When they heard Li Changâan was outside the gate.
The elder monk and Li Sheng were both momentarily stunned into silence. It was the Eldest Princeâs hysterical roar that finally snapped them out of it.
The elder monk glanced at Li Sheng, then rose to his feet. "Patron, why donât you accompany this humble monk to have a look?"
Although he was highly suspicious of Li Changâanâs true identity, now that they were both present, he naturally had to make some kind of gesture.
Li Sheng, for his part, had no reason to refuse. The Eldest Prince was even more direct; the moment he heard Li Changâanâs name, he was already rushing toward the templeâs exterior.
...
Outside Buddha Light Temple, more and more Jianghu People who had heard the news gathered, completely surrounding the temple gates until not even a drop of water could pass.
Li Changâan didnât care that they were watching.
After a moment of letting his mind wander, the young monk from before finally emerged, followed by an elder monk and two other men, one old and one young.
The instant his eyes landed on Li Changâan, the Eldest Princeâs vision turned red. He roared like a wounded beast, "Li Changâan, it really is you... Heaven has a path, but you refuse to walk it. Hell has no gate, yet you barge right in?!"
His hair was disheveled and his eyes were bloodshot. He was clearly deeply agitated.
Li Changâan didnât recognize him at first. He squinted, studying him for a long moment before smiling. "Isnât this the Eldest Prince? I heard you fled the Imperial Palace like a dog some time ago, and dozens of Inner Guards couldnât even catch you. Whatâs this? Itâs only been a few days, and youâre already biting people randomly?"
While Li Changâan rarely engaged in psychological warfare, it didnât mean he couldnât. On the contrary, his words could be devastatingly sharp.
At the very least, these few sentences were enough to drive the Eldest Prince completely berserk.
He wished he could rush forward and tear Li Changâan to pieces.
However, when the thought truly formed in his mind and he prepared to act on it, the Eldest Prince found himself seemingly nailed to the ground. His legs refused to move even a single step.
âLi Changâan is too terrifying!â
He had once held a winning hand, yet in the end, he didnât even know how he had lost.
He had lost everything in a befuddled daze.
Before Li Changâan appeared, he had wanted to slice him into a thousand pieces. But now that Li Changâan was truly standing before him, he was stunned to find that he had lost all courage to fight. Even taking a single step was an immense struggle.
A profound sense of humiliation welled up from the depths of the Eldest Princeâs heart.
Behind him, Li Sheng patted his nephewâs shoulder. His cold gaze, however, was fixed on Li Changâan. He narrowed his eyes and said, "Your Highness, Crown Prince Dayan... to what do we owe the honor of your visit today?"
As he spoke, he warily scanned the surroundings.
After discovering that Li Changâan had no other masters with him besides a few members of the Shadow Guard, Li Shengâs suspicion grew even stronger.
âThe Crown Prince of Dayan came to Xihu Province to run wild all by himself?â
âIs this for real?â
To be honest, if Li Sheng werenât so unsure of what trick Li Changâan had up his sleeve, he would have already moved to capture him.
Seeing that the Eldest Prince didnât dare to speak again, Li Changâan found it a bit dull.
He shifted his gaze back to Li Sheng and the elder monk beside him, saying coolly, "Whatâs this? You two are holding a grand event for all the Martial Artists under heaven. Am I not allowed to attend?"
His words were too bizarre.
So much so that everyone present, including the people from the Buddhist Sect and the Li Family, could only look at each other in confusion.
The Buddhist Sect and the Li Family were holding this martial arts conference for the sole purpose of uniting all the Sects in the world against the Dayan Imperial Court, werenât they?
So what was the deal with him, the Crown Prince of Dayan, showing up on their doorstep?
At his words, Li Sheng and the elder monk exchanged a look, each seeing the wariness in the otherâs eyes. The more nonchalant Li Changâan acted, the more cautious they became.
After all, they werenât naive enough to believe that Li Changâan was actually eager to get himself killed.
