"You've surpassed all the true disciples of the sect, just like I did back then. How does that feel?"
Inside the Taoist palace, the air was filled with celestial energy. At the head of the cloud bed sat a young Taoist priest, who was smiling as he looked down at a young Taoist priest with little joy on his face who asked him a question.
"I don't feel anything!"
Feng Bingwen responded.
"Isn't this something to be happy about?"
"Master, were you like me back then?"
The young Taoist asked in a low voice, "The news that the new Taoist disciple of the Supreme Tao, who is about to take the throne, has defeated six true disciples in a row has already spread like wildfire throughout the mountain gate."
However, he was not happy about it, and he didn't even feel much joy, because he knew how he got this record. If he were happy about it, he would be too ungrateful and lack self-awareness.
"Of course not. I defeated them all fair and square back then, and then became the rightful heir."
Mentioning this matter, the young Taoist, sitting upright on his cloud bed, straightened his back even more and looked radiant. This was one of the most memorable experiences of his Taoist cultivation career.
"oh."
Feng Bingwen responded calmly, just as he had expected. His master had relied on his own strength to win, while he had achieved the same result by relying on his senior brothers and sisters to let him win.
"You have achieved the same success as I did back then!"
Zhao Junxian put on a pleased expression and encouraged his disciple.
"Alright, Master, don't you know how much of my victory record is fabricated?"
Feng Bingwen showed no joy whatsoever; in fact, he seemed somewhat discouraged. Upon careful reflection, he realized that, as things stood, he couldn't possibly surpass a senior brother or sister. Of course, the reverse was also true; although his cultivation time was short, his foundation was quite profound.
"No, quite the opposite, I think you are now qualified to be the Dao Child of the Supreme Dao!"
Zhao Junxian said something that Feng Bingwen didn't expect, which caused a huge change in Feng Bingwen's expression.
"Huh? Master, what are you saying?"
Feng Bingwen was stunned for a moment, and even wondered if he had fallen into an illusion.
"No doubt about it. To be honest, I really didn't expect you to be able to fight your senior brother Lin to this extent."
"If Senior Brother Lin is willing, I will be defeated by his sword in less than three rounds. Even if I have a celestial artifact to protect me, it will be useless."
Feng Bingwen was very clear about this. After witnessing the skills of these senior disciples, he no longer had much arrogance in his heart. So what if he had a celestial-grade pulse? There was never a shortage of geniuses in this world.
“You’re right. If it weren’t for your senior brother Lin’s intention to train you, you would have been defeated long ago.”
Zhao Junxian nodded, agreeing with Feng Bingwen's words.
"But you've overlooked one thing: the senior disciples you're challenging now are my peers. When I challenged them, they weren't as strong as they are now."
Do you really think they've been standing still all these years? Even if I were to challenge them back then, I probably wouldn't have fared much better than you now.
"this……"
Feng Bingwen was taken aback; he had overlooked this point.
For ordinary cultivators, a single pass or bottleneck can hold them back for decades, centuries, or even a lifetime.
But Feng Bingwen sought out the true disciples of the number one Daoist sect of the human race. How could they be stuck at the mere Yuan Dan realm and stop progressing?
They were indeed facing the same group of people, but the difficulties they encountered were completely different. Feng Bingwen could not replicate his master's actions from back then.
"Let's go, the Dao Lord has already sent me a message, he wants to see you!"
Zhao Junxian stood up, and Feng Bingwen, whose mood had completely changed after his master's words of comfort, exuded a lively and cheerful aura, like the rising sun.
"The Supreme Dao Master!"
Upon hearing his master's instructions, Feng Bingwen quickly followed, a sense of anticipation rising in his heart.
The Supreme Dao Master may not have the highest cultivation level in the Supreme Dao, but the authority he wields is certainly the greatest among the human race. He is one of the most powerful cultivators in the human race.
"Master, what is the Dao Lord's cultivation level?"
Having been comforted, Feng Bingwen regained the demeanor of a young cultivator and asked curiously.
"A celestial being!"
Zhao Junxian glanced at Feng Bingwen, then with a flick of his sleeve, golden light spread out, transforming into the Great Dao and extending into the unfathomable void.
"(⊙o⊙) Wow!"
Feng Bingwen was amazed, but upon reflection, he realized that it was only natural for the Supreme Dao Master to possess such cultivation.
Are the Dao Masters of other Daoist sects also Celestial Immortals?
"Among the twelve Dao Sects, only three have Celestial Immortals, and my Supreme Dao is one of them. The rest are all ruled by Earth Immortals!"
