In a ordinary courtyard, there are many sturdy and magnificent Bodhi trees growing, with their canopies like umbrellas, bringing a patch of green shade.

  This is the Bodhi Courtyard inside Shaolin Temple, which focuses on Buddhist studies and Zen meditation. It has always been compared to the Dharmaraja Courtyard, which specializes in martial arts training. The elderly monks within the courtyard are all incredibly skilled in martial arts, transcending worldly levels, and are not inferior to the monks of the Dharmaraja Courtyard. They can almost be called living Buddhas.

  The reason lies in the fact that Shaolin is a Buddhist lineage, and most of its divine powers require a transparent Zen mind. The more profound the Buddha's teachings are, the more they can break through worldly desires and attain true enlightenment, making rapid progress.

  In the meditation room of Bodhi Temple, which had only about a dozen cushions, an old monk with a face like dry wood and fallen eyebrows and whiskers struck the wooden fish in front of him and said in a hollow voice, "Master Xuan Bei, why do you insist on accepting Zhen Ding as your disciple?"

  Xuan Bei, with a refined and handsome appearance but filled with worries, had not yet spoken when an elderly monk with a kind face beside him said calmly: "Xuan Bei Shixiong, I do not object to you taking Zhen Hui as your disciple. The administrators of the Miscellaneous Tasks Hall and the Martial Monks Hall have all said that he is diligent and in harmony with the true meaning of Buddhism, clearly possessing innate wisdom. However, his temperament is arrogant and prone to jumping to conclusions, with a heavy and cunning mind. When he was at the Miscellaneous Tasks Hall, he was reckless and impulsive, and after arriving at the Martial Monks Hall, he bullied the weak, which goes against the spirit of compassion and kindness. With such a temperament, how can he obtain the authentic transmission of Shaolin?"

  The first to speak, the old monk with no eyebrows, continued: "Zhen Dingli has made great contributions, but as for the matter of succession, one must prioritize a good heart and nature. Not to mention being intelligent and simple-minded, without any cunning or deceit, at the very least, he cannot be arrogant and bullying, relying on his strength to oppress others. In my opinion, it would be better to let him choose an ultimate technique from the Qi-gathering chapter as a reward."

  For the monks of Zaoyuan and Wusengyuan, the elders of Bodhiyuan and Damoyuan will secretly observe them and make judgments based on the comments given by the executive monk to avoid entrusting the orthodox tradition to the wrong person.

  Of course, this can only avoid the betrayal of Buddhism to the greatest extent. Since ancient times, there have been monks who fell after traveling in the red dust, and there have been inferior disciples who are good at superficial skills but have a very poor temperament. Just like in the Damo Temple, there were several high-ranking monks with eccentric personalities. However, for those who had already obtained the orthodox transmission, Shaolin tried its best to use Buddhist teachings to reform and correct them, so as to save those who had gone astray.

  Because of his frequent frowning, Xuan Bei's brow and eyes had hidden wrinkles. He gazed into the distance and said, "Fellow seniors, Zhen Ding is not bullying the weak in the Wu Seng Yuan. Zhen Liang has always been arrogant and likes to show off in the martial arts hall, often bullying others. What Zhen Ding did was an act of justice, although his methods were wrong, but his heart was not."

  He is a semi-retired monk, and his habitual language tends towards that of a martial arts hero.

  The monks present were all high-ranking monks of the "nothing" generation, so he addressed them as Shibo and Shishu - there were less than a handful of monks of the "empty" generation still alive in the temple.

  "Is it really the Buddha's true intention to rule with violence?" The kind-eyed old monk shook his head.

  The monk with no eyebrows said calmly, "Xuan Bei Shixiong, why not slow down a bit and let Zhen Ding stay in the Wu Seng Temple for a while to temper his nature."

  Xuan Bei turned his head to look at the old monk, respectfully joining his hands together: "Zhen Ding is still young and impressionable, easily influenced by others, and has a restless temperament. He cannot be overly disciplined. Amitabha Buddha, I beg of you, compassionate one, please grant my request, Master Wusi."

  The old monk with a withered face and no eyebrows was Wú Sī, the first abbot of Bodhi Monastery. He was Huì Kōng's senior disciple and the master who had taught Zhēn Bēi the Eight Trigrams. His own master had been Huì Kōng's junior disciple, Wú Kōng, who had died from injuries inflicted by a monster before he entered the temple.

