Abbot Xuanzhi stepped forward. He hadn't expected Li Ling to have such a move. Most of Shaolin's experts were injured; even if the remaining ones attacked all at once, they probably wouldn't be able to defeat Li Ling. Thinking of this, he could only say:
"However, this Sutra Repository is a very important place in our Shaolin Temple. Even I, this old monk, cannot enter without the permission of Junior Brother Chengkong, who guards the Sutra Repository. If Young Hero Yi wants to enter the Sutra Repository, I'm afraid he will need Junior Brother Chengkong's approval!"
This was also Abbot Xuanzhi's last trump card. Chengkong was the Flying Dragon General that Zhang Junbao was looking for. His realm was already infinitely close to that of a Grandmaster of the Innate Realm, making him even better than Abbot Xuanzhi.
Abbot Xuanzhi only hoped that Chengkong could defeat Li Ling, otherwise no one in Shaolin Temple would be a match for Li Ling today, and their prestige would surely be ruined.
"In that case, please allow me to meet this Master Chengkong!" Li Ling said directly.
"Alright, young hero Yi, please follow me!"
"Brother Yi, are you alright?" Xueyan came to Li Ling's side at this moment and asked with concern, "The move you just used should be the 'Sword Dance Technique' from the Eight Styles of Famous Swords, right? Didn't you say before that this move consumes the most internal energy?"
Li Ling explained, "If I don't finish this quickly, Xuanzhi and the others don't know how long they'll drag it out. If they keep going in a war of attrition, it will probably consume even more of my true energy."
Moreover, having reached the Innate Grandmaster realm, my internal energy is inexhaustible and circulates endlessly, so these depletions will be recovered in a short while.
"You don't need to worry. On the contrary, you should be careful. Among the martial arts practitioners who came with me, there are probably Qin Hui's spies mixed in. Be careful they might try to harm you."
Reminded by Li Ling, Xueyan took his hand and said, "Brother Yi, don't worry. I've already mastered the martial arts you taught me, and with the firearms (pistols) you gave me, they'll have a hard time dealing with me."
At that moment, Abbot Xuanzhi arranged for someone to take the injured monk back to recuperate, while the other monks led Li Ling to the entrance of the Sutra Repository. Abbot Xuanzhi then shouted towards the Sutra Repository, "Junior Brother Chengkong, Junior Brother Chengkong!"
However, after a while, there was still no movement from inside. The martial arts practitioners behind Li Ling immediately started making a fuss again, clamoring for them to enter the Scripture Pavilion immediately.
"Please calm down, everyone." Seeing this, Li Ling stopped them and turned to Abbot Xuanzhi, saying, "Master, if Master Chengkong doesn't come out, we can't just keep waiting here!"
Abbot Xuanzhi had no choice but to continue urging Chengkong to appear. Li Ling also knew that Chengkong was trying to stall for time by not showing himself yet.
Cheng Kong had previously taught Zhang Junbao the Yi Jin Jing, and not long ago he even passed on all his internal energy to Zhang Junbao. Since he himself no longer had the strength to fight, he naturally had to rely on Zhang Junbao, who had acquired all of his internal energy.
Delaying this moment a little longer will give Zhang Junbao more time to fully integrate his skills.
Therefore, knowing that Abbot Xuanzhi was deliberately delaying, Li Ling was not in a hurry at all. He wanted to see what level Zhang Junbao could reach at this moment.
"Who is it? Why are you making such a racket? Can't a person get any rest? What are all of you doing here?!"
After a long while, Cheng Kong finally emerged from the Sutra Repository with an impatient shout. Everyone looked at him and saw that Cheng Kong seemed to be acting erratically.
Li Ling stepped forward and said, "This must be Master Chengkong. I am Yi Jifeng from Mingjian Villa. I wish to enter the Sutra Repository to find Zhang Junbao."
If you know this Zhang Junbao, please hand him over; otherwise, please allow me to go in and take a look.
If Zhang Junbao is truly not here, I, Yi, will certainly apologize to Shaolin in front of all my fellow martial artists!
