Another monk steps forward. His right hand is in front of his chest, he lowers his head and introduces himself:

"I am Huizhen from Dharma Room. Your father, Takuma Sakazaki, has slayed a rogue disciple of my late senior Huiku. He was Zhiyuen, the leader of South Town's Bald Head gang, his signature move was Shaolin's "Formless Death Reaper Finger", do you know him?"

Ryo feels annoyed that the grudges of his father keep following him, especially the past month. He smirks and says:

"The First brought death and destruction to the martial art world for a decade. A fighter banished from his school is not noteworthy enough to remember."

Huizhen's face turns red from anger. He replies:

"Good. Good. So Shaolin's "Formless Death Reaper Finger" is not noteworthy enough to remember. Zhiyuen learned the art from my master and used it to commit immoral acts. This brought shame to my master, he got ill and passed away because of it. Even if Zhiyuen was no longer a Shaolin disciple, a traitor of Shaolin should be dealt with by Shaolin. Takuma Sakazaki of Kyokugen-ryu Karate defeated Zhiyuen's "Formless Death Reaper Finger" of Shaolin. Good. Let's have a rematch then. We shall see which one is more formidable, "Formless Death Reaper Finger" or Kyokugen-ryu."

The monk doesn't wait for Ryo's response, he slightly changes the posture of his right hand, the tip of his point finger points toward the Japanese. Ryo has heard of Shaolin's "Formless Death Reaper Finger" from Derrick Li and his father. This is one of Shaolin's 72 Ultimate Arts, the user attacks by release internal energy through the tip of the finger; the strike does not need any movement to activate or generate power; unlike Kou-ou Ken, Power Wave or Reppuken, this Ki strike is completely invisible; and the victim's body has no sign of damage. As the word "Formless" in its name suggest, there is no telling when "Formless Death Reaper Finger" is used. If the user wears a long sleeved shirt to hide his hands, it is even more formidable.

The prowess of "Formless Death Reaper Finger" is in the word "Formless", however the key to break it is also in that word. No matter how masterful you are in the art, the state of completely formless is unachiveable, because you have already registered a form to it as a finger strike. To neutralize "Formless Death Reaper Finger", one must realize its "Form". And that is the tip of the user's finger, wherever its point toward is the target. Users of this technique often hides their hands when they fight, but they still cannot completely erase the "Form" of their strike, as the hand and finger still move accordingly to the elbow and the opponent can expect the area of attack based on the posture of the arm. All of this was discovered by Murong Bo, a martial artist of Murong family during the Song dynasty. Even if that knowledge was not told to Ryo, the Karateka is experienced enough to figure out that "Formless Death Reaper Finger" can only attack where the fingers point to.

However, it is easier said than done. Even if the opponent can estimate the direction of "Formless Death Reaper Finger", the advantage is still on the Shaolin fighter's side as he can attack at any time with no sign of activation and he can quickly strike different targets with little movement. Ryo luckily evades the first attack by quickly reacting to the movement of Huizhen's hand and moves out of the direction his finger points to, however the Karateka realizes how dangerous it is fighting against a master of this skill.

Huizhen missed his first strike as his attacking hand was exposed. But it was his intention to show his hand, to prove to everyone here that the technique he uses is "Formless Death Reaper Finger". After he made his point clear, the monk swiftly flicks his hands, the movement blows his sleeves to cover both of them. Now the contest finally begins.

Ryo continues circling to the left, away from Huizhen's hands, meanwhile his right hand condenses a ball of Ki and he launches it toward the monk. This strike, Kou-ou Ken, is to cover his movement and to check the reaction of the Shaolin monk. Huizhen has trained under this temple for over 40 years, mastered 6 of the Ultimate Arts of Shaolin and a few dozen lesser arts. He has a variety of skills to neutralize this attack of Ryo, from "Prajna Palm", "Thousand Hand Buddha Palms", to "Invincible Vajra Body", however as he declared it to be a battle between Shaolin's "Formless Death Reaper Finger" and Kyokugen-ryu Karate, it would be his loss if he uses another martial art. And although "Formless Death Reaper Finger" is a fearsome skill, it is not suitable for a battle of internal energy. Huizhen has no choice but to move to the side to evade the attack, even if he is years ahead of the Karateka in terms of Qi cultivation and control.

