I am Jinshan Youxia

Such an attack could probably wipe out the hundred or so monks who charged at them in an instant, and the key is that the attacker didn't even seem to be out of breath or red in the face. Such martial arts are truly...

"Demon!"

Someone blurted out something, and the monks all retreated in a large circle, with the outer disciples almost leaving the main hall.

Zhang Chengyi didn't care about being called a 'demon' at all, and patted Xuan Ci's head while laughing. "Old bald monk, you don't want others to know about you and Ye Erniang, do you?"

The other monks of the Xuan generation were close by and could hear clearly; their expressions varied.

Xuan Ci remained calm and his expression did not change. He said, "Amitabha."

"If you think you can use my mistakes to threaten Shaolin, you are mistaken."

"No, no, no." Zhang Chengyi's smile widened. "I never like to use one person to threaten a group. It's meaningless and petty."

His voice rose slightly as he said, "If Shaolin does not hand over its martial arts today, there will be no Shaolin Temple in the world tomorrow."

Upon hearing this, everyone's expression changed.

Seeing their expressions turn ugly, Zhang Chengyi burst into laughter and said, "Just kidding!"

"I won't harm your lives, but these clay sculptures, bricks and tiles..." he said, flicking his finger and sending out another sword aura that sank deep into the pedestal next to the Buddha statue, creating a ravine.

"Wouldn't it be a waste to use such fine gold, silver, copper, and iron to make Buddha statues? It would be a meritorious deed to use them to help the poor, wouldn't you say, Abbot Xuanci?"

Xuan Ci's expression was not much better, in fact, it was even uglier. Demolishing the entire Shaolin Temple was no different from expelling Shaolin from the temple. Moreover, did the other party not want the martial arts manuals after demolishing the Shaolin Temple?

In the end, they had no other choice; it truly was their fate.

"Senior brother," Xuanji asked in a low voice. In his view, martial arts were far less important than his disciples, and even less important than this temple.

The Shaolin Temple has been able to survive to this day not because it secretly kept martial arts techniques, otherwise it would not have openly displayed its secret manuals in the Sutra Repository.

The monks surrounding the area seemed somewhat bewildered. Inside, Xuan Ci, who was being watched by his fellow disciples, sighed deeply and said, "Benefactor, if you want those manuals, then... then take them all."

After he finished speaking, he seemed to deflate, his face aging considerably. He said, "Xuan Ci has failed in his leadership and has also violated the great precepts of Buddhism..." As he spoke, he tried to use his internal energy to break through the true qi that blocked his meridians and acupoints in order to commit suicide. As soon as he tried, he injured his lungs and internal organs, and blood flowed from the corner of his mouth.

"You old bald monk." Zhang Chengyi grabbed him, and the internal energy he had painstakingly channeled was instantly dissipated by the Northern Darkness True Qi.

"Who do you think is in charge here?"

Chapter 57 Shaolin Temple Robbed

Death is the end of everything? How could that be?

Ye Erniang committed so many sins, and a large part of them can be attributed to Xuan Ci in front of her.

How did a poor girl, helpless when her father was seriously ill, become one of the four most notorious villains in the martial arts world? Where did she get her martial arts skills?

Who is it that knows they have created a great villain, yet pretends to be deaf and dumb and remains indifferent?

Who is the one who only thinks about their son after he was taken away, and then ignores him after giving the child's mother a sum of money?

Zhang Chengyi was willing to give Ye Erniang a quick death, but he was unwilling to let Xuan Ci die a quick and painless death. He released the old bald donkey in his hand and said loudly, "Xuzhu, come forward and recognize your father."

A commotion arose in the crowd. Xu Zhu, who had been pushed to the back because of his weak martial arts skills, was pushed to the front again. He did not believe that the abbot was his father.

Ignoring all the formalities, Zhang Chengyi stated directly: "Ye Erniang was originally a poor woman. After she became involved with Abbot Xuanci, she gave birth to a son. Granny Qiao, who delivered the baby, can serve as a witness. Afterward, the child was snatched by enemies and placed in the vegetable garden of Shaolin Temple, where he was raised to adulthood by the Shaolin monks—"

"It is you, Xuzhu."

"After losing her son, Ye Erniang went mad and snatched other people's children everywhere. Abbot Xuanci, you bear most of the responsibility for this evil."

His words were so powerful that they stunned the monks, and even Xuzhu was somewhat skeptical.

"Amitabha." Xuan Ci slumped to the ground, some of his power dissipated, his face pale. He said, "That's right, what you said is absolutely correct."

