The Overlord Among Dao Children

The Overlord Among Dao Children

Lei Jun was somewhat surprised as he looked at Tang Xiaotang's appearance.

She spoke first instead. "You're not allowed to make me angry again!"

With that, she plopped down and sulked by herself.

"I meant to say..." Lei Jun raised a hand and gestured in the air around his hair and eyebrows.

Tang Xiaotang froze for a moment before coming back to herself. "Ah, I was so angry I got muddled!"

As soon as she finished speaking, the pale gold faded from her lovely hair and brows, turning black again, while her pupils also returned to normal.

Xu Yuanzhen, Yuan Mobai, and Wang Guiyuan entered at this time.

"You chose your own master. You should have been mentally prepared for this long ago."

Xu Yuanzhen took a seat. "It has already been decided that an exception will be made once more to confer the Three Realms True Scripture Talisman upon you, so it will not delay your future cultivation."

She frowned slightly, staring distractedly out the window.

Tang Xiaotang was curious. "Eh, Senior Sister, are you worried about me? I thought you only liked watching others suffer misfortune."

Xu Yuanzhen said, "First, don't flatter yourself. I have no time to worry about you.

"Second, I don't enjoy watching people suffer misfortune. I merely enjoy watching certain people suffer misfortune.

"Most of the time, those 'certain people' include you."

"I only like watching you suffer misfortune too!" Tang Xiaotang snorted.

Yuan Mobai said gently, "Xiao Tang, since you have decided not to participate in this Chuan Du Initiation, settle your state of mind and continue focusing on your own cultivation.

Senior Brother previously received a decree to emerge from seclusion in the new year. Though it has now been delayed, it likely will not be postponed for much longer."

Tang Xiaotang said dejectedly, "Understood, Little Martial Uncle."

As Lei Jun watched her, an old joke suddenly came to mind.

"Little Senior Sister, you needn't take it too much to heart. With your talent and gifts, even if you remain in the Dao Child Courtyard forever, every trade produces its master. You would still become the overlord among Dao children."

Tang Xiaotang paused. "The overlord among Dao children? How far can that go?"

Lei Jun said, "You'd still be a Dao child."

Tang Xiaotang said, "Get lost!"

Lei Jun smiled. Afterward, he grew thoughtful.

Did this mean the Sign Fortune of the Lower Middle Auspicious Sign was beginning to come true?

Inside a quiet room, a Young Adult Daoist sat facing a female Dao child.

The Young Adult Daoist said, "What a pity about this time."

The female Dao child was Li Ying, Elder Ziyang's youngest daughter.

She sighed. "Eldest Uncle did not emerge from seclusion on schedule. What could be done?"

The Young Adult Daoist said, "Indeed. No one knows when Eldest Uncle will emerge from seclusion, while your cultivation cannot be delayed. Come study the Tao with Father and me instead."

Li Ying nodded.

"Still, this disturbance over taking masters has shown us clearly who is restless." The Young Adult Daoist abruptly changed the subject. "Chen Yi and Shangguan Hong!"

Li Ying said, "I heard Lei Jun of the Sixth Courtyard and Guo Yan of the Seventh Courtyard are also rather impressive."

The Young Adult Daoist said, "Whether those two are talented or not aside, at least they are honest and do not harbor improper ambitions.

Chen Yi and Shangguan Hong are different. Heh, young people have their edges fully exposed and their momentum is fierce. They need to be pressed down a little."

Li Ying frowned. "Second Brother, isn't that inappropriate?"

The Young Adult Daoist said, "Don't worry. I have no intention of doing anything to them. It is merely that two little branches have grown wild, and need a slight trimming. If the movements are gentle enough, they will not even notice it themselves."

The disturbance over Dao children wanting to become the Celestial Master's direct disciples this year remained beneath the surface and soon vanished without a trace.

By the time the Ordination Ceremony truly arrived, no one mentioned it again.

Other than Tang Xiaotang, who had resolved to continue her grand undertaking of being the overlord among Dao children, everyone else had openly found their proper places once more.

Li Ying of the First Courtyard directly studied the Tao under her own father, Elder Ziyang.

Shangguan Hong of the Second Courtyard studied the Tao under the Celestial Master's Fifth Junior Sister.

This Fifth Senior Sister of Yuan Mobai's and Fifth Martial Uncle of Xu Yuanzhen's was also surnamed Shangguan, and was Shangguan Hong's distant aunt.

Chen Yi of the Eighth Courtyard studied the Tao under Elder Yao, the Celestial Master's Fourth Junior Brother.

According to the public news, these three Dao children had intended from the very beginning to take those three elders as their masters.

Their attempts to become the Celestial Master's direct disciples seemed never to have existed in the first place.

Yet privately, rumors still circulated.

There were two protagonists in those rumors.

One was naturally Tang Xiaotang. It was difficult for anyone else to compete with her for attention.

The other was Chen Yi.

