Enshrinement as a God

"People naturally accumulate grudges over trivial matters, and the more petty a person is, the more they cherish grudges over favors."

"Why are you telling me this, old man?"

Considering the bet, there was no need for him to give Jiang Ziya such a warning.

"Wasn't it me who dragged you into this in the end? Moreover, I was not very pleased with the act of disturbing the competition."

The Fishing Fortune Master, as if he had said all he had to say, got up from his seat.

"His group is after you, so don't act rashly and be careful."

"Thank you for the advice."

Although he already knew the martial artist's face and could be careful, there was no way to know his group until they appeared before Jiang Ziya's eyes.

However, although a threat that might come was a danger, if one prepared for it, it could also be an opportunity for a blessing in disguise.

Just by letting him know that there were people who were after him, it could be said that he had received great help.

"Then I'll be on my way."

As the Fishing Fortune Master said his goodbyes and left, Jiang Ziya was in a bad mood and had no desire to carve the wooden sculpture again.

Although it was difficult to make a wooden sculpture that he liked even when he gathered his thoughts and carved, he did not think he could even put his hand to it with such a distraction.

"At this rate... I wonder if I can even finish it and give it to her..."

Jiang Ziya put the hand knife in his bosom, got up from his seat, and lightly dusted off his clothes.

Xi Xichang would probably come back in the early evening after finding out about the boat and finishing her business.

Since the main round of the Fish Dragon Festival would start early tomorrow morning, he had some free time.

Jiang Ziya planned to look around the village a little more in the remaining time to find the martial artist and his group who were after him, and to watch the Water God Festival at the same time.

Jiang Ziya, who had entered the village again, moved his feet, pushing through the numerous crowds.

It was by no means an easy task to search and look at each person in the village, which was still full of noise and bustle.

The sunlight was warm, and a cool breeze was blowing pleasantly.

Jiang Ziya, who had been looking around the village for a while, took a seat at an inn and looked outside.

"Found him!"

Although he had not been able to see him when he was searching for him, when he was leisurely watching the scenery, the person he was looking for came into view at a glance.

A martial artist with a firm expression and five men standing by his side were talking with serious expressions.

Jiang Ziya, recognizing that the martial artist was the one he had had a dispute with at the competition, rushed out of the inn.

"Gah!"

They, who had discovered Jiang Ziya rushing towards them at a terrifying speed, were startled and quickly scattered.

Jiang Ziya chased after the martial artist who had a grudge against him among them.

"Wait there!"

The martial artist, as if he had also recognized Jiang Ziya, was running into an alley without reducing his speed at all, despite his call.

Jiang Ziya, finding it difficult to chase after the martial artist due to the crowded people, immediately displayed his divine footwork.

The Six Arts and Three Strategies.

The chapter of the Middle Strategy.

The Six Arts Imperial Divine Step.

As Jiang Ziya displayed his divine footwork, his body floated up to the sky as light as a cloud and moved forward, stepping on the wind and the topknots.

He moved so quickly that the person whose topknot had been stepped on did not even realize that someone had stepped on his head and had passed by.

The alley was so narrow that it would be full if two or three people moved at once, and the martial artist who was running away into it was startled when Jiang Ziya appeared behind him in an instant and began to push away the people who were blocking him.

"Ah! What are you doing!"

"Gah!"

Someone wearing a yellow and red robe was seen in front of the martial artist who was pushing away men and women without distinction.

The martial artist, in his haste, reached out his hand to his body without even checking the person.

Bang!

The yellow and red robe was a Buddhist robe, and the person standing in front of the martial artist was one of the monks who had been performing a Buddhist service at the Water God Festival.

One of the monks, who had taken a short break after finishing the morning Buddhist service, had been resting in a shady alley to avoid the sunlight and had bumped into the martial artist.

The middle-aged monk, with a bewildered expression, quietly put his hands together, looking at the man who was twitching on the ground.

"Amitabha... are you alright, benefactor?"

"Gah... this monk!"

The martial artist, coughing in severe pain, barely got up.

Behind him, Jiang Ziya had already arrived and was watching this strange situation.

"I just wanted to have a little talk. Why are you running away like that?"

"A talk?"

The martial artist, with a red face, jumped up.

"If you wanted to have a talk, why did you chase me!"

"If you wanted to have a talk, why are you running away like a guilty person?"

"..."

At Jiang Ziya's question, the martial artist was at a loss for words for a moment and just moved his lips, and then he raised his voice.

"You shamed me at the competition, and as if that wasn't enough, you're chasing me and trying to bother me!"

"I heard that you were plotting something with your colleagues?"

The martial artist, who was rolling his eyes around, as if he had found a gap, hurriedly stretched out his arm again to push away the monk who was blocking his back.

"Ouch!"

But the monk, while letting out an exaggerated sound, put his hands together as he was.

Although the martial artist tried to push the monk away, he felt his own body floating up into the air.

"Gah!"

As if he had pushed a rock, the martial artist's body was thrown back towards Jiang Ziya by the repulsive force that burst out from the monk's hard body.

Jiang Ziya, seeing the back of the martial artist who was suddenly flying towards him, lightly stretched out his hand and caught his back.

"Ah!"

Jiang Ziya, who had instinctively tried to catch the martial artist with the technique of the Six Arts Hand and to put him down on the ground, felt a strong force rising from his palm and, after spinning him a couple of times in the air to scatter the force, released him on the floor.

Thump!

