dognovel Chapter 005 Stories of the Martial World
Chapter 005 Stories of the Martial World
Chapter 005 Stories of the Martial World
As the lowest-ranking of the eighteen temples under the Jade Emperor, Wenqu Temple is not as busy as the other temples, but there are three things that cannot be avoided every day: morning prayers, miscellaneous tasks, and evening meditation.
The morning service at Wenqu Temple should have been presided over by Abbot Yuanji, but since Yuanji was always elusive, the chief disciple Mingzheng presided over it instead.
Seeing that everyone had arrived, Mingzheng nodded, cleared his throat, and said, "Everyone, bring out the 'Northern Emperor's Subduing Demon Divine Incantation Scripture'!"
The Northern Emperor's Subduing Demon Divine Incantation Scripture, despite its imposing and powerful name, is actually not a profound cultivation technique, but merely a scripture recording the precepts of the Jade Emperor Sect.
The group opened their scriptures and, following Mingzheng, recited aloud: "The Nine Precepts of this sect: First, one must not deceive one's master or betray one's ancestors; second, one must not secretly learn martial arts without permission; third, one must not kill, but compassionately save all living beings; fourth, one must not commit adultery, but conduct oneself properly; fifth, one must not steal, but harm others' property; sixth, one must not be angry, but not oppress fellow disciples; seventh, one must not cheat, but flatter and harm the good; eighth, one must abstain from certain foods, but not drink alcohol; ninth, one must be single-minded, but devoted to upholding the precepts..."
Each sect and school has its own rules and precepts. Among the four great Daoist sects in the world, the Hunyuan Sect adheres to the "Laojun Xiang'er Precepts," the Yuchen Sect adheres to the "Three Altars Heavenly Immortal Great Precepts," and the Yuanshi Sect adheres to the "Three Hundred Great Precepts of the Central Extreme." The Yuhuang Sect, on the other hand, mainly follows the "Nine True Wonderful Precepts" personally spoken by the Nine Heavens Emperor, along with hundreds of other precepts, all of which are recorded in the "Northern Emperor Subduing Demons Divine Incantation Wonderful Scripture."
The group followed Mingzheng to review the precepts and learn some Taoist classics, thus completing half of the day's morning lessons.
Next, everyone followed Mingzheng, each carrying a bucket of water, and ran around the hilltop of Wenqu Temple as a form of exercise after the morning prayers.
In the past, Lin Fei would be panting heavily after this round, but today, he not only did not feel tired at all, but felt refreshed and even a little unsatisfied.
This is the benefit he received after opening up the three Yin meridians of the hand; his current physical condition is far superior to what it was back then.
……
Mingchen did not appear at the morning class that day; his body had probably already been devoured by the beasts below the abyss. Apart from Mingzheng, who seemed to want to say something but hesitated, no one paid any attention to Mingchen's presence.
This is how cruel it is within the Jade Emperor Sect, especially in the Wenqu Temple at the very bottom.
Only one spot is available every five years for someone to enter other temples for cultivation.
If a young disciple cannot enter any of the other temples, but has sufficient cultivation, he will become a formal disciple of the Wenqu Temple, the least promising of the eighteen temples under the Jade Emperor, and will remain at the lowest level among the formal disciples for his entire life.
If one's cultivation level is insufficient, one will be expelled from the mountain gate after the eight-year term as a Daoist apprentice is over.
On the first day he entered the mountain gate, Mingde, a fellow academy student, had already told Lin Fei, "No one here can help you."
Perhaps having one less competitor is actually a good thing for these young Taoist disciples.
……
After dinner that day, Lin Fei was about to go back to rest when Xiao Mingtong stopped him: "Senior brother, tonight's evening study session is led by Senior Brother Mingwu. We need to get there early to get a good spot! We want to hear Senior Brother Mingwu tell those exciting stories of the martial arts world!"
As he spoke, the little guy grabbed Lin Fei's hand and ran out.
