Chapter 151: Is Qin Shuo the First Lay Disciple of Dalong Temple?

"Old Qin, you alright?"

Outside the courtyard, He Mingjing rushed in anxiously.

Having shared life-and-death experiences with Qin Shuo, his feelings compared to other Demon Suppression Division Captains were ultimately deeper.

Thus, as soon as Nie Jinfeng left, he immediately rushed in, concerned about Qin Shuo's condition.

Seeing Qin Shuo with a calm expression, aside from his expression not looking good, his state was actually quite fine.

"Too bullying—Yue Shan has already achieved great success in Refining Organs, it's said he's even cultivated three strands of Thunder Strike Gang Qi."

"Making Qin Shuo fight him in the Life and Death Arena—isn't that bullying?"

He Mingjing voiced his indignation.

He had already known about Yue Shan's attack on Qin Shuo back in Songyang Prefecture City.

At that time, he was furious, feeling Yue Shan was utterly despicable, relying on his Refining Organs cultivation to bully the weak.

Never did he expect that the master of Wind Thunder Valley would be the same—actually letting Qin Shuo, at Condensing Truth Realm, fight Yue Shan, who had achieved great success in Refining Organs, in the Life and Death Arena.

Isn't this openly sending Qin Shuo to his death?

"Captain Qin need not worry—the Life and Death Arena isn't something Wind Thunder Valley can just open whenever they say. As long as we don't accept the challenge, do they really dare to forcibly attack the Demon Suppression Division?"

Pang Tong's expression wasn't pleasant either.

Earlier, he had even patted his chest and promised Qin Shuo, saying with the Demon Suppression Division's protective talisman, even a Grandmaster wouldn't dare move him lightly.

Who would have thought such a thing would happen in the blink of an eye?

"What exactly is this Life and Death Arena?"

Compared to He Mingjing and Pang Tong's indignation, Qin Shuo felt more curiosity.

"It's an arena established by Zhenwu Hall to mediate martial world disputes and resolve grudges between various sects." Pang Tong explained.

The Great Li established the state through martial arts and governed the world through sects.

Various powers, to seize benefits and divide territories, often clashed with blades and swords, engaging in fiery battles.

Over hundreds of years, powers with grudges were numerous—some hatreds even lasted five or six generations, already irreconcilable.

For such a situation, if the court did nothing, it would surely invite great chaos.

But to expect these sects, who have slaughtered each other for generations, to shake hands and make peace—clearly impossible.

Thus, the Life and Death Arena came into being.

On the Life and Death Arena, death settles the debt, and life and death each follow heavenly mandate.

Any grudges settled by the Life and Death Arena—if afterward someone seeks revenge or retaliation under this pretext, they will face severe punishment from Zhenwu Hall.

By this system, the martial world of Great Li was able to regain tranquility.

At least, those martial world atrocities where entire families were slaughtered at the drop of a hat have been greatly reduced.

"Ah, I see!"

Qin Shuo's eyes grew deep and gloomy—he had already sworn to kill the True Disciple of Wind Thunder Valley.

Regardless of whether this Life and Death Arena exists, he would eventually fight him to avenge the assault and slaughter of that day.

"Old Qin, don't act rashly—just ignore him. The Life and Death Arena isn't theirs to open whenever they say."

He Mingjing spoke indignantly, urging Qin Shuo not to act on impulse.

"Rest assured, I have it under control."

Qin Shuo smiled slightly, indicating he would consider carefully.

Not long after leaving the Dalong Temple garrison,

The direction of Yunzhou City once again transmitted earth-shaking qi explosions.

A towering figure sprinted across the wasteland—wherever he passed, sonic booms thundered, violent qi swept up vast clouds of dust behind him; at first glance, it resembled a dust-wind dragon roaring furiously.

"It's the Chief, the Chief has arrived!"

Seeing the figure like a giant whale breaking through the sea, the disciples of the Giant Whale Gang all cheered in unison.

"Where is the Demon King? Dare you fight me, old man?"

