Reactions varied from one faction to another.
Some were wary, some fearful, and some delighted.
In the north, on the frontier of Liang Province, stood a humble teahouse.
It was late autumn. A cold wind swept up withered leaves and sent them swirling through the open wooden door.
There were few people inside, mostly merchants and porters stopping to rest on their journeys. Wrapped in thick padded coats, they held bowls of coarse tea, ate the dry provisions they had brought, and spoke quietly about what they had seen along the road.
In a corner, an old man in a faded blue robe occupied a small table alone.
He was thin, with a lean face etched deeply by wind and frost. Only his half-lidded eyes occasionally betrayed an almost imperceptible flash of brilliance.
His Daoist name was Guhongzi.
He also held another distinction: he had reached innately great perfection and was the foremost rogue cultivator in Liang Province.
Guhongzi slowly sipped the weak, coarse tea in his bowl, while his ears clearly caught the conversation of several cultivators across the room.
The strongest among them had only reached qi and blood great accomplishment. Two dressed like southerners were speaking in hushed voices, their faces animated as they shared news from the south.
"Have you heard? That Li Family in Yang Province down south has produced another Divine Mansion Venerable!"
"The Yang Province Li Clan? The one that produced a twenty-nine-year-old Divine Mansion Venerable a few years ago?"
The man dressed like a northerner exclaimed in shock.
"That's the one."
"Good heavens, that's absurd! It's only been a few years since that man advanced to the Divine Mansion Realm, and now they've produced another? Two Divine Mansion Venerables under one roof! The Yang Province Li Clan is something else!"
"Something else?