As the abbot of Buddha Light Temple, Elder Monk Huixuan stepped forward and spoke. "The martial arts conference is a grand event for the Jianghu. The Buddhist Sect naturally wouldnât turn away anyone with a sincere heart..."
"But Patron, you havenât even entered the gates, yet you shamelessly slander my Buddha. If you were truly here as a guest, why would you act this way?"
Hui Xuan was dressed in a simple, plain monkâs robe.
He appeared kind and benevolent, possessing the air of a distinguished monk.
Li Changâan had no interest in wasting any more words with them. Seeing the time was right, he said directly, "I heard youâve added a prize to todayâs martial arts conference. The first-place winner of the tournament gets to go to the Buddhist Ancestral Court for a day of enlightenment..."
Seeing that he was finally getting to his point, Hui Xuan raised an eyebrow. "And what if we have?"
The so-called martial arts tournament was, of course, just a pretext. The Buddhist Sect and the Li Family actually just wanted to use this opportunity to announce the Buddhist Sectâs status as the âHead of the Four Upper Sectsâ to the entire world.
Li Changâan shot a look at the men behind him.
Immediately, a few members of the Shadow Guard carried several chests forward.
Li Changâan kicked one of them open. Inside, dozens, nearly a hundred, incredibly rare and exotic treasures were on display, emitting a light that made it impossible to look away.
Forget the surrounding Jianghu People; even Li Sheng and the elder monkâs breathing quickened. Many of the treasures in that chest were things that even they coveted greatly!
Of course, that wasnât the most important part.
The most important part was that there were three more identical chests behind him. Li Changâan kicked them open one by one, and all of them were filled with treasures of the same quality!
Profound Sun Grass, Tribulation Flower, Profound Iron Ice Crystal...
Now, the two of them were more than just short of breath.
Their eyes were practically glazing over!
These priceless treasures, each worth a fortune on the outside, were now piled up haphazardly in the chests like a heap of scrap metal.
After opening all the chests, Li Changâan revealed a smile and said coolly, "Since the Buddhist Sect has put up a prize, why not make the stakes a little bigger?"
"These treasures are all priceless. Today, I am prepared to wager them against the Buddhist Sectâs Bodhi Fruit. If I lose in the martial arts conference, all these treasures will be gifted to your Buddhist Sect. If I can take first place, the Buddhist Sect will hand over the Bodhi Fruit. How about it?"
When he heard the words "Bodhi Fruit," the elder monkâs eyebrows twitched.
He glanced at the treasures behind Li Changâan. If it were just the contents of any single chest, it would naturally be insignificant compared to the Bodhi Fruit.
But Li Changâan had brought a full four chests!
The sum total of so many treasures was truly tempting.
But he couldnât figure out Li Changâanâs motive for doing this, so he didnât rush to respond. He probed, "Patron, what is the meaning of this? The martial arts conference is a grand event for all Martial Artists of the world. How has it become a private wager between the Buddhist Sect and you?"
Li Changâan roared with laughter. "This wager isnât just aimed at your Buddhist Sect. The Four Major Sects, the four Divine Objectsâanyone who has an idea can come to me. Even if a Grandmaster takes the stage, I, Li Changâan, will take them on all the same!"
At this, his voice paused and his tone suddenly turned cold. His gaze swept over everyone as he spoke slowly, "What I mean is, everyone here is trash. The Buddhist Sect, in particular, is the trash of all trash. If you donât agree, you can find me on the tournament stage. Heavenly materials and earthly treasures, Martial Arts Techniques, or your very livesâpick one and leave it behind..."
His voice wasnât loud, but it wasnât quiet either.
But nearly everyone present was a Martial Artist with exceptionally sharp senses.
Therefore, the moment the words left his mouth, an uproar erupted. Everyone was stunned. Someone couldnât help but mutter, "This Crown Prince of Dayan... is he insane?"
