And You Still Say You're Not a Monk

Four days passed in a flash. When the Five Heroes of Eagle Mountain gathered at the city gate as agreed, they stared at Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou in utter astonishment. "Young heroes, where did your hair go?" Seeing not a single hair remaining on either Lu Yang's or Meng Jingzhou's head, the hook-nosed boss blurted out the question without thinking. The moment the words left his mouth, he regretted it. At the mention of this topic, the expressions of both young heroes turned visibly dark and grim. Meng Jingzhou's hair had not grown back after all; an optimistic estimate suggested it would take at least a few more days. To atone for his guilt and quell Meng Jingzhou's fury, Lu Yang had no choice but to shave his own head completely bald as well. Over the past several days, the Immortal Fairy had not closed her mouth once, giggling nonstop. The hook-nosed boss secretly speculated: *Could these two young heroes actually be Buddhist disciples who were wearing wigs all this time?* The more he thought about it, the more plausible it seemed. The two young heroes had never revealed their backgrounds, very likely because they hailed from a Buddhist sect, and Buddhists tended to avoid flaunting themselves. Now that they needed to vie for the Twin Conjoined Lotus, they would not only need martial prowess, but also the deterrent weight of their status! As for hunting and eating demon beasts, that was understandable as well. The Buddhist sects had wine-and-meat monks—not many, but they certainly existed. "Let's go," Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou muttered sullenly, unwilling to offer any explanation. Following the map provided by the chamber of commerce, the group soon arrived at the lake where the Twin Conjoined Lotus was located. By this time, the lakeshore was already packed with people. Looking across the crowd, there were hardly any cultivators at middle Foundation Establishment; the largest group consisted of those at late Foundation Establishment, followed closely by the Golden Core stage. The Twin Conjoined Lotus had miraculous efficacy for Core Formation, naturally attracting a multitude of cultivators who needed to form their cores. Once one reached the Golden Core stage, its usefulness diminished considerably. Otherwise, a single fish serving as the lake's master could never have guarded the Twin Conjoined Lotus. In the center of the lake, two lotus blossoms were poised to bloom, tender and pink, resembling a pair of twin siblings. Everyone's eyes were fixed squarely upon them. "There's water everywhere. When the fight breaks out, moving freely won't be easy," a late Foundation Establishment cultivator grumbled with a frown. He was not skilled at aquatic combat, which put him at a severe disadvantage if any opponents excelled at water arts. "Drain the water, then." With that, he pulled out a storage ring and began greedily drawing in lake water. Seeing this, others thought it was an excellent idea and quickly followed suit to help. Storage rings could hold only inanimate objects, which happened to be perfect for collecting just the water while leaving the lake's living creatures behind. "That's the White Tiger Holy Son of the Four Symbols Sect! It's said he's mastered a deadly repertoire of slaughter techniques. Even though he's only at middle Foundation Establishment, he can hold his own against a half-step Golden Core stage expert!" The hook-nosed boss had not been idle over the past few days, having diligently investigated who might come to vie for the Twin Conjoined Lotus. The White Tiger Holy Son was one of them. The Four Symbols Sect was an illustrious first-rank sect renowned for its Four Symbols heritage. It had produced prominent successors in every generation and had rarely ever waned. On the Central Continent, sects were customarily divided into ranks. Any sect without a Soul Formation stage cultivator holding the fort was considered unranked, resting at the very bottom. Next were third-rank sects, which possessed one to several Soul Formation stage cultivators. Second-rank sects possessed one to several Void Refining stage cultivators. First-rank sects possessed one to several Body Integration stage cultivators. Super-rank sects possessed a living Tribulation Transcendence great expert. Above the super ranks stood the Five Great Immortal Sects. The publicly recognized standard for the Five Great Immortal Sects was having a Tribulation Transcendence cultivator and methods rivaling Tribulation Transcendence cultivators. As for how many hidden trumps they actually possessed, no outsider knew. "And that female cultivator over there—she's An Ke, the last personal disciple taken by the Clear Moon Sect Master. Cultivating at late Foundation Establishment, she's the strongest among the Clear Moon Sect's Foundation