Volcanic Age

Chapter 138: Hundred Paces Fist Monk (1)

Zhou Xuchuan returned to the Abbot's chamber and sat down with Hui Mian for a private meeting.

"Namu Amitabha. We've been greatly discourteous to you, Benefactor Zhou. Please forgive us," Hui Mian said.

"Divine Monk, sir. Please speak informally to your junior."

Zhou Xuchuan freaked out when a senior from the same generation as Mount Hua's Sect Master, who happened to be the Shaolin Temple's current Abbot and one of the Ten Empyrean Overlords, addressed him too politely.

Hui Mian smiled gently as if his earlier display of anger was a figment of Zhou Xuchuan's imagination.

"According to what I've been able to confirm recently, Benefactor Zhou has miraculously discovered the divine art and even safely delivered it to us. That makes you the Shaolin Temple's benefactor. I wouldn't dare speak so casually under such circumstances."

"But, sir. I merely got lucky in discovering the divine art. And as a fellow denizen of Murim, it was my duty to deliver it to the Shaolin Temple. So, please, I beg you to speak informally with this junior."

Zhou Xuchuan was practically on his knees begging at this point. His stomach was churning, and it was becoming harder to maintain a straight face.

"I see. Then, I shall do so," Hui Mian said.

After much pleading, the Divine Monk eventually relented, making the conversation so much easier for Zhou Xuchuan to stomach.

"That aside..."

Hui Mian narrowed his eyes to scan Zhou Xuchuan, before growing a little stunned by what he saw.

"The rumors in the gangho tend to get exaggerated all the time, but it seems that is not the case with you, Benefactor Zhou. If anything, rumors have greatly underestimated you."

Earlier, when Hui Mian heard the news and rushed to the scene, he was too busy scolding his disciple for his reckless behavior to pay much attention.

But now that they were back in his chamber, enjoying the tea brewed by Hui Mian himself, he couldn't help but be stunned by this young man's hidden cultivation realm.

He had to doubt his eyes for a moment when a youth who was around twenty years of age turned out to be not at the Peak or Transcendent realm, but in the Harmony realm instead!

Huh-uh! To think Mount Hua had such a genius among its ranks!

The Shaolin Temple was often called the number one under the heavens, yet even it could count on one hand how many of its geniuses had reached the Harmony realm before the age of thirty in the sect's lengthy history.

Not even the shame of the Shaolin Temple, who possessed unprecedented talent, Blood Monk, was talented to this extent.

'Namu Amitabha...! Now I see why the Head of the Alliance was so confident back then.'

The Alliance Head guaranteed that, even though he couldn't reveal the identity of the courier, they didn't need to worry about the divine art's safety.

Hui Mian heard that and began wondering about all sorts of things. Maybe the Martial Alliance had dispatched a special team consisting of members from One Hundred Experts Under Heaven?

However, the truth turned out to be quite different from his imagination. Forget a special team, just one person had been tasked with delivering the divine art! Thankfully, however, that individual was an expert at the Harmony realm.

Even Hui Mian would've had a hard time believing it without the proof sitting right before his eyes.

To think a cultivator who wasn't even thirty but in his early twenties had already reached the Harmony realm! How did this make any sense?

So young, yet already at the Harmony realm! His talent is truly extraordinary. And he's even born with a martial physique, too. Undoubtedly a child born for cultivation!

In reality, Zhou Xuchuan's original physique had been average, but going through the Bodily Reformation gifted him with a skeletal structure and a body ideal for cultivation. Since that was the case, the Divine Monk's misunderstanding was unsurprising.

A genius of his level would inevitably become arrogant, yet this young man remains humble despite his talent...

A man still in the hot-blooded phase of his youth would want to boast about his achievements. And that tendency would be even more pronounced if he was from a famous sect.

However, Plum Blossom Order Sword only achieved fame relatively recently. Of course, he had a prior nickname before his current fame, and that was the Phoenix Slayer.

And look at how clear and pure his eyes are. I should be ashamed for suspecting Benefactor Zhou of sinister intentions even for a moment.

Hui Mian recited Buddhist sutras in his mind and reflected on himself.

"I'm genuinely sorry for burning the Blood Muscle and Tendon Classic and destroying the Shaolin Temple's opportunity to fulfill its long-held wish, sir. Please forgive this foolish junior."

Zhou Xuchuan bowed deeply in a show of extreme sincerity.

