Today, Wang Anfeng once again had a meal with Libo and returned to his own courtyard. As usual, he sat down to meditate and practice. He then practiced with the set of Silver Needles in the empty space, simulating the Taisu Needle technique, before taking a seat on the bed. His heart raced as he glanced towards the string of Buddha Beads on his wrist.
Since the incident at Liuxu Villa, several days had passed without him setting foot in the Shaolin Temple.
First, because his emotions were deep in grief, unable to suppress them and secondly, he indeed worried that without his Inner Strength, the punishment from his Master might reveal his condition to the medically skilled Auntie Li.
Only now, back in his familiar surroundings, could he calm his heart. Looking at the Buddha Beads on his wrist, he bit his teeth and muttered softly,
"I must return to the Shaolin Temple."
The familiar, crisp female voice echoed in his ear, as the surrounding scenes gradually began to crumble. A breeze laden with the scent of mountain grass and trees dispersed the dust that hadn't been stirred for days.
Stars draped the sky, and atop a solitary peak, two people were engaged in a chess game; one in a monk's robe with flowing sleeves, his demeanor serene, and the other clad in a scholar's green robe, pinching a black piece, glanced sideways at Wang Anfeng with a sneer and said,
"Ci Yuan, your beloved disciple has finally come."
The voice was unabashed, causing Wang Anfeng's face to feel hot. He hurriedly stepped forward to bow and said,
"Greetings to Master, and to the senior here."
With a light chuckle and a nod, Ci Yuan played a piece and said, "This is a friend of mine; you can call him Mr. Ying."
Wang Anfeng bowed his hands in salute again and said,
"Junior has seen Mr. Ying."
The middle-aged scholar nodded slightly, his eyes half-closed as if contemplating the chess game, but he said, "Wang Anfeng, right? Come here."
Wang Anfeng looked at Ci Yuan, who nodded encouragingly. He then approached the middle-aged scholar. Before he could speak, the latter's finger pointed directly toward his Dantian. Wang Anfeng, having been through several battles now, instinctively reacted, stepping through the Nine Palaces Stepping Technique to dodge the finger.
He had barely let out a sigh of relief when he felt a chill in his belly, the finger having precisely touched his Dantian, and he was still maintaining his previous posture.
Shocked, the next moment, a cold sensation enveloped his Dantian. The Inner Strength from Yi Chan Gong that belonged to the Dantian was forcibly expelled by this negative Inner Strength, spreading throughout his limbs and bones.
Wang Anfeng had grown familiar with the presence of Inner Strength, and now with nothing in his Dantian, his complexion could not help but pale. The unhurried voice of Mr. Ying reached his ear,
"Since you did not complete the task previously given to you, it only makes sense to accept your sect's punishment. Are you convinced?"
Enduring the discomfort in his body, Wang Anfegh bowed and said in a deep voice,
"Since I defied the Master's order, it's only right that I accept the punishment."
The middle-aged scholar played a piece, capturing several of Ci Yuan's stones, and then lifted his gaze to squarely look at Wang Anfeng. His features were gentle, yet combined, they filled his face with a terrifying sharpness. The corner of his mouth seemed to hold a cold smile as he said,
"Bold and daring, indeed not bad, but you sound quite self-righteous. Do you really think you have reason to defy your Master's orders? The Shaolin strictly forbids killing, yet you did not even blink when you killed that young man, truly ruthless."
Wang Anfeng fell silent for a moment and then said,
"He sought to harm me, so I killed him. Repay kindness with kindness, repay grievance with directness."
Ci Yuan's expression became slightly fixed, but the middle-aged scholar laughed heartily and exclaimed,
"Very well, very well, a fair one indeed."
"Then descend the mountain and fetch water!"
"From this moment on, the time limit for your daily cultivation is lifted. Until you complete this punishment, don't dream of returning to your Great Liang Village, go!"
Wang Anfeng looked at the middle-aged scholar, clenched his teeth, and bowed with a fist in gratitude, before gently placing the object from his bosom beside Ci, saying:
"Master, your disciple is leaving."
Ci's face seemed to show reluctance as he nodded gently. Wang Anfeng took a deep breath, turned to look for a bucket, but it seemed that a cold, indifferent voice reached his ears. His body suddenly felt heavy, and when he looked up again, he was already bound by extremely thick iron chains.
Engraved on them were Buddhist maxims, clashing with the inner strength that had been scattered throughout his body, causing Wang Anfeng to feel simultaneously swollen and oppressed by these two forces.
"Since it is a punishment, then it must look like a punishment."
"Carry this and go fetch the water!"
As the voice dropped, an iron carrying pole appeared on the flat ground beside him, with two massive iron buckets that were extremely large on the outside but had very little space inside. When Wang Anfeng lifted one, it weighed roughly two hundred catties. The indifferent Mr. Ying's words actually aroused his stubborn temper.
Without saying much, he grabbed the carrying pole and headed towards the steps. The chains clashed, ringing out with a crisp sound.
"Your heart is in turmoil."
Mr. Ying played a piece, looked up at the monk opposite him, and scoffed:
"It's because you hope he can have a broader future. He himself said he wants to become the number one in the world."
"Since he aspires to be the number one in the world, he must endure as the number one in the world. Only through the loneliness of the number one, the tempering of the number one, and the solitude of the number one, can one truly merit the ambition of being the number one in the world."
"In this world, there has never been a 'number one in the world' casually obtained."
Ci sighed slightly and said, "I know."
But he still felt somewhat reluctant.
He raised his hand and took the item that Wang Anfeng had placed beside him, peeled away the outer greasepaper, and the scent of tea wafted out, making Ci's face even softer as he sighed:
"But I wonder if it's too soon."
Mr. Ying placed another piece as the sound of the chains tinkled beside his ear and said absently:
"Don't worry, I've got the measure right. The weight I've given him is just one notch higher than the theoretical limit of his physical strength and cultivation."
Ci's pupils suddenly constricted, sitting at the peak alone with an image of a wrathful Vajra emerging behind him. A vast and intense aura appeared, filling the sky and then quickly withdrew. The gestures of the middle-aged scholar playing chess didn't change as he spoke coldly:
"He only persuaded you. If he wants my help, he must show me if he is worthy."
"Only those accustomed to limits can shatter boundaries in the face of overwhelming killing intent, when everyone around them is certain of their death, and ascend to the pinnacle by treading over the corpses of their enemies, rather than becoming a cold, lifeless body trampled underfoot!"
"If he can complete the punishment I've given him, bound in chains, struggling both inside and out, the Yi Chan Gong inner strength will be crushed and kneaded into his bones. In the state of unblemished luster, he will cultivate the foundation of the Golden Bell Shield. At that time, I will fully assist him to achieve being the number one in the world."
Having spoken, he placed a piece and destroyed a large dragon Ci had played, then stood up, brushed off his sleeves, and left.
"Your mind is not here today; we shall play again another day."