But this was only temporary. There was no guarantee his true situation wouldn't be exposed one day.

'If the opportunity presents itself, I might be able to pull a few strings.'

'For instance, I could find a body double and make Elder Zhuan Yu mistake them for the real me!'

'As the Buddha's Son, finding such a person among the many "fated ones" should be quite easy.'

'That way, some tasks could be left to the body double, while I could focus on my own cultivation and seize some initiative.'

'Then, by secretly amassing greater strength, I'll be in a better position to act in the future. Whether it's escaping the shackles of Elder Zhuan Yu's Seal or breaking away from the Great Virtue Temple, I'll have more agency and won't be controlled by others.'

After all, Yang An had never, from start to finish, wanted to be a monk. It wasn't that he had any worldly desires holding him back, nor was he particularly concerned about his physical body.

Instead, it was because the waters within an Overlord Level faction were bound to run deep. The Golden Thread Pavilion was the same, but it wasn't like the Great Virtue Temple, which was filled with endless rules and restrictions.

He had no desire to spend the rest of his life with a shaved head, wearing monk's robes and a Kasaya, having to constantly calm his mind to chant sutras and recite Buddhist scriptures.

That kind of dull, tedious life was not what he wanted.

After instructing Yang An to stabilize his current situation, avoid irrelevant matters, and not stir up any trouble, Elder Zhuan Yu gave another solemn order: if Yang An managed to obtain any information related to the Buddha's Son, he must relay it the next time they made contact. 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

He wasn't ordering Yang An to actively seek out information about the Buddha's Son. To put it simply, he was to let things happen naturally—if he found something, he found something; if not, then not.

Yang An agreed to everything.

Elder Zhuan Yu's voice quickly faded from Yang An's ear, and the connection was severed.

Only after a good while had passed without any further activity did Yang An finally confirm that Elder Zhuan Yu had indeed "left," and he could finally relax.

Regarding his current impression of his master, Elder Zhuan Yu, Yang An actually held him in rather high regard.

Elder Zhuan Yu had not only helped him with his cultivation and taught him the Shell Nourishing Technique, but he had also provided him with a life-saving measure and had never done anything to harm him.

Granted, these were all benefits given in advance to ensure he could successfully infiltrate the Great Virtue Temple as a mole.

But in any case, compared to his former master, that old geezer Life Crane, the two of them were as different as heaven and earth.

Zhuan Yu actually fit Yang An's image of a master perfectly—stern, yet a natural teacher.

However, in a world and environment such as this, Yang An couldn't possibly trust anyone completely. He had to remain wary and cautious.

Only by doing so could he protect himself and remain free. He refused to let his situation remain a passive one, where he was a pawn in someone else's game.

Only by seizing the initiative could one live a better life. This was the most profound lesson he had learned since arriving in this world.

...

On the fourth day of the twelfth month, the Great Virtue Temple held a tonsure ceremony in the Bright Buddha Hall. The two hundred seventy-three "fated ones," one Holy Child, and one Buddha's Son—all of whom had been brought in from the various State Territories during the Buddhist Assembly—would gather here to be tonsured by Zen Master Qing Cheng.

Early that morning, Yang An heard voices outside his Zen Room. Two of the temple's Gami had come to escort him to the Bright Buddha Hall.

At the Great Virtue Temple, when a monk's Cultivation Level reached the Yuan Si realm and they had made sufficient contributions, they could be promoted from the general body of Monks to the rank of Gami.

But toward this Buddha's Son from the Land of Goodness, whose Cultivation Level was merely at the Late Stage of Fake Food, the two Gami were exceedingly respectful. In their speech, they addressed Yang An with the honorific, "His Highness the Buddha Prince."

He had to admit, hearing these Monks address him with such reverence was rather pleasant. If he ignored the words "Buddha's Son" and focused only on "His Highness," it almost made him feel like a Crown Prince.

But then he remembered he was to be tonsured today. The thought of spending the rest of his days with a shaved head, constantly dressed in monk's robes, and a life in the Great Virtue Temple consisting of a vegetarian diet, worship, and quiet meditation quickly soured the mood.

No matter how little he cared for this "mortal coil," the prospect was still deeply unsettling.

This led Yang An to ponder a question that was both important and yet, not so important.

'Considering the Undying Body one attains upon reaching the Visceral Stone realm,' he thought, 'if I leave the Great Virtue Temple in the future, my hair should grow back, right?'

'It... should, right?'