I will be stronger after the remake

Tang Ping spoke eloquently: "First, I have only been with them for a short time, and Zhou Canglan does not trust me at all. It is impossible for him to leak any valuable information to me."

"Secondly, I have only been a psionicist for a short time and my strength is mediocre. Even if the other party does take action, they will probably not let me join them for fear that I will hold them back."

"Thirdly, just as I just said, you need to give me a direction for the investigation, so I know where to start, instead of me just trying my luck like a headless fly."

After calming down, Fu Zhengyi had to admit that although the kid's words were infuriating, he was quick-witted, his words made sense, and he was very logical and clear-headed, much smarter than his gang of subordinates.

"I can tell you already have something in mind, so just say it."

"It's very simple. The Psionic Administration will set a trap to lure Zhou Canglan in and create opportunities for me to perform, thereby gaining his trust. Once we take the first step and have a direction, the rest will be much easier."

Fu Zhengyi thought for a moment and said, "Okay, I'll find someone to come up with a plan that meets the requirements. I'll contact you again once I have a feasible plan."

"By the way, I heard that absorbing the same type of Dao Seed can directly increase spiritual power cultivation. Only when my strength is improved can I do more things."

“Tao seeds aren’t like cabbages in the field; you can’t just give them away casually. You have to make a contribution first, and only after you’ve made a contribution can I apply for a reward for you.”

"Sharpening the axe won't delay the work of chopping wood. You can only achieve merit by improving your strength. Besides, you can't expect a horse to run fast without feeding it. Even Wu Qi knew to suck the pus from the soldiers before he wanted them to risk their lives for him!"

"Wu Qi is a military strategist of near sage renown, I can't compare to him. Rules are rules, and as a beneficiary of the system, I can't break them on my own initiative."

Tang Ping wanted to hear those words, saying, "If you're talking about rules, I have something to say too. Logically speaking, as a member of the Spiritual Energy Administration, I should be entitled to a Dao Seed. You can't deny me one just because I was an undercover agent, can you? If so, I'll have to report this to my superiors. Is this the kind of magnanimity a great nation's government should have, making people bleed and shed tears? Of course, the leaders above are good; it must be the people below who are causing trouble. I demand a thorough investigation into corruption!"

"Where are you bleeding?" Fu Zhengyi couldn't help but ask. "I heard from the Jiangcheng Psionic Administration that you were the one who showed off your power and beat others until they were covered in blood."

"Oh dear, Director, I almost forgot. You only get rewards for meritorious service, right? Saving everyone in our brother unit and killing and arresting criminals, doesn't that count as merit?"

"Don't forget you're an undercover agent! Are you doing what an undercover agent is supposed to do?"

"I risked exposing my identity and failing my undercover mission to save my comrades from danger. If I don't get a reward for this, wouldn't that discourage the vast number of grassroots psychics? Will anyone still believe that the organization can reward and punish fairly in the future?"

"Alright, alright, stop making a mountain out of a molehill. It's a waste of your time to be a psychic; you should be a civil servant in the political department."

"Tell me, do you think what I said makes sense?"

"...I will seriously consider it."

After saying that, Fu Zhengyi hurriedly hung up the phone.

Tang Ping glanced at her phone and snorted. When it comes to treating subordinates, Fu Zhengyi, as a leader, is far inferior to Zhou Canglan.

……

The next morning, after having breakfast, Tang Ping couldn't wait to rush to the Psychic Management Bureau to meet up with Ling Chong.

Ling Chong wasn't in a hurry to enter the Illusionary Realm. He first drove Tang Ping to Guiyuan Temple in reality, and introduced the legend of the Five Hundred Arhats. Although he said yesterday that the content wasn't important, knowing the enemy and knowing yourself would make it easier to deal with any unexpected events.

There are two theories about the origin of the Five Hundred Arhats. One is a story recorded by the Tang Dynasty monk Xuanzang in his "Great Tang Records on the Western Regions".

"The story tells of a thousand monks in the kingdom of Magadha, five hundred of whom were ordinary monks and five hundred were Arhat monks. The king treated them all equally. However, among the five hundred ordinary monks, one monk often made remarks that violated the rules of the monastic community, which had a very bad influence. The king was very angry and even wanted to drown all one thousand monks."

