Dharma Assembly

Clang—

Within Lingshan Temple, the octagonal iron bell left over from the previous Ming dynasty was struck heavily, and a grand procession of men and horses marched through the temple gates.

It turned out that the high-ranking Great Shun official presiding over today's dharma assembly had arrived.

Leading the procession was a vermilion-based, gold-lacquered official title plaque, inscribed with the words "Imperial Decree Grand Patriarch of Fushi," exuding an air of formidable authority.

The leading monks of Lingshan Temple stood before the temple gate to welcome them, and they saw an old man in blue robes descend from a carriage, his face wreathed in smiles.

The monks hurriedly bowed in greeting upon seeing him.

The man nodded and followed the monks toward the main hall.

His guards followed closely behind, though they did not enter the hall, instead surrounding the entrance.

"Master Mingcheng, is that the Grand Patriarch?"

Chen Wu, mingling in the crowd, noticed Monk Mingcheng maintaining order among the believers in front of the main hall and stepped forward to ask.

"Benefactor," Monk Mingcheng said, pressing his palms together. "That is indeed the Grand Patriarch, Li Chengxian. Entrusted by the Emperor, the Grand Patriarch has come to Yan'an Prefecture to offer sacrifices at the Imperial Temple and the Merit Temple. Hearing of the affairs at our Lingshan Temple, he volunteered to come here and preside over the dharma assembly."

"Many thanks for the clarification, Master."

"The dharma assembly is currently underway inside the hall, so there is no need for you to go any further, Benefactor," Monk Mingcheng said. "After the seventh bell toll, the new abbot will be selected and emerge to meet the believers."

"I see."

"Might I ask who the candidates for the new abbot are?"

"Amitabha!" Mingcheng pressed his palms together again. "Our Lingshan Temple is a lineage temple; the new abbot should have been chosen from the two disciples of Master Yongyan, Chang Yu and Chang Le. However, as you may know, Benefactor, there have been some rumors regarding Master Yongyan, so the other factions refused to accept them and put forward a third candidate, Master Changxin."

Oh, so there were three candidates.

Chen Wu was just about to continue chatting with Master Mingcheng when suddenly, a chime rang out from within the main hall, followed by a grand sound of chanting.

Seeing this, Master Mingcheng stood solemnly and pressed his palms together toward the main hall, chanting along.

The believers nearby were also moved, bowing their heads to chant.

Chen Wu realized at once that this must be the critical moment of the selection.

Before long, the chanting ceased.

Clang— Clang— Clang— Clang— Clang— Clang— Clang—

As the seven resonant bell tolls rang out, a middle-aged monk in his forties or fifties slowly stepped out from the main hall, draped in a Brocade Kasaya. Surrounded by a throng of monks, he pressed his palms together in a bow toward the pilgrims and believers below the steps.

The Grand Patriarch did not appear; it seemed he had remained inside the hall, not wishing to steal the spotlight from the new abbot.

"Master Changxin!"

Someone in the crowd shouted, and the believers below grew even more fervent, showing that this Master Changxin held immense prestige among the faithful.

Changxin smiled in response, pressed his palms together in a bow once more, and murmured words, seemingly praying and chanting blessings for the believers.

"Ah—"

Just then, a scream rang out from inside the main hall, shocking the monks on the steps into an uproar.

The guards at the entrance turned pale, flying into the main hall.

Crash—

At that moment, the wooden windows of the main hall shattered. A person dressed in a novice monk's robe, wielding a long sword, burst through the window and leaped out, followed closely by two guards.

The man possessed exceptional lightness skills; he stepped onto the shoulders of the believers below the stairs and sped through the air, leaving the pursuing guards unable to keep up!

Chen Wu watched, dumbfounded, beginning to wonder if he had some sort of Conan-like constitution—how could someone die just by watching a dharma assembly?

But the next second, Chen Wu couldn't hold it together.

The sound of a sword hummed, and the assassin leaped onto the wall of Lingshan Temple, roaring, "The one who kills is Chen Wu of the Golden Wind and Drizzle Tower—"

It was truly an arrogant declaration, the sound shaking the surroundings!

