641: monk

"Insolence! You dare interfere in the affairs of the City Lord's Manor!"

Before Zhou Yuanshang could speak, the guards of the City Lord's Manor behind him shouted sternly.

The plain-looking monk didn't say another word, still silently standing before everyone. Zhou Yuanshang stared at him intently, his eyes filled with ferocity.

"Monk, you should know that the Li Family killed my son. This debt... must be repaid!"

If he didn't even care about his son being killed, would he have any prestige left?

He didn't act rashly either, only looking coldly at the monk before him.

Others couldn't tell, but Zhou Yuanshang could see that the monk had abundant True Qi in his body; he was clearly a martial arts Grandmaster.

"Could it be that my son was killed by him?"

Thinking of this, the coldness in Zhou Yuanshang's eyes reached an extreme.

There are differences even between martial arts Grandmasters. For example, this monk's True Qi hadn't fully solidified yet, so he had clearly become a Grandmaster not long ago.

The plain-looking monk remained silent, simply looking at Zhou Yuanshang indifferently. In truth, he wasn't a real monk, which was why he still kept his hair.

He actually wanted to join the Buddhist Sect, but when he went, the Abbot said his selfish desires were not yet extinguished, making him unable to become a monk, and told him to wander the mortal world.

However, the Abbot had taken him in as a Disciple.

From the matter of helping the Li Family, it could be seen that his selfish desires were indeed deep. He lacked the great love of the Buddhist Sect and mostly acted according to his own thoughts.

Zhou Yuanshang took a spear from a subordinate, his eyes full of coldness.

"Monk, I'll give you one last chance. Either get lost, or die!"

The plain-looking monk still stood there, his expression extremely calm, with absolutely no intention of moving aside.

"Benefactor, put down the butcher's knife."

"Good, good, good." Malicious killing intent surfaced in Zhou Yuanshang's eyes. He moved very quickly, picking up his spear and turning into an afterimage as he charged at the monk.

The monk's expression changed slightly, but then returned to normal.

His life should have ended thirteen years ago; today, he would protect the Li Family no matter what.

The monk's body was gradually enveloped in a layer of golden light. He was like a gilded Buddha, reaching out with his bare hands toward Zhou Yuanshang's spear.

"Clang!"

A sound like clashing steel rang out. The monk retreated three steps, while Zhou Yuanshang retreated one.

Zhou Yuanshang sneered. He flicked his spear, attacking the monk like a swimming Dragon. His speed was fast and flexible, his footwork constantly changing, making him hard to track.

"The Diamond Sutra. The defensive power of this Cultivation Technique is decent, but it's nothing more than an iron shell. Watch as this City Lord breaks your defense."

Sharp, ear-piercing clashing sounds echoed continuously in the street. The monk kept retreating. The Diamond Sutra wasn't omnipotent; before long, blood seeped from his Physical Body, and pain appeared on his face.

Zhou Yuanshang said with a cold gaze, "Monk, if you retreat now, this City Lord can act as if today's events never happened. If you stay here, I will surely slay you!"

He recognized the monk's background. Unless necessary, he didn't want to make an enemy of him.

Behind this monk, there was a Cultivator.

The monk spoke with a calm expression, "I cannot step aside."

"This poor monk knows that the people of the Li Family are kind-hearted. Such people should not die. From beginning to end, it was your City Lord's Manor that provoked trouble. Your son Zhou Bi is dead because of his own actions; no one else is to blame."

Zhou Yuanshang's eyes were full of coldness. "Fine, it seems you are determined to seek death today."

His attacks became increasingly terrifying, the spear becoming sharper. The piercing sounds of clashing continued; every time they collided, it was like striking iron.

At the same time, a wave of invisible Internal Energy spread out, making the walls along the street tremble.

The plain-looking monk was forced back step by step. He was no match for Zhou Yuanshang, but he had a reason why he had to block the way here.

Back then.

His Family was similar to the Li Family, just a very ordinary Family of about fifty people. At that time, he was very young, only five or six years old.

One day, a group of mountain bandits rushed into his home to burn, kill, and pillage. Finally, they specifically left five children and made them kill each other.

The monk was the most cowardly. He was too scared to move, curled into a ball and shivering. But he had an older brother.

His brother's eyes turned red with bloodlust, and he killed the other three children.

Just when the monk thought he was going to be killed too, his brother plunged the dagger into his own chest. Even now, he couldn't forget his brother's smile before death, or those three words.

"Live on!"

The monk survived in the end.

The mountain bandits laughed loudly, their mocking gazes constantly falling on him. They were arrogant, thinking the monk posed no threat, so they let him go.

Afterward, the monk went to learn martial arts with a heart full of hatred.

Only then did he realize he was a martial arts Prodigy. Combined with being at the prime age for practice, in just ten years, he reached Major Achievement in martial arts, only one step away from being a martial arts Grandmaster.

So he gathered information and found the group of mountain bandits who had destroyed his Family.

The monk killed every single one of them.

A total of one hundred and three people.

The monk made those who had mocked them kill each other. Those people swung their butcher knives at their own comrades without hesitation.

That day.

The monk laughed crazily. Only then did he feel the benefits of being strong.

One could harvest the lives of others without restraint.

In the end, not a single person survived. The monk didn't keep his promise; he killed the last remaining person.

But the monk's heart could not find peace. He entered Prajna Temple seeking spiritual solace, but the Abbot refused, saying he had not yet let go of worldly thoughts and selfish desires.

He knelt at Prajna Temple for three days. The Abbot finally took him in as a Named Disciple, taught him Buddhist Cultivation Techniques, and told him to Cultivate well.

If one day he could discard his selfish desires, that would be the time to fully enter the Buddhist order.

Before meeting the Li Family, he never understood what the worldly thoughts and selfish desires in his heart actually were.

Clearly his great vengeance had been exacted, and his wish fulfilled; there should have been nothing left to do.

But seeing the Li Family, his heart understood.

The monk couldn't stand the law of the jungle. Why should ordinary people be exploited, trampled upon, and mocked by the strong at will?

Why?

They clearly just wanted to live.

On that day, the monk knew what he had to do.

Protect the weak.

So he didn't want to see the Li Family repeat the same tragedy before him.

This was his selfish desire, his worldly thought!

"I'm sorry, Abbot. I can't return to Prajna Temple."

The monk's eyes were full of determination. He charged fiercely at Zhou Yuanshang. His originally golden skin was gradually dyed red by blood, especially his arms, where the skin split open, revealing several deep wounds that showed the bone.

"Die!"

Zhou Yuanshang fought with increasing divine might, his attacks becoming more and more sharp. "Your turtle shell doesn't seem like much. You haven't Cultivated Prajna Temple's Diamond Sutra to Perfection yet, have you?"

His tone was full of mockery.

If it were the Diamond Sutra at the Perfection Realm, he might not have been able to break the defense. Unfortunately, the monk clearly hadn't been Cultivating for long and hadn't learned the essence of the Diamond Sutra...