Starting from the world of martial arts in the Condor Heroes, practicing martial arts across the hea

Since setting off from Peach Blossom Island, on the way to Shaolin Temple on Mount Song, Jiangnan's conversations with Huang Rong and Xiaolongnu have been inseparable from Shaolin Temple, the sacred place of martial arts.

Although Shaolin Temple has declined and become a background character in the novels "The Return of the Condor Heroes" and "The Return of the Condor Heroes," one only realizes how famous Shaolin Temple is when one actually travels to this era. It's just that "even though I'm not in the martial arts world, my legend still lives on."

Moreover, Shaolin Temple is now "fallen" on foreign territory, so it naturally has to keep a low profile in the martial arts world. Therefore, most of the people who appear are disciples of its branch schools.

It can only be said that Shaolin Temple has experienced many anti-Buddhist movements throughout history, and has developed a set of methods for preserving itself under such circumstances.

Nowadays, the most romantic figures in the martial arts world are all dominated by Peach Blossom Island, Quanzhen Sect, Dali Duan Family, White Camel Mountain Villa, and Western Regions Esoteric Buddhism.

The leading figure in Buddhism in the Central Plains was Master Yideng, the Southern Emperor of Dali, who abdicated and became a monk. The leader of Buddhism in the Western Regions was the Golden Wheel Dharma King of Esoteric Buddhism, who was revered as the National Preceptor of Mongolia. The vast Shaolin Temple on Mount Song almost completely disappeared for nearly a century, sometimes not even being considered a background figure in the martial arts world.

Only a few scattered branches, such as the monks Kumu and Jiaomu, have appeared in the world. During the Condor Heroes era, only Wuse and Jueyuan have left their mark.

The Master Kumu was only known by name, never seen in person; the Monk Jiaomu committed suicide because he was Duan Tiande's uncle; Wuse was merely one of Yang Guo's friends, and Jueyuan only appeared in search of stolen scriptures. Jiangnan felt that these two were more like paving the way for the story of Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber.

But no one dares to truly underestimate this silent ancestral home of Shaolin.

What the world sees is merely the period of dormancy following the great upheaval at Shaolin Temple. It is a period of forbearance and dormancy in which the number one sect in a thousand years licks its wounds and closes itself off to consolidate its position. It is by no means a period of decline or extinction.

The martial arts prodigy of Shaolin's kitchen, the Fire Master, rebelled against the temple, shattering Shaolin's prosperous state and forcing this source of martial arts to close its doors and lock down its temple.

Even a starved camel is bigger than a horse. Even after a century of seclusion, Shaolin remains the only Buddhist martial arts giant in Jin Yong's world with an unbroken lineage and unfathomable depth.

The legendary master, the Sweeping Monk, hidden in the Sutra Repository, still commands immense prestige, possesses a thousand-year-old martial art, and has a strict, court-like structure for martial arts, allowing them to crush nine-tenths of the martial arts world.

Shaolin is by no means a loose sect, but a militarized and court-like system of inheritance passed down for thousands of years, with clear ranks, strict promotion requirements, and no one can overstep them.

The highest authority is in the hands of the abbot, just like the emperor of a dynasty.

The sole authority of Shaolin Temple on Mount Song, overseeing all halls, monks, precepts, and martial arts traditions within the temple, is the nominal leader of the martial arts world.

During his period of seclusion, the abbot of Shaolin Temple kept a low profile and remained inactive in the martial arts world, avoiding involvement in conflicts between good and evil. He strictly adhered to the ancestral precept of closing the temple to the outside world, seeking only to safeguard the foundation of the sect.

The top elders are all highly skilled and senior monks, such as the elders of the Arhat Hall, the head of the Bodhidharma Academy, and the seven elders of the Heart Zen Hall. They are like ministers and generals in the imperial court.

The true pillar of Shaolin, of extremely high seniority, with unfathomable martial arts skills, rarely makes a move, and holds the highest decision-making power in the sect.