"I'm such a fool, truly," Chen Wu complained to Wang Jiuyuan, who had arrived by evening. "I knew people would imitate me, but I didn't expect it to happen so soon!"

"Hahaha—" Wang Jiuyuan laughed heartily. "You've got it easy. At least two-thirds of the cases pinned on me weren't even my doing."

As expected of the Tower Master, he knew how to comfort others. Hearing this, Chen Wu immediately felt much better.

"However," Wang Jiuyuan's tone shifted, "for this person to impersonate you right under your nose is to show too little regard for my Golden Wind and Drizzle Tower. We must teach them a lesson."

Chen Wu nodded repeatedly. "That's exactly what I was thinking!"

"I'll spend the next two days investigating to find this impostor," Chen Wu said. "Could you have Old Liu help me look into it as well?"

"No problem. I'll tell the shopkeeper when I return. You should head to the Clock and Watch Shop tomorrow; there ought to be some news." Wang Jiuyuan said.

"Many thanks, and sorry to trouble Old Liu."

"Think nothing of it. Don't dwell on these things today," Wang Jiuyuan said. "Yesterday we discussed swordsmanship; today, we shall talk about internal energy."

"Do you know what internal energy is?"

The question was so vast that it left Chen Wu stumped.

Chen Wu thought for a moment and probed, "Is it a method to convert the special energy between heaven and earth for one's own use?"

"That is the terminology of the Academy of Sciences," Wang Jiuyuan nodded, "but it is still somewhat biased."

"Nowadays, merchant ships travel back and forth, connecting the globe; in fact, internal martial arts exist in every corner of this world," Wang Jiuyuan said, picking up a branch and drawing on the ground.

Swish, swish, swish—a diagram of meridians took shape.

"These are the Eight Extraordinary Meridians of our Great Shun; wherever the rites and laws of our Great Shun reach, there are many practitioners."

Next came a human figure interspersed with wheels and channels.

"These are the Three Wheels and Seven Channels originating from Tianzhu; wherever Tianzhu's influence reaches and Buddhism spreads, this type of martial art is quite prosperous."

Finally, there was a human figure with intersecting circles and lines.

"This is the Tree of Life originating from the Mediterranean; where monotheism prevails, people mostly use this as the foundation for their cultivation."

"In reality, all cultivation systems across our entire Old World originate from these three ways of circulating qi," Wang Jiuyuan said. "The New World or some remote places have other things, but they are not as systematic."

Chen Wu was mesmerized. He had known before that other countries had different cultivation methods, but this was the first time he had seen it so intuitively.

"These things, when it comes down to it, are just as the Academy of Sciences says: they are all for the purpose of turning the power of heaven and earth into one's own. However..." Wang Jiuyuan changed the subject, "do you know why, in this world, only humans can practice martial arts, while animals and spirits are rarely seen doing so?"

"Could it be... because humans possess wisdom?" Chen Wu asked.

"Not at all!" Wang Jiuyuan denied. "It is because humans possess a soul."

"The so-called Concentrated Spirit Realm is actually the sublimation of the human soul and the external manifestation of the will."

"In fact, animals that can sense a bit of the power of heaven and earth, though rare, do exist. But no matter how these animals rely on instinct to accumulate the power of heaven and earth and become infinitely strong, they can never develop a Concentrated Spirit."

"The Concentrated Spirit is the true essence of a person."

Chen Wu understood, but suddenly wondered if his own Concentrated Spirit, being borrowed, might have any hidden dangers.

"Old Jin wrote to me before and mentioned your cultivation method," Wang Jiuyuan seemed to see through Chen Wu's thoughts and suddenly brought up his technique. "Your Heaven-Intercepting Dao-Exposition Method is full of ingenious ideas and is a top-tier technique in this world. That you were able to master it proves you are no ordinary person."

"However, you succeed by borrowing the Concentrated Spirit, and you will fail by borrowing the Concentrated Spirit. The path ahead for you will be fraught with obstacles, especially when it comes to the barrier of the Concentrated Spirit."