Reborn Tianlong: I practice martial arts for immortality

When he was young, he had his fingers chopped off by the beggar leader. In the past few years, when he traveled, he only killed those beggar gang members who raped and exploited little beggars.

Over the years, countless people from the Beggars' Sect, from elders to staff from various branches, died at his hands.

But he didn't intend to target the entire Beggars' Sect. In this respect, Lin Lingsu was even more ruthless than him.

Lin Lingsu, who was almost there, suddenly shuddered, feeling a heavy heart. "What's going on? It's broad daylight, and I'm shivering for no apparent reason at this crucial moment. Could something unexpected happen during this literary duel?"

Chapter 483: Literary Battle (I)

After both sides entered the arena, Huang Shang announced, "This literary duel will focus on three aspects: the rise and fall of the sect's heritage, the interpretation of the scriptures, and the actual deeds of the disciples."

"Both parties, prepare yourselves. First topic: the rise and fall of religious traditions!"

Huang Shang stepped aside after he finished speaking. Lin Lingsu, without any hesitation, spoke first, "In the past, our Taoist saint Laozi once went west through Hangu Pass and rode on the essence of the sun into the womb of King Jingfan's wife, Jingmiao. After he was born, he named himself Sakyamuni, established Indian Buddhism, and taught and enlightened the people of India.

The Sakyamuni Buddha you worship is nothing more than an incarnation of Laozi of my Taoist sect.

From this we can see that Buddhism has been a branch of Taoism since ancient times, and Buddha was born from Taoism. If you don't return now, aren't you committing the act of betraying your teacher and ancestors?"

As soon as Lin Lingsu said this, before Ku Rong and the other two could respond, the Buddhist disciples outside the venue started cursing.

"It's a fabrication, completely false."

"This is too much. It was fine before that he threatened to change the Buddha to the Heavenly Venerable, after all, his status was equal to the Three Pure Ones. Now he has started to talk nonsense, even the Buddha has become the incarnation of his saint."

"It's fine if you want us to join the Taoist sect, but now you're even saying that Buddha was born from Taoism. Lin Lingsu, you will not have a good death."

"Lin Lingsu, you will be punished sooner or later for slandering the Buddha."

"Lin Lingsu, aren't you afraid of going to hell after you die by spreading rumors like this?"

"..."

Many Buddhist monks could no longer remain calm and began to curse Lin Lingsu.

"The opening is a trump card. I am turning into a barbarian. This is a topic that will not be missed in every Buddhist and Taoist debate." Jiang Weichen said with a smile.

It is true that Laozi went west through Hangu Pass, but who knows whether he went to India? There is no way to prove it now.

When the crowd's voices died down, Zen Master Lingyun responded, "Donor, your words are totally unfounded and are just the opinions of your sect.

Now that we are debating, you are using your own opinion to refute my view on the origins of Buddhism, which is simply unreasonable."

Lin Lingsu refuted: "How can there be no basis? My Taoist sect has ten volumes of scriptures, the original title of which is "The Great Supreme Hunyuan Shangde Emperor Mingwei Huahu Chengfo Sutra", the simplified title is "Laozi Huahu Sutra", and there is also "Laozi 81 Transformations Diagram". This has been passed down since ancient times.

As for what you call your own opinion, it's unreasonable. Others don't know, it's simply because they haven't had enough affinity with the Dharma and haven't been able to learn from it. If the scriptures handed down from ancient times can't serve as a basis, then what can serve as a basis?"

Ku Rong and Xuan Ji frowned. Although they were well-read, they spent a lot of time practicing martial arts and had not yet fully comprehended the Buddhist scriptures. How could they have time to study Taoist classics?

Just when the two were at a loss for words, Lingyun continued, "What the donor said makes sense, but if the Laozi Huahu Jing was written during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, when Buddhism had not yet flourished in China, then this old monk would never refute it.

However, the Laozi Huahu Jing was first compiled in the Eastern Jin Dynasty and was expanded to ten volumes in the Tang Dynasty. It was compiled by Taoism to maintain its own status after the influence of Buddhism expanded.

It was not written earlier, nor later, but it was compiled under such circumstances. I ask those present, is your theory reasonable?

As soon as Lingyun finished speaking, the Buddhists outside the venue shouted, "That's not right!"

"This is fabricated nonsense, this is slander. Is this the Dao Sect? If this is true, then there is no justice."

"That's right. If this makes sense, then we Buddhists can compile scriptures from now on, and find a passage about the Buddha accepting disciples as disciples of the Three Pure Ones. Hundreds of years from now, can it also serve as a basis?"

"..."

