The First Sword of the Universe

Chapter 413 Kumārajīva: Let this humble monk show off!
Inside the dilapidated Muni Temple.
With a face as round as a full moon, the Great Wheel King Kumārajīva devoutly conveyed his request to the Master Kurō, who sat with his back to the temple door.

"When Master Murong discussed the swordsmanship of the world, he firmly believed that the Six Meridians Divine Sword of Tianlong Temple in Dali was the best in the world. It's just a pity that he never got to see it, which is a great regret."

"This humble monk has come to visit your esteemed temple today to exchange for the Six Meridians Divine Sword Manual. I will take it to the tomb of Master Murong of the Murong family in Suzhou, burn it as an offering, and thus console Master Murong for his regrets in life."

Master Kurong said coldly, "How can the supreme martial arts of my Tianlong Temple be passed on to outsiders? Mingwang, your request is a bit too much."

Kumārajīva smiled slightly and said in a gentle voice, "This humble monk knows that my request is somewhat unreasonable; but as I just said, I am willing to exchange goods for your temple's precious scriptures."

After saying that, he clapped his hands lightly.

Two burly Tibetan monks in yellow robes immediately entered the main hall. Together they carried a treasure chest the size of a cubic meter, their four strong arms gripping the four iron rings on both sides of the chest tightly.

He carefully placed it in front of Kumārajīva, moving one step at a time.

The treasure chest landed, causing a slight tremor in the ground and sending up clouds of dust.

There should be no dust in the main hall, but when Benyin and his three companions were practicing the Six Meridians Divine Sword early this morning, they damaged the bluestone floor and the red beams and pillars in the main hall. As a result, some things that should not be there are now on the ground.

The four Tibetan monks put down the treasure chest, stood up, clasped their hands in prayer to Kumārajīva, and then turned and walked out of the Muni Hall.

Upon closer inspection, the treasure chest gleamed with a cold, hard luster, clearly forged from gold and iron.

Its surface and edges are decorated with gold and silver threads, the patterns are exquisite and luxurious, and the iron chains and copper locks shine brightly, making it clear at a glance that it is not an ordinary piece of iron.

This treasure chest alone is a treasure that even ordinary wealthy families would find hard to come by, not to mention what is inside it.

Kumārajīva gently brushed his sleeve across the treasure chest.

The lid of the treasure chest was then opened, revealing a steel box several inches thick inside. In the center of the hard and heavy box wall was a small indentation, inside which was a piece of bright yellow brocade, and on the brocade was a small, golden treasure chest.

If the outer steel treasure chest is a safe, then the inner small golden treasure chest is the container for storing things.

The treasure chest was gleaming with gold, its color pure and its surface exquisitely carved with beautiful patterns.

Kumārajīva bent down, reached out, opened the golden treasure chest, took out three blue-bound books, and gently flipped through their contents, his face filled with sighs and deep sorrow.

Master Kurong and the other four, along with Xu Xingchen on the crossbeam, could all see it clearly.

The three books in Kumārajīva's hands, marked with ink, contained both illustrations and text, and it was unknown what they recorded.

But then Kumārajīva said, "These three books were given to me by Mr. Murong. They contain the essential principles, essence, and methods to counter the seventy-two extraordinary arts of Shaolin Temple. They are truly rare treasures!"

Master Kurong, Benyin, Benguan, Benxiang, and Bencan were greatly shocked, thinking to themselves, "How did the Seventy-Two Extraordinary Arts of Shaolin Temple fall into the hands of Murong Bo? Moreover, Murong Bo actually came up with a way to break them?"

Leaving aside the shock and disbelief in the hearts of Master Ku Rong and his four companions
Kumārajīva continued, "This humble monk wishes to exchange the Seventy-Two Extraordinary Techniques of Shaolin Temple for the Six Meridians Divine Sword Manual of your esteemed temple; the value is commensurate."

"This humble monk guarantees that once I obtain the Six Meridians Divine Sword Manual from your esteemed temple, I will immediately seal and pack it away, and will never open it or peek at it without permission; I will only burn it at the tomb of Master Murong in Suzhou to comfort his spirit."

"Your temple may also have a copy of the Six Meridians Divine Sword diagram engraved."

"In this way, I have fulfilled Mr. Murong's last wish. Your temple's Six Meridians Divine Sword Manual will still be kept in the temple, and you will also be able to obtain the Seventy-Two Extraordinary Techniques of Shaolin from my possession."

"This is a win-win-win situation, and I hope you will all agree to make it happen!"

After listening to Kumārajīva's words, Abbot Benyin looked at his three fellow disciples and saw that their eyes were flickering with desire, just as he was thinking.

After a moment's thought, he spoke: "How can we know whether the King of Ming's words are true or false? The Seventy-Two Extraordinary Arts of Shaolin are the martial arts secrets of Shaolin Temple. How could they be obtained by others so easily?"

Kumārajīva smiled slightly, put the book in his hand back into the golden treasure chest, and closed the lid.

Standing up, he glanced at the five people in front of him and said with a smile, "Shaolin Temple has three extraordinary finger techniques: the Flower-Picking Finger, the Leaf-Touching Finger, and the Formless Finger."

"These three finger techniques each possess their own profound mysteries, and they can be used as a reference for the One-Finger Divine Skill of the Duan family of Dali."

"This humble monk is unworthy of the title and is merely offering his humble opinion here."

As he spoke, he gently pinched his right index finger and thumb together, and a brightly colored petal quietly appeared between his two fingers.

The petals were extremely bright in color, seemingly containing many colors such as red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, and purple, yet they were all blended together into a breathtaking stream of light.

Dazzling! Stunning!