  The old monk with a kind face and good intentions frowned and said, "If he can't withstand the tempering, how can he study Buddhism? Master Xuan Bei's nephew, why do you insist on accepting him as your disciple?"

  It's the same old problem again.

  The eyes observe the nose, the nose observes the heart, yet he neither opens his mouth nor responds.

  Wu Si knocked on the wooden fish and said, "Wu Xiang Shidi, taking a disciple is one's own business, we don't need to say more. Xuan Bei Shengzhu, in the future you must take on this responsibility."

  The implication is that if your disciple commits a serious error, you as the master who forcibly accepted them will also be punished.

  Xuan Bei nodded slowly: "The disciple understands."

  …………

  Looking at the lush and clean Bodhi tree, Meng Qi felt a little excited and a little nervous. Relying on the reward of the Bodhi Institute, he hadn't exchanged his main cultivation method in the cycle world. If his wish was empty, his development expectations would be greatly stalled, making it difficult to make rapid progress. The next cycle task would be extremely dangerous.

  Normally, whether it's the torrential rain pear flower needle supplement, blood knife method, lingzhi qi supplement pill and Ananda breaking precept knife method first style supplement, they should all be arranged after the main practice!

  If it weren't for the reward from Bodhi Institute, Meng Qi would probably choose to major in Gongfa and add Anan's Broken Blade Technique First Style to make up for it. At worst, he would let Jiang Ziyu and other friends collect some ordinary poisonous needles and figure out how to fill them himself.

  He glanced at the Bodhi tree, then looked at Zhen Hui who was walking beside him with a focused expression. Meng Qi's eyes narrowed slightly as he wondered: "If they were here to receive their reward, why did they bring Xiao Shidi along?"

  This confusion is the source of his anxiety.

  "Little brother, what have you been up to lately?" Meng Qi couldn't help but ask.

  "Morning lessons, fetching water, breakfast, reading, lunch, martial arts training, dinner, meditation, storytelling, sleep. Brother, I've done all these things... and also got scolded by the Discipline Master."

  "It's not about asking this." Meng Qi was speechless and looked up at the sky, "Do you know why you were brought to Bodhi Temple?"

  Zhen Hui's eyes stared intently at Meng Qi: "Senior brother, do you know?"

  He also seems to want to know the answer.

  "Alright, I don't know either." Meng Qi said with a covered face.

  Pushing open the courtyard door, the two followed the guidance of Yinluo Shami and entered a Zen room. Inside were two monks, both wearing yellow monk robes and red kasaya, who were high-ranking monks. One was nearly middle-aged in appearance but looked refined and handsome, yet his entire body exuded an air of melancholy - it was precisely Xuan Bei whom Meng Qi had met before. The other resembled a withered tree, with a face full of wrinkles, and his eyebrows and beard had all fallen out.

  "Shizu, Shishu, Zhen Ding and Zhen Hui have arrived." The young monk bowed and then retreated.

  "The old monk is the first abbot of Bodhi Temple, Wu Si." Upon hearing this, Meng Qi hastily led Zhen Hui Zhuang to pay his respects again.

  Wu Si's expression was calm as he said, "Zhen Hui, Xuan Bei wants to take you on as a disciple. Are you willing?"

  What? Meng Qi was shocked and immediately relieved. It turned out that finding Zhen Hui was because he had been targeted by Xuan Bei, and had nothing to do with his own reward.

  Alas, this guy looks silly, but he's always been favored by the high monks... Meng Qi is slightly envious and jealous, but such emotions quickly subside. Firstly, his relationship with Zhen Hui is extremely good, and he genuinely congratulates him. Secondly, as someone who has a great secret to hide, he is not suitable for becoming an apprentice, so it's better to learn a unique skill and blend in with the martial monks, "hiding among the crowd" for now, and wait for an opportunity to leave Shaolin.

  Zhen Hui's face first showed an unclear expression, then a mixture of joy and hesitation. He knelt down on the ground and said: "Disciple is willing, but has one request."

  "Others are grateful when they find a master, who has requirements?" Zhen Hui's innocent and simple heart didn't take offense, instead he laughed and scolded.

  Xuan Bei didn't get angry, and lightly nodded: "You are also honest and sincere, what is it that you want to request?"

  "Ask Master to accept Zhen Ding as a disciple too." Zhen Hui did not raise his head, and his voice sounded somewhat dull.

