Enlightenment: Attaining the Dao at Age 8

Chapter 87: Chapter 79: Fighting the World Alone

When they heard Li Chang’an was outside the gate.

The elder monk and Li Sheng were both momentarily stunned into silence. It was the Eldest Prince’s hysterical roar that finally snapped them out of it.

The elder monk glanced at Li Sheng, then rose to his feet. “Patron, why don’t you accompany this humble monk to have a look?”

Although he was highly suspicious of Li Chang’an’s true identity, now that they were both present, he naturally had to make some kind of gesture.

Li Sheng, for his part, had no reason to refuse. The Eldest Prince was even more direct; the moment he heard Li Chang’an’s name, he was already rushing toward the temple’s exterior.

…

Outside Buddha Light Temple, more and more Jianghu People who had heard the news gathered, completely surrounding the temple gates until not even a drop of water could pass.

Li Chang’an didn’t care that they were watching.

After a moment of letting his mind wander, the young monk from before finally emerged, followed by an elder monk and two other men, one old and one young.

The instant his eyes landed on Li Chang’an, the Eldest Prince’s vision turned red. He roared like a wounded beast, “Li Chang’an, it really is you… Heaven has a path, but you refuse to walk it. Hell has no gate, yet you barge right in?!”

His hair was disheveled and his eyes were bloodshot. He was clearly deeply agitated.

Li Chang’an didn’t recognize him at first. He squinted, studying him for a long moment before smiling. “Isn’t this the Eldest Prince? I heard you fled the Imperial Palace like a dog some time ago, and dozens of Inner Guards couldn’t even catch you. What’s this? It’s only been a few days, and you’re already biting people randomly?”

While Li Chang’an rarely engaged in psychological warfare, it didn’t mean he couldn’t. On the contrary, his words could be devastatingly sharp.

At the very least, these few sentences were enough to drive the Eldest Prince completely berserk.

He wished he could rush forward and tear Li Chang’an to pieces.

However, when the thought truly formed in his mind and he prepared to act on it, the Eldest Prince found himself seemingly nailed to the ground. His legs refused to move even a single step.

’Li Chang’an is too terrifying!’

He had once held a winning hand, yet in the end, he didn’t even know how he had lost.

He had lost everything in a befuddled daze.

Before Li Chang’an appeared, he had wanted to slice him into a thousand pieces. But now that Li Chang’an was truly standing before him, he was stunned to find that he had lost all courage to fight. Even taking a single step was an immense struggle.

A profound sense of humiliation welled up from the depths of the Eldest Prince’s heart.

Behind him, Li Sheng patted his nephew’s shoulder. His cold gaze, however, was fixed on Li Chang’an. He narrowed his eyes and said, “Your Highness, Crown Prince Dayan… to what do we owe the honor of your visit today?”

As he spoke, he warily scanned the surroundings.

After discovering that Li Chang’an had no other masters with him besides a few members of the Shadow Guard, Li Sheng’s suspicion grew even stronger.

’The Crown Prince of Dayan came to Xihu Province to run wild all by himself?’

’Is this for real?’

To be honest, if Li Sheng weren’t so unsure of what trick Li Chang’an had up his sleeve, he would have already moved to capture him.

Seeing that the Eldest Prince didn’t dare to speak again, Li Chang’an found it a bit dull.

He shifted his gaze back to Li Sheng and the elder monk beside him, saying coolly, “What’s this? You two are holding a grand event for all the Martial Artists under heaven. Am I not allowed to attend?”

His words were too bizarre.

So much so that everyone present, including the people from the Buddhist Sect and the Li Family, could only look at each other in confusion.

The Buddhist Sect and the Li Family were holding this martial arts conference for the sole purpose of uniting all the Sects in the world against the Dayan Imperial Court, weren’t they?

So what was the deal with him, the Crown Prince of Dayan, showing up on their doorstep?

At his words, Li Sheng and the elder monk exchanged a look, each seeing the wariness in the other’s eyes. The more nonchalant Li Chang’an acted, the more cautious they became.

