Two months later...
The Jade Toad quietly broke through to the mid-grade of the first tier.
This also meant Li Shuidao had entered the middle stage of the Spirit Channeling Realm.
That was an astonishingly rapid improvement...
Normally, even with a Spiritual Object for nourishment, breaking through to the middle stage of the Spirit Channeling Realm took at least a year.
It was all because Wang Xuanfeng had insisted on giving him a golden scorpion.
In the Five Elements, metal generates water. It was truly a great tonic.
Four months of feeding it metal-attributed insects, a golden scorpion on the verge of a breakthrough, and twelve packets of Purple Poison Powder.
Nourished by Spiritual Objects, it was like adding oil to a blazing fire.
Helping the Jade Toad break through a minor realm had been child's play.
Li Shuidao had reached the middle stage of the Spirit Channeling Realm in just half a year.
This...
Was hard to explain.
If Li Shuidao revealed his mana, anyone would know he had swallowed the golden scorpion. After a few questions, the deaths of Wang Xuanfeng and Wang Tiankun would surely come to light.
What if the Golden-Faced Gentleman accused him of betraying his master and forcibly confiscated his Spirit Companion? What should he do then?
He had to keep this secret...
At the very least, he had to wait two more years before revealing that he possessed mana.
By then, he would be sixteen—not so young that he would seem too eager to show off.
But if he concealed his progress, he would be unable to learn Taoist arts from his master and senior brothers and sisters. What use was mana if he had no skills to wield it?
Li Shuidao gazed at the water-blue mana flowing across his palms and fell into deep thought.
Suddenly,
he sensed someone approaching and immediately withdrew his mana.
Since advancing to the middle stage of the Spirit Channeling Realm, Li Shuidao's senses had grown sharper. Within ten paces, he could detect even a falling leaf.
Knock, knock, knock...
Someone rapped on the courtyard gate.
Li Shuidao hurried to open it. Standing outside was a heroic-looking man dressed in a Wide Black Robe.
It was none other than Senior Disciple Brother Ren Jichuan.
Li Shuidao bowed respectfully. "Senior Disciple Brother, you've come."
Ren Jichuan nodded and replied with a smile, "Master is looking for you. Go to the main hall."
Li Shuidao's heart tightened. He immediately asked, "Is something the matter?"
Ren Jichuan shook his head and said mysteriously, "Master didn't say. You'll find out when you get there."
Li Shuidao felt rather uneasy. He had been in the sect for half a year, yet he had barely seen the Golden-Faced Gentleman. He had no idea why his master had summoned him now.
Could something have gone wrong with the matter of Wang Tiankun?
When he reached the main hall, he was surprised to find his clan uncle, Li Tianliang, there as well.
His clan brother Li Shuilang, who should have been busy in the kitchen, was also in the hall, standing respectfully to one side, his cheeks flushed.
Li Shuidao hurried forward and saluted. "Master, your disciple Shuidao pays his respects."
The Golden-Faced Gentleman nodded.
"Doctor Li, you're here too?" Li Shuidao then turned and saluted Li Tianliang.
Li Tianliang smiled and nodded. "Shuidao, I've come especially for a happy occasion. The clan has already arranged a marriage for you and Shuilang."
So soon?
Li Shuidao stared at him in astonishment.
When he'd woken up that morning and discovered, to his shock, that he possessed mana, he must have worn much the same expression.
The Golden-Faced Gentleman smiled. "Your clan uncle and I have already discussed it. Someone needs to tend the Spirit Fields and work in the kitchen, so I grant you both half a year off. You'll take turns returning home to marry and have children. Discuss between yourselves who goes first."
Gulp...
Li Shuidao swallowed.
"Shuidao, don't worry. The wives the clan has arranged for you are all lovely. The matchmaker has verified that every one of them is a virgin, and they're all capable homemakers from well-mannered families," Li Tianliang said, stroking his beard.
"Hahahaha... A man should marry when he's grown, just as a woman should marry when she's grown. It's only right," the Golden-Faced Gentleman said with a hearty laugh.
Li Tianliang agreed. "Exactly. Life must go on, generation after generation. Getting married and having children is the most important thing in life. Only after that's done can you cultivate without any lingering worries."
