Surprise! A Big Surprise!

Passing through the rice fields, Jiang Chuan and Jing Hui carried the White Jade Rice to the Chore Yard.

The Chore Yard was paved with bluestone, with gray-black tiles and reddish-brown courtyard walls, all mottled with traces of age, making the whole place look somewhat old and worn.

An elderly monk in bright yellow monastic robes, his face aged, stood before the chores room door. Seeing Jiang Chuan and Jing Hui enter the Chore Yard, he slowly spoke.

"Jing Hui, Jiang Chuan, if you had come back one incense stick later, I would have had to go take care of you tonight."

Thinking of the image of his hungry fellow disciples staring at him like starving wolves, Jiang Chuan felt a faint chill creep up his spine.

"We wouldn't dare trouble Elder Jing Zhen. Jing Hui and I will go pick the rice right now, then send it to the Kitchen."

"Right, we'll pick the rice now."

Jing Hui set down the White Jade Rice and ran into the room at flying speed, taking out two wooden basins.

White Jade Rice was different from ordinary paddy rice; it had no husk.

With a gentle tug of the palm, strings of White Jade Corn, like pearls, clattered and rustled into the wooden basins.

In just a short while, Jiang Chuan and Jing Hui finished picking the White Jade Corn.

The two had just lifted the wooden basins when Elder Jing Zhen's voice rang out again.

"After the evening meal, come to the Chore Yard. There will be a surprise."

Jiang Chuan looked helpless. "Elder Jing Zhen, is it chopping one thousand jin of firewood, or cleaning the Spirit Beast Courtyard?"

"Neither."

A trace of a smile appeared at the corners of Elder Jing Zhen's mouth. He raised his right arm and extended three fingers.

"It is chopping three thousand jin of firewood."

Jing Hui: "."

Jiang Chuan: "."

Could we not have this surprise?

Making us work overtime without paying us was one thing, but you actually super-doubled the workload!

Even capitalists would feel ashamed of themselves in front of you!

This was truly, if this could be endured, what could not!

I... I'll come after the evening meal.

Jiang Chuan got angry for a moment, then continued walking toward the Kitchen.

There was no helping it. Anyone who could serve as an elder at Bodhi Temple was at least a Fourth Realm Cultivator.

Right now, he was only at the Peak of First Realm. Even if another hundred of him came, they still could not beat Elder Jing Zhen.

When the day came that he could beat Elder Jing Zhen, it would not be as simple as chopping three thousand jin of firewood.

The Kitchen was very close to the Chore Yard. When Jiang Chuan and Jing Hui arrived at the Kitchen, they saw more than a dozen monks in bright yellow robes constantly adding water to over ten large pots.

After putting down the two basins of White Jade Corn, Jiang Chuan and Jing Hui passed through the back kitchen and sat down behind a long table in the front hall.

"Junior Brother, three thousand jin of firewood—how long will that take to chop?" Jing Hui lay sprawled on the table, looking as if life held no more joy.

Jiang Chuan held up one finger.

"One hour? Can we finish chopping it in that little time? If we find two more fellow disciples to help, it should still be possible." Jing Hui rolled his eyes, thinking about who he should drag into the water.

Jiang Chuan shook his head. "What I wanted to say was, if we keep chopping, we'll finish eventually."

Jing Hui: "."

As the two talked, the fragrance of rice drifted out from the back kitchen.

The rice fragrance was rich, and carried a faint trace of orchid scent and the fresh aroma of grass and trees, making one's index finger twitch.

Jiang Chuan helplessly rubbed his temples.

He had transmigrated for one month!

White Jade Corn porridge in the morning, White Jade Corn porridge at noon, White Jade Corn porridge at night.

Now, when Jiang Chuan saw White Jade Corn porridge, he already felt it was hard to swallow.

A moment later, Jiang Chuan saw wooden buckets filled with White Jade Corn porridge being carried out by the Kitchen monks, ladled into bowls, and placed on the tables one after another.

Looking at the White Jade Corn porridge set before him, Jiang Chuan gritted his teeth and drained it in one gulp.

Jing Hui, however, tasted it in small mouthfuls, and at the end even licked the bottom of the bowl as if he still wanted more.