Even those martial artists who did not understand Buddhist scriptures and Taoist classics were whispering to each other, thinking that Lin Lingsu's so-called evidence could not support his statement.

"Lin Lingsu was so confident before, is he going to lose now?"

Qingyun saw that except for the Taoists, everyone else present spoke up for Buddhism.

Jiang Weichen smiled and said, "Why rush? It's just the beginning."

Inside the venue, Lin Lingsu looked at the haggard Lingyun. She never expected that this old monk, who was barely able to even tie a chicken, knew so much about the origins of Taoist scriptures.

But before Lin Lingsu could think of how to answer, she heard Xuan Ji say, "Donor, let's talk about something practical. Whether it's Taoism giving birth to Buddha or Buddha giving birth to Taoism, it's too far away from us and can no longer be proven. There's no point in talking about it."

"Buddhism gave birth to Taoism? You have the nerve to say that. My Taoism has a long history and can be traced back to the period of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors. At that time, your Buddhist sect was just a savage somewhere. You want to say it, but do you have anything to say?" Lin Lingsu snorted coldly.

Xuan Ji's face darkened, but before he could refute, he heard Lin Lingsu say, "My Taoism has a long history, and your Buddhism is just a foreign sect that was introduced in the middle.

You are a descendant of the Yellow Emperor, yet you disbelieve in your own religion and embrace a foreign one. Don't you know the difference between Chinese and foreigners? This is a betrayal, don't you? You're a traitor, you're disloyal.

Before Buddhism was introduced to China, perhaps your ancestors were Taoists. Even if not, Huangdi was a disciple of the Taoist master Guangchengzi.

Didn't your ancestors receive the protection of the Yellow Emperor? If not, they would have been carried off by wild beasts or starved to death long ago. How could they have continued the family line, and how could you have existed?

I was protected, and it was passed down to your generation. It would be fine if you didn't feel grateful, but now you're opposing my Daoist sect at every turn? You're truly ungrateful.

Was it easy for your parents to give birth to you? Since ancient times, there are three types of unfilial behavior, and the worst is to have no descendants. You, a man of honor, don't want to continue the family line, but instead become a monk. You are asking your parents and ancestors to die with no descendants. You are unfilial.

You are a traitor, a disloyal, unfilial, unkind, and unjust person. Instead of hiding in Shaolin, you have the nerve to represent the barbarian sect against the local sect. Are you worthy of your ancestors? Are you worthy of your identity as a descendant of Yan and Huang?

Lin Lingsu spoke each word with a powerful voice, and it sounded reasonable and well-founded.

Xuan Ji, as the target of the attack, was so angry at such vicious words that his face turned red even though he had a high level of Buddhist practice. How could he calmly think about the loopholes in the words?

He pointed his trembling right index finger at Lin Lingsu, mumbling incoherently, "You...you...bully..."

Before he could finish his words, Xuan Ji's blood rushed up and he spat out a mouthful of blood, then fell backwards to the ground.

There was a loud bang, and dust flew all over the ground.

"This brat's words are rather vicious, aren't they?" Qing Yun's mouth dropped open slightly. "Did he manage to make the Shaolin Abbot Xuan Ji, who is at the Grandmaster level, faint from anger?"

Zhang Ziyang also sighed: "I knew he was eloquent, but I didn't expect him to be so eloquent."

Jiang Weichen smiled and said, "From today on, the name Lin Lingsu will become widely known. He has already made the initial progress in becoming famous."

Xuan Ji is not an ordinary person. He is the current abbot of Shaolin Temple. He is also a great monk, at least much better than Xuan Ci.

Lin Lingsu relied on her mouth to scold the man until he fell unconscious. This record was really dazzling.

Chapter 484: Literary Battle (Part )

The people outside the venue were still immersed in Lin Lingsu's words until Xuan Ji fell to the ground and the Buddhists exclaimed, and then they came back to their senses.

The people from Shaolin called out to the abbot, and the few remaining people of the Xuan generation quickly ran into the arena.

The other Buddhist disciples looked at Lin Lingsu, glaring at him as if they wanted to skin him alive.

Lin Lingsu was not afraid at all, and said loudly: "What are you looking at, am I wrong?

Do you think I just said this to him alone? I said this to all of you in the Buddhist community.

It would be fine if you didn't reflect on yourself, but you're still refusing to accept it. Who among you can say that thousands of years ago your ancestors weren't protected by the Yellow Emperor? Or by the Daoist sect?

Senior Duan Siping at least married and had children, and reproduced offspring before he became a monk.

And what about you? Do you have any offspring? It would be fine if you didn't care about continuing your family line, but you're actually promoting the Buddhist faith.

