Three Questions

Si Ming arrived just in time and activated the ultimate move of the True Yang Vermilion Blaze Saber, unleashing a five-meter-long fiery blade of energy that streaked through the air and struck the needle-like wasp squarely, burning away nearly 60% of the fine needles that made up its body. The remaining Blazing Sun True Qi also exerted its restraining effect, killing the Monster Race whose true form was nowhere to be found.

"The Blazing Glaze, the wise king severs karma!"

The handsome monk followed closely behind, summoning a wrathful deity with Three Heads and Six Arms, each Law Artifact. Two beams of purifying black fire shot from its eyes, striking the dark shadow wolf directly. Soon, the wolf's body burst into flames and was eventually reduced to ashes.

Suddenly, Si Ming struck the handsome monk with a palm strike from above.

"Sigh, even this can't earn me trust. I'm such a failure as a person."

The handsome monk raised his hand to catch it, but was immediately pressed down by a gentle force and fell to the ground before Si Ming. According to the rules of the competition, he lost.

"Better to be a petty person first, then a gentleman, just in case. Even if you have no intention of doing anything wrong, you can't stop others from being insidious and showing their shamelessness whenever they have the chance. So never give them that opportunity; it's good for both of you."

"I was clearly the one who suffered a loss, so why do I find your words so reasonable?" The handsome monk sighed. "Everyone says I'm all talk and no action, spreading heresy and misleading the masses. I really want them to meet the leader and know what it truly means to be unorthodox and unconventional."

I'll take that as a compliment.

Si Ming activated his Blazing Sun True Qi to sense the presence of the Monster Race. He discovered that their auras were rapidly receding, and guessed that the one who had just been killed was their leader. Therefore, he was also frightened, fearing that if he stayed, he would be dealt with. As a result, the Aristocratic Clan quickly calmed down.

The handsome monk saw Master Wuguo fall to the ground, went over and helped him heal his injuries and stabilize his internal energy.

Before long, Master Wuguo's complexion improved considerably. He stood up, bowed to the handsome monk, and said, "Thank you for your help, Uncle-Master."

Upon hearing this, Si Ming couldn't help but glance at him again. He hadn't expected this guy to be of such a high seniority. Master Wuguo was already in his fifties or sixties, yet he still had to call him "Uncle-Master."

"You've actually turned misfortune into blessing. Your Cultivation Body, which you couldn't improve before, has now been broken down and rebuilt, and you have room to continue to improve. I told you before, if you want to become a great Buddha, you must first be a beast of burden for all sentient beings. Your compassion is a condescending compassion. No matter how humble you appear, in your heart you still see others as suffering beings in the sea of suffering who need to be saved, and yourself as a bodhisattva to save them. Therefore, you will never see your own Buddhahood."

"Forgive me, forgive me. It was my foolishness that led me astray by my own limited understanding, and I failed to recognize my uncle's good intentions."

"Forget it, it's my own fault for having a bad reputation. I'll leave you with one last verse: 'Everywhere you find your way home, every path leads to your hometown. Things are already done, why bother thinking about them?'"

After repeating the instructions several times Wuguo, he said gratefully, "Thank you, Martial Uncle, for showing me the way."

"Others' paths are ultimately theirs. If you want to attain enlightenment, you must find your own path; otherwise, Arhat will be your only end."

"If one can purify the six senses and sever ignorance and afflictions, this disciple will be content and dare not ask for more."

Arhat are those whose body, mind, and six senses are pure, whose ignorance and afflictions have been eradicated, and who are enlightened. In Buddhism, they are below Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, and represent the third Fruit Position.

The handsome monk sighed, "You're hopeless. You don't even have the courage to surpass your ancestors. What future can I expect from you? Get lost, you're an eyesore."

Master Wuguo was not angry. He respectfully bid farewell and then left leisurely.

Si Ming, "Wow, I didn't realize you had such a temper. May I ask your name?"

The handsome monk revealed a charming smile and said, "This humble monk Xilai, and is known in the martial arts world as 'Calamity Tathāgata'."

Chapter 363 Three Questions

Wuguo didn't forget his responsibility as referee. Before leaving, he told Gu Changsheng, the representative of the Aristocratic Clan families, about the result of the duel and finally announced the winner of the bet.

The Aristocratic Clan families didn't get entangled in the Heavenly Martial Alliance. They had suffered too many blows to their morale. Their first expert had been defeated, they had been Anomalies attacked, and they had even received help from their opponents. They simply couldn't hold their heads up in front of the Heavenly Martial Alliance.

As the head of the family, Gu Changsheng naturally didn't care about saving face. If he could save the Lineage's fate, even if the other party saved his life a second ago, he would not hesitate to stab the other party to death the next second. However, when he saw "Calamity Tathāgata" chatting and laughing with Si Ming, he knew that his side had completely lost.

