Da Chan Temple, with its ancient lamps and ancient Buddha statues.
Five years had passed, yet they left no trace here.
Scripture Pavilion.
"It's been five years."
Lin Yuan sat cross-legged, his eyes deep.
Unknowingly, five years had passed since he arrived in this world.
A quarter of the twenty-year stay limit had already passed.
And in these five years, besides immersing himself in comprehending cultivation methods, Lin Yuan also gained a certain understanding of this world.
As for the channels of understanding, they naturally came from Da Chan Temple.
As a Buddhist holy land and a great martial arts sect of the world, Da Chan Temple naturally could not truly live in seclusion.
On the contrary, Da Chan Temple's intelligence dark web almost permeated every aspect of the world.
Laying out intelligence under the guise of Buddhist faith, it was practically omnipresent.
According to Lin Yuan's knowledge, the Great Li Dynasty, which currently ruled the Central Plains, was in its prime.
All corners of the world submitted to it.
Even a thousand-year-old great sect like Da Chan Temple had to bow before the Great Li Dynasty.
According to the intelligence gathered by Da Chan Temple, at least six Martial Dao Grandmasters served the Great Li Dynasty.
One must know that the total number of Martial Dao Grandmasters in the world today was estimated to be only a dozen or so.
Da Chan Temple, with one Grandmaster overseeing it, could dominate the martial arts world.
The deterrent power of the Great Li Dynasty mobilizing six Martial Dao Grandmasters was imaginable.
The reason the Great Li Dynasty possessed such profound heritage was because its founding ancestor was a Great Grandmaster.
Grandmaster.
Great Grandmaster.
A single word difference, yet a world apart.
Since ancient times, each era would produce some Grandmasters.
Sometimes a few, sometimes dozens.
But a Great Grandmaster was rarely seen for hundreds of years.
The Great Li Dynasty swept across the world, forcing martial arts great sects like Da Chan Temple to bow down.
It relied on that peerless Founding Great Grandmaster.
Even today, many years after the Great Li Dynasty's Founding Great Grandmaster passed away, there were still means to command so many Martial Dao Grandmasters.
If one were to say that Post-Heaven, Innate, and even Grandmaster stages were merely physical transformations and enhancements, then the Great Grandmaster stage was a sublimation of the spirit and Soul.
A living Great Grandmaster, with just a single gaze, was enough to make ordinary Grandmasters tremble in their hearts.
"Spiritual power."
Lin Yuan touched his glabella.
The founder of Da Chan Temple a thousand years ago, Patriarch 'Bodhidharma,' was also a Great Grandmaster.
Therefore, Da Chan Temple did not lack descriptions concerning Great Grandmasters.
Compared to Grandmasters, the greatest characteristic of a Great Grandmaster was the beginning of developing the power of the spirit and Soul.
To break through to the Great Grandmaster Realm, one must condense and master spiritual power.
However, how ethereal and intangible were the spirit and Soul?
An ordinary Grandmaster might not be able to perceive this power even after decades.
Even if a Grandmaster did perceive it, a slight mistake during the condensation of spiritual power would lead to irreversible consequences.
After all, physical injuries could be slowly recuperated and healed.
But when it came to the spirit and Soul, there was no room for even the slightest carelessness.
Normally, among a hundred Grandmasters, eighty would never touch the spiritual and Soul level in their entire lives.
Nineteen would fail and die during the condensation of spiritual power after perceiving the spiritual and Soul level.
Only one Grandmaster would finally be able to advance to the Great Grandmaster Realm.
"The 163rd secret method to break into the Great Grandmaster Realm is almost without any danger."
Lin Yuan pondered in his mind.
Ever since he successfully stepped into the Grandmaster Realm four years ago by nurturing his body with the 'Yi Jin Cleansing Marrow Forging Body, Replacing Blood, Tempering Spirit Skill,' Lin Yuan had been contemplating methods to advance to the Great Grandmaster Realm in addition to his cultivation.
With Lin Yuan's Heaven-Defying Comprehension, perceiving and even developing the spirit and Soul was not difficult.
The difficulty lay in how to condense spiritual power without any risks.
This kind of fundamental power involving the Soul required extreme caution, even from Lin Yuan.
The Patriarch 'Bodhidharma' of Da Chan Temple did indeed leave behind a method to break through to the Great Grandmaster Realm, and it was located on the third floor of the Scripture Pavilion.
However, this method had a high mortality rate, reaching ninety-six percent.
A ninety-six percent mortality rate… compared to the ninety-nine percent mortality rate outside, it was already a significant improvement.
However, for Lin Yuan, it was still far from acceptable.
It was precisely because of this that Lin Yuan intended to use his Heaven-Defying Comprehension to create a secret method for entering the Great Grandmaster Realm without any risks.
After creating 162 secret methods, the 163rd breakthrough method from a few days ago greatly satisfied Lin Yuan.
Not only did it reduce the risk of breaking through to the Great Grandmaster Realm to almost zero, but even if some extreme situation occurred, such as being disturbed by external forces during the breakthrough, or if Lin Yuan himself suddenly no longer wished to break through, there would still be room for recovery.
