Master Benda, having listened from the side, grew angrier with every word. At last he thundered, "This young man has twisted right and wrong, turning the truth upside down!" His voice rolled like crashing thunder, shaking everyone's ears. After a brief pause, he continued more calmly, "Benefactor Xiao, do not speak recklessly. How can Shaolin's reputation be stained by your slander? You claimed that you wandered into the Sutra Library by accident. Out of compassion for your first offense, the Head Monk, Master Benguang, chose not to punish you severely. Instead, he turned the matter over to the Discipline Hall, and I merely ordered you to spend three days carrying water and chopping firewood. Was that truly excessive? Why do you not blame yourself instead? Who was it that declared he could come and go as he pleased, saying that Shaolin could do nothing to him? It was your own arrogance and conceit, looking down upon everyone else. Did asking you to carry water, chop firewood, and sweep the monastery truly disgrace you?"
His tone softened further as he sighed.
"Every monk in this monastery, from the abbot down to the newest novice, has performed these very same chores. How, then, can anyone claim that Shaolin bullies others?"
His words were firm and irrefutable. Every sentence was true, without the slightest exaggeration.
Tashi Dorje Dharma King let out a cold laugh.
"Shaolin... what a fine Shaolin indeed! So, in other words, Shaolin has no intention of letting this matter go."
Suddenly he burst into hearty laughter.
"I have long heard that the martial arts of Shaolin stand supreme under Heaven, profound beyond compare. I have traveled all the way to the Central Plains hoping to exchange techniques with the masters of Shaolin. Since fate has brought us together today, such an opportunity is exceedingly rare. As my sincere advice has failed to persuade you, I shall have no choice but to seek your instruction through a few exchanges."
Stepping forward with long strides, he cupped his hands in salute.
"A rare opportunity indeed. Please enlighten me, Master."
Among martial artists, the phrase "please enlighten me" was often a courteous declaration of challenge.
Master Benda had long been displeased by Tashi Dorje's criticism of Shaolin's Discipline Hall, and his temper had already flared. Returning the salute, he replied,
"Please proceed, Dharma King."
With a sharp whistle, Tashi Dorje sprang forward. Launching the opening move, "Drawing the Bow and Releasing the Arrow," he shot ahead like an arrow loosed from the string, thrusting a palm strike straight toward his opponent's centerline. Master Benda moved like lightning and slipped aside. Instantly, Tashi Dorje transformed the feint into another technique, "Ascending the Mountain to Worship the Buddha." Pressing his palms together, his hands suddenly exploded into motion like a violent storm, striking directly through the center with astonishing speed.
At that very moment, Master Benda raised a hand and answered with a simple palm strike. Though unadorned in appearance, the attack carried tremendous force, as heavy as a mountain and powerful enough to split stone. Tashi Dorje's heart skipped a beat. Rather than meeting the force head-on, he yielded, circling lightly to neutralize the incoming power before asking in a deep voice,
"Is that the Prajna Zen Palm?"
"Indeed it is," Master Benda replied.
As he executed the Prajna Zen Palm, powerful internal energy coursed through every meridian of his body like surging tides. His palms flashed forth with the Prajna Form, crashing out like thunder and lightning. Wave after wave of overwhelming palm force roared toward Tashi Dorje, each strike growing stronger than the last until the relentless barrage resembled towering waves engulfing the shore.
The Prajna Zen Palm, revered as Shaolin's Number One Palm Technique, was one of the monastery's supreme martial arts, said to have been created by Bodhidharma himself. Its strength lay not only in its fierce external power but also in its endlessly flowing internal force, making it one of Shaolin's most profound palm arts. The word Prajna refers to the supreme wisdom of Buddhism, and only those of extraordinary enlightenment could unleash the technique's full potential.
The art consisted of four forms—Form of Formlessness, Form of Contemplation, Prajna Form, and Precept Form—each containing four movements, for a total of sixteen techniques.
Tashi Dorje smiled.
"Your skills are truly extraordinary, Master. I, too, possess a few unique techniques. I hope you will not hesitate to offer your guidance."
Drawing a deep breath into his dantian, he let out a long cry and soared into the air like an eagle circling overhead. After several sweeping arcs, he suddenly descended with a palm strike.
Calm and composed, Master Benda answered with "Bending the Bow to Shoot the Tiger." Lowering his body into a bow-like stance, he lunged forward. Their palms collided instantly. Master Benda rotated his left palm upward to support and deflect the attack while simultaneously sending his right palm forward. Attack and defense flowed seamlessly between the two, neither yielding the slightest opening. Their push-hands displayed remarkable softness and precision; their footwork was nimble beyond belief, and every ounce of strength was applied with exquisite control. Such refined artistry could rarely be witnessed except in a duel between true masters.
Tashi Dorje's teacher had been the Great Dharma King Kunbu. After Kunbu's death, however, the sect's followers elevated Marpa, the foremost disciple of Master Geleba, to become the new Great Dharma King. Consumed with resentment, Tashi Dorje challenged Marpa to a duel but suffered a crushing defeat. Left with no choice but to seek another path, he secluded himself for ten long years, devoting every waking moment to mastering the martial art Great Buddha Hand Seal, passed down by his late master.
Heaven rewards perseverance. After a decade of relentless cultivation, he finally grasped the deepest principles of the art. Building upon the foundation of the Great Buddha Hand Seal, he created his own supreme technique—the Seven Seals of Shakyamuni.
Now, accompanied by his three foremost disciples, he had journeyed tirelessly across mountains and rivers to the Central Plains, eager to challenge its greatest masters and make his name known throughout the martial world.
The Seven Seals of Shakyamuni consisted of seven forms:
Seal of Teaching the Dharma, Fearlessness Seal, Meditation Seal, Demon-Subduing Seal, Wish-Fulfilling Seal, Wisdom Fist Seal, and Prayer Seal.
Each form contained four techniques, making twenty-eight movements in total.
With a swift motion of his hand, he unleashed the Meditation Seal. This single form contained four consecutive attacks of terrifying speed and precision. Advancing aggressively, he struck toward Master Benda's face and throat.
Seeing the assault, Master Benda immediately twisted at the waist and shifted his stance, retreating diagonally while withdrawing his palms into a defensive posture. Turning sideways to present a narrower target, he transformed his left palm into a fist and his right hand into a claw before suddenly switching to another of Shaolin's supreme arts—the Weituo Palm.
Executing the technique "Paying Homage to the Buddha at Vulture Peak," he rotated his body, stepped forward, brought both palms together, and then thrust them out explosively. The movement was graceful and expansive, drawing tremendous power from the waist while emphasizing rapid forward momentum.
To everyone's surprise, Tashi Dorje gave a thunderous shout and chose to meet the attack head-on with pure internal strength.
Bang!
The collision echoed across the courtyard.
Tashi Dorje retreated only a single step.
Master Benda, however, was forced back three.
Who had won?
Who had lost?
There was no need for anyone to answer.
The outcome was unmistakable.
Pressing his palms together respectfully, Tashi Dorje said calmly,
"Master, please forgive my offense."