Long Chengtian's six cabinet ministers, Minister of State Zheng Kuan, General Long Yingtian, Dazai Zhuoxuan, Si Hu Weisi, Dian Zheng Xia Quan, and National Craftsman Pei Yong, who had just replaced Qiu De as a national craftsman reviewer, were all sitting silently in the corridor outside the door of the side hall of the Great Hall. The floor of this wide passage is paved with nine-grid bricks, and the gold-painted walls are flanked by a long row of white teak chairs upholstered in mink, where the courtiers usually sit during their breaks.

Long Jun sat on a chair closest to the door, his arms on the armrests, his eyes closed in contemplation. He sat in a row with six cabinet ministers, and there was no emphasis on etiquette, and now is not the time to do so.

In front of the gate, there is a gilded iron bracket on each side, on which a gilded copper incense burner is burned, which is a specialty of the province of Baihua, and the smell of this incense is soothing. Charcoal stoves are placed at both ends of the north-south corridor to warm the entire corridor.

Long Chengtian suspended today's court meeting and only recruited cabinet ministers into the hall, which was actually equivalent to a dragon court meeting, but he didn't want to directly enter the Seven Sons Hall to discuss the meeting, too frequent dragon court meetings would create a highly tense atmosphere in the royal court, he hoped that everything would be a little easier, especially at this juncture. And this is despite the fact that everything sucks.

The corridor of the side hall remained quiet for a long time, Long Jun did not speak, and no one dared to make a sound, everyone maintained a uniform breathing speed, and did not show any impatience. Perhaps the incense did serve to calm the mood, but the cabinet ministers knew what Ryu-kun needed right now.

Serenity. Wait in tranquility.

As the door of the side hall was opened from the inside, the long silence came to an end. The national teacher Xun Zhou walked out of it tremblingly, a layer of fine beads of sweat appeared on the top of the bare head, the whole face looked yellow and decayed, the skin was wet, the silver-white beard was straight on the pointed chin, and the original white monk's robe was dyed with sweat and the patterns were one by one, and it seemed that the underwear inside was soaked.

The six cabinet ministers who were sitting hurriedly got up, Pei Yong and Xia Quan rushed up to support the old monk who was unsteady on his feet, and slowly walked to the chair and sat down, Xia Quan took out a silk scarf to help him wipe his sweat. Although he is nearly seventy years old, Xun Zhou is always in good spirits, and few people will see him tired.

"The national teacher has worked hard. Long Chengtian opened his eyes, and Xun Zhou's appearance made him a little moved. "I know that this is the second time in a month that the national teacher has used the non-restless gong, and if it weren't for the emergency, I wouldn't want the national teacher to be so tired. ”

From the moment he walked out of the side hall, Xun Zhou was breathing rapidly, and it was only at this time that he calmed down slightly, the corridor was much warmer than in the room, and he seemed to feel much better. "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your care. This is the duty of his subordinates, and it should be. "He sat and performed the monk's salute, which was granted by the Dragon King.

"Compared with the last time, what did the national teacher find today?"

"Your Majesty's request has not received a response from my god, and the existence of my god cannot be felt at all in the Qingming God Realm, which is exactly the same as the last time. The words of the national teacher caused a shock in the cabinet, and everyone looked at each other in horror.

The great elders of the Iron Fist Temple in the past generations would practice the Breathless Gong, which was their essential ability. This skill can only be practiced by the Great Elders, and those who master it can connect to the peaceful realm of the Qingming God Realm and get in touch with the Dragon God, whose will is transmitted to the mortal realm in a similar way. Long Chengtian had heard of the existence of the Breathless Gong when he was less than ten years old, but he still didn't know how this kung fu worked. This is the top secret of the Iron Fist Temple, and even if he is a dragon king, he must restrain his curiosity. The last time Xun Zhou used the Breathless Gong was half a month ago, but the old monk didn't connect the result with the day of the dragon face at that time, after all, the dragon god had not been absent for thousands of years.

After approaching the truth of the matter, Long Chengtian felt relieved. The dragon god is not going to judge him, even if he is at fault, it is not his fault alone, the dragon monarchs of the past hundred years are responsible for the tragedy of this dragon face day. If the dragon god is not in the realm of tranquility, then his usurpation is not a "mistake". The word "usurpation", no one dared to mention it in front of him, he refused to say such a thing, but the word popped into his head from time to time. He sometimes wondered if his brother who was lying in the bone ball of the Dragon Hall would still be nostalgic for this mortal realm, with a vengeful hatred? This made him feel ...... Fear, they had made a promise in front of their father. And he completely disobeyed.

