Zhang Ruochen was very low-key, and when he walked into the tavern, he chose a corner seat, sat down, ordered a pot of wine, and quietly drank.
Although, he was very famous now, not many people knew him.
Therefore, inside the tavern, there was no let to notice him.
Zhang Ruochen had just sat down not long ago when a voice, ringing in his ears, said, “Amitabha Buddha! Scholar, can the poor monk sit here?”
Zhang Ruochen raised his head and looked towards the person, only to see a bald man wearing a plain cloth coat, standing behind him.
Why did Zhang Ruochen feel that he was a bald man and not a monk?
That was because this one man, who was very tall, was afraid that he had to be two metres seven tall, just like a giant. Ordinary people standing together with him could only reach his abdomen.
Moreover, he had a face full of horizontal meat, a fierce look, and a two-metre long broad sword on his back.
No matter how one looked at him, he looked like a butcher, not like a monk.
The bald man struggled to squeeze out a smile that he thought was kind and said, ”The seats inside the tavern, are already full, only here are three seats still empty. Scholar, make it convenient!”
Zhang Ruochen nodded.
“Thank you.”
The bald man immediately folded his hands and recited a Buddha’s name, then, he sat down opposite Zhang Ruochen.
Perhaps because, he was too heavy, after sitting down, the wooden chair, immediately made a creaking sound, as if it would break at any time.
“Poor monk’s Dharma name, Lidi. Scholar, what is your name?”
Monk Standing Ground once again squeezed out a friendly smile, his eyes narrowing into a slit.
Only, that one smile of his, coupled with his figure, always gave off a very bizarre feeling.
Zhang Ruochen’s eyes, once again, stared over and fixed on the waist of the Standing Earth Monk.
Only to see that on the waist of the Standing Ground Monk, there were actually four tokens hanging on his waist, representing the Black Iron Token that was number one on the Yellow Ranking, the Bronze Token that was number one on the Xuan Ranking, the Silver Token that was number one on the Earth Ranking, as well as the Golden Token that could only be possessed by the Heaven Ranking martial artists.
Only, the text printed on top of the golden token was not number one, but instead ranked after a million places, almost at the end of the Heavenly Ranking.
Zhang Ruochen always felt that this one monk in front of him was a bit weird, and said solemnly, “Who exactly are you?”
“Poor monk’s Dharma name, Standing Ground.”Monk Lidi said once again.
While saying that, Monk Lidi also took out a Buddha bead from his bosom, and placed it on a corner of the table.
The very moment the Buddha bead landed on the tabletop
With a wow sound, the Buddha bead emitted a piercing golden light, and a golden Sanskrit text, flew out from inside the bead, suspended in the void.
At that instant, all the drinkers in the tavern disappeared.
Zhang Ruochen and the Standing Monk were still sitting opposite each other at the side of the table, as if they were suspended in the centre of heaven and earth. The entire universe seemed to be left with just the two of them, appearing incomparably quiet.
“Immaculate Domain!”
Zhang Ruochen remained unperturbed as he stared at the bald man across from him who claimed to be a monk and said, “Are you a disciple of the Ten Thousand Buddha Path?”
The standing monk folded his hands and said, “The Ten Thousand Buddha Dao has long since fragmented, leaving only three major branches, the Brahma Heavenly Dao, the Bodhi Temple, and the Temple of Life and Death.”
Zhang Ruochen said, “You are?”
“Poor monk is a disciple of the Brahma Heavenly Dao.”
Zhang Ruochen carefully guarded himself and said, “As far as I know, eight hundred years ago, the Brahma Heavenly Dao was the most powerful branch of the Ten Thousand Buddhas Dao. At that time, the Dao Master of the Brahma Heavenly Dao, with the Dharma name Chaosi, surpassed the Dao Master of the Ten Thousand Buddhas Dao in his Buddhist cultivation, and was known as the number one person in the Buddhist Sect, and the outside world called him the Buddha Emperor.”
“That’s right.”Monk Lidi nodded.
Zhang Ruochen said, “You know who I am?”
Monk Standing Ground nodded once again and said, “Successor of the Buddha Emperor, Zhang Ruochen.”
Zhang Ruochen said, “So, you came here specifically to find me?”
Monk Lidi said, “The poor monk was ordered by the Taoist Lord to specially come down the mountain and come to ask Scholar Zhang, to make a trip to the Brahma Heavenly Path.”