"What else is similar to my Supreme Dao, the Origin Dao, and the Hun Tian Dao?"
Feng Bingwen was aware of this common knowledge in the cultivation world. The Twelve Dao Sects were the twelve strongest sects of the human race's Xuanmen, but even among those at the same level, there were still strong and weak ones. The vast majority of cultivators generally agreed that the top three were the best, the middle four were the worst, and the bottom five were the worst.
The three major sects have stood at the pinnacle of humanity since the emergence of cultivators. The strongest cultivators of humanity mostly come from these three major sects.
Slightly weaker than these three major paths are the four major Dao sects. Their status was established during the war for the rise of the human race, and they remain immortal after tens of thousands of years, still prosperous to this day.
The next weakest are the Lower Five Paths. Among them, the Heavenly Sword Path, which Feng Bingwen had come into contact with, is one of the Lower Five Paths. It has only been established for nearly ten thousand years, and its foundation is far less profound than that of the Upper Three and Middle Four Paths.
However, sword cultivators are skilled in killing, so the Heavenly Sword Path is able to maintain its position among the twelve paths. However, it is called one of the lower five paths because the positions of these five major Dao sects are replaced and rotated. Among the lower five paths, the Heavenly Sword Path is considered to be one of the more ancient Dao sects.
Among the twelve sects, the Xingxiu Sect has the shallowest foundation, having been established only a little over three thousand years ago. With such a shallow foundation, it is inevitable that it will be looked down upon. Therefore, the Xingxiu Sect is often challenged by other sects who attempt to replace its position.
"Um."
Zhao Junxian responded to Feng Bingwen's seemingly pointless question with indifference, his expression neither arrogant nor impatient. At this moment, the Great Dao that evolved from the golden light beneath his feet had reached its end.
Boundless light then appeared, but after only a moment, it all receded, followed by boundless darkness spreading out before one's eyes. Being in it, one felt only the insignificance of oneself and the vastness of the universe.
"Is this the Great Void?"
Upon seeing this familiar darkness again, memories of what had happened not long ago resurfaced in his mind, and Feng Bingwen, who had been following behind Zhao Junxian, couldn't help but pause in his steps.
Even an ordinary immortal, if sent to the Great Void without any preparation, would soon turn into a frozen corpse, let alone a mere Yuan Dan cultivator like him.
"No, you can only see the void from here."
A voice responded to Feng Bingwen, but it was not Zhao Junxian's voice. Feng Bingwen looked in the direction of the voice and immediately saw a Taoist priest who had stepped into the void and was facing away from him.
The moment Feng Bingwen's gaze fell upon that figure, his mind and attention were completely drawn to it. For a fleeting instant, Feng Bingwen even felt that he had seen the "Dao"—no, that was not an illusion.
The Taoist priest, whose stature was not particularly tall, naturally exuded a Taoist aura containing the ultimate principles of the universe and the secrets of the operation of all things. Those with extremely high comprehension could suddenly understand this and their cultivation would greatly increase.
"Dao Lord!"
Feng Bingwen realized what was happening and quickly bowed in greeting.
Although the Taoist priest in front of him did not turn around, Feng Bingwen felt as if he could see right through him, and this was not an illusion.
Out of the corner of his eye, he glanced at his side and found that Zhao Junxian, who had led him here, had long since disappeared. He didn't know when she had left, leaving him alone to face the Supreme Dao Master.
"You're great!"
Before Feng Bingwen could feel any unease, the Taoist priest who had his back to him slowly turned around, revealing a simple and unadorned ancient face, whose appearance was difficult to describe.
Feng Bingwen discovered that he couldn't see the Taoist's appearance at all. Even though the Taoist was standing right in front of him and he could see him, he just couldn't remember him.
"You will succeed your master and become the new Daoist disciple of our Daoist sect. What do you say?"
"Lord Dao, it's not that I'm unwilling, it's just that after experiencing so much, I feel more and more that I'm not worthy of this position!"
Feng Bingwen's words came from the bottom of his heart.
"Don't be overly modest. You have already defeated six of our sect's true disciples. You deserve this position."
"Does the Dao Lord not understand the reason behind this?"
Feng Bingwen found it hard to describe his feelings at this moment. Although he didn't exactly crave the position of the Supreme Daoist, it was something he had always wanted. But he never expected that now that the Supreme Daoist Master had specifically named him for the position, he would actually start to decline.
"If we really have to count, I'm probably the weakest true disciple in the sect. How could I possibly be worthy of this position?"
"It's hard to say whether you're the weakest, but you're definitely the youngest true disciple of our sect, without a doubt. If you were given the same amount of time to cultivate as your senior brothers and sisters, they would certainly not be your match."
