Over the next few days, Su Haoran's name thoroughly spread throughout Prajna Temple.
All disciples, regardless of when they had entered the temple, respectfully saluted him whenever they saw him, calling him "Senior Brother," their eyes filled with awe and reverence.
Yet Su Haoran was not burdened by such empty fame. Aside from his necessary daily cultivation, he spent his time consolidating his martial arts.
After Iron Cloth Shirt reached Perfection, his physical strength and defensive power had risen to an entirely new level. Every gesture he made contained tremendous might.
That day, Elder Hui Jue came to see him in person.
With the Abbot's help and medicinal pills, his injuries had mostly healed, though his face was still somewhat pale. When he saw Su Haoran, his face revealed heartfelt gratitude and affection.
"Haoran, come with me." Elder Hui Jue smiled gently. "By the Abbot's decree, you are specially permitted to enter the second floor of the Scripture Repository and choose a manual."
"Thank you for the trouble, Elder." Su Haoran nodded calmly.
The two walked side by side, making their way to one of Prajna Temple's most important places—the Scripture Repository.
It was an ancient nine-story pagoda built from some unknown giant wood, emanating a faint scent of sandalwood.
Before the pagoda, two elders from the Arhat Hall sat cross-legged, their auras deep and unfathomable. Clearly, they were powerful experts guarding this place.
Upon seeing Elder Hui Jue and Su Haoran, the two elders merely opened their eyes and nodded before letting them pass.
The moment they stepped onto the first floor of the Scripture Repository, a rich scent of books washed over them.
Row after row of enormous bookshelves were filled with medical theories, Buddhist scriptures, miscellaneous records—vast as a sea of smoke.
Elder Hui Jue did not stop. He led Su Haoran straight up the stairs to the second floor.
"The first floor mainly stores Buddhist doctrines and ordinary Kung Fu. The true martial arts manuals are mostly on the second floor."
As they stepped onto the second floor, the view suddenly opened up.
The space here was broader than the first floor, with rows of bookshelves made from ironwood arranged neatly throughout.
The shelves were densely packed with martial arts manuals, each wrapped in fine brocade and looking exceptionally precious.
"Tiger-Taming Fist," "Vajra Palm," "Cloud Piercing Steps"...
The dazzling array of techniques covered nearly every field—fists, palms, fingers, legs, movement arts, weapons, and more.
Even the air seemed to be suffused with a sharp intent gathered from the auras of countless martial arts techniques.
Looking at the mountain-and-sea expanse of manuals before them, Elder Hui Jue showed a trace of pride. Then he turned to Su Haoran and said earnestly, "Haoran, every one of these is the crystallized lifeblood of Prajna Temple's eminent monks through the generations. Any single one placed in the martial world would be enough to stir up a storm of blood and slaughter."
He paused and pointed toward several sections. "Your foundation lies in external body-tempering arts. I suggest you choose a fierce fist technique or a domineering leg technique, something that can bring your physical advantages to their fullest. For instance, this Great Vajra Fist is unmatched in fierceness and complements your Iron Cloth Shirt perfectly. Or these Seven Star Steps—though not a top-tier movement art, they are flexible and ever-changing, capable of making up for the weakness in speed common to body-tempering Martial Artists."
Elder Hui Jue was sincerely considering Su Haoran's future, pointing out several techniques that suited him best and possessed considerable power.
However, Su Haoran's gaze did not linger on those techniques whose extraordinary nature was obvious from their names alone. His eyes slowly swept across the entire second floor before finally settling on a bookshelf in the farthest corner.
Only one manual lay alone on that bookshelf.
It was an extremely thick volume, its cover made of dark-red beast hide. There were no ornate gilded letters upon it, only three ancient, weighty characters that seemed to have been branded onto it with a red-hot iron—
"Dragon Elephant Skill"!
Unlike the refined manuals around it, it appeared rough and primitive, lying there silently like a prehistoric beast in slumber.