"At this time, the five hundred Arhat monks revealed their true forms and flew away on clouds, hiding in a valley in a neighboring country. When the king found out, he was very afraid. He went to the place where the five hundred Arhat monks were hiding to admit his mistakes and ask them to return. However, the Arhat monks refused. So the king built a temple in the capital and made five hundred statues in the likeness of the five hundred Arhat monks, which he worshipped from time to time."

"Another version says that when Guiyuan Temple was built, five hundred Arhat statues were to be sculpted, so people invited two clay sculptors, a father and son."

"In order to sculpt the five hundred Arhat statues, the father and son traveled through mountains and rivers to Zhusheng Temple in Hunan to draw the Arhat catalog before returning to Guiyuan Temple in Hanyang to sculpt the statues. Sculpting the statues was easy, but capturing their spirit was difficult. In order to sculpt the five hundred Arhats with their own unique style, the father and son sculpted the Arhats in different forms based on the expressions of many people."

"Later, in order to preserve the Arhat statues for a long time, the old clay sculptor learned the production method of Fujian bodiless lacquerware and used hemp, kudzu cloth, raw lacquer and Guanyin clay to make a mixed material, so that these Arhat statues are not only lifelike, but also last a long time."

After listening, Tang Ping wondered, "The former is indeed a myth, but the latter is just a folk record. It doesn't even have a plot, and it's more like an expository text."

Ling Chong said nonchalantly, "That's the gist of it. Just keep an impression on it. Although we've explored that ruin many times and never encountered any danger, we might be able to use it if something unexpected happens."

Tang Ping said helplessly, "Right now you're like an old general on a stage, covered in flags, and the probability of an accident is rapidly increasing."

Ling Chong laughed heartily: "Then I won't say anything more."

A moment later, the two arrived at Guiyuan Temple and, with the help of the Illusion-Breaking Stone, entered the Realm of Illusion.

The Guiyuan Temple in reality is already a rare and solemn building, but compared with the Guiyuan Temple in the illusory world, it is still a world apart from the mortal world.

As soon as Tang Ping stepped into the Realm of Illusion, he saw a magnificent building standing in front of him. The temple’s outer walls were tall and thick, made of layers of ancient blue bricks. Time had etched mottled marks on them, but it also gave them a sense of transcendence from the mortal world and a timeless charm.

Along the edge of the wall, every few feet, there is a small and exquisite lotus relief. The lotus is as white as jade, and its petals are slightly open, as if it is exuding the Buddha-nature radiance originating from the true and tranquil source, adding a touch of sacredness and transcendence of birth and death to the entire temple.

He looked up at the huge plaque hanging above the temple gate, which bore the four powerful characters "Guiyuan Temple". The characters were outlined in gold, with sharp strokes. Each stroke seemed to contain endless divine power that transcended life and death and pointed directly to the true source of tranquility, which made people feel awe.

Even more remarkably, faint golden runes seemed to shimmer around the characters, emanating a mysterious power. On the two sides of the gate, exquisite Dharma wheel patterns were carved, with the spokes clearly visible, symbolizing the ceaseless flow of Buddhist teachings, guiding all beings to the other shore.

Just looking at the words and pictures, he felt as if he was about to glean something from them, and his spiritual interpretation was slowly improving.

However, the focus of this trip was not on the Lingge performance. Tang Ping resisted the attraction and walked inside. The moment she stepped into the temple gate, an ancient and weathered atmosphere rushed towards her. Inside the temple, five hundred Arhat statues were neatly arranged.

However, Tang Ping's hopeful heart sank suddenly, because more than 400 of the 500 Arhat statues were severely damaged, with their incomplete bodies scattered all over the ground.

He asked in astonishment, "What's going on?"

Ling Chong slapped his bald head: "Oh, I forgot to mention, once the consciousness communicates with the Arhat statue and enters the fantasy world to spar, the Arhat statue will be destroyed regardless of the outcome."

Chapter 170 The Monk with the Knife

"The Arhat statues will self-destruct after the consciousness is communicated. It's such a simple rule, how come you only discovered it after destroying more than four hundred Arhat statues?"

Tang Ping gave him a look that said, "Do you think I'm stupid?"

Ling Chong smiled bitterly and said, "Things are naturally not that simple. Before, when you asked me why the local armed forces didn't regularly sweep through monster settlements, I said it was because of internal strife. But the root of the problem actually lies with these five hundred Arhat statues. Because it was too embarrassing, the director stopped me halfway through."

