"Heavenly Sound Temple is not merely its gates, nor merely its scriptures and incense."
"What you kneel before is not this poor monk, but the unyielding spirit left behind by the old abbot, the inheritance our patriarchs used to suppress demons for thirty thousand years."
"By accepting the Buddha Bone, this poor monk has accepted this responsibility."
"From now on, whoever comes to seize Heavenly Sound Temple's possessions must first trample over this poor monk's body."
Those words were not long.
Nor were they adorned with any flowery rhetoric.
Yet the disciples of Heavenly Sound Temple felt their chests grow hot.
Great Thunder Sound Temple had pressed down upon their mountain before; they had bottled it up for far too long.
Now that their new abbot had spoken these words himself, the spirit that had scattered from the temple long ago finally gathered once more.
"Greetings, Abbot!"
The voices rang out even louder than before.
Rujie stood upon the mountain path, the Buddha Bone on his chest shimmering with flowing radiance.
The Tiger-Taming Arhat Dharma Manifestation emerged behind him and bowed its head toward the entirety of Heavenly Sound Temple.
Old Monk Huiming wiped at the corner of his eye.
Master Huixin softly recited a Buddhist invocation as well.
Chen Changqing looked at Rujie and, for once, did not tear him down.
This monk was usually unreliable.
But when the moment came for him to step forward, he had never shrunk back.
Three days later.
Before the gates of Heavenly Sound Temple, the incense offerings were far more prosperous than they had been in recent days.
News of Great Thunder Sound Temple's retreat had already spread.
Xuan Ku had been defeated.
Wuchen had been crippled.
And Chen Changqing had even casually taken away the Demon-Suppressing Bowl.
Quite a few branch