The Shaolin Abbot Born in the 1980s

Chapter 17: The Lion’s Roar and the Mysterious Figure on the Back Mountain

The light dot spun rapidly. Huo Yuanzhen stared intently, hoping to discern a pattern in its rotation, but unfortunately, he couldn’t make out any pattern at all—he couldn’t even tell how many times it had spun. He always hoped he could figure out the pattern of the light dot’s rotation. If he could calculate how many times it had spun and how many patterns it had formed, then in the future he could use that data to draw exactly what he wanted. After all, when he clicked “Start,” he could choose any pattern to begin with; today, when he clicked “Start,” he had selected the “pin” formation. But the light spots were still spinning a bit too fast—so fast that Huo Yuanzhen couldn’t make them out clearly. Gradually, the light spot began to slow down. As soon as he saw the light spot slow down, Huo Yuanzhen was deeply disappointed, because it had slowed down in the half of the grid opposite the “pin” pattern jackpot—it would likely stop after just four or five more steps, making it impossible to win the grand prize. If the number of steps the light spot took followed a pattern, then Huo Yuanzhen could now be certain that, no matter which pattern he clicked to start, he would definitely not end up with the prize within that pattern. Although he didn’t dare to harbor too high hopes for the grand prize, seeing it slip away still left Huo Yuanzhen feeling a bit downcast; he could only steel himself to watch on. “Is my streak of good luck coming to an end?” But Huo Yuanzhen suddenly realized that, even though the light dot could no longer reach the jackpot’s position, among the prizes ahead was—to his surprise—a copy of the *Lion’s Roar* manual! The *Lion’s Roar* was preceded by a White Horse and followed by an incense burner. And the light dot would likely stop at one of these three symbols! Huo Yuanzhen’s heart, which had been filled with disappointment, began to race again! The *Lion’s Roar*! One of the essential skills a Shaolin Abbot must master in the Shaolin Region! After more than twenty days of continuous training, Huo Yuanzhen’s sense of the “Child’s Art” energy within his body had grown stronger; when he channeled his inner energy, even the force of his head slamming into a wall had increased significantly. With internal energy driving it, the power of the Lion’s Roar would also increase significantly, becoming a truly formidable trump card. It didn’t matter that he hadn’t won the grand prize—even if he had, he might not have drawn the “Lion’s Roar,” but now, the “Lion’s Roar” was within reach! Huo Yuanzhen clenched his fists in excitement, staring intently at the system as he waited for the light dot to stop. Slowly but surely, the light finally settled on the White Horse. Huo Yuanzhen didn’t dare underestimate these “miscellaneous items”—this White Horse was undoubtedly a fine steed, and he wanted it very much. But for now, staying alive was more important. He certainly couldn’t just draw the White Horse and then ride off on it. The light seemed to have stopped at the White Horse’s position. Huo Yuanzhen held his breath, his fists clenching so tightly they cracked. “One step at a time!” Huo Yuanzhen’s inner cry felt as though he were shouting himself hoarse. “It’s moving! Yes!” Huo Yuanzhen let out a loud shout as he exhaled sharply! The light finally reached the Lion’s Roar’s position and came to a steady halt, without moving again! “Extraction complete!” The system’s emotionless voice rang out, and Huo Yuanzhen’s heart finally settled. After claiming his reward, a copy of the “Lion’s Roar” manual appeared in Huo Yuanzhen’s hands. After obtaining the manual, Huo Yuanzhen didn’t rush to begin his cultivation. It was midnight, and practicing in the temple with all the ghostly howling would be too conspicuous—he’d head to the back mountain instead. Without telling anyone, Huo Yuanzhen lit a torch and set off toward the back mountain. The summit of Yuzhai Mountain spanned a radius of over ten li. The front section of the mountain was relatively flat and had now been enclosed by a wall built by Huo Yuanzhen, while the rear section was extremely rugged. Especially beyond Yinma Lake, the terrain was jagged and rocky—so treacherous that even birds could not cross it. Huo Yuanzhen had left this area untouched; it was so steep that climbing it would be impossible even without a wall, unless one possessed the most exceptional lightness kung fu skills. Huo Yuanzhen walked all the way to the shore of Yinma Lake. Tonight, the moon was bright and the stars sparse. Upon arriving, Huo Yuanzhen simply extinguished his torch; even by moonlight, he could clearly make out the characters on the secret manual. He opened the book and read slowly, the knowledge within flooding into Yuanzhen's mind at a rapid pace. After about half a shichen, Huo Yuanzhen finally mastered the full essence of the Lion’s Roar. The Lion’s Roar is the most powerful and formidable of the Shaolin Seventy-Two Supreme Techniques; very few can truly master it completely. This technique is generated by the internal energy in the dantian. When unleashed, it causes the tongue to erupt like spring thunder, with sound waves traveling over ten li. Those nearby who hear it are struck with terror; without internal energy to withstand it, they may even be instantly killed by the immense sonic blast. In severe cases, it causes blood to ooze from the nose, mouth, and ears, leading to death; in milder cases, it causes the limbs to go limp, temporarily rendering the victim incapable of combat. It can be said that the Lion’s Roar is a long-range martial art; provided the practitioner possesses sufficient inner energy, it can even become a weapon of mass destruction, yielding unexpectedly remarkable results when used to attack large groups of enemies. Its only drawback