A Scroll of Infinite Glory

After Guan Luoyang made his statement, among the hundreds of people, while the other sects whispered among themselves, even some Taoists from the Zhenwu Temple felt that he was being too arrogant.

Qiu Di leaned closer to Qiu Shi's back with some concern and whispered, "Senior Brother..."

Qiu Shi sat firmly with his whisk in hand, seemingly oblivious to everything, showing no intention of getting up to smooth things over. His eyes, slightly narrowed, were fixed on Wei Dinggong to his right.

Wei Dinggong, his hands wrapped in prayer beads, remained silent, silently calculating in his mind: "This was going to be a bit tricky, but I didn't expect him to provoke this himself. He's still so young. Everyone here has some trump card; with him provoking us like this, a war of attrition will only take down three or five of us at most. Won't that wear him down?"

While the Water and Fire Immortal Robe's martial arts achievements are indeed extraordinary, claiming to be able to ward off water and fire, walk through mountains of knives and forests of swords, it would be a gross underestimation of the art of magic to say that a martial artist of this level could stand shoulder to shoulder with the top magicians of Southeast Asia.

Admittedly, the status of monks lies more in their ability to cure diseases, save lives, perform curses from afar, and change feng shui, which is why they are revered by the powerful and wealthy.

The desire to fight is the greatest desire in human nature.

Even mages are human. With so many schools of magic passed down for so many years, how could they not have developed methods that are remarkably effective in direct confrontation?

Just now, the reason why Master Xu Luo was defeated so quickly was twofold: firstly, he did not accurately predict the skill level of the young man opposite him, and secondly, it was because this great monk was merciful and, in this kind of magical duel, he first held back seven-tenths of his killing power.

Now, all sides are wary of Guan Luoyang's skills and are inevitably angered by his boastful words, so their actions are no longer as peaceful as those of Master Xu Luo.

"You little rascal, you want us to keep quiet about it? But saying that out loud is just asking us to start cursing you out, isn't it?"

The burly, imposing man stood up.

The man had tanned skin, a broad face and square lips, and thick hair braided into several small braids wrapped around his head. He wore a black cloth draped diagonally over his upper body, and rough, colorful cloth skirts and trousers that reached his knees. His arms and calves were wrapped in leather.

"Alright! Then I'll go first and see who you are. I've already fought the fifth round, and you've fought the sixth. It'll be fair if we go head-to-head. As long as you can beat me in a real fight, I don't care what others say. But I will never let anyone say a bad word about you in front of or behind your back."

After he finished speaking, he spread his left foot to the side and stomped down with his ankle-high leather boot, lowering his waist and bending his knees at a right angle. Then he raised his right foot high and stomped down in the same way.

With arms crossed in front of his groin, the leather on his forearms rubbed against each other. Gradually, wisps of smoke rose from his forearms, shoulder pads, waist protector, knee pads, calf rings, and boots.

Guan Luoyang smelled a pungent odor, like burning cowhide, and slowly walked to the center of the arena.

Boom! ! !

Juli jumped onto the ring, veins bulging on his forehead. He took a big step and rushed in front of Guan Luoyang, grabbing at his shoulders with both hands.

The two hands stirred up a treacherous wind, which reached Guan Luoyang's ears.

Guan Luoyang's ears twitched, the muscles from his shoulder blades to the back of his neck bulged, his shoulders and back tensed like iron, and he raised his arms one step.

A muffled thud echoed from the spot.

The sound of the two men's arms colliding even drowned out the sound of the wooden planks beneath Guan Luoyang's feet shattering.

In other people's eyes, Guan Luoyang suddenly seemed shorter.

However, the construction of this arena was very meticulous. Underneath the wooden planks was a layer of logs as thick as a thigh, and under those logs, sacks were filled with soil and compacted.

Although Guan Luoyang's feet sank a little, he was not about to fall. Moreover, his arms changed between hardness and softness extremely quickly. When he parried, his entire shoulders, back and arms were as hard as a large piece of iron cast together.

But as soon as they collided, his forearms slid forward, his palms like a python's open mouth, his thumbs pinching the inside of Juli's elbows and pressing down.

The monk Juli's arms were pressed down and hung forward, his hands empty. Suddenly, he clenched his fists, and the power seemed to overflow from between his fingers.

The most exposed and vulnerable spot on his arm, where the veins were most prominent, became as hard as bamboo wrapped in oil-soaked iron when he exerted his strength. It was both tough and slippery. With a sway of his arms, he broke free from Guan Luoyang's grip.

But then Juli's chin jerked, and his face jerked upwards.

After Guan Luoyang's fingers were freed, he raised his hand and lashed out. His right hand was soft as cotton, and the back of his hand was as swift as a steel whip, hitting Juli's chin squarely. He then used his left hand to strike Juli's collarbone, shoving him away with a single blow.

