18 Copper Louhans swing their staffs synchronously, the sound of wind is as loud and terrifying as that of a storm. Within these fierce movements, the Kyokugen-ryu father and daughter have not found an opening yet.
"Stay behind me.", "The Invincible Dragon" talks to the girl.
3 Louhans standing in front of the monks of Hui rank suddenly change their movements, 3 staffs thrust forward Ryo's High, Middle and Low Tandens. If the attacks are targeting the same line like this, the Karateka can easily evade them by stepping aside. However, as his daughter is standing behind him, he cannot dodge them or the girl would be hit. Ryo lets out an intimidating roar as his left arm swings downward and his right arm raises up, sweeping all those attacks away.
While the 3 monks retreat their staffs, 2 other Louhans swing their staffs from the sides, the one on Ryo's left side targets the shoulder, the one on the right strikes his leg. The Karateka quickly swings his right arm down and lifts his right knee up, blocking both attacks. The Copper Louhan on his left suddenly spins counterclockwise in order to change the direction of his staff and create momentum for his next strike, he slams his weapon down, aiming at the top of the Japanese's head.
In Chinese martial art, there is a saying "1 inch longer - 1 inch more powerful", the long staff accelerated by a spinning movement carries immense power. Ryo is standing on one leg, he cannot generate enough strength to withstand such a fierce attack. The Karateka has no choice but jumping forward to avoid getting hit. As the staff misses its target, it smashes the concrete ground, blowing a handful of dust and rocks up. If it connected, it would have crush the victim's skull.
Ryo takes another look at the strike that almost landed on his head. That attack was indeed powerful, however it was too obvious to land on an experienced martial artist, and a Buddhist monk should not assault another person with such intent. Indeed, that strike was not meant to defeat Ryo, its purpose was to separate him from his daughter. As the Karateka moved forward to dodge the staff, the weapon now lies between the Kyokugen-ryu duo.
Realizing that, Ryo tries to reach his daughter. The Luohan lifts his staff up and flicks it to the side, forcing the Karateka to stop and block it. At the same time, 8 Luohans standing near the girl thrusts their staffs forward, and in the blink of an eye, each of her limbs is binded by 2 wooden staffs. Anh Thư is now trapped by the monks' weapons, while her father is struggling to get pass whirlwinds of staffs. Despite this dire situation, Nidaime Mr. Karate actually feels relieved, as the monks seem only want to subdue the girl and not to harm her. With that in mind, he stops worrying about rescuing his daughter and starts thinking about how to create a hole in "Luohan Formation" instead.
"I'll disarm them first", Ryo thinks.
In perfect sync, 2 staffs are swung to Ryo's face, 1 is approaching the nape, 1 is about to smash his head from above, 3 are thrusted toward his stomach and 2 are attacking his shins. Ryo quickly lowers his body to dodge the high attacks, his left hand that is in spear form strikes down and sweeps away the ones targetting his body and right leg while the movement of his left knee pins the the other low attack on the ground. At the same time, his right arm rises, performing an Age Uke, preventing the staff from above to land on his head. With 1 coordinated movement of his entire body, the Karateka successfully neutralize 9 simultaneous assaults from all direction.
However, not all his intention was accomplished. Ryo planned to break 5 staffs attacking his body, right shin and head with that move and he failed. The monks' staff techniques may be fierce, but there is no moment they lose control over the movements of their weapons. As soon as the Karateka struck the staffs, the Luohan slightly adjusted the power and direction of the staffs, neutralizing the impact that should have broken them. Ryo suddenly remembers "Dog Beating Staff" from the Hizoku he fought years ago. Compared to the Shaolin Kungfu which is direct and powerful, "Dog Beating Staff" is more illusive. However, "The uttermost cunning is based on simplicity". With only 5 fundamental movements, thrust, flick, swing, spin, smash, Shaolin's Copper Luohans have no rival in terms of staff techniques.