The Supreme Dao Master's thoughts were also very complicated at this moment. If this were any other sect, the disciples below would have already started fighting over the vacant position of Dao Son.
However, at the Supreme Dao Sect, the sect was harmonious, with everyone deferring to each other, yet no one wanted to become a Daoist disciple. Now, finally, someone has volunteered to become a Daoist disciple, but they're starting to decline again. How can this be allowed?
Although this disciple had a minor problem, in the eyes of the Dao Master, that hidden danger was not a big problem. If those old guys who survived from the ancient era were well-behaved, that would be fine; if they were not well-behaved, they would all be captured and used to fill the sea eye.
"..."
Although the Daoist Master acknowledged his talent, Feng Bingwen fell silent upon hearing this.
"What? As far as I know, you were making a fuss with your master over the position of Daoist disciple. Why are you now hesitant and afraid to take the position at this crucial moment?"
"It's not that I dare not, it's just that I feel unworthy!"
"If I say you are worthy, then you are worthy!"
"I……"
"The True Transmission of the Wind".
Before Feng Bingwen could continue, the Supreme Dao Master, who was situated within the Void Realm, spoke, revealing Feng Bingwen's current identity.
Do you think I can't figure out what you did a few days ago?
"I don't know what you are talking about, Master. I really don't understand. Please enlighten me!"
Feng Bingwen's heart skipped a beat, but after thinking it over, he realized that he had never done anything as immoral as digging up someone's ancestral graves, so he quickly regained his composure.
As for whether the Heavenly Book would be discovered by this Dao Lord, Feng Bingwen was no longer worried. This was the second Heavenly Immortal he had met. If it were to be discovered, his master's Heavenly Immortal father would have seen it by now, instead of waiting until now.
"If Kou can go, so can I. What a spirit! I didn't have such courage when I was young."
You, Feng Zhenchuan, made a promise to someone that after you obtained the position of Dao Child, you would go to the land of demons and monsters to promote the prestige of our human race. Why is it that at this moment, you, Feng Zhenchuan, are hesitant to move forward?
Are you trying to shirk responsibility? That's incredibly shameful! Not only are you embarrassing yourself, but you're also making me, Taishangdao, lose face!
"No, Dao Master, this disciple had absolutely no such intention!"
Feng Bingwen quickly explained.
"Since you have no such intention, then you will be the new Daoist of our sect!"
"Is my cultivation level a bit inappropriate?"
Feng Bingwen was filled with doubts. After sparring with his fellow disciples, his self-confident invincibility among his peers was indeed shaken.
"It suits you quite well."
The Supreme Dao Master no longer had the mind to continue entangled with Feng Bingwen. In his view, it was enough to finalize the selection of the Dao Child.
Although this kid has a lot of problems, his physique is indeed not bad. Although he has only just been promoted to a Yuan Dan cultivator, as long as he is given a little more time, he will be able to catch up with the previous generation of cultivators.
Appointing him as a Daoist disciple, banishing him from the mountain gate, and letting him roam freely throughout the Nine Provinces, or even swaggering around in the land of demons and monsters, would all be good choices.
God's Arrival
With his physique and those seemingly inexplicable opportunities, when fighting against others at the same level, even if he is not the best, he cannot lose; at most, it will be a draw.
If some shameless old fogies insist on taking action, he, as the Dao Master, can take the opportunity to stretch his muscles and bones, and incidentally enhance the presence of the Supreme Dao, so that some guys won't treat them as if they don't exist because the Supreme Dao immortals don't leave the mountain for a long time.
"Alright, kid, let me put it this way: if you're willing to take this role, that's great. If you're not, you'll still have to take it. Do you really want your senior brothers and sisters to clean up the mess you make? There's no such thing as a free lunch."
A celestial being's thoughts can change a thousand times over. Before Feng Bingwen could even think of what to say, he heard the Dao Lord's tone and manner change drastically, which caught him completely off guard.
At the same time, the lofty and unfathomable demeanor that had established the towering image in his heart when he first met this Daoist Master collapsed rapidly like a mudslide.
"Since the Dao Master has said so, how could this disciple disobey!"
"good!"
The Taoist priest, whose face could be seen but not remembered, revealed a kind smile. The next moment, Feng Bingwen felt dizzy and disoriented, and then Zhao Junxian's figure appeared before him.
"Master, I am now a Daoist."
As soon as he finished speaking, Feng Bingwen frowned, because he had forgotten many things, or more accurately, he had almost forgotten everything he had just seen.
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