A storm swirled in his mind, but his face remained calm. For a while, the corridor was as quiet as empty, Long Jun didn't speak, and he didn't have any expression, and the important ministers of the state didn't dare to come out.

The last to break the silence was Prime Minister Zheng Kuan. "In the eyes of the national teacher, what does this mean?"

"My God does not respond to the requests of believers, and I think there is only one possibility, and that is that My God is not in peace. This would explain why the true face is not displayed on the top of the holy mountain today. ”

Long Chengtian then asked, "Without the Qingming Divine Realm, my god will not be able to show his true face in our world?"

"Your Majesty, that's exactly what happened. ”

"Why did my god leave the Qingming God Realm?"

This question made Xun Zhou silent, his lips trembled, as if he wanted to speak, but he didn't dare to say it. The Cabinet Ministers were still in a state of extreme shock, and the fact that they had lost the blessing of the dragon god was unbelievable. The God of the Earth has been caring for his believers for a thousand years, and he may not always stay in the Qingming God Realm, but today is the day of the dragon's face, why did he abandon the believers today, so many years later, on such a momentous day?

"National teacher, tell me everything you know. Let's see, just how bad it really is. ”

"Your Majesty thinks that this may have a lot to do with the confusion of my teachings and traditions. ”

Explained in detail. ”

"Your Majesty, my lords, since Hangzu established the Iron Fist Temple at the foot of the holy mountain, the Iron Fist Temple has become the center of our religion, and all the national teachers in the history of our country have come from the Iron Fist Temple. Since the development of our religion, only our Iron Fist Temple has always kept in mind the teachings of our gods, adhered to the creed of our gods, and defended the traditions of our religion. The Awakening Monastery in the south began to accept people of different races as believers a few years ago, and they even allowed monks of the monastery to marry and have children with people of different races, which is a practice that seriously violates the tradition of our religion. Therefore, the influence of our religion in the south cannot be compared with that in the north for a long time, there are many pagan religions in the south, and there are already some boxers who have begun to believe in cults like the swamp snake demon and the three-armed demon, and they have abandoned the grace and teachings of our gods, which is a dereliction of duty on the part of the Awakening Temple. It is a pity that the former kings did not commit to changing this situation. ”

Xun Zhou said very slowly, and using the Breathless Gong again in a short period of time consumed too much of his energy and made him very tired. He paused for a moment and rested, his skin flushed from the warmth of the charcoal stove.

"For the past few hundred years, the King Kong Temple of the Golden Castle has been stuck in the Golden Great Plains, and has not interacted with the Iron Fist Temple and the Awakening Temple, causing a de facto split in our religion, and this situation will naturally not make my god feel gratified. But fortunately, Tie Huan, the great elder of the King Kong Temple, has a relatively clear understanding of the existing problems of our religion, he went south this time, and once proposed to his subordinates that the three major sects and temples should be integrated, and there are too many affairs of his subordinates recently, and he has not had time to discuss them in detail with Tie Huan, but this is undoubtedly good for the revitalization of my religion. ”

"For the past few decades, my father and brother have never tried to improve the relationship between the three major monasteries. The royal court also lacked sufficiently mandatory provisions in the legal code to prevent the recurrence of violations of the doctrine. We worked out some, but not enough. Long Chengtian nodded and agreed with Xun Zhou's analysis.

When Xun Zhou stopped again, Xia Quan brought a bowl of ginseng soup from the charcoal stove, Xun Zhou took it and drank it, and then continued: "Your Majesty, it is precisely because my sect has been in a state of disintegration for a long time that it will become weaker and weaker, and its influence will not be as good as before. The current situation of my religion is closely related to my God. When our religion is prosperous, the power of my god is at its peak, and once it declines, the power of my god will also be weakened. My god did not appear in the Tranquility Realm today, and it is likely that he had to leave. ”

"Why did my god leave on the day of the dragon's face?"

"Your Majesty cannot fathom the intentions of my gods. Your Majesty has always believed that as long as our god is in peace today, he will show us his true face. ”

"What did you perceive in the Qingming Divine Realm?"

"Nothing. The gods all have a fixed realm in the Qingming Divine Realm, and the subordinates can only connect to the peaceful realm where my god is located, and even in the peaceful realm, what they can perceive is very limited. If our god is still there, your subordinates will be able to sense it. ”

"Maybe there is something special that my god has postponed his appearance?" Sihuwes wiped the sweat from his forehead, a hint of uncertain anticipation in his eyes.

