"Yours?"
Chen Chang'an's words caused Monk Zhengyuan's expression to change drastically!
How could the Sacred Buddha's Relic suddenly belong to this young man?
Impossible!
Absolutely impossible!
"Nonsense!"
"The Sacred Buddha's Relic is..."
Before Monk Zhengyuan could finish, Chen Chang'an interrupted him.
"Is what?"
"If it truly were the Sacred Buddha's Relic, it should have appeared much earlier."
"When did the Sacred Buddha's Relic of the Heavenly Sound Temple suddenly emerge?" Chen Chang'an countered.
"This..."
"About seven thousand years ago."
"If it were truly the Sacred Buddha's Relic, how could it have appeared so late?"
"Is this the conduct of your Buddhist order?"
"Seizing another's possession, slapping on the label of a Sacred Buddha's Relic, and deceiving people?"
Chen Chang'an sneered. What a so-called sacred Buddhist sanctuary—truly an eye-opener!
"Impossible!"
"You're lying!"
"The Heavenly Sound Temple is a sacred Buddhist sanctuary. How could they possibly commit such shameless acts?"
"I don’t believe it! I refuse to believe it!"
Though Monk Zhengyuan had broken his vows today, deep down, he revered the Heavenly Sound Temple. To him, the Buddhist order was sacred and inviolable.
Yet now, Chen Chang'an was telling him that the Sacred Buddha's Relic was a fake, and the Heavenly Sound Temple was nothing but a den of liars?
This struck his nerves harder than visiting a brothel!
"You're not a monk from the Heavenly Sound Temple, are you?" Chen Chang'an said with a smile.
"I... I’m not yet worthy of joining the Heavenly Sound Temple."
"I’m merely an old monk from the Arhat Temple."
The Heavenly Sound Temple was the sacred heart of Buddhism, but it wasn’t the only temple. However, all other temples existed because of it. Though the Heavenly Sound Temple kept a low profile and rarely appeared before the masses, their influence had spread Buddhism far and wide, drawing countless people into the fold over the years.
Now, the western lands were dotted with temples—all thanks to the Heavenly Sound Temple’s efforts.
They called it "delivering all living beings from suffering," but in Chen Chang'an’s eyes, wasn’t this just land-grabbing?
Dressing it up in pretty words—how hypocritical!
He had only ever seen Buddhists recruiting followers, never actually doing any real good!
"Let me ask you—over all these years, what true acts of charity has the Buddhist order, the Heavenly Sound Temple, actually done?"
"How many have they truly 'delivered'? How many have they actually helped?" Chen Chang'an asked coldly.
"This... guiding those who have sinned to lay down their blades and take refuge in the Buddha—is that not delivering them? Is that not helping?" Monk Zhengyuan frowned.
"So, all you do is recruit people to become monks, and nothing else, is that it?"
"Have you ever spared a thought for the beggars on the streets?"
"Many in the brothels didn’t fall there by choice—how many have you saved?"
"Those who can’t eat or clothe themselves—have you ever tried to solve their hardships?"
"With so much suffering in the world, all you care about is pulling people into monkhood?"
"Is this your so-called 'delivering all living beings'?"
"Have you ever done a single damn good deed?"
Chen Chang'an’s words left Monk Zhengyuan utterly stunned.
Had they done good deeds?
Had they truly done nothing at all?
"No! It’s not what you think!"
"The Buddha is compassionate—it’s just that our abilities are limited, so we can’t help so many."
"Stop right there!"
"Let me correct you—being unable to help many and never helping many are two different things."
"If everyone contributed even a little, wouldn’t that help plenty?"
"If your Buddhist order didn’t go around preaching compassion and delivering all beings, then what you do wouldn’t be a problem."
"But you keep chanting about compassion and salvation while doing nothing but talk."
"Doesn’t that make you hypocrites?"
Chen Chang'an’s words were like daggers, stabbing deep into Monk Zhengyuan’s heart.
Was he wrong?
Was this hypocrisy?
"Tell me—what was your purpose in coming here to spread Buddhist teachings?"
"Wasn’t the main goal to recruit more people into the order, maybe even establish another temple, right?"
"But what does any of that have to do with delivering all living beings?"
"Does joining the Buddhist order mean they’re saved?"
"Since you’ve been here, have you ever truly tried to help the suffering people of this place?"
"Every day, all you do is brainwash others—what else have you actually done?"
Hearing this, Monk Zhengyuan fell into confusion.
His actions since arriving here had indeed matched Chen Chang'an’s description.
He had seen many suffering people, yet all he had thought of was pulling them into the Buddhist order.
In Monk Zhengyuan’s mind, joining the order would free them from suffering.
But when they refused, all he did was keep persuading them—never once taking real action to help.
Words and deeds didn’t align. How could anyone be convinced?
"It must be my fault."
"My understanding of Buddhist teachings is lacking. I haven’t truly grasped what it means to deliver all beings or embody compassion."
"Yes, that must be it. That’s why I remain just a failed monk in the Arhat Temple, unworthy of entering the Heavenly Sound Temple."
