Today, something strange happened. The day had started off calm and beautiful, but just as the sun was about to rise, the wind began to blow, stirring up dark clouds. It seemed like the sky was trying to cover itself up, perhaps to prevent the lovers' secret from being exposed.
The mountain winds howled, and the young swordsman with the sword on his back trembled in the gusts.
He had already exhausted most of his strength, and with the strong winds at the mountaintop, he could barely hold on any longer.
Looking up at the annoying monk above him, the swordsman finally sighed and said, "Master, I'm from the Tiandao Alliance. I have an appointment with someone here. Please, pull me up quickly."
"Tiandao Alliance!"
Huo Yuanzhen recognized the name immediately. The Tiandao Alliance was a martial arts organization primarily based in Henan Province.
It was said that stronger sects in Henan received invitations to join the Tiandao Alliance, and among them was the Zhongyue Sect on Mount Shaoshi, a member of the Tiandao Alliance.
Huo Yuanzhen had three main tasks assigned to him: mastering the Pure Boy Skill, making Shaolin the number one sect, and becoming the Martial Arts Lord.
If Shaolin wanted to be the number one sect in the martial arts world, it had to first become the number one sect in Henan.
Before becoming the top sect in Henan, Shaolin had to secure its position as the number one sect on Mount Shaoshi.
But whether it was in Henan or Mount Shaoshi, there was an unavoidable problem: the Tiandao Alliance.
The Tiandao Alliance was initiated by the Songshan Sect. Although Shaoshi Mountain was part of the Songshan range, it was not the main peak. The Songshan Sect was the leading sect in Henan, located several hundred miles away from Shaoshi Mountain.
The head of the Songshan Sect, Hua Wuji, was a well-known martial artist who had reportedly reached the innate realm. He was the top martial artist in Henan. His sect had over a thousand disciples, all skilled with swords, and their Star-Mount Sword Formation, formed by 108 disciples, was extremely powerful. Even innate experts had a hard time escaping death if trapped within it.
Hua Wuji was the founder of the Tiandao Alliance, rallying a large group of martial artists under the slogan of "following the will of Heaven." As the leader of the alliance, his influence was profound, and the Songshan Sect's power was far greater than it appeared.
In Huo Yuanzhen's path to making Shaolin the dominant sect, Hua Wuji was the first true obstacle. Huo Yuanzhen didn't even consider sects like the Fawang Temple, as they would be no match for him once given time.
Although the Zhongyue Sect was much stronger than the Fawang Temple, it was only a mid-tier sect within the Tiandao Alliance. In front of Hua Wuji, even the grandmaster of the Zhongyue Sect appeared weak.
Rumor had it that the true mastermind behind the Tiandao Alliance was the military governor Guan Tianzhao, who intended to use the alliance as a vanguard for rebellion.
Such alliances didn't exist in other provinces because Henan was under the control of Guan Tianzhao, and that's why the Tiandao Alliance was able to thrive there.
Whether or not the alliance intended to rebel wasn't Huo Yuanzhen's concern, but if he wanted to make a name for himself in Henan, the Tiandao Alliance was a major obstacle that had to be removed.
If the rumors about Guan Tianzhao were true, then Guan Shan Yue likely knew a lot about the Tiandao Alliance.
But this was a tricky issue to bring up with Guan Shan Yue, because if the rumors were true, Huo Yuanzhen's ultimate enemy would be the son of Guan Shan Yue.
So, to truly understand the Tiandao Alliance, Huo Yuanzhen had to come up with another plan.
And the young man in front of him was a member of the Tiandao Alliance, which gave Huo Yuanzhen an idea.
As he pondered, Huo Yuanzhen pulled a vine from a nearby tree and was about to use it to pull the young man up when a woman's voice suddenly rang out from afar: "Li, Big Brother! How... how did you become a monk?"
Huo Yuanzhen turned sharply, only to see a girl in yellow standing behind him, tears welling up in her eyes as she gazed at his back.
At this moment, Huo Yuanzhen understood. The boy below must be named Li. It seemed that these two lovers were playing a romantic Seven Sisters' Festival and had come to the back mountain of Shaolin for a secret meeting.
When the girl saw Huo Yuanzhen turn around, she stopped sobbing and asked in confusion, "You... you're not Li Big Brother? Where is Li Big Brother?"
"Fumei, I'm here," came the weak voice of the young swordsman.
The girl in yellow rushed over, her eyes wide in shock as she saw the young man still hanging from the mountain cliff. "Li Big Brother, what happened to you? Who threw you off the cliff? Was it this monk? I'll avenge you right now!"
Without another word, the girl drew her twin swords and charged toward Huo Yuanzhen.
"Stop!" Huo Yuanzhen suddenly shouted, his voice like thunder, shaking the girl in yellow so much that she almost fell over.
The girl's skill wasn't exceptional, so if she were an intermediate level martial artist, she wouldn't have been easily stunned by Huo Yuanzhen's voice. She stood frozen for a moment before asking, "What do you want?"