In particular, the Seven Elders of Xinchan Hall are all monks over a hundred years old. They have spent half their lives meditating in seclusion, and their martial arts have long since returned to their original simplicity. They are the hidden fighting force that Shaolin has kept hidden.

The middle-level core consists of the head monks and stewards of each hall, much like local officials.

Each department is responsible for one of the nine core institutions, each with its own duties: upholding discipline, researching martial arts, storing secret manuals, handling foreign affairs, and maintaining the operation of the vast Shaolin system.

The lower echelon consists of a large group of disciples, including registered disciples, lay disciples, formal martial monks, and advanced monks. They are like low-level officials.

Through rigorous selection and step-by-step advancement, from basic martial arts to the seventy-two unique skills, only those with top-notch talent, temperament, and perseverance can enter the core hall.

Lu Guanying was a lay disciple of Yunqi Temple, a branch of Shaolin Temple. He learned basic Shaolin external skills. Although Huang Yaoshi looked down on him, this also proved that Shaolin's branches were all over the world and its influence permeated all parts of the martial arts world.

  

The nine core organizations of Shaolin Temple that are in charge of various affairs.

The reason why Shaolin has been able to stand for a thousand years is not because of a single divine skill, but because of a complete, closed-loop, and extremely professional sect system. Each hall has its own function and forms its own system, which crushes the single-structure sects such as Quanzhen and Beggars' Sect.

1. The Sutra Repository (Shaolin's lifeline and highest forbidden area)

This is the least hidden and least mysterious treasure trove of martial arts in the entire world of Jin Yong's novels, bar none.

It is not just an ordinary library, but the foundation of Shaolin's thousand-year-old martial arts, containing the martial arts of Bodhidharma, the martial arts skills of those who entered the temple, miscellaneous records of martial arts from all over the world, and various Buddhist scriptures.

This place may seem to lack a powerful figure in charge, but in reality, turbulent undercurrents are brewing.

A hundred years ago, the Sweeping Monk pacified the heroes here; a hundred years later, the Drunken Monk read through all the scriptures here and created the Nine Yang Manual; during the Condor Heroes era, Master Jueyuan sat here, memorized all the scriptures, and silently mastered the complete Nine Yang Divine Skill.

There is never a true emptiness here. The true ceiling of Shaolin is forever hidden in the shadow of the Sutra Repository, secretly protecting its enduring legacy.

Of course, you can come and go as you please, as long as you can avoid the open patrols of the martial monks, as long as you are skilled in martial arts, as long as you do not damage the scriptures and secret books, and as long as you borrow and return them. Therefore, the library has always been like a sieve, allowing martial arts masters to come and go as they please.

The function of the Sutra Repository is to house all Buddhist internal martial arts manuals, the Seventy-Two Ultimate Skills, transcribed copies of martial arts techniques from across the land, and Buddhist scriptures. Only the abbot, the manager of the Sutra Repository, and top elders are allowed to enter; ordinary head monks require the abbot's permission, otherwise they are not authorized to set foot there.

2. Damo Academy (Martial Arts Research Institute • Cradle of Top Masters)

The highest martial arts research institution in Shaolin, the birthplace of top combat power in the martial arts world.

Those who can enter the Bodhidharma Academy are all top monks in the temple who are proficient in several unique skills and whose martial arts comprehension is unparalleled. They only study high-level martial arts, sect-specific skills, and the way to integrate unique skills.

During the Tianlong era, top monks such as Xuanci and Xuannan all came from this place. Although She Diao and Shen Diao no longer went out to compete for supremacy, the temple continued to refine the Seventy-Two Unique Skills generation after generation, and its foundation has never been broken.

The function of the Bodhidharma Academy is to refine and perfect the 72 Shaolin Arts, break through the bottlenecks in martial arts, pass on high-level sect martial arts, and cultivate the sect's top combat power.

3. Arhat Hall (Basic Armory • Main Battle Team Headquarters)

The main training ground for Shaolin warrior monks, the hall with the largest number of monks and the most diverse combat skills.

This department is responsible for teaching all monks basic martial arts, honing their combat skills, and training them in formations. All of Shaolin's regular combat strength comes from this department.