Among the Copper Louhans, 8 are holding Anh Thư, 8 are retrieving their weapons, Ryo is pinning one's staff below his knee, and one is standing by. As his comrades are retreating their staffs, that monk attacks the Karateka's head to cover them and maintain the pressure of "Luohan Formation". Now that he has immobilized one monk, Ryo does not move away from his position, he swings his left arm up, performing an Age Uke and sweeping that strike away. 8 Louhans have finished retreating their staffs, they immediately throw the next wave of attacks.
Aside from the monks dealing with Anh Thư and the one whose weapon is trapped, the other 9 Copper Louhan continuously strike. leaving their opponent no moment to rest. Although he is not moving and has to face unending attacks, in kneeling gesture Ryo's arms can cover all his body much more quickly and easily compared to when he stands. The speed and power in the monks' staffs gradually increases, however none of their strikes is able to reach or move Ryo. Witnessing such event, Abbott Huican thinks: "With his Karate prowess, if he disregarded all manner and charged in Shaolin Temple, no disciple of Hu, Kong, Yuan ranks would be able to stop him."
Ryo suddenly stops parrying the monks' attacks, instead he rolls along the staff under his knee, approaching its owner. The monk is trying to retrieve his weapon as Ryo's weight suddenly shifts on it, by the time Ryo reaches, he has no choice but to abandon the staff to face the Karateka directly. The other Luohans are also surprised with this sudden turn of event, when they realize what just happened, Ryo has already landed a left uppercut to the unarmed monk's liver.
The liver is a vulnerable internal organ in the body, that strike of Ryo can drop even the toughest of men down. However, when the punch lands, Ryo feels as if he is hitting a pile of metal and the Copper Louhan does not show any sign of pain. While the Karate is still confused, the monk swings his left fist like a hammer, targetting the jaw. Ryo raises his right arm to block it and quickly returns with 3 punches to the High, Middle and Low Tandens, but none of them inflicts any damage. Before the monk throws another attack and the other Luohans come to back him up, "The Invincible Dragon" throws a variety of attacks, a Shuto Uchi to the neck, elbow to the jaw, Yonhon Nukite to the throat, low kicks to the thighs and calves, 2 more Shuto Uchi to the shoulder and the top of the head, and the monk still stands like an immovable mountain. He also tries to throw the opponent with a Tomoe Nage and fails.
The other 9 monks have finally caught up. Realizing that, Ryo quickly kicks the staff of the unarmed monk up, catches it and makes a big leap over the heads of those Copper Louhans trying to attack him. In the blink of an eye, he has reached Anh Thư. Suspecting that these monks are also as durable, instead of attacking them directly, he strikes the staffs with a Shuto Uchi that is accelerated by his falling movement, the technique is "Mouko Raijin Setsu". With that single strike, the Karateka immediately breaks all of the staffs that are holding his daughter, successfully releases her. He could not break the previous staffs because those monks could move them freely and lighten the force of impact, however as the monks are binding the girl with their weapons, these staffs were immobile and they took Ryo's full power.
Seeing their weapons have been broken, the 8 monks immediately jump back. Now there are 9 Louhans with weapons and 9 unarmed ones. Ryo gives the staff on his hand to Anh Thư as he says:
"I attacked this monk's head 4 times and his body 5 times, but I could not inflict any damage on him. He must have mastered "Iron Head" and "Iron Armor" techniques. I kicked his legs 3 times and attempted to throw him once, none of them worked. Only a martial artist who has achieve the skill "Thousand Pound Pillar" would have such powerful legs and stable stance."
"As expected of "The Invincible Dragon", you are indeed knowledgeable.", Abbott Huican says. "Our disciple Kongyin just demonstrated 3 of Shaolin's Ultimate Arts, "Iron Head", "Iron Armor" and "Thousand Pound Pillar". He also has another skill, "Hidden Yin" technique, where he can move his testicles into his body to protect them from outer forces. You have not realized it yet because as an honorable martial artist, you did not attempt to attack his groin."