Xun Zhou shook his head and said, "My lord, don't forget that today is the day of Longyan, and it is also the sacred day agreed between my god and the boxer, how could he miss it." ”

Long Chengtian agreed: "There is no doubt that my god is not in the peaceful realm today. Not exactly, there is another possibility, although it seems unreasonable. That is, the spirit dragon "forgot" the day of Longyan and abandoned his people. This thought made Long Chengtian feel uncomfortable, and he now had to veto this possibility.

Xun Zhou continued: "Your Majesty believes that it is imperative to unify the teachings of the Dragon Worship Sect. Only when our three major monasteries are united can we consolidate the foundation of our religion and restore its former prestige. A thousand years ago, in Sunset Castle, three patriarchs of the same origin built temples in three places in order to respond to the request of our god and spread his teachings to a wider and farther place. After so many years, our sect members have long been all over the north and south of the Wen River, but the three major monasteries have become one, and this situation is inconsistent with the original intention of the three ancestors to build the temple. Your Majesty, Your Majesty therefore proposed to recruit the Great Elder Tongming of the Awakening Temple to go north to the royal capital. ”

Long Chengtian looked around the cabinet, Xun Zhou looked tired, Zheng Kuan hung his head and looked at the floor, Weis's forehead was still sweating, Zhuo Xuan showed his inner uneasiness vividly with a bitter face, Long Yingtian hung his bare chin with his thumb and forefinger, Xia Quan seemed to be staring at his toes, Pei Yong kept moving his buttocks, looking restless. "Can any of you remember the last time the Great Elders of the Three Great Sect Temples gathered together?"

Xun Zhou undoubtedly knew this question best, but he didn't say anything, and he glanced at Dazai Zhuoxuan out of the corner of his eye. Long Chengtian saw it in his eyes, and the old monk wanted to give Zhuo Xuan the opportunity to answer this time. The other cabinets instantly understood what the national teacher meant, and did not answer first. Zhuo Xuan nodded slightly, expressing his gratitude for this humility, he thought for a moment, and replied, "Your Majesty, it was seven hundred and forty-three years ago, when the Virtuous King Longhui was in power. ”

In other words, after more than 700 years, the three Great Elders had the opportunity to sit face to face and discuss the doctrine of my teachings. Long Chengtian stood up and slowly paced towards the north end of the corridor, and after walking dozens of steps, he paced back again. They were already aware of his habits, and when he did, everyone would try to remain silent, they just had to wait for his decision.

"I can approve your proposal, National Teacher. Long Chengtian stopped, facing his cabinet ministers, a pair of eagle-like eyes looking at the charcoal stove at the southern end of the corridor, which was spewing out a large amount of hot gas, and the burning flames reflected in his eyes. "However, there has never been such a thing as the unification of the doctrine of the three major sects in history, if the three of you can't reach an agreement this time, National Teacher, what do you want the royal court to do?"

Xun Zhou's brows condensed. The old monk had no previous experience in the royal court, but he was experienced enough to understand that this was a very sharp question, even a little dangerous. The royal court's interference in the temple is a very sensitive matter. The Dragon Family is blessed by the Dragon Monarch to continue their rule for the past thousand years, the Dragon Monarchs are the spokesmen of the Dragon God in this world, but that is only political, the three elders are actually the spokesmen of the Dragon Monarch, they are the mouthpieces of the Dragon God, and most of the teachings and expectations of the Dragon God are released to the mortal realm through the connection with the temple. However, the interpretation of the intentions of the dragon gods by the three major sects has been different for a long time in the past, and each of the great elders insists that their understanding is the most correct. Most of the successive dragon monarchs adopted a laissez-faire policy, and did not interfere too much in the affairs of the temple.

Under the charcoal stove at both ends of the corridor, Xun Zhou's clothes were basically dried from the inside out, and the warmth returned to the old man who was nearly seventy years old, and the ginseng soup also made his rest recover more energy, his body no longer trembled, and his movements were no longer sluggish. He left his chair and fell to his knees in front of Long Jun. This action surprised Long Chengtian, who had already allowed the old monk not to perform the kneeling ritual.

