The Shaolin Temple was originally built in the nineteenth year of the Taihe era of the Northern Wei Dynasty by Emperor Xiaowen to accommodate the revered Exalted Master Batuo, who was even one of the Eighteen Arhats.
Situated at the northern foot of Mount Shaoshi in Mount Song, the Shaolin Temple is a world-renowned Buddhist monastery and the ancestral seat of Chan Buddhism in Han Chinese Buddhism. Holding a pivotal position in the history of Huaxia Buddhism, it is hailed as "The Number One Temple under Heaven."
It is famous throughout the world for the Shaolin Kung Fu meticulously researched, created, and continuously developed by generations of Shaolin warrior monks, giving rise to the perennial saying, "All martial arts under heaven originate from Shaolin, and Shaolin martial arts are the best under heaven."
Actually, it is quite interesting that in this regard, a Daoist's combat effectiveness really cannot compare to a Buddhist monk's. Most Daoists live in quiet seclusion, whereas monks are much closer to the secular world, often dealing with matters like praying for children. Yet somehow, Buddhist temples always turn out to be much more efficacious than Daoist temples.
During the Republic era, the Shaolin Temple did participate in quite a few efforts to defend the country, and its location even suffered from the ravages of war multiple times.
Some time after the founding of the People's Republic, the Shaolin Temple also endured a man-made disaster.
In this world of Outsiders, however, the disasters suffered by the Shaolin Temple were somewhat fewer.
Although the many suppressions of Buddhism throughout history caused the Shaolin Temple to lose a portion of its heritage, it ultimately provided the temple with a better way to survive.
In this world, the Shaolin Temple belongs to the faction of the Ten Elders. With official backing, both its influence and its capacity for survival have expanded significantly.
For instance, the current abbot who manages non-Outsider affairs already boasts a net worth in the hundreds of millions.
"Duoduo, how has your practice of the Gu arts been lately? And how are your biology studies going? Let me tell you, studying is extremely necessary. And what about Xiaohu, A-Fei, and Zhang Xiaofan? Have they made suitable choices yet?"
Zuo Zhe had already arrived at a hotel at the foot of Mount Song. After chatting with people around him, he discovered that the Shaolin Temple's heritage was not as intact as he had imagined; quite a bit of it was indeed lost. But since he was already here, how could he not go up and take a look?
He decided to rest for a bit and take the opportunity to contact Chengduo and the others. He had originally thought about giving Uncle Liao a call, but then he suddenly remembered that Liao Zhong had finally managed to get a five-day honeymoon, so he decided not to disturb him.
A smile always lingered at the corners of Zuo Zhe's lips as he made the call.
On the other end, Chengduo answered the phone very quietly, chiming in with periodic responses as the conversation flowed.
"Well, Uncle Liao's honeymoon ended early. After crippling his own Gu arts, Zhang Xiaofan was sent to Longhu Mountain. A-Fei went to Penglai to learn swordsmanship. Xiaohu didn't pass the selection, so um, he decided to join The Company. The rest of them are still around."
"So how are you doing? Brother Zuo, have you been well lately?"
Hearing Chengduo's delicate and pretty tone, Zuo Zhe couldn't help but smile. His laughter traveled through the phone right to Chengduo's side.
"Duoduo, I've only been outside for less than a month—are you really that worried about me? And you still haven't answered how you're doing. Also, the Hanfu I bought for you should have been mailed over already, right?"
...
Zuo Zhe's tone was very relaxed, clearly quite pleased with Chengduo's current situation. Back when he was reading the manga, he had felt that Chen Duo deserved a different life. As a young girl, she had lived like a weapon, yet she was protected by Liao Zhong with his very life.
At the time, he couldn't wrap his head around what the author was thinking—was the goal to treat human beings as weapons, or simply to break the readers' hearts? Ah, thank goodness the author didn't take a page from Honkai Impact; otherwise, he would have mailed an entire train car's worth of knives to the author.