"Iron Head" is a technique to protect the head, "Iron Armor" is a Qigong specialized in defend the body, "Thousand Pound Pillar" enhances the strength of the legs while "Hidden Yin" technique hides a man's biggest weakness away. With these 4 arts, a Copper Luohan of Shaolin's defense is even more powerful than Ryo's defense techniques. Shaolin school practises Buddha's teachings, even if they have to fight, their first option would be to make the opponents retreat instead of completely defeating them. Showing a Copper Luohan that is invulnerable to attacks is the best way to discourage an enemy without hurting them.
"As their title suggests, their defense is indeed impressive.", Ryo says. "However, a martial artist without any weakness simply does not exist."
"Nidaime Mr. Karate is a profound martial artist.", Abbott Huican replies. "Please enlighten us."
Ryo turns to the Abbott but his senses do not miss any movement from the 18 Copper Louhans. He calmly says:
"The techniques of "Iron Head", "Iron Armor", "Thousand Pound Pillar" and "Hidden Yin" are brilliant, however they are all Ki-based martial arts of orthodox External Kungfu. The general method to counter a Ki-based technique from an External Kungfu school is to win via brute force. It is possible to overpower "Iron Armor" if you are physically strong and durable enough, or possess an even more powerful Ki-based technique."
"As "The Invincible Dragon", you are probably capable of breaking a Copper Louhan's defense.", Huidu says. "However, even with your prowess in martial arts, it is still very reckless to try overpowering all 18 Copper Louhan?"
Ryo replies:
"I would not dare to be so arrogant. However, there are limitations in a Louhan's impenetrable defense. "Iron Head" does not consume much internal energy, however the only part that it protects is the head. To defense against attacks to the body, you must use "Iron Armor", however it consumes a large amount of Ki condensed in Middle and Low Tandens. To channel that much Ki and spread it around the body, the user has to tighten his body and is unable to move while using this technique. I noticed that monk did not attempt to counter any of my attacks earlier, that's when I realized this flaw in his techniques. "Thousand Pillar" uses Ki in Low Tanden to strengthen the legs, it does not lock the user's movements and can be used for both offense and defense, however, similar to "Iron Head", its usage only applies to one part of the body, which is the legs."
He then turns to Anh Thư and says, as if he is trying to give her some pointers:
"These 3 techniques have different method of routing Ki, use different amount of energy and cover different areas, if you continuously attack different points in their body and methodically force them to constantly switch between these techniques or use them all as once, they will get exhausted quickly. Unless it is a life threatening situation, you should not attack the groin, however as it also consumes Ki from Low Tanden, while using "Hidden Yin" technique, "Thousand Pillar" must be cancelled. If you attack the groin and their stance at the same time, it is possible to take a Copper Louhan down."
Although they do not show any sign of emotion, the monks are actually terrified as the Karateka is thoroughly breaking down their martial arts. It is not that they do not know these information that shocked them, but it is how quickly Ryo could figure that out after a few exchanges. Unknown to them, although Ryo is a Karateka in the U.S, he has interacted with lots of Chinese martial artists of External and Internal Kungfu schools, from righteous to unorthodox sects. Furthermore, the way Karate cultivates and controls Ki shares a lot in common with Shaolin martial arts, some Okinawa Karate schools even retain a technique similar to "Hidden Yin". With his knowledge and experience, "The Invincible Dragon" can guess the fundamental principles of these skills after a few exchanges.
"Shaolin's "Iron Head" and "Iron Armor" are the most practised Qigong techniques in the martial art world.", Huidu says. "If knowing their weakesses was enough to break "Louhan Formation", Shaolin wouldn't be considered to be the biggest martial art school in China."
"You are right.", Ryo replies. "That trick is for my daughter to have a chance against your 18 Copper Louhans. I have trained in Kyokugen-ryu Karate since the age of 10, I believe I can take on at least 15 Louhans as once."
"15 Louhans, you said?", Abbott Huican asks.
