Li Dao nodded and joined the children waiting to take their medicinal baths.
When they saw him approach, the children, who had been chattering among themselves, all greeted him.
The reason was simple: having lived two lives, Li Dao was naturally far more mature than these children.
Besides, his strength far surpassed that of his peers.
This made him the undisputed king of the children in Golden Feather Village.
And with the extraordinary abilities Li Dao had displayed, even children older than him willingly followed his lead.
It certainly had nothing to do with the intimidating sight of him joining the hunting party at four years old and carrying back a Red Flame Savage Bull on one shoulder.
Li Dao nodded to them, his face full of smiles.
These were all his clansmen, the strength that would protect Golden Feather Village after he left.
"Brother Dao, this medicinal bath looks several shades darker this time. Won't it make us burst?"
A little boy beside Li Dao asked nervously, snot dangling from his nose.
Golden Feather Village held three baptisms: at three, six, and twelve years old.
He could hardly be blamed for asking. During the previous baptism, although the medicinal liquid had been rich in divine essence, it had still been pale red.
This time, however, it had turned dark brown. Even from a distance, they could feel the dense aura of essence it gave off.
The immense medicinal potency had nearly made him burst during the last baptism. This one was even fiercer, so he had asked Li Dao.
Before Li Dao could answer, the little girl on his other side spoke first:
"Snot-nose, isn't that a good thing?"
"My mom said the more divine essence we absorb, the stronger our foundation will be. Then we can become as powerful as Brother Dao!"
"You're not scared, are you?"
Snot-nose immediately bristled. How could he stand being called scared by a girl?
He immediately craned his neck and said:
"Er Ya, what do you mean, I'm scared?"
"We'll see who comes out first. I'm definitely going to last a long time!"
"And stop calling me Snot-nose. I'm Li Kaixin! My mom said she wanted me to always be happy!"
His words stirred the other children's competitive spirits, and they declared:
"Whoever comes out last will be our second big brother!"
"It's settled, then!"
"I'm going to fight for that spot too!"
Li Dao listened beside them without interrupting. It was a good thing if their competitive spirits encouraged them to absorb more divine essence.
The commotion naturally drew the adults' attention, and they all began cheering the children on.
"Snot-nose, show some manly spirit! Don't let a little girl beat you!"
"Er Ya, hold out until the end, and you'll be our second big brother! Show them what you're made of."
"..."
Li Kai smiled and shook his head without saying anything more. The lively scene filled his heart with warmth.
He took a small jade bottle from inside his robe and carefully pulled out its stopper. A thick scent of blood immediately spread through the entire gathering.
As he tilted the little jade bottle, an amber-colored drop of blood, brimming with a primordial wilderness aura and shedding wisps of golden light, fell toward the medicinal cauldron.
It was a drop of blood left behind by a Vermilion Bird, a primordial remnant, which he had obtained by chance.
Although it was not the Vermilion Bird's blood essence, the energy within it rivaled the blood of some pureblood creatures.
The instant it fell into the medicinal cauldron, the dark brown treasure liquid turned scarlet.
Rather than a cauldron of treasure liquid, it looked like a cauldron of endlessly boiling magma.
"Screee-!"
In the next instant, a large bird, scarlet from head to toe, flew out of the cauldron's crimson magma.
Streaks of flame streamed from between its scarlet wings.
Within moments of its appearance, the surrounding temperature rose sharply.
At the sight of the Vermilion Bird's figure, Li Dao's expression changed.
A trace of gravity entered his eyes. His body shuddered, and the pressure emanating from his physique instantly intensified.
Blood and qi surged through his meridians like smoke from a beacon fire, threaded with strands of divine radiance.
"Rootless duckweed, yet you dare run wild!"
Just as he was about to act, he heard the village chief roar.
Three cave heavens rose behind the village chief, vast and blazing like great suns, with three volcanoes erupting within them.
Vital essence surged through his body like rolling magma.
Golden light flashed in Li Kai's eyes. He brought his palm down, and the Vermilion Bird phantom soaring wantonly through the air recoiled as though struck by lightning.
It instantly dissolved into wisps of divine essence and fell into the medicinal cauldron.
Ignoring the villagers' awestruck gazes, he spoke in a deep voice:
"Everyone, enter the cauldrons in order!"
Seeing that the little brats behind him were still lost in the shock of the village chief's attack,
Li Dao stepped forward first and approached the medicinal cauldron into which the Vermilion Bird had fallen.
The village chief had prepared this one especially for him according to an ancient recipe. Its concentration of divine essence was more than a hundred times that of the other nine cauldrons.
It was not a matter of unequal treatment. Li Dao required dozens of times more energy than an ordinary person. It would already be impressive if those children could absorb all the energy in their respective cauldrons.
Besides, Li Dao's parents had passed away early, and the village chief had raised him, so naturally he was somewhat partial to him.
Otherwise, he would never have brought out a treasure like Vermilion Bird blood.
Li Dao nodded to Grandpa Village Chief.
Looking at the treasure liquid, through which fine golden threads occasionally swam, he could not help swallowing.
He was not nervous, but rather eager.
Splash-
He leaped into the cauldron. Li Kai reacted just as swiftly and immediately put the lid on.
Seeing Li Dao lead the charge, the other children gritted their teeth and headed straight for their own medicinal cauldrons.
Splash, splash, splash-
For a moment, splashes rang out everywhere. Yet scarcely a few breaths later, wails like howling ghosts and wolves began rising from the cauldrons.
The moment they entered, they forgot every last one of their bold declarations.
"Hurry and let me out! I'm going to be cooked alive!!"
"It's so hot! I want to go home! Waaaah!"
"Mommy, I'm going to be cooked alive!"
"Urgh, no, no! My body's going to burst!"
"..."
Hearing their own children's wails from the medicinal cauldrons, those waiting outside
could not help covering their faces.
Before going in, the children had acted as though heaven ranked first, earth second, and they came next. Barely any time had passed, and they were already howling.
Still, there was nothing to be done. They were their own little ones, after all, so they could only cheer them on through the thick cauldron walls.
From time to time, they cast envious looks toward the cauldron on the far right, their eyes filled with envy.
Standing nearby, Li Kai heard no sound from Li Dao's medicinal cauldron, but he was not particularly worried.
He recalled that the first baptismal medicinal bath had been much the same. Back then, the complete silence had frightened him terribly.
But when he opened the lid to check, Li Dao had already absorbed every last drop of the medicinal liquid.
He had even fallen asleep inside the cauldron.
Ever since then, Li Kai had known just what a monstrous talent Li Dao was.
Anticipation stirred faintly in his heart.
Could our Golden Feather Village be about to welcome a new Cave Heaven Realm expert?
Before you continue