Three Enclosures, Four Remainders, Seven Governors; Northern and Southern Dippers, Twelve Stars

"True Lord, you mean-"

"Even though we've never met, and I'm only eight this year, I'm the child you accidentally created hundreds of years ago?"

"And we're a biological father and son who are complete strangers?"

A short while later, after hearing this account, which sounded almost like a joke once Liu Ji had left out a great many secrets...

Lü Yuan thought Liu Ji was joking with him, so he addressed him as True Lord only in name as he questioned him.

And before Liu Ji could speak again, he continued:

"That's absolutely impossible!"

But Liu Ji simply affirmed his answer in all seriousness:

"It's entirely possible!"

Lü Yuan pressed his brow. "Then how can you prove it?"

Liu Ji spread his hands. "There's no way to prove it now, but there may be a chance in the future-"

At this point, all sense of distance between Lü Yuan and Liu Ji had vanished from their conversation.

For one of them had now completely lost any rose-tinted view of the other's status as a True Lord.

The other had unilaterally decided that the first was his child.

Their conversation was practically Xiaohongshu versus Sun Xiaochuan—not a single human being between them.

Lü Yuan raised his head and looked at Liu Ji helplessly. "But how am I supposed to believe you now?"

Liu Ji raised an eyebrow. "I can't make you believe me."

"But if it isn't true, how else do you explain your appearance, your name, and your innate sense of your mother's name?"

Lü Yuan fell silent for a moment. He couldn't very well say he was a transmigrator, could he?

So he could only give up and accept Liu Ji's explanation for the time being.

Besides, although he didn't know how Liu Ji had reached that conclusion, a misunderstanding was a misunderstanding-

Either way, he now had a Golden Core True Lord by his side to teach him. However he looked at it, he wasn't losing out.

But at that thought,

Ancient Cultivator Lü Yuan imagined how Punk Lü Yuan would react if he encountered the same situation...

If it were him, he probably wouldn't even try to argue. He'd hug his thigh and acknowledge him as his biological dad without a moment's hesitation, wouldn't he?

By now, he'd probably already be chatting happily about family matters with the Liu Ji in front of me-

Even so, Ancient Cultivator Lü Yuan himself still couldn't accept a biological father who was a complete stranger suddenly appearing out of nowhere.

But Liu Ji seemed to see what he was thinking and, without a care, drew him into his arms.

"Oh, I told you this outright only because I didn't want to hide it from you. It's not like I'm asking us to act out a loving father and filial son."

"If you're not used to it, we can keep things separate from now on. I'll call you Little Lü, and you can call me big brother-"

"Of course, don't do that if you meet your mother in the future. She's always wanted a child, after all."

How should he put it? Each addressing the other in his own way—that really sounded like something Liu Ji would say-

Now that things had been said to this point, Lü Yuan took only a second to accept the situation. Still, he was somewhat curious about his supposed mother.

He wanted to know whether she really was the Empress Lü he knew of, so he could determine whether this was a xianxia version of the Warring States period.

"Then, big brother, can I know the name of my suspected mother-your wife?"

"After all, E Xu sounds like a childhood name however you hear it, doesn't it?" Lü Yuan asked.

Liu Ji didn't hide it from him. A child wanting to know his mother's name was only natural.

Besides, look at him. Didn't saying that mean he had already accepted the truth?

"That's right. E Xu is indeed your mother's childhood name, just as Liu Ji is only a name I go by-"

Although the child had only asked for his wife's name, Liu Ji naturally told him his own real name as well.

"My real name is Liu Bang, and your mother's is Lü Zhi."

Lü Yuan, held in his arms, hadn't expected to learn his real name as well.

At this moment, he finally confirmed the truth.

Liu Bang, Lü Zhi...

There's no mistake. There's absolutely no mistake-

Could this really be the end of the Warring States period, xianxia-style?

This awkward interlude of "father and son recognizing each other" soon passed.

After all, one of them only thought it was a misunderstanding, while the other didn't care about superficial formalities-

Lü Yuan could finally ask the question he had been most curious about all along.

And he didn't know whether to feel helpless or relieved.

After that little interlude, Liu Bang, his suspected "biological dad" before him, would presumably tell him everything he knew, holding nothing back.

"The general state of the cultivation world and the differences between the Dao lineages in the world today. So that's what you wanted to ask about..."

"True enough. If you don't even understand those things, cultivation will be troublesome for you later on."

Liu Bang rubbed his chin. "The former is too complicated to explain in a few sentences, though. I'll tell you about it bit by bit on the road."

Lü Yuan nodded slightly. He hadn't expected to grasp what this world was like in just a few sentences.

Seeing this, Liu Bang found the child of his household more interesting the more he looked at him. He chuckled and rapped him on the head.

He wouldn't put everything off until later.

He continued, "The former may be complicated, but the latter is actually quite simple. Giving you a rough overview won't take long."

"As for the Dao lineages of the world, in your big brother's-that is, my-understanding, leaving aside certain privately held inheritances-"

"The ones that have appeared in the world can be summed up in a single line:

"Three Enclosures, Four Remainders, Seven Governors; Northern and Southern Dippers, Twelve Stars."

Lü Yuan didn't quite understand. He looked up at him like a student, quietly waiting for instruction.

Perhaps wanting to satisfy the child's curiosity, the usually easygoing Liu Bang uncharacteristically broke down the meaning for him in detail.