"No, no. It's fine. I'm sure you acted with pure intentions, trying to prevent bloodshed over a demonic cultivation manual. Besides, you've come all this way to apologize in person. And on top of that, you discovered a divine art long thought to be lost to time."

Hong Gao was no mere Daoist, but a Buddhist monk who was taught not to succumb to anger or take another's life, which was an act forbidden as one of three poisons. But he behaved this way, and that posed a serious issue.

Hui Mian belatedly recognized his disciple's issues and tried to scold the latter several times, hoping to fix Hong Gao's ways. Unfortunately, it was too late to do so.

Hui Mian continued to explain.

"Being proud of one's sect being number one under the heavens isn't inherently bad. But my disciple's issue is that his pride is too excessive. I fear he will lose himself to arrogance if he doesn't learn to understand those around him."

Arrogance like this usually was resolved by tasting harsh defeats while journeying through gangho, but that didn't apply to Hong Gao.

Hong Gao could not accept the idea of defeat despite mastering the Shaolin Temple's martial arts, which he considered to be the best under the heavens. That was why he trained harder than anyone despite possessing a genius-level talent, so that he'd not lose to any opponent.

But he considered the results of his efforts as a part of the Shaolin Temple's teachings, as well as the superiority of its martial arts. In a way, his mindset was quite remarkable.

Urgh...!

Zhou Xuchuan barely suppressed a pained groan from escaping his lips.

Sparring with Hong Gao wouldn't be difficult. He was confident he could subdue an opponent in the Transcendent realm without unleashing his killing intent.

It wasn't as if his experience was lacking in this regard, either. He couldn't even count how many battles against lower and mid-tier experts he had fought in the previous life.

Is it alright for me to interfere like this?

In Zhuge Shengji's case, he was destined to live a wretched life before dying ignobly without Zhou Xuchuan's interference.

However, other heroes would continue on their predestined path even if left alone. Since that was the case, Zhou Xuchuan didn't see a need to interfere.

Even though Hong Gao caused several incidents before the Era of War and Chaos, he would ultimately become the Shaolin Temple's hero.

Zhou Xuchuan feared changing the future in some unknown manner. More than that, he didn't want to get involved with someone who didn't think well of him. However...

"Please lend your help to this old monk who foolishly took in a lacking disciple."

"D-Divine Monk, sir!" Zhou Xuchuan freaked out again when Divine Monk Hui Mian tried to bow to him while fidgeting with his Buddhist prayer beads. Quickly stopping him, Zhou Xuchuan said, "I'll do it, sir! So I beg you, please stop!"

"Namu Amitabha. Thank you, Benefactor Zhou. Truly."

****

On one hand, Hong Gao understood where Hui Mian's anger was coming from. On the other hand, he couldn't understand why exactly Hui Mian was angry.

His crime of not immediately reporting the news of the divine art's arrival to his superior was indeed grave.

But he could not understand why he deserved to get scolded for demanding answers from the culprit responsible for burning the Blood Muscle and Tendon Classic.

Yes, Prajna Divine Art was indeed important to the Shaolin Temple. However, wasn't the opportunity to wash away the Shaolin Temple's humiliation just as important?

Even if the Shaolin Temple had a pact with the Martial Alliance, gangho operated under the rule of favors and grudges. Hong Gao found it inconceivable that the peerless Shaolin Temple chose to brush this matter aside.

Since he couldn't ignore this injustice, Hong Gao decided to delay the report so that he could lead the culprit to somewhere 'quiet'.

Hong Gao didn't resent the monk who defied his gag order. Even if he was doing this for the good of the Shaolin Temple, it was still true that he acted unilaterally and withheld his report. So, the other monk did the right thing as far as Hong Gao was concerned.

"Namu Amitabha!"

Hong Gao was fully prepared to face the consequences of his actions today. As such, his disappointment at not getting the answer he wanted from the culprit was immeasurable. But now...

"Master, did you really arrange this with him?" Hong Gao asked, narrowing his eyes as he glanced at Hui Mian.

The Divine Monk theatrically nodded away.

"Yes. If you win in a spar against Benefactor Zhou here, not only will I forgive you for your crimes, I will also give you permission to ask any questions you want. However, if you lose, you must rid yourself of negative feelings toward Benefactor Zhou and seek his forgiveness."

"Namu Amitabha!" Hong Gao recited a Buddhist chant while clapping his hands together. "Since that's the case, I'll be in your care, Benefactor Zhou!"

"Yes, I'll also be in your care," said Zhou Xuchuan while awkwardly scratching his head, then politely cupped his fist.