What a Punishment!

"Junior Brother Ben Guan, is this a disciple of your Arhat Hall?"

Seeing that Jingyuan had been rescued, the heads of the various halls all breathed a sigh of relief. Then, their eyes immediately fell upon the robe on Gu Han's chest bearing the words "Arhat Hall," and they asked Ben Guan in disbelief.

"Yes, yes, Jingming is indeed a disciple of our Arhat Hall."

Hearing the heads of the halls question him, Ben Guan could only nod instinctively and answer.

Even now, he had yet to recover from the shock of how Jingming could be so powerful. His mind was still buzzing.

Hadn't Jingming only broken through Muscle Tendon Strengthening seven or eight months ago? How had he become this powerful? Even Wang Lang, who rivaled the peak of Muscle Tendon Strengthening, had been utterly outmatched by him. What exactly was going on?

Countless doubts filled Ben Guan's heart. His mind was a complete mess, and he wished he could immediately rush to Jingming's side and carefully ask about the reason for all this.

Yet compared to his shock, the other hall heads were overjoyed.

"Good! Excellent! Junior Brother Ben Guan, you have rendered a great service this time—you have taught such a fine disciple! Who would have thought that your Arhat Hall, usually keeping its light hidden and its waters still, would make a move so earth-shattering today!

"Jingming should only be fifteen this year, right? At such an age, he could easily stop Wang Lang, who rivaled the peak of Muscle Tendon Strengthening. He was probably not much weaker than a martial artist newly entered into Blood Tempering. Truly remarkable! This time, our Dharma Institute is convinced."

Looking at Gu Han in the distance, whose expression remained as calm as drifting clouds and a gentle breeze, Ben De, head of the Dharma Institute, praised him.

"Indeed! Jingming is truly formidable! To possess such cultivation at this age, his talent could rank among the top three in the nearly thousand-year history of our Treasure Pearl Temple. He could stand shoulder to shoulder with Patriarchs Jue Ming and Liao Kong, second only to Patriarch Bodhidharma!"

Hearing Ben Zhen's words, the heads of the Medicine Master Institute, Discipline Institute, and Dao Proving Institute all nodded in agreement.

As for the Patriarchs Jue Ming and Liao Kong they spoke of, they were both illustrious figures in the thousand-year history of Treasure Pearl Temple. Though they had failed to transcend the mortal realm like Patriarch Bodhidharma and enter another Legendary Realm beyond the peak of Inner Qi,

their strength at their peak had still far surpassed ordinary martial artists at the peak of Inner Qi. In their era, they represented invincibility. Even peak Inner Qi martial artists could not withstand three moves or two techniques from them. They could be called half-step legends!

"You flatter him too much, junior brothers. Jingming may look quite impressive now, but reaching the level of Patriarchs Jue Ming and Liao Kong will still be fraught with difficulties. We must not let him grow overly proud. We still need to nurture him properly."

After the hall heads had finished speaking, Abbot Ben Zhen spoke.

As a martial artist who had broken through to the peak of Inner Qi through his own efforts, Ben Zhen knew better than anyone how difficult it was to reach the level of Patriarchs Jue Ming and Liao Kong. Though Jingming possessed such potential now, he still could not become arrogant. He had to be slowly tempered.

"Haha! Abbot, I beg to differ. I believe Jingming has a very good chance of breaking through to the realm of Patriarchs Jue Ming and Liao Kong. If Treasure Pearl Temple is to shine brilliantly again in the future, we may well have to rely on this child Jingming. Moreover, Jingming deserves great credit for rescuing Jingyuan this time. Once this matter is settled, I must properly thank Jingming."

As soon as Abbot Ben Zhen finished speaking, Ben Yin, head of the Prajna Hall, laughed and refuted him. Looking at Gu Han in the distance, who had rescued Jingyuan, endless gratitude rose in his heart.

Jingyuan was an unparalleled Inner Qi prospect that the Prajna Hall might only produce once in several decades, perhaps even a century. Barring unforeseen circumstances, breaking through to the Internal Qi Realm was almost a certainty for him, and he even had a great chance of cultivating to the peak of Inner Qi.

Thus, Ben Yin had long regarded Jingyuan as his successor. After his passing, he intended to hand the position of head of the Prajna Hall to him and let him continue to carry forward the martial arts of the Prajna Hall.

If Jingyuan had truly been killed by Wang Lang this time, Ben Yin truly did not know what he might have done.

After all, he was already old. To see the Prajna Hall produce another disciple with Jingyuan's talent was practically impossible.

What utter despair would that have been?

Even if he killed Wang Lang afterward, he would still regret it for the rest of his life. What was more, Wang Lang was protected by General Wang. Even if he acted personally, he might not have been able to kill Wang Lang and avenge Jingyuan.

"But now it is all right. Jingyuan was rescued by Jingming, and I do not need to fall out with General Wang."

Thinking this, Ben Yin felt even more grateful toward Gu Han.

"Awooo!"

"Let... let... go! I'll... I'll... kill you!"

Here, Wang Lang's eyes were filled with bloodlust as he watched his long saber being tightly clamped between Gu Han's palms. He instantly became even more frenzied. His powerful body, surpassing that of tigers and lions, suddenly exerted force as he desperately tried to wrench his saber free from Gu Han's hands.

Yet no matter how crazed Wang Lang became, the terrifying strength that could uproot willows and shatter bluestone with a punch vanished without a trace the moment it met Gu Han's palms, like a clay ox sinking into the sea.

"Alas! Benefactor, you are far too ruthless. This was merely an ordinary sparring match. Since you had already gained the upper hand, why did you still seek to kill Jingyuan without leaving him a way out? With such viciousness,

you deserve punishment!"

"Clang!"

Gu Han sighed softly. An endless force suddenly erupted from his palms, and in an instant, he snapped Wang Lang's refined steel treasured saber, which could cut gold and sever iron. Then he threw a punch!

"Boom!"

An explosive burst of air rang through the field. Gu Han's jade-like fist shot forth in an instant. Under that punch, the endless air before him seemed to explode in a heartbeat, forming terrifying waves of force that sent Wang Lang's long hair flying.

At the Blood Tempering stage of martial arts, one arm possessed two thousand jin of strength. Bolstered by powerful martial techniques, the force of a single punch surpassed five thousand jin. Coupled with the tiny contact area of the fist and its terrifying speed,

when that punch landed, even an iron man would be battered out of shape. Even a great tree would be pierced through in an instant. How could a mere body of flesh and blood withstand it?

It would probably be blasted apart in a single instant!

"Awooo!"

A wolf's howl rang out. Under Gu Han's terrifying punch, Wang Lang's potential erupted. He was, after all, a martial artist at the Muscle Tendon Strengthening level, and having grown up among wolves since childhood had granted him an unparalleled warning sense for danger.

At that critical moment, Wang Lang finally swung his broken saber across, blocking Gu Han's fist.

"Clang!"

Another metallic cry rang out. The broken saber before Wang Lang finally could not endure Gu Han's punch and was smashed to pieces, turning into fragments that flew in every direction.

Then, under the remaining force of Gu Han's punch, Wang Lang's entire body was blasted backward like a sharp arrow.

Only after flying more than ten zhang did he crash into and topple a group of guards, slam to the ground, spit out blood, and fall unconscious with a shake of his head.