Chapter 197 - Man of Omen or Man of Virtue?
“Hahaha!”
Jiang Yi looked to the sky and laughed with anger. “Little monk, according to what you said, there isn’t any difference whether the medals are in your hands or in mine. If everything is ’emptiness’ to you, why not… give me all your medals; and I will go with you to claim all the medals from everyone? I want the medals for fame while your group wants to stop the war, gain boundless virtue, and rescue many lives. Wouldn’t everyone be satisfied?”
“Huh…”
The little monk blinked his eyes and was speechless. Jiang Yi’s rebuttal was like using a spear while holding a shield. The little monk’s dharma might be profound but was inexperienced and didn’t have any knowledge of the worldly wisdom—naturally not an opponent for Jiang Yi’s fallacious reasoning.
From Jiang Yi’s perspective, the Great Zen Monastery might not have sent the monks for the rewards of the Kingdom War, but it was definitely not as noble and grand like the little monk said.
They might not want the rewards, but they were definitely here for fame. The appearance in this war was already a show of their existence—to show how formidable their Great Zen Monastery was, allowing them to recruit more people to believe in their Buddha. If there was truly nothing for them to fight for, they wouldn’t even need to appear and continue cultivating while concealed in the mountains.
“Benefactor, your words might have some logic, but these medals cannot be given to you.”
The little monk paused and shook his head. “You are not a disciple of our Buddhism. If you are to convert and join our Buddhism, I might be able to reconsider. My Buddha is merciful, Benefactor…”
“Enough, enough!”
Jiang Yi was having the goosebumps after hearing such things. He waved his hand, and the Black Scale Sword appeared from a flash of the Fire Spirit Pearl. He shouted, “Enough with the nonsense! If you want to snatch my medals, then get ready for a fight. I will say it first: if you want my—Jiang Yi’s—life, better be prepared to have half of your monks visiting your Buddha.”
“Benefactor, you are not a match for us!”
The little monk sighed, “I advise for Benefactor to take the initiative and hand over your medals to this poor monk. I will leave immediately afterward and not hurt Benefactor…”
“Such arrogance!”
Jiang Yi sneered and looked around before suddenly staring at the little monk. “Why not have a match with me? If you are able to injure me, I will offer all the medals I have. If I can injure you, you will give me all your medals and leave? This way, we will not hurt our friendly terms. How about it?”
“Is Benefactor speaking the truth?” The little monk’s eye lit up as he asked.
“A nobleman’s word is his bond!”
Jiang Yi nodded seriously and asked in return, “I, Jiang Yi, am a man that honors my word and would naturally not regret it. I wonder if the monks from the Great Zen Monastery would honor their promise.”
The little monk nodded and replied, “Monks never tell lies! Benefactor, we have a deal. Benefactor, please make your move; the rest of you, step back.”
“Swish!”
This little monk seemed to have an esteemed status. Once he finished his statement, all the monks stepped back by hundreds of meters and weren’t concerned that Jiang Yi might kill the little monk.
“Little monk, be careful now.”
Jiang Yi didn’t hold back and burst forward using both his legs to step on the ground. The Black Scale Sword brandished in the air and slashed down ahead while he shouted, “Wind Shadow Sword!”
“Tsk-Tsk!”
The moment Jiang Yi released the Wind Shadow Sword, the surrounding air flowed quickly, converging at the tip of the Black Scale Sword from all directions. Violent winds were produced in an instant, fluttering the little monk’s kasaya.
“Amitabha!”
Unknowingly, an alms bowl appeared in the little monk’s hand. His hand was gently swung, and the alms bowl immediately flew towards Jiang Yi. Swelling up with the oncoming wind, it instantly grew as big as four meters, crashing towards Jiang Yi like a small mountain.
Damn it! Is this a heaven artifact or a saint artifact?
Jiang Yi’s body was stunned for a moment before he burst out, “Silver-Moon Demon Wolf!”
The Silver-Moon Demon Wolf appeared in mid-air. When Jiang Yi saw that the demon wolf had regained its consciousness, he was immediately delighted as he jumped and steered the demon wolf to dodge to the side.
This alms bowl might be fast and had a terrifying prowess, but it wasn’t on the same level as the Man-Ruler Seal. It should just be a heaven artifact. After Jiang Yi barely managed to dodge the alms bowl, he controlled the Silver-Moon Demon Wolf to rush at the little monk. The little monk formed a praying hand and chanted another Buddhist saying, “Amitabha.”
Jiang Yi’s soul spirit was shaken once again. He felt dizzy while the Silver-Moon Demon Wolf turned motionless like before.
“Swish!”
The alms bowl that was dodged earlier came flying back. When Jiang Yi came back to his senses, he saw the sky suddenly turning dark as the alms bowl was pressing down from above like a mountain!
“Break!”
Jiang Yi didn’t evade anymore. He brandished the Black Scale Sword into the sand underneath him and scattered the sand, sinking his body into the sand. Just as his body went under the sand, the alms bowl came crashing down.
“Fire Spirit Rock!”
With a shout, the Fire Spirit Pearl had a flash as a small piece of fiery red rock came flying out. Jiang Yi extended his hands and gave a flick, shooting it towards the alms bowl. Once it made contact with the alms bowl, it instantly let out green flames while the alms bowl let out a blinding white light before it drastically shrunk.
“Swish!”
The monks that were standing away were shocked as they flew over, gathering behind the little monk with dignified eyes. The little monk’s mouth was opened wide as he looked in disbelief.
“Boom!”
Jiang Yi burst out from the sand and reached out to grab the small alms bowl while a mouthful of fresh blood trickled out from the edge of his mouth. The alms bowl might not have crushed him, but that powerful pressure did some damage to his innards.
Jiang Yi threw the alms bowl that had a small hole burned through it and snorted. “Why? Asking for help when you can’t win?”
The little monk caught the alms bowl with an expression of heartache. He looked at it for a moment before sighing, “Benefactor, since you are able to break Grandmaster Uncle’s alms bowl, then my Mystical Dust Kasaya will not be able to withstand your attacks as well. This battle is this poor monk’s defeat. Huijing, give all our medals to him.”
One of the monks that looked over 20 years of age got anxious as he clenched his teeth and called out to the little monk, “Little Master Uncle.”
“Give it to him!”
The little monk let out a faint sigh. “The people from our Great Zen Monastery will never go back on our words. This Benefactor might not have hurt me, but when you rushed over, we have already broken the rules. It is naturally our loss.”
“Alright then!”
That elder monk immediately retrieved a sack and threw it to Jiang Yi. Jiang Yi took a quick glance was instantly delighted to see 600 to 700 medals inside. He gave a thumbs-up to the little monk and said, “Little monk, you are indeed an honest man.”
“Benefactor, you may leave!”
The little monk clasped his hands together and said emotionlessly, “We will not make things difficult for Benefactor this time. If we are to meet Benefactor again, we will definitely make a move.”
“Okay!”
Jiang Yi had a change of perspective towards the little monk. He summoned the Silver-Moon Demon Wolf and sped off, kicking off a sand cloud as he vanished into the distance.
“Little Master Uncle!”
When Jiang Yi left, the twenty over monks all looked at the little monk with anxiety; but they didn’t know where to start talking from.
The little monk rubbed the alms bowl in his hands and shook his head with a sigh. “Grandmaster Uncle mentioned that the alms bowl is embedded with the Nine Yang Buddha Seal; whoever could break his alms bowl is either a man of omen or a man of virtue! We cannot afford to offend either one of them; otherwise, it would bring endless misfortune to the Great Zen Monastery. Let’s go.”