The Uncomfortable "Heaven" Generation

"Junior Brother? Junior Brother? Tianming!!!"

"Ah, yes, I am here. What is the matter, Senior Brother?"

"What is the matter? I have called your name several times; did you not hear me?"

"Ah, no, it is just... I..."

Watching the incoherent Monk Tianming, Abbot Tianjian heaved a deep sigh. They were clearly in the middle of discussing matters regarding their journey to Western Xia, yet Tianming appeared completely distracted.

Beside them, Monk Tianxing frowned and said, "Tianming, what are you doing? At such an important time."

Tianwen also furrowed his brows; there was no doubt that the upcoming plan concerned the future of Shaolin Temple.

Tianming struggled for a moment, took a deep breath, pressed his palms together, and said, "Amitabha. My apologies, senior brothers. It is just that something happened before I arrived, and my mind is quite unsettled. I do not know where to begin."

Tianxing's brows knitted together, and he was about to speak.

Tianjian raised a hand to stop Tianxing, looking at Tianming with curiosity. "What has happened? What could make you so flustered, Junior Brother?"

Tianming thought for a moment. It was clear that the matter could not be hidden. Even if no one knew now, it would be discovered once they went to Western Xia.

"Senior Brother, do you remember that in order to test the disciples and observe their temperaments, I wrote down the introductory volumes of three of our sect's four great divine arts—the Muscle Tendon Changing Classic, the Indestructible Diamond Divine Art, and the Bodhi Heart Sutra—and distributed them to Xuancheng and the others?"

Tianjian nodded; he was naturally aware of this.

Under normal circumstances, this would not be permitted. There was no doubt that for any of these three divine arts, even the introductory stage was incredibly difficult. Take the Arhat Divine Art, for example; in the past hundred years, only Xuankong had succeeded in cultivating it. The four great divine arts were undoubtedly even harder.

Moreover, this difficulty was not merely in the practice itself, but because the content was excessively profound.

Without decades of martial arts experience as a foundation, it was impossible to cultivate them at all.

Tianjian smiled. "Not only have those boys like Xuancheng been carrying water lately, but the hostility between their brows has also diminished significantly. Why? Has some problem arisen? Looking at the situation with Xuancheng and the others, the effect seems quite good."

Tianwen and Tianxing also nodded rarely, smiles appearing on their faces.

When it came to educating others, Tianming undoubtedly had a knack for it; this was the reason he became the Head of the Arhat Hall.

Tianming took a breath, hesitated for a moment, and said, "The educational effect on them is indeed good, but first, there were seven who were punished, not all eight."

"Hmm?" The others were startled. They only knew that Xuancheng and the others had not been training these past few days and had been carrying water every day.

They truly had not paid attention to exactly how many people there were.

"Why?"

"'To kill is to protect life; to sever karma is not to sever the person!'"

Tianjian and the others widened their eyes simultaneously. This phrase...!

"The one who was not punished was Xuankong, and these words were written by him as well."

The eyes of the three men lit up. This level of enlightenment was truly exceptional. To be able to grasp such a principle meant that the Discipline Hall would have a worthy successor.

Right, he remembered that Xuankong was cultivating the Arhat Divine Art. Very good. Once he succeeded, they could begin teaching him the techniques of the Discipline Hall.

"Besides not being punished... Xuankong did one other thing."

Tianjian was stunned, then frowned. "Speak plainly. Why are you acting so hesitant? What did Xuankong do? As long as his talent and nature do not violate the two taboos of harming fellow disciples or committing treason against Shaolin Temple, it is fine."

"It is nothing much. He just learned the second volume of the three volumes of techniques I gave them for trial."

Tianjian smiled and said immediately, "So he learned a technique. I thought he had done som—"

"What did you say???"

Tianming said, his scalp tingling, "He learned it. One of them. The second volume."

Tianjian's mouth twitched, and the eyes of Tianwen and the other man widened once again.

"Which second volume? The Bodhi Heart Sutra?"

