It wasn't just their strength that was deeply feared, but more critically, their stances were entirely at odds—despite their masters being the closest of sworn brothers.

The matter of the Buddha Bone Relic involved a significant secret, and their masters had discovered this secret from an ancient text, hence both had always coveted that particular relic.

On this issue, their opinions diverged; Shen Wuben's master advocated for retrieving the Buddha Bone Relic to comprehend the secret it held, whereas Monk Wukong's master believed in the natural law of Buddhist karma, insisting it should not be forcibly sought after, or disaster would surely ensue…

Thus, the two old monks became estranged, their once close relationship now marred by a very obvious rift, developing into a clear opposition.

Just as Shen Wuben had achieved considerable progress in his cultivation and was ready to descend the mountain, his master entrusted him with this important mission, promising to teach him a crucial martial arts technique from the Inner Sect if he could bring back the Buddha Bone Relic…

To a martial artist, each secret technique is extremely valuable, let alone the secret techniques of Shaolin Temple. Shen Wuben was a secular disciple, and many martial arts techniques were not disclosed to secular disciples unless they made significant contributions to Shaolin Temple, granting them the exceptional chance to be instructed.

Shen Wuben had studied the martial arts for over twenty years, reaching the level of a Grandmaster, but had only practiced the ordinary martial arts of the Inner Sect of Shaolin Temple and had not learned any of the vital techniques.

On this note, he simply couldn't compare to Inner Sect Disciple Monk Wukong; Monk Wukong was a fully ordained disciple of the Buddhist sect, different from secular disciples like him who practiced with hair intact. The Inner Sect's secret techniques were mostly teachable and cultivatable to him, and with Monk Wukong's exceptional talent and innate gifts, he had even managed to learn the Reed Crossing River Technique, which many Inner Sect disciples had failed to master…

Naturally, Shen Wuben did not believe his talent to be inferior to Monk Wukong's. He was just slightly older than Monk Wukong and had always practiced only the ordinary martial arts of Shaolin Temple. He felt that if he could learn the same secret techniques as Monk Wukong, he would definitely be far more formidable.

The Reed Crossing River Technique is a secret movement technique of Shaolin Temple, and within the entire Inner Sect, only masters above the rank of Elders could master it—even Shen Wuben's master had succeeded in doing so.

Shen Wuben pondered that if he handled this matter well, he could ask his master to teach him this secret movement technique…

This was precisely why Shen Wuben was so eager to retrieve the Buddha Bone Relic; his plans were originally poised for success, but to his surprise, Zhao Si's unnecessary interference led to failure at the final hurdle. Consumed by anger, Shen Wuben did not hesitate to eliminate Zhao Si.

Since Shen Wuben was sent down the mountain by his master, it followed that Monk Wukong's master, who disagreed with Shen Wuben's master's methods, would naturally send someone to stop it. However, he had no secular disciples, so the only option was to send his most outstanding disciple, Monk Wukong, to forcefully break through Wooden Men Lane.

When Shen Wuben left Shaolin Temple, he had already heard that Monk Wukong was attempting the challenge of Wooden Men Lane. Although he doubted Monk Wukong's chances of success, just to be cautious, he made special arrangements to watch for Monk Wukong's appearance…

However, Monk Wukong showed up earlier than Shen Wuben expected, which also made him quite uncomfortable!

"Hmph… you better take care of yourself! Otherwise…"

Although Shen Wuben was a disciple of Shaolin, he was not an Inner Sect Disciple; he would definitely adhere to the ordinary monastic rules while at Shaolin Temple.

But having left Shaolin and returned to secular life, he was like a tiger entering the forest or a dragon roaming the deep sea—such monastic rules no longer bound him.

To learn even more superior cultivation techniques and secret methods, Shen Wuben would not hesitate to resort to any means necessary. If pushed too far, even if Monk Wukong possessed earth-shattering cultivation, Shen Wuben was not without means to unseat him.