Juli's feet left the ground, his collarbone was struck by a palm, and his upper body lost its balance and crashed to the ground. He quickly covered his head to protect the back of his head, rolled twice on the ground, and stood up.

As he rolled, the arena surface trembled slightly, as if it had been crushed by a huge iron wheel.

Despite the heavy blows and collisions, he stood up completely unharmed, covered in dust and sawdust, and even showed off his teeth blackened with medicine, giving a thumbs up.

"Good warrior, you have the confidence to be arrogant, but it's not enough."

Below the arena, Wei Dinggong thought to himself, "The power of the dancing rhinoceros is indeed unleashing its most formidable techniques right from the start."

This sorcerer, Juli, was a master of witchcraft and sorcery.

In southern Yunnan and Southeast Asia, legends of witchcraft and sorcery are widespread. It is said that every village has one or two practitioners of witchcraft and sorcery.

Most people's impression of Gu is very superficial and rudimentary. They think it is simply about putting poisonous insects such as snakes, scorpions, silkworms, toads, and geckos in the same container using special methods to kill each other. The final winner is called Gu, which can parasitize other people's bodies to achieve effects such as harming or monitoring them.

Even the shape of the character "蛊" (gu) means an insect on a vessel.

But actually in Southeast Asia, besides using live insects as poison, there is another major category: using leather as poison.

Animals living in cold regions often have excellent fur, but their hides tend to have coarser fibers; raccoons and foxes are prime examples.

In places like Southeast Asia, the climate is warm and humid all year round, making it a source of fine, soft, and high-quality leather.

The artisans who tan leather are so skilled that they can divide a perfect cowhide into eight layers. The outermost layer, also called the inner layer, is highly elastic and breathable.

Skilled Gu masters use this skin as a raw material for their spells, employing a wide variety of methods and techniques.

If you want to harm someone, the most common method is to cut the food into extremely small pieces, sprinkle a few small pieces into the food, have the person swallow it, and then secretly perform a ritual to make them die from bloating.

They can also be used for carving and leather sculpture, secretly buried to ruin the feng shui of people's houses, ruin their official careers and wealth, and shorten the lifespan of their descendants.

If you want to save someone, you can wrap a child in leather and retrieve them after they sink underwater to remove disease. You can also use leather to replace the skin of a burned person, making it look brand new. It can even be used to paint portraits of ancestors, worship the dead, and absorb incense offerings.

In the previous magical duel, Master Juli used a leather painting to absorb his opponent's magical power, and then released a cloud of smoke resembling a galloping wild bull, knocking his opponent off the stage.

The Gu technique he is currently using is called "The Power of Dancing Rhinoceroses." It requires the hides of twelve wild oxen that have died of old age. The hides are then compared to different parts of a person's body, and different parts of the hide are taken from each ox to contain the soul, which is then tanned and nourished.

Using this kind of Gu technique requires a high level of physical strength, which is why he trained himself to be so strong. When he cast the spell, the power of twelve wild oxen enveloped his body, making him impervious to spears and arrows, and giving him the strength to lift a city gate.

Guan Luoyang stared at his chin and flicked the back of his hand.

The sensation of hitting my chin felt like hitting a very thick layer of oil; it just slid off, and at most only half of the force was applied.

"If it's so durable, then I'm relieved."

Guan Luoyang exhaled, his breath becoming steady, circulating endlessly through his mouth and nose. His body seemed to grow half a head taller, and with a sway, he crashed head-on into the monk Juli.

Juli assumed a stance, slammed his arms down, and the figure in front of him suddenly vanished.

Having mastered the art of Qi cultivation, Guan Luoyang could shift his center of gravity at will. It seemed as if he was focusing his strength on his upper body, about to collide with his opponent's head and face, but halfway through the charge, he suddenly slumped his waist, his posture shifting with extreme fluidity, and one leg slashed out like a razor.

Juli staggered forward after being kicked, and Guan Luoyang's body undulated as he slid in and out of the air, his upper body being lifted by the power of his waist and hips. He then twisted his arm and delivered a powerful upward thrust, hitting Juli's chin once again.

This time, it still had that extremely smooth and resilient feel, dissipating its power.

But this cannonball was more than twice as powerful as the whip strike from before. Even though most of it was dissipated, it still sent Juli flying into the air.

Guan Luoyang straightened up, lunged forward, grabbed his belt, swung his arm in a half-spin, aimed at the direction of Juli's disciples, and threw him away.

"Master!" "Guru!" "Abbot..."

A dozen or so disciples simultaneously raised their hands, their palms reaching out in all directions, and together they caught Juli.

