A young man born in the 1980s is unexpectedly transported to ancient times and awakens as a monk. Before he can adjust, he discovers that he has also become the abbot of a struggling monastery and has been assigned an “Abbot System” with increasingly ambitious goals. The system expects him to master difficult martial arts, rebuild Shaolin's reputation, and eventually lead the wider martial world. He would much rather live an ordinary life, but abandoning the role is not so simple. Reluctantly, he begins strengthening the monastery and discovers that leadership may demand more of him than martial skill alone.
Chapter 21: The Tiger’s Roar in the Deep Mountains
After a long while, the sound of the Wooden Fish ceased, and the man in the brocade robe slowly opened his eyes. After staring at Huo Yuanzhen for a long time, the man in brocade robes let out a deep sigh and bowed to Huo Yuanzhen once more: “If one day I should resign from public service, I shall certainly come to Shaolin to spend the rest of my days in the presence of the Buddha.” Huo Yuanzhen smiled without speaking, took out a string of Buddhist prayer beads, and handed them to the man in brocade robes: “These prayer beads have been personally consecrated by This Humble Monk. Please accept them as a memento.” The man in brocade bowed once more: “My name is Shangguan Xiong. Thank you, Abbot.” “Shangguan Xiong。” Huo Yuanzhen felt a slight stir in his heart; he seemed to have heard that name before. Not only was the martial arts world in turmoil, but the imperial court was also unstable. Huo Yuanzhen knew nothing about this world; he had only heard about it recently. This realm, similar to ancient China, was called the High Tang Dynasty, founded by the Zhao clan. Although its official name was “Sheng” (Prosperous), in reality, it was far from peaceful. Three major warlords ruled their own territories, and the imperial court, powerless to subdue them, could only attempt to pacify them. In Henan Province, there was currently a military governor’s headquarters. The military governor, Guan Tianzhao, commanded an army of 300,000, and many of his territories were beyond the imperial court’s control. Moreover, rumors circulating in the streets suggest that Guan Tianzhao harbors intentions to rebel; however, since the Emperor’s younger sister, the Crown Princess, has married him, he is currently unable to act due to their familial ties. Huo Yuanzhen did not believe these rumors. If he truly intended to rebel, he would never allow himself to be restrained by a woman. Having risen to the position of military governor, Guan Tianzhao could hardly be such a foolish man. However, Huo Yuanzhen had no interest in the specific reasons behind his inaction; who sat on the imperial throne had nothing to do with him—his concern lay solely with the affairs of the martial world. “To sit in the highest halls of government and worry for the people”—that was the emperor’s concern. “Those who dwell far from the court worry for their sovereign”—Huo Yuanzhen lacked that kind of awareness. Still, at times, the martial arts world and the imperial court are closely intertwined; some martial arts sects have already aligned themselves with certain factions, which poses an obstacle to Huo Yuanzhen’s future ambition of becoming the leader of the martial arts world. As for this Shangguan Xiong—he is said to be the foremost warrior under the Military Governor’s command, a skilled and battle-hardened general with considerable martial prowess; apparently, he trained for many years under some martial arts master. In Henan, Shangguan Xiong is quite famous. Shangguan Xiong had originally thought that mentioning his name would impress Huo Yuanzhen, but Huo Yuanzhen showed no reaction whatsoever. While this left him somewhat disappointed, he couldn’t help but secretly admire Huo Yuanzhen’s composure; it seemed that this man, who had risen to become the abbot, was truly no ordinary person. In truth, he had no idea that Huo Yuanzhen had just been carefully trying to figure out who Shangguan Xiong was. “Shangguan Shi, please return for now. Have that elderly gentleman come to Shaolin.” “Abbot, Shangguan Xiong takes his leave. Meeting you today has made this journey well worth it.” After saying this, Shangguan Xiong slipped his prayer beads onto his wrist, turned, and strode away. Seeing that Shangguan Xiong had left, Huo Yuanzhen let out a soft sigh. To be honest, Huo Yuanzhen didn’t want to deal with government officials, especially those from the military. Getting along with them was fine, but if things went south and they turned against him—what if they ended up setting the Shaolin Temple ablaze? That would be utterly distasteful. Having watched countless movies from his past life, he knew that the Shaolin Temple’s destruction was almost always the result of war; it was actually quite rare for martial arts factions to pose a genuine threat to it. Of course, the Shaolin Temple of his past life was incomparable to this small temple he now called home, but Huo Yuanzhen couldn’t help but be on guard against such a possibility. Huo Yuanzhen had no choice but to welcome Shangguan Xiong here today. If he refused the request, the other party would likely not let the matter rest. Since he was currently powerless to resist, it was best to make his peace with him for now. For now, however, he didn’t need to worry about such matters. Generally speaking, government officials were reluctant to offend martial arts clans—especially those with real power. Those wandering martial artists might not be able to stand up to an army, but they’re absolute experts when it comes to assassinations and the like. These days, countless officials have met their end at the hands of martial artists—especially corrupt officials. You never know when a martial arts hero might pop out of some corner, sneak into your house in the dead of night, and snap your neck. Some of the more showy ones might even scrawl a message on a wall—or write a blood-stained note—stating, “The murderer is so-and-so.” As for the timid ones, they leave no clues at all, making it impossible to track down the killer even if you’re seeking revenge. Ultimately, it all comes down to the Shaolin Temple’s lack of strength—and his own martial prowess isn’t up to par either. To improve his martial prowess, the lottery is the only way. Counting on his fingers, Huo Yuanzhen began calculating the time. He’d been here for over a month and had participated in three lotteries so far: the April lottery, the extra one held during the Dragon Boat Festival, and the May lottery. June was just around the corner, but the draw