The Zen Master Wuse, who left his mark during the Condor Heroes era, was the head of the Arhat Hall, in charge of the inheritance of Shaolin's basic martial arts. He was one of the few figures who could represent Shaolin in the present day during the period of dormancy.

The function of the Luohan Hall is to teach basic fist and foot techniques, sword techniques, finger techniques, and formations; to train field monks; and to maintain the inheritance of basic Shaolin martial arts.

4. Prajna Hall (Jianghu Intelligence • Martial Arts Mirror Master)

Shaolin is the most easily overlooked, yet most terrifying, hidden institution.

Instead of specializing in his own martial arts, he devoted himself to collecting martial arts techniques from all schools and sects, analyzing enemy moves, and predicting the trends of martial arts in the martial arts world.

It's like Shaolin's exclusive intelligence department + martial arts deconstruction research institute. No matter how many martial arts techniques there are in the world, Shaolin can understand their origins.

This is one of the reasons why Shaolin has stood for thousands of years – knowing oneself and one's enemy, winning every battle, being inclusive and tolerant, and never being eliminated by new martial arts in the martial arts world.

5. Discipline Hall (Sect Prison • Law Enforcement Hall)

The highest law enforcement body of Shaolin Temple is in charge of the precepts of life and death and oversees the conduct of all monks.

After the Fire-Worker Monk's Rebellion, the power of the Discipline Hall increased dramatically, and its rules became extremely strict: private fights were strictly prohibited, going down the mountain without permission was strictly prohibited, passing on advanced martial arts techniques without authorization was strictly prohibited, and competing for supremacy in the martial world was strictly prohibited.

It was this almost harsh set of rules that allowed Shaolin to stabilize its foundation, prevent internal strife, and recuperate after its severe injuries.

The functions of the Discipline Hall are to judge monks who have broken their vows, execute punishments, uphold temple rules, ban unorthodox martial arts, and prevent the growth of inner demons.

6. Guest House (Foreign Affairs Hub • Frontier of Jianghu)

Responsible for receiving visitors from various sects in the martial arts world, handling sect diplomacy, and mediating small and medium-sized disputes in the martial arts world.

During its period of seclusion, Shaolin basically closed its doors to visitors and rarely interacted with other martial arts sects. This was the direct reason why Shaolin completely disappeared during the Condor Heroes era—it had no external contact.

7. Bodhi Courtyard (Specialized Mind Cultivation Hall, Zen and Martial Arts Integration Hall)

Specializing in Buddhist mental techniques and meditation skills to resolve the malevolent energy of martial arts and suppress inner demons during practice.

Each of the 72 Shaolin Arts is inherently domineering and malevolent; forcibly practicing them will inevitably lead to qi deviation and demonic possession. Only the Zen Buddhist teachings of the Bodhi Temple can neutralize and balance them.

This is Shaolin's unique training system, and it is also the core reason why other schools cannot learn or master Shaolin's unique skills.

8. Yaowangyuan (Buddhist Medical and Healing Hospital)

An exclusive medical institution specializing in Buddhist healing methods, meridian regulation, and toxicology.

The chaos caused by the Fire Monk resulted in heavy casualties at Shaolin Temple. The Medicine King's Courtyard operated year-round to repair the injuries of the sect's masters, treat the old ailments of monks from previous generations, and provide a safety net for Shaolin's dormant revival.

9. Zhengdao Academy (Elders' Meditation and Enlightenment Holy Land)

The Heart Zen Hall is a private retreat for high-ranking elders such as the Seven Elders, where they detach themselves from worldly affairs and focus solely on meditation and enlightenment, aiming to break through the ceiling of martial arts.

This place holds Shaolin's deepest hidden fighting force, the sect's last trump card.

The Shaolin martial arts system is complete and comprehensive, with a well-developed progression system.

People believe that Shaolin's dormancy means the decline of its martial arts, but in fact, the entire system of Shaolin's divine skills has never been interrupted; they are simply hidden away.