What is even more surprising is what Xun Zhou said. "If the Great Elder of Tongming refuses to admit his mistake and insists on going down the wrong path, then His Majesty implores His Majesty to send him to the Heavenly Prison. ”

Long Chengtian stared at his new national teacher, the burning flame in his eyes shining. This was an unusually bold plea, and given the relationship between the royal court and the monastery, it was no less than an offense. Even after the conspiracy and rebellion planned by the elders of the Iron Fist Temple more than three hundred years ago, Long Jun did not send the Great Elder to the Heavenly Prison without any evidence to prove that he was involved, but only punished the person concerned, the Elder in White and the rest of the party. He didn't respond, didn't let the bold national teacher get up and returned to his seat, he waited for further explanations.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty is well aware of the repercussions of this, but Your Majesty is equally aware that the various practices of the Awakening Temple have already betrayed our god and taken an unforgivable wrong step. However, the three major sects and temples are of the same origin, and His Majesty believes that if the Great Elder of Tongming can find his way back, it is not too late, and my god will forgive his sins. As a national teacher, His Majesty should also give him a chance to mend his ways. ”

After saying this, everyone here will be like him, and they can guess that the Great Elder of the Iron Fist Temple has some very amazing news, and these news will definitely prove the sins of Tongming, otherwise it will not be Tongming who will be sent to the heavenly prison, but himself.

No one made any sound, except for the "crackling" sound of the flames in the charcoal stove from time to time, everyone was waiting for Xun Zhou to continue.

"Your Majesty, ladies and gentlemen, the recent series of attacks in the royal capital has now been completely determined to be the work of Naku Naku. The people who were attacked included the Abundance Chamber of Commerce, the Overlord Martial Field, the Blue Dragon Martial Field, the Golden Needle Society, and the Despicable Temple, and perhaps others, all of whom were attacked and killed had one thing in common, that is, their wounds. Those wounds were caused by a very special kind of boxing. He paused slightly, and then continued: "This boxing technique was taught by Feng Lan, the ancestor of the Awakening Temple, and it is called 'Lei Guan Fist'. Lei Guanquan is a unique secret that cannot be passed on in the Awakening Temple, and like the non-respiring gong of this temple, the temple stipulates that only the great elders are qualified to study. That black clan Naku was just another disciple of the Awakening Temple, if it wasn't for Tong Ming personally teaching it, how could he learn this boxing technique? Even if Tong Ming didn't teach it to him personally, the secret recipe passed down by the Feng Ancestor was still leaked in his hands and passed on to an extremely murderous alien person, which was a great dereliction of duty. ”

These words are no less than a thunderbolt. When Long Chengtian was a child studying with a boxing instructor, he heard of "Thunder Punch", which is said to be an indestructible attack boxing technique in the art of Dragon Fist, and can even destroy the protective barrier created by magic. But his mentor had also said that he, and no one he knew, would do this kind of boxing. Long Chengtian raised his hand and motioned for Xun Zhou to stand up and sit back. "National Teacher, are you sure that this kind of boxing technique is a secret unique to the Awakening Temple?"

"There are many records of this kind of boxing in the archives of the Tibetan Scripture Institute of this temple, and these files are very confidential, and only people above the elders of this temple can read them, and ordinary disciples do not know the specific details. His Majesty brought the white-clothed elder Tenghui into the palace this time, and he was waiting outside, and His Majesty could ask him to go back to the temple immediately, bring the relevant files, and show them to His Majesty. ”

Long Chengtian nodded, "You can go back and do it, it's not in a hurry now." Those wounds should have been seen by the national teacher. ”

"The wounds of our disciples have been compared according to the description of the dossier, which is completely in line with the characteristics of Lei Guanquan. The bodies of the deceased of the two major martial arts fields and the Fengliang Chamber of Commerce, due to the seriousness of the case, have not been buried, and are displayed in the Punishment Pavilion. The abdomen is a very soft part, and it is impossible to form such a wound if you are attacked with normal weapons and fists. It's like using a chisel to chisel a thick plank, and the opening has obvious chisel marks, and when we look at it, we know that it is caused by a chisel, not with a hammer or an axe. If you use the thunder punch to hit this thick plank, it is like sending out a sharp arrow with great speed and infinite power, which shoots through the plank, leaving a very neat arrow hole, which only destroys a small point of the arrow hole, and does not destroy the rest of the board. All of the people who were killed by the attack had the same wounds, and a fist-sized hole had been cut through their abdomen, but apart from that hole, there was very little damage to their organs. As far as His Majesty knows, except for Lei Guan Fist, there is no other boxing technique or weapon that can do this. ”

"Then let Tongming come to the royal capital, and I will summon him, and he will naturally have an explanation for all this. Long Chengtian began to pace back and forth again. "Whether he will be punished or not, and what kind of punishment he will receive, will be known when the time comes. Kou Hai won't be the only one to be punished for these attacks, he's just the first. ”