  What? Meng Qi was shocked again, and then moved to tears. Although he had been good to Zhen Hui and cared about him a lot, often "teaching" him, it was mainly because he wanted to alleviate his own inexplicable transmigration, the loneliness of being alone in a foreign land, and the pressure brought by the cycle of rebirth. To say that he was completely sincere, even he himself didn't believe it. But unexpectedly, Zhen Hui valued him so much and repaid him with such sincerity!

  Xuan Bei's mouth corners curled up, resembling a smile, and his melancholic temperament dissipated slightly: "You're quite brotherly affectionate."

  Upon hearing his words, Meng Qi snapped back to reality and gazed at Zhen Hui with a hint of resentment. "Little brother, I know you have good intentions, but big brother here doesn't want to acknowledge a master at all! Don't do something kind-hearted yet end up causing trouble!"

  He glanced at Zhen Hui and then looked at Xuan Bei with a sincere expression, don't agree, whatever you do, don't agree!

  "Zhen Ding, I can feel your eagerness. Since Zhen Hui is so eager to know, then I'll reluctantly agree." Xuan Bei nodded and agreed, a faint smile on his face without any hint of gloom.

  He didn't say a word, just looked at Xuan Bei's smile and let out a soft sigh. Since entering Shaolin, it was rare to see Xuan Bei's smile.

  Don't make it difficult! Meng Qi hated that he couldn't poke out his own eyes, but in this situation, he also couldn't refuse. After all, strange things must be done for the sake of the abnormal!

  Out of a hundred monks, at most one can resist the temptation of being recruited by an elder with better options.

  Never mind, anyway I will find a chance to leave the mountain. With Master's guidance, maybe I can even shorten my stay! Meng Qi thought to himself with a broken jar and a broken heart, then knelt down: "Disciple pays respects to Master."

  After the preparation, Meng Qi and Zhen Hui formally became apprentices in the Bodhi Institute. The witnesses included several elders and monks from the Bodhi and Dharma Institutes, as well as registration monks from the Vinaya Institute and the Miscellaneous Affairs Institute, to clearly confirm the change in status of Meng Qi and Zhen Hui.

  When Xu Kong, representing the Vinaya Hall, walked into the Bodhi Hall and saw Meng Qi and Zhen Hui kneeling in front of Xuan Bei, his face turned black as if it could drip water, and he asked other monks with a slightly trembling voice: "Are they going to pay homage?"

  After getting a positive response, he was dazed and filled with regret, realizing that Master Xuan Bei had already set his sights on Zhen Ding and Zhen Hui. Why did he have to resort to petty tricks to make Zhen Ding miss the day of selecting disciples? As a result, he was unjustly resented!

  Meng Qi saw Xuan Kong in this state and his mood suddenly improved. He was no longer so resistant to the idea of becoming a disciple.

  "Hum, I'm just such a petty person!"

  After a rather grand ceremony, Meng Qi and Zhen Hui officially became Shaolin authentic disciples, and they were also from the lineage of the Abbot.

  …………

  "Now that you've become my disciples, you can choose one ultimate skill as your main cultivation method. In the future, if you attain enlightenment and grasp the true meaning of Buddhism, it's not impossible to switch to cultivating 'Mò Kē Fú Mó Quán' and 'Dà Mèng Zhēn Jīng'. At the same time, you'll also have the opportunity to cultivate 'Yì Jīn Jīng' and observe the true transmission of the third form of 'Rú Lái Shén Zhǎng'. After paying respects to their master, Xuán Bēi first gave Mèng Qí and Zhēn Huì a "preview" of a bright future."

  Of course, those who have a real chance to see the divine palm and practice "Yi Jin Jing" are among the legitimate disciples, but not even one in a hundred.

  Meng Qi felt slightly excited, but after all, he was someone who had been through life and death several times, so he understood that what followed was just "painting a cake", and the truly important thing was to choose the main cultivation method from the 72 ultimate skills.

  Yes, someone with my unique roots would be recognized by Master as suitable for carefree and elegant martial arts like Wu Xiang Jie Zhi or Nian Hua Zhi. Alas, I must disappoint him, for I am so focused on Jin Zhong Zhao or Jin Gang Bu Huai Shen Gong... Meng Qi found solace in his bitter thoughts, consoling himself.

  "Zhen Ding, you choose Jin Zhong Zhao." Xuan Bei said in a low voice.