Young Celestial Master (Please Vote!)

As for Li Ying, Shangguan Hong had already fallen on hard times, and Chen Yi probably would not escape next. The only question was what this Little Senior Sister would do... Lei Jun glanced at Tang Xiaotang beside him.

He was still mulling it over when someone suddenly changed the subject, and the new topic happened to be Tang Xiaotang and Chen Yi.

Just the day before yesterday, the two had clashed like the point of a needle against the tip of an awl.

"Tch, bad luck!"

Hearing others mention the matter from afar, Tang Xiaotang immediately gave a cold snort.

Lei Jun asked, "So the rumors were true?"

Tang Xiaotang replied irritably, "What is that thing, to tell me that a Daoist child should make way for a Daoist?"

To Lei Jun, Chen Yi was a familiar stranger.

They had met before but had never dealt with each other, so Lei Jun could only match the man's face to his name.

But according to the other Daoist children of the Eighth Courtyard, although Chen Yi had drawn a great deal of attention last year, he was actually rather calm by nature, neither hot-tempered nor overbearing.

If he and Tang Xiaotang had run into each other, it was still a question mark over who had picked the fight first.

Still, Lei Jun did not interrupt for now. He simply listened to the gossip in peace.

Tang Xiaotang said, "What kind of green onion does he think he is? When I was eight, I could have beaten him with one hand!

Make way for him? If I stepped right over him and he dared make a peep, then I'd admit he really had a hard mouth!"

Lei Jun asked, "So you stepped over him?"

"No."

Tang Xiaotang puffed out her cheeks. "He got lucky. Senior Brother Li happened to pass by."

There were quite a few Daoists surnamed Li in the Celestial Master Mansion. Senior Brother Li, Senior Sister Li, Martial Uncle Li, Martial Uncle Li—there were plenty of them.

But the titles Tang Xiaotang used generally referred to specific people.

There was only one Senior Sister, and that meant Xu Yuanzhen.

Likewise, Senior Brother Li referred to only one person.

The son of the current Celestial Master, Dragon Tiger Mountain's Young Celestial Master, Li Zhengxuan.

In recent years, two young geniuses of the Celestial Master Mansion had enjoyed the greatest fame. Their names also rang loud among other Prominent Clans and sacred cultivation lands beyond the mansion.

Xu Yuanzhen.

Li Zhengxuan.

Among disciples of the same generation within the mansion, they were customarily called Eldest Sister and Eldest Senior Brother.

Strictly speaking, Xu Yuanzhen had been the current Celestial Master's first disciple and had entered the Dao and undergone Chuan Du Initiation before even the Celestial Master's own son, Li Zhengxuan.

But given Li Zhengxuan's relationship with the current Celestial Master, everyone tacitly avoided calling him Second Senior Brother.

Lei Jun had long heard this man's name as well. He had never dealt with him directly, only seen him once at the Ordination Ceremony.

He looked around twenty or thirty, dressed in a Purple Taoist Robe. With swordlike brows, starry eyes, and the bearing of an immortal, he possessed the ethereal air of a young immortal descended to earth.

Lei Jun looked at Tang Xiaotang before him, then recalled the Young Celestial Master's appearance that day. He nearly wanted to press a hand to his forehead.

Little Senior Sister, you are absolutely dripping with villain vibes...

What happened next was simple.

When Li Zhengxuan intervened, Tang Xiaotang was more surprised than inclined to add fuel to the fire.

Because as far as she knew, Chen Yi had deeper grievances with the Li Clan Disciples.

It would have been one thing for someone else to protect Chen Yi, but she had never expected Li Zhengxuan, the young generation's leader among the Li Clan, to stand up for him.

The Young Celestial Master, meanwhile, carried himself like a young grandmaster, deep as an abyss and steadfast as a mountain, unruffled by any wave:

"We are all disciples of Dragon Tiger Mountain, without distinction between us. Not only Junior Brother Chen—if Junior Sister Tang encounters trouble, I will also do my utmost to help."

