In troubled times, bodhisattvas ignore the world; the Old Lord bears his sword to save all life!

Abbot Yuan Zhen's challenge rang across the entire square like a thunderclap.

Whoosh!

In an instant, thousands of gazes converged on Yue Changlong and Yue Xiaofei.

Those gazes brimmed with anger, contempt, and condemnation.

It was as though the two had committed some unforgivable crime against heaven itself.

"You insolent wretches! How dare you refuse to kneel before the Buddha!"

"This is an outrage against the Buddha! A provocation against the entire Buddhist Order!"

"Throw them out! No! Make them kneel before the Buddha and repent for three days and nights!"

The devout believers shouted in righteous indignation, their fury mounting. They looked ready to rush forward and tear the two "heretics" apart.

Faced with condemnation from all sides,

Yue Xiaofei frowned slightly, a flicker of displeasure rising within him.

Kneel?

Why should I kneel?

We men of the Yue Family kneel before heaven and earth and before our parents. When have we ever knelt before all these gods and Buddhas?

Especially this gilded clay idol built out of money and desire!

He was just about to retort.

But Yue Changlong, beside him, spoke first, his words slow and measured.

His voice remained indifferent, yet it carried clearly over every shout and murmur around them.

"All beings are equal. The Buddha, too, is one of them."

"If the Buddha and I are equals, why should I kneel?"

An uproar swept through the crowd!

Everyone stared at Yue Changlong as though he were mad.

They could hardly believe their ears!

This man had actually claimed to be the Buddha's equal?!

This was beyond arrogance!

It was blasphemy-the vilest blasphemy against a deity!

"Utter nonsense!"

On the Dharma Platform, Abbot Yuan Zhen trembled with rage, his face livid.

In his decades of Buddhist practice, he had never heard such outrageous words!

**"The