From a refugee to a martial artist

Chapter 283: Uncovered Conference
The snowflakes flying outside no longer looked like salt grains, but turned into flying catkins.

The wind was howling and the charcoal fire in the room was rising.

After hearing what Wang Buyi said, everyone realized that this trip to Lanruo Temple might really broaden their horizons.

"I've seen a lot of bald donkeys, but I've never seen a bald donkey of the third rank." Lin Yan sighed and said, "What do you think is the meaning of life for these people without beards or hair?"

"This is their meaning." Zhou Ying interrupted forcefully, "You will never understand it!"

Meng Yuan looked at Wang Buyi and asked curiously, "Brother Wang, Lanruo Temple invited the Western Buddhist Kingdom to be their guest, and they have already accepted the invitation. But I wonder how Lanruo Temple will respond?"

"The governor didn't say much. I just received the letter yesterday. The governor only asked me to accompany you." Wang Buyi said.

"How else can we respond?" Lin Yan was knowledgeable. "You bald donkey, just talking nonsense to me, and even talking about some witty trick!"

"Captain Lin, what you said is wrong." Wang Buyi objected, "In fact, there are many great monks in the world. Although there are some with bad morals and beastly hearts, there are also true Buddhas who save the suffering people in the world. It's the same with Confucianism and Taoism."

Lin Yan was too lazy to talk about this and just asked, "When will we discuss the Dao?"

“The date of the Wuzhe Conference has not been set yet, but Lanruo Temple has already invited masters of the three religions to visit the temple.” Wang Buyi replied.

The so-called Unobstructed Assembly is also a term used in Buddhism. Its original meaning is a Buddhist vegetarian meeting that everyone can participate in, regardless of whether they are monks or laymen, good or evil, smart or stupid.

Its original intention is to promote Buddhist teachings. Usually the speaker must be well versed in Buddhism and be able to answer people's questions or even accept debate challenges.

But as Buddhism became more prosperous, the Wuzhe Conference became a conference for discussing the truth. Especially since there was a debate on gradual enlightenment and sudden enlightenment in Buddhism, as well as the habit of debating sutras, the Wuzhe Conference gradually became a conference for discussing the truth.

Anyway, no matter what it is discussed, it can be called an unobstructed conference.

Of course, generally speaking, the Wuzhe conferences are all literary gatherings and no fighting occurs.

After hearing what Wang Buyi said, Meng Yuan thought that once the Wuzhe Conference was held, the whole world would definitely pay attention to it. There would definitely be many acquaintances by then. The four disciples of Chongxu Temple had gone to find Xuanjizi, Jie Kaiping had also gone, Wang Er had brought a bunch of people, and there were also Dugu Ying and Dugu Mingyue.

"That'll be at least one or two months later!" Lin Yan thought differently. He sighed, "My wife is new here, but we can't be together during the New Year!"

"You haven't gotten married yet, right? Brother Yuan just agreed to the marriage!" Zhou Ying was targeting Lin Yan.

"It's settled if you agree to it!" Lin Yan was very annoyed, "Unlike you, who is so picky that you can't find anything! Last time I introduced my junior brother to you, there won't be a next time!"

Zhou Ying gritted her teeth in anger and glared at Lin Yan.

"Let's go now." Wang Buyi really didn't want to watch people fighting among themselves.

Lin Yan sighed, finally stood up, and said helplessly: "Then let's go."

In fact, everyone was already ready, only Lin Yan was hesitating. When they saw Lin Yan stand up, everyone set off together.

As the wind and snow grew stronger, the group of people walked in the snow wearing bamboo hats.

Coming out from the west gate, Zhou Ying and Fan Ye led sixteen people in front, Wang Buyi led eleven people behind, and Lin Yan and Meng Yuan chatted in the middle.

After walking for a few miles, I saw some people waiting under the long pavilion, and there were quite a few of them.

It was Zhao Wannian and his four companions with several nephews and nephews, as well as Nie Qingqing and Jiang Tang, Yuan Yaoniang holding Xiangling, Tie Niu, Hu Qian and others who had turned into snowmen.

After drinking the farewell wine, Lin Yan's eyes became red.

"We are military men. This is considered a military trip. Why do we have family members to see us off?" Zhou Ying complained to herself before her family members came to see her off.

It was almost noon when everyone continued to move forward.

