Shaolin Temple was divided into two courtyards, front and back. The front courtyard was a forest of steles, open to the public. Whenever holidays came around, the young and old of Orchid Lotus County would voluntarily come to sweep the graves.
The rear courtyard was the true heart of Shaolin Temple. A guest-receiving monk came to greet them, and upon learning Master Bai Yue's identity, immediately sent word. Before long, Liao Fan, the head of the Guest Reception Hall, came to receive them in person.
Shaolin Temple had a vast foundation and a long legacy. Its Precepts Hall strictly investigated the disciples under its charge; any wrongdoing was punished, and the law-enforcing monks never showed mercy. Even if the abbot made a mistake, he would be beaten without exception—for example, that one fellow;
Its Dharma Hall specialized in the martial arts of its own sect. Its head, Liao Yuan, was Shaolin's number-one double-flower red staff. Xiang Yuan had crossed hands with him once on Slaughter Mountain; his Buddhist teachings were profound, and his massages packed quite a punch;
Its Prajna Hall specialized in the martial arts of the world. Because of the greater backdrop of the Dragon-Subduing Realm, it had shifted to studying Devil Race techniques in search of their flaws;
When people of the martial world arrived at Shaolin Temple, the Arhat Hall stepped in to drive away unwelcome guests, while the Guest Reception Hall was responsible for receiving friends who came from afar...
In all its myriad aspects, the sect's internal structure was orderly and well-defined, nothing that those upstart third-rate sects of the martial world could compare to.
Master Bai Yue's combat ability qualified her as an expert in the Dragon-Subduing Realm, but even experts had their ranks. She belonged to the tier that fell short of