Sword Roaring in the Sky

Chapter 238 Martial Arts Barrier

Zhang Yuanqiao hesitated slightly, of course he knew what was wrong with his apprentice!
He originally wanted to leave Sun Yanwan at Lingjian Peak to cultivate in seclusion and break through slowly. Although this method was the slowest and might take several years, it was also the safest and he was less afraid of anything happening to Sun Yanwan.

Most importantly, Sun Yan was still young and wasn't in a hurry to break through to the Innate Realm.

Zhang Yuanqiao said, "It's nothing, you've just encountered a martial arts obstacle."

"However, you are still young. It's not too late to wait two more years to break through to the Innate Realm."

Sun Yanwan asked, "What is a martial arts obstacle?"

Kongchan said, "There's no way to explain this. It's like, you either understand or you don't understand."

"For example, humans are born knowing how to breathe, but something that everyone can do cannot be taught. Children who cannot breathe are born dead and cannot survive to learn!"

"However, the method for breaking through the martial arts barrier is similar to that of your Songyang Sect. We send our disciples to travel the world, to uphold justice, to settle scores, to help others, or to escort goods across dangerous situations. Once they experience the realities of life, they often have an epiphany."

"We don't know what methods Youjian Manor uses, but the Northern Yan royal court likes dual cultivation, and Longzang Temple is known throughout the world for its closed-door seclusion."

This was the first time Sun Yanwan had heard the term "martial arts barrier." She pondered for a moment, thinking to herself, "It's difficult to quantify."

"No wonder my master didn't tell me; he probably wouldn't dare let me roam the martial world."

"Hmm, speaking of which, some methods in the Golden Sutra of the Sun seem to be able to be used to break through to the Innate Realm!"

Taking the opportunity, Sun Yanwan asked some difficult questions about martial arts, which Zhang Yuanqiao and Kong Chan answered one by one.

Kong Chan suddenly smiled and said, "I'm afraid your master won't dare let you travel the world anymore."

"I have a certificate here. If you want to travel the world, you can use it to conceal your identity."

Kong Chan called a young novice monk, who returned shortly after. The package contained not only a certificate of ordination but also a monk's robe and a set of disguises. He smiled and handed it to Sun Yanwan, saying, "You might find it useful."

Sun Yanwan took the package. Seeing that her master didn't say anything, she quickly thanked Kong Chan and thought to herself, "Old Sun doesn't want to be a monk."

He truly didn't want to be a monk, even a fake one.

But since Kong Chan had already given it to him, he had no choice but to accept it for now and return to Lingjian Peak to keep it safe.

Kong Chan and Zhang Yuanqiao didn't say anything, they just sat and drank tea, enjoying themselves immensely.

Sun Yanwan asked for a while, but didn't dare to disturb her about martial arts matters. She sat quietly to the side, brewing and serving tea for the two elders with a well-behaved demeanor.

That evening, Kong Chan invited Zhang Yuanqiao to a vegetarian meal, and the two went to a dining hall at Shao Chan Temple. Sun Yanwan also joined them for dinner. After the meal, Zhang Yuanqiao took Sun Yanwan back to their lodgings and said to his disciple, "Come back to Songyang Mountain with us in a few days. If you haven't broken through by next year, we'll let you go out and travel the world."

“But you’ve caused quite a bit of trouble, so you really need to conceal your identity. Keep this ordination certificate and monk’s robe.” Sun Yanwan said with a bitter expression. He took the things and went back to his place. He wanted to meditate for a while, but as soon as he closed his eyes, he suddenly felt golden palm shadows all over the world, which startled him.

Looking around but seeing no old monk, he cautiously closed his eyes again, and sure enough, the golden palm shadows filled the sky again.

This time, however, he did not jump up. Instead, he calmed his mind and carefully observed the palm shadows filling the sky, gradually gaining insights into his heart.

The old monk sweeping the floor used some kind of extraordinary spiritual skill to imprint a palm technique on Sun Yanwan's mind. Whenever he cultivated, he would sense this palm technique.

Helpless, Sun Yanwan had no choice but to give up cultivating and carefully sense the palm technique. He was also very curious as to why the old monk would use this method to teach him a palm technique.
But this palm technique was indeed infinitely profound, and he thought it wouldn't hurt to learn it, so he gradually became immersed in it.

Around the morning of the second day, when Sun Yanwan opened his eyes again, the golden palm shadows that filled the sky were no longer there. It was clear that the palm technique that the old monk had imprinted on his mind could not last long and had gradually dissipated after a day and a night.

Nevertheless, Sun Yanwan was greatly shocked, thinking to herself, "This senior monk's martial arts are truly earth-shattering. I'm afraid he is no less than my master and Master Kongchan. Why are neither of you surprised?"

“Master Kongchan knows this old monk and knows that our temple is hiding a master, which is only natural. Why is my master not surprised?”

Sun Yanwan pondered for a long time, carefully considering the palm technique, and countless questions welled up in her mind.

He suddenly remembered what the old monk had said, and his mind cleared up. He thought to himself, "That old bald man was talking about the wind that stirs up trouble. He was probably not struck by the Wind Ancestor back then, but was an accomplice who did business with the Wind Ancestor without any capital."

"The reason Master wasn't surprised is because he also knew this divine monk..."

"He might still be a regular visitor to Songyang Mountain, but he just hasn't come in recent years."

Having grasped the key point, Sun Yanwan suddenly felt a sense of clarity, and she understood everything about the old monk's words and actions that day.

Although there are still some things that cannot be understood, and the old monk is still too mysterious, at least he has figured out the key points and understands some of the situation, so he is no longer completely confused.

After Sun Yanwan got up, she still went to pay her respects to her master. Zhang Yuanqiao and Wang Xuangui had finally come out, and Zen Master Daku and Monk Kongchan wanted to keep them for a few more days, so they didn't say they were leaving yet.

He strolled around Shaochan Temple again, but did not visit the Sutra Repository that day. Shaochan Temple was quite large, and it would take at least ten days or half a month to see everything. At noon, he randomly found a dining hall to eat. There were dining halls everywhere in Shaochan Temple, but you had to get your own bowls and chopsticks, serve yourself your food, and wash and put the bowls and chopsticks back in their place after eating.

In Shaochan Temple, Sun Yanwan felt completely at ease. As the largest temple in the world, Shaochan Temple also had countless tourists and many dignitaries who came to offer incense. As a layperson, Sun Yanwan did not stand out.

In the afternoon, he wandered into a martial arts training ground where more than ten monks were practicing martial arts. He knew that peeping at other schools practicing martial arts was a major taboo, and was about to leave in a hurry when he suddenly saw a brilliant handprint on a giant cauldron that was five or six people tall. He couldn't help but take another look.

A middle-aged martial monk who was leading a group of young monks in martial arts practice saw him see the palm print on the giant cauldron and walked over with a smile, saying, "This is the imprint left by the Great Vehicle Prajna Palm of the Abbot of the Dharma Hall of our sect, Master Shenshan."

Sun Yanwan nodded. He had indeed heard of it. Among the seventy-two Zen techniques of Shaochan Temple, there was indeed a Mahayana Prajna Palm, which was a superior palm technique of Buddhism. This palm technique could be practiced endlessly.

Suddenly, as he stared at the palm print on the giant cauldron, an idea popped into his head.

(End of this chapter)