Chapter 3: Su Qin’s Treasured Land
Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
'The Muscle Strengthening Manual's one of the unparalleled manuals of the Shaolin sect. It's known for its strong foundation skills. As long as I continue training according to the manual, I'd be able to achieve the Upper Realms with no issue.'
'All the other disciples, even the various temple court heads need to be extremely careful when training with the Muscle Strengthening Manual to avoid misinterpreting the true meaning of the text.'
'It's different for me because I have the system input. It's like going up the lift in a high-rise building. There's no chance of encountering a forked-road or to go down a wrong path.'
Su Qin concealed his aura as he was in no rush for a breakthrough. He planned to consolidate and strengthen his position at the peak of the ninth-rank.
The Internal Force of his rank swirled slowly within him and sharpened all his senses. He could hear the chirping of an insect that was more than ten meters away.
'Martial arts practice essentially involves the improvement of the human body.'
'It's recorded in the classics that warriors of the Upper Realms already reached stages where they can unleash the full potential of their own body. Each martial artist of the Upper Realms is unique.'
'Even in the Shaolin temple, attaining a rank in the Upper Realms earns you the privilege of serving as a temple head.'
'It's said that there are greater levels that can be attained beyond the Upper Realms…'
Su Qin walked leisurely as he pondered.
'However, I must keep the fact that I've become a ninth-rank martial artist a secret.'
Su Qin's chest tightened as he was worried. The tallest poppy always got cut down. As a traveler in the world, he understood that principle very well.
Even though the disciples of the Shaolin sect lived righteous lives according to their teachings, Su Qin did not want to entrust his life to the hands of the Shaolin temple.
As he thought about it, Su Qin's guard went up. He decided that from then on, he was to be extremely careful within the Shaolin temple to avoid unnecessary trouble.
*****
Times passed swiftly. In the blink of an eye, five years had gone by.
In those five years, Su Qin played his role well. He swept and performed his duties without stepping a toe out of line.
However, Su Qin heard that a couple of disciples from the Miscellaneous Court had been kicked out of the Shaolin temple after they were discovered to be learning martial arts in secret.
Kicked out of the Shaolin temple!?
Before he entered the Shaolin temple, Su Qin might have reacted to the news with interest and started hatching plans to use the 'method' to return to the secular world. After all, life in the Shaolin temple was extremely dull. Each day was a repetition of chores and silent meditation. How could the Third Young Master of the Su family be satisfied with that lifestyle?
However…
Even if all the various temple court heads and abbot Hui Wen knelt before Su Qi and begged him to leave the Shaolin temple, he would have refused without hesitation.
For some people, the Shaolin temple was a cage that felt like shackles to them. Yet to Su Qin, the Shaolin temple was a treasured land.
All he needed to do each day was sweep a little, sign-in at a location, and obtained various sorts of powers or special scriptures. Miraculous elixirs, medicinal pills, and power were served to him on a silver platter.
How could he have found another place as wonderful as that?
Over the past five years, Su Qin used his role as a temple sweeper to explore the entirety of the Shaolin temple. Apart from a few restricted areas, he was able to sign-in nearly everywhere in the Shaolin temple.
At the Dharma Court, Su Qin obtained the Essence Cleansing Manual, Admiral Shield, and other great scriptures.
At the Martial Arts Court, he received the Luohan Fist, the Magical Concealed Fist, and many other skills.
At the Luohan Court, Su Qin gained the Impenetrable Armor Technique.
Under an ancient tree in the Shaolin temple ground, he obtained the Twisted Flower Finger technique.
At the Mystical Village Tower, Su Qin was given the Nether World Scripture, Magnetic Planetary Manual, and other magical art techniques.
After signing-in to the system for five years, Su Qin discovered that there were many places within the Shaolin temple grounds where he was able to sign-in either once or multiple times.
For example, because he obtained the Buddha Palm technique from the Great Palace Hall, he could no longer sign in at that location. In other places, he was able to sign-in repeatedly. These places included the Scripture Pavilion, the Bodhi Court, and the Mystical Village Tower.
