The soundwave rolled toward them from the horizons.
The trees before the Hall of Great Strength rustled noisily from the force of the voice.
Xu Jing and his core disciples rushed out of the hall and looked up at the sky. “All of the Four Divine Monks are here?”
“Are the Four Divine Monks so powerful?” Lu Zhou sauntered over with his hands clasped on his back.
Zhao Yue, Duanmu Sheng, and Little Yuan’er followed closely behind him.
Xu Jing said, “Kong Jue, Kong Wen, Kong Zhi, and Kong Zhang… They’re all First Seats, only second to Abbot Kong Yuan. If I’m not mistaken, they’ve entered the Nascent Divinity Tribulation realm since a long time ago.”
‘Four Nascent Divinity Tribulation realm elites? Not bad.’ Entering the Nascent Divinity Tribulation realm was akin to stepping into the most dangerous territory in Great Yan.
In the Heaven Choice Temple, Xu Jing was the only one who had entered the Nascent Divinity Tribulation realm. The others were too insignificant to mention. There were not even that many Divine Court realm monks. There were about 1,000 disciples, and yet, there was not a single Nascent Divinity Tribulation realm monk among them.
However, the Temple of Great Emptiness had easily sent out four Nascent Divinity Tribulation realm elites. The disparity between the two temples was too obvious! It was no wonder the Heaven Choice Temple had to resort to such a decision to deal with the Temple of Great Emptiness. After all, death was preferable to dishonor.
As they spoke, the forceful soundwave rang from the sky again.
The disciples before the Hall of Great Strength had a strained expression on their faces as they tried to resist the soundwave with their weak cultivation bases.
“Kong Zhi and Kong Zhang?” Lu Zhou repeated the names. ‘Look, they’re retards.’ The person who had given these names must be a genius.
Mingshi Yin said in a dismissive tone, “There are powerful ones and weaklings in the Nascent Divinity Tribulation realm. Are you telling me they’re all Eight-leaf experts?”
Xu Jing shook his head and said, “The Four Divine Monks aren’t too powerful on their own. The most powerful one is a Five-leaf expert while the weakest one is a Two-leaf expert. Kong Ye is a Three-leaf expert, and Kong Zhang is a Four-leaf expert…”
“That’s nothing… I can take on two of them.” Mingshi Yin could hardly contain his urge to show off.
“What’s your cultivation base, benefactor?’ Abbot Xu Jing asked.
“Two-leaf.”
“Indeed, the Four Divine Monks aren’t powerful when separated… They’re only terrifying when they work together. Together, their strength is on par with a Seven-leaf cultivator,” Xu Jing said.
“They’re that strong?” Mingshi Yin was shocked.
Xu Jing began to explain with a hint of anxiety, “When four of them join forces, they can unleash a powerful Buddhist hand seal… I fought with four of them once when they joined forces, and I was injured.”
At this juncture, it was pointless to care about dignity or modesty. Xu Jing pulled his kasaya to the side, revealing an angry palm print on his chest.
Mingshi Yin and Duanmu Sheng were inwardly shocked by this.
Put aside Xu Jing’s strength and cultivation base, he had shown tremendous willpower by not showing any signs of pain from the wound on his chest all this while.
“You’re cool.” Mingshi Yin gave the abbot a thumbs-up. “I hate monks the most, but you’re the first one I find tolerable.”
“Are you confident in taking them on, Benefactor Ji?” Xu Jing asked. After all, the lives of more than 1,000 disciples were at stake. If he lost, he would be condemned for generations to come.
Although Xu Jing had heard that the Evil Sky Pavilion’s Ji Tiandao was still the greatest and peerless villain in the world, the problem was his life limit was almost upon him. As he aged, his cultivation base would deteriorate as well. He was not certain if this old villain still possessed his former strength.
Without waiting for Lu Zhou to respond, Mingshi Yin said, “My master’s cultivation base is unfathomable, you can rest assured… Perhaps, my master doesn’t even need to do anything. I bet Third Senior Brother and I can handle this.”
Xu Jing said, “In that case, I’m relieved… I hope that none of us will underestimate our enemies.”
