Chapter 253: Chapter 252: Still Saying You’re Not a Monk_1

The four days passed quickly. When the Five Heroes of Eagle Mountain gathered at the city gate as agreed, they looked with surprise at Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou.

“Young masters, where’s your hair?” The elder with the hooked beak blurted out the question when he saw that Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou had no hair on their heads.

He regretted the moment he asked, as the expressions of the two young masters visibly darkened when the subject was brought up.

Meng Jingzhou’s hair never grew back, and optimistically, it probably would need a few more days.

To apologize, Lu Yang had no choice but to shave his own head to placate Meng Jingzhou’s anger.

This whole time, Fairy Eternity never stopped enjoying their plight.

The elder with the hooked beak started to ponder, wondering if the two young masters were disciples of the Buddhist sect and had been wearing wigs the entire time?

The more he thought about it, the more sense it made. The two young masters never revealed their backgrounds and it was quite possible that they were from a Buddhist sect and were reluctant to show off.

Now, to compete for the Twin Lotus, they not only needed strength but intimidating identities as well!

As for killing and eating Demon Beasts, there were certain monks in Buddhism who indulged in meat and alcohol, not many, but there were indeed some.

“Let’s go,” muttered Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou, uninterested in providing any explanations.

Following the map provided by the merchant guild, they quickly arrived at the lake where the Twin Lotus was located.

By now, the area surrounding the lake was packed with people. Most of them were at the Foundation Establishment late stage, followed by those at the Golden Core Stage.

The Twin Lotus had a miraculous effect on forming the golden core, hence attracting a large number of cultivators who needed to form their golden cores.

Its usefulness significantly diminished when one reached the Golden Core Stage, otherwise, just the lake’s owner wouldn’t be enough to guard the Twin Lotus.

In the middle of the lake, two lotus flowers were about to bloom, their plump pink buds resembled newborn twins. Everyone’s gaze was fixed on the lotus flowers.

“This place is full of water, it’s going to be inconvenient to fight when we scramble for the lotus,” a cultivator at the Foundation Establishment late stage furrowed his eyebrows. He wasn’t good at water battles and this would be disadvantageous if his opponents specialized in water magic.

“Drain the water.”

So saying, he pulled out his storage ring and started storing the lake water with gusto.

Seeing this, the others considered it a good strategy and followed suit.

The storage ring could only store lifeless things so it was perfect for storing water without affecting the creatures in the lake.

“That’s the White Tiger Saint Son from the Quadruple Sect! I heard he mastered a set of ruthless skills. Even though he’s only at the mid-stage of Foundation Establishment, he has a fighting chance against those at the half-step to Golden Core Stage!” The elder with the hooked beak had been busy gathering information on who might come to compete for the Twin Lotus.

The White Tiger Saint Son was one of them.

The Quadruple Sect was a renowned First Class Sect famous for its Four Beasts inheritance. Throughout its history, it rarely declined due to its exceptional inheritors.

The Central Continent habitually classified sects into different grades. Those without a cultivator at the Spirit Transformation Stage were considered bottom-tier sects.

Next up were the Third-Grade Sects, boasting several cultivators at the Spirit Transformation Stage.

Second-Grade Sects had several cultivators at the Refining the Void stage.

The First-Grade Sects were home to numerous cultivators at the Unification Stage.

Above them, the Extraordinary Sects, were those with a Great Power who had passed the Transcendance Tribulation Stage.

Over the Extraordinary Sects stood the Five Great Immortal Sects.

The public criterion for the Five Great Immortal Sects was the presence of a cultivator who had passed the Transcendance Tribulation Stage and possessed a similar level of strength.

However, the true extent of their strength and resources remained a mystery.

“And that female cultivator, An Ke, the Closed Door Disciple of the Sect Leader of the Clear Moon Sect. Her cultivation level is at the late stage of Foundation Establishment. She’s the strongest amongst those at the Foundation Establishment stage in the Clear Moon Sect. Even the Sect Leader once declared that he is not her match at the same level.”