"Who knows? His mental state seems genuinely worrying!"
"I heard heâs not even ten years old, right? To have lost his mind at such a young age... it seems the Dayan Dynasty is really on its last legs, letting a lunatic be the Crown Prince!"
"Such arrogance! To challenge the entire world by himself. I donât know if heâs ignorant of the immensity of heaven and earth, or just overbearingly confident..."
Clearly, Li Changâanâs contemptuous behavior had provoked public outrage, and the surrounding crowd was on the verge of boiling over.
âWhat kind of person is this?â
âHeâs not even fully grown, yet he dares to shamelessly provoke all the Martial Artists in the world?â
If it werenât for the commanders of the Shadow Guard standing behind him, Li Changâan would most likely be facing a "righteous" gang beating from dozens, or even hundreds, of enraged Jianghu Martial Artists right now.
Since Li Changâan dared to do it, he naturally didnât care about the consequences.
He seemed completely oblivious to the crowdâs anger, acting as if nothing was wrong. His gaze returned to the elder monk as he slowly asked, "Are you satisfied with that answer?"
The elder monkâs expression was grim and unsettled.
To be provoked like this by a boy of about ten, even with the elder monkâs high level of self-cultivation, he couldnât help but burn with anger.
Not to mention, the elder monk was not a good-tempered person to begin with.
He pondered for a moment, then looked up at a young monk not far in front of him and said coolly, "Jingshan, go teach this little patron a lesson. Let him know the meaning of âa monk does not tell liesâ!"
Seeing that heâd finally lost his temper but was too proud to step up himself, Li Changâan roared with laughter. "Donât send a Little Novice Monk who isnât even a First-class Master to embarrass himself. Just have those two old geezers behind you come over and die!"
Being called a "Little Novice Monk" by a child younger than himself.
The young monkâs face flushed with fury. A golden light flared around his body, and his footwork was like a gust of wind, carrying him before Li Changâan in just a few steps.
"WHOOSH!"
His fist, blazing like fire, shot out violently.
Seeing the Buddhist Sect finally make a move, the surrounding Jianghu People skillfully switched into spectator mode. Their eyes widened in amazement as they exclaimed, "This monk looks surprisingly young and was completely unremarkable before. I canât believe heâs actually cultivated the Buddhist Sectâs Arhat Fruit Position!"
"To achieve the Arhat Fruit Position at such a young age, he must be considered a rather talented young monk even within the Buddhist Sect, right? The Buddhist Sectâs depths are truly unfathomable!"
"Does this Crown Prince of Dayan think this is still the Dayan Imperial Palace, where everyone will yield to him? With this young monk attacking today, even if a Grand Derivation Grandmaster is protecting him in secret, heâs bound to lose at least half his life!"
Although most of the Jianghu People werenât particularly fond of the Buddhist Sect, right now, they all wished the young monk would quickly give Li Changâan a sound thrashing.
After all, Li Changâanâs earlier remarks had truly provoked the wrath of the masses.
However, the scene that followed made everyoneâs eyes widen involuntarily.
The young monk erupted with a brilliant golden divine light, and his fists, as large as sandbags, rained down on Li Changâanâs chest, abdomen, and head like a furious storm.
But Li Changâan, who should have been at the center of this tempest, didnât even twitch. He stood his ground, neither dodging nor evading, and took every single attack head-on.
Of course, that wasnât the most crucial part. The most crucial part was that with so many fists smashing into Li Changâan, logically, even if he were made of iron, he should have been beaten flat by now.
Yet not even the hem of his clothes had stirred!
One second, two seconds...
Ten punches, a hundred punches...
The young monkâs forehead began to break out in sweat.
Yet Li Changâan just watched him with a calm and detached expression the entire time.
Only when the last shred of strength in the young monkâs body was exhausted did Li Changâan casually say, "Heavenly materials and earthly treasures, a secret cultivation technique, or your life. Pick one to leave behind."
...