Chapter 23

Meng Qi was both shocked and angry, struggling with all his might, but Zhen Guan was also quite strong. Although Meng Qi managed to move a bit, Zhen Guan still firmly pinned him down, his grip not weakening at all.

After the initial panic and struggle, Meng Qi suddenly realized that although his breathing was difficult, it was far from suffocating. Zhen Guan's hands seemed to be "trapped" by his muscles and skin, making it hard to effectively cut off his breathing.

That's right, I know "Iron Shirt"! This thought flashed through Meng Qi's slightly dazed mind.

Because it wasn't something he had practiced himself, in the moment of crisis, he had actually forgotten that he knew "Iron Shirt"!

And "Iron Shirt" itself doesn't significantly increase strength.

Once he realized he wasn't in danger, Meng Qi gradually calmed down, focusing his mind and driving the energy from his dantian. A warm current slowly rose.

With his internal energy flowing, Meng Qi used his waist, abdomen, and hands to exert force, directly flipping Zhen Guan off and slamming him into the wall with a thud.

Zhen Guan staggered, but still struggled to get up, his eyes bloodshot, muttering phrases like "kill you" and "stole my chance to enter the Martial Monk Academy," and lunged at Meng Qi in a frenzy.

"He's gone mad!" Meng Qi, now standing on the bunk bed, was both shocked and angry. Without dodging, he delivered a forward punch, a habitual "Black Tiger Heart Snatching" that struck Zhen Guan's chest hard.

Zhen Guan's flailing hands hit Meng Qi as if they were tickling him.

Thud, Zhen Guan crashed into the wall again, making a dull sound.

He clutched his chest with his right hand, struggling to stand, but Meng Qi's punch had been delivered with full force. No matter how hard he tried, his body was in excruciating pain, weak and unable to stand.

"Kill, kill you!"

"You bastards, deceitful bald monks!"

"I want revenge, I want revenge..."

He muttered these words as if he were insane, tears streaming down his face.

At this moment, Zhen Guan and Zhen Hui had been woken up, one looking bewildered and the other dazed, watching the scene.

Seeing Zhen Guan's deranged look, as if he wanted to tear Meng Qi's flesh, Meng Qi thought that if he hadn't exchanged "Iron Shirt" in the "Cycle World," he might have already been killed. Anger surged within him, and he jumped off the bunk bed, ready to punch Zhen Guan.

Puff, Meng Qi's fist didn't hit Zhen Guan but struck a yellow cloth that suddenly appeared, making a light, hollow sound.

"Stop!" Xuan Xin, rolling up his sleeves, shouted.

Meng Qi hadn't lost his reason. Seeing Xuan Xin, he immediately called out, "Uncle Xuan Xin, Zhen Guan has gone mad! He wants to kill me!"

Zhen Guan, quite "cooperatively," glared at Meng Qi and Xuan Xin, repeatedly muttering "kill you."

Xuan Xin looked at Zhen Guan with annoyance, pursing his lips and saying, "In what state are you going to kill anyone?"

He took a few quick steps and kicked Zhen Guan, making him gasp for breath and unable to speak.

"What are you looking at? Go back to sleep! Do you want to use iron buckets to fetch water tomorrow?" Xuan Xin shouted at the miscellaneous monks who had appeared at the door, driving them back.

"These good-for-nothings!" Xuan Xin muttered to himself, and Zhen Ying's expression on the bunk bed grew even more gloomy.

After that, Xuan Xin looked at Meng Qi, his face miraculously changing from angry to smiling in a second. "Nephew Zhen Ding, what do you think should be done about this?"

Meng Qi, a person with considerable social experience, and having already vented his anger, and not having suffered any substantial harm, glanced at Zhen Guan and said, "I'll leave it to Uncle to handle, but he's gone mad. If it were someone else, there might have been a murder."

Xuan Xin coughed, signaling Zhen Hui to close the door.

