Chapter 1032: Backing

Zhikong, who had brought Xinding along, stared at the boy in sheer astonishment. What an exceptional question—how had he himself never once thought of it?

"To deliver the Red Lotus Demoness is out of the question, naturally." The little old man, possessing several centuries of cultivation, was the guardian of the herb garden and possessed a formidable mastery of Zen meditation; he spoke with measured deliberation, smiling genially as he answered Xinding.

"Marriage is a secular affair, whereas our Buddhist sect is a pure land of serene cultivation. If the Red Lotus Demoness were to take refuge in our order and marry Zhiyuan, would that not introduce worldly matters into the pure land and disrupt its sacred rules?"

Zhikong experienced a sudden epiphany, marveling inwardly at Martial Uncle Wunian, who had dispelled his confusion in mere sentences.

Yet Xinding remained perplexed, his clear eyes fixed upon the little old man. "But I see that in our Handyman Courtyard, martial duels and gambling are rampant; Martial Uncle Zhixing from the West Handyman Courtyard constantly provokes Martial Uncle Zhiyuan; the four handyman courtyards vie relentlessly against one another, and the Martial Monk Courtyard selects the top four to contend for first place. Are these not all secular affairs?"

"I..."

The little old man was instantly choked by Xinding's words, rendered utterly speechless for a long moment.

The crux of the matter was that Xinding spoke nothing but the truth, leaving him with no ground for refutation.

Xinding then wore a look of sudden understanding, finally deducing the logic of it. "I see now. Martial Uncle Zhiyuan is just one person, so he is easy to manage. The other matters involve too many people, so our Buddhist sect cannot handle them all and simply leaves them be."

"I..."

The little old man stood entirely speechless. This boy appeared simple-minded and dense, so how did every word out of his mouth strike so squarely at the truth?

This boy could certainly not have been raised by Zhiyuan; if Zhiyuan possessed such a sharp wit, he would never have been trapped by love and failed his breakthrough back then!

Inside the miniature world of the Green Peak Sword, Lu Yang laughed until his stomach ached. This unyielding, single-minded disposition of Xinding truly made him prime material for the Buddhist path.

The little old man took two deep, centering breaths and spoke with earnest gravity, "Xinding, you must understand that all things undergo a process of transformation. It is true that our Xitian Temple harbors many secular impurities, but you must also see that from top to bottom, the temple is currently purging these stains to restore the pure name of Xitian Temple. It is only that these matters require time."

"How much time will it take?"

"It will take a very long time."

Xinding pondered this, feeling as though his Grandmaster had spoken volumes, yet simultaneously feeling as though he had said nothing at all.

The little old man dared not converse with Xinding any further, lest the young monk pose another question that would prove impossible for an elder like himself to answer. Handing over the Lingshu Grass, he urged Zhikong to take Xinding away at once.

"Martial Uncle Zhiyuan, here is the Lingshu Grass." Xinding handed the stalk to Martial Uncle Zhiyuan exactly as agreed.

Accepting the Lingshu Grass, a deeply nostalgic look flickered in the depths of Zhiyuan's eyes. "I suppose you met my Master?"

"Grandmaster Wunian? Yes, I met him."

"Did he speak of me?"

"He did."

"What did he say?" Martial Uncle Zhiyuan inquired with a touch of urgency. Though his Master had torn him and Red Lotus apart, the fault lay ultimately with himself for erring first. His reluctance to see his Master stemmed entirely from his inability to overcome the hurdle in his own heart.

Xinding thought for a moment. He had conversed with Grandmaster for a long time, and repeating it all would be troublesome, so he decided to summarize their conversation briefly.

"He said that our Xitian Temple has too many foul and impure affairs to manage them all. He said your desire to marry the Red Lotus Demoness is far too conspicuous, so Xitian Temple has no choice but to intervene."

Zhiyuan was struck by a revelation, appearing tremendously excited. "So Master means that it is perfectly fine if Red Lotus and I marry in secret?"

His Master was indeed looking out for him after all!