Zhang Ruochen picked up his wine cup and played with his fingers on top of it as he said, “What exactly is your purpose, there’s no harm in being straightforward.”
Monk Lidi once again squeezed out a smile and opened the door, “The Taoist Master said that the Buddha Emperor’s relics are ultimately the holy relics of the Brahma Heavenly Dao, and that the Brahma Heavenly Dao is willing to exchange even more precious treasures with Founder Zhang. Of course, Fellow Zhang can also become a disciple of the Brahma Heavenly Dao by becoming a monk in the Brahma Heavenly Dao. Then, the relics of the Buddha Emperor will still belong to Fellow Zhang.”
Zhang Ruochen revealed a look of determination and said, “What if I don’t choose either of the two paths?”
Monk Lidi pondered for a moment and said, “Then, the poor monk can only follow by the side of Almighty Zhang until Almighty Zhang makes his choice.”
Zhang Ruochen said, “If I’m not mistaken, your cultivation level is also at the Heavenly Extremity Realm Grand Circle. Are you sure you can keep up with me?”
“Cultivator Zhang, you are not just at the Heavenly Extremity Realm Great Circle either?”Monk Lidi laughed nervously.
Zhang Ruochen came to be a little interested in this monk, smiled, and said, “I’m the number one in the Heavenly Ranking. Grandmaster, would you be too confident?”
“Being number one on the Heavenly Ranking does not necessarily mean that you are invincible.”Monk Standing Ground laughed.
Zhang Ruochen intentionally wanted to test the strength of this one monk, so he mobilised his true qi and executed the sixth palm of the Dragon Image Prajna Palm, Divine Dragon’s Tribulation.
In the palm of his hand, a wisp of electricity emerged, and he struck out with a palm through the air.
However, it was still unknown whether the other party was a foe or a friend, so Zhang Ruochen did not want to strike out and hurt anyone, so he only mobilised 10% of his power.
“Dragon Elephant Prajna Palm.”
Monk Standing Earth smiled and slowly raised his palm.
As his palm was raised, Monk Standing Earth’s entire body turned crimson, like a red-hot humanoid iron block, as if there was a round of blazing sun contained within his body, emitting a fiery light.
“Dragon Elephant Prajna Palm seventh palm, Dragon Elephant Divine Furnace.”
The Standing Monk struck out with his palm, clashing with Zhang Ruochen’s palm imprint.
There was a bang.
Zhang Ruochen’s body, along with the bench he was sitting on, slid backwards a distance of three metres.
The Standing Monk, however, was still sitting there, unmoving, slowly retracting his palm and reciting a Buddhist chant, saying, “Amitabha Buddha!”
Zhang Ruochen’s right arm, hung down, completely unconscious, and a sharp pain came from the location of his shoulder.
In the palm duel just now, his arm, surprisingly, was dislocated by his opponent.
One must know that the moment Zhang Ruochen realised that the other party was powerful, he had immediately run his true qi with all his might, striking out with ten percent of his strength.
However, as he became stronger, the other party followed suit.
In the end, Zhang Ruochen’s arm was dislocated, but the Standing Earth Monk was unharmed. Obviously, the Standing Earth Monk had not used his full strength at all just now.
“Amazing!”
Zhang Ruochen endured the pain and reattached his dislocated arm, on his own. He stared at the monk sitting across from him, his face unchanged as he said, “That surge of power just now is not something a Heavenly Extreme Realm martial artist can possess.”
The Standing Monk nodded and said, “The poor monk has cultivated a secret technique called Degeneration. After the Buddha Emperor died, not only did he leave behind a relic, he also left behind a golden body. That golden body has now become one with the poor monk. Of course, the golden body is just a skin, except for more power, it can be said to be useless. The poor monk just wanted to tell the monk Zhang that the poor monk is also a descendant of the Buddha Emperor. In terms of that, we are considered masters and brothers!”
Zhang Ruochen took a deep breath, smiled, and said, “There is a heaven beyond the heavens, and there are people beyond the people. The number one on the Heavenly Ranking, indeed, may not necessarily be the strongest either.”
“I have a question, with Master’s strength, since he is already number one in the Yellow Ranking, number one in the Xuan Ranking, and number one in the Earth Ranking, why doesn’t he go and compete for number one in the Heaven Ranking.”
