Chapter 43: Dramatic Ups and Downs

"Ah-Zhu, go to my study and fetch a set of the Seventy-Two Arts published by the Suzhou Bookstore for the Imperial Preceptor to inspect," Shi Fei said to Ah-Zhu, who was standing nearby.

Ah-Zhu nodded and went straight to the back courtyard study.

Shi Fei continued, "Truth be told, our household is also a victim. The collection of the Seventy-Two Arts we originally kept in our family became completely worthless once the New Shaolin openly published them."

Kumarajiva had recovered from his shock by this point and asked, "The New Shaolin Temple?"

"Indeed! Did the Imperial Preceptor not hear of it?" Shi Fei countered.

Kumarajiva shook his head, and Duan Yu also perked up his ears.

One of them resided in Tubo while the other was from Dali; both knew very little about the Central Plains.

Even so, they were well aware that the Shaolin Temple stood as the supreme pillar of the martial arts world. Who would ever dare to call themselves the "New Shaolin"?

"The New Shaolin is located on Mount Yuntai, merely a few hundred miles away from Mount Song's Shaolin Temple. It was founded by a monk named Fanci," Shi Fei explained to the two of them.

"It is said that Fanci was formerly known as Xuanci, once a monk of the Shaolin Temple and a standout among the Xuan-generation disciples.

"Suddenly, one day, he voluntarily left the Shaolin Temple and established the New Shaolin Temple.

"At the very beginning, everyone thought he had lost his mind! How could anyone possibly start a New Shaolin Temple?!

"It was simply the most preposterous joke under heaven!"

Kumarajiva and Duan Yu nodded upon hearing this.

If just anyone could set up a New Shaolin Temple, wouldn't the martial arts world descend into utter chaos?

Shi Fei went on, "When the New Shaolin was first established, it was entirely unremarkable. It is only in recent years that its fame has shaken the pugilistic world.

"First, because Fanci sought justice on the Shaolin Temple on behalf of his disciple, whose disciple had been bullied outside by Shaolin monks.

"Thus, he single-handedly challenged the entire temple, fiercely battling eighteen senior monks of Shaolin and beating them into complete submission.

"With this battle, Fanci's renown soared, and he became a celebrated grandmaster in the martial world! It was only out of deference to Shaolin's face that people dared not spread the word too widely.

"Second, he deciphered the Shaolin Seventy-Two Arts and subsequently created the New Shaolin's very own Seventy-Two Arts!"

"What?" Kumarajiva gasped in profound astonishment, unable to help himself from exclaiming, "Did someone actually decipher the Seventy-Two Arts?"

Could such a thing even be possible?

It was impossible!

The Shaolin Temple's footing in the martial arts world relied entirely on the Seventy-Two Arts. An ordinary person who mastered even a single skill could establish themselves in the pugilistic world and become a renowned expert!

Yet now, someone was actually capable of breaking the Seventy-Two Arts?

Are you kidding me!

Amidst his shock, Kumarajiva suddenly heard Duan Yu by his side remark, "Could it be that the New Shaolin Temple distributed the Seventy-Two Arts out in the open streets? In the martial world, how difficult is it to acquire an advanced martial art?

"Even knowing that the Seventy-Two Arts would be targeted by the New Shaolin, could people possibly resist the urge to practice them?"

"This is an overt stratagem! The New Shaolin intends to become the new supreme leader of the martial arts world!"

Kumarajiva nodded as well, having harbored the exact same suspicion in his heart.

Shi Fei said, "You guessed wrong. The Shaolin Temple's Seventy-Two Arts were actually released by the Shaolin Temple itself."

"What?" Kumarajiva found it completely incredible.

Has the Shaolin Temple lost its mind, actually giving away the Seventy-Two Arts to the pugilistic world?

How on earth would they maintain their footing in the martial arts world then?

"Because they are also in the process of improving the Seventy-Two Arts!" Although somewhat simple-minded at times, Duan Yu was exceptionally clever and instantly grasped the crucial point.

Previously, the Shaolin Temple dominated the martial world with the Seventy-Two Arts, reigning as the supreme authority.

Now, not only had the New Shaolin Temple deciphered the Seventy-Two Arts, but it had also created a new set of its own. Consequently, Shaolin's Seventy-Two Arts had been reduced to tasteless chicken ribs—virtually useless, yet hard to discard.

If you practiced them, you would be countered by the New Shaolin.

If you didn't practice them, what else could Shaolin monks practice?

