Chapter 112 - 108: Reasoning

Chapter 112: Chapter 108: Reasoning

Within White Cloud Temple, the massive canopy of the Buddha Cauldron Locust Tree blotted out the sun. Beneath its shade, thousands of Chunzhou City’s commoners stared in shock at the three Daoists striding through the temple gates.

The crowd of commoners was dazed. Seeing the handsome face and ethereal aura of the young Daoist leading the trio, they almost mistook him for a descending Immortal.

Meanwhile, the upper echelons of White Cloud Temple, several Martial Arts Grandmasters from Chunzhou City, and Grandmaster Ding Daolian of the Blade Grinding Hall, who were gathered in the Great Hall, furrowed their brows tightly as they watched Chen Sha’s trio.

Lotus Supervisor immediately strode forward, his face dark. "You three! A year ago, you insulted our Holy Land and slandered our Buddha. Now that you’re in Chunzhou City, instead of keeping a low profile, you dare to walk openly into our White Cloud Zen Temple. What are you scheming?"

Chen Sha spoke slowly, almost to himself, "I should be asking you that. I was just passing through Chunzhou City and had no intention of seeking you out. Yet, you actually want to lay hands on my disciples and me?"

Zen Su Abbot looked at the casually speaking Chen Sha. Unable to discern Chen Sha’s background and seeing that the young man appeared to be only in his twenties, he chanted a Buddhist epithet. "Young friend, though I do not know which sect you belong to, are you aware of what the two behind you have done?"

"Of course I am," Chen Sha replied calmly.

Seeing the Abbot speak, Lotus Supervisor stood aside with a cold expression, saying no more.

Hearing that Chen Sha actually knew what they had done yet still dared to show up at their door, Zen Su Abbot’s expression turned solemn. He lowered his gaze and asked in a deep voice, "If you know what they did, why do you still dare to come here?"

With his hands behind his back, Chen Sha said, "They did nothing wrong. Why wouldn’t I dare come?"

"Nothing wrong?" Zen Su Abbot’s previously Maitreya Buddha-like demeanor instantly turned cold, transforming him into a Furious Vajra. He said sternly, "The two behind you first injured our White Cloud Temple disciples without cause, then sneaked into our mountain gate late at night and carved the insulting words ’False Buddhas, False Monks’ onto the ’White Cloud Zen Temple’ plaque! And you call that doing nothing wrong? This old monk does not know whose disciple you are, but clearly, your elders never taught you right from wrong!"

As Zen Su Abbot spoke, his voice boomed like a lion’s roar, carrying immense solemnity. It echoed like a massive bronze temple bell, shaking the Heart Spirits of everyone present.

The Chunzhou commoners praying beneath the Buddha Cauldron tree finally understood the origins of these three Daoist visitors.

"So they’re the ones who caused trouble at White Cloud Temple a year ago!"

"What insolent Daoists!"

"How could they run wild in a Buddhist Holy Land?"

The crowd immediately frowned and began scolding Chen Sha’s trio. In the hearts of these Chunzhou commoners, White Cloud Temple was a Holy Land. Almost every family here worshipped the Buddha, and they could not tolerate anyone causing a scene in their sacred space.

Lin Qingqing bristled at their words. "You ignorant fools! White Cloud Temple claims to be a pure Buddhist Holy Land, but they’re nothing more than wealthy tyrants oppressing the tenant farmers. Haven’t you seen how these monks treat the commoners at the foot of the mountain who can’t pay their rent? They force people to sell off their property and even beat them up! Is this the Buddhist Holy Land you speak of?"

The commoners still frowned. Someone muttered, "Farming land and paying rent has been the rule since ancient times. Those people farm the masters’ land. If they can’t pay the rent, how is that White Cloud Temple’s fault?"

"You..." Lin Qingqing fumed.