“Zhang Junbao? I’ve never heard of him!” Cheng Kong denied immediately. “You should leave now, don’t keep me from chatting with General Feilong!”
“General Flying Dragon, does Master perhaps know General Flying Dragon?” Li Ling stared into Cheng Kong’s eyes.
"Ah, that Flying Dragon General..."
Just as Cheng Kong was about to speak, a large wooden box suddenly fell from the Sutra Repository to the front door, leaving everyone in a state of surprise and uncertainty.
"Bang!"
The wooden crate suddenly exploded, releasing a burst of air and kicking up a cloud of dust.
As the dust settled, a young man dressed in ordinary Shaolin monk's robes was revealed. Without even looking, Li Ling knew that this person was Zhang Junbao.
At this moment, some of the martial arts figures behind him recognized him and shouted, "It's Zhang Junbao!"
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Chapter 187 They're going to bomb me!
Upon seeing Zhang Junbao, Li Ling pointed at him and said to Xuanzhi, "Master Xuanzhi, this is Zhang Junbao. Didn't you say you had never seen him before?"
"this……"
Abbot Xuanzhi was speechless. He naturally knew that Chengkong had hidden someone in the Sutra Repository, especially after hearing the rumors circulating in the martial arts world, he was even more certain that the person was Zhang Junbao.
Since Zhang Junbao was the holy monk's disciple, he didn't expose him. However, Li Ling had questioned him many times, and he had always denied it. Now that Li Ling had pointed it out directly, he was losing face.
However, Abbot Xuanzhi, being an old man with a keen sense of wisdom, quickly revealed a look of 'doubt' and said, "I have never seen this young novice monk in the temple before, and I don't know who he is. He is not on the temple's list."
"Hehe, Master Xuanzhi is indeed impressive. He dismissed the matter with a simple 'I don't know.' But since this person is not a monk from Shaolin Temple, I should be able to take him away without any problem!"
Li Ling sighed again, marveling at how these veteran actors had mastered the essentials of acting. However, Li Ling wasn't about to overlook a single detail.
“This…” Abbot Xuanzhi didn’t know how to answer.
At this moment, Cheng Kong suddenly walked up to Zhang Junbao and said to him, "You must be full of energy right now, right? Good, there's a master over there. You can spar with him, and you'll feel great afterwards!"
At this moment, Zhang Junbao absorbed all of Cheng Kong's power, instantly transforming from a first-rate expert into a master of the Innate Realm. Coupled with Cheng Kong's power approaching that of a Grandmaster of the Innate Realm, even though the Yi Jin Jing was remarkably effective in fusing power, he still couldn't fully integrate Cheng Kong's power in a short period of time.
If a master could spar with Zhang Junbao now, it would further stimulate his skill integration, so Cheng Kong directly instructed Zhang Junbao to fight Li Ling.
"So that's how it is. Master Chengkong really went to great lengths, actually passing on his skills to you. Perfect, Brother Junbao, I'll lend you a hand too!" After saying that, Li Ling threw a punch at Zhang Junbao, which was the Seven Injury Fist that Li Ling had created.
At this moment, Zhang Junbao's body was surging with true energy, and his meridians were throbbing with pain from being forcibly opened. As a result, he was somewhat confused. When he saw Li Ling throw a punch, he instinctively mustered his true energy and threw a punch back.
"Bang!"
With a loud bang, the two men were simultaneously forced back three or four zhang (approximately 10-12 meters). Li Ling couldn't help but laugh, "Haha, your skill is truly profound, even surpassing mine by a hair's breadth. Master Chengkong is indeed a master. Shaolin Temple is truly a place where hidden talents abound! Let's go again!"
At this moment, Zhang Junbao's mind was somewhat unclear, and his spirit was in a state of intentional or unintentional descent, which perfectly matched the Buddhist concept of "emptiness" contained in the Yi Jin Jing. In the darkness, he connected the essence, energy and spirit of his entire body, and his whole body began to switch to innate breathing. When he fought with Li Ling, he acted entirely on instinct, which was completely natural. For a time, the two of them fought to a standstill.