326: Fantasy

Tesla held a white bead in his hand. It looked just like an ordinary pearl, crystalline and lustrous, but it was as big as an apple.

"This thing is called a Yuanpin Bead. I snatched it from a monster by chance. It has the ability to confuse people's minds, and it contains a type of energy that I haven't been able to analyze yet. It's very powerful!" Tesla laughed. "I added a small part to it so I can call upon its mind-confusing ability at any time. It's that simple!"

Yang Jian's eyes widened, and he was about to make a move. Tesla waved his hands repeatedly and said, "Wait, wait. We had an agreement beforehand. If I could make him lose his Dao Heart in just a few words, I would win. But we didn't agree that I couldn't use other means... Heh, to be honest, if he has other means, it wouldn't be considered cheating, would it?"

Yang Jian curled his lips and said coldly, "Other means aren't cheating? Heh, that's perfect. I'll split you in two right now, and that won't have anything to do with this bet, would it?"

Tesla couldn't help but be stunned, then smiled bitterly, "You're so eloquent, does your mother know?"

Yang Jian hooked the corner of his mouth and sneered, "Since you mentioned my mother, you've already touched my reverse scale. Now I have even more reason to kill you..."

The Three-Pointed Double-Edged Blade in his hand suddenly struck out, thrusting straight at Tesla. The two fought in the sky, turning the world upside down.

At this moment, Tang Ku seemed to have returned to his hometown, back to Sanzu Temple on Tianzhu Peak, seeing the person he wanted to see most again...

"Master... Master, are you there?"

Ten-year-old Tang Ku pushed open the door of the Zen room, only to discover that the old abbot was not inside. He quietly poked his head in and suddenly noticed a thick stack of books on the table by the Zen bed.

The little monk touched his bald head and was just about to step inside when his head was suddenly knocked by someone. A voice sounded in his ear: "You little brat, it's midday and you're not doing your morning lessons, what are you doing sneaking around here? Do you believe that I, your Master, will expel you from the sect right now and send you out to beg for food?"

Tang Ku raised his hands in a gesture of surrender, suddenly realizing that the voice behind him was wrong; it sounded like someone pinching their throat, deliberately trying to sound old. He couldn't help but curl his lips and say, "Senior Brother Jingkong, that's not kind of you, using Master to trick me!"

Turning around, a kind-faced, good-natured middle-aged monk looked at him with a smile. He suddenly patted Tang Ku's bald head and said, "I've known your thoughts for a long time. The Vajra Zen Skill is not something you can Cultivate right now. Hurry up and go chant Buddhist scriptures, otherwise, I'll definitely go to Master and report you!"

Tang Ku laughed and said, "Senior Brother, please raise your hand and spare your Junior Brother this once. Later, when the kitchen makes lotus pastries, I'll give them all to you!"

"You little brat, I'm afraid that by then, my own share will have been taken by you as well..."

Jingkong flicked his forehead and said, "Hurry up and get lost, so you don't get punished when Master returns!"

Tang Ku clutched his head and ran away dejectedly.

The scene shifted. Tang Ku was already fifteen. This day, he returned to the mountain with his schoolbag and happened to run into Jingkong chopping wood in the mountain col, one axe stroke after another, seemingly quite laborious.

Tang Ku ran over with a smile: "Senior Brother Jingkong, let me help you..."

"Heh, you little brat, you're back? Hmm, you can help me, but you cannot use magic, nor can you use martial arts. Will you still help?"

Jingkong looked up at Tang Ku and said with a smile.

"Hmph, is my young stamina not as good as yours? Move aside and let me do it..."

...A few minutes later, Tang Ku's arms were sore. While his Senior Brother was sleeping groggily in the tree, he was just about to use the Vajra Zen Skill to chop wood when a pebble suddenly hit his forehead. A voice rang out clearly: "You little brat, I told you that you couldn't use magic or martial arts to slack off. Don't you understand?"

Tang Ku clutched his head and looked up: "Senior Brother, there is clearly a more labor-saving way, why do you insist on wasting this stamina and chopping wood like a Mortal?"

"Heh, you little brat, you don't understand!"

Jingkong said without even opening his eyes, "Practicing with your body is the foundation of cultivation. The path of Cultivation does not allow for any shortcuts. This is cultivating the body, and at the same time, it is cultivating the heart. If you haven't even understood the Dao of a Mortal, how can you understand the Heavenly Dao?"

Tang Ku was thoughtful, then continued to swing the axe in his hand, one stroke after another, working earnestly.

At twenty-three, on Tianzhu Peak, a golden light shot up to the stars. A figure flew up, and a golden Buddha palm struck out, pressing Jingkong firmly against the cliff. Unexpectedly, Jingkong's body only moved slightly, and he flicked the huge golden palm away. With a flash of his figure, he grabbed Tang Ku from the golden light and punched him out.

A few minutes later, the two of them, each with a black eye, sat on the ground eating roasted corn.

"...Senior Brother, why is it that we both use the Vajra Zen Skill and have the same Realm, yet I am still not your match?"

Tang Ku asked, his mouth full of black ash.

"Heh, the Realm is the same, and the strength is equivalent, but the state of mind is different. You have experienced too little. In the Vajra Zen Skill, the 'Zen' character is paramount. Blindly pursuing power is already a lower path. If you do this, the power of your strikes will actually decrease, and one day, you won't even know how to strike!"

Tang Ku curled his lips: "I'm the only college student here, why don't I understand a word of what you're saying?"

"When you have experienced more... you will naturally understand..."

At twenty-six, on Changbai Mountain, Tang Ku spat out blood and roared at the old monk in front of him: "Senior Brother, even you don't believe me? Even you won't help me? That's right, I was discovered even when I hid here. It was you who reported me to them, right? Was it you... was it you who betrayed me?"

Jingkong put his hands together and recited the Buddha's name: "Amitabha, Junior Brother, you should turn back from your lost path. Although Buddhism does not forbid you from acting chivalrously, it does forbid killing. You have gone too far..."

"I went too far?" Tang Ku laughed in extreme anger. "That Yao Dezhang of the Tianxing Sect bullied men and women, relying on his cultivation skills to do all kinds of evil. He is the one who went too far!"

"That is not for you to judge!" Jingkong said in a deep voice. "I told you to practice Zen, but you wouldn't listen, which is why you became so extreme. After Master left, it was my failure to discipline you that led you to become like this. This is also my fault, so after I capture you and take you back, I will destroy my own Meridians to end your extreme thoughts..."

Tang Ku scanned the surroundings and sneered: "What about them? Will they let me go? Will these guys who call themselves righteous sects let me go?"

Monk Jingkong turned to look at those hypocritical guys and said coldly, looking down on the heroes: "Heh, don't worry about that. If they want to bully you, they will have to get past me first!"