Qi Zhengyi whispered from behind Lin Qingqing, "Qingqing, don’t bother arguing with them. Look at the people praying here—most are dressed in fine clothes. They’re wealthy families from the city, not oppressed farmers. I’d wager these people have their own estates and collect rent from others too. Of course they think we’re the ones at fault."

Seeing the commoners beneath the Buddha Cauldron tree speaking up for him, Zen Su Abbot slowly revealed a smile. He looked straight at Chen Sha. "Do you see now? Who is right and who is wrong? What is the truth of the matter?"

"I see it," Chen Sha said calmly, with his hands behind his back. "But I also have my own truth to show you."

Zen Su Abbot sneered. "What truth do you have? Speak, let this old monk hear it."

Chen Sha lowered his gaze. Keeping one hand behind his back, he raised his other fist and waved it in the air. "This is it."

BOOM!

Immediately, everyone in White Cloud Temple turned pale with shock at Chen Sha’s gesture. Talking about truth, what did raising a fist mean?

"Are you saying your fist is the truth?" Zen Su Abbot laughed out of extreme anger. "Heroes of Chunzhou City, behold! Though the origins of this villain remain unknown, he dares to spout such wild arrogance here. If he is allowed to leave this temple unscathed, even if this old monk tolerates it, the Buddha will not!"

Grandmaster Ding Daolian of the Blade Grinding Hall immediately shouted, "Rest assured, Zen Su Abbot, I, Ding, will handle this brat for you!"

"Sect Leader Ding, this person is running wild in our White Cloud Temple. How can we let you act alone!" Lotus Supervisor barked. "Let’s take him down together. I want to see just how hard his fists are to match such bold words!"

As soon as he spoke, BOOM!

One was the Supervisor Elder of White Cloud Temple, and the other was the Sect Leader of the Blade Grinding Hall in Chunzhou City. The two Grandmasters leaped down from the high platform of the Great Hall, diving like two fierce flood dragons.

WHOOSH!

Their combined assault was as fast as lightning. The commoners beneath the Buddha Cauldron tree felt terrifying air currents ripping through the sky, slashing at their faces like invisible blades!

Seeing that only two Grandmasters were attacking, Chen Sha couldn’t help but frown inwardly. Did White Cloud Temple not even have a single First-Grade Great Innate?

"You aren’t worthy of my fists," he said, shaking his head. "Have that Abbot standing up there come down and obediently admit his mistake, and this matter will be settled!"

The two Grandmasters had already charged within thirty feet of Chen Sha and heard his words. Just as cold, murderous intent flashed in their eyes, their gazes collided with Chen Sha’s, who remained standing right where he was!

The moment they met the young Daoist’s eyes, they felt his voice suddenly elevate, sounding like a Divine Spirit of heaven and earth commanding all creation. Their Heart Spirits exploded with shock!

They thought, "What? Such an imposing aura! Could it be..."

With just one look, they sensed a familiar yet foreign feeling in the young Daoist’s eyes—it was the exact same look they gave the bugs and ants crawling on the ground.

They thought, "In his eyes... we’re not even ants!"

This realization flashed through their minds, followed immediately by an impossible thought: "Unless he is a First-Grade Great Innate?!"

Just as this answer surfaced in their hearts, BOOM!

They had closed the distance to within thirty feet and were about to strike in the next instant. But seeing that they refused to listen, the young Sect Leader acted like a Daoist Emperor. He lowered his gaze coldly and shouted, "Insolent!"

As the word left his lips, it echoed endlessly through the sky above White Cloud Zen Temple!

"What..." Ding Daolian and Lotus Supervisor’s vision went black. They felt as if the sky itself was collapsing upon them. It was as if they were trapped beneath the foot of a Divine Spirit, and following his cold command, all gods and creation roared the same command in unison!

Insolent!

Stand down!

These words carried infinite, boundless power. The moment they pierced the two men’s minds, their True Qi erupted chaotically. Their mid-air assault on Chen Sha came to a screeching halt.

SMASH!