At this moment, the soundwave from the horizons intensified.
“Xu Jing… Three days have passed. Do you have an answer?”
Whizz!
The flying chariot hovered in the air.
Four monks in kasayas stood in front with their palms straightened before themselves. They descended slowly in the air. Several monks landed behind them as well. Only a handful of monks were left to maintain the flying chariot in the sky.
The disciples before the Hall of Great Strength retreated. They kept moving backward until they were at the edges of the compound.
The Four Divine Monks landed with 20 other monks on the center of the plaza before the incense cauldron. The four of them positioned themselves so that they formed the corners of a square. With just a glance, the four of them looked somewhat identical. Their statures and facial features were similar so it was difficult to tell them apart.
However, the Four Divine Monks were not young. Their brows were almost touching their beards, and their faces were wizened.
Kong Wen who stood at the lead said, “Xu Jing.”
Lu Zhou stood beside Xu Jing. He looked down and shook his head.
The four of them were in the Nascent Divinity Tribulation realm. Clearly, the Temple of Great Emptiness was wary of the Heaven Choice Temple for sending out the Four Divine Monks.
“Xu Liao, Xu Fan, Xu Hai,” Xu Jing called.
“Senior Brother Abbot!” The three of them bowed at the same time.
“I’ll leave the safety of the Heaven Choice Temple’s disciples to the three of you,” Xu Jing said solemnly.
“Don’t worry, Senior Brother Abbot… Although we’re only in the Divine Court realm, we’ll do everything in our power to keep them safe.”
“I’ll be able to die in peace knowing the three of you are around.”
The Four Divine Monks standing before the incense cauldron smiled scornfully.
Kong Wen sneered and said, “Xu Jing, surrender the sable magnolia and the zen tunic. From this day on, you’ll be part of the Temple of Great Emptiness… Why’re you being so stubborn?”
“You evil creature!” Xu Jing cursed.
“Are you insulting me?”
“You’re less than an evil creature for bullying your senior!” Xu Jing had long lost the patience to reason with them. He began attacking them with words.
At the end of the day, the generational name, ‘Kong’, was below the generational name, ‘Xu’.
However, it was clear none of the Four Divine Monks cared about seniority in generational names.
Kong Wen chuckled and said, “I thought that you’d be able to think things through during these three days and obediently surrender. I’m surprised that not only did you not think things through, but you remain extremely obstinate!”
Kong Jue said bluntly, “If that’s the case, let’s send them on their way. All we have to do is put in slightly more effort.”
Xu Jing was about to retort when he saw Lu Zhou moving forward.
“You want the sable magnolia as well?” Lu Zhou asked.
Kong Wen shifted his gaze to Lu Zhou, finally noticing Lu Zhou and the others.
Xu Jing stood at the side and said in a hushed tone, “They want to use the sable magnolia to deal with the Evil Sky Pavilion… They knew that Kong Xuan was killed by the Evil Sky Pavilion. However, they intentionally shift the blame onto Heaven Choice Temple.”
Kong Wen looked at Lu Zhou and said, “Xu Jing, did you find yourself some help?”
“Indeed, I have…” said Xu Jing. “Kong Wen, the four of you won’t be able to leave this place alive!”
The Four Divine Monks took a step forward as the 20 monks behind them stood in a neat row. They joined their palms together, and their robes began to flutter in the air.
Primal Qi surged.
“Show me, then,” Kong Wen said, “What kind of people you have gotten to help you…”
Kong Wen had already appraised them. There was an old, decrepit man, two dolts, a fat fool, a young girl, and a group of weak female cultivators. Upon seeing this, he really wanted to roll on the floor and laugh.
Xu Jing had done well to endure his injuries up until now. Currently, the wound was bothering him, and he could no longer endure it. He took a step backward and said, “Benefactor Ji, I’ll have to trouble you.”
Xu Liao, Xu Fan, and Xu Hai were stunned.
“I’ll grant you your wish!” Lu Zhou said as he stroked his beard. It was a double entendre. He meant for it to be heard by Xu Jing and the Four Divine Monks.