In terms of overall strength, the Heavenly Martial Alliance far surpasses the Aristocratic Family Alliance. The Aristocratic Clan do not have enough bargaining chips to negotiate with the Heavenly Martial Alliance. The threat of mutual destruction is nothing to Si Ming. His Ming Cult has only a few big shots and a few small ones. The rest are all people from other sects or Rogue Person. He doesn't care how many die. He can laugh off the idea of hurting the enemy a thousand while losing eight hundred of his own.

In fact, Si Ming had no intention of negotiating with the Aristocratic Clan at first. He would have simply crushed them with his strength and not wasted his breath. The reason he agreed to the duel was because of the Glazed Temple.

Although the Heavenly Martial Alliance has the momentum to dominate the world, it is still a newborn infant. In terms of strength and prestige, it is inferior to Glazed Temple. If it does not give face to Glazed Temple and insists on starting a war, it will cast a shadow over the future development. For example, if Glazed Temple says that the Heavenly Martial Alliance is an evil organization that indiscriminately kills innocent people, those who have never been in contact with the Heavenly Martial Alliance will subconsciously keep their distance.

It's nothing more than a difference in the power of discourse.

If it were just for personal freedom, Si Ming could naturally disregard everything and use his cultivation to slaughter powerful Aristocratic Clan. However, if he wanted to develop the Heavenly Martial Alliance. At least until he had the power to overturn the gambling table, he had to sit obediently in his chair and play the game according to the rules.

On the other hand, if it weren't for the development of the Heavenly Martial Alliance, he wouldn't have had any conflicts with the Aristocratic Clan before, and there would have been no reason for him to take action.

Although not explicitly stated, in this gamble, Glazed Temple did indeed become the backer of the Aristocratic Clan. Therefore, when Calamity Tathāgata expressed goodwill to the Heavenly Martial Alliance, the Aristocratic Clan completely lost their right to negotiate with the Heavenly Martial Alliance, and their stubborn resistance would only bring them humiliation.

Gu Changsheng quickly sorted out these relationships in his mind, and then acted decisively. In front of all the martial arts heroes present, he publicly admitted that the aristocratic Aristocratic Clan had conceded defeat and was willing to abide by the bet with the Heavenly Martial Alliance. He would never pay lip service to it. He also invited several famous figures in the martial arts world to witness the event, and forcibly suppressed the dissatisfaction of his clansmen. He selected a few people who had offended the Heavenly Martial Alliance and punished them in public to show his determination.

Finally, the members of the Aristocratic Clan, their figures forlorn, departed in the afterglow of the setting sun, leaving behind an atmosphere of pitiful tragedy.

"Able to bend and stretch, this Benefactor Gu can indeed be considered a hero of his time," Calamity Tathāgata laughed.

Si Ming, "With his statement, the Heavenly Martial Alliance can no longer take action against the aristocratic Aristocratic Clan. In fact, they have to treat them with more preferential treatment and show the demeanor of a victor. Otherwise, they will be accused of 'exterminating' them."

"So, how does the alliance leader plan to respond?"

"To deal with them? That's taking them too lightly. How can a sparrow know the ambition of a swan? This situation may be a matter of life and death for the aristocratic Aristocratic Clan, who will go to great lengths to win two victories, but for the Heavenly Martial Alliance, it's just a pastime. Now that it's over, there's no need to take them to heart anymore."

"This is probably why the alliance leader insisted on postponing the duel for half a month after agreeing to it. On the surface, it was to give the Aristocratic Clan enough time to prepare, but in reality, it was to use this time to accelerate the expansion of their territory. Among them, the Zhang, Chen, and Gu families, three of the Six Great Aristocratic Families, have already been surrounded by the Heavenly Martial Alliance. Regardless of the outcome of this duel, they are powerless to turn back."

Si Ming glanced at him and said, "Has anyone suggested that you shouldn't be so blunt?"

"People often say that to me, but unfortunately, I'm a straightforward person by nature. I say what I think and don't know how to be tactful. It's an innate flaw that I can't change."

"Believe me, the only reason you can't change is because those people can't beat you. Just keep being sarcastic and witty in front of those stronger people, and they'll help you correct this bad habit."

"Then let's forget about it. In the future, if I encounter opponents I'm not confident of winning against and who also have bad tempers, I'll just have to steer clear." Calamity Tathāgata turned and asked, "Alliance Leader, may we discuss this further in private?"

Si Ming glanced at that delicate face, snorted twice, and thought to himself, "A character like you is just something the author forces into a novel to please a certain group of readers and sell bromance. Laozi don't want to get involved with you."

"Please allow me to refuse. My subordinate just told me that the reason you have the title 'Calamity Tathāgata' is because wherever you go, disaster will occur. Today's Anomalies occurrence clearly proves this point, so I think it's safer to have less contact with you."

"Alas, how can the Alliance Leader so easily believe such foolish words? Have you not heard that the Heavenly Dao is constant, existing neither for Yao nor perishing for Jie? Responding to it with order brings good fortune; responding with it with chaos brings misfortune. This humble monk has not brought disaster, but rather foretold it."

Si Ming turned around, as if to leave. "That's not enough. Convince me with just one sentence."