Before Huo Yuanzhen could explain, the young swordsman's weak voice came again from below, "Master, please spare Fumei. I know I've acted wrongly before, so if you want to kill or punish me, do as you wish, but please don't harm Fumei. She is a good girl."
Huo Yuanzhen felt a bit exasperated at this point. He had originally planned to help them, but now one of them thought he had pushed the man off the cliff, and the other thought he had ill intentions toward the woman. Was he really being so misunderstood?
However, since he had already taken on the role of a monk, Huo Yuanzhen had to act with restraint and not like a reckless young man.
Taking the vine in his hand, he said, "Miss, I believe it's more important to save people."
The girl in yellow realized she had misunderstood, and now, seeing that the monk appeared quite powerful, she figured if he really had thrown Li Big Brother off the cliff, she wouldn't stand a chance against him.
Still, she was cautious and walked over carefully to take the vine from Huo Yuanzhen. "I'll do it myself."
Huo Yuanzhen stepped back, glad to watch the drama unfold.
The girl in yellow, still with some strength, spent some time pulling her beloved up.
When the two lovers were reunited, the scene, though awkward, still held a strong sense of affection, especially considering how close the young man had come to death. He longed for her comfort, but the monk's presence made the moment feel more awkward than it needed to be.
However, the young swordsman had enough wits to realize that this monk seemed unafraid of them, which must mean he was confident. He didn't want to provoke the monk unnecessarily, so he put aside his arrogance and said, "I'm Li Yuntian of the Tiandao Alliance. I don't know your name, Master?"
"I am Huo Yuanzhen, the abbot of Shaolin."
"The Abbot! Are you the one who can communicate with the Buddha?" Li Yuntian asked in astonishment, his expression full of disbelief.
"A legend is just a legend. If you haven't seen it with your own eyes, it's not worth believing. To most people, the Buddha is just a legend. I suppose to you, I am just a legend too," Huo Yuanzhen replied.
Li Yuntian nodded, clearly not believing that this monk could truly communicate with the Buddha.
However, given the monk's reputed abilities, Li Yuntian began to think that perhaps this monk was someone of exceptional skill. Initially, Li Yuntian had dismissed him because of his youth, but now he dared not do so.
Looking down at his torn clothes, Li Yuntian thought for a moment and then said, "Master, my clothes are ruined. It's not very proper. Would it be possible for me to change into some clothing from your temple?"
Huo Yuanzhen had already planned to find a way to get him to Shaolin, so he readily agreed. "Shaolin has always been generous. If you have a genuine need, we will help. However, this is a Buddhist temple, and even if we have clothes, they are monk robes. I fear they may not match your noble warrior spirit."
Li Yuntian blushed slightly at the monk's teasing. "Master jokes. It was just youthful nonsense. Please don't take it seriously."
The girl in yellow finally realized that Li Big Brother had been climbing the mountain and had gotten stuck, unable to go up or down, which had led to his predicament.
With Huo Yuanzhen around and Li Yuntian looking like a beggar, the romantic moment between the two was shattered. They all headed back to Shaolin.
Upon their return, Huo Yuanzhen gave Li Yuntian a black, non-monastic outfit worn by secular disciples.
This outfit was more presentable than the old-fashioned monk robes, and Li Yuntian looked more refined in it than he had in his ragged clothing.
After changing clothes, Huo Yuanzhen smiled and said, "Li, you wear our Shaolin disciple's robes with great dignity. I've heard that the Tiandao Alliance also has a uniform, and I'm sure your attire is quite ordinary among the ranks."
Li Yuntian snorted, "Of course. My position in the Tiandao Alliance is high. My father... forget it, I won't talk about it."
He stopped talking, and Huo Yuanzhen didn't press further. He had gotten the answer he wanted.
If Li Yuntian was an important figure in the Tiandao Alliance, then it would be easier for Huo Yuanzhen to handle him.
Li Yuntian offered to pay Huo Yuanzhen for his help, but Huo Yuanzhen refused, and the young man and the girl prepared to leave.
Huo Yuanzhen accompanied them, and when they reached the Shaolin temple, they noticed many commoners flooding into the temple. Li Yuntian remarked, "Shaolin may only have one Buddha Hall, but its incense offerings are quite impressive."
Huo Yuanzhen replied, "Indeed. Today is the Seven Sisters' Festival, and Shaolin is experiencing a divine miracle. These people have come to witness it."
In truth, Huo Yuanzhen had no idea he would be able to summon the Bell Tower Construction Order, nor did he know about the Seven Sisters' miracle. The people simply had a deep faith in Shaolin. Compared to the previous days, there were fewer people now.
"Today there's a miracle?" Li Yuntian and the girl exchanged a look of disbelief as they watched Huo Yuanzhen.
Huo Yuanzhen smiled but didn't answer. He walked ahead toward the spot where he had planned to construct the bell tower.
Li Yuntian and the girl looked at each other and saw the mutual desire to stay and see what happened next.