Tang Xiaotang waved a hand. "That won't be necessary."

The Young Celestial Master said, "Of course. Whether the elders of our sect or I personally, we have always placed great trust in Junior Sister Tang's gifts and talent."

With that interruption, Tang Xiaotang's temper came quickly and went quickly. She was no longer so aggressive.

But her answer remained distinctly her own: "Don't worry, I won't disappoint any of you!"

Li Zhengxuan nodded, then looked at Chen Yi. "Junior Sister Tang's circumstances are special. Unlike other Daoist children, though she has not undergone Chuan Du Initiation, she is still, like us, a disciple of Dragon Tiger Mountain."

After exchanging a look with Li Zhengxuan, Chen Yi slowly let out a breath. "I was presumptuous just now. Please forgive me, Senior Brother and Senior Sister."

Afterward, Li Zhengxuan mentioned that he happened to be going to see his Fourth Martial Uncle, Elder Yao—Chen Yi's master—and invited Chen Yi to go with him.

Thus, a disturbance vanished without a trace.

"But I still felt very unhappy. At the time, there was a thread of malice aimed at me, but it did not come from Senior Brother Li, nor even from that brat surnamed Chen."

Tang Xiaotang was sullen. "Senior Brother Li interrupted things, and when I looked again afterward, that malice was already gone."

Hearing this, Lei Jun instead recalled something Eldest Sister Xu Yuanzhen had once said:

"If anyone else kept needling Xiao Tang with words the way you do, she would have slapped a talisman right into their face long ago.

She goes easy on you not because of the words 'one of our own,' but because she senses you bear no malice.

Xiao Tang is foolish but clear as water, exceedingly sensitive to the kindness and malice of others."

Lei Jun said no more. Returning to his own small courtyard, he invited Tang Xiaotang inside as a guest.

Once they were seated, he finally spoke.

"Little Senior Sister, your feeling was right. You really were used in the matter of Chen Yi. But judging from the outcome, it was not to harm you. It was to establish Eldest Senior Brother's prestige and win people's hearts—the usual good cop, bad cop routine."

Tang Xiaotang's eyes widened. "You mean... Senior Brother Li arranged all of it beforehand?"

"Not necessarily beforehand. Eldest Senior Brother may simply have happened upon it. Perhaps you were not even the original target; it is more likely they merely intended to use your hand to teach Chen Yi a lesson."

Lei Jun said, "But by coincidence, after word spread, Eldest Senior Brother displayed his bearing as the Young Celestial Master, soothed Chen Yi, and united more of the disciples from outside surnames."

He looked at Tang Xiaotang. "Meanwhile, Little Senior Sister, you played the kind of villain commonly found in storybooks."

Tang Xiaotang's brows shot up. Her black hair showed signs of turning gold again. "Outrageous?!"

Lei Jun said, "There is no need to rush off and win back face now. It would only make things darker the more you tried to explain them.

Wait for another opportunity to pay it back. The days ahead are long, and opportunities are not hard to find."

The tall girl paced circles around the room in anger.

After a long while, she suddenly stopped, turned around, and stared straight at Lei Jun.

Lei Jun asked, "Little Senior Sister?"

Tang Xiaotang said, "You said just now that I'm like the villain in a storybook?"

Lei Jun said, "You clash with the protagonist, and your current cultivation and strength may be far greater than theirs.

Sometimes the protagonist needles you with words, saying you are bullying the weak, and then some one-year pact, three-year pact, or ten-year pact is made. Only after the protagonist grows stronger do the two sides fight, and then you are trampled under the protagonist's feet instead.

Other villainous experts do not care about bullying the weak. They simply want to eliminate the protagonist on the spot. But then righteous experts helping the protagonist may temporarily block them, so in the end they still cannot kill the protagonist while they are weak.

The result is that they either serve to highlight the other side, or become the other side's stepping stone."

Tang Xiaotang stared with round eyes. "Where did you read all that?"