Shaolin Temple possesses three supreme internal martial arts techniques, which are one of the fundamental reasons why Shaolin has remained strong for a thousand years. They are also the ultimate trump card that no one in the martial arts world knew about during the time of The Return of the Condor Heroes.

1. Yi Jin Jing: The world's premier internal energy cultivation technique, it reshapes the meridians, cleanses the body, dissolves all foreign energies, can overcome inner demons, heal severe injuries, and prolong life. Those who master it possess an indestructible body and inexhaustible internal energy.

2. The Marrow Cleansing Classic: Together with the Tendon Changing Classic, it is known as one of the two treasures of Buddhism. It is mainly used to cleanse the mind and attain enlightenment, purify the violent energy of martial arts, and unite Zen and martial arts to reach the state of a sage.

3. Nine Yang Manual: Created by the Drunken Monk after viewing the Shaolin scriptures, it was hidden in the gap of the Lankavatara Sutra. Master Jueyuan learned it silently. Its internal energy is vast and pure Yang, and its self-healing, body protection, and speed enhancement are all unparalleled in the world. It indirectly created the foundational internal energy of the Wudang and Emei sects in the future.

The 72 Shaolin Arts represent the pinnacle of orthodox external martial arts in the martial arts world—comprehensive and powerful.

It covers palm, finger, fist, knife, staff, grappling, and defense, with each move being upright, domineering, and combining offense and defense.

After Tianlong, no one dared to cultivate all of them, but in any era there were still monks who specialized in several disciplines and whose combat power far surpassed that of ordinary first-rate masters in the martial arts world.

Representative skills

– Palm Techniques: Prajna Palm, Vajra Palm, Subduing Demon Palm, Thousand-Hand Tathagata Palm, One Slap, Two Separations Palm

– Finger techniques: Flower-picking finger, Formless Kalpa finger, Tara leaf finger, Great Vajra finger, One-finger Zen

–Capturing techniques: Dragon Claw Hand, Flower-Picking Capturing Hand, Eighteen Falling Techniques with Clothes Touching Clothes

–Weapons: Kasaya Subduing Demon Technique, Great Vajra Pestle, Subduing Demon Staff Technique, Bodhidharma Sword Technique, Breaking Precepts Knife Technique

–Defense: Golden Bell Shield, Vajra Indestructible Body (Unbeatable protective skills at the same level)

–Lightness Skill: Crossing the River on a Reed

Basic and popular martial arts are not only the foundation of Shaolin Temple, but also the foundation for the inheritance of its branches.

Arhat Fist, Tiger-Taming Fist, Arhat Knife Technique, Heart-Crushing Leg, Shaolin Long Fist.

The two branch monks, Kumu and Jiaomu, secured their place in the Jiangnan martial arts world by relying on these basic martial arts, demonstrating the solid and powerful nature of Shaolin's basic skills.

The Shaolin Town Formation is one of the trump cards protecting the safety of Shaolin Temple.

The Arhat Formation and the Vajra Subduing Demon Formation, with thousands of monks working together, combine offense and defense, trapping and killing the most powerful. Their team battle capabilities are unparalleled in the martial arts world, making them the ultimate military formations that Shaolin Temple guards.

The ultimate truth behind Shaolin's century-long disappearance during the era of The Condor Heroes and The Return of the Condor Heroes:

The fatal blow of the Fire-Worker Monk Rebellion: A lowly kitchen servant, humiliated and forced to secretly learn Shaolin martial arts, eventually betrayed the temple and fled, severely injuring nine eminent monks of the Dharma Hall and killing Zen Master Kuzhi.

This battle caused a significant loss of Shaolin's top combat strength. The unfair treatment led to such heavy losses, which caused morale to plummet and the sect's prestige to decline sharply.

The departure of two eminent monks led to a divergence in the Shaolin Temple's resources: Disheartened, Zen Master Ku Hui traveled to the Western Regions to establish the Western Shaolin Temple, taking with him some of the martial arts traditions and masters, greatly weakening the main Shaolin Temple on Mount Song; Later, due to the aftermath of this incident, Jue Yuan also ran out of Shaolin Temple in an attempt to protect Zhang Junbao, but died from exhaustion. As a result, Shaolin lost a martial arts master and also lost the seed of a great martial arts master.