If everyone believed in your Buddhist stuff, wouldn't the Chinese nation, which has been passed down for thousands of years, be wiped out due to the lack of offspring?

With such ideas and actions, how are you any different from the barbarians during the Five Barbarians' Invasion of China?

"Who said I don't have a son? I do. Shut up right there." A monk shouted angrily.

Everyone looked at him, and the monk realized that he had said something wrong in his excitement, and hurriedly said, "Is it not okay if I gave birth before I became a monk?"

Lin Lingsu's face was filled with an exceptionally bright smile as she said to the Taoists, "Please, fellow Taoists, check to see if this person became a monk since childhood or later in life. This may be useful for our third discussion later."

There are so many Buddhist monks, and everyone present today has some status.

The monk was only about forty years old, but he was able to achieve his current status. It was very likely that he had been trained since childhood.

People from the Taoist sect immediately took action. Although many of the participants ran away because of Jiang Weichen's appearance, many remained.

And they are everywhere. It is difficult to find an unknown person, but it is not too difficult to find a person with a certain status.

Everyone outside the venue looked at Lin Lingsu, who had a vengeful personality, a high level of martial arts, and a vicious tongue.

Now, not only did he make the Shaolin abbot Xuan Ji faint, but he also provoked the Buddhists with his words, causing them to lose their composure and laying the foundation for his advantage in the subsequent debate.

Lin Lingsu was brave, resourceful, and a man of revenge. For the first time, everyone was afraid of him and listed him as one of the people who should not be provoked.

Lin Lingsu looked at the fallen Xuan Ji and sneered, "If you can't even bear this, then why are you still participating in this debate? Just admit defeat as soon as possible."

After a thorough examination, Xuan Cheng breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, the patient just fell unconscious due to the surge of qi and blood, and there were no other problems.

Otherwise, if the abbot of Shaolin was angered to death during the debate, the reputation of Shaolin would plummet again.

Hearing Lin Lingsu's ridicule, Xuan Cheng stood up angrily, "Lin Lingsu, don't go too far."

Lin Lingsu took two steps back and said with a smile, "This is a literary fight. What? Do you want to fight? I advise you to stay calm and don't lose both the fight and the battle."

Xuan Cheng's expression changed drastically, but in the end, it was Xuan Du who was standing beside him who persuaded him, "Brother, please take Brother Abbot down with you. I will take his place."

"Round-robin battle?" Lin Lingsu sneered.

"Donor, you are wrong. The rules state that you can seek help from fellow disciples outside the venue. This must be the reason why the Taoist sect allowed you to participate alone.

"Now that my Shaolin abbot is in a coma, I'm taking over, which only saves us the tedious process of seeking help from outside." Xuan Du replied with reason.

Lin Lingsu smiled and said, "I hope you won't follow in the footsteps of your abbot, otherwise your Shaolin will become a laughing stock in the future."

Although Xuan Du was also worried, he remained calm and said, "What you just said has many loopholes. Brother Abbot was furious because of your vulgar words and was unable to think carefully."

"What you said about the difference between Chinese and barbarians is indeed reasonable, but to describe Buddhism as a barbarian sect is too narrow-minded. The reason why China has been able to pass on for thousands of years is nothing more than being inclusive, taking the essence and discarding the dregs.

Although Buddhism is a foreign religion, it has been integrated into China over the past thousands of years since it was introduced to China, with generations of eminent monks improving and optimizing it. It has become a part of Chinese heritage. Why is it considered a foreign religion?

The reason why our Chinese nation has stood for thousands of years and has remained strong and prosperous is the result of continuous learning and strengthening.

From learning from others to learning from heaven and earth, this is the root of our China's strength.

We Buddhists are descendants of Yan and Huang. After learning the essence of Indian Buddhism, we have developed Chinese Buddhism which is different from Indian Buddhism. What's wrong with that?

If you still think that Buddhism in China is a foreign religion, then you are denying the fundamental strength of China.

Our Buddhist sect is now the Chinese Buddhist sect, not a foreign sect. Since it is not, the donor's talk of betrayal is nonsense.

We Buddhists are also descendants of Yan and Huang, and we do not disrespect our ancestors. Huangdi is the ruler of the world. However, the donor classifies us as Taoists and uses this to accuse the abbot of betraying his roots and being unkind and unjust. This is really absurd.

If what you say is true, then wouldn't it be true that all the schools of thought during the Spring and Autumn Period, except for the Taoists, were traitors to their ancestors? And wouldn't the high-ranking officials in the court also be considered unkind and unrighteous people who betrayed their ancestors in your eyes?"

Faced with Xuan Du's words, Lin Lingsu was unable to refute them for a moment, and he couldn't refute them either, because they were reasonable.