"Did Grandmaster mean that?" Xinding recalled his Grandmaster's reaction, feeling intuitively that it was not quite what he meant, but given his own dull wit, it seemed natural that he could not grasp Grandmaster's deeper implications.

Afterward, Zhikong led Xinding and the other three to the Martial Monk Courtyard. The gazes that Xinan, Xinchen, and Xinping directed toward Xinding were filled with profound awe.

This was not merely because Xinding had won the top spot through absolute strength, but more importantly, because the powerful souls hidden within their bodies—the ones that had guided their cultivation—had completely vanished after that battle!

They knew better than anyone how formidable those three souls were, yet they had vanished without a trace. What dark secret was hidden within Xinding!

The mere thought of it made them shudder involuntarily.

"From this day forth, you are martial monks of the Martial Monk Courtyard." Zhikong led the four to receive their martial monk robes and spoke after showing them around the premises, updating their identity tokens.

"Starting from next month, you will receive a monthly allowance of ten low-grade spirit stones and ten merit points. If you require more resources, you must rely on your own endeavors."

The other three were thrilled; the treatment in the Martial Monk Courtyard was truly a world apart from that of the Handyman Courtyard.

"I have other matters to attend to, so I shall take my leave." Seeing that his explanations were complete, Zhiyuan left the four to tend to his own affairs.

"Are you four the newcomers?" The moment Zhiyuan departed, a group of about seven or eight individuals immediately approached them, their leader being none other than a cultivator at the Great Perfection of Qi Refining!

The leader cast a deliberate look at Xinding. He was Xincheng's backing in the Martial Monk Courtyard. He had assumed that since Xincheng possessed the fragment of the Elephant Crossing the River diagram he had provided, the boy would surely enter the Martial Monk Courtyard, yet he never expected Xincheng to be eliminated by Xinding.

"Greetings, Senior Brothers."

"Newcomers must understand the rules. Every fresh martial monk must fight a match against us, so you may learn that there are always heavens beyond heavens, and men beyond men!"

Xinding and the other three grew tense.

"Celestial Venerable, what should I do?" Seeing that the intruders harbored ill intent, Xinding knew he could never defeat a martial monk at the Great Perfection of Qi Refining.

The Tofu Celestial Venerable smiled faintly. Such a trivial matter did not require his personal intervention at all, and he pointed out a clear path for Xinding: "Go find your backing."

"Do I have a backing?"

...

"Grandmaster, they are bullying me." Xinding ran to the herb storehouse to lodge a complaint with the little old man.

The little old man never expected that a mere half-day after he had spoken of Xitian Temple purging its impurities, Xinding would encounter such a sordid affair.

This could not be left ignored.

With a Grandmaster at the Soul Formation stage serving as his backing, who in the Martial Monk Courtyard would dare mention that newcomers must fight the veterans?

...

"Do you know that twenty percent of every newcomer's monthly allowance must be surrendered to us..."

"Grandmaster, they are extorting me."

"So you are Zhiyuan's disciple. Do you know that back when Zhiyuan was in the Martial Monk Courtyard..."

"Grandmaster, they cannot beat Martial Uncle Zhiyuan, so they came to bully me."

Very quickly, the entire Martial Monk Courtyard came to know that Xinding was a well-connected individual.

Except Xinding himself remained unaware.

Utilizing the power of the Lingshu Grass, Zhiyuan returned to the peak of the Golden Core stage. He took a turn around the Martial Monk Courtyard but failed to find a single person bullying Xinding.

Seeing that everyone in the Martial Monk Courtyard treated him with an inexplicably warm attitude, Xinding did not overthink it, assuming merely that his faithful preservation of the Tofu Celestial Venerable's secret had saved Xitian Temple, and that good deeds naturally brought good rewards.

Aware of Xinding's background, the Martial Monk Courtyard naturally refrained from treating him like the other newcomers, tilting various resources in his favor.

"Xinding, while others who have just entered the Martial Monk Courtyard may freely choose a single cultivation method from the second floor of the Scripture Library, you are Wunian's grand-disciple and are naturally distinct. You may select any three methods you wish."

"Grandmaster, they are making me go through the back door."