Zodiac Guardian

Although it's not the first new book update, there are three updates today. This is the second chapter, and the next one will be updated before 9 pm. Please add to your favorites, vote, thank you.

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A strange energy surged from the young monk's finger into Qi Yue. Qi Yue shivered violently as if he had been electrocuted. The intangible energy starting from its appearance had left him somewhat stupefied, and the finger that the monk suddenly pointed out made Qi Yue inexplicably horrified.

"Look at yourself." the young monk stepped back.

Qi Yue instinctively looked down and saw the black patterns gradually emerging on his flat chest. Accompanied by it was a faint silver light. The spiral black and silver horns looked so imposing and handsome that Qi Yue was completely stunned. "What is this?"

At this moment, it's not just Qi Yue who was surprised. A surprised look flashed in the eyes of the young monk as well, "Mo Kirin? It's actually Mo Kirin? When I just met you, I was prepared for the worst, but fate seems to have played a huge joke on me. You turned out to be the strongest among the Kirin tribe - Mo Kirin. I never expected Mo Kirin to be born in this generation."

Qi Yue was still looking at his chest. The clear black monster had a pair of silver eyes, seemingly looking back at him. A sense of blood and flesh connection suddenly filled Qi Yue's body with strength. To his surprise, his muscles seemed to have swelled a bit, and the previous fatigue from walking in the temple had disappeared. Although he was bare-chested, he didn't feel cold anymore.

The young monk took a deep breath and said: "Now can you calm down and listen to me?"

Qi Yue raised his head. Looking at the young monk, his eyes flickered with complex emotions, revealing a bitter smile. "As a child, my biggest wish was to become someone extraordinary. It seems that this wish is about to come true. Although it feels like a dream, I won't run away. The fate that is about to come is like a bandit raping a beauty. Since there is no choice, the only thing left is to try to embrace its beauty. But first, I want to hear your introduction, you definitely are not a common monk."

After hearing Qi Yue's analogy, the young monk was left speechless. "Your conversations seem to be inseparable from women." Even though he was a bit dissatisfied, the intangible restraint around Qi Yue's body was lifted.

Qi Yue chuckled, "Since there are men and women in the world, it's natural to attract each other. Go on, who exactly are you? Then I'll listen to your story. But frankly, I don't know much about Tibetan Buddhism. Maybe even after you tell me, I still won't understand your identity, but I want to hear it."

The young monk smiled faintly, "Although the Holy Buddha Temple is not as prestigious as the Potala Palace in Tibet, it has its own special place. Only the most devout lamas practice here. More than a decade ago, when the most reputable master here passed away, I was just an ordinary child. He chose me to inherit his mantle and gave me his most precious scripture collection. In a sense, you can understand it as me being the host of this Holy Buddha Temple." After a pause, he looked into Qi Yue's eyes and continued in a deep voice, "Thus, I am merely a disciple of Buddha who has been diligently cultivating since childhood. We practitioners take a light view of the outside world, reputations etc., are all illusions. Therefore, I naturally don't have a famous title that you would recognize to prove the truth of what I said. As a monk, the best explanation I can give is that monks do not lie."

"So, you're in charge of such a large temple? Alright, you continue." This time, Qi Yue was truly surprised. Looking at the mysterious young monk in front of him, he actually believed in him. Although the monk was about the same age as him, he felt that he was like a vast ocean, able to embrace everything.

The young monk smiled faintly, and said, "You can call me Zagru. I just mentioned 'Kylin', so you must have guessed, this pattern on your body that looks like a tattoo, is a Kylin. Actually, it's not a tattoo, but a symbol that has been sleeping in your blood, or you could say, the Kirin Bloodline. The Kylin is a celestial creature, considered the chief of all beasts, symbolizing auspiciousness and peace. There are many types of Kylins, ordinary Kylins have golden fur and silver bodies, but you are different, you're the most special and powerful type, the Mo Kirin. To my knowledge, you are the first human in history to inherit the Mo Kirin bloodline."