In the Scripture Pavilion, Su Qin obtained numerous unique martial arts techniques. The Seventy-Two Ultimate Shaolin Moves was one that he acquired ages ago and had achieved complete mastery with the help of the system.
As for the Bodhi Court, Su Qin lost count of the number of pills, Lesser Elixir PIlls, Great Elixir Pill, Essence Cleansing Pill, Bodhi Pills, and much more that he collected there.
The medicinal effect of the Great Elixir Pill was ten times that of the Lesser Elixir Pill. The Essence Cleansing Pill had the effect of purifying the body's essence, refining the bone structure, and strengthening the muscles. All of these results were extremely beneficial in enhancing his skill when he used the Impenetrable Armor Technique.
Not to mention, the Mystical Village Tower.
Since the Mystical Village Tower was the place the high-ranked monks of the Shaolin temple imprisoned demons, Su Qin was able to obtain some sort of magical item there.
As time went on, Su Qin started growing tired of heading over to the Mystical Village Tower. It was undeniable that certain magical arts techniques had unique strengths, yet if he was caught training on the grounds of the Shaolin temple by the temple court heads, he would have been in trouble.
Furthermore, the demons that were imprisoned in the Mystical Village Tower only possessed ordinary abilities. None of them achieved the Upper Realms. Even if Su Qin signed-in there daily, there was no guarantee that he would have obtained a good reward. Hence, he thought it was better to sign-in at the Scripture Pavilion or the Bodhi Court.
Over the past five years, apart from collecting huge amounts of rewards, Su Qin also managed to get to the fourth-rank on his own.
Fourth-rank!
He managed to enter the Middle Realms and was just a little shy of breaking through to the Upper Realms.
Since he was in one of the greatest martial arts schools in the world, a fourth-rank martial artist was considered good but not great. His power still fell short compared to the various temple heads and temple abbots.
No matter how naturally talented a typical martial artist was, it usually took them at least twenty years of harsh training. That would have also depended on a continuous supply of external resources.
However, Su Qin achieved that feat in merely five years. Less than five years to have been exact, as Su Qin managed to attain the fourth-rank a year before.
'It's been five years. I hope the Su family's close to regaining our former glory,' thought Su Qin.
He walked to the Bodhi Court and muttered silently, 'System, sign-in.'
[Congratulations, host! Your sign-in is successful. You have obtained the Great Elixir Pill.]
'The Great Elixir Pill?'
Su Qin nodded his head slightly. As he achieved the fourth-rank, the Lesser Elixir Pill was no longer of much use to Su Qin. Only the Great Elixir Pill and the Bodhi Pill would have increased his power.
Crunch. Crunch.
Su Qin casually popped the Great Elixir Pill into his mouth and consumed it as one ate a sweet.
If anyone saw a temple sweeper like Su Qin consume the Great Elixir Pill in such a casual manner they would have had a heart attack. The Great Elixir Pill that was also known as the sacred pill of the Shaolin temple, was extremely precious as the Bodhi Court only produced very small quantities each year.
'Mother and father should be living comfortable lives right now. They have both of my older brothers with them. They won't need me,' Su Qin thought.
Early in his first year at the Shaolin temple, Su Qin received a letter from his family. It stated that the Su family had successfully defeated their enemy and that they were safe. Knowing that his family was safe gave him the peace of mind to stay on in the Shaolin temple for the past five years.
During that time, the Su family had numerously informed him that they were planning a way to convince the Shaolin temple sect to release him. However, he rejected their offer each time.
It did not matter if his family was able to persuade the Shaolin temple sect. Even if the Shaolin temple allowed him to leave, Su Qin would have been unwilling to do so.
It was noon and Su Qin was about to help prepare the temple's vegetarian meal. As soon as he walked past the Luohan Court, he noticed a few monks discussing something in low voices.
Su Qin approached them and found out that some of the disciples were planning to challenge the Figure Bronze formation of the Luohan Court.
The Figure Bronze formation was a formation spell that the Shaolin temple used to assess the ability and power of their disciples. They were divided into various types of formations including the Eighteen Figure Bronze formation, the Thirty-Six Figure Bronze formation, the Seventy-Two Figure Bronze formation, and lastly the One-Hundred-And-Eight Figure Bronze formation.
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