The young novice monk Yuankong led the four into the side hall of the Chanlin Temple.

During the temple fair, the main hall was completely open to the public, but the side hall was off-limits to visitors, primarily to provide space for distinguished guests.

There were no other monks in the room, and Yuankong personally brewed tea.

After Yaoqin took her seat, she asked, "Are you the Yuankong of Chanlin Temple?"

"You've heard of me?" Yuankong's tone was puzzled.

Yaoqin nodded, "The Child of Buddha from Chanlin Temple is somewhat famous, but why haven't you practiced the temple's teachings yet?"

Yuankong poured the brewed tea for the four and then explained, "The abbot said the time isn't right."

Yaoqin nodded lightly, not being her own disciple, she was just mildly curious.

Li Yingling, uninterested in the whole Child of Buddha concept, quickly asked out of curiosity, "Little monk, doesn't your abbot feel a bit...?"

Yuankong sighed heavily, "He's the abbot, so naturally he has the final say. If it were up to me, the abbot would be in confinement today."

Chu Xingchen nodded in agreement, "Hmm! The Child of Buddha makes a good point. I think our sect should also have a confinement room to discipline those disobedient disciples."

The rebellious disciple Li Yingling opposed, "Master, you can't say that. Transforming sect members with love is the true path."

As the rebellious disciple spoke, she signaled to the second rebellious disciple, Li Xingtian.

Li Xingtian quickly pretended to drink tea, ignoring the signal from his senior sister.

"Alright, you can discuss your sect's matters later," Yaoqin said, looking towards the door.

The side hall's door faced the large open space in front of the temple, where the abbot held up the inscription board.

This area was also off-limits to people, but distinguished guests invited by Chanlin Temple could enjoy the best view.

One had to admit, in terms of treating distinguished guests, Chanlin Temple acted more like an organization currying favor with superiors than a temple.

Yaoqin retracted her gaze and sat upright, "When does the Water Grove Dharma Assembly officially start today?"

"In about half an hour," Yuankong said, standing up after brewing the tea, putting his hands together, "Today, I will lead my junior nephew in chanting scriptures, so I can't stay long. Please feel free."

Yaoqin nodded slightly.

Yuankong put his hands together and bowed to everyone in the room before leaving.

Chu Xingchen put away his playful expression, took a sip of tea, and said, "This Child of Buddha is interesting."

Yaoqin was surprised, "Oh? You can tell?"

Chu Xingchen was calm, "When have I ever been wrong about people?"

Find the original at "pawread.com".

Yaoqin couldn't refute this. Chu Xingchen was indeed accurate in judging people, even at first meetings, he could quickly see through a person's essence.

He had never been wrong, as if he could read others' minds.

Yaoqin lightly shook her jade fan, "So, what do you find interesting about this Child of Buddha?"

"A natural Child of Buddha," Chu Xingchen said seriously.

Originally eager to hear what insights her master had, Li Yingling lost interest upon hearing this.

Yaoqin also didn't care and looked outside again.

Being a Child of Buddha at Chanlin Temple, this was like stating the obvious.

Seeing the indifference on their faces, Chu Xingchen didn't continue, just took another sip of the temple's unique bitter tea.

He had to admit, this bitter tea was truly bitter.

Chu Xingchen naturally used the system to check Yuankong's attribute traits.

[Target: Yuankong]

[Golden Trait: Natural Child of Buddha]

[Purple Trait: See Through Illusions]

[Blue Trait: Wisdom]

[Blue Trait: Compassion]

[Black Trait: Forbidden Cultivation Body]

[Meeting disciple acceptance conditions... biu... biu——]

[Does not meet disciple acceptance conditions.]

This young novice monk Yuankong was indeed interesting, the golden trait alone was quite valuable.

The other traits also seemed good, and the most surprising was the system's momentary confusion.

Meeting yet not meeting, it seemed to be due to the black trait, Forbidden Cultivation Body.

Was the system determining that he couldn't solve this issue right now?

Forbidden Cultivation Body...

Perhaps Chanlin Temple wasn't preventing this young novice from practicing, but he simply couldn't practice.

After some thought, Chu Xingchen suddenly said, "I think today's Wish Power is definitely meant for Yuankong."

Yaoqin glanced over and explained, "The Child of Buddha from Chanlin Temple is recognized by Central State. With this status, he can travel to Central State's temples to cultivate. Using Wish Power would be self-destructive."

Chu Xingchen clicked his tongue twice, "That's a shallow view, not seeing the essence."

Yaoqin scoffed, "Oh? Does the great immortal Chu have some insight I don't know about?"

Chu Xingchen grabbed Li Xingtian's shoulder, "A man's infallible intuition."

At the same time, he kicked Li Yingling's calf.

Li Yingling paused, looked at her master's signaling eyes, then suddenly understood and began to play along, "Master, it's supposed to be a woman's intuition."

Chu Xingchen looked disdainful, "Seems like you two are quite unconvinced. How about a bet?"

"Sister Yaoqin!" Li Yingling grabbed Yaoqin's arm, "My master is too arrogant! Teach him a lesson!"

After some thought, Yaoqin said, "Alright... what do you want to bet?"

"How about Spirit Stones? If I lose, you don't have to give me the Spirit Stones you owe. If you lose, double the Spirit Stones. How about it?"

Hearing this, Yaoqin looked at him suspiciously.

How could Yaoqin not understand Chu Xingchen's nature? He had always been reluctant to spend even a single Spirit Stone.

How could he now wager so many Spirit Stones on such a seemingly slim chance?

Could he have some insider information?

But that was impossible.

Chanlin Temple's invitation was very secretive, only inviting a few branch sects from Central State.

These branch sects were mostly intelligence departments of Central State sects, simply managing information from other states.

After all, occasionally, some advanced secret realms would appear in other continents, and having priority information would naturally give an advantage.

The main point was, maintaining these branch sects didn't cost much.

Chanlin Temple could also be considered a branch of Central State's temples.

And by playing up the Wish Power angle, they successfully invited a few sects.

They wouldn't make such a grand invitation just to show how Chanlin Temple would ruin their own Child of Buddha, right?

That would be purely ridiculous.

Chu Xingchen should understand this logic too, so why was he so confident?

Oh well, it's just a few Spirit Stones.

If they really saw Chanlin Temple ruin their own Child of Buddha, it would be worth the expense.

After all, competition in Central State was fiercer than in other continents, and having one less Child of Buddha was good news for other major sects.

Especially for Yaoqin's sect.

Yaoqin nodded in agreement, "Alright, I accept."