Unlike Nie Jinfeng's sharp brilliance,

This Giant Whale Gang Chief had a rough, heroic voice and grand momentum—even from tens of li away, he had already been roaring repeatedly, proudly seeking battle.

But the Demon King had already retreated, so naturally no one answered him.

When he finally rushed wildly into Fengyang City, the dust and earth from over ten li away still hadn't settled; from afar, it looked like a winding earth dragon lying across the land.

"He actually ran away?"

"Damn it, made me run for nothing again!"

Upon learning the truth, this hegemon of a province, commanding tens of thousands of followers, actually began cursing without any image.

"What damn Demon King? I see him as nothing but a bunch of shameless ground rats."

"Every time he ambushes me while I'm in seclusion—if he has the guts, let him show up and fight me openly!"

His voice was so loud and resonant, it nearly matched the old monk's lion's roar.

Even from several li away, Qin Shuo felt his eardrums shaken, somewhat painfully.

"This is Yu Xuanjing, chief of the Giant Whale Gang—it's said he's been in seclusion these past years, attempting to break into the Great Grandmaster realm; unexpected he's emerged." Pang Tong introduced to Qin Shuo.

Like Nie Jinfeng, upon learning the three Demon Kings came for Qin Shuo, that iron-tower-like man instantly turned his gaze toward this side with curiosity.

Qin Shuo did not avoid, meeting the Giant Whale Gang Chief's gaze from afar—neither humble nor arrogant, neither fearful nor awed.

"Interesting!"

Yu Xuanjing curled his lips with an inexplicable smile, then withdrew his gaze—after a few steps, he had already arrived before the Chijiao Heshang.

Originally, Qin Shuo thought this Giant Whale Gang Chief, like Nie Jinfeng, would also come to question him aggressively.

But unexpectedly, after exchanging thanks with the Chijiao Heshang, he departed freely, not glancing at Qin Shuo again.

No one came looking for trouble, so Qin Shuo naturally enjoyed some leisure.

After returning to the Demon Suppression Division's garrison, he immediately began cultivating.

Today's battle made him feel a sense of urgency.

Just like when he first arrived in this world half a year ago, that feeling of being unable to control his fate, having to rely on others' helplessness, made him feel terrible.

He urgently wanted to increase his strength.

But even if he practiced Whale Swallowing the Four Seas for an hour each day, the speed at which his True Essence condensed still failed to satisfy him.

"The refined essence of heaven and earth is still too scarce!" Qin Shuo sighed.

It's not that Whale Swallowing the Four Seas isn't strong enough; it's truly a case of a skilled cook unable to cook without rice.

If he were in the Divine Ability Secret Realm, or in a Cave Heaven Blessed Land with abundant spiritual essence, he was confident he could break through to Condensing Truth Great Perfection within a month.

Unfortunately, whether it's the Divine Ability Secret Realm or a Cave Heaven Blessed Land rich in spiritual essence, neither is easy to find.

Especially the former—throughout Yunzhou, only Dalong Temple has one such Divine Ability Secret Realm.

Moreover, this secret realm is ancient, and Qin Shuo doesn't know how much spiritual essence remains within it.

But it certainly won't be opened to him as an outsider.

"We still have to start with the Demon Inner Cores!"

Qin Shuo made up his mind: once he reached Yunzhou, the first thing he would do was go hunt demon beasts to obtain their Inner Cores.

With three Great Grandmasters stationed there, Qin Shuo wasn't worried about the three Demon Kings returning for revenge, so he slept very soundly that night.

Early the next morning, the Demon Suppression Division's team set out again at dawn.

Perhaps out of concern that the three Demon Kings would continue to trouble Qin Shuo, the Chijiao Heshang proactively came to them, saying he wanted to travel together.

Qin Shuo was naturally very grateful for this.

"Qin Shuo, you needn't worry; I'm also just passing by on my way back to the mountain."

The old monk was like Maitreya Buddha—whenever he spoke with someone, a smile naturally appeared on his face.

"Furthermore, Qin Shuo is also considered a disciple who inherited the robes and bowl of my Longxiang junior; it's only proper for me to look after him a little."

