Chapter 18

In the dilapidated temple, Nimo Xing had just captured the two Guo sisters, thinking it would be an easy task, but unexpectedly, a sudden change occurred at the critical moment. Seeing the massive stone statue coming down with great force, he was greatly startled. He swung his two iron staffs to block it, using the skill of the Buddha's Elephant Throwing Technique. Instantly, a powerful force surged through the iron staffs, and with a loud "bang," the huge stone statue was shattered by his force.

This sudden turn of events shocked all three people on the scene. Guo Xiang, after a moment of surprise, suddenly shouted excitedly, "Big brother, is that you?" She thought it was Yang Guo, and Jiang Chen felt a deep sense of frustration, admiring Yang Guo's reputation as a lady-killer.

"Who is it?" Under the force of the counterattack, Nimo Xing retreated several steps before he could stabilize himself. He still felt the blood surging in his body, but he couldn't help but shout loudly.

"It's your grandpa!" In the darkness, Jiang Chen's figure flashed like lightning. With a light touch of his fingers, a three-foot-long sword was drawn from its sheath, a cold light flashing like a meteor in the night, particularly dazzling as it aimed straight for Nimo Xing's throat.

Nimo Xing was greatly startled and quickly raised his iron staffs to block. However, Jiang Chen's sword, which seemed to come with great force, was actually unpredictable and had reached a level of complete control. As he retracted his hand, the sword light suddenly disappeared, and a palm appeared, striking Nimo Xing's iron staffs with overwhelming force from a distance.

There were two light "ding" sounds, but Nimo Xing could no longer hold his iron staffs, which were thrown backward and crashed into the wall with a loud noise, causing dust to fall from the ceiling. Nimo Xing's staffs slipped from his hands, and he fell to the ground. But he quickly flipped over, using the momentum to leap up, roaring angrily and lunging at Jiang Chen with his black fingers outstretched.

Jiang Chen let out a cold snort, gathered his palm, and with a flip of his hand, the sword light of the Broken Gold Sword shot out, reaching Nimo Xing first. The tip of the sword trembled slightly, emitting an invisible sword qi several feet long, shimmering with a cold, sharp light, particularly dazzling in the night.

Nimo Xing, with his left hand forward and right hand back, saw this sharp, invisible sword qi coming and felt a chill all over his body. Without thinking, he quickly crossed his hands to block, shouting in surprise, "Strange!" He then fell from the air, landing on the ground and not moving.

Jiang Chen's invisible sword qi was incredibly sharp, unmatched in the world. It pierced through Nimo Xing's palms and struck his forehead, but the sword qi continued, passing through his head and hitting the temple's pillar with a "pu" sound, leaving a deep hole.

"Jiang Chen, the reincarnated being, has defeated the character Nimo Xing. You now have the talent granted by the cycle. Do you wish to acquire his abilities?"

"Yes!" Of course, he wouldn't let this opportunity slip away after staying up all night in this mosquito-infested temple.

"Congratulations, Jiang Chen, the reincarnated being, for acquiring the abilities of the character Nimo Xing: mid-third-stage internal strength, the advanced martial art of the Buddha's Elephant Throwing Technique, and the advanced martial art of the Spirit Snake Whip Technique..."

Silently accepting Nimo Xing's martial arts, Jiang Chen's internal strength immediately broke through to the late-fourth-stage. Additionally, as a rare top expert of the Yuan-Mongol, Nimo Xing's martial arts were truly extraordinary, with the Buddha's Elephant Throwing Technique being the most prominent, a supreme martial art from India.

Legend has it that when the Buddha was a prince, one day he went out of the city, and an elephant blocked the way. The prince lifted the elephant's foot and threw it into the sky. Three days later, the elephant fell back to the ground, creating a deep trench, now known as the Elephant Throwing Trench. This is a parable to describe the incomprehensibility of Buddhism, but later, Indian martial artists used this parable to develop an external martial art that could throw objects with great force, the Buddha's Elephant Throwing Technique.

"Jiang Chen, the reincarnated being, you have the talent granted by the cycle. You can choose to double the strength of one of the abilities you just acquired."

Faced with this choice, Jiang Chen hesitated. Should he choose to strengthen his internal strength or the Buddha's Elephant Throwing Technique? Nimo Xing's internal strength was already at the mid-third-stage, and doubling it would at least bring it to the peak-third-stage, possibly even to the peak-fourth-stage with a bit of effort.

