Heroes Return

"What the hell is there to fight over?!" the bespectacled guy roared at Xiao Zhan. "It's just a notebook with pornographic website addresses listed. Is it really worth fighting over? I don't see anything valuable about this thing at all!"

However, Xiao Zhan ignored the bespectacled man's roar and walked directly towards a rock floating in mid-air. Seeing Xiao Zhan's action, the bespectacled man couldn't help but follow.

"Is this an old-fashioned monitor?" Xiao Zhan said to the bespectacled guy next to him. "Speaking of which, what was the name of that guy with the mustache and military uniform giving a speech on the screen? I think it was something like Xi! Ah, the screen has changed to a martial arts master. What TV series is this? That guy is about to die and he's still saying that he will definitely rule the world in his next life."

"Huh?" The bespectacled man was taken aback upon hearing Xiao Zhan's words. He hadn't seen any of the scenes Xiao Zhan described at all. Hearing Xiao Zhan's explanation, the bespectacled man began to examine the stone slab in front of him himself.

The next second, an unexpected change occurred.

When the bespectacled man came to his senses, he found himself deep in the mountains. And right in front of him was a cave. For some unknown reason, he entered the cave.

But after walking for a short while, the man with glasses was surprised to find that he had reached the end of the cave.

The cave ended at a considerable space, but what truly surprised the bespectacled man was that it led to a lotus pond, and a very large one at that.

Above the cave is a small opening that resembles a skylight.

Then, right before the bespectacled man's eyes, all the lotus flowers in the pond suddenly burst into bloom, displaying their beautiful colors. Simultaneously, countless points of light floated up from the lotus pond. These countless beams of light illuminated the entire cave, creating a scene of profound fantasy.

Seeing the beautiful scenery before him, the man with glasses couldn't help but feel a sense of exhilaration.

Just as the bespectacled man was staring in astonishment at the scene before him, countless beams of light began to converge simultaneously towards the center of the lotus pond. Not only that, the bespectacled man could clearly see countless lines formed by light rays spreading across the ground in all directions, all silently converging towards the center of the lotus pond.

Gradually, a large amount of energy gathered in the sky above the lotus pond and formed a ball of light. Then, this ball of light began to grow larger and rotate continuously.

At the same time, the man with glasses could clearly sense that countless lives in the world were worshipping this rotating sphere of light.

The ball of light gradually formed a vortex in Brother Eyes' eyes, spinning continuously.

It seemed to have spun for a very long time, yet also as if it had only been a moment. The sphere of light finally stopped spinning, and in the bespectacled man's eyes, it transformed into a transparent mirror formed of light.

Yes, in the eyes of the bespectacled man, this is a mirror formed by light.

As the mirror formed, a soft yet powerful beam of light pierced through the skylight above, shining straight up into the sky.

At the same time, the sounds of fierce fighting and collisions rang out outside the cave.

Just as the bespectacled man was stunned by the sight, a hand unexpectedly patted his shoulder. Startled, he jumped forward and, as if by instinct, quickly turned his face away.

Then he saw Xiao Zhan's lewd face with sunglasses on.

"Damn it! What are you doing!" The bespectacled man was so startled that he shoved Xiao Zhan aside, and then he began to scan his surroundings. The cave, the lotus flowers, and everything else had disappeared, and he was still standing in front of a stone slab.

"What are you doing? Why are you suddenly spacing out?" Xiao Zhan asked, looking at the guy with glasses.

"I just saw a cave and a lotus pond. There was also a mirror formed by light inside!" the bespectacled man said to Xiao Zhan.

"I don't see any. There aren't any lotus flowers here!" Xiao Zhan said to the man with glasses.

"Strange, am I hallucinating?" the bespectacled man muttered to himself upon seeing Xiao Zhan's reaction. Then, as if he had just realized something, he looked at the stone slab in front of him again.

However, after staring at it for a long time, nothing happened.

"Xiao Zhan, what did you say you saw on this rock? Can you still see the image now?" the bespectacled man asked Xiao Zhan.

"I can't see it anymore. I don't know what happened. This thing only played the images of three people and then turned off." Xiao Zhan said, "I guess it's either malfunctioning or those monks at the Bachelor Temple came up with some way to get you to recharge."

"What?" Upon hearing Xiao Zhan's words, the bespectacled man seemed to be deep in thought. However, he couldn't quite grasp what it meant.

Chapter nine

"I'm telling you, you two better watch your words when you see my senior brother later," Master Wuliang said to Thirteen and Lin Jie. "I'm not trying to scare you, but no one in the entire Guanggun Temple dares to speak carelessly in front of my senior brother."

"You don't dare either?" Lin Jie asked the unscrupulous master.

"Of course I wouldn't dare! Although I look a lot like a woman, I have no intention of actually becoming a woman!" the unscrupulous master said.

"What do you mean by this?" Thirteen asked curiously.

"Do you know why my senior brother, Bored, has become the most infamous person in the entire Bachelor Temple?" Master Wuliang asked the two of them in a mysterious manner.