"The Three Enclosures are the collective name for the three great Dao lineages of [Supreme Palace], [Purple T176], and [Heavenly Market]. They can be called the orthodox immortal Dao of the world."

"To put it bluntly, apart from the Seven Governors, you could say that all the Dao lineages in the world originated from the Three Enclosures."

"Just as I said before, the world's foremost manifest expert, whose immortal might now knows no bounds, came from the [Purple T176] lineage."

"The governing ideals of the various Dao lineages today also largely evolved from those of the Three Enclosures-"

"And they're easy to tell apart."

"Those who wield authority to rule the world and use rules to bind all things, saying, 'Above heaven and below heaven, I alone am supreme,' are the lowly cultivators of the Supreme Palace Enclosure."

"Those who dwell among clouds and rosy mists to avoid the clamor of the mortal world, closing their cave abodes and cutting themselves off from human affairs, saying, 'Honor and esteem oneself above all; let each be content with their lot,' are the lowly cultivators of the Purple Forbidden Enclosure."

"Those who mingle immortals and mortals and go along with worldly customs, invoking nature to dress up their laziness, saying, 'Heaven and earth are indifferent; Dao Emulates Own Inherent Spontaneity,' are the lowly cultivators of the Heavenly Market Enclosure."

As Liu Bang spoke, he wrote in the air with his hand. With the aid of a Law Technique, Lü Yuan was able to read the words.

"Surely you can tell which kind your big brother belongs to from that?"

After writing out the Three Enclosures and making a self-deprecating remark, he didn't linger, but went on to explain the next.

"As for the Four Remainders, they are Fruit Positions successively realized from the void by the four great Devil Ancestors. Although most who cultivate them belong to the devil path, some on the righteous path also have dealings with them."

"The four Fruit Positions are [Rahu], [Purple qi], [Ketu], and [Lunar Apogee]-"

Liu Bang paused and asked softly, "Now that we've come to this, thinking back on what I said earlier, have you noticed anything?"

Lü Yuan paused for barely a moment before answering, "The Dao lineages of the world came from the Three Enclosures, so were the four great Devil Ancestors actually once disciples of the Three Enclosures?"

Liu Bang snapped his fingers in satisfaction. "And that's why some on the righteous path have dealings with them-"

"All right, let's continue. The next Dao lineages are the Seven Governors. The Seven Governors can actually be viewed as two parts."

"One part is the [Two Governors], and the other is the [Five Luminaries]."

"The [Two Governors] are yin and yang, while the [Five Luminaries] are the five elements."

"If the most prominent of the Dao lineages are the Three Enclosures, then the most exalted must be the Two Governors, and the most orthodox can only be the Five Luminaries."

At this point, Liu Bang pointed at himself, then at Lü Yuan. "What I cultivate is the [Sun] lineage of the [Two Governors], while your mother cultivates the [Great Yin] lineage."

"Those two should be the most suitable for you as well. But since my lord gave you a Southern Dipper Cultivation Method, don't let that trouble you. Just keep cultivating it."

"Because the best Embryonic Breathing Cultivation Methods are, by common agreement, those of the Northern and Southern Dipper Constellations."

After filling one side of the night sky with writing, he began on another, writing the four characters for Northern and Southern Dippers in a few strokes.

"And that's what I'm going to talk about next."

"The Northern and Southern Dipper Constellations are the collective name for the fifteen Fruit Positions of the [Southern Dipper] and [Northern Dipper] lineages."

"The [Southern Dipper] lineage has my lord presiding over the Southern Dipper's principal position, and my lord is also the world's foremost manifest expert. On top of that, there are the Six Children of the Southern Dipper under my lord's command, every one of them a Fruit Position True Lord-"

"So it can be called one of the strongest Dao lineages in the world today."

"Although the [Northern Dipper] lineage has declined, it still can't be underestimated. In terms of killing power alone, there are still few Dao lineages in the world today that can compare with it."

"Back when the [Northern Pole Court] presided over the world, there was even a saying: 'Nine-tenths of all Sword Intent comes from the Northern Dipper.'"

Liu Bang stressed, "That's no empty boast. I sensed a Sword-Ray on the leaves you gave the refugees. My lord must have left you a sword-path Technique Method, so you should know what Sword Intent represents-"

"In the past, the leading figures among the [Northern Pole Court]'s Purple Mansion cultivators each possessed a Sword Intent. There were plenty of Purple Mansion cultivators with four Divine Abilities who dared to forcibly kill those with five."

"Although it's no longer as glorious as it was, you mustn't underestimate Northern Dipper cultivators if you meet them in the future."

[ Northern Pole Court ]-

From just those few words of Liu Bang's, Lü Yuan could imagine how glorious the [Northern Dipper] lineage had once been.

But afterward, he regretted its fall, the cause of which he did not know.

After Lü Yuan answered softly, Liu Bang didn't keep him in suspense. He continued on to the last subject, the "Twelve Stars."

"The Twelve Stars is actually short for the [Twelve Zodiacal Stations] lineage-"

"This lineage is essentially all-encompassing, and it is also the only one with more Fruit Positions than the [Five Luminaries]."

"The twelve principal positions of the Twelve Zodiacal Stations, plus the twenty-eight alternate positions of the Lunar Mansions, give the entire lineage a full forty Fruit Positions. It is therefore also the most widespread lineage, with the most cultivators."

"And that is-"

"Three Enclosures, Four Remainders, Seven Governors; Northern and Southern Dippers, Twelve Stars."