Monk Lidi shook his head and laughed, “The poor monk is still sharpening his heart and is afraid of not being able to withstand that kind of temptation.”
Zhang Ruochen asked, “What temptation?”
“The temptation of the Heavenly Extremity Realm’s Supreme Extremity Realm.”
Monk Standing Ground said, “Reaching number one on the Heavenly Ranking, one possesses tens of millions of military merit points, and if one takes a step further, it is the Supreme Extreme Realm. Anyone who cultivates, who doesn’t want to reach the Supreme Extreme Realm? I’m afraid that the poor monk, with his shallow foundation and weak Buddhist heart, would not be able to withstand such a temptation.”
Zhang Ruochen said, “Since you want to impact the Supreme Extreme Realm, go with your heart, why restrain yourself?”
The Standing Monk closed his eyes and said, “No killing, no killing.”
Zhang Ruochen understood!
If one wanted to reach the supreme extremity of the Heavenly Extremity Realm, one would definitely need to kill the natives of the Ruins Realm in a big way to accumulate military merit value.
For those in the Buddhist Sect, killing was a big taboo.
Once one broke the precept of killing, it was likely that they would fall into the devil’s path.
It was because the lure of the Heavenly Extreme Realm Supreme Extreme Realm was too great that the Standing Monk didn’t dare to compete for the first place on the Heavenly Ranking. Because, the closer one was to the Supreme Extreme Realm, the greater the temptation would be.
Of course, even if Monk Lidi really wanted to compete for the number one spot on the Heavenly Ranking, Zhang Ruochen might not necessarily lose to him.
After all, just now, they were only competing in palm power, however, Zhang Ruochen’s strongest point was the Sword Dao.
Even if the monk had fused the golden body of the Buddha Emperor, and his physical body had reached the level of “Vajra Unbreakable, Unbreakable and Immortal”, there would still be a door and a hole, so Zhang Ruochen would still have a chance to win.
Monk Lidi put away the bead, and immediately, all the Sanskrit texts disappeared, and the hustle and bustle came from the surroundings again.
It was still inside the tavern, still sitting on both sides of the table, but no one had noticed that Zhang Ruochen and Monk Lidi had already exchanged blows once just now.
Monk Standing Ground said in a serious and earnest manner, ”Monk Zhang, how have you considered it? What kind of choice are you going to make? Are you going to exchange your relics with the Brahma Heavenly Dao, or are you going to become a monk in the Brahma Heavenly Dao? If Sect Master Zhang chooses the latter, the poor monk is willing to call himself a senior brother and give up his position as the first Buddhist son of the Brahma Heavenly Dao.”
Zhang Ruochen revealed a bitter smile.
Firstly, it was impossible for Zhang Ruochen to exchange the relics with Brahma Heavenly Dao because, the relics were still of great use to him.
If he wanted to rapidly increase his cultivation and catch up with Chi Yao, he had to borrow the power of the Sherry Seed.
Secondly, it was even more impossible for him to become a monk.
But, if he didn’t make a choice, how could he get rid of the Standing Monk?
Right at this moment, inside the tavern, a loud laughter rang out, “What kind of a man of the wind am I? The number one on the Heavenly Ranking, Zhang Ruochen, is the true man of style. It is said that after the Orange Moon Star Envoy of the Black Market’s One Piece Hall was captured, she has been conditioned by him to become a plaything on his bed, and she has to serve him in bed every night. That’s a Star Envoy who is so beautiful that just thinking about it makes people envious.”
“Really? Zhang Ruochen is so bold that he dares to f*ck the Heavenly Pride of the Black Market First Class Hall?”
“A thousand times true, otherwise, why wouldn’t he be able to stay out of his house for the past few days? If it wasn’t for this reason, I’m afraid he would have already gone to accumulate military merit value and impact the Supreme Extreme Realm.”
“Hehe! The Gentle Country is the Hero’s Tomb, I never thought that Zhang Ruochen would be a lustful man.”
“Zhang Ruochen, after all, is also a man, as long as one is a man, how could one be indifferent to beauty?”
Hearing the words of the crowd, Monk Lidi stared at Zhang Ruochen with odd eyes, as if he was re-examining Zhang Ruochen.
Zhang Ruochen’s brows, slightly furrowed, looked towards the person who had just spoken, wanting to see what kind of rumour was being spread?
