Chapter 221

　At first, no one really took Wu Wudi and his “Invincible in All Directions” seriously. But the martial arts world is never short of challengers. Sometimes, having a big reputation or an arrogant title is a path to death. So, Wu Wudi’s arrogant and suicidal name quickly attracted countless martial artists. And then…

　　Knife, gun, sword, halberd, club, fist, palm, leg, claw, finger—whatever you’re good at, Wu Wudi will use to fight you and easily defeat you. No one can withstand ten moves from him.

　　In other words, whether you’re skilled or not, it’s still ten moves; and you only defeat the enemy, not kill them.

　　And so, Wu Wudi set off from Taiyuan and headed west, engaging in more than two hundred battles, large and small, without a single defeat. Even the masters from the eight major sects were directly defeated by Wu Wudi. It wasn’t until Wu Wudi faced off against the Blood Sabre Ancestor of the Blood Sabre Sect and killed this ruthless villain who had roamed Qinghai with a single move that he instantly became famous throughout the martial arts world, making countless people take this suddenly appearing hero and invincible powerhouse seriously.

　　”The Twelve Linked Forts is a powerful sect in the martial arts world whose influence extends far beyond the Great Wall. It consists of twelve forts, which appear no different from ordinary mountain villages on the outside. In fact, their defenses are extremely tight and their organization is very strict. Without a fort’s token and command, it is very difficult for anyone to enter. The main headquarters of the Phoenix Tail Gang in Southern Zhejiang is divided into the Twelve Linked Forts branch, the Water Gate, and the Inner Three Halls.”

　　The Twelve Linked Docks are a very deep lair, and even those who are part of the gang but do not directly serve the main force cannot easily enter.

　　The leader of the Phoenix Tail Gang, Wu Weiyang, deliberately instilled a sense of mystery and longing in his men regarding the Twelve Linked Forts, to prevent them from turning against him. The Phoenix Tail Gang used the Twelve Linked Forts as their base, fortifying themselves both on land and water, employing a defensive strategy to eliminate their most formidable rivals in the martial arts world and dominate the Jianghu.

　　”Wu Weiyang disappeared unexpectedly many years ago, and his fate is unknown. After that, he became Eagle Eye Lao Qi, the chief of the Twelve Linked Forts. Could this Wu Wudi be Wu Weiyang’s descendant, who has had a strange encounter and has now mastered great skills, intending to avenge his father?”

　　”Impossible. Eagle Eye Seven is in a completely different direction. He’s heading west, clearly aiming for the Western Regions. He might be heading for Bright Peak, or even us.”

　　”He shouldn’t be a member of the Demonic Cult. This Wu Wudi doesn’t actively seek out duels or force others to duel like Gu Santong. On the contrary, he never refuses duels, and they are always ten moves long, defeating the enemy without killing them.”

　　”The Four Eccentrics of the North, Feng Hu Yun Long; the Four Wonders of the South, Luo Hua Liu Shui; Blood Saber Ancestor; Southern Hero… without exception, they were all defeated in ten moves.”

　　”No, it wasn’t that. Blood Saber Ancestor was killed in one move. He accidentally witnessed the villain committing the crime and beheaded him in one strike. This led to a misunderstanding with the Four Heroes of the South who were pursuing him, so he fought them all at the same time and defeated all four of them in ten moves. The Four Eccentrics of the North are on par with the Four Heroes of the South, which is why they joined forces to challenge Wu Wudi…”

　　Just as a group of leaders and high-ranking officials from the eight major sects were discussing Wu Wudi, who had already appeared in the Kunlun region, Zhou Zhiruo went directly into the main tent and reported to her master, Miejue, “There is new information about Wu Wudi. He has killed four of the former Five Arhats.”

　　Upon hearing this, Abbot Fang Zheng of Shaolin Temple was greatly alarmed and exclaimed, “Could it be the five evil beasts: dragon, tiger, lion, elephant, and leopard?”

　　Zhou Zhiruo said with a strange expression, “That’s right, it was the four of them. The reason was that they joined forces to ambush Wu Wudi, trying to assassinate him, but he easily killed them all, each of them still taking ten moves.”

　　The five Arhats were originally brothers who shaved their heads and became monks at the same time, joining Shaolin Temple. Now only four remain, because the eldest brother, Arhat Wulong, has died.

