Buddha's Disciple in This World

Innate Realm and Grandmaster Realm were entirely different concepts.

Not to mention a Great Grandmaster who had already developed Mental Energy. The most obvious difference was that the Innate Realm could take shortcuts.

For example, by consuming certain Heaven-and-Earth Spirit Herbs.

Or by receiving the full transmission of a Master's power.

With the Great Zen Temple's foundations, if it were willing to pay the price,

it could completely create several Innate Realm Martial Path powerhouses by artificial means.

It was simply that doing so held little meaning.

For a Great Martial Sect like the Great Zen Temple,

having a few more Innate Martial Path powerhouses would not make any fundamental difference.

What truly determined the Great Zen Temple's fate were Masters.

And Great Grandmasters.

The latter could even determine the overall trend of the world.

However,

whether one entered the Grandmaster Realm or the Great Grandmaster Realm,

external aids were of negligible use.

To advance from the Innate Realm to the Grandmaster Realm required perfect control over one's strength.

To advance from the Grandmaster Realm to the Great Grandmaster Realm required developing Mental Energy, a near-death ordeal.

This was why the Great Zen Temple's Abbot and the Courtyard Heads were so shocked after realizing that the mysterious Great Grandmaster who had displayed Mental Energy might be Lin Yuan from the Scripture Storage Pavilion.

In the current age, a Great Grandmaster appeared only once every few centuries.

The last known Great Grandmaster had been the Founding Emperor of the Great Li Dynasty, one hundred and eighty years ago.

Considering the time that had passed, it was not impossible for another Great Grandmaster to emerge.

But one should have emerged from among those Grandmaster Peaks who had been famous for many years.

As for Lin Yuan?

He was merely an eight-year-old child.

How could he possibly be a Great Grandmaster, invincible beneath the heavens and capable of overwhelming the age? This was completely beyond reason, beyond comprehension.

At the back mountain of the Great Zen Temple,

the Long Eyebrow Old Monk, who was in seclusion, was likewise startled by the mental fluctuations coming from a room in the Scripture Storage Pavilion.

"Mental Energy?"

"Has my disciple Huizhen already entered the Great Grandmaster Realm?"

The Long Eyebrow Old Monk stared blankly and muttered to himself.

Even though he had long expected this day, his emotions still surged beyond control.

As a Master of the Great Zen Temple's current generation, the Long Eyebrow Old Monk had once taught Lin Yuan for two months and knew of his terrifying talent in the Martial Path.

In the Long Eyebrow Old Monk's view,

Lin Yuan would have no problem entering the Grandmaster Realm in the future and even had a great chance of touching upon the Great Grandmaster Realm.

But that was supposed to happen decades later.

Yet now, only five years had passed.

Lin Yuan was already a Great Grandmaster? Compared to the Abbot and Courtyard Heads, the Long Eyebrow Old Monk was several times more shaken.

The Abbot and Courtyard Heads were merely at the Peak Innate Realm.

They only knew that breaking through to the Great Grandmaster Realm was difficult.

They had no concrete understanding of it.

But the Long Eyebrow Old Monk was a Master.

He was only one realm away from becoming a Great Grandmaster.

At every moment, he could feel the impassable chasm between Great Grandmasters and Masters.

Even with the Breakthrough Secret Technique left behind by Bodhidharma Ancestor, the Long Eyebrow Old Monk had no clue how to break through to the Great Grandmaster Realm.

Inside the Scripture Storage Pavilion,

Lin Yuan sat cross-legged and retracted the fluctuations of his Mental Energy.

"This mental power seems similar to the 'Mind Master' Evolutionary Path of the Cosmic Human Civilization?"

Lin Yuan speculated inwardly.

In the Cosmic Human Civilization, Evolvers were no secret.

Thus, the many Evolutionary Paths derived from them were known to most citizens.

The Mind Master Evolutionary Path required special methods to stimulate the mind.

Only then could one grasp Mind Power and wield all sorts of inconceivable abilities.

"They are only similar, not the same."

Lin Yuan thought to himself.

The Mind Power wielded by Evolvers of the Mind Master Evolutionary Path leaned toward illusions.

The Mental Energy of a Great Grandmaster, however, was a purely lethal art. The sense of oppression it created surpassed that of a Mind Master.

Furthermore, Mind Masters of the Cosmic Human Civilization generally regarded their physical bodies as weaknesses; their bodies were somewhat frail.