Tang Ping thought about it for a moment and realized that there was indeed such a thing: "Could it be because of an unequal distribution of the spoils?"

"Pretty much. The Illusionary Realm corresponds to the real world, which means that with the same land area, the Spirit Energy Administration Bureau simply cannot supervise it. So when the Armed Forces Section discovered the mythical ruins of Guiyuan Temple and personally experienced the effects, they decided to keep it a secret."

"However, the benefits that the Arhat statue brings to psionicists vary. Among them, psionicists with Buddhist spiritual attributes benefit the most, followed by those with martial arts spiritual attributes. As for non-Buddhist support-type psionicists, they simply enter the fantasy world and get beaten up. Naturally, they are unwilling to hide the news, since hiding it would not benefit them, but they would have to bear the responsibility after the incident."

"Therefore, the head of the armed forces department of the Buddhist Lingge proposed to give some benefits to members who could not benefit from it, such as pills and Dao seeds, to keep them quiet."

"At first, everything was fine, but without supervision, there will inevitably be embezzlement, which is unstoppable. It happens all over the country, and everyone is used to it, unless someone in the unit awakens a unique spiritual personality, 'Judge Bao'."

"But the situation with the Arhat statues is different from other stolen goods. Unlike rare and precious materials, which can be swallowed whole and then the matter is over, and can be investigated even if someone reports it afterward, the risk of being discovered is very high with such a large building as Guiyuan Temple. Moreover, communicating with the Arhat statues is very mentally taxing and cannot be done continuously. Even someone as capable as the head of the Armed Forces Department can only communicate with a maximum of four statues a day."

"Over time, those psionicists who couldn't benefit from it couldn't stand living in fear and demanded more benefits from them, otherwise they threatened to report them."

"Moreover, even the psionicists who could benefit from it have disagreements. Martial arts psionicists benefit less than Buddhist psionicists, so the former demand compensation from the latter."

Tang Ping laughed after hearing this: "A mob, huh? But it's not entirely incomprehensible. They're gathered here for profit, so naturally they'll haggle over the distribution of benefits. Since ancient times, human groups have been more concerned about inequality than scarcity."

Ling Chong grinned with a disdainful smile and said, "This side thinks that side is greedy and insatiable, while the other side thinks that this side is taking advantage and acting innocent. No one can convince anyone else. In the end, no one knows who started it, but a fight broke out, which alarmed the higher-ups. In the end, three people died in the infighting, three were arrested, and the head of the Armed Forces Section and his cronies fled abroad, leaving behind a mess. This forced our Public Security Section to ask for help from outside and borrow manpower to clean up the mess they left behind."

Tang Ping turned to look at the Arhat statue and said, "With such a commotion, the higher-ups can't possibly leave these things unresolved, right?"

"Experts from above were sent to conduct research and investigation, and experimenters were also arranged to personally experience the effects of the Arhat statues and record data. Unfortunately, I was one of them."

"And the conclusion?"

"Even for Buddhist-style spiritualists, who have the highest rate of return, communicating with an Arhat statue to improve their spiritual evolution is only equivalent to half the effect of the Qi-Nourishing Pill, which is not much. However, it has the advantage of not developing drug resistance and can be used continuously."

Ling Chong remembered that Tang Ping had only recently become a psionicist and might not know about the Peiyuan Pill, so he explained: "The Peiyuan Pill is a pill specially developed by our government to increase spiritual power. Currently, only third-level psionicists can refine it. It is quite precious and very rare. It is usually only given as a reward when someone makes a contribution. You don't see it normally. However, the Peiyuan Pill has a tolerance. If a person takes four or five pills, it will become completely ineffective."

Tang Ping asked curiously, "What about its efficacy? How much spiritual power does the increase in spiritual energy from taking the Qi-Nourishing Pill equate to in terms of spiritual rank?"

Ling Chong said, "It depends on the quality of your spirit attribute. Since the increase in spirit power is fixed, the stronger your spirit attribute, the less the increase you get. For example, a first-stage spirit attribute will only increase the spirit power by 10%, while other spirit attributes will increase it by about 25%. For a second-stage spirit attribute, the effect is halved, and for a third-stage spirit attribute, the effect is one-tenth of that of a second-stage spirit attribute, which is better than nothing. Therefore, the Qi Cultivation Pill is generally only awarded to first-stage and second-stage spirit attributes."

