Punishment

After dinner with Uncle Li today, Wang Anfeng returned to his courtyard. He first meditated as usual, then practiced the Taisu Needle Technique once in the air with his silver needles. Only then did he sit on his bed, looking at the string of prayer beads on his wrist with apprehension.

It had been several days since the Willow Catkin Villa incident, and he hadn't been back to Shaolin Temple.

Firstly, he was overwhelmed by grief at the time, and secondly, he was genuinely worried that if he lost his internal force, his masters, Uncle Li and Aunt, who were skilled in medicine, might discover something was wrong after he received his punishment.

Now that he was back in familiar surroundings, he could finally calm down. Looking at the prayer beads on his wrist, he gritted his teeth and whispered, "I want to go back to Shaolin Temple."

A familiar crisp female voice sounded in his ear, and as the surrounding scenery gradually shattered, a breeze carrying the scent of mountain herbs blew away the dust from days of absence. Stars filled the sky, and on a solitary peak, two figures were playing chess. One, in a flowing monk's robe, had a peaceful expression. The other, dressed in a scholar's blue robe, picked up a black piece, glanced at Wang Anfeng, and chuckled, "Yuan Ci, your good disciple is finally willing to come."

His voice was unrestrained, making Wang Anfeng's face flush. He hurried forward a few steps and bowed, saying, "Greetings, Master, and this senior."

Yuan Ci smiled and nodded, placing a piece. "This is my good friend. You can call him Mr. Ying."

Wang Anfeng cupped his fists and bowed again, "Junior greets Mr. Ying."

The middle-aged scholar nodded slightly, his eyes half-closed as if contemplating the chess game, and said, "Wang Anfeng, is it? Come here."

Wang Anfeng glanced at Yuan Ci, who nodded encouragingly. He walked up to the middle-aged scholar. Before he could speak, the latter pointed a finger directly at his dantian. Having experienced several battles, Wang Anfeng reacted almost instinctively. He stepped into the Nine Palaces Step, his body flickering to evade the finger. Just as he breathed a sigh of relief, he felt a chill in his abdomen. The finger had landed precisely on his dantian, yet he remained in his previous stance.

He was horrified, but the next moment, a cold sensation enveloped his dantian. The One Zen Skill internal force, which had been gathered in his dantian, was forcibly repelled by this yin energy and spread throughout his limbs and bones.

Wang Anfeng was already accustomed to the presence of internal force. Now, his dantian was empty, and his face turned somewhat pale. Mr. Ying's unhurried voice reached his ears:

"You failed to complete the task I gave you previously, so it is only natural that you accept the punishment from the sect. Are you convinced?"

Wang Anfeng endured the discomfort in his body, cupped his fists, and said solemnly, "Since I disobeyed my master's orders, I naturally deserve the punishment."

"Good."

The middle-aged scholar placed a piece, capturing several of Yuan Ci's stones. He then looked up at Wang Anfeng. His features were clear, but together they gave his face a terrifying sharpness. A cold smile seemed to play on his lips:

"You take responsibility for your actions, which is good. But your tone is so righteous, as if you have a point for disregarding your master's orders? Shaolin forbids killing, yet you killed that youth without batting an eye. Truly ruthless."

Wang Anfeng was silent for a moment, then replied, "He tried to harm me, so I killed him. Repay kindness with kindness, and resentment with justice."

Yuan Ci's expression faltered slightly, but the middle-aged scholar clapped his hands and laughed heartily, "Excellent, excellent, excellent! How fair indeed."

"Then go down the mountain and fetch water!"

"From now on, your daily cultivation time is suspended. You will not be allowed to return to your Great Liang Village until you complete this punishment. Go!"

Wang Anfeng looked at the middle-aged scholar, gritted his teeth, bowed, and gently placed the item in his arms beside Yuan Ci. "Master, your disciple departs."

Yuan Ci's face showed a hint of reluctance. He nodded slightly. Wang Anfeng took a deep breath and turned to find a water bucket. But a cold voice seemed to echo in his ear, and his body suddenly felt heavy. When he looked up again, he was bound by extremely thick iron chains. Buddhist incantations faintly glowed on them, clashing with the internal force that had been dispersed throughout his body, making Wang Anfeng feel both swollen and compressed.

"Since it is a punishment, it must look like one."

"Take this and fetch water!"

As the voice fell, a heavy iron carrying pole appeared from nowhere, with two massive, heavy iron buckets. Their internal space was extremely small. Wang Anfeng lifted it, estimating it to be about two hundred pounds. Mr. Ying's coldness instead ignited his stubbornness. Without another word, he grabbed the carrying pole and turned towards the steps, the chains clanging crisply.

"Your mind is unsettled."

Mr. Ying placed a piece and looked up at the monk, chuckling, "You hoped he could have a broader future. He himself said he wanted to become the number one under heaven."

"Since he wants to be the number one under heaven, he must act like it. Only through the solitude of the number one, the tempering of the number one, the loneliness of the number one, can he be worthy of the ambition of the number one."

"In this world, there is no 'number one under heaven' that can be achieved casually."

Yuan Ci sighed softly, "I know."

But he still felt a pang of reluctance.

He reached out and picked up the item Wang Anfeng had placed beside him. He unwrapped the oil paper, and the scent of tea wafted out, softening Yuan Ci's expression. He sighed, "But I wonder if it's too soon."

Mr. Ying placed another piece, listening to the faint clinking of the chains, and said nonchalantly, "Don't worry, I've gauged the weight. The burden I've given him is only one level higher than the theoretical limit of his physical fitness and cultivation."

"What?!"

Yuan Ci's pupils contracted sharply. Seated at the peak of the mountain, a fierce Vajra image seemed to materialize behind him, its vast, powerful aura spreading out like a net. It vanished in an instant. The middle-aged scholar's hand movements did not change in the slightest as he said coldly, "He only convinced you. If he wants my help, he must show me if he has the qualifications."

"Only those who are accustomed to the extreme can break through the limits again when death looms, when everyone believes they are doomed, shattering the desperate situation and stepping over the corpses of their enemies to reach the pinnacle, rather than becoming a cold corpse trampled underfoot!"

"If he can complete the punishment I've given him, bound by chains, facing internal and external adversity, his One Zen Skill internal force will be crushed and integrated into his bones, transforming into a state of pure, untainted jade, laying the foundation for the Golden Bell Shield. At that time, I will wholeheartedly help him achieve the status of the number one under heaven."

With that, he placed a piece, crushing Yuan Ci's large dragon formation. He rose, flicked his sleeves, and left.

"Your mind is elsewhere today. We'll play again another time."

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