"Tap tap tap tap, tap tap tap tap..."
A rhythmic series of sounds jolted Gu Han awake. When he opened his eyes again, he found himself lying on a hard wooden plank bed, with a layer of gray bedding beneath him and a thin gray cotton quilt covering him. From outside the door came the steady sound of wooden fish being struck, as though devout monks were chanting scriptures through the night.
"Where... where is this?"
Gu Han was puzzled. Looking around, he discovered that he was in a small meditation room. An incense table stood in the middle, upon which an unknown Buddha statue was enshrined. Directly before the statue sat a bright yellow incense burner, where three thick sticks of incense burned slowly, releasing waves of fragrant smoke that made the statue seem solemn and majestic beyond measure.
"Great Yan Kingdom, Treasure Pearl Temple, novice monk Jingming!"
Just as Gu Han was filled with doubt, streams of memories suddenly appeared in his mind, flickering past like scenes in a film. Before long, he understood his current circumstances.
The location of this simulation was a small nation called the Great Yan Kingdom in the Heavenly Azure Realm. His identity was that of a novice monk from Treasure Pearl Temple, the martial arts holy land of the Great Yan Kingdom. He had grown up in the temple since childhood, his Dharma name was Jingming, and he had just turned twelve this year.
"Twelve years old? Not bad! This age is fairly suitable."
Recalling his identity in this life, Gu Han nodded inwardly, fairly satisfied.
Twelve was the same age as he was in reality. He did not know whether it was a coincidence or whether the simulator had done it deliberately.
But no matter what, it was a good thing. This was an age that had just stepped out of childhood—not too young, but not too old either.
At such an age, it was the perfect time to practice martial arts. He would not damage his body by being too young, nor would his bones and aptitude have already taken shape from being too old, leaving his potential completely exhausted.
Moreover, his current identity was not bad either. A martial arts holy land—this title alone was enough to bluff people senseless.
Even if this so-called Yan Kingdom was not as powerful as the Yue Kingdom in reality, since it dared call itself a holy land, it surely possessed some genuine skill. At the very least, it could help him grow considerably and learn many martial techniques for attack and combat, so that he could break the deadlock in the real world.
"Speaking of which, I was truly lucky this time. I happened to catch this novice monk Jingming before he had officially entered the sect. Otherwise, without spending even a single Simulation Point, it would have been absolutely impossible for me to obtain this novice monk's identity."
Recalling the memories in the novice monk's mind, Gu Han could not help feeling immensely fortunate.
As the martial arts holy land of the Great Yan Kingdom, Treasure Pearl Temple had established numerous temple rules ever since its founding. One of them stated: Those who were not absolutely loyal to the temple and could not learn the temple's martial arts were forbidden from entering its gates and becoming formal disciples.
Novice monk Jingming had grown up in Treasure Pearl Temple since childhood, so his loyalty was naturally beyond question. It was only because he was still young and had yet to learn the temple's true martial arts that he did not count as a formal disciple of Treasure Pearl Temple. He did not even count as a lay disciple, only as a somewhat special ordinary child.
It was precisely because of this that Gu Han had managed to pick up such a tremendous bargain, replacing his identity and becoming part of Treasure Pearl Temple's "direct line." Had he been even a few hours later, it would have been impossible for him to possess Jingming's body.
Because today was the day when Jingming and many other novice monks would receive their precepts, be assigned by the Abbot to the various halls and courtyards, and be formally accepted into Treasure Pearl Temple!
Gu Han secretly rejoiced at his luck. Then he took a deep breath, barely calming his emotions. He did not return to sleep, merely sitting cross-legged on the bed in quiet meditation as he waited for the great sun to awaken.
Time flew by. In the blink of an eye, another two hours passed quietly. At this moment, the sky had only just begun to brighten when hurried footsteps sounded outside Gu Han's meditation room, followed immediately by a burst of pounding on the wooden door.
Bang bang bang! Bang bang bang!
"Senior Brother Jingming! Senior Brother Jingming! Wake up! It's already getting late. The Abbot will probably begin the initiation ceremony in the main hall in another hour. Let's hurry and make the most of the time to eat breakfast in the dining hall, then head over early!"
After the knocking came a childish, excited voice ringing by Gu Han's ear. With a slight recollection, Gu Han remembered the identity of the person outside.
His Dharma name was Jingyuan. He was a novice monk who had grown up in the temple alongside the original owner of this body. Since he was three days younger than the original owner, he had always called him Senior Brother. The two had the best relationship in the temple and often helped one another.
A few days ago, the two had received the Abbot's permission to receive their precepts today and be accepted into the temple's gates. They had long agreed that they would arrive early and receive their precepts together.
"Alright! Wait a moment. Senior Brother will be right out."
Hearing Jingyuan's voice, Gu Han replied in the original owner's manner of speaking. He then accepted his invitation and went with him to the dining hall for a meal.
Afterward, while interacting with Jingyuan, Gu Han did his best to imitate the original owner's speech and habitual movements, lest Jingyuan notice anything amiss.
During this process, Gu Han did not know whether Jingyuan was simply too excited or whether his disguise was truly flawless. Along the way, Jingyuan failed to notice any change in him. Instead, he excitedly told Gu Han about all the things they would do after learning martial arts, his large eyes brimming with anticipation and yearning.
At three quarters past five in the morning, the two finally arrived at Treasure Pearl Temple's Great Hero Hall.
By then, quite a few monks were already waiting inside the main hall. Most of them, like Gu Han, were novice monks who would receive their precepts and enter the sect today. There were also some much older monks dressed in yellow robes.
These yellow-robed monks stood in two rows, each sitting upright with a solemn expression and an extraordinary bearing.
In Treasure Pearl Temple, there were eight generations in total: Liao, Jue, Benzi, Yuan, Jing, Kong, Wu, and Heng.
Within the present-day Treasure Pearl Temple, the highest-ranking members were naturally the several eminent monks of the Jue Generation, who had long since retired and no longer involved themselves in worldly affairs. Below them were several Abbots and hall or courtyard heads of the Benzi generation.
Last came the yellow-robed monks of the Yuan Generation, as well as novice monks like the original Jingming, who had yet to enter the sect or had only recently done so.
Of course, Treasure Pearl Temple also had many lay disciples. Most of them belonged to the Jing Generation and Yuan Generation as well, but compared to "direct-line" temple members like Jingming and the others, their status and the martial arts they could learn in the future were far inferior.
Streams of information flashed through Gu Han's mind, instantly allowing him to understand Treasure Pearl Temple's rough hierarchy. Then, together with the red-faced Jingyuan, he stepped into the square formation formed by the novice monks and waited for the Abbot's arrival.
If you think this book is good, remember to add it to your bookshelf so you will not lose it next time.
At the request of many readers, a VIP membership feature that removes advertisements is now available.
Before you continue