Analyzing Bright Yang, Solitary Ruler

Li Zhengjun accepted the Jade Slip with both hands and said solemnly:

"Younger Uncle, you have shared everything you know with me, and I will not let you down. I will study this book day and night until I know how these Dao Paths engender and overcome one another by heart. If I encounter any difficulties choosing Dao Paths in the Great Scarlet Realm, I will have to trouble you again."

Li Chenjun smiled and nodded.

"I made a point of watching your fight with Daoist Lu just now, and there was one detail: when you used a Bright Yang Law Technique, the old Daoist looked astonished, almost puzzled. That could mean he had never seen a Bright Yang Law Technique before. It could even mean that the Great Scarlet Realm has no Bright Yang Dao Lineage at all."

Yuhong and Li Zhengjun were both taken aback. The two of them had been considering a great deal of information and had never focused on the details of the fight.

Li Chenjun, on the other hand, had devoted himself solely to cultivation and fighting techniques over the years, so he had observed that aspect very closely.

Yuhong pondered for a while before speaking slowly.

"If that is true, we must take care when passing on cultivation teachings in the Great Scarlet Realm. The danger is not a genius appearing on an existing Dao Path, but one who opens a new Dao Path altogether. Take the Yuyu Realm: there are only so many Fruit Positions, and everyone is fighting tooth and nail for them. The struggle is fierce, but at least everyone knows which path their opponents are walking. If a prodigy suddenly appeared and used a method the world had never seen before, or even attained a Fruit Position from nothing by relying on it, that would be a variable none of the households could tolerate."

He understood the crux of the matter and continued:

"Although the Ning Kingdom is safe for the moment and no higher cultivators have made a move, we still cannot tell whether any high-level cultivators are watching the Great Scarlet Realm. Chenjun's advice is timely and important. Apart from promising candidates with truly exceptional talents, the rest should first cultivate methods such as the Five Virtues, which ought to exist in the Great Scarlet Realm as well. If our disciples follow the Dao Paths native cultivators already possess, they will not stand out."

"Besides, if these cultivators from the Ning Kingdom follow native Dao Paths, they will not compete with Zhengjun for Bright Yang Qi. We do not know how much Bright Yang spiritual essence the Great Scarlet Realm possesses; every bit we save is one bit more for us."

Li Chenjun nodded in agreement and added:

"The Lineage's Altar Thunder Dao Path should not be passed on casually either. From what we have learned, those Devil Cultivators repeatedly mentioned a power called Listening to Thunder Island. Judging by their reactions, cultivators of Thunder Methods seem uncommon in the Shattered Star Sea. If we cultivate it on a large scale, we are very likely to attract Listening to Thunder Island's attention."

Yuhong nodded and said gravely, "I gave Zhengchen instructions on this matter beforehand, and the clan elders all agreed."

Li Zhengjun agreed wholeheartedly and spoke up:

"True Person, you are right. The higher cultivators of the Yuyu Realm are truly terrifying. The Great Scarlet Realm may be calm for now, but who knows whether it has high-level cultivators? It is better to be careful."

The mention of keeping a low profile and hiding one's abilities suddenly brought something to Li Zhengjun's mind.

It was the Purple Mansion seed the Li Household had hidden away.

Before, Li Zhengjun had been no more than a manager in a border region and had heard nothing of the clan's secrets. It was only because he was a direct descendant of a Purple Mansion cultivator that he had learned his younger uncle was a clan genius.

At the time, he had thought his younger uncle was the mainstay of the clan's younger generation.

Later, however, Li Zhengjun had come clean to Yuhong and gained access to the Lineage's inner circle. After that, he had heard the clan elders and the household head mention the Purple Mansion seed more than once.

Only then had he learned that, besides his younger uncle, the Frozen Water genius in the open, Grandfather had another Purple Mansion seed hidden away.