"Even with my skills, I am not arrogant enough to challenge Shaolin's "Louhan Formation" by myself.", Ryo says. "However, if this girl can defeat 3 of them, our victory will be guaranteed."
The old monks slightly curl their eyebrows as they listen to Ryo's claim. There have been countless reckless martial artists challenging their school with similar claims, however none of them have the skills and experience as "The Invincible Dragon" from Kyokugen-ryu Karate. Huidu was already a profound Shaolin martial artist before becoming a monk, his prowess in martial arts is excellent but his training Buddhism is moderate, he is the first one to lose his patience. He says:
"I would like to see how you break "Louhan Formation". Please show us your brilliance."
Ryo retreats his palms to his waist, those hands start glowing as the Karateka channels an immense amount of Ki into them. Before the Louhans realize what kind of technique it is, Ryo turns to the monks who was holding Anh Thư a moment ago, his arms strectch out fiercely and a powerful Ki projectile is launches toward them. This is one of the most devastating strikes in Kyokugen-ryu Karate, in terms of power Kyokugen-ryu's "Haoh Shoukou Ken" can rival "Kaiser Wave" of Wolfgang Krauser and Rugal Bernstein, "Power Stream" of Terry Bogard and "18 Dragon Subduing Palms".
Ryo's "Haoh Shoukou Ken" is big and fast, the area of impact it covers the positions of 5 Louhans. Among them, only one monk can get out of its way, the other 4 monks have to take the strike head on. Their staffs have been broken, they quickly channel a huge amount of internal energy to harden their body with "Iron Armor" and "Thousand Pound Pillar" skills. The monks use "Iron Armor" to protect themselves from the Ki strike and "Thousand Pound Pillar" to prevent themselves from being blown away by the blast.
In this battle of internal energy, the difference in Ki prowess is revealed. Between these 4 monks, the oldest one is in his early 30s and has the most time training in Qigong, after receiving Ryo's "Haoh Shoukou Ken" he remains unfazed. However, blood starts to spill out of his juniors' mouths and ears, those are signs that they are sufferring internal injuries. A Louhan standing nearby yells:
"You want to die? Release "Thousand Pound Pillar" now!"
As he is saying, that monk quickly swings his arms to generate power and thrusts his palms forward. The pressure from his palms creates a powerful wave of air traveling toward those 3 monks and pushing them away from Ryo's attack.
"Very good "Air Slashing Palm" technique.", Ryo praises.
Anh Thư sees the monks being injured and swept away, she immediately gives chase like a beast seeing its prey. 2 Louhans step in to stop her, however she immediately jumps over their heads. The monks have seen Ryo's fierce and rigid fighting style, they did not expect his daughter to be this agile. They forgot that while being the daughter and disciple of Ryo, the girl was also the child of a Hizoku assassin.
After realizing their mistakes, the monks try to pursue her, however they suddenly sense a ferocious pressure from Ryo's direction. While they are looking at Anh Thư, "The Invincible Dragon" throws 2 "Kou-ou Ken" toward them, the Louhans have no choice but to protect themselves and let the girl escape. Behind the Karateka, 9 monks attack him with their staffs, the unarmed monk jump to the ceiling and throws a punch to the top of Ryo's head while gravity pulls him down. Ryo quickly jumps up, evading the strikes to his legs, his right leg swings counterclockwise and sweeps the attacks to his head and body away. Without landing on the ground, he quickly twists his hip, performing a Do Mawashi Kaiten Geri, parrying the punch from above his head with his foot. This is a variation of Kyokugen-ryu's "Hien Shippuu Kyaku".
"Ichigeki hissatsu!", Ryo lets out a fierce roar as he lands on the ground. His right fist is enhanced with powerful Ki, his right foot steps forward as Nidaime Mr. Karate attacks a Louhan with a ferocious Oi Tsuki. The technique is "Tenchi Haoh Ken", Ryo's most devastating close-ranged attack. The monk is trying to retreat his staff after it was parried and cannot evade this punch. He pulls his staff to block the strike while channeling his Qi, activating "Iron Armor" technique. However, Ryo's "Tenchi Haoh Ken" is too ferocious, it immediately breaks the staff and hits the Louhan's Middle Tanden. The monk takes the strike directly, his "Iron Armor" is penetrated and his body is blown away. One Copper Louhan is down.
