Chapter 1028: Each Possessing Unique Extraordinary Skills

"How long have these visualization diagrams of cultivation methods and such been hidden away?"

"By the looks of it, a good several thousand years, maybe close to ten thousand."

Lu Yang massaged his temples. For so long, not a single soul had discovered them. Just how deeply had the eminent monks of the Western Heaven Temple buried these things?

Did you hide them so deeply because you wanted people to find them, or because you didn't?

...

"The Arhat Fist is fast and ever-changing, emphasizing the release of Qi through the teeth, producing a roar like thunder to boost morale and force power with breath..."

The teachings of the Tofu Heavenly Venerable echoed from the sword.

Lu Yang's mastery of the Arhat Fist was rivaled by few in this era. With him guiding Xinding, the boy's progress was naturally swift.

Practicing the fist technique in the courtyard, and blessed with an immense divine sense, Xinding executed every movement with immaculate precision. After half a month, he was on the verge of mastering the basics.

"It truly is far superior to the Bodhi Fist." The more Xinding practiced, the more he felt the vast chasm in tier between the Bodhi Fist and the Arhat Fist. It was truly worthy of being the supreme fist technique capable of attaining Arhatship.

Just as Xinding was immersed in his practice, a warm current rose from his dantian, flowing through his limbs and bones, filling him with strength.

"Has the elixir finally taken effect?"

Xinding rejoiced. For the sake of his cultivation and under the guidance of the Tofu Heavenly Venerable, he had used his own merit points to exchange for a Lesser Grass-Returning Pill. Although it was an elixir meant to aid breakthroughs, its nature was gentle, meant to be absorbed slowly by the body after consumption.

With his half-month of intense fist practice, his body had accelerated the absorption of the medicinal properties, and he had finally broken through from the fifth layer of Qi Refining to the sixth!

His pores dilated, drinking in the spiritual energy of heaven and earth to replenish the void left in his body after the breakthrough.

"If I were to encounter Senior Brother Xincheng now, I reckon I could knock him down with a single punch."

Compared to half a month ago, the progress in his strength was earth-shattering. He had obtained the visualization diagram of the Buddhist founder, learned the Arhat Fist, and broken through to the sixth layer of Qi Refining.

In the four handyman courtyards—East, South, West, and North—there were very few handyman monks who possessed a cultivation of the sixth layer of Qi Refining. This meant Xinding truly possessed the qualifications to compete for entry into the Martial Monks Courtyard.

"The sixth layer of Qi Refining already?"

"Greetings, Martial Uncle Zhiyuan." Xinding exhaled, concluding his forms, and pressed his palms together to bow to the deacon uncle, whose Dharma name was Zhiyuan.

"Neither arrogant nor rash. Not bad," Martial Uncle Zhiyuan praised, sighing inwardly. If he had possessed Xinding's disposition back then, he wouldn't have rushed so blindly to break through his bottleneck, only to suffer a regression in his cultivation realm.

He had been banished to the handyman courtyard for many years, disheartened and paying little heed to its management.

But just half a month ago, Xinding's victory over Xincheng had caught his attention. Upon observation, he found that Xinding was a rare and excellent prospect. With such a temperament, it was a pity to leave him in the handyman courtyard.

"Keep this string of prayer beads safe. You might find it useful during the selection for the Martial Monks Courtyard." Martial Uncle Zhiyuan removed a string of Buddhist prayer beads from his wrist.

"Uncle, this..." Xinding wanted to decline. This was his uncle's prayer beads, an absolute treasure he could never afford.

Everything he owned added together couldn't buy it... oh, wait, he had the Yinglong Visualization Diagram, the Arhat Fist manual, and an immortal sword.

"Take it. Your uncle isn't giving it to you for nothing; I have a favor to ask of you."

"Four handyman monks will be selected to enter the Martial Monks Courtyard this time. With your current abilities, entering the courtyard is not an issue."

"However, these four handyman monks must still be ranked. The handyman monk who places first in the selection can choose any century-old herb from the medicine storehouse. There is a century-old Spiritual Pivot Grass in the storehouse, and I need you to choose it."

Zhiyuan had been observing Xinding these past few days, and his stagnant heart had gradually stirred. Unwilling to remain so decrepit, he wanted to return to the Golden Core stage, and to do so, the Spiritual Pivot Grass was indispensable.

Due to special reasons, he could not exchange for the Spiritual Pivot Grass himself and could only use this opportunity of the Martial Monks Courtyard selection to obtain it.

"Heavenly Venerable, this..."

"Take it. By all accounts, you're still getting the better end of the deal. This string of prayer beads has been blessed with Buddhist dharma, and its value is somewhat higher than a century-old Spiritual Pivot Grass."

"Excellent." Xinding accepted.

...

The handyman courtyards were divided into East, South, West, and North. Xinding belonged to the East Handyman Courtyard, which was universally recognized as the weakest of the four.

