333: Chapter 113 The Identity of the Sweeping Monk

"Do you have any ambition to restore your nation?"

"No." Facing the Sweeping Monk's question, Meng Li answered without hesitation.

The Sweeping Monk was slightly stunned, then asked strangely, "Why? Reviving Great Yan has always been the goal passed down through generations of the Murong Family."

Meng Li said, "Although the ancestors of the Murong Family once established a kingdom, even at its peak, they failed to unify the world. In my opinion, this cannot be called true success; at most, it was a minor achievement during the era of vying warlords."

"Currently, the world is divided into five nations, and there is no sign of a unified struggle. Recreating our ancestor's achievement now serves little purpose."

"Furthermore, Great Yan has been gone for several hundred years. Aside from the Family estate in Suzhou, the Murong clan possesses almost no other capital to use for restoration. That small foundation in Suzhou can secure the wealth of our Murong Family for more than three generations, but it is but a drop in the bucket for national restoration."

"Most importantly, when a dynasty rises, the common people suffer; when it falls, the common people suffer even more."

"I have no enmity with the common people of the world, so why should I trouble them?"

"When a dynasty rises, the common people suffer; when it falls, the common people suffer even more." The Sweeping Monk softly repeated the phrase, then brought his palms together, "Amitabha, this benefactor possesses a compassionate heart."

Meng Li waved his hand, "It's not compassion; I'm just saying it. Mainly, the goal is too distant, and I am lazy and unwilling to cause trouble."

The Sweeping Monk let out a soft laugh.

Meng Li crossed his arms and stared at him, "Tell me, who exactly are you?"

Upon hearing this, a flicker of memory crossed the Sweeping Monk's eyes, and he said slowly, "Measured by secular seniority, I should count as your granduncle..."

Meng Li was stunned.

His granduncle? That meant he was Murong Bo's uncle.

After about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the Sweeping Monk recounted his origins and some of his experiences.

His secular name was Murong Yao, and he was the younger brother of Meng Li's grandfather in this life, Murong Guang.

The names of these two brothers were both derived from the phrase 'to bring glory to one's ancestors,' the meaning of which was self-evident.

However, their paths diverged as they grew up: Murong Guang inherited the Murong Family's generational mission, wanting to restore Great Yan and become emperor. But Murong Yao intended to replicate the glory of his ancestor, Murong Longcheng, striving to become unrivaled in the world, the greatest martial artist.

Although their ambitions differed, there was no conflict between the brothers.

Their father allowed them to develop separately.

Murong Guang inherited the Family estate and worked to strengthen it.

Murong Yao traveled the Jianghu, challenging masters, and incidentally collecting Martial Arts to increase the Family's foundation.

Murong Yao possessed extraordinary martial talent. At a young age, he had already mastered the three great inherited secret arts—Shifting Stars, Mixed Finger Technique, and Longcheng Swordplay—to the peak of perfection, shattering opponents as he challenged masters. Just as he was feeling supremely satisfied, believing he could rival his ancestor Murong Longcheng, he encountered one person—a late-stage Carefree Child!

Then, his dream of becoming the unrivaled number one in the world was shattered!

The Murong Family's inherited secret arts were formidable, but they were still confined within the scope of Wuxia.

The Carefree Child at that time had already stepped into the realm of cultivation.

Murong Yao was completely unable to win.

Undeterred, he returned home and practiced in seclusion, but he still could not defeat the Carefree Child.

After several failures, Murong Yao began to doubt himself, believing his inability to defeat the Carefree Child was due to his Martial Arts not being profound enough.

Thus, he turned and joined the Shaolin Monastery.

Murong Guang, who had become the head of the Murong Family by then, was very displeased to hear this news. He had always hoped the brothers would work together to restore Great Yan, but Murong Yao actually became a monk to learn Martial Arts.

Without a word, Murong Guang rushed to Shaolin Monastery to persuade Murong Yao to return to secular life.

Not only did Murong Yao refuse to listen, but he also persuaded Murong Guang to give up on restoring the nation.

This was because, during his travels in the Jianghu, he had seen many things clearly and knew that the Murong Family's hope of restoration was slim, and that hope would only diminish further over time.