Morning prayers and evening meditation should, in principle, be presided over by Abbot Yuanji of Wenqu Temple. However, in reality, apart from the day he first entered the temple, Lin Fei had never seen the abbot of Wenqu Temple in his memory.
The morning prayers were presided over by the chief disciple, Mingzheng, while the evening prayers were presided over by a number of formal disciples in rotation.
Among the many formal disciples who preside over evening meditation sessions at the Wenqu Temple, Mingwu is considered one of the most popular.
Mingwu's lay father was a镖局 (security escort agency) owner, and it was rumored that he was also a subordinate of a leader of the Dajiang Gang, one of the four major gangs in the world.
Mingwu had traveled extensively with his father since childhood, gaining considerable experience. The captivating tales of the martial world held immense appeal for these young Daoist disciples.
Even before evening study time began, many young disciples had already come to reserve their spots. Lin Fei and Ming Tong arrived earlier and naturally secured a good spot near the front.
When evening study time began, the young disciples arrived one after another, but none of the ones who had been disciplined by Lin Fei earlier that day showed up.
At this moment, Mingwu, who was quite obese, swayed and walked in.
Mingwu is different from the chief disciple Mingzheng. Mingzheng is an extremely upright person. Whether it is morning class or evening study, he will first take attendance to see if everyone has arrived.
Mingwu, however, was quite worldly-wise. Even if the young disciples didn't come, he would turn a blind eye. Therefore, whenever Mingwu presided over the evening practice, there would always be a few people absent. Mingwu had long been used to this and didn't care.
"Good evening, fellow disciples!" Mingwu smiled so hard his face jiggled as he slowly sat down.
Below, some listeners were already eagerly asking, "Brother Mingwu, what are you going to tell us today?"
"Yes, yes, senior brother, I haven't had enough of what you told me last time about the three families of Southern Tang joining forces to wipe out the evil forces of the Extinction Dao Sect!"
Seeing the audience's enthusiasm, Mingwu didn't keep them in suspense and got straight to the point.
"Today I will tell you all about a great battle I encountered when I was traveling with my father as a镖师 (bodyguard/escort)!"
"That battle took place within the Northern Han Kingdom, between Xie Liuyun, the master of the 'Divine Sword Manor' among the four great sword sects, and Zhuo Bufan, the master of the 'Peerless Sword Sect', also one of the four great sword sects!"
"Speaking of the 'Ten Thousand Swords Return to the Origin Technique' of the Divine Sword Manor and the 'Thirty-Two Divine Swords That Shatter the World' of the Peerless Sword Sect, both are supreme techniques that point directly to the realm of the Celestial Being. The two masters were also among the top ten on the Dragon Ranking. When the news of that great battle spread, the world was shocked. My father also took me all the way to watch the battle between the two masters."
……
Mingwu spoke eloquently and captivatingly. However, Lin Fei had completely forgotten everything he knew before going up the mountain, and he couldn't help but wonder, muttering to himself, "Who are Xie Liuyun and Zhuo Bufan? Are they very powerful?"
His seat was near the front, and his muttered remark was heard by Mingwu. Mingwu laughed loudly, "Both of you are Grandmasters who lead the Four Great Sword Sects, experts at the Celestial Realm. Junior Brother, don't you think you're amazing?"
Xiao Mingtong listened intently, but clearly he didn't know much about such things. He stared wide-eyed and asked, "Just how powerful is it?"
Mingwu laughed and said, "'Heavenly Heart Sword Master' Xie Liuyun ranks fifth on the Dragon Ranking of the Dragon and Tiger Ranking, and 'Sword Overlord of the Southern Heaven' Zhuo Bufan ranks eighth. And our Jade Emperor Sect's Sect Master 'Heavenly Emperor Subduing Demons' Yongcheng Zhenren ranks sixth on the Dragon Ranking. Now you know how powerful we are, right?"
Ming Tong nodded, seemingly understanding but not quite: "Just like our sect leader, that's naturally very powerful!"