I am a prince in Zhutian Films

Chapter 515 System Mission: Jingjing Becomes the Strongest and Number One
On the mountain road.

The two groups are facing off.

To be precise, it was Old Meng who led a dozen or so elderly, weak, sick, and disabled people, who were surrounded by a dozen or so burly men.

One of them, a burly man carrying a pair of rusty Xuanhua axes and wearing a tiger-skin fur coat, shouted at Old Meng, "Old Meng, it's only ten taels of silver. How long have you been owing me? Today, shouldn't you give us an explanation?!"

Beside him, a thin, sleazy man with a pointed mouth and monkey-like face immediately chimed in, "If that doesn't work, then give us your village as collateral."

Old Meng stood at the front of his group, and timidly clasped his hands in a fist salute to the burly man.

"Boss, could you give me a little more time?"

"It's the dead of winter now, and business is really tough."

"There are too few fat sheep. I also have a family to support. Every day when I open my eyes, there are more than a dozen mouths to feed."

"At this time... I really can't come up with that much silver."

Upon hearing this, the burly man wearing a tiger-skin coat raised a large axe with floral patterns, as if to chop Old Meng, and said fiercely, "Old Meng, I think you're tired of living."

For the sake of our friendship of over ten years, I've already given you a month's grace. Today, you either pay back the money or pack your bags and get out of here, and hand over your Taoist temple to me.

Don't occupy this prime location and block our path to wealth!

Seeing this, Old Meng sighed slightly.

It is only right to pay back debts, but he only had about ten taels of silver in his pocket.

Some of these were obtained by Zhou Chengan through hunting game, which he then traded with them at the foot of the mountain.

Of course, that's not important. What's important is that he also wanted to use the ten or so taels of silver to buy some cotton-padded clothes for everyone to keep warm.

This winter has brought an unprecedented snowfall, and the weather is much colder than usual. If we have to pay off our debts, this winter will be very difficult.

With his old, weak, sick, and disabled men only wearing thin clothes to keep warm, how could they possibly survive the winter?

But if they don't pay back the money, these bastards from Yingxuan Peak will definitely kick them out of the Taoist temple today, and the situation will be even worse.

For a moment, Old Meng was caught in a dilemma.

"Boss, I think we shouldn't waste words with this old man. Let's just drive them away." A bandit who looked like he had been to school said in a gloomy tone, "When the time comes, we'll take over their Taoist temple. If they dare to go back, we'll just chop them up."

The words have not yet fallen.

Suddenly, a figure appeared, walking through the snow without leaving a trace.

If it's not Zhou Cheng'an, then who is it?
"Brother Zhou!"

Seeing Zhou Cheng'an's elusive figure, light movements, and seemingly untouched by worldly affairs, Old Meng felt much more at ease.

When he first met Zhou Cheng'an, he could tell that Zhou Cheng'an was no ordinary person, and this proved to be very useful at this crucial moment.

Zhou Chengan put down the hawthorn and looked at the dozen or so burly men.

With his current cultivation level, dealing with these petty thieves was no problem at all. Just one glance from him was enough to make the dozen or so burly men tremble.

This naturally included the bandit leader, who was wielding a large, ornate axe. He stammered, "Who...who are you?"

Zhou Cheng'an did not answer. His figure flashed, and he became a series of shadows. It was impossible to see how he made his move. All that could be heard was the cracking sound of bones breaking.

Immediately afterwards, more than a dozen burly men were seen flying into the air like sandbags, and then crashing heavily onto the mountain road.

In an instant, cries of agony filled the air.

Old Meng and the others standing behind couldn't help but widen their eyes in astonishment.

Old Liu, who was as thin and tall as a reed stalk, exclaimed in amazement, "Good heavens, he really is a master!"

As soon as he finished speaking, several burly men who could still move lay on the ground, kowtowing repeatedly to Zhou Cheng'an and begging for mercy, saying, "Sir, spare our lives! Sir, spare our lives!"

Seeing the bandits begging for mercy all over the ground, Zhou Cheng'an didn't kill them in front of Old Meng and the others.

Firstly, he had already learned from Little Hawthorn that Old Meng did indeed owe money to someone. Secondly, and most importantly, Little Sparrow, a little girl of four or five years old, was present.

Otherwise, they wouldn't have been able to capture a single one when they first made their move.