It was as if an invisible, gargantuan hand violently swatted them out of the sky. The sheer force slammed into their bodies, sending them flying over a hundred feet away. They crashed heavily into the massive front pillars of the distant Great Hall, snapping two beams as thick as barrels right down the middle.

RUMBLE!

Without the front pillars for support, the Great Hall’s tiles and bricks came crashing down like an avalanche over the heads of Zen Su Abbot, a group of White Cloud Temple Elders, and most of the experts from Chunzhou City!

"Dodge!"

"Watch out!"

In a split second, dozens of figures darted out of the collapsing Great Hall. As Zen Su Abbot flashed out of the wreckage, massive waves of shock crashed through his mind.

What had he just witnessed?

His junior brother, the Supervisor, and the Sword Dao Grandmaster—who ranked among the top three fighters in Chunzhou City—were sent flying and instantly severely injured by the young man’s single scolding!

"You..." Zen Su Abbot leaped over the fallen front beams of the ruined Great Hall, staring in absolute horror at Chen Sha, who still stood with his hands behind his back. "You’re actually a First-Grade Great Innate?"

The words tumbled out of his trembling lips. He simply couldn’t believe that this youth, who looked barely twenty, had already reached the highest Realm in the martial arts world!

"Who exactly are you? How has my White Cloud Zen Temple offended you?!" Realizing that Chen Sha was a First-Grade Great Innate, Zen Su Abbot’s heart pounded wildly. He no longer cared about losing his composure in front of the Chunzhou commoners and growled, "What faction sent you? It absolutely cannot be as simple as the grudge between the two behind you and our White Cloud Temple!"

He began to rethink everything, wondering if his temple’s flourishing incense offerings over the years had attracted the envy of some Major Sect, who was now using this excuse to seize his legacy. Why else would they choose today, during the Samantabhadra Bodhisattva Birthday Ceremony, right in front of thousands of Chunzhou commoners, to so blatantly destroy his temple’s reputation?

By now, the Chunzhou commoners were completely dumbfounded. As ordinary people, they couldn’t even clearly see the two Grandmasters’ attacks against Chen Sha. They only vaguely saw the two experts get close to the young Daoist before suddenly being blasted backward.

Many of them knew exactly how powerful Lotus Supervisor was. Some pilgrims had once seen him practicing in the courtyard, wrestling against nine bulls tied to him. Yet, even the combined strength of nine bulls couldn’t budge the master.

But just now... he had been sent flying.

Instantly, all the commoners who witnessed this scene looked at the collapsed Great Hall and the panicked, heavily flustered expression of Zen Su Abbot.

This old Abbot had always been an untouchable, prominent figure in the eyes of the Chunzhou commoners. Yet now, in front of a Daoist in his twenties, he was losing his composure as if he had encountered an indescribably terrifying pressure.

In a daze, the commoners felt that this young Daoist, who had walked openly into White Cloud Temple, seemed more like a Divine Spirit than the Buddha Statues, Bodhisattvas, and Arhats in the temple, gazing down upon them all.

Looking at the pale Zen Su Abbot, Chen Sha sighed as he listened to his accusations. "What if..."

As he spoke, he slowly reached out his hand. Terrifying Qi Power extended outward, glowing from his abdomen, and formed an invisible giant hand. It grabbed Zen Su Abbot from over a hundred feet away, dragging him through the air and suspending him by the neck.

"...I merely wanted to have a simple, reasonable talk with you?"

Zen Su Abbot was also a Grandmaster Level expert, but the moment Chen Sha grabbed him from afar, he felt as weak as a baby chick caught in a giant’s palm. Looking into Chen Sha’s handsome face, his courage entirely shattered. "What exactly do you want? Do you want my life? Or how much gold must my White Cloud Temple give you for you to let this go?"

Chen Sha spoke slowly. "I merely want you to personally carve the words my disciple left on your White Cloud Zen Temple plaque. I want you to prove that they did nothing wrong, and confess in front of all these commoners that the one truly at fault is your White Cloud Temple. That is all."