After all, they weren’t naive enough to believe that Li Chang’an was actually eager to get himself killed.

As the abbot of Buddha Light Temple, Elder Monk Huixuan stepped forward and spoke. “The martial arts conference is a grand event for the Jianghu. The Buddhist Sect naturally wouldn’t turn away anyone with a sincere heart…”

“But Patron, you haven’t even entered the gates, yet you shamelessly slander my Buddha. If you were truly here as a guest, why would you act this way?”

Hui Xuan was dressed in a simple, plain monk’s robe.

He appeared kind and benevolent, possessing the air of a distinguished monk.

Li Chang’an had no interest in wasting any more words with them. Seeing the time was right, he said directly, “I heard you’ve added a prize to today’s martial arts conference. The first-place winner of the tournament gets to go to the Buddhist Ancestral Court for a day of enlightenment…”

Seeing that he was finally getting to his point, Hui Xuan raised an eyebrow. “And what if we have?”

The so-called martial arts tournament was, of course, just a pretext. The Buddhist Sect and the Li Family actually just wanted to use this opportunity to announce the Buddhist Sect’s status as the ’Head of the Four Upper Sects’ to the entire world.

Li Chang’an shot a look at the men behind him.

Immediately, a few members of the Shadow Guard carried several chests forward.

Li Chang’an kicked one of them open. Inside, dozens, nearly a hundred, incredibly rare and exotic treasures were on display, emitting a light that made it impossible to look away.

Forget the surrounding Jianghu People; even Li Sheng and the elder monk’s breathing quickened. Many of the treasures in that chest were things that even they coveted greatly!

Of course, that wasn’t the most important part.

The most important part was that there were three more identical chests behind him. Li Chang’an kicked them open one by one, and all of them were filled with treasures of the same quality!

Profound Sun Grass, Tribulation Flower, Profound Iron Ice Crystal…

Now, the two of them were more than just short of breath.

Their eyes were practically glazing over!

These priceless treasures, each worth a fortune on the outside, were now piled up haphazardly in the chests like a heap of scrap metal.

After opening all the chests, Li Chang’an revealed a smile and said coolly, “Since the Buddhist Sect has put up a prize, why not make the stakes a little bigger?”

“These treasures are all priceless. Today, I am prepared to wager them against the Buddhist Sect’s Bodhi Fruit. If I lose in the martial arts conference, all these treasures will be gifted to your Buddhist Sect. If I can take first place, the Buddhist Sect will hand over the Bodhi Fruit. How about it?”

When he heard the words “Bodhi Fruit,” the elder monk’s eyebrows twitched.

He glanced at the treasures behind Li Chang’an. If it were just the contents of any single chest, it would naturally be insignificant compared to the Bodhi Fruit.

But Li Chang’an had brought a full four chests!

The sum total of so many treasures was truly tempting.

But he couldn’t figure out Li Chang’an’s motive for doing this, so he didn’t rush to respond. He probed, “Patron, what is the meaning of this? The martial arts conference is a grand event for all Martial Artists of the world. How has it become a private wager between the Buddhist Sect and you?”

Li Chang’an roared with laughter. “This wager isn’t just aimed at your Buddhist Sect. The Four Major Sects, the four Divine Objects—anyone who has an idea can come to me. Even if a Grandmaster takes the stage, I, Li Chang’an, will take them on all the same!”

At this, his voice paused and his tone suddenly turned cold. His gaze swept over everyone as he spoke slowly, “What I mean is, everyone here is trash. The Buddhist Sect, in particular, is the trash of all trash. If you don’t agree, you can find me on the tournament stage. Heavenly materials and earthly treasures, Martial Arts Techniques, or your very lives—pick one and leave it behind…”

His voice wasn’t loud, but it wasn’t quiet either.

But nearly everyone present was a Martial Artist with exceptionally sharp senses.

Therefore, the moment the words left his mouth, an uproar erupted. Everyone was stunned. Someone couldn’t help but mutter, “This Crown Prince of Dayan… is he insane?”

