Chapter Twenty-One: The Thrill of Toppling the Tower
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Jinshan Temple, Arhat Hall.
When the eighteen 660-pound, solidly built Arhats stepped onto the stage, the ground trembled and the entire Jinshan Temple seemed to be experiencing an earthquake.
All the friends perched in trees, on rooftops, and on mountaintops tumbled down in chaos...
This... is a bit much...
Li Bai looked at the eighteen rotund figures before him, instinctively taking a step back.
"Does Jinshan Temple provide such generous meals?"
Unable to resist, Li Bai finally voiced the question burning in his heart.
"Uh..."
The eighteen straightforward Arhats blushed in unison.
Even Elder Huiren, the host of the challenge, was at a loss for words. When had this group become as fat as pigs?
He immediately recalled the grinning, chubby fellow who had been a frequent visitor to the Arhat Hall these past days. Suddenly, everything became clear.
Where was that fat one?
Scanning the crowd, Elder Huiren quickly spotted Xiao Yan perched atop a portly monk's head.
Right at that moment, Xiao Yan was waving at him with a mischievous grin.
"Damn it, you again..." Elder Huiren instantly understood—this was undoubtedly another one of Xiao Yan’s schemes.
...
"Ahem... Pardon me. Sword Immortal Li Bai challenges the Eighteen Arhats Formation of Jinshan Temple—the trial begins!" Elder Huiren cleared his throat and announced.
No sooner had his words fallen than Li Bai, dressed in white, drew his sword and charged forward without hesitation.
Elder Huiming from the Sutra Library also arrived, shouting loudly, "Find the formation's core! That's the key to breaking through!"
"Hmm?" Li Bai was utterly confused.
There were eighteen of them—how could there possibly be just one core?
No wonder he was hailed as the greatest master; Li Bai weaved among the Eighteen Arhats with ease.
Of course, it might have also been because the Arhats had grown so fat that they could barely move, let alone stack themselves as the formation required...
Swish—
With a single stroke of his sword, Li Bai forcibly tore an opening in the Eighteen Arhats Formation.
As for the formation core, he found nothing; brute force and superior skill alone had gotten him through so far.
Yet Elder Huiming nodded with satisfaction from below, saying in a profound tone, "It appears that searching for the formation's core is truly the only way to break it. Perhaps today, someone will finally succeed."
He spoke as if he himself were the one fighting above.
The Eighteen Arhats, now so corpulent, were panting heavily just from moving into positions, unable to properly organize the formation.
Li Bai’s sword swept through them like a rainbow, dominating the field.
Zhuge Yixiu watched for a while, then suddenly felt a wave of frustration, muttering gloomily, "Xiao Yan, your pig-fattening tactic is really something. You let Li Bai show off, but all you do is sit on my head and make a mess... How does that feel?"
"...Feels great! I mean, sitting on your head... it feels fantastic..."
"You bastard!" Zhuge Yixiu cursed.
Of course, no one paid attention to their quiet exchange.
The monks in the hall flushed and held their breath; at this rate, Li Bai might truly break the formation.
The hall was so silent that only the clash of weapons could be heard. Li Bai’s sword aimed straight for the shoulder of the Sleeping Arhat...
As the host elder, Huiren was growing anxious, cursing Xiao Yan furiously in his heart for turning the Eighteen Arhats into pigs. With their strength halved, if Li Bai actually succeeded, how would he explain this to the abbot?
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But just then, a jarring voice called out, "Hey, Sleeping Arhat, are you dumb? Great chance—poke his balls!"
"Hmm?"
The moment those words sounded, Li Bai sensed danger. The lower body really was vulnerable, and he quickly tried to dodge.
Too late. The Sleeping Arhat reacted even faster; as soon as the words were spoken, he saw the opportunity and didn’t let it slip.
Smack—
The sound was piercing, and the monks instinctively clutched their groins...
That must have hurt.
...
What just happened?
Li Bai, who had been in control, was actually struck in such a humiliating way?