"It's good that you've admitted it." Zhang Chengyi stepped forward and grabbed Xu Zhu, saying, "Ye Erniang has already been executed. You, the culprit, want to get away with it by dying, but who will pay for the sins she committed?"

Without uttering any further words, he grabbed Xuzhu and leaped over the heads of the bald men, leaving behind the words: "Send the Shaolin Temple's martial arts manuals to the mountain gate in half an hour."

He did not come alone; several disciples of the Deaf-Mute Sect accompanied him in a carriage and were waiting outside the mountain gate.

Xu Zhu felt as if he were flying, with light and shadow flashing before his eyes. When he came to his senses, he was already in front of the Sutra Repository.

"Benefactor, what are you going to do by grabbing this humble monk again?" He looked at the fingers pressing against his body, and thinking of the invincible sword energy that had just burst forth from the fingertips, he felt a little afraid.

Zhang Chengyi looked at the gaunt monk who was slowly sweeping fallen leaves with a broom not far away and said, "I killed your mother Ye Erniang, crippled your father Xuanci's martial arts, and even cursed you for being ugly in front of so many people. They committed sins, but you are innocent. Moreover, I find you pleasing to the eye, so I thought I would give you some good fortune."

As he spoke, his inner energy surged in. Having been passed on his skills by tens of thousands of people, he was undoubtedly one of the most skilled in the world when it came to this skill. With a flick of his wrist, he skillfully circulated his inner energy twice within Xu Zhu's body, generating Northern Darkness True Qi. In the blink of an eye, over a thousand points of inner energy were poured in, and after circulating around, more than seven hundred points remained.

The sweeping monk put down his broom, looked up, and a hint of surprise appeared in his usually calm eyes.

"Whoo~"

The robe on Xu Zhu's body billowed up with his true energy, and the leaves under his feet were blown into the air for no reason.

"Whoosh!"

Zhang Chengyi lightly tapped a leaf, his true energy surging, and the leaf shot towards the sweeping monk like lightning.

"No!" Xu Zhu blurted out in concern, completely unaware of why he could see the trajectory of the leaves. Anxious to save lives, he chased after the leaves.

Unexpectedly, before the leaves even got close to the sweeping monk, they slowed to a standstill, like tiny insects caught in a spider's web.

"Not bad."

Zhang Chengyi praised him. He had used a full ten percent of his internal energy in that attack, but the old monk had caught it with such ease. No wonder he was the guy in the novel who could create a three-foot-high wall of energy.

This wasn't a clash of true qi against true qi. In terms of true qi level, the old monk opposite was far inferior to Wuyazi, let alone compared to him. He genuinely used skill to neutralize Wuyazi's attack, which is why the leaves remained unharmed.

Xu Zhu rushed over recklessly, almost falling, but was supported by a gentle, invisible force. Once he regained his footing, he realized what had happened.

The sweeping monk loosened his clasped hands, opened his palms to catch the slowly falling leaves, and asked, "Benefactor, your internal strength has already reached its peak, so why insist on practicing our sect's martial arts?"

"Reaching the pinnacle?" Zhang Chengyi laughed. "What I want is endless martial arts."

A strange look appeared in the sweeping monk's eyes.

"Come with me." Zhang Chengyi stomped his foot, and the leaves on the ground floated up, standing upright under the influence of his true energy, ready to be projected out as soon as he exerted his strength.

He used one-tenth of his internal energy in that last strike, but he didn't unleash any of his powerful physique, which was strong enough to turn iron into mud.

The old monk in front of him performed well, but that was all. If they really fought, if he poked the old monk with one finger, the sword energy, propelled by the flesh, would instantly turn the old monk into a water bag full of holes.

"That is exactly what I wish for."

The sweeping monk smiled slightly and agreed. Whether he could win or not, at his level, he could easily find out with a simple test. Why make things unpleasant for everyone?

Moreover, he was also very curious about what the other party wanted by doing this, and what impact it would have on the world.

“Not bad.” Zhang Chengyi nodded and withdrew his true energy.

Seeing that the two were about to abandon him, Xu Zhu panicked and said, "Benefactor, I...you..."

“My name is Zhang Chengyi, you can also call me Jinshan Wanderer.” Zhang Chengyi said without turning his head, “No need to thank me, and there’s no need to have any connection with me.”

"If you want revenge or to save your father, come to Leigu Mountain."

Xu Zhu stared blankly at the empty Sutra Pavilion, with leaves falling all around him. Having grown up and become a monk at Shaolin Temple since childhood, he had never felt so lost.