“Who knows? His mental state seems genuinely worrying!”

“I heard he’s not even ten years old, right? To have lost his mind at such a young age… it seems the Dayan Dynasty is really on its last legs, letting a lunatic be the Crown Prince!”

“Such arrogance! To challenge the entire world by himself. I don’t know if he’s ignorant of the immensity of heaven and earth, or just overbearingly confident…”

Clearly, Li Chang’an’s contemptuous behavior had provoked public outrage, and the surrounding crowd was on the verge of boiling over.

’What kind of person is this?’

’He’s not even fully grown, yet he dares to shamelessly provoke all the Martial Artists in the world?’

If it weren’t for the commanders of the Shadow Guard standing behind him, Li Chang’an would most likely be facing a “righteous” gang beating from dozens, or even hundreds, of enraged Jianghu Martial Artists right now.

Since Li Chang’an dared to do it, he naturally didn’t care about the consequences.

He seemed completely oblivious to the crowd’s anger, acting as if nothing was wrong. His gaze returned to the elder monk as he slowly asked, “Are you satisfied with that answer?”

The elder monk’s expression was grim and unsettled.

To be provoked like this by a boy of about ten, even with the elder monk’s high level of self-cultivation, he couldn’t help but burn with anger.

Not to mention, the elder monk was not a good-tempered person to begin with.

He pondered for a moment, then looked up at a young monk not far in front of him and said coolly, “Jingshan, go teach this little patron a lesson. Let him know the meaning of ’a monk does not tell lies’!”

Seeing that he’d finally lost his temper but was too proud to step up himself, Li Chang’an roared with laughter. “Don’t send a Little Novice Monk who isn’t even a First-class Master to embarrass himself. Just have those two old geezers behind you come over and die!”

Being called a “Little Novice Monk” by a child younger than himself.

The young monk’s face flushed with fury. A golden light flared around his body, and his footwork was like a gust of wind, carrying him before Li Chang’an in just a few steps.

“WHOOSH!”

His fist, blazing like fire, shot out violently.

Seeing the Buddhist Sect finally make a move, the surrounding Jianghu People skillfully switched into spectator mode. Their eyes widened in amazement as they exclaimed, “This monk looks surprisingly young and was completely unremarkable before. I can’t believe he’s actually cultivated the Buddhist Sect’s Arhat Fruit Position!”

“To achieve the Arhat Fruit Position at such a young age, he must be considered a rather talented young monk even within the Buddhist Sect, right? The Buddhist Sect’s depths are truly unfathomable!”

“Does this Crown Prince of Dayan think this is still the Dayan Imperial Palace, where everyone will yield to him? With this young monk attacking today, even if a Grand Derivation Grandmaster is protecting him in secret, he’s bound to lose at least half his life!”

Although most of the Jianghu People weren’t particularly fond of the Buddhist Sect, right now, they all wished the young monk would quickly give Li Chang’an a sound thrashing.

After all, Li Chang’an’s earlier remarks had truly provoked the wrath of the masses.

However, the scene that followed made everyone’s eyes widen involuntarily.

The young monk erupted with a brilliant golden divine light, and his fists, as large as sandbags, rained down on Li Chang’an’s chest, abdomen, and head like a furious storm.

But Li Chang’an, who should have been at the center of this tempest, didn’t even twitch. He stood his ground, neither dodging nor evading, and took every single attack head-on.

Of course, that wasn’t the most crucial part. The most crucial part was that with so many fists smashing into Li Chang’an, logically, even if he were made of iron, he should have been beaten flat by now.

Yet not even the hem of his clothes had stirred!

One second, two seconds…

Ten punches, a hundred punches…

The young monk’s forehead began to break out in sweat.

Yet Li Chang’an just watched him with a calm and detached expression the entire time.

Only when the last shred of strength in the young monk’s body was exhausted did Li Chang’an casually say, “Heavenly materials and earthly treasures, a secret cultivation technique, or your life. Pick one to leave behind.”

…