Chapter 399 - 222: Thrashing the Riddler

Chapter 399: Chapter 222: Thrashing the Riddler

In that instant, the fist went wide, smashing into the buildings nearby and leveling a huge section of them.

Huie Jue snapped back to his senses in a flash. He spun around abruptly, only to see Xie Yuan standing behind him, a great axe held high.

Xie Yuan paused for a moment, then strode forward. He gripped the axe with both hands and swung it horizontally in a deceptively light motion, as if he had practiced it a thousand times over.

A dense, black gleam of axe energy shot out, condensed by Xie Yuan into a tiny area on the blade’s edge. It was a profound, terrifying darkness—a black so deep it struck fear into one’s heart.

Huie Jue’s expression was grave. The golden light surrounding him flared, gathering before him to form a semicircular Light Shield that perfectly intercepted the axe blade.

No storms of energy or flashes of light erupted. The black and gold clashed, all their power concentrated at the point of impact. Their ultimate techniques collided, a testament to their supreme control.

The black light seeped into the pure gold Light Shield, and dark cracks slowly began to spread across its surface.

Huie Jue’s brow furrowed as he watched the Light Shield flicker more frantically than ever before. Then, with a series of CRACKLES like shattering glass, fissures began to spread rapidly across its surface. It seemed the shield could not withstand the axe.

Fortunately, a moment later, the Light Shield shattered with a sharp BANG. At the same instant, the black light dissipated, leaving only a faint, flickering golden flame in front of Huie Jue.

Huie Jue grunted and staggered back two steps, a trickle of blood escaping the corner of his mouth.

But he immediately wiped it away with his hand and grinned.

"Patron Xie, now *that* axe strike had some substance to it. It made this trip worthwhile. A pity, though. After that one strike, what can you possibly do to my golden body..."

His voice trailed off as he stared at Xie Yuan in disbelief.

"Wh-What are you doing?"

Xie Yuan’s face was pale, yet he raised his axe again. A black light began to form on its edge.

"W-Wait a minute! How can you swing that axe again? We’ve been fighting for so long, we’ve both expended a huge amount of energy! How could you possibly use a killing move like that twice in a row?"

Xie Yuan’s expression remained neutral, but he offered a faint smile.

"I can swing an axe with this much power a total of three times."

Huie Jue’s face fell at his words. His body trembled, and he suddenly seemed to shrink, his monastic robes becoming well-fitted once more.

He threw his hands up high and shouted:

"Patron Xie! Stop, please! I concede!"

Seeing Huie Jue’s deathly pale face and the golden light around him reduced to a mere flicker, Xie Yuan understood. He lowered his axe accordingly and let out a long breath.

Huie Jue stared, stunned. He pointed a trembling finger at Xie Yuan.

"You! You tricked me! You’re running on fumes too! You had one more strike at most!"

Xie Yuan chuckled.

"One strike would have been enough. Weren’t you just putting up a brave front yourself?"

Huie Jue’s expression flickered. He snorted lightly.

"If I had maintained my Arhat’s golden body, taking another one of your strikes would have been no problem. The outcome would still have been uncertain."

Xie Yuan didn’t comment. He’d only just realized that Huie Jue couldn’t have lasted much longer either. ’A technique like the Arhat’s golden body, not to mention that enormous, sky-blotting fist, must consume at least as much energy as my Cloud Dragon Nine Forms and Sweep Away a Thousand Foes.’ After all, he was only at the Second Transformation Realm; his Blood Qi wasn’t limitless.

But the pressure from this Second Transformation Realm expert was almost greater than what he had felt from the Celestial Tier Assassin back then.

Huie Jue looked at Xie Yuan, his expression complicated.

"Even if you had won with that axe strike, it would have been by overdrawing on your own life force. If you’re that desperate to win, why not just use Spiritual Medicine or treasures? It would be better than exhausting yourself."

"Since you didn’t use any Spiritual Medicine or treasures either, it was only natural for us to have a fair fight."

Xie Yuan said casually. ’As a direct disciple of Prajna Temple, he certainly doesn’t lack treasures.’

Huie Jue sighed softly.

"Amitabha. Patron Xie, you are truly too caught up in appearances."

A vein throbbed on Xie Yuan’s forehead. He couldn’t help but retort:

"The loser is still putting on airs? Do you enjoy being so cryptic, speaking in riddles? You were pretty straightforward when you were begging for mercy. Heh. One moment, you’re this grand personage, and the next you’re just a ’little monk.’ The whole act is laughable."