Great Grandmasters, however, had physical bodies that had long surpassed the limits of ordinary people, and they could perfectly control every thread of strength within their bodies.

Lin Yuan did not know the specific strengths and weaknesses of the Mind Master Evolutionary Path.

But he guessed that, in terms of combat power, Mind Masters should be somewhat weaker.

"The Martial Path, if placed in the Cosmic Human Civilization, should count as an entirely new Evolutionary Path?"

"If I can deduce the Martial Path to a higher level in this world, then have the Goddess of Wisdom evaluate it after I return, I should receive an enormous reward."

Lin Yuan silently pondered this.

After learning of Mandatory Conscription, Lin Yuan had once asked the Goddess of Wisdom and learned that she attached extraordinary importance to new Evolutionary Paths.

"They're all waiting outside?"

Lin Yuan seemed to sense something and glanced toward the outside of the Scripture Storage Pavilion.

When breaking through to the Great Grandmaster Realm and condensing Mental Energy, it was impossible to prevent the news from spreading.

It was only natural that this had alerted the Abbot and Courtyard Heads.

Outside the Scripture Storage Pavilion,

the Long Eyebrow Old Monk, the Abbot of the Great Zen Temple, the Courtyard Heads, and the others were waiting.

If any other monks had been present, they would have noticed

that the Abbot and Courtyard Heads, who always carried themselves like eminent monks, now had unease on their faces.

It was as if students at a private school were about to meet a teacher they admired.

Uneasy.

Expectant.

"Come in."

At that moment, a gentle voice rang in everyone's ears.

"Yes."

Having received permission, the Abbot and Courtyard Heads breathed a slight sigh of relief and followed behind the Long Eyebrow Old Monk into the Scripture Storage Pavilion.

"Greetings, Buddha's Disciple."

On the third floor of the Scripture Storage Pavilion, the Long Eyebrow Old Monk and the others finally met Lin Yuan.

They immediately bowed.

There was no helping it.

If Lin Yuan had reached the Innate Realm at the age of three, that could still be explained by calling him a once-in-a-millennium Martial Path prodigy.

But entering the Great Grandmaster Realm at eight years old was something no common sense could explain.

Only the reincarnation of a true Buddha, a Buddha's Disciple living in this world, could bring everyone's understanding back into line.

Everyone, including the Long Eyebrow Old Monk, unhesitatingly addressed Lin Yuan as "Buddha's Disciple."

"Buddha's Disciple?"

Lin Yuan smiled faintly, neither admitting nor denying it.

Lin Yuan knew his own circumstances. He was no "Buddha's Disciple."

But so long as Lin Yuan himself did not say anything, no one would ever know.

Next, Lin Yuan exchanged a few more words with the Abbot and Courtyard Heads.

Taking the opportunity, he explained in the form of guidance the insights he had occasionally gained over the past few years regarding the breakthrough from the Innate Realm to the Grandmaster Realm.

This directly left the Abbot and Courtyard Heads feeling enlightened.

As a Great Martial Sect with a Great Grandmaster inheritance, the Great Zen Temple naturally possessed records on how to break through to the Grandmaster Realm.

They were precious legacies left behind by Bodhidharma Ancestor and generations of Masters.

Yet even the many matters recorded in the handwritten notes left behind by Bodhidharma Ancestor left the Abbot and Courtyard Heads only half-understanding.

Being able to accomplish something did not necessarily mean one had mastered every principle and essence behind it.

Everyone knew that breaking through to the Grandmaster Realm required perfect control over every fraction of one's own strength.

But exactly how to achieve such perfect control, and how to maintain it, were not explained in detail, much less how one could accomplish it.

With Heaven-Defying Comprehension, however, Lin Yuan had flawlessly replicated the entire process of advancing from the Innate Realm to the Grandmaster Realm and provided specific methods and techniques.

This nearly brought tears to the Abbot's and Courtyard Heads' eyes.

Through Lin Yuan's guidance, they had at least seen hope of breaking through to the Grandmaster Realm.

If they could spend ten or twenty years accumulating experience, they might even step into the realm of Masters.

With only a few brief sentences, Lin Yuan had practically cultivated several Masters for the Great Zen Temple's future decades from now.

If such ability did not belong to a Buddha's Disciple, then who else could possess it?

It could be said that if anyone still dared to question Lin Yuan's identity as a "Buddha's Disciple,"

the Abbot of the Great Zen Temple and the several Courtyard Heads would be the first to object.