Shaoshi Mountain is part of the Songshan range, with its jagged peaks rising steeply into the mist like celestial spears. Among the swirling clouds, thirty-six peaks stand tall, surrounding each other in undulating clusters, forming a mystical landscape.
The mountain is home to three martial sects: Zhongyue Sect on the eastern slopes, Dharma King Monastery on the southern passes, and Shaolin Temple perched on the central peak of Imperial Stockade Mountain.
Zhongyue Sect, a Taoist order, occupies a prime position at the eastern mountain pass. Its leader, the Mysterious Truth Priest, is a Taoist master with a modest reputation in Central Plains, and the sect enjoys both wealth and influence, making it the largest faction in the Songshan range.
Dharma King Monastery sits at the southern entrance, and its leader, Monk Li Kong, though mediocre in martial prowess, still commands a following of dozens of disciples.
On the other hand, Shaolin Temple, perched atop the central peak, is the least influential. It is currently managed by one aging monk and his three disciples.
The central position of Shaolin sounds impressive, but its remote and dense forests make it an undesirable location for disciples seeking to practice martial arts. Furthermore, food scarcity and isolation make life difficult for those living there.
Recently, the temple has been in mourning for the passing of Abbot Xuanming. The abbot, who was the first to hold the title, had only recently founded the sect, and Shaolin's reputation was almost nonexistent in the martial world. Thus, no one came to pay respects to the late abbot except for his three disciples, who simply buried him without ceremony.
After the burial, the senior disciple, Yikong, presented his idea.
Before his passing, Abbot Xuanming had named his second disciple, Yijie, as his successor, which left the senior disciple, Yikong, disgruntled. Though Yikong had respected the old abbot's authority, with his death, his patience began to wear thin. He now felt it was time to assert himself.
"Junior Brother Yijie," Yikong began, "with Master gone, it's just the three of us. Don't you think it's time we discuss serious matters?"
Yikong, with a thin and wiry frame, was no martial expert, yet he claimed to possess profound Buddhist wisdom and had always believed himself to be the rightful heir to Shaolin.
Yijie, whose real name was Huo Yuanzhen, had another perspective. A transmigrated soul from Earth's 1980s, Huo Yuanzhen had been a university graduate and a campus idol, the epitome of youthful arrogance. After crossing into this world and inhabiting the body of Yijie, a Shaolin disciple, he initially felt trapped.
His first instinct was to run. Being stuck as a monk, especially in a world of bizarre customs and martial traditions, was far from what he had envisioned for his life.
Yijie, originally the cherished disciple of the late Abbot Xuanming, was seen as the temple's future abbot, and Xuanming had taken a special liking to him. However, in this new world, Yijie was burdened by the responsibility of his newfound role.
As a child, Yijie had been taught by Xuanming to cultivate the "Pure Boy Skill" (童子功), a technique that required celibacy for its mastery. Yijie, though still immature in his martial arts, found the idea of celibacy more of a curse than a blessing.
Huo Yuanzhen, now inhabiting Yijie's body, felt both perplexed and outraged at his predicament. He had never been one to shy away from women in his past life, but now he was forced to follow the strictures of this ancient art.
The "Pure Boy Skill" involved internal cultivation, but Yijie's progress was slow. Ten years into his training, he had only begun to feel a faint connection with the energy needed to complete the technique. However, this skill was still far from mastery. His martial arts ability was nowhere near sufficient to challenge the likes of Yikong, let alone the "martial genius" of his other disciple, Yijing.
When Yijie took over Yijie's memories, he remembered Xuanming's advice: "Yijie, I have taught you this technique to help you become stronger. Don't think about women anymore, focus on your cultivation. It's for your own good."
Yijie's heart sank. As a child, he had been infatuated with a young shepherd girl in the village below the mountain, and he had always dreamed of marrying her. Xuanming had done his best to guide him on the path of celibacy, though Yijie's youthful desires often distracted him.
Now, as Huo Yuanzhen, these same childhood memories caused frustration, especially as he recalled Xuanming's words: "When you have perfected the Pure Boy Skill, you will be indestructible. You can marry a hundred women, if you wish."
However, fate had led him into this bizarre life, and now, Huo Yuanzhen, unable to escape the responsibility of being the future abbot, was forced to endure.
He inherited the body of the well-built and handsome Yijie, but the weight of this burden crushed his soul. To make matters worse, he discovered that the "Abbot System" had activated inside him, binding him to the role with three impossible conditions:
Complete the Pure Boy Skill to its fullest potential. Make Shaolin Temple the strongest martial faction. Become the leader of the martial world.
Until these conditions were met, Huo Yuanzhen couldn't leave the temple. If he tried, death would be inevitable.
As he read these requirements, his anger boiled over. But now, trapped in this new world, he had no choice but to accept his fate.
Luckily, the system offered rewards. With time, Huo Yuanzhen began to understand that these rewards could help him achieve his goals. At least he had a chance to make things work, even if it wasn't what he had planned.
But just as he resigned himself to his new life, Yikong, his senior disciple, stepped forward, clearly scheming for the position of abbot.
"Junior Brother, don't you think it's time we choose a new abbot?" Yikong's voice was thick with ambition.
"Master has already named me as abbot," Yijie replied coldly.
Yikong waved his hand dismissively. "Master is gone. Things are different now. We need to elect a new leader. Do you want to be the abbot?"
Yijing, the third disciple, said nothing. He was too focused on his shadowboxing to care.
Huo Yuanzhen could sense Yikong's plans and the weight of his new responsibilities. In his previous life, he might have been able to talk his way out of this, but now, with the burden of the abbot's role, he had no choice but to confront this power struggle head-on.
"Do you think you're qualified to be abbot?" Huo Yuanzhen asked, his eyes narrowing.
Yikong hesitated, then said, "I know more about the Buddha's teachings than you."
"Oh? Then tell me, who was Buddha's father?"
Yikong scratched his shiny scalp, unsure. "Uh... he's divine, right? No father."
"Wrong. His father was King Śuddhodana of Kapilavastu," Yijie replied coolly. "Next question: who was Buddha's mother?"
Yikong stammered, "Uh, his mother... was... the queen?"
"Close enough," Yijie said, smiling. "But don't forget that in the Buddhist myth, Buddha's true mother is the Peacock Queen who birthed him through cosmic digestion. His uncle, the Golden Roc, helped too."
As Yikong stood stunned, Yijie added the final blow: "Do you still think you're the one fit to lead? Yijing—who's more qualified?"
Yijing, in the midst of shadowboxing, glanced up and muttered, "You, Second Brother. Less stupid."
Yijie gave a knowing smirk. It seemed that even his naive martial brother could see the truth.