He looks just like a recent college graduate.
Later, Daoist Leng asked, he discovered that Yun Zhaozhao wasn't just a fake; she really was a recent college graduate.
Besides Yun Zhaozhao, Lin Banxia and the others who had been busy in the backyard also officially met the Daoist priests of Embracing Bamboo Temple. Regarding the identities of Lin Banxia and Xiao Yao, Yun Zhaozhao simply introduced them as employees of Clear Breeze Temple. The Embracing Bamboo Temple expressed their understanding, after all, in order for a Daoist temple to maintain normal operation, in addition to the Daoist priests, it also needs some non-Daoist people as staff.
Daoist Leng was quite friendly to girls, and even took the initiative to chat with Lin Banxia and Xiao Yao.
Daoist Leng: "What are your responsibilities at Clear Breeze Temple?"
Lin Banxia: "She's in charge of planting flowers, and I'm in charge of planting fruit trees and Chinese medicinal herbs."
Daoist Leng: "Our Embracing Bamboo Temple also has Daoist priests in charge of agriculture, but we usually just grow some vegetables to maintain the temple's daily needs. We haven't really grown many flowers, herbs, or Chinese medicinal plants."
Lin Banxia was very enthusiastic. "Would you like to plant some? Our Clear Breeze Temple can provide Embracing Bamboo Temple with various seeds and technical guidance~ However, we might need to charge a small fee for your trouble and materials."
Yun Zhaozhao ate her food with her head down, remaining silent. But in her heart, she couldn't help but give Lin Banxia a big thumbs up. As expected of an employee trained by Clear Breeze Temple, she knew how to seek benefits for Clear Breeze Temple.
Daoist Leng smiled and said, "Forget it, our Embracing Bamboo Temple has its own main business. Besides, I don't think flowers, plants, and Chinese herbs are of much use in daily life."
Lin Banxia: "How could it be useless? If anyone comes to provoke us, we can poison them!"
Daoist Leng: "..." Is he trying to trick us? Is he? Is he?
Suddenly, the food in my mouth didn't taste good anymore.
Daoist Huaijin evening. It wasn't that he didn't want to talk; it was just that he had talked too much during his discussion with Daoist Cen and Daoist Mao that afternoon, and now, every time he opened his mouth, he felt like his throat was on fire.
To be honest, he didn't think Daoist Cen and Daoist Mao were so eloquent when they were in school. He didn't know what had happened in the past month or two, but it seemed that their understanding of Daoist practices had improved by leaps and bounds. They could talk about various Daoist classics with great knowledge. If you didn't know them, you would think that they were top students in school!
Daoist Cen had clearly noticed Daoist Huaijin's unusual silence, and fearlessly stepped forward to ask, "Why aren't you saying anything? Are you just naturally quiet? You seemed quite talkative this afternoon."
Daoist Huaijin: "..."
Jingting, who was standing nearby, deliberately brought up a sore spot. " Daoist Cen, I heard you had a debate this afternoon. I was busy with my live stream and didn't have time to watch it live. How did it go? Who won and who lost?"
Daoist Cen, with great composure, said, "It's just an exchange and learning session; how can there be a winner or loser? Besides, in literature there's no first place, but in martial arts there is..."
Jingting: "What do you mean?"
Daoist Cen: "That means a literary contest cannot determine a winner or loser, so..."
Jingting instantly became excited. "So you guys want to fight and settle things, right? I support you, and I think this is worth live-streaming."
Daoist Huaijin used to be a weak scholar at the Daoist Academy, and he always felt that brutes like Daoist Cen and Daoist Mao did not have the spirit of Daoism. Now, suddenly someone named Jingting jumped out and encouraged him to fight, and even wanted to live stream the fight. He was so angry that his hair stood on end.
"You... you all..."
The moment he opened his mouth, Jingting listener could tell his voice was hoarse.
He looked at her voice, then asked with concern, "Oh dear, your voice is hoarse! Don't get agitated, have some soup to soothe it."
Lin Banxia, who was standing to the side, said, "This humble woman has some medical knowledge. Would you like to give the Daoist priest some acupuncture treatment?"
Jingting: "Yes, yes, let her treat you quickly. You'll soon forget the pain in your throat, because who knows, she might just paralyze you after her treatment."
Daoist Huaijin: "???"
Chapter 61
Daoist Huaijin ignored all of Lin Banxia and Jingting's suggestions, such as martial arts competitions and acupuncture. However, Daoist Leng unexpectedly put down his chopsticks and chimed in, "Since we've got nothing to do after dinner anyway, we could spar a bit."
The reason why Daoist Leng dared to speak up was because he himself had practiced martial arts for many years, and besides him, the other Daoist priests he brought also had some skill.
Looking at the people from Clear Breeze Temple, they were either too fat or too thin. The only ones who could probably fight were Daoist Mao and Daoist Cen, who had discussed scriptures with them this afternoon.
Even if Daoist Cen and Daoist Mao are incredibly skilled fighters, they are at a disadvantage in terms of numbers. After all, two fists can't fight four hands. If they take turns fighting, they can wear down the two opponents.
As for your argument that it's an unfair victory? So what? All's fair in war!
With this in mind, Daoist Leng was quite looking forward to the upcoming martial arts competition.
Although Daoist Huaijin himself couldn't participate, he was still quite happy to see Daoist Leng stand up for him. So after hearing Daoist Leng's words, his expression finally improved.
