However, Eric Bennett thought for a moment and steadied his mind. The “Hundred Days Foundation Building” he had completed in the past was already behind him. If he wanted to go further on the path of martial arts, he had to personally experience every step, without skipping even a single one. Only in this way could he walk more steadily and go further.

Andrew saw that a quarter of an hour had passed, knocked on the wooden fish, and with its crisp, penetrating sound, awakened everyone. He then inquired about each person’s meditation state, including whether they could enter meditation and the quality of the “sweet dew” produced, giving individual guidance accordingly.

Finally, he nodded and said, “After you return, try again on your own. Now, let’s begin literacy.”

Opening the scripture in front of him for literacy practice, Eric Bennett unsurprisingly found that he recognized almost all the characters.

This filled him with joy—at least he wasn’t illiterate and didn’t have to start from scratch. As he was now, he could “dominate” the scripture hall!

“Pick up the brush and practice this character,” instructed Andrew.

Eric Bennett’s joy instantly vanished. The last time he had written with a brush was back in elementary school, and sure enough, the characters he wrote were extremely ugly.

“You need much more practice,” Andrew said, hands behind his back, as he walked past Eric Bennett.

Eric Bennett nodded dejectedly, then suddenly felt a chill. If Charles saw this handwriting, would he become suspicious? This body likely came from a noble family—having completed the “Hundred Days Foundation Building,” it was impossible not to have practiced calligraphy from a young age!

He opened his mouth with difficulty, but felt that explaining to Andrew would be useless and only draw more suspicion. So he hurried to practice his writing, planning that if Charles asked, he could say he was just not used to the chores in the miscellaneous labor hall at first, and his arms were sore, so his writing was poor.

When it was nearly noon and Andrew announced that the young novices could leave, Eric Bennett quietly took away his practice sheets, intending to destroy the evidence.

After lunch, Eric Bennett and Ethan and the others were assigned to clean various parts of the temple until sunset.

After a day of hard work, William gathered everyone again to continue recounting his tales of martial prowess in the jianghu.

“…That’s all for Shuiyue Nunnery. If you encounter them in the future, just treat them with respect and keep your distance. As for Vajra Monastery, they are not on good terms with our Shaolin, so you must be very careful.”

Huh? Although the labor monks had heard many jianghu stories and tales of noble families before ordaining, none of them knew that Shaolin and Vajra Monastery, both among the four great Buddhist temples, were on such bad terms that caution was needed!

Seeing their wide eyes, William nodded in satisfaction and said, “The Blood Blade Monk was originally a wild Zen practitioner, but he had a once-in-a-lifetime encounter and obtained the fifth form of the ‘Tathagata Divine Palm.’ From it, he comprehended two fundamental techniques and founded the Vajra Monastery lineage. That’s why they have always coveted the third form of the ‘Tathagata Divine Palm’ secretly kept by our Shaolin, hoping to compare and comprehend how to achieve the ‘Tathagata Golden Body.’ There’s been a lot of underhanded rivalry between the two sects.”

“Tathagata Golden Body…” Eric Bennett’s eyebrows twitched. He felt this was a bit fantastical, yet for some reason, his heart was stirred.

Suddenly, someone knocked at the courtyard gate. William jumped in fright, looking over in panic and blurting out, “Junior Brother Samuel, I haven’t broken any rules…”

Before he finished, his expression darkened. “This junior nephew, what are you doing at our labor hall?”

Eric Bennett turned to look and saw a somewhat familiar young novice standing at the gate. He was one of the children who had entered the temple together with himself, Ethan, Edward, and others—one of the two oldest, about fifteen years old. During the scripture hall lesson today, he had gotten along well with the other labor novices, showing no sign of discrimination.

Was his name “Daniel”? Eric Bennett tried to recall his Dharma name.

Daniel was tall and thin, quite ordinary in appearance, but when he smiled, he revealed a mouthful of white teeth, making him look especially bright. “Uncle William, I heard from a few junior brothers that you are very knowledgeable and well-versed in martial arts lore. I love hearing such stories the most, so I couldn’t help myself and came uninvited. Please forgive me and allow me to listen in.”

At this time, the martial monk hall was having its self-arranged “meditation and self-cultivation” period.

Flattered by Daniel’s words, William seemed to float with pride, his face beaming as he said, “No problem, no problem. Just sit and listen. The more you know about the jianghu, the less you’ll suffer when you travel the world in the future.”

Daniel looked around and sat down right next to Eric Bennett, whispering, “Junior Brother Matthew, I hope I’m not crowding you?”

“Not at all.” Eric Bennett shook his head, feeling that this young novice Daniel was surprisingly mature for his age. Though only fourteen or fifteen, he spoke like an adult scholar.

“I see that you, Junior Brother Matthew, seem to be literate and good at parsing texts. Please look after me in the future. If you ever need anything from your senior brother, just ask.” Daniel said with a friendly smile.

Eric Bennett was moved, remembering that he was a martial monk from the martial monk hall, and replied with a smile, “It’s nothing, senior brother, no need to be so polite.”

After just a few exchanges, the two seemed to become fast friends, regretting not having met sooner.

Seeing this, William coughed to quiet everyone, then continued, “Besides their two fundamental techniques, what you need to watch out for with Vajra Monastery is their blade techniques.”