Li Shuidao felt conflicted. At a time like this, he actually wanted to return to the clan. The second floor of the Li Family's Library Pavilion surely held Taoist arts.
The Li Family had deep foundations and an exceptionally rich collection of books. Besides the Five Poisons Sect's Taoist arts, it also held a great many arts from the Azure Sea Sect.
Li Shuidao could return to the clan and find an art to cultivate first. Then, two years later, he could tell his master that he had reached the middle stage of the Spirit Channeling Realm and receive his master's personal guidance in the Five Poisons Sect's Taoist arts.
It was an excellent plan...
But he didn't want to marry, much less have children.
Love was a chain; family affection was an even heavier shackle.
Once those chains were fastened around him, Li Shuidao would be constrained at every turn.
Even Li Tianjue, who cared nothing for the clan, had taken his wife and children away before daring to unleash a calamity that shook the heavens.
But could family ties really be severed?
His father, Li Haoshan; his mother, Madam Jiang; and his two younger siblings were still there.
Those bonds had long since become impossible to cut...
Since that was the case, he might as well rely on the clan to swiftly increase his strength and build up his trump cards.
He could get married!
A wife, a woman—she was no more than a garment.
If the clan wanted to tie him down with a woman, he would accept this sugar-coated cannonball and put the clan at ease.
As for children...
He absolutely could not have any!
If he really had a child, the clan's chains and shackles would tighten around his neck, and he would become a slave, too afraid to rebel until the day he died.
But avoiding children would be easy enough. After all, the initiative was in his hands.
If all else failed, he'd just keep it to kissing!
Half a year was plenty of time to pore over books and cultivate Taoist arts.
At that thought, a smile tugged at Li Shuidao's lips, and a blush rose to his cheeks.
Aside from his initial astonishment and hesitation, his expression now was almost identical to Li Shuilang's.
That was youth!
Neither of them had turned fifteen yet. They were at that age of innocent ignorance—how could they not think about women?
"In that case, which of you will return first to marry and have children?" the Golden-Faced Gentleman asked.
"Me first!" Li Shuidao and Li Shuilang said almost simultaneously.
"Hahahaha..." The Golden-Faced Gentleman and Li Tianliang burst out laughing together.
"You two..." Watching them compete over who would get to marry and have children first, Li Tianliang couldn't help but chuckle.
That was how a clan carried on its line...
"Let's do this... Li Shuidao, you'll stay here with Master a little longer. Shuilang was born more than a month before you, so he's your elder brother. There should be an order of seniority when it comes to marriage and children," Li Tianliang said solemnly.
"But... can I escort my elder brother home?" Li Shuidao asked awkwardly.
"No! Do you think my Spirit Fields don't need tending? There's no need to discuss this further. It's settled. In half a year, you'll take Shuilang's place and return to the clan to marry," the Golden-Faced Gentleman said.
"This disciple obeys." Li Shuidao could only clasp his hands and reply with regret.
The Golden-Faced Gentleman saw Li Tianliang and Li Shuilang off. Li Shuidao went alone to the kitchen to prepare dinner for the people of the sect.
Just as Li Shuidao was drawing water and washing vegetables with a long face, Senior Disciple Brother Ren Jichuan arrived with a young disciple.
"Junior Brother, this is Han Longguang, the disciple Master just took in. From now on, he'll take over your kitchen duties. You can focus on tending Master's Spirit Fields," Ren Jichuan announced.
"Thank you, Senior Disciple Brother. Junior Brother Han! Come over here," Li Shuidao said, delighted.
Han Longguang obediently came up to Li Shuidao and clasped his hands respectfully. "Greetings, Senior Brother Li."
"Don't worry, Junior Brother Han. Your senior brother will take good care of you. Come... I'll teach you the art of cooking, step by step," Li Shuidao said happily.
"Um... I know how," Han Longguang said with a smile.
That evening,
everyone ate together in the dining hall, whispering among themselves.
"This tastes much better."
"The two Li brothers never used to add salt to their cooking."
"As expected of the Han Family, a clan of master cooks. It took Master quite some effort to recruit him."
Li Shuidao: "..."
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