Chapter 242: Dongfang Bubai Storms Shaolin
"From ancient temple and purple bamboo, meditation bells resound; subduing fiends and demons, we roam the Jianghu;
Even Buddhist chants hold heroic passion; all martial arts beneath heaven spring from Shaolin."
All martial arts beneath heaven sprang from Shaolin!
This was the most widely circulated saying throughout the dynasties of the Divine Land.
Though exaggerated, it held a measure of truth.
For the Martial Dao in the Divine Land had only begun its rise a thousand years ago, after a monk from overseas journeyed east into the Central Plains and established Shaolin Temple.
Before that, though martial arts experts had existed a thousand years ago, the Martial Dao in the Divine Land had been nowhere near as flourishing as it was now.
This alone showed how lofty Shaolin Temple's standing was in the Divine Land.
The same held true in Great Qing.
Shaolin Temple in Great Qing had also weathered many calamities. A century ago, when the Manchu Tartars crossed the pass, Shaolin's warrior monks had left the mountains to fight alongside the various Wulin sects and stop their advance.
But in the end, the Shaolin monks had also suffered devastating casualties beneath the Tartars' iron cavalry.
From then on, Shaolin Temple had begun to decline, never regaining its former position as the foremost martial sect.
But as the saying went, even a starved camel was bigger than a horse.
Although Shaolin Temple had kept a low profile over the years, it had maintained its standing as a top-tier power without ever collapsing.
"Cult Leader, Shaolin Temple's depths are unfathomable. They may even have warrior monks stronger than Lei Dapeng guarding the place. This venture is far too risky. Why don't we turn back?"
In a bamboo grove outside Shaolin Temple, Xue