The Shaolin Abbot Born in the 1980s

Chapter 46: The Ultimate Martial Art Emerges

Huo Yuanzhen had checked on Huang Feihong and Su Can; the two boys were unharmed, though they were grimacing and swearing that one day they would teach Chen Ding a lesson. Before Huo Yuanzhen left, the two young men jumped off their beds, knelt down, and begged him to teach them the internal cultivation techniques. They had now come to realize that external martial arts—such as fists, feet, swords, and spears—could never compare to internal martial arts. Yet, despite having trained at Shaolin for some time, they had never heard of the temple teaching internal cultivation. Yet in their eyes, Abbot Huo Yuanzhen was all-powerful; the reason he hadn’t taught them yet must surely lie with them. Perhaps they hadn’t worked hard enough, or hadn’t earned the Abbot’s full trust, and so on. So, after suffering this setback, their first thought was to seek out Huo Yuanzhen to learn profound skills—they didn’t even consider approaching Guan Shanyue. Although Guan Shanyue possessed great martial prowess, his style wasn’t particularly compatible with Shaolin martial arts. Moreover, he didn’t have any secret manuals or the like for them to study; relying solely on oral instruction, it would take an eternity for such a large group to see any results. Huo Yuanzhen agreed to their request. Although he currently possessed only the “Tongzi Gong” internal energy technique, Huo Yuanzhen still agreed—internal energy was absolutely essential. Without a secret manual for internal cultivation, the Shaolin Temple would be nothing more than a castle in the air. And with the Dengfeng Tournament set to take place in just twenty days, Huo Yuanzhen must master an internal cultivation method within that timeframe. Although the Shaolin disciples wouldn’t see immediate results, his own inner energy would certainly increase significantly. As the Abbot of Shaolin, Huo Yuanzhen must possess absolute abilities capable of striking fear into others; this is also the hallmark of Shaolin. From the day he arrived in this world and decided to fulfill his duties as abbot, Huo Yuanzhen had secretly vowed that the reputation of the abbot must never be tarnished. But maintaining that reputation would prove far from easy; relying solely on a system wouldn’t be enough—he would also need to strategize carefully. Having decided to participate in the Dengfeng Tournament, Huo Yuanzhen returned once more to go into seclusion and cultivate the “Child’s Art.” He could already sense the signs of inner energy circulating throughout his body; his long period of arduous cultivation was finally bearing fruit. If all went smoothly, he would likely reach the mid-stage of the Posthuman Realm in his internal cultivation before the tournament began. Day after day passed, and the evening of July 27th arrived. Huo Yuanzhen had been waiting for this day for a long time. The last lottery had been a month ago, and he had missed the Qixi Festival lottery, where the system had awarded him a Bell Tower Construction Order. Although the Bell Tower Construction Order was a valuable item, Huo Yuanzhen still felt a sense of regret. So as soon as night fell today, Huo Yuanzhen made his way to the top of the Ten Thousand Buddhas Pagoda. He had planned this well in advance. After participating in several draws, Huo Yuanzhen had noticed that the quality of the rewards varied each time—sometimes good items would appear at random, while other times the rewards weren’t particularly impressive. Take martial arts, for example. The last time he drew “Crossing the River on a Single Reed,” the reward was actually just average. In contrast, during his very first draw, he had actually won the grand prize: the *Washing the Marrow Sutra*. However, such high-tier rewards had never appeared again since then. Unable to find a solution no matter how much he thought about it, Huo Yuanzhen began to turn to superstition. He went to the Ten Thousand Buddhas Pagoda to draw a prize, hoping to receive the Buddha’s blessing. Arriving at the entrance to the pagoda, he looked around furtively, like a thief. It was late at night, and the area was deserted. He opened the pagoda door and made his way all the way to the top. On the ninth level of the pagoda stood the statue of Namo Amitabha Buddha. Upon arriving there, Huo Yuanzhen sat cross-legged on the meditation cushion in front of the statue and waited silently for the lottery to begin. At exactly midnight, the long-absent system voice finally sounded again. “It’s time for the July drawing. Shall we begin?” “Start.” The system disc lit up once more, and thirty-six symbols appeared before Huo Yuanzhen. The categories remained the same, but the items were different this time. Six sutras: The Great Peacock Sutra, the Earth Store Sutra, the Sutra of the Buddha’s Former Deeds, the Infinite Life Sutra, the Great Sun Sutra, and the Myō-ō Sutra. Huo Yuanzhen was actually quite interested in the sutras. Currently, knowledge at Shaolin was scarce, and he had given Yikong a copy of the Lotus Sutra, only to find that Yikong struggled immensely to comprehend it. The *Lotus Sutra* is the king of all sutras; for Yikong, with his half-baked understanding, trying to study and comprehend it is like asking a first-grader to tackle advanced math—it might as well be a book written in a foreign language. As far as Huo Yuanzhen knew, Yikong hadn’t even made it past the second page yet. He himself had grasped its meaning thanks to the system, but he certainly couldn’t go out every day to preach the Dharma to others; his aspiration was not to become a truly enlightened monk, but rather to return to lay life. Therefore, certain foundational sutras will certainly be the primary focus of Huo Yuanzhen’s future study. However, before selecting which sutras to focus on, Huo Yuanzhen wanted to ensure he had a certain level of self-defense capability. He saw no sign of the Buddha’s protection in