Zhang Jue looked at the newcomer with a complicated expression. This was his greatest rival, and, in a sense, his senior brother.
Zhang Daoling!
"It's you?" Zhang Jue hesitated for a moment, his expression conflicted, before speaking.
As the saying went, those in the same trade were natural enemies. With two sects spreading their teachings, some friction was inevitable.
Truth be told, he rather envied Zhang Daoling.
Although he had been the first to establish a Taoist sect, his lineage was still nowhere near as orthodox as Zhang Daoling's.
Zhang Daoling was said to be a disciple taken in by Laozi himself, and Laozi was the leader of his faith.
His own religion, along with some of the Taoist religions that had recently emerged, had been founded by combining the contents of the Tao Te Ching with their founders' personal beliefs.
His master had not come to see him for over three hundred years.
Could he really call himself a member of the Daoist Sect when he had never even met Laozi, the founder of its philosophy?
Zhang Jue had once gone to Mount Laojun to pay Laozi a visit, but had failed to see him.
"Why couldn't it be me?" Zhang Daoling said with a smile.
"Do I actually count as a member of the Daoist Sect?" Unable to hold back, Zhang Jue asked, looking at Zhang Daoling with a hint of anticipation.
"No."
"Oh," Zhang Jue replied, a trace of self-mockery in his voice.
Dejected, Zhang Jue said with a bitter, self-mocking smile, "So I was just someone who got lucky."
"Hahahaha!" Zhang Daoling burst out laughing at Zhang Jue's words.
"I knew that was what you were thinking, junior brother."
"Junior brother?" Zhang Jue stared at Zhang Daoling in disbelief.
"Of course. Why else would I have