"Long time no see."
Once the other monks had left the chamber, Su Min finally allowed herself to relax a little, settling into a cross legged position on the floor in front of Kong Hui. The immense pressure from the ten Divine Transformation elders had been palpable. However, just as she was about to speak, a young monk, who looked to be around fifteen or sixteen, suddenly stepped forward from behind Kong Hui.
"Benefactor Su, you should show more respect to my master. He is— Ow!"
Before he could finish his sentence, Su Min shot him a sharp, silencing glare. The intensity in her eyes made him flinch and shrink back behind his master's robes. But in that brief moment of eye contact, something about him felt strangely familiar, giving her pause.
"He feels familiar… Could he be—?"
"He is Hui Ming's second reincarnation," Kong Hui explained calmly, placing a placating hand on the boy's shoulder. "Back then, he built his foundation too early, resulting in permanent instability. Combined with the poor spiritual environment of the time, I advised him not to attempt the Golden Core stage and instead pass away naturally after the Foundation Establishment phase, entering the cycle of rebirth. I have only recently retrieved his reincarnated self."
"A similar flower, but not the same person."
Su Min's voice was flat, devoid of sentiment. This was not the Hui Ming she had known. The original monk would never have spoken to her with such impertinence. Even their spiritual auras were completely different; the core was gone.
"Amitabha. Benefactor, this is the essence of our Buddhist reincarnation technique." Kong Hui interrupted her thoughts. "As for whether the reincarnated person is still the same individual… that is something no one, not even our patriarchs, can truly know."
Buddhists believed in the cycle of reincarnation, but not in the simplistic sense of "suffering in this life for rewards in the next." Every lifetime was considered equally important and real, so there was no doctrinal concept of merely enduring misery now for future prosperity.
"Aside from the Ten Thousand Buddha Physique, everything else is different," Su Min observed silently. "It seems Kong Hui had him rebuild his foundation completely from scratch, even severing the karmic ties to parts of his past… Tsk."
She did not voice her thoughts aloud. The true, philosophical nature of reincarnation was ultimately unknowable, and even the Buddhists themselves could not fully explain the continuity of self. And in any case, it had nothing to do with her current mission. She had far more practical matters to attend to.
"What tier are the two alchemists I will be competing against?" she asked, getting back to business. "Even if they are both fifth grade, there are still low, mid, and high divisions to consider."
This was her primary concern. Right now, she was firmly stuck at the fifth grade low tier. Breaking through to the mid tier would not be easy in a year unless she forcibly raised her cultivation base to the late Nascent Soul stage, something she absolutely refused to do. Even though the ominous Dark Blood Era was approaching, she would not recklessly rush her progress and damage her future potential. Besides, she was confident she could obtain the Northern Water's Profound Origin before that era arrived. Still, at her current level, her ability to refine consistent, high quality fifth grade pills was unstable.
"Both are at the Divine Transformation mid stage," Kong Hui informed her. "Their alchemy level should be at the fifth grade mid tier."
"Well, it seems I am still a step behind them."
Su Min shrugged, a note of helplessness in her voice. As a mere early stage Nascent Soul cultivator, competing against two seasoned Divine Transformation stage alchemists was a bit of a stretch. Of course, if she could match their cultivation level, she was confident she would crush them effortlessly. At the Divine Transformation mid stage, with her talent, she could likely refine at least sixth grade low tier pills.
"Benefactor, there is no need to rush," Kong Hui said soothingly. "After the fourth grade, the gap between major tiers is vast, but the differences within minor tiers are much smaller. A spark of insight can bridge it."
"Does your sect have a method to help me gain that insight?" she asked directly. "Just know that I will not accept any method that carries side effects or damages my foundation."
"Have you heard of the Bodhi Tree?" Kong Hui asked. "It is said that the historic Buddha attained enlightenment beneath its branches."
"One of the Heavenly Divine Trees… So the legendary Bodhi Tree is in your sect's possession?"
Su Min was not overly surprised. Divine Trees were not necessarily unique; the major ancient factions undoubtedly had their own.
"Correct. Benefactor Su possesses the Eastern Azure Wood, but its nature is entirely different from the Bodhi Tree. The Azure Wood governs life and growth. The Bodhi Tree governs wisdom and enlightenment. However, meditating beneath the Bodhi Tree is an opportunity that even our Great Thunder Temple does not grant lightly."
"What are the restrictions?" she asked, her interest genuinely piqued. There was no reason for her to refuse such a chance.
"Meditating under the Bodhi Tree is a once in a lifetime opportunity," Kong Hui explained. "Even if you reincarnate, you cannot experience its effect a second time. Thus, only those who have never done so before are eligible. The Bodhi Tree grants one such chance every hundred years, and each of the three major Buddhist sects may recommend one candidate. I can recommend you for our sect's spot, but my two senior brothers will also put forth their own disciples. If you were an official member of our sect, the spot would undoubtedly be yours. But since you are not, you must compete for it."
"Sigh." Su Min rubbed her temples. In a long established, hierarchical sect like this, internal power structures and politics were complex. Even a figure as respected as Kong Hui could not simply dictate things. Of course, her own sect was completely different for several key reasons. She was the founder. She was the only high level alchemist. And the divine beasts and spirit kings obeyed her personally. So unless her demands were truly outrageous, no one in her sect would ever oppose her.
"How do we compete?"
"Combat."
"That straightforward?" Su Min blinked. Fighting someone who only had one lifetime's worth of combat experience did not sound too difficult.