-------------------------------------

During the Mid-Autumn Festival, Shaolin Temple was robbed. Six monks of the Xuan generation, including Abbot Xuanci, were kidnapped by the Golden Mountain Rangers, along with all the martial arts manuals that Shaolin Temple had created or collected over the centuries.

This incident caused a stir in the martial arts world, and Suzhou City, after being granted amnesty by the imperial court, was no longer as popular.

Leigu Mountain naturally did not escape the attention of the imperial court and martial arts practitioners. This place was too close to Kaifeng, so close that the officials could not ignore the fact that a former rebel leader lived here. In particular, the rebel leader had forcibly broken into Shaolin Temple, kidnapped Shaolin monks, took away a large number of Shaolin secret techniques, gathered a large number of masters, killed nearby wealthy households, and stubbornly refused the government's intervention...

The imperial court had countless reasons to annihilate the rebels at Leigu Mountain. Even if it offered amnesty, it would have to wait until it was dealt with first.

Therefore, the emperor devised a plan: after the autumn harvest, the army would set off in a grand procession to Leigu Mountain to suppress the bandits. Before the operation even began, the news spread like wildfire throughout the land.

People in the martial arts world were all moved by the news.

Chapter 58 Invites Him to Enjoy the Moon and Drink Wine (Wishing everyone a Happy Dragon Boat Festival)

Bandits must be eradicated at all times; we cannot afford not to!

As Zhang Chengyi looked at the proclamation secretly thrown over by the government officials, this thought popped into his head.

During the 167 years of the Northern Song Dynasty, there were a total of 243 recorded uprisings, including peasant revolts involving dozens of people and mutinies by soldiers.

Basically, there was a rebellion every year on average, sometimes more than once, and every twenty or thirty years there would be a particularly significant one.

With such frequent occurrences, the entire Song Dynasty, from top to bottom, had basically become accustomed to rebellions.

In most cases, being granted amnesty became the simplest solution, and many people rebelled with the sole aim of being granted amnesty.

However, Suzhou was different. During the Northern Song Dynasty, even the calculation of the autumn harvest time was shifted southward. The saying "When Suzhou and Huzhou are prosperous, the world is well-fed" represented the advanced agriculture of Suzhou. As a hub of the Grand Canal, Suzhou was also a very central city in the political, economic, cultural, and transportation fields of the Song Dynasty. It could almost be called the number one city in Jiangnan.

So, guess how many local forces closely connected to the imperial court died when Zhang Chengyi plowed through the land?

The answer is that almost the entire army was wiped out.

In this era, if a lord kills all ten, there will definitely be some wrongful executions. If he kills nine out of ten, there will almost certainly be some who escape. Especially from the perspective of modern people's moral values, there are basically no good people among them.

The unique historical context of the Northern Song Dynasty, namely the principle that "the law does not apply to officials and scholars," gave many people a reason to do whatever they wanted. In the Jiangnan region, where the emperor was far away and the economy was developed, the wealthy could do whatever they wanted. Corrupt officials who were sentenced to death were mostly exiled, and collusion between officials and merchants was a minor matter.

It is common knowledge that the unbridled evil of humankind can be astonishing.

Zhang Chengyi controlled Suzhou with the help of the Murong clan and Beggars' Sect disciples. Despite being a more modern person, he was amazed by the innovative ways the ancients committed evil.

Forgive his lack of education; he can get by with just one phrase: "awesome."

Anyway, he used the excuse that "you're too awesome, the world can't tolerate you" to kill several powerful people who had done a lot of disgusting things but stood in front of him to defend themselves.

After that, he simply ignored them and refused to see them again, letting Su Xinghe and the Eight Friends of Hangu take care of things.

The names of many powerful and influential figures whom he personally killed or ordered to be eliminated appeared in the manifesto.

The content is roughly about praising the bad guy, cursing him, and concluding that he must be dealt with, with no option to appease him or leave any room for testing or negotiation.

It seems that the emperor wasn't the only one tasked with suppressing the bandits; after all, he was an official, haha, everyone understands.

In conclusion, it really is true that bandits must be eradicated.

"Uncle Zhang, would you like to..." Su Xinghe asked.

Having killed so many powerful figures, he felt no more burdened. Knowing how skilled his group was, he even considered assassinating the emperor in the palace.

In any case, the anger of a common man has a long history in China.

"Instead of waiting for them to arrive, we might as well go directly there." Zhang Chengyi had no interest in assassinating the emperor, but he was somewhat interested in breaking the emperor's supreme authority.