If you insist that the abbot of Shaolin should be the one with the highest martial arts skills, then there is a way. Your Vajra Palm technique is already highly mastered. As long as you improve your skill level further, you will naturally not lose to Xuancheng.
"Master, how can I improve? Have you reached that level yet?" Xuan Ci asked with a wry smile. On average, only one person in a hundred years can master the Vajra Palm. Beyond that, one becomes extraordinary, and there might not be one in five hundred years.
“I don’t have it, but I’m not far off. However, I do have a way to help you take it a step further.” Lingmen said, taking out several yellowed sheets of paper from under his bed. “This is a handwritten manual that I obtained by chance several years ago. Although it’s not a Shaolin martial art, it’s quite compatible with it and can enhance internal strength. I’m giving this to you. Whether you practice it or not is up to you, but don’t mention returning to secular life again. Just be abbot in peace.”
Xuan Ci's breathing became increasingly rapid, and his face grew increasingly grim. Heavens! Why are you doing this to me!
If I could improve my martial arts skills and become the abbot of Shaolin Temple, why would I want to return to secular life?
But I've already broken the rules. If I go back on my word now, where will I put her? Wouldn't I be doing something even more heinous?
But Miss Ye said she would repay him with her body, without asking for anything in return or any title. She should be able to understand me, right?
Moreover, he has been happy to help others and has a compassionate heart over the years. He often goes down the mountain to help the villagers nearby, and the Shaolin monks have long been used to it.
As long as Miss Ye doesn't tell anyone, no one will know what they did, no one!
“Disciple obeys…” Xuan Ci decided to find a way to make amends to Miss Ye and drop the matter of returning to secular life.
A few days later, the news that Xuan Ci had succeeded as the abbot of Shaolin Temple spread throughout most of the martial arts world.
The villages near Shaoshi Mountain naturally learned of this and brought gifts to Shaolin Temple to offer their congratulations, but the Ye family did not go.
That night, Xuan Ci secretly came to the Ye family and told them everything. Returning to secular life was impossible, and running away was also impossible. He could only try his best to make amends.
Miss Ye gladly accepted Xuan Ci's compensation, expressing her happiness that Xuan Ci had become the abbot, but she did not want to sever ties with him.
Xuan Ci initially intended to have her leave to prevent their relationship from being discovered, but in reality, he had already developed feelings for her and was somewhat reluctant to part with her.
So Xuanci agreed and taught her the mysterious martial arts that the Lingmen had passed down to him, so that she would have some ability to protect herself.
Three months later, Xuan Ci arranged for her to live in Ziyun Cave because she was pregnant. It would be inexplicable for her to stay in the village, and some people might even wonder whose child it was.
But none of this escaped Xiao Yuanshan's keen eyes. A special revenge plan quietly took shape, destined to be the beginning of another tragedy, or perhaps many more tragedies.
Finally, the child was born, and Ye Erya became Ye Erniang. Xuan Ci left a letter and quietly left Ziyun Cave.
The letter contained a melodramatic story: the abbot of Lingmen had passed away, and Xuanci had officially taken over all affairs of Shaolin. He could no longer go down the mountain to do good deeds, and even if he did, it would be inconvenient for him to visit his mother and son.
Moreover, the children can't live in the cave forever; they need a stable home.
Finally, Xuanci advised Ye Erniang to find an ordinary person to live a good life with, and that if they met again, they would be strangers.
Ye Erniang knew in her heart that if you walk by the river often, you're bound to get your shoes wet. There were many masters in Shaolin, and Xuanci would have to take a great risk every time she tried to sneak out of Shaolin. Once their relationship was exposed, not only would Xuanci face condemnation from everyone, but it would also be bad for her and her child.
However, Ye Erniang was furious that Xuanci made her remarry and planned to raise the child herself. She burned nine incense scars on the child's back and thighs, a total of 27.
A year later, Xuan Ci still did not come to see her and her son. Ye Erniang was disheartened and prepared to leave Ziyun Cave, but suddenly she saw the figure of a man.
"Xuan...you are not him, what do you want to do?" Ye Erniang was so frightened that her face turned pale.
"Stand still. This child is mine. If you dare tell that bald monk about this, I'll tell everyone all the good deeds you've done over the years." Xiao Yuanshan said, then walked towards the child.
Upon hearing this, Ye Erniang turned pale, but now that she knew a little martial arts, she couldn't bear to watch the thief snatch her child away. She gritted her teeth and struck him with her palm.
"Get out of my way!" Xiao Yuanshan slapped Ye Erniang across the face, leaving several bloody gashes, and Ye Erniang instantly fainted.
Xiao Yuanshan walked over, picked up the child, and murmured, "Feng'er was this size when he lost his parents..."
Several days later, the sound of a baby crying came from the vegetable garden of Shaolin Temple.
The monk Huilun, who was in charge of planting vegetables, sighed, knowing that this must be another family that couldn't afford to raise their child and had sent them to Shaolin.
