Li Surname and Other Surnames

Li Surname and Other Surnames

Only a stump-like section of the thief's corpse remained, stubbornly standing where it was.

The lightning bolts that had previously been deflected by the light shield crackled wildly in all directions, shattering and tilting the mountain rock.

This stretch of cliff broke apart, and the thief's corpse slid down with the rubble, rolling into the stream below the rocks.

Lei Jun raised a hand, but in the end, he did not step forward to stop it. He merely watched the corpse drift downstream.

He put away the Jet-black Scale, left the broken cliff, and followed the river downstream at an unhurried pace.

Halfway through his search, Lei Jun ran into other fellow disciples.

"I encountered him upstream. I attacked him with the Thunderstrike Talisman bestowed by High Daoist, but he fell into the river and escaped," Lei Jun said.

"We recovered that traitor's corpse downstream," said the Yellow-robed Daoist approaching from the opposite direction. "The Pill Furnace was found on him as well."

The stolen item the thief had taken earlier was a Pill Furnace from the Dao Child Courtyard's First Courtyard.

Even so, in terms of value, it was certainly inferior to that Jet-black Scale, which could even block a Thunderstrike Talisman.

At present, the Sixth Grade Opportunity indicated by the Upper Middle Auspicious Sign was most likely that strange scale.

"He died with his oil spent and his wick burned out, utterly exhausted in body and spirit."

The Yellow-robed Daoist glanced at Lei Jun. "Everyone who took part in surrounding and driving him off will receive merit. You are no exception."

Lei Jun said, "I do not deserve it. I only did what was within my duty."

"Mm. Bring the corpse back to the Dao Child Courtyard." The Yellow-robed Daoist was in a hurry, heading up the mountain.

The Dao children did not dare ask too much.

But everyone looked curiously toward the mountain.

There had been two major disturbances earlier. The first had come from the Dao Child Courtyard at the foot of the mountain, while the second seemed to have come from up the mountain.

Everyone muttered to themselves, but they could only gather their party first and return to the Dao Child Courtyard.

Once back in the courtyard, they heard that someone had set another fire in the First Courtyard.

"This time, it really is..." Several young Dao children wore strange expressions.

Lei Jun understood.

The First Courtyard was the private preserve of the Li Clan Disciples.

For young people wishing to embark upon the Dao, entering the Celestial Master Mansion was one of the finest possible beginnings.

If there was anything less than perfect about it, it was that only after entering the sect had Lei Jun learned that the Celestial Master Mansion's inheritors were actually divided into two kinds.

Those surnamed Li.

And those not surnamed Li.

In this world, the position of Celestial Master in the early years of the Celestial Master Mansion had no fixed succession rules. Each generation selected an inheritor of both virtue and talent to take over.

But the most recent generations of Celestial Masters had all come from the same bloodline, passed down from ancestor to father, father to son, and son to grandson.

It was the Li Family, now deeply rooted and flourishing within the Celestial Master Mansion.

To be fair, including the Contemporary Celestial Master, several generations of Celestial Master Li had all been outstanding figures among their peers.

Under their leadership, though the Celestial Master Mansion had weathered many storms, it still stood tall as one of the world's foremost Daoist Sect Holy Lands.

It was only that, as time passed, the Li Clan Disciples had become increasingly high-profile and domineering.

Some rules that had existed since the founding of the Celestial Master Mansion were still maintained on the surface.

For example, newcomers first entered the Dao Child Courtyard to study and cultivate. Only outstanding individuals could participate in the Ordination Ceremony, after which they could formally ascend the mountain and enter the Main Mansion of the Celestial Master Mansion as True Disciples.

At present, Li Clan Disciples also had to follow this process.

It was simply rare for Li Clan Disciples to become Dao children and then fail to participate in the Chuan Du Initiation.

The Dao Child Courtyard's First Courtyard was specifically for Li Clan Disciples to receive their early education and lay their foundations.

On the surface, its provisions were the same as those of the other courtyards, but beneath the table, rumors said that the Li Clan Disciples had eaten so many special meals that they had become picky eaters...

Just like the Pill Furnace stolen this time, which was one of the magical artifacts supplied exclusively to the First Courtyard.

"Senior Brother Lei!"

Several young Dao children from the Sixth Courtyard saw Lei Jun, their faces full of envy. "We heard you caught that thief?"