Ryo realizes that the monk hesitates to engage in a battle of internal energy. He suspects that Huizhen is hiding a trick, or that the output of "Formless Death Reaper Finger" is too low to deal with his "Kou-ou Ken". Either way, he should keep using "Kou-ou Ken" to keep the opponent busy instead of trying bigger moves like "Haoh Shoukou Ken" and allowing the monk to counter attack. Even if he wins via a "Haoh Shoukou Ken", it won't be satisfying using one of his most powerful technique to defeat a restricted opponent.

The Karateka launches 3 "Kou-ou Ken" continuously, his feet do not stop circling around the monk. Huizhen is a master of Shaolin Kungfu, he effortlessly moves in the opposite direction while evading the attacks. His hands hidden inside his sleeves, nobody sees any movement from it, yet 3 branches on the trees behind Ryo fall one after another. That means "Formless Death Reaper Finger" has been used 3 times in response to Ryo's 3 "Kou-ou Ken". While the Shaolin master elegantly move away from the Ki ball, Ryo entirely relies on his physical speed to stay out of the hidden fingers' area of attack.

Both combatants have exchanged over 10 moves, none of them have gotten an advantage yet. However, this is Huizhen's first fight of the day, he also has more internal energy, "Formless Death Reaper Finger" consumes less Qi and evading "Kou-ou Ken" doesn't take as much effort as running away from the range of his invisible finger strike. If this goes on, victory will eventually be his. Ryo also realizes this, however against "Formless Death Reaper Finger", he is not allowed to slow down, he can only increase the ferocity of his strikes in order to end the fight quickly.


The Karateka and the Shaolin monk suddenly stop. They are at a situation in which if Ryo continues moving to the left, a missed "Formless Death Reaper Finger" may hit King and Anh Thư, however if he stands where he is or moves to the right, he will put himself in position where the monk can land a "Formless Death Reaper Finger" on him. Huizhen can continue pressuring his opponent, however it is not acceptable for Shaolin's "Death Reaper Finger" to point at Shaolin's guests, and it is pointless to defeat Kyokugen-ryu by exploiting Nidaime 's hesitation.

King realizes the situation and says:

"Neither my husband nor Master Huizhen will make a move due to their fear of our safety. How about we ban all projectile attacks?"

Shaolin teaches its disciples various forms of martial arts, including hidden weapons and the usage of Qi. By banning all projectile skills, they take away 20% of Shaolin skills, and 40% of their most deadly arts. In the case of "Formless Death Reaper Finger", at close range it is more suitable as a surprise attack than a skill for honest melee martial art exchanges. King knows the Chinese martial artists would likely not accept this suggestion, however her main objective is to buy time for her husband to rest and figure out a way to counter "Formless Death Reaper Finger"

Except for Anh Thư who is a little child, everyone here is among the most talented martial artist of their school, they obviously realize King is trying to buy time for her husband. However, none of them has thought of a logical reason to object her arguments.

A disciple of Abbess Jinglien says:

"If your safety is what they are worrying about, how about you move out of their way?"

"A Min, stop talking!", Abbess Jinglien says. The wife and daughter of Ryo Sakazaki are guests of Shaolin, Emei martial artists are also guests of Shaolin, it is poor manner to demand King and Anh Thư to leave their guest seats. Furthermore, with the way they fight, "Formless Death Reaper Finger" will eventually point at Emei and Wudang groups, will they also have to accept the same humiliating treatment and have their guest seats removed? This is such an awkward situation that neither the Shaolin host, Wudang's Quanshu and Jinglien herself had found a solution, yet her naive disciple embarrassed Emei group with her ignorant suggestion.

In an attempt to divert the attention away from her embarrasing student, Abbess Jinglien asks Abbott Huican:

"Shaolin is the host. Senior Huican, what do you think?"

Abbott Huican thinks for a moment, then says:

"Huikong, Huijng, Huinan, Huiren, Huixuan, you have mastered Shaolin's "Indestructible Vajra Body", please protect the guests."

Four old monks standing beside him slightly nod their heads then quickly jump toward the guests. Huikong stands in front of King and Anh Thư, protecting them from any strayed projectiles. Wudang and Emei come in bigger groups, the other 4 monks are responsible for their safety.

Abbott Huican says:

"My juniors have mastered Shaolin's "Indestructible Vajra Body". During the Yuan dynasty, Ming Cult's "Golden Haired Lion King" Xie Xun punched Revered Kongjian 12 times with Kongtong's "7 Injuries Fist", all of them were nullified by "Indestructible Vajra Body". Your safety is guaranteed."