"Then can Dalong Temple accept lay disciples?"

Qin Shuo raised his eyebrows, and suddenly a bold idea arose in his mind.

In his previous life, he didn't know much about Buddhism.

But he remembered that movies often mentioned Shaolin lay disciples, such as Fang Shiyu and Hong Xiguan.

Even some famous martial arts stars were from Shaolin Temple.

These Shaolin lay disciples studied Shaolin martial arts, cultivated Shaolin Buddhist teachings, yet didn't need to become monks—they could still marry and have children, without having to observe the strict Buddhist precepts.

If that were the case, then joining Dalong Temple would be perfectly acceptable for him.

After all, it's just an identity; as long as he could gain benefits, it would be fine—he had already joined the Demon Suppression Division, so adding another Dalong Temple affiliation wouldn't matter.

But this world and his previous life are ultimately quite different.

Whether Buddhist temples here have lay disciples remains unknown.

"What do you mean by 'lay disciples,' Qin Shuo?"

The Chijiao Heshang raised his long eyebrows, seeming very interested in Qin Shuo's suggestion.

Seeing an opening, Qin Shuo quickly explained the characteristics of Shaolin lay disciples from his previous life.

"Living in the mundane world, yet heart toward the Dharma; not severing worldly ties, yet cultivating Buddha-nature?"

The old monk fell into deep thought.

In this world, sects stand everywhere, and sectarian biases have long been deeply rooted.

The Dharma must not be lightly transmitted, the Dao must not be lightly taught—this has become the golden rule and jade standard for all major sects.

Even some sects, upon discovering someone secretly learning their techniques, will pursue them for thousands of miles, even exterminate their entire clan, to prevent the leakage of their martial arts.

Because in this world, martial power equals authority, and supreme techniques and secret arts are scarce resources.

Once these resources are grasped, the sect gains the authority to control its disciples.

Therefore, technique leakage is equivalent to shaking the sect's foundation—it must be severely punished without mercy, to serve as a warning.

But Buddhist temples differ from ordinary martial arts schools; when accepting disciples, they consider not only martial talent, but also moral character and Buddhist insight.

This results in few people meeting the criteria for acceptance.

Furthermore, due to the Buddhist monastic rules, unless one is truly sincere in seeking the Buddha, how many would be willing to leave home and become monks?

Thus, the main source of disciples for Dalong Temple is actually those wandering beggars.

These orphaned and helpless children, raised from childhood under Buddhist influence and growing up in the temple, may have uneven martial aptitude, but their moral character and disposition are generally not poor.

Yet this leads to Dalong Temple's martial arts inheritance often suffering from discontinuity.

For example, in this generation, he and his junior brother Longxiang Monk have decent martial talent.

But further down, their own disciples, and even those who entered the temple together with them as senior brothers, are mostly of average talent.

This results in Dalong Temple being able to dominate a prefecture in top-tier combat power.

But when discussing overall strength, it still cannot match the recently risen Giant Whale Gang over the past few decades, let alone Wind Thunder Valley, which has a heritage of hundreds of years.

The most obvious sign is that whenever there is any disturbance anywhere, Dalong Temple has no one usable—only he and his junior brother can personally go out.

Now that Longxiang junior has passed away, Dalong Temple can only rely on him alone from now on.

Can we really let a centenarian master come down the mountain again to travel?

If following Qin Shuo's suggestion, establishing a lay disciple system, selecting some morally pure and martial-talented jianghu wanderers, teaching them Buddhist martial arts, and having them act as Dalong Temple lay disciples while traveling the world.

First, they could defend the temple gates and strengthen the foundation.

Second, they could increase the sect's influence among the common people, expand its reputation, aid in spreading the Dharma, and gain more followers.

In that case, it would indeed help ease Dalong Temple's manpower shortage.

Thinking of this, Laoheshang raised his eyebrows, smiled with narrowed eyes, and said:

"Qin benefactor, are you willing to become the first lay disciple of Dalong Temple?"