How could Kong Xuan be any ordinary person? He had evaded Taiyi Zhenren's senses and brought him to the outskirts of Chaoge City without a sound.
But now, he was in too deep to back out. If he didn't fight, how could he save face?
Since he had no way out, Taiyi Zhenren could only give it everything he had.
He raised a hand and pointed. A magic treasure appeared: his prized Nine Dragons Divine Fire Cover.
In the next instant, flames soared into the sky. Nine fire dragons coiled around the cover, darting up and down as they spewed blazing fire.
These were no ordinary flames, but Samadhi True Fire—so fierce it could burn the heavens and boil the seas.
Taiyi Zhenren pointed, and the Nine Dragons Divine Fire Cover shot into the air, hurtling toward Kong Xuan.
He had already held nothing back in bringing out such a powerful treasure. It was enough to show how seriously he took Kong Xuan.
Kong Xuan remained expressionless. Five streaks of light appeared behind him: green, yellow, red, white, and black.
As the Nine Dragons Divine Fire Cover rushed toward him, a flash of red light swept out, and the treasure disappeared into it.
Taiyi Zhenren was aghast. In that instant, he had completely lost his connection to the Nine Dragons Divine Fire Cover.
It was as if the treasure had sunk into the sea. No matter how he called to it, it gave no response.
What kind of divine ability was this? His prized treasure had been snatched away in a single exchange?
Before he could recover from his shock, yellow light swept toward him. He had no chance to fight back before he was drawn into it.
At the same time, Kong Xuan and Taiyi Zhenren vanished, leaving only Zi Shou and Li Jing behind.
"Whether your third son becomes someone's disciple ultimately depends on what you want. I won't force you," Zi Shou said.
Of course, Li Jing's choice now would directly affect how Zi Shou treated him in the future.
"I'll leave it entirely to Your Majesty," Li Jing said.
He understood now. Between Taiyi Zhenren and the King, he had to choose a side.
"Good! Then let the outcome of this battle decide. Whoever wins will take your third son as his disciple!"
A satisfied smile crossed Zi Shou's face. Li Jing hadn't let him down; he had made the right choice.
As for who would win, was there really any suspense?
In just a moment, Kong Xuan reappeared, holding the immobilized Taiyi Zhenren.
Li Jing stared in disbelief. One of the Twelve Golden Immortals of Chanjiao had not only lost, but had been defeated that quickly?
Taiyi Zhenren looked just as bewildered. He couldn't understand how he had lost, either.
He was one of the Twelve Golden Immortals of Chanjiao. How could he have been defeated so quickly?
A flash of light, and his supreme treasure, the Nine Dragons Divine Fire Cover, was gone?
Another flash of light, and he was subdued?
Wasn't this a little too outrageous?
Though many mighty figures kept themselves hidden in the Primordial World, some of them were truly terrifying.
But how could some powerful stranger he'd never heard of defeat him so quickly?
"The winner has been decided. It seems you and this child aren't destined to be master and disciple, Daoist," Zi Shou said.
There had never been any suspense. It would have been strange if Kong Xuan hadn't been able to subdue Taiyi Zhenren.
"Hmph! I was outmatched. I have nothing to say," Taiyi Zhenren said darkly.
He had been defeated in a single exchange. What more could he say?
"In that case, safe travels, Daoist. I won't see you out," Zi Shou said with a smile.
At his signal, Kong Xuan released Taiyi Zhenren from his restraint.
Taiyi Zhenren turned and left at once. He had lost face completely; how could he bear to stay?
He set off for Qianyuan Mountain, but as he walked, something began to feel wrong.
He hadn't come to take a disciple for appearances alone. It also concerned the Great Calamity to come.
Now that he had failed to take one, how was he supposed to explain himself to his master?
At the thought, he wanted to turn around immediately, return to Chaoge City, and seize his disciple.
But when he remembered Kong Xuan, he wisely gave in.
He couldn't win—not a chance. What would going back accomplish?
With that, he could only turn toward the Jade Void Palace on Mount Kunlun.
When he reached the Jade Void Palace, he immediately sought an audience with his master to report what had happened in Chaoge City.