Zhen Hui, who had been staring at Xuan Xin kicking Zhen Guan, as if watching a martial arts story unfold, was quite excited. He responded, jumped off the bunk bed, and ran to the door, closing it, then continued to stare at Xuan Xin and Meng Qi with wide eyes.

"This is ultimately a matter of the Miscellaneous Monks' Hall. It wouldn't be good if everyone knew about it. How about this, I'll find another reason to expel Zhen Guan from Shaolin tomorrow," Xuan Xin said with a smile.

Meng Qi understood. If the matter became public and was taken over by the Discipline Hall, the monk in charge of the Miscellaneous Monks' Hall would bear some responsibility.

As Meng Qi was thinking about whether to use this opportunity to build a good relationship with Xuan Xin for future convenience, the door was pushed open, and a yellow-robed monk walked in, wearing a string of brownish-red prayer beads on his right hand.

"Brother Xuan Xin, if it weren't for me patrolling nearby and hearing the commotion, you might have kept this a secret," the Discipline monk, who was in his early thirties with narrow, somewhat cruel eyes, said with a sardonic smile.

Xuan Xin's face changed a few times, quickly stepping forward with a smiling face. "I just didn't want to trouble you, Brother Xuan Kong. This is such a small matter, why should you personally handle it?"

He took something out of his pocket and secretly handed it to Xuan Kong.

Xuan Kong weighed it in his hand, his smile becoming warmer. "No one was killed, and no one was injured, so it is a small matter. But this madman can't be kept around."

"Rest assured, I won't make it difficult for you, Brother," Xuan Xin promised, patting his chest.

Meng Qi was stunned. It turned out that even in a temple, there were no pure places, at least not in the Miscellaneous Monks' Hall, where there were also "human relationships."

Xuan Kong looked at Zhen Guan, who was struggling to stand, and then turned to Meng Qi. "This nephew, you have quite a body of external martial arts."

Meng Qi subconsciously touched his neck, feeling deep finger marks, his mind racing. He carefully chose his words. "Reporting to Uncle Xuan Kong, before I became a monk, I had learned many family martial arts. After finishing my chores, I would practice them in my free time."

"Heh, no need to be nervous, we all know," Xuan Kong said with a mocking tone. "If it weren't for this connection, how would the Sword Washing Pavilion and the True Martial Sect's descendants speak up for you? They aren't swayed by mere words."

So that's what they think... Meng Qi secretly sighed in relief. Although he couldn't rule out the possibility that his words had genuinely impressed the two descendants, this explanation was more acceptable and better concealed his true relationship with Zhang Yuanshan and Jiang Zhimi.

Xuan Kong's lips curled into a half-smile. "But our Shaolin Temple doesn't care about a disciple's background. If you commit a mistake and fall into the hands of the Discipline Hall, we will show no mercy. Heh, my attitude is the same as Brother Xuan Ku's."

With that, he turned and walked out, leaving a light sentence behind. "Brother Xuan Xin, remember to handle it well."

"Damn, the Discipline Hall bastards can't stand anyone being tough in front of them!" After Xuan Kong left, Xuan Xin, who had a somewhat crude demeanor, cursed with heartfelt anger, showing no sign of breaking his vow of silence. "Zhen Ding, did you argue with them?"

Meng Qi pursed his lips. "If I were upright and honest, would I be afraid of them?"

"Tsk tsk, that's exactly the attitude they hate the most." Xuan Xin looked Meng Qi up and down. "Only someone from a noble family, who isn't afraid of having no future, can be so tough. Tell me, which family are you from?"

How would I know! Meng Qi put on a mysterious air. "All troubles are gone, far from the secular world. No matter which family, they are irrelevant to this humble monk."

Xuan Xin spat, not believing Meng Qi's words at all. Over the past period, he had also noticed that Zhen Ding was quite mature, his words and actions not those of a child, so he didn't ask further. He sighed, looking at Zhen Guan.