is that using this martial art consumes a massive amount of inner energy. Although Huo Yuanzhen had fully mastered the essence of the Lion’s Roar, this did not mean he could unleash its full power—the reason being that his inner energy was simply too weak. Inner energy is the very foundation of a martial artist; one with low inner energy can never be a true master. Although the “Child’s Art” that Huo Yuanzhen had cultivated was a decent form of internal energy training, his level of mastery was simply too low. Currently, his dantian was virtually empty, containing only a tiny amount of internal energy. However, since he had mastered this technique, Huo Yuanzhen was determined to give it a try no matter what. He turned around, facing the direction of the back mountain. Whichever direction he channeled his energy, the sound of the Lion’s Roar would travel in that direction; this way, he would likely avoid disturbing the few people inside the Shaolin Temple. After all, the back mountain was likely home to nothing more than birds, snakes, and insects at most, so he wasn’t worried about disturbing anyone. After channeling his energy for a moment, Huo Yuanzhen suddenly opened his mouth and let out a mighty roar! There are two kinds of roars: one involves shouting a single word or a few words—such as a loud “Hey!” or “Stop!” —while the other is the true effect of the Lion’s Roar, which produces a roar like that of a lion. Huo Yuanzhen had just let out a lion-like roar—a full-throated, all-out bellow. A wave of sound erupted violently, and in an instant, Huo Yuanzhen felt his dantian go into Yikong; his vision darkened, and he was about to faint. He hurriedly steadied himself with great effort. In his dazed state, Huo Yuanzhen seemed to see the grass in front of him bending backward—following the wave of his own voice, it fell back in perfect unison! The massive sound wave shook the trees so violently that the forest was thrown into turmoil; flocks of wild birds took flight, some even fluttering unsteadily as if they might plummet to the ground at any moment. Keep in mind that Huo Yuanzhen was still more than one li away from the woods behind him! It took him quite a while to recover from the dizziness. Though his body had recovered, his dantian was completely empty—his meager inner energy had been completely depleted by that single roar! The energy drain from the Lion’s Roar was truly terrifying! However, Huo Yuanzhen had just roared at full force; if he had controlled the intensity, it might not have caused him to lose consciousness. But even if Yuanzhen had controlled the intensity, with the pitiful amount of inner energy he currently possessed, he would likely have been able to roar at most twice—even at a low volume. Moreover, due to his limited inner energy, the Lion’s Roar he had just performed was not at its highest level. In theory, if one’s inner energy were infinite, the Lion’s Roar could be amplified infinitely; in practice, however, this is not possible, because even when driven by inner energy, the human vocal tract cannot produce a sound of infinite volume. If Huo Yuanzhen’s inner energy were tripled, not a single bird from the flock ahead would have been able to take flight after his roar. But even so, it was enough! Huo Yuanzhen was very satisfied. He didn’t know any martial arts, but he had now mastered the Buddhist art of the Lion’s Roar. If he could later acquire a form of internal energy to practice, then with this sonic attack alone, those who didn’t understand internal energy—no matter how many came—would be no match for him. Just by shouting and cursing at those around him, he could take out a whole group—the very thought of such power filled Huo Yuanzhen with excitement. Of course, against masters of internal martial arts, the Lion’s Roar’s power would be greatly diminished. For now, however, if Huo Yuanzhen’s Lion’s Roar caught his opponents off guard, it could easily stun those with weak constitutions; even the strongest would be left dizzy and disoriented if caught unprepared. After regaining his composure and just as he was about to return to the temple, a faint voice suddenly drifted from behind the mountain. The sound wasn’t loud, but Huo Yuanzhen was absolutely certain it was a human voice! It seemed to say, “Who are you, you upstart… to dare disturb this old man… Die!” The words were indistinct, as if coming from deep underground, giving them a distant, echoing quality. Yet what Huo Yuanzhen heard was unmistakably a human voice—one that seemed to be rebuking his own roar and expressing an intent to kill him. Huo Yuanzhen broke out in a cold sweat. Could there actually be someone else on the back mountain? He had never known this before. The back mountain wasn’t all that large, and it was full of jagged, treacherous rocks—extremely dangerous. He had always walked only as far as the shore of Yinma Lake to fetch water and had never ventured further back. How could there possibly be anyone there? Moreover, in all this time, neither he nor his fellow disciples had ever seen anyone from the back mountain. How could that person possibly survive out there? One thing was beyond doubt: that person must be a master. Otherwise, how could such a distant voice possibly have reached his ears? As for why the master had only spoken without revealing himself, Huo Yuanzhen had no idea. He didn’t want to know, either. Right now, his skills were meager, and his top priority was staying alive. Let the back mountain have whatever it wanted—it had nothing to do with him at the moment. He hurried back to the Shaolin Temple, and no further sounds came from behind. “Never mind. Whatever is out there, I’ll ignore it for now. I’ll focus on the task at hand first.” Huo Yuanzhen forced himself to forget the mysterious figure on the back mountain and focused on preparing to face Niu Er and his men, who were about to arrive.