Seven Rings

"Zhenyuan's ability to fly is truly divine!"

Tian Fen boasted that he was the best flyer in Chang'an City.

Don't be fooled by his erratic leaps; this is the effect of Tian Fen flying bare-handed.

Once Tian Fen pilots the Law Treasure flying boat, he can fly fast and steadily, covering hundreds of miles in a single leap.

This filled him with immense pride and self-satisfaction.

But when Divine Lord Zhenyuan displayed his skills at Yunyi Daoist Temple—one technique stemming from his leaping ability while traveling on land with Zhang Xuezhou, and the other a soaring flight that instantly propelled him dozens of feet into the air— Tian Fen's little scheme vanished without a trace.

Tian Fen's rise in status was due to the Empress Dowager's influence over the years, but his cultivation level had not yet reached the top tier of the imperial court. However, he had good eyesight and knew very well that Divine Lord Zhenyuan was just showing off casually.

The opponent's casual skill was the limit of Tian Fen's abilities, which made Tian Fen extremely respectful.

He exclaimed in admiration, feeling that he had struck it lucky today by visiting Yunyi Daoist Temple.

Whether it's Li Shaojun's participation in the banquet to eliminate the disrespectful influence on Anle Palace, or his learning of flying from Divine Lord Zhenyuan, these are all great things.

Furthermore, it wasn't just Divine Lord Zhenyuan who mentioned being able to guide people in flying; Li Shaojun also mentioned being skilled in flying.

For a time, Tian Fen felt as if all the skilled flyers in the world had gathered here.

He inevitably displayed his abilities, and was then reprimanded by Divine Lord Zhenyuan.

Zhang Xuezhou was right. Divine Lord Zhenyuan's way of narrating differed greatly from the current policies of the Great Han Dynasty. Without a translator, this would indeed lead to misunderstandings.

There were demonstrations, explanations, and translations, and the atmosphere at Yunyi Daoist Temple was no longer awkward or uncomfortable; instead, it was extremely lively.

"Master Li, please; Zhenyuan, please; Lord Dongfang, please!"

Tian Fen spent much longer at the Yunyi Daoist Temple than he had imagined. When the time was up, the carriage that was supposed to pick him up drove into the Yunyi Daoist Temple, Tian Fen quickly invited everyone to a banquet.

The inclusion of Divine Lord Zhenyuan's guidance on flying and other matters suggests that Tian Fen lacks a clear understanding of his banquet preparations, but the arrangements he made should be largely accurate.

He invited everyone to get in the car and head straight to the banquet, which made Li Shaojun think for a while.

"That guy surnamed Dong probably doesn't know where this Marquis of Wu'an is holding his banquet, which is why he's been wasting time wandering around the Daoist temple, and now he's even hitched a ride on a carriage!"

When Li Shaojun left the Daoist temple, he felt as if he had understood something again.

Divine Lord Zhenyuan's demonstration of flying was brief, as was Tian Fen's, and the corresponding discussion and guidance were also limited.

However, Zhang Xuezhou's translation was extremely long, relaying the relevant information not only to Divine Lord Zhenyuan but also to Tian Fen.

Zhang Xuezhou spoke eloquently, providing detailed explanations of various terms and expressions, and even Li Shaojun gleaned some of their clever applications.

This gave Li Shaojun some suspicion, but he didn't dare to be too certain.

However, he did know a way to stall for time before going to the banquet. By keeping the host's family at the Yunyi Daoist Temple, he could accompany them to the banquet when the time came.

This way of attending a banquet requires precise timing and having something sufficiently important to do, so as not to cause the other party to have to say goodbye.

Li Shaojun thought about it for a long time, but felt that the matter was difficult to carry out.

"How about it?"

"What do you mean, how about it?"

After getting into the carriage, Li Shaojun, as usual, asked Cai Ma, who had no say in the conversation, and Cai Ma replied with a frustrated sigh.

"Is this Marquis of Wu'an destined for a long life?" Li Shaojun asked.

"As long as he doesn't get hacked to death, he can live for another fifty years," Cai Ma replied listlessly.

"Those who live long deserve to make good friends!"

Li Shaojun nodded, indicating that he was aware of the situation.

With a cultivator of destiny like Cai Ma, Li Shaojun's interactions with others would obviously have preconditions; he disdained associating with high-ranking officials who didn't have many years left to live.

For example, the current prime minister Xu Chang, was nearing the end of his life, and even though the other party was extremely polite, Li Shaojun did not make any special effort to befriend him.

