Xuzhu Was a Dharma Name with Great Prospects

"Disciple, when we kneel later, make sure you do it decisively. Don't let them think we harbor any ill intentions."

"Mm, I'll remember."

"Also, if they really do want to kill us, we can't just sit and wait for death. Keep a firm hold on what I gave you, and don't let your hands shake when the time comes!"

"Don't worry, Master. I've already learned how to use that thing."

"Good. Whether we survive today will depend on our luck."

With a sense of tragic resolve, master and disciple silently awaited their enemies' arrival.

But after a long wait, no one burst through the door as they had imagined.

There were no shouts, either.

"Holy Son, are you there?"

Instead, Monk Huikong's voice came from outside.

Huikong?

Ye Qingyun froze, then delight surged in his heart.

Since the enemy army hadn't fought its way up here, Huikong and the others must have stopped them.

Who would've thought these monks were actually quite useful!

Ye Qingyun felt thoroughly reassured.

"Come on, let's take a look outside."

Ye Qingyun crawled out from under the bed with Guo Xiaoyun and cautiously opened the door to look.

Sure enough!

There were no enemy troops outside the courtyard, only Huikong and the other monks.

It was clear that Huikong and the others had been through a fierce battle. Every one of them was injured.

Yet they looked incredibly excited and exhilarated.

"Oh, it's you. You scared me to death."

Ye Qingyun opened the door and let out a long breath as he spoke.

But Huikong and the others all dropped to their knees, paying Ye Qingyun their deepest respects.

This left Ye Qingyun completely bewildered.

"What are you doing?"

Huikong's face was reverent. "We've come to bow in thanks for your great kindness in saving our lives, Holy Son!"

Huh?

Ye Qingyun looked utterly blank.

What great kindness in saving their lives?

Shouldn't I be thanking you?

Beside him, Guo Xiaoyun was equally puzzled, glancing at his master, then at the monks.

He couldn't quite make sense of the situation either.

"No, no, no. I should be thanking you. If you hadn't driven the enemy back, my disciple and I might have lost our lives."

Ye Qingyun hurried to help Huikong and the others up.

Huikong and the others were all taken aback by his words.

"Holy Son, wasn't it you who..."

One monk had just begun to speak when Huikong immediately gave him a look.

The monk understood and quickly shut his mouth.

"The Holy Son is experiencing the mortal world and devoting himself to cultivation. We must never disturb his state of mind."

Huikong transmitted his voice to the others using a secret Buddhist art.

"Exactly. The Holy Son possesses great wisdom and great merit, yet cares nothing for them. Cultivating as a mortal-this is a true great master!"

"We fall far, far short of the Holy Son."

"The Holy Son must have willingly taken mortal form to deliver the people of this world. Such greatness deserves to be celebrated by our Buddhist order for a thousand years!"

In the monks' hearts, Ye Qingyun had become an enlightened eminent monk who willingly cultivated as a mortal to deliver the people of the world.

They witnessed all the great things Ye Qingyun did, but would never speak the truth aloud.

Only this way.

Could Ye Qingyun's cultivation proceed more smoothly.

That was what Huikong and the others all thought.

Ye Qingyun watched the monks exchange glances, their expressions shifting as they nodded from time to time.

What are these baldies up to?

Ye Qingyun was rather speechless.

"Holy Son, we won't disturb you any longer. We'll head down the mountain to cultivate."

Monk Huikong spoke.

"Mm, all right. I'll come down and have a look around your temples another day."

Ye Qingyun said it casually.

"We would be deeply honored by your presence, Holy Son!"

Unexpectedly, Ye Qingyun's offhand remark filled Huikong and the others with fervor.

They wished Ye Qingyun could visit them immediately.

Ye Qingyun scratched his head.

I just said it offhand, and you really got this excited.

"Huh? Why do you two look a little familiar?"

Suddenly, Ye Qingyun pointed at two bald men kneeling off to the side.

One was old and the other young, and the more Ye Qingyun looked, the more familiar they seemed.

The two were naturally the Song Clan's father and son.

Seeing that Ye Qingyun still remembered them, the father and son were incredibly excited.

"Holy Son, I'm Song Xiaotian, and this is my son, Song Chenglong."

Song Xiaotian spoke with great excitement.

"Oh! So it's you!"

Ye Qingyun nodded.

"How come you've become monks?"

Song Xiaotian said, "Ever since your teachings that day, Holy Son, my son and I have devoted our hearts to the Buddha and longed to enter the Buddhist order."

"As it happened, Master Huikong and the others came to build temples here. My son and I came to help, and also asked Master Huikong to tonsure us. That was how we entered the Buddhist order."

Song Chenglong continued, "Holy Son, my father's Dharma name is Xuhai, and mine is Xuzhu."

Ye Qingyun's brows knitted.

"Your Dharma name is Xuzhu?"

Song Chenglong nodded repeatedly. "Yes, yes. Master Huikong gave it to me."

Ye Qingyun gave an odd smile.

"That's a good Dharma name. You can tell at a glance that it has great prospects."

Song Chenglong was delighted. "Even you think so, Holy Son? I think it has great prospects too."

Not long after Huikong and the others left.

Martial Emperor Dongfang Su flew through the air with Guyue, speeding all the way from the imperial capital.

As they approached Floating Cloud Mountain, Dongfang Su and Guyue both spotted two huge craters in the ground nearby from the sky.

Both were inwardly awed.

"Only a true dragon could accomplish such a feat!"

Dongfang Su exclaimed in wonder.

"Your Majesty, quite a few temples have indeed been built at the foot of Floating Cloud Mountain."

Guyue pointed toward the foot of Floating Cloud Mountain as he spoke.

Dongfang Su looked over as well. There were indeed more than a dozen temples.

The grandest among them was called Shaolin Temple.

"All these monks have gathered here. Could Ye Qingyun be the Buddhist Holy Son?"

Dongfang Su spoke doubtfully.

Guyue looked shocked. "It's very possible. Only such a great master would deserve the title of Buddhist Holy Son."

Dongfang Su was filled with emotion.

He found Ye Qingyun increasingly unfathomable.

"Come, let's pay our respects to the great master."

Dongfang Su brought Guyue straight down onto the summit of Floating Cloud Mountain.

Their landing gave Ye Qingyun and Guo Xiaoyun a fright.

"Master, they can fly!"

Guo Xiaoyun's face was filled with astonishment.

Ye Qingyun, however, was relatively calm.

"Greetings, Your Majesty the Martial Emperor!"

Ye Qingyun bowed in salute.

Seeing this, Guo Xiaoyun hurriedly followed suit.

Seeing that Ye Qingyun remained so low-key, Dongfang Su inwardly admired him.

Truly worthy of being a great master. Even after doing something so earth-shattering, he remains this unassuming and ordinary.

Had it been Dongfang Su, he knew he would not have possessed Ye Qingyun's peaceful state of mind.

Too powerful!

Too unfathomable.

This was the bearing a transcendent master ought to have.

"Young Master Ye, who is this?"

Dongfang Su did not mention the true dragon's appearance, asking instead about Guo Xiaoyun's identity.

"Oh, this is a disciple I took in recently. His name is Guo Xiaoyun."

Ye Qingyun beckoned to Guo Xiaoyun. "This is His Majesty the Martial Emperor of our Heavenly Martial Dynasty."

Guo Xiaoyun stared blankly at Dongfang Su, the shock in his heart beyond measure.

His Majesty the Emperor!

For Guo Xiaoyun, who had once been a beggar, this was an unimaginably important person.