Chapter 11

Towering trees blocked the scorching sun, casting a cool shade beneath them where several figures stood in tense confrontation.

Where the protagonist is, there is always conflict.

"Hmph, you few useless ones also want to stop me?" A wild and domineering shout echoed from the shade. Zhou Yang looked over and saw a dark-skinned monk with a cold smile. This black monk was tall and robust, standing over nine feet tall, his muscles like steel, giving off a metallic sheen. The scars on his face added to his ferocious and terrifying appearance, making people fear him at first sight.

In front of the black monk stood a crowd, among whom were Guo Jing and Huang Rong. They had been touring Shaolin Temple when chaos erupted, and countless monks went mad, frantically searching the mountain. The two had to leave the mountain and planned to wait for Zhou Yang at the foot of the mountain.

However, they coincidentally encountered the murderous black monk on their way. When the black monk saw Guo Jing and Huang Rong discover his whereabouts, he immediately attacked them, trying to kill them to silence them. Just as the two were about to give in, the monks from Shaolin Temple arrived.

"Fireworker, you killed the head of the Dharma Hall, Master Kuzhi, and dozens of Shaolin monks on your way. Your crimes are unforgivable." Several monks surrounded the Fireworker, blocking all exits. A monk who seemed to be the leader spoke coldly.

Guo Jing and Huang Rong became even more nervous upon hearing this. For such a vicious person to appear in Shaolin Temple and kill dozens of monks and still escape was shocking.

"That scoundrel Kuzhi wanted to use the Heart-Cleaving Palm to take my life. It was his own fault for being killed by me." The Fireworker, dressed in a tattered gray monk's robe, looked fierce and exuded a murderous aura. However, the sweat on his forehead and the slight trembling of his body betrayed his serious internal injuries.

"Those monks insulted me. Why shouldn't I kill them?" the Fireworker retorted.

"Hmph, what Heart-Cleaving Palm? It's clearly the Disintegration Palm. Master Kuzhi spared your life, but you killed him." The leading monk coldly snorted, "Moreover, you have been killing innocents along the way, with a heart of evil. You cannot be forgiven."

Hearing the monk's cold snort, Zhou Yang finally remembered who the Fireworker was.

There might be many Fireworkers in Shaolin Temple, but only one caused such chaos. This Fireworker had a significant background, mentioned in "The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber," similar to Goujian, who endured humiliation to seek revenge.

To avenge the monks who bullied him in the kitchen, he secretly learned Shaolin martial arts, enduring over twenty years of humiliation. After his martial arts were perfected, he took his revenge, killing the head of the Dharma Hall and all the monks who had bullied him. Later, he fled to the Western Regions, founded a sect, and established the Vajra Gate.

Calculating the time, it matched the present.

One person caused Shaolin Temple to be sealed for decades, a truly formidable figure.

Is Shaolin Temple low-profile?

No, quite the opposite, it is very high-profile.

In any martial world, whether in "Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils" or "The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber," Shaolin Temple has never been as low-profile as in "The Legend of the Condor Heroes." In other eras, no matter what major events occurred in the martial world, whether it was the struggle for the leadership of the martial world or the fight against evil, Shaolin Temple always played the role of the absolute leader.

In "The Legend of the Condor Heroes," there is almost no presence of Shaolin Temple monks, and the Quanzhen Sect has even replaced Shaolin Temple as the leading sect, only emerging prominently near the end of "The Return of the Condor Heroes."

Why did Shaolin Temple seal itself?

The Fireworker incident likely caused the loss of most of Shaolin Temple's experts, making it unable to suppress the martial world and too afraid to face the world.

Hearing the monk's explanation, the Fireworker sneered. He stepped on the ground, causing it to crack and shatter, and his figure shot forward like an arrow, aiming for the leading monk. His fingers clenched into a fist, and he struck directly at the chest of the monk in front of him.

This place was still within Shaolin Temple's territory. Although the Fireworker was ruthless, he wasn't foolish. He understood the principle that one fist cannot defeat four hands. Although he had killed many monks, he was also seriously injured and needed to quickly defeat these Shaolin pursuers. If he couldn't leave in time, he would be surrounded by Shaolin monks and unable to escape.

"Brother Jue Ming, be careful!" The other monks couldn't react in time to the sudden attack by the Fireworker.

Facing the Fireworker's fist, Jue Ming's face changed slightly. He crossed his palms in front of him to block.

The Fireworker sneered, even the elders of Shaolin Temple dared not take his punch head-on, let alone an elder's disciple.

When the fist and palm met, Jue Ming felt a powerful force like a mountain pressing down on him.