All the handyman monks drew lots to fight on the arena stage, vying for the four slots to enter the Martial Monks Courtyard, followed by a battle among the top four to determine who was number one.

Xinding stood out among the handyman monks; relying solely on his sixth-layer Qi Refining cultivation was enough to sweep through a large swath of them.

Xincheng had likewise advanced to the sixth layer of Qi Refining, but unfortunately, facing Xinding who possessed an immensely powerful divine sense, he was defeated once again.

Xinding fought his way through, breaking into the top eight. Having just broken through to the sixth layer of Qi Refining, he was actually the weakest among the top eight. Coupled with his origin from the East Handyman Courtyard, no one favored him.

Xinding's opponent was a handyman monk from the West Handyman Courtyard who had cultivated at the sixth layer of Qi Refining for a whole year and was highly favored to enter the Martial Monks Courtyard.

The duel between the two would determine who entered the Martial Monks Courtyard!

"Senior Brother Zhiyuan, I didn't expect you to come to a place like this. In previous years, you never cared about the Martial Monks Courtyard selection."

A monk wearing the same attire as Zhiyuan walked over. It was Zhixing, who managed the West Handyman Courtyard.

"What, do you actually think this kid named Xinding can defeat someone from our West Handyman Courtyard?"

"One trial will tell." Facing Zhixing's provocation, Zhiyuan remained unmoved.

Zhixing let out a cold snort and said no more. Thinking of Zhiyuan—the former genius who had once been held in high regard, an existence who had climbed onto the Earth Rankings, only to be ruined by a beautiful woman, force a breakthrough, and be banished to the handyman courtyard to share the same treatment as himself after failing—brought a wave of satisfaction to his heart.

Zhixing was just about to watch the match to see how Xinding would lose and how Zhiyuan would react.

But when he looked toward the arena stage, the battle was already drawing to a close. Xinding sent his opponent flying off the stage with a single punch!

The East Handyman Courtyard erupted in cheers!

Someone from their East Handyman Courtyard was finally entering the Martial Monks Courtyard!

How could it have ended so quickly? He had only exchanged two sentences with Zhiyuan!

"You gave him your prayer beads?!" Zhixing's eyes widened in fury, completely caught off guard by Zhiyuan's audacity.

He saw Xinding wrapping the prayer beads around his hand to execute the Bodhi Fist. Every punch carried a Buddhist glow, and the disciple from their West Handyman Courtyard had been utterly no match!

According to the rules, one could only use their own items in the tournament, not borrowed ones. This meant that the string of prayer beads, precious enough to make even him envious, had been given to Xinding!

"Mere external possessions, why can they not be given?"

"You!"

After Xinding's match concluded, the other three matches ended one after another. These four individuals would all enter the Martial Monks Courtyard.

"It seems it is the four of you. What a coincidence, one from each of the four handyman courtyards." A monk from the Martial Monks Courtyard stepped forward to preside over the scene. After noticing the prayer beads on Xinding's hand, he cast a deliberate glance at Zhiyuan not far away.

Was that terrifying existence, once ranked in the top ten of the Earth Rankings, finally about to wake up?

"According to the rules, the four of you will enter the arena to fight. The last one remaining on the stage will be the number one of the handyman courtyards."

Being the number one of the handyman courtyards did not just mean being able to choose a herb from the medicine storehouse; more importantly, after entering the Martial Monks Courtyard, the degree of resource allocation would be vastly different.

Lu Yang stretched. Fighting up to this point, Xinding had not even deployed his Arhat Fist. Facing the remaining three handyman monks would not be an issue.

"Who do you think will win?"

"Of course it's Senior Brother Xin'an from our West Handyman Courtyard. Originally, Senior Brother Xin'an wasn't prominent, but just a year ago, his cultivation suddenly progressed by leaps and bounds, and he's already at the seventh layer of Qi Refining now!"

"Pff, does cultivation represent everything? The winner might very well be Senior Brother Xinchen from our South Handyman Courtyard. It's said that his original cultivation talent was an absolute mess, the very bottom of the handyman courtyard. One day, it was as if his spiritual aperture suddenly opened; he shed his past cowardly demeanor, defeated our South Handyman Courtyard's nepotism disciple, and became the eldest senior brother in one fell swoop."

"It will definitely be Senior Brother Xinping from our North Handyman Courtyard. Everyone says he has awakened a hidden Formless Physique, making him invincible among those of the same realm, and capable of challenging higher levels with ease. When Senior Brother Xinping was at the late stage of the fifth layer of Qi Refining, he defeated a cultivator at the late stage of the sixth layer. To obtain the first-place reward, he didn't even accept the direct recruitment from the Martial Monks Courtyard and came to participate in the competition instead!"

Lu Yang: "..."

Why did these three opponents sound anything but simple?