Dao Child

Three days later, Dong Lin handed Lu Heng three successfully sprouted Date Spirit Thunderwood seeds.

"So soon? Then doesn't that mean...?"

Lu Heng stared at Dong Lin as if he had seen a ghost.

No matter how much it contained the aura of true intent, it was still only containing it.

Even Lu Heng, who believed so deeply in Dong Lin's outstanding talent, had never imagined that this Junior Brother Dong, who had only just entered the sect,

would truly comprehend true intent in such a short time.

One had to know that Jiang Qingfeng, a genius said to appear in the Thunder Division only once in a century,

had made his master overjoyed after successfully comprehending the True Intent of Thunder at the Foundation Establishment Late Stage.

The entire sect had been shaken by it. The difficulty of comprehending the true intent of Lightning Arts had always ranked among the highest.

Even in a force as powerful as the Heaven Sect, its prodigies generally only comprehended true intent ahead of time after reaching the peak of Foundation Establishment,

when they had begun to touch upon the Golden Core realm,

thereby opening a great Golden Core path.

Dong Lin nodded lightly. "I merely got lucky and comprehended a tiny bit of the surface of true intent."

What Lu Heng did not know was that two months earlier, only half a month after the seeds had reached Dong Lin's hands,

Dong Lin had successfully cultivated the Lightning-Attracting Method to perfection and comprehended the True Intent of Thunder.

If Dong Lin revealed that explosive news, Lu Heng would surely be shocked enough to bite off his tongue.

"Junior Brother, no one else knows about this, right?"

Lu Heng quickly composed himself, glanced around, stepped closer, and asked Dong Lin in a low voice.

"I have not told anyone else." Seeing Senior Brother Lu acting so jumpy and cautious,

Dong Lin asked curiously, "Is there really a need for this, Senior Brother? Didn't Master already know that I had a trace of true intent in my aura?"

"How could that be the same?!" Lu Heng said anxiously in a low voice.

"Come with me. We need to see Master at once."

Thunder Extremity Hall, Thunder Division of Black Mountain

"What?!"

Elder Zheng's cry rang through half of Black Mountain, but he hurriedly covered his own mouth.

He stared at Dong Lin in disbelief for a long while, until Dong Lin broke out in goosebumps.

"Xiao Lin, casually demonstrate something for me," Zheng Huayuan said quietly to Dong Lin.

A Yellow Spirit Earth-Thunder in his hand transformed into a thunder serpent that slithered over Dong Lin's right hand,

its pure True Intent of Thunder faintly radiating an aura of destruction.

"It really is... it really is..."

Elder Zheng's reaction was even more exaggerated than Lu Heng's.

His eyes were fixed on the thunder serpent in Dong Lin's hand without blinking,

staring so hard that his shocked eyeballs seemed about to fall out.

Only after Dong Lin withdrew his Lightning Arts did Elder Zheng slowly recover from what he had just witnessed.

"Xiao Lin, you really are..."

Elder Zheng trailed off, unable to continue.

"Two months ago, didn't my Lightning Arts already faintly contain a trace of true intent? Is it really that astonishing?"

Dong Lin had begun to sense that something was wrong, yet he still asked in confusion.

"Containing it is one thing. There may not be people in the Qi Refining Stage who contain true intent everywhere you turn, but there are more than can be counted on one hand whose names can be named.

The difficult part is turning that trace of containment into true comprehension of true intent. Your Senior Brother Jiang was such a monstrous genius back then,

and his Eight Trigrams Thunderbolt, containing the embryonic form of true intent, suppressed Zhaokong, the candidate Buddhist Son of Baohua Temple, for twenty years.

Yet in the end, he only had a flash of inspiration and suddenly comprehended true intent at the Foundation Establishment Late Stage.

I have lived for several hundred years. Forget hearing of someone comprehending true intent in the Qi Refining Stage—I have never even heard anyone boast such a thing.

Xiao Lin, this matter must absolutely remain secret. I will go see Senior Brother Xuan in a moment.

We must seek the Grand Elder's instructions on this matter. Rumors have always claimed that above the Heaven Sect's Holy Son, there is a secretly nurtured Dao Child.

In truth, this position has been vacant for a very long time. With your talent, Xiao Lin, receiving the sect's full support will not be a problem."

Zheng Huayuan patted Dong Lin's shoulder and spoke with excitement.

