Chapter 9

"May I ask, sir, are you here to burn incense and make a vow, or to listen to the high monks in the temple recite the Buddha's teachings?"

In front of the Shaolin Temple's Buddhist hall, a monk in a light yellow robe, seeing Zhou Yang approaching hurriedly with a sweaty head, clasped his hands in greeting and stepped forward to ask.

"This great master, Shaolin Temple is a holy place of Buddhism. The Buddhist teachings here are vast like a sea of smoke, spanning ancient and modern times. It is said that there are tens of thousands of scriptures, and the profound teachings can protect the world and save all from calamity. I have a heart for the Buddha and have come to copy some of them."

Zhou Yang slightly bowed to the monk, then generously took out a silver ingot from his chest and handed it over.

The monk took the silver ingot in his palm, bowed deeply, and thought to himself, "This sir is truly sincere!"

He then replied to Zhou Yang, "Amitabha, sir, you have a heart for the Buddha. The Sutra Pavilion is over there. You may go as you please."

He then detailed the route to the Sutra Pavilion for Zhou Yang.

Zhou Yang listened quietly to the monk's instructions, thanked him, and told Guo Jing before heading towards the Sutra Pavilion.

Sutra Pavilion!

Looking at the three ancient and complex characters on the pavilion, although he did not recognize them, Zhou Yang knew what they meant.

Without a doubt, Zhou Yang knew this was a function of the system.

The Sutra Pavilion was built in an ancient style, majestic and towering in the center of the Shaolin Temple complex.

Upon entering the Sutra Pavilion, Zhou Yang immediately felt the scent of books and incense, filled with the weight of history. The entire pavilion was permeated with an ancient aura, exuding a strong sense of time.

He glanced around the Sutra Pavilion and found only a young monk, about twenty years old, cleaning the pavilion, with no one else in sight.

The Sutra Pavilion was quiet, and even the young monk's footsteps echoed loudly within.

Zhou Yang glanced at the young monk and then walked towards the rows of bookshelves, his eyes scanning the titles of the scriptures.

"Vajra Sutra!"

"Three Lives Cause and Effect Sutra!"

"Amitabha Sutra!"

"Mahaparinirvana Sutra!"

...

In the spacious and quiet Sutra Pavilion, Zhou Yang carefully examined the titles of each scripture, afraid to miss any.

"Lotus Sutra!"

"Perfection of Wisdom Sutra!"

...

"Lankavatara Sutra!"

The sudden appearance of these three ancient characters made Zhou Yang's pupils constrict, and his heart skipped a beat. Four neatly arranged scriptures were placed on the shelf, spotless.

Then, Zhou Yang's trembling fingers touched the four scriptures, and the four copies of the Lankavatara Sutra, which had been on the shelf, disappeared.

In the system space, the four scriptures automatically flipped through, and in the gaps between the pages, dense, tiny characters could be seen. Zhou Yang felt his heart rate increase significantly, his blood surging. His goal for this trip was accomplished.

"Ding! Discovered the Nine Yang Manual, a top-level martial art created by the Drunken Monk, value: 1000 points, host gains 100 points."

"Sir, what scriptures do you need? Do you need help?" A sudden voice rang in Zhou Yang's ear.

"I have... found... them." The sudden voice made Zhou Yang's heart tremble. He turned around to see the young monk standing behind him.

Seeing the young monk's calm expression, Zhou Yang let out a sigh of relief, secretly glad that the disappearance of the Lankavatara Sutra had not been noticed.

"May I ask, what is your Dharma name?" Zhou Yang thought for a moment and asked.

"I am Jueyuan."

It turned out to be the same as he had guessed. The young monk was indeed Zhang Sanfeng's master. Although he did not know martial arts techniques, his deep internal strength was comparable to Guo Jing at his peak, but he died from exhaustion in the end.

"Master Jueyuan, with so many martial arts secrets in the Sutra Pavilion, why is it guarded by only you?" Zhou Yang asked curiously.

Jueyuan shook his head slightly, "The temple rules do not allow monks who practice martial arts to enter the Sutra Pavilion at will. Those who can enter the Sutra Pavilion are naturally those who have not practiced martial arts."

"Oh!"

Zhou Yang was surprised. He had been secretly checked by the martial monks guarding the Sutra Pavilion before entering. If it weren't for the system's ability to conceal his cultivation, he would have been stopped before entering. His doubts were instantly resolved.

However, these were not his main concerns. His strength was far from enough to break into the Sutra Pavilion.

He picked up a scripture at random and pretended to read it.

*************

"Clang! Clang! Clang!..."

Suddenly, a series of bell sounds echoed over Shaolin Temple, rapid and heavy.