Rumor had it that he, too, wished to forgo this Chuan Du Initiation and continue waiting for the Celestial Master to emerge from seclusion.

That in itself was nothing. The mansion permitted it as a matter of personal freedom. At most, people might say he was too stubborn, while kindhearted souls worried that he might waste his talent.

But Chen Yi then sought the same special treatment as Tang Xiaotang.

Without undergoing Chuan Du Initiation, he still wished to receive teachings from the mansion, with treatment comparable to that of Talisman Conferral Taoists among the direct lineage, or even superior to them.

As soon as this news spread, everyone could not help but erupt in private uproar.

Lei Jun's first thought upon hearing it was:

"Did Li Clan Disciples spread that rumor? Can we confirm whether it's true?"

"Likely some Li Clan Dao child heard the news and deliberately leaked it to stir trouble for Chen Yi." Wang Guiyuan repeatedly shook his head. "But the matter itself is real. It did happen."

Lei Jun could have guessed with his knees that while Li Clan Disciples had thrown Chen Yi onto the fire to roast afterward, they supported him throughout the entire affair.

Tang Xiaotang had already become the first exception. If Chen Yi could follow suit and tear the opening even wider, it was not difficult to see which group in the mansion would benefit most afterward.

But then again, Chen Yi might have known perfectly well that others were using him as a spear, yet he undoubtedly still wanted to fight for himself.

As a result, Tang Xiaotang, feeling questioned, fired off a dazzling line:

"I have an Immortal Body. What do you have?"

She rendered quite a few people speechless on the spot.

"An Immortal Body... no wonder..." Lei Jun rubbed his brow.

Above the five grades of bone aptitude in the ordinary sense—Lower Grade, Middle-Lower, Middle, Middle-Upper, and Upper Grade—were even more powerful cultivation physiques.

Such as Lei Jun's current Hidden Dragon Spirit Body.

Above Spirit Bodies were Saint Bodies.

And then...

Above Saint Bodies were Immortal Bodies.

Even for the Celestial Master Mansion, a sacred land of Taoist Sects, an Immortal Body was something seen only once in many years. They could only hope to encounter one by luck and take them into the sect.

Compared with ordinary geniuses and monsters, such figures could be called geniuses among geniuses, monsters among monsters, like banished immortals descending into the mortal world.

Fortunately, though such opportunities were rare, Spirit Bodies could still continue to improve. It depended on whether he could encounter another good opportunity in the future through Seeking Good Fortune and Avoiding Disaster, and raise his bone aptitude... Lei Jun thought.

But then again...

Lei Jun covered his face. "...Little Senior Sister's appearance is rather difficult to connect with a banished immortal. The more I think about it, the more amusing it gets."

Though Tang Xiaotang had said "you," targeting Chen Yi, she had truly unleashed a massive area attack.

Not to mention Dao children like Li Ying and Shangguan Hong—even the many senior masters and elders were probably within her bombardment range...

Lei Jun said, "Back to Little Senior Sister's question: she has an Immortal Body. What about Chen Yi?"

Wang Guiyuan glanced at Lei Jun. "There had been no rumors before. I only learned about it this time as well. Chen Yi has a Limpid Sky Spirit Body."

A Limpid Sky Spirit Body was an ethereal body, beneficial for absorbing the spiritual qi of heaven and earth.

In terms of physical aptitude, it was slightly inferior to the Hidden Dragon Spirit Body.

To balance that out, the body reflected upon the soul. Cultivators possessing a Limpid Sky Spirit Body had ethereal thoughts and found it easier to focus on cultivation and comprehend the Tao. Thus, it too was a Spirit Body beyond Upper Grade bone aptitude.

According to Wang Guiyuan, when Tang Xiaotang rebuked Chen Yi, his reaction had been remarkably calm. He merely said that although he did not possess an Immortal Body, he could still make tremendous contributions to the Celestial Master Mansion, and asked the various masters to consider and decide.

Lei Jun said, "Oh? What contribution?"

"I don't know."

Wang Guiyuan spread his hands. "For reasons of confidentiality, only Master, several elders, Eldest Sister, Eldest Senior Brother, and the others remained. Everyone else was dismissed."

Lei Jun was not disappointed. "In the end, Chen Yi failed to get his wish. Whatever contribution he mentioned was not enough to move the elders."

Wang Guiyuan said, "That was how it was."

Lei Jun said, "The good show that pleased Eldest Sister may have been right there."

Wang Guiyuan was unconcerned. "The less one gets involved in such matters, the better. Do not covet a moment of glory. Avoiding it whenever possible is best."

Lei Jun smiled and nodded.

What concerned him more now was what kind of Fourth Grade Opportunity the Upper Middle Auspicious Sign he had chosen foretold.

Afterward, although rumors about Tang Xiaotang, Chen Yi, and the others continued to circulate, no one dared act recklessly in public.

This year's Ordination Ceremony began as scheduled.