"Mm..." Dong Lin hesitated. "This disciple may not necessarily be able to bear such a position. This disciple merely has a little talent in Lightning Arts..."

Zheng Huayuan immediately widened his eyes. "If you count as having merely a little talent, then how are the rest of us supposed to live? On the path of cultivation, what one fights for is that very first place.

Since you have this ability, Xiao Lin, you ought to climb even higher. Don't worry. The Dao Child is cultivated secretly by the sect. Aside from the preferential allocation of resources, there will not be too many other changes."

Dong Lin nodded. "This disciple will obey Master's arrangements."

Zheng Huayuan excitedly ran toward the mountaintop.

"How did I get promoted like I was riding a rocket?" Dong Lin scratched his head. Dong Lin, who had intended to keep a low profile and quietly develop,

had carelessly found himself about to soar straight into the blue clouds, and being accustomed to hiding among the crowd, he was somewhat flustered for a moment.

"From what Master said, it seems the position of Dao Child will not require an announcement to the world or a grand ceremony. That is good enough.

Better to keep a low profile. People fear becoming famous just as pigs fear growing fat."

Dong Lin deeply understood the principle that a tree rising above the forest would be broken by the wind. No matter how monstrous one's talent, before it was transformed into strength, it would forever be useless talent.

Only after one had truly let that talent grow full-feathered through time could one face those ill-intentioned people lurking hungrily in the darkness

and righteously say no.

The cultivation world was as treacherous as rolling clouds and surging waves. Dong Lin had little desire for a position of high authority; the risks were too great, and without corresponding strength,

in a cultivation world where strength reigned supreme, it would only be a castle in the air.

Peach Blossom Retreat, summit of Black Mountain

Sect Master Xuan Sheng lowered his head and carefully examined a rather detailed set of information Zheng Huayuan had delivered.

"The Reforging Spring Method? Chief Steward Dong was harmed by villains because of this?"

"Yes, Senior Brother. We paid a great price to obtain it from the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion. Even the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion is powerless to determine who was plotting this.

The whereabouts of the Heavenly Music King are also unclear. We suspect he has hidden inside a secret realm."

"The Reforging Spring Method is merely an Earth Grade body-tempering spiritual art. There are no fewer than a dozen methods within the sect that can achieve comparable effects.

Who would pay such a great price just for a body-tempering art?"

"It must have been someone in the management of the sects involved in this joint operation, but there are simply too many people involved, spanning dozens of immortal sects and Buddhist temples.

It will be difficult to uncover the truth."

"The Reforging Spring Method seems fairly effective. Chief Steward Dong's child is cultivating very smoothly in the Qi Refining Stage now."

"Senior Brother, Xiao Lin's talent absolutely qualifies him for the position of Dao Child. Should we truly not seek the Grand Elder's instructions?"

"There is no need to trouble the old man. What is too rigid is easily broken. Junior Brother Zheng, you must protect well this talent of comprehending true intent in the Qi Refining Stage.

Even if the Dao Child is nurtured in secret, attentive people may still notice certain clues. Once the identity of Dao Child appears,

the news within the sect will by no means be a wall without cracks. I worry..."

Xuan Sheng trailed off, unable to continue.

"You mean internally?" Zheng Huayuan frowned.

"We cannot rule out the possibility that it was someone inside the sect. Chief Steward Dong was a member of the third-generation Spark Plan, and his file was separately established and kept confidential during the joint operation.

The few external forces capable of obtaining that information have too little likelihood of making a move. We cannot afford not to be on guard. I only fear thieves within the household!"

Xuan Sheng looked somewhat haggard. These days of sealing off the mountain had truly kept him too busy.

Many matters that could originally have been resolved by mobilizing the sect's strength could now only be handled by remaining in the mountains and requesting outside aid.

Chief Steward Dong's murder was merely one among many external disputes and conflicts.

There were several more cases like this that harmed the sect's interests, and most of the culprits remained at large.

The Heaven Sect's hands and feet were temporarily bound; it could not dispatch disciples to capture them, greatly weakening the Heaven Sect's deterrence beyond its borders.

"Having our range of activity restricted is truly troublesome."

Xuan Sheng clasped his hands behind his back and gazed into the distance, his eyes seeming to pass through the obstruction of Heaven Hall and reach beyond the mountain gate.