Chapter 36 — The Ancient Temple's Thunderclap Startles the Mortal World

"My boy Mu, a temple fair is truly a fine place to see the world." Old Man Ma set a finished pair of crutches in front of his wares and said to Shen Mu with deep earnestness, "The Desolate City has many villages, and not a few masters who could not make a living in the outside world were forced to come here. They settled in this place and took disciples. Only during the temple fair can these people and their disciples be gathered together. Here you can see nearly every school's cultivation methods and crafts under heaven!" Shen Mu, half-understanding, mused, "I have not been tempered by real combat, so my cultivation can hardly become true strength. That is why Old Man Ma wants me to seize this chance—to cross blows with martial artists of every school during the temple fair?" Old Man Ma showed a look of expectation. "That's the idea." "But what about selling crutches?" Shen Mu asked, puzzled. "Why did Blind Grandpa set up a betting game too? And the exotic beast Grandpa Tu sells is clearly no flood dragon—why does he hawk it as flood dragon precious blood? Why did Grandpa Alchemist have wound medicine ready beforehand?" Old Man Ma coughed dryly a couple of times. "Adults' business. Children shouldn't ask too much. Get on up there." Shen Mu had no choice but to climb the fighting platform and paste the scroll the Hard-of-Hearing Old Man had written onto the platform's pillar. Before long, more and more villagers from all around gathered beneath the platform, the din of voices seething like a boiling cauldron. Shen Mu himself felt that the Hard-of-Hearing Old Man's words were somewhat improper, yet the way they had drawn such a crowd in the space of a few moments stunned him all the same. "His feet kick the Surging River with no rival, his sweep levels eight hundred villages of the Desolate City! What a mouth on him! Lad, you look no more than eleven or twelve. Even if you had begun cultivating in your mother's womb, your cultivation would be nothing to speak of!" A voice proclaimed with great righteousness: "Hanging up such an arrogant scroll—are you challenging the villages of our Desolate City? Who gave you such gall?" Shen Mu's face flushed slightly and he felt ashamed; then he came to his senses and glared at the Blind Old Man. That voice was very familiar—was it not coming from the Blind Old Man's own mouth? The Blind Old Man grew even more righteous, his voice full of cunning allure: "Is there no true man in our Desolate City to let this brat swagger up there? A snot-nosed child of eleven or twelve—can you bear it? Where is the mettle of our Desolate City's sons?" No sooner had these words been spoken than a dozen or more strapping young men leaped onto the platform, and Shen Mu's face went green. "But neither should the gallant men of our Desolate City be slighted by him." The Blind Old Man's voice rang out like a great bronze bell, making everyone's eardrums buzz: "Since he has set up a platform, we must abide by the rules. He came to challenge, not to brawl, so we go up one at a time. This youth is at the Spirit Embryo stage. Those who go up to challenge must also be at the Spirit Embryo stage, so as not to disgrace their own villages." The instant he fell silent, the dozen-odd young men each stepped down, leaving only one young man on the platform. Shen Mu breathed a sigh of relief. "How should I address this senior brother—" "Fight if you want to fight! Who's here to get chummy with you?" The young man abruptly crouched low. Vital essence burst from within him, forming streaks of tiger stripes on his skin, making him look like a fierce tiger with brilliant stripes! On his palms and soles, sharp vital essence as keen as blades coalesced into claws. With a sudden bound, swift as a fleeting shadow, he pounced at Shen Mu! With that pounce, Shen Mu felt as if he had been locked onto by a ferocious exotic beast. A vicious wind rushed at his face, like a tiger's roar rolling across a mountain ridge. This was a presence Shen Mu did not possess—surely a secret art comprehended only through life-and-death trials! "Martial artists from other villages truly do have their own unique strengths!" Dragon patterns emerged on Shen Mu's back and wound around his body. His steps moved as if the Long River hung upside down, pouring headlong into the sea, waves roaring like thunder. He drove the first stance of the Eight Thunderclap Arts with his water-attribute Black Tortoise vital essence. Though he could not manage a palm thunderclap, he brought out with exhilarating abandon the momentum of river water cascading from high mountains down into the sea! The instant the two clashed, Shen Mu's fist met his opponent, and the water-attribute might of his Black Tortoise vital essence exploded, actually forming the likeness of a dragon head around his fist, riding the surging water in a furious charge! The young man felt at once that the other's power was overwhelmingly mighty, smashing through his vital essence as easily as snapping dry twigs. With alarm in his heart, he was sent flying by that one move. Yet in the very instant he was hurled away, the man actually lifted both feet from the ground and kicked at Shen Mu's chest. His soles, like tiger claws, were razor-sharp—with a ripping sound they tore through Shen Mu's clothes and nearly disemboweled him! In his haste Shen Mu stood on one foot and pitched backward, his other leg lashing out like lightning, sending the man tumbling head over heels through the air to crash more than a hundred feet away, flying clear off the platform. The man flipped over and sprang up, but just as he braced to stand, a sharp crack sounded from his leg—the bone had been snapped by Shen Mu's kick. The Alchemist's voice drifted over, unhurried: "Fine wound medicine! A broken bone mended by the next day—won't delay your hunting." Old Man Ma called out in a loud voice: "A pair of crutches, made of dragon-eye wood, sturdy beyond compare!" The Blind Old Man declaimed: "If your luck is bad, come to me—I'll defy heaven and rewrite your fate." "A pair of fortune scrolls—may great fortune arrive at your door!" the Hard-of-Hearing Old Man said loudly. Shen Mu's face darkened. He straightened himself. The situation a moment ago had been dangerous in the extreme, and yet the Alchemist and Old Man Ma were still concerned about whether their wares could be sold! "But Old Man Ma and the others were right. I lack life-and-death experience. That man's cultivation was not high—far lower than mine. I sent him flying in one move, yet in that instant of being flung away he could still kick with a tiger's leg, nearly disemboweling me and turning defeat into victory!" Shen Mu drew a long breath, his eyes gleaming. "I have far too little experience in this regard. The temple fair is a rare chance to fight with martial artists from villages two hundred li around and absorb their battle experience! This platform—I will defend it to the end, defend it to the very last!" Below the platform, the crowd grew ever larger, voices seething. The fight between Shen Mu and that young man had been witnessed by all, and they quickly saw that Shen Mu's cultivation was profound indeed, but his experience thin. To survive in the Desolate City, every village basically had its martial artists—some villages even had those who wielded divine powers. For the Desolate City was fraught with peril; the villagers honored martial might, brimming with wildness and fierce valor. Soon, another person leaped onto the platform—a girl. Her vital essence was a variant of Black Tortoise essence, but her attacks were vicious and ruthless. The moment they met, her vital essence coiled around Shen Mu's legs like a great serpent, constricting him tightly. After binding his legs, she slithered over his body like a female python, striking with deadly intent from front and back. Her vital essence was uncanny, turning into a great serpent that coiled around her. This essence was not pure Black Tortoi