In fact, many young monks at Shaolin Temple come from this background.
So Huilun took the child back to Shaolin Temple, reported to the abbot, and accepted him as a disciple, giving him the Dharma name Xuzhu.
Chapter 437 Stud
Xuan Ci felt an immediate connection with Xu Zhu upon first sight, but this feeling was quickly overwhelmed by a strong sense of self-reproach, causing Xuan Ci to miss the opportunity to get close to her biological son.
Xuan Ci had seen Xu Zhu when he was born, but newborns grow very quickly and their appearance changes a lot. When he was born, he looked like a little monkey, so in Xuan Ci's memory, his son still looked like that monkey.
Of course, if Xu Zhu grew up, Xuan Ci might be able to tell that he looked like him. Or perhaps Ye Erniang would come to Shaolin Temple to find him and tell him that Xu Zhu had been kidnapped and that the mark on his body was the twenty-seven incense scars, and Xuan Ci would immediately think of Xu Zhu.
But since Xiao Yuanshan had decided to place Xuzhu in Shaolin, how could he give them such an opportunity? Ye Erniang ultimately did not dare to tell Xuanci about this matter.
From then on, Ye Erniang diligently practiced martial arts while searching for her son. Gradually, her mentality changed, and she began to snatch other people's children, eventually becoming one of the Four Evils.
Of course, that's a story for later. Ye Erniang's martial arts skills are still far from sufficient; she would need to train diligently for at least ten years before she could master them.
The four villains in Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils include the notorious Duan Yanqing, the wicked Ye Erniang, the vicious Yue Laosan, and the extremely cruel Yun Zhonghe, but only the fourth villain was truly evil from the beginning.
The three villains all had tragic experiences: Ye Erniang lost her child, Yue Laosan was incredibly clever, and Duan Yanqing was originally the prince of Dali.
On this day, Duan Yanqing, who was still on the run in the East China Sea, suddenly heard three pieces of news that made him both happy and sad.
First, the rebellion in Dali ended three years ago. Yang Yizhen, who had caused the destruction of his family and forced him to flee to the East China Sea, was killed by Gao Shengtai, who then installed Duan Shouhui as emperor.
Second, two years ago, Duan Zhengming succeeded to the throne as Emperor of Dali.
Third, Duan Zhengchun, the Prince of Zhennan in Dali, got married to Dao Baifeng, the daughter of the chieftain of the Baiyi ethnic group in Yunnan.
He was happy that his enemy, who had killed his father and seized the country, was dead, but saddened that the throne of Dali should have been inherited by him, the crown prince.
But now, Dali has nothing to do with him, the crown prince. Duan Zhengming is the same age as him. Even if Duan Zhengming is willing to return the country to him after he abdicates in the future, he will be old by then.
However, Duan Yanqing did not give up. He wanted to find the elders of Tianlong Temple to help him and make Duan Zhengming return the throne to him right now!
However, the ambitious Duan Yanqing encountered the darkest period of his life.
When he reached the border between the two lakes, he was ambushed by ruthless bandits. Not only were all his valuables stolen, but his legs were also broken and his face was disfigured. The former crown prince of Dali Kingdom became worse than a beggar overnight.
However, Duan Yanqing did not give up. With his crippled legs, he relied on begging and the help of kind people to finally reach Tianlong Temple in Dali after many hardships.
But when he revealed his identity as the crown prince, he couldn't even get through the gates of Tianlong Temple; he was dismissed with just two cold steamed buns.
Duan Yanqing was heartbroken and climbed to the Bodhi tree outside Tianlong Temple, intending to hang himself and end his life, but he didn't even have a rope to hang himself with.
Perhaps it was a case of things turning around at their extremes, because Duan Yanqing's luck changed that very night. He saw a white-clad female bodhisattva with flowing hair and swore that he had never seen such a beautiful woman in his life. He vowed that if he were to inherit the throne, he would definitely find such a woman to be his empress.
However, Duan Yanqing soon mocked himself, saying that he was not even as good as a beggar and what was he dreaming of?
However, the next moment, as if the female bodhisattva had heard his thoughts, she walked to his side, undressed, and actually had relations with him under the Bodhi tree.
Even after everything had settled down, Duan Yanqing still thought he was dreaming, believing that Guanyin Bodhisattva had appeared to him and granted him a good dream.
After this incident, Duan Yanqing felt that he was still the chosen one, so he bravely survived.
He spent five years learning to use an iron staff as a substitute for his feet, and another five years refining the One-Finger Divine Skill onto the iron staff. He slaughtered all his enemies in the two lakes, leaving mountains of corpses and seas of blood, and earned the title of the greatest villain in the world.
What he didn't know was that the woman in white with long hair, who was as pure and holy as Guanyin, and who spent the night with him, this disheveled beggar, under the Bodhi tree outside Tianlong Temple, was actually Dao Baifeng, the princess of the King of Zhennan in Dali!
It turns out that after Dao Baifeng married Duan Zhengchun, she discovered that Duan Zhengchun was a complete womanizer. He had countless affairs with women, and several of them were his long-term mistresses!