Since Zhuang Qingdi was expected to live for another twenty years, Li Shaojun treated him with much more courtesy.

Faced with Tian Fen, who could live for fifty years, Li Shaojun felt it was inevitable to befriend him. If Anle Palace were no longer there to support him in the future, these powerful and friendly people would undoubtedly not cause him any trouble.

"I'm really curious how many more years Dongfang Shuo can live?"

The time spent in the carriage was extremely boring, so Li Shaojun couldn't help but chat with Cai Ma.

"Anyway, there's not much difference between us," Cai Ma said.

"Cut!"

Li Shaojun responded with a dissatisfied tone, a complex expression appearing in his eyes.

"You never calculated it correctly," Li Shaojun retorted, "My lifespan is definitely more than sixteen years!"

"Not sixteen years, only fifteen years and ten months," Cai Ma said.

"How come it's two months less again?" Li Shaojun complained. "You can't just talk nonsense. I'm only good at taking things seriously; anyone else would be scared to death by you!"

"The last time I told your fortune was two months ago," Cai Ma said. "Two months have passed, so your lifespan has naturally decreased by two months, and you have less than sixteen years left!"

"I don't believe it unless you can determine Dongfang Shuo's true lifespan and then convince him to believe you!"

Li Shaojun frowned slightly. He not only had the ability to be resurrected, but also to enjoy a long life, thanks to the protection of 'Bai'.

Li Shaojun felt he wouldn't die so young, but he also felt somewhat uneasy about Cai Ma's assessment.

He couldn't tell whether Cai Ma was incompetent or affected by 'Bai' sixteen years later, which made Li Shaojun repeatedly try to involve Zhang Xuezhou.

Regardless of whether Zhang Xuezhou rejected Cai Ma's Physiognomy Technique skills or whether Zhang Xuezhou conspired with Bai, Li Shaojun felt that since Zhang Xuezhou lifespans were similar, they could try to cooperate on these matters.

"I've seen him before, his lifespan..."

"What? You're not allowed to say it anymore? You can't say it? You can't speak?"

Cai Ma opened the carriage curtain and waved to the back.

When Zhang Xuezhou, who was greeted by the carriage behind, inexplicably poked his head out to respond, Cai Ma abruptly stopped speaking.

Seeing Cai Ma's stammering words, Li Shaojun felt pleased, realizing that Cai Ma was indeed only half-baked and had questionable lifespan abilities.

He asked with a happy expression, but Cai Ma turned her head back as if she had seen a ghost.

"Dongfang Shuo's fate is completely messed up. I calculated with one divination that he has sixteen years left to live, which is close to your lifespan, but today this divination shows that he has six hundred years to live," Cai Ma said incredulously.

"You mean I can only live for sixteen years, while he can live for six hundred?" Li Shaojun said indignantly, "You mediocre prime minister, you're spouting complete nonsense!"

Li Shaojun was furious upon hearing Cai Ma's assessment, after all, Zhang Xuezhou's longevity made him envious.

But it was precisely because of this high lifespan that Li Shaojun felt Cai Ma was talking nonsense and that his prediction of lifespan was completely inaccurate.

If Cai Ma's technique was useless, then he wouldn't have only lived for a little over ten years.

Thinking about it this way, Li Shaojun felt much better.

"I can't be wrong," Cai Ma affirmed. "Dongfang Shuo's lifespan is only sixteen years, but he has multiple layers of life-extending halos. The sixth level of Earth Immortal grants him three hundred and sixty years of lifespan, and the Seventh Realm grants him two hundred and forty years, totaling six hundred years... Wait, seven life-extending halos?"

Cai Ma repeated the words of certainty to herself, but when she came to her senses, she felt just as incredulous.

Having not seen each other for several months, she couldn't believe that Zhang Xuezhou's life-destiny technique had broken through the 360-year limit of the Earth Immortal realm, thus moving towards Divine Ability life-destiny techniques.

This is a long lifespan that only those who specialize in cultivating life-destiny techniques Divine Ability can achieve.

If one can master the art of fate in just a few months, she is hailed as a master of fate cultivation. What is the point of enduring decades of hardship in cultivation? In fact, Zhang Xuezhou's exposure to fate cultivation is very short.

Not only did Li Shaojun feel that Cai Ma's fortune-telling was problematic, but after Cai Ma made another assessment, he also felt that his abilities were malfunctioning and that he was no longer accurate in his predictions.

But whenever she thought of the seven pale golden halos of life magic surrounding Zhang Xuezhou, she felt that her judgment was flawed; her eyes couldn't possibly be the problem.