To a certain extent, human development in this world went quite deep. Even though they had already touched upon the human soul, human lifespans still severely restricted many people.
The reincarnation of Living Buddhas in the Tibetan region had existed for a very long time, but basically, no one bothered to investigate whether it was actually true.
After paying for his admission ticket, Zuo Zhe didn't try to use a tour guide ID to get free entry the way he had at Longhu Mountain. Scenic spots were all like this anyway; only guides leading tour groups got free admission.
Tourism in this semester was genuinely profitable, unlike the later tourism market, which completely scammed both guides and customers.
Because the Shaolin Temple had suffered destruction multiple times, its mountain gate was actually rebuilt during the Qing Dynasty, while the stone lions on either side of the gate were carved in the Ming Dynasty.There was a rather interesting detail about this mountain gate: the character for mountain (mountain) is a homophone for the number three (three), representing the Three Poisons of greed, anger, and delusion. Entering this gate, therefore, signified transcending greed, anger, and delusion. As the saying goes, a master leads you through the door, but your cultivation is up to you.
Once through the mountain gate, the Hall of the Mountain Gate enshrined the Maitreya Buddha with his large belly—the Future Buddha among the Buddhas of the Three Times. He was also the welcoming Buddha, always smiling to greet visitors from all directions. On either side hung a famous couplet: "With a belly that can accommodate, he tolerates the matters in this world that are hardest to tolerate; with a compassionate face he constantly smiles, he smiles at the people in this world who are laughable."
Behind this Maitreya Buddha was enshrined the Dharma-protecting Vajra, Skanda Bodhisattva, holding a vajra pestle with a majestic and stern divine appearance.
Walking further in, one could see numerous stone steles lining both sides, dating all the way back to the Tang and Song Dynasties and recording many stories of the Shaolin Temple from those eras.
To savor the lingering charm left behind from the Tang and Song Dynasties, Zuo Zhe deliberately lingered here for a long time. In bygone eras, the existence of Outsiders was hardly a secret to ordinary folk; it was completely normal for the stele inscriptions to record many bizarre tales of extraordinary people.
Past the stele forest stood the Hall of Heavenly Kings and the Great Mahavira Hall. One had to admit that Buddhism enjoyed far better incense and patronage than Daoism.
The wishing pool in front of the gate and the thick layer of incense ash in the burners were ample proof of this.
The Shaolin Temple of today could be considered utterly reborn. Considering everything it had been through just to avoid total destruction, and the numerous rounds of suppression it had endured, it really couldn't compare to Longhu Mountain in that regard.
The area where Outsiders practiced was located in a completely different place. Unlike Longhu Mountain, where the back mountain served as their private domain, the Shaolin Temple only had a single, isolated area—and a newly constructed one at that—which genuinely belonged to the Shaolin Temple in the true sense of the word. The original site no longer held much historical value, having been repaired and destroyed multiple times in modern history.
If Zuo Zhe wanted to enter, he first had to contact the Old Celestial Master, and then get in touch with Master Jiekong of the Shaolin Temple, allowing him to enter and study through legitimate and legal channels.
In this day and age, the Shaolin Temple could no longer train massive numbers of warrior monks the way it used to, but it could run a vast number of Shaolin martial arts schools, especially in a place where the martial arts atmosphere was exceptionally rich.
All kinds of martial arts schools could be found everywhere, marking the entry into an entirely different stage of development.
In The Outcast, the Shaolin Temple where Xiao Zizai resided belonged to the inner court of the Shaolin Temple. Only after one's cultivation reached a certain level could they enter the inner court, while the ordinary martial schools merely taught basic martial arts.
Anyone involved in Outsider affairs was, without a doubt, an Outsider.
Under the leadership of Nadtong, almost all Outsider factions adhered to an unspoken consensus:
Outsider business belongs to Outsiders, and ordinary human life belongs to ordinary humans.