Tang Ping was somewhat disappointed: "It sounds like the effect is only so-so. Even with an unlimited supply, it's barely enough for a first-stage psychic to advance."

Ling Chong sighed, “Yes, cultivation is something that you have to work hard for yourself. It’s already pretty good that you can help save some time. The effect of the Arhat statue is only half that of the Peiyuan Pill, and it cannot be replicated. Therefore, the higher-ups don’t pay much attention to it. As long as you make an application with a legitimate reason, they will generally approve it.”

"In fact, the Department of Psionics is well aware that it cannot strictly supervise the grassroots level. Therefore, the system is set up to be relatively lenient. Only mythical relics of the level of Kunlun Mountain and Qin Shi Huang Mausoleum will be taken over by the Department of Psionics. Other mythical relics that are not well-known, such as Guiyuan Temple, will be handed over to the local Psionic Administration Bureau for management."

"Unfortunately, the armed forces were too greedy. They wanted to take everything and were unwilling to share anything with others, which ultimately led to this tragedy. They only had themselves to blame."

"Of course, I think the effect of the Arhat statue is not just to enhance the performance. The martial arts displayed in the illusion may be more valuable, or even its true purpose. Unfortunately, neither I, nor other testers, nor former members of the Armed Forces Department have been able to glean anything from it."

He shook his head and looked at Tang Ping, saying, "You saved all of our security personnel, so I submitted an application to the higher-ups on that basis, and it has been approved. You can choose a statue yourself."

Tang Ping observed the Arhat statues displayed in the temple and saw that they were all different in appearance, each seemingly infused with a vibrant soul.

Some Arhats have kind faces, slightly closed eyes, and a faint smile on their lips, as if they have grasped the true meaning of all things in the world. They exude a peaceful and serene aura, which makes people feel at ease when they see them, as if they can feel that their hearts have transcended the disturbances of the world and reached the state of true tranquility.

Some have wide, angry eyes, bristling hair and beards, and bulging muscles, as if they are waging an unyielding struggle against evil spirits. They hold ritual implements or strike poses, and their awe-inspiring righteousness seems to be able to break through all darkness, dispel the suffering of birth and death, and lead all beings to the path of returning to truth.

Unfortunately, more than 400 Arhat statues have been severely damaged, with their broken bodies scattered everywhere. Some are only half a body with jagged breaks, and some have lost their heads, leaving only empty shoulders.

Even so, a faint spiritual light still flickers around those damaged Arhat statues, as if stubbornly upholding the Buddhist belief of transcending birth and death and returning to one's true nature, telling of past glories.

Tang Ping did not rush to make a choice, but looked at all the Arhat statues. He found that the Arhat statues were not isolated. Some were facing each other in pairs, as if they were exchanging Buddhist insights, with agile gestures and focused expressions. Others were in groups, surrounding a taller Arhat, as if they were listening to him preach, with devout postures, some bowing their heads in contemplation, and some nodding slightly, showing their respect and longing for Buddhism.

Suddenly, he stopped, his brows furrowed, and a thoughtful look in his eyes. He began to carefully observe the distribution of the Arhat statues around him.

Ling Chong sensed something was amiss and asked, "Did you discover something?"

Tang Ping said uncertainly, "These Arhat statues are not randomly placed; their positions and spacing seem to follow a mysterious set of rules."

After a moment's thought, Ling Chong guessed, "Could it be a formation? The Shaolin Arhat Formation?"

Tang Ping was speechless and reminded him, "This is Guiyuan Temple, not Shaolin Temple."

Ling Chong waved his hand: "The meaning is enough, it's just an Arhat Formation anyway."

"Unfortunately, the damage is too severe. Based on these remnants alone, it is impossible to determine what kind of formation it is."

Tang Ping tried to piece together the entire formation from the remaining clues along the distribution of the Arhat statues, but more than 80% of the Arhat statues were damaged. Some still had their bases intact, which was fine, but others had simply turned into a pile of fragments, making it impossible to discern their exact locations, so he had to give up.

With only one chance to choose, Tang Ping didn't know which one to pick.

According to Ling Chong, each Arhat statue uses different martial arts techniques, some strong and some weak, and their levels can vary greatly.

Some of the illusory Arhats who used powerful martial arts were so formidable that even the head of the armed forces department who had fled abroad couldn't last three moves against them. However, the illusory Arhat that Ling Chong encountered used a rather ordinary set of palm techniques, and he was defeated after fifty moves.