"roll!"

A soft shout, like a thunderclap, resounded in the ears of the dozen or so bandits on the ground.

Those who could still move felt as if they had been granted a pardon. They quickly helped up the person whose leg had been broken and ran away in a panic.

When Lao Meng and the others came to their senses, they looked at Zhou Cheng'an and didn't know what to say for a moment.

Despite his advanced age, Old Meng was not very bold. Zhou Cheng'an had just displayed great power and was clearly a capable person, so he could no longer address him as "Brother Zhou" as before, for fear of offending him with his words.

On the contrary, Little Hawthorn, with her childlike nature, ignorant and fearless, ran to Zhou Cheng'an's side and said excitedly and curiously, "Brother Zhou, Brother Zhou, you are so amazing! You can take on more than a dozen people. What kind of martial arts do you practice?"

Zhou Chengan reached out and ruffled his hair, laughing, "It's just ordinary boxing, nothing special."

Little Hawthorn tilted its head back, its face full of longing: "Brother Zhou, can I learn?"

When Old Meng heard Xiao Shanzha ask this question, his face turned pale, and he quickly spoke up.

"Little Hawthorn, stop fooling around!"

In this world, no one will easily pass on their skills to outsiders. Old Meng was afraid that Little Hawthorn would upset Zhou Cheng'an.

Seeing the old man Meng's worried expression, Zhou Cheng'an gave him a reassuring look, patted Xiao Shanzha's head, and smiled, "If you're not afraid of hardship, you can learn."

Upon hearing this, Little Hawthorn jumped up with joy.

"I'm not afraid of hardship, Brother Zhou. Will you teach me your skills?"

Why should we learn skills?

Little Hawthorn puffed out her chest and said, "I don't want to see Old Meng and the others continue to be bullied. I want to protect them!"

"Alright, I'll teach you when we get back."

Zhou Cheng'an hesitated for a moment before agreeing, then called out to Old Meng and the others, "Let's go, what are you standing there for? It's time to go back and eat."

……

Evening, at the entrance of the Fumo Temple.

Old Mengtou, Liu Luweiganzi, and Kong Bozi squatted together talking, glancing out the door every now and then.

The three of them exchanged glances as they looked at Xiao Shanzha, who was practicing horse stance, and Zhou Cheng'an, who was meditating on the bluestone.

Old Liu whispered, "Today, I saw it clearly. Brother Zhou almost killed Li Laosan with one punch. Li Laosan is so strong, he's twice my size."

“Even if we fought Ying Xuanfeng’s men to the death, we might not be able to beat them, but Brother Zhou beat those bastards from Ying Xuanfeng to a pulp in no time.”

"Old Meng, you're the smartest one around here. Tell me, who exactly is Brother Zhou?"

"Didn't Brother Ren Zhou say that he was the disciple of the previous abbot of this Demon Subduing Temple?"

As Old Meng spoke, he reached up and touched his back, which was still a little damp.

There was no way around it; they were terrified. If Zhou Chengan hadn't intervened today, they would have really fought those bastards from Yingxuan Peak to the death.

Kong the Cripple glanced thoughtfully at Zhou Cheng'an, who was meditating outside the door, and then took over the conversation, saying, "Do you think Brother Zhou is a Taoist priest of the Nine Pecks of Rice sect?"

"What should we do then? If he really is a Taoist priest from the Nine Pecks of Rice sect, will there be any problems if he stays here with us?" Old Liu asked worriedly.

Having lived on Mount Qingcheng for so many years, they naturally knew about the feud between the Taoists of the Nine Pecks of Rice Sect and the Taoists of the Qingyang Palace on the mountain. Given the temperament of the Taoists of the Qingyang Palace, if they knew that there were Taoists of the Nine Pecks of Rice Sect here, they would definitely come down from the mountain to kill them.

Old Meng was silent for a moment, then waved his hand and said, "Alright, this Demon Subduing Temple is Brother Zhou's place. Not to mention that Brother Zhou saved us today. We can't be ungrateful. If any of you dare to go to Qingyang Palace to report this, don't blame me, Old Meng, for being ruthless."

"Look at what you're saying, do you think we're that kind of people?" Old Meng nodded: "Anyway, if they want to stay, we'll stay; if they want to leave, we can't stop them. Right now, let's think about how to get through this winter."

