Sword drawn from the constellations, poison as its edge.

Chapter 167 Kumārajīva Discusses Martial Arts

When Kumārajīva fell into the water, he kicked and clapped his hands, splashing up large sprays of water.

He was, after all, a master, with far superior control over his body than ordinary people. At first, he was flustered, but in a short while, he had already developed some composure.

Given more time, it wouldn't be difficult for him to learn to swim without a teacher.

But right after he fell into the water, Murong Fu also entered the water again, and he could vaguely see Murong Fu's figure leaping towards Kumārajīva like a dragon beneath the blue waves.

Then Kumārajīva let out a wild cry and plunged into the water with a gulp.

A moment later, it popped its head up again, its face filled with horror, and cried out, "I..."

Just one word, and he was dragged into the mess again.

Waves surged on the lake, and fish of all sizes floated up belly to belly from time to time. Azi cheered, drew her sword, and leaned out to pierce the stunned fish one by one, quickly piling them up in a small heap on the deck.

Jiang Mingzhe shook his head repeatedly as he watched.

Based on what he knew, Murong Fu's martial arts skills were definitely no match for Kumārajīva.

But land warfare is land warfare, and naval warfare is naval warfare.

On land, Black Whirlwind Li Kui could beat Zhang Shun to death, but in the water, White Streak in the Waves could easily teach Little Li a lesson.

Murong Fu grew up amidst the misty waters of Taihu Lake. Even if his swimming skills weren't as good as Zhang Shun's, they were certainly not comparable to those of Kumārajīva.

If Kumārajīva had let Murong Fu board the ship to fight, the outcome would most likely have been different.

After about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, the water gradually returned to calm, and Jiang Mingzhe instructed the boatman to row away.

Before they even reached the spot where they were about to enter the water, there was a loud splash, and Kumārajīva fell onto the deck like a large fish. The monk hadn't fainted yet, but his eyes were lifeless, and water gushed from his mouth like a spring.

Immediately, a hand reached out, rested on the gunwale, and with a burst of strength, a blue figure leaped out of the water. Azhu and Abi cried out in unison, "Young Master, are you alright?"

Murong Fu, soaking wet but beaming with smiles, waved to the two maids and looked at Jiang Mingzhe: "Brother, how do you think of my skills?"

Jiang Mingzhe sincerely clasped his hands in a fist and said, "This foreign monk, even when Uncle Duan and I joined forces, we couldn't stop him. I didn't expect you to defeat him so easily."

Murong Fu laughed loudly, "Hahahaha, I only managed to defeat him because of the favorable location. Otherwise, in a fair contest, given his skill, I'm afraid I would have had a hard time defeating him within at least one or two hundred moves."

Gone!

Jiang Mingzhe chuckled inwardly but didn't say anything.

Murong Fu stepped forward and pressed several acupoints on Kumārajīva, saying calmly, "Kumārajīva, what is your purpose in searching for my father's tomb?"

He asked three times in a row before Kumārajīva's eyes flickered slightly, and he whispered, "...Your father's tomb? You, oh dear, you are the son of Old Master Murong, the current head of the Murong family?"

Murong Fu said loudly, "That's right, I am Murong Fu from Gusu!"

Kumārajīva slowly propped himself up, leaning against the gunwale, and said with a bitter smile, "Injustice, injustice! Isn't this a case of the flood washing away the Dragon King's temple? Young Master Murong, I had a very deep friendship with your father and traveled a long way to offer my condolences. How could you treat me like this?" Murong Fu shook his head and said, "I have never heard my father mention any connection with any Tibetan national teacher. Besides, as soon as you came to Taihu Lake, you tried to kill my friend and threatened my female relatives. This is really not the behavior of a good friend."

As he spoke, A'Zhu and A'Bi nodded repeatedly. Kumārajīva subconsciously looked over and recognized them as the two maids who had helped Duan Yu escape.

Helplessly, he said, "Your two maids are quite clever and mischievous. This humble monk requested to see someone of influence in your household, but they played a trick on me quite a bit. As for wanting to kill your friend, could it be this Crown Prince of Dali?"

Murong Fu nodded and said, "That's right. Duan Gongfeng of the Dali Kingdom and Duan Gongzi are my sworn brothers. How could I sit idly by and watch you burn Duan Gongzi? Such evil deeds are intolerable not only to me, Murong Fu, but also to my father, who would have condemned them to their face if he were alive."

Kumārajīva shook his head and laughed, "Young Master Murong, you only know one side of the story. Your father and I are indeed close friends. How close? Venerable Jiang, you have witnessed my Flaming Blade technique. Do you think this skill is powerful?"

He suddenly asked Jiang Mingzhe, who didn't bother to lie and nodded frankly, "To condense an invisible blade with palm force, its sharpness is no less than a real blade. It can be released and released at will, at any distance. It is indeed a first-class peerless skill!"

Upon hearing of such power, Murong Fu's expression subtly changed. He thought to himself, "This skill truly deserves to be called divine. My Murong family possesses countless unique techniques, yet few seem to be able to match it."

Kumārajīva praised, "Jiang Gongfeng does not hold grudges and speaks frankly; he is a true gentleman! Young Master Murong, this skill was passed on to your father, Mr. Murong, without reservation. Would you say that makes us kindred spirits?"