However, the Buddha's Elephant Throwing Technique was also an excellent choice. This martial art was similar to the Dragon Elephant Skill of the Golden Wheel King. Jiang Chen remembered that Nimo Xing had once used this skill to stand against the Golden Wheel King, showing its power. Internal strength could be acquired from others, but the Buddha's Elephant Throwing Technique was rare and hard to come by. Missing this opportunity would be regrettable.

Thinking this, Jiang Chen's mind was set. In the next second, he made his choice:

"Congratulations, Jiang Chen, the reincarnated being, for activating your talent. The Buddha's Elephant Throwing Technique from Nimo Xing has been doubled in strength, elevating it from an advanced martial art to a supreme martial art."

Immediately, a surge of internal strength spread through his body, reaching his limbs and every part of his body. Unlike the enhancement of internal strength, the power of the Buddha's Elephant Throwing Technique permeated his entire body, strengthening his muscles and bones, and enhancing his physical strength.

After consuming a large amount of Bosque snake gallbladders, his strength had already reached a considerable level. Now, with the enhancement of the Buddha's Elephant Throwing Technique, this strength was fully converted into cultivation effects, not only increasing his strength but also significantly enhancing his physical resilience.

In a moment, Jiang Chen felt a powerful force surging through his body. This force was different from internal strength; it was pure physical strength. The doubled enhancement was not just a claim; at this moment, he felt that his physique was no weaker than that of top external cultivation experts who had mastered the Iron Shirt technique.

Moreover, to his pleasant surprise, the doubled-strength Buddha's Elephant Throwing Technique had surpassed the level of advanced martial arts and entered the realm of supreme martial arts.

In general, martial arts in the world are divided into levels. Advanced martial arts are considered high-level: such as the 72 Special Skills of Shaolin Temple, the Iron Palm Technique of the Iron Palm Sect, the Plum Blossom Sword Technique of Peach Blossom Island, and the One Yang Finger of the Dali Duan family. However, there is another category of martial arts that surpasses these, known as supreme martial arts: such as the 18 Dragon Subduing Palms of the Beggar Sect, the Muscle Changing Classic and the Marrow Washing Classic of Shaolin Temple, and the Six Pulse Sword Technique of the Dali Duan family.

The Buddha's Elephant Throwing Technique was originally an advanced martial art, but after the double enhancement, Jiang Chen clearly felt that this martial art had gained many more cultivation and force application methods, far surpassing its previous depth and subtlety. It had twelve levels, and he was currently at the ninth level, but in terms of sheer power, it was already on par with the Golden Wheel King's tenth-level Dragon Elephant Skill and Guo Jing's 18 Dragon Subduing Palms.

Moreover, due to the enhanced force application methods of the Buddha's Elephant Throwing Technique, his hidden weapon techniques were also significantly improved, with the force application and subtlety far surpassing what they were before.

Although the classification of martial arts varies across different reincarnation worlds, in this world, the doubled-strength Buddha's Elephant Throwing Technique indeed deserved the title of supreme martial art.

With both internal and external cultivation enhanced, Jiang Chen's spiritual senses instantly became much sharper. He could clearly sense the slightest movements within a radius of several dozen feet. His ears twitched slightly, and his gaze turned toward a place where a faint breathing sound was coming from.

The person's cultivation had definitely reached the fourth stage, and in the world of "The Return of the Condor Heroes," there were only a few people with such internal strength: Yang Guo, the Golden Wheel King, Guo Jing, Huang Yaoshi, the First Lamp Master, and the Old Fool Zhou Botong. At this moment, only one person could be here!

Yang Guo, it must be Yang Guo!

As Jiang Chen was thinking about whether to meet him, Yang Guo seemed to have sensed that he had been discovered. His figure flashed, turning into a black shadow that quickly darted forward, disappearing into the dark night like a ghost.

"Big Brother Jiang, is that you?!" While Jiang Chen was stunned, Guo Xiang's voice suddenly rang out. After all, the two had spent some time together, and although Guo Xiang's thoughts were always on Yang Guo, they were still familiar with each other. Despite the dim light, she recognized Jiang Chen by his voice.

Jiang Chen had never been one to do good deeds anonymously. He sheathed his sword, turned around, and smiled at Guo Xiang, "Miss Guo, it's been a long time!"