Rumors had it that the Laurel Fairy Palace backed the Clear Moon Sect, but this always remained unverified.

“That’s Duan Hongchen, Tianwen Sword. He has killed Golden Core Stage Demon Beasts multiple times. People assumed he had formed his golden core, but in reality, he’s only half a step into the Golden Core Stage, always on the lookout for the right opportunity for golden core formation!”

The elder with the hooked beak pointed out everyone who was worth noting. Some of them came from various sects and influential families, with exceptional inheritances, while others were local residents of the Demon Suppressing Pass, known for their repute.

In comparison, Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou were less renowned. They were relatively new in the Demon Suppressing Pass, spending their time in seclusion in the dense forest, and rarely interacting with others. Therefore, few people knew about them.

“Who are those two monks? Disciples of the White Horse Temple? Or the Pagoda Temple?”

Someone noticed Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou, the only two bald people in the crowd, standing out among the masses.

The White Tiger Saint Son frowned, “I’ve visited both the White Horse Temple and the Pagoda Temple with my master before, but I’ve never seen these two.”

“Wild monks? Or are they from some unknown temple?” As a member of the Quadruple Sect, he always deemed sects below the First Grade as insignificant, not worth his attention.

An Ke remained expressionless. She glanced at Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou out of the corner of her eye, compared them to the high-level Foundation Establishment Stage masters in her memory, found no match, and thus paid them no heed.

Tianwen Sword Duan Hongchen dismissed Lu Yang and the others since they were only at the late stage of Foundation Establishment. His real competitors were those Golden Core Stage cultivators hiding within the crowd.

These Golden Core cultivators were here to grab the Twin Lotus for their juniors to form the golden core. They wouldn’t fight too hard, and when encountered with life and death situation, they would be the first to retreat.

When Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou heard the crowd speculating that they were monks, their veins bulged in annoyance. You’re a monk! Your entire family is full of monks!

“This is all your fault, forcing me to shave my head,” Lu Yang vented out at Meng Jingzhou first.

Meng Jingzhou was well-prepared for this: “My fault? Clearly, your Arhat Fist is ridiculously off-track! Just you wait until I write a recommendation letter and send you to the Suspension Temple!”

With Lu Yang’s qualifications, he was fit to join the Suspension Temple, or saying that Suspension Temple might ardently welcome him was also possible.

After all, another being with magical skills comparable to the Eldest Senior Sister was nowhere to be found in the whole world.

“Lu Yang, are you considering becoming a monk?” Fairy Eternity asked, clinging on to him warily.

“No, the Seek Dao Sect is my home, and I won’t go anywhere else!” Lu Yang made his stance clear, that he would always stay as part of the Seek Dao Sect, living or dead.

“Look, the lotus is about to bloom,” someone shouted, capturing everyone’s attention.

The Twin Lotus bloomed, releasing a captivating fragrance that provoked a frenzied scramble amongst the crowd.

With a tiger’s roar, the White Tiger Saint Son made the first move. A ‘king’ character slowly emerged on his forehead, his cheeks sprouted white fur, and his pupils turned vertical, transforming him into an old tiger.

“The Twin Lotus is mine, no one should try to snatch it!” He roared and dashed toward it like a gust of wind.

“You think it’s yours just because you said so? Arhat Fist!” Meng Jingzhou made his move, unleashing the Arhat Fist. His face showed compassion and mercy for all beings, an expression impossible to wear without at least twenty years as a monk.

The weight of his fist was astounding; it sent the White Tiger Saint Son sprawling into a mud pool.

The White Tiger Saint Son was dazed. This was his first failure in challenging someone above his level.

All his fights had always been challenging a superior level, defeating cultivators at Foundation Establishment late stage effortlessly with his Foundation Establishment mid-stage level. He had never been defeated before.

But he had lost this time.

“I knew they were monks!” An Ke was certain her previous guess was accurate.

“You’re the monk!” Meng Jingzhou retorted angrily.

“A bald head, the Arhat Fist, how can you say you’re not a monk?”