A novice monk in Treasure Pearl Temple

"Thump-thump-thump-thump, thump-thump-thump-thump..."

A rhythmic sound jolted Gu Han awake. When he opened his eyes again, he found himself lying on a hard wooden plank bed, beneath him a layer of gray bedding, and over him a thin gray cotton quilt. From outside the door came the steady tapping of a wooden fish, as if devout monks were chanting sutras through the night.

"This... where is this?"

Gu Han wondered in confusion, looking around. He found himself in a small meditation room. In the center stood an incense table, upon which an unnamed Buddha statue was enshrined. Directly before the statue sat a bright yellow incense burner, with three thick sticks of incense slowly burning within, emitting a fragrant smoke that lent the statue an air of solemn majesty and grandeur.

"Great Yan Kingdom, Treasure Pearl Temple, little novice Jingming!"

Just as Gu Han was puzzling over his situation, suddenly, a stream of memories abruptly surfaced in his mind, unfolding like a movie, quickly making him understand his current circumstances.

The location of this simulation was a small kingdom in the Heavenly Azure Realm called the Great Yan Kingdom. His identity was that of a young novice who had grown up in the temple since childhood, at the martial arts sacred ground of Treasure Pearl Temple in Great Yan. His Dharma name was Jingming, and he had just turned twelve this year.

"Twelve years old? Not bad! This age is still acceptable."

Recalling his identity in this life, Gu Han nodded inwardly, fairly satisfied.

Twelve years old—the same age as in his real life. Whether this was a coincidence or deliberately arranged by the simulation device, he couldn't say.

Regardless, it was a good thing. This was an age just past childhood—not too young, not too old.

Such an age was perfect for martial arts training. It wouldn't harm the body from being too young, nor would the bones have fully set and potential be lost from being too old.

Moreover, his current identity was quite good. "Martial arts sacred ground"—that title was certainly imposing.

Even if this so-called Yan Kingdom wasn't as powerful as the Yue Kingdom in reality, since it dared to call itself a sacred ground, it must have some real skill. At the very least, it would allow him to grow considerably and learn some combat techniques to help resolve the predicament in the real world.

"Speaking of which, I was really lucky this time. I happened to catch this little novice Jingming before he formally entered the sect. Otherwise, without spending a single Simulation Point, there's no way I could have obtained his identity."

Recalling the memories in the novice's mind, Gu Han felt immensely fortunate.

As the martial arts sacred ground of Great Yan, Treasure Pearl Temple had established many temple rules since its founding. One of them was: only those absolutely loyal to the temple and those who could learn its martial arts could be listed among the temple's disciples and become formal students.

The little novice Jingming had grown up in Treasure Pearl Temple since childhood, so his loyalty was beyond question. It was only because he was still young and hadn't yet learned the temple's true martial arts that he wasn't considered a formal disciple—not even an outer disciple. He was merely a somewhat special ordinary child.

It was precisely because of this that Gu Han had managed to snatch a great bargain, replacing his identity and becoming a "direct line" member of Treasure Pearl Temple. If he had been even a few hours slower, it would have been impossible to possess Jingming's body.

Because today was the day when Jingming and many other novices would receive their precepts and be assigned to various halls and courtyards by the Abbot, officially entering the temple's ranks!

Gu Han breathed a sigh of relief at his narrow escape. Then, taking a deep breath to calm himself, he didn't sleep but instead sat cross-legged on the bed, meditating quietly, waiting for the sun to rise.

Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, two more hours had passed. Just as the sky was beginning to lighten, hurried footsteps sounded outside Gu Han's meditation room, followed by a series of knocks on the wooden door.

Bang, bang, bang! Bang, bang, bang!

"Senior Brother Jingming! Senior Brother Jingming! Wake up! It's already late! The Abbot will probably start the initiation ceremony in the main hall in about an hour. Let's hurry up, go to the dining hall for breakfast together, and then head over early!"

After the knocking, a young and excited voice rang out in Gu Han's ears. With a brief recollection, Gu Han remembered who this person was.

His Dharma name was Jingyuan, a little novice who had grown up in the temple alongside the original body. Since he was three days younger than the original, he always called him "Senior Brother." The two had the best relationship in the temple, often helping each other.

A few days ago, they had both received permission from the Abbot to receive their precepts today and be formally accepted into the temple. They had agreed to arrive early together for the ceremony.

"Alright! Wait a moment, Senior Brother will be right there."

Hearing Jingyuan's voice, Gu Han mimicked the original's tone and replied, then accepted his invitation to go to the dining hall for a meal.

Afterward, as he interacted with Jingyuan, Gu Han did his best to imitate the original's speech and mannerisms, so as not to be found out.

Throughout this process, whether because Jingyuan was too excited or because Gu Han's disguise was truly good, the boy didn't notice any change in him. Instead, he chattered excitedly about what he would do once he learned martial arts, his big eyes full of anticipation and longing.

By the time of the Mao hour's third quarter (around 5:45 AM), the two finally arrived at the Great Hero Hall of Treasure Pearl Temple.

By then, many monks were already waiting in the hall. Most of them, like Gu Han, were novices about to receive their precepts and enter the temple. Others were older monks dressed in yellow robes.

These yellow-robed monks stood in two rows, each sitting upright with solemn expressions, exuding an imposing aura.

In Treasure Pearl Temple, the generations were divided into eight ranks: Liao, Jue, Ben, Yuan, Jing, Kong, Wu, and Heng.

In the current temple, the highest-ranking were the few Jue-generation senior monks who had long since retired and withdrawn from worldly affairs. Next came the Ben-generation Abbot and the heads of various halls and courtyards.

Finally came the Yuan-generation yellow-robed monks and the novices like the original Jingming, who had either not yet entered the sect or had only recently done so.

Of course, Treasure Pearl Temple also had many lay disciples, most of whom were also of the Jing or Yuan generations. However, compared to the "direct line" disciples like Jingming, their status and the martial arts they could learn were far inferior.

A stream of information flashed through Gu Han's mind, instantly clarifying the temple's hierarchy. Then, together with the flushed-faced Jingyuan, he stepped into the square formation formed by the novices, waiting for the Abbot's arrival.