Lei Jun said, "Back in the village, I heard it from storytellers. After the village fled the famine, I could no longer find them."

"I won't be a villain. I want to be the protagonist of the story!"

Tang Xiaotang's temper came quickly and went quickly. By now, her attention had been completely led elsewhere. Dragging over a stool, she sat before Lei Jun. "Tell me more. What is the complete story like?"

Lei Jun said, "...I have not read much female-oriented fiction. You can make do with stories for men."

Tang Xiaotang said, "?"

In another small courtyard, a Young Adult Daoist wearing an Apricot Yellow Taoist Robe sat before a stone table.

A sheet of paper lay on the table, bearing several names:

Chen Yi.

Shangguan Hong.

Lei Jun.

Guo Yan.

The instant the Young Adult Daoist looked at the names on the paper, related information flashed through his mind:

Chen Yi, disciple of Fourth Martial Uncle Elder Yao, Limpid Sky Spirit Body, successfully achieved Foundation Establishment.

Shangguan Hong, disciple of Fifth Martial Uncle Elder Shangguan, Upper Grade innate talent, but his comprehension was rated Outstanding; he had not yet achieved Foundation Establishment.

Lei Jun, disciple of Little Martial Uncle Elder Yuan, Hidden Dragon Spirit Body, successfully achieved Foundation Establishment.

Guo Yan, disciple of Elder Hu from a collateral lineage, Flowing Wave Spirit Body, successfully achieved Foundation Establishment.

These four, together with Li Ying, were the most outstanding top seedlings from this year's Ordination Ceremony.

Among the Li Clan Disciples undergoing initiation this year, there is no shortage of Upper Grade and Middle-Upper talents. But at the very highest level, the ranks are somewhat thin... The Young Adult Daoist frowned.

Fortunately, Shangguan Hong had already been held down by one step.

One step slow, every step slow. Catching up would not be easy.

It was a pity that Chen Yi had escaped disaster.

And Lei Jun and Guo Yan had not sought to become the Celestial Master's personal disciples at the time, so they had been placed further down the list.

But as expected, neither of them was a simple character. They had achieved Foundation Establishment so quickly.

They had kept quiet, yet could no longer be ignored.

"They must all be suppressed somehow," the Young Adult Daoist pondered.

Someone came to visit outside the courtyard gate.

The Young Adult Daoist put away the paper and opened the gate. A young female Daoist stood outside. It was Li Ying.

"Second Brother, Eldest Senior Brother is looking for you."

Inside the courtyard, Li Ying's Second Brother, Li Ming, the Second Son of Elder Ziyang, nodded. "All right, I'll go now."

As he stepped out, he casually asked, "How has your cultivation progressed lately?"

Li Ying replied, "There was a small obstacle, but it has already been resolved."

Li Ming said, "That is good. Continue focusing on your cultivation. Do not let trivial matters distract you."

"I've been so busy lately that I can barely tell day from night." Li Ying gave her brother a strange look.

Li Ming nodded and took his leave.

He arrived at the residence of his cousin, Young Celestial Master Li Zhengxuan.

"Eldest Senior Brother." Li Ming lowered his head and stopped.

The Young Celestial Master stood with his back to him, his hands clasped behind him. "Were you behind what happened between Junior Sister Tang and Junior Brother Chen?"

Li Ming said, "I merely created a little coincidence to bring the two together. I did nothing else. I truly never expected to disturb Eldest Senior Brother.

Fortunately, Eldest Senior Brother intervened, and the final result was even better than I had expected. Yet I have troubled you, Senior Brother, and that leaves me uneasy."

The Young Celestial Master said slowly, "Do not entangle your time and thoughts in petty maneuvers. Whether for the Celestial Master Mansion or the Li Clan, if you truly wish to accomplish something, focusing on improving yourself and promoting our sect is the best course."

Li Ming said, "Yes, Eldest Senior Brother."

After leaving the Young Celestial Master's Residence and returning to his own small courtyard, Li Ming took out the list again and read it in thought.