Chapter 302: Novice

　　When Xiao Shi saw Chu Li being so hardworking, she knew that the divine powers were very important to him, so she did not disturb him.

　　However, she was not optimistic about it. If the divine powers were so easily cultivated, more people would have joined the Titanium Temple to suppress the Tempest Temple long ago.

　　Other than novices, teenage monks and middle-aged monks among the one hundred monks, the ones who really managed to master the divine powers would probably be the elderly monks. Over twenty of them would be enough to lift the sky which required over a hundred years.

　　Each disciple in the Titanium Temple was a genius; some mastered the divine powers at a young age, requiring a few years of training in the temple before they could achieve that.

　　If Chu Li was hoping to succeed in just a short period of ten days, he must have been dreaming.

　　Nonetheless, since he was so eager to achieve the divine powers, might as well let him be.

　　Xiao Shi left the house and walked around the courtyard.

　　Ten novices came toward her and looked at her curiously.

　　A skinny, small novice with a yellowish face closed his palms and said, “Lady Almsgiver, can you remove your veil and let us see your face?”

　　“I can’t, Xiao Monk. I’m afraid that it’ll move your hearts.” Xiao Shi shook his head.

　　“Lady Almsgiver, you’re underestimating us. Women look like skeletons to us now. How can our heart move anymore?” although the novice looked ill, his forehead was filled with spiritual force and his eyes were clear.

　　“That’s right, that’s right. When we look at you, Lady Almsgiver, it’ll just be white bones,” added the novice beside him.

　　Xiao Shi laughed and said, “You novices are really stubborn. Do I really need to remove my veil?”

　　“Reveal, reveal, let us look!” the novices hurried her.

　　Xiao Shi smiled and looked at them. “What if you moved your mundane hearts and ruined your cultivation? Your master will come after me.”

　　“We won’t blame you, we won’t blame you. Lady Almsgiver, we won’t say a word for sure.” the novices hurried her again.

　　The skinny and small novice asked, “Lady Almsgiver, are you ugly?”

　　“What a Xiao Monk, can you tell pretty apart from ugly?” Xiao Shi laughed softly.

　　The skinny novice said, “Lady Almsgiver, my name is Xu An, not Xiao Monk.”

　　“Very well, Xiao Monk Xu An. Can you find another firmer string for me? I want to split this prayer bead into two,” Xiao Shi continued.

　　“The Sarira prayer bead? Lady Almsgiver, this is the Sarira prayer bead, you can’t lose it no matter what!” Xu An said.

　　“Is it okay if I split it into two? My wrist is small, I can’t fit into this.” Xiao Shi asked.

　　“I’ll bring you another string!” Xu An ran away in a flash.

　　He returned with a white string. It looked thin but was unusually pliable and tough.

　　“This is empty silkworm string. It won’t break even if cut with a knife,” Xu An said as he handed her the string like handing over a treasure.

　　“Thank you then, Xu An.” Xiao Shi laughed.

　　Xiao Shi removed the prayer bead and wanted to break it but she did not succeed.

　　Xu An laughed out loud. “This is a wisdom buckle. You won’t be able to open it. Lady Almsgiver, let me do it!”

　　“You monks here at the Titanium Temple really have a lot of tricks.” Xiao Shi handed him the prayer bead.

　　Xu An replied, “That’s because the Master and Master’s Seniors are all too bored.”

　　All the novices started laughing.

　　Xu An had sleek and flexible fingers so he removed the prayer beads quickly. Then, he lowered his head to separate the prayer beads but since there were thirty-five beads, he could not split them equally. He frowned and thought for a while then stood up and ran away abruptly.

　　Xiao Shi looked at him weirdly.

　　After some time, Xu An came running back, holding a Sarira in his hand and attached it onto the original Sarira. He managed to make it thirty-six, which made him smile.

　　Xiao Shi puckered in a smile. “You, Xu An, you’re quite interesting. You don’t have to give me that. You can just take one away!”

　　As she said that, Xiao Shi handed two Sariras to Xu An. “I’ll give you this one. I’ll remember you, Xiao Monk Xu An.”

　　Xu An immediately waved his hand to reject her.

　　Since he was a disciple of the Titanium Temple, naturally, he knew how precious the Sarira was.