"Elder, I would like to see that one." Su Haoran raised a hand and pointed toward it.
Following his finger, Elder Hui Jue's expression abruptly changed.
"Dragon Elephant Skill?" The words nearly burst from his mouth, his tone more serious than ever before. "Take my advice: you cannot choose this technique!"
"Why not?" Su Haoran asked with interest.
Elder Hui Jue hurried to his side, lowering his voice as he spoke with a grave expression. "This Dragon Elephant Skill is an exceedingly ancient body-tempering art. In terms of rank, it even surpasses every manual on this second floor. It is one of our temple's Sect-Guarding Ultimate Skills!"
A Sect-Guarding Ultimate Skill? Wasn't there still a third floor, along with many floors above that?
Su Haoran was somewhat puzzled, but he did not voice his question.
Perhaps seeing his confusion, Elder Hui Jue glanced around before whispering, "There are not nearly so many martial arts manuals. The upper floors contain only scriptures. On the contrary, this second floor is sealed off above and below and guarded most heavily!"
"Legend says that if Dragon Elephant Skill is cultivated to its ultimate extreme, one can possess the immense strength of dragons and elephants, pull mountains from the earth, and attain an indestructible body!"
"Then isn't that perfect?" Su Haoran's eyes lit up.
"Perfect, my foot!" Elder Hui Jue gave a bitter laugh and shook his head. "A legend is just a legend! This technique's requirements for its practitioner are so harsh as to be utterly unimaginable! First, it requires a vast quantity of resources! The resources it consumes are more than ten times those of ordinary techniques!"
"Second, it requires peerless talent! Not ordinary talent, but a once-in-ten-thousand body-tempering genius! Over the past hundred years, it was not as though Prajna Temple lacked brilliant disciples who tried it. Some possessed outstanding talent, yet without exception, all failed! They spent ten years, twenty years, only to remain unable to break through even the second level. They wasted their most precious years of cultivation for nothing and eventually died in bitter despair!"
"This technique is a bottomless pit, a trap for geniuses!" Elder Hui Jue said. "It was placed here to warn later generations not to aim too high. Haoran, you are a rare genius our temple sees only once in a century, with a boundless future ahead of you. You absolutely must not ruin your own prospects!"
Elder Hui Jue's words came straight from the depths of his heart, filled with concern and care for a younger generation member.
Any ordinary disciple who heard such words would likely have immediately abandoned the idea.
Yet after hearing him out, Su Haoran smiled faintly.
He walked to the bookshelf in the corner, stretched out his hand, and gently stroked the dark-red beast-hide volume.
A strange sensation traveled from his fingertips, as though this technique, silent for a hundred years, was slowly awakening.
"Thank you for your guidance, Elder." Su Haoran turned around, his gaze clear and resolute. "But my mind is made up."
"You..." Elder Hui Jue was both anxious and angry. "Why are you so stubborn?"
"Elder," Su Haoran said with a powerful confidence in his smile, "ordinary techniques might allow me to become an expert. But my goal does not end there."
He looked at Elder Hui Jue and spoke each word distinctly. "Just because others cannot master it does not mean I cannot. This technique may be a trap for others, but for me..."
"It is the most suitable one!"
Vast resources? He possessed the Raw Talent gift. His cultivation efficiency far exceeded that of ordinary people, so naturally, his consumption would be lower as well!
Peerless talent? He had mastered the Breath Concealment Art overnight. What talent could possibly surpass his?
More importantly, Su Haoran believed that as he broke through in more and more martial arts techniques, his comprehension would only grow stronger!
This Dragon Elephant Skill was simply tailor-made for him!
Seeing the confidence in Su Haoran's eyes, Elder Hui Jue opened his mouth, but ultimately said nothing.
Perhaps... he really could create a miracle?
After a long while, Elder Hui Jue let out a deep sigh and said with a complicated expression, "So be it. You chose this path yourself. I only hope you will not regret it one day."
Before you continue