White-Robed Chief
Chapter 84: Fa Yuan

Chu Li expanded the scope of his Omniscient Mirror to the maximum, to read the mind of the grey-robed old man, but he suddenly revealed a smile. It seemed like the Lady was very worried about him that she had secretly sent an Innate Master to protect him.

As he thought of that, he became bolder. He turned back around and continued in the direction of Feng Shicai's estate.

Before he arrived at the estate, his expression changed.

The Tempest Temple had really sent someone to guard the place, but it was not what he had predicted. Instead of a group of people, it was only a monk.

It was a young, handsome monk, who wore a grey robe. He sat peacefully on a couch in one of the house, and he did not move a single bit.

His age was almost that of Chu Li's. His facial features were fine, and he looked charming. His skinny body contained a ferocious amount of inner energy, so much more immense than the grey-robed old man behind him.

Chu Li sighed; he really could not underestimate the capabilities of the Tempest Temple.

Moreover, Chu Li did not need to attack him to know that he wasn't his enemy's match.

Feng Shicai was in the house adjacent to the Xiao Monk's, and he was already sound asleep. With protection from a monk of the Tempest Temple, he could sleep in peace. He was cuddling with a beautiful lady as well.

Chu Li stood outside the estate and contemplated on who he should kill first — the monk or Feng Shicai.

If he killed the monk first, then only proceeding to kill Feng Shicai, killing the latter would be like nothing.

He triggered his Imminent Skyline technique, and soon, the spiritual energies from his surrounding surged into his body. In a flash, he disappeared on the spot; the next second, he smashed right through the window pane, landing in front of the Xiao Monk. His hands were glowing with a chilly aura.

"Ding..." The blade aimed towards the monk's throat was deflected away, as if it had just hit a rock.

Chu Li disappeared in a blink again, but this time, he appeared behind the Xiao Monk.

He let out a long sigh again. The monk's reflexes were rather quick because the blade did not even reach him before he deflected it using the Sentient Menace technique. Innate masters were truly sensitive towards danger.

A 'chi' sound followed, as a focused blast of energy struck his back.

In a split second, Chu Li disappeared and reappeared a mile away from the scene.

However, the Xiao Monk darted towards him like a silent shadow. He used the first finger of his right hand to tap lightly on Chu Li's back.

"Chi!" Another forceful surge of energy struck Chu Li's back.

Though this time, Chu Li had already activated his Omniscient Mirror earlier, so he could see what was coming.

The Xiao Monk only did a gentle tap on him, but the strength of it was humongous. An invisible form of energy blasted out from his fingertips, shattering the air like a flying blade. It was a release of inner energy!

Chu Li did not take the risk to block it. Whenever his opponent moved his finger, he would quickly evade it. Although the attacks that were thrown at him were swift, it could not be compared to the speed of his Imminent Skyline move. In fact, the attack was so much faster.

As the energy from his fingers hit the ground, it immediately left a hole. Chu Li sighed; if that kind of force had landed on his body, the second stage of his Sentient Menace technique would not be able to save him from it.

The Xiao Monk threw strikes of hit after hits from his fingertip while Chu Li responded with his Imminent Skyline move, as if they were both performing magic. Under the moonlight, ten or more figures of shadows appeared, and every strike from the monk was an apparition.

In the blink of an eye, the chase had covered over two miles of distance.

Chu Li entered a forest and summoned his Imminent Skyline more intensely. In a fraction of a second, the monk had already lost track of him, as if Chu Li had vanished completely.

The Xiao Monk stood on a branch, his head shimmering with light under the starlit sky.

He locked his creased eyebrows and swept a quick glance across the surroundings, but he could not find Chu Li.

However, on top of the hill right opposite the forest, Chu Li suddenly appeared. He then made a loud whistle.

The Xiao Monk raised his head to look at him. As he saw that Chu Li was already thousands of meters away, any hopes of getting to him were now diminished.

Chu Li let out a long laugh. "How may I call you, dear monk?"

"Amitabha Buddha... I am Fa Yuan ." The monk put his palms together and bowed to him. "Almsgiver Chu, your Light-body Techniques are incredible!"

Chu Li said. "Your finger forces is incredible too, Fa Yuan! What was that technique?"

He had clearly seen through his finger force technique and the routes of his inner energy release. Unfortunately, he was not an innate master and so, he could not emit inner energy like the Xiao Monk but he hoped that he would be able to do so in the future.

