Hongren acted as if he hadn't heard Wang Wei's words at all, completely ignoring him. How could a high-ranking monk talk about money with others?
After all the eminent monks had received blessings from Hongren, an older, middle-aged man finally stepped forward…
The other person looked to be in his fifties or sixties, and even with the passage of time, it was still clear that he must have been a handsome man in his youth…
He strode up to Master Hongren, clasped his hands together, and bowed, awaiting Hongren's blessing...
When Hongren indicated that it was alright, the middle-aged man finally looked up and thanked Hongren…
But just as he turned to leave, he saw two young men beside Hongren, which made him wonder if they were the new novice monks recruited by Master Hongren.
His gaze swept across Wang Wei's face, inwardly praising him as quite handsome, before turning to Wang Yinchen...
Once his gaze fell on Wang Yinchen, he couldn't look away...
A flicker of excitement crossed his eyes; perhaps sensing the other's emotions, Hongren clasped his hands together and said...
"Amitabha Buddha, please take a seat, benefactor. The arising and ceasing of causes and conditions will eventually have an answer..."
Upon hearing Master Hongren's words, the other party finally came to his senses and quickly apologized.
"I'm sorry, Master, I lost my composure..."
Wang Wei and Wang Yinchen were puzzled by his gaze, but neither of them thought much of it...
After Master Hongren bestowed blessings, the Buddhist banquet began. Hongren naturally sat in the highest position and began to preach the Dharma to everyone present. The monks listened with rapt attention, except for Wang Wei and Wang Yinchen, who seemed unmoved. Moreover, no one else touched their chopsticks; only Wang Wei was frantically showing off his food…
His behavior caught the attention of the abbot of Xiangguo Temple, who couldn't help but ask the young novice monk behind him to remind him to be mindful of his image...
The abbot was puzzled as to why Hongren had brought two young men to the Buddhist banquet alone, and simply felt that the two were incredibly rude…
Upon the young novice's reminder, Wang Wei nodded in agreement. Although he ate more quietly, he still showed no intention of stopping to listen to Hongren's Buddhist teachings, continuing to eat heartily...
"Ding! The Buddha Banquet Meal Card has been successfully used, and you have received a random reward, the 'Inseparable' Card!"
Upon hearing this reward, Wang Wei was somewhat bewildered. He already had a harem binding card; he didn't seem to need this...
However, when he saw that the "Intimate Bond" card could be used on others, his eyes lit up. This was like a godsend! This thing would be incredibly useful today. Unfortunately, if used on someone else, the card's effect would only last for a month, not permanently. But that was enough…
Thinking of this, Wang Wei smiled slightly, but then the mechanical voice rang in his mind once again.
"Congratulations, host, on completing the task of using ten free meal cards. You have received a hundredfold asset reward, a heavenly voice reward, and a mastery of Buddhist teachings reward. The free meal task has been fully upgraded to the free meal system. The host can earn points by using free meals, and these points can be spent within the system..."
Tasks are divided into main tasks, side tasks, triggered tasks, and recurring tasks...
The first main quest involves freeloading meals and offerings at a state funeral. The quest rewards 1000 points and also introduces a recurring quest where you receive a random reward every ten free meals…
When the system's voice stopped, Wang Wei was overjoyed. This was a hundredfold increase in assets! Did that mean I had over 170 billion in cash?
And after the meal card was upgraded to a system, the entire panel changed...
He previously possessed the ability to view loyalty levels, and now loyalty has been transformed into a progress bar, displaying the amount of points required to increase the loyalty of Hu Li and his associates…
This also means that he can gain 100% loyal followers simply by spending points, and he can even turn enemies into his absolute supporters...
And this recurring quest is a godsend! He received a random reward of five centimeters, and after practicing reverse parking with Wang Yinchen, he regretted using it on his height. Now he can go around mooching meals to farm this reward...
It was exciting just thinking about it, but he couldn't help but laugh out loud, which immediately brought Hongren's sermon to a halt...
"Amitabha Buddha, since you are unwilling to listen, please leave and do not disturb others..."
Although the host's words were calm, it was clear that he was trying to drive Wang Wei away...
"Leave? Why leave?"
Wang Wei then came to his senses and subconsciously replied…
Before the host could speak, the middle-aged man said domineeringly.
"Someone like you doesn't deserve to stay here and listen to Buddha Hongren preach. Get out of here..."
"Buddha said all beings are equal, why am I not worthy?"
Wang Wei wasn't going to tolerate that and retorted directly...
"In such a solemn and respectful setting, you made a loud noise and disturbed others. Isn't that enough? The high monks here are merely mindful of their status and unwilling to stoop to your level, but that doesn't mean they don't want to remove you from this place..."
The other person glared at him without hesitation and replied...
"The Buddha's purpose in being in the human realm is simply to teach all beings to awaken to the same wisdom as the Buddha, and to teach them to have the same nature as the Buddha, so that they can all cultivate compassion and wisdom. If you can cultivate, why can't I?"
Wang Wei's words stunned everyone. They thought to themselves that this kid spoke with great conviction, and that Buddhism seemed quite profound...
"Amitabha Buddha, you do not understand the Dharma, yet you are discussing it here. How ridiculous!"
A high-ranking monk clasped his hands together and retorted…
“What the eminent monk said is very true, but I have a different view. The essence of Buddhism lies in practice. Understanding is the means, while practice is the substance. If you can understand but not practice, all you will cultivate in your life is good fortune, not merit. If you can understand and practice, good fortune will turn into merit. Is that right?”
Upon hearing Wang Wei's answer, the high monk immediately fell silent. Several other high monks then tried to persuade Wang Wei to reconsider using Buddhist teachings, but to their astonishment, Wang Wei consistently managed to silence them with profound Buddhist wisdom…
This Buddhist banquet unexpectedly turned into a one-man Buddhist education conference by Wang Wei…
Even Hongren couldn't help but take a second look, finding Wang Wei increasingly difficult to understand...
Wang Wei's words were sharp and incisive, leaving all the eminent monks speechless. He concluded with the Buddha's words: "Observe the heavens and earth, contemplate the impermanent; observe the world, contemplate the impermanent; observe spiritual awareness, that is Bodhi. With such knowledge, one will quickly attain enlightenment."
Everyone was stunned on the spot. The high monks went from initial disgust to dissatisfaction, then to silence, and finally to respect. The entire transformation took less than an hour.
"Amitabha Buddha, thank you for your guidance, Layman Wang..."
Hongren clasped his hands together and said with admiration in his voice…
This made Wang Wei somewhat smug, thinking to himself, "Didn't you all look down on me? Now you've proven me wrong, haven't you? The way you're addressing me has changed from 'benefactor' to 'layman,' which means these high-ranking monks acknowledge me..."
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