Punishment

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Today, Wang Anfeng ate another meal with Uncle Li before returning to his own courtyard. As usual, he first sat in meditation to cultivate, then took out that set of silver needles and practiced the Taisu Needle Technique once in midair. Only after that did he sit on the bed, nervously eyeing the string of prayer beads around his wrist.

It had been several days since the incident at Willow Catkin Villa, and he had not entered Shaolin Temple.

The first reason was that he had been trapped in grief at the time, unable to control himself. The second was that he was genuinely worried that, without Internal force, Uncle Li and Aunt might notice something amiss after he endured his master's punishment.

Only after returning to his familiar surroundings was he able to calm down. Looking at the prayer beads on his wrist, he gritted his teeth and said in a low voice:

"I want to return to Shaolin Temple."

That familiar, crisp female voice rang beside his ear. As the surrounding scene gradually shattered, a breeze carrying the fresh fragrance of mountain grass and trees scattered the dust that had accumulated in the uninhabited surroundings over the past few days. Stars hung across the heavens. Yet atop the solitary peak, two people were playing chess. One wore flowing monk's robes and had a tranquil bearing. The other wore a scholar's blue-green robe, held a black stone between his fingers, and cast Wang Anfeng a sidelong glance before sneering:

"Yuan Ci, your good disciple is finally willing to come."

His voice held nothing back, making Wang Anfeng's face grow hot. He hurried forward and bowed.

"Greetings, Master, and greetings to this senior."

Yuan Ci smiled lightly and nodded. After placing down a stone, he said, "This is my good friend. You may call him Mr. Ying."

Wang Anfeng clasped his hands and bowed again.

"This junior pays his respects to Mr. Ying."

The middle-aged scholar gave a slight nod, his eyes half-closed as if contemplating the chessboard. At the same time, he said, "Wang Anfeng, is it? Come here."

Wang Anfeng glanced at Yuan Ci. When the latter gave him an encouraging nod, he walked over to the middle-aged scholar. Before he could speak, however, the man's finger shot straight toward his Dantian. Wang Anfeng had already experienced several battles, and he reacted almost instinctively. His feet executed the Nine Palaces Step, his figure swaying as he dodged the finger. Only after that did he relax. Suddenly, he felt a chill in his abdomen. The finger had lightly touched his Dantian without the slightest deviation, while he himself still remained frozen in the position he had just assumed.

His heart filled with terror. The next moment, a chill directly enveloped his Dantian. The One Zen Skill Internal force that had originally gathered there was forcibly driven out by this sinister Internal force, filling all four limbs and the hundreds of bones in his body.

Wang Anfeng was already familiar with the presence of Internal force. Now that his Dantian was completely empty, his face turned pale. Then Mr. Ying's unhurried voice reached his ears:

"You failed to complete the task I gave you earlier. Accepting punishment from your sect is only right and proper. Do you submit?"

Enduring the discomfort in his body, Wang Anfeng clasped his hands and said in a deep voice:

"Since I disobeyed my master's orders, I naturally deserve the punishment."

"Good."

The middle-aged scholar placed down another stone, capturing several of Yuan Ci's pieces. Only then did he raise his eyes and look directly at Wang Anfeng. His features were plain and pale, yet together they filled his face with a sharp, fearsome edge. There seemed to be a cold smile at the corner of his mouth.

"You dare to act and dare to take responsibility. Not bad. But your tone is awfully self-righteous. Do you actually think that disregarding your master's orders was justified? Shaolin forbids killing, yet you did not even blink when you killed that youth. Truly ruthless."

Wang Anfeng was silent for a moment before saying:

"He wanted to harm me, so I killed him. I repay kindness with kindness and answer hatred with justice."

Yuan Ci's expression stiffened slightly, but the middle-aged scholar threw back his head and laughed, clapping his hands.

"Good, good, good. What a fine sense of fairness."

"Then go down the mountain and fetch water!"

"From this moment onward, your daily cultivation time is unlocked. Until you complete this punishment, don't even think of returning to Great Liang Village. Go!"

Wang Anfeng looked at the middle-aged scholar, gritted his teeth, and bowed. He gently placed the things in his arms beside Yuan Ci.

"Master, this disciple is going."

Yuan Ci's face showed a trace of reluctance, but he nodded lightly. Wang Anfeng took a deep breath and turned around, intending to find a bucket. Yet a cold voice seemed to reach his ears. His body suddenly sank, and when he raised his eyes again, he found himself bound by thick iron chains. Buddhist maxims faintly covered them. They clashed with the Internal force dispersed throughout his body, making Wang Anfeng feel two opposing forces at once: swelling and pressure.

"Since it is punishment, it should look like punishment."

"Take this and fetch water!"

As his voice fell, an iron carrying pole appeared on the level ground nearby, along with two enormous, heavy iron buckets. Yet the space inside them was pitifully small. Wang Anfeng lifted one by hand. It weighed roughly one or two hundred jin. Mr. Ying's coldness instead stirred up his stubborn nature. Without saying another word, he seized the carrying pole and turned toward the steps. The chains collided, producing crisp clinking sounds.

"Your heart is unsettled."

Mr. Ying placed down a stone and looked at the monk before him, sneering.

"It is you who hope he can possess a broader future. He himself said that he wants to become the greatest under heaven."

"Since he wants to be the greatest under heaven, he must have the bearing of the greatest under heaven. Only the loneliness of the greatest under heaven, the tempering of the greatest under heaven, and the solitude of the greatest under heaven can match that ambition."

"In this world, no one can simply pick up the title of greatest under heaven."

Yuan Ci sighed softly.

"I know."

He was simply still a little reluctant.

He reached out and picked up the things Wang Anfeng had placed beside him. After stripping away the outer oil paper, waves of tea fragrance drifted out, making Yuan Ci's expression grow even gentler. He sighed.

"But I was wondering—could this be too soon?"

Mr. Ying placed down another stone. Hearing the faint ringing of chains beside his ear, he said indifferently:

"Don't worry. I measured the weight carefully. What I gave him is only one level above the theoretical limit of his physical constitution and cultivation."

"What?!"

Yuan Ci's pupils suddenly contracted. Though he sat atop the solitary peak, the image of an enraged Vajra faintly appeared in the air behind him. A vast, ferocious aura spread across the heavens and earth, then vanished in an instant. The middle-aged scholar's hand did not pause in the slightest as he placed down his stone. His voice was cold.

"He merely convinced you. If he wants me to help him, he must show me whether he has the qualifications."

"Only those accustomed to their limits can break through them again when killing intent covers their bodies and everyone believes they are certain to die. They must smash apart that desperate situation and tread upon the corpses of their enemies to climb to the summit, rather than become a cold corpse trampled beneath another's feet!"

"If he can complete the punishment I gave him, with chains covering his body and internal and external difficulties converging, his One Zen Skill Internal force will be crushed and melded into his bones. In the state of flawless glazed glass, it will evolve into the foundation of the Golden Bell Shield. At that time, I will give him my full assistance and help him become the greatest under heaven."

With that, he placed down a stone, annihilating one of Yuan Ci's great dragons, then rose and swept away his sleeve.

"Your mind isn't on the game today. We will play again another day."

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