Establishment generation. Even the Clear Moon Sect Master said that at the same cultivation level, he would be no match for her." Rumors across the martial world claimed that the Moon Laurel Immortal Palace backed the Clear Moon Sect, though no one had ever verified it. "That's Duan Hongchen, the Heaven-Questioning Saber. He's slain Golden Core demon beasts on multiple occasions. People assume he has already formed his core, but he's actually only at half-step Core Formation, constantly searching for the right opportunity to break through!" The hook-nosed boss pointed out the noteworthy figures one by one. Some hailed from prominent sects and clans with astonishing legacies, while others were locals of Demon Quelling Pass who had carved out their reputations through blood and combat. By comparison, Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou had virtually no renown. Having arrived at Demon Quelling Pass only days ago and spent their time in the dense forest without interacting with outsiders, barely anyone knew them. "Who are those two monks? Disciples from White Horse Temple? Or Pagoda Temple?" Someone noticed Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou. As the only two bald heads in the entire gathering, they stood out extraordinarily amidst the crowd. The White Tiger Holy Son frowned. "I accompanied my master to visit both White Horse Temple and Pagoda Temple, but I've never seen these two before." "Rogue monks? Or from some obscure temple?" Hailing from the Four Symbols Sect, he had always looked down on anything below a first-rank sect as obscure and unworthy of his attention. An Ke wore an impassive expression. She cast a sidelong glance at Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou, running through the Foundation Establishment experts in her memory. When neither matched, she dismissed them from her mind. Duan Hongchen, the Heaven-Questioning Saber, saw that the two were merely at late Foundation Establishment and ignored them outright. His only real opponents were the Golden Core cultivators lurking in the crowd. Those Golden Core cultivators had come to seize the conjoined lotus for their younger kin's Core Formation and would not fight desperately; should a life-or-death battle erupt, they would be the first to retreat. Overhearing the surrounding crowd speculating about which temple they belonged to, blue veins bulged on Lu Yang's and Meng Jingzhou's foreheads. *You're the monk! Your whole family are monks!* "It's all your fault for making me shave my head!" Lu Yang attacked first. Meng Jingzhou had a retort ready. "My fault? It's glaringly obvious that your Arhat Fist was crooked beyond belief! Just you wait—one of these days I'll write a letter recommending you to the Hanging Temple!" With Lu Yang's aptitude, he was certainly qualified to enter the Hanging Temple; the temple might even welcome him with open arms. After all, a spellcasting talent that could rival Eldest Senior Sister was nowhere else to be found under the heavens. "Lu Yang, are you going to become a monk?" the Immortal Fairy asked, sounding deeply reluctant to part. "No, Dao Seeking Sect is my home, and I'm not going anywhere!" Lu Yang firmly stated his stance. In life he belonged to Dao Seeking Sect, and in death he would be a ghost of Dao Seeking Sect. "Look, the lotus is about to bloom!" someone shouted, drawing everyone's attention. The conjoined lotus blossomed, releasing a refreshing, soul-stirring fragrance that instantly drove the crowd into a frenzy to seize it. With a tiger's roar, the White Tiger Holy Son was the first to strike. The character for "king" slowly manifested on his forehead, white fur sprouted across his cheeks, and his pupils turned into vertical slits, transforming him into something like a tiger. "The conjoined lotus is mine! No one touch it!" he roared, moving swift as the wind. "You say it's yours and that makes it yours? Arhat Fist!" Meng Jingzhou made his move, unleashing the Arhat Fist. His expression turned benevolent and full of compassion for the world—a fist technique impossible to display without twenty years of monastic experience. The punch struck with absurd weight, battering the White Tiger Holy Son until he was completely disoriented, sending him tumbling headlong into the mud. The White Tiger Holy Son's mind went blank. This was the very first time he had ever failed while challenging someone of a higher cultivation level. His battles had always been upward challenges; defeating late Foundation Establishment opponents as a middle Foundation Establishment cultivator had been effortless for him, and he had never once suffered defeat. He had never imagined he would lose today. "He really is a monk!" An Ke concluded, certain of her earlier suspicion. "You're the monk!" Meng Jingzhou snapped angrily. "A bald head and Arhat Fist—and you still say you're not a monk?"