Chapter 127: Show Your Weapon
Shen Wanyun turned to look, and saw a young woman in green arriving at the Scholars' Residence.
The young woman wore a fitted combat outfit, her hair coiled up and held in place by a gauze net, with a small golden sword hairpin stuck through it. She too had traveled from afar, dust-covered, likely having just disembarked from a boat not long ago. Behind her followed a burly man, extremely tall—twice the height of an ordinary person—muscular and powerful, with fierce, bulging muscles.
This burly man carried the young woman's luggage, following her step by step to the Scholars' Residence.
Yue Qinghong brought the burly man over, ignoring the scholars who came to greet her. Her gaze fell directly on Shen Wanyun as she walked straight toward him.
When they were still about a zhang apart, Yue Qinghong stopped. The burly man behind her also halted.
"Senior brother." Yue Qinghong greeted him with a salute.
Shen Wanyun returned the salute: "Junior sister Yue. Where have you returned from your training?"
Yue Qinghong smiled: "Just returned from the battlefield at Langjuxu. I heard senior brother also went to the battlefield for training?"
Shen Wanyun nodded: "Yes, I went to the Mandi Kingdom battlefield and fought a few battles against the barbarian tribes. You've improved considerably."
Yue Qinghong laughed: "So have you. I'm worried I still can't beat you now, but fortunately, I subdued a wolf slave in Langjuxu. Wolf slave, come meet senior brother!"
The burly man behind her dropped the luggage with a thud, then suddenly reached out and grabbed at Shen Wanyun!
His aura was fiercely hot like fire. As his hand shot out, the air became incredibly dry, even filled with blowing sand, giving one the feeling of a yellow desert, scorching sun, and a face full of sand!
The wolf slave's bare chest even revealed dragon-wolf patterns, causing many scholars to feel a chill in their hearts. These dragon-wolf patterns were actually a variant of the Azure Dragon Spirit Body among the four great spirit bodies, called the Dragon-Wolf Spirit Body—the totem of Langjuxu!
Shen Wanyun remained calm, raising his palm to meet the wolf slave's massive hand. With a thunderous boom, Shen Wanyun's robes fluttered loudly. The wolf slave's towering frame also swayed slightly, and he looked at Shen Wanyun with a different expression, speaking with a slightly rolled tongue: "You're not weak."
"You too."
Shen Wanyun smiled: "Junior sister Yue managed to subdue a wolf slave—clearly your strength has grown by leaps and bounds."
Suddenly, a ethereal voice laughed: "Senior sister Yue, senior brother, you two are praising each other again. When will you learn to be as humble as I am?"
Another youth walked over, bald-headed, dressed in white monk's robes like a Buddhist monk, but without the ritual scar marks on his scalp.
"Junior brother Yun Que." Shen Wanyun said politely.
This young monk should have been cultivating in the Buddhist tradition, but clearly his temperament was not that of a Buddhist—he was extremely competitive and eager to prove himself. He said eagerly: "I went to the rebellious region of Lijiang. The Lijiang Sword Sect was wiped out, and the other sects there rose up in rebellion. I followed the army to suppress the revolt. These past days, I've gained some insights and would like to ask senior brother Shen and senior sister Yue for their guidance."
Yue Qinghong's eyes flickered: "The three of us have been fighting since we enrolled, and we've always been a fraction weaker than senior brother. That's why you're the senior brother of the Scholars' Residence. But after this training, I'm afraid there will be no senior brother in the Scholars' Residence—only a senior sister!"
Shen Wanyun said calmly: "I killed barbarians at the border, arriving with fierce killing intent. My killing aura is too heavy—I fear that once I strike, there will be casualties. However, we do have a fierce one in the Scholars' Residence, extremely ferocious. Most of the scholars here have been beaten by him. If any of you can defeat him, I'll gladly hand over the position of senior brother!"
Yue Qinghong's eyes lit up: "You won't go back on your word?"
Shen Wanyun smiled: "When have I, Shen Wanyun, ever gone back on my word? This man is named Qin Mu. He wears brocade clothing and has a white fox by his side—easy to recognize. I just saw him heading down the mountain, so he should be back soon."
Yun Que immediately dashed off, laughing heartily: "This Qin Mu—this little monk will go convert him! Senior sister Yue, don't compete with me for this. Let me have the pleasure of being senior brother first!"
Yue Qinghong watched him leave, sneering: "This bald thief usually pretends to be a lofty monk, but he's actually the most impatient of all. Even senior brother Shen finds him troublesome, so he's certainly no pushover. Senior sister Qu, were all of you beaten by this Qin Mu?"
Senior sister Qu and the others looked embarrassed.
Yue Qinghong's eyes flickered as she said: "Would you mind telling me what techniques this Qin Mu used?"
She was meticulous in her thinking. After asking everyone what moves Qin Mu had used to defeat them, after a moment, Yue Qinghong had formed a judgment: "This person has used spells and palm techniques, but no sword techniques. He probably doesn't have much skill with the sword..."
Qu Ting quickly said: "Senior sister, during the great examination, he used a wooden sword to defeat Lingyun the Daoist of the Pure Yang Hall."