"It's way more fragrant than the steamed buns my mother made. Too bad there's only one bowl each meal!"

Setting down the porridge bowl, Jing Hui looked at Jiang Chuan. "Junior Brother, let's go. I heard they're teaching a new fist technique today. If we're late, we'll only be able to stand at the back."

Jiang Chuan's eyes flickered slightly, and a trace of anticipation appeared on his face. He followed Jing Hui out, heading toward the Warrior Monk Institute.

The monks of Bodhi Temple labored in the morning and cultivated in the afternoon.

On the road to the Warrior Monk Institute, the way was full of monks hurrying to have the midday meal.

When they arrived inside the Warrior Monk Institute courtyard, quite a few monks had already come. Jiang Chuan and Jing Hui silently went to the front and stood in place.

Another half hour passed, and the Warrior Monk Institute was packed full by the monks arriving one after another.

Under everyone's gaze, an old monk holding sandalwood prayer beads, his frame gaunt like a thin bamboo pole, drifted down from midair.

"Strange! In the past, it was always the senior brothers of the Warrior Monk Institute who taught spells. Why has Elder Jingyun come in person today?" Jing Hui muttered softly, his face full of surprise.

Elder Jingyun lifted his eyes and swept his gaze over everyone present.

"The Abbot has decided that, starting this year, the Warrior Monk Institute's annual quota for accepting disciples will increase from one hundred to two hundred."

"At the same time, more resources will be allocated to cultivate disciples. You must train well and must not disappoint the Abbot's painstaking intentions."

Jing Hui and the others all showed looks of excitement.

The Warrior Monk Institute expanding its quota meant it would be easier for them to leave the Chore Yard and end their heavy labor!

How could that not make them excited?

Jiang Chuan also showed excitement, while secretly pondering.

"Just like the history in the simulation, the Buddhist Dao is preparing to cooperate with the Nine Abyss Dynasty, strengthen itself, and resist the Immortal Dao."

In the Qingyuan Realm, there was no such thing as the righteous path.

Aside from the Immortal Dao, everything else was crooked ways and demonic paths.

Many forces of the Buddhist Dao, including Bodhi Temple, were all heretical paths in the eyes of Immortal Dao Cultivators.

Because the Buddhist Dao had been classified as an outside path, it had clashed with the Immortal Dao more than a few times.

"Although Bodhi Temple has a great household and grand business, its resources are still limited. If I want to grow stronger as quickly as possible, break through to the Fourth Realm, and pass through Sandalwood Forest, then I have to fight for it! I have to display my own talent before I can receive Bodhi Temple's full cultivation!"

Jiang Chuan's emotions surged, and he made up his mind.

"Today, I will teach everyone Arhat Subduing Tiger Fist. This fist art can not only be used against enemies, but can also aid in body forging." Elder Jingyun's voice rang out again.

Jing Hui and the others immediately focused all their attention on Elder Jingyun.

Among these Jing Generation disciples like Jiang Chuan, even those who had been in the temple for the shortest time had been here for over a year, and the longest for nearly three years.

Many had already cultivated to Peak of First Realm, or even Second Realm Body Forging.

Arhat Subduing Tiger Fist was perfectly suited to the current Jing Hui and the others.

Threads of blue light poured out from Elder Jingyun's pores, gathering in front of his body and turning into a crystal-clear blue man.

"Mana Manifestation!"

A trace of envy appeared in Jiang Chuan's eyes.

The Fourth Realm!

This was a realm he had failed to reach even after thirty simulations.

Under Elder Jingyun's control, the man began practicing Arhat Subduing Tiger Fist.

"Roar!"

As the man practiced the fist art, the wind of his punches was like a tiger's roar. Beneath his crystalline skin, blood qi was continuously transported to every part of his body, tempering every inch of his flesh, skin, and bones.

Under Elder Jingyun's control, the blue man performed it three times in a row before stopping.

"Are there any parts you still do not understand?"

"Elder Jingyun, this disciple Jiang Chuan has a question."

As soon as Jiang Chuan finished speaking, he felt dense layers of gazes fall upon him.

"Speak."

"This disciple has already brought Arhat Subduing Tiger Fist to Perfect Mastery. If I wish to learn some new fist arts or spells, may I ask where I should go to study them?"