"Only one person will challenge you, the beloved direct disciple of our eldest senior brother. He possesses the Great Sun Tathāgata Physique, the most supreme constitution in all of Buddhism, fully compatible with our sect's core techniques. Its effects are no weaker than your Five Elements Holy Body."
"Hmm. And his cultivation level?"
"Nascent Soul late stage."
"!!!"
Su Min was genuinely shocked.
"That fast?!"
"Our Buddhist sect has its own sacred training grounds, similar in concept to the Golden Core Avenue, though much smaller in scale," Kong Hui clarified. "It only contains our sect's own inheritances, and the upper cultivation limit there is the early Nascent Soul stage."
"I see…" That explained the rapid progress, if not the stunning stability.
"Indeed. For him, waiting another hundred years for the next Bodhi Tree opportunity would not be an issue. His lifespan is long, and advancing to Divine Transformation is extremely difficult, requiring deep tempering."
Kong Hui added context. While this opportunity was valuable, the disciple's rapid advancement had inevitably caused some minor instability in his spiritual energy. A century of steady cultivation and tempering would be necessary to solidify it. Moreover, the upcoming Dharma Assembly had multiple competitions, one of which was the "First Gen Battle," a contest for the most outstanding new generation disciple. That particular disciple was already guaranteed first place in that contest, since the other participants were, at most, early stage Nascent Soul cultivators. In short, Su Min needed this Bodhi Tree opportunity more urgently. If she were a Buddhist disciple, she would have gotten the spot outright. But this public competition was meant to silence any internal dissenters. As for her chances of winning? Most elders who knew of her estimated them at sixty percent.
After all, they knew what had happened in the Golden Core Avenue, that even a monster like Yao Xian'er had lost to her. Though there was a significant gap between early and late stage Nascent Soul, for a true genius, it was not an insurmountable one.
"So I have to fight for it? Fine, I accept."
Since things had come to this, Su Min had no further objections. She was not afraid of a fight, as long as her opponent was not at the Divine Transformation stage, she could handle it. But she knew she could not afford to underestimate a genius disciple personally trained by the mysterious and powerful leader of the Great Thunder Temple.
"When will this take place?"
"One week from now. Prepare yourself in peace. Hui Ming," Kong Hui said, turning to the young reincarnated monk, "escort Benefactor Su to the guest quarters."
"Understood, Master."
Soon, Su Min was led to a simple but clean guest room in a quiet part of the temple complex. Under the curious and sometimes awestruck gazes of young novices along the way, she firmly shut the door behind her, seeking solitude. Outside the room, whispers spread among the monks.
"That benefactor is not one of us, is she?"
"Who knows? But she is very beautiful."
"Remember the precepts! Breaking them is not just a minor offense, it could cause a severe cultivation backlash!"
"Uh… you are right."
The group fell into a chastened silence. The Great Thunder Temple was not without female cultivators, but they faced strict restrictions. Unless they reached the Divine Transformation stage and achieved an unshakable heart, all women in the sect were required to shave their heads and wear monastic caps. This was not discrimination, but a doctrinal necessity for mastering many of the core techniques.
Buddhist cultivation techniques came with strict vows and precepts woven into their very fabric. Violating them was not just a matter of punishment, it could cause immediate technique deviation, leading to crippling or even catastrophic consequences. The Buddhist inheritance was so powerful and complete that disciples did not even need to enter the Golden Core Avenue to find top tier legacies.
But this immense power came at a cost, rigid constraints on thought and behavior, much like certain orthodox religions in her past life. The three greatest taboos in Buddhism, the "Three Poisons," were Greed, Hatred, and Delusion. Falling into any of these states while cultivating could trigger an internal spiritual backlash. The strict rules were designed to help disciples suppress these tendencies. However, those who successfully reached the Divine Transformation stage had willpower of iron. As the saying went, "Follow your heart's desires, yet never overstep the bounds." They could navigate the world without being corrupted by it.
Those who failed to reach this state of mastery would be consumed by their inner demons during their Divine Transformation breakthrough, perishing utterly, their souls scattered, not even granted the chance of reincarnation. This was a key reason why Buddhism's reputation in this world was not entirely negative, their power was tempered by immense internal risk. As for Su Min?
She had no intention of ever fully committing to the Buddhist path. The Great Sun Tathāgata Sutra was one of the few supreme techniques that did not carry a backlash for non adherents, but mastering it had required passing Kong Hui's unique Buddha's Heart Trial. Of course, not cultivating the supporting Buddhist spells and skills came with a significant drawback, she could not unleash the sutra's full, legendary potential. That required a vast array of complementary Buddhist spells, skills, and secret arts, something she neither needed nor wanted. Even in its basic, unadorned form, the Great Sun Tathāgata Sutra was a significant boost to her power.
Back in the quiet of her room, Su Min closed her eyes and began strategizing.
"A late stage Nascent Soul Buddhist disciple with a supreme physique… I cannot afford to underestimate him."
Whoever could advance so quickly under the guidance of a half step Enlightenment expert was no ordinary talent. At most, his foundation might be slightly less than rock solid, requiring time to temper, but there would be no permanent damage or exploitable flaw. After all, his master was a half step Enlightenment expert. Who knew how strong he had been in his prime? Under such a person's meticulous guidance, foundational flaws were virtually impossible. This meant Su Min was in for a hard fought battle. And with the objective gap between early and late stage Nascent Soul, she could not afford to be careless for a single moment. In this world, every true genius was a force to be reckoned with.