Chapter Twenty-Six: Hungry Dogs Fighting Over Filth
The abbot had been rather gloomy lately. His life used to be quite comfortable: walking dogs every day, raising pigs behind the mountain, and at night falling asleep with his meditation staff in his arms… It was a blissful existence, almost godlike in its happiness.
But ever since Xiao Yan showed off and got struck by lightning, all of that had been taken from him… Now, at night, he could only sleep clutching Elder Huiren.
“That damn lightning! You bastard, why didn’t you strike me instead?” The kind-hearted abbot didn’t blame Xiao Yan; after all, he couldn’t even find him. So, he directed all his anger at that wicked bolt of lightning.
Suddenly, a thunderclap split the clear sky.
The abbot was so frightened he nearly keeled over.
At that moment, a monk came rushing over, shouting frantically as he ran. “Hurry! Xiao Yan is feeding the Arhats dung in the Hall of Arhats! Come watch the show…”
Feeding dung?
Are the young people these days really so wild?
Xiao Yan?
At the mention of that name, the abbot instinctively clutched at all his belongings, wary lest that scoundrel steal from him again.
“That little bastard! Let’s see if I don’t teach him a lesson!” Fuming, the abbot stomped his feet and dashed toward the Hall of Arhats.
Just as he neared the hall, he witnessed the scene of the Pagoda Arhat falling.
In the swirling dust, Xiao Yan’s figure gradually emerged.
The monks around were silent for a long moment before an eruption of uproar swept the crowd.
“Did he fall so easily? This must be a joke. What trickery is this?”
“The Pagoda Arhat! Was he holding back on purpose?”
“That’s impossible! He must have cheated!”
The entire fight had occurred in the span of a single breath, leaving everyone still in shock, their minds stuck on the idea that Xiao Yan would be beaten any moment now. But…
What they couldn’t accept was that the useless fool they once mocked had suddenly reversed his fate—standing leagues above them all.
“Is that…the Eighteen Arhat Formation?” The abbot was somewhat bewildered. The moves Xiao Yan used seemed uncannily familiar.
On the challenge platform, Xiao Yan dusted himself off and smiled faintly at the fallen Pagoda Arhat, murmuring, “Heh… I told you I wouldn’t hold back… You believe me now, don’t you…”
“Bastard! All of you at once! Pagoda Arhat was just careless; the rest of you, be on your guard!” Elder Huiren’s voice trembled with foreboding.
“Ha!” The remaining seventeen Arhats closed in on Xiao Yan, though unease still flickered across their faces.
“Heh…” Xiao Yan, possessing only five levels of internal power, could feel the pressure of being surrounded by so many opponents.
“Sleeping Arhat Fist!”
The Sleeping Arhat struck first, his iron fist shooting toward Xiao Yan.
With a crisp smack, the Sleeping Arhat crumpled to the ground—fast asleep.
Madness…
The spectating monks could no longer contain themselves, clamoring that Xiao Yan must be cheating.
Perhaps Pagoda Arhat’s defeat could be dismissed as a fluke, but now, with Sleeping Arhat meeting the same fate…
The sixteen remaining Arhats exchanged confused glances, each searching the others for an explanation.
Outside the arena, Zhuge Yixiu was stunned as well, as if recalling something. Hadn’t Xiao Yan once mentioned this was the very technique he used to defeat Master Yuantong?
At the time, Zhuge Yixiu had thought he was joking.
“Could it be true?” he muttered under his breath.
“What could be true?” Suddenly, he realized three figures were crowding in—one of whom was Elder Huiqi.
“Ah, greetings, Master, greetings Hero Li Bai, and…hey, you’re just a little sweeper monk, what are you doing here?” Zhuge Yixiu looked at the red-faced little monk who had squeezed in with them.
“Yixiu, do you know something?” Elder Huiqi asked solemnly.
Li Bai and the little monk both turned to Zhuge Yixiu, expectant.
“Well… Xiao Yan told me he’d invented a new martial art, something called the Eighteen Arhat Formation: Solo Mode.” Zhuge Yixiu could only repeat what he’d heard.