wouldn’t take place until the end of the month, and since there were no major holidays in June, he wouldn’t have any draws to participate in for nearly a month. All he could do now was devote himself to practicing the “Child’s Art.” Aside from his own cultivation, developing the Shaolin Temple was also imperative. The temple had already gained a certain degree of fame, and he expected that, for some time to come, people would continue to visit the pagoda out of admiration for its reputation. Taking advantage of this opportunity, I can start considering recruiting disciples. When it came to recruiting disciples, Huo Yuanzhen preferred to have none rather than settle for the wrong ones; he would only accept those with good aptitude and character to avoid future traitors or similar problems. Deciding to act on the spot, Huo Yuanzhen simply took out a sheet of white paper, but after thinking for a moment, he felt it wasn’t quite right, so he rummaged through his drawers and found a sheet of red paper instead. He spread out the red paper, picked up a brush, and made a couple of test strokes on the white paper beside it. Seeing the crooked characters, he frowned. Huo Yuanzhen’s penmanship was actually quite good, but he’d never practiced writing with a brush before, so he simply went outside and called Yikong in. Yikong had copied Buddhist scriptures before, so his handwriting was quite good. Huo Yuanzhen said, “You write it.” A day passed, and even some people who planned to spend the night by the pagoda were asked to leave by Huo Yuanzhen and his companions. Early the next morning, several thousand more people made their way to the Shaolin Temple. When they arrived at the newly constructed temple gate, they saw a notice posted there. Some of those who could read began to recite it. “Shaolin Temple, situated in the forests of Shaoshi Mountain, from which it takes its name, has been blessed by the Buddha. By divine grace, the Shaolin Ten Thousand Buddhas Pagoda has descended from the heavens to protect the common people of this region. The Abbot Yi Jie of this temple, having heeded the Buddha’s mandate and heeded the will of heaven, and guided by the intention to save all sentient beings, is committed to promoting and expanding the legacy of Shaolin. We are now recruiting lay disciples for Shaolin.” “Wow! The Shaolin Temple is recruiting disciples!” “Can anyone sign up? Can I, even though I’m a woman?” “I’m not quite sixty yet, but I guess my chances aren’t very good?” The crowd grew chaotic, and it wasn’t until a moment later that the man reading the proclamation was able to continue: “The recruitment rules are as follows: male applicants between the ages of 10 and 25, with or without dependents. must be in good health and of good character, and will be personally vetted by the Abbot. Upon entering Shaolin, a master will teach the Buddhist scripture *The Lotus Sutra*, and another master will teach the martial art *Fuhu Quan*. Applicants must attend morning chanting once every three days and practice martial arts at the Shaolin Martial Arts Arena once every five days. Those who perform well may become full-fledged Shaolin disciples and study advanced martial arts.” “Shaolin teaches martial arts too? Do they actually have people who know martial arts there?” “Of course they do. Didn’t you see the Abbot block a knife with his head the other day without even leaving a mark? If I knew that kind of skill, my brother-in-law would look at me like a mouse sees a cat.” “I just wonder if the Shaolin Temple provides meals.” “Don’t be so greedy. The Shaolin Temple is a sacred place blessed by the Buddha. You should be grateful just to be allowed in. If I could get in, I wouldn’t just expect them to provide meals—I’d be happy to cook for the masters myself.” Upon hearing the news, most of those who felt they met the qualifications came to the temple to sign up. Inside the temple, Huo Yuanzhen and the others had already set up tables. The *Journey to the West* was nearly finished, and it was time to get down to business. On the very first day, the number of applicants reached over 130. Yikong was in charge of physical examinations, while Hui Zhen and Huiming were responsible for gathering family information. Yikong, meanwhile, was tasked with testing the candidates’ patience—he would briefly explain Buddhist teachings to those who passed the initial screening to see if they could remain composed and were suited for the Shaolin Temple. Huo Yuanzhen, meanwhile, was in charge of the final stage: assessing the candidates’ character. Huo Yuanzhen had long since prepared his methods for assessing character, employing some of the little tricks he’d used in his past life during recruitment—such as tossing two copper coins on the ground or deliberately placing trash in a clean spot that applicants were bound to pass through—to test their character. Unfortunately, although more than a hundred people had signed up, very few actually made it through the first few rounds—especially when they reached Yikong’s test of patience. These young people were eager to learn martial arts; though they believed in the existence of the Buddha, their patience still needed refinement. They sat there fidgeting and scratching their heads, causing Yikong to shake his head repeatedly. After a whole day of this, not a single one passed the patience test, much to Huo Yuanzhen’s deep disappointment. That evening, a few of them—their backs and legs aching—gathered together to close the temple gates. Just then, a thunderous roar suddenly echoed from outside! Upon hearing this sound, the first thing that came to Huo Yuanzhen’s mind was his current signature move: the Lion’s Roar! Moreover, this sound was even more piercing than a lion’s roar and far more soul-stirring—it was clearly the roar of a real beast! But Shaoshi Mountain was located in the Central Plains—not only were there no lions here, but there were no lions anywhere in the High Tang Dynasty. If it wasn’t a lion, then it had to be another kind of beast—a tiger! Hearing this sound, the faces of the monks turned pale, and they frantically scrambled to close the gate. Through the crack in the door, Huo Yuanzhen saw a massive, striped tiger burst out from the mountain path. It was less than twenty meters from the Shaolin Temple Gate—it was already too late to close it. Huo Yuanzhen sucked in a sharp breath and silently channeled his inner energy, wondering if his Lion’s Roar technique would be effective against the king of the forest. If it worked, that would be fine; but if it didn’t, the five of them would likely meet their end in the tiger’s jaws today!