"Speaking of Zhen Guan, he is quite pitiful. Born into a merchant family, he had no worries about food and clothing. Who knew that his family, while on a business trip, would encounter the ruthless 72 bandits of Helian Mountain, leaving no survivors. From a young master, he became an orphan. Later, he joined our Shaolin to seek revenge, but his hatred was obvious to Xuan Ku, who sent him to our Miscellaneous Monks' Hall."

"Since he wasn't accepted as a disciple for this reason, why give him a glimmer of hope?" Meng Qi frowned.

"Heh, that's just the kind of person Xuan Ku is. He kept Zhen Guan to try to resolve his inner hatred through the temple's chanting and Buddhist teachings, to eliminate his karmic debt. Amitabha, the Dharma is boundless," Xuan Xin said with a sarcastic tone.

"Heh, why doesn't he personally persuade the 72 bandits to lay down their weapons and become enlightened?" Meng Qi said, slightly angry.

Xuan Xin tsked. "He would need to be able to defeat them first."

He turned to look at Zhen Guan, who was slowly calming down. "Ah, Nephew Zhen Guan, you'll leave the mountain tomorrow. Hurry and find another sect, perhaps you'll have a chance to achieve high martial arts."

"Leave the mountain?" Hearing these words, Zhen Guan suddenly came to his senses, covering his face with his hands and muttering in pain, "Father, Mother, I am unfilial! I am unfilial! Five years have passed, and I still haven't avenged you..."

Meng Qi sighed, not stopping Xuan Xin from letting Zhen Guan leave the mountain. He had no hope of staying here.

This only strengthened Meng Qi's resolve to learn martial arts well, so that he wouldn't lack the ability to avenge others in the future.

...

"You?" Zhen De and others, standing in the new martial monks' formation, looked at Meng Qi and Zhen Hui in shock.

Wasn't it said that no one from the Miscellaneous Monks' Hall had become a martial monk for a very long time?

The slick kid and the simpleton actually became martial monks?

This made them, who were proud of the Martial Monks' Hall, subconsciously reject Meng Qi and Zhen Hui.

Seeing their expressions, Meng Qi couldn't help but laugh inwardly, wanting to shout out loud, "I, Hu Hansan, am back."

Xuan Chi, with his hands behind his back, looked at the martial monks who had entered the temple in the past year and said to Meng Qi and Zhen Hui, "From today, you will learn martial arts from them. Your instructor is Zhen Miao."

Zhen Miao? Meng Qi turned to look at the young monk beside him, who looked refined. Is it him? Being of the same generation, while we are still in the stage of cultivating qi and strengthening the body, he has already become an instructor!

Zhen Miao, wearing a yellow monk's robe, looked refined, but standing there, he exuded a sense of stability and depth.

He nodded without a smile. "Go to the end of the line."

Meng Qi and Zhen Hui had no objections and quickly found their positions.

"Today, we will practice the Luohan Fist. I will demonstrate, so pay attention," Zhen Miao said after Xuan Chi left, demonstrating the "Mountain Worship" move by spreading his right sleeve and settling into a horse stance.

"Start with this move. The path of martial arts requires a solid foundation; don't be greedy and rush ahead," Zhen Miao instructed the monks to practice the fist.

Meng Qi and Zhen Hui had practiced the Luohan Fist for several months and could keep up with the pace, so they repeatedly practiced from the first move to the eighteenth, gradually sweating profusely.

"Stop!" Suddenly, Zhen Miao walked to Meng Qi's side, looking at him sternly. "Your Luohan Fist has many irregularities. How have you been practicing? You're not at the stage where you can perform moves freely. If you lose the form, it will leave hidden dangers!"

Meng Qi knew that his Luohan Fist, learned from the manual and occasionally guided by Zhen Yong, had many problems, so he said sincerely, "This humble monk has been practicing according to the manual. Please, Brother, give me guidance."

"Practicing like this is worse than not practicing at all. You'll need to spend more effort to correct it," Zhen Miao frowned, turning to the side. "Zhen De, come out and practice with him, so he can see the drawbacks of irregular moves."