You can't possibly be stronger than me

[I Am Ying Zheng: A little casual practice?! You call that a little casual practice?!]

[Yaoyao's Little Red Riding Hood: Big brother is such a humblebragger!]

[Snow Blows at the East Gate: My grandfather trained his whole life and reached the Peak Transformation Realm, and even he wouldn't dare call it casual practice...]

[Clear-Eyed Observer: If my dad heard that, he'd be furious. He's trained for thirty years and is still a hack.]

[Occult whiz: Ordinary people can't understand the world of geniuses.]

Hui Ming froze as well, then shook his head with a helpless laugh. "Benefactor Chen... you truly are... I don't know what to say."

Chen Hao said nothing more and focused on driving.

The car crossed the grasslands, entered a valley, and passed over several mountains. Finally, toward evening, a monastery built against a mountainside came into view.

Tashi Chuling Monastery.

The monastery was small but steeped in rustic charm, its red walls and golden roofs glowing warmly in the sunset. A winding flight of stone steps led up to it, lined on both sides with Prayer Wheels that turned gently in the wind.

The car stopped in front of the monastery. Several young monks sweeping the courtyard looked up at its arrival.

Then they saw Hui Ming step out of the car.

"Khenpo!"

"The Khenpo is back!"

"Khenpo, your arm—"

The monks dropped their brooms and rushed over. Their expressions changed when they saw Hui Ming's empty left sleeve.

Hui Ming waved his hand. "It's nothing. Let's talk inside."

He turned to Chen Hao and the others, raising his remaining hand in prayer. "Benefactor Chen, honored benefactors, if you don't mind, please spend the night here. Though I have stepped down, the monastery still has a few guest rooms. They're humble, but clean."

Chen Siyao immediately looked at Chen Hao, her eyes full of anticipation.

Chen Hao nodded. "Sorry for the trouble."

"You're too polite." Hui Ming smiled. "Please, come in."

The group followed Hui Ming into the monastery. As they crossed the courtyard and passed the main hall, they caught the faint scent of sandalwood and heard distant chanting. Several young monks trailed behind them, constantly sizing them up, especially Chen Hao, who was holding the wolf cub.

"That's the man who saved the Khenpo? He's so young!"

"Didn't you see that the Khenpo lost an arm? That man could save him?"

"The Khenpo is at the Peak Transformation Realm, the greatest practitioner of Esoteric Buddhism in a hundred years. Who could hurt him? Who could save him?"

"Keep your voice down. Don't let the Khenpo hear..."

Though their whispers were quiet, Chen Hao heard every word. His expression remained unchanged as he continued walking.

Cai Jingwen walked beside him and caught a few words herself. She couldn't help glancing at Chen Hao.

This man really did become the center of attention wherever he went.

Hui Ming led everyone to the rear courtyard and arranged several guest rooms for them. The rooms were indeed plain, but clean and tidy, with views of distant snowcapped mountains through the windows.

"Please rest for a while, honored benefactors. I'll change my robes, then invite you to share a vegetarian meal," Hui Ming said.

"Don't trouble yourself, Master. You should rest first," Chen Siyao said.

Hui Ming shook his head. "How could I neglect the people who saved my life?"

He turned and left, leaving several young monks to attend to them.

The monks all looked around twenty, dressed in matching robes, their eyes filled with curiosity and scrutiny. The man leading them was tall, with sharp features, and looked about fifty. He seemed more like a martial artist than a monk.

He studied Chen Hao, then suddenly asked, "Benefactor, I hear you killed a Gu Diao with a single sword strike?"

Chen Hao glanced at him. "Yes."

"What realm was the Gu Diao in?"

"It was a king."

The young monk's pupils contracted. He looked at Chen Hao's far-too-youthful face, then at the fluffy Wolf Cub in his arms, his eyes full of disbelief.

"May I ask your age, benefactor?"

"Thirty."

"Thirty?" The monk laughed. "Please take no offense, benefactor. My Dharma name is Hui Jing. I entered the monastery at six and have practiced martial arts for fifty years, yet I've only just entered the Transformation Realm. My senior brother Hui Ming is a born genius, but it took him over sixty years of dedicated cultivation to reach the Peak Transformation Realm. At thirty, you killed the Gu Diao King that cost my senior brother an arm with a single strike?"

He left the rest unsaid, but his meaning was obvious: I don't believe you.

In the livestream chat:

[I Am Ying Zheng: What's this monk getting at? Is he questioning Celestial Master Chen?]

[Yaoyao's Little Red Riding Hood: What right does he have not to believe it? We saw it ourselves!]

[Snow Blows at the East Gate: He's in the Transformation Realm too? Since when were Transformation Realm experts everywhere?]

[Luocheng eight extremes boxing: This monk sure talks big. Still, reaching the Transformation Realm in his fifties is pretty impressive.]

[Occult whiz: The Transformation Realm is impressive, sure, but compared to Chen Hao? Ha.]

Chen Siyao immediately took offense. "What kind of way is that to talk? My brother personally saved Master Hui Ming. We saw it with our own eyes! How could it be fake?"

Hui Jing's expression didn't change. "I'm not questioning him, merely curious. No one knows my senior brother's cultivation better than I do. A beast capable of costing him an arm must be at least in the Return to the True Realm, perhaps even at its peak. To kill it with a single sword strike... the person who struck would have to be beyond Return to Truth."

He stared at Chen Hao. "May I ask, benefactor, are you beyond Return to Truth?"

Chen Hao glanced at him and said flatly, "Whether I am or not, what's it to you?"

Hui Jing froze, his expression shifting slightly.

The young monks beside him hurriedly grabbed him. "Uncle Hui Jing, don't do anything rash..."

Hui Jing shook them off and stared at Chen Hao. "I merely want to verify the truth. If you truly possess such skill, you will have my respect. But if it was only a coincidence..." He paused. "Then I'll have to ask exactly how my senior brother lost his arm."

That was a serious accusation.

Chen Siyao's expression changed. "What do you mean? Are you suggesting my brother harmed Master Hui Ming?"

Yang Wanqing grew angry too. "We saw the master fighting the Gu Diao ourselves, and Hao stepped in to save him! How can you repay kindness with hostility?"

Cai Jingwen frowned slightly as she watched Hui Jing, puzzled. This monk had clearly seen Master Hui Ming personally escort them inside, so why was he still treating them this way?

The livestream chat erupted:

[Snow fills the sky: Is this monk out of his mind? Repaying kindness with hostility?]

[Yaoyao's Little Red Riding Hood: I'm so mad! What right does he have to suspect big brother?!]

[Snow Blows at the East Gate: He's probably jealous. Someone in the Transformation Realm before sixty must be a genius in Esoteric Buddhism. He can't accept that someone is stronger than him.]

[Brother Lun: The comment above nailed it. He's just jealous.]

[Driving rideshare, not delivering takeout: Hao, teach him a lesson! Show him there's always someone better!]

Just as the tension reached breaking point, a voice rang out from the courtyard entrance:

"Hui Jing! Mind your manners!"

Hui Ming strode over in a clean set of robes. Though he had lost an arm, his imposing presence hadn't diminished in the slightest. He stopped before Hui Jing and said sternly, "Benefactor Chen saved my life. What kind of attitude is this?"

Hui Jing lowered his head. "Senior brother, I was only..."

"Only what?" Hui Ming interrupted. "You just don't believe anyone could be stronger than you? You just think a thirty-year-old couldn't reach heights you can't?"

Hui Jing's face flushed red, and he couldn't say a word.