Chapter 331 - Lesser Arhat Temple Burns
A not-so-sturdy shoulder and chest made abrupt contact. The person who was struck had no time to defend himself before his entire body was sent flying like a cannonball!
It all happened in an instant. The Zhang Dongyun brothers never expected Xue Qiming’s counterattack to be so swift and fierce. Before they could react, their group of three had become a group of two. A thunderous crash sounded behind them—the courtyard wall had collapsed, burying their fallen brother under the rubble of shattered bricks and broken tiles.
"Third Brother!" Zhang Dongyun cried out in anguish. The other rushed over, frantically digging through the debris to pull their brother out.
The man lying amidst the wreckage had his chest bones completely shattered into an indistinct mess. He was barely clinging to life, his breaths faint and shallow.
Xue Qiming bared his teeth, clearly not in the best state either. The earlier sword strike hadn't troubled him. After years of training, he might not have been invincible, but he was at least impervious to ordinary blades. That man’s sword had struck his weak spot, but it had only pierced a few inches into his flesh before being clamped in place by his muscles, unable to go any deeper.
What he was having trouble recovering from was the move Overlord Suppresses Mount Hua.
The old monk had given him that book, but he had only scratched the surface of its techniques. This move was far beyond his current level, and forcing it out under desperation had thrown his entire body into chaos. His qi and blood roiled as though they would explode from within at any moment.
He turned toward the inner courtyard. The flames inside the temple had grown even larger, illuminating the entire structure in a blazing glow.
Xue Qiming grew increasingly anxious. He braced himself on his knees, forced himself to stand, and strided toward the fire.
Stepping through the moon gate into the central courtyard of the Buddha Hall, Xue Qiming’s eyes instantly reddened. The entire hall was in ruins; the three-legged stool, the hanging drapery before the Buddha statue, the curled pages of scriptures had been carelessly tossed to the ground.
The fire at the hall’s entrance had surged past a man’s height, forming a wall of flames that blocked the doorway. Through the blaze, Xue Qiming could still make out the old monk’s ashes. The funerary urn had been knocked over and shattered into several pieces, leaving his remains scattered across the floor.
"You little bastard!" An enraged Zhang Dongyun stormed in. It seemed their fallen brother outside had already breathed his last.