"Grandfather, I have a question. The clan elders all say you have a beloved disciple who is a genuine Purple Mansion seed. May I ask what Dao Path that senior cultivates? When I go to the Great Scarlet Realm, I can keep an eye out for spiritual resources and do my part to help him reach the Purple Mansion."

Yuhong and Li Chenjun exchanged a glance, both looking a little helpless.

Yuhong let out a rare sigh, losing the imposing air of a Purple Mansion True Person.

"Zhengjun, to tell you the truth, there is no such thing as a Purple Mansion seed. I was putting on a bluff."

What?

There was none at all?!

But the clan elders had spoken of it in such convincing detail. It had not sounded like a fabrication at all.

Li Zhengjun froze. After a long while, he finally managed a few words:

"True Person... what nerve!"

Not long had passed since the An Household's affair, and every household was keeping its geniuses hidden. Yet Grandfather had done the opposite: not only had he refrained from hiding his younger uncle, he had taken advantage of the situation to reveal his Frozen Water talent. While all the neighboring households were hiding theirs, the Li Household had chosen to reveal one.

Unable to tell what lay behind it, everyone would only think there was more to it. For the Li Household to dare put a genius in the open, it had either gone mad or had an even stronger card hidden up its sleeve.

After all, such tricks were not uncommon. A genius placed in the open could serve precisely as a cover for the real secret.

Only Yuhong and Li Chenjun knew this secret, and both felt a little relieved after revealing it.

"We had no choice. Otherwise, the surrounding powers would only have pressed the Li Household harder. Now that truth and falsehood are mixed together, let them guess for themselves."

"It is Juner who has suffered. All these years, he has walked in the open under a false reputation, treading on thin ice. Who knows how many schemes he has faced?"

Li Chenjun shook his head and said earnestly:

"You overstate it, True Person. This was also meant to temper my Immortal Foundation, Tread on Thin Ice. Since I cultivate the Dao of 'hiding and waiting,' I must tread on thin ice to hone my cultivation. Though I have faced some wind and frost over the past dozen years, it has been a blessing in disguise, allowing me to polish my Immortal Foundation quickly."

"Besides, by doing the opposite of everyone else, you diverted the households' attention, True Person. They have all been speculating about our hidden Purple Mansion seed, which has taken a great deal of pressure off me."

Though Li Chenjun made light of it, Li Zhengjun felt helpless as he listened.

"The Yuyu Realm is far too stifling. Whenever a dispute over the Dao is involved, never mind Purple Mansion cultivators-even Golden Core cultivators might personally enter the fray."

Yuhong fell silent for a moment before saying:

"In the past, the Li Household could only keep up appearances by bluffing, but things are different now. We truly do have a Purple Mansion seed. That has become a new problem, however. Zhengjun must never be exposed, so I need to find someone to present openly as the 'Purple Mansion seed.'"

"I fear it would be difficult to find that person within the clan. After all, word was spread that I brought the Purple Mansion seed out of a grotto-heaven in my early years and have kept him by my side, teaching him personally. In that case, this person cannot simply appear out of nowhere within the clan, which makes things difficult. There is, however, a way out of this predicament."

He looked at Li Zhengjun again, seemingly wrestling with something.

"Zhengjun, the Ning Kingdom is essentially in your hands. The next step is to establish a Lineage and carry on the family line. As we discussed before, you can not only take people to the Great Scarlet Realm, but also bring people back from it."

"We can take advantage of the difference in the flow of time to raise Li Household descendants in the Great Scarlet Realm. As long as even one of them has a genuine chance of forging an Immortal Foundation, we can let him cultivate there in peace and attain an Immortal Foundation within a century, or even fifty or sixty years. Only a few years will have passed here. That way, if we can no longer keep things hidden after a few years and need to let some word slip, we can have him appear as the 'Purple Mansion seed' and draw the households' attention. Then you and Chenjun will both be safer."

It sounded rather cruel, but Li Zhengjun knew full well that in the six hundred years since the Li Household was established, countless descendants had given their lives for the Lineage.