The monk above his head is still in mid-air, this time he attacks with a kick. Ryo jumps up with a left uppercut. The technique is "Kou Hou". The punch and kick clash, creating a thunderous sound. The Karateka and Shaolin monk land on the ground at the same time, Ryo quickly puts up his fighting pose, his stance is orthodox Kokutsu Dachi, his right palm covers his lower body while his left palm points foward. Meanwhile, the Louhan cannot get up, his prowess in "Thousand Pound Pillar" is not enough to withstand Ryo's punch.
Seeing 2 of their fellow disciples were quickly taken down, the 8 armed Louhans standing near the Karateka quickly hop back, creating some distance, while the others try to tighten their formation. The monks realize that although his usage of Qi is simple, Ryo's internal energy is as powerful as their seniors of Hui and Hu ranks. A direct confrontation of Qi is not in their favor, they need to wear him down with non-stop exchanges of safe techniques without letting him land a decisive strike. However, it is not easy to hold the ferocious Nidaime Mr. Karate down.
At the corner, the 3 monks who directly took Ryo's "Haoh Shouken Ken" are trying to recover as Anh Thư attacks them with the staff on her hands. That strike inflicted internal injuries on them, the damages are not severe as they were saved just in time, however they cannot activate "Iron Armor" quickly enough to defend themselves from the girl. A monk steps forward and raises his arms to block the strike for his comrades.
Seeing the girl's staff is blocked, the other Copper Louhans leap to the sides. The monk on Anh Thư's left swings his right fist down, then his left fist swings horizontally, this is a technique of Shaolin's "Louhan Fist". The other one thrusts his palms toward the girl's right shoulder and hip, a skill from Shaolin's "Tiger Subduing Palm". Anh Thư quickly jumps backward, evading the strikes and swings the staff down, using her falling movement to accelerate the strike. The 2 monks quickly retreat their hands and dodge that attack, while the one blocking her staff a moment ago suddenly leaps forward with a vertical fist to the face. Anh Thư immediately raises her left hand up while pulling her right arm down, using the staff to sweep that punch away.
After parrying the attack, the girl realizes that she is out of the monk's striking area, she quickly thrusts the left end of her staff toward his throat. The Copper Louhan raises his left hand to cover the throat. Anh Thư immediately changes the movement of her staff, her left hand retreats to her left ear while her right hand swings forward, her weapon spins around the monk's right arm that has not retreated and attacks the hip. He swings his left arm down to block it, but Anh Thư's immediately changes the staff's movement again, striking his right ear with the left end of her weapon. The monk blocks it with his right arm. Again, the staff's movement changes, its right end targets his jaw.
"1 inch longer - 1 inch more powerful; 1 inch shorter - 1 inch more cunning." Anh Thư's staff techniques were taught by Takuma Sakazaki, traditional Karate schools prefer using their staffs at closer distance. Her strikes may be not as devastating as Shaolin's Zhui Feng Gun (Wind Chasing Staff), however her unending waves of strikes are fast and attack from different angles and to different vulnerable spots, block all of them is not an easy task. The monk cannot raise his guard in time, instead he exerts himself to activate "Iron Head". Seeing her attack did not inflict any damage, the girl quickly leaps further to the Copper Louhan's right side, now her left side is completely out of his vision. The monk starts panicking: "This is bad. I cannot see her next attack and this injury prevent me from using "Iron Head", "Iron Armor" and "Thousand Pound Pillar" at the same time."
The head is the smallest target, an injury to the legs is the least critical, he quickly covers the back of his head with his hands while routing Qi to perform "Iron Armor" technique. Anh Thư's next attack lands on the back of his knee, forcing him to kneel down. If he had activated "Thousand Pound Pillar", that strike would not have inflicted any damage. However, a strike landing on the legs is still far less severe than one landing on the spine, protecting his body with "Iron Armor" is the correct choice if he does not see the attack.
