"Wow, what a wave! It must feel amazing when you touch it!" one Shaolin disciple said, shamelessly. "Our abbot has been eyeing this beauty for ages—she's already on the menu! Haha! If we catch her, we'll reward each of us with 100,000!" another Shaolin disciple smiled, flushed with admiration. As soon as these two colorfully flushed monks finished speaking, Wu, the soft-spoken one, launched his snake-style punches. "Ah! Ah!" two sharp cries, and the fierce snake punches tore through the faces of the two monks, leaving them disfigured—like characters carved into their faces with a knife. The monks behind were stunned to see their two colleagues' faces so badly marred. "Grab them! What are you waiting for? What are you still doing there?" Gong Honglai arrived personally in the cave, determined to put Gao Huang in the grave. So, the other monks surged forward like wild dogs, charging in a relentless wave. The three close friends weren't to be underestimated—having grown alongside Gao Huang's progress in training, they'd received top-tier coaching from their master, and now stood strong and formidable. One after another Dong Jiao was deeply moved—she never thought that her husband’s team had grown so strong. Previously, these three had been considered the “outcasts” of Hanhai No.1 High School, but now, under Gao Liang’s guidance, they had become truly valuable talents. At this moment, Gong Hong, seeing that so many disciples couldn’t even manage to defeat just three of them, was far from satisfied. She immediately turned pale and launched her iron sand palm technique. “Stay alert! This palm is powerful—don’t meet it head-on!” With her reminder, the three friends swiftly stepped back to avoid the attack. “Crash! Crash! Crash!” The sound was thunderous, and the force was truly impressive. It was a close call—the iron sand palm revealed its full strength just one foot away from the three friends. Now, Gao Liang, Dong Jiao, and the three friends were all pressed into a corner. Looking out at the steadily growing ranks of Shaolin disciples, the three friends looked disheartened, while Gong Hong laughed with pride and confidence: “You’re done! Hah! You’re done!” Dong Jiao was anxious and, in her慌乱, accidentally displaced a large boulder on the stone wall. At that moment, the stone wall beside her shifted slightly. Was it a mechanism? Dong Jiao couldn't believe it. Just then, Gong Honglai's iron sand palm was coming again. A dead end—only one path remained, and that was a path to death. Yet no one wanted to die. The three close friends, however, were fearless; they faced death with unwavering resolve. Together, they formed a steel fortress with their bodies, shielding their elder brother and the second lady. With careful attention, Dong Jiao rotated the boulder once more without hesitation. A solid thud, and a crack appeared in the stone wall—revealing a stone door, now lifted, several feet high. "Quick! Go in! Go in!" Dong Jiao's voice stirred the three friends from despair, bringing them a sudden ray of hope. They immediately rushed forward, supporting Gao Liang, and swiftly entered. Meanwhile, Dong Jiao herself was in danger, as the stone door was now closing. "Ah-ha! Sweet beauty! You stay right here—perfect! Ah-ha!" Gong Honglai smiled Meng Zhi tiptoeled forward, and Dong Jiao smoothly slipped inside. Gong Hong came, furious, his face turning ashen—damn it, his erection had been triggered, yet the beautiful woman was gone! All his efforts had gone to waste. When Gong Hong went back to imitate Dong Jiao’s action of rotating the pebble, he found the pebble wouldn’t budge. Upon closer inspection, he noticed two characters—“Already Locked!”—emerging from a small hole on the pebble’s outer surface. Damn it, this mechanism had a usage limit—only twice, and it would fail on the third attempt. “Ah! Ah!” Gong Hong shouted wildly. To his team of underlings, he bellowed, “Seal off the Shaolin Temple completely! Cut off all communication between Shaolin and the outside world! This time, I’m going to wipe out Gao Liang clean!” Indeed, visitors to the Shaolin Temple were turned away, and the official announcement spread: “Due to heavy visitor traffic and difficulty in management, visits are temporarily suspended—guests are asked to stop.” "Gong Hong's move really worked—his own actions hadn't been widely reported, instead, several newspapers praised his efforts, saying that in order to protect the thousand-year-old temple of Shaolin, with its rich, brilliant, and profound cultural heritage, this was truly rare among past abbots. Yet Gong Hong, turning to his several senior disciples beneath him, issued a stern command: 'Over the next few days, we must speak through the head of Gao Liang—otherwise, none of you will survive!' The senior disciples nodded in agreement, gathering their disciples and entering the Damo Cave, triggering various mechanisms in their quest to locate Gao Liang and his group. 'Ha! As long as Gao Liang doesn't leave the cave, he'll surely perish within three days—he's been poisoned by the great flower snake, one I specifically arranged! This time, he's definitely gone! Ha! Once Gao Liang is dead, I'll rest easy!' A sly smile played at the corner of Gong Hong's lips. 'Gao Liang, Gao Liang! Remember when you always made me feel embarrassed? This time, I'm determined to eliminate you—completely, thoroughly!' With your death, Hongda's Jade Fist technique will be lost, and my Iron Sand Palm will stand supreme! Hah! I am truly the number one martial artist in the world! Number one! Number one! Hahahaha! The scene shifts to Gao Liang, who, by accident, passes through a mechanism and enters a stone cave—suddenly, the view opens up. Wow! Is this really inside a cave? It's like another world entirely! Inside, there are stone beds, stone stools, stone chairs, flowers, and grass. Clearly, someone has lived here before, though these furnishings have long been unused and are now covered in thick layers of dust. "Ah!" Gao Liang gasps, spitting out a mouthful of blood. Dong Jiao quickly covers his mouth with a silk handkerchief, only to find that the blood is dark and clotted—what a shock! The poisoning is already severe. What now? The three close friends, watching Gao Liang grow weak, are choked with emotion, one by one kneeling down, weeping bitterly and pleading, "Brother, brother! We never thought it would be this one, the flower monk Gong Hong, who would stumble our path to divinity "We won't give up! We'll fight for you and avenge your honor!" Dong Jiao's eyes were glistening with tears as she looked at the man before her, barely breathing, and felt deeply torn. Gao Liang's lips were blackened and swollen high up, and Dong Jiao was utterly bewildered and heartbroken. She rushed to another stone house, weeping uncontrollably, kneeling on the ground and pleading to heaven: "Heaven above, I, Dong Jiao, humbly beg you to open your eyes, display your great power, witness this moment, and bring my husband back to life!" After saying this, she bowed deeply and respectfully. When she rose again, she was astonished to discover something unexpected. "Who is this? Who is this?" She saw a person sitting on a broken stone chair—no, a corpse, having passed away in meditation. The hair was loose, the bones visible, and the clothes covered in dust. Dong Jiao was afraid of encountering the dead and immediately wanted to leave, but then she bumped into something on the table. The object fell to the ground. Dong Jiao picked it up and looked at it. Wow! It was a book. Dong Jiao shook her head. A worn-out book—what could be interesting about it?