As a Death Disciple, Su Zichen was already prepared to die when he chose to carry out this mission. However, as he completed the mission step by step, a glimmer of hope appeared in his heart.
He'd already passed all the hurdles before him. He was now a core disciple of Shaolin Temple, a valiant figure among his peers. He was only one step away from the final mission.
So, Su Zichen really did fantasize about completing the mission and performing meritorious deeds for Lord Su. In the end, he'd be appointed as the next heir to the Su Family. All those who'd laughed at him would be terrified.
Of course, Su Zichen wouldn't let that get to his head. The more he thought about it, the stronger his desire to live became. He became even more careful, as if he were treading on thin ice.
After all, he'd been able to do this even when he'd been prepared to die. Now that he wanted to live, he had to do even better.
Su Zichen put away his cultivation technique, got up, and prepared to take a stroll around the Arhat Hall. It was currently noon, and the Arhat Hall was about to start eating. After lunch, Xuan Shen would come to the Arhat Hall and explain martial dao to them. Su Zichen would be there as well.
The moment he pushed open the door, a young monk wearing a gray robe suddenly appeared in front of him.
A hint of panic flashed through Su Zichen's eyes the moment he saw the young monk, along with a hint of sinister killing intent. After all, Su Zichen had been prepared to kill anyone in a place like this to prevent them from divulging any secrets if they were discovered.
However, when Su Zichen saw the monk's face, he immediately reined in his strange emotions and pretended to be frightened. He smiled. "So it's Senior Brother Sky. Senior Brother, why didn't you knock when you were standing in front of my door? You almost scared me out of my wits.
Senior Brother, are you going to eat as well? That's perfect, we'll go together. "
The grey-robed young monk in front of him had an ordinary appearance and seemed a little dull. Only his eyes were frighteningly bright, as if they could see everything clearly.
This young monk was the Shaolin Temple's most legendary disciple of this generation, Void. He had comprehended the Tao in one move from an errand boy to become the most outstanding disciple of the Shaolin Temple's younger generation. His attainment in the Dharma was so high that even some of the older generation warriors of the Shaolin Temple could not compare.
Su Zichen was very wary of Sky Origin.
During the past year, no one in the Shaolin Temple had been able to notice anything wrong with him. Only Sky, who stood in front of him, seemed to have noticed something. His eyes seemed to be able to see through everything, causing Su Zichen to shudder.
At that moment, Sky Origin shook his head. He merely looked at Su Zichen and said slowly in a stiff, emotionless tone, "Just now, I sensed an extremely faint trace of demonic energy appear, so I came over to take a look. Junior Apprentice Brother Konghai, why did you panic when you saw me? Why was there killing intent in his eyes? Do you want to kill me? "
Su Zichen's heart tightened, but he still laughed, "This is the Shaolin Temple, where would demonic energy come from? Those with demonic energy are all locked up in Black Prison and the Demon Suppressing Tower.
Also, Senior Apprentice Brother Sky Origin, did you go blind from reading the Buddhist scriptures? You and I are fellow apprentices. I was merely shocked by you just now, how could I panic? That's even more impossible for me to have any killing intent.
Alright, Senior Apprentice Brother, I'm going to eat first. Do as you wish. "
With that, Su Zichen quickly left. He felt that there was something strange about Sky Origin. Sky Origin's eyes seemed to be able to see right through him. Just now, Su Zichen had only subconsciously revealed that trace of killing intent, and it had even been hidden deep within his heart. He hadn't expected Sky Origin to see through it.
Sky Origin looked at Su Zichen's back with a hint of confusion in his eyes. He muttered, "Did I go blind? I hope so. "
At that moment, Su Zichen walked into the Arhat Hall's dining hall and greeted the other disciples with a smile.
"Senior Apprentice Brother Sky Origin is here!"
"Senior Apprentice Brother, I heard that you recently succeeded in learning the Great Monument Breaking Hand. Even Master said that your Great Monument Breaking Hand already has eighty percent of his charm."
"Senior Apprentice Brother Sky Origin, when will you tell us more about the outside world? Are the Shadow Guards under Su Xin really so cruel?"
Su Zichen walked over with a warm smile on his face. He answered all of them without any impatience.
During the past year, Su Zichen had been doing pretty well among the Shaolin Temple's disciples. He was a cultivator from the Shadow Guards, and had carried out many missions in secret. His methods were much, much better than those little monks who had joined the Shaolin Temple since they were young and had never been out in the world. He only had to use a few inconspicuous methods to gain the respect of the young cultivators from the Shaolin Temple, and completely became one with them.
In fact, Su Zichen's popularity was much higher than Sky Origin, who was a bit stiff and unreasonable.
At that moment, a sturdy monk brought a group of novice monks over with plates of food. There were steamed buns, vegetables and fruits, but most of them were chicken, duck, fish and so on.
The outside world thought that the monks of the Shaolin Temple were vegetarian, but that was not the case. Only some of the cultivators above the Soul Formation Realm were vegetarian, and it was only a small portion of them. The rest of the innate and acquired cultivators had to eat meat.
