A Long Grind to Daoist Monarch-Chapter 88 - 87: Ten Legs, Nine Killers—The Arhat’s Might
Shanties were haphazardly put together, often just a few pieces of broken wooden boards and rotten straw, providing a place to shelter from wind and rain.
Years of crisscrossed stacking made it extremely disorganized. Only the elderly residents could navigate their way through.
"Pah! What kind of hellhole is this?! It's like a pigsty!"
The tall and robust man went deeper into the narrow alley, the sky above growing dim. It was dark like dusk at midday.
The doors on both sides were almost touching, with incessant curses, quarrels, hammering, and scraping noises creating a nonstop racket.
It had just rained last night, and the sewage dripping down the straw roof occasionally slipped into his collar, making for an uncomfortable experience.
As a Red Eyebrow Bandit, the tall man had once lived a life of drinking big bowls of wine and eating large chunks of meat.
Until the head leader died at the Chaotian Sect, and everyone scattered to save their own lives, living like turtles hiding in their shells, only then did they taste any hardship.
But his luck had not been too bad; following the fourth leader, Ghost Head Monk, he was raiding villages and hamlets in the countryside, feeling quite free and easy.
His only grievance was the scarcity of women, alive ones to split, leaving a pent-up evil fire in his belly.
Several times, he had to resort to the mountain villagers' sheep.
"Damn it to hell, tailing a little bastard who's been practicing martial arts for less than three months."
The tall man cursed inwardly. Tailng someone was a hard job, requiring constant vigilance to avoid losing the target; they had to take turns even at night.
Compared to other brothers—some infiltrating opera troupes, some joining circus groups, some mingling in half-open brothels—
this task was exhausting and tormenting.
Each time he thought of the bastard cuddling with women in bed, the tall man's anger flared up, wishing he could just kill the kid and report back!
"Don't let me catch you..."
The tall man squinted, his muscles tensed, although his foul-mouthed words showed he didn't take Fisherman Bai Ahqi seriously, he remained on alert in his heart.
"Huh? Did he grow wings and fly away?" 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞
Looking at the end of the empty narrow alley, with dead-end wooden boards and mud bricks on both sides and no other small paths, the tall man muttered, suddenly spotting some fallen wall dust in the mud.
Startled, he looked up sharply, catching sight of a flash of clothing.
Shh-la-la!
A swift figure clung to the wall like a gecko, breaking the mud bricks with five fingers, hanging silently above without making a sound.
Before the tall man realized something was wrong, he heard a crisp, tearing sound—a trouser leg splitting open.
"What a cunning fellow..."
The tall man had no time to react, forced to brace himself with both hands.
Common fighting techniques stress power from the ground, with endless variations.
One would never easily kick, even a flying kick would not go higher than the knee.
But how could he predict that Bai Qi's Arhat Hand, practiced by twisting waist and back, forming a horse stance with extremely stable balance, could step on cliffs like flat ground.
Moreover, there was a flying kick called "Phoenix Double Wings"!
"This one kick! The result of a night of exhaustive effort! What do you have to block it with?"
Bai Qi gathered his strength, pushing back his hands while his legs stretched downward, using the momentum of the rapid fall, swift and fierce, aimed directly at a vital point.
Crack!
The tall man's eyes bulged, the muscles in his swollen arms instantly turned dark, beads of blood oozing out.
Like a bursting water bag, about to spray blood arrows!
That kick had incredible force!
"Damn you..."
The tall man suddenly felt a bloody sweetness in his throat; after a sharp pain, his robust arm hung limp and swung down, his body staggering backward, nearly falling.
After all, he was a longtime mountain bandit, with a fierce resolve hardened by seeing blood and fire, he managed to hold his breath, his feet digging half an inch into the muddy ground, then fiercely pulling out, lunging forward like a starving tiger pouncing on sheep.
The experience of surviving mountainous bloodbaths told the tall man that in such perilous situations without the upper hand, never retreat, for retreating would lead to being passively beaten.
"Tiger form? His hands are useless, and he still wants to compete up close in strength with me? Tsk!"
Bai Qi's pupils contracted. The tall man's sudden pounce carried a brutal momentum like a tiger descending the mountain.
If Bai Qi were not well-versed in fighting techniques, with experience in competition, he might indeed be startled into showing a flaw.
"Just a silver spearhead waxed spear!"
Seeing Bai Qi not dodging or evading, delight appeared in the tall man's eyes, his Qi Blood surging up his throat, releasing a roar akin to a tiger's roar!
The robust, muscular body bent, his foot stepping forward, kicking up a clump of sludge.
With no space for maneuvering in the narrow alley, he aimed to seize the center line, causing the young boy who wasn't fully mature to lose footing and coordination, then wait for his own aides to arrive and strike from both front and back to capture him!
Bai Qi swayed to avoid the incoming sludge; his footwork remained steady.
The Arhat Hand he'd just started to learn consisted of Twelve Paths, Six Path Boxing Skill, and Six Leg Techniques, itching for a place to showcase!
"Here's a lesson! See what a deadly ten in ten-legged attack means!"
The head path lashes like a whip!
Bai Qi's trouser legs burst open again, like strings of firecrackers igniting, vigorous strength surged as if rivers flowed backwards, powerful enough to break a tree trunk.
"You've got some nerve! I specialize in breaking whip-leg attacks!"
The tall man's arms dangled useless, yet he bared his yellow teeth savagely.
His rushing steps paused, waist twisting, like a tiger turning back, one leg shooting skyward like lightning towards Bai Qi's face.
This was the "Tiger Tail Kick," an exclusive technique.
Bang!
One leg exploded like a whip, the other like a scythe cutting, as the two legs collided fiercely.
Usually, the latter exerted more skillfully, akin to a tiger's tail reverse clasp, pulling and tugging could dislocate joints easily.
Crack!
With a miserable cry, the white bone shards pierced through flesh, spraying sticky blood and splattering on the gray wall and muddy ground.
The tall man's eyes widened in disbelief, how could this kid's tendons and membranes be so tough, impossible to tug!
Instead, his kneecap was shattered by a relentless kick!
Hadn't this kid been practicing martial arts for less than three months?
How did he toughen up like this?
But before these doubts could be answered, a killing intent had already approached.
He kicked off one of the tall man's legs, Bai Qi's eyes turned cold, his toes clicked, mercilessly grabbing onto the unsteady giant man's body.
Like the chains of Black and White Impermanence tightening around the neck!
Six-curved hook with single whip!
Bang!
The entire dirt-grey mud wall shook, dust fluttering down!
The tall man's head was harshly pressed against the rough uneven wall, seeing stars.
Next, the Ninth Route's dragon capturing to the jade belt strike, kicked straight at his face!
"I... misjudged..."
The tall man's half cheek immediately split open, a dozen shattered teeth lodged in bloody saliva, his whole body flew up, in mid-air for three or four breaths, before falling and tumbling, landing heavily at the end of the narrow alley, motionless.
His body faintly discernible, was lying in a large pool of blood, soaked into a messy dirty color.
His lungs had been shattered, even an Immortal couldn't save him!
Bai Qi struck out four routes of fierce leg techniques in quick succession, mercilessly, kicking the murderous Red Eyebrow Bandit to death on the spot.
The muscles that felt unbearably tight before seemed to suddenly relax, a surge of exhilarating energy coursed through him.
His expression remained calm and unperturbed; after all, killing was no longer a first-time affair for him.
Those boots stepping on the soft mud, his shoulders unmoving, head turning aside, staring directly at the skinny peddler who arrived on the other side of the narrow alley:
"He was useless, want to play with me?"
