Chapter 550: A Fierce Battle, Enlightenment!

“Amitabha!”
Master Kongxiang chanted a Buddhist phrase and said to Kai Xin with a smile, “Young master Kai Xin is an outstanding representative of the younger generation in the martial arts world. As an old man like me, I have no desire to become a leader among heroes. How about this? If you can withstand a hundred of my attacks, I will retire from the scene and willingly give up my claim.” After a pause, he added, “But those hundred attacks won’t be easy to parry. I’ll give it my all—be careful.”
His words were calm, even showing a sense of guiding the younger generation, which earned silent admiration from many in the audience.
Kai Xin understood. This treatment stemmed not only from the goodwill of Wan’an Temple but also from his own time serving at Shaolin Temple, where he had built a friendly relationship with Master Kongxiang.
“I will surely do my best to withstand a hundred of your attacks,” Kai Xin replied humbly.
Master Kongxiang smiled slightly…
No more wasted words. With a humble posture, he clasped his hands together and shook his Vajra staff. The golden ring hanging on it emitted a clear “ding-dang” sound! Along with his steady steps, an astonishing aura surged from him. His yellow robe billowed as if in a windless breeze!
Not daring to slack off, Kai Xin clenched his fists slightly, and two dragon-shaped vortices appeared in his palms. But in front of Master Kongxiang, those vortices were nothing but tiny cotton balls—completely harmless!
“Master, please take my attack!” Knowing he must hurry to improve his strength, Kai Xin shouted loudly. His fists struck like thunder from afar, and he rushed toward Master Kongxiang like an arrow leaving the bow.
Bang! Bang!
The two punches collided half a meter in front of Master Kongxiang, creating only faint ripples before being erased by a gentle, ocean-like force. Yet this didn’t hinder Kai Xin’s next move…
At full speed, his third and fourth punches followed in quick succession, his momentum growing rapidly!
Master Kongxiang remained still, smiling slightly, allowing Kai Xin to grow quickly and amplify the power of his “Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms.”
Kai Xin didn’t disappoint him. From initial punches that only created ripples to ones that formed half-foot-deep pits, and eventually forcing Master Kongxiang to use defensive techniques to reduce the pressure on his “Demonic Subduing Art,” by the time he reached Master Kongxiang, his ninth attack was already a fierce roar!

A dragon-shaped vortex over a meter in diameter formed wildly in the air. As Happy delivered his powerful punches from below, the true energy surrounding Master Kongxiang was already compressed, creating a tangible arc-shaped shield that protected him inside.

Boom!!!

The punch struck the Fumo True Energy with force. The swirling airflow from the “Eighteen Palms to Subdue the Dragon” canceled out the airflow generated by the Fumo True Energy, directly breaking through Master Kongxiang’s basic defenses and forcing him to act for the first time.

Whoosh!

The Vajra Staff emitted a crisp, sharp sound, moving as fast as lightning and instantly reaching Happy’s face. The formidable force of the attack filled Happy with a sense of impending crisis—he felt unable to withstand it head-on.

This feeling… was extremely dangerous!!

An uncontrollable urge to dodge surged through him, but in just an instant, an even stronger sense of crisis arose! He suddenly noticed that the boiling blood within his body was cooling down, and his previously unstoppable momentum seemed to be fading.

No good!

If he avoided this strike, all his previous efforts would be wasted! It might even cast a shadow over his future!

In a flash, Happy gritted his teeth and quickly activated the “Jinhua Jiuyang Gong.” Instantly, a new force erupted from his dantian.

“Open!”

With a thunderous roar, accompanied by a dragon-like roar that shook the heavens, it echoed across the arena!!!

Roar!!!

Facing Master Kongxiang’s mighty Vajra Staff, Happy punched through the air, unleashing a fierce force from his body! Vaguely, a giant dragon behind him suddenly swelled several times in size, its four golden claws instantly solidifying to collide head-on with the Vajra Staff with terrifying intensity!

Boom!!!!!

On the arena, the violent impact shook the ground.

The shrill sound made the fighters in other directions stop fighting and look over.

Seeing the dragon-shaped silhouette barely hidden in the dust, even Emperor and Zhang Wuji showed deep shock.

The intensity of that impact was already comparable to the force generated when Guo Jing and Zhang Wuji clashed earlier!

Below the arena, Guo Jing stared intently at the fragmented image of the giant dragon on the stage, his body trembling uncontrollably. His eyes reflected utter disbelief!

A dragon fighting in the wild! It was actually this move!!!

On this Dragon and Tiger Arena, this young man who was still at thelife and death realm had grasped one of the most profound secrets of the “Eighteen Palms to Subdue the Dragon”!

……Ding!!

“Unyielding Dragon Soul! Battle in all directions! Mastering the technique ‘Dragon Battle in the Wild’—in times of crisis, at the cost of 100 points of internal energy, it unleashes power that boosts combat strength by 50%.”
The system’s delayed explanation resolved the mystery of the sudden surge of power that emerged from the dantian earlier, and it also cleared up Happy’s surprise and confusion at seeing Master Kongxiang pushed back to the edge of the arena with just one strike from him.
“Happy’s strength is truly becoming more and more astonishing…” Master Kongxiang never expected that Happy, who seemed under his control, could suddenly unleash such power.
His confident strike not only failed to break Happy’s accumulated momentum but also left him slightly injured, with minor damage to his robe—this put the lofty Abbot of Shaolin in a somewhat awkward position.
“Thankfully, Master helped me out,” Happy said with a wry smile.
Although that strike was unexpected, the technique ‘Dragon Battle in the Wild’ was far too devastating, both for the enemy and oneself—losing 100 points of internal energy at once, and using it again would drop one to the Mysterious Realm. He didn’t dare use this technique casually; instead, he answered while practicing the Jinhua Jiuyang Gong to quickly recover some of the lost internal energy.
Just one move had been made so far; there were still 99 more moves left in the match with Master Kongxiang…
Though he answered “The Emperor” very promptly, actually winning two matches in a row wasn’t that easy!
“The Emperor” also wasn’t having an easy time.
Despite his exceptional swordsmanship, Zhou Zhiruo wasn’t someone he could manipulate at will. With her cold expression and the Heaven-Piercing Sword in hand, along with mastery of the Nine Yin Manual, she blocked both of “The Emperor’s” attacks with black claws in the air.
However, Zhou Zhiruo’s expression also grew serious as she realized that this young, seemingly unknown boy might indeed pose a threat to her.