Everyone began searching for the source of the voice...
Li Bai was resigned; martial artists were proud and dignified, never attacking such shameful areas...
But what was wrong with these Arhats?
And who was that voice?
Driven by curiosity, even through gritted teeth, Li Bai turned his head toward the source.
It was a young monk sitting on a fat man's head—huh?
"Xiao Yan! Shut up! Can’t you just watch quietly?" Elder Huiren, already fuming, snapped at Xiao Yan.
...
Xiao Yan could only fall silent.
Yet, Elder Huiren soon frowned, staring at Xiao Yan’s direction with curiosity.
This boy... he could actually spot Li Bai’s flaws?
Even if his methods were underhanded, he had indeed found Li Bai’s weakness.
Impossible... Only two types could see through: one, those stronger than Li Bai; two, those intimately familiar with the Eighteen Arhats Formation.
Elder Huiren himself was a formation expert, yet even he couldn’t clearly find the weak points.
Then again... it had to be coincidence.
Yes, that must be it.
With that, Elder Huiren collected himself.
Li Bai, hearing the elder’s scolding, frowned.
Xiao Yan?
The name seemed familiar.
Was he the monk who had suggested defeating the strong with the weak?
But Li Bai had no time to ponder; the Eighteen Arhats Formation had resumed its attack.
"By the way, Xiao Yan, how did you actually defeat Yuantong?" Zhuge Yixiu suddenly remembered and asked.
"I invented my own technique—the Eighteen Arhats Formation: Solo Edition. One person can perform the whole thing. Impressive, right?" Xiao Yan, for once, answered truthfully.
"What’s a Solo Edition? You must be bluffing, using some underhanded trick..." Zhuge Yixiu was unconvinced.
The battle continued, but soon Li Bai’s sword flashed with deadly intent, the blade seeming almost alive as it thrust toward the face of one of the Arhats.
"Wow..."
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Everyone watching gasped; this strike might truly break the formation.
But then, that abrupt voice sounded again: "Pagoda Arhat! What are you standing there for—don’t you know how to maneuver? Thousand-Year Kill! Are you blind, can’t you see Li Bai’s big behind?"
...
...
The entire hall fell silent.
Every monk stared at Xiao Yan as if he were a fool.
You, with your meager inner strength—well, fifth level at best—what nonsense are you spouting, acting like you know everything?
And yet...
Suddenly, a crisp sound echoed.
"Pfft... sss..."
The sound stopped, as if something had gotten stuck.
The Pagoda Arhat gritted his teeth and pushed harder.
"Sss... sss..."
It sounded as if something was forcing its way into somewhere it definitely shouldn’t go.
The monks turned their heads back in unison, only now noticing that the positions of the Pagoda Arhat and Li Bai looked quite... odd.
Wait...
"Look... where’s the Pagoda Arhat’s pagoda? It’s gone!"
"What do you mean? Did it fall to the ground?"
"You idiot... don’t you get it? Look at the Sword Immortal’s face... it went in!"
"What? What went in?"
"The pagoda!"
"...Oh my god..."
Suddenly, everyone felt an icy chill down their spines...
What just happened?
Li Bai himself was bewildered, only thinking about how to extract the pagoda...
But the pagoda was so large...
Damn...
Was there no justice in the world?
Li Bai spun around, glaring at the Pagoda Arhat. "You... you kept pushing even when it got stuck?"
The Pagoda Arhat, somewhat ashamed, said nothing.
For a moment, even the world’s number-one master was flustered—he’d never experienced anything like this before.
"What grudge do you hold against me to go this far? What am I supposed to do now? Tell me—what am I supposed to do?"
The Pagoda Arhat scratched his head, looking like a child caught stealing forbidden fruit: knowing he’d done wrong, but still brimming with excitement.
Xiao Yan’s eyes widened in disbelief. He hadn’t expected the Pagoda Arhat to be so fierce. There was a saying for this, wasn’t there?
Pushing the pagoda brings a moment of joy—keep pushing, and the joy never ends.