"Ugh! What is this! Oh my!"

The martial artist, who had been thrown down again, complained of pain, getting angry in a fit of pique.

Jiang Ziya, admiring the repulsive force that was still tingling in one of his arms, looked at the man in front of him.

If he had not caught him, he would have soared into the sky and, when he had fallen to the ground, his hip bone would have been shattered.

The mysterious monk who had appeared before the martial artist and Jiang Ziya was a great master, and a very ruthless one at that.

The martial artist did not know what to do between the monk and Jiang Ziya.

Although he wanted to leave this place right away, he had realized that the two people who were blocking his front and back were people whom he could not handle with his skill.

"I don't know what plan you were plotting, but if you promise to give up now, I will let you go."

"I don't know what you're talking about! Are you, a young fellow, oppressing an innocent person, trusting in your own martial arts!"

At Jiang Ziya's one word, the martial artist gritted his teeth and glared at him.

"The Fishing Fortune Master told me everything about how you were trying to harm me."

"Hmph! I really don't know what you're talking about! Do you have evidence? Do you have evidence!"

The martial artist's attitude was even more furious, and as a commotion arose in the narrow alley, the number of people who were peeking to see what was going on was increasing one by one.

"You're really a hopeless person."

Although Jiang Ziya had met many people, this was the first time he had met such a shameless man.

Moreover, since a person who had learned martial arts to train his mind and body had such an attitude and mindset, it was also questionable how such a person had even practiced martial arts.

"Benefactor, please let him go."

At the one word of the monk who had been watching the situation silently, Jiang Ziya looked at the monk and the martial artist alternately.

He could not hold him like this without evidence.

However, since he would also have realized that Jiang Ziya knew, he would at least not act rashly.

"Just you wait!"

The martial artist, staggering, ran behind the monk and quickly disappeared.

Although Jiang Ziya had thought for a moment of catching him again and giving him a good scolding, he soon gave up the thought.

As the martial artist had said, to press him without evidence or action was ultimately no different from oppression.

If he were to give up like this, it would be a relief, but if he were to do something, he intended to make him pay the price then.

"I have been unintentionally rude."

Jiang Ziya carefully cupped his fists to the monk.

Although he had lived in the Hermit's Valley for a long time, he had had few opportunities to meet a monk directly.

The few monks there were were also apostate monks of the Haedopa, not the Sanakpa, so they could not be called proper monks.

Therefore, the mysterious martial arts that the monk had just shown were also an unknown area to Jiang Ziya.

"No. The man's heart seems to be vicious, so it would be good for you to be especially careful, benefactor."

"Thank you for the advice."

Jiang Ziya carefully looked at the monk.

There were about ten monks who were holding a Buddhist service at the Water God Festival.

If all of them had learned martial arts like the monk in front of him, they would be a great group of martial artists.

Although it was hard to find martial monks of this level in the martial world if not for a place like the Shaolin Temple, judging by their clothes, they did not seem to be the people of Shaolin.

"My name is Jiang Ziya. What is your venerable name, monk?"

"Yanshan, you can just call me monk."

Yanshan, with a gentle smile that did not match his hard and sturdy face, put his hands together.

Jiang Ziya, looking at him who was putting his hands together after exchanging names, felt as if a hard rock was blocking his front.

"Then. Monk Yanshan, I will be on my way."

Jiang Ziya, after saying his goodbyes to Yanshan, turned his feet again.

As Jiang Ziya left the alley, Monk Yanshan looked at the place where Jiang Ziya had been standing.

A study that did not match his young age.

Moreover, since he strangely felt that the Xuanmen and the demonic path were entangled, he was a young man like the incarnation of the troubles of the Saha world.

Yanshan touched the vajra in his sleeve.

It seemed that the vajra was shaking, smelling the faint smell of the demonic path.

'I must not act rashly.'

Yanshan was a guardian martial monk of the Qinglong Temple, which was located on the border between the Western Regions and the Central Plains, and all the monks of the 'Zhen' generation who were protecting the Qinglong Temple were presiding over the Buddhist service of the Water God Festival.

They were heading to the Shaolin Temple, feeling the strange power that was spread in the sky of the Central Plains.

It was a very unusual thing for all the martial monks of the same generation from one temple to move to the Central Plains, and the great monk of the Qinglong Temple thought of this as a very serious situation.

The reason why they were heading to the Shaolin Temple was only one.

The Living Buddha.

The Buddha of No Cause.

It was to seek the advice of the Buddha of No Cause, who was called the incarnation of a living Buddha and had achieved the ultimate of the demon-subduing divine art.

Moreover, since the Buddha of No Cause had once trained at the Qinglong Temple, he was also a senior uncle to Yanshan, so he had gladly joined this journey.

It was a long journey to the Shaolin Temple.

The monks of the Qinglong Temple intended to use the Water God Festival, which was held here where the blood and qi gathered on the way to the Shaolin Temple, as an opportunity to remove the mysterious power of the Central Plains sky.

Yanshan looked up at the sky.

In the clear sky, he could not feel any strange thing, let alone the mysterious energy that the great monk had felt.

"Amitabha, Amitabha..."

Even if the sun had risen, the night would come, and just because one did not see it, the darkness would not disappear.

The work of saving the sentient beings under the value of demon extermination could not be stopped.

Yanshan, to prepare for the Buddhist service again, forgot the commotion that had occurred for a moment and turned his feet.

(End of Chapter)