Under the shocked gaze of the other monks, the Fireworker's fist landed on Jue Ming's palms like a heavy stone, the force exploding, and Jue Ming's body flew backward like a kite with a broken string, finally stopping under a tree.

"Spit!"

Several mouthfuls of blood spewed from Jue Ming's mouth, and his hands hung limply, his meridians and bones severed by the powerful punch.

With one punch, the strongest of the monks was defeated.

Absolute innate divine strength!

If the Fireworker had ordinary talent, how could he have escaped from Shaolin Temple, which was full of experts? Besides his daily efforts, his talent played a significant role.

As a child, the Fireworker was stronger than his peers, which is why he was recruited by Shaolin Temple to work in the kitchen, able to do the work of three people.

As he secretly learned Shaolin Temple's secret techniques, his strength grew with his internal energy, becoming increasingly powerful. Now, his palms had nearly a thousand pounds of strength, and ordinary experts would be defeated in one blow under such immense force.

"Hmph, truly useless, unable to withstand a single blow." A trickle of blood flowed from the corner of the Fireworker's mouth, making his face even more terrifying.

"I'll send you to meet the Buddha!"

Although the Fireworker had defeated Jue Ming, he also aggravated his internal injuries. He couldn't let these people escape to report, so he wouldn't let them go after his successful attack.

"Great Vajra Palm!"

The Fireworker's figure suddenly moved, appearing in front of Guo Jing and the others. His palms, like those of a Vajra, were fierce and relentless, bringing a terrifying killing aura as he struck at their chests.

Each palm was lethal, the chaotic palm shadows causing a deafening roar as they cut through the air. If hit, their internal organs would be shattered by the powerful palm force.

"Bang! Bang!..."

The sound of heavy impacts echoed through the forest. Zhou Yang observed the battle, learning from the combat experience.

Although Zhou Yang's martial arts realm had surpassed theirs, his combat experience was minimal, only retaining the experience from fights in his childhood.

The Fireworker's attacks were relentless, like a tiger descending from the mountain, unstoppable, like a tidal wave, one palm after another, the powerful palm wind shaking the surrounding rocks.

The few Shaolin monks, under the sudden and fierce attack, were forced to retreat. They hadn't expected the heavily injured Fireworker to still be so aggressive, and they were instantly filled with fear.

"Great Vajra Finger!"

The Fireworker suddenly changed his attack, turning his palms into fingers. His figure shot forward like a hunting eagle, aiming at the few people in the field. The finger force was like lightning, like a storm, striking their faces with a domineering force.

Guo Jing and Huang Rong were also within the attack range.

"Whoosh!" "Bang!"

At this moment, a whistling sound came, and a fist-sized rock and a pebble hit a nearby tree with a dull thud.

"Who?"

The sudden interference made the Fireworker's face change. If he hadn't dodged in time, he would have been hit in a vital spot. He turned to see two figures approaching, one of whom had thrown the pebble.

"Brother Zhou!"

Seeing one of the figures was Zhou Yang, Guo Jing and Huang Rong exclaimed in surprise, their eyes filled with joy.

Although they found Zhou Yang's cautious behavior on the way strange, the fist-sized rock, despite its slightly off trajectory, had directly embedded itself in the tree, showing immense strength.

"Are you okay?" Zhou Yang, somewhat embarrassed, asked Guo Jing and Huang Rong, who were walking over. The rock was naturally thrown by him.

Anger!

The Fireworker felt an indescribable rage in his heart. Being repeatedly stopped, his entire body exuded a murderous aura. "Heh, since you're looking for death, I'll send you on your way."

"Bang!"

As the Fireworker charged at Zhou Yang, a low voice followed, and a figure was sent flying, landing heavily on the ground, extremely disheveled.

Seeing the Fireworker, who had just charged out, fall to the ground in a disheveled state, everyone looked at Zhou Yang in shock.

Even with his injuries, the Fireworker was not someone a first-rate expert could easily handle. Now, with just one blow, the Fireworker was completely defeated, indicating that this person was no weaker than the Fireworker at his peak.

At least a top expert!

Zhou Yang looked innocent, completely due to the rebound of his internal energy.

On the other side, the Fireworker spat out a mouthful of blood. The collision of internal energy made him realize he had met his match. He couldn't stay here any longer and fled in another direction, where a man in a green robe with an ugly mask stood.

"I don't believe there are so many experts." The Fireworker's eyes blazed with anger, and he charged again.

The masked man remained still. As the Fireworker's fist was about to hit him, the man's figure moved like a ghost, leaving afterimages, and dodged the attack.

At the same time, his palm lightly touched the Fireworker, and the Fireworker was sent flying, spewing blood.

"You... you..." The Fireworker fainted, his last thought being how dangerous the outside world was.