　　They had roamed the martial world since their youth, killing countless people. They were known as the “Five Evil Beasts”—Dragon, Tiger, Lion, Elephant, and Leopard—and each of them had hands stained with blood.

　　But they laid down their butcher’s knives and became Buddhas on the spot. The infamous five evil beasts were transformed into the five Arhats of Shaolin Temple. They had no dragons, no tigers, no lions, no elephants, and no leopards, only a heart of Buddha.

　　Wulong, who had taken charge of the Sutra Repository, was already in the position of a Dharma Protector Elder. However, for some unknown reason, he suddenly got drunk one night, overturned the candlesticks, and almost burned the Sutra Repository, the heart of Shaolin Temple, to the ground.

　　Enraged, the abbot punished Wulong by making him face the wall for ten years and also gave him twenty lashes with the rod. Wulong was humiliated and died with resentment.

　　The four Arhats, bound by brotherhood, transformed their Buddhist hearts into murderous intent, even defying heavenly rules to assassinate their sect leader.

　　People in the martial arts world only know that their assassination attempt failed, but no one knows their fate or whereabouts, and no one knows why the Arhat Wulong, who has long since reformed, would suddenly get so drunk.

　　However, many people who have witnessed the Five Arhats’ power know how terrifying they are, especially Fangzheng, who is a generation younger than the Five Arhats. He vaguely remembers that the Five Arhats were the best of the previous generation. It was precisely because such talents were rare that the high monks of the previous generation subdued the five brothers and made them lay down their butcher’s knives and become Buddhas on the spot. However, they never expected that they would raise tigers to cause trouble.

　　”Amitabha!” Fang Zheng immediately began chanting the Buddha’s name, sitting cross-legged and remotely performing a ritual to liberate the five Arhats.

　　Although he had long ago abandoned the temple and severely injured the abbot before him, causing Shaolin to never produce a Grandmaster of the Innate Realm who could rival Zhang Sanfeng, he was still a member of Shaolin. Since he had already passed away, it was reasonable to perform a ritual to help him pass on to the afterlife and recite a mantra for rebirth, as monks are known for their compassion.

　　Other high-ranking members of major sects who knew about the Five Arhats were not as magnanimous as Fang Zheng. These five were no pushovers, and everyone knew what the Shaolin Temple’s “laying down the butcher’s knife” was all about, so they looked at them with disdain.

　　Who could blame them when the Shaolin delegation this time didn’t have any truly skilled fighters to offer? Fang Zheng was vaguely considered the top fighter, but he was indeed completely crippled by Yao Yue.

　　”A Grandmaster of the Innate Realm?”

　　”Not only that, the Southern Hero’s Wedding Dress Divine Skill is already at the eighth level (he also knows the Wedding Dress Divine Skill, but his main skill is not actually the Wedding Dress Divine Skill), and he is also a Grandmaster of the Innate Realm, yet he was still defeated in ten moves. What’s most terrifying is that the opponent only used ten moves.”

　　Yes, even a weak, second-rate martial arts master with a smattering of skills takes ten moves, while a top-tier martial arts master like Lu Zhongyuan, the Great Hero of the Southern Sky, still takes ten moves. This is clearly at least one level higher, truly living up to the title of Wu Wudi, invincible in all directions.

　　In addition to the Wedding Dress Divine Skill, Lu Zhongyuan also mastered the “Damo Shenjing” passed down from Bodhidharma.

　　This divine skill has thirty-three levels. The internal energy contained within is infinitely profound and has the effects of changing tendons and marrow and eliminating toxins. The final level requires one to be placed in a life-or-death situation, experiencing life and death, walking on the edge of life and death, and then being reborn and repairing the body to reach the state of coming back to life before it can be mastered.

　　This is a book of unparalleled value, containing extremely mysterious yoga techniques. It goes from nothing to something, from something to nothing, and then from nothing to something again, in an endless cycle. It is the supreme treasure of martial arts and the most profound internal energy cultivation method in the martial arts world.

　　Yet even such a peerless master was defeated by Wu Wudi in exactly ten moves. This is probably another innate grandmaster. Is it that innate grandmasters are really worthless, so they are everywhere in the martial arts world?