Volume One: The Young Monk Returns to the Secular World Chapter Forty-Six: The Ultimate Move, Unleashed Once More!

Such a thing was simply unfathomable.

Never before had anyone in the martial world heard of a fight conducted in this manner—was it all just verbal command?
“Who exactly is this little monk?”
The man with the triangular eyes stared wide, unable to believe what he was witnessing. In his understanding, such a feat should be impossible.
To achieve this, one would have to be intimately familiar with the sword techniques used by the person being directed, and, beyond that, able to see through the opponent’s weaknesses at a glance.
But how could anyone like that exist in this world?
The little monk didn’t seem to have any particular internal energy, and he was so young—surely he couldn’t be some secret martial arts master?
At the very least, among all the heroes the man with the triangular eyes had ever heard of, none possessed such a skill.
There were, it was true, legends in the martial world—rumor had it that the Sword Immortal Li Bai’s master could, in the heat of battle, pinpoint an enemy’s flaw with a single phrase.
But even he could only point out the weakness, not instantly match it with a countering move.
In truth, the man with the triangular eyes was not alone in his confusion.
Even Chen Shuwan herself was utterly bewildered. She had barely thought for herself, simply following the little monk’s instructions.
Before she could even process what was happening, all of her opponents had already collapsed?
This felt utterly surreal...
In that moment, Chen Shuwan sensed that, if things continued as they were,
she could take down another dozen of these black-clad assailants in the blink of an eye.
At this thought, she couldn’t help but tilt her head, casting a strange, searching glance at the little monk.
But as soon as she looked over, she saw that this rascal was already trying to sneak away...
Shameless! To run right after giving commands...
Perhaps sensing the murderous intent radiating from Chen Shuwan behind him, the little monk turned around with a cheeky grin and gave her a thumbs-up.
Chen Shuwan was rendered speechless.
The awe-inspiring image the little monk had painstakingly built in her mind crumbled in an instant...

“Everyone fall back!”
Just then, the man with triangular eyes gave a sharp command, and the black-clad men in front of him instantly retreated.
He realized that to continue this way would spell certain doom, yet he had not come unprepared.
With a sweep of his arm, he shouted, “Form up! Seven Stars Formation!”
He himself dashed to the front, standing at the heart of the array.
The black-clad men surged forward, each taking up a position, mirroring the pattern of the seven stars of the Northern Dipper.
Even from the aura alone, it was clear this formation was no trivial matter—not something anyone below the twenty-fifth level could hope to withstand.
No matter how deftly the little monk might command, Chen Shuwan only knew the Chen Family Sword Technique. To challenge such a formation beyond her level as the monk had done was unthinkable.

“Hahaha...”
The man with the triangular eyes laughed from the heart of the formation. This was the legacy of the Seven Stars Sword Sect’s founder; even the renowned hero Chen Bufan would gain little advantage here.
“Brother! Take our benefactor and run! I’ll hold them off...”
With a determined bite of her lip, Chen Shuwan raised her sword and spoke resolutely.

From her determined expression, it was clear she was prepared to sacrifice herself for the others.
“Hahahaha... No one is getting away... Especially not that little monk—he must not escape...”
The man with the triangular eyes said coldly, his interest in the little monk only deepening.
If the monk truly could see through any flaw at a glance and instantly devise a counter, such a miraculous talent, put to use commanding the Seven Stars Formation, could raise the ancestral technique to new heights.

“Go!”
Chen Shuwan waved her hand, turning to urge the other two.
“Shuwan... Damn it...” Chen Buqun slammed his fist against the ground in frustration, never expecting that he, a renowned hero, would one day have to hide behind a woman.
He tried to muster his strength, but to no avail; the energy consumed during his earlier internal deviation had taken too great a toll.
Helpless, he turned his head, intending to call the little monk to escape with him.

“Heh... Seven Stars Formation, is it? Leave it to me!”
At that moment, a voice rang out, taking everyone by surprise.
They turned to look and saw the speaker was none other than the little monk who’d just tried to slip away.

“To act tough even on the brink of death? If you stand aside quietly and let me deal with those two, perhaps I’ll spare your life. Otherwise...”
The man with triangular eyes snorted coldly, his gaze icy as it fixed on the little monk.
If possible, he would have preferred not to kill the monk, but if the latter didn’t know his place, death it would be.

“Heh... Is that so?”
The little monk stepped forward, tilting his head slightly. Out of view of the others, he exchanged a glance with the Chen siblings, mouthing: “Understand?”
The Chen siblings shook their heads—how could anyone decipher meaning from a single look...
If you can mouth words, why not just make the message clear...

The little monk, seeing their confusion, sighed, then strolled forward at a leisurely pace.

“Fool! Don’t blame me for what happens next!”
With another cold snort, the man with triangular eyes let killing intent fill his gaze. “Form up—the stars shift! Kill!”

After the little monk’s earlier display of verbal genius, the man with triangular eyes was taking no chances.
A crashing wave of pressure descended, filling the space with murderous energy like a towering mountain.
Yet the little monk showed not a trace of fear. He remained composed, a faint smile playing at his lips.
At some point, his right hand had slipped inside his robe, though no one present noticed the gesture.
And even if they had, they would simply have taken it as a sign of fear.

In the blink of an eye—the world of blades and swords moves swiftly—a broadsword came whistling toward the little monk’s head, less than two meters away...
At any moment, it could split the monk’s head in two...

Yet the little monk did not move, standing as still as stone, with no sign of internal energy stirring within him...

“Are you stupid?” Chen Shuwan’s face paled as she shouted,
darting forward to save him, but as her sword rose, she saw it was already too late.

The broadsword was now only a meter from the little monk’s head...

“Damn it... no!”
Chen Shuwan realized her face was streaked with tears, as if she were about to lose the whole world in the next instant.
Even when her brother Chen Buqun had nearly died of inner fire, she had not felt such grief.

“Heh... Why force me... I really just wanted to be a good person...”
The little monk’s lips moved, muttering words no one else could understand.

“Haha... Still putting on airs at death’s door? Then go play the fool in the underworld...”
The man with triangular eyes sneered, already picturing the little monk’s head bursting open.

But he did not notice the slight movement of the little monk’s hand.

“Heh... The angle is perfect... wind direction ideal... finishing move!”
The little monk murmured.

Suddenly, his right hand shot from his robe, executing a movement with remarkable skill—
as if he had practiced it tens of thousands of times—
the arc of his arm matching the sly curve of his smile.

With the wind’s help, a cloud of fine white powder appeared in midair without warning—

A soft swoosh—
The man with triangular eyes widened his eyes, first seeing a white haze, then everything faded to black...

“Damn... my eyes... you scoundrel! You despicable wretch!”

They might not know it, but once the infamous bandit Da Vinci—who had terrorized the land—was turned blind by precisely such a dirty trick.

At once, the little monk spun around and seized Chen Shuwan’s hand, dashing away. “What are you standing there for? Run! Are you an idiot?”

Chen Buqun reacted first, racing after the pair at full tilt.

Only now did he realize what the little monk’s earlier glance had meant—escape.

But Chen Buqun couldn’t help but wonder... How could a true hero, so broad-minded as this little monk, resort to such underhanded tricks...

Judging by his skill, he was no novice...

Behind them came the curses of the black-clad men:
“Bastard! Don’t run—ah, my eyes... it hurts!”