Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Time passed swiftly by. In the blink of an eye, half a month had passed. During that time, many huge events had occurred but none of those affected the Shaolin temple.
Su Qin’s life remained the same as it always was. Every day he would sign-in on time and drop in to listen to the Miscellaneous Court disciples gossip leisurely.
However, on that particular day, Su Qin’s peaceful life was interrupted. Nine monks from the Vajra temple arrived at the Shaolin temple. Hence, abbot Hui Wen and the temple court heads went to welcome them personally outside the Great Palace Hall as a show of respect. The disciples of the various temple courts similarly stood outside the Great Palace Hall.
‘The Vajra temple?’ thought Su Qin as he looked at the nine monks that came from the Vajra temple. The head among these nine monks was quite young. He looked about like he was about twenty years old and his expression was extremely solemn.
As for the other eight monks…
Su Qin’s eyes fell upon a monk dressed in a red robe and a judge’s headgear who stood behind the young monk. That monk had a powerful aura and was no weaker than abbot Hui Wen as befitting a second-rank master.
The other seven monks had varying auras but generally, all of them were martial artists of the Middle Realms.
‘What a grand show…’ thought Su Qin to himself. Even though he did not know the reason for the visit from the Vajra temple, he sensed the powers that stood before him and it seemed clear to him that their purpose was not benevolent.
It turned out that he was mistaken. Su Qin quickly discovered from the quiet discussions of the disciples beside him that the group of monks from the Vajra temple came for the Buddhist Debate with the Shaolin temple.
“Can you see the young monk standing in the frontmost position? He’s the enlightened one of this generation in the Vajra temple. His grasp of Buddhism is profound and I’ve heard Buddhist anomalies happened when he was born. That’s so amazing!”
“According to rumors, this enlightened one is the reincarnation of one of the past Luohans.”
“Oh? If he’s a reincarnation of a past Luohan, doesn’t that mean that our Shaolin temple has no hopes of winning in the Buddhist Debate against them?”
“Watch and see! Perhaps our abbot and the temple court heads might have a plan?”
*****
Many of the Shaolin temple disciples were quietly involved in a deep discussion. Even the disciples of the Miscellaneous Court were full of worry. As the disciples of the Shaolin temple, they shared in the glory and losses of the Shaolin temple. It was natural that none of them wanted to see the Shaolin temple lose to the Vajra temple.
“Namo Amitabha.” Abbot Hui Wen greeted them with his palms pressed together at chest level. “All of you have come from afar. Allow the Shaolin temple to properly host you. We’re preparing a meal right now…”
The enlightened ones of the Vajra temple Ba Tuo bowed slightly and said, “Abbot Hui Wen and eminent monks, thank you for your hospitality.”
After their meal, abbot Hui Wen began the Buddhist Debate. The Buddhist Debate was a tradition among the four Buddhist temple sects in the world. Only monks above the ages of twenty were allowed to participate.
Apart from being used to assess the ability of the younger generation of the four temple sects, it was also used to confirm which temple was the greatest among them.
“Abbot Hui Wen, Ba Tuo will represent the Vajra temple in this Buddhist Debate.” The second-rank monk in red robes and judge’s headgear stepped out to announce it.
As soon as he spoke, abbot Hui Wen and the other temple court heads frowned. That was because according to the rules of all the past Buddhist Debates, both sides would each send out nine disciples and successively undergo the Buddhist Debate until one side attained victory.
Yet, the Vajra temple only sent out Ba Tuo. It was clear that they thought Ba Tuo alone was enough to face off nine of the Shaolin temple’s disciples. They looked down on the Shaolin temple.
Even abbot Hui Wen with his great cultivation looked a little bothered by his words. As for the quick-tempered Martial Arts Court head, he immediately directed a glare at the nine monks of the Vajra temple.
The second-rank monk of the Vajra temple appeared unbothered by the anger of the Shaolin temple. The Buddhist Debate between the Shaolin temple and the Vajra temple was a battle of Buddhist philosophy. The only outcome for them was winning. It was not a big deal to anger the Shaolin temple.
The rest of the Shaolin disciples were all steaming with rage as well.