Practicing martial arts used up a lot of energy, especially the innate and acquired ones. They were basically a process of refining energy into energy. If you couldn't even eat your fill, how could you practice martial arts? You probably wouldn't even be able to pick up a sword or spear.
What's more, the so-called abstaining from meat in Buddhism wasn't just about meat, but onions, garlic, leeks and other pungent foods. However, in the later stages of Buddhism, many ascetic monks began to abstain from eating meat, and only ate vegetables and plain rice. Those with high levels of cultivation even began to abstain from eating.
As this was passed down from generation to generation, there really weren't many cultivators above the Soul Formation Realm in Shaolin Temple who ate meat. Even if there were, it was just a personal hobby.
"You brats! Time to eat! "
Shouted the sturdy monk. The other disciples of the Shaolin Temple instantly surrounded them with laughter.
The sturdy monk was the kitchen manager, Juecheng. He was a generation older than all the Yuan generation disciples present, but his talent wasn't good. He had been stuck at the peak of the innate realm for more than ten years, unable to break through to the Soul Formation Realm. It was only because his master had asked for a Great Recovery Pill and personally helped him clear his meridians that he was able to reach the Soul Formation Realm.
However, his talent in martial arts wasn't good to begin with. Even after reaching the Soul Formation Realm, he was still the weakest. However, Juecheng had always liked to cook, so he invited himself to the kitchen and was in charge of the meals for the cultivators of the Shaolin Temple. Although he looked a bit fierce and had a bad temper, he was really nice to the young disciples and would come up with new ways to make delicious food for them every day.
When Juecheng saw Su Zichen walk over, he pulled him to the side with a smile. "Yuanhai, you're in luck. This morning, a kid from my kitchen caught two fat rabbits while chopping wood in the back mountains.
They're really fat. I know you like them, so come to my kitchen in the afternoon. One is braised, and the other is barbecued. Remember, don't let the other brats see them. "
Su Zichen smiled. "Thank you, Uncle-Master Juecheng."
Because Su Xin had said to put the drug in the meals of the low-level disciples, Su Zichen had approached Juecheng, who was in charge of the kitchen. Given his methods, he was able to quickly establish a good relationship with this uncle-master.
Because of Juecheng's strength, some of the cultivators of his generation and those who had already stepped into the Soul Formation Realm didn't think much of him. Although the Shaolin Temple had strict rules of etiquette, it was still a martial arts sect. Everyone looked up to those who were strong.
Only Yuanhai, one of the most outstanding disciples of the younger generation and a Soul Formation Realm cultivator, didn't show the slightest bit of disrespect towards Juecheng. Instead, he called him uncle-master every time, which pleased Juecheng greatly. Naturally, Juecheng viewed him in a different light.
Generally speaking, outsiders weren't allowed in the Shaolin Temple's kitchen after mealtime. Even the disciples themselves had to leave, but Juecheng was the kitchen's steward, so he was naturally an exception. Furthermore, in the kitchen, who could control him? Shaolin Temple's "Xuan" generation didn't care about places like the kitchen at all.
Su Zichen's eyes flashed with a sharp light. He'd already taken the final step in his mission.
At this moment, Yuan Kong also walked into the dining hall. However, the previously noisy dining hall immediately quietened down the moment Yuan Kong entered.
Among the younger disciples, Sky Kong wasn't very popular. After all, he'd only been a little acolyte sweeping the floor and doing odd jobs, not a martial monk. He didn't have much of a relationship with the other disciples present, and he didn't have Su Zichen's money-grubbing methods, so it was only natural that no one liked him.
However, he was rigid and inflexible. If he saw a fellow disciple break the precepts, he'd definitely report it to the sect's elders. This sort of disregard for his fellow disciples was bound to draw the ire of others.
As for the last reason, it was naturally jealousy. Of course, it wasn't Sky Kong who was jealous of others; it was others who were jealous of him.
Greed, aversion, and obsession — even the senior monks of Shaolin Temple couldn't get rid of them, let alone the younger disciples who'd just entered Shaolin Temple and were still ignorant of the Buddhist dharma.
Sky Kong had gone from a little acolyte to a Soul Formation Realm cultivator in one leap. He was also Abbot Xuan Ming's personal disciple. There were definitely some who were jealous of him. When they magnified their jealousy and connected it to other matters regarding Sky Kong, it was only natural that he'd been ostracized by almost all the younger disciples.
On the other hand, Su Zichen wouldn't be in such a situation. One reason was because of his methods, and the other was because of his experiences.
After all, everyone in Shaolin Temple knew that he'd been hunted by Su Xin's Shadow Guards for thousands of miles. He'd experienced countless life-and-death situations before arriving at Shaolin Temple. It hadn't been easy at all, so they subconsciously sympathized with Su Zichen. They believed that his current cultivation potential was inextricably linked to the hardships he'd gone through in the past. That sort of thing couldn't be replicated, so naturally, no one was jealous of him.
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