……

Ever since Zhou Chengan dealt with Yingxuan Peak's gang of bandits, Old Meng and his men have become noticeably more respectful towards him.

Even Old Meng, the leader, no longer dared to address Zhou Cheng'an as a brother or anything like "Brother Zhou." He would either call him "Young Master Zhou" or "Taoist Master Zhou."

Zhou Cheng'an didn't care about any of that and continued to cultivate with complete absorption.

Qingcheng Mountain is a good place; it's a great place for spiritual practice.

The only drawback was that there were too many bandits, which disrupted the established order.

Zhou Cheng'an was thinking that once his cultivation level improved further, he would deal with these bandits, clean up this famous Taoist mountain, and turn it into his own territory.

In the snowy world, martial arts realms are divided into nine grades.

The ranks from ninth to third can be divided according to the degree of armor penetration. Those who can damage the armor but not break it are of the lower third rank; those who can break through six or less pieces of armor are of the middle third rank; and those who can break through eight or nine pieces of armor are of the third rank.

A second-rank master can be called a minor grandmaster.

For example, Xu Xiao, the King of Beiliang, is a minor grandmaster at the second rank.

As for the First Grade Realm, that refers to the most elite group of people in the martial arts world.

The First Grade Realm is a special realm, which can be further divided into four realms: Vajra, Finger Profound, Celestial Phenomenon, and Land Immortal Realm.

Among them, Vajra, Finger of Mystery, and Celestial Phenomena are all divided into large and small, true and false, while the Land Immortal Realm also has a false realm. Above the Land Immortal Realm is the Celestial Human Realm.

Whether there is a hierarchy among the Vajra Realm, the Finger Profound Realm, and the Celestial Phenomenon Realm is hard to say. Zhou Cheng'an remembers it being mentioned several times in the book and the TV series. Once it was said that there are different levels of realms, and another time it was said that there are no different levels of realms.

However, it is certain that for martial arts practitioners, these three realms are of different levels. Most people need to advance through the realms one by one, while only a few exceptionally talented individuals can skip realms directly.

For example, Wu Su, the princess consort of the Northern Liang Kingdom.

Upon entering the First Grade Realm, they skipped the Vajra and Finger Profound Realms and went directly into the Celestial Phenomenon Realm.

If one belongs to one of the three religions (Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism), one can advance to the next realm without following the three stages of Vajra, Finger of Profound, and Celestial Phenomenon. In Buddhism, reaching the first rank is the Vajra realm; in Taoism, it's the Finger of Profound; and in Confucianism, it's the Celestial Phenomenon. Afterward, one comprehends the Dao and enters the realm of a terrestrial immortal. Confucianists call them sages, Taoists call them immortals, and Buddhists call them living Buddhas.

One person worth mentioning is Lü Dongxuan. Although he was the founder of the Taoist Wudang Mountain, he followed the path of a martial artist who combined the three religions.

Therefore, Hong Xixiang's later entry into the first rank was a step into the Heavenly Phenomenon rather than the Pointing to the Mysterious, because the Heavenly Phenomenon is the Heavenly Phenomenon of a martial artist.

People from the three religions look down on martial artists. Even Lu Zu's ability to take a head from a thousand miles away is considered a strange and ingenious skill. Martial artists, in turn, look down on people from the three religions, believing that although their level of cultivation is high, it is too superficial and that fighting should be viewed from a lower level.

Zhou Cheng'an cultivated his way up step by step, and his current realm is the Vajra Realm, which is also the first realm for a martial artist to enter the first rank.

The name "Vajra Realm" comes from Buddhist worship. Most martial artists in the martial arts world have reached the pinnacle of their abilities by entering this realm, and its characteristic is that it is suitable for tempering the body.

In other words, the Vajra Realm primarily strengthens one's physique and increases one's defensive capabilities.

The strongest Vajra Realm is the Vajra Invincible Body of Buddhism, also known as the Great Vajra Realm of Buddhism. Its representatives are the white-robed monk Li Dangxin, the monk Longshu, and Fu Jiang Hongjia, one of the four great masters of the previous generation.

In Zhou Cheng'an's view, his Great Vajra Realm might not be as good as Li Dangxin, the number one Vajra Realm expert, but it wasn't much worse.

