The Smiling, Proud Wanderer, becoming a disciple of Yue Buqun.

Judging from this, the person managing the third floor must be a real expert.

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon!

With three such powerful masters just guarding the Sutra Repository, it's hard to believe just how deep the foundation of the Southern Shaolin Temple truly is.

After chatting with the old monk for a few minutes, Jiang Ning turned his attention to the bookshelves on the second floor.

Compared to the vast collection of books on the first floor, the second floor has far fewer, but it contains Shaolin martial arts manuals. Although they are all ordinary techniques, they are still much better than most of the secret manuals stored on the first floor.

"Five Tigers Severing the Gate Saber, Five Harmony Fist, Monkey Fist..."

Jiang Ning walked among the bookshelves on the second floor, looking at the dazzling array of martial arts manuals, all of which were Shaolin martial arts.

After looking around for a while, Jiang Ning decided to go to the third floor of the Sutra Repository.

When Jiang Ning arrived at the stairwell again, the old monk watched him go upstairs with a smile on his face.

Upon reaching the third floor, as expected, Jiang Ning discovered another old monk there. However, the old monk was simply sitting with his eyes closed under the bookshelf, as if he were resting.

Jiang Ning did not disturb him, and looked past the old monk toward the third floor of the Sutra Repository.

Compared to the second floor, the third floor of the library is smaller, but it still contains more than a dozen bookshelves.

Jiang Ning glanced at the secret manuals on the bookshelf, and stopped after just one look.

"Lion's Roar".

Jiang Ning's gaze fell on the manual, and he took it out.

"This is one of the seventy-two unique skills of Shaolin. The Lion's Roar is extremely powerful and is one of the profound internal skills of Shaolin."

Just as Jiang Ning picked up the manual and began to read it, an old voice sounded behind him.

The old monk who was resting under the bookshelf just now has woken up at some point and is now explaining things to Jiang Ning.

Jiang Ning looked back and saw the old monk with a smile on his face.

“Benefactor, I see that you are exceptionally intelligent, but if you wish to master this skill, you must understand the Buddhist teachings. If you wish to learn it, I can help you comprehend the Buddhist meaning within.”

Jiang Ning smiled and greeted them.

"Thank you, but not for now."

(The author is taking a day off for Children's Day and will not be updating today.)

Chapter 513: January

The old monk nodded and said nothing more, as if he were just offering a kind reminder.

"The three floors of this Sutra Repository contain seventy-two unique skills of Shaolin. Anyone who can master even one of these skills can become a master in their own right. Many of these skills are unfathomable. Many of my Shaolin predecessors have mastered them to an extraordinary level. However, nowadays, Shaolin has no successors, and many of these seventy-two unique skills are difficult to master."

Jiang Ning nodded.

"Thank you for the reminder, Master."

After speaking, the old monk returned to the bookshelf and closed his eyes to rest.

Jiang Ning glanced at him, then continued looking at the Shaolin martial arts techniques on the bookshelf.

"Dragon Claw Hand, Great Vajra Pestle, Mighty Vajra Finger, Universe in the Sleeve, Vajra Fist..."

Jiang Ning looked at them one by one. These martial arts were all Shaolin's unique skills. Any one of them could cause a frenzy of fighting among people in the martial arts world.

"Prajna Palm?"

Jiang Ning's gaze fell upon a record of a palm technique. He then picked it up and opened it, only to find that it was filled with Buddhist scriptures, which would be incomprehensible to anyone without a background in Buddhism.

Not only this book, but all seventy-two other unique skills are the same.

These unique skills are techniques that Shaolin monks comprehended from Buddhism. Without studying Buddhism, it is impossible to learn these skills. Not to mention practicing them, one cannot even understand the Buddhist language within them.

Jiang Ning had a deep understanding of Taoism and could easily master Taoist martial arts, but he only had a superficial understanding of Buddhism. These skills were like heavenly books in his hands at this moment.

Without looking at any other techniques, Jiang Ning took the Prajna Palm manual and walked towards the old monk.

Jiang Ning did not deliberately conceal his footsteps. The old monk opened his eyes, saw the book in Jiang Ning's hand, and smiled slightly.

"Are you interested in the Prajna Palm technique, benefactor?"

Jiang Ning nodded.

He wasn't exactly interested; he just wanted to have a discussion with the old monk.

The old monk smiled and said, "This palm technique is the most profound palm technique in our Buddhist school. The Prajna Buddhist teachings emphasize that form is emptiness and emptiness is form, but when using the Prajna Palm, it is neither emptiness nor non-emptiness. Only by truly understanding that form is emptiness and emptiness is form can one unleash the greatest power of the Prajna Palm, turning the palm force into nothingness, making the strike seem powerless, but it is the greatest force."

Jiang Ning was completely baffled when he heard this.

He could quickly grasp and understand Taoist martial arts, but he couldn't understand Buddhist martial arts because the two schools of martial arts had different theoretical foundations.

The old monk continued, "If you want to practice the Prajna Palm, you must first practice the Weituo Palm. It takes at least several decades of martial arts training to progress step by step. Since this palm technique was created, only a handful of people in Shaolin have mastered it."