Murong Guang became furious, believing Murong Yao had betrayed the Family mission and the glory of their ancestors, and was unworthy of being a descendant of the Great Yan imperial line.

Thus, Murong Guang, in a fit of anger, struck Murong Yao's name from the Family genealogy.

The brothers fell out from that moment on.

Later, Murong Yao practiced Martial Arts diligently at the Shaolin Monastery.

When his Martial Arts reached perfection and could advance no further, he went to challenge the Carefree Child again, only to find that the latter was already deceased.

Confirming the Carefree Child's death, Murong Yao tried to find his Disciples—Old Woman of Tian Shan, Wu Ya Zi, and Li Qiu Shui—but discovered that they were not on the same level as the Carefree Child at all; fighting them was meaningless, and others were not even worth mentioning.

In other words, Murong Yao had successfully realized his former dream at that time, becoming the number one martial artist in the world, unrivaled in his generation.

But this path left him feeling hollow. At the same time, he realized that even the most powerful person would eventually succumb to time, and momentary fame and fortune were all illusory.

Therefore, Murong Yao returned to the Shaolin Monastery, hiding his identity and becoming a Sweeping Monk.

After spending more than ten years in the Scripture Pavilion, Xiao Yuanshan and Murong Bo successively came to secretly learn Martial Arts.

The Sweeping Monk didn't pay much attention to this.

He had long since read through all the books in the Shaolin Scripture Pavilion and was intimately familiar with their contents, knowing that the Martial Arts within contained profound mysteries.

Those who came to learn through unorthodox means would ultimately have to pay a price.

Before this, many others had also come to secretly learn and had verified this point.

Xiao Yuanshan and Murong Bo were merely a bit more skilled in Martial Arts, so their frequent visits hadn't exposed them; it was nothing surprising.

It was only when he accidentally learned of the identities and grievances between Murong Bo and Xiao Yuanshan that the Sweeping Monk formed the idea of resolving the conflict.

No matter what, he originated from the Murong Family.

However, the Sweeping Monk did not reveal his identity.

Because he had already been disowned by the Murong Family.

And more so because he perceived that Murong Bo's ambition to restore the nation had not died, and if his identity were revealed, he would inevitably be dragged into it.

This was something he did not wish to see.

Therefore, the Sweeping Monk could only secretly place scriptures capable of resolving the issues in the places where Murong Bo and Xiao Yuanshan frequently retrieved books.

Unexpectedly, the two only had eyes for Martial Arts Secret Manuals and disdained those scriptures.

Under these circumstances, the Sweeping Monk simply watched how things developed, waiting to intervene when the physical problems or grudges of the two erupted.

If that time never came, he would let it go.

Who knew that plans could not keep up with changes: first, Murong Bo left and never returned, and later, the Heroes' Gathering saw continuous unforeseen events, which attracted the Western Xia soldiers.

The Sweeping Monk had lived in seclusion in the Scripture Pavilion for over forty years, so he naturally did not want it to be destroyed or emptied by people, compelling him to take action to stop it.

After taking action, he thought that since he was exposed anyway, he might as well resolve the matters of Murong Bo and Xiao Yuanshan together, find an excuse to help them dispel their hidden injuries, and have them stay at Shaolin to live out their remaining years, thereby adding some foundation to Shaolin and compensating for the losses caused by Abbot Xuan Ci.

However, the Sweeping Monk did not expect Murong Bo to disappear without a trace, and Meng Li's Martial Arts to be so profound that he could not keep him.

Most importantly, through a brief exchange of blows, he saw the shadow of the Carefree Child from Meng Li.

After finishing his own story, the Sweeping Monk couldn't help but say, "After confirming the Carefree Child was no longer in this world, I sought out his Disciples and found that although the Martial Arts they learned were profound, they were far inferior to the divine power the Carefree Child displayed; clearly, they had not received the true inheritance."

"Later, I also studied the Martial Arts of the Xiaoyao Sect, but I always felt they didn't match the past."

"I never expected that many years later, after I let go of those matters, I would see the spirit of what the Carefree Child learned in you."

Hearing this, Meng Li became curious, "Then, in your opinion, how do I compare to the Carefree Child of the past?"