Chapter 139: Capturing the Dragon and Escaping Danger

“Amitabha!”
At the edge of the Peak of Punishment, the monk who had broken his vows acted as if he were a venerable priest, chanting a Buddhist phrase before stepping aside to make room. “Since you’re here, rest assured. Come, donor, take a break.”
“Rest my ass…”
Though cursing in his heart, Kaixin dared not show the slightest sign of excitement on his face.
It was clear that the monk intended to lower Kaixin’s guard with words, only to strike suddenly once he reached the peak and knock him off the cliff effortlessly.
At this thought, Kaixin felt a glimmer of hope!
If the monk had revealed his true nature before he reached the peak, Kaixin might have had no chance at all and would have perished right there on the Peak of Punishment. But if the monk was thinking this way, perhaps there was still a chance.
Immediately, he scanned the surroundings—the monk was alone.
“All in!”
Gritting his teeth, Kaixin exerted all his strength the moment he was five meters away from the rope bridge. He leaped high, carrying his sword, and rushed past the monk’s head at incredible speed.
Just as Kaixin reached the edge of the cliff, suspended in midair with no more strength left, the monk, who had been watching silently, suddenly laughed loudly:
“Haha! Stop, donor!”
He shook his long staff, which instantly turned into a swarm of deadly shadows—sharp, fierce, and overwhelming—as they rushed at Kaixin in the air. “You want to break into Hell? Do you think the Peak of Punishment is a place for ordinary mortals like you to enter at will? Hand over your life obediently!”
“You…”
Kaixin pretended to scream in panic midair, but his figure miraculously halted, and his Battle-Tested Sword was thrown out swiftly. With a stunning blue glow, it flashed into the swarm of staff shadows thrown by the monk.
His reaction speed was no less than the monk’s; it seemed as if they both acted at the same time!
In the blink of an eye, the monk let out a groan as most of the staff shadows disappeared. He staggered, losing his balance. Kaixin also suffered greatly—fighting head-on against a master of the Mysterious Realm in such a hurry, the difference in internal strength alone was enough to overwhelm him, not to mention he had already taken a hit.
A massive force surged into his body, nearly throwing Kaixin off the Peak of Punishment.
Fortunately!

At that critical moment, the first technique of the True Dragon Ten Styles, which he had learned from the Zhenlong Chess Game, suddenly flashed through his mind. In an instant, inspiration struck him. Without even thinking, he skillfully turned his right hand, and the little internal energy left in his body was channeled into his arm at an astonishing speed. “Whoosh!” An incredible sucking force erupted from his arm, like a dragon’s hand, effortlessly grasping the front end of the long staff that the Broken Vows Monk hadn’t had time to pull back…

The moment the staff was seized, an extremely powerful force spun it around. The Broken Vows Monk’s face turned pale in shock as he felt a jolt in his hand—his weapon had slipped from his grasp and been taken by his opponent.

Watching the young man, who should have been knocked off the cliff by his staff, safely land on the edge of Punishment Peak while holding onto his own staff, the Broken Vows Monk stared at his empty hands in disbelief. Just a few seconds ago, he had felt that this young man’s internal energy was far inferior to his own, by a whole level. Yet, even though injured, the young man had managed to display such remarkable adaptability and an astonishing sucking force.

That brief pause gave Happy a chance to survive…

Although he didn’t understand how the “Dragon Seizing Hand” could be so powerful, even causing the Broken Vows Monk, who was at the Mysterious Realm, to suffer such a loss, he knew now was not the time to ponder it. If he couldn’t restore his internal energy, even if he took the Broken Vows Monk’s weapon, the monk could easily knock him back off the cliff.

So…

The moment he landed, he immediately put the weapon taken from the Broken Vows Monk into his Qiankun Bag, then quickly took out a pill.

“Crunch!”

He crushed the pill and swallowed it.

A pungent sensation quickly spread from the tip of his tongue to his stomach.