“A self-created martial art? That young brat thinks creating a martial art is child’s play? Still, his movements are familiar… Wait, what did you say? Eighteen Arhat Formation?” Elder Huiqi was momentarily lost.
“Yes, Xiao Yan said so himself. ‘Solo Mode’ means you can perform it alone…” Zhuge Yixiu admitted, not entirely sure of the details himself.
The group fell silent. Li Bai was the first to recover, piecing together Zhuge Yixiu’s statement: “So, you mean Xiao Yan invented a skill—modeled after the Eighteen Arhat Formation—where one person can replicate the effect of eighteen?”
“Yes, yes! That’s exactly what Xiao Yan said!” Zhuge Yixiu nodded vigorously.
“Impossible, surely?” Even the sweeper monk was incredulous now.
“Ha… utter nonsense!” Elder Huiqi shook his head.
Li Bai said nothing, but his expression grew thoughtful.
This completely overturned everything they knew about formation techniques.
“Look!” Elder Huiqi suddenly pointed at the platform.
Sure enough, Xiao Yan was switching his weapon style, changing stances, moving about—it was as if he really could execute the formation solo.
Elder Huiren was already dumbfounded; the remaining sixteen Arhats fell, one after another, like dominoes.
Something wasn’t right.
Was Xiao Yan really performing the Eighteen Arhat Formation all by himself?
But…the challenge was meant for him to break through the formation, not for the Arhats to break through his!
The more Elder Huiren thought about it, the stranger it seemed. If things continued like this, Xiao Yan was certain to win. He hurriedly shouted, “Are you fools? Attack together! Stop going up one at a time!”
The honest Arhats, who had been queuing up to face Xiao Yan one by one, finally snapped out of it at his words.
At that moment, Li Bai seemed to realize the same thing and asked, “But even so, with only five levels of internal power and this solo Arhat Formation, Xiao Yan’s strength is at best equal to someone with fifteen levels. There are still so many Arhats left. How will he handle them?”
“Hehe…good question!” Zhuge Yixiu grinned mysteriously. “That’s where I come in! I have a secret weapon!”
“You?” Elder Huiqi looked Zhuge Yixiu up and down, completely unconvinced.
After all, this chubby fellow was a total weakling just days ago.
“Hehe… Curious, aren’t you? Well, I’m not telling!” Zhuge Yixiu patted his round belly with pride. That cheeky attitude—perhaps he’d picked it up from Xiao Yan.
The group was speechless.
Meanwhile, on the platform, the last ten Arhats charged at Xiao Yan in unison.
“Heh…” Xiao Yan didn’t panic at all. He grinned slyly, as if he’d been waiting for this moment, and blew a whistle towards the crowd below.
The shrill notes echoed, and Zhuge Yixiu’s eyes lit up. At last, it was his turn.
He stepped forward, jiggling his bulk, and shouted, “Go! Skyhowl Dog!”
With that, he let go of the leash in his hand.
A wild, unleashed dog shot toward the stage.
Only then did Elder Huiqi and the others snap out of their daze.
“This is your so-called secret weapon?” Elder Huiqi shook his head, amused. “It’s just a dog. What trouble could it possibly cause?”
“Wrong!” Zhuge Yixiu corrected him seriously. “This is a mad dog that hasn’t eaten in three days!”
“So what?”
Elder Huiqi still looked unconvinced.
“Ever heard of a starving dog snatching dung? Or that a dog can never give up eating dung?” Zhuge Yixiu grinned, evidently proud of his own wit.
Elder Huiqi was about to retort, but when he glanced at the Arhats on the platform, his brow furrowed.
Dung.
All eighteen Arhats were covered in dung!
This had been planned all along… The powder from the start of the challenge was meant for this very moment.
Every step had its purpose; none of it had been mere mischief…
But… to think he’d planned this far ahead…
Suddenly, Elder Huiqi found this little monk quite terrifying.
“A mad dog, indeed…” Elder Huiqi stared at the figure on the stage. He himself wasn’t sure whether he meant the dog or Xiao Yan.
“Heh… Such scheming… Truly admirable…” Li Bai couldn’t help but nod slightly, murmuring softly.