Lei Jun shook his head. "I didn't catch him. I came close, but in the end, he exhausted himself to death. So the merit will be credited to everyone involved."

Senior Brother Zhang sighed. "Even if everyone receives merit, the primary credit will mainly go to those of you who took the initiative to surround and pursue him.

Those of us who stayed put guarding the passes and road junctions only receive secondary credit. Split among so many people, there'll hardly be anything left for each of us."

After all the turmoil until midnight, everyone was exhausted, yet they still could not disperse to rest.

A little later, quite a few True Disciples of the Celestial Master Mansion wearing Apricot Yellow Taoist Robes arrived at the Dao Child Courtyard and summoned everyone for separate questioning.

Although they revealed little, Lei Jun could tell that the thief's Accomplice was no small matter.

Still, after the Dao children had undergone questioning, they were released one by one to rest.

Lei Jun returned to his small courtyard, took out the Jet-black Scale again, and began studying it more carefully.

Perhaps to make it easier for the Dao child at the Qi Refining First Heaven to use, or perhaps to avoid leaving any trace behind, there was no one else's Magic Power restriction within the scale.

Lei Jun activated the Jet-black Scale with his own True Qi, and a faint flowing radiance immediately appeared on its surface.

An image of light emerged in his mind, resembling both dragon and horse, combining majesty with spiritual grace, unfathomably mysterious.

The Dao Child Courtyard's teaching materials contained illustrated guides to the world's spirit beasts, auspicious beasts, strange demons, and sprites.

Thus, Lei Jun recognized at once that the figure in the light was a Dragon Horse spirit beast.

So it was a Dragon Horse Scale... Lei Jun nodded slightly.

He tried injecting more True Qi into the Jet-black Scale, just as the thief had done.

At once, radiance intertwined around the scale, recreating the enormous shield.

But his own True Qi poured out in great quantities, draining at an astonishing rate.

Lei Jun stopped, and the flowing light faded away. Only the Jet-black Scale remained in his palm, quiet and mysterious.

A Sixth Grade Opportunity—an excellent Protective Treasure... Lei Jun nodded first, then shook his head.

Unfortunately, what he needed most right now was a treasure that could assist his cultivation, increase his cultivation speed, and reduce its difficulty.

Otherwise, at his current rate of progress, by the Ordination Ceremony early next year, he would reach at most the tenth level of Qi Refining. It would be impossible for him to attain the great completion of the twelfth level of Qi Refining.

He hoped that the next time he had an opportunity to choose a fate path, there would be one that could further aid his cultivation.

Of course, a Protective Treasure was certainly useful.

Protecting oneself was protecting the Dao.

Once one's life was gone, cultivation naturally became impossible to speak of.

Even setting aside mortal danger, the time needed to recover from injuries would delay cultivation.

Lei Jun put away the treasure, changed clothes, and went to sleep.

When he awoke the next day, he washed up, ate breakfast, and prepared to attend the Morning Lesson again.

But the first person he encountered was Wang Guiyuan.

"Senior Brother Wang?"

"Last night, you were originally acting together with Junior Brother Gao?"

"We split up halfway through the pursuit. The Dao Child Courtyard caught fire, and High Daoist took several people back to capture the thief's Accomplice who set the fire. The rest of us continued chasing the thief."

Wang Guiyuan fell silent for a moment.

He looked around, his gaze drifting elsewhere, but he lowered his voice as he spoke.

"Junior Brother Gao and the others... something happened."

Lei Jun said nothing.

"To be precise, it was not only Junior Brother Gao and the Dao children he brought with him." Wang Guiyuan nodded softly. "There were other fellow disciples as well."

He walked ahead, while Lei Jun silently followed behind him.

After a long while, Lei Jun asked, "On Dragon Tiger Mountain itself?"

Wang Guiyuan nodded lightly.

"Senior Brother, did something happen at the Main Mansion up the mountain last night?"

Wang Guiyuan did not immediately answer Lei Jun's question. Instead, he first spoke earnestly.

"Junior Brother Lei, what I am about to say may be overstepping the bounds of our acquaintance, but in my personal view, cultivators like us should try not to flaunt hot-blooded courage. In many situations, safety comes first, and prudence is best!"

Lei Jun said, "I understand Senior Brother's concern, and I deeply agree that your words make sense. But while one lives in this world, many things truly cannot be foreseen before they happen."