reflect and remember this lesson."

Li Yuan's face was heavy.

He had thought it a great victory, but who could have imagined it was actually a bitter one.

That final Cloud Dragon Nine Appearances, Nine Claws had been simply exquisite. In the end, he had no choice but to trade injury for injury, blasting apart that wooden little Monk, and also withdrew from the Dragon Tiger Tower.

"Li Yuan?"

Suddenly, Li Yuan heard a voice. He turned his head and saw, before the giant stele, Pei Jiu with a cold, stern face and tightly furrowed brows, the long sword on his back humming and buzzing:

"You..."

Pei Jiu wanted to say something, but suddenly closed his mouth.

He was innately perceptive, able to discern strength and weakness. At this moment, from Li Yuan's body, he sensed a bone-deep chill—an incomparably intense threat.

Compared to their first meeting, he had grown stronger by who knew how much.

"Mm."

Li Yuan had no mind to converse with him. With a slight nod, he once again walked into the tower.

Hum—

Li Yuan had prepared himself to push forward once more, but he never expected that after the swirling clouds dispersed, what surrounded him was actually a bamboo grove with an elegant, tranquil atmosphere.

A stream before him, a small hut behind.

Is this the sixth floor?

Li Yuan started, and had already spotted Long Long Yingchan sitting cross-legged on a reclining-ox stone by the river.

Compared to his youth, the current Long Dao Master, though aged, carried a certain solemn, dignified presence—especially those silver-white long brows, which in the gentle breeze held a rather otherworldly air.

"Disciple Li Yuan, greets the Dao Master."

Li Yuan bowed in salute, but suddenly felt a bit uneasy inside. The scene of him tormenting the other man—the other man probably hadn't seen it, right?

"Mm."

Long Long Yingchan gave a slight nod, gesturing for him to sit, his heart still rippling with unrest.

Since their very first meeting, he had always rated Li Yuan very highly in his heart, but looking at it now, he had actually still underestimated him.

Cloud Dragon Nine Appearances, Nine Claws was already his strongest killing move at the Tongmai level. Executed with his current martial attainments, it had actually lost.

This showed that, at least at the Tongmai level, the boy before him was already approaching Wan Wan Zhuliu's level.

"Perhaps he only lacks an Absolute-Learning-grade lightness skill and footwork, as well as a way to counter the Demon-Subduing Dragon God Form..."

Long Long Yingchan was somewhat lost in thought.

Li Yuan had no choice but to give a light cough and inquire:

"Dao Master, I wonder what instructions you have for summoning this disciple?"

"Do you know the distinctions among forms?"

Long Long Yingchan spoke.

"Distinctions among forms?"

Li Yuan pondered briefly, then answered: "Mortal Form, Spirit Form, Heaven-and-Earth Form."

"Right, but also not right."

Long Long Yingchan pinched his long brows, steadying his emotions: "The myriad forms of Heaven and Earth are not only divided into these three levels, but also into categories."

"Categories?"

Li Yuan straightened his posture and listened respectfully.

"So-called categories, judged by life and death: the Thunder Dragon you cultivate, the Long Xiang Heliu, all belong to the forms of living beings; whereas the Soldier Path Battle-Slaughtering Hammer is a death form, governing weapons and warfare, with extremely heavy killing intent."

"The distinction of life and death."

Li Yuan nodded, indicating his understanding.

"Life-forms and death-forms have no hierarchy of superiority. Generally speaking, martial artists before entering the Dao will simultaneously cultivate two kinds of form-change combinations; some, even three."

Long Long Yingchan did not say too much. After offering a brief pointer, he still took out a manual from his side and tossed it over:

"The Thunder Dragon you cultivate is not bad, but it seems incomplete. This Cloud Dragon Nine Appearances may be of some use to you."