"We will do as you say, True Person. It is just that my household has only just been established, so I fear it will be difficult to produce a cultivation genius in a short time."

Yuhong glanced at his son Li Chenjun, then thought of the child who had passed away and Li Chenwei, whose true spirit alone remained in the world. At last, he spoke helplessly:

"Zhengjun, I told you when I arrived today that, because of our family's cultivation method and bloodline, although we have difficulty producing offspring, the chances of having a genius are very high. Your younger uncle and his three brothers were all first-rate geniuses. Therefore, as long as your dao companion can conceive a child, and that child survives his tribulations and grows up, he will surely be a cultivation genius."

Understanding dawned on Li Zhengjun. He finally understood why Grandfather was so eager for him to seek out many suitable partners: he was thinking of having one of their children serve as the "Purple Mansion seed" to buy time for him and his younger uncle to attain the Dao!

At the same time, he noticed another issue.

Surviving tribulations.

"True Person, what does it mean to survive tribulations?"

The question had clearly touched on something painful for Yuhong. Only after a long time did he speak:

"Zhengjun, the Bright Yang Dao we follow is the Dao of emperors, the Dao of conquest. Since it is the Dao of emperors, it also takes on the karma and manifestations of emperors. One aspect in particular leaves all Bright Yang Purple Mansion cultivators quite helpless: 'Solitary Ruler'!"

"Solitary Ruler refers to the authority of a sovereign and father, which reduces the fortune of cultivators beneath him and gathers their allotted fates into himself. His children bear the brunt of this trait. Even if they are all geniuses, every one of them will undergo calamities, and only those who survive can grow up. Even after they do, whenever the Bright Yang Purple Mansion cultivator's fate is damaged, calamity will befall his children again, so that they may endure tribulations and avert disaster for their sovereign and father."

With things laid out so plainly, Li Zhengjun finally understood why, of Grandfather's four sons, only his younger uncle was safe for the time being!

Even though his younger uncle was still alive, he was in grave danger and could die for his sovereign and father at any moment!

Li Zhengjun swallowed, but no matter how hard he tried, he could not speak.

Yuhong lowered his head slightly, seeming to avoid Li Chenjun's gaze.

"Such is the Bright Yang Dao. Only if a child's fate is resilient enough can he continually temper himself through tribulations and attain a great Divine Ability. Zhengjun, since this is the nature of our Bright Yang fate, all the more reason for you to have children."

Clearly unwilling to say more on the subject, he changed tack.

"Come with me to Heart-Destroying Mountain to find True Person Dayu. He will refine your vital essence and harmonize your yin and yang. Of course, helping you improve your fertility is a pretext; the purpose is to harmonize your yin and yang and lay the groundwork for making up what your 'fate' lacks in the future. You will be able to begin Qi Ingestion before long, so it is time to put 'matching your fate' on the agenda."

Seeing that Li Zhengjun was still somewhat dazed, he slowly added:

"Although I used nine Immortal Foundation spiritual objects to refine you back then, your 'fate' is still rooted in the wastrel who idled his days away by the Lesser Cold River. When fate is incomplete, no matter how strong the body is, it is still a castle in the air. True Person Dayu's two Divine Abilities, Celebrate Yang's Balance and Night Star Fire, can not only help replenish your body but also help complete your 'fate'!"

Two updates totaling 8,000 characters for you!

Chapter 47 offered an initial glimpse of some of my worldbuilding for the Dao lineages.

Chapter 48 resolved some foreshadowing and explained why the protagonist was asked to have children, why the Li Household has so few descendants, and why Yuhong was not surprised that Li Chenwei was dismembered.

Tomorrow is another PK day. Since I posted an extra update today, please keep reading!

This author seeks to attain the Golden Core and begs all you True Lords to lend a hand and help me obtain the fortuitous opportunity of a recommendation!

Please keep up with Tuesday's chapters!

Please keep up with Tuesday's chapters!

My deepest thanks!