Chapter 8

Two months later, Li She arrived at Shaolin Temple. At this time, the temple was in chaos due to the actions of Zhao Min's subordinates, who had wreaked havoc on all the temple's possessions. Zhao Min's subordinates, if placed in modern times, would be government officials, while Shaolin Temple would be considered a sealed illegal structure.

Over the two months, the name "Divine Thief Li" had become well-known in the martial world. Within three months, the Emei, Kongtong, and Huashan sects were all robbed one after another. It was said that no one had ever seen "Divine Thief Li," and this person was extremely skilled in martial arts. Initially, two disciples of the Emei Sect were killed, and the stolen items were unknown. However, when it came to the Kongtong Sect, things turned dire. A masked giant directly stormed in, using the Emei Sect's "Buddha Light Illuminates All" with incredible skill and power. He also possessed the long-lost "One Yang Finger," which no one could match. The Kongtong Sect, due to their attack on Bright Peak, had all their elders and the sect leader mobilized, leaving behind only about three hundred disciples. However, "Divine Thief Li" entered the temple as if it were a no-man's land, directly stealing the "Seven Injuries Fist" manual.

On that day, Li She, to test the skills he had obtained, disguised himself as the martial giant and directly stormed in. From a distance, he used the "One Yang Finger," his hands like two pistols, hitting one target at a time. The scorching Nine Yang True Qi directly pierced through the bodies of the Kongtong Sect disciples. At close range, he used "Buddha Light Illuminates All," striking one person at a time. The complete version of the "Nine Yang Divine Skill" was incredibly powerful. A single palm strike would scorch the enemy with the Nine Yang True Qi, causing their body to turn black and charred. In this battle, the Kongtong Sect lost over a hundred disciples.

The Huashan Sect suffered the most, with nearly three hundred of the five hundred remaining disciples killed, their deaths gruesome. Some were killed by the "One Yang Finger," some were scorched black by "Buddha Light Illuminates All," and others had their internal organs shattered by the "Seven Injuries Fist."

After being transformed by the world barrier and with the "Nine Yang Divine Skill" as a major cheat, the "Seven Injuries Fist" was used to its fullest extent by Li She. It could shatter a boulder the size of a person into grains of sand. The "Seven Injuries Fist," a skill that harms oneself before harming the enemy, was indeed vicious. The seven types of fist energy were hard to guard against, and if all seven were used together, it was even more terrifying. Li She once experimented by striking a rock the size of a watermelon. The surface of the rock remained unscathed, but the inside was reduced to powder.

Li She boldly fought his way through, stealing the "Eagle and Snake Life and Death Combat" from the Huashan Sect, a skill that was now their ultimate technique. He no longer cared for other skills after obtaining the "Nine Yang Divine Skill."

Li She found a cave in the back mountains of Shaolin Temple and spent his days integrating the skills from the Emei, Kongtong, and Huashan sects while waiting for Zhang Wuji and others to arrive.

After more than ten days, Li She had integrated the skills from the three sects. The "Seven Injuries Fist" was vicious and combined with the ruthless "Eagle and Snake Life and Death Combat." The "One Yang Finger," a skill that projects true qi, had greatly improved when combined with "Buddha Light Illuminates All."

Li She's hands, trained by his master in lock-picking from a young age, had excellent coordination. Thieves relied on their hands, so his early training focused on his ten fingers, making both hands equally dexterous. Even with his eyes closed, Li She could open different locks simultaneously. His deceased master was even more skilled, able to open six different locks with both hands while blindfolded, pushing even the less agile pinky fingers to their limits.

Although he hadn't learned Zhou Botong's "Left and Right Combat" skill, he could still multitask. The "One Yang Finger," "Buddha Light Illuminates All," "Seven Injuries Fist," and "Eagle and Snake Life and Death Combat" were no longer just additive in his hands. The combination of these four skills significantly increased his combat power. He could stand his ground against the favored protagonist Zhang Wuji, but he wouldn't dare challenge him on a whim. After all, Zhang Wuji wasn't alone; he was the leader of the Ming Cult, surrounded by a group of experts.

"Boxing, palm techniques, finger techniques, and claw techniques are all integrated. If I can obtain a leg technique or the 'Sinew Metamorphosis' from Shaolin Temple, it would be perfect," Li She thought to himself.

At noon, the temple was filled with the sounds of battle. Li She crouched and leaped onto a thick tree branch, sneaking closer.

From his hiding place in the tree, Li She saw a group of lamas and Yuan soldiers surrounding over thirty people. Although the lamas numbered four to five hundred, the situation was dire. They relied on formations to resist the Yuan soldiers' military array.

An elderly man with white hair and a strong build, dressed in white, wielded iron claws with great skill. He broke the spears aimed at him with a single claw and then leaped forward, creating several claw shadows with his hands, killing several Yuan soldiers.

"Lord, you should go to Wudang Mountain to rescue the Wudang Sect. These minor villains can be dealt with by us. We will follow shortly," Yin Tianzheng shouted.

"Ha ha ha, Eagle King is right. Lord, these minor villains can be handled by us. You should hurry to Wudang Mountain," Peng Heshang laughed.