With a history spanning a thousand years, the martial arts manuals that Shaolin has left behind are far from simple. In particular, the Seventy-Two Shaolin Arts are extremely difficult to master, and even within Shaolin itself, very few people can master them, let alone in the martial arts world.

Jiang Ning and the old monk talked for a long time, discussing the Prajna Palm technique.

The old monk had no intention of keeping anything secret and explained this unique skill to Jiang Ning step by step, as if he wasn't worried at all that Jiang Ning would master it.

After a long while.

Jiang Ning stood up.

"Thank you for your guidance, Master."

Hearing Jiang Ning's words, the old monk laughed and said, "I only have a superficial understanding of these martial arts. Since you are interested, I am happy to exchange ideas with you. I am also enjoying this."

Jiang Ning smiled and then put the Prajna Palm back.

The Prajna Palm is indeed profound. Even with the old monk's explanation, it remains obscure and difficult to understand. The old monk only briefly mentioned a few points, yet it was enough for him to feel how profound the Prajna Palm technique is, making him want to practice it and comprehend it.

It truly lives up to its reputation as one of the 72 Shaolin Arts.

Jiang Ning picked up the Dragon Claw Hand technique again, studied it for a while, and then walked over to the old monk to discuss it with him.

Time passed slowly, and Jiang Ning settled down in the Sutra Repository, where he stayed for a full month.

……

On this day, Bu Huo was in the meditation room of Zen Master Ling Xuan.

At this moment, Zen Master Lingxuan was sitting in meditation on a futon, chanting scriptures.

He sat at the table when he was no longer confused.

After a while.

The chanting stopped.

Zen Master Lingxuan opened his eyes and looked towards Bu Huo's direction.

"You've been restless lately, what could be the reason?"

Bu Huo originally sought out Zen Master Lingxuan to discuss Jiang Ning and Linghu Chong's affairs, but after hearing Zen Master Lingxuan's words, he was taken aback, not understanding why his master would say such a thing.

Seeing him like this, Zen Master Lingxuan gently shook his head and whispered something.

"Never mind."

The voice was very soft, and Bu Huo didn't hear it.

"Is there something you need from the temple that you've come to see me about?"

Upon hearing Master Lingxuan's words, Bu Huo gathered his thoughts and shook his head, saying, "Nothing happened in the temple today. I wanted to report on Jiang Ning and Linghu Chong's matter."

"Ah."

Zen Master Lingxuan nodded and asked, "Didn't those two go into the Sutra Repository to read books a while ago? What's wrong? Is something the matter?"

"Reporting to Master."

Bu Huo said, "A month ago, Jiang Ning and Linghu Chong entered our temple's scripture pavilion to read books. Linghu Chong's behavior was quite strange. In the past three days, he only read those martial arts manuals once and then stopped. I don't understand what he meant by this."

"Oh?"

Upon hearing this, Zen Master Lingxuan's eyes showed a hint of surprise, then he suddenly understood, laughed, and said.

"It seems that Linghu Chong has the ability to remember everything he sees."

He was startled at the age of 40.

Photographic memory?

He originally thought that even if Jiang Ning and the other two went into the Sutra Pavilion to look at the martial arts manuals, they wouldn't remember much. He didn't expect that Linghu Chong would have the ability to remember everything he saw.

"This……"

Bu Huo was quite surprised. He thought that Linghu Chong was just casually flipping through those martial arts manuals because he thought they were beneath his notice.

"Go ahead and look."

Master Lingxuan was also very open-minded and didn't care that Linghu Chong had memorized and taken away those martial arts manuals.

"Where is Jiangning?"

Bu Huo said, "Jiang Ning hasn't come out since he entered the third floor of the Sutra Pavilion. A month has passed. His meals are brought in by the monks of the temple. The monks who bring him meals say that they often see Jiang Ning discussing Buddhism with Uncle Gui Wu. He probably wants to learn the Seventy-Two Arts of Shaolin."

He's been staying in the library for the entire month without stepping out once.

Master Lingxuan was quite surprised to hear this, but he didn't say anything.

However, Bu Huo laughed at this moment.

"In my opinion, Jiang Ning may have been so attracted to the Seventy-Two Arts of Shaolin that he is unable to extricate himself. Perhaps he will be able to enter the Buddhist order in the future."

Each of the 72 Shaolin Arts is incredibly profound, and mastering even one of them is extremely difficult. To master all of them would be even more challenging. It is believed that a genius like Jiang Ning would find it difficult to resist such a skill as the 72 Arts and would not leave the Sutra Pavilion until he has mastered them all.

If that's the case, Jiang Ning might stay in his Southern Shaolin Temple and never leave the Sutra Repository.

To master the 72 Shaolin Arts, one needs extremely profound Buddhist cultivation. Jiang Ning must understand Buddhism to learn them, but comprehending Buddhism is not something that can be done overnight; it requires years of accumulation. When Jiang Ning's understanding of Buddhism is deep enough, it will be time for him to enter the Buddhist order.

Chapter 514: A Night Visit to Lingxuan (Louis Likes Oranges 9/16)