Chapter 4: Sutra Pavilion, Five Years Later

"Hey there, little guy."

"Let me see your hand."

Just as the thoughts of the Abbot and other leaders were swirling.

The Elder Long Eyebrow stepped forward and spoke warmly.

"Alright..."

Lin Yuan didn't refuse.

In fact, he couldn't refuse.

As he looked at this Elder Long Eyebrow, Lin Yuan felt that within his Dantian, the Innate Qi that had just been nurtured was trembling.

It was evident.

This Elder Long Eyebrow's power far exceeded Lin Yuan's imagination.

At least he was much stronger than the Abbot and other leaders.

Because Lin Yuan didn't feel such pressure from the latter.

"Perfect martial arts, Inner Qi generates naturally."

"You've indeed refined a superior martial art to perfection..."

Elder Long Eyebrow lightly touched Lin Yuan's right hand, and a wave of scorching Inner Qi spread out, followed by a sigh.

"Inner Qi generating on its own?"

The Abbot of the Great Zen Temple and the leaders heard this and simultaneously let out a sigh of relief.

Even though they had already speculated, they still found it incredible.

In this world of martial arts, there were Acquired, Innate, Grand Master, and Great Grandmaster stages.

Generally speaking, a Grand Master was already the ceiling. A Great Grandmaster... might not appear even once in several hundred years.

Acquired and Innate stages occupied the vast majority of martial artists in the world.

There were roughly three paths for an Acquired Realm to cross into the Innate Realm.

First: Consume some rare heavenly Spiritual Medicine, and as long as one absorbs the medicinal power, even an ordinary person could become an Innate Realm Martial Tao expert.

Second: An Acquired Peak Martial Artist seizes the opportunity to break through and successfully steps into the Innate Realm.

This path was also mainstream; almost all Innate martial artists arrived this way.

Third: Refine a superior martial art to perfection.

Superior martial arts are the painstaking works of Grand Master Realm Martial Tao experts.

Superior martial arts perfected will have developed certain aspects of the human body to the extreme.

Thus, the natural generation of Innate Qi wasn't something strange.

But most martial artists who cross into the Innate Realm through this path were generally in their fifties or sixties, having studied superior martial arts day and night for decades, suddenly having an epiphany one day.

A prodigy like Lin Yuan, who comprehended a superior martial art at the mere age of three or four... was something the Abbot and leaders had never heard of.

Only a martial genius, born with knowledge, encountered once in a millennium, could barely explain it.

"Little guy, would you be willing to become my disciple?"

Elder Long Eyebrow looked at Lin Yuan with a complex expression, suddenly asking.

Upon hearing this, the Abbot and other monks did not show any strange expressions.

After confirming Lin Yuan had comprehended a superior martial art and refined it to perfection,

they realized Lin Yuan's martial talent was absolutely the greatest in a thousand years of the Great Zen Temple.

For such a martial genius, only Elder Long Eyebrow in the whole Great Zen Temple had the confidence to teach.

As for the Abbot and other leaders... strictly speaking, they were in the same Innate realm as Lin Yuan.

What qualification did they have to accept a disciple?

"Disciple pays respects to Master."

Lin Yuan immediately bowed to Elder Long Eyebrow.

...

Becoming the disciple of Elder Long Eyebrow indeed saved Lin Yuan a significant amount of time.

According to the rules of the Great Zen Temple, every disciple, regardless of identity or status,

had to undergo three years as a running monk, three years as a servant monk, three years in the Lecture Hall, and three years in the Discipline Academy.

Only after enduring these twelve years did they qualify to truly access the martial arts of the Great Zen Temple.

If Lin Yuan didn't show his talent and hid among the ordinary young monks, who knows how much time he would have wasted.

*Although with Against-Heaven's Understanding, even when observing mountains and rivers, he might gain insights.*

*Yet the starting point differed, and the harvest at the same time was naturally worlds apart.*

*Given the premise that he could only stay in this world for twenty years, hiding was clearly not feasible.*

Lin Yuan took Elder Long Eyebrow as his master, having the only Grand Master in the Great Zen Temple to teach him by both words and deeds.

Combined with his Against-Heaven's Understanding, Lin Yuan's progress was undoubtedly rare in the world.

...

Two months later.

Lin Yuan and Elder Long Eyebrow sat facing each other.

"From now on, you should move to the Sutra Pavilion to live."

The corners of Elder Long Eyebrow's mouth twitched slightly.

The implication of these words was that Elder Long Eyebrow felt he couldn't teach Lin Yuan anymore.

There was no choice.

Lin Yuan's understanding was too exaggerated.

At first, Elder Long Eyebrow could still give Lin Yuan some pointers.

But after a few days, he felt something was off.

Since ancient times, people had used "draw analogies from one instance" to describe those with high intelligence.

But Lin Yuan went beyond this. *He not only drew analogies from one instance but from ten, from a hundred!*

No matter what Elder Long Eyebrow said, Lin Yuan could quickly comprehend.

And derive even deeper insights from it.