A compassionate and gentle smile appeared on Kumārajīva's face, as if he were afraid that he would crush the delicate petals between his fingers if he used too much force.

Then, he gently plucked the strings of his left hand outward, just like a woman who was well-versed in music theory playing the pipa.

Five petals, barely visible, tumbled and shot out, landing silently on the large red pillar three zhang away.

Kumārajīva gently pinched the bright petal with his right hand, while his left hand flicked it in rapid succession. Petals, appearing and disappearing in the mist, fluttered and shot out, embedding themselves in the large red pillar three zhang away.

In the blink of an eye, twenty or thirty petals were inlaid on it.

The petals are arranged in concentric circles, forming a huge flower.

Lifelike, radiant with light and color, extremely beautiful.

However, neither the process of the petals shooting out nor the process of them penetrating the beams and pillars made a sound, as if each of those flower-plucking finger techniques was an illusion.

Xu Xingchen and the others below, including Benyin, naturally did not think that Kumārajīva was making a fuss, so they quietly watched him display his skills.

Kumārajīva withdrew his left hand and gently flicked forward the bright petal that he had been holding between his right thumb and forefinger.

The petals transformed into a swirling streak of light, landing on the large red pillar three zhang away. Like a drop of cold water falling into a scalding oil pan, the change was incredibly dramatic, yet utterly silent.
The bright flower inlaid on the red beam disappeared into the beam in the blink of an eye.

Just as everyone was somewhat confused, Kumārajīva stepped forward, walked to the pillar, and said with a smile, "Master Kurong, esteemed monks, please behold, this is the power of the Shaolin wonder technique: the Flower-Picking Finger."

As he spoke, he gently patted the beam, and immediately, fine wood chips and dust flowed down from the places where bright flower petals had been inlaid, like dozens of tiny fountains "shush shush shush" as they sprinkled onto the ground.

Then, everyone noticed dozens of holes running through the beams and pillars, and they were all secretly astonished, thinking to themselves, "This Shaolin Temple's 'Finger of Flowers' technique is subtle and silent, yet its power is not weak; it truly lives up to its reputation."

"While our One-Finger Divine Skill can also pierce through beams and pillars, it cannot do so silently."

Kumārajīva's performance did not end there.

With both hands, the ten fingers bloomed like lotus flowers, flicking backward in a series of rapid strokes.

Swoosh swoosh swoosh swoosh swoosh.
This time, the sound of finger strikes cutting through the air was short and intense.

A series of semi-transparent finger strikes shot out one after another towards the fine iron treasure chest at the entrance of the main hall.

Ding-ding-ding-ding!

The rapid, urgent, and dense finger strikes caused the heavy treasure chest, which required two strong men to carry in, to bounce, tremble, and groan continuously; it then began to twist, break, and collapse.
In a breath
That heavy treasure chest, made of fine iron and decorated with gold and silver, shattered into pieces of broken copper and iron scattered all over the ground.

The power and domineering nature of those finger strikes were simply unbelievable and beyond imagination.

Kumārajīva retracted his fingers and said with a smile, "This is another extraordinary technique of Shaolin: the Doro Leaf Finger!"

Upon seeing the scattered copper and iron fragments on the ground, Abbot Benyin and the other three gasped again, secretly marveling, "The Great Wheel King's skill is truly formidable, and his finger strength is incredibly domineering."

Xu Xingchen, perched atop the pillar, watched Kumārajīva unleash his divine power and couldn't help but nod, thinking to himself, "The rules of this world impose an astonishingly excessive degree of condensation on the internal energy of martial artists."

Immediately after
Kumārajīva kept his hands tucked into his sleeves, his body and shoulders remaining still, but the broken copper and iron at the doorway were disturbed by an invisible force and began to swirl and fly.

Sometimes in the east, sometimes in the west, sometimes in the south, and sometimes in the north.

After circling around an area of ​​several meters, it landed back on the ground with a series of crackling sounds.

Kumārajīva's gaze swept over the four men, Benyin and his companions, whose expressions were solemn. He shook his head and sighed, "When the Formless Finger is used, it should be silent and stealthy. However, my skill is slightly lacking, and I cannot make it appear without form."

Benyin, Benxiang, Bencan, and Benguan were shocked by Kumārajīva's words and couldn't help but roll their eyes.

"Amitabha!" Abbot Benyin chanted a Buddhist prayer and exclaimed, "The Ming King's martial arts are unfathomable; the Seventy-Two Extraordinary Arts of Shaolin are exquisite and unparalleled; we are in awe!"

He was indeed tempted!

If we could leave the Seventy-Two Extraordinary Skills of Shaolin at Tianlong Temple in exchange for a set of rubbings of the Six Meridians Divine Sword, such an exchange would not be impossible.

Therefore, Abbot Benyin looked at Master Kurong's back and asked, "Uncle-Master, what do you think should be done about this?"

Master Kurong said coldly, "Benyin, how many grades does my Duan family's One-Finger Divine Skill have?"

Abbot Benyin paused for a moment, then replied, "There are nine ranks in total!"

Master Kurong then asked, "What rank have you reached in your cultivation?"

Abbot Benyin looked ashamed and said, "I only cultivated to the fourth rank!"

Master Kurong's tone turned serious: "We Dali Duan family can't even keep up with the martial arts we've mastered, and we haven't even perfected them yet; how dare you be so greedy as to seek more, more complete, and go after other schools' martial arts manuals?"

"Our Dali Duan family's One-Finger Divine Skill and Six-Meridian Divine Sword are second to none in martial arts, so why should we seek out the Seventy-Two Extraordinary Techniques of Shaolin?"

(End of this chapter)