Chapter 1027: Lu Yang: Having a Cheat Code Should Feel Like This!

"Junior Brother Xinding, I see your movements are swift and agile. You must have made a breakthrough recently. Why don't you and I have a match?" Xincheng sneered. This was a tacit rule within the Handyman Court—when two people competed, the loser had to give the winner ten merit points.

Should Xinding refuse, Xincheng would bring others to harass him constantly, ensuring he could accomplish absolutely nothing!

"Excellent. Since Senior Brother extends an invitation, how could I refuse?"

Xincheng was taken aback, not expecting Xinding to agree so readily.

But this was for the best, saving him trouble. With the Martial Monk Court selection approaching, the more time saved, the better.

Seeing that a fight was imminent, an astute onlooker quickly ran off to find the Deacon Uncle to salvage the situation.

"Junior Brother Xinding, after you," Xincheng said hypocritically. Xinding, however, was in no mood for courtesy; the moment words ended, the blows began.

The disciples of the Handyman Court all learned the Bodhi Fist, the most fundamental of boxing techniques, and Xinding and Xincheng were no exception.

Xinding struck first. Now that his divine sense had expanded greatly, his control over his body was incomparable to the past, and even the execution of his Bodhi Fist movements had become far more precise.

Xincheng was startled. This punch was swift and fierce; when had Xinding's fist technique become so formidable?

"Look, isn't Junior Brother Xinding pinning Senior Brother Xincheng down and beating him?"

"That shouldn't be. Doesn't Senior Brother Xincheng have the Fragmented Map of the Scented Elephant Crossing the River?"

"Could it be that Senior Brother Xincheng hasn't meditated on the visualization map seriously since he obtained it?"

Hearing the whispers of the crowd, Xincheng felt so frustrated he wanted to vomit blood. He had been meditating constantly since he got the map. Reason dictated that no level-five Qi Refining handyman monk in the entire Handyman Court should be his match. How was it that the unremarkable Xinding was besting him?

Xincheng's mind was in utter disarray, his punches and kicks grew clumsy, falling even below his standard before he acquired the map.

Seizing the opportunity, Xinding dropped into a bow stance, sending Xincheng flying with a shattering punch.

The crowd erupted into an uproar; Xincheng, who held high hopes of entering the Martial Monk Court, had actually lost!

"Stop this, Xincheng! What do you think you are doing!" The voice of the Deacon Uncle drifted from the periphery of the crowd, and everyone quickly parted to form a path.

"Xincheng, you deliberately... wait, why are you lying on the ground?" The Deacon Uncle had intended to reprimand Xincheng, but what he saw was Xincheng sprawled out on the floor.

"Did you do this?" The Deacon Uncle turned his head to ask Xinding.

"Answering Uncle's question, it was I."

The Deacon Uncle gave Xinding a profoundly meaningful look. "Not bad, I didn't expect you to be such a promising sprout. If you encounter any difficulties in the future, feel free to come to me. Xincheng, accept your defeat gracefully and give Xinding ten merit points."

The handyman monks looked at Xinding with envy. Being able to seek out the Deacon Uncle for any difficulty meant Xinding had become the Uncle's confidant; who would dare provoke him now?

Furthermore, difficulties in cultivation were also difficulties, meaning the Deacon Uncle might even guide Xinding's training.

It was rumored that the Deacon Uncle was originally a great Golden Core master who had failed a breakthrough, falling back to the Foundation Establishment stage. Dejected, he had come to the Handyman Court to serve as a deacon.

Though his realm had fallen, his discerning eye remained.

Clambering up from the ground, Xincheng prepared to give the merit points half-heartedly, but Xinding showed no intention of accepting them, leaving Xincheng thoroughly embarrassed.

"What is the meaning of this?!"

Xinding pressed his palms together, speaking earnestly, "Senior Brother, a monk abstains from anger and gambling. Just now we merely tested each other's skills; there was no wager."

With that, Xinding turned and departed, leaving the crowd with only the sight of his retreating back.

Inside the small world of the Azure Peak Sword, Lu Yang felt deeply moved witnessing this scene.