After thinking it over, Tang Ping decided not to rely on luck and to leave the choice to his intuition, letting his intuition choose the Arhat statue that best suited him.

Judging from his past experiences, his intuition is not only comparable to precognition during battles, but also exceptionally sharp whenever it is related to martial arts.

So he took a deep breath, slowly closed his eyes, and instantly his aura became inward, as if he had merged with the ancient temple. He lifted his feet and began to walk slowly and steadily in front of the Arhat statue.

Ling Chong realized Tang Ping's thoughts and held his breath to avoid disturbing her.

However, his actions were meaningless, because Tang Ping had already abandoned all external interference and was completely immersed in her own world of consciousness.

His brows furrowed slightly, and with each step he took, it seemed as if he were having a silent conversation with the space around him. A gentle breeze blew by, stirring his hair and the hem of his clothes, but it did not affect him in the slightest.

The surrounding environment was so quiet it was almost oppressive. In this silence, Tang Ping relied on the mysterious intuition deep within his heart to sense the aura emanating from each Arhat statue.

Suddenly, he stopped and opened his eyes. Before him stood a statue of an Arhat chopping wood, which looked quite ordinary.

But he did not hesitate at all and said, "I'll choose this one."

"Alright, wait until I lift the restriction."

Ling Chong took out a needle and poked the Arhat statue.

Although Tang Ping couldn't see anything being pierced, he could still sense that a membrane covering the Arhat statue had been pierced, and the statue seemed to come alive all at once.

He closed his eyes again and focused his consciousness on the Arhat statue.

In an instant, a powerful suction force pulled his consciousness into a virtual world.

When Tang Ping regained consciousness, he found himself in a misty mountain forest. Not far away, a simple wooden house sat quietly, surrounded by piles of uncut logs. A martial monk was standing next to the logs, intently chopping wood.

This monk was burly and robust, like a towering mountain, with bulging muscles that exuded immense power. A hideous scar ran diagonally from his forehead to the corner of his mouth, adding to his fierce aura. The scar resembled a lurking serpent, ready to strike at any moment. His eyes were as large as copper bells, sharp as an eagle's. Upon first glance, one could sense the wildness and ferocity within them, as if he had fought countless battles in the past.

However, upon closer inspection, a gentle and serene quality shines through the depths of this monk's eyes, like a calm lake. It is a repentance for past sins after experiencing vicissitudes, and a devout conversion to Buddhism.

He gripped a monk's knife tightly with both hands, raised it high, the blade gleaming coldly in the sunlight. Then, with a sudden burst of strength, the knife, accompanied by a whooshing sound, slammed heavily into the log. With a "crack," the log split open.

Each chop was powerful yet fluid and natural, as if the simple act of chopping wood contained profound martial arts principles.

After chopping down the logs at hand, the monk turned to Tang Ping and said in a booming voice, "Now that we have entered this world, let us make friends through martial arts. If you can withstand a few of my moves, you may be able to gain some opportunities."

"Knife skills, huh?"

Tang Ping doesn't usually use weapons, but that doesn't mean he doesn't know how to use them. Wielding a spear is a training technique found in almost every traditional martial art. He also knows some other weapons such as Tai Chi sword and Bagua saber.

He picked up a monk's knife stuck in the ground and said, "Please enlighten me."

Tang Ping thought his opponent would demonstrate some basic moves first to familiarize him with them, but to his surprise, his opponent immediately used his ultimate move.

"Thunderous clouds and lightning!"

The blade vibrated like thunder, flashing with lightning. The slash was like a meteor streaking across the night sky, brilliant and fleeting, carrying the might of heaven as it pressed down from the sky.

The speed of the blade was unbelievable, and the thunderous sound served as a warning beforehand; if one lost focus for even a moment, one would be decapitated.

However, relying on his cheat-like martial arts intuition, Tang Ping anticipated the opponent's attack trajectory and used the "Child Hanging Curtain" technique from the Bagua Entangling Blade to dodge the attack while counterattacking.

At first glance, it seems as if the monk deliberately charged into Tang Ping's monk's knife.

However, halfway through the transaction, the monk abruptly stopped, seemingly unaffected by any backlash. Then, with a flick of his dagger, all his domineering aura vanished, and the blade's shadow, as fine as fine rain, contained immense power, enveloping Tang Ping's entire body.