And the battle between "Kou-ou Ken" and "Formless Death Reaper Finger" continues.


Another 20 moves have passed. The situation remains the same, the monk moves slowly and effortlessly while the Karateka makes big and fierce movements. Ryo suddenly launches himself up, a "Kou-ou Ken" from mid-air. Huizhen is surprised for a moment, however it is not enough to give him any trouble, the monk steps aside. The Ki attack missed the Shaolin fighter and hits the ground, creating a shallow hole on the ground. The shattered rocks and dirt blown up by the "Kou-ou Ken" hit Huizhen's legs, it doesn't hurt but is still a little uncomfortable, enough to distract him for Ryo to launch the next "Kou-ou Ken" from mid-air.

Huizhen also effortlessly evade this strike. Another hole on the ground. And another one. After the 3rd air attack, the monk is no longer surprised by this sudden tactic change, he is prepared to return the strikes with his own "Formless Death Reaper Finger". However, the 4th "Kou-ou Ken" is the standard attack while standing. The monk misses his opportunity to launch his own strike, despite a brief moment of confusion, he quickly moves to the side and dodges this attack, just like how he evades all of Ryo's prior "Kou-ou Ken".

However, this time the monk suddenly trips. The ground he stands on has changed, Ryo's jumping"Kou-ou Ken" have created 3 holes and filled it with shattered pieces of rocks. Huizhen steps on them and slips. This would not have happened if the old monk was careful or used "Thousand Pound Pillar" to enhance the strength of his legs and the stability of his stance. However this "Kou-ou Ken" caught him by surprise so he was careless in his steps, and he was trying to prove the superiority of "Formless Death Reaper Finger" to Kyokugen-ryu Karate, if Ryo only needs to use 1 technique to force him to use 2 of Shaolin's Ultimate Arts, then he may as well admit defeat.

Huizhen is a master of Shaolin Kungfu, even if he makes a misstep the monk quickly reclaims his balance. But in a fight between 2 martial art masters, a moment of weakness decides the winner and loser. As soon as Huizhen turns his focus back on Ryo, the Karateka has already closed the distance and stood by his left shoulder. Ryo's left hand pushes Huizhen's left elbow to turn his body away, effectively negates "Formless Death Reaper Finger". Meanwhile, the right hand has formed another Ki ball, another "Kou-ou Ken" is ready.

Despite being put in a disadvantaged position, Huizhen is still calm and compose. At this range and with Ryo's left hand controlling his left side, the monk cannot evade or counter with "Formless Death Reaper Finger". He raises his right hand up to cover his face from the strike, while using the explosion of "Kou-ou Ken" to retreat.

So far, that was the most dangerous and exciting exchange between the Karateka and the Shaolin monk. Ryo's "Kou-ou Ken" didn't land clean on Huizhen, however it damages the monk's right sleeve, enough for everyone to see the form of his right hand. It's not a finger strike, it's a tight fist. Ryo has only used variations of "Kou-ou Ken", but he managed to push Huizhen to use a technique that is not "Formless Death Reaper Finger".


"You said that you would use "Formless Death Reaper Finger" to defeat Kyokugen-ryu Karate.", Anh Thư suddenly shouts. "My father has only used variations of "Kou-ou Ken", however the technique you performed just a moment ago, it certainly was not "Formless Death Reaper Finger" of Shaolin Temple."

Anh Thư just witnessed King using her words to, not only buy some time for Ryo to recover, but also potentially helped him get rid of 4 Shaolin masters. Shaolin is the root of all External School of Kungfu, a major trait of these styles is the focus on using the tension of selected parts of the body to generate force and route internal energy. Karate, which originated from some external Kungfu schools from South China, also shares this characteristics, the biggest example being the restricted breathing as well as slow and tensed movements in important Katas such as Sanchin and Hangetsu. If Huikong, Huijng, Huinan, Huiren, Huixuan keep using "Indestructible Vajra Body" to protect the guests, they will not be in condition to fight the Karateka.

Now the girl also tries to get rid of an opponent for her father, just like King did.

Hearing Anh Thư's words, Huizhen slowly lowers his hands. The monk says:

"Indeed, "Formless Death Reaper Finger" has lost to Kyokugen-ryu again. In the end, I cannot resolve my master's regret. Even if this fight continues, it is pointless."

Huizhen turns around and returns to the line of his peers. Ryo has won this bout.