In his dantian, which had been nearly depleted from using the “Dragon Seizing Hand,” streams of energy began to emerge rapidly, growing stronger and slowly flowing back into his limbs.

Phew…

He was alive!

Happy felt a sense of relief, as if reborn. As long as his internal energy was restored, he could use the Cloud Climbing Steps to evade the Broken Vows Monk’s pursuit while slowly taking the pills to replenish the energy he had lost on the Chain Bridge.

“You weird kid! Give back my Buddha’s weapon!!”

It was only at this moment that the Broken Vows Monk fully realized what had happened. The shock on his face was replaced by fury, and he no longer resembled the kind-hearted monk he had been before. With nothing but his bare hands, he lunged at Happy with a fierce expression.

Shaolin Temple has always been famous for its staff and fist techniques…

Now, the Broken Vows Monk had lost his staff-like weapon, but his martial skills with his fists and feet were still formidable, delivering blows with tremendous force—“whoosh! whoosh!”—accompanied by a heavy sound as his punches pierced through Happy’s remaining afterimage like lightning. Happy didn’t dare pause for even a moment. With his current internal energy, he simply didn’t have enough to use both “Cloud-Ascending Steps” and “Flower Knight’s Chant” at the same time; it would be better to conserve his strength and buy time. However, the Punishment Peak wasn’t large, and to avoid attracting more Broken Vows Monks’ attention, Happy also didn’t dare move too far, staying within a small area near the cliff. Bang!! Another rock shattered in the hands of the Broken Vows Monk, who remained fiercely determined, relentlessly pursuing Happy. Wherever Happy went, he followed, delivering deadly blows without any trace of compassion typical of a Buddhist. “You brat!” “Prove you can stop me, Buddha!” He kept cursing angrily as he chased. Happy didn’t bother arguing with an NPC, instead constantly changing directions, taking pills to restore his internal energy, and letting the “Whole Heart Meditation” work on its own to heal his injuries. Unless he had no choice but to block a strike to lightly deflect the Broken Vows Monk’s force, he wouldn’t engage in combat at all. As time passed… Happy’s speed increased, and he became more and more at ease. His internal energy had recovered to about 70-80%, and his injuries were no longer a problem. In contrast, the Broken Vows Monk remained unchanged, relying on his strong internal cultivation to pursue him for so long without showing signs of fatigue, even growing more aggressive. “It’s time to decide a winner.” He glanced around, suddenly turned, and clashed with the Broken Vows Monk in mid-air with a palm strike. Happy used the momentum to land near the Battle-Tested Sword embedded in the ground… He grabbed the hilt! “Sha!” The Battle-Tested Sword emerged gleaming from the ground, with a deep blue aura, and with a swift, decisive swing, it cut straight toward the incoming Broken Vows Monk. The Broken Vows Monk’s expression changed. In a hurry, he couldn’t dodge and could only watch helplessly as the sword blade came toward him! Bang!! With a loud noise, the Broken Vows Monk clasped his hands together, his arms hard as metal, just in time to clamp down on the sword that threatened to split him in two. His body trembled as he stepped back half a step and steadied himself. With a push of both palms, he swiftly flung the Battle-Tested Sword away, took quick steps forward, and formed a fist with his other hand, striking at the nearby Happy with lightning speed… His moves changed rapidly, his attacks fierce—showcasing the true strength of a master at the Mysterious Realm.

Facing the Breakfast Monk’s rapid attack, Happy remained calm, stepping in the Eight Trigrams formation as his Battle-Tested Sword spun with the momentum to strike back even faster at the Breakfast Monk…
Thud!
The Battle-Tested Sword hit the Breakfast Monk’s fleshy palms, but instead of a normal cutting sound, a sound typical of hitting metal came out, causing both of them to recoil;
Happy’s smile grew even wider:
“Perfect—use you to break through to the tenth layer of ‘Song of the Flower Hero’!”
With determination in mind, he raised his Battle-Tested Sword once more to confront the Breakfast Monk, whose body was as hard as iron.