"Why?" Lin Jie asked curiously.

"To put it simply, anyone who has provoked my Guanggun Temple, especially those bored individuals, will undoubtedly be killed. After all, we are monks, but without exception, we have all become childless." Master Wuliang cautiously said to the two men, "My senior brother's 'Childless Kick' is truly unstoppable in this world."

"Really?" Lin Jie asked curiously.

"Alright, you'll see when you get there." Wuliang said, leading the way towards the highest point of the mountain.

Before long, Lin Jie and Thirteen followed the unscrupulous master to a mountaintop. There, a young-looking monk was standing.

Beside him stood a peach tree in full bloom, though normally it would be well past the season for peach blossoms. The monk was facing away from the three people, gazing down at the scenery below the mountain.

Under the tree at this moment, Master Boredom was quietly meditating and chanting scriptures.

“The wind is quite noisy today,” the monk looking down the mountain suddenly said. “Indeed, the chaos and impermanence of the mortal world have spread to this pure Buddhist sanctuary.”

As he spoke, the monk turned to look at Lin Jie and Thirteen. The monk didn't look very old, making it hard to believe that he was of the same generation as Wu Neng and Wu Yu. At the same time, Lin Jie carefully observed the aura of the person in front of him and couldn't help but feel a sense of unfathomable depth.

"Indeed, everything has a cause and effect; what's meant to happen will happen sooner or later." Master Bored looked at the two people in front of him with a meaningful expression.

"Senior brother, aren't monks supposed to be genuine? Why are you showing off again?" Wu Yu opened his eyes and said to Wu Liao Master, "And senior brother, is it really okay for you to show off to those two juniors? You even said the wind was very strong today. Senior brother, I've been sitting here for three hours, but there's hardly any wind at all. Actually, I think your showing off is very unskilled. And didn't you just receive a notification from your disciples, saying that what's meant to come will come? Actually, you're taking a lot of risks with this kind of showing off, senior brother. How about this, I have a better suggestion..."

However, before he could finish speaking, Master Bored kicked Master Speechless.

It must be admitted that the Speechless Master's reaction was indeed incredibly fast. At the same moment the Bored Master lifted his foot, the Speechless Master's figure vanished from the spot.

By the time Master Boredom delivered his kick, Master Speechless had already appeared beside Lin Jie and the others.

"Senior brother, don't be angry... Ah..." Master Wuyu had only uttered one sentence when he bent over in pain and collapsed to the ground.

"How could this be? I clearly..."

"So that's why you dared to undermine me! You've actually mastered such a technique." Master Bored said, walking up to Master Speechless and then launching into a barrage of insults at him: "You underestimate my 40-year-old 'hitting a cow from across a mountain' technique! You think you can dodge my groin kick just because you've mastered this technique?"

"Senior brother, I was wrong! Please stop hitting me."

"Damn it! After all these years, two juniors finally came to see me. What's wrong with me showing off? What's wrong with me, a man who's over a hundred years old, showing off to two juniors? You dare to undermine me! I'll teach you to undermine me! You think you can challenge me just because you've mastered the movement technique?" Master Bored said to Master Speechless before even kicking him.

Seeing Master Wuyu being kicked and begging for mercy by Master Wuyu on the ground, Lin Jie couldn't help but be surprised. He knew that Master Wuyu had supposedly single-handedly dealt with over a dozen of Baphomet's great demon clones back in Hero Academia. But here, he was defeated in a single move by Master Wuyu. And the way he was defeated was rather unsettling.

"Do you know why Xiaoming's grandpa lived to be a hundred?" Bored, he said while kicking someone, "Because Xiaoming's grandpa didn't talk much!!!"

"Senior brother... Ouch... I'm 109 years old this year... Ouch!"

"You talk too much! Well, today is your death anniversary! Your master named you Wuyu (Speechless) hoping you would change your talkative habit! You've been letting your master down all along! Oh right, didn't you catch a pig that can do thirty-six transformations a few days ago? Today I'll make him accompany you to the Western Paradise!" With that, Master Wuliao kicked Master Wuneng (Incompetent Master) down the mountain.

After lecturing Wuyu, Wulai turned to look at Lin Jie and Thirteen, who were staring in disbelief. Meanwhile, the unscrupulous master beside them had taken advantage of Wulai's earlier act of dealing with Wuneng to make a quick getaway.

"Why are you two looking at me like that? Do you have a problem with what I've done?" Wu Liao said, glancing at Thirteen and Lin Jie.

“No objection. Speaking of which, Master, your martial arts are truly impressive!” Thirteen quickly smiled and said to the bored Master, “How could I possibly have any objection to you, Master? I’m here to ask you for a favor.”

Just kidding, Thirteen doesn't want to get kicked directly by that weird, childless kick from Master Boredom.

"You must be Thirteen. I've heard about your story," Master Bored said to Thirteen. "Speaking of which, my senior brother is such a troublemaker!"

"Master, what do you mean by this?" Thirteen asked curiously.