Meng Yuan rode his horse at the end and listened to Lin Yan talking about Yuan Yaoniang's good points for a long time.

It was not until mid-afternoon that Lin Yan finally recovered.

"By the way, what did the two old dogs fart about?" Lin Yan suddenly asked. He was talking about Yue Laosheng and Ji Feng. Meng Yuan smiled and said, "They didn't say anything. They just told me to concentrate on my work."

Meng Yuan knew that Yue Laosheng and Ji Feng were the emperor's men, so he had always had a question. However, Wang Buyi and others were there before, so it was inconvenient to ask. Now that he finally had time, he asked, "Are they from the military?"

"I guess so. My ancestors gained wealth and status through fighting on the battlefield." Lin Yan smiled. "Being a fifth-rank warrior is enough to continue the family's reputation and maintain its glory for a while. If one can reach the fourth-rank realm, he will definitely be a guest of honor in the imperial court even without doing anything. If he can do something great, it will be even more extraordinary."

At this point, Lin Yan rarely became serious and said, "Junior brother, I know you are thinking about Master's revenge and have always remembered the matter of the black-clothed messenger. But——"

He stretched out five fingers, then retracted one. "There are too many fifth-grade warriors. Even if you are outstanding, it still won't work. When you reach the fourth-grade realm, it will be different. If you can beat a few more warriors of the same level, or even take a step up, or even just one step! Third-grade! The third-grade can beat everyone! Second-grade Bodhisattvas, Taoist masters, they can all compete with you!"

Meng Yuan nodded in understanding. In fact, Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism were all flourishing nowadays, and there were countless people practicing martial arts.

However, there are no great scholars of the highest rank in Confucianism, but there are many masters of the top three ranks in Buddhism and Taoism.

There are the most people practicing martial arts, but few are masters. For ordinary people, the highest level is rank five.

Meng Yuan had asked Nie and Zhang, and had also looked through the files of the Demon Suppression Division. It turned out that most of the martial arts masters alive today were at the fourth level, and there had not been a third-level martial artist for many years.

Since ancient times, countless heroes have appeared in history books. Most of the founders of the country were warriors, and at least at the fourth level.

Throughout history, there have been quite a few third-rank warriors, but they are not many either. As for the second-rank, which is even higher, there is only one record of it in the books, and as for first-rank warriors, it is unheard of.

It is unlikely that there are any talented people in the world who live in seclusion and never go out.

Because the higher a warrior advances, the harder it is to advance from the fourth rank to the third rank is the most difficult of the five paths. It is to fully tap one's own potential and kill high-rank warriors across ranks.

It doesn't matter whether you kill Confucianism, Buddhism, Taoism or demons, this is the only way to go.

Therefore, if someone really breaks through to the upper third level, it will surely be known throughout the world.

Just as the Buddhist path to the third rank requires great aspirations and fulfillment, the low-ranking disciples of Buddhism also have the tradition of making great aspirations. The same is true for warriors, and the habit of killing enemies above their level also came from this.

Of course, it is precisely because of this that the path for warriors to advance is so difficult.

In addition, there has been a saying since ancient times that as long as a third-grade warrior appears, the world will inevitably be in chaos.

The founding emperor of the Qing Dynasty was a third-rank martial artist, and it was precisely because of this that he was able to overpower the three schools of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism.

It has been a long time since our dynasty has seen a military man of the third rank, not to mention the surrounding small countries.

The most recent one was born three hundred years ago, died more than a hundred years ago, and experienced the revival of Qing Kingdom.

Although there are many warriors in the world, the demeanor of the top three warriors is nowhere to be seen.

According to the statistics recorded in the files of the Demon Suppression Bureau, there are only seventeen fourth-grade warriors in the world today.

And that doesn’t even include Wang Er.

Of course, Prince Xin Dugu Sheng was not included.

Judging from the turmoil in Songhe Prefecture that day, Dugu Sheng might have already reached the fourth level of martial arts.

From this point of view, there are at least nineteen fourth-grade warriors in the world.

However, there is nothing unusual about advancing from the fifth rank to the fourth rank. There must be many people in the world who have been missed and not counted, and it is impossible for the Demon Suppression Bureau to try them one by one.

"I know, I will defeat everyone step by step." Meng Yuan recalled Master Nie's last words.

At this time, the wind and snow became stronger, the sky was dark, and it was difficult to see the road ahead.

(End of this chapter)