"He’s a monk, shouldn’t he be devoutly chanting and adhering to his vegetarian diet..."
Yang Ge furrowed his brows, "Why is he fixated on starting a rebellion? What, was his surname Zhou before he became a monk?"
"You’re asking the right person about this matter,"
Zhang Xuansu, with a face full of smiles, seated himself cross-legged with great interest and began to narrate, "That old monk’s secular surname might not be Zhou, but his relationship with the Zhou family was indeed quite profound... You should know why the old Daoist wanted to overthrow Zhou Tang back then, right?"
Yang Ge answered, "To promote Buddhism and suppress Daoism?"
Zhang Xuansu nodded, his face full of schadenfreude, "That old monk was the very State Preceptor appointed by Emperor Tian De of Zhou Tang. Back then, it was with the nation’s fate of Zhou Tang that he achieved the honor of Grandmaster. One could even say that it was because he intercepted the national destiny of Zhou Tang that Zhou Tang perished after just four generations. He owes a great karmic debt to the Zhou family; according to their Buddhist beliefs, if he does not repay this debt, he will find no path to heaven and no gate to enter earth, all his lifetimes of cultivation will be rendered void..."
Yang Ge with a face full of question marks: "Is this... for real?"
Zhang Xuansu knew he didn’t believe but had no intention to elaborate, merely responding, "You are not of the mystical Daoist sect, there’s no need to be fixated. Just know that with the matters of Buddhism and Daoism, believing makes it real, disbelieving makes it nonexistent..."
Yang Ge pondered earnestly for a moment, then nodded in agreement... he himself cultivated the way of mind, how could he not know the weight of the word ’belief’?
Take for example his move "Once Gone, Never Returned," when he firmly believed that the move was invincible and unstoppable, it truly could break through anything and defeat all opponents.
When he could no longer believe in it, it was nothing more than an ordinary and uninspiring "Force Split Mount Hua."
It’s worth mentioning that during his prior battle with that elder in the dragon robe, he used two new moves. To prevent the enemy from deducing the essence of the moves by their names, he didn’t shout out their real names.
The two new moves were named "Lone Goose in a Sea of People" and "Returning Home..."
Before this, his martial arts took on grand and sweeping forms, like the decisive and irreversible torrent of a "Once Gone, Never Returned," the collective will to overturn heavens and earth found in "Human Torrent," and the cyclical nature of the four seasons.
Through over a year of living a salted fish life, he started to focus on the small and the deep, integrating his daily life with his martial arts, condensing every ordinary day and every minute emotion into martial arts insights...
Between the two, it’s hard to say which is more ingenious; only what suits oneself best is truly supreme.
For Yang Ge, this shift had come at just the right time, pulling his martial arts away from the misguided path of replacing the heavenly heart with his own and allowing him to more firmly walk his own path... a path exclusively of Yang Ge’s.
"But I still don’t quite understand..."
Yang Ge stroked his chin, rethinking the matter before speaking again, "Given that old monk’s martial prowess, if he was dead set on changing the dynasty, he would have had plenty of opportunities before, right? The eunuchs of Wei’s imperial stables couldn’t have withstood his Vajra Invincible Divine Skill; why choose now to stir up trouble? Is he thinking he won’t live much longer, so he strikes first to gain the upper hand?"
At this point, he suddenly remembered, "It wouldn’t be that nonsense about the changing stars and a world in chaos you mentioned before, right?"
Zhang Xuansu retorted angrily, "As I’ve said, believe and it exists, disbelieve and it does not!"
"But still..."
Yang Ge’s brow knotted in confusion, still unable to figure it out, "With the old monk’s martial prowess, even if the time hasn’t come to forcibly change the dynasty, he should at least be capable of weakening Wei, right? Did Wei have a top-level expert of your caliber guarding it in the past?"
Zhang Xuansu said, indignant and exasperated, "I’ve said it, but you don’t believe me. Later you’ll say I’m just spouting nonsense..."
Yang Ge narrowed his eyes, his gaze growing unfriendly, "Or perhaps we should first settle that account on Bright Summit?"
Zhang Xuansu furrowed his brows, "What account? I offer my help and this is the thanks I get?"
Yang Ge let out a hollow laugh without any humor.
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Zhang Xuansu: "Can’t you have less of a sinister mind? After all, you are the leading figure of our Central Plains martial arts community. If you can shoulder the responsibility, I would be overjoyed. Why would I turn against you? What good would it do me to oppose you?"
Yang Ge remained silent.
He generally believed those words...
Actually, upon further reflection, when he first encountered this old Daoist, the Daoist indeed had no intention of killing him... and even if he had, he couldn’t have taken Yang Ge’s life. One is one, and two is two.
"I’ve always been one to suspect others with the worst intentions."
Yang Ge replied nonchalantly, "If you don’t want to be misunderstood, then don’t do things that lead to misunderstanding... On that day at Bright Summit, don’t tell me you weren’t waiting on the side, watching the show until I gained the upper hand before you entered the fray to snatch the easy gains."
Zhang Xuansu maintained his composure, replying, "You’re really misunderstanding me there. I really did only arrive at that time."
Yang Ge snorted, whispering, "Let’s stick to the main topic. If you deviate, don’t blame me for bringing up past grievances."
Zhang Xuansu’s irritability surfaced, "I’ve told you, it’s not that I don’t want to clarify things for you, it’s that you wouldn’t believe me even if I did. Besides, haven’t you already taught that old monk a lesson? With his temperament, he won’t be causing any more trouble anytime soon, so at your young age, are you worried you won’t outlive him?"
Yang Ge’s face was expressionless as he replied, "Whether I believe it or not is up to me, whether you speak of it or not is up to you... Furthermore, that old monk isn’t just temporarily unable to cause more trouble; he can never stir up any more trouble for the rest of his life!"