As the Buddha closed in to a single step away, Li Changâan, who had appeared frozen to the spot, suddenly smiled.
[Heaven-defying Comprehension: Upon hearing the Buddhaâs Lionâs Roar, you have gained an epiphany. You have comprehended the sound wave Divine Soul attack method: the Sound Wave Skill!]
He felt a torrent of new insights flood his mind.
Li Changâan took a light step back, dodging the palm strike the Buddha had been certain would land. He chuckled. "That sound is certainly invigorating, but itâs a tad too noisy for my taste!"
The Buddha had thought that even if his Lionâs Roar couldnât grievously wound Li Changâan, it would at least stagger him for a moment, buying enough time for his follow-up attack.
Yet, as he closed the distance again, Li Changâan had evaded him with ease. The Lionâs Roar seemed to have had no effect whatsoever.
Against any opponent, the Lionâs Roar had always been an unfailing technique.
This was the first time the Buddha had ever encountered such a situation.
He couldnât help but feel goosebumps rise on his bald scalp.
Li Changâan had practiced the method for tempering the Divine Soul found in the Martial Scripture. While his soul was not yet as powerful as his physical body, it was far beyond what the Buddha could hope to affect.
After dodging the Buddhaâs palm, Li Changâan smiled. "Three moves are up. Now itâs my turn. Die, you bald-headed old fiend!"
His voice was soft, yet it carried a unique rhythmic vibration.
This was the Sound Wave Skill, which Li Changâan had just comprehended from the Lion Roar Skill.
He was giving the Buddha a taste of his own medicine.
Because the Buddhaâs Divine Soul wasnât powerful enough, he required various auxiliary methods to execute the Lionâs Roar. Moreover, the attackâs primary destructive power lay in the physical sound wave itself.
The assault on the mind and soul was merely a secondary effect.
However, with the Sound Wave Skill that Li Changâan had comprehended, the sound wave was merely the delivery method. The true killing blow was the one that targeted the mind and soul!
If he wished, every word he spoke could carry his Essence, Qi, and Spirit on the sound waves, directly annihilating his enemyâs mind and soul.
The Buddhaâs Dao heart was already unstable, and his mind was in a daze.
Though he bore no external injuries from Li Changâanâs sound wave attack, the Buddha couldnât stop himself from violently spitting out a mouthful of blood as the light in his eyes dimmed.
He sank cross-legged to the ground, panting for a long time before putting his palms together in a gesture of respect. "Such incredible methods... From now on, the Jianghu is yours."
Li Changâan roared with laughter.
The melee between the hundreds of men below had also concluded. Li Changâanâs soldiers had won a crushing victory, beating the hundred-plus disciples from the Buddhist Sect so badly their own mothers wouldnât have recognized them.
Li Changâan mounted his horse again, glanced back at the Buddha, and said, "Remember to copy all of the Buddhist Sectâs Cultivation Technique Secret Manuals and send them to the Liyang Imperial Palace. Especially unique skills like the Lion Roar Skill. Donât you dare hold anything back!"
With that, he waved his hand.
The ten thousand elite soldiers had arrived quickly, and they departed even faster.
It wasnât long before they vanished from the Buddhist disciplesâ line of sight.
They looked at the Buddha, still sitting on the ground, unable to rise. Then they looked at their dejected, bruised, and swollen-faced martial brothers.
The tens of thousands of disciples of the Buddhist Sect were all utterly silent, completely dumbfounded.
...
News of the battle between Li Changâan and the Buddha spread quickly, going viral and reaching every corner of the world.
"What on earth happened? Isnât the Buddha a Martial Arts Mythology? How could he have lost to that Prince Liyang?"
"Who the hell knows? That Prince Liyang is uncannily powerful!"
"I heard his army even defeated a hundred of the Buddhist Sectâs elite disciples! They beat those monks so badly they were sent fleeing for their lives, completely powerless to fight back!"
"How is that possible? Itâs just an army of ten thousand men. How many Martial Artists could be among them? The Buddhist Sectâs elite disciples are top-notch fighters no matter where you put them. How could they lose to a bunch of common soldiers?"
"Who knows? I heard that Prince Liyang, Li Changâan, created a Cultivation Technique called the Martial Scripture. Could that be the reason?"
"âUnify the Jianghu, reshape the Martial Daoâ... Such bold words. If he truly succeeds, will we get to witness an unprecedented golden age for the Martial Dao?"
At first, almost no one took Li Changâan and his ten thousand soldiers seriously. But after the defeat of the Buddhist Sect, the entire Jianghuâs opinion and attitude changed in an instant.
However, the Buddhist Sectâs submission was only the beginning.
Half a month later, Li Changâan paid a visit to the Taoist Sect. After a "friendly discussion," the Taoist Sect also yielded to him, pledging to follow his lead from then on.
Just as everyone thought Li Changâanâs next stop would be the Demon Sect, its Sect Leader, Leng Yanran, proactively stepped forward and personally announced that the Demon Sect would henceforth submit to Li Changâan.
In less than a month, the Three Great Sects, once at the height of their power, had all bowed their heads and declared their allegiance to Li Yang. The shift was so sudden that many people found it hard to adjust.
âThe Jianghu... how had it changed so suddenly?â
âHow had the Liyang Dynasty, which had been on its last legs, suddenly revived?â
âAll because of one man, Li Changâan?â
But regardless of how outsiders saw it or whether they could adapt, Li Changâan had already accomplished his goal. The next step was to proliferate the Martial Dao throughout the world.
He had to arm all the Martial Artists of the Li Yang Martial World before the Cultivators arrived.
When Li Changâan ordered the Three Great Sects to copy all their Cultivation Technique Secret Manuals and send them to the Li Yang Library Pavilion, the Buddhist and Taoist Sects were, in truth, quite reluctant.