Chapter 37: The Three Masters of Shaolin

The following morning, after breakfast, Abbot Kongwen approached Yuan Ye and his companions, saying, "Young Master Yuan, today you shall witness the skills of several elders from our monastery. Please follow me."

"Certainly. Please lead the way," Yuan Ye replied, rising to his feet.

Just before their departure, Yuan Ye noticed that the young monks who had dined with them earlier were all filing out, leaving only three or four elderly monks behind.

Yuan Ye immediately grasped the abbot’s intentions: "It seems he fears that if the Shaolin Three Crossing lose again, the younger monks of Shaolin will lose their courage and their sense of belonging to the temple."

He did not mind; after all, he had roamed the martial world for years, experiencing countless battles, and knew well that reputation was often valued above life itself among those who walked the path of martial arts.

Abbot Kongwen took the lead, with the venerable Kongxing walking beside Yuan Ye. Following them was Xiong Ba, and behind like a silent shadow was Zhao Fan. The last in line were five elderly monks, all with snowy hair and stooped frames.

Yuan Ye had seen these old monks yesterday; all were seasoned elders of Shaolin. Due to their advanced age and lesser skills compared to Shaolin’s four great masters, they had not joined the previous day’s duel.

As for Xiong Wu, he was absent. Though he had clamored to witness the contest that morning, Yuan Ye noticed his breath was still weak and forbade him from attending. When Xiong Wu tried to protest and make a scene, Xiong Ba dragged him into a room and gave him a sound beating; now he was nursing his bruised face behind closed doors.

Walking along the mountain path for a short while, they soon left the monastery, heading north for a hundred yards before turning left toward a small peak.

"It appears the Shaolin Three Crossing are indeed not practicing within the monastery. I wonder if this is the same mountain where they later imprisoned the Golden Lion King, Xie Xun," Yuan Ye mused as he gazed at the peak ahead.

The group, all skilled in martial arts, found the climb effortless, and soon the summit was within reach.

After rounding a small mountain hollow, they saw before them a vast vertical cliff, at least a hundred yards high, jagged and forbidding.

Passing the cliff’s edge, they reached the summit, which revealed a barren flat expanse, devoid of any buildings. Only three tall pines stood, arranged in the shape of the character "work," their branches thrusting skyward like dragons twisting in the wind.

Seeing the mountaintop utterly deserted and lacking any structures, Xiong Ba was puzzled, thinking, "Where are the Shaolin elders who are to duel with the young master? Could they have vanished into the earth?"

Zhao Fan, as ever, kept his gaze fixed intently on Yuan Ye, indifferent to all else.

Yuan Ye, however, was unsurprised, for he had already sensed three faint, elusive presences.

Abbot Kongwen stepped into the center of the clearing, bowed deeply toward the three pine trees, and said, "Greetings, Elders. I have brought Yuan Ye, the young master of Wudang, who wishes to test his skills against those of Shaolin. May you kindly represent Shaolin in this challenge."

A heavy grunt of displeasure came from one of the pines.

At that moment, Yuan Ye and his companions saw that there were indeed people within the trees. Each of the two pines opposite them had a hollow in its trunk, large enough for a person to sit within, and each hollow contained an elderly monk.

The monk at the northeast corner had a face dark as iron; the one at the northwest was sallow and withered; the monk at the southern edge was pale as paper. All three had sunken cheeks and were so thin they seemed devoid of flesh.

As they observed, the three monks also scrutinized them. After a moment, the sallow-faced monk grunted again and addressed Abbot Kongwen: "Kongwen, since Kongjian was murdered by that villain Xie Xun, you lot have declined day by day. Now you force us to intervene."

Without regard for Abbot Kongwen’s discomfort, he then turned to Xiong Ba: "You must be the disciple of Wudang’s Master Zhang. Truly impressive skill."

Xiong Ba looked at the Shaolin monks, then at Yuan Ye, baffled. Why did this old monk mistake him for his young master?

The sallow monk, possessing deep internal strength and profound Buddhist insight, had sensed the bold and forceful energy within Xiong Ba. His power even surpassed that of Abbot Kongwen, hence his error.

Abbot Kongwen’s embarrassment deepened, but he could only press on: "Er... venerable elder, this is not Young Master Yuan. This is his subordinate, Xiong Ba."

"Is that so? Then who is Yuan Ye of Wudang?" Before the sallow-faced monk could respond, the black-faced monk’s eyes widened as he scanned the group and loudly asked.

Yuan Ye stepped forward, standing beside Abbot Kongwen, bowed and said, "Disciple of Wudang, Yuan Ye, greets the three venerable monks."

"You are Zhang Sanfeng’s disciple Yuan Ye? Impossible! How can you possess no trace of internal energy?" The black-faced monk glanced at him and questioned in disbelief.

"Amitabha. So it is! We have been gazing out from the well, never realizing Young Master Yuan’s skills have reached such a realm, shattering the confines of heaven and earth!" the sallow-faced monk suddenly declared aloud.

"Senior brother, do you mean that?" The pale-faced monk, who had until now remained silent, asked in disbelief.

Yet his words were left incomplete, leaving the Shaolin monks accompanying Abbot Kongwen utterly bewildered.

"Indeed, it is so. The younger generation is truly formidable! Master Zhang is remarkable—not only has he broken through the confines of heaven and earth himself, but now even his disciples have surpassed us." The sallow-faced monk sighed, his expression tinged with melancholy.

"This is the realm beyond acquired nature, is it not? The body merged with nature, heaven and earth follow the heart. No wonder I thought you an ordinary man, with not a trace of energy," the black-faced monk murmured, speaking to Yuan Ye, yet almost as if to himself.

Then the sallow-faced monk solemnly returned Yuan Ye’s bow and said, "Greetings, Young Master Yuan. My Dharma name is Du E. My pale-faced junior is Du Jie, and my black-faced junior is Du Nan."

"To meet you today is truly a stroke of fortune. Now we finally understand the path ahead, and it is a great delight."

The pale-faced monk continued, "Venerable Du Jie greets Young Master Yuan. It appears you have already broken through to the realm beyond acquired nature—a talent of heaven and earth. But I wonder, what realm has your master, Master Zhang, reached?"

Yuan Ye paused to think and replied, "Three years ago, when I descended from the mountain, my master’s realm had already surpassed my current level."

"Innate! So it is the innate realm?" The black-faced monk, now regaining his composure, said despondently.

"Indeed, and I believe that even before he took me as a disciple, my master had already broken through to the innate realm," Yuan Ye confirmed.

The three monks exchanged bewildered glances, their hearts filled with mixed emotions. Decades of arduous cultivation had granted them profound strength and deep Buddhist wisdom.

Yet now, hearing that Zhang Sanfeng of Wudang had broken through to the innate realm over a decade ago—and that his disciple had already reached the threshold of that realm after only three years—left them shaken.

Especially since Wudang and Shaolin were peerless pillars of the martial world, and Shaolin had always considered Wudang’s skills to have originated from their own, believing Wudang inferior in many ways.

Now, regardless of how profound the Buddhist wisdom of the Shaolin Three Crossing might be, this news struck their spirits, causing their meditative hearts to waver.