"Let's just get straight to the point. I can't interfere in your affairs!" Master Bored said to Thirteen. "We are Buddhists, but I sense a strong aura of the Birdmen on you. They are not from the same system as us at all. You should understand now, right?"

"But Master, are you really out of options?" Thirteen asked somewhat unwillingly upon hearing Master Boredom's words, "I've already searched so many places..."

“You’re not from Zone C. So I can’t help you. After all, things are different now. The end of the Dharma-ending Age has allowed many powerful beings to gradually awaken. There are tens of thousands of disciples in the entire Guanggun Temple. I can’t risk the lives of tens of thousands of disciples to accompany an outsider like you.”

"Simply put, you're afraid that if you directly help Thirteen solve the problem, it will attract powerful people to deal with you, so you're chickening out?" Lin Jie asked the Bored Master.

"Coward? You seem to underestimate our Bachelor Temple!" Master Bored looked at Lin Jie coldly: "Let me tell you clearly, I have never been afraid of any creature in this world that has testicles. But I really can't help this Thirteenth Benefactor with his matter."

"If you can't help me, just say so. Why did you have to say all that nonsense before?" Lin Jie said with dissatisfaction.

"Do you know what we Buddhists value most? Being silly?" Master Bored looked at Lin Jie with the eyes of someone looking at an idiot and said, "It's karma! This thirteenth benefactor is carrying a huge burden of karma!! That's why he's being treated like this. If you want to get rid of this karma, you have to end the previous causes."

"What do you mean?" Lin Jie asked.

"You wouldn't believe me if I called you a fool." Master Bored said to Lin Jie, "Let me be clear with you! Simply put, just like you have to figure out the source of a problem to resolve it. That's all the advice I can give you."

"Master, do you mean you want me to find out why I bear this fate?" Thirteen asked hesitantly.

“That’s exactly it,” Master Wuneng said. “Now you understand. Although I can’t help you, I can point you in the right direction. You must have committed some serious crime in the past, and you have been burdened with some kind of mission in this life because of it. When you understand all of this, you will naturally have a way to change your destiny.”

"Really? Thank you, Master." Thirteen thanked Wu Liao and then walked directly down the mountain. It was clear that Thirteen's expression wasn't very good at this point.

At this point, only Wuliao and Lin Jie remained on the mountain.

"Actually, there's another way to help him, but whether you tell him or not is up to you," Master Bored said to Lin Jie.

"What method?"

"The people who found the Immortal Hall Holy Land," Master Bored said calmly, "are all the same kind of people as the birdmen from the West. So even if we go there and truly help the Thirteenth Benefactor change his fate, it will only make him another pawn."

"Is there no way to escape the fate of becoming a pawn?" Lin Jie asked the Bored Master.

"Yes, we have found someone who can ignore the game and flip the table! As far as I know, there are only two people left in this world who can flip the table." Master Bored said, a golden light flashing in his eyes: "One of them is you, Benefactor Zero."

"What the hell! What are you saying?" Lin Jie couldn't help but look at the extremely young-looking monk in front of him.

"You don't need to pretend with me, I won't tell anyone." Master Bored said to Lin Jie, "My junior brothers saw you use the Zhuxian and Juexian swords one after the other. In addition, the one you used when you were Zero should be the Luxian sword. That means the battle of the four swordsmen ended long ago without our knowledge, right? And you are the final victor."

"Damn! You actually know about the Sword Master's War! Who exactly are you?" Lin Jie asked the Bored Master in surprise.

"We are just a bunch of monks who don't follow the rules and regulations. There's no need for you to look like you're ready to fight me. Although my name is Bored, I'm not so bored that I'd go looking for the Immortal Slaughtering Sword Formation to fight."

chapter Ten

"Then why do you want to see me?" Lin Jie asked curiously.

"That's not right. You came to see me on your own, didn't you?" Master Bored said to Lin Jie. "But it's really good that I have the opportunity to meet you, a person who has saved the world, before I go into seclusion."

"Seclusion? You're going into seclusion?" Lin Jie asked.

"Yes, after I finish speaking with you, I'm going into seclusion." Master Bored said to Lin Jie, "I know you probably have some questions for me too, right? But in exchange, I'd like you to grant me one request. If you do, I'll answer all your questions."

"What request? I see that the master's skill is profound. Is there anything else you need from me?" Lin Jie asked curiously.

“Actually, I’ve sensed that there are quite a few treacherous people eyeing my temple lately,” Master Bored said. “I imagine a major event will happen to my temple soon, and at that time I implore you to once again act as Zero to protect this city.”

"What did you say? Protecting this city is one thing, but why do I have to use Zero's identity?" Lin Jie asked, puzzled.

“Because it’s very interesting,” said the Master of Boredom.

"Damn! That's the reason?"

“Yeah, that’s because I think it’s cooler this way. And if you solve the problem as Zero, then our Bachelor Temple can also use this opportunity to create some buzz.” Master Bored said with a smile, “Just think of it as a celebrity endorsement.”