As the monk goes down, Anh Thư raises her staff up, ready to deliver a finishing blow. From this position, the hands covering the head are useless, if he uses "Iron Head", she will smash the spine and if he uses "Iron Armor", she will attack the head. However, before she can swing the weapon, an attack is approaching from her left side. The other Louhans have caught up, one of them swings his hand that is in claw form from below, this technique is "Black Tiger Pierces The Heart". If the girl continues her attack, this claw will intercept with her strike, breaking through the staff and connecting on her body. Anh Thư has no choice but to abandon her offense and jumps back to evade that claw.
In her retreat, the other monk attacks her with a flying kick, which is blocked by the staff. However, as he has condensed an amount of Qi into his legs, performing "Thousand Pound Pillar", Anh Thư feels pain in her arms, shoulders and chest. In anger, the girl roars as she sweeps below that Louhan's legs as he is about to land on the ground. Usually, with his prowess in "Thousand Pound Pillar", that staff would break as soon as it touches his legs, however the injury Ryo inflicted on him makes it impossible to activate this skill constantly. At the moment the staff hits him, "Thousand Pound Pillar" has been deactivated, the monk immediately loses his balance and falls on his back. From above, the girl thrusts her staff down, attacking the throat of the person below her. Another Louhan stops the attack with his foot while his stance and legs are enhanced by "Thousand Pound Pillar". The third monk attacks, once again it is "Black Tiger Pierces The Heart". Anh Thư quickly spins, evading the strike and retreating her weapon, readying for the next attack.
Ultilizing the spinning momentum, the girl swings her staff horizontally, targetting the heads of the standing Louhans. The monk that was swept down has recovered, he quickly stops her attack by sweeping her legs. Anh Thư loses her balance, however before the Louhans could launch their counter attacks, she quickly shifts her weight backward and uses the tip of her staff as the pivot to move out of their range.
Witnessing that movement, Huichan whispers to Abbott Huican:
"Senior, that technique is from Chinese Gun Shu, not Japanese Bojutsu."
The Abbott slightly nods his head. Moving by using the tip of the staff is a trademark move of Shaolin's Monkey King Staff and Wudang's Taichi Staff, he has never heard of any Japanese Kobudo or Okinawan Karate using this technique. However, as Ryo said, this girl is also the daughter of a Hizoku assassin, it is possible that she learned this skill from her mother.
Anh Thư leaps forward as she swings the staff, targetting the Louhans' legs. The monk at the outer left makes 1 step forward, blocking the strike with his shin that is enhanced by "Thousand Pound Pillar". Meanwhile, the other monks charge forward. The one on the right swings his right claw down in an attempt to grap the girl's shoulder, a Qinna technique of Shaolin's Tiger Claw. The monk in the middle lowers his head and thrusts both fists forward, "Great Vajra Fist". And Thư quickly moves to the side as she drags her right leg to the right, evading the punches, meanwhile her right arm raises to block the claw. As she moves, her left hand secretly leaves the staff in order to punch the Middle Tanden of the monk using Tiger Claw.
The Copper Louhan did not expect his opponent to attack him with her barehand instead of the staff, he did not have the protection from "Iron Armor" when the punch landed on his body. He has been injured by Ryo, even this punch from a little girl to the Middle Tanden, or Solar Plexis, is too much for him. The monk immediately falls on his knees and starts coughing blood.
While the other Louhans are still shocked, Anh Thư retreats her staff and quickly moves even further to the right. With their current positions, she is using the defeated monk as a shield protecting her from attacks from the other Louhans. Seeing that, even some monks of Hui rank praise her situation awareness.