"The Indestructible Diamond Divine Art!"

"Pfft!!"

The Muscle Tendon Changing Classic was said to be the premier technique of Shaolin Temple, but—but—the Indestructible Diamond Divine Art was the exclusive preserve of the Abbot.

Those who could learn it were basically the successors to the next Abbot, unless they chose to give it up themselves.

Monk Tianjian could not help but ask, "He succeeded? How did he succeed?"

Tianming's mouth twitched. That was the exact reaction he had had; in fact, he felt the same way.

Imitating Xuankong's attitude, Tianming wore a look of helplessness on his face. "According to the requirements in the scripture, he just cultivated it successfully! Yes, that is how Xuankong answered."

The corners of the mouths of Tianjian and the others twitched wildly. What kind of answer was that?

According to the requirements, and then he succeeded?

If the Indestructible Diamond Divine Art were that simple, would Shaolin Temple have fallen into its current predicament?

It could not be. This could not be.

If that is the case, what am I? What am I, who spent ten years practicing it without even reaching the introductory stage?

Tianjian and the others felt as if their decades of Buddhist heart had shattered. Amitabha, Buddha, how could you be so biased?

That was right; Tianjian, Tianwen, Tianxing, and even Tianming—all four of them had practiced the Indestructible Diamond Divine Art.

This was undoubtedly uncomfortable, extremely uncomfortable.

For a moment, the titles of Abbot and Head Monk lost all their luster.

Comparisons are odious; one must discard the inferior to truly see the value of the superior.

If their late master Lingquan had not passed away, he would surely be looking at them with nothing but disdain at this very moment.

They still remembered how Master Lingquan had said more than once, "You are the worst batch I have ever taught."

"Is it difficult? Is it really that difficult?"

"Like this, like this, like this, and then like this—isn't that all there is to it? It is written as clear as day in the manual; why can none of you master it?"

Master, you left us too soon.

If you were still alive, you would probably be fuming with rage, wouldn't you?

The Indestructible Diamond Divine Art—the greatest regret of Master Lingquan's life was his inability to learn it; otherwise, things would have been different.

Cough! Cough!

Almost simultaneously, they coughed. After exchanging silent glances, Tianjian and the others quickly composed themselves.

"Senior Brother, what should we do?"

"What should we do? We just have to deal with it; he's already learned it."

"No, I mean, are we still taking Xuankong with us?"

"Uh, regarding that... yes, we are taking him."

Tianwen and Tianxing could not help but speak up at this moment: "Senior Brother!"

That was the Indestructible Diamond Divine Art, and given Xuankong's age, if he were given twenty years, the title of the world's number one might not necessarily belong to the Xiaoyao Sect anymore.

Tianjian took a deep breath and said softly, "Every disciple going this time will be issued a Great Restoration Pill."

Tianming and the others were stunned, the words they were about to speak stuck in their throats instantly.

Damn it, they had forgotten about that.

The Great Restoration Pill was the unique, sacred medicine of the Shaolin Temple.

It could bring the dead back to life and enhance one's internal energy.

How many people craved it?

Because of this, the Shaolin Temple had established a rule: disciples of the sect were strictly forbidden from using the Great Restoration Pill to cultivate martial arts.

Anyone who violated this, regardless of who they were—even the Abbot of the Shaolin Temple—would be expelled from the sect.

Therefore, for so long, it was only two years ago when the injuries of Xuanxin and the other were so severe that they were granted the opportunity to take it, and even then, they had only used a third of it. Furthermore, that was only because he had earned it by fighting the White-Clad Buddhist on behalf of the sect.

Why send Xuancheng and the others to participate in the Song-Xia war? Aside from drawing attention, this was also one of the objectives.

Although Xuancheng and the others possessed extremely high talent, they lacked experience—a common ailment among the monks of the Shaolin Temple. Thus, while the current Song-Xia war was dangerous, it was also a rare opportunity. If they could participate to a certain degree, it would undoubtedly be of great help to their future.