the sutras, but the “silver” entry had indeed undergone a significant change. The smallest amount was fifty taels of silver, while the largest entry was a staggering one hundred taels of gold! Looking at that golden pile of gold sitting there, Huo Yuanzhen couldn’t help but feel his heart race! One hundred taels of gold—not silver—which, when converted to silver, would amount to nearly ten thousand taels. For Huo Yuanzhen’s current circumstances, that was a considerable fortune. However, now that he had paid off his debts, Huo Yuanzhen no longer had such an urgent need for silver. If it had been a thousand taels of gold, he might have tried to secure it, but for a hundred taels, he decided to leave it alone for the time being. As for the Buddhist ritual implements, the items didn’t vary much: Liantai, an incense burner, a large drum, a golden oil lamp, a monk’s robe, and a crescent-shaped shovel. Huo Yuanzhen hadn’t paid much attention to the other items, but this crescent-shaped shovel actually had a name. “Mad Demon Staff!” According to legend, the Mad Demon Staff was the weapon of Lu Zhishen, the “Flower Monk,” from *Water Margin*. Not only was it incredibly heavy, but it also influenced its wielder, causing their attacks to become frenzied and wild, as if driven mad. In gaming terms, this boosts attack power; in fantasy lore, it’s known as “enraging.” Upon seeing this staff, Huo Yuanzhen immediately thought of Iron Ox. Iron Ox was the undercover agent Ning Wanjun had left behind at the Shaolin Temple—though that was Ning Wanjun’s intention. Iron Ox himself actually quite liked the Shaolin Temple. With his straightforward nature, he didn’t even realize he was there as a spy; he simply thought Ning Wanjun wanted him to become a monk, so he stayed there with a clear conscience. After all, the Shaolin Temple provided food and drink, and since he was a lay disciple, it didn’t matter if he occasionally snuck out to eat meat. If they could acquire this Mad Demon Staff for the Iron Ox to use—combined with his height of over two meters—he would be far more effective than even a先天 master in the midst of a chaotic melee involving thousands of soldiers. In fact, at the Dengfeng Tournament over the next few days, he alone would likely be unbeatable. With this thought constantly running through his mind, Huo Yuanzhen resisted the temptation and continued reading. If there was nothing particularly valuable, he would figure out how to extract the Mad Demon Staff himself. Under the “Construction Permits” category were permits for the Hall of the Heavenly Kings, the Drum Tower, the Ksitigarbha Hall, the Discipline Hall, Muren Alley, and the Scripture Hall. Among these, the Scripture Hall and Muren Alley were undoubtedly the best—especially the Scripture Hall. Huo Yuanzhen had always harbored a dream: to stand within the Scripture Hall, surrounded by rooms full of sutras and martial arts manuals, and feel a sense of boundless confidence. By then, Shaolin would truly have entered its golden age. Under the “Miscellaneous Items” category, there was a white eagle, a large bed, a wooden box, a chain, a set of armor, and the “Pin-Character Light Points” Grand Prize. Huo Yuanzhen didn’t look at the other items, but that white eagle deeply captivated him. This eagle was pure white all over, except for its golden eyes. Judging by the illustration, it was massive—not much smaller than the giant eagle from *The Return of the Condor Heroes*. “Golden-Eyed Eagle！” Legend has it that the Golden-Eyed Eagle is a divine creature—not only fierce but also spiritually attuned. It can see objects a hundred li away in the sky, outperforming even some modern radar systems. Most importantly, this eagle is a talisman against evil; no demons, monsters, or ghosts can hide from its golden eyes—it is the natural nemesis of all malevolent spirits. Ever since acquiring the White Horse, Huo Yuanzhen had longed for another spirit animal—preferably one that would come at his beck and call. This Golden-Eyed Eagle was undoubtedly the best choice; it would even serve as a powerful ally in battle. Looking at those sharp talons glinting with a cold light, it was uncertain whether even his “Iron Head” ability could withstand a single swipe from it. If forced to choose between this Golden-Eyed Eagle and the Mad Demon Staff, Huo Yuanzhen would still lean toward the latter. But he could consider all that later; Huo Yuanzhen still had one more thing to examine: martial arts. There were six martial arts techniques, and Huo Yuanzhen listed them one by one. “Left-Right Flower-Piercing Hands,” “Great Compassion and Mercy Palm”—hmm, not bad at all. These were all fairly advanced martial arts; if he could draw even one of them, then winning the Dengfeng Tournament would no longer be a problem. “Gecko Scaling the Wall” and “Breaking the Vows Sword Technique”—these aren’t bad either. It seems the quality of the martial arts this time is truly excellent. “Gecko Scaling the Wall” is an essential technique for thieves; in many cases, it’s even more practical than lightness skills. The “Breaking the Vows” Sword Technique is also an excellent style—extremely lethal, which is why it’s named “Breaking the Vows.” Even if a monk knows it, he wouldn’t use it lightly. Ah, this is… the Upper Volume of the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Art! Huo Yuanzhen was so excited his hands began to tremble. This was truly a treasure—divided into thirteen levels, mastering it would grant the divine power of ten dragons and ten elephants. If paired with a fierce palm technique, each strike would pack a thousand jin of force. “I’ll take this one, I’ll take this one,” Huo Yuanzhen kept muttering to himself. He had only glanced casually at the final martial art listed, but the moment he saw it, he was suddenly left speechless. It was an ancient-looking manual, printed on pale blue paper, bearing the large characters: “The First Volume of the Jiuyang True Classic”!