Because the Shaolin Temple was closed off and its temples locked, the Fire-Worker Monk relinquished his right to speak in the martial arts world.

To prevent the emergence of any more treacherous villains and to stabilize the foundation of the sect, Shaolin established an ironclad rule: to close the gates and seclude the mountain, not to venture into the martial world, and not to compete for fame or fortune.

For a full century, it did not participate in the battle between good and evil, did not vie for the leadership of the martial arts world, and did not interfere in the conflicts of the martial arts world.

As a result, Shaolin Temple disappeared from the martial arts world, and the Quanzhen Sect, Peach Blossom Island, and the Dali Duan Clan rose to prominence.

But no one would ever dare to underestimate the Shaolin Temple, which lies dormant.

Throughout Jin Yong's entire career, every once-powerful martial arts sect eventually declines:

The Quanzhen School had no successors, so the Six Masters of Quanzhen established their own lineage; the disciples of Peach Blossom Island scattered; the Dali Kingdom was destroyed, and the Duan family gradually declined; the Beggars' Sect reached its peak but then declined.

Only Shaolin Temple has remained unbroken for a thousand years.

It can lie dormant, it can remain silent, it can remain silent for a hundred years, but it will never perish.

A hundred years ago there was a sweeping monk who looked down upon all living beings in the martial world;

During his period of seclusion, a drunken monk wrote a masterpiece.

At the end of the Divine Condor Heroes, there was Master Jueyuan, whose body possessed nine yang energies that resonated throughout the ages;

It is the source of all martial arts and the root of all martial arts.

The so-called "disappearance" is never a sign of being down on one's luck, but rather a hidden dragon in the abyss, gathering its strength and waiting to strike.

Once the seal is lifted, the era of Yitian begins, and Buddhism will once again take the lead!

Of course, they were almost wiped out by Zhao Min shortly afterward.

I don't know how Shaolin Temple was rebuilt later, and I couldn't find any information about it in Jiangnan Memory.

It took Jiangnan, Huang Rong, and Xiaolongnu a month to reach the foot of Mount Song.

That night, after instructing Huang Rong and Xiaolongnu to guard the door, Jiang Nan used his lightness skill to sneak into the Shaolin Temple's Sutra Pavilion.

On the first day, Jiangnan was unfamiliar with the route and carefully searched for a long time before finding the library. After another long search, he finally figured out the strength of the guards. He avoided the guards, picked up a scripture, and memorized it. He didn't stay long and returned to his rented courtyard.

"Brother Jiangnan, how did it go? Was everything alright?"

"It's alright, finding a target takes a bit of time, but everything else is fine!"

In the following month, Jiang Nan not only copied all the martial arts manuals in the Shaolin Temple's Sutra Pavilion, but also memorized the Buddhist scriptures.

We set off again.

On the way from Mount Song to the Quanzhen Sect, Jiangnan instructed Huang Rong in martial arts while Huang Rong taught Xiaolongnu her studies, and at the same time, they memorized Buddhist scriptures from memory.

Well... because of the limited space in the RV, Jiangnan uses smaller font sizes to write secrets and classics.

Just like the ancient Chinese saying "a scholar with five cartloads of books," in modern times, that's equivalent to the knowledge in just a few books.

Whenever he had nothing to do at night and didn't want to recall those books, Jiangnan would use the Green Ox and Big Yellow to massage his meridians and simply guide the flow of internal energy.

Nowadays, the blue ox and the yellow ox look no different from their counterparts, but their eyes have become more expressive and can even convey emotions; their fur is smoother, and the blue ox's horns seem to have a layer of luster flowing over them.

However, there was a downside: they were eating much more, so Jiangnan had to buy a large amount of grain and food at the market to stock up in case of emergency.

Jiangnan is considering developing a sustenance pill, like the soldier's ration pill in Naruto or the fasting pill in the cultivation world.