If it were before marriage, it would be fine, but after marriage, Duan Zhengchun remained a womanizer and continued to seduce other women, causing Dao Baifeng to have a big fight with Duan Zhengchun and run away from home.
Then Duan Yanqing benefited, while Duan Zhengchun was in trouble.
A year later, Dao Baifeng gave birth to Duan Yu and became a Daoist nun who practiced Buddhism.
Duan Zhengchun, however, continued to do as he pleased. But due to pressure from all sides, he dared not continue his promiscuous behavior in Dali. Instead, he went to the Central Plains and began his journey of hunting for women.
The first exceptional woman he managed to seduce was Qin Hongmian, who was also the mother of Mu Wanqing, one of Duan Yu's wives.
The second one is Gan Baobao, who later married Zhong Wanchou, and her daughter Zhong Ling was also taken in by Duan Yu.
In the same year, Duan Zhengchun also slept with Ruan Xingzhu and Li Qingluo. Ruan Xingzhu was the mother of Azhu and Azi, and Li Qingluo was the mother of Wang Yuyan.
But that wasn't the end of it. The following year, Duan Zhengchun also dealt with Kang Min, who later became the wife of Ma Dayuan, the deputy leader of the Beggars' Sect.
Actually, girls in that era weren't so easy to fool. In the end, it was because Duan Zhengchun was good-looking, the Prince of Zhennan in Dali, and skilled in martial arts, so his skills in bed were naturally excellent.
Aside from his womanizing ways, Duan Zhengchun was the perfect man in women's eyes.
However, Duan Zhengchun underestimated the possessiveness of women in the Central Plains, especially Li Qingluo. Duan Zhengchun was unaware of Li Qingluo's background and offended someone he shouldn't have. This woman openly attacked Dali. If it weren't for Dao Baifeng's skill, Duan Yu would have become an orphan.
In addition, Kang Min was a ruthless woman. After learning Duan Zhengchun's true character, she actually strangled her and Duan Zhengchun's child.
She then married Ma Dayuan, and later tried to seduce Xiao Feng. She conspired with Bai Shijing to kill Ma Dayuan, and also had affairs with Bai Shijing, Quan Guanqing, and even Xu Chongxiao, an elder from her grandfather's generation.
In short, after all this time, Duan Zhengchun had fallen in love with several women at the same time, except for Kang Min, whom he only dated casually.
But my favorite character is still Ruan Xingzhu, because I watched it a second time. The first time it featured A Zhu, and this time it features A Zi.
At this point, all the important female characters in Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils have been introduced.
Xiao Feng was about ten years older than Xu Zhu and Duan Yu, but his woman A Zhu was the youngest of the three.
Wang Yuyan is half a year older than A'Zhu, while Xu Zhu's wife Meng Gu is a little older than Wang Yuyan.
To be honest, it's a bit unbelievable that Meng Gu is older than Wang Yuyan.
Because Meng Gu is Li Qiushui's granddaughter, and Li Qiushui married into Xixia when Li Qingluo was eight years old.
However, the Western Xia emperors were truly remarkable when it came to having children. Li Liangzuo became a father at the age of fourteen, while Li Bingchang surpassed his father by becoming a father at the age of twelve!
Chapter 438 The Main Show
In the forty-fifth year since Xiang Yu and Hao Jiu traveled through time, A Zi was born, and Kumārajīva became a powerful figure in the western frontier, embarking on a journey to the Central Plains.
The last time Kumārajīva came to the Central Plains, he was treated as a slave, but this time, he is already one of the top martial arts masters in Tibet.
However, even the Nyingma master, the top master of Tibet, did not gain any advantage when he came to challenge the martial arts world of the Central Plains. Naturally, Kumārajīva would not be foolish enough to openly challenge him. Instead, he chose to secretly sneak into Shaolin Temple.
It wasn't easy to get in from the front, so going through the back mountain of Shaolin Temple was the best option. However, what Kumārajīva thought was an empty back mountain turned out to be two masters sparring.
These two people are naturally Xiao Yuanshan and Murong Bo. Over the years, Murong Bo has tried to recruit Xiao Yuanshan more than once, but Xiao Yuanshan has always maintained a 'classmate' relationship with him.
Of course, while Murong Bo recruited Xiao Yuanshan, he did not reveal his true identity, and Xiao Yuanshan was even less likely to do so.
Slap! Slap!
After exchanging two blows, Xiao Yuanshan turned and left, not wanting to say a single word to Murong Bo.
Murong Bo gave a wry smile, then turned his gaze to the woods. "You've been spying for so long, shouldn't you reveal your name?"
"This humble monk, Kumārajīva, greatly admires your Shaolin martial arts. I wonder if you would be so kind as to teach me?" Kumārajīva clasped his hands together and bowed respectfully.
"Oh? Why would I teach you Shaolin's secret techniques?" Murong Bo laughed, finding the other man's large ears quite amusing.