"Spear Finger Strike."

"You have already accomplished the third stage of the Sentient Menace technique, am I right?"

"That's right."

"Wow, that's truly amazing. We'll meet again!" Chu Li laughed out loud before he vanished from sight. He was soon nowhere to be found.

Fa Yuan looked down and let out a long sigh.

He had pursued Chu Li personally, but he still could not get his hands on him. Senior Dharma Shan was right; this fella was a slick and a smart one as well!

So, he turned around and made his way back to the estate. When he was back to his quiet room, he crossed his legs and sat on the couch.

"Eh?" He was startled as he realized that something was amiss. He quickly used his technique to listen to what was happening on the other side of the wall, but there were only signs of one breath! Now, he did not care about Feng Shicai's privacy anymore; he tore down the door with a single palm strike and stepped into the room.

The room looked the same. It did not look like there had been an intruder.

He went to Feng Shicai's couch and opened the bed curtain. There lied Feng Shicai and the pretty lady. The lady was only dressed in a bright red stomacher, revealing her shoulders and arms.

However, he was not deterred by the sight of that and glanced across to Feng Shicai. When his eyes met his body, his face turned gloomy.

He saw Feng Shicai lying on the couch, not moving. His face looked peaceful, as if he was sound asleep.

Fa Yuan reached out to feel for any signs of life, but he knew that he was already dead!

Chu Li had returned to finish him off. He had tricked him!

Although he was a righteous follower of Buddha, he could not help but feel hateful towards his enemy. His eyes glowed brightly, and there was only one thing that crossed his mind right there and then — to kill Chu Li with a single palm strike.

...

After that, Chu Li returned to the Public House quietly, and so did the grey-robed old monk.

He sat on his couch in East Garden, reminiscing the battle scene just now between him and Fa Yuan. He played back his foe's every move in his mind. He analyzed Fa Yuan's fighting style so he could better counter him the next time they met.

If not for the Imminent Skyline technique, he would have died in Fa Yuan's hands. Such a young Innate Master, he naturally felt fearful towards him.

Fa Yuan was the first ever person to elude his Eternity Blade. Innate Masters were indeed highly sensitive towards any incoming threat.

Furthermore, his third stage Sentient Menace move allowed him to withstand his inner energy attacks, rendering the Eternity Blade useless against him.

If Chu Li wanted to counter his Sentient Menace technique, he would have to use a stronger blade than that. The most crucial part of all was an extreme focus and purity of his inner energy. If he had achieved Innate Mastery, Fa Yuan would not have stood a chance against his flying blade.

The Spear Finger Strike was a demanding technique. It was a shame that, at his current stage, he would not be able to learn it. He could not blast out his inner energy yet. So if he tried to cultivate it, it would backfire.

Instinctively, he knew that his Sentient Menace would not be able to shield him from the Spear Finger Strike. He would need to raise the levels of his Sentient Menace technique.

Once his Sentient Menace technique had reached Stage Four, he would be able to cultivate his meridians. By that time, the powers of his Infinite Azure Sea technique would be quadrupled. It could even increase by five or six folds. With that amount of power, it would then be possible for him to overcome the strength of an Innate Master.

He put everything out of his mind. Instead, he then shifted his focus to cultivating the Sun Cultivating White Tiger Portrait.

Mysterious energies started to surge into his body from the realm of the skies above and the grounds below. They surrounded his blood and flesh, altering their properties. The next morning, if he would cultivate the Sentient Menace move again, his powers would improve by a huge margin.

If he continued the same routine, it would not take long before he could completely master the third stage. He felt very excited for that.

...

It was dawn. After finishing breakfast, Chu Li went to the Island of Jade. As he pushed open the door of the small courtyard, the first thing he saw was Su Ru, sitting at the small kiosk. Her yellow dress looked clean; the pure white teacup in her hand complementing the beauty of her face.

Chu Li walked towards the gazebo, taking a seat right opposite to her.

Su Ru put down her teacup and glanced at him. "We've found Gu Litong!"

Xue Ling put a refilled teapot on their table, then stood behind Chu Li.

Chu Li opened his teacup cover and took a sip. "Where?"

"White Stone Town."

"White Stone Town..." Chu Li searched in his mind, looking for the exact location of that town. He said in a low voice, "That will be thousands of miles away from here. Is he halfway there?"

White Stone Town was situated in between Chong Ming Town and Terence Town, and the Ren Public House was in Terence Town.