"Mo Kirin? You're saying I'm a Mo Kirin? Kylins can fly, right? If I become a real Kylin, does that mean I can fly? This thing is all black though, but it's still pretty cool." As he was speaking, Qi Yue looked at the tattoo on his chest with satisfaction, "I've wanted to get a tattoo for a long time. I used to see in movies, the Azure Dragon on the left, the White Tiger on the right, with the Old Bull in the middle, it was so cool!"

Zagru stared at him wide-eyed and said, "You're actually comparing the Mo Kirin bloodline with those kinds of thug tattoos? Never mind, it's just your nature, let's get to the point." He was afraid that if he kept talking to this guy in front of him, his own Buddhist nature would diminish too much.

"In our east, there has always been a group of real guardians. Although their numbers are not many, they all carry the ancient mission inherited from before, that is, to guard our eastern land, free from evil and foreign invasion. And these guardians are led by twelve warriors representing the twelve earthly branches."

"Wait a minute, what are the twelve earthly branches?" Qi Yue's curious eyes made Zagru halt in his speech.

"You... you don't even know the twelve earthly branches? I'm really ashamed that you're a descendant of Yan Huang. If you don't know about the twelve earthly branches, surely you've heard about the twelve zodiac signs. These twelve warriors are the Zodiac Guardians, each representing one of the zodiac signs. They possess abilities according to their attributes, being not only powerful warriors but also defenders of the East."

Qi Yue suddenly realized, "So that's what it is. I know about the twelve zodiac signs. I learned them back in elementary school, aren't they the Rat, Ox, and so on?"

Zagru forced himself to not look at Qi Yue like he was an idiot, and said reluctantly, "You can say that. The twelve zodiac signs are the Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Pig. And the twelve words Zi, Chou, Yin, Mao, Chen, Si, Wu, Wei, Shen, You, Xu, Hai that correspond to the twelve zodiac signs are the twelve earthly branches. Forget it, you still won't understand even if I explain it to you. You just need to know that the Twelve Zodiac Guardians have always been guarding our East, that's enough."

"So, how does this relate to me? I was born in the Year of the Monkey, so, are you saying that I am one of these twelve guardians or what?" Qi Yue was getting interested, at least the title 'Zodiac Guardian' sounded quite impressive.

Zagru shook his head and said, "Of course not. Even I, in my search for the once-in-a-millennium Twelve Zodiac Guardians, can only rely on luck, and so far I've only met three. The greatest difficulty when the Twelve Zodiac Guardians appear every thousand years, is gathering them together. Only when they are all in one place, complementing each other, can they exert their full strength as Zodiac Guardians and have the complete power to protect the East. Therefore, in addition to the Twelve Zodiac Guardians, there is also a leader who has the mission of commanding the Zodiac Guardians and gathering them together. He is also the leader of all Eastern Guardians." As he spoke, Zagru's gaze fell on the lifelike black beast on Qi Yue's chest.

Qi Yue exclaimed, "Are you saying that I am that person who commands the twelve zodiac guardians and has to guard something in the East? Is that the same person you've been calling Kylin? Aren't Kylins just creatures of legend?"

Zagru sighed lightly and said, "Actually, many records in the Yan Huang mythology are based on reality. The Kylin does exist, and you are someone who possesses the Kirin Bloodline, the Mo Kirin pattern on your body is the best proof. Even before you came here, when you were still on the train, I had sensed the aura of your Kirin Bloodline. Using my Buddha's Power, I met you and do you remember that dream? In that dream, I used my Buddha's Power as a guide to wake up your sleeping Kirin Bloodline. That's why you slept for so long, because your body needed time to nourish after receiving the Kirin Bloodline. I brought you here to help you fully awaken your Kirin bloodline, this awakening process, whether it is in the Twelve Zodiac Guardians or in the King of Guardians, the Kylin, it is all called the Initial Awakening."