But his master had just left for the boundless Chaos and wasn't in the Jade Void Palace.
With no other option, Taiyi Zhenren had to seek the Twelve Golden Immortals of Chanjiao and discuss what to do.
Whatever happened, losing face himself was a small matter. Chanjiao's face could not be allowed to suffer.
Besides, Nezha was destined to be his disciple. No one could change that!
"Your Majesty, my third son still has no name. Would you grant him one?" Li Jing asked expectantly.
After his initial shock, his heart was now full of delight.
Who was Kong Xuan? Li Jing didn't really know.
But anyone who could easily subdue Taiyi Zhenren, one of the Twelve Golden Immortals of Chanjiao, had to possess extraordinary cultivation.
What was more, Kong Xuan was the Grand Preceptor of Great Shang. How exalted was his position?
Li Jing couldn't have wished for anything more than to have his child become Kong Xuan's disciple.
"Your eldest son is called Jin Zha, and your second son is called Mu Zha. Why not name your third son Nezha?" Zi Shou said.
Nezha was still Nezha, but his fate had already changed.
On the way back to the palace, Kong Xuan asked, "Why did Your Majesty let Taiyi Zhenren go?"
If not for the King's prior instruction, Taiyi Zhenren would already be dead. He would never have made it out of Chaoge.
"Taiyi Zhenren is a personal disciple of a Sage. Killing him would bring us a great deal of trouble!"
Seeing the disdain on Kong Xuan's face, Zi Shou could only shake his head inwardly.
How could he not know that Chanjiao's greatest trait was protecting its own? If you struck down a junior, an elder would come after you.
If Kong Xuan killed Taiyi Zhenren, Yuanshi Tianzun, the Sage, would likely intervene in person.
No matter how powerful Kong Xuan was, he was still an ant in the presence of a Sage!
"The Daoist arts I'm proficient in aren't suited to that child's cultivation," Kong Xuan said.
Though he wasn't exactly part of the Yao Race, he was a Primordial Being, and his cultivation methods naturally differed greatly from those of the Human Race.
More importantly, given Kong Xuan's temperament, he truly didn't want to teach a three-year-old child.
"That's easy enough. You can take the title of his master, and I'll teach Nezha myself," Zi Shou said.
He knew that Nezha had deep ties to Chanjiao and was destined to become a Third Generation Disciple of Exposition Sect.
But whether Taiyi Zhenren and Chanjiao would let the matter rest or not, Nezha was in Chaoge City now.
If Zi Shou raised him from childhood and instilled the right values in him, would Nezha still let Chanjiao manipulate him in the future?
As it happened, after he unlocked the Second Layer of the Human Emperor, he had gained another chance to pass on a legacy.
What would Nezha become after being taught by Zi Shou from childhood and receiving the Human Emperor's legacy?
By the next morning, preparations for the Imperial Expedition were complete, and Zi Shou issued the order.
He would lead the army himself, with Kong Xuan and Li Jing accompanying him. Prince Yin Jiao would govern in his absence, while Grand Tutor Wen Zhong would assist him.
After Morning Court, he set out with Kong Xuan and Li Jing, traveling light as they hurried north toward the North Sea.
Yet when the officials came to see them off, many wondered why a three-year-old child was at the King's side.
The child was, of course, Nezha. Since Zi Shou was heading to the North Sea, how could he leave Nezha in Chaoge City?
It went without saying that if Nezha stayed behind, Taiyi Zhenren would have spirited him away by the time Zi Shou returned.
Compared with the rest of Great Shang, the North Sea was remote, harsh, and home to a fierce people.
Compared with Great Shang's Four Lords, the Seventy-Two Route Lords of the North Sea were little more than minor lords.
And yet Grand Tutor Wen had spent more than a decade suppressing these minor lords before finally managing to pacify them.
Zhang Guifang was a seasoned veteran of the battlefield, yet he had suffered a crushing defeat in the North Sea, allowing the Seventy-Two Route Lords of the North Sea to seize cities and territory.
How could the mere Seventy-Two Route Lords of the North Sea be so capable?
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