"Go back and tell Young Master Li to find a way to restrain this monk, and make sure he doesn't get in touch with anyone surnamed Qin…"

Shen Wuben might be frustrated, but he still had a clear idea of how to best handle the situation. It was obvious that Monk Wukong was specifically there to oppose him.

He wanted to retrieve the Buddha Bone Relic, which would inevitably lead to conflict with Qin Fang. Qin Fang had a special status, and unless absolutely necessary, Shen Wuben did not want to resort to killing.

Of course, if Qin Fang truly failed to recognize what was good for him, then Shen Wuben would show no mercy. What's more, with the help of Li Rui, who wielded immense power in the Ninghai Underground, it was completely possible to devise an excellent opportunity to seize the treasure…

The only prerequisite was to ensure that Monk Wukong did not appear; otherwise, there would be a significant flaw in the plan.

The Monk Wukong was simply too difficult to handle. If he was determined to rescue Qin Fang, Shen Wuben could only stand by dumbfounded, watching Monk Wukong save the person.

There was no way around it; the Reed Crossing River Technique was just too otherworldly...

Just because Shen Wuben didn't have a good way to deal with Monk Wukong didn't mean Li Rui didn't. In this mortal world, highly skilled martial artists are not invincible; guns and bullets are much more powerful than the formidable strength of martial artists.

No matter how powerful Monk Wukong was or how strong the Reed Crossing River Technique was, if he faced dozens or even hundreds of ordinary people armed with guns, a volley of gunshots would instantly turn even a Grandmaster Level Elder from Shaolin Temple's Inner Temple into a hornet's nest...

...

"Young Master Qin, I've just received some troubling news..."

Chen Da's efficiency was still very high; it didn't take him long to send a simple document to Qin Fang's hands.

Although the document was simple, it clearly laid out the issue that Qin Fang was concerned about...

"Shen Wuben... has actually formed a connection with Li Rui!"

To say that Ninghai was Qin Fang's turf wasn't an exaggeration; even though Tiger's influence was limited to the southern part of the city, most other regions were controlled by Li Rui.

But that didn't mean he couldn't obtain information from other areas; if that were the case, Tiger would have been swallowed up by Li Rui long ago, even with Tang Cheng's secret support.

Furthermore, with the highly skilled Wei Suo under Qin Fang's command and Mouse Qiang's extensive connections at the grassroots level, this piece of intelligence was obtained.

The person secretly investigating Qin Fang was Shen Wuben, whose identity was said to be from Shaolin Temple. This confirmed both the information Qin Fang had acquired and what Monk Wukong had said.

Qin Fang wasn't particularly worried about just Shen Wuben; with both at Master Level, Shen Wuben would have a hard time dealing with Qin Fang, not to mention that Qing Mountain Song, comparable to a Grandmaster Level Late Stage expert, was by Qin Fang's side.

What really caused Qin Fang a headache was that Shen Wuben had actually hooked up with Li Rui. This was a bit of trouble...

If Qin Fang in Ninghai was just a local Serpent, then Li Rui was the most powerful of those local Serpents, and Shen Wuben was that foreign Dragon.

Perhaps this foreign Dragon might not be able to defeat Qin Fang, the local Serpent...

But if this foreign Dragon teamed up with the most significant local Serpent to fight Qin Fang, the situation would be entirely different.

"Li Rui... it seems you're really persistent! It looks like you won't understand what death means unless I give you a harsh lesson..."

Qin Fang never denied that he was indeed wary of Li Rui.

Apart from Li Rui's identity and background, his cunning, tactics, and his ability to bend or stand tall were all admirable to Qin Fang.

Unfortunately, they were destined to be enemies and could never be friends!

Both sides hated each other and wanted to destroy the other, but there had never been a suitable opportunity to act... Now that the situation was unusual, Qin Fang felt he could no longer be too lenient. It was entirely reasonable to show some of his strength.

Li Rui didn't have many weaknesses, or at least, Qin Fang only knew of one—his brother Li Feng, who was also one of Qin Fang's sworn enemies! (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, you are welcome to come to Qidian (qidian.com) to vote and support. Your support is my greatest motivation.)

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.