“The Vajra temple’s too arrogant. How can they only send out one disciple to participate in the Buddhist Debate?”
“That’s right. Our Shaolin temple’s one of the greatest martial arts sects in the world and also the top sect among the four Buddhist temple sects. How dare the Vajra temple only send out one disciple to compete against nine of our disciples in this Buddhist Debate?”
“Even if Ba Tuo’s an enlightened one, what’s so great about that? Has the Shaolin temple never produced an enlightened one? They’re deliberately provoking us!”
*****
All the Shaolin temple disciples stared at the group of people from the Vajra temple with unfriendly eyes. Even though the Buddhist sects were not supposed to value winning, yet when the Vajra temple was issued a bold challenge right in front of their faces. If the Shaolin temple did not respond in kind, they were not training in martial arts but training to rock.
The Buddhist sect was not without feelings or desires. After all, as angry as a hornet’s nest was a saying within the temple. Su Qin alone appeared as calm as usual, as though nothing just happened.
“Namo Amitabha.” Abbot Hui Wen paused before he continued to say, “If that’s so, then let us begin.”
Abbot Hui Wen just finished speaking when the enlightened one of the Vajra temple, Ba Tuo stepped forward and sat cross-legged in front of the Great Palace Hall.
“Zhen Yuan,” said abbot Hui Wen softly.
A monk dressed in monk robes walked out and sat across Ba Tuo in front of the Great Palace Hall.
“So it’s Brother Zhen Yuan.”
“Brother Zhen Yuan’s the disciple who’s most favored by the Precepts Court head. I heard that he’s well-versed in the Buddhist arts and frequently engages the court head in discussions.”
“That’s right, Brother Zhen Yuan’s going to act and humble the Vajra temple. He’ll let them know who’s the greatest among all the four temple sects!”
*****
As all the Shaolin temple disciples watched Zhen Yuan step forward, their faces brightened and they started to look excited. It was clear that the Shaolin disciple, Zhen Yuan, held a special position in all their minds.
‘Zhen Yuan?’ wondered Su Qin as he cast an eye on him. Since they were both disciples of the Zhen generation, he was vaguely familiar with Zhen Yuan.
“Brother Zhen Guan, who do you think will win between Brother Zhen Yuan and that enlightened one?” A Miscellaneous Court disciple directed his question to Su Qin in a soft voice.
Even though Su Qin was merely a temple sweeper, he had been a disciple of the Shaolin temple for the past ten years and had some authority through experience.
“There’s no need to ask, of course, Brother Zhen Yuan will win,” said another disciple before Su Qin had the chance to respond.
When Su Qin heard his words, he shook his head slightly. The Vajra temple brought nine candidates but they only sent Ba Tuo as their representative. There could only be two explanations for it. One was that the Vajra temple was extremely dumb; or two, the Vajra temple was extremely confident in winning with Ba Tuo, that they felt that there was no difference between sending one or nine people.
The Vajra temple was like the Shaolin temple, both were Buddhist temple sects famous in the world for their power and warriors. There was no possibility that the Vajra temple was dumb.
It meant that there was only one possibility. The Vajra temple had full confidence in Ba Tuo, the enlightened one. Their confidence in him was so strong that if the Shaolin temple could defeat Ba Tuo, they would have immediately accepted their defeat.
Just as Su Qin was deep in thought, Ba Tuo and Zhen Yuan began their Buddhist Debate.
“You’ve come from afar Brother Ba Tuo, hence you should start,” said Zhen Yuan solemnly in a steady voice.
The Precepts Court head nodded his head discreetly when he saw that. Zhen Yuan was the disciple that he was most proud of. His understanding of Buddhist teachings was outstanding and that was the reason abbot Hui Wen chose him as the first Shaolin temple candidate.
As the saying went, strike first and strike hard. That was because if the Shaolin temple lost the first round, the confidence of the next disciple would have suffered a blow.
Ba Tuo did not refuse. He put his palms together and began, “If I sense the presence of Buddha…”
Ba Tuo said extremely rapidly as his voice rang out like a bronze bell. I was like he set the question ‘Why is Buddha…’