After he consumes the Dragon Essence, his physique will reach an even higher level, making him the strongest Vajra Realm expert in the world.

What he pursues is not only the strongest Vajra Realm, but also the strongest Finger Profound Realm, Celestial Phenomenon Realm, and Land Immortal Realm.

The system's task is for Jingjing to become the strongest in the world.

As for how to determine the strongest?
The system thoughtfully provided a progress bar; for example, he was currently 13 percent away from becoming the strongest Vajra in the world.

When the progress bar reaches 100%, he will be the strongest Vajra Realm expert in the world.

Anyway, with Zhou Cheng'an's current cultivation level, he can go without food for ten days or half a month. When he gets hungry, he will take Xiao Shanzha and Xiao Que'er to the mountains and forests to catch some wild game to satisfy his craving.

Although this year has seen an unprecedented snowfall, such conditions pose no problem for Zhou Cheng'an.

However, Old Meng and his group were in a rather unfortunate situation.

Heavy snow blocked the mountain pass, making the already scarce number of fat sheep even smaller.

With too many wolves and too little meat, this group of people didn't dare to fight back when they encountered tough opponents, and their lives became increasingly impoverished.

A couple of days ago, Old Meng took Old Liu down the mountain to buy some winter clothes. They bought a new cotton-padded coat, but the adults couldn't bear to wear it, so they altered two coats for Little Hawthorn and Little Sparrow.

Even so, in the dead of winter, with the cold wind howling and the mountain air heavy with moisture, the little sparrow still fell ill.

Two older people also developed high fevers.

Old Meng used a folk remedy, brewing herbs and giving them to the three of them to drink, but it didn't work.

Seeing that his life was about to end, Old Meng and the others were helpless.

It's freezing cold now, and even if you go down the mountain to ask a doctor, they might not be willing to come up, let alone since they don't have much money to spare.

It must be said that no matter what kind of world it is, the lives of the people at the bottom are as worthless as grass.

Zhou Chengan saw all of this, and since he had encountered it, he naturally wouldn't sit idly by and watch someone die.

After using his inner energy to alleviate the symptoms of Little Sparrow and the two old people, he went straight into the deep mountains.

It took most of the day to get back to the Taoist temple.

When they returned, they not only carried a large bag of herbs, but also a bear.

Zhou Cheng'an killed the bear with a single punch on the mountain; its fur wasn't even broken.

Old Meng and the others were astonished when they saw him carrying back such a huge bear.

Normally, they would run away from this bear if they saw it, but Zhou Chengan actually carried one back without batting an eye.

"Goodness, this bear must weigh five or six hundred pounds."

Liu Luwei touched the bear's fur, and the cold wind blew into his collar, making him involuntarily shrink his neck.

"That's not."

Old Meng smacked his lips twice, looked at Zhou Cheng'an, and asked, "Young Master Zhou, what should we do with this bear?"

"Keep the bear bile for me. As for the rest, you can do whatever you want with it. This meat should be enough for you to eat for ten to fifteen days."

Old Meng was overjoyed upon hearing this.

"That's enough, more than enough. Even if we ate it every day, it would last for about twenty days."

Zhou Chengan nodded, said nothing more, and took out the herbs, teaching Liu Luwei to identify them.

Then, he was instructed to brew medicine for his daughter, Xiao Que'er, and the two elderly people who had high fevers.

In fact, Zhou Cheng'an could have directly healed the three of them with his true qi, but he chose to use medicine, mainly because he wanted to find a way out for Old Meng and the others.

——Medicinal herbs!
First, learn to identify medicinal herbs, then collect and plant them.

Undeniably, gathering herbs in the mountains carries certain risks, but it's still safer than making a living by robbing others.

Upon hearing Zhou Chengan's instructions to brew the medicine, Liu Luweiganzi immediately kowtowed repeatedly, expressing his deepest gratitude.

It's truly remarkable that a girl like Xiao Que'er could emerge from a bandit's den.

Raising a child to this age is no easy feat.

Little Sparrow was the apple of Old Liu's eye; Zhou Cheng'an saving Little Sparrow meant saving Old Liu's life.

Zhou Cheng'an didn't refuse the gift, but he gave Liu Luwei a few instructions on the timing of brewing the medicine, and then went to meditate and cultivate...

(End of this chapter)