　　Xiao Shi said, “Just take it. In the future, who knows you might even save me. One Sarira will allow you to perform the Titanium Sarira Skill. So, you owe me one life. Be good and continue your cultivation!”

　　“Thank you, Lady Almsgiver! I’ll certainly save you!” Xu An said seriously.

　　Xiao Shi chuckled. “All right, I’ll be waiting. But you’ll have to properly cultivate in case I’m really in danger in the future so you will be able to save me!”

　　“Definitely!” Xu An nodded heavily.

　　Xiao Shi smiled as he looked at Xu An. She felt that he was quite interesting. Suddenly, Xiao Shi removed her veil to reveal her extreme beauty which could overthrow states and cities. She put on a charming smile then wore her veil again and looked at them with a smile.

　　Xu An and the rest of the novices were stunned.

　　Xiao Shi knew that it would be their expression, so she chuckled and left gently.

　　When she returned to the house, Xiao Shi handed the prayer bead to Chu Li. “This is for you.”

　　Chu Li opened his eyes and saw the Sarira prayer beads.

　　“I know that you like this. Your eyes are shining, take it,” Xiao Shi said.

　　Chu Li laughed as he received it. “This is a valuable item which can block all divine powers!”

　　“So, what if it can defend me from all divine powers? Divine powers are not all-powerful. If there’s a punch, it can’t even block that!” Xiao Shi said with an objection.

　　Chu Li said, “The real thing that is hard to defend is divine power. Martial arts is not as scary, actually.”

　　“Stop bragging! Martial arts is not scary? Just like that old monk, what can you do if you have divine powers?” Xiao Shi said.

　　Chu Li laughed and stopped debating with her.

　　If it was him then, he could have really dodged it.

　　“I met a Xiao Monk, he’s very interesting,” Xiao Shi said and told him about what happened.

　　Chu Li replied, “That Xiao Monk is quite an intelligent one and really hard to come by!”

　　“He’s dumb and foolish, what intelligence does he have?” said Xiao Shi.

　　Chu Li said, “Gain and loss, pros, and cons – these are all but schemes in the world. He’s a person who cultivates and if he can put away all of that, what is it then if not intelligence? If I have the time, I should meet him.”

　　“You want to give people pointers again? This is the Titanium Temple.” Xiao Shi chuckled.

　　Chu Li could not help but laugh. “You’re right.”

　　“How’s it going? Have you managed to achieve divine powers?” Xiao Shi asked.

　　Chu Li frowned.

　　He was completely clueless. There was a vague power that hindered him from comprehending the divine powers although that power was very much weakened by the golden light. If it was strong enough, Chu Li would definitely have to spend more days at the Titanium Temple if he wanted to cultivate the divine powers.

　　If Chu Li really wanted to achieve the divine powers, it would be best to do so in an isolated cultivation at the Titanium Temple so that he could utilize the environment to dedicate himself to the process. Once he leaves the Titanium Temple, his progress would be extremely slow and Chu Li might not even have a grasp of the divine arts!

　　No wonder the disciples of the Titanium Temple rarely stepped outside. The conditions outside the temple really did not favor cultivation.

　　Xiao Shi said, “If you can’t master it, then just let it be. It’s too time-consuming!”

　　Chu Li shook his head and said, “Let’s just stay here for a few days. It’s safer here.”

　　“Do as you wish as we can stay until the big day of marriage too. I’ll take a nap for a while. You may continue your practice.” Xiao Shi bowed.

　　Xiao Shi lay down on the bed.

　　Chu Li immediately got out from the bed. “Get some rest, I’ll practice outside.”

　　Once he said that Chu Li left the house and arrived at a stupa.

　　‘Why did it vaguely look like there was a small person who sat in the golden light of the stupa?’ Chu Li felt that it was not a hallucination so indeed what was it?

　　Unfortunately, the Omniscient Mirror was only limited to himself in the temple. It could not reach outside of him so Chu Li could not clear his doubt.

　　A few novices sat together under another stupa. They sat with their legs crossed and did not move an inch; they were cultivating.

　　Chu Li smiled and looked at them. They were all geniuses; any one of them would probably be as great as him, or even better.

　　His eyes turned as he saw the skinny and small novice who looked ill. He was sitting with his legs crosses and his head lowered down as he played with a Sarira.