Volume 1, Chapter 36: Why Are You So Inept at Everything?

"What on earth happened?"

Seeing the members of the Yan family emerge, many martial artists who had been unable to get inside but were eager for the gossip crowded around to ask.

Facing these curious martial artists, Yan Shengtian hesitated, his words catching in his throat. In the end, he could only offer a bitter smile, wave his hand, and utter four words: "There are heavens beyond heavens."

With that, he led the disciples of the Yan family away.

"It seems the Yan family disciples were defeated."

"The Yan family is renowned for their external martial arts. Who would have thought that even with four disciples attacking together, they couldn't defeat Liu Dongyue? Each of those four possesses the strength of a ninth-grade master; if they joined forces, even those in the Transcendence Realm would likely find them troublesome," an old man remarked, his tone filled with disbelief.

"I’m so curious. I really wish I could have seen that duel, but this Longevity Temple wouldn't let anyone in," others complained.

"To think that Liu Dongyue is truly worthy of being called the number one master beneath the Transcendence Realm; it turns out he really has the skills," others exclaimed in amazement.

"But this Longevity Temple is a Taoist sect, and the Taoist sects have been in decline for centuries. Could it be that in this generation, they are set to rise again?" someone speculated.

Meanwhile, inside the Longevity Temple, Liu Dongyue was looking at Li Hanzhou with a touch of nervousness.

Following their previous plan, after consuming the Divine Power Pill refined by Li Hanzhou, Liu Dongyue had taken on four opponents at once. Despite them being four ninth-grade masters, he had remained completely fearless, easily securing victory. Li Hanzhou had also successfully won the "Nine Orifices Golden Body" technique.

However, standing before Li Hanzhou now, Liu Dongyue noticed that Li Hanzhou’s expression did not seem particularly pleased.

"Uncle-Master, is something wrong?" Liu Dongyue asked tentatively.

"How is your progress with the 'Taixuan Heart Sutra'?" Li Hanzhou asked.

"Uh, I have been practicing it. It truly deserves its reputation as the top mental cultivation method of the Taixuan Holy Land; it is extraordinary. I have already reached the first level, and my cultivation is on the verge of breaking through to the sixth grade," Liu Dongyue said, growing slightly excited.

"Oh?"

Li Hanzhou blinked, then asked, "True Qi has different qualities, and the Taixuan Qi refined from the Taixuan Heart Sutra is considered quite superior among True Qi. You should try using it to fuel the martial arts of our Longevity Temple and see if it works."

"Use Taixuan Qi to perform our Longevity Temple's martial arts?" Hearing this, Liu Dongyue was stunned for a moment, but then his eyes lit up. He hadn't thought that was possible.

The martial arts of the Longevity Temple were Taoist secret techniques. Originally, they required spiritual energy to achieve their maximum effect. However, ever since the spiritual energy of the world was sealed, the Taoist sects had to convert their training to True Qi. Unfortunately, mental cultivation methods like the "Northern Emperor Sutra" were only suitable for spiritual energy; once converted to True Qi, such profound techniques were reduced to third-rate methods.

As these techniques were passed down through generations, the Taoist secret arts were almost entirely lost, and no one knew how to use them.

The ancestors of the Taoist sect had once thought about seeking profound internal cultivation methods to replace spiritual ones like the "Northern Emperor Sutra," but the sect was in decline—lacking both money and strength—so where could they possibly obtain such powerful methods?

At that time, there were only one or two masters left in the sect, and they would not easily act, relying on the meager amount of spiritual energy they possessed. Furthermore, they were already furious at the thought of replacing their heritage with common True Qi methods; how could they possibly consider stealing techniques from other sects? That would be a betrayal of their ancestors.

It was only by the time it reached Li Hanzhou’s generation that, after contemplating for several days, he decided to give it a try. Since the sect had already fallen to such a state, Li Hanzhou didn't have many scruples left. Since the old Taoist had left this mess to him, he might as well do whatever he pleased.

The Death Burial Feng Shui formation would not be resolved quickly, so if he wanted his disciples to become strong, they had no choice but to cultivate the methods of other sects. There was nothing shameful about that.

"Alright, Uncle-Master, I'll try." Liu Dongyue stepped back and took a deep breath.

He began to circulate the True Qi within his body. As he did, a burst of golden light suddenly erupted from him!

Within that golden light, dense Taoist incantations swirled, enveloping Liu Dongyue. The golden light was brilliant and seemed unbreakable.

"The Taoist Golden Light Incantation?"

Li Hanzhou raised an eyebrow. This was a defensive technique of the Taoist sect; with the Golden Light Incantation protecting the body, one would be impervious to blades, spears, water, and fire. When cultivated to a profound level, it could even reflect damage back onto enemies and condense into sword intent.

"Let me test it."

Li Hanzhou moved his hand, and a stone from the ground flew directly into his palm.

*Bang!*

With a flick of his finger, the stone shot out, slamming directly into Liu Dongyue’s Golden Light Incantation.

With a dull thud, the Golden Light Incantation shattered instantly. Liu Dongyue stumbled back several steps, nearly coughing up blood. Even the residual force was enough to leave his internal organs feeling injured.

Liu Dongyue looked at Li Hanzhou in astonishment, his heart churning like a stormy sea. How was this possible? Since when had his Uncle-Master become so powerful?

"Your Golden Light Incantation isn't very good. I broke it with a casual flick of a pebble," Li Hanzhou said, sounding somewhat disappointed.

"Uncle-Master, could it be that you are just too strong?" Liu Dongyue felt like crying. "I felt that the Golden Light Incantation I just unleashed was already very powerful—several times stronger than what I used to be able to release. It seems the Taixuan Heart Sutra is truly useful."

"Oh? Is that so?" Li Hanzhou said awkwardly. "Then show me another technique."

"I don't know any others."

Liu Dongyue replied honestly.

"What do you mean you don't know any?" Li Hanzhou was startled. "You don't know other Longevity Temple martial arts?"

"Ah, no, I don't." Liu Dongyue scratched his head.

"What about the 'Taiyi Divine Elephant Sutra'?"

"Don't know it."

"The 'Great Dragon Soul Hand'?"

"Don't know it."

"You at least know how to draw a talisman, right?"

"Don't know how."

"Have you just been eating at the Longevity Temple all these years?" Li Hanzhou was getting annoyed.

"Uncle-Master, learning those things is useless. I can't perform them anyway, so it's a waste of time," Liu Dongyue said with a bitter smile.

"Sigh, fine, fine," Li Hanzhou said. "We'll learn them slowly later. I have something important to tell you: your performance in the arena today was not quite right."

"Not right?"

Liu Dongyue asked in surprise, "Where was my performance lacking, Uncle-Master? I easily defeated those four Yan family disciples."

"Didn't you already get the 'Nine Orifices Golden Body' from the Yan family?" Liu Dongyue asked, looking completely confused.

"It is precisely because you defeated them so easily that it was wrong," Li Hanzhou frowned. "If you crush your opponents so easily every time, who will come to challenge our Longevity Temple in the future? You need to give them hope that they can win, so they will keep coming to our temple to test themselves! Besides, I have already arranged for Yun Qianzhu and Shi Ming to go down the mountain to White Cloud City to promote us. In the future, many martial artists will come to watch your duels, so take it seriously."

"People are going to come and watch?" Liu Dongyue was dumbfounded. Why did he feel like he was becoming a performing monkey?