*Even more astonishing to Elder Long Eyebrow was that Lin Yuan possessed such talent not only in martial arts*

*but also in Buddhist scripture and dharma.*

*Faced with such a monster, even as strong as Elder Long Eyebrow, a Grand Master, found it challenging to keep up.*

So later on, instead of Elder Long Eyebrow instructing Lin Yuan,

it felt more like two high monks having an equal debate.

In fact, some things Lin Yuan said benefited Elder Long Eyebrow greatly, despite being a Grand Master.

And to reach this point took only two months.

"The Sutra Pavilion?"

Lin Yuan's eyes slightly lit up.

The Sutra Pavilion was where the Great Zen Temple collected martial arts.

It was an absolutely crucial and important place.

The seventy-two skills, the seventy-two superior martial arts, were stored on the second floor of the Sutra Pavilion.

Moreover, on the third floor of the Sutra Pavilion, there were martial arts even more profound than the seventy-two skills.

In reality, Lin Yuan had long wanted to visit the Sutra Pavilion, but Elder Long Eyebrow hadn't agreed.

He said that being too young and exposed to such high-level things was not beneficial for mental state.

"The many martial arts collected in the Sutra Pavilion were written by the Grandmasters of the Great Zen Temple over generations."

"There, you should be able to learn more things."

Elder Long Eyebrow waved his hand in a resigned manner.

Since he couldn't teach Lin Yuan, he would let the Grandmasters of the Great Zen Temple do it.

In fact, as a crucial place of the Great Zen Temple, ordinary disciples had no qualification to enter the Sutra Pavilion.

But Lin Yuan was different, with a Grand Master like Elder Long Eyebrow's permission, entering the Sutra Pavilion posed no issue.

...

After that day, Elder Long Eyebrow announced he was going into seclusion.

And Lin Yuan began residing permanently in the Sutra Pavilion.

At only three years old, Lin Yuan started browsing various martial arts.

The martial arts collected in the Sutra Pavilion were vast as the clouds and sea, with the seventy-two skills being the most famous, alongside many other martial arts.

"Yi Jin Jing?"

On the second floor of the Sutra Pavilion, Lin Yuan picked up an ancient book.

Yi Jin Jing was a special martial art that could cleanse and shape meridians, enhancing martial talent.

Its value was even above the seventy-two skills.

However, in the entire Great Zen Temple, no one had mastered this martial art.

Because this martial art's threshold was too high, requiring not only martial insight but also touching the essence of Buddhist scripture.

Elder Long Eyebrow might have had the foundation to master Yi Jin Jing, but for a Grand Master, Yi Jin Jing no longer held much importance.

Lin Yuan picked up the original of Yi Jin Jing and began reading earnestly.

Three days passed in a blink.

[With your Against-Heaven's Understanding, you watched the special martial art Yi Jin Jing and comprehended the special martial art 'Yi Jin Washing Marrow Tempering Body Exchanging Blood Refining Divine Skill']

Lin Yuan's heart rejoiced.

A strange aura started circulating within his limbs and bones, gradually strengthening his meridians and flesh.

This power was not just limited to the flesh, but also nourished Lin Yuan's spirit and soul.

"The original Yi Jin Jing only cleansed and shaped meridians, making its effects too singular. The newly enlightened 'Yi Jin Washing Marrow Tempering Body Exchanging Blood Refining Divine Skill' could comprehensively strengthen without any weaknesses; even a Great Grandmaster would probably be envious."

Lin Yuan couldn't help but smile.

Through two months of instruction from Elder Long Eyebrow, a Grand Master.

Lin Yuan was no longer ignorant of the martial arts of the world.

A Grand Master didn't emphasize tendons and bones.

Or rather, every Grand Master's tendons and bones had been developed to the utmost for an ordinary person.

But tempering the body, changing blood, and refining the spirit significantly impacted a Grand Master.

Especially refining the spirit; it was said even Great Grandmasters longed for martial arts that could enhance their mental faculties.

"With this 'Yi Jin Washing Marrow Tempering Body Exchanging Blood Refining Divine Skill,' stepping into the Grand Master Realm should happen sooner."

Lin Yuan nodded slightly, feeling quite satisfied.

After comprehending the 'Great Arhat Buddha Fist,' Lin Yuan had indeed ascended the skies in one leap, surpassing the Acquired Realm and directly stepping into the Innate Realm.

But Lin Yuan's Innate Realm was slightly lacking in substance.

After all, other Innate martial experts had nurtured Innate Qi under the condition of abundant blood, eventually breaking through to the Innate Realm.

Yet Lin Yuan, with the body of a three-year-old child, nurtured Innate Qi that was neither in quality nor quantity comparable to normal Innate martial experts.

But his realm had risen; the rest was only a matter of time.

Now, however, with the 'Yi Jin Washing Marrow Tempering Body Exchanging Blood Refining Divine Skill' nurturing both body and spirit, Lin Yuan even saved time.

This martial art far exceeded Yi Jin Jing, capable of comprehensively improving all aspects of Lin Yuan.

And so it was.

Lin Yuan stayed in the Sutra Pavilion for five years.