They were useless to practice, yet a pity to throw away.

The Shaolin Temple had no choice but to reform the Seventy-Two Arts. Only when they truly attempted to improve them did they realize the immense difficulty involved.

One had to admire Fanci; he was indeed a man of extraordinary talent.

Yet talents also existed within the Shaolin Temple. The current abbot of Shaolin, Xuanbei, made a daring decision.

He released the Seventy-Two Arts into the pugilistic world, knowing that heroes across the rivers and lakes would inevitably practice and even refine them.

The Shaolin Temple would then improve their own Seventy-Two Arts based on the feedback from the martial artists in the outside world.

There is no construction without destruction; one cannot gain without first letting go!

This was truly profound wisdom!

Hearing Duan Yu's words, Kumarajiva finally understood the logic as well.

"In the martial arts world today, the one thing in least short supply is the Seventy-Two Arts. The New Shaolin Temple has them, the Shaolin Temple has them, and the common martial artists have them too. The competition is simply too fierce!" Shi Fei sighed and said.

As he spoke, Kumarajiva saw Ah-Zhu carrying a rattan box out from the back hall and placing it before him.

Inside the rattan box were nothing but various manuals of the Seventy-Two Arts from the martial world.

"*The Thousand-Hand Tathagata Palm*, *The Mahayana Finger*, *The Tolo Leaf Finger*, *The Wood-Burning Blade Technique*, *The Bodhi Heart Sutra*..." Kumarajiva numbly flipped through one martial arts manual after another.

"*The Vajra Indestructible Divine Art* is here too! *The Yijin Jing* is here as well!!!"

"How is this possible? As the supreme martial art within the Shaolin Temple, can the *Yijin Jing* really be tossed around on the streets like worthless trash..."

The greatest disparity in the world is when something you hold infinitely precious is regarded as utterly worthless by someone else.

Such is true for women, and so it is for martial arts.

Kumarajiva had gone through immense hardship and taken a massive detour, first arriving in Dali to ruthlessly thrash the elders and juniors of Tianlong Temple, all merely to acquire the manual for the *Six Meridians Divine Sword*.

After the manual was burned, he went so far as to abduct Duan Yu, who knew the *Six Meridians Divine Sword*.

He had traveled thousands of miles, coming all the way from Dali to Jiangnan.

Just for the sake of viewing the collection of Shaolin's Seventy-Two Arts preserved in the Canhe Manor.

Yet now, someone had deciphered the Seventy-Two Arts and printed them in such abundance that they littered the streets.

A profound sense of absurdity washed over him. What was the point of all his arduous labor then?

Wasn't all his hard work completely in vain?

It was all the blame of the pugilistic world for changing so fast that sometimes, in the blink of an eye, one couldn't even perceive it anymore.

What meaning was there to his practice of martial arts, then?

What meaning was there in all the sacrifices he had made for the Seventy-Two Arts?

"Heh... ha..." A strange, involuntary laugh escaped him, making him feel as though the heavens themselves were playing a cruel joke on him.

"The Imperial Preceptor is a man of his word, and we have shown utmost sincerity!" Shi Fei looked at the strangely laughing Kumarajiva with a smile and said, "The matter of the Land and Water Dharma Assembly shall be left entirely to the Imperial Preceptor!"

In all fairness, although he had been covertly meddling in the martial arts world, he truly hadn't expected the pugilistic society to be this fiercely competitive.

Give the martial world an opening, and they will roll up a storm right before your eyes!

This kind of unexpected delight was far more interesting than forcibly manipulating others himself.

All one needed to do was give a gentle push behind the scenes, and the martial world would naturally make itself endlessly entertaining.

After a moment, Kumarajiva seemed to fully accept reality. He spoke in a deep voice, "Since this poor monk has traveled thousands of miles, the Dharma Assembly will be left to me!"

"Splendid!" Shi Fei said with a smile, "Ah-Zhu, Green Maiden, properly entertain our two distinguished guests for me. I am going to take a nap."

Within this dreamscape, he could terminate the dream at any moment, but he feared waking up too early only to open his eyes and find it was merely half past two in the morning.

At the same time, he feared lingering in the dream for too long, lest he forget everything upon waking.

Thus, he had created a martial art that allowed him to sleep whenever he pleased.

By doing so, he could spend most of the dead time in his dream sleeping, only emerging to watch the spectacle whenever something interesting happened.

Upon waking, he wouldn't lose too many memories while still maintaining a fresh and alert mind.

It was truly the best of both worlds!