Even now, Monk Zhengyuan believed the fault lay with himself—not the Buddhist order.
"The teachings aren’t wrong. The principles aren’t wrong."
"The problem is you monks."
"False advertising."
"Maybe not all monks are like this, but from your behavior, it seems everyone in the Arhat Temple acts the same way."
"Surrounded by them, you think your actions are fine because everyone else does the same."
"If you truly want to do good, stop talking—start doing."
"Otherwise, you’ll only invite ridicule."
Compassion isn’t proclaimed—it’s demonstrated.
Chen Chang'an wasn’t such a person, so he never spoke such words. But he despised those who used lofty slogans to deceive.
Seeing Monk Zhengyuan lost in thought, Chen Chang'an said no more.
After all, his true objective had been achieved—the whereabouts of the fetal pearl.
By the time Monk Zhengyuan snapped out of his daze, Chen Chang'an and Da Huang had already left the brothel.
After a moment of contemplation, cold sweat began to bead on Monk Zhengyuan’s forehead.
Nervous. Uneasy.
He stared at the door, uncertain of what to do next.
Taking a deep breath, he muttered to himself, "Did... did Chen Chang'an settle the bill?"
"I... I don’t have any money!"
ions, keeping it grounded and realistic】 After quitting his job, office worker Su Yang accidentally binds with the "Enjoy Life System." As the name suggests, simply by indulging in life's pleasures, he can earn random rewards from the system—no need to spend money on beautiful women or grovel before anyone. Just enjoy, and the money follows, making it all about effortless fun. The system comes with a scanning feature, allowing him to establish a favorability bond with women rated 85 points or above. Every 20-point increase in favorability unlocks additional rewards. After suffering through over twenty years of hardship, Su Yang trembles with excitement, his dull eyes suddenly gleaming with newfound hope. "Enjoy life? How hard could that be?"
he colors of other people’s emotions. Light red meant anxiety. Gray meant exhaustion. Orange meant excitement. Yellow... meant repression. At the same time, he could gain unlimited control over one of those colors. Pale cyan: relaxation. Using this ability, he started offering “two-yuan hugs,” spending an afternoon exchanging emotional-color experiences with others. Then came his final female customer of the day— a girl whose emotional color was pure black... —— A week later, Xu Chuan had become skilled at using pale cyan—Relaxation—treating it like a bottle of menthol balm whenever he needed it. That was when he discovered he had unlocked another unlimited emotional color: Purple, the color of fear. So these emotional colors refresh every week? Fine, I take it back—I’ll never call you useless again... —— Much later, after Xu Chuan had accumulated countless emotional abilities, one night, he suddenly found himself inside someone else’s dream. There, he could use the emotional colors he possessed to paint. And in her dream, he painted her a shower of pink shooting stars, spreading across the depths of the night sky...
m back to his original world. In the end, he realized he had overthought things. [Hey, why is Shen Manni, the female lead, acting strange? Shouldn't she be fawning over the male lead at this point?] [Zhou Qiaoqiao, are you sick? Weren't you supposed to break off your engagement today?] [Damn it! An Youyi, please do your job as an undercover agent and sell my information to the protagonist, you idiot!] ... At this moment, Xu Mo himself didn't know that these female leads had already heard his inner thoughts. Then they decided not to play by the rules. Xu Mo: Please respect my profession as the big villain!
e bizarre and supernatural had descended. The previous emperor was a thoroughgoing tyrant; no longer satisfied with human women, he had set his sights on a stunningly beautiful supernatural entity. He met his end in his bedchamber, drained of all his vital essence. As the legitimate eldest son and crown prince, Wang Hao was thus hastily enthroned, becoming the young emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. No sooner had he awakened the "Imperial Sign-In Intelligence System" than he was assassinated by a Son of Destiny—a classic villain's opening. The Great Zhou, ravaged by the former emperor's excesses, was in national decline. The great families within its borders harbored their own treacherous schemes, martial sects began to defy the imperial court's decrees, and border armies, their pay and provisions in arrears, grumbled incessantly against the central government. Fortunately, the central capital was still held secure by the half-million Imperial Guards and fifty thousand Imperial Forest Army who obeyed the court's orders, along with the royal family's hidden reserves of power, barely managing to suppress the realm. As the Great Zhou's finances worsened and supernatural activities grew ever more frequent, the court sat atop a volcano. Ambitious plotters everywhere dreamed of overthrowing the dynasty, and even some reclusive ancient powers emerged, attempting to sway the tides of the world. At the first grand court assembly, the civil and military officials nearly came to blows, fighting tooth and nail over the allocation of fifty million taels of silver from the summer tax revenues. The spectacle opened Wang Hao's eyes—the Great Zhou's bureaucracy was not only corrupt but also martially proficient, a cabinet of all-rounders. Some officials even had the audacity to suggest the emperor release funds from the imperial privy purse to address the emergency. Wang Hao suddenly felt weary. Let it all burn.