Huie Jue’s expression didn’t change. He said flatly:

"I was merely having a friendly spar with Patron Xie. I wasn’t using my true strength."

Xie Yuan glanced at the faint golden light around him, which flickered as if it could extinguish at any moment. He shook his head, speechless, and decided not to argue with the monk.

"So you’ve lost. Does this mean you won’t be dragging me off to become a monk anymore?"

"If you didn’t want to go, you didn’t have to. Prajna Temple isn’t some heretical cult that needs to forcibly recruit people to fill its ranks."

A vein throbbed on Xie Yuan’s temple.

"But you just said, the Golden Bell Shield..."

Huie Jue looked at him with a strange expression.

"Many lay disciples with an affinity for Buddhism cultivate the Golden Bell Shield. What’s the big deal? You, Patron Xie, received your legacy from the Golden River Temple lineage. Since I know your identity, it’s only natural that I could see that. It’s perfectly reasonable, so what’s there to be upset about? It’s not like it’s the Indestructible Golden Bell Shield... Pfft, don’t tell me you couldn’t even figure that out?"

Xie Yuan’s fists slowly clenched. He silently lifted his axe.

Huie Jue took a step back, stepping on a piece of rubble, and held up a hand.

"Amitabha. Patron Xie, peace is a virtue. You shouldn’t resort to violence at the drop of a hat."

Xie Yuan gritted his teeth. He was truly at a loss for words when it came to this monk.

However, as he looked at the rubble-strewn alley and the countless collapsed homes nearby, his brow furrowed, even though he heard no cries of pain.

He said with some gravity:

"Monk, why did you have to pick this place to fight me? I was holding back at first, but you..."

Huie Jue shook his head gently, his palms pressed together.

"Amitabha. My Buddha is merciful. Naturally, I would not harm the innocent."

He didn’t explain further. He just opened his palm, and a radiant, illusory image of what looked like a pagoda appeared in it.

Xie Yuan’s vision blurred for a moment. When he came to his senses, he found his location had suddenly changed.

He was still in the secluded alley, standing beside the small street-side temple. Huie Jue was in front of the temple gate, palms pressed together, smiling at him.

Xie Yuan’s eyes went wide. He felt his clothes and found them completely intact, as if he hadn’t been in a fight at all.

But the emptiness inside his body, the depletion of his Blood Qi and internal energy, was real...

’What kind of magic treasure is this? That thing... it looks a little familiar.’

"Patron Xie, don’t ask what you shouldn’t ask. Knowing too much right now will do you no good."

Huie Jue said this with a profound, mysterious, and incredibly smug look on his face.

Xie Yuan gritted his teeth. Although he suspected the monk was probably just bluffing again, he held back his questions.

He let out a breath.

"Fine. As long as no one was hurt."

"Patron Xie, you see? You do have quite the Buddha-nature. Why don’t you come with me to Prajna Temple..."

Xie Yuan waved his hand dismissively.

"Cut the crap. What about what you promised me earlier? And... our fight just now, it didn’t attract anyone’s attention, did it?"

This alley had few pedestrians, but it wasn’t empty. Xie Yuan wondered if any passersby had noticed the two of them standing here for so long.

’Did we enter some other space, like a ruin? And was the flow of time the same as the outside world?’

Xie Yuan was very curious, but whether Huie Jue was bluffing or not, it was clear he wasn’t going to say. Not wanting to give the smart-mouthed monk another chance to run his mouth, Xie Yuan resisted the urge to ask more.

Huie Jue shook his head.

"What I promised you, I will naturally fulfill. Monks do not lie. As for the fight just now... no one knew about it."

’No one knew about it?’

Xie Yuan frowned, a bad feeling creeping over him as he looked at Huie Jue.

Huie Jue looked back at him, smiled faintly, then took a deep breath. He channeled his internal energy and, using the Buddhist Lion’s Roar technique, shouted in a voice that cracked from the sheer volume:

"I, THE MONK HUIE JUE, WAS NO MATCH FOR PATRON XIE YUAN! I WHOLEHEARTEDLY ADMIT DEFEAT!"

His voice boomed like a great bell, piercing the heavens. That single shout must have been heard by at least half of Jinling City.

After roaring, Huie Jue cleared his throat. He pressed his palms together, revealing a pure smile, and said in a soft, gentle voice:

"Now, someone knows."