The disciples in the front row withdrew their hands, put Juli down, and asked anxiously.

Juli's eyes were unfocused, his jaw ached, his head was spinning, and he still didn't quite understand how he had been knocked down. After a long pause, he finally managed to utter two words.

"strong enough!"

On the stage, Guan Luoyang maintained his state of perfected Qi cultivation, as if he wanted to inhale for eternity. He pointed at Juli, raised one finger, and then spread his palm in an inviting gesture, looking around.

The first one is gone, who's next?

"This humble Taoist has come to learn from you."

This is the winner of the fourth contest, Master Xingwu of Jianping Prefecture.

His hair was streaked with silver, and he waved a feather fan. Before going on stage, he would shake his sleeves with each step, revealing miniature warriors made of bamboo strips and paper. Some held swords and spears with flags on their backs, while others held snakes in their left hands and carried large axes horizontally.

The moment he stepped onto the stage, Master Xingwu waved his feather fan, and a cloud of smoke appeared out of thin air. Six tall, armored soldiers with stern faces appeared beside him, and together they charged towards Guan Luoyang.

This Six Armored General is half real and half fake. If you say he is real, he has no vital organs, as there is no flesh or blood under his armor. If you say he is fake, he can truly sever hands and feet, behead people, and even on the battlefield, he can use his own body to collide with cavalry, killing armored horses on the spot.

But Guan Luoyang unleashed his full power at this moment, using his second-stage mastery of martial arts. He wielded a cannon hammer, unleashing a series of slashes. With each rise and fall of his body, he pounded four heavily armored generals into the arena, shattering them into pieces.

Just as he was about to kill the remaining two, Master Xingwu was so frightened that he jumped off the stage.

"I concede defeat! Please don't attack! Please don't attack!"

Master Xingwu waved his feather fan, and a swirling white mist gathered the remaining two unharmed generals. His face filled with heartache, he stared intently at Guan Luoyang for a long while, incredulously exclaiming, "Such immense strength! It's not just the Water and Fire Immortal Robe; it clearly shows mastery of the Zhou Tian breathing technique. He's learned both magic and martial arts—how did he reach this level?!"

Guan Luoyang let him off the stage, then turned his gaze elsewhere.

Granny Yuan sighed inwardly and walked onto the stage. In fact, she already knew that she was very likely no match for this young Taoist priest. The Holy Mother Temple and the Zhenwu Temple had a good relationship in the past, so there was no need to use any ruthless and desperate methods.

However, in this kind of situation, since they have already been on stage before, they represent the face of their faction, and now they are in a difficult position.

Whether you go on stage or not, you'll lose. If you don't go on stage, it means you're afraid of the younger generation, which will make you even more embarrassed.

She remotely controlled seven pointed bamboo hats, which spun back and forth, cutting unpredictably. Each time a hat flew past, it made a hissing sound in the air, like the sound of cloth being torn.

The swift shadow reached Guan Luoyang and suddenly stopped. He grabbed the edge of the bamboo hat with his bare hand, the bronze patterns on the back of his hand faintly visible, rendering him unable to move.

The other straw hats spun around and flanked them, but Guan Luoyang, like an old ape circling through the forest, used a few unpredictable feints to create distance and then grabbed them one by one.

After grasping one straw hat with his right hand, he would transfer it to his left hand, and in a short while, he had stacked all seven straw hats together and handed them back to Granny Yuan.

"It was the old woman who lost."

Granny Yuan took the bamboo hat, her eyes fixed on it for a moment, and her voice lowered considerably, "You were reckless. With this ability, if you had followed the proper steps, you might have succeeded."

Although Guan Luoyang had already defeated four people with ease since Master Xu Luo, Granny Yuan's words still implied that she did not think he could successfully defend his title.

Guan Luoyang did not answer, but escorted her off the stage.

Next, Lady Aze from Xin'an Prefecture took the stage. She was one of the four people who had never been on stage before. She wore an apricot-colored dress, and her head, ears, and neck were adorned with exquisite silver ornaments. Her thin lips were cherry-colored, and she still retained her charm.

However, her magic was extremely dangerous. With just a downward finger, stalagmite-like objects suddenly emerged from the arena, shooting upwards from under Guan Luoyang's feet. If he didn't dodge well, they might directly strike his groin.

Guan Luoyang slid to the side and slid his foot across the ground, scraping wood chips from the plank and cutting through the stone spikes. Just as he was about to push off and rush forward, his foot suddenly sank into the ground.

The timing of this trap was perfect, but with his skill in manipulating his center of gravity, how could he be hindered by such a small trap? He lightly shifted the toe of his other foot, and like a spinning top, he slid sideways out of the trap.