Precisely, this was exactly the feeling! Having a golden finger should warrant this kind of treatment!

Thinking back to how long it had been since he resurrected the Fairy, she, as a golden finger, had never once given him the luxury of defeating a powerful foe in public and walking away with such style.

The Immortal Fairy was highly indignant, feeling that Little Yangzi spoke without a conscience. "Who says you haven't? Didn't I borrow your body and your identity as the Acting Sect Master to let you fight above your level and walk away in glory?"

Lu Yang covered his brow. That was not the kind of plot he wanted.

...

"Little monk, do you wish to enter that so-called Martial Monk Court?"

"Yes, I do."

"Though your divine sense has improved, the fist technique you have learned is truly ordinary, and your cultivation level holds no advantage."

Xinding's gaze was resolute. "Ultimately, I must try."

"It is good to have such an attitude." The Tofu Celestial Venerable's tone sounded somewhat gratified.

"There is no rush regarding cultivation; proceed slowly to avoid an unstable foundation that leaves hidden perils. As for this fist technique, we can find a way."

"Celestial Venerable, are you going to teach me a fist technique?" Xinding said excitedly. A technique from the Celestial Venerable would surely be unparalleled in the world.

The Tofu Celestial Venerable chuckled softly. "How could that be? My fist technique sweeps through the nine heavens and ten earths, silencing both gods and ghosts. If you learned it, it would be all too easy for others to notice something amiss."

"How about this: make a trip to the Pavilion of Scriptures, and I shall help you look for a good fist technique."

"Celestial Venerable, we handyman monks can only access the first floor of the Pavilion of Scriptures. The best technique on the first floor is the Bodhi Fist."

"Just go," the Tofu Celestial Venerable said with a smile.

With half-doubting steps, Xinding made his way to the Pavilion of Scriptures.

The first floor of the Pavilion of Scriptures at the Western Heaven Temple was no inferior to that of the Wendao Sect; the books collected within could truly be described as a vast sea.

Xinding wandered aimlessly through the pavilion, unsure of what he was supposed to do, when the voice of the Tofu Celestial Venerable drifted into his ear. "Little monk, go to the twelfth row, the sixth bookshelf, near the third shelf. There lies the book you need."

Xinding complied and discovered a fist technique hidden there. Emblazoned upon the cover were three large words: "Arhat Fist"!

"Is this the legendary Arhat Fist that, when cultivated to the highest realm, allows one to attain the Arhat fruit of enlightenment?"

Xinding's voice trembled as he spoke. The merit points required to exchange for the Arhat Fist were more than all the merit points of the Handyman Court combined could afford!

"Celestial Venerable, how did you know the Arhat Fist was here?"

Lu Yang thought to himself, *Of course I know, I just placed it here last night.*

*If you wanted to learn something else, I could make sure you found that in the pavilion too.*

Seeing no response from the Tofu Celestial Venerable, Xinding assumed such a trivial matter was beneath the Venerable's answer.

"Presumably, some ancient worthy hid it here, waiting for the destined person." Xinding had heard many such tales in storytelling performances and did not ponder further on the origin of the Arhat Fist.

Hearing Xinding's self-muttering, Lu Yang suddenly recalled a question. "By the way, Fairy, are there any techniques actually left behind by ancient worthies on this first floor?"

"Of course, plenty of them. The Powerful Diamond Palm is hidden here, next to it is the Prajna Zen Palm, over there lies the Minor Formless Heart Scripture, beneath the floor tiles is hidden the Dragon-Subduing Tiger-Taming Scripture, and if you drop blood onto that introduction to Buddhist dharma at the very end, the Visualization Map of the World-Honored One's Enlightenment will appear."

"Do you want map fragments? Quite a few are hidden here too, along with all sorts of functional tokens, relics, storage rings, and the like."

Lu Yang: "..."

Why was the first floor of the Western Heaven Temple's Pavilion of Scriptures so bustling, while the first floor of their Wendao Sect's pavilion held only "The Transformation of Dragon and Phoenix"?