Outside the Sutra Pavilion, countless monks rushed out of the halls in a panic.

Many monks held wooden sticks, looking as if they were facing a great enemy. A tense atmosphere enveloped Shaolin Temple.

"Sir, please copy the scriptures here and do not enter the second floor of the Sutra Pavilion under any circumstances." Jueyuan instructed and hurriedly left the Sutra Pavilion, leaving Zhou Yang stunned.

"You are forcing me to commit a crime!"

Zhou Yang looked at the disappearing figure of the young monk and the empty Sutra Pavilion, his eyes gleaming as he stared at the second floor of the Sutra Pavilion.

To go or not to go? That was the question.

But thinking of the hundreds of years of martial arts heritage stored on the second floor of the Sutra Pavilion, Zhou Yang's heart raced with excitement.

He gritted his teeth and stomped his foot, "To hell with principles, a fool is one who doesn't take what he can." Zhou Yang ran towards the second floor of the Sutra Pavilion.

The Shaolin Temple's seventy-two special skills, the four great divine skills of Bodhidharma, and even some secret techniques from other sects. The thought of so many secret techniques made him tremble with excitement and joy.

Zhou Yang was prepared for the worst. If discovered by the Shaolin monks, he would flee immediately. If not, he would make a huge profit.

The space on the second floor of the Sutra Pavilion was much larger than Zhou Yang had imagined, measuring about twenty to thirty meters in length and width. He had thought that the Shaolin Temple's martial arts secrets could fit on one bookshelf, as there were only a few dozen types of martial arts. However, the second floor had over a dozen bookshelves.

Zhou Yang could not contain his excitement and quickly ran to the first bookshelf on the second floor of the Sutra Pavilion. The sight of the secret techniques made his body tremble.

"Ding! Discovered a low-level martial art, Shaolin Long Fist, a basic Shaolin fist technique, value: 5 points."

"Ding! Discovered a mid-level martial art, Eight Strikes of the Divine Palm, one of the seventy-two special skills of Shaolin Temple, value: 100 points."

...

"Ding! Discovered a high-level martial art, Shaolin Child's Skill, one of the four great divine skills of Bodhidharma, value: 350 points."

"Ding! Discovered a mid-level martial art, Great Vajra Finger, one of the seventy-two special skills of Shaolin Temple, value: 100 points."

"Ding! Discovered a mid-level martial art, Great Vajra Palm, a skill learned by the fire monk, value: 80 points."

...

Zhou Yang quickly covered his heart, which was pounding loudly in his chest.

He took a few deep breaths, his eyes glowing green, and moved towards the other bookshelves.

"Ding! Discovered a detailed explanation of the Prajna Palm, written by the seventh abbot of Shaolin Temple, value: 120 points."

"Ding! Discovered the Iron Shirt Technique, written by a high monk of the Bodhidharma Hall, value: 150 points."

"Ding! Discovered a shortcut to the Thirteen Protectors, organized by the tenth generation of Shaolin Temple, value: 300 points."

...

These were the martial arts insights of Shaolin high monks over hundreds of years. For martial artists, each of these insights was invaluable.

These martial arts insights allowed them to stand on the shoulders of giants, seeing the world of martial arts clearly, rather than being ignorant.

Row after row of thick books were displayed, containing the cultivation insights of Shaolin monks over hundreds of years, extremely precious. This was the foundation of Shaolin Temple, potentially saving countless years of wasted effort. Zhou Yang naturally did not let them go.

"Rich! Rich!..." Zhou Yang, like a treasure hunter, pounced on the Sutra Pavilion, his movements becoming faster as he collected the secret techniques into the system space.

"Ding, recovered a high-level martial art, Iron Shirt Technique, one of the seventy-two special skills of Shaolin Temple, value: 120 points, host gains 12 points."

"Ding, recovered a low-level martial art, Shaolin Long Fist, a basic Shaolin fist technique, value: 10 points, host gains 1 point."

...

"Ding, recovered a top-level martial art, Golden Bell Cover, one of the four great divine skills of Bodhidharma, value: 1000 points, host gains 100 points."

...

"Ding, recovered a mid-level martial art, Great Vajra Palm, one of the seventy-two special skills of Shaolin Temple, value: 80 points, host gains 8 points."

...

The secret techniques disappeared one by one, from one bookshelf to another...

"This time, I'm really rich!"

Host: Zhou Yang.

Level: One-star Shopkeeper.

Value Points: 5254.

Martial Arts Realm: Early Postnatal.

After collecting all the martial arts secrets into the system space, Zhou Yang was momentarily incredulous. The value points were enough to cultivate dozens of high-level techniques like the Purple霞神功 to their highest levels.

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