Zhang Wuji, concerned about Zhang Sanfeng's safety, and knowing that the Yuan soldiers and lamas were no match for the Ming Cult's experts, shouted, "Alright, then I'll leave it to you all. I'll go to Wudang Mountain first. We'll meet there." He then struck several palm blows, creating a gap in the Yuan soldiers' formation. Using the advanced lightness skill "Cloud Ascending," he leaped to a height of seven to eight zhang and flew away.

Seeing Zhang Wuji leave, Li She felt more at ease. Both he and Zhang Wuji had mastered the "Nine Yang Divine Skill," and their internal skills were evenly matched. Moreover, thieves' stealth skills were not to be underestimated. With his intention to hide, Zhang Wuji wouldn't be able to detect him. However, he didn't dare challenge Zhang Wuji, the protagonist, as the protagonist's aura was not to be trifled with.

After Zhang Wuji left, the Ming Cult members fought while retreating. Why did the Mongols grow from a small tribe to the vast Mongol Empire that spanned Eurasia? Their army's strength was absolute. They followed orders, advanced without retreat, and had an indomitable will. Even the lamas were fearless. Despite heavy casualties, they maintained their offensive formation. The Ming Cult experts slowly retreated, but the Yuan soldiers continued to pursue them relentlessly.

After this intense battle, the temple was left with only corpses. Li She then jumped down from the tree. He had already familiarized himself with the temple's layout over the past few days and headed straight for the scripture hall.

The martial arts manuals in the scripture hall had not been moved but were being copied by the Vajra Sect members. Li She started searching on the second floor. The Shaolin Temple, being the first temple in the world, had a vast collection of martial arts manuals. The entire scripture hall was like a treasure trove of martial arts. Understanding the principle of "less is more," Li She focused on the leg techniques. He eventually found two of the Shaolin Temple's seventy-two ultimate skills: "Shadow Following Leg" and "Shaolin Spring Leg."

"Shadow Following Leg" was a skill that combined lightness and leg techniques, with swift and continuous movements. The famous "Foshan Shadowless Leg" of the martial arts master Huang Feihong in the Republic of China era was largely inspired by the incomplete "Shadow Following Leg." "Shaolin Spring Leg," on the other hand, was a purely offensive leg technique with thirty-six forms, each with over a dozen variations. It had no defensive moves, focusing entirely on offense. It embodied the principle that the best defense is a good offense, with each move targeting vital points and striking swiftly and decisively.

After memorizing these two leg techniques, Li She realized the Yuan soldiers wouldn't return soon. He continued to browse other martial arts manuals. He already had boxing, leg techniques, palm techniques, and finger techniques, and his internal skill was the "Nine Yang Divine Skill." If he could find a protective skill, it would be perfect. Indeed, on the Shaolin qigong shelf, he found the "Indestructible Body Skill," a skill that, when mastered, made one invulnerable to weapons and fire. It had three levels: the first level made one impervious to weapons, the second level to fire and water, and the third level to all harm.

The monk Kong Jian had only reached the second level, where he was impervious to fire and water. As long as his true qi was sufficient, he had no weak points. However, Xie Xun tricked him into speaking, breaking his true qi, and killed him with a single punch. If Kong Jian had reached the third level, even lying down, Xie Xun's blade wouldn't have harmed him.

This was stronger than the "Nine Yang Divine Skill," which passively countered foreign true qi. Despite obtaining three of the seventy-two ultimate skills, Li She was still unsatisfied. This was a common trait among thieves. This was the Shaolin Temple from "The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber," not the modern Shaolin Temple in Henan, which could be visited with a ticket. Therefore, Li She naturally wanted to browse thoroughly.

Still unsatisfied, Li She continued to search the Shaolin internal skill shelf, hoping to find the two treasures of the Shaolin Temple, the "Sinew Metamorphosis" and the "Bone Marrow Washing."

However, the world is both independent and interconnected. "The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber" is a continuation of "Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils." In "Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils," the "Sinew Metamorphosis" was accidentally obtained by You Tanzhi and subsequently lost after he and Ah Zhu jumped off a cliff.

Li She, proficient in several foreign languages, had a deep understanding of Sanskrit. It's no wonder that in "The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber," the Shaolin Temple, once the leader of the martial world, was overtaken by the Wudang Sect. The reason was that the Shaolin Temple had experienced a cultural break due to years of war. The Shaolin Temple, founded by Bodhidharma, had most of its martial arts texts written in Sanskrit, which were later translated into Chinese. The enlightened monks were skilled in Sanskrit, but in the war-torn era of "The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber," the Shaolin Temple became a martial sect dominated by warrior monks. The number of monks studying Buddhism decreased, and in such a harsh environment, survival was the priority, leaving no time for learning foreign languages. The warrior monks directly learned the translated Shaolin skills.

Thus, the "Bone Marrow Washing," a skill on par with the "Sinew Metamorphosis," was overlooked. When Li She found this dusty "Bone Marrow Washing" at the bottom of the shelf, he was overjoyed.

He immediately took the four manuals and fled.