Yun Zhaozhao, however, couldn't help but feel a little worried.
Daoist Chang Kong is completely outmatched on their side. As for Jingting... after practicing the martial arts manual given to him by Daoist Qingxin for so long, he's still stuck on the horse stance and basic fist techniques. If he were to actually go up and fight, he'd probably only get beaten up.
As for Daoist Cen and Daoist Mao... they should have some skill, since they were the ones who taught Tai Chi Chuan before, but Yun Zhaozhao wasn't entirely sure how much skill they actually possessed. After all, Clear Breeze Temple hadn't had anything worth their time before.
To ascertain their chances of winning the duel, Yun Zhaozhao couldn't help but cautiously approach before the match and whispered, "Are you two up to the task?"
Daoist Cen said calmly, "Don't worry, Abbot."
Yun Zhaozhao subconsciously glanced at Daoist Mao again, only to receive the same reply, " Daoist Mao, please rest assured."
Yun Zhaozhao: "..." Okay, if you two tell me not to worry, then I'm not worried. At worst, it's just a loss! Anyway, losing won't hurt us, it'll just be a loss of face. And since Clear Breeze Temple, the thing we're least afraid of is losing face.
Having figured this out, Yun Zhaozhao suddenly calmed down.
Xiao Yao and her classmate didn't live inside Clear Breeze Temple, but rather at a primary school in a nearby village. So, although they really wanted to stay and watch the game, they decided to leave quickly after dinner, while it was still early, because of safety concerns.
After Clear Breeze Temple closed, everyone packed up the tables, chairs, and benches in the courtyard and simply set up a temporary martial arts arena.
The first to step up were Daoist Cen and Daoist Leng. They were competing in fist techniques.
The two men first clasped their hands in a fist salute to each other, and then quickly began to wrestle.
Yun Zhaozhao was a complete novice when it came to martial arts, so she couldn't tell what styles of boxing the two were using. But judging from their punches, she could tell that Daoist Leng's style was extremely fierce, each move powerful and imposing. If that punch landed on her face, it wouldn't just knock out her teeth, it would at least leave her face swollen for ten days to two weeks. Daoist Cen, on the other hand, had the advantage of youth and quick reflexes. So although his punches weren't as fierce as Daoist Leng's, his defensive capabilities were extremely strong. Usually, the moment Daoist Leng threw a punch, Daoist Cen would have already made a quick parry or dodge. The two fought back and forth, keeping the audience on the edge of their seats, yet also making their blood boil with excitement.
Jingting had previously mentioned wanting to livestream the martial arts competition, but Yun Zhaozhao told him that if they didn't livestream it, losing might only be an internal embarrassment, but if they did livestream it, losing would be a national embarrassment. After analyzing the situation, Jingting ultimately decided to abandon the livestream. However, he couldn't resist recording some of the exciting fight scenes he saw during the competition, as these could later be used as promotional material for Clear Breeze Temple and posted online.
During this period of time, due to exposure to live streaming and the internet, Jingting has developed a certain internet mindset. She associates everything with "promotion," making her a veritable propaganda officer for Clear Breeze Temple.
Daoist Cen and Daoist Leng were still fiercely exchanging blows. However, as time passed, the onlookers keenly noticed that Daoist Leng's punches were no longer as powerful as they had been at the beginning.
This is understandable, after all, Daoist Leng is already in his fifties or sixties, and boxing is an extremely physically demanding activity. Even if his physical condition is much better than that of his peers, he is still no match for Daoist Cen, a young man in his early twenties who has just graduated from university.
Since everyone else could see it, there was no reason why Daoist Cen, who was fighting Daoist Leng, couldn't see it either. Daoist Cen seized the opportunity and instantly switched from defense to a strong attack.
He swept his leg across the room, and although Daoist Leng barely dodged it, he swayed slightly, losing his balance. Daoist Cen seized the opportunity, jumped up, and punched Daoist Leng in the face.
Everyone stared in shock at the scene before them. Even Daoist Leng himself didn't have time to make a blocking move; he could only instinctively close his eyes.
Unexpectedly, Daoist Cen's fist stopped just as it was about to touch Daoist Leng.
Before Daoist Leng could fully react, Daoist Cen had already withdrawn his fist, taken a half step back, and said with the dignity of a Daoist, "Since this is a friendly exchange, it should naturally stop when the point is reached. So Daoist Leng, you've yielded."
Daoist Leng stared silently at Daoist Cen for a long while, then finally conceded defeat willingly, saying, "The young man has surpassed his master; my skills are inferior, and I have lost."
Daoist Leng was considered the most capable fighter among the group from Embracing Bamboo Temple. Since even Daoist Leng had voluntarily conceded defeat, there was naturally no need for the others to continue fighting.
Moreover, it must be said that Daoist Cen's move just now was quite clever. If he had punched Daoist Leng in the face in front of everyone at Embracing Bamboo Temple, even if the remaining masters of Embracing Bamboo Temple didn't care about Daoist Leng's reputation as their senior brother, they would definitely have fought Clear Breeze Temple to the death for the sake of Embracing Bamboo Temple's honor. However, Daoist Cen had just given Embracing Bamboo Temple face, and the people from Embracing Bamboo Temple had come with the purpose of study and exchange, so there was even less reason for them to have a conflict with someone on Clear Breeze Temple's territory.