At most, he would need a few years of recuperation to recover, unlike other breakthrough techniques that offered no turning back.
"Stepping into the Great Grandmaster Realm will be today."
Lin Yuan pondered repeatedly for a while and decided to begin the breakthrough immediately.
At the same time, Great Zen Temple Abbot was chatting with Head of Disciplinary Courtyard Huiwen and several other Abbots.
"Counting the time, Junior Brother Hui Zhen hasn't stepped out of the Scripture Pavilion for three or four years, has he?"
The Head of Disciplinary Courtyard pondered for a moment and spoke.
Junior Brother Hui Zhen was Lin Yuan.
After becoming a disciple of the Grandmaster Long Eyebrow Old Monk, Lin Yuan's seniority in Da Chan Temple became the same as the Abbot and Abbots, belonging to the 'Hui' generation.
Normally, when the Abbot and Abbots mentioned Lin Yuan, they referred to him as Junior Brother.
"That's right."
Great Zen Temple Abbot nodded and said.
Ever since Lin Yuan moved into the Scripture Pavilion five years ago, he only occasionally came out for a stroll during the first year.
For the subsequent four years, he had not stepped out of the Scripture Pavilion's main door again.
"Everyone says that Junior Brother Hui Zhen cultivated Innate Inner Energy at the age of three and is a rare martial arts prodigy in a thousand years, but Junior Brother's dedication to martial arts is also something ordinary people cannot compare to."
The Abbot of the Miscellaneous Affairs Courtyard spoke.
The others nodded silently.
Four years without leaving the Scripture Pavilion, spending every day with martial arts classics, such steadfastness and patience were something many eminent monks did not possess.
"I wonder how Junior Brother Hui Zhen's cultivation is progressing?"
The third Abbot's face showed a hint of curiosity.
He had only watched the warrior monks practice Luo Han Fist once and had then naturally stepped into the Innate Realm.
Now that he had been in the Scripture Pavilion for five years, everyone wanted to know what level Lin Yuan had reached.
"With Junior Brother Hui Zhen's aptitude, he might already be at the peak of the Innate Realm."
The Head of Disciplinary Courtyard guessed.
"Peak Innate Realm?"
Great Zen Temple Abbot hesitated for a moment.
The martial arts of this world were divided into Post-Heaven, Innate, Grandmaster, and Great Grandmaster.
Although Lin Yuan, as a three-year-old child, had entered the Innate Realm, a three-year-old child naturally lacked sufficient vitality.
Entering the Innate Realm with such a foundation would certainly require a significant amount of time to compensate.
In five years, Lin Yuan might have just finished compensating and reached the level of an ordinary Innate martial arts Experts.
"Perhaps."
Great Zen Temple Abbot pondered for a while and nodded slightly.
He did not believe that Junior Brother Hui Zhen could cultivate to the peak Innate Realm after compensating for his foundation.
However, Lin Yuan was a disciple of Long Eyebrow Old Monk and was of the same generation as them, so they could not be too dismissive in their words.
"You two old fellows, are you so lacking in confidence in Junior Brother Hui Zhen?"
"Perhaps Junior Brother Hui Zhen is already a Grandmaster now."
The Abbot of the Warrior Monk Courtyard looked in the direction of the Scripture Pavilion, a smile appearing on his face.
He was the first to discover Lin Yuan's martial arts talent.
"Grandmaster…"
The Head of Disciplinary Courtyard and the Abbot of the Miscellaneous Affairs Courtyard exchanged glances and shook their heads slightly.
Even though they heard the playful tone in the Abbot of the Warrior Monk Courtyard's words, neither of them responded in agreement.
After all, that was a Grandmaster, a towering pillar that could be counted on two hands across the entire world.
"Alright, let's not discuss Junior Brother Hui Zhen anymore…"
Great Zen Temple Abbot felt that the topic of their casual chat was getting more and more outrageous, so he immediately spoke to stop it.
However.
Just then.
Rumble!!!
An invisible fluctuation soared into the sky, transforming into ripples that spread in all directions.
"Is this spiritual power?"
"It's a Great Grandmaster, a Great Grandmaster's spiritual power?!"
Great Zen Temple Abbot and the several Abbots' pupils suddenly contracted.
Then their scalps tingled, their faces filled with panic.
When did a Great Grandmaster appear in the world? And this Great Grandmaster even came to their Da Chan Temple?
"No, this spiritual power comes from the Scripture Pavilion!"
"This is Junior Brother Hui Zhen's aura!"
The Head of Disciplinary Courtyard seemed to have sensed something, his eyes wide.
"Junior Brother Hui Zhen's aura? Spiritual power? A Great Grandmaster?"
Great Zen Temple Abbot and the Abbot of the Warrior Monk Courtyard opened their mouths, as if they had seen a ghost.
Based on the source and aura of this spiritual power, a possibility involuntarily emerged in their minds.
Could it be that Junior Brother Hui Zhen, who had been in the Scripture Pavilion for five years, had entered the Great Grandmaster Realm?
Upon realizing this, a sense of absurdity surged in their hearts.
Three-year-old Innate was one thing.
But now, an eight-year-old Great Grandmaster?!
Is this even human?
Is this even human?!!