Murong Fu asked in surprise, "You passed the Flaming Blade on to my father?"

Kumārajīva nodded and said solemnly, "More than ten years ago, my master taught me this unique skill. After mastering it to a certain extent, I considered myself invincible. I heard that the Shaolin Temple in the Song Dynasty was the orthodox school of martial arts in the world, and I was unconvinced. So I came to the Central Plains, intending to sneak into Shaolin at night to see the skills of the monks in the Central Plains. Unexpectedly, in a valley in Shaoshi Mountain, I encountered two peerless masters fighting. Their moves were extremely skillful, which made me very happy and full of admiration."

Murong Fu was moved and asked, "Could one of them be my father?"

Kumārajīva said, “That’s right! The two fought for three hundred rounds without a clear winner. One of them left first. I was afraid that your father would also leave, so I immediately appeared to befriend him. I learned that he was the famous Mr. Murong. He invited me to his residence to serve tea. The two of us discussed the profound principles of martial arts and got along very well. In a moment of excitement, I carefully taught your father the Flaming Saber technique.”

At this point, Kumārajīva smiled and said, "Your father was also a generous man. He said he would return the favor and took out twenty Shaolin martial arts manuals, totaling more than thirty volumes, and asked me to copy them and study them on my own. He also told me that the Flaming Blade was wonderful and that only the Six Meridians Divine Sword of Tianlong Temple in Dali Kingdom could compare to it."

Duan Yu's expression changed drastically, but Kumārajīva did not care and continued, "I was very envious when I heard this, so I promised your father that when I mastered the Flaming Saber, I would go to Tianlong Temple to exchange my saber technique for the Six Meridians Divine Sword. At that time, I would definitely share my secret techniques with him. Your father was overjoyed when he heard this and swore an oath with me, saying that he had more than fifty volumes of Shaolin secret techniques in the Yanziwu Canhe Manor. He said that when I retrieved the sword manual, he would give them all to me and allow me to enter the Murong family's Huanshi Water Pavilion to read books."

After saying this, he sighed deeply, his eyes filled with reminiscence, and shook his head, saying, "However, martial arts are boundless, and time flies. Last year, I mastered the Flaming Saber and sent someone to inquire about your father's whereabouts, only to find out that he had passed away. I wept for several days, unable to bear the grief. Remembering my old promise, I took the copy of the Shaolin martial arts manual I had recorded to Tianlong Temple to exchange for the sword manual. Unexpectedly, the monk Kurong of Tianlong Temple was stubborn and refused to give it up, which led to a fight. That monk was cunning, and when he saw that he could not defeat me, he set the sword manual on fire and burned it. I had no choice but to capture this young master Duan, who was proficient in the Six Meridians Divine Sword, and bring him to Jiangnan."

At this point, Kumārajīva looked at Jiang Mingzhe and said, "You said that I wanted to get my hands on the sword manual under the pretext of worshipping the deceased. That's not wrong. I made a promise with Mr. Murong to share the sword manual. How could I not want that?"

Duan Yu roared in anger, "Why should you share my family's sword manual just because you say so?"

Kumārajīva laughed and said, "Young Master, you are well-versed in Buddhism. How can you speak such foolish words? For example, if Confucius, the sage of Confucianism, had his descendants kept his teachings to themselves and not allowed others to learn them, how could Confucius have been a sage? Your Duan family's predecessors were the predecessors of all martial artists in the world, not just the predecessors of your Duan family. Why must the martial arts they created belong to your Duan family's descendants? If your Duan family has no successors, or if your descendants have no talent for martial arts, do you want to let the unparalleled divine skills created by your ancestors be lost to history? Is that filial piety?"

He spread his hands and said, "My Flaming Blade is not necessarily inferior to your Six Meridians Divine Sword. Do you want to learn it? If you do, I will teach it to you now."

Jiang Mingzhe frowned and said, "Kumārajīva, you've already learned so many skills, why are you still trying to learn more? Aren't you afraid of being a jack of all trades and master of none, or biting off more than you can chew?"

Upon hearing this, Kumārajīva laughed heartily and pointed at Jiang Mingzhe, saying, "These are the words of a fool! How could you, with your extraordinary talent, believe such nonsense? You should know that everyone's talent is different. Is the martial art you are currently practicing truly the most suitable for you? If you had countless martial arts techniques and practiced each one, wouldn't you be able to better understand your strengths and weaknesses? Wouldn't that ultimately allow you to draw on the strengths of many and create a martial art that is most suitable for you?"

Jiang Mingzhe's heart stirred. He thought that what this person said was actually a line of thinking, but it wouldn't work for someone with low aptitude.

Murong Fu frowned and said, "What you said is quite in line with the martial arts of my Murong family. No wonder you said my father and you are on the same page. But a person's energy is limited after all. How can one possibly practice countless martial arts? Even though you have practiced so many unique skills, you were still captured by me."

Kumārajīva's smile vanished, and he sighed, "Young Master Murong, if it weren't for the fact that this humble monk can't swim, would you really think that this humble monk is inferior to you? Ha!"

The monk let out a low shout, his body surging with energy, and then leaped up, instantly breaking through the acupoints that Murong Fu had struck!
(End of this chapter)