"Defeated Lingyun the Daoist?"
Yue Qinghong was startled: "How many moves did it take?"
"One move!"
Yue Qinghong's heart trembled slightly: "Defeating Lingyun the Daoist at the same cultivation level isn't too difficult—I could do it too. But defeating Lingyun in one move, I couldn't do that. He defeated these junior brothers and sisters with just one move each, whether fist or spell. He's actually proficient in three arts—does he have no weaknesses? No, there must be weaknesses! When I went to the Langjuxu battlefield, I saw those famous seniors, and even they had flaws. How much more so a newly enrolled scholar? When Yun Que fights him, I can observe his strengths and weaknesses!"
She set down her luggage and immediately left with the wolf slave.
Qin Mu took the little fox to find a decent restaurant in the capital, ordered a table full of delicacies, and feasted heartily. Qin Mu, in a rare moment of generosity, ordered a pot of fine wine for Hu Ling'er and had two cups himself. Both man and fox ate until their bellies were round.
Hu Ling'er was drowsy, floating in the air on a gust of demonic wind, returning to the Grand Academy with Qin Mu. After getting drunk, this little fox became very proper, sitting rigidly on the demonic wind without moving, front legs stretched straight, eyes staring ahead without blinking—except her furry belly had swollen several sizes.
Qin Mu's two small cups of wine didn't affect him at all. He strolled along, taking in the cultural scenery of the capital. The city was prosperous and beautiful, making one reluctant to leave.
Man and fox walked through the mountain gate. Qin Mu waved his hand in front of the little fox, but Hu Ling'er's eyes remained wide open, though a snoring sound like a cat's purring came from her throat. She had fallen asleep drunk, yet this fox demon was still riding the demonic wind forward.
Qin Mu didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He scooped the white fox out of the demonic wind and hung her around his neck. Hu Ling'er's body went limp, half-wrapping around his neck, her tail hanging down from Qin Mu's chest. She squirmed twice, found a comfortable position, and continued sleeping soundly.
"Can't hold your liquor, but you still like to drink."
Qin Mu shook his head and walked up the mountain. Hu Ling'er slept in a daze, feeling that lying on Qin Mu's neck was very comfortable.
When they reached the cliff edge, Qin Mu's steps suddenly slowed. Hu Ling'er felt as if needles had sprouted on Qin Mu's neck, prickling her uncomfortably. She quickly shifted to another position, but the prickling sensation remained.
The little fox changed positions several times but still felt uncomfortable, as if Qin Mu had turned into a big hedgehog. She squinted her drowsy eyes, extended her furry paw to feel the back of Qin Mu's neck, and found no thorns, but the prickling sensation was real.
"Could the young master be about to reveal his true form?"
The white fox was puzzled when Qin Mu stopped walking.
Only then did Hu Ling'er notice someone on the cliff. A white-robed monk stood on the cliff edge, robes fluttering in the wind, looking toward them.
"Qin Mu?" The white-robed monk asked.
Qin Mu nodded: "Yes. You are?"
The white-robed monk held one palm upright before him, wearing a gentle smile that gave him a very Buddhist appearance. His voice was ethereal, carrying Buddhist resonance: "Your wild nature is hard to tame. This little monk has come specifically to convert you and subdue your wildness. Show your weapon!"
Qin Mu was puzzled: "Senior brother, you haven't told me your name yet."
The white-robed monk's face was filled with excitement, his Buddhist appearance vanishing instantly. He leaped down from the cliff top, attacking Qin Mu head-first with feet in the air, laughing: "After I convert you, you'll naturally know my name!"
He was mid-air when suddenly a dragon's roar and an elephant's trumpet sounded. Qin Mu looked up and saw great Buddhist light blazing in the sky. A great Buddha, coiled with a giant dragon and riding a white elephant, pressed down toward him!
This was a phenomenon created by the white-robed monk's primordial energy. His primordial energy was profound, surpassing the other scholars, rivaling even Lingyun the Daoist!
This attack was a form of fist technique, mixed with true words—incantations targeting the soul—while the fist technique of the coiled dragon and seated elephant targeted the physical body.
Both attacks combined into one, forming the phenomenon of dragon roar, elephant trumpet, coiled dragon, and seated elephant—nearly a divine ability. This showed how skilled the white-robed monk was.
Qin Mu's spirit soared, and he couldn't help but feel excited.
Finally, he had met an expert!
Ever since he arrived in the capital, he had only encountered scholars like Qu Ting, and even someone like Lingyun the Daoist from the Imperial Academy had been humiliated by his sword in a single move. It was hard to have a satisfying fight.
This white-robed monk who refused to give his name was clearly very strong, igniting his fighting spirit.
Since stepping onto the soil of Yankang, he had disguised himself as a civilized person, and the act was truly exhausting. But deep down, Qin Mu was still a god-forsaken outcast from the wild, barbaric land of the Great Ruins—an outcast without divine favor, a fierce brute who would dare to dive into rivers to slay flood dragons with a knife and climb mountains to fight beasts!