A Louhan jumps over his comrade, his legs are enhanced by "Thousand Pound Pillar", protecting him from any strike from below and landing on his opponent with tremendeous force. The other monk runs counterclockwise. Anh Thư also moves in the same direction, evading the attack from the jumping monk while avoiding direct confrontation from the other. As the Louhan lands on the ground, the girl thrusts her staff toward his hip before he could reclaim his stance. His injury makes him unable to quickly switch between "Thousand Pound Pillar" and "Iron Armor", meanwhile his stance is not stable enough to parry the attack, the monk ultilizes the falling momentum to roll forward, evading the strike.
As his comrade rolls away, the remaining Louhan sees an opening, he tries to catch the tip of the staff from afar. Anh Thư's wrists twists suddenly, the further end of her staff quickly moves out of the monk's grasp. Another twist, the staff flicks and strikes his wrist. The Louhan quickly retreats that hand to avoid the attack while trying to catch the weapon with the other hand. However, as the staff is long, compared to the monk's hands, its movement travels a longer distance with the smaller hand movements. Even with his best effort, he still cannot catch the weapon. Suddenly, the staff is no longer in his vision and he feels pain in the back of his head. While he was focusing on the movement of the tip of the weapon, Anh Thư had moved to the side and used the collapse monk as the base to jump over her opponent's head while she made a big spinning movement with her staff, attacking his back from behind. The Louhan did not see this attack coming and did not use "Iron Head", he is knocked out immediately.
As soon as her feet touch the ground, Anh Thư points her staff toward the last Copper Louhan. Seeing his comrades falling one by one, the monk starts losing his patience, the injury from Ryo's "Haoh Shoukou Ken" makes his body sore, dulls his senses and prevents him from performing his skills efficiently. Now that 2 of his fellow disciples have fallen, he needs to defeat this girl before his conditions worsen. He opens his right palm, routes an amount of Qi into it and attacks the girl from a distance with an "Air Slashing Palm". This attack surprises Anh Thư, however she is able to roll to the side and dodge it just in time.
When she finishes the roll, her opponent has already reached. The injury makes him unable to exert his internal energy constantly, that "Air Slashing Palm" was used to create an opening for him to achieve his favorable distance. The Copper Louhan raises his left fist and swings it down fiercely, targetting the girl's shoulder. Anh Thư uses the staff to block it, however the monk's strike immediately breaks it into halves. It is very lucky that she is also moving backward, which makes that strike misses its target.
The monk is now the aggressor, he quickly thrusts his right fist forward as his left fist retreats. Anh Thư does not have the strength to block or parry this punch, she dodges it by backflipping even further. The Louhan swings his right leg, aiming at her landing moment to sweep the leg. However, as he is shifting his weight forward, Anh Thư suddenly thrusts the parts of the staff toward his eyes. As it was broken by a strike, these sticks are pointy enough to damage a person's eyes if they are stabbed. And his leg is still traveling on its path, he can neither retreat nor avoid this attack from the wicked little girl.
At that exact moment, 2 bullets of Qi launch toward the girl's wrists, immediately disarms her and saves the Louhan's vision. Anh Thư and her opponent stop fighting and look around. Ryo has already defeated 12 of the 15 Copper Louhans fighting him and there is no sign of exhaustion from the Karateka. On the dais where the monks of Hui rank are standing, Abbott Huican slowly retreats his right hand to his chest, he was the one who disarmed her.
"Shameless!", Huiyuan, the youngest of the Hui ranked monks, yells. "How can a person of your status be this cruel?"
Huiyuan has never left Shaolin Temple, his view of the world is based on the manners within his school. Without considering the girl's age and background, he thinks that as she is the daughter of Ryo, the current chief of Kyokugen-ryu Karate, a righteous sect in the West, her status is equivalent to that of monks of Hu rank, which is a rank above the Copper Louhans who are Kong ranked monks. Furthermore, his belief in Buddha's teachings would not let him tolerate the cruelty she intended to inflict on his junior
The old monk Huiyuan condenses his Qi to the Middle Tanden, then lets out a terrifying roar. Feeling an immense amount of internal energy within this roar, everyone immediately channels their own internal energy to resist. This is "Lion Roar" technique, a Qigong martial art of Buddhist teachings. However, among the martial artists in the room, Anh Thư does not have the internal energy to resist Huiyuan's "Lion Roar". She is too young and has stopped conditioning her Qi since her mother left, her internal energy is nothing impressive. Additionally, the Qigong remains in her was from West Venom's unorthodox martial arts, which makes the damage the orthodox "Lion Roar" inflicts on her even more severe. The girl quickly collapses, blood starts spilling out of her mouth, ears and eyes.