After realizing the nature of the opponent's methods, Guan Luoyang changed the speed of his footwork, exceeding the speed at which the opponent used magic. He directly circled around and flashed behind Aze's wife, grabbed her by the back of her neck, and sent her down.

Next, the Master of Banning Lamps from Fenghua Prefecture took the stage. He held an oil lamp in his hand, opened his mouth and blew, and a seven-foot-long blue flame swept across the room.

His technique of banishing lamps requires not only magical artifacts and magical power, but also a unique method of blowing air. First, one must hold warm water in one's mouth and slowly exhale it, as thin as a cotton thread, without splitting it. Only when the exhalation reaches four feet away can one be considered to have entered the realm of mastery.

Then practice with ice water and hot water, and then practice with dried, hard dough. You need to be able to swallow a fist-sized dough ball in one gulp, and then squeeze it out of your throat by your stomach and intestines to spit it out. Only then can you say you've succeeded.

Once it reaches this level, with the help of magic, the flames it blows out are extremely fierce and vicious. If they stick to a person's body, they will immediately burn through the skin and flesh.

Moreover, no one knew what the lamp oil was made of. The flame had a strong sulfur smell and seemed to contain unknown toxins. People near the arena felt dizzy after being exposed to the fumes.

By blowing the flame from a few different angles, it can almost sweep across the entire arena, leaving the opponent with nowhere to hide.

Guan Luoyang stomped on the tabletop, broke it, hooked half a wooden board with his toe, folded himself sideways to the board, braced his elbow against the back of the board, split a passage through the flames, approached, and broke the board with a punch.

He turned his fist into a palm, pressed down on the pylorus, and pushed Master Jin Deng, who was about to intensify his breathing, so hard that he burped, smoke spewed from his nostrils, and fell off the stage.

It turned out that the seemingly shimmering lamp oil was actually solid, and it didn't spill out of the lamp when he dropped it.

After Master Jin Deng stood up, he spat and cursed, "If it weren't for the restrictions of the dueling platform, what mage would be foolish enough to willingly approach within ten steps of such a top-tier martial artist?"

If the distance is long enough, his method of blocking the lamps can be combined with some pre-set copper ring tricks to burn people from a hundred paces away. Not to mention a wet wooden board that is only an inch thick, even if you wrap sheet metal into a ball to protect yourself, it will be boiled through by his heat.

The hundreds of people around him mainly practiced magic, and martial arts were at most secondary. Upon hearing his words, they all felt the same way and agreed.

"Don't embarrass yourself here!"

Grand Master Yanglian sneered repeatedly, mercilessly rebuking, "You have a problem? Why didn't you mention it when we were discussing the rules of the duel? Why didn't you mention how much younger he is than you, and what number you were when you went on stage? Besides, he also has magical power, and he hasn't used it on you yet."

Master Jin Deng turned around, holding the lamp: "Yang Lian, what do you mean?"

"It means, your weakness is a fact."

A red robe was unfurled.

Master of Forbidden Lights instinctively reached to blow out the lamp, but then he saw a thin, dry hand covering his lamp.

The bluish flame of the lamp scorched the palm, making a crackling sound, but it couldn't stop the hand from slowly pressing down.

laugh! !

The poisonous fire, which could have burned to the bone with just a spark, was extinguished without a doubt by this hand.

"You lazy, bald-headed monk, step down!"

The old monk in red robes wearing a hat fanned out Master Jindeng with his sleeve, ignoring the angry glares of Master Jindeng's disciples as they surged forward, and leisurely stepped onto the arena.

The disciples of Master Jindeng were about to make a fuss, but after only a few words, they inexplicably lowered their voices and fell silent.

It was the power of the atmosphere that silenced them.

Because those who had previously remained indifferent began to focus their attention and sit up straight at this moment.

The old man with the bald head raised his eyelids and stared intently, which affected his disciples.

Master Qiushi settled himself down, gripped his whisk tightly, which affected his junior brother.

Wei Dinggong held the prayer beads still.

Master Zhiyuan, Master Xingwu, Granny Yuan, Master Juli, Master Xuluo, Lady Aze, and so on, all showed an even more solemn and dignified expression than when they themselves went on stage to compete.

"It seems that many people participate in the duel simply to protect their own sect's reputation, harboring a bit of wishful thinking. In reality, deep down, they all feel that they can't beat you."

"So even if they lose, they still don't think I'll win."

Guan Luoyang sensed the silence and heaviness, his eyes brightening as he smiled at the old monk opposite him, "Including Master Xu Luo, you are the seventh person."

Grand Master Yanglian raised his right hand, his knuckles flexed, and his thin, dry hand seemed to stretch even larger when he straightened it for the second time.

"Taoist, for these seven matches, just remember me."