Seeing such sight, everyone is panicked. If this goes on, the girl will die. As Buddhist monks, the Shaolin monks are not allowed to kill a person, especially when this person is just a child. As her father, Ryo cannot allow his daughter to die here. However, Huiyuan has not noticed the Anh Thư's condition yet. He has never left Shaolin Temple, he also has never been in a serious fight. Within Shaolin school, only disciples with similar prowess in martial arts are allowed to spar with each other, in occassions when a master spars with his students, the more accomplished monk would never attempt to overpower the weaker ones with superior Qi. Because of that, although he is one of the most powerful monks within this establishment, Huiyuan has never witnessed someone taking a severe internal injury. Additionally, for the lack of experience, the old monk only focuses on Ryo, who is a much more powerful martial artist, and does not notice the little girl's life is being threatened.
The other monks try to stop their fellow disciple before a murder happens. However, Huiyuan continues to raise his Qi and the amplitude of "Lion Roar", trying to subdue "The Invincible Dragon", even the Copper Louhans are starting to crumble. If they interfere recklessly, this immense amount of Qi will reflect back on him and damages his meridians severely.
Ryo, however, does not have the luxury to consider Huiyuan's health as his daughter is dying. The Karateka uses the full extent of his physical strength and internal energy to make a big leap toward the old monk. As he reaches the monk, Nidaime Mr. Karate thrusts his hands at the same time, 2 Yonhon Nukite, one to the Middle Tanden and one to the throat. This is a variation of his "Morote Duki". The strike to the Middle Tanden targets the source of power of "Lion Roar", while the one to the throat damages the its route of Qi. This fierce attack stops Huiyuan's "Lion Roar" immediately, it also damages the old monk severely. He immediately passes out after spilling an amount of blood out of his mouth.
The remaining Copper Louhans are still shaken by their senior's "Lion Roar", they are trying to cultivate Qi quickly and recover. However, the monks of Hui rank are mostly unfazed, they have surrounded Ryo as their junior was knocked out.
"Please stop fighting.", Abbott Huican says. "This incident is because of Junior Huiyuan's recklessness. Chief Sakazaki may have caused some severe damage on Junior Huiyuan's meridians, however it is not a life threatening injury. However, because of our hesitation, a child was almost killed."
The Abbott calmly raises his right hand, his middle fingers and thumb stick together as if he is gently holding a flower. He flicks the finger 9 times, launching 9 bullets of Qi toward different pressure points on Anh Thư and Huiyuan. These movements are so quick and unexpected, Ryo only realizes them when he hears the sound of wind tearing. He also notices that Anh Thư and Huiyuan have started breathing more calmly, a sign that they are recovering.
"Shaolin's "Flower Picking Finger" is formidable.", Ryo says. This "Flower Picking Finger" is a Qi-implemented finger strike, one of Shaolin's 72 Ultimate Arts. With this skill, Abbott Huican disarmed Anh Thư and rescued the Copper Louhan a few minutes ago.
"I am ashamed.", Abbott Huican replies. "My "Flower Picking Finger" is not as brilliant as Duan family's "Yi Yang Finger". However, I was able to stop your daughter's internal energy running havoc and damaging her body. She should recover soon, however she will need some time to rest."
The monk stops for a moment, then continues:
"It will take at least 49 days for her to recover. Why